The Breakfast Bunch at Squirrel Fest!

Were you at Squirrel Fest? Each year the community celebration gets bigger and better, and this time The Breakfast Bunch was part of it. Here's a picture of our booth with information about Spell-ebration and our club. It was a beatiful day in the park, and a great day to be selling honey sticks, brownies and cold water.

Interesting Program Meeting

                         Taylor Mustion, Debbie Anderson, and Lisa Mustion

Our program meeting this week was an informative one, as Family House Academy owner and founder Lisa Mustion explained the school she runs. Her son, Taylor, a Gonzaga University graduate, is a teacher at the school and added his perspective. Our member Debbie Anderson is a volunteer there.

Lisa explained that Family House Academy is a small private school approved by the State of Washington. Lisa is a long-term educator with a passion to instill lifelong learning in students. Student skills are based on the State's essential learnings while meeting the individual needs and learning styles of all of the children and families. She said children emerge from the program with a stronger sense of self worth and respect for their families, their community, and their God.

The school has operated locally for 16 years and has an enrollment of 40 students in grades K - 8.

Installation of New Officers and Board

The officers and Board of Directors for our new year (starting June 1) were installed in a fun ceremony this past week. The Membership Committee dreamed up and performed an entertaining and meaningful ceremony, let by Krista Mead all dressed up in her hoop skirt and "Southern Belle" hat, complete with a down-home accent.

The evening began with Sue Yarbrough's reading of the Mother Theresa poem, "Anyway." If you're not familiar with it, one of the lines say, "The good you do today, will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway." The poem continues in that vein, and it was a good reminder for all of us about why we're Altrusa members.

After dinner, President Adele Gowdy announced the awards for Unsung Hero and Altrusan of the Year.

Debbie Johnson received the Unsung Hero award from President Adele Gowdy.

President Adele awarded Joyce Leitner as our Altrusan of the Year.
Then the officers and board for the 2013-14 year were installed. Winona Smith is our new president. Here she is with her big spoon, which was part of the installation ceremony, to use as she "stirs the pot of everyone's talents" to further our Breakfast Bunch goals.

Here is the entire 2012-13 Board of Directors:
President, Winona Smith
Vice President, Joyce Leitner
Immediate Past President, Adele Gowdy
Treasurer, Virginia Russeff
Secretary, Debbie Johnson
Communications Director, Gail Barber
One-Year Directors, Eleanor Clapp-Shumaker & Darlene Little
Two-Year Directors, Debbie Anderson & Susan Brookfield

The Planning Retreat for this next year's service projects and activities is scheduled for June 30.

Spell-ebration a Fun Success!

Spell-ebration, The Breakfast Bunch's biggest fundraiser of the year, was a great success again this year. Thanks to super chairwoman Joyce Leitner and her committee, plus lots of help from other members (& their spouses!), the March event was loads of fun.

This year's winnning team is pictured above - "ESS - Extraordinary Spelling Society."

Second place finishers were the "Menagerie of 3" from Pacific Tech Construction.

Third place went to "The Prudential Honey Buckets," who also won the prize for Best Costume.

Other prizes were awarded as follows:
Most Original Name - "Spell's Angels," Lower Columbia College students group
Most Team Spirit - "Wee Bee Lions," Pioneer Lions
Most Original Spelling - "Windermere Wordsmiths"

Our emcee, judges and word pronouncer were all repeats again this year. Thanks VERY much to Ray Bartley, George Raiter, Cathy Zimmerman, Cal Miller, and Don Correll for making the event wonderful.

Our sponsors were awesome as well:  We thank Rightway RV, Red Canoe CU, Fibre Federal CU, Lower Columbia College, Pacific Tech Construction, and Reprographics for their awesome support and community spirit. Spell-ebration earnings help us continue our local service projects, and it certainly is a fun way to do it!

Spell-ebration is in the air

Talk around town is buzzing (pun intended) with information and general chatter about Spell-ebration! It's coming up on March 8 at 7 pm at the Kelso Theatre Pub.

Teams are being formed, costumes are being planned, team names are being created --- you need to get in on it, too. Prizes are awarded not only for the best spellers, but for best costumes, most team spirit (loudest cheering section), most creative spellers, and most original team name. In other words, we're there to have FUN!

Today our members Susan and Gail were guests on Dave Whittacker's KEDO radio program, "Entertainment on the River." Our description of the event sounded like so much fun to the program hosts that when we left they were talking about forming a team to compete!

Of course, none of this would be possible without the help of our sponsors. Rightway RV is our major sponsor again this year. Thank you. (Their spelling team has come in 2nd the last two years so they're out for blood this time.) We also thank Pacific Tech Construction, Lower Columbia College, Red Canoe Credit Union, Fibre Federal Credit Union, Reprographics, and Country Village Nutrition for their support.

All this fun and support from sponsors allows The Breakfast Bunch to continue our service in the community. Get this on your calendar! It's a fun way to do your part to help those in our area who need it most.

Spell-ebration is Coming - Are you READY????

Join the fun at the Altrusa Breakfast Bunch 5th Annual Adult Spelling Bee on March 8 at 7 pm at Kelso Theater Pub. Teams consist of three or less people, 18 years or older. This is great fun for the whole family. Pick up registration forms at KTP or call Joyce at 360-673-1983. Team registrtion fee is $75 and includes pizza; audience tickets are $8 and also includes a slice of pizza.

There are prizes for not only the best spelling teams, but for team costumes and best cheering section, too. Here's a picture of last year's costume-winning team from the Emergency Support Shelter:

This event is made possible in part by the following sponsors:  Rightway RV, Lower Columbia College, Pacific Tech Construction, Ted Canoe Credit Union, and Fibre Federal Credit Union.

Scholarship Winners!

We had such fun at our program meeting this month! Maranda Erhardt and Brittany McNally, our scholarship recipients, came to have breakfast with us and share a little about their nursing studies.

Here are Maranda and Brittany

Maranda shared that she entered the nursing program at LCC when she was laid off from her state job. She's in her second quarter now, is getting married this summer, works part-time at the college and volunteers at the hospital emergency room! Wow! She plans to graduate from in December 2014.

Brittany is in her 6th quarter of the nursing program and will graduate in June. She told us she married last summer so she could empathize with Maranda's crazy schedule! She isn't sure yet which area of nursing she will pursue upon graduation - she says she's looking at the job market.

Our member Sue Yarbrough is an instructor in the nursing program at LCC, so she added to the girls' comments since she has had them both as students.

It's so wonderful to be able to meet the people our scholarships benefits. They were both delightful, and were both very happy to have the scholarship help.