Dear Ivan & all: After seemingly starting the last brawl on the list,
you may not think that my efforts are very noteworthy, but one week from
today on Sunday, April 30 at beautiful Shore Acres Clubhouse in
Chillicothe, IL., I have put together our 2nd PD Awarenes Day. At noon,
Kay Price-a storyteller from Pickle Soup Productions will start off our
afternoon of free fun, food, entertainment & information. She will tell
children's tales w/ adult messages of people overcoming odds to succeed.
Then we have Marge Bjorklund-a wildlife educator from Lakeview Museum,
who will bring along her array of wounded yet healthy "critters" to
allow folks to get up close & personal w/ hawks, owls, & other native
IL. animals. Marge will be followed by Mr. Gordon Snow-an area magician
to wow us all with his sleight of hand. Next we will have the popular
piano-man John Philips who plays everything from ragtime-standards -jazz
& you never know who will show up to jam w/ him! To top off the
entertainment-we will be treated to "Ready Steady Go" an extremely
popular band who perform tunes from the Beatles & British Invasion with
a mix of Chuck Berry, Hendrix,and other popular music from our
generation. They will also have guest performers sitting in. The
afternoon will be hosted by Gina Morss-a TV celebrity from WEEK-TV25.
Food is being provided by Connie Hellman from A Matter of Taste
catering, Sandwiches from Subway, Cakes from Betty Sue's Catering,
Drinks provided by our local Kroger. In addition, Tom Kelly will be
cookin' up brats & hot dogs, plus we will have a popcorn machine
provided by Geiger's True Value hardware (who also made a lg
contribution in the form of dinnerware!). There will also be Doug
Smith-The Balloon Man-working the crowd making splendid hats, toys,
flowers etc. from his balloons! We will have a large table with
information for & about PD, awareness ribbons, my scrapbook & photo
album, plus a box to collect donations for the Parkinson Alliance (last
year, I sent $1,500) and we will also be raffling off two afghans both
made by PWP's. This entire event has been paid for by donations from
area businesses & by private donations so that I may offer it free to
the public. The entertainers are working at greatly reduced fees or
donating their talents. What is great about this event is that it will
be attended by 25-30 PWP's from all over the country wearing name tags
which tell people that they are PWP"s or People who love one. These
wonderful friends not only help & support me but also interact w/ folks
and are a shining example of sharing, caring & brotherhood. Our local
newspaper has already donated a 1/4 page ad & on Friday, I was interview
at length for a front page story for this weeks edition. On Thurs., Tom
Kelly & I will make 2 appearances on TV-25 to promote our day. Jane
Scott, my artist friend, has made tons of
eye-catching & colorful posters which are visible everywhere. I am
taking this opportunity to invite everyone who lives in the area to come
& share this day with us & not to be blowing my own horn-but to tell you
that just 1 person (with a little [lotta] help from my friends) can
impact the public. All you've gotta do is to get out there & do
something...anything to make this disease go away.
Also, for those interested: "Voices From The Parking Lot-Parkinsons
Stories" is well on it's way to being published. This book is dedicated
to our list-dad, Don McKinley & includes the works of 30+ People Living
With Parkinson's & has been compiled, edited & published by Dennis
Greene, Margaret Tuchman and me along with the help of countless people
everywhere. We are pleased to announce that our Kickoff for our National
Sales will be announced in NYC at a ceremony just before the National
Unity Walk thanks to Margot Zobel & her cast & crew of heroes!!
Sometimes, it's easy to think that nobody anywhere is doing anything,
but believe me-there are people out here-trying in their own little ways
to make a difference.
Wishing everyone a Blessed Sunday no matter your relgious beliefs!!!
-----
Joan E. Snyder 48/10
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"Hang tough.....no way through it but to do it."
Chris-in-the-Morning (Northern Exposure)
