Today’s Speaker: Penny Brunner – Smiles for Miles
Future Speakers:
May 9th – Ambuc Ashley Gay Votto – Mt. Lion Backpack Program
May 16th – Will Lightner – Adelphoi Village – Hilltop Specialized Independent Living
May 23rd – Shelly Peterson – IDA
May 30th – Khody Detwiler – Lesnevich & Detwiler – Forensic Document Examiners
Whacha’ May Have Missed Last Week:
…..Last week’s speaker was Donna Fisher, District Manager of the Blair County Conservation District. Donna noted that this is a busy time for the District since Earth Day was a week ago and Arbor Day is April 28th. She said that last year was the 50th anniversary of the District since it was commissioned in 1966. One of the main goals of the District is to provide environmental education to Blair County students. Suzanne Black is the Conservation Educator who provides the students an opportunity to learn about their environment. The District’s many classes reach over 10,000 people each year. Donna went on to talk about the plans for a parcel of ground that the District purchased at the corner of Bedford Street and Route 36 in Hollidaysburg. This 15 acre property will be developed into a Conservation Park which will include 12 acres of wetlands, a walking trail, park gardens, buffer zones, an amphitheater, and if additional funding is secured; a 6,000 square foot office/conference complex. The park is expected to be completed by December 2017 and the office/conference complex completed by 2019/20, if funded.
Guests of the Day: No guests again this week…..but remember this is our Spring Roundup in April and May. Bring a guest or call up an Ambuc that hasn’t been to club for a while and hopefully we can grow our membership and increase our attendance.
News of the Week:
…..Kathy Storm announced an upcoming Marianna Hoagie and Pizza Fundraiser for the club and passed out order sheets. Delivery will be on June 6th with orders due by May 30th. The price will be the same as last time…. $7.00 for the hoagies and $8.00 for the pizzas. Rachael Lenhart will be the coordinator of this sale. The club is also looking for a volunteer to run the next hoagie sale. Linda Horomanski ran the last one and Rachael is doing this one….so if you are interested in helping the club, in a low impact – non-committal means, chairing the next fundraiser might just be the ticket for you. As a one-time chairperson you would also have the opportunity to change things up – if you desire. Maybe you have another vendor in mind or would want to try having the club make their own sandwiches. Hey, if you are the chairperson…..you get to choose!
…..Next week, in addition to having Ambuc Ashley Gay Votto as our speaker, the club will be giving away an Amtryke to 4 year old Quincy Sims. These Amtryke presentations are what our club is all about, and something you won’t want to miss.
…..At last week’s board meeting, the club regretfully accepted the resignations of Holly O’Connor and Alicia Nevins…both of whom resigned due to work conflicts. In other business, the club approved a donation to the National AMBUCS Scholarship Fund of $1,800. We were also given a $2,970 credit from our purchases of Amtrykes which, along with the $1,800 donation, resulted in a per member average of $60.61, which puts our club over the 100% giving level of $40 per member. The board also approved an arrangement with Ambuc Tim Parnell and Crossroads Therapy to provide therapy services to children and adults who do not have insurance and do not have the means to pay for the services. Tim will work with our club to offer services to qualified clients at a reduced rate for which Crossroads will be reimbursed by the club. Lastly, the board approved a $500 donation to Kimberly Capenos, who is organizing a Special Accommodations Prom for youth with autism, sensory processing disorders, seizure disorders, etc.
…..Paul Dick announced that he found one volunteer but he still needs one more for the AMBUCS Blood Screening Program for this Saturday, May 6th. Your help is needed from about 5:30 AM to around 10:00 AM. Why not help out? It was also announced that Ambuc Karen Lemme’s office will offer free hearing screenings at this year’s event. Thanks Karen!
…..Our guest speaker, Donna Fisher, pulled the winning raffle ticket of Bob Reffner last week. He selected the Ace of Spades which….not being one of the Jokers….paid nothing! There are still two Jokers in the deck with five cards gone, so try your luck with the purchase of a raffle ticket this week. The Pot’s nearly $150.
…..Jim Huff promoted the bus trip to see the Pirates play the Phillies on Saturday May 20th. Check your calendar and enjoy a great game at beautiful PNC Park. Game time is 4:05 PM so the bus will leave early that Saturday afternoon. You better hurry….only 2 seats left!
In Closing: The AMBUCS Regional Conference was held in Altoona this past weekend. Beginning Friday evening with a picnic and a Curve ballgame at PNG Field, the conference was off to a great start when four Amtrykes were presented. The Amtryke recipients rode their trykes around the track behind home plate, while a number of the AMBUC officers tossed out first pitches. Saturday morning was kicked off with the Big Hat breakfast, while Saturday evening featured a dinner buffet and the Big Hat Auction. Our very own Jim Huff was one of the two auctioneers that both entertained the crowd and raised over $3,200 for the AMBUCS Scholarship Fund. Sunday morning’s breakfast included a speaker, Thomas Gray, a local veteran who is trying to establish a military museum in Altoona. Another Amtryke presentation was made to 6 year old Thomas Lill, shown here in the arms of his therapist, Kara Madera of IU-8, while his father thanked AMBUCS for what we do in our community.
The convention was attended by a number of AMBUC officers including the current National President and three past National Presidents. Thanks for a great conference go out to the committee of Ed Garlena, Lisa Drzal, Ed Farabaugh, Jim Huff, Rachael Lenhart, Derek Martin, and Kathy Storm!