Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The past week has been filled with many fun activities! Last Wednesday, we hosted our Annual Summer Open House at the Camp Good Days’ Recreational Facility, which is an afternoon when some of our committee members, supporters and volunteers, who are not able to spend a whole week at Camp, are able to come out and see the facility, meet some of our campers, volunteers, and staff, have dinner and enjoy some music, dancing and fireworks. Despite the rain that day, we had a great turnout. Some of our special visitors included Jorge Diaz-Herrera, the new President of Keuka College who I had the opportunity to meet with a couple of weeks ago. I am so happy that he had the chance to come over and I was able to personally show him around the facility. The US Marshal, Charles Salina also came to visit, as did some of the members of the Corning-Elmira Board of Realtors, and many others.



We also held our Ring of Honor Induction Ceremony that evening. The inductees for the Ring of Honor, which was established as part of our 25th Anniversary Celebration in 2004 and includes those who are selected for their outstanding dedication, commitment and support of the thousands of children and families served over the years, were announced at the Night of Gratitude this past March, but we always have a special ceremony at Camp, where we recognize the inductees and they and their families can see their bricks in the permanent Ring of Honor area. I was so pleased that so many of our inductees and their family and friends were able to be there and the rain cleared up in time for the ceremony and the fireworks! Special thanks to Young Explosives for the fantastic fireworks display and to DJ Dr. Sweetback for providing our musical entertainment for the evening.



Due to the fact that some of our campers and chaperones from the visiting countries had to leave on Thursday, we held our very special Candlelight Ceremony on Wednesday evening, after our Open House concluded. The Candlelight Ceremony is a tradition at Camp Good Days and a time in which the campers and volunteers and staff can come together and share and reflect on their time spent at Camp Good Days. I was so happy that Wendy and I could be a part of this along with the campers and chaperones from the visiting countries and our American campers and volunteers.



On Thursday and Friday, some of the visiting countries had to depart to return home and we had a number of logistics to put together for getting them where they needed to be. A few of the visiting countries, Mexico, one of the groups from the Bahamas, and Turks & Caicos were not scheduled to leave until Saturday so we decided to take them to the Rochester Rhinos game on Friday where they had the chance to see the players they had met on Monday, when the team visited Camp, in action on the field at Sahlen’s Stadium. It was a fun night, even though the final score of the game was not what we had hoped for.



We had the chance to see Chris Keyes on Wednesday at Camp. Chris has been involved with Camp Good Days for a number of years as a committee member for the Teddi Dance for Love at St. John Fisher College and chaired the event in his Senior Year. Chris was also a member of the St. John Fisher College Football Team and after serving as an intern at Camp Good Days, we were pleased to be able to bring him on board in a part-time capacity where he helped with the planning of the Camp Good Days COURAGE BOWL and other special fundraising events. Chris is now pursuing his dream of being a football coach, having recently accepted a position at Hartwick College. We all wish Chris the very best in his new position and as he begins this new chapter of his life and we wish Hartwick the best of luck in the upcoming season – except when they play St. John Fisher College!



I had the chance to relax a little bit this weekend and catch up on some chores around the house, since Wendy and I have both been spending so much time out at Camp. On Sunday we went to visit Wendy’s Grandmother and her step-Grandfather, who are 94 and 104 respectively. We also went to the cemetery to pay our respects to Wendy’s Mom and to Ron. On Sunday evening, we took Tammy out to dinner.



On Monday, I spent the day in Buffalo, first having lunch with an old friend, Mike Lawandus, who is recently retired as the Special Agent-in-Charge for the Bureau of ATF and his wife. I then met with Kathy Hochul, Congresswoman for the 26th Congressional District of New York and her District Director, Joan Kesner. I had the chance to share some information about CANCER MISSION 2020 with them and I am so happy to report that they have given their full support of CANCER MISSION 2020 and are willing to help us reach our goal of ending cancer by the end of the decade.



The Rochester City School District Leadership Program, which we host at Camp Good Days in cooperation with the Rochester City School District, for children who are transitioning from elementary school to middle school began yesterday and the Junior Good Days Program, a day-camp program for children ages 4-7 who would qualify for any of our programs but are still too young to attend residential camp also began yesterday in the Rochester area. I am sure our little campers will have as much fun this week as their counterparts in Buffalo had last week!



Today I will stop in the office in the morning and then head down to Camp for Tuesday and Wednesday. We have some special guests coming to visit and speak to the students, including, Monroe County District Attorney, Mike Green; former Monroe County Attorney, Bill Taylor; United States Attorney for the Western District of New York, Bill Hochul, and First Assistant United States Attorney, Bret Puscheck. I will return to Rochester for our monthly Project Exile Advisory Board Meeting on Thursday.



On Friday, we were originally planning on hosting the 24th Congressional District Cancer Summit in Utica, however, after much discussion and reflection, we have decided to postpone that Cancer Summit, as a Friday at the end of summer is not the best day for people to attend an event. We are currently working with Congressman Hanna’s Office to select a new date for that event and will keep everyone posted on the plans for that. Meanwhile, we have had great response thus far for the three other Cancer Summits being held in the 25th, 28th and 29th Congressional Districts. For all of the information about the Cancer Summits, and to join us in the important CANCER MISSION 2020 initiative, check out www.cancermission2020.com!


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