Poisson = Fish

One of our volunteer photographers, Cheryl Klotz, recently did a photo shoot of one of the “Foreign Language Classes for Little Ones” held at the PNA. She got some great photos of the kids and their parents hard at work having fun learning, from the looks of it, French. Here’s a sample of some of the photos Cheryl took that day. Find out more about these classes here.

Thanks to all concerned for helping us photo-document what the PNA is all about. There are several volunteer photographers who are helping to gather photos showing all the aspects of the PNA. I’ll include samples of their work here from time to time.

Meanwhile, you can see more pictures here:







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The School of Essential Ingredients

Here's an item you might find interesting by way of Judith Wood, PNA's Volunteer Coordinator:

"This is pretty cool - Erica has been a PNA member and volunteer instructor in our education program and she's published a new book and is doing a reading at Ballard Library. Maybe something for the blog? Sounds like a neat book!"

The book is titled "The School of Essential Ingredients." Follow the link for more information.


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Lots of Art! Lots of Walk!

Here's an upcoming event produced by our friends at the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce that sounds like fun:

"Friday, April 10 is a party - a twenty-two block long street party in Phinney Ridge and Greenwood! For three hours from 6 to 9 p.m., Greenwood Avenue N is being opened up from N 65th to N 87th Street* so that pedestrians and bicyclists can come out to play and explore local businesses. This event builds on the Chamber’s successful monthly art walk Art Up/Open Up. It offers residents a cheap way to do family activities and reconnect with neighbors." More Here.

Here's a list of the Art Walk participants for April 10.

And remember that the annual Greenwood-Phinney ArtWalk will be Friday evening, May 8, from 6-9:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 9, from 12 - 5 p.m.


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PNA Moulin Rouge Auction

The PNA Auction is scheduled for Saturday, May 2.

I know May seems like a long way away… the way the weather’s been I wouldn’t be surprised if it snows a few more times between now and then… BUT, the auction items are rolling in, the invitations have been mailed out and we have the first draft of the event web pages up and running. Plan on visiting our auction web pages frequently between now and May 2 as we update it with more new and exciting auction items.

Already the list of donors is long and getting longer, and the HOT ITEMS page has already been updated once! We will add new Hot Items at the top of this list as they arrive.

So dust off your black beret, start practicing your Apache Dancing moves and be ready for the PNA Moulin Rouge Auction!

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He's going the distance!

Currently, I'm helping a fellow named Mike with the upcoming "Mystery Week"--a mystery-themed series of activities around Phinney Ridge/Greenwood, which all culminate to the Gumshoe 5K Walk. All proceeds benefit the Greenwood Senior Center. These events are set for August, if I remember correctly.

Check out http://www.mysteryweek.info/ for more, err...info. ha.

Anyway, to promote Mystery Week and the Gumshoe, Mike has recruited me to help film a "promo video/commercial". I won't go into details, but let's just say that involves your fellow neighbors being "conscripted" (hehehehe) to be actors in this commercial. Nothing paid, nothing fancy, nothing complex, just their acting abilities and roughly 2 minutes of their time.

We went all over the neighborhood--Ken's, Red Mill, Starbucks, Metropolis, and the Zoo. Mike was on fire, getting people who were otherwise busy and/or too shy to commit at least 2 minutes of their time as extras in this commercial. I was amazed at his persuasive ability. And in the end, all the actors had a wonderful time participating.

A little FYI: Mike is the husband of one of my coworkers here at the Phinney Center. He's in charge of coordinating Mystery Weeky/Gumshoe and he wants it to be a success. He's charismatic and has a commanding presence, but not bossy.

I am in awe of him. Simply because he knows exactly what he wants and he does what it takes to get it done. He once told me as we were approaching the fire station that in order to get things done one must have…well, since this is a public blog…let’s call it “GUTS”

You gotta have GUTS.


I'm internalizing these lessons, thinking about how it takes GUTS to accomplish the impossible. After all, all success takes some sort of risk, and taking risks requires a certain amount of bravery. And heart.

Mike is doing what he's doing not for self-aggrandizement, bravado or just so that he can make some funny promo videos. Rather, he's doing what he's doing because he knows that it all redounds to fundraising for a worthy cause--the Greenwood Senior Center (c/o PNA). I'm learning a lot from Mike and learning about being driven, about being proactive instead of reactive...or worse, passive. It resonates with me because it's an inspiration to get things done at my end, at my work here at the Phinney Center and the things I want to see happen for the benefit of the neighborhood.


-rex

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam*

* "either I shall find a way, or I shall make one"