I strive to pen a column each month that is focused on a single impactful message or story. However, many noteworthy story lines are swirling as I sit to compose this month’s message. Coincidentally, I celebrate my fifth anniversary as Executive Director of Kiwanis Family House, a milestone that has me in a broadly reflective place anyway. So, without apology, I offer this medley for your consuming pleasure. Baton Rouge: For the past two years, we have communicated with some friends in the Louisiana-Mississippi-West … [Read more...]
March President’s Message
As I have mentioned in previous “President’s Messages”, the Kiwanis Family House Board of Directors has been working on the development of a new Strategic Plan. This has been a challenging task but one which is a critical component in achieving continued success and fiscal stability into the future. The previous strategic plan has served the facility well but is slightly over five years old and needed to be replaced with a plan that takes into account the current business environment; varied stakeholder needs; and changing economic … [Read more...]
Gordon’s Story
Gordon Storey has a story to tell. It is a story of true friendship and perseverance against difficult obstacles. It is a story of heartache and joy. Gordon Storey is a retired minister. In his ministerial postings he has served in many churches. One of these churches is located in Mt. Shasta, California. If you have ever traveled north on Interstate 5 to Oregon, you have passed by majestic Mt. Shasta. You may have blinked and missed its small town namesake. While in Mt. Shasta, Gordon and his wife, Linda came to know and became … [Read more...]
February President’s Message
Like most nonprofit entities the Kiwanis Family House faces the challenge of reconciling available resources to the fulfilling of our mission by providing needed services to individuals receiving medical treatment personally or with a family member receiving medical care at the University of California Davis Medical Center or Shiners Hospital for Children - Northern California. With the financial support of over a hundred clubs within the Kiwanis organization, individual Kiwanians, and many individual private contributors, we have been able … [Read more...]
January Director’s Letter
Each day for several recent months, the campus shuttle picked up Lorraine Ancic at Kiwanis Family House (KFH), delivered her to nearby UC Davis Medical Center for her cancer treatments, and then completed the loop. She became very familiar with that circular route that returned her to the comfort and support of her temporary home. Prior to the recent holidays, Lorraine checked out of KFH for her eventual hospice care. When her son called us to report her passing, he reinforced how much Lorraine valued our services during her … [Read more...]
January President’s Message
Success is something we all work toward every day but it can sometimes be difficult to define. Although success may be hard to put our hands around, we all know success when we see it in individuals and organizations. Regardless of how we measure success, I believe it is hard to deny that success is largely a matter of attitude and planning. Successful people and organizations all have a positive and proactive attitude as well as a clear picture of what success looks like. A plan is developed which lays out a … [Read more...]
Director’s Letter – December 2016
Within days, we will flip the calendar into a new year. The holidays are always a period of reflection and we will take memories of so many families with us from 2016. Despite our sincerest efforts to maintain a certain professional buffer between our guests’ circumstances and our own human emotions, we find ourselves drawn into certain stories. We have shared some very compelling ones with you this year. We read about Lorraine Ancic in November. Earlier this year, doctors detected a tumor in her vaginal region along … [Read more...]
Clara Nichols’ Story | Charlie Bussey
On September 26, 2016, Lethesia Guzman and her fiancé were traveling on Interstate 80 crossing the Yolo Causeway (a long, elevated bridge) between West Sacramento and Davis. They were involved in a minor fender bender and were pulled off to the side of the narrow causeway. They exited the car and were standing in front of it, talking to the California Highway Patrol dispatcher, when they were rear-ended by an Uber driver in a Prius. Lethesia’s fiancé saw what was happening and immediately put his arms around Lethesia to protect her. … [Read more...]
President’s Message – December 2016
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt in the heart.” - Helen Keller “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou These two quotations express beautifully much of what the “Holiday Spirit” means to me. It is about feelings; how our actions make us feel and how those actions influence the feelings of others towards us. As we are once again in … [Read more...]
President’s Message – November 2016
In a recent column I referenced the phrase “doctors save lives but the Kiwanis Family House saves families”. To me, these few simple words capture the essence of what the Kiwanis Family House is all about; they bring our Mission Statement and Vision Statement into focus and translate the role served by Kiwanis Family House into action. Guests of the Kiwanis Family House don’t have to worry about daily necessities such as having a safe place to stay, access to kitchen and laundry facilities as needed, and being close to the hospital … [Read more...]