Here is what KaBOOM!'s National Director of Project Management wrote about my build last week... Of course she only said the good stuff.
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Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 2:57 PM
Subject: Tulsa Build
The first KaBOOM! playground in Tulsa, OK build was completed yesterday with the incredible Hope leading the way! Congratulations Hope!
At about 6 a.m. Hope, Isaac and I arrived on site at the YMCA Thornton Family Branch in Tulsa. The torrential rains from the day and night before had turned the playground site into a swimming pool. Not only were the holes filled with water, but literally, the entire site was flooded. Fortunately the tornado's (yes, tornado's in Nov) had touched down in areas nearby but not at this site. With the use of sump pumps and a bucket brigade, the site was changed from a pool into a mudpit by kick-off.
Hope kicked off the day at 8:30 a.m. asking the 140 volunteers to consider the people who have fought for our freedom in the past and who were currently fighting and to please honor them with a moment of silence in honor of Veteran's Day (a very nice touch!). Following the solemn moment we got to business with the expectations for the day and the why's behind our being there. The kick off was wrapped up with a rowdy The Home Depot cheer! And we were off and working in the 44 degree weather!
The day progressed with mitten-handed volunteers working hard and enthusiastically. In addition to the playground, volunteers installed a pathway from the parking lot to the playground, cleaned and weeded the riverbed that ran along the site, built a playhouse and constructed six picnic tables.
The ribs and beans from Texas Roadhouse helped to warm us up at lunchtime. And if that didn't work, the pre-schoolers songs melted the chill away. Kurt Franklin, District Manager did an incredible job of rallying the 120 THD volunteers and 25 community volunteers back to work after warming up at lunch by encouraging us to "finish the day as strong as we started it". By 2:45 the playground was finished and the board cutting underway! The matrix, rock blocks, spiral slide, tire swing, triple shoot out and regular swings were all beautifully in place and stood taunting the kids out to play. A group of students from a neighboring elementary school joined us for the board cutting sharing their excitement for the addition of the unfenced structure as it will be open to the public and for use by the approximate 5000 children aged 5-12 who live in the area or who belong to the Y.
Special PM highlight: Hope did a great job trouble shooting the tough weather conditions and in keeping folks motivated. She also impressively kept pushing the cp who needed refocused on THD sponsorship of the playground-- example: as soon as Hope noticed the signs on the prep day that were equal in size acknowledging THD along with all the businesses who supported the project, Hope called THD and asked them to bring banners out so two huge THD banners ended up flanking the wall of appreciation to all of the supporters.
VIPs:
Susan Plank, CEO of the YMCA of Greater Tulsa
Laura Haley Butler, ED of the YMCA
John Grace, YMCA Metropolitan Board of Directors
Stacy Bruce, Director of the Thornton Family YMCA
Phil Tipton, Chief Operating Officer of YMCA
Representative of the Mayor's office - Clay Bird
Kurt Franklin, District Manager THD
Seven store managers from the THD
Ola Kusyk, Division Manager for Community Affairs, THD
Media:
ABC
FOX
NBC
Tulsa World newspaper
Tulsa Kids magazine
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Overall it was a success, but I definitely didn't quite have all my shit together... Let's just say a learn a WHOLE lot on this project... as far as what not to do or what to do better during the planning process.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Monday, November 08, 2004
Saturday, November 06, 2004
in shock
like half of Americans and virtually all the rest of the world's population, i am in shock.
while the results of Tuesday's election are sinking in, i still find myself searching for another answer... what will the democratic party do to help carry us through the next four years? can they do anything? can we do anything? will the Bush administration completely destroy us?... the radio was consoling at first, but then it began to feed my depression, disbelief, frustration and anger even more... still at a loss for words, i feel like the struggle is over and we've lost all hope. the momentum, endurance and collective energy against the Right has hit a brickwall, and now we feel powerless in the hands of our own government. some democracy this is... or is it?
all this week, i've felt very sick to my stomach. i've wanted to move far far away, but for the first time in my life, i'm actually very afraid of the insurmountable anti-Americanism out there. will we ever again be safe to venture outside our borders? right now, we are a disgrace to all humanity, and i have never been more ashamed of being an American.
i've considered doing door-to-door evangelism (it's the only way they'll understand) to convert the souls that were lost to the darkside... thanks to their ignorance and fear, the "evil-doer" now has absolute and corruptive power, and the world as we know it is in fact coming to an end.... i've thought very seriously about what Kerry said in his concession speech: "the danger of division in our country and the need -- the desperate need for unity, for finding the common ground, coming together." somehow though, i don't really believe that's ever going to happen... until the our administration's dictatorship falls. only then can it begin to re-focus on its own people and recover its founding principles--freedom and democracy...
tell me, what can i do to reclaim my civic responsibility after being shot down on Tuesday? how can I embrace my "freedom" and "privilege" of being a citizen of this not-so-great nation?... hope is not yet completely lost, right?
while the results of Tuesday's election are sinking in, i still find myself searching for another answer... what will the democratic party do to help carry us through the next four years? can they do anything? can we do anything? will the Bush administration completely destroy us?... the radio was consoling at first, but then it began to feed my depression, disbelief, frustration and anger even more... still at a loss for words, i feel like the struggle is over and we've lost all hope. the momentum, endurance and collective energy against the Right has hit a brickwall, and now we feel powerless in the hands of our own government. some democracy this is... or is it?
all this week, i've felt very sick to my stomach. i've wanted to move far far away, but for the first time in my life, i'm actually very afraid of the insurmountable anti-Americanism out there. will we ever again be safe to venture outside our borders? right now, we are a disgrace to all humanity, and i have never been more ashamed of being an American.
i've considered doing door-to-door evangelism (it's the only way they'll understand) to convert the souls that were lost to the darkside... thanks to their ignorance and fear, the "evil-doer" now has absolute and corruptive power, and the world as we know it is in fact coming to an end.... i've thought very seriously about what Kerry said in his concession speech: "the danger of division in our country and the need -- the desperate need for unity, for finding the common ground, coming together." somehow though, i don't really believe that's ever going to happen... until the our administration's dictatorship falls. only then can it begin to re-focus on its own people and recover its founding principles--freedom and democracy...
tell me, what can i do to reclaim my civic responsibility after being shot down on Tuesday? how can I embrace my "freedom" and "privilege" of being a citizen of this not-so-great nation?... hope is not yet completely lost, right?
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
last minute travel, halloween and dia de los muertos
before shit hits the fan, i thought i'd leave a small update on my whereabouts.
last Thursday, i was given a new playground project in Panama City, FL... and discovered that i would have to fly there that night for a playground design day meeting that very next afternoon (Friday)... FYI, it isn't typical nor ideal that work gave me such short notice, but sometimes it happens... while i wasn't at all prepared mentally to have to travel so last minute, i submitted to my calling and went. in the end, i was really glad i did... after a red-eye flight to the east coast, i checked into my beach-front hotel early, rested some, and took a long walk along the beach. it was really refreshing to feel the sun, the ocean's breeze, and the soft white sands beneath my feet... then, i went to the Boys and Girls Club to lead what would be a very successful meeting.
after coming back to SF on saturday, i took a serious nap and then geared up to go to a masquerade ball (and fundraising event) at the Marin Headlands Center for the Arts. since my brother and his fiance have been artists in residence there, i had the privilege of being able to go to this annual event! unfortunately, since i waited too long to get my ticket for it, i ended up sneaking through the backdoor with another artist (so as not to jeopardize my brother's relationship with the Center)... in short, it was a great party--good people, awesomely creative costumes, art installations and lighting, fun music (a salsa band and a house dj), delicious food, and all in a beautiful setting... i crashed there that night, woke up an hour too early the next morning, and joined about 20 other residents for a very tasty brunch.
that afternoon, i crossed back into the city, got ready for another evening of halloween festivities, and went out to meet some friends in the Castro. we party-hopped a bit and then breezed through the street's madness--giving us just enough time to see a bit of the holiday hype there. truthfully, i would have liked to stayed a bit longer to people-watch, but instead, i kept up with the people that brought me there... i was home by 1.
tomorrow is another day, but i have a very bad feeling about it...
ironically, it is also the Day of the Dead. i plan to take to the streets and join the "dia de los muertos" procession through the mission district tomorrow night. as we celebrate those that have gone before us, i pray that we not continue to dig the grave of our own nation.
last Thursday, i was given a new playground project in Panama City, FL... and discovered that i would have to fly there that night for a playground design day meeting that very next afternoon (Friday)... FYI, it isn't typical nor ideal that work gave me such short notice, but sometimes it happens... while i wasn't at all prepared mentally to have to travel so last minute, i submitted to my calling and went. in the end, i was really glad i did... after a red-eye flight to the east coast, i checked into my beach-front hotel early, rested some, and took a long walk along the beach. it was really refreshing to feel the sun, the ocean's breeze, and the soft white sands beneath my feet... then, i went to the Boys and Girls Club to lead what would be a very successful meeting.
after coming back to SF on saturday, i took a serious nap and then geared up to go to a masquerade ball (and fundraising event) at the Marin Headlands Center for the Arts. since my brother and his fiance have been artists in residence there, i had the privilege of being able to go to this annual event! unfortunately, since i waited too long to get my ticket for it, i ended up sneaking through the backdoor with another artist (so as not to jeopardize my brother's relationship with the Center)... in short, it was a great party--good people, awesomely creative costumes, art installations and lighting, fun music (a salsa band and a house dj), delicious food, and all in a beautiful setting... i crashed there that night, woke up an hour too early the next morning, and joined about 20 other residents for a very tasty brunch.
that afternoon, i crossed back into the city, got ready for another evening of halloween festivities, and went out to meet some friends in the Castro. we party-hopped a bit and then breezed through the street's madness--giving us just enough time to see a bit of the holiday hype there. truthfully, i would have liked to stayed a bit longer to people-watch, but instead, i kept up with the people that brought me there... i was home by 1.
tomorrow is another day, but i have a very bad feeling about it...
ironically, it is also the Day of the Dead. i plan to take to the streets and join the "dia de los muertos" procession through the mission district tomorrow night. as we celebrate those that have gone before us, i pray that we not continue to dig the grave of our own nation.
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