Winter 2003

      Please welcome two new LACD board members, Sam Kadin and Deb Cole! Our next general meeting will take place on March 15th at 2:00 p.m. Be sure to wear something green because it is only two days before St. Patrick’s Day. We hope we will start having “Bank Night” on that same night.

      We will meet with one of the GLAD workers to extend our lease for six more months. The housing committee is still looking for a place to purchase. The possibility is to have TBS and LACD buy a building together. We will not merge but just to share the expenses, and we intend to continue with our own events.

      Mark Corson and I met with LACD’s attorney on several occasions. Arslan, who bought the old LACD building, has been behind with the payments for a long time. We hope to resolve this matter and get the whole settlement straightened out by this coming summer. Dave Sladek, a former LACD basketball player, has been interpreting for this case.

      As some of you may already know, LACD’s annual holiday buffet occurred at Castaway Restaurant, a different restaurant from the past, last December. The reason of the new change is because of the fact that we now meet in Glendale every third Saturday. Fortunately, it is much closer to our social event.

      Wedding bells for Patrick and Richelle Stecker on December 7th. Of course, Suzanne was one of the bridesmaids. Bob Bergan, with his 1958 Cadillac, was their chauffeur on that day. They honeymooned on a Hawaiian cruise, and now live in Tustin.

      Joanne Gleicher is proud of her daughter, Becca. LA Times wrote an article about Becca’s experience in teaching at Foothill Knolls Elementary School in Upland. She is now working with deaf children in San Bernardino County.

      At the beginning of the year, Rusty and I joined a group of 18 people going on a Tahiti cruise. A LACD member, Carol Trachtenberg, was the one who led the pack. Ray Harris and Rachel Stone, our new LACD members, were with us along with one of our former members, Jim Revell. Jim used to play basketball for LACD many years and now lives in Arizona with his wife, Joan. Tahiti newspaper reporter wrote an article about our visit. Not to mention, he also snapped a photograph of us with some deaf Tahitians. It was actually printed in French, but it is fortunate that our copy was already translated in English!

      We are saddened to learn about Tony Petrillo’s passing last December. There was a memorial service at CHAD on January 4th. We will miss him. He came to our social gatherings until he was real sick, and we pray to see his wife, Anna, at LACD again soon.

      Helen Tingley received a cochlear implant recently and was so thrilled to hear vaious kinds of sound. Judy DeSalvio also received one last year and is still enjoying her new hearing.

      Ruth Dabbs’s granddaughter, Jenna, gave a birth to a baby girl on December 31st. She is Ruth’s 8th great grandchild! Baby boom or not, Doug and Gayle Ellis are now grandparents for the first time when their daughter, Steffi, had a baby girl named Selah Bleu on November 20th. Selah is currently living in Riverside with her parents, Steffi and Len Gonzales.

      Bennie Maucere, a former LACD basketball coach, was sick for a while and unfortunately had to miss his wife’s (Bobbi) surprise 60th birthday party. Bobbi’s card friends threw the party at an Italian restaurant. Another birthday came...Hyman Aheroni turned 90 years old on February 20th. Happy Birthday, Hy & Bobbi!

      The board members voted to sponsor CSUN’s project called JASK (Just Ask - a deaf awareness program). They will offer workshops and discussion panels from February 21st through March 15th. They have a “LACD” day with Robert Arnold as the speaker on Sunday, March 9th from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. The admission is free!

      It’s time of the year again...the softball ladies will play their first league game on Sunday, March 2nd. By the way, LACD will host the FAAD softball tournament next year (July 2004). The site of the tournament will be determined soon as Ken Watson is still working on it. Did you know that Deanne Bray, who plays as Sue Thomas on TV, was a LACD softball player about ten years ago? We are thrilled to see her on TV!

      See you all at the general meeting on March 15th. Be sure to renew your membership if you have not done that yet!

Etta