March 2013 - Prader-Willi Homes Of Oconomowoc

Prader-Willi Homes of Oconomowoc
Family Connection
I S S U E
1 6
M A R C H
2 0 1 3
An Elegant Evening for Everyone…
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Snowflake Ball
Gallery
2
Upcoming Events
2
Puppy Love
3
Happy Birthday &
4
Resident Milestones
PWHO Artwork
4
In the spotlight
5
Special Olympics
5
On the Move 2013
6
Staff Anniversaries
6
Sweethearts, Amanda
and Aaron, share a
photo op at the Ball
For the second year in a row,
Prader-Willi Homes of
Oconomowoc Corporate Gym
was transformed into a winter
wonderland for the PWSA-WI
Snowflake Ball. Dressed in elegant attire,
families from around the state and neighboring
areas, gathered for a magical evening of
dinner, dancing and fun. It was a truly
extraordinary occasion for everyone. We want
to pass on a special thanks to all of the
wonderful volunteers who came out to make
this year so special . Our amazing DJ, Scott
Wileman rocked it once again!
ISSUE
16
PAGE
2
2013 Snowflake Ball
A special
time for
Families
and Friends
Dancing the night away...We
could never forget the
chicken dance
An
evening of
elegance
Dinner Delights!
PWHO Families: Make
sure to check out Flickr
for pictures of the
PWHO Family Picnic,
Holidays and Snowflake Ball or visit us
on Facebook!!!
FAMILY CONNECTION
ISSUE
16
PAGE
3
Puppy Love! Wagging tails bring big smiles!
-Molly
Joy-
This past summer, I adopted a very sweet and cute rescue puppy. This puppy has
lived a hard life by the age of 6 months. She had 2 adoptions fall through and also
went through many surgeries and lost her left eye, due to an infection caused by her
vaccinations. This puppy is possibly a Beagle/ Terrier mix, named Molly Joy.
Molly Joy (above) and
Cosmo at
Christmas.
When I told the residents that I adopted Molly Joy, they were super excited to have
another friend come to Margaret Ruth. I told them about her disability and many of
them had questions and concerns. This lead to great discussion on some personal
experiences they lived through with their disabilities and how they would never treat
anybody like some of them were treated. So we made it our mission to make Molly
Joy feel welcome and give her every opportunity for have a happy dog life.
Molly was introduced to the residents and they all accepted her into their hearts and
home. Molly Joy is one spoiled dog now and loves every minute of it. The residents
take great pride into raising Molly to be a well behaved dog. They enjoy taking her
for walks, teaching her manners and tricks, and telling stories about her to their
families, taking pictures with her and playing fetch. They are professionals at puppy
proofing the house when she visits, because they know she will get into all the
garbage’s and chew on the door stop wedge.
Not only does Molly warm our hearts , she has also met some of our residents parents
and guardians. I even had one family offer to take Molly on a home visit along with
their child, because they loved her so much. She is a great addition to Margaret Ruth
Home and I couldn’t have asked for a better dog. Written By: Ashley Hookstead– Manager of Margaret Ruth
-Paxton-
-Cosmo-
Cosmo was adopted from a breeder in
Oconomowoc by Cyndi Loeher, staff at
Pantheon Industries. She has been visiting our homes for over a year now. She
loves to be held and to play throughout
her visit.
On one occasion, the Andrew Home
ladies had helped give her a bath and
now she avoids that bathtub at all costs.
She is nosey and will find the residents
in their rooms and watch TV and hang
out with them.
Cosmo is nothing but a lover and it’s so great when both her and Cyndi pick up
at the group homes because then the love
can be shared.
Paxton is from Houston, TX found online-on a Maltipoo website. He is a rescue dog
and was brought to WI last year. His owner is
Jessica Roberts, manager of Hanson House and
she believes “he has an attitude problem.” 
When visiting Hanson during the evenings he goes
in all the rooms that have their doors open and
pulls out all the shoes and brings them
one at a time into the common area and
makes a pile. The residents get a kick
out of it and its really funny to
watch. He doesn’t stop until he hits all the available bedrooms.
Everyone gets very excited for
Paxton’s visits and it’s obviously due to his charms and good looks.
ISSUE
16
PAGE 4
Resident Milestones
10 yearsMarch-Marcus O.
15 yearsMarch-Jessica K.
30 yearsMarch-Cindy O.
March Birthdays
 Adam C.
 Amanda C.
April Birthdays
 Tom B.
 Tony D.
 Sarah H.
 Kate J.
 Lisa L.
 Bonita P.
 Toby S.
 Brian L.
May Birthdays
 Jeff B.
 Karen B.
 Nick B.
 Jefferson K.
 April K.
 Shaun K.
Amazing news to share! One of
Jacob M’s masterpieces has been submitted in to the Very
Special Arts “Call for Art” exhibition in Madison
Wisconsin. The display will be March 16th –
April 10th. The art specialist from Genesee Lake
School submitted one piece from the school and Jacob’s hard work on this piece made him the perfect candidate. It’s quite the accomplishment as it will be displayed with many other aspiring
student artists from all across Wisconsin.
Congratulations Jacob!!!! Check out the website to
see the special exhibit!
http://vsawis.org/exhibitions_sales/call_for_art/
ART CLUB: Update
In July 2013, the PWHO Art
Club has reserved space at the
Delafield Art Center in Delafield to have an
Art Show!!! The club participants are
already busy at work putting a gallery of
pieces together.
So far several masterpieces have been made
utilizing different styles and mediums. Art
Club director Deb Levine, also showcases
their work on www.artsonia.com which is
an online museum. This way everyone can
share in seeing their amazing creations!!!
Further details will go out to family and
friends on the art show as it gets closer.
ISSUE
16
PAGE
5
In the Spotlight
We would like to congratulate one of the newest board members
of Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Wisconsin, our very own
Steve Stephen! Steve has been actively involved in spreading
PWS awareness and assisting in featured events provided by
PWSA-WI. We know Steve will prove to be a great asset to their
team because of his determination and hard work displayed here
at PWHO.
We Are Very Proud!
Thank you to Cindy O.
for warming our hearts
and our homes for 30
years. We are
truly blessed!
2013 Events
4/15
PWSA-WI Lunch & Learn at the ORP Corporate Center in Oconomowoc, WI
5/8
PWSA-WI Lunch & Learn at the Weisman Center in Madison, WI
5/11
PWSA-WI Annual Walk-a-Thon at Fowler Park in Oconomowoc WI
8/24
PWSA-WI Annual Golf Outing at Windwood Golf Course in Watertown, WI
10/12
PWHO’s Family & Friends Fall Picnic at Turner Hall in Watertown WI
11/7-11/9 PWSA-USA National Conference in Orlando, FL
Special Olympics
Special Olympics Basketball–
Brandon Sprewer
Classic Basketball Tournament
Prader-Willi Homes of Oconomowoc had three teams
compete in the Brandon Sprewer Classic Basketball
Tournament on Saturday, February 9th, 2013. The PWHO
Knights, Warriors and Gladiators participated in
scrimmage games that are used to set up competitive match- ups for the
Regional and Sectional Competitions in March.
The PWHO Knights although very determined were defeated in all three of their games. PWHO Warriors held
their own to win one, however lost two. The PWHO Gladiators put their
skills to the test by winning two of their three games. All of the athletes
had an enjoyable time showing off their basketball prowess to the best
of their ability. Athletes played hard and showed great sportsmanship,
which was a major theme at the Brandon Sprewer Classic. Most
importantly we all had fun, and look forward to Regional’s on March 3rd & 10th and Sectionals will be March
23rd, 2013.
Upcoming
Special O. Events
March 3rd– Basketball
Skills Competition in
Hartford

March 10th-Basketball
Competition in Mequon

March 23th - Sectional
Basketball Tournament
in Pleasant Prairie

April 6-7– State
Basketball Tournament
in Oshkosh

April 20st- Aquatics
Competition at the Pabst
Special Olympic Swimming: Dedication and Anticipation
Farms YMCA in
The PWHO Swim team has been hard at practice every
Saturday gearing up for their District competition on April
20th, 2013. The enthusiasm and dedication this year is very
strong so it’s no doubt that the heat will be brought on competition day.
Oconomowoc

May 4th– Athletics
Regional Competition
in Muskego
PWSA-WI 3rd Annual Walk-a-Thon
Mark your calendars for PWSA-WI’s 3rd Annual Walk-a-thon in
recognition of Prader-Willi syndrome awareness month.
When: May 11, 2013
Where: Fowler Park in Oconomowoc, WI
There are many ways to get involved in this wonderful fundraising
event. Some ideas include:

Plan your visits around the walk and join one of PWHO’s house teams or put together your own family team!

Collect pledges and donate directly to PWSA-WI. or select a designated PWHO home you would
like to help increase funds on their pledge sheets.

Sponsor a Foot Print in honor of your loved one, for them to see along the walk route

Become a volunteer and assist with the event

Come out to the park and cheer on your favorite teams
Participants will take the beautiful scenic two mile route around Fowler Lake, enjoy a picnic
lunch, and have an opportunity to visit with friends and family. Our favorite DJ, Scott, will
once again join us and provide us with music following the walk.
Proceeds from the event will be used to
support our local families in Wisconsin,
and our national families through
PWSA-USA. Additional Information and
Registration forms are available online.
Please visit www.pwsawi.org.
PWHO Employee Anniversaries and Milestones
PWHO would like to thank each and every employee for their countless hours of service and dedication to supporting the
individuals who reside at PWHO. Their long term commitment is an inspiration to us and is truly appreciated.
March Anniversaries
Sarah Nissen– 10 years
Seth Bezanson - 8 years
Joe Collins– 4 years
Tom Gierach - 4 year
Mike Hohenwald - 4 years
Alysa Fuentes - 4 years
Rachel Gross-2 years
Elizabeth Seer - 2 years
Lisa Young - 2 years
April Anniversaries
Linda Wiggins - 13 years
Cynthia Loehr - 7 years
Amanda Burow - 6 years
Katrina Lehmann - 5 years
Joe James - 5 years
Kara Bender - 4 years
Pauline Rams-Floryance-4 years
Lynne Brandemuehl-2 years
Elizabeth Ridenour - 2 years
Tammy Snyder - 2 years
Thomas Dziekonski - 1 year
Reem Youkhana - 1 year
James Garron - 1 year
May Anniversaries
Susan Morris - 20 years
April Tiedtke - 5 years
Elizabeth Coats– 5 years
Crystal Feight-4 years
Theresa Wendt - 2 years
Goyko Rajak - 2 years
Jacob Waedekin - 1 year
Rachell Ameen - 1 year
Alyse Lotz - 1 year
To view our previous newsletters, visit us at www.pwho.com