May 22, 2017 - Lyndsey Fry spoke of her trip to the Olympics. She played with the boys at first as there was no hockey for girls, and that was great. At that age, girls are bigger and she was aggressive! In high school she ended up taking on-line courses as the commuted to Denver to be on a team. Her college career was at Harvard and that was where the crisis occurred. She had to decide if she was really going to do what she had to do… and she did, making it on the Olympic team that went to Sochi and won a Silver Medal.  Today she does marathons and Ironman competitions. But to create something bigger than just herself, she aligned with Smile Train, and organization that raises funds to send dentists to third world countries to do dental work and perform operations like cleft palate - to bring back someone’s smile. If you would like to donate to Lyndsey's current Smile Train project, click here.

 May 8, 2017 - Jacque Starks a senior advisor and trainer with Diamond Strategies and Coordinator of Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement for the Maricopa County Community College District, led us through two experiential exercises to demonstrate the unintended discrimination that can occur because of differences in values. She also gave us specific examples from her own family life. Jacque's presentation and facilitation generated considerable discussion.  We all came away with a better understanding of the challenges our values and beliefs play in our attempts to be inclusive and diverse.

 

May 5, 2017 - Movies in the park began another spring season. Club members worked hard at the booth selling snacks, soft drinks, and glow sticks.  Funds from this event are used to provide dictionaries to 3rd graders in the Roosevelt School district. This is the first of four sessions in May. Thanks to many club members who contributed. Click here to  see our photo gallery for these events over the past few years.

 

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 May 1, 2017 - Dan Wilson from Usery Mountain Regional Park gave us a great overview of this particular park as well as the entire Maricopa County Regional Park system. The Maricopa County park system is one of the largest in the country, containing over 120,000 acres and experiencing more than 2 million visitors a year. The parks receive only 7% of their budget from the county - the remainder comes from visitor fees. The parks are very well maintained and offer a wide variety of programs. The operation of the parks is supported by a very large number of volunteers: some stay on-site all winter, some support specific operations like visitor centers and some help with specific events.  Our club has many hikers and the discussion was lively.  Usery Mountain park is a particular favorite of many members.