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Wishing you good times, good cheer, and a memorable New Year.
Happy 2018!
All of us at Houston Ground Angels thank you for your dedication to our patients and for all you do for them. We hope to see you in 2018!
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Houston Ground Angels
Management Review
January 2018
Tony Castiglie, Vice President & Treasurer
As we embark on a new year, we can now reflect on the Holiday Season that, for Houston Ground Angel volunteers, began with the Christmas party at the Houston Maritime Museum December 13th. At one time, one of our shortcomings was that the volunteers did not know each other but with the gatherings we have had in recent years, people have become familiar with each other and the gatherings have really become fun. Judging from the turnout and the upbeat atmosphere, this Christmas party was our most successful event ever. We hope those who were unable to attend can be there next year. We thank Rebecca Maitland, for her hard work at putting this party together and she did an outstanding job. We would also like to thank David LaFargue who sponsored the party and Martha Harrer, a board member, who sponsored the door prizes. I hope all had a very Merry Christmas, and for our Jewish friends, a Happy and Joyous Hanukkah.
So how did we do in our mission of providing complimentary ground transportation to medical patients and companions flying into Houston for treatment? The 2017 final tally is 2,401. How's that for hitting projection! Taking into account the adversity that hit Houston during the year, we did very well. It is a tribute to all who give time and compassion to assist those in need.
And now for the final tally or our leaders:
Top 10 Volunteers - 2017
1.
Charles Whitworth 278
2.
D
avid LaFargue 131
3.
Sandra Begalke 118
4.
Edie Cantu 118
5.
Tony Larosa 105
6.
Kathy Broussard 100
7.
Paulette Blackburn 97
8.
Charles Gibson 87
9.
Mark Newman 74
10. Missy Callan 72
Special acknowledgement must be given to Charles Whitworth, our top Volunteer. Charles ran his first mission January 09, 2008 and he has never stopped. To date, he has run 1,117 Missions. We have a lot of dedicated volunteers and we would not be successful without them, but Charles clearly stands at the top. A special thanks to a very special guy.
We were very fortunate to add five new volunteers over the past two months. Alfonso Duncan lives off Allen Parkway, Eric Karsten resides in the Memorial Area, Cassandra McDermott lives in Humble, Guy Sconzo resides in Kingwood and Dick Stabell lives in Southwest Houston. Welcome aboard! We are proud to add you to a roster of very special folks.
To every volunteer, "Thank You" for being part of this wonderful organization and making it the success that it is. Here's hoping that 2018 is a wonderful year for all who make Houston Ground Angels special.
Sincerely,
Tony
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Private Tour - Minute Maid Park
The Houston Astros have invited the Houston Ground Angels and their spouse/friend to a complimentary private tour of Minute Maid Park. It was scheduled for Jan. 19, at 11:30, but I just received a call that there is a conflict. So, it is being rescheduled and I am to hear within the next day or so what the date will be. As soon as I hear, I will send out an announcement. On the tour, we will get to see the many areas that the public usually doesn't get to see. We will also be on the field and visit the dugouts. This should be a fun gathering and we hope you can make it. So please watch for the announcement within the next week.
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$$ for Shopping
As you may remember, Houston Ground Angels are part of the Kroger Community, which means if you have a Kroger card, you can go on-line to
www.kroger.com and click on Houston Ground Angels, under the community tab. Then each time you shop and use your Kroger membership card, Kroger donates one percent of each purchase. Last month, Houston Ground Angels received just a little over $76.45 from Kroger, due to our volunteers shopping there.
Thank you to all who shop at Kroger!
Also, Houston Ground Angels has a number of volunteers who worked for or are continuing to work at some of the oil and gas companies, such as Exxon, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, and others. When these previous or present volunteers are volunteering for Houston Ground Angels, they turn in their time to the company and Houston Ground Angels receives a check. These checks add up quickly as they are between $50 to $500, depending on the number of volunteer hours. If you worked for or are working for a company or business that matches volunteer time, please let them know you are volunteering with HGA!
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New Years Resolutions
When it comes to New Year Resolutions, just pick one thing.
One thing to change your life or your lifestyle.
Make something concrete so you know exactly what change you are planning to make. If you are successful with the first change, then go ahead and make another change after a couple of months.
By making small changes and working on them one at a time, by the end of the year, you will be surprised how many changes you have made in your life.
But remember: Before making any change, you first have to make a commitment to possibly be uncomfortable for a short period of time.
Any change in our lives can be uncomfortable, but they become a normal part of our lives after a while.
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We have Pictures!
Photos from the Christmas Party will be on Houston Ground Angels' website before the end of the week! So be sure and check them out. It was so great to see so many of our volunteers at the party! We had over 60 volunteers join us, and the Museum was great. Again, it was so good to see all of you! And we hope to see you again at Minute Maid Park for the tour.
We will be having other events throughout the year.
If you have suggestions for an event or outing, please let me know.
Have a great rest of the week and again,
Happy New Year!
Rebecca Maitland
Cell: 832.752.9645
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