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Fall 2005 We are shocked and saddened at the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina to the citizens of the Gulf States. Our prayers and sympathies go out to all deaf people who live in those areas to recover as quickly as possible.Over 2 thousand deaf senior citizens, among them were our fellow LACDians, participated in the Deaf Seniors of America Conference in San Francisco during the Labor Day weekend. Three huge hats were passed along where the Board collected donations of $6,700 to aid deaf survivors of the hurricane at the closing banquet on September 4th. National Softball Association of the Deaf Tournament took place in Gulfport, Mississippi last August where everyone stayed in Biloxi, about 20 minutes away from Gulfport. Softball officers, players and fans fell in shock when news broke out about those two cities being deeply flooded. The vision of beautiful softball fields and fancy hotels with casinos still froze in their memories. Speaking of which, our women's softball team was placed fourth with a $700 cash prize, not winning a three-peat as anticipated. However, four LACD players were named to the First All-Star Team: Nancy Moore, Kari Richards, Debby Sampson, and Suzanne Stecker along with Mary Louise Romero on the Second All-Star Team! NSAD honored Melissa Moor with the Best Batting Average trophy and our home run queen Nancy Moore for having the most home runs. Hopefully, our ladies will recapture the title next year in Riverside, California. As for our men's basketball team, they won fourth place at the Farwest Athletic Association of the Deaf Tournament. It will be their last FAAD tournament. Some of you may have already heard that FAAD players voted to disband themselves from USA Deaf Sports Federation. Two separate organizations will be formed, one for basketball (Farwest Basketball Association of the Deaf or FBAD) and the other for softball (Farwest Softball Association for the Deaf or FSAD). Each will have their own officers, bylaws, rules and regulations, etcetera. Names of these organizations will be officially voted during their own meetings next year. Now, onto our beloved bowlers, Bob Bergan, Joe Banks, Gardy Rogers, Rusty Stecker and Patrick Stecker bowled at the Pacific Coast Deaf Bowlers Association Tournament last June in Honolulu, Hawaii. Kathy Seymour, Lita Murray and I bowled for LACD there as well and managed to win 2nd place! Besides San Francisco, Mississippi and Hawaii, some members also went to other places in the Untied States. Joanne Gleicher visited Fremont last summer and will go there again soon. Arlene Shults flew to Ohio for two weeks. Dwight Holmes had a fabulous time traveling north to Washington then to Idaho, seeing his grandson's wedding on July 23rd. Anne Wallis stayed in Texas for one week. Judy Fromberg is now in Philadelphia for her best friend's granddaughter's Bas Mitzvah and plans to stay there for two weeks before going to Washington D.C for two days. Russell and I are going to fly to Washington, D.C., visiting our daughter, Suzanne. Suzanne resigned from her position as Interactive Media Manager at CSD in South Dakota and is now teaching at Gallaudet University as a Presidential Fellow while pursuing M.F.A in Integrated Design at the University of Baltimore. Gallaudet University offers a yearly program called President's Fellowship which supports five or six deaf and hard of hearing full-time students in their pursuit of a Ph.D or terminal degree. Such an honor and we are proud of her. It is always unfortunate to hear about tragic losses of life in the LACD family. Art Newman, a longtime LACD member passed away on May 30th at the age of 93. Betty DeLaO passed away from a heart attack on August 7th then Richard Crocoll passed away from cancer three days later. LACD loyalist Larry Dubin suffered an eye problem and ended up wearing a patch until it became better. However, another but minor health problem arose. He underwent a foot surgery due to an ingrown toe and is now is doing fine. Wedding bells rang for Stan Booth and Becca Gleicher, daughter of our member, Joanne. They got married on Saturday, July 16th in their backyard with both of Becca's brothers (Robert and Jonathan) giving her away. Her nieces (Robert's daughters) and Stan's daughter were her flower girls. Stan's son was his best man and Rusty Stecker's daughter, Nancy, was one of Becca's bridesmaids. Stan and Becca are now expecting a second child in February. Marleen Dubin just announced that she just had her 14th (final?) grandchild! It was a boy named Jai and he weighed 6 lbs, 13 oz., 19 inches long at birth. A couple of LACD's events are undergoing some adjustments such as moving our general meeting from October 15th to November 19th. We also decided to try and have our annual holiday brunch on a Saturday (December 10th) one week before Social Night (December 17th) instead of having them on the same day. How do you like these new changes? Like always, the brunch is on a first come, first serve basis, so be sure to buy your tickets from Vice President John Goul soon! Door prizes will continue to be given away at both events: Holiday Brunch at Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills and Bank Nite at GLAD. Social nights has been happening at GLAD's dining room at GLAD during the past few months as building repairs continue and hopefully will be completed soon. Our Halloween themed card tournament will be on October 29th. Continental breakfast and hot lunch will be served. Wear your costumes! Put these events along with Social Nights on your calendar today:
Etta |