4 Directors’ Training Institutes
• 45 Trainees
• 8 Trainers
• 3 Host Couples
• 2 Child Abuse Specialists
• 4 Host camps:
Omaha, NE, Kearney, NE, Bellingham, WA & Madison, AL
• 11 NEW camps trained from:
Nebraska (2), Colorado (2), Minnesota, Georgia, Wisconsin,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indianapolis and Idaho.
2 Passing the Scepter classes
• 38 Trainees
• 3 Trainers
• 1 Host Couple
• 2 Host Camps:
Norman, OK & Costa Mesa, CA
• 20 Current camps represented
Friday, August 26, 2011
Family Time
At the end of a busy summer, we finally got a chance to get away as a family up to the San Bernardino Mountains. On the trip, we visited Lake Gregory, Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake. We did some hiking, kayaking, shopping, games and lots of quality family time. As you can see from the photos, I also made some new friends. I’m hoping they will become future donors, but you know, it’s a tough economy right now.
Here are some potential new donors I met on vacation!!!
Three WWII Encounters
Some of you know that I am a fan of WWII history. There are so many amazing stories and conflicts, heroes and villains. The devastating part of WWII is that 55 – 60 million people died in the war. But heroes emerged and I love to read their stories.
1. On Memorial Day weekend, we visited a local church that had a guest speaker and WWII veteran and hero, Louie Zamperini. He spoke briefly of being shot down over the ocean, floating helplessly for over 40 days, and then becoming a Japanese prisoner for 2 ½ years. His story is chronicled in two amazing books, “Devil at My Heels” and “Unbroken” (see Book review on the side bar).
2. In June, our family was visiting a local site and there was a couple dressed in WWII uniforms sitting in a totally refurbished WWII jeep. Well I couldn’t pass this up, so I stopped and talked to the man and found out he runs a non-profit organization called Noble Cause Foundation in Costa Mesa refurbishing WWII vehicles and telling the heroic stories of WWII. He was a boy in Romania, and was a survivor of the Ploesti oil refinery bombing raids by the allies. Many American Airman were shot down over Romania and Yugoslavia, and were hidden by the locals at great risk to their own lives. I had just finished reading about this story in a book titled, “The Forgotten 500”. It was great to meet someone who was actually there and could tell the stories first-hand. I appreciate all that he and his family sacrificed for the airman they rescued.
3. While at the Singing Flag in Concord on July 4th, they announced there was a Veteran from the Bataan Death March attending the show. Well, there aren’t too many survivors left from the Bataan Death March, so I wanted to meet him. I caught his attention right after the show and we spoke briefly. His daughters helped him do most of the communicating because of his advanced age. I was able to get my picture taken with him, and obtained a copy of his short book. He too, spent 2 ½ years as a Japanese prisoner and his book chronicles his life prior to WWI and during WWII. He is another great American hero.
There are few people I’m interested in getting my picture taken with, few autographs I’m willing to seek, and few people whose lives were interesting to me 60 years ago. But these gentlemen have all done some remarkable things. They are heroes to me, and I will always appreciate who they are, and what they have done.
1. On Memorial Day weekend, we visited a local church that had a guest speaker and WWII veteran and hero, Louie Zamperini. He spoke briefly of being shot down over the ocean, floating helplessly for over 40 days, and then becoming a Japanese prisoner for 2 ½ years. His story is chronicled in two amazing books, “Devil at My Heels” and “Unbroken” (see Book review on the side bar).
2. In June, our family was visiting a local site and there was a couple dressed in WWII uniforms sitting in a totally refurbished WWII jeep. Well I couldn’t pass this up, so I stopped and talked to the man and found out he runs a non-profit organization called Noble Cause Foundation in Costa Mesa refurbishing WWII vehicles and telling the heroic stories of WWII. He was a boy in Romania, and was a survivor of the Ploesti oil refinery bombing raids by the allies. Many American Airman were shot down over Romania and Yugoslavia, and were hidden by the locals at great risk to their own lives. I had just finished reading about this story in a book titled, “The Forgotten 500”. It was great to meet someone who was actually there and could tell the stories first-hand. I appreciate all that he and his family sacrificed for the airman they rescued.
3. While at the Singing Flag in Concord on July 4th, they announced there was a Veteran from the Bataan Death March attending the show. Well, there aren’t too many survivors left from the Bataan Death March, so I wanted to meet him. I caught his attention right after the show and we spoke briefly. His daughters helped him do most of the communicating because of his advanced age. I was able to get my picture taken with him, and obtained a copy of his short book. He too, spent 2 ½ years as a Japanese prisoner and his book chronicles his life prior to WWI and during WWII. He is another great American hero.
There are few people I’m interested in getting my picture taken with, few autographs I’m willing to seek, and few people whose lives were interesting to me 60 years ago. But these gentlemen have all done some remarkable things. They are heroes to me, and I will always appreciate who they are, and what they have done.
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