lpa-sjvc.com Valley News...Disneyland is 1.3 miles from the hotel. The hotel offers a free shuttle...

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http://lpa-sjvc.com Valley News April 2011 Chapter Events April 30 th Escalon Picnic – hosted by the Coelho Family – Escalon, CA June 12 th – Land Park Picnic – hosted by the Okenfuss family – Sacramento, CA July 1 st – 8 th – LPA National Convention, Anaheim CA July 31 st – Fundraiser – hosted by the Murphy Family – Stoney’s Rockin Rodeo, Sacramento, CA August 20 th – Turlock event – hosted by the Paiz family October 21 st – 23 rd – Fall Regional Conference at the Embassy Suites in Old Sacramento– hosted by the San Joaquin Valley Chapter December TBA – Holiday Party – hosted by the Terzich and Day families – Rocklin, CA Contents Valley News – 1 Easter Event Pics – 2 Escalon Event - 3 Fundraiser – 4 Teen Event Follow- Up – 5 Calling All Volunteers -6 Congrats Anthony - 7 National Info – 8 & 9 Presidents Message Continued/Officers Contact Info - 10 President’s Message Greetings LPA members, Sorry for the delays in getting this column to you but I feel I have a wonderful excuse. Ericka, Hai and I just came back from an amazing journey. We have returned from Seoul, Korea to pick up our adopted son, Jun- ho. He's a 16-month old boy with achondroplasia and we couldn't be happier! Mom, Dad, new big brother Hai and Jun-ho are all doing well! Thanks to LPA's adoption program, we got matched with Jun-ho last year. Much like our previous process with adopting Hai from Vietnam, we spent the past several months getting our home study, applications, background checks, fingerprints, more paperwork, visas, passports and travel arrangements in order. Finally, just a few weeks ago, we got the call to go to Korea! Joining us on this trip were Ericka's parents who were a big help in getting us around and entertaining the kids while we were preoccupied with other matters. We flew from San Francisco to Seoul, then had a few days to recover from jet lag and do some sightseeing in the city. On our big day, we went to the adoption center to meet our new son.

Transcript of lpa-sjvc.com Valley News...Disneyland is 1.3 miles from the hotel. The hotel offers a free shuttle...

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http://lpa-sjvc.com Valley News April 2011

Chapter Events

April 30th – Escalon Picnic – hosted by the Coelho Family – Escalon, CA

June 12th – Land Park Picnic – hosted by the Okenfuss family – Sacramento, CA

July 1st – 8th – LPA National Convention, Anaheim CA

July 31st – Fundraiser – hosted by the Murphy Family – Stoney’s Rockin Rodeo, Sacramento, CA

August 20th – Turlock event – hosted by the Paiz family

October 21st – 23rd – Fall Regional Conference at the Embassy Suites in Old Sacramento– hosted by the San Joaquin Valley Chapter

December TBA – Holiday Party – hosted by the Terzich and Day families – Rocklin, CA

Contents

Valley News – 1

Easter Event Pics – 2

Escalon Event - 3

Fundraiser – 4

Teen Event Follow-

Up – 5

Calling All

Volunteers -6

Congrats Anthony - 7

National Info – 8 & 9

Presidents Message

Continued/Officers

Contact Info - 10

President’s Message

Greetings LPA members, Sorry for the delays in getting this column to you but I feel I have a wonderful excuse. Ericka, Hai and I just came back from an amazing journey. We have returned from Seoul, Korea to pick up our adopted son, Jun-ho. He's a 16-month old boy with achondroplasia and we couldn't be happier! Mom, Dad, new big brother Hai and Jun-ho are all doing well! Thanks to LPA's adoption program, we got matched with Jun-ho last year. Much like our previous process with adopting Hai from Vietnam, we spent the past several months getting our home study, applications, background checks, fingerprints, more paperwork, visas, passports and travel arrangements in order. Finally, just a few weeks ago, we got the call to go to Korea! Joining us on this trip were Ericka's parents who were a big help in getting us around and entertaining the kids while we were preoccupied with other matters. We flew from San Francisco to Seoul, then had a few days to recover from jet lag and do some sightseeing in the city. On our big day, we went to the adoption center to meet our new son.

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Saturday, Apr 30, 2011 (12:00 PM to 4:00 PM) at Escalon Community Park Center 1055 Escalon Ave, Escalon, CA

209-988-7635

Come and Join us for a Family Picnic in Escalon. The Coelho's plan is to BBQ. All we ask you to bring is a dish to share. The park is a wonderful place with shaded trees, a playground for the kids and restrooms nearby. We have the covered picnic area for our use for the day. If you would like to bring any park toys, horse shoes or a lounge chair please feel free. We will also be having some type of activity but that will be announced soon. Also come and see what is new with the chapter. If the weather is questionable on the day of the event, place give Aimee a call. Hope to see you all there!

Please Bring A Dish to Share

Last Name

A-G Chips,Dip or Snack Food

H-O Dessert, Cookies

P-Z Salad (Potato,Green,Fruit)

~CHAPTER WILL PROVIDE HAMBURGERS AND HOTDOGS AND DRINKS

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By: Mary Laporta (teen leader)

Our first teen event was held on Saturday February 5, 2011 at the Country Club Lanes Lazer Tag in Sacramento. I want to thank everyone who came. We had Ingrid Becker, Brandon Dominguez, Jessica Flannery (teen leader) Mary Laporta (teen leader) Nick Paiz, Alli Plata, Dominique Presta and Miranda Reyes attend from the San Joaquin chapter and Rachael Ikeuchi, and Ben Foos from the San Francisco chapter.

We all got to meet new people and had lots of fun. We played two games of lazer tag and it was girls against boys. The boys really beat the girls (3 boys to 7 girls) but we know that girls rule! After lazer tag we had pizza and played in the arcade. We can’t wait until the next event. We will meet sometime after the Nationals at a water park. More info to come.

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The San Joaquin Valley Chapter will be hosting the Fall Regional Conference

over the weekend of October 21st-23rd at the Embassy Suites

in Old Sacramento. We are looking for you, our chapter members,

to step in and help make this a MEMORABLE regional.

If you would like to help out, please send Jaime Murphy

an email letting her know – [email protected]

Some of the areas that we’re looking for help in are:

Registration

Kids Room prep

Banquet

Friday Night Films for kids

Our next Regional Planning meeting is going to be on

Saturday May 7th at the Embassy Suites starting at 10:00.

Please feel free to join us.

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On March 25, 2011, Anthony LaSarte (brother of Danny LaSarte) along with 653 Navy recruits, graduated from the Recruit Training Command aka Boot Camp at Great Lakes, Illinois capping off a two-month long program which included weapons training, fire fighting, shipboard damage control, signaling with flags, proper procedures to board and disembark a ship, basic seamanship, running, push-ups, sit-ups, lots of classes, and the final test—Battle Stations—which is a 12-hour event (no sleep or food) to simulate an actual attack on a ship and to test the entire division on how well they have absorbed everything learned up to that point. Anthony was in the drum unit and performed during the graduation ceremony. He is currently attending Machinist Mate Apprentice School at Great Lakes for the next eight weeks. We are all very proud of his accomplishment and look forward to a 2-week liberty at home this summer.

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FAQ for the 2011 LPA National Conference

in Anaheim, California

The 2011 National Conference Registration Book is now available to read and download online. The online conference registration form is now available at www.regonline.com/LPA2011. Update 3/21/11 - New host hotels are now available.

The headquarter hotel - the Hyatt Regency Orange County - is sold out. The Hilton Garden Inn is one-half block away from the Hyatt. The room rate is $99 per night plus tax. Call the hotel directly at 714-703-9100 for reservations. Mention you are with LPA for the reduced room rate.

The Embassy Suites is $149 for a one-bedroom suite - either king or double beds. Call the hotel directly at 714-539-3300. (Scroll down to the bottom of this page for the picture of hotel locations.)

The Residence Inn is directly across the entryway from the Hyatt. Rates are $149 per night. All rooms are 1-bd. suites and include breakfast and evening social hour with a light dinner. Call 800-331-3131 or 714.591.4000 x 0 . Mention you are with LPA.

Under the “Group code” box, type the code below in bold for the room types requested: LITLITA - One-bedroom king suite.

LITLITC - One-bedroom queen/queen suite. What are the dates of the conference?

Friday, July 1 to Friday, July 8.

Do I need to be a current member of LPA in order to make my Conference Pre-Registration Deposit and hotel room reservation? No. We are requiring a flat amount of $75 for the Conference Pre-Registration Fee whether an attendee is a member of LPA or not. When the full conference book is available in April registration prices will be scaled for members and non-members. However, be aware, that only current members receive printed mailings, i.e. the LPA Today magazine and the full conference registration book. All information will be available online.

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How far from Disneyland, Downtown Disney, and Disney's California Adventure is the hotel? Disneyland is 1.3 miles from the hotel. The hotel offers a free shuttle to the Disney properties. The city of Anaheim also runs busses called the Anaheim Resort Transit (ART). You can purchase a one-day, three-day, or five-day pass for a few dollars per day. Special Events of the Week Saturday - Welcome Reception evening, DAAA events begin Sunday - medical workshops, fashion show in evening Monday - workshops, 4th of July Event, onsite and included in registration Tuesday - guest speaker on bullying - Jodee Blanco, evening Angel Game, talent show in evening Wednesday - workshops, Hollywood Star Tour, banquet night celebration Thursday - East/West baseball game, and beach bbq at Newport Beach Pier, Sunset Cruise on Newport Harbor Dances will be every night from Friday, July 1 to Friday, July 8. Transportation Questions What are nearby airports? The closest airport is John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, CA (call letters are SNA). SNA is about 15 minutes away from the hotel. The Long Beach Airport (LGB) is about 30 minutes away from the hotel. It is a nice, very small airport and the only airport in the area that carries with JetBlue. The Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is about one hour away from the hotel, without traffic. Does the hotel have a shuttle to and from the airport? No, the hotel does not provide shuttle transportation to and from the airport. We will provide shuttle information in the April Registration Packet. Picture of 4 local hotels. The Residence Inn is on the far left (yellow). The Hilton Garden Inn is near the middle of the picture. The Hyatt is behind and to the right. The Embassy Suites is on the far right (reddish-brown). We do not yet have a contract with the Embassy Suites but have been told they have a AAA rate of $141 per night, plus tax.

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Officers Contact Information

Dan Okenfuss, President Sacramento, CA 95818 916-397-6915 [email protected]

Jaime Murphy, Vice President Antelope, CA 95843 (916) 300- 5640 [email protected]

Jim Kay, Treasurer Carmichael, CA 95608 (916)359-4637 [email protected]

Michelle Conrad, Secretary Vacaville, CA 95687 (707)469-0175 [email protected] Parent Coordinators: Melisa Chase – (916)870-8407 Aimee Coehlo – (209)988-7635 Nancy LaSarte – (530)676-2226

Jaime Murphy – (916)300-5640 Amanda Tumbiolo - (559)299-9199

Tammy Volheim – (530)432-4248

Presidents Message continued…

It's one thing to see a few pictures of this darling little boy. But the moment of actually meeting him and holding him is unforgettable. It's a whole new beginning of a lifelong bond!

We spent a few more days together at our hotel getting to know Jun-ho before heading home. During this time, we took daily strolls through the city, did some shopping, ate at delicious restaurants, and even made some lifelong friends with some of the local residents in Seoul.

Now we are back in Sacramento and introducing Jun-ho to his new home and neighborhood. We look forward to introducing him to you at a future LPA event! You can follow our family's progress on our blog at http://www.hewnandhammered.com/junho/

Best wishes,

Dan Okenfuss

SJVC President