Autism Update January/ February - Macomb St. Clair Autism Society

Macomb/St. Clair County Chapter of the Autism Society of America
Autism Awareness Update
Fall 2009
www.macombasa.org
“Out & About Autism”
5k Run/5k Walk 2009
It was a beautiful day at Stony Creek Metro
Park, for our 4th annual 5k Run/Walk for Autism Awareness. Over 500 participants enjoyed the event, raising just over $10,500, to
fund recreational grants for Special Education
classrooms and to create outings sponsored
by our Chapter for children and their families
in Macomb and St. Clair counties. There are
too many people to thank for the success
of this event, but please patronize the businesses listed below, who made the day possible. Many of the sponsors listed have supported us four years in a row, and we cannot
thank them enough! In addition, the Chapter
wishes to thank the participants who collected pledges from their families and friends.
You make all the difference. Please visit our
website for the recreational grant application
form. THIS event is for the kids, to get them
“Out & About” in their community! Thank you
everyone. SEE you next June!~Anne Gacki
and Theresa Gabalis, Walk Co-Chairpersons.
GOLD
First State Bank
Jack’s Place for Autism
Kroger - 21 Mile and Card
Two Men and a Truck
Pump It Up
SILVER
Hanson’s Running
The Center for TLC
Sensory Systems Clinic
Crawl, Walk, Jump, Run Therapy Clinic
Dr. Kristyn Gregory
Wakely Associates
One of the many groups who participated in the 2009 Walk/
Run. We couldn’t do it without your help. Thank you everyone!
BRONZE
Family Eye Care
Amish Attic
NEWSLETTER
Autism One Stop Shop
RAFFLE PRIZE DONORS
Dick’s Sporting Goods
Little Caesars Pizza
Shelby Lanes
Mr. Muffler
Dena Nannoshi
N.W. Kaltz and Sons Farms
Roberta Schmidt
Imperial Lanes
Sam Sorrento’s Pizza at Imperial Lanes
The Therapy Shoppe
Studio II Salon
LUV (manicures and pedicures)
Tim Horton’s
September 2009
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
By Annette Duda
Hello all! So glad to be back!
MSCCC/ASA Board
President
Annette Duda
Vice-President
Kara Ferrarelli
Treasurer
Theresa Gabalis
Secretary
LaKesha Davenport
Directors
Michelle Dubiel
Laurie Ogilvie
Robert Okuszka
Our Chapter held elections on June 25, 2009 at our Annual Wine & Cheese
Social. We have some returning members and several new people join our
Board. I would like to thank the former Board members for their time and
dedication and thank the new Board members for becoming a part of this
organization to assist with the many goals of this Chapter. We welcome you.
Summer sure didn’t overwhelm us this year, but it’s always sad to say goodbye and get back to the routine of school and all its activities. Our first Support Meeting is coming up on Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 7:00pm.
Hope to see you all there; we will have plenty of information out for you.
We have already had our Out & About Walk/Run at Stony Creek, our Ride for
Autism in August, attended Bear Lake Camp for the weekend with many families, and attended a Golf Outing that chose our Chapter as the beneficiary. In
addition, we will have walkers in the Romeo Parade over Labor Day Weekend
which should be fun. We will have Nick Dubin speak at our October meeting, and plans for the Halloween Party are under way, in addition to a private
movie showing for the Thanksgiving weekend. Several of our Board members
will be attending a Tea given by the Women’s Auxiliary at the Polish Century
Club and we have the hall booked for our wonderful Christmas party, which is
enjoyed by all. Don’t forget the Sweetheart Ball in February.
We look forward to a fun-filled and informative year ahead and hope that we
can provide support and information to you and your family.
Roberta Schmidt
Steve Taravella
Lisa Zanoni
Immediate Past President
Betsy Mickley
Thank You!
The following have made a recent donation to the
Macomb/St. Clair County Chapter of the ASA
Knight of Columbus, St. Lawrence Council 2950 for a donation of $1,000.
Malow J. High School Student Council for a donation of $600.
Richard Moose Lodge #2575 for a donation of $600.
Women of the Richard Moose Lodge for a donation of $600.
Joann Granata for her donation in honor of Santino Catherincchia.
Pump It Up! in Shelby Twp.
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Ride For Autism 2009
by Annette Duda
Our 5th Annual Ride for Autism was held on Saturday,
August 1, 2009. Riders began with breakfast at the
Southfield Civic Center and then embarked on their
73 mile ride. The Chrenenko Family, along with their
son, Victor, who was the inspiration for this ride, was
in attendance. It was a beautiful sunny day and the
bikers arrived at Biker Bob’s in Taylor to a wonderful
lunch assisted by many volunteers.
The Grand Marshal this year was Ron Savage from
Channel 2 News who also did a terrific news story a
week prior to the ride with Victor’s family and the Ride
for Autism Committee, Sal Ferra, Pete Joseph & Larry
Stock, the video also showed Judy Burkhardt from
Bozymowski.
Heidi Scheer, Mrs. Great Lakes, was also in attendance and Fiddlers Re-Strung played some beautiful music. A raffle was held for a motorized bar stool
along with several Fish Bowl Raffles.
Victor Chrenenko, Anita Chrenenko and
Heidi Scheer.
Donations were received from Meijer, Bill Diehr Catering, Restaurant Depot, Joe’s Produce and Biker
Bob’s.
Victor and his family were the inspiration to
create the yearly motorcycle ride for autism
held in the downriver area.
We share the proceeds for this Ride with 2 other organizations and we are very grateful to Sal, Pete and
Larry and appreciate all the hard work they do all year
for this Ride.
MSCCC/ASA Detroit Tigers Baseball
Game Outing 2009
by Annette Duda
If you arrived at the stadium early, hopefully you were
lucky enough to get a Detroit Tigers Floppy Hat on
Monday July 6, 2009. That day many families from
our Chapter attended the Tigers Game against the
Kansas City Royals. Even though we lost that game,
it was wonderful to be surrounded by the sights and
sounds of the ballpark and to spend a warm summer
evening with some great families. Hope everyone
enjoyed the outing.
Student Council Donates $600
The Student Council at Malow Jr. High School made
a donation to the Macomb/St. Clair County Chapter
of the ASA. The students raised $600 in donations by
holding a “Penny Wars” contest between the different
grades. The grade which earned the highest score
was the seventh grade. They won a fun ‘pie in
the face assembly.’ The assembly featured
hilarious pie relays and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pie a favorite teacher/administrator. We are honored
that Student Council of Malow Jr.
High School chose our Chapter to
receive the funds from this event.
SAVE THE DATE
2010 ASA National Conference
July 7-10th
Dallas, Texas
Thank you to the Detroit Tigers Foundation!
Go Tigers!!
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In Memoriam...
William Browning
Memorial Golf Outing
The following people gave donations
in loving memory of Margaret Pickutoski. Beloved
mother of Chapter member Theresa Gabalis.
by Annette Duda
On Saturday, August 29, 2009, Theresa Gabalis and
I attended a Golf Outing at Salt River Golf Course in
New Baltimore to volunteer for the GCC/IBT District
Council 3 Seventh Annual Golf Outing. All of the proceeds are being donated to our Chapter. They had
162 golfers registered and after a bit of a chilly morning, the sun did come out and the golfers enjoyed
their day. We would like to thank Dan Courtney and
Steve Nobles for their assistance in organizing this
event. The Parlow family, who are GCC/IBT members
and also were members of our Chapter, have a child
affected by Autism and that is why they chose our
Chapter as beneficiaries and we are forever grateful
to them. We will be attending their Board Meeting in
September to receive their check.
Janis Ginter
Jeff & Carole Knupp
Jerry & Sara Figueroa
Dave & Dawn Fletcher
Roseville Community Schools
Ronald Patterson
Frank & Diane Krycia
Roslyn Bashawaty, Roz & Friends
Ann Kulik
Robert & Lynn Bell
Ann McEnanly
Larry & Julia Short and Audit Team
Peggy Harbaugh
Michael & Kathleen Willemsen
Ronald & Karen Kramer
The Macomb/St. Clair County Chapter Memorial, Tribute, and Donation Form
If you wish to make a charitable contribution in memory of or to honor a loved one, your tribute will be published in our
next issue unless you specify otherwise. $5.00 is the minimum donation and each entry will feature two to three lines.
______A memorial honoring a loved one
_______A tribute for a birthday, anniversay, special occasion
Name:__________________________________________________________________________________________
Address:_________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone:__________________________________________________________________________________________
Person being honored:______________________________________________________________________________
Message:________________________________________________________________________________________
Mail this form with your check to Attention Newsletter Memorial: MSCCC/ASA, P.O. Box 182186, Shelby Twp, MI 48318
Rapid Search Network
Tea Planned to Benefit Autism
Betsy Mickley
Rapid Search Network is a company that provides a protection
system for children. The company was at Bozymowski in May
taking pictures of children and making ID cards of these children.
ID cards are used to provide information for law enforcements to
expedite the search for missing children and adults.
Rapid Search Network created ID cards for children affected by
autism and their siblings and MSCCC passed out information on
effective searches and profiles necessary to launch fast searches
for missing children. The police need a full photo, a physical profile, and a list of people your child knows to start a search. In less
then 30 minutes, many families were prepared.
The Ladies Auxiliary Club will
hold a tea at the Polish Century Club on November 22nd
from 2-4p.m. Tickets, $25.00
per person will be available to
purchase in the near future.
The Polish Century Club is located
at 33204 Maple Lane, Sterling Heights, Michigan. Phone: (586) 264-7990.
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JOIN THE FUN!
Become a member of the Macomb/St. Clair County Chapter of the Autism Society of America. Join other families at our annual holiday events , attend monthly
outings for children or attend our annual Family Enrichment Weekend camp. All
members receive monthly mailings of events, our newsletter and
membership in the Autism Society of America.
Application for Membership
Name____________________________________________________________________________________
Address _________________________________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip ___________________________________________________________________________
E-Mail Address ___________________________________________________________________________
Phone (
) _____________________ Interest:
Parent (
)
Relative ( )
Other ( )
Occupation ____________________________ Occupation ____________________________
Membership Categories:
Newsletter (MSCCC/ASA newsletter only, no membership discounts)
Total Fee
$10.00___
The below membership rates include MSCCC/ASA and Autism Society of America dues.
Full Time Student (just the student gets discount)
Individual (Parent) (one adult and all children get discount)
Family (2 Adults and all children get discount)
Please make Checks Payable to: MSCCC/ASA
$20.00___
$37.00___
$50.00___
Mail Check and Form to:
MSCCC/ASA
P.O. Box 182186
Shelby Township, MI 48318-2186
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A Weekend Together
By Kara Ferrarelli
This year’s family enrichment weekend was held on August 21-23. This year’s theme was “Empowerment
Through Togetherness” and was a great opportunity to meet other families and reunite with old friends you
don’t have a chance to see during the school year. This year we had 55 people attend and next year with the
addition of the children’s play area, hopefully there will be even more.
Fortunately, we had no rain on Saturday so the families were able to enjoy water activities such as swimming,
canoeing, and everyone’s favorite fishing. We also had non-water activities such as archery and Bingo. This
year we had two movie nights, both Friday and Saturday where we enjoyed Shrek the Third and Bolt. We also
had a corn roast on Saturday evening which everyone seemed to enjoy.
The Family Enrichment Camp is always a wonderful event with plenty activities for everyone and a place to
enjoy as a family. It is a great place for our kid’s to make friends and memories.
Left: Bear Lake Camp Director, Dennis Tomkins
teaches a young camper archery.
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Above Center: Camp members pose
for a group photo in front of cabins.
Above: Campers play Bingo!
2009 Sweetheart Ball
Betsy Mickley
The 2009 Sweetheart Ball was a beautiful success. Even though the economy was bad there
were many companies and people ready to donate items, money, and time. We had a goldfish raffle at this ball
and it was a hit.Everyone loves to win something and we had many winners.
The money we raise at the Ball is used to buy things for the classrooms, support meetings, and Chapter
events. The Chapter can do more for our families because of the supporters.
We thank everyone that donated for this fundraiser. Please frequent the following stores and businesses:
ABC Warehouse
About Face Beauty Spa
American Gymnastics
Amore’s Family Restaurant
Andiamo -Second City
Antonios Italian Cuisine
Aunt Annies Restaurant
Automobile Hall of Fame
Avon Players
Banbury Family
Bath City Bistro
Best For Breeds
Boughton Family
Brann’s Steakhouse
Buddy’s Pizza
Capek-Myers Family
Cheeseburger in Paradise
CiCi’s Pizza
Cindy Challis
Cindy Zeller
Cookies by Design
Countryside Craft Mall
Crafty Lady
Custom Craft
Dale & Thomas Popcorn
Dave and Buster’s
DC Sports
Detroit Lions
Detroit Pistons
Detroit Science Center
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Dr Phillip DeMio
Dr. Sears
Dr. Ziobron
Roberta Schmidt and family walk in the Romeo
Labor Day Parade to create autism awareness.
Dubiel Family
El Charro Restaurante
Mexicano
Everyday Miracles
First State Bank
Forma*Kool
Tom & Rosemary Frazho
Gabalis Family
Gem Century Theatres
Gerald R. Ford Museum
Goike Family
Grand Rapids Children Museum
Great Skate
Grosse Pointe Theatre
Guardian Angel
Haig’s of Rochester
J. Iovannisci
Joe & Nancy Pecar
JTP Films, Inc
Judy Burkhardt
Kathy’s Korner
Krycia Family
Lake Breeze
Lake Shore Store
Learning Tree Golf Club
Lenart Family
Leonard Fedon, DDS
Linda O’Brien
Linda Taft
Lonaberger
Luigis
M&M Creations
Maas Family
Maggiano Little Italy
Makin’Waves Inc
Maloof Jewelry & Gifts
Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle
Marvin’s Marvelous
Mech. Museum
Maya’s Deli
Meadow Brook Theatre
Michigan Stone Jewelry
MJ& E. Productions
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MJR Theatres / Partridge Creek
Cinema 14
Mr. Muffler
Mulrenin Family
Nana’s Sweeties
Nino Salvaggio
Odawa Casino Resort
Paul Richter
Philip & Gail Taravella
Port Huron Museum
Rich Malec
Romeo Foot
Romeo Golf Course
Romeo Theatre
RomeoVeterinarian Hospital
Roz & Friends
Salad Creations
Salasarita’s
Salon Pynk
Heidi Scheer
Sheplers
Shine, A Lifestyle
South Rawles Dental Care
Starbrite Entertainment
Stephenson, Bonnie
Steven & Tina Taravella
Stevi B’s
Sylvan Learning Center
Taravella Family
Texas Roadhouse
Thomas Nevin Jewelers
Thrifty Flowers
Tom McGuire, DDS
Tony’s Jewelery
Value City Furniture
Villa Penna
Vince& Joe’s
Vintage Wine
Viviano’s Flowers
Wheel of Fortune
WWE
Autism Update Calendar
MSCCC/ASA EVENTS
Download MSCCC/ASA Event Registration Forms at www.macombasa.org
Sept. 17th-Support Meeting. 7p.m.
October 15th-Parent Support Meeting. “Making Lemonade from Lemons-Utilizing the Strengths and Interests of Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome” Speaker will be Nick Dubin.7 p.m.
Oct. 24th-Annual Halloween Party and Trunk or Treat. Held at the Bozymowski Center gym.
Nov. 19th-Parent Support Meeting. 7 p.m.
November 22nd-Polish Century Club Tea.2-4 p.m. Tickets $25.00. Sponsored by Ladies Auxiliary Club.
November 28th-Private Moving Showing. Details to come.
Dec. 6th-Annual Christmas party. Polish Century Club. Dinner, Santa visit and gifts for all children.
Dec. 17th-Parent Support Meeting. 7 p.m.
January 21, 2010-Parent Support Meeting. 7 p.m.
Feb. 13th - Annual Sweetheart Ball at Penna’s of Sterling. Live Band Music, dinner, and auction. Donations
appreciated.
The Macomb/ St. Clair County Chapter’s monthly support meeting is held at St. Ephrem’s Church
located at the SE corner of 17 Mile and Dodge Park in Sterling Heights, MI. Updated information on
Private Movie Showing of “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” on November 28 at MJR
Marketplace - Sterling Heights.
DEtails Coming Soon!
Macomb/St.Clair County Chapter
of the Autism Society of America
P.O. Box 182186
Shelby Twp., MI 48318-2186