M&S Meeting Minutes

Monarch Movers & Shapers Core TeamMeeting Minutes: December 4, 2008, 12:30 p.m.
The Monarch Learning CenterCore Team/Faculty Members: Present: Justin Fox, Marion Defalco, Stephanie Wheatley, John Hardesty, Kandace Shyer, Julie Meaux, Marty Webb, John Barone, Shannon Woodruff, and Neal Sarahan.Proceedings:The meeting was called to order at 12:30 p.m. by Chairman Fox. Lunch was enjoyed by all.
The current projects lists and agendas were distributed.

Opening greetings by Chairman Fox
· Chairman Fox noted that Carrie Logan will be the official keeper of the Core Team meeting minutes, starting with our next meeting on Feb. 5, 2009.
· Madelyn Browder has changed her M&S status from the Core Team to an auxiliary member.
· Scharlene Fox one month ago began teaching beading and jewelry to students of the Life Academy on a weekly basis; both teacher and students are enjoying this activity.
· The M&S shirts now are being ordered online by any M&S member who wishes to purchase one by going to www.companycasuals.com/monarchschool/start.jsp. The online directions are self-explanatory, but the payments should be made directly to Monarch via Tessa Sandlin, rather than to the online company.
· Chairman Fox urged M&S members to continue to recruit additional members to our group, as well as to think of new ways to get the word out regarding The Monarch School and new projects to help it out.
· Chairman Fox then yielded the floor to John Hardesty, who announced the following two upcoming exciting activities in which he is involved: (1) Jan. 23, 2009 concert of “John Hardesty and Friends” at the Unity Church in Houston from 8 to 9:30 p.m.; (2) music therapy/instruction with a Monarch student who has expressed a desire to sing a song at the dedication of the new campus.
· Remarks by John Barone, Director of CommunicationsA Place for All is still selling well. M&S members are encouraged to sell and promote the book whenever and wherever possible by distributing flyers where appropriate, such as to churches and religious schools. Toward this end, Marion Defalco has agreed to coordinate a strategic plan to accomplish this mission. (Marion detailed this mission later in the meeting, as is noted supra in these minutes.)
· John advised that he stands ready to individually assist M&S members in setting up a Monarch homepage on their PCs, in which he instructed us at the last M&S Core Team meeting.
· The Monarch Hour will be broadcast on KPFT 90.1 FM Radio on Dec. 8th, featuring Monarch building advisors and students discussing the topic “The Monarch School Goes Green.” On Dec. 11th Monarch students will go on a green field trip, including a stop at the A.I.A. exhibit, “Greenworks,” where the Monarch’s new campus design, including student work detailing some of the green features, is displayed.
· Jennalee Wolf, Director of Admissions, has requested Movers and Shapers members to become part of a newly-formed “Monarch Representatives Team.” After receiving formal training in Jan. 2009, at least one or more M&S team members will accompany her and/or John Barone, Neal Sarahan and Shannon Woodruff or other faculty members to various events to represent and advocate for The Monarch School. These events will include expos, exhibit halls, open houses, and conferences for organizations dealing with neurological differences. Please let John and Jennalee know as soon as possible if you wish to become part of this exciting new team!

· Remarks by Shannon Woodruff, Director of DevelopmentThe Westin Miracle Makers Morning fundraising breakfast held on Oct. 16, 2008 raised $153,000, which was over the budgeted goal, with over 700 people in attendance!
· The Fort Bend breakfast held on Nov. 13, 2008 at Sweetwater Country Club raised $36,000 and was attended by over 200 persons, which was quite an accomplishment for its second year!
· The Monarch Development Office is requesting M&S members to volunteer to assist with the updating of approximately 1,000 obsolete email addresses in the Monarch data base. It is essential to have current email addresses, particularly for the receipt of the monthly Monarch enewsletter. Shannon will provide a script for volunteers to telephone those persons with obsolete email addresses to update them, as well as to obtain new email addresses from some persons who have not provided them yet to Monarch.

Remarks by Dr. Marty Webb, Head of School
· The new campus construction is making excellent progress, as evidenced by the steel framing and roofline of the Chrysalis Building now visible. Drywall and roof work is now taking place. The building is scheduled to be completed by June 2009, in time for the Monarch summer school students. Its formal dedication is expected to occur in Aug. 2009. A “fade-in” sequence of the building’s construction will continued to be featured in the monthly e-newsletter from time to time.
· The Monarch personalized bricks and pavers campaign recently was launched and donations are starting to arrive. The campaign was launched both electronically (for those friends of the school for whom we have email addresses) and by mail (for those friends for whom we do not yet have email addresses). At the suggestion of Stephanie Wheatley during our meeting, it was agreed that at the Monarch Holiday Gift Sale on Dec. 9th a special table will be set up to solicit donors for the bricks and pavers program.

· Remarks by other Monarch staff membersDr. Neal Sarahan, Program Director of the Challenger campus, advised that Challenger’s first semester classes will finish in 12 days and everything is going very well. In fact, one Challenger student just has been recognized as a National Merit scholar!
· The Life Academy sold over $700 worth of jewelry items the students made at Unity Church’s Arts and Crafts Festival on Nov. 16. (Our participation was sponsored by Dick Bartell, executive board member originally recruited by Mover and Shaper Marion DeFalco.) The Life Academy also will host a Holiday Gift Sale open to the public at Monarch on Dec. 9.
Builders Committee update by Stephanie Wheatley
· Stephanie, Justin and Scharlene worked on November 9th on weeding and pruning at the Houston Zoo’s Discovery Garden. More maintenance is needed in early 2009.
· Work on the school scrapbooks continue, with Kandace helping. Marty noted that the dedication will not be held immediately after we move in late May. A dedication date has not been chosen at this time.
· Parents are providing faculty lunches the first Monday of each month until May 2009, with the most recent lunch provided on Dec. 1st.
Heralds Committee update by Marion Defalco.
· Marion first extended her compliments to the Monarch staff for its very professional and informative monthly Monarch e-newsletters.
· Marion has accepted an invitation from John Barone to head the promotion of the Monarch book, A Place for All. She envisions her role in accomplishing this on three levels: (1) local; (2) families and friends; (3) national and international. Marion asked for, and received, volunteers among the M&S Core Team to be responsible for specific geographic areas in the greater Houston area to promote A Place for All. Along these lines, she passed out informational packets to help advertise the book. Marion already has recruited Monica and Anne Proano to work the Hwy. 1960 area of northwest Houston.
· Marion also has been recruited to help the school get connected with celebrities to get the word out about The Monarch School. For example, she recently researched a website called “Make the Difference Network” found at www.mtdn.com. This site was founded in May 2008 by actress Jennifer Biel as a link for nonprofit fundraising with individuals and businesses looking to help. Marion already has signed up as an individual and ultimately hopes to benefit The Monarch School through her expected connections with other individuals online, including celebrities. She noted, for instance, that Justin Timberlake reportedly is involved with “green projects,” just as Monarch is with its LED certified new campus.
· John Barone then applauded Marion’s current efforts at getting connected with celebrities for the benefit of Monarch. John noted a recent successful effort at getting Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps to answer in writing 6 questions posed to him by Monarch students, which will appear in next month’s Monarch enewsletter.

Educators Committee update by Justin Fox
· Miranda Bennett has returned to work at the University of Houston, as she transitions into motherhood and her return to a more active role with our M&S group next year.
· John Hardesty’s volunteer role as a music therapist with a Monarch student is imminent, as previously noted.
Developers Committee update by Justin Fox
· In the committee’s primary role to promote both friend raising and fund raising, Justin has recruited a new M&S member who will be attending a Tuesday tour soon.
· Furthermore, an underwriter has been found who soon will donate $10,000 to help pay the cost of the audio-visual and technology of the Chrysalis Building on the new Monarch campus.Meeting Adjourned at 1:30 p.m..
The schedule for the remaining M&S Core Team meetings for the 2008-09 school year will be on Feb. 5, April 2, and May 7, 2009, all on Thursdays, from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., at The Monarch Learning Center.

Minutes of Core Team Meeting on October 30, 2008

Monarch Movers & Shapers Core Team
Meeting Minutes: October 30, 2008
12:30 PM, Monarch Learning Center

Core Team/Faculty Members:
Present: Justin Fox, Stephanie Wheatley, Carrie Logan, John Hardesty, Kandace Shyer, Miranda Bennett, Julie Meaux, Marty Webb, John Barone, Debrah Hall, Shannon Woodruff, and Neal Sarahan.

Proceedings:
-Meeting called to order at 12:35 p.m. by Chairman Fox.
-Lunch enjoyed by all.
-Current projects lists and agendas distributed.
-Stephanie Wheatley presented Miranda Bennett and Patrick Word Bennett a “Welcome to the World” gift basket on behalf of the M&S Core Committee.

Opening greetings by Chairman Fox
-Chairman Fox commended Stephanie Wheatley for replacing fabric on desks in the classroom; also commended were Stephanie and Julie Meaux for their assistance in cleaning up the Hurricane Ike storm debris on the Apprentice campus.
-Chairman Fox announced his wife, Scharlene Fox, will be teaching beading and jewelry to students of the Life Academy on a weekly basis this semester.
-Chairman Fox reminded members of the M&S committee to recruit additional members to our group.
-Chairman Fox urged M&S members to think of new ways and innovative projects to get the word out regarding The Monarch School, citing Marion Defalco as a good example of this proactive approach. Of course, all of us responding well to the various projects requested by the Monarch faculty are always appreciated, too!

Remarks by John Barone, Director of Communications
-A Place for All is selling well. It is available for $25 on amazon.com. M&S members are encouraged to sell and promote the book whenever and wherever possible. The book sells for $20, a discount of $5, if the book is bought directly from the school. John requested additional PR regarding the book by distributing flyers where appropriate, such as churches and religious schools.
-John Hardesty volunteered to take copies of A Place for All to his upcoming meeting with a bookstore manager regarding John Hardesty’s CD.
-Five schools have requested faculty at Monarch to train their staff after learning/reading of the book.
-Look Me in the Eye by John Robison has been edited for content, removing foul language and, therefore, making it appropriate for students of Monarch to read.
-Random House has hired Monarch to write a leader’s guide to Look Me in the Eye.
-John Barone presented a Monarch homepage to the M&S group and requested that the M&S members use it on a trial basis. Contact John to be walked through the loading process.
-The Monarch Hour had another wonderful broadcast on KPFT Radio on October 13th, co-hosted by John and Dr. Bryant Shaw, with the topic “Including Children with Neurological Differences in Extracurricular Activities.”

Remarks by Shannon Woodruff, Director of Development
-The Westin Miracle Makers Morning free fundraising breakfast was October 16, 2008 and it was a roaring success. So far the tally of funds raised is $147,000, with a goal of $150,000 as contributions continue to come in.
-The Capital Campaign is just $3,000 short of $5.8 million. The first phase of the new building is a $6.9M project, so overall, we’re about $1.1M shy of our First Phase goal. There are some excellent donor prospects working!
-The Fort Bend breakfast will benefit the scholarship fund. This breakfast will be held on November 13, 2008 at Sweetwater Country Club. Shannon is still in need of Table Captains for this breakfast. Please attend if possible and invite and/or recruit guests from Fort Bend. The featured student speaker will be Bailey Ferguson, and Barbara Adcock will be the featured parent speaker.

Remarks by other Monarch staff members
-Tessa Sandlin announced the website for M&S members wishing to purchase a shirt with The Monarch School logo and “Movers and Shapers” underneath. Log on to www.companycasuals.com/monarchschool/start.jsp. The website is self-explanatory; however, payment should be made directly to the school rather than on the website. Tessa also announced that the Life Academy will be selling holiday items at Unity Church’s Arts and Crafts Festival on Nov. 16 and will host a Holiday Gift Sale at Monarch on Dec. 9.

Builders Committee update by Stephanie Wheatley
-Stephanie announced the desks project has been completed.
-Stephanie is planning on going to the zoo with volunteers possibly in November.
-Work on the school scrapbooks continue, with Kandace helping.
-Parents are providing lunches until May 2009.

Heralds Committee update by Justin Fox
-Marion Defalco is on a leave of absence, but is expected to return soon..
-Justin and John Hardesty will be representing M&S at Rice University for its Volunteer Fair to be held in the spring. The September 2008 event at Rice could not be attended by them, due to Hurricane Ike. More M&S volunteers are invited to be present at such events.

Educators Committee update by Miranda Bennett
-Banner project on hold while Miranda transitions into motherhood with the precious Patrick Word Bennett.
-Blog is up and running.
-John Hardesty has volunteered to team with music therapist Kay Taylor again this school year. John offered last year but, as Dr. Hall noted, room space is the challenge. Although logistics still have to be arranged, Dr. Webb indicated there is a new targeted project for John’s musical talents.

Developers Committee update by Justin Fox
-Committee will continue to promote fund raising and friend raising for the Movers & Shapers.
-An underwriter has been found who will help pay the cost of the audio/visual system for the Chrysalis Building at the new Monarch campus..

Meeting Adjourned at 1:20 PM
The next M&S Core Committee meeting will be in early December, with the exact date TBA soon.

Monarch Movers & Shapers Core Team
Meeting Minutes: September 4, 2008
12:30 PM, Monarch Learning Center

Core Team/Faculty Members:
Present: Justin Fox, Stephanie Wheatley, Carrie Logan, John Hardesty, Madelyn Browder, Kandace Shyer, Brittany McGarvey, Marty Webb, John Barone, Debrah Hall, Shannon Woodruff, and Neal Sarahan.

Proceedings:
-Meeting called to order at 12:30 p.m. by Chairman Fox.
-Lunch enjoyed by all.
-Current projects lists and agendas distributed.

Opening greetings by Chairman Fox
-Presents to all by John Barone on behalf of school faculty (champagne glass with embossed Monarch emblem).
-Chairman Fox introduced three new members of the Movers and Shapers team: Kandace Shyer, Brittney McGarvey and Madelyn Browder.
-Justin took time to recognize Penny Weiss, as she “retires” from the M&S Core Team to move to Sun Valley, Idaho. J He also celebrated Marion DeFalco, who will be taking a 6-month break from M&S. Thank you Marion and Penny, for all your hard work and service to M&S. You will be missed!
-Movers and Shapers Core Team meetings will occur about every six weeks, with a total of six meetings this 2008-09 school year. Next meeting will be in October 2008.
-Our M&S main goal will be to do whatever we can to help the school. The M&S current project list was discussed.

General remarks by Dr. Marty Webb, Head of School
-The steel beams for the first building is up and the crew is now going on to the second floor. The target date for finishing is March 20, 2009 and the school will be able to move in by the last week of May, 2009. The 2009 summer program will be at the new site.
-The Capital Campaign gifts and pledges total is $5.7M of a needed $6.9 for Phase One so the end is in sight and all help welcomed.
-There is an employment opportunity for a “one-on-one” student support staff person for a 7 year old boy. Dr. Webb distributed index cards which can be posted at churches and places of employment.

Remarks by John Barone, Director of Communications
-“A Place for All” is being released soon and will be available through Amazon.com. The Monarch School will receive a portion of the proceeds for this book. The first chapter is on the St. Mary’s press website at www.smp.org. Flyers were distributed to put out at churches, etc. Please promote.

Remarks by Shannon Woodruff, Director of Development
-The Westin free fundraising breakfast will be October 16, 2008 and all Movers and Shapers are asked to captain a table.
-The Fort Bend breakfast, which was held last year for the first time, benefited the capital campaign, but this year will benefit the scholarship fund. This breakfast will be held on November 13, 2008 at Sweetwater Country Club. Shannon is still in need of Table Captains for this breakfast!
-We already have over $13,000 in sponsorships for the Westin breakfast, and Shannon announced two new sponsors. She is working to get the entire $25,000 cost for the event sponsored. Everyone is welcome to help as well. Please see Shannon if you’d like to captain a table or help in any way.

Remarks by other Monarch staff members
-Dr. Debrah Hall reported that the school has five new staff members this year, and that the Apprentice campus has had a great start.
-Dr. Neal Sarahan reported that the Challenger campus also was off to a wonderful start this school year.

Builders Committee update by Stephanie Wheatley
-Because of a more complex school schedule, Mr. Klein and students will not be as available to take care of our garden at the Zoo so Movers and Shapers will be taking care of this. Kandace and Madelyn volunteered to help.
-School scrapbooks will be ready in time for new school opening. One scrapbook for each year of the school is being constructed.
-Plans for the twice yearly Apprentice campus cleaning are being made.
-Anything that needs fixing, the M&S team is available to help.
-No garage sales this year, but we need a schedule and volunteers for recycling IF it can be coordinated in a way that is predictable and dependable.
-Because of limited space, book donations are not being accepted right now. We do need book shelves and supportive living house furniture.

Heralds Committee update by Justin Fox
-Committee members are Susan Meek, Carolyn Trozzo and Justin Fox.
-Volunteers are needed for stuffing envelopes, filing, etc.
-The M&S shirt project is still underway. These will cost approximately $25.00 per shirt.
-Justin and John Hardesty will be representing M&S at Rice University for its Volunteer Fair on September 18th. If you would like to help, contact either Justin or John.

Educators Committee update by John Barone
-There are 98 students at Monarch for the 08-09 school year.
-This committee provides direct service with the kids such as reading to the students.
-John Hardesty has volunteered to team with music therapist Kay Taylor this school year. Logistics still have to be arranged. Dr. Hall noted that room space is the challenge.

Developers Committee update by Justin Fox
-Justin announced that the donation of the Monarch butterfly display will be ready March, 2009.
-Committee will continue to promote fund raising and friend raising for the Movers & Shapers.

Meeting Adjourned at 1:30 PM
The next M&S Core Committee meeting will be Thursday, October 23 or 30 at 12:30 PM. TBA.

Minutes prepared by Madelyn Browder.

Message from the Chairman

Hello, Movers and Shapers volunteers and our faithful supporters!

Well, our M&S Core Committee has started off the 2008-09 Monarch school year in fine fashion!

We have just added three new wonderful members to our group, namely Madelyn Browder (The Monarch School's recently-retired Secretary), Kandace Shyer (a Monarch mom who is Co-Liaison between M&S and The Monarch School), and Brittany McGarvey (who will be assisting the Monarch Development office in grant writing, and whose mother-in-law is Betty McGarvey, a Monarch teacher).

We just conducted our first M&S Core Team meeting on September 4th. It was quite an excellent meeting, as we set our goals and declared our ongoing projects for the coming school year. We also welcomed our three new members, Madelyn, Kandace, and Brittany. We also bid farewell in absentia to Penny Weiss, one of our most dedicated and enthusiastic M&S members, who is moving to Idaho. We surely will miss you, Penny! A much more detailed description of our meeting will be our official M&S minutes, which will be posted to this blog very soon.

Here's wishing our volunteer group another productive, fulfilling and fun-filled year, as we strive to assist The Monarch School in a variety of ways in its mission of providing the best therapeutic, innovative day school anywhere for students with neurological differences!

Justin Fox
M&S Chairman

Message from The Chairman

Hello, Movers and Shapers!

Just a brief message to let y'all know how much appreciated and successful your work with our volunteer group has been during the past Monarch school year, 2007-08.

Your enthusiasm on all of our varied projects throughout the past school year has been very impressive. We are especially grateful to our re-tooled M&S Core Committee, which has done a fantastic job for us. Also a special thank you to our two biggest boosters, Marty Webb and John Barone. Thanks so much!

As we take a slight lull during the summer months, we'll look forward to an even bigger and better effort as we head into the next school year, 2008-09!

Enjoy the summer and we'll see you soon!

Justin Fox.
Chairman, Movers and Shapers

Minutes from Core Team meeting 5-15-08

Monarch Movers & Shapers
Core Team
Meeting Minutes: May 15, 2008
12:30 PM, Monarch Learning Center

Core Team/Faculty Members:
Present: Justin Fox, Dr. Marty Webb, Carrie Logan, Julie Meaux, Stephanie Wheatley, Marion Defalco, Anne Proano, John Barone, Linda Caruso, Kerstein Daigre, Stephanie Kirkpatrick

Proceedings:
Meeting called to order at 12:30 by Chairman Fox.
Lunch enjoyed by all.
Current projects lists and agendas distributed.

Opening greetings by Chairman Fox

General remarks by Dr. Marty Webb, Head of School
Dr. Webb gave us an updated report on the progress of the Capital Campaign. We have reached $5.7 million of our $6.9 million goal!
Construction is moving forward, and Mission Contractors estimates that Phase I will be complete by February 20th, 2009. If that is the case, we will move over Spring Break; if construction is not complete by then we will begin the move in late May.
Graduation is Saturday May 17th and 3:00 PM. Hope to see everyone there! Continuing our friendship with John Elder Robison, he will be at the ceremony to accept an honorary high school diploma.

Remarks by John Barone, Director of the Monarch Learning Center, and Linda Caruso, Life Academy Coordinator
John expressed his gratitude for all the help Movers and Shapers have given us this year. Thanks everyone for your hard work and dedication.
John also thanked Justin for his excellent leadership, and noted the improvements in organization and accountability the group has seen this year.
Linda also thanked the group for all their hard work this year. She had just returned from “Monarch Day” with the Rotary club at the Junior League. Some of the Life Academy students were there selling boutonnières and corsages. Thanks M&S for all your support with new projects this year, especially the travel business and the hard work at the warehouse!

Senior Class Gifts dress rehearsal by Colleen Russo and the Class of 2008
The Movers & Shapers were treated to a “dress rehearsal” of the senior class gift presentations. At graduation on Saturday, the seniors will present gifts of themselves to the Monarch community. They have been working long and hard on these gifts and presentations! The Core Team enjoyed their moving presentations, and was able to provide constructive feedback.

Educators Committee update by Justin Fox
Justin reported for Miranda Bennett that due to her pregnancy, most of her projects are in a “holding pattern.” Congratulations Miranda – it’s a boy!
Justin shared a slide show of pictures from his recent trip to China. Thanks Justin – it looks like it was an amazing trip!

Herald Committee update by Marion Defalco
Marion suggested we wait until the fall to order M&S t-shirts, since it might be easier to get everyone together. In an effort to get the order submitted a.s.a.p., Stephanie K. will coordinate with Marion to send an evite to all M&S members so they can place their order electronically.

Builders Committee update by Stephanie Wheatley
Stephanie brought some of the Monarch Scrapbooks to share – so we could see that the project really is coming along! The scrapbooks were shared with the Core Team and the senior class. Fun was had by all as we relived some of the great fashions and hairstyles of the past 10 years!

Meeting adjourned at 1:430 PM
Minutes prepared by Stephanie Kirkpatrick.

Minutes from Core Team Meeting 4/10/08

Monarch Movers & Shapers
Core Team
Meeting Minutes: April 10, 2008
12:30 PM, Monarch Learning Center

Proceedings:
Meeting called to order at 12:30 by Chairman Fox.
Lunch enjoyed by all.
Current projects lists and agendas distributed.

Opening greetings by Chairman Fox

General remarks by Dr. Marty Webb, Head of School
Dr. Webb reported that the groundbreaking ceremony was a “joyous event!” Thanks to all who attended and helped bring it together.
The Capital Campaign has two large grants in the works, so keep your ears open for news!

Remarks by Shannon Woodruff, Director of Development
The Houston’s Dancing with the Stars event is approaching. This event, co-sponsored by Urban Retreat, will see its proceeds split between the Capital Campaign and the scholarship fund.
Shannon thanked Penny Weiss, Carrie Logan, and Stephanie Wheatley for the help they have already given in promoting the event. Everyone else is welcome to help as well: see Shannon if you’d like to put up posters, and feel free to forward the eTap email to your personal address book.

Presentation on the DIR® Model by Dr. Debrah Hall
Dr. Hall shared a PowerPoint presentation about the Developmental, Individual Differences, Relationship-Based therapeutic model, which is used at the Apprentice Campus. Thanks Dr. Hall for sharing your knowledge with us!

Remarks by John Barone, Director of Monarch Learning Center
Thanks to everyone who helped to get the John Elder Robison event off the ground. It was a fun and enlightening evening for all. John B. shared his hopes that a professional collaboration and friendship will continue to grow between John Elder Robison and The Monarch School.
John also thanked Susan Meek for her help sorting through the “legal-ese” of the contracts with St. Mary’s Press. Thanks so much, Susan!

Heralds Committee update by Marion Defalco
Marion shared how pleased she was with the outcome of the Robison event. Her promotion efforts for the event have lead to some contacts with corporations that she hopes will continue through grant applications.
The M&S shirt project is still underway. Marion passed around some samples of possible shirt designs and material. We will need to try and find a way to collect an order from all interested members.

Educators Committee update by Miranda Bennett
Miranda tested the Houston Chronicle’s “News from You” feature to promote the Robison event and found it easy to use. It will also be used to promote Dancing with the Stars.
Website proofing is still ongoing.
John Hardesty will begin working on music therapy with Kay Kahl Taylor in the summer.

Developers Committee update by Justin Fox
Justin announced that he has acquired a donation of a Monarch butterfly display from an artist who was exhibiting at a festival – just by talking to him about The Monarch School!
M&S is now a part of Volunteer Houston’s “Hands on Houston” website. Justin and John Barone have access to post short-term projects on the website to solicit volunteers.
Justin took time to recognize Julie Meaux, as she “retires” from the M&S Core Team and her position as Developers Committee chair. Justin presented Julie with a commendation, butterfly garden, Macy’s gift card, and $200,000 in cash! J Thank you Julie, for all your hard work and service to M&S. You will be missed on the Core Team!

Builders Committee update by Stephanie Wheatley
The builders have been busy with the zoo project and the AP campus spruce up day at the end of March.
Scharlene Fox will head up the inventory and organization committee for the warehouse project to make sure things run smoothly as we prepare to vacate the warehouse.

Meeting adjourned at 1:30 PM
The next M&S Core Committee meeting will be Thursday, May 15th at 12:30 PM.
Minutes prepared by Stephanie Kirkpatrick.

Apprentice Campus Spruce Up Day on March 31st

On Monday afternoon, March 31st, ten stalwart volunteers successfully tackled the job of sprucing up the Apprentice campus.

We managed to move 8 cubic yards of mulch from the front driveway to the back trail, prune the shrubs and trees, remove weeds, and plant new milkweeds and other plants. Also the wooden Monarch butterfly gracing the front porch was repainted by Scharlene Fox, restoring it to its regal splendor!

Our fearless leader in this entire endeavor was Stephanie Wheatley, ably assisted by Penny Weiss, Julie Meaux, Patrice Rodriguez, Anne Proano, John Barone, Tim Johnson, Scharlene Fox, Justin Fox, and Larry Kornegay.

Thanks to all our volunteers for a job very well done!

Discovery Garden - Zoo Maintenance Crew work day, Thursday April 3

After a wet and zoggy 4 months, the Zoo Maintenance Crew decided to brave the elements and re-visit the Discovery Garden at the Houston Zoo.

With shovels, rakes, pruning shears and hoes five brave Movers and Shapers coaxed the garden back into order. Fresh mulch was spread, homes were found for new plants and older plants were lovingly placed in new beds! Weeds were pulled from pathways and slime was extracted from the pond!

Justin and Scharlene Fox, Penny Weiss, Patrice Rodriguez and Stephanie Wheatley made up the Zoo Crew volunteers on this outing!

We hope to make one more maintenance visit to the Discovery Garden before the end of the school year. If you love playing in the dirt, please won't you join us on our next work day. We'd love to see you!

Stephanie Wheatley

Apprentice Campus Spruce-Up, Monday March 31 at 12pm

The Apprentice Campus is in need of a spruce-up!

A volunteer work day has been planned for Monday, March 31 from 12pm onwards.

Mulching, pruning and planting will be the main tasks. Please bring your own gardening tools rake, shovel, fork, trowel, pruning shears etc., making sure to label them.

Please email me if you would like to help.

We'd love to see you there!

Thanks

Stephanie Wheatley

steph_wheatley@hotmail.com

CEC luncheon about volunteers

From the Citizens' Environmental Coalition blog:

On Wednesday, March 26, Robin Blut, executive director of Keep Houston Beautiful, will be part of a panel about recruiting and keeping volunteers. The event is from 11:30 am to 1 pm at 3015 Richmond, in the first floor conference room. The cost is $15 and includes lunch. Please RSVP to ella@cechouston.org. Special diets can be accommodated.

This might be an interesting event for one or more core committee members to attend.

CNN's Young Person Who Rocks

CNN.com recently featured a story about Blake Taylor, an eighteen-year-old college student who has written a memoir called ADHD & Me. The site also has a short video in which Blake answers questions from viewers.

I'm thinking he might make a great potential interviewee for "The Monarch Hour."

John Robison promotion

Thank you all so very much for all you’ve done and continue to do to promote the John Robison event. All of us at Monarch are grateful for your help. Our Heralds and our Speaker Planning Team have done a bang up job of getting the word out.

It’s not too late to:

• Register and attend.
• Encourage friends and family to register. (Everyone knows someone who is impacted by autism, who would be interested. Whom can you call to recruit?)
• Pay to sponsor someone else to attend.
• Re-Forward the flyer to your personal address book.
• Add the announcement below to your email footer.
• Help with delivery of flyers.
  

If you haven’t talked to Stephanie or Marion or Justin yet about what you can do to help promote, please contact one of them immediately! There is still much to do, and the week before is sometimes the best time to catch new attendees!

With love and appreciation,

John

garage sale

Mark your calendars, ladies and gents. The next Monarch garage sale is planned for Friday March 7, 9am-2pm. Soon you will be hearing from the Warehouse class about volunteer needs. For now, we're happy to take any stuff you don't need anymore and turn it into $$$.

-ranger

Meeting the Challenge of AD/HD

The Attention Deficit Disorders--Southern Region is sponsoring a conference called "Meeting the Challenge of AD/HD" at the Sheraton North Houston on February 15-16. The intended audience for the program is "Physicians, Advanced Practice Nurses, Psychologists, Nurses, Diagnosticians, Social Workers, LPCs, LMFTs, Educators, Parents of Children, Adults with AD/HD and others interested in AD/HD," and speakers will include Jefferson Prince, M.D., of the Harvard Medical School, and Chris Zeigler Dendy, an author who writes about teenagers and ADD and AD/HD.

John Hardesty To Perform on Jan. 8th