· Catalysts · · Anniversaries · Laura Johnson..............15 YEARS Claudia Hutchinson........13 YEARS Darren Monteith............10 YEARS Philip Henry..................8 YEARS Izene Reed....................7 YEARS Melvin Saleem Cathy Taylor Jane Wilkinson Sheila Grounds..............5 YEARS Carrie Cunningham.........4 YEARS Denise True Leticia Bonilla................3 YEARS Christina Cervantez Stephanie Cornelison......2 YEARS Patricia Dixon Lukombo Nzambi Vanessa Franklin...............1 YEAR Jennifer Herron Margaret Kauhola Donald Lucas January Selmser Dana Villarruz A Community Catalysts of California Newsletter June 2007 6050 Santo Road, Suite 145 San Diego, CA 92124 Phone: 858-569-1055 Fax: 858-569-1064 www.communitycatalystscalifornia.org Community Catalysts Day, a heck of a good time! On May 18, the Home, San Diego and El Centro offices celebrated Community Catalysts Day. We had a huge turnout which allowed for a boot scootin’ good ole’ time. We gathered at Hoyt Park in Scripps Ranch. There were games played and good country fixin’s to eat. We even had our own auctioneer, Steve a consumer from San Diego who announced the winning numbers and described the prizes up for the Country Drawing. Besides the drawing, we also had a water balloon toss, ring toss and an egg race with eggs that refused to break when dropped or even thrown. Wendy assured us that the eggs were not hard boiled. Overall, everybody had a hootin’ and hollerin’ good time. Representing both boards at our Community Catalysts Day event were Stephen Hill, Director of Community Catalysts of California, Chris Farquar, Secretary/Treasurer of Community Catalysts Housing Alliance and Joe Medugno, Director of Community Catalysts Housing Alliance; Also in attendance was our past board member Patricia Preston. Thank you to the board for your support! The Home Office’s Very Own Country Gals!! Past Board member Patricia Preston and her son Martin also a consumer in San Diego El Centro Gang Stephen Hill,, Board Member Joe Medugno, Board Member Chris Farquar, Board Member and Jim Jenkins, CEO · Consumer Catalysts Anniversaries · 19 YEARS............................... Domenique P. - San Diego 16 YEARS............................... Debra C. - San Diego Eric S. - San Diego 14 YEARS............................... Marilyn H. - Merced 11 YEARS................................ Zachary K. - El Centro Steven H. -San Diego Collin J. - San Diego Ceasar T. - San Diego 10 YEARS............................... James K. - Fresno 9 YEARS................................ Karen B. - Merced Donald D. - Merced Cari C. - San Diego Debra H. Coalinga 7 YEARS................................ Rebecca M. - Merced 6 YEARS................................ Hilda C. - Merced David S. - Ukiah 5 YEARS................................ Mohannad S. - Stockton Jesus J. - Salinas Corine L. - Salinas Cesar R. - El Centro Lee R. -Salinas 4 YEARS................................ Ruben E. - Fresno Lance M. - Fresno Leslie M. - Fresno 3 YEARS................................ Jessie C. - Fresno 2 YEARS................................ Jason B. - Modesto Vang Y. - Fresno Sonia S. - Coalinga Saul J. - El Centro Fred H. - Merced Miguel S. -El Centro Maria R. - Salinas 1 YEAR................................... Allison J. -Ukiah Rodrigo R. - Coalinga Richard G. Merced JC W. - Merced Miguel M. - Merced Farewell to Jenna, SL DSS. This office will truly miss the laughter she brought to it. Although we are sad to see her go we are happy that she found a job which she is excited about. Jenna has excepted a job at a nearby Casino as security. Sounds like a group trip is in order to check up on her! Welcome new staff Krista to our SE team as an Employment Coordinator. Hillary, SE Case Manager is excited about being excepted as one of a few from her Masters Program who will be visiting Hong Kong for a week. Sound like a Teachers Pet to anyone? The Consumer Advisory group had a great turnout for our Movie and Dinner. A large group went to see Spiderman while a few other went to see different movies. After the movies we all ate at Rubio's. Welcome back to consumer Tim who returned from a 3 week medical leave. We all wish Russell a speedy recovery after he broke his wrist. Mary is back in her day program after taking a year off to recover from an illness. Galina, SE Employment Coordinator, is proud to report that her client Roberto has been doing so well at this job that the management is now giving him more responsibilities. Way to go Galina and Roberto! You make a great team! A special "Thank You" to the Modesto & Stockton office for hosting Sherie and Angela as they observed how the SL program is working in their area. San Diego It's getting hot in Ukiah! We kept cool by going to the movies and watching Shrek 3 and the new Pirates movie. A couple of brave people put on their sun block and enjoyed the outdoors. Consumers Darryl C. and Allison J. visited the Solar Living Center in Hopland. It is an amazing place run only on solar power and the building is made from straw bales. They enjoyed the pond and gardens and were escorted part of the way by a friendly duck. They ended the day by lunching at Sizzler in Santa Rosa. Harry H. went to Lakeport to visit a former house mate and then on to Lower Lake to have lunch with his sister. May birthdays - consumer Kathrine T. and staff JoJo Gonzalez, Glenda Brown, Donald Lucas, and Claudio Lopez. Congratulations to May's Consumer of the Month, our own Stephen W! We are looking forward to the People's First Annual Conference in Sacramento!! Ukiah May Consumer Catalyst of the Month, Stephen W. The Merced office would like to welcome back Yesenya Carmona! We would also like to welcome our "New Hire" Derrick Adams (Direct Service Aide). Congratulations to Maria Lua our Safety Incentive winner. Last but not least a great big congratulations to the Merced Consumers, they participated in the Le Grand Community Day parade and took first place. CONGRATULATIONS! Community Activities Program would like to thank Ying Cha's son for painting the balls used in the parade. Two Fresno consumers, Charles P. and Greg B. went to the Kiwanis parade for Rodeo weekend in Clovis. Fresno staff enjoyed the Staff Appreciation Party on Cinco De Mayo. We would also like to welcome new staff: Ruthann Leonard, DSA Recreation and Jennifer Demanty DSA Supported Living. Congratulations to our fabulous House Manager Deborah McCowan on her promotion to DSS for Supported Living. We appreciate all the wonderful things she does for our consumers! Yeah Deb! First of all we would like to welcome our newest consumer, Tom T. to our Supported Living program. Carole Uhlenhop's, the Modesto Office Manager, daughter was married in Costa Rica on May 5th. The wedding was held on the beach in Manual Antonio and the reception at the hotel La Mariposa. The wedding was picture perfect with 60 guests in attendance from all over the world. Carole and her family saw monkeys, sloths, snakes, geckos, iguanas and other unidentifiable "critters". They also went on the canopy tour, the ATV ride and nature hikes. Carole recommends if going to Costa Rica, the best views are at the La Mariposa Hotel which is listed in a book called "1000 places to see before you die". This is the year for travel for Carole, the next trip will be a cruise in the Mediterranean in July with her husband. Fresno Merced Modesto Carole Uhlenhop s beautiful daughter and husband on the beach in Costa Rica The view from La Mariposa Hotel Merced Consumers in the Le Grand Community Day Parade Shelley Cook & Maria Savageau at the Staff Appreciation Picnic Community Catalysts of California was proud to announce that Ray Wright was selected as May’s Star of the Month. Ray has been a Crisis Response Assistant for the Modesto office for a year. Ray has been so much help to the Modesto office this past month, as well as many other times too. Although he works in our REST program, he has been a lifesaver in our Modesto Supported Living program when we were scrambling to cover shifts for last minute scheduling emergencies. Ray has also been an exceptional help in the Central Valley area, providing direct care to one of our most challenging consumers there. He will do everything in his power to meet the needs requested even though he works in the Modesto and Stockton areas. Ray’s positive personality calms the staff when situations become intense and his work performance is impressive. Ray displays professionalism and genuine concern for our consumers. He does an awesome job with jumping in and following our consumers’ individual objectives while in their homes. We appreciate all the help Ray has given us and wanted to recognize him for all his hard work and dedication. Ray has gone above and beyond to meet the needs of multiple offices and he is truly a shinning star! Congratulations, Ray! Rubi Torres is an El Centro consumer in the Community Day Program and has been with Community Catalysts of California for the last six years. Rubi has excelled greatly in participating in this program. She has improved her vocational and social skills so greatly that she is recognized by the different community sites she participates in. Rubi is very communicative and is not afraid of expressing her feelings. She is very active in fundraising activities and gets along well with her peers. Rubi enjoys shopping and going out with other consumers in group field trip events. She likes seeing movies, especially action flicks. She also enjoys eating pizza. Rubi’s special talent is ribbon dancing which she practices at home when she’s not in aerobic classes. She really likes listening to music and has a CD collection which she listens to at home. We are very proud of Rubi and her accomplishments and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for her! Congratulations, Rubi!