We had arrived for a few days in Southern California’s Yuha Desert to celebrate SCA, to work, talk and listen, connect and remember. We had come to recognize a program that some said wouldn’t last, wouldn’t work, wasn’t worth it. After seven years in the deserts of Southern California, we were there to remind ourselves and everyone else just how far we had come. (more…)
by Kevin Hamilton, Vice President for Communications
Last October, impassioned comments from alumna Tamara Paul and former NPS Director and SCA board member Bob Stanton generated a mountain top emotional high for those attending the Charlestown, NH event. And Saturday’s Golden Anniversary Reception at the Presidio in San Francisco was a repeat performance.
Senator Dianne Feinstein taped a personal salute, colleague Barbara Boxer sent a laudatory letter, the regional leaders of NPS, USFS and BLM all attended, and the keynoter was the world’s foremost woman oceanographer, Dr. Sylvia Earle. She holds so many underwater records she is often referred to as “Her Deepness.â€
There were some heart-pounding moments: San Francisco’s Taiko Dojo rocked the house with an extraordinary drum performance. The crowd of 300 gave SCA Founder Liz Putnam a standing “O†that did not end, and Dr. Earle walked in moments before her cue having got stuck behind the Chinese New Year parade (okay, so maybe it was only my heart pounding as I sweated the status of our marquee speaker).
But what a great night. Kudos to Jay Watson and his Oakland office team. I have a tape of the entire evening in my backpack and we’ll get some clips posted soon, but at the moment I’m heading to Pinnacles Nat’l Monument to visit some SCA interns. Thanks to all who attended.
While it is truly great to think about how far SCA has come in the last 50 years, Kevin mentioned a good point in a presentation today. Remember the past, but look to the future. What will SCA’s next 50 years be like? One of the biggest (if not the biggest) topics of 2007 for us is global climate change. The most recent expert opinion via Reuters:
This year is set to be the hottest on record worldwide due to global warming and the El Nino weather phenomenon, Britain’s Meteorological Office said on Thursday. link
Look for more links and posts this week and a serious look at what is going on with global climate change and what we can do to help.
The first photo of Jack Dolstad is from Olympic National Park, 1969. Jack Dolstad was an SCA supervisor Executive Director 1970-1975.
Share stories about Jack in the comments.
NHCC Alumni Crew Leader Peter Andrew of Londonderry, NH at the Summer of Service Conference in DC. Peter was one of four youth invited to personally speak with President Clinton. Peter’s Alumni Crew had recently returned from Iowa, where they had worked on flood relief efforts.
I roll into work this Monday and all I can think about is black coffee. Walking down to the break room, past the festive looking mini Christmas tree, four large mysterious boxes from Denver, the small smörgÃ¥sbord of mini cookies and the popcorn that I bet no one eats, I arrive at the break room. Then it hits me. I don’t even like coffee. Then it hits me again. Four. Large. Boxes. From Denver.
The SCA photo archive from the Denver Public Library is here! Whoever said all Mondays are lame obviously never got anything from the Denver Library. As we begin to tear through the piles of slides, negatives, and prints, I come across a group of photos of celebrities/politicians holding SCA memorabilia. Among them are Bill Clinton, Nancey Reagan, and a happy looking man named Eli Segal.
The photo is dated 1992 and I do not know who this is. Seeing as I was 9 in 1992, who won the kickball game and what is on tap for snack were much higher priorities than national politics. My interest sparked, I begin my search. Who is Eli Segal?
