UPTOWN CIVITAN CLUB, December 2018

JACKSONVILLE, FLORID A Volume 36, No. 3

UPTOWN UPDATE

Inside This Issue REFLECTIONS FROM SANDY ...

Program 2 –3 The Holiday Season means of time to share a few words of encouragement and friendship Membership 4 a great many things to us all. My memories include can and does bring immeasur- Social 5 making cookies with my able joy to many who may be less fortunate. As you enjoy Volunteer 6 mom and, when grandma was in town, we would the holiday season with your Junior Civitan-Stanton 6 make the old Norwegian friends and family, reach out Junior Civitan-Sandalwood 7 holiday treat - lefse. I have- and include others, offer a n’t made that good- helping hand and challenge Personally Speaking 8 ness in many years but my others in your circle to do the

Uptown Activities / 9 memories of those simpler same.

Fundraising days and time spent with I look forward to 2019 with op- Pine Castle / Birthdays / 10 family who are no longer timism, hope and a spirit of Greeters / here do warm my heart. service. I wish you all a joyous It’s a time to rejoice in all season … Merry Christmas, that has been given, a time Happy Hanukah, Happy that we come together to Kwanzaa … but most of all I Officers 2018-2019 share in the spirit of the wish you peace. President Sandy Jones season that may be a Festi- President-elect Diana Flagg val of Lights and rededica- VP Membership Alice Derreberry tion, a festival celebrating Secretary Sharon Rosenblum the birth of Jesus Christ Treasurer Ann Mackey Chaplain Michelle McGriff among others; however, the Sgt.-at-Arms Sherri Stratton one thing that threads its Education Barbara Fiser way into the season is a Imm. Past President sense of goodwill. Jan Miller Directors For most of us, we have Diana Fanning been blessed many times Mary Jo Marjenhoff over but there are those Sara Ann Murray Penny Powell among us that have shoul- Dr. Patricia Stephens dered and continue to carry heavy burdens. A kind gesture, a smile, a moment Sandy Volume 36 No. 3 Page 2

PROGRAM … Diana Flagg

Uptown Civitan Members were reminded of the service and sacrifice of our country’s military with programs by two Veterans. Our speaker for the November 13 meeting was Captain Bob Buehn, retired aviator with the Navy. He was introduced by Diana Fanning. Captain Buehn is the Director of the Uni- versity of North Florida Military and Veterans Re- source Center and adjunct professor for the US Naval War College. His talk titled “The Least Worst Place” was the description of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo), as coined by Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. Captain Buehn was the Commanding Of- ficer of Gitmo from 2000 to 2003. As he likes to tell his military students, their service links them to our country’s history. He can certainly attest to that as he and his family were sent to this remote area of Cuba during the spring of 2000. Mainly, the purpose of his command was to maintain the security of this island area which included 19 miles of fence line in rugged and arid terrain, surrounded by minefields. This area was affectionately known as the “Mayberry of the Caribbean”, reminiscent of an American community of the 1950’s. That changed after the attacks on our country on Septem- ber 11 when the United States went to war against terrorism. In October of that year, Captain Buehn began receiving inquiries about available jail space. At the time, there were but four jail cells and no keys to be found. In December, he was told to be ready for 300 Taliban prisoners in three weeks. With the help of on-site contractors, modifications to existing structures and build out of new structures were accomplished. Prisoners began arriving on January 11, 2002. Captain Buehn describe the initial placement and handling of the prisoners. Over time, some prisoners were released, with some ending up back on the battlefield, with 45 prisoners remaining. Captain Buehn left Gitmo in March, 2003 to serve as chief of staff to the Commander of the USS Enterprise deployed to the North Arabian Gulf. He retired in 2008.

On November 27, Uptowners were honored to have as our speaker Veteran, Randy Dexter, Campus Director of K9s for Warriors’ new training facility in Alachua, Florida. He was introduced by Linda Wilkinson. Randy is the principal liaison for incoming warriors and is responsible for coordinating training and communication with the warriors and managing the daily operations of this second campus, called the Gold Family Campus. Randy retired from the United States Army as Staff Sergeant with over ten years as a combat medic. He en- listed in the Army following September 11 and was deployed twice to Iraq, totaling 27 months. He continued his military service as a patient at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. Randy and his service dog, Captain, travel the country as advocates for PTSD service dogs. Randy spent 14 months in the hospital and said he was a “hot mess” until he met Cap- tain in 2014. Life then began to change for the better. Randy illustrated this with a YouTube video called “Dear Captain” describing his journey and how Captain became an im- portant member of his family and how Captain saved his life. Randy went from using mind-numbing medication to no medication. Continued on page 3

Volume 36, No. 3 Page 3

PROGRAM (Continued) … Diana Flagg

Ironically, Captain is a rescue dog. Service dogs typically start out their training as puppies. The cost to train a service dog is $27,500. Each month 10-12 Veterans, suffering from PTSD, arrive for a three-week in-house training program at no cost to them. The service dog has al- ready been trained when it is paired with the Veteran. The Veteran spends the next three weeks learning how to use his/her new service dog, with the campus facilitating the bonding necessary for the two to be a successful team. Randy called it umbilical cord bonding. There is a 15-month waiting list of Veterans to receive a service dog. Veterans come from all branch- es of service and from all over the country. K9s for Warriors is currently raising funds for a “Mega Kennel” to help meet the service dog need for our Warriors. K9s for Warriors is a non- profit Section 501(c) (3) organization located in Ponte Vedra.

Immediate Past President Jan Miller presented Perfect Attendance Awards to 22 Uptowners. Certificates from 1 to 35 years were awarded. Congratulations to all those with such great commitment and dedication to Uptown Civitan and our community.

Upcoming Program Speakers

December 11, 2018: Dr. Pat Ellis and Ivy Cream Harris to share highlights from their trip to Africa culminating in a Holiday Sing-A-Long led by Ellen Rubens.

January 8, 2019: John Caulfield, Former Chief of US Interests Section in Cuba; Current Im- migration Issues

January 22, 2019: Wendy Proctor, Major Gift Officer, Camp Boggy Creek

February 12, 2019: Martha Worsley, Previous Uptown Civitan Member, The Four Chaplains of the USS Dorchester

February 26, 2019: Ju’Coby Pittman, CEO/President, Clara White Mission

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MEMBERSHIP … Alice Derreberry

On November 27, Past Uptown Presi- dent Barbara Fiser initiated four new members, Donna Gibson, sponsored by Linda Weinstein; Maureen Bai- occo, sponsored by Lynn Reed, Nanette Flood, sponsored by Ann Mackey and Phyllis Klose (a former member of Uptown) sponsored by Betsy Caplan. WELCOME to all these ladies. Phyllis Klose came to our November 13 meeting and decid- ed to rejoin us. Other visitors to our luncheons in November included Pamela Grey (also a former member of Uptown), guest of Mattie Fraser and Jane Laroque a guest of Sandy Myers.

President Sandy Jones recognized Linda Dacks and Jeannie Keisling (pictured left) for their re- cruiting of new mem- bers into Uptown. Congratula- tion ladies.

Jane Laroque a guest of Sandy Myers

Betsy Caplan and her guest Phyllis Klose

Pamela Grey, guest of Mattie Fraser

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SOCIAL … Sandy Jones

On November 8,12 Uptowners and guests met for an evening of fun at the Comedy Zone in Mandarin to see Hypnotist Rich Guzzi. Apparently an out of body experi- ence led yours truly up on stage as a volunteer for hypnosis! My Civitan sisters tell me it was a great time and I’ll watch the video someday. However, I have continued in some hypnosis sessions since then and have had feelings of calm and serenity. If ever you have a chance, try it!

On December 15, Uptowners will gather to see ‘Cool Side of Yuletide’ performance by the Jacksonville Children's Chorus. For those in attendance at our August 14 luncheon, Carolyn Audije presented the JCC to uptowners. So impressed, we are going to see the Holiday Concert at 2 p.m. with a dinner afterward. There are tickets still available!

January we will be attending the Cummer Museum in conjunction with a Member- ship Recruitment Social… stay tuned for more information.

February 23 we will be attending our annual pilgrimage to Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Extravaganza at the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts Moran Theater… this has been such a fun event for Uptowners for several years. Presale tickets are available until December 12 at $40 with no transaction fees. Please see Sandy Jones for presale tickets.

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VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

On Wednesday, November 21 Uptown Civitan mem- bers served breakfast at Clara White Mission. Two new members, Donna Gibson and Cathy Winter- field participated for their first time.. Also, partici- pating were Jan Miller, Sharon Rosenblum and Alice Soliman. We served approximately 400 men and women. It was a wonderful feeling felt by all.

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES TO COME

2018 December 19 Clara White Mission Sharon Kantor/Sharon Rosenblum

2019 February 17 Beaches Fine Arts Mattie Fraser/Gayle Kanak

JUNIOR CIVITAN - STANTON … Sandy Jones

The Juniors at Stanton are a pretty ac- tive group! Led by Mary Krieger (AP Psy- chology) and Christine Hart (Vocational Technical), Stanton Junior Club has about 50 members and have some long standing projects they are involved with. November was their Light the Night func- tion. They assembled the lanterns for the walkers during their meeting and then participated in registration check in delivering the lanterns. Barbara Fiser and Sandy Jones met with them at their November 5 meeting Party and Lantern Assembly. They are an in- quisitive group and a lot of fun!

December will be their annual Holiday Party at Cathedral Terrace Assisted Living. Volume 36, No. 3 Page 7

JUNIOR CIVITAN... SANDALWOOD … Lana Suggs

The Sandalwood Junior Civitans traveled on Saturday, November 10, 2018, to their District Meet- ing in Gainesville, FL. This was a first-time opportunity for many of these kids to attend a District Meeting and to fellowship with other Junior Civitans within the State. Thanks to a donor, we were able to secure a bus to transport 21 of the 87 members and also three parents to this meet- ing. The group did a service project for the local Blood Alliance to be used with children to ex- plain blood. The team building games played were awesome and the bus ride to and from Gaines- ville was quite interesting too! They sang songs, laughed, and were just a complete delight.

The Sandalwood Junior Civitans were asked to assist with the serving of Thanksgiving Lunch on Friday, November 16, 11 a.m. -1 p.m., at the Frances Padgett Senior Citizens Center in the Arlington neighborhood. Because this event was during the day, only the students in the Early College Program were availa- ble to volunteer. Keith Jones and Ni'Kyah Rhymer are cap- tured here serving and clearing tables. The Junior Civitans and the staff helped serve meals, then cleaned up, for about 60 seniors. The staff and senior citizens were extremely complimen- tary of how polite, pleasant and helpful the Junior Civitans were.

The Sandalwood Junior Civitans once again gathered at the TIAA Bank Field to participate in the Light The Night Walk on Friday, November 16, 2018. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light The Night Walk funds treatments that are saving lives of patients today. They are making cures hap- pen by providing patient support services, advocat- ing for lifesaving treatments and pioneering the most promising cancer research anywhere. These twenty (20) Sandalwood Junior Civitans along with three (3) members of the Uptown Civitan Club formed a team to celebrate, honor and remember those touched by cancer.

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PERSONALLY SPEAKING

Mary Jo Marjenhoff has had a busy time this fall. … New York, , DC, and Bos- ton. “Mary Jo and husband, Frank, celebrated Oktoberfest and Frank’s birthday with a trip to the Catskill Mountains in Round Top, New York. Lots of German food was consumed along with adult beverages. We especially enjoyed watching the traditional German Schuhplattler dancing. Our trip also included a tour of the Roosevelt’s Mansion, FDR’s Presidential Library, Eleanor Roosevelt’s retreat, Val Kill, a cruise down the Hudson River, a visit to Woodstock and hiking to Kaaterskill Falls.” Mary Jo’s next trip was to Washington, DC, “A friend and I spent a week in Wash- ington D.C. on my first, and hopefully one of many, Road Scholar trips. The program was entitled Spies, Lies & Intel- ligence: The World of International Espionage. It was an in- triguing program with speakers from the CIA and NSA, along with an expert polygraph examiner from the CIA and the Director of the Cybersecurity Program at George Wash- ington University. The program also included tours to the NSA, Cryptologic Museum, International Spy Museum, and the Newseum. Following four days of being in the clandes- tine world of James Bond, we toured the city for three days. Washington D.C. has a great vibe with so much to see and do. Can’t wait to return.” Then to celebrate Thanksgiving, Mary Jo and Frank traveled to Boston where they visited Faneuil Hall, walked the Freedom Trail, visited Paul Revere’s home and museum and visited the JFK Library. They then traveled to Cape Cod, toured Mar- tha’s Vineyard and had at the Plimouth Plantation. It was memorable, authentic and bone chilling cold. So glad to live in Florida.”

Martha Tromberg is delighted to be back to Uptown Civi- tan after two shoulder replacements. Thank you for the warm welcome! I’d also like to announce that my daughter, Dr. Jennifer Tromberg, and her husband, Patrick, are ex- pecting our second granddaughter in June 2019. Connor, age 2-1/2, is looking forward to being a great BIG brother!

Nancy Chamblin recently returned from a visit to Califor- nia to her daughter’s cabin in the northern Sierra Ne- 's. Cool weather, huge pine trees, walks in the redwood forest … it was idyllic. However, this week it is threatened by the forest fires currently sweeping the State. Also two other of Nancy’s relatives homes in Monterey are being threatened. Hopefully the fires will be controlled very soon.

Kim Miller-Riley and her husband, Michael, are expecting a BOY … Jack Anthony Miller-Riley. Congratulations to mother, dad, and grandmother (Jan Miller)!

We are also happy to see Elaine Hall returning on a regu- lar basis. Elaine is pictured with charter president-elect Diane Young Volume 36, No. 3 Page 9

UPTOWN ACTIVITIES … KEEP THE DATES!!!

Ongoing Fundraising Candy/Coin Boxes Ongoing Volunteer Clara White Mission (Sharon Kantor/Sharon Rosenblum) Ongoing 2nd/4th Thurs. noon Volunteer Pine Castle Civitan Club (Diane Young, Elaine Hall)) Ongoing Volunteer Baby Caps (Ellen Petersen/Linda Weinstein) Ongoing Volunteer Sewing Catheter Bags for Brooks Rehab (Linda Weinstein) Ongoing Volunteer Ronald McDonald House (Sharon Rosenblum/Helen Willoughby)) Ongoing Fundraising Ellen Rubens /Barbara Fiser Annual Fundraising Flagship Event Ongoing Social Sandy Jones / Ivy Cream Harris

2018 Dec 15 Jax Children’s Chorus Social Sandy Jones / Ivy Cream Harris Dec 19 Clara White Mission Volunteer Sharon Kantor/Sharon Rosenblum 2019 Jan 16 Clara White Mission Volunteer Sharon Kantor/Sharon Rosenblum Feb. 20 Clara White Mission Volunteer Sharon Kantor/Sharon Rosenblum Feb 17 Beaches Fine Arts Volunteer Mattie Fraser/Gayle Kanak Feb 23 Douglas Anderson Social Sandy Jones / Ivy Cream Harris

If you have volunteer, social, or fundraising activities you would like to have added to this calendar, please e-mail me.

FUNDRAISING … Ellen Rubens

BIG THANKS TO ALL THE BAKERS AND BUYERS.. THE HOLIDAY BAKE SALE MADE $227 FOR OUR GENERAL FUND. Jan Miller for Ellen Rubens

Diane Young said, “Arbor Terrace, my home now, donated a basket of home- made cookies to our bake sale. They are very supportive of community activities.

Sandy Jones says, “Please consider Uptown Civitan and Terri Lynn Cares premier nuts and chocolates for your sweet and savory snacks. With each order, 20% of the purchase price benefits Uptown Civitan in our efforts to build good citizenship dedicated to serving indi- vidual and community needs with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabil- ities. Our store can be found on our website and Facebook page (please Like our page while there!) Please consider sending an invitation to your friends and family and look for yourself. The direct site to Terri Lynn is https://uptown-civitan-.terrilynncares.com/ Uptown Civitan Club, WELCOME Jacksonville, Florida Guests … Pamela Grey, Phyllis Klose, Jane Laroque Uptown Civitan Club P. O. Box 10266 New members … Phyllis Klose Jacksonville, FL 32247 Membership: 95 WHAT’S COMING

Also see Uptown Activities Calendar, Dec. 5 Board Meeting, WJCT, Noon Dec. 11 Holiday Luncheon + Dr. Pat Ellis & Visit www.floridacivitan.org Ivy Cream Harris re their Africa Trip Uptowncivitanjacksonville.orgVisit www.floridacivitan.org Sing-A-Long with Ellen Rubens Jan. 2 Board Meeting, WJCT, Noon HAPPY DECEMBER Jan. 8 John Caulfield, Immigration Jan. 22 Wendy Proctor, Camp Boggy Creek BIRTHDAYS GREETERS FOR MEETINGS 4 Ellen Rubens Dec. 11 Dr. Pat Ellis, Sandy Myers Jan. 8 18 Nancy Reynolds Jan 22

25 Jeannie Keisling 30 Helen Willoughby Editor: Mattie Fraser, [email protected]

HAPPY HOLIDAYS … HAPPY NEW YEAR

MANY HAPPY RETURNS If it’s your birthday and your name is not here, please let me know.

PINE CASTLE CIVITAN CLUB … Diane Young

As they near the end of the year, Pine Castle Civitan Club took time at their November 8 meeting to review the blessings of the year and decorat- ed Christmas placemats for Up- town's December meeting as a token of their appreciation. Uptown members Nancy Dar- low, Elaine Hall, Diane Young and Ellen Rubens helped the members with this activi- ty. Fourteen members and three guests attended.

Pine Castle members are excited to await the visit of Santa Claus on December 13. This is always a special time for all the members.