Nenana Wellness CoalitionMINUTES

December 29, 2009

The Nenana Wellness Coalition is an alliance of representatives from various organizations, government agencies, community groups and individuals that meets weekly to discuss, evaluate, coordinate, consolidate and help implement plans for improving the wellness and quality of life in Nenana Alaska.

There were 16 in attendance, including: Irene & Miles Martin, Virginia Young, Doreen Simmonds, Vicki Minor, Mary Alexander, Bonnie Reed, Terry & Art Thompson, Jeannie Bennett, Kat McElroy Tim Horn, Tom & Nycki Saxton, Merrily Verhagen and Beverly Joseph.

We had chicken mushroom soup, mixed greens salad, Ritz crackers with sliced cheese, pecans & raisins and coconut cookies for lunch.

 

WELCOME followed by the READING OF MISSION STATEMENT, by this week’s chairperson: Tim Horn

 

PRAYER: Was lead by Jeannie Bennett, followed by the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE.

 

PRESENTATION OF AGENDA AND CALL FOR MODIFICATIONS: There were two modifications to agenda as presented.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes were posted by Kat on the WIN link at www.railbelt.com and submitted electronically to the WIN e-list.

 

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: Kat introduced her guests, Vicki Minor from Boise, Idaho, who has attended WIN previously a couple of years ago, and Doreen Simmonds who is visiting from Barrow, Alaska. Bonnie introduced her guests, Nycki and Tom Saxton, who are also from Barrow. Doreen knew the Saxton’s and so it was like old home week for the Barrow folk.

           

SPEAKERS/TOPICS

 

Health Fair-We have not yet obtained a volunteer for the site-coordinator position for our Health Fair tentatively scheduled for March 27^th, 2010. The Fair this year be held at the Civic Center and would focus on adult health issues for the general public. Merrily affirmed she would contact Karen Harvey to ascertain if Karen would be available and willing to perform that function. Karen has been active in previous health fairs in Nenana. Tim said we might need to think about scaling the Health Fair back from previous efforts if we are unable to obtain a sit coordinator. Perhaps we should begin looking at what components to the Fair do we feel are the most important. Miles suggested we might want to have a back-up Plan B in case we are unable to obtain a site coordinator.  The site coordinator position is vital if we are to utilize the Alaska Health Fair support; it is understood that the site coordinator would be a point person and that a Health Fair committee would take on the fundamental organizational tasks.

 

Envisioning Wellness – Merrily said that Paul Verhagen has volunteered to do an Envisioning Wellness presentation in February on communication. This was favorably received by WIN at large. Discussion ensued regarding our previous dialogue about facilitating a community-wide envisioning process around wellness utilizing the Medicine Wheel concepts, per Kat’s presentation earlier this month. We brainstormed strategies for doing what is felt to be needed front work towards that goal. The consensus opinion was to request the mayor, the school district superintendent and some key player from the tribe to do an Envisioning Wellness presentation over the course of the next three months regarding their plans for the future of Nenana from the perspective of the city, the school and the Nenana Native Council. This would result in two EW prese4ntations in February, which seemed agreeable. The thinking was to ask Eric Gephardt to present on the school district and NCPS’s strategic planning for January, someone from the tribe in February and the mayor in March. We talked about utilizing the YERC for the large envisioning process which would then be scheduled for sometime in April. The 13^th of April was tentatively scheduled. It was suggested that Kat do a short training on how to conduct a focus group for four volunteer co-facilitators to assist the process. We also discussed verbiage for a flyer announcing the event and agreed that it ought to have a picture of the medicine wheel divided into the four quadrants, with a large type title stating: Envisioning Nenana’s Future with smaller type inviting the community at large to participate in this envisioning process using the medicine wheel model to explore the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of our community and to formulate future plans. Problems with radio and TV reception due to technical issues with our local translator was used as a specific example of how our community might work together to help solve local issues.

 

Free Cycle – Irene and Miles posted flyers advertising the next Free Cycle which is scheduled to take place Saturday, January 9^th, beginning about 4:30 P.M. It will feature a chili cook-off, a movie and the usual exchange of goods. Miles has suggested that we create clip-boards for people to list items they want to obtain or items they want to get rid of for things that are perhaps too cumbersome to haul to the Free Cycle. This would be a way for people to make needs or goods known to others.

 

Sober Housing – Kat gave a short report on the progress to date on the little sober house that Nenana/WIN has built for our visitors. There is still some work to be done; work has halted due to the holidays and cold weather. David is visiting his family in Idaho and will not be back till January 16^th, so it is not anticipated that any further work will be done until after his return. All needed supplies are on hand and in fact a person could move in to the sober house at this point and complete construction while in residence, if desired. The gentleman who was residing in the travel trailer set up as temporary sober housing this summer has relocated to a small cabin on the other side of the river and is doing well.

 WELLNESS THOUGHT: Give thanks for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow.  ~Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros 

UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Mary announced “A party, a party!” This will be held to celebrate new year’s eve at the Meda Lord Senior housing complex, in the common room, December 31^st, beginning about 3 P.M. It will be pot luck. Interior Regional Housing Authority provided funds for the main dish: turkey, ham, mashed potatoes. There will be a jam session, live music; everyone is enclouraged to bring his or her instruments and to join in the fun.

There seems to be some confusion regarding new year’s eve celebration at the tribal hall. Initially a pot luck was scheduled for 8 PM; then it was announced that this was cancelled. Later information indicated that the event is back on again, flyers have been posted at Coghill’s. Fireworks and good times!

 

Doreen: Eskimo dancing and Native games are scheduled from Xmas to New Year’s in Barrow, culminating in fireworks and a big dance on new year’s eve. She is really enjoying her visit to Nenana and is impressed with our wellness coalition.

 

Bonnie: There will be no meal at the Senior Center on Friday. Wednesday is their big birthday meal for the month of December. The Senior bus (old) is for sale for $10,000.00; interested parties should contact Vicki Moyle at 832-5818.

 

Tom: Thanks for the good meal. He is amazed at our wellness group. He has some experience with KUAC-FM and offered to help coordinate efforts to improve our local translator. Tim suggested we put this on the agenda as a regular item.

 

Nycki: Glad to be in this hot bed of community activism.

 

Virginia: It is slow at school due to the holiday break.

 

Merrily: Thanks everyone who attended and made the Nativity and recipe exchangte a success. It was great. Also she announced that the Verhagen’s are having a snow party at their place on Saturday from Noon on. Bring your sleds!

 

Tim: Caroling was also a great success. They had about 30 carolers; they broke into several small groups. They caroled at about 30 different houses. They caroled Bruce Boschert via the telephone and a half hour at Meda Lord Center. There have been favorable Facebook comments, she noted.

 

Beverly: Continues taking education for ministry classes.

 

Vicki: Amazed to see what you get accomplished in two hours weekly.

 

Kat: Is working with a consortium of people across Interior Alaska to get the Warrior Down training brought to the Fairbanks area towards their goal of creating Warrior Down community-based recovery support groups. This program has been successful in Idaho and Montana, working with newly released criminal offenders, to support them in their re-entry process. Anyone interested in assisting in or staying informed of these efforts should contact Kat at poppekat@mosquitonet.com or call 378-6609.

 

ADJOURNMENT: 2:15 P.M.

Nenana Wellness CoalitionMINUTES 

December 22, 2009

 The Nenana Wellness Coalition is an alliance of representatives from various organizations, government agencies, community groups and individuals that meets weekly to discuss, evaluate, coordinate, consolidate, celebrate and help implement plans for improving the wellness and quality of life in Nenana Alaska.We had 11 participants today, including: Kat McElroy, Rebecca, Bill, Aerin and Ethan Troxel, Bonnie Reed, Jeannie Bennet, Virginia Young, Miles and Irene Martin, and Mary Alexander. We had potato soup. Mixed green salad, pecans and raisins,  Ritz crackers with sliced cheese and fudge for lunch. 

WELCOME followed by the READING OF MISSION STATEMENT: By this week’s chairperson, Rebecca Troxel

 

PRAYER: Was lead by Aerin Troxel, followed by the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE.

 

PRESENTATION OF AGENDA AND CALL FOR MODIFICATIONS: There were two additions to the agenda.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes were posted at the WIN link at www.railbelt.com and submitted electronically to the WIN e-list yesterday by Kat.

 

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: No guests today.

           

 

SPEAKERS/TOPICS:

 

Nenana 10 Year plan: Per our discussion last week, Miles was able to get a rough draft copy of the Nenana Community Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Plan generated during the community visioning/strategic planning process that took place in 2003. He read the draft aloud. It described itself as a “roadmap to the future.” It detailed plans to promote and provide for community wellness, create employment and economic development, and support cultural preservation. Some of the suggestions were: plans for gas/oil development in the Minto Flats, projects to develop agricultural potential including opening Ag land and a 10 acre demonstration project with greenhouse, and ambitious plans to coordinate with Alaska Railroad to build a train depot in Nenana and to upgrade the airstrip with a terminal. Other plans had come to fruition, including the Youth/Education Recreation Building.

Discussion ensued. The consensus of opinion is that those projects are all grant driven and would require coordination between major community entities. Our coalition, it was felt, could more readily focus on some of the smaller suggestions, such as an Elder Story-telling project. Rebecca suggested that this could easily be incorporated into a Freecycle, an activity our coalition already supports which has garnered wide community participation.

It was suggested that we revisit the 10 Year Plan on a regular basis to generate further thinking on this community envisioning process already completed as well as to springboard to other community development strategies and projects we could accomplish with our own resources and without requiring grant funding.

 

Report on Operation Ho Ho Ho: Kat McElroy thanked the many volunteers that made this year’s food and gift box drive and giveaway a huge success. We coordinated with Santa’s Clearinghouse in Fairbanks; the food was picked up at Noon. By 1 P.M. our many elves were busily putting the food boxes together. We were finished in less than four hours. Way to go!!!! We served 52 families this year.

 

Nenana Health Fair: No one has asked Karen Harvey yet if she would be willing to be our site coordinator.

 

Freecycle: Next month will mark our second annual January Freecycle and Chili Cook-off. It will be held January 9^th, beginning around 4 P.M. at George Hall. There will be plenty of prizes for the winning chilies. There will be a movie. Rebecca has made flyers to advertise the event. Miles and Irene volunteered to post the flyers around town after Christmas.

WELLNESS THOUGHT: Our greatest glory is not in never failing,
but in rising up every time we fail.   Ralph Waldo Emerson

UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Bonnie: tonight will be the Nativity at The Nenana Conference Center, beginning 6:30 P.M. There will be a recipe exchange afterwards.

The Senior Bus went up to Fairbanks today. They had over 40 people for the Christmas lunch at the Senior Center yesterday, with wonderful door prizes including roundtrip for two on Alaska Railroad.

Bruce Boschert is in the hospital in Fairbanks.

 

Miles: Wolf alert. He believes there was a pack ranging through town last night. His compost got all torn up.

There will be fireworks New Year’s Eve at George Hall, with a pot luck to begin at 8 P.M.

 

Mary: Grandma Nina had hernia surgery in Anchorage and was in the hospital for about a week. She is improving every day and will be convalescing with her daughter there.

They will be hosting the second annual New Year’s Eve party at Meda Lord housing, to start between 3 and 4 P.M. There will be live music and everyone is encouraged to bring their instruments.

The first school board meeting of the year will be held January 6^th.

 

Bill: The Troxel’s will have a Christmas Eve service at their house at 4 P.M., with cookies and hot chocolate, with a reading of the Christmas story. Christmas night the Troxel’s will be leaving for a one week holiday.

 Rebecca: Attended the Hanukah celebration the MacDonald’s put on at the Civic Center on December 13^th. She reports that it was wonderful, with Jewish dancing, presents and a movie about the meaning of Hanukah. They had prepared for about 100 people. Fewer attended. Rebecca would like to encourage people to take advantage of these opportunities to learn about other cultures and religions by attending and participating.  

OPEN FLOOR FOR COMMENTS/QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION: None

 

 

ADJOURNMENT: 1:45 P.M.

Nenana Wellness CoalitionMINUTES 

December 15, 2009

 The Nenana Wellness Coalition is an alliance of representatives from various organizations, government agencies, community groups and individuals that meets weekly to discuss, evaluate, coordinate, consolidate, celebrate and help implement plans for improving the wellness and quality of life in Nenana Alaska.There were 16 participants, including Bonnie Reed, Andrea & Walter Tommy, Virginia Young, Jeannie Bennett, Miles and Irene Martin, Carl & Tim Horn, Kat McElroy, David Poppe, Rebecca & Bill Troxel, Merrily Verhagen, Christine Shields, and Mary Alexander. We had chicken noodle soup and mixed green salad and Ritz crackers with sliced cheese for lunch. 

WELCOME followed by the READING OF MISSION STATEMENT: By this week’s chairperson, Rebecca Troxel.

 

PRAYER: Was lead by Virginia Young, followed by the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE.

 

PRESENTATION OF AGENDA AND CALL FOR MODIFICATIONS: There were no modifications.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes are posted at www.railbelt.com and were submitted electronically to the WIN e-list.

 

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: No new guests today.

           

 

SPEAKERS/TOPICS:

  

Wellness & The Medicine Wheel: Kat McElroy gave a presentation of a concept called the Medicine Wheel and explained how it could be used to assess the wellness of individuals or communities. She handed out the attached five page explanation of the basic concepts of the medicine wheel. She gave examples of the four aspects: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. She identified several strengths and problems Nenana has in each area. Discussion ensued. It was suggested that WIN might use the medicine wheel format to re-visit the ten year plan generated by a community envisioning process that occurred about ten years ago. We brainstormed ways to engage a larger number of community members, especially key community members, in that process.

 WELLNESS THOUGHT: “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”    Albert Einstein 

UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Pajama reading night 12/15/09 at Nenana City Public School.

Pit performance Thursday at 6:30 P.M.

Tuesday, 12/22/09, a Christmas Nativity and recipe exchange, at the Nenana Conference Center, 6:30 – 8:30 P.M. People wanting to perform should come to a rehearsal on Saturday, 2-5 P.M.

Wednesday, 12/16/09, Railbelt Mental Health & Addicitons will be spearheading Operation Ho Ho Ho. They will pick up food from Santa’s Clearing House around Noon in Fairbanks and will begin assembling food boxes at the tribal hall in Nenana about 1 P.M. All volunteers are welcome.

There will be an art show and sale this weekend at the Morris Thompson Cultural center in Fairbanks.

Christmas Caroling Sunday, 12/20/09, beginning at the Troxel’s house at 5 P.M. Christmas Eve the Troxel family will be hosting a reading of the Biblical Christmas story beginning at 4 P.M.

 

OPEN FLOOR FOR COMMENTS/QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION: None

 

 

ADJOURNMENT: 2 P.M.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Medicine Wheel

A Way To Look At Wellness

             Native Americans have used the concept of a medicine wheel to explain how the world functions. They have used these concepts to guide their life. They use a circle to represent wholeness. The medicine wheel has four directions. Native Americans use four as their sacred number, as seen everywhere in nature. A personal balance between the four is essential for well-being, as is a sense of inter-connectedness and reverence for nature and the earth. The information presented here was garnered during participation in a series of workshops on Wellness and Community Development presented at the Annual School of Addiction Studies by Michael Bopp, PhD. in the mid-1980’s. He is associated with the Four Worlds Development Project. The Medicine Wheel has been used as a teaching tool across North America by indigenous people. Traditionally, the medicine wheel has been used as a model to explain the world, how the world works and how we as human beings might best function in the world.  For more information about Dr. Bopp and Four Worlds, you can start at:            http://www.margaretemyers.com/fourworlds.htm            http://www.fourworlds.ca/who001.html             http://www.fourworlds.ca/who002.html             http://www.4worlds.org/4w/directory.html The Medicine Wheel is divided into four quadrants     These quadrants can be used to represent many ideas. The most obvious might be the four directions. Medicine Wheel teachings speak of how the world is balanced by the four directions. It could be used to depict the four seasons: summer, autumn, winter, spring.  They can as readily be used to represent the four colors of people on Earth. The Medicine Wheel teachings explain that all four are required. Each brings specials gifts and Ways of Knowing that are necessary and needed for our world to be in harmony.  It could depict the four elements as well: fire, air, earth, water. The four quadrants can be used to talk about the four stages of life for people. Medicine Wheel teachings tell us that there is a natural balance between Elders and Youth, the same as between Infants and Adults. Humans move from one stage to the next, around the Sacred Hoop of Life.
The Medicine Wheel can be used to depict the four aspects of being human: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Used as a model, the Medicine Wheel speaks to the circular nature of life as well as to the natural balance in all things. It can teach people to think holistically.When people begin talking about Wellness, the first thing we find out is that we carry some radically differing ideas about what constitutes health and well-being. The Medicine Wheel is one way to explore these differences. When used as a teaching tool to learn about Wellness, people explore these four aspects from an individual perspective as well as from a community perspective. This process is greatly facilitated by the Medicine Wheel approach as it honors diversity and reminds us of our interconnectedness. This resonates with the Western belief that “For all things, there is a season.”Physical well being is associated with health, nutrition, fitness, physical activity and functioning. The physical aspect of humans is perhaps the most obvious. It is about our bodies. It is also about the physical spaces in which we live: our houses/homes, the work or school environment, the condition of our community. Food, shelter, health and access to medical care, basic amenities such as electricity, water/sewer systems, trash removal and sanitation all play roles in physical wellness. Recognizing that people do not always agree on what constitutes physical health (cigarette smoking would be a prime example of this), use of the Medicine Wheel to identify the points of agreement that DO exist provides a framework within which to explore those differences. Almost everyone, for instances, agrees that smoking cigarettes in a closed room with a sleeping newborn infant is not healthy for the baby.Emotional well being is best defined as the ability to feel and express the entire range of human emotions and to control them. It includes the capacity to manage one’s feelings and related behaviors including realistic assessments of one’s limitations, development of autonomy, and ability to cope effectively with stress. Life experiences produce strong emotional responses in all of us. The experience of emotion is what makes human being unique. We are capable of a broad range of feelings- love and hate, joy and sorrow, excitement and fear, embarrassment and pride, greed and compassion, jealousy and appreciation, ecstasy and despair, contentment and anger. All of these feelings have implications for how we view ourselves, our relationships to others, and to the broader world. In order to deeply experience the richness of life, we must be willing to acknowledge what we feel and embrace sadness and pain as well as joy and peace. We are challenged to allow ourselves to experience the entire range of human emotions, not just the pleasant or familiar ones. Emotions are enhancements - bringing important messages that teach us about ourselves and our impact on others, producing the power to move into action and change - and enrichments, giving a deeper sense of who we are and what we value. To best cultivate a philosophy of emotional wellness, it is important to develop an awareness of your emotions, acceptance and understanding of your feelings and ways of expressing your feelings that are respectful to yourself and others. This process begins by realizing that you are a special, unique being worthy of respect and love.The Medicine Wheel allows a gentle exploration of emotional content. It becomes immediately apparent that people differ greatly in what they consider to be “healthy” emotions. However, examining other people’s beliefs and ideas about emotional facilitates beneficial growth.Mental: this aspect incorporates both the brain, that organic organ of the body that has been so studied and yet is still so unknown, as well as the mind. The brain is responsible for the electrical/chemical reactions that produce thought but also takes care of the neurological functioning of our entire body. The mental aspect, therefore, is about how your brain works, how smart you are, how you learn what you learn and how well your body functions. It is also about how you think what you think. Mental health is a much debated topic subject to some extreme views as well as much confusion. Who determines what IS mental health becomes a HUGE issue.Looking at Mental Health from the perspective of the Medicine Wheel, we find the mind/body connection. There are issues of organicity. FASD is a prime example of this. Children born to mothers who drank during the course of the pregnancy will likely experience a variety of mental health difficulties stemming from damage to the brain and neurological system during gestation. This “blow” to the brain can result in distorted thinking, learning disabilities and even mental retardation, but also in anxiety and depression as secondary manifestations of the brain damage. Alcohol and other drug use affects how our brains work and can and do exacerbate treatment for Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia and PTSD. It becomes increasingly difficult to tease out the various factors and how they play out in personal and ultimately in communal Wellness.Our physical health has a direct effect on our mental well-being and vice versa. Physical and mental health, of course, also affects our emotional well-being. These cannot be separated; each affects the other.Spiritual: The word ’spirit’ can mean many things, depending on one’s metaphysical outlook on life. For our purposes, let us say that “spirit” is a special state of mind, or depth and quality of human experience. Spirituality can help one explore their meaning and purpose in life. What is “spiritual wellness?” To begin with, it may or may not mean being “religious.” You can be religious without being very spiritual, and vice versa. Whereas religion offers you a pre-established worldview and set of beliefs that you adopt based on some outside authority, a healthy sense of spirituality includes a more natural, self-guided inner experience of life. When religion gives a standard of ethics or code of behavior, spirituality offers you a fresh feeling of spontaneity, freedom, wisdom, and creativity. Similarly, religion can get you in touch with the Divine, through meditation, music and movement, the natural environment or other means. A healthy spiritual life is the basic determining factor for how happy you are and how complete you feel. You know you are on the right track if you are generally happy and able to feel joy from the simplest experiences. Furthermore, your spirituality ideally allows you to see the “big picture” of life, including any possible unseen dimension(s). It leaves you with a profound sense of unity and harmony toward all life. This, in turn, allows you to love more fully and extensively. You understand that love is the greatest of all human experiences, and you wish to give it unconditionally, with full acceptance of yourself and others. With this enhanced experience of love, you feel more peaceful and cooperative with others, creating happiness and constructive situations as you go along in your life. Your spirituality should help you to be acutely aware of yourself. You clearly understand the motives of your own behavior, whether your are trying to act in accordance with the greatest values in life-compassion, affection, appreciation, humility, and others- or whether you are blindly led by the whims of your previous conditioning. If the latter, then you are continually at the mercy of your own unconscious, selfish desires and expectations, knowing no control over your compulsiveness or negative patterns. Spirituality makes you aware of whether you are primarily controlled by fear of a relentless drive for power, or whether compassion and true affection are the primary guides for your actions. With a clear sense of spirituality, you do not attempt to separate that which is “sacred” and that which is “profane”. All of life is sacred, and your health is “wholeness.” You come to realize that your spirituality simply leads you to live you life more fully, to “get into it” more, so you get more out of it. Similarly, you will see no true distinction between your body and your mind, that the health of the one is greatly dependent on the health of the other. Health or diseases in the body have more to do with the level of mental and emotional health than with any other factor. Therefore, daily spiritual practices are among the healthiest activities to which you become committed.

Nenana Wellness CoalitionMINUTES 

December 1, 2009

 The Nenana Wellness Coalition is an alliance of representatives from various organizations, government agencies, community groups and individuals that meets weekly to discuss, evaluate, coordinate, consolidate, celebrate and help implement plans for improving the wellness and quality of life in Nenana Alaska.We had 12 participants this date, including: Kat McElroy, Rebecca and Bill Troxel, Virginia Young, Miles Martin, Irene Martin, Maryellen Robinson, Bonnie Reed, Tim Horn, Jeannie Bennett, Audrey Roth, Merrily Verhagen, and David Poppe. We had turkey soup, mixed greens salad, Ritz crackers and sliced cheese and pecans for lunch. 

WELCOME followed by the READING OF MISSION STATEMENT: By this week’s chairperson, Rebecca Troxel.

 

PRAYER was lead by Maryellen Robinson, followed by the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE.

 

PRESENTATION OF AGENDA AND CALL FOR MODIFICATIONS. There was one addition to the agenda.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: No minutes from last week’s informal meeting at the community luncheon at Nenana City Public School.

 

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: No guests.

           

 

SPEAKERS/TOPICS:

 

Health Fair Planning: Kristi Verhagen is unable to act as site director this year. Jeannie Bennett said that she might be willing but would need to know more about what would be required before she could commit. Tim reminded us that without a confirmed site coordinator, we cannot lock our proposed time-frame into place. Kat stated that a begging letter would need to be generated to the Ice Classic; per their letter to us, all requests need to be made by the time of their December annual meeting as Ice Classic has changed their protocol for making donations.

 Operation Ho Ho Ho: The Angel Tree is up at the school. The last day for donations will be December 15^th. Donations of food and gifts accepted. The RMHA board members have begun an auxiliary food drive; boxes for donations are at the school and Coghill’s. There are approximately 50 families on the list this year. 

Envisioning Wellness: Kat will present the many-times rescheduled Medicine Wheel and Wellness talk on Tuesday, December 16^th. Tim will re-make the flyers and forward to Kat; Kat will print them out. Miles and Irene volunteered to post them around town. No one is scheduled yet for January. It was suggested we ask someone from the Ice Classic. Kat agreed to ask Cherrie. Maryellen agreed to ask Donald Charlie if he would be willing to give a talk about Old Minto Family Recovery Camp.

 

Sober Housing:  Kat reports that their contact from the Healy area came up last week and did the wiring in the sober cabin. The ceiling has been insulated and vapor barrier is in place. The interior walls have to be insulated/vapor barrier-ed and the floor needs a coat of varnish.

 WELLNESS THOUGHT:  Today is the first day of the rest of my life. 

UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Merrily: The Nenana calendar is no longer hosted on geocities as that site has gone defunct; it is now on a Google web site:

http://sites.google.come/site/nenanacommunity09/home/all-calendars

Anyone noting bugs in this new system should notify the Verhagen’s at paulverhagen@prodigy.net  

Lastly, they will be hosting a Nativity & music program and recipe exchange, 7 – 8:30 P.M. at the Nenana Conference Center. It is open to anyone who would like to perform.

 

Tim: Bonnie will need a ride to WIN next week. The Christmas community lunch and bazaar is scheduled for 12/10/09 at the school. Freecycle scheduled Saturday, the 12^th, at the Tribal Hall. Rebecca Ullery is teaching dance for adults as a fundraiser for the literacy council 12-19-09 at the Civic Center: three dollars per person, five dollars for couples.  There will be a Pajama Reading Night at NCPS, 6-8 P.M., on Tuesday, 12-15-09.

There will be a concert December 17^th at 6:30 P.M. in the Pit.

 

Maryellen:  RMHA is hosting a Games Night for adults at the Anderson city chambers, Friday, 12-11-09, 7 P.M. ‘til whenever. Also, the Nenana Head Start parents are having a pie sale fundraiser 12-20-09 for money for field trips. Pies will be ten dollars each and must be ordered in advance.

 

Bill: Don’t forget the Senior’s Christmas Bazaar which will be Friday from 3-8 P.M. and Saturday Noon ‘til 4 P.M. at the Civic Center. Santa Claus will be there available for photographs. Christmas caroling will happen the evening of Sunday, December 20^th.

 

David: The quail seem to have survived the 40 below weather and are thriving on a diet of sunflower seeds and grain.                                        

  

OPEN FLOOR FOR COMMENTS/QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION: None

 

 

ADJOURNMENT: 1 P.M.