Driving Magic is Magical for the Kids

driving magicHere is a picture of Malik (visually impaired) from CVI loving the feel of Schatzi, Schatzi seems to enjoy Malik’s loving too.

Here is what Driving Magic is all about as copied directly from their website, which can be seen by clicking here.  Driving Magic. Inc. began as a group of people with a passion for providing equine-assisted recreational therapy. All had been volunteers, board members and/or participants in therapeutic riding and carriage driving programs for 8-12 years. Because of the unique benefits of carriage driving for the disabled, especially for pre-teens through senior adults, and the limited availability for this type of service in Georgia we turned our passion into a business on July 1, 2004. Driving Magic, Inc. has five instructors certified by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association and an additional NARHA Instructor-In-Training. In 2005, we enhanced our services by offering work skills days for adults with developmental disabilities and an “Execs on the Farm” program which offers businesses the opportunity for team building events through volunteering with our program. And we began construction of a carriage driving-centric sensory integration trail in early 2007.

Thanks so much to the Lindskoog Family for donations to Driving Magic you have made in the past.  We’re having our 6th Annual BBQ and Auction fund raiser on November 14.  As you can imagine, the tight economy has made it difficult for us to raise enough funds to fully support the program and all it’s activities.  One thing that is extremely helpful to DMI, is horse sponsorships.  Funders tend to think of our horses as overhead expense rather than teaching aids — which is what they truly are and therefore it’s difficult to get funds to support their costs.  We can’t do what we do without our horses!  We’ve suggested that either individuals or family groups send a regular payment to DMI to sponsor the care of a horse.  The key here is “regularly scheduled” so that we know how to budget each month’s or quarter’s expenses.  It’s an idea that perhaps some of the family might consider and hopefully would not be a financial burden if done in a group.  Hopefully some would be willing to commit to a year or even an on-going basis.  Another alternative is “In Lieu of flowers” — rather than sending someone flowers in memory or honor, think of Driving Magic and make a donation to DMI.  You’ll see some  more ideas of simple ways to help Driving magic on page 3 of The Hitching PostDonations can be sent to Driving Magic, Inc., P.O. Box 279, Duluth, GA 30096. I will tell you that my experience working with people who have disabilities [as a NARHA  certified driving instructor] has given me such a sense of fulfillment and fun that I’ve never before experienced.  Nice to say when one is now 65 years old!!!  If you ever come to Atlanta we’d love for you to see DMI in action. Click here to see a copy of Driving Magic Inc.’s brochure.

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Pat Tresness
If an ongoing contribution doesn’t seem to fit what the Lindskoog’s would like to do, I’m thinking that setting up a page for the Lindskoogs on yourcause.com would be another avenue.  If everyone sent to their distribution lists and each one contributed something toward a Lindskoog goal of say…$5,000 to fund a particular aspect of the program (e.g., our cost of delivering workshops to Hi Hope Center and Creative Enterprises) that would be a God-send.  FYI, Gwinnett County just pulled 100% of their funding for most of the Gwinnett County supported non-profits.  Hi Hope Center, a residential and day program for adults with moderate to severe developmental disabilities, depends on those government funds and now they have been completely yanked.  If we could raise the $$ to cover their cost (the tuition our participants pay represents <7% of the actual cost of delivering the services) and ours of hosting all Hi Hope and Creative Enterprises workshops annually, for example, that would benefit so many and be a ray of sunshine in the lives of adults who need it so much.  As I expressed to the non-profit CEO roundtable today (and had resounding agreement from my counterparts); adults with disabilities, especially those who are severe, are so forgotten when it comes to services and funding. They don’t look “cute” for brochures, they require so many more resources to provide services safely; those that are severe may even have behavioral aspects that can be difficult for our society to understand, whether it is spitting or lashing out or yelling or taking several minutes to process a single thought or sound. They don’t understand why they do those things either, but I have seen amazing results when services such as ours are used to build skills, encourage independence and empowerment, and enable these [young though senior] adults to feel a bit a freedom and fun.  Ok, now I’ll step off of my soapbox to say that any support the Lindskoog family can give to enable us to create even a few magic moments in the lives of our participants would be greatly appreciated.
Jennifer Lindskoog
Jennifer, Let us know when you’ve got the yourcause.com setup and I’ll let the Lindskoog Family & their e-mail distribution lists know, then it’ll be so easy to contribute, there’ll be no excuse at all.  Pat & Jennifer have been with Driving Magic Inc. forever, they work tirelessly to keep this most worthwhile program going, all they’re asking from us is a little bit of money, hard to imagine asking Swedes for money, but all kidding aside, tell your friends & family how they can make a difference, by donating to Driving Magic Inc.  I feel honored to be connected to DMI through Pat & Jennifer, also to know that each of you will dig deep into your pockets, where the big bills are, and send some money down south today.

2009 Lindskoog Family Reunion Minutes

IMG_208460th Lindskoog Family Reunion

Riverside Park

June 27, 2009

Waupaca, WI

The 60th Lindskoog Family Reunion is over, and all survived!

http://animoto.com/play/Tc7EqM0FRey13G5bfd6QVg

Golf Outing

The opening event included nine people golfing at the Waupaca Country Club. Barry Tomaras, Mike, John, Aaron, and Andrew Porrey teed off at 11:00 and golfed 18 holes. Ken Porrey, Kim Kaminski, Joyce Petersen, and Mary Jo Tomaras all joined at 1:00 for the last 9 holes. The day on the golf course was beautiful. Joyce Petersen came and golfed for the first time! She did magnificently!

Cottage Welcome

The next event started on Friday, June 26th with an Open House Welcome at the Porrey/Tomaras Cottage on McCrossen. Forty-Two relatives began arriving at 5:30 to the Open House where all had good conversation, stories, appetizers and cocktails. Ken and Jan Porrey arrived with cheese and crackers. John Porrey brought soda and ice, as we forgot to purchase any! Dru Brown and his family arrived by boat after an hour of traveling on the lake. Evie Brown came to the cottage with Jim, Jodi, and Molly Montgomery. Tedd Mallasch drove his family by boat. Todd and Lisa Mallasch brought a taco dip – Barry’s favorite – to add to the appetizers. Bob Miller arrived with an empty cooler and left with a full one! We do not know how that occurred, but things happen! Bill Kaminski said the chicken wings were terrible and that no one should eat them! He would take one for the family and eat the rest if he needed to. Eva had the ride of her life walking down the Grandview Road to her cottage on Miner Lake with Jerry Petersen as her co-pilot – Jerry just stopped in the middle of Grandview , looked up at the Big Dipper and followed it home! Roger and Pat Lindskoog arrived around 7:00 after getting bum directions from the front desk. Overall, all appeared to have a great time and the last guest left at 9:00.

The 60th Reunion

11:00 Setup:

The shelter was all set up with the help of the Alice Porrey Family including:

John Porrey – bringing all the tables

Ken and Jan Porrey – cleaning, setting tables, unloading Barry’s, Tracy ’s, and Mary Jo’s vehicles.

Tracy and Joan Tomaras – making pasta salads, cutting vegetables/fruits, and bringing ice.

Mike Porrey and Betty Kleppe – bringing beer and watermelon

Barry and Mary Jo Tomaras – bringing the rest of the food.

Lois Tomaras – vegetable and melon cutter

All had everything in order by 12:00, Alice would have been proud of her family pitching together to get the event up and running!

12:00 Reunion –

SKOOG Game

All began to arrive promptly at 12:00. At 12:30, Mary Jo rang the “cow bell” signifying the start of the first game. I mentioned that they would be telling me where to put the cowbell by the end of the reunion! The first activity was “SKOOG”, a type of Bingo. All were able to participate, as there was an adult version and a children version. The first family member to complete their SKOOG board would receive a prize. Joyce Petersen won, as she waited for Pat and Roger Lindskoog to arrive in the parking lot. Joyce won a Swedish windsock. Molly Montgomery, Amanda and Braden Mallasch all tied for child version. Prizes were not awarded at that time, as there were not three awards for the children. Each child will receive Dairy Queen coupons in the mail for their efforts.  The game provided everyone to meet and greet old and new family members.

Lunch was served at 1:00. The eldest family members went through the line first. The meal included:

Hot Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Hot Turkey Sandwiches on Kaiser Rolls

Joan’s Asiago Salad – in the cookbook

BLT Salad – minus the bacon

Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

Peas and Cheese – in the cookbook

Baked Potato Bar – minus the butter (I wish someone had told me sooner, sorry!)

Sour Cream                  Chopped Broccoli and Cauliflower

Bacon Bits                    Chopped Carrots, Peppers

Grated Parmesan          Feta Cheese

Black Olives

Pickles on a stick and regular sliced pickles

Cheese sticks – mozzarella and Colby cheese

Fresh carrots, celery, mushrooms, peppers

Fresh Fruit: watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, and kiwi

Beautifully decorated cake by Sadie Nicolas – her first attempt at a large cake!

Lemonade, water, and iced tea were provided in the cost of the meal –

Adults $8.00, Children 5 – 17 $2.00, under 5 free, and Eva was free.

Beer and soda were donated by John and Mike Porrey and others, but those coolers were unknown. Thank you to all who donated beverages to drink.

During lunch, cards were handed out for two games:

Help Eva get to Waupaca – Postcards to Eva about Family Reunion or ways to travel to Waupaca in comfort.

Lindskoog Fact or Fiction – Everyone was invited to write fact (true statements) or Fiction (false statements) about the Lindskoog Family. This game is based on the invitation stating that, “Does anyone really know the true facts about the Lindskoog Heritage? Let’s get together and make stuff up!”

Family Meeting

v     The family meeting was called to order at 2:15 by Barry Tomaras. Mike Porrey read the minutes from last years family reunion. Pat Lindskoog made the motion to accept the minutes. Kirsten Greenfield seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.

Ø      Deaths

§         Barry opened the floor up to the family to acknowledge any deaths since the last year’s reunion.

§         We were happy to say that there were no deaths in the family known at the time of the reunion.

Ø      Births

§         Max Brown was born October 10 to Alicia & Ross.

§         Berkley Wiggerman was born December 18 to Kate & Jeff.

§         Zoey Parkinson born May 6 to Katrina & Eli.

§         Reagan Anne Winter born March 31 to Amanda & Josh.

§         Arthur James Nicolas born February 10  to Sadie & Mark – youngest at the reunion.

Ø      Marriages

§         Gavin LaFave to his wife Michal

§         Corwin Brown to his wife Kimberly

Ø      Moment of Silence for Good Thoughts to:

§         Marilyn Wiggerman Family

§         Steve and Eleanor Lindskoog Family

Ø      Ellie Cecil to Japan as Student Ambassador

§         Carol Beckland brought fudge to family reunion to sell to help cover the cost of her granddaughter’s Ambassadorship to Japan .

§         Jerry Petersen said the fudge was delicious.

§         Barry Tomaras lost his two pieces of fudge and is still upset to date!

Ø      Farthest Traveled

§         Debate about who travelled the farthest either Matt/Jennifer Lindskoog Family from Atlanta , Georgia or the Corwin/Kimberly Brown Family from Texas .

§         According to MapQuest, Corwin/Kimberly travelled the farthest, by air, at 1162.78 miles, Matt/Jennifer drove 938.18 miles by land

§         Therefore, both traveled the farthest one by air and the other by land.

Ø      Oldest – most experienced Lindskoog

§         Eva Miller – Perfect Attendance to all reunions! Congratulations Eva!

Ø      Youngest to the reunion

§         Arthur James Nicolas

Ø      Cookbook Sales:

§         155 recipes were submitted to the first cookbook.

§         36 families contributed to the cookbook

§         Lois and Mary Jo Tomaras typed in the recipes. If you find an error with your recipe, please email corrections to the family via Tedd so we can get things right.

§         Mary Jo Tomaras made the covers and taped in the red gingham strips in each cookbook denoting the change of categories.

§         Cost of the cookbook is $12.00

§         28 cookbooks were sold prior to the reunion.

§         42 cookbooks were printed

§         3 cookbooks remain.

§         Improvements to next cookbook – page numbers and table of contents.

Ø      Next Reunion Hosts:

§         It was brought up that we should plan all of the reunions! While this was a very nice thing to say, we respectfully declined.

§         Marlene and Harry Goodman believed that it was their turn to host the reunion in Chicago next year.

§         Tedd Mallasch will look into this when he gets home.

v     Motion to adjourn the meeting made by Kirsten Greenfield. Unknown person seconded and motion carried.

Picture was taken by David Greenfield following the short rain.

Games following the Meeting:

Dollar Game

Mike Porrey won the pot of $72.00 for the dollar game.

Lindskoog Fact or Fiction

Index cards were all turned in with questions. Next year we are going to have to work on direction following, as some questions were not Fact or Fiction questions!

Todd Mallasch and Mary Jo set up the buzzers for people to buzz in with their answers. Barry Tomaras read the questions with the help of Tedd. Amanda Mallasch and Mark Pechnick were the official buzzer clearers! Mark often reminded others to buzz in after the question was read! As people correctly answered the question, they were handed the card. Stories were told as facts were revealed. When all cards were read, Carol and Harry were tied. Eva came up with the tiebreaker question. Carol won and received a Swedish Windsock.

Swedish Raffle

A Swedish raffle was held with 10 items purchased from a Swedish Craft Sale last December. The tickets were 3 for $1.00, with the money went towards the cost of the gifts. People chose which gift they wanted to win and placed their tickets into envelopes. Some of the winners were Mike Porrey – Swedish Placemats, Kiersten Lindskoog – Swedish Book, Bette Kleppe – Swedish cup, Amanda Mallasch – Swedish Straw Ornaments, 2 Swedish Pigs ornaments – Loretta Miller, Braden Mallasch – Coloring Book, 4 Grog Cups – Lisa Mallasch. All of the items found a good home! Thanks to all who participated.

Memory Relay Game

All kids were told to make a team of four people. We had six teams. Each team was given a color ball – blue, purple, black, red, green, or a yellow stick. The winning team had to be the first to locate all five of their colored object underneath each cone. Only one person from each team can be on the grid at a time. If a person locates the correct color, they keep the cone turned over and bring the object to their line. If a person does not locate the correct color, they need to turn the cone over and go back to their line so the next person can have a turn. The first game was played with many infractions by the “older” generation. It was noted that the game is played by kindergarten through fifth grade students at the Waupaca Learning Center and they do not have any problems following directions. Therefore, another game was played and played successfully with all rules being followed! Winners include:

Game One        Team Mallasch: Amanda, Braden, Lisa, and Todd

Game Two       Team Lindskoog/Goodman/Guziec: Matt, Annaliese, Marla, and Harry

Congratulations to all for being able to remember where your colors were hidden!

Egg Toss

During the Fact/Fiction Game, Mark asked when we were going to have the Egg Toss and Water Balloon Toss, as these are the only reasons he comes to the family reunions. Amanda Mallasch informed him he had to come to the family reunion because it is family, he did agree with her rationale. After telling Lisa Mallasch and Sharon Miller, they quickly made a run to Aldi’s to get eggs for the egg toss, as to not disappoint Mark.

There were approximately 15 teams. The organization of the Egg Toss game was “tossed” over to a wonderful volunteer. (At this time, we cannot come up with the Egg Toss Director. Please let us know the name of the director so we can give him the credit he deserves.)  The egg toss was underway. Teams concentrated and tossed their eggs with great care. After 15 minutes, we had a winning team of Austin Wiggerman and Erik Pechnick! Way to go everyone! Betty Kleppe picked up all the eggshells! She’s a keeper Mike!

Postcards to Eva

While we never finished the game, Eva received many warm thoughts from the family about the reunion. The cards were given to Joyce to read to Eva after the reunion was over.

5:00 P.M. Dinner

After all the games, many stayed and ate dinner with all of the leftovers. When we all had enough to eat, the set up crew – Porrey/Tomaras – along with the Miller, Mallasch, and Petersen families all helped clean up and load up the vehicles.

Overall, it was a wonderful two days. It was nice to get the family together to see “old” family friends and make “new” family friends. We hope that no one went away hungry or bored! Until the last Saturday in June 2010, stay safe and be happy!

Respectfully Submitted

Barry, Mary Jo, and Lois Tomaras

What a terrific Reunion!!!  Thanks to everyone who made it such a great day!  A note, Brittany married Kevin Kaminski on March 20th, and the reason they didn’t make this reunion was because Brittany is due, with baby Nate, sometime in August, if not sooner.  Uncle Bob, don’t get any ideas!  Grey Jude Richards 6/28/08 and Dominic Anthony Sotelo 8/10/08 were also born since the last reunion, in fact Grey was born on the 59th reunion date in 2008.  I looked it up and the 61st Lindskoog Family Reunion will be hosted by the Goodman Family in Chicago the 4th Saturday in June, June 26, 2010, mark it on your calendar.

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