Ballard Community Services

Topics.....Yep, That's What I Said....Topics

Boring huh?  Wonder why I chose Topics?  Thought not... :)  Just kidding.  I chose the title because as I was trying to determine the focus of this blog my mind went in many directions and so many things about Ballard kept coming to the forefront of my mind.  I couldn't just whittle it down to one composed specific topic...so I pluraled it.  :)  In all seriousness, on any given day, there are so many things happening at Ballard that I wish I could share but haven't figured out a way to adequately communicate everything. I know I spend a lot of time talking about how grateful I am and how important this work is to me and I truly mean that, but there are reasons why Ballard is what it is and why we do what we do. 

First Topic - Santa Chef. I received the sweetest email from my favorite "Santa Chef" about the work that his crew of elves do each year for the family that they adopt.  He explained to me how it goes beyond just his work fixing a meal, that it really is about the Free State staff, the regular customers and all of those that come together to provide the entire adopted family with a plethora of Holiday items, clothing, toys, household items and so forth.  He is completely right, I only get to experience being Santa that day for the food delivery ....but I do remember, I remember our staff talking about what an amazing job that the Free State Brewery group had done for their family, I remember being in the home and seeing the mountain of gifts piled around the tree.....I got so caught up in the moment that I forgot about the prior moments....I failed to realize that yes, this mother was overwhelmed by the food, but she had already been overwhelmed with the generosity of gifts and the outpouring of love that these wonderful people had provided for her...so, I have to say a huge thank you to the kind and loving staff and regular customers of Free State Brewery, you have no idea what a difference that you made in the lives of others this holiday season.  The family appreciated absolutely everything that you did for them.  They were overwhelmed with emotion and deep gratitude and I can say with a great deal of certainty, because I saw it in her eyes and I heard it in her voice....you have made such a difference that this family, at some point in time when they get back on their feet, will pay it forward....because of what you did and the impact that you made upon them....that is the ultimate Holiday blessing.  Thank you....very special "Santa Chef" and elves.  I'm ready for next year.  :)

Petey Cerf Center for Children & Families:  This week was a big week for us, we finally got the approval from the City necessary to move forward with our "little" project.  Thank you City Commissioners.  I have to say, I do not really understand all of these processes and I am trying to learn all of the steps as it is fascinating to me but boy is it all over my head.  I try and fake like I get it, but it becomes apparent pretty quickly....I've decided it is just in my own best interest to leave it to the professionals, quit faking understanding and ask really dumb questions anyway....I'm really good at that.  ;) 

What I really want to get at with this post in regard to our Cerf project is the value add behind this project to the community of Lawrence and the investment to this city that this property will be - notice I said "to" this city, not "by" this city.  I say this because I consistently get questions about why we - a non profit (keep in mind, we are a non profit, not a charity) would go to such lengths to build a facility like this for "our" children.  The foremost question that I get is wow, that's pretty extravagant, are you sure you want to do that?  Well, let me try and explain the rationale behind this.  First of all, "our" children or anyone elses children deserve to have facilities that are amazing learning environments, doesn't matter what economic strata they come from, they deserve to have a great place to be a child and learn through exploration.  So that is one reason.  The second reason is because we believe that it will be easier to fund a facility that has never been tried before, I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but there are foundations that look for projects that are not only good for children, particularly low income children, but that are cutting edge projects.  So why not cutting edge....in Lawrence, Kansas....for low income children....by Ballard Community Services? 

That is not the only reason why I have dedicated the past 11 years to this project. I have done so because of my love for Ballard.  You might say, what?  What are you talking about, how does that correlate?  Well it's like this.  Every good leader knows that there will come a time when it will be their time to turn over the reigns to someone new.  Well, when you love something as much as I love Ballard, that's a bit hard to think about, but I have to and the one thing that I want to ensure more than anything is that this magical place will continue.  That there will be funding streams that will provide an avenue for the next Leadership of Ballard to take over without worrying about what type of fundraising to do in the next year.  It is about stability, it is about meeting a need, it is about diversification and this project provides all of that. 

Monday night I was told that it takes someone "like me" to get a facility like this built, someone with a dream to see it through and be willing to do what it takes to turn it into reality.  Translation?  Someone that is stubborn enough to keep plowing forward in light of obstacles like floods and insurance issues and any number of other things we have encountered with this project.  Yes, I am that incredibly stubborn person that just will not give up, that is true.  Ask my current Board Chair.  :)  I also firmly believe that there will be that one person, somewhere that gets it and understands why it is a very good thing and why it can be a building that can lead the way for other non profit early education programs and why Ballard is the perfect fit to see this through.  We have an amazing team of architects and a construction manager, all of whom are excited to get this going and are waiting on me to raise the money.  We had a really good start to that this past December.  Thank you to all of our donors who helped us get those tax credits out the door.  It truly made a very big difference and started us on our way.

Last But Not Least -Random Thoughts:  As I was driving home from visiting with mom last night I thought about how to end this post.  I thought yet again about the endless topics that have come and gone through my thoughts this past week and all that we encountered and there truly is no way to cohesively put it all together, it is just random happenings that make an impact.  Such as:

Two year olds:  how lucky am I that in any given point in the day I can walk by a room filled with the most beautiful children and just take a moment to stop and watch?  Watch them playing with a tub filled with snow...seeing their wonder at watching it melt...how long has it been since I felt that way?

New Year/New Board/First Meeting:  How does one describe the trepidation of meeting with new board members for the first time and knowing that you have an opportunity to engage the best and brightest minds to further the mission of your organization?  Each year I get to do that and watch as they help us make decisions that affect thousands of people and children.  What an amazing experience.

Reflection: Each January I get to compile numbers for the past year and not only am I geeky enough to check trends and statistics, but I also get to finally see the number of people that we have helped...this little organization in Lawrence, Kansas helped 33,359 people and provided more than 1.7 million services in 2010, mostly due to donated funds...what a humbling feeling that is.  In addition to that, each year we set a fund-raising goal, (my board thinks that I am crazy to ask for it to be set consistently higher than the year before :) I LOVE a challenge! ) In 2010, we doubled what we did last year....man do I love the sound of that...my personal best, I cannot ask for more than that. 

And....yesterday, I posted on Twitter (good grief cannot even believe that I Tweet - thank you much younger staff) and I said #wishididntwearmyheartonmysleeve.  Well, I received a lot of comments about that post and in all honesty, I posted that Tweet for many reasons.   I was sitting in a dining room filled with people that I have come to love next to the love of my life, my mom.  As I sat there watching them eat, I thought about who was missing, mom's friend, Norman, and how much I missed him and how many more we would say goodbye to because this facility is really about reaching the end of life...my heart hurt with the prospect.  I thought about the children and families that we serve and those that we cannot serve, I thought about the children that go home to a less than warm home in these chilling temperatures and my heart hurt.  I thought about change and how as in every organization change occurs and people move on and that not everyone is going to have the passion for what we do even though they are very good at it.  It made my heart hurt having just had to say goodbye to a wonderful staff member.  I thought about my own personal life and the changes that I know I must make but do not want to.  I thought about how I wish that there was a way for people to step back when dealing with others and look at their heart and realize what an amazing opportunity that they are given to get to know and be with someone that could potentially be the gift they never dreamed was coming.  It hurts my heart to think that in this world where we have come to expect rapid change we do not take the time to see every person as the gift that they could potentially be to us and we are forced to say goodbye.....that perhaps makes my heart hurt the most.  Thank you mom for instilling in me the gift of seeing beyond a persons pain, grief, past hurt and the baggage they carry with them so that I wish to become like you; a person who truly only wishes to be a gift to others.  love you mom....

 

 

And Another Year Begins.....Hello 2011.

It just seems like yesterday that I was writing about the end of 2010.  Seriously, this year went by at the speed of light.  Last year I was lamenting how difficult my year had been and as I re-read that post I realized how negative I felt at that time and how that presented itself in my post.  I have to say that although this year has flown by and I have had greater difficulties and trials in my life than ever before, I find that I am in a much different place. So, no New Years resolutions for me, nope....just counting my many blessings. 

Perhaps I am in a different place because we are once again at the end of December and as always, this community has reached out to us and helped us meet and surpass our fundraising goals in a very big way and perhaps it is because each and every year I witness the "magic" that is our holiday bureau adopt a family program and how this year more than ever we needed assistance to help those in our community that are less fortunate and this community reached out to our families and ensured that we were able to help 2,500 people with a holiday meal and presents for their children.  Perhaps it was my Christmas Day Santa delivery made possible by Free State Brewery and Rick Martin their Executive Chef. 

I described in a short Facebook post just how it felt to have the opportunity to go to Rick's house on Christmas morning and walk into his kitchen and see an array of food that was incredible and stand there with him while he described the joy he and his wonderful elves  (including a pastry chef who made an apple pie from scratch-from trees in her own back yard) had in preparing what they now call their "holiday tradition."  I heard this man standing there in front of me telling me about his joy in sharing the gift that he was blessed with - his craft of being a chef and a love of cooking.  Then I was able to arrive at the home of a veritable stranger and deliver a holiday meal the likes of which filled the trunk of my car.  The woman answering the door and her grandson came out to help me and were overwhelmed with the amount of food provided.  As is typical in this business, at Ballard, I got the "I'm sorry I had to ask, normally I would not have.....I am unemployed.....it is the first time in 30 years that I have not cooked my own dinner for our family. This little, big brown eyed woman immediately took me to the wall and pointed out every person that lived in this home; the people who would enjoy this meal.  She named them all for me and told me how much each person meant to her, how they were different each from another and how each made a difference in others lives.  Then her young grandson gave me a big hug and she said....he is such a loving boy.  She turned to me and with tears rolling down her cheeks she said....I am worried that there is someone out there who needs this more..... I left that house on Christmas Day - 2010 - crying my eyes out.  I had to come to the Ballard parking lot just to compose myself from the experience of the true meaning of Christmas.  I wondered to myself...do either of those people, Rick and his group, or this lady know what a Christmas gift they had just given to me?  I seriously doubt that they do, but you see, that is the "magic" of Ballard.  Every day there are miraculous moments of joy. 

It is difficult to explain to people why this place has it's own character, why the children and families mean so much to me, why our donors always put me in a place where I am humbled beyond words.  As I sat last Friday night, some of it with my mom in Overland Park and some at home later, I thought back over the year and the many different situations that I had encountered personally and with Ballard and realized just what a blessed life that I have the opportunity to live.....

I have been given the opportunity to get up each day and do something that I love beyond reason.
I have been given the opportunity to spend every day with my mother after her horrific accident and enjoy her in a way that I never would have had the opportunity to.
I have been given the opportunity to look into the faces of little children every day and see their parents smiles when they arrive to pick them up knowing the each day we make a difference in a life of their child.
I have been given the opportunity to work with donors who understand how much the donation that they give means to our organization and to our children and families.
I have been given the opportunity to work with amazing people who give of themselves and help us succeed. 
I have been given the opportunity to work with volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure we provided even more services than ever. 
I have been given the opportunity to use my vision and work on a new project that has never been done before, to work with a group of professional architects and construction managers whose vision matched my own and the opportunity to bring this 11 year dream into reality.
I have been given the opportunity to live a life that is rich beyond measure with very good friends, new acquaintances and old friends reappearing in different ways in my life. 
and last, but not least,
I have been given the privilege to serve this community for 13 years in April....it truly is a privilege to serve others in Lawrence, what a very special place....this is a privilege that I will never take for granted. 

Happy New Year to one and all, thank you for truly making a difference and helping us help others, you have touched many throughout the past year, including me....love you mom.....
 
Mom's 89th Birthday - December 12, 2010

Thankful....

I have noticed recently that friends of mine have been counting down the days of November and identifying what they were thankful for and I thought it was an amazing idea and it really started me thinking about what I was thankful for so I came up with my own list for each day in November.....

30 -  I am thankful for my education and the knowledge it has provided me to try and navigate the running  of an organization like Ballard Community Services.

29 - I am thankful for life experiences that led me to the work that I love so much.

28 - I am thankful that I get to see children and families in a way that most people do not.

27 - I am thankful that I have the opportunity to meet so many amazing people in my career.

26 - I am thankful that my mother and my sister are both doing very well.

25 - I am thankful that I met Lucille, Betty, Norman, Priscilla, Phyllis, Patti, Frank and others at mom's new home.  :)  (I just love those guys.)

24 - I am thankful that I get to be a part of a non profit network in Lawrence, Kansas that works hard to take care of those in our community.

23 - I am thankful for my boy Bax.

22 - I am thankful for great friends who have kept me going through some of the most trying times in my life.

21 - I am thankful for learning life lessons and coming out better on the other side. 

20 - I am thankful for Scooter's Drive Thru hot chocolate and their amazing barrista's.

19 - I am thankful for Big XII football even with 10 teams. (Buh bye Palini ;))

18 - I am thankful for having a Big XII official on my staff who indulges my need to talk football, however poorly.  Well to revise that, I am thankful for the guys on my staff who allow me to talk football. 

 17 - I am thankful for our staff and all that they teach me every single day about giving to others and taking care of our agency.

16 - I am thankful for a strong faith.

15 - I am thankful for the ability to have a vision, the courage to act upon it and people to support it when no one else thought it was possible.

14 - I am thankful for Mar Lan Construction, Gould Evans, Peridian Group and our Business Committee for helping me bring our dream alive.

13 - I am thankful for all of the people who have reached out and helped us help others this year.

12 - I am thankful for all of the people who reached out to us that needed help – 40,000 to date- and the ability to be able to help.

11 - I am thankful for all of the children I see on a daily basis who have big, bright shiny smiles and always offer a hug.

10 - I am thankful for Board members who work tirelessly to ensure that we can keep providing the services we need to…all the while volunteering their time.

  9 - I am thankful for all of those "go to" people in my life who I can call on a moment's notice just to ask a question and bounce ideas off of.  You are the best. 

  8 - I am thankful for the ability to get up every day, drive 5 minutes to work, smile on the way, walk up a flight of stairs and work in a job that means the absolute world to me. 

  7 - I am thankful for the opportunity to meet new friends and bring them together with an organization like Ballard.

  6 - I am thankful for Petey Cerf and all of the people involved from the beginning with Ballard Community Services.

  5 - I am most thankful for my mom and all of the life lessons she has taught me.  I am thankful for a father I did not know but who contributed greatly to the person that I am today. 

  4 - I am thankful for being able to live and work in a community like Lawrence that never ceases to amaze me at the willingness to help others by coming together to meet a need. 

  3 - I am thankful for being loved.

  2 - I am thankful for the kindness of others who never cease to amaze me when they reach out and adopt our families through the holidays.

  1 - I am thankful for you and your generosity to Ballard Community Services. 

May you and your family take a few moments to identify what you are most thankful for during this holiday season and may all of your wishes and dreams come true.  Here's wishing you the Happiest of Holiday Seasons.  ....love you mom. 

 

Life Changes Quickly.....

What a month it has been...I have been amazed at the life lessons I have learned over the last 28 days and how I have learned that you can absolutely have the most devastating event turn into a blessing in many ways. 

On October 15th, at 4:26 p.m. my family's life changed forever.  A 19 year old Iowa driver hit my mother and my sister head-on on Highway 59 just south of Shenandoah, Iowa.  My sister, thank goodness, had only deep bruises and a broken right arm and my 88 year old mother has a broken left hand, a broken right leg, fractured sternum and fractured ribs.  Sixteen days in ICU at Nebraska Medical Center was in and of itself grueling for my family particularly since my sister was not in the same hospital.  I learned just how far Omaha, Nebraska really is from Lawrence, Kansas and how you just cannot get there fast enough.  It wasn't until I saw those beautiful blue eyes and the sweet little face of my mom that I took a deep breath. She looked terrible, she had this awful face mask that forced oxygen into her lungs because she couldn't breath deep enough to keep from getting pneumonia.  She was in incredible pain which is horrific to watch and not be able to fix.  I spent the second night with her in her ICU room and very early in the morning I sat looking at her and realizing just how close our family had come to losing mom and my sister and as I thought about what a horrific loss that would have been I was having a huge meltdown when her doctor walked in...I was so embarrassed, I hate crying in front of anyone and he looked at me and I think he thought I had lost it...well I had sort of.  You see, that was my very best friend lying in that bed and every time they moved her she yelled out in pain and I had to leave the room it just broke my heart into pieces.   However, as the time went by and I was able to stay there with her by myself for several days, I grew to realize just how very much I have missed my mom and all that she is, even injured, she is absolutely hilarious, even with Alzheimer's she has not lost that quick wit. I realized that I have spent too much time away from her.  

It came as a surprise to me just how much I fall back into the "youngest in the family role" when dealing with family issues.  I found myself in a situation where my oldest sister couldn't be the "take charge" sister because she was injured and for the first time I felt the loss of her role and what it meant to the rest of us.  I also felt an intense sense of responsibility to the rest of our family and how overwhelming it all was at times.  I failed to realize just what I was in for when I told my oldest brother I would stay around the clock with mom. I was absolutely petrified that I would do something wrong while it was my "watch."  I was so very afraid that I would let my siblings down when I was the one responsible.  I know - what can one person do wrong when the person you are with is in ICU - well, it turns out there can be a lot that goes on, from keeping all 5 of my siblings informed plus aunts, uncles and cousins.  Working with Dr's, social workers, nurses, dieticians, etc. and then of course my little patient.  She was the one that was the hardest to take care of.  She's a fiesty one that's for certain, she was not getting enough calories, they wanted to give her Ensure - nope she was having none of it - so we had to get creative...good thing I work with kids at Ballard.  Then there was the extraneous stuff going on in her room with wild - and I do mean WILD - roommates that forced a 5 minute evacuation of mom to another room (all the while mom was egging this lunatic on by yelling through the curtain at her - that's right, my little 5'2" mother was egging on a woman that had been in a huge fight and was in ICU because of a fractured skull from the fight) all the while mom was loving it - she whizzed by me in her hospital bed and looked at me with this ornery little grin and said "guess I'm outta here..."  what a trip.  So in 16 days, I managed to watch my mother gradually improve, I managed to improve - only slightly - in my nursing skills, she proceeded to tell me to "keep my day job" she is so right, unhooking heart monitors so that alarms are going off everywhere, darned near dropping a tray table on the poor thing, watching her take two Vicodin and then hold her own party all the while singing "cheese" back and forth through the curtain for an hour with her new roommate and I loved every minute of it.  If I could have just captured those precious moments when that smile would appear as she was trying to please the physical therapist and it hurt so much but she wanted to smile anyway, the laugh and orneriness that was present throughout; if I could have just shared that with my siblings, what a gift that would have been.   

We finally moved mom to Overland Park on the 29th of October and that in and of itself was difficult.  She was so angry with me, I felt responsible because I was the one to find the rehabilitation facility and just the complete trauma of dealing with all of the emotions of the long ordeal was overwhelming. As we worked through this process, it reminded me of all that I have to be thankful for, my friends, the wonderful caregivers that fell in love with my mom, my co-workers, my siblings, my board.  I have never been away from Ballard for such a long stretch of time and it was very worrisome to me and then I realized that spending that time with my mom was absolutely the most important thing to me during this horrific time.  I remember back in December of 2009 writing about what I was and was not going to do...RIGHT...hello....resolutions (that was the first clue)...but my oh my how important that time is with loved one's.  You just never know when it all might end, when it can come out of the blue and when it does, it can hit you hard.  That is the most important life lesson that I have learned over this past month. 

I have also thought a lot about what the people we work with at Ballard.  I have wondered if they would have encountered the same situation - and many of them unfortunately have - how in the world they might navigate the waters of what our family has been going through. There are six of us in my family and yet it was so taxing and and at times so disturbing that I cannot imagine being all alone and walking this path as some, if not most, of our clients do on a a daily basis.  Going through this situation gives me a new found respect for understanding the trials and the situations that our clients are up against.  It stems from the inability to simply put a coherent thought together because you are so overwhelmed and unsure of your next steps. It is feeling like you are absolutely alone and so afraid that whatever your next choice is going to be will be the wrong one.  I believe that life provides us with situations to teach us and guide us and my family situation has certainly provided a learning opportunity.  I will never look down on another for what situation they might be in.  I will always pay attention to those around me who are taking care of others and will stop and say thank you...I will never look at another human being and think that because they are facing adversity that they are less than and I will never ever fail to offer assistance to anyone that might need it....I also know that I will always do whatever I can to ensure that I am giving 150% of myself and my abilities to do the very best for Ballard and our families. 

I am very blessed, I have a mother that I love dearly and whom I now get to see every day...I get to hold her hand and I get to kiss her goodnight....her new found friends are a hoot and keep me laughing every night as I am entertained through their dinner hour.....Lucille from Macum, Mississippi recently told me...."Mississippi is in the house!"  Yes she is and she is adorable.  I will forever remember what it felt like to be in this situation and how it feels to be adrift and I will work hard to bring that life lesson to my work in helping others at Ballard.  Thank you mom for teaching me so much about what is right, what is wrong and that above all else people are what matter...love you mom. 

A Week Later.....

Last week at this time, we had completed the first evening of our two day fundraising event called the 23rd at 23rd Street Brewery and we were at South Park setting up for our first annual Ballard B3.  It has taken a week just to recover but my oh my was it fun. 

The 23rd at 23rd Street Brewery was amazing.  I cannot say enough great things about our host Matt Llewellyn and his staff.  The chefs for 23rd Street outdid themselves with couscous, scallops, a wonderful salad, Artic Char, spinach gnoche and a pomegranate brownie with ice cream that was infused with beer.  WOW!  That wasn't all either, Bucky the Brewmeister was over the top in providing our guests with beer pairings for each course.  He took time to explain how each was made, the percentage of alcohol in each and how long it took to ferment.  What a great experience and I think that our guests really enjoyed their evening despite the torrential downpour going on outside.  Thank you Matt and all of your helpers you really helped kick off our inaugural event in a phenomenal way.  Keep your eyes peeled if you missed this 23rd at 23rd Street Brewery - we are going to do it again around the holidays and we would love for you to join us. 

Then came Friday - talk about excitement and work - wow.  Our fence installers, stage, barbecue teams, tables and chairs all started arriving about 9 a.m.  As prepared as you think you are, you are never prepared enough.  I am just so silly, as dumb as it is, one of my favorite things of that morning, (not excluding you oh master presidente of Butts R' Us - Board member Glynn - or any of our other bbq teams) was the arrival of the stage.  To see a trailer - a semi trailer - drive in and six people start unfolding that trailer into this incredible huge stage just made my day - or at least to that point anyway.   As the day progressed and I saw our "little" fundraiser coming together, smelled incredible barbecue, saw the camaraderie of our barbecue teams and the work our staff was doing, I again felt incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to work for Ballard.  It is very humbling to see what people do to help others.  Just amazing. 

A years worth of work - all down to this one day.  A committee of dedicated people meeting week after week thinking through the logistics of an event of this magnitude and it all came down to this one night.  At 4:45 p.m. upon arriving back at the park after having cleaned the mud off of myself from setting up (thank goodness the park dried out before our guests arrived!) I saw our dream put together in it's entirety, the MC was there - thank you Jeremy, our brewery's had arrived, our volunteers were in place, we had incredible barbecue about to be served and the band was on its way.   I just stood there and turned around in a circle and saw with a very humbled heart that we had managed to get it together.  Josh Vowell & The Rumble arrived and I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  I could not wait for them to start playing and when they did, our guests loved them.....(she blows on her knuckles and rubs them on her shoulder - yep - I don't know nothin' about beer, I know less about pork butt, but good music, particularly blues - I got that one down!!!! and my guys didn't disappoint me or the crowd!) ;)   If you missed them this year.....I'm gonna book them for next year too.  

One of the best parts of my job is interacting with people and throughout those two days I was able to talk to more people than I have in probably the last two months.  Our donors that attended our event were so kind and thoughtful to thank us and tell us what an amazing event the B3 was and we received lots of feedback which we are using to plan for next year.  It was so much fun to see the original board members who hired me and to talk with them about what we have become and where we want to go.  I also had the privilege of enjoying my current board members and interacting with them in a different way.  They gave so much that night to help us.  They worked so hard and I cannot begin to tell them how grateful I am for all that they did.  Having a few minutes here and there to talk with the barbecue teams and learn more about them and to catch up with some old friends from a life long ago - Hey my Butler guys.....I actually got a little homesick for my little house on Fort Scott Street....thank you for making me a special rack of ribs just because.  You have no idea how much that touched me....or how hungry I was by 11 p.m.  :)  You are very special people. 

So, as we wrap up this inaugural kick off of our B3.....I keep reflecting on my favorite parts of that night.....the music, the laughter, the joy on people's faces, the interacting of donors talking about Ballard and our work, the volunteers who worked tirelessly and still had smiles on their faces.....a best friend driving 8 hours both ways to spend 2 hours enjoying what I was watching just because it was important to me and to my Ballard kids.....watching the full moon rise and being so thankful to be in that park, at that moment, working for Ballard and all that we are....to my INCREDIBLE staff....thank you from the bottom of my heart.  You worked tirelessly for us throughout the day and for days ahead of last Friday.  I don't even know how to begin to tell you what that meant to me.  We will have pictures coming soon and I cannot wait to see them.  Look for us to do the B3 again next year, I think we might be on to something.....

 

A Great "Little Idea".......

I'm so lucky, I have the opportunity to have worked with and continue to work with the most amazing people. I not only have a Board of Directors who bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table, but I have community members who I routinely ask for direction and guidance, not because I necessarily do not feel comfortable about my decisions, but because I trust their opinions so much.  It is about the relationships that we have built throughout the years and the level of trust that I have in these people that I am comfortable seeking their input in regard to Ballard and our work. However , once in a while, I also get to be the sounding board and I love that as well.....usually because I have the opportunity to realize just how lucky I am to have the opportunity to work with incredible leaders.  For instance, recently, one of my mentors and former bosses (one from whom I have probably learned the most, who taught me to have a thicker skin and whom I NEVER wanted to disappoint or let down) contacted me about an idea he had.  When he shared the idea with me I got that deep in the gut, goose bump kind of feeling you get when you know you have just heard something worthwhile and amazing. The idea goes like this......

This man wanted to teach his children about business, how to run a business, decision making, leadership and the art of building conceptual ideas and giving back to the community.  He wanted to take his wealth of knowledge, his experiences - good and bad-and teach his children how to navigate in a world outside of the classroom.  As I listened, I was reminiscent of all that I did not have growing up as a child, not because my mother did not teach me, she taught me wonderful lessons, she just did not have the skills and education to do what this man and his wife are doing to teach their children.  I also listened intently and thought about all of the children who come and go through the Ballard programs and realized that on a very basic level we were attempting to do the same with our kids. What if our kids had the opportunity that this man was giving to his children?  What a difference it would make in our community.  It made me realize that through his children, as young as they are, he is doing what he can to make a difference in not only their lives but in the lives of the children who learn from them.  I was inspired, I still am as we are participating in their project as their first customer for our Ballard B3.  The mission of this very young company marries very well with the Ballard mission and what we believe in for all children and so it is with great pleasure that we at Ballard with our B3 fundraiser on September 24th partner with "The little idea Co." The design work, the conceptual ideas behind our shirts and the customer service have been above par - as I knew they would be.  Nice work LJ & Jenn, you should be very proud of yourselves. Your little guys are very, very lucky....thank you for all that you have done to help us make B3 a success and for being there for Ballard as a whole for the past 10 years.  You are two of my very favorite people.  :)

Here is our shirt logo design:

the company?

(the web link for this company is at www.ballardb3.org. just click on the logo.)

Living the Dream....

Have you ever had the opportunity to live out a dream you have had?  I feel as if I am living a dream right now and it is almost overwhelming in some ways. 

Last Tuesday I sat in a planning meeting for our new site, the Petey Cerf Center for Children & Families and I watched in awe as our architect put picture after picture on the screen and talked about early education and the experiences that our children will have and how our facility will have visible aspects that are teaching moments exposed within the building.  You see, we are working on a USGBC LEED certified "green" facility and we want children and adults to know when they walk in just what an amazing learning and experiencing place it will be.  I sat in awe as I looked at picture after picture, listened to description after description and saw emerging the facility that had been in my head and my heart for the past eleven years.  Eleven years ago, the Ballard Center board and I developed our very first strategic plan and included in that was an expansion project to serve more infants and toddlers.  We looked so long and hard for the right building opportunity to come along and it finally did.  We purchased a facility on 4th & Florida Street.....sadly, as has been noted before, the flood of 2008 happened and destroyed our facility and then a very long insurance situation which was finally resolved earlier this year.  We hired Gould Evans Architects in July and throughout our weekly planning sessions, I was shocked to see what was developing, I did not share pictures that I had been collecting with the architect, yet, he designed drawings that were incredibly similar to my pictures.  I really did not describe much of anything because I had never been through this process and did not know when to say what.....yet on those slides was my dream.....in reality or at least where I could see it even if I couldn't touch it or experience it yet.  Then came the slide with the name on the facility and I could not help but tear up....Ballard's founders name on the side of this amazing facility.  I tried to hide my emotions and in a room full of all men and one other woman I really did not want to cry - especially given that our Director of Ed was sitting next to me.....but I couldn't stop.....I was touched, I was in awe, I was so amazed at what had been captured on that screen.  It was surreal to me that after all these years this dream is coming to fruition.  In addition to seeing the dream on the screen, the opportunity to experience working with the team from Gould Evans Architects, going through the process with two of our committee members and John and now adding the amazing team from Mar Lan Construction has been one of the highlights of my job.  Thank you to all of the team for this experience. 

So, at the same time as I am working with the building group, I am also getting the opportunity to work with another team of people, our Fundraising Committee to plan our big B3 - blues, brews & barbecue.  This has been quite a huge undertaking.  I had no idea the magnitude of details that it would take to put together an outdoor multi-faceted event - oh but wait - it is not just the B3, that is the second day.  The first day of this event is The 23rd at 23rd Street Brewery.  All in all, it has been a tremendous amount of work and we would never have been able to get to the point where we are without our team of board members who have worked so very hard.  It has been fun and exhausting - I think some people think that I have lost my mind as I now find discussions about "pork butt" hilarious..  Well, if you have spent as many hours as we have in discussions about pork butt, I'm guessing that most would eventually find it funny - unless of course you happen to be a professional barbecuer.  Seriously though, this event is going to be so much fun.  We have 6 incredible barbecue teams - including "Butts R Us," 8 breweries and then of course our blues band, Josh Vowell and the Rumble.  Although all of this is hard and time consuming, it is the best time I have ever had putting together an event.   Thank you Jeff for the suggestion!!!

As I have enjoyed the opportunity to work through all of what I have just described, the reason why we do this work was put starkly into perspective last week at Ballard.  After a very busy couple of days working on these two projects along with dealing with our normal day to day operations, I had the opportunity to be standing in the office talking with our team when a gentleman walked into the outer office.  I walked to the door and asked if I could help him and he said, "my daughter wanted to donate these items so that a child could get some good use out of them and she sent you this note."  I opened a folded piece of paper and began to read the following, "We are donating these clothes and toys in memory of our son, Charles.  He would have been 1 on April 16.  Since we cannot give gifts to him, we thought it would be appropriate to donate these items to another 1 year old boy.  We hope he gets some enjoyment out of these gifts."  No signature....no name.....I started to cry as I read the note as I could not imagine what it would take to buy gifts for another child while thinking of your own and I cannot imagine the strength it must have taken for grandpa to deliver those items to us.  I could not say thank you, I tried but I couldn't get the words to come out.  The man grabbed my arm and I looked in his tear filled eyes and he said, "your welcome."  Thank you kind sir and your daughter for making a difference in the life of another child while grieving your own. 

So, living the dream? I am.  I would have never thought that I would experience so many different things in my career and the past 11 1/2 years at Ballard have been incredible.  Need I say more.....? 

Today......

How does it happen that birthdays roll around so quickly one after another? Geesh, this one came at me like Bax on the hunt for the baby squirrels that tease him in our back yard!  Last year I was moving on my birthday -- this year, I'm trying NOT to notice that it is my birthday - it's a number thing and one that no girl wants to really face.  Oh well, it is, as they say, better than the alternative that's for sure. 

I am very blessed, I had no idea how many people would wish me happy birthday today, I had no idea how many people would call me and I had absolutely no idea how much I would just love the day even though it started out with big ole goofy me being my dumb self...I mean really, who sets their car alarm off twice, inadvertently opens their trunk twice and then breaks the hot chocolate machine at their favorite stopping point in the morning, all before 8:30 a.m.?  Really?  guess turning the "big" one didn't ensure the end of the goofy part of my life.  I glad about that actually, I don't want to lose goofy....pounds yes, goofy no. 

I am really very lucky, I have always shared my birthday with my sister.  I have always felt sorry for her actually, I was born on her 17th birthday.  I have told her how sorry I am that I was her gift that year.  Poor thing.  My mom used to cater weddings and dinners and she made the most amazing wedding, birthday and occasion cakes, (I'm really glad that she did actually - I HATE cake and most desserts simply because the smell consistently permeated our house - thanks mom)  so here is my adult sister having to endure these cakes with clowns on them, barbie dolls stuck in the middle and all of the pain of putting up with a brat like me.  Geesh I feel horrible about that.  She never really got her own day after I came along and dad got sick.  But I have to say, having someone that you share a unique day with is really amazing.  When I was little, I didn't get it, as I have gotten older I have realized just how  much it means to have a sister that you share a bond like a birthday with.   It is a friendship that is really hard to describe and I love that.  We are not twins, for sure, but we have this one day where it is just ours, at least in our world. I couldn't have asked for anyone better to share with.  It's an honor. 

This particular sister was kind enough to let me stay with her and my brother in law all of the time.  She put up with me having the mumps, being terrified of storms, dumping mashed potatoes on the carpet, causing the horse to run away and a plethora of other bratty things that I did.  But what I received was a lifetime of memories of fishing, tadpoles, hay baling, oyster stew and potato soup (those last two - not so great in my book.  I cannot, cannot, cannot eat either of those things!) kittens, puppies, piglets, calves, chickens, plowing fields, the smell of cut alfalfa, water-skiing and fireflies.  She didn't have to, she just did, she was my sister.   She brushed the tangles from my hair and fixed boo boo's and made the MOST amazing barbie doll clothes.  So today, I say to you, my best friend and my  birthday partner....I wish you the happiest of birthdays...thank you for a lifetime of memories.....and mom, thanks for choosing this day to have two of us, I wouldn't want it any other way.  Love you sis...

Ballard B3 - blues, brews & barbecue

I'm not quite sure that it is legal to have this much fun at your job, you know?  Not only do I get to be around beautiful children all day, every day, but I get to work on special projects, the latest being the new fundraiser that we have been planning since last year.  We decided to do away with our two "normal" fundraisers that we have been hosting for the past ten years and have come up with one big signature event.  (Thank goodness I no longer have to fake understanding golf tournaments, shambles, scrambles and the like - whew!)

The event is...drum-roll please!!!!!  The:

(for other blonds like me in the house, that's Ballard B "cubed")   :)

Great title and logo no?  Our B3 is a two day event and will kick off with a fantastic five course dinner at none other than the 23rd Street Brewery in Lawrence.  The name of the kickoff dinner?  The 23rd at the 23rd.  A very special thank you goes to Matt Llewellyn for his graciousness in hosting this event and for having Bucky the Brew-meister design a special beer for the evening. Each course of our meal will have a beer pairing and Bucky will talk with our guests about the brewing of the beer.  The menu will be a Brazilian fare with I am told "purple potatoes"  (okay I have to do it....football fans....."purple potatoes" in Lawrence? GO CATS!) sorry....back to business....We will only have room for 40 people to attend this event as the kick off to our B3.  It will be an amazing time.  The tickets will be $75 per person or $125 per couple.  If you would like to attend, just call our office at 785-842-0729 and ask for Seth. 

The second day, our actual B3 event, promises to be over the top fun.  We now have seven regional breweries participating.  We have 23rd Street Brewery and FreeState Brewery both located in Lawrence, High Noon Saloon from Leavenworth, Tallgrass from Manhattan and our Missouri breweries, Boulevard in Kansas City and Schlafly and O'Fallon from St. Louis.  We also have six barbecue teams that will be preparing an amazing variety of meats for our guests to savor.  I have even heard a rumor that we might have a whole pig roasting - wow is all I've got to say about that!  The menu includes ribs, pulled pork, brisket, sausage, wings, chicken, baked beans, cole slaw and potato salad. 

Okay, so I have to share with you, I have a very weird sense of humor.  I have spent a countless number of hours in meetings preparing for this event.  I so appreciate my board members who are helping us prepare for this and each of them brings a tremendous knowledge and talent to different aspects of the event.  For example, we have one barbecue aficionado on our team that knows so much about barbecue competitions and how to conduct a barbecue.  However, I have heard more discussion about "pork butt" than I ever thought that I would.  Oh my gravy, it even got to the point where I had posted on the B3 website the definition of pork butt and how to prepare pork butt - wanna know how much pork butt it takes to feed 100 people, well, if they are 10 lb. butts it takes 10 of them.  The reason it seems like it takes 1 lb. per person - shrinkage.  See what I mean, doesn't that just sound funny, can you imagine 10 little pork cheeks all lined up on a spit?  Unfortunately, that is the image that continues to haunt me as we progress through this process.  (I really hope that I haven't offended any really competitive barbecue people as I know that you take your pork butt very seriously - seriously!)

And finally, the blues part....my favorite.  Our band, Josh Vowell & the Rumble of Topeka are over the top. If you like Stevie Ray Vaughn, then you will love this group.  I have loved music all of my life and have never witnessed a kid - sorry Josh - a young man like this one, play the guitar.  He is CRAZY good as is the base player, the drummer and Justin, the master on the harps.  This group is fairly young as a band but they have managed to take top honors at several big competitions and will be in Wichita on July 24th playing with some amazing groups at the Wichita blues and brews festival.  I first heard this group at a private party on New Year's Eve at a home in Kansas City.  I knew then that we had to have them for our B3.  So, even if you don't like beer, or barbecue (I would seriously hope that isn't the case - that would make you perhaps a nut-job? :)  KIDDING!) The band is worth the trip to Lawrence for the evening. 

We have an entire website dedicated to this project.  It is www.ballardb3.org and Josh's website and information is linked to that site as well.  I am pretty proud of both of these sites.  I worked hard on them and with a little help from a friend, managed to actually get it loaded on the web.  I hope you enjoy it.   Josh & The Rumble's music is also on there.  Take a listen and see what you think.  Oh and while your thinking about it - PLEASE - ask the weatherman to be good to us on September 24th! 

As you can tell, I am very obsessed with this project.  I have to be, it is incredibly important to my children and families - they are worth being obsessed about.  :)  Hugs and kisses and wishing best dishes - oh.....I am NOT Paula Dean.  :)  sowwy!

On another note, my other obsession?  Look at this mug - what a cutie....and he knows it!

"Bax Goes To Work Day"

 

I've Got To Be Crazy.....Seriously!

Okay, so if the "almost" demise of the Big XII this week wasn't just about more than this girl can take, then came an innocent suggestion last weekend.....well, perhaps it wasn't so innocent....that I should do this onetime fundraiser for Ballard for my birthday.  Sounds good enough, it involves something I love just about more than anything, my kids and families of Ballard, but good grief, tie it to my birthday?  Who could care less about that?  So, in an effort to give it thought and not just tell the person they were an all out nutjob, I thought about it over the weekend, I mean, in typical Dianne, seriously over analyzing style, I went over and over and over it, backwards, forwards, sideways, adnauseum, and beyond the fact that it is entirely personal and as a girl, I really do not go around touting my age, it just seemed like an odd concept to me. So, I decided to do the next thing I always do when looking at a potential opportunity, I ran it up the proverbial "flagpole." I asked those that I trust the most what they thought....darn it....they, with the exception of one who is as intensely private as I am said it was an amazing opportunity and a unique idea. I slept on it and thought about it some more and then had dinner with a wonderful friend and one of those who I trusted with the information early on.  His advise? Do it, make it a deal, let people who know you help your kids, those same kids who when you talk about how wonderful they are you get tears in your eyes, how when you talk about your wishes, they are all about Ballard, never about yourself, do it and let people have yet another reason to appreciate the wonder that is Ballard Community Services.  How does one say no to that?  Perhaps he is just a great salesman and knew how to get to me by using my kids?  No, he would never do that, he is right.  Put aside the fear, jump in and let it happen.  It isn't going to change the number that is your age, that is just a number, doesn't define me, doesn't mean I can't do all that I once could....whoops, I take that back, I started swimming again Saturday, pool is 50 yds, I swam 5 laps.....I had to crawl to the locker room....apparently my age IS NOT the new 25 nor do I think with the way I felt, the new 35 -and apparently senility won over because I went back and did it again on Monday.  All I've got to say about that is owwwweeeyyyy.  Apparently, no amount of gym work or running equals swimming.  Never really realized that before.   Perhaps another age thing....good gravy I hope not.

So, in the next few days we will be rolling out this new fundraising idea, a one time only kind of thing.  I am not going to publicize it, not going to talk about, not going to post the details, just target a few people and see where this takes us.  I hope I can make the goal I set, I would like to present my board with an amazing big cardboard check at the end of July; we'll see.  Keep your fingers crossed, this is kinda risky, but well worth getting out of my comfort zone for - we have the cutest kids who need us, what isn't to like about that?