Governor's Race

To contact us Click HERE
While I've been trying to force myself to remember what happens to alcohols in the presence of aqueous sulfuric acid, Kos diarist N in Seattle has been paying attention to the WA Governor's race. Here's his summary of the race as of Tuesday, with 32 of 39 counties reporting:

...The composite story through Tuesday is that, even with over four-fifths of all counties reporting, only about 32% of Washington's gubernatorial ballots have been recounted. A mere 13% of the recounted ballots were cast in counties where Christine Gregoire outpolled Dino Rossi. Some 439 new for-a-candidate votes have been tallied -- 184 for Gregoire, 248 for Rossi, 7 for Bennett. If we accept all numbers shown on the Secretary of State website, including the clearly-erroneous ballot count from Cowlitz County, the new-found vote rate is now 4.8/10000 ballots. From that value, we can estimate that the total number of new-found votes for a candidate might be 1375. That's down quite a bit from Monday (5.8/10000, 1687) and the weekend (7.1/10000, 2058). However, this estimate doesn't take into account the several hundred improperly-invalidated ballots from King County.

Wait-and-see remains the only rational outlook on the Washington gubernatorial race.

Here's his summary of Thursday's results, with Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom Counties reporting in. Which is to say that only 40% of the states votes have been officially recounted to date. So waiting (patiently or not) remains the only option.

Secretary's Office on the Recount

To contact us Click HERE
Just talked with a communications staffer in Secretary of State Sam Reed's office regarding the contentious recount appeal currently on the docket of the State Supreme court.

She said that the Secretary of State's current position under CW 29A60210 was "basically requesting that the Supreme Court make it clear that canvassing boards have discretion to correct errors or fix discrepancies in the count." Speaking for the SoS, she said it was their belief that "there is a safety valve", and that a previous Supreme Court ruling didn't say the ballots now in question shouldn't be counted.

To distinguish this motion to clarify from other battles fought over the recount, she said that in the previous State Supreme Court case the Democrats had insisted that all rejected ballots be recanvassed. This case, however, regards only correcting errors or inconsistencies in canvassing.

Breaking Ground on the 79th SSC's New Home

To contact us Click HERE


Los Alamitos, Calif. — The 79th Sustainment Support Command hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $29 million U.S. Army Reserve Center on Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, Oct. 15.
Projected to be completed in early 2013, this new 52,479 square foot Army Reserve Center will be the future home of the 79th SSC, the Headquarters for roughly twenty-five thousand Army Reserve Soldiers and government civilians throughout the Western United States.
Creation of this facility is also helping stimulate the local economy by utilizing more than 50 sub-contractors which employ more than 1,000 Southern California workers.
Maj. Gen William D. Frink Jr., commanding general of the 79th SSC said, “this facility could not have come along at a more ideal time, as our nation contends with high levels of unemployment, debts, deficits and security concerns, the creation of this new facility has and will continue to make significant contributions to the local economy while helping to provide for our common defense.”
In addition, this new facility is being built in accordance with the green building movement. The United States Army, Air Force and Navy have developed policies that require sustainable design and development of their installations. These policies meet and, in many cases, exceed presidential directives on environmentally appropriate practices.
This project alone is expected to see a twenty percent reduction in energy costs, a twenty percent reduction in water use, and divert twenty percent of the construction waste from the landfill. In addition to other sustainability features, more than twenty percent of the building’s energy consumption will be powered by solar panels.
“These practices equate to savings to the installation and ultimately the taxpayer, and are a testament to the sustainability in construction standards of the Corps of Engineers,” said Frink.

Gettin' Dirty

To contact us Click HERE
The morning started off ... not so well at all. It had rained the night before, the PT field was muddy. (Can you guess where this is going? :-) Somehow whatever we did, we were not fast enough, did not push hard enough, did not try hard enough. After stretching and several rounds of pushups and flutter kicks, the Drill Sergeants told us to run down a hill (to a point where we could no longer see them) and await instructions. They then called "Fall In!" (the command to get into formation). We sprinted as fast as we could, lined up into something vaguely resembling a formation (many would call it a gaggle), and then tried to straighten out into four uniform rows. After we failed miserably for a minute or so, one of the Drill Sergeants would yell out "Too slow! Back down the hill!". After about the fourth iteration, the Drill Sergeant stood so that we would have to stand in deep muddy puddles and called "Fall In!". I thought "sh*t, my socks are going to get wet." Somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew my socks were the least of my worries.

As our feet became wet, the Drill Sergeant called out "Front leaning rest position - Move!". You may recall from a previous blog that the "front leaning rest position" has nothing to do with resting. You get down on hands and feet, body straight, ready to perform the pushup. "Down!" called the Drill Sergeant. We moved down in unison. "Up!" was the next command we expected to hear, but it never came. Instead, we heard "All the way down!" There we were, face down in the puddle. "Roll to the left!", "Roll to the right!", "Roll to the left!", "More to the left!" (to make sure everyone ended up in the deep part of the puddle. "Up!"

After that, we did our final stretches, and were dismissed to go upstairs, shower, and get ready for our first day of HMMWV driving school. You might think that we would be upset, but the opposite was true. In the shower we all kept talking about how much fun it was to roll around in the mud - kind of like being a kid again.

Ed, Jack & Flea To Rock Bridge School '07!

To contact us Click HERE
The line-up for this years annual Bridge School Benefit on October 27th & 28th will see Eddie reprise his 3-piece band that perfomed earlier this year at Hullabaloo, featuring Jack Irons (ex-PJ drummer, for those of you who didn't know) and Red Hot Chili Pepper's bass slapping legend, Flea!

Lets keep our fingers crossed for lots of acoustic No Code/Yield goodness!

The full line-up is:
- Neil Young
- Metallica
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- Eddie Vedder with Flea and Jack Irons
- Tom Waits with Kronos Quartet
- John Mayer
- Tegan and Sara
- Regina Spektor

Buy tickets now at www.livenation.com

Governor's Race

To contact us Click HERE
While I've been trying to force myself to remember what happens to alcohols in the presence of aqueous sulfuric acid, Kos diarist N in Seattle has been paying attention to the WA Governor's race. Here's his summary of the race as of Tuesday, with 32 of 39 counties reporting:

...The composite story through Tuesday is that, even with over four-fifths of all counties reporting, only about 32% of Washington's gubernatorial ballots have been recounted. A mere 13% of the recounted ballots were cast in counties where Christine Gregoire outpolled Dino Rossi. Some 439 new for-a-candidate votes have been tallied -- 184 for Gregoire, 248 for Rossi, 7 for Bennett. If we accept all numbers shown on the Secretary of State website, including the clearly-erroneous ballot count from Cowlitz County, the new-found vote rate is now 4.8/10000 ballots. From that value, we can estimate that the total number of new-found votes for a candidate might be 1375. That's down quite a bit from Monday (5.8/10000, 1687) and the weekend (7.1/10000, 2058). However, this estimate doesn't take into account the several hundred improperly-invalidated ballots from King County.

Wait-and-see remains the only rational outlook on the Washington gubernatorial race.

Here's his summary of Thursday's results, with Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom Counties reporting in. Which is to say that only 40% of the states votes have been officially recounted to date. So waiting (patiently or not) remains the only option.

Secretary's Office on the Recount

To contact us Click HERE
Just talked with a communications staffer in Secretary of State Sam Reed's office regarding the contentious recount appeal currently on the docket of the State Supreme court.

She said that the Secretary of State's current position under CW 29A60210 was "basically requesting that the Supreme Court make it clear that canvassing boards have discretion to correct errors or fix discrepancies in the count." Speaking for the SoS, she said it was their belief that "there is a safety valve", and that a previous Supreme Court ruling didn't say the ballots now in question shouldn't be counted.

To distinguish this motion to clarify from other battles fought over the recount, she said that in the previous State Supreme Court case the Democrats had insisted that all rejected ballots be recanvassed. This case, however, regards only correcting errors or inconsistencies in canvassing.

Gettin' Dirty

To contact us Click HERE
The morning started off ... not so well at all. It had rained the night before, the PT field was muddy. (Can you guess where this is going? :-) Somehow whatever we did, we were not fast enough, did not push hard enough, did not try hard enough. After stretching and several rounds of pushups and flutter kicks, the Drill Sergeants told us to run down a hill (to a point where we could no longer see them) and await instructions. They then called "Fall In!" (the command to get into formation). We sprinted as fast as we could, lined up into something vaguely resembling a formation (many would call it a gaggle), and then tried to straighten out into four uniform rows. After we failed miserably for a minute or so, one of the Drill Sergeants would yell out "Too slow! Back down the hill!". After about the fourth iteration, the Drill Sergeant stood so that we would have to stand in deep muddy puddles and called "Fall In!". I thought "sh*t, my socks are going to get wet." Somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew my socks were the least of my worries.

As our feet became wet, the Drill Sergeant called out "Front leaning rest position - Move!". You may recall from a previous blog that the "front leaning rest position" has nothing to do with resting. You get down on hands and feet, body straight, ready to perform the pushup. "Down!" called the Drill Sergeant. We moved down in unison. "Up!" was the next command we expected to hear, but it never came. Instead, we heard "All the way down!" There we were, face down in the puddle. "Roll to the left!", "Roll to the right!", "Roll to the left!", "More to the left!" (to make sure everyone ended up in the deep part of the puddle. "Up!"

After that, we did our final stretches, and were dismissed to go upstairs, shower, and get ready for our first day of HMMWV driving school. You might think that we would be upset, but the opposite was true. In the shower we all kept talking about how much fun it was to roll around in the mud - kind of like being a kid again.

Breaking Ground on the 79th SSC's New Home

To contact us Click HERE


Los Alamitos, Calif. — The 79th Sustainment Support Command hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $29 million U.S. Army Reserve Center on Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, Oct. 15.
Projected to be completed in early 2013, this new 52,479 square foot Army Reserve Center will be the future home of the 79th SSC, the Headquarters for roughly twenty-five thousand Army Reserve Soldiers and government civilians throughout the Western United States.
Creation of this facility is also helping stimulate the local economy by utilizing more than 50 sub-contractors which employ more than 1,000 Southern California workers.
Maj. Gen William D. Frink Jr., commanding general of the 79th SSC said, “this facility could not have come along at a more ideal time, as our nation contends with high levels of unemployment, debts, deficits and security concerns, the creation of this new facility has and will continue to make significant contributions to the local economy while helping to provide for our common defense.”
In addition, this new facility is being built in accordance with the green building movement. The United States Army, Air Force and Navy have developed policies that require sustainable design and development of their installations. These policies meet and, in many cases, exceed presidential directives on environmentally appropriate practices.
This project alone is expected to see a twenty percent reduction in energy costs, a twenty percent reduction in water use, and divert twenty percent of the construction waste from the landfill. In addition to other sustainability features, more than twenty percent of the building’s energy consumption will be powered by solar panels.
“These practices equate to savings to the installation and ultimately the taxpayer, and are a testament to the sustainability in construction standards of the Corps of Engineers,” said Frink.

Ed, Jack & Flea To Rock Bridge School '07!

To contact us Click HERE
The line-up for this years annual Bridge School Benefit on October 27th & 28th will see Eddie reprise his 3-piece band that perfomed earlier this year at Hullabaloo, featuring Jack Irons (ex-PJ drummer, for those of you who didn't know) and Red Hot Chili Pepper's bass slapping legend, Flea!

Lets keep our fingers crossed for lots of acoustic No Code/Yield goodness!

The full line-up is:
- Neil Young
- Metallica
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- Eddie Vedder with Flea and Jack Irons
- Tom Waits with Kronos Quartet
- John Mayer
- Tegan and Sara
- Regina Spektor

Buy tickets now at www.livenation.com

Breaking Ground on the 79th SSC's New Home

To contact us Click HERE


Los Alamitos, Calif. — The 79th Sustainment Support Command hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $29 million U.S. Army Reserve Center on Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, Oct. 15.
Projected to be completed in early 2013, this new 52,479 square foot Army Reserve Center will be the future home of the 79th SSC, the Headquarters for roughly twenty-five thousand Army Reserve Soldiers and government civilians throughout the Western United States.
Creation of this facility is also helping stimulate the local economy by utilizing more than 50 sub-contractors which employ more than 1,000 Southern California workers.
Maj. Gen William D. Frink Jr., commanding general of the 79th SSC said, “this facility could not have come along at a more ideal time, as our nation contends with high levels of unemployment, debts, deficits and security concerns, the creation of this new facility has and will continue to make significant contributions to the local economy while helping to provide for our common defense.”
In addition, this new facility is being built in accordance with the green building movement. The United States Army, Air Force and Navy have developed policies that require sustainable design and development of their installations. These policies meet and, in many cases, exceed presidential directives on environmentally appropriate practices.
This project alone is expected to see a twenty percent reduction in energy costs, a twenty percent reduction in water use, and divert twenty percent of the construction waste from the landfill. In addition to other sustainability features, more than twenty percent of the building’s energy consumption will be powered by solar panels.
“These practices equate to savings to the installation and ultimately the taxpayer, and are a testament to the sustainability in construction standards of the Corps of Engineers,” said Frink.

Columbia Battalion Future Soldiers Training Event Dec. 15, 2012

To contact us Click HERE
Photos and captions by Bradford A. Ruff

Lt. Col. Christopher Forsythe welcomes the Future Soldiers in formation to the days training event at Ft. Jackson, S.C. Over 300 Future Soldiers from all companies participated in this training event.



 Future Soldiers then moved to training and received their safety briefings.

Future Soldiers were tasked to work as a team on the Team Development Course. They were briefed by Sgt. Ryan Cordell, Florence Recruiting Station, on the situation. They planned the task and worked as a team to accomplish the mission as a squad. 
                                  
Future Soldiers also conducted the Future Soldier Physical Assessment. They were given a safety briefing prior to completing the push-ups, sit-ups, and run events.

 






After a full day of training, the Battalions Future Soldiers are now better prepared for the rigors of Basic Combat Training. Having Ft. Jackson, S.C. in the Battalions footprint allows for hands on training to prepare for Basic Combat Training.

Wentworth Donates to Local Food Pantry

To contact us Click HERE


The Wentworth Military Academy and College family donated a food and monetary donation to the Lexington Food Pantry.
Staff and Faculty members of the 133-year-old institution took the time and effort this Holiday Season to give back to their community and show the gratitude that they have for Lexington.
The main goal was to raise $1,000 to donate to the food pantry.
The goal was reached and then some.
On the morning of December 17th, 2012, Colonel Lierman and several members of the administrative staff, presented a check in the amount of $1,725 and canned food items to Rev. Paul Smith, President of the Ministerial Alliance and Ms. Jan Wright, Director of the Lexington Food Pantry.
COL Michael Lierman, Superintendent of Wentworth stated, "I am so very happy and proud of the Wentworth faculty and staff as they have made the donations collectively to help the food pantry and the families it serves. We have a wonderful group of folks here at Wentworth and I know that each of them gave their donation from their heart. It is a joy to work with such a great group of people. We are pleased to present to Rev Paul Smith of the Ministerial Alliance and to Jan Wright of the food pantry a check for $1,725. In the picture is some of the Wentworth Family who helped raise this money. We hope that everyone has a Joyous Holiday Season." 

Gettin' Dirty

To contact us Click HERE
The morning started off ... not so well at all. It had rained the night before, the PT field was muddy. (Can you guess where this is going? :-) Somehow whatever we did, we were not fast enough, did not push hard enough, did not try hard enough. After stretching and several rounds of pushups and flutter kicks, the Drill Sergeants told us to run down a hill (to a point where we could no longer see them) and await instructions. They then called "Fall In!" (the command to get into formation). We sprinted as fast as we could, lined up into something vaguely resembling a formation (many would call it a gaggle), and then tried to straighten out into four uniform rows. After we failed miserably for a minute or so, one of the Drill Sergeants would yell out "Too slow! Back down the hill!". After about the fourth iteration, the Drill Sergeant stood so that we would have to stand in deep muddy puddles and called "Fall In!". I thought "sh*t, my socks are going to get wet." Somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew my socks were the least of my worries.

As our feet became wet, the Drill Sergeant called out "Front leaning rest position - Move!". You may recall from a previous blog that the "front leaning rest position" has nothing to do with resting. You get down on hands and feet, body straight, ready to perform the pushup. "Down!" called the Drill Sergeant. We moved down in unison. "Up!" was the next command we expected to hear, but it never came. Instead, we heard "All the way down!" There we were, face down in the puddle. "Roll to the left!", "Roll to the right!", "Roll to the left!", "More to the left!" (to make sure everyone ended up in the deep part of the puddle. "Up!"

After that, we did our final stretches, and were dismissed to go upstairs, shower, and get ready for our first day of HMMWV driving school. You might think that we would be upset, but the opposite was true. In the shower we all kept talking about how much fun it was to roll around in the mud - kind of like being a kid again.

Ed, Jack & Flea To Rock Bridge School '07!

To contact us Click HERE
The line-up for this years annual Bridge School Benefit on October 27th & 28th will see Eddie reprise his 3-piece band that perfomed earlier this year at Hullabaloo, featuring Jack Irons (ex-PJ drummer, for those of you who didn't know) and Red Hot Chili Pepper's bass slapping legend, Flea!

Lets keep our fingers crossed for lots of acoustic No Code/Yield goodness!

The full line-up is:
- Neil Young
- Metallica
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- Eddie Vedder with Flea and Jack Irons
- Tom Waits with Kronos Quartet
- John Mayer
- Tegan and Sara
- Regina Spektor

Buy tickets now at www.livenation.com

Governor's Race

To contact us Click HERE
While I've been trying to force myself to remember what happens to alcohols in the presence of aqueous sulfuric acid, Kos diarist N in Seattle has been paying attention to the WA Governor's race. Here's his summary of the race as of Tuesday, with 32 of 39 counties reporting:

...The composite story through Tuesday is that, even with over four-fifths of all counties reporting, only about 32% of Washington's gubernatorial ballots have been recounted. A mere 13% of the recounted ballots were cast in counties where Christine Gregoire outpolled Dino Rossi. Some 439 new for-a-candidate votes have been tallied -- 184 for Gregoire, 248 for Rossi, 7 for Bennett. If we accept all numbers shown on the Secretary of State website, including the clearly-erroneous ballot count from Cowlitz County, the new-found vote rate is now 4.8/10000 ballots. From that value, we can estimate that the total number of new-found votes for a candidate might be 1375. That's down quite a bit from Monday (5.8/10000, 1687) and the weekend (7.1/10000, 2058). However, this estimate doesn't take into account the several hundred improperly-invalidated ballots from King County.

Wait-and-see remains the only rational outlook on the Washington gubernatorial race.

Here's his summary of Thursday's results, with Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom Counties reporting in. Which is to say that only 40% of the states votes have been officially recounted to date. So waiting (patiently or not) remains the only option.

Secretary's Office on the Recount

To contact us Click HERE
Just talked with a communications staffer in Secretary of State Sam Reed's office regarding the contentious recount appeal currently on the docket of the State Supreme court.

She said that the Secretary of State's current position under CW 29A60210 was "basically requesting that the Supreme Court make it clear that canvassing boards have discretion to correct errors or fix discrepancies in the count." Speaking for the SoS, she said it was their belief that "there is a safety valve", and that a previous Supreme Court ruling didn't say the ballots now in question shouldn't be counted.

To distinguish this motion to clarify from other battles fought over the recount, she said that in the previous State Supreme Court case the Democrats had insisted that all rejected ballots be recanvassed. This case, however, regards only correcting errors or inconsistencies in canvassing.

Breaking Ground on the 79th SSC's New Home

To contact us Click HERE


Los Alamitos, Calif. — The 79th Sustainment Support Command hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $29 million U.S. Army Reserve Center on Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, Oct. 15.
Projected to be completed in early 2013, this new 52,479 square foot Army Reserve Center will be the future home of the 79th SSC, the Headquarters for roughly twenty-five thousand Army Reserve Soldiers and government civilians throughout the Western United States.
Creation of this facility is also helping stimulate the local economy by utilizing more than 50 sub-contractors which employ more than 1,000 Southern California workers.
Maj. Gen William D. Frink Jr., commanding general of the 79th SSC said, “this facility could not have come along at a more ideal time, as our nation contends with high levels of unemployment, debts, deficits and security concerns, the creation of this new facility has and will continue to make significant contributions to the local economy while helping to provide for our common defense.”
In addition, this new facility is being built in accordance with the green building movement. The United States Army, Air Force and Navy have developed policies that require sustainable design and development of their installations. These policies meet and, in many cases, exceed presidential directives on environmentally appropriate practices.
This project alone is expected to see a twenty percent reduction in energy costs, a twenty percent reduction in water use, and divert twenty percent of the construction waste from the landfill. In addition to other sustainability features, more than twenty percent of the building’s energy consumption will be powered by solar panels.
“These practices equate to savings to the installation and ultimately the taxpayer, and are a testament to the sustainability in construction standards of the Corps of Engineers,” said Frink.

Ed, Jack & Flea To Rock Bridge School '07!

To contact us Click HERE
The line-up for this years annual Bridge School Benefit on October 27th & 28th will see Eddie reprise his 3-piece band that perfomed earlier this year at Hullabaloo, featuring Jack Irons (ex-PJ drummer, for those of you who didn't know) and Red Hot Chili Pepper's bass slapping legend, Flea!

Lets keep our fingers crossed for lots of acoustic No Code/Yield goodness!

The full line-up is:
- Neil Young
- Metallica
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- Eddie Vedder with Flea and Jack Irons
- Tom Waits with Kronos Quartet
- John Mayer
- Tegan and Sara
- Regina Spektor

Buy tickets now at www.livenation.com

Gettin' Dirty

To contact us Click HERE
The morning started off ... not so well at all. It had rained the night before, the PT field was muddy. (Can you guess where this is going? :-) Somehow whatever we did, we were not fast enough, did not push hard enough, did not try hard enough. After stretching and several rounds of pushups and flutter kicks, the Drill Sergeants told us to run down a hill (to a point where we could no longer see them) and await instructions. They then called "Fall In!" (the command to get into formation). We sprinted as fast as we could, lined up into something vaguely resembling a formation (many would call it a gaggle), and then tried to straighten out into four uniform rows. After we failed miserably for a minute or so, one of the Drill Sergeants would yell out "Too slow! Back down the hill!". After about the fourth iteration, the Drill Sergeant stood so that we would have to stand in deep muddy puddles and called "Fall In!". I thought "sh*t, my socks are going to get wet." Somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew my socks were the least of my worries.

As our feet became wet, the Drill Sergeant called out "Front leaning rest position - Move!". You may recall from a previous blog that the "front leaning rest position" has nothing to do with resting. You get down on hands and feet, body straight, ready to perform the pushup. "Down!" called the Drill Sergeant. We moved down in unison. "Up!" was the next command we expected to hear, but it never came. Instead, we heard "All the way down!" There we were, face down in the puddle. "Roll to the left!", "Roll to the right!", "Roll to the left!", "More to the left!" (to make sure everyone ended up in the deep part of the puddle. "Up!"

After that, we did our final stretches, and were dismissed to go upstairs, shower, and get ready for our first day of HMMWV driving school. You might think that we would be upset, but the opposite was true. In the shower we all kept talking about how much fun it was to roll around in the mud - kind of like being a kid again.

Gettin' Dirty

To contact us Click HERE
The morning started off ... not so well at all. It had rained the night before, the PT field was muddy. (Can you guess where this is going? :-) Somehow whatever we did, we were not fast enough, did not push hard enough, did not try hard enough. After stretching and several rounds of pushups and flutter kicks, the Drill Sergeants told us to run down a hill (to a point where we could no longer see them) and await instructions. They then called "Fall In!" (the command to get into formation). We sprinted as fast as we could, lined up into something vaguely resembling a formation (many would call it a gaggle), and then tried to straighten out into four uniform rows. After we failed miserably for a minute or so, one of the Drill Sergeants would yell out "Too slow! Back down the hill!". After about the fourth iteration, the Drill Sergeant stood so that we would have to stand in deep muddy puddles and called "Fall In!". I thought "sh*t, my socks are going to get wet." Somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew my socks were the least of my worries.

As our feet became wet, the Drill Sergeant called out "Front leaning rest position - Move!". You may recall from a previous blog that the "front leaning rest position" has nothing to do with resting. You get down on hands and feet, body straight, ready to perform the pushup. "Down!" called the Drill Sergeant. We moved down in unison. "Up!" was the next command we expected to hear, but it never came. Instead, we heard "All the way down!" There we were, face down in the puddle. "Roll to the left!", "Roll to the right!", "Roll to the left!", "More to the left!" (to make sure everyone ended up in the deep part of the puddle. "Up!"

After that, we did our final stretches, and were dismissed to go upstairs, shower, and get ready for our first day of HMMWV driving school. You might think that we would be upset, but the opposite was true. In the shower we all kept talking about how much fun it was to roll around in the mud - kind of like being a kid again.

Ed, Jack & Flea To Rock Bridge School '07!

To contact us Click HERE
The line-up for this years annual Bridge School Benefit on October 27th & 28th will see Eddie reprise his 3-piece band that perfomed earlier this year at Hullabaloo, featuring Jack Irons (ex-PJ drummer, for those of you who didn't know) and Red Hot Chili Pepper's bass slapping legend, Flea!

Lets keep our fingers crossed for lots of acoustic No Code/Yield goodness!

The full line-up is:
- Neil Young
- Metallica
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- Eddie Vedder with Flea and Jack Irons
- Tom Waits with Kronos Quartet
- John Mayer
- Tegan and Sara
- Regina Spektor

Buy tickets now at www.livenation.com

Breaking Ground on the 79th SSC's New Home

To contact us Click HERE


Los Alamitos, Calif. — The 79th Sustainment Support Command hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $29 million U.S. Army Reserve Center on Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, Oct. 15.
Projected to be completed in early 2013, this new 52,479 square foot Army Reserve Center will be the future home of the 79th SSC, the Headquarters for roughly twenty-five thousand Army Reserve Soldiers and government civilians throughout the Western United States.
Creation of this facility is also helping stimulate the local economy by utilizing more than 50 sub-contractors which employ more than 1,000 Southern California workers.
Maj. Gen William D. Frink Jr., commanding general of the 79th SSC said, “this facility could not have come along at a more ideal time, as our nation contends with high levels of unemployment, debts, deficits and security concerns, the creation of this new facility has and will continue to make significant contributions to the local economy while helping to provide for our common defense.”
In addition, this new facility is being built in accordance with the green building movement. The United States Army, Air Force and Navy have developed policies that require sustainable design and development of their installations. These policies meet and, in many cases, exceed presidential directives on environmentally appropriate practices.
This project alone is expected to see a twenty percent reduction in energy costs, a twenty percent reduction in water use, and divert twenty percent of the construction waste from the landfill. In addition to other sustainability features, more than twenty percent of the building’s energy consumption will be powered by solar panels.
“These practices equate to savings to the installation and ultimately the taxpayer, and are a testament to the sustainability in construction standards of the Corps of Engineers,” said Frink.

Governor's Race

To contact us Click HERE
While I've been trying to force myself to remember what happens to alcohols in the presence of aqueous sulfuric acid, Kos diarist N in Seattle has been paying attention to the WA Governor's race. Here's his summary of the race as of Tuesday, with 32 of 39 counties reporting:

...The composite story through Tuesday is that, even with over four-fifths of all counties reporting, only about 32% of Washington's gubernatorial ballots have been recounted. A mere 13% of the recounted ballots were cast in counties where Christine Gregoire outpolled Dino Rossi. Some 439 new for-a-candidate votes have been tallied -- 184 for Gregoire, 248 for Rossi, 7 for Bennett. If we accept all numbers shown on the Secretary of State website, including the clearly-erroneous ballot count from Cowlitz County, the new-found vote rate is now 4.8/10000 ballots. From that value, we can estimate that the total number of new-found votes for a candidate might be 1375. That's down quite a bit from Monday (5.8/10000, 1687) and the weekend (7.1/10000, 2058). However, this estimate doesn't take into account the several hundred improperly-invalidated ballots from King County.

Wait-and-see remains the only rational outlook on the Washington gubernatorial race.

Here's his summary of Thursday's results, with Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom Counties reporting in. Which is to say that only 40% of the states votes have been officially recounted to date. So waiting (patiently or not) remains the only option.

Secretary's Office on the Recount

To contact us Click HERE
Just talked with a communications staffer in Secretary of State Sam Reed's office regarding the contentious recount appeal currently on the docket of the State Supreme court.

She said that the Secretary of State's current position under CW 29A60210 was "basically requesting that the Supreme Court make it clear that canvassing boards have discretion to correct errors or fix discrepancies in the count." Speaking for the SoS, she said it was their belief that "there is a safety valve", and that a previous Supreme Court ruling didn't say the ballots now in question shouldn't be counted.

To distinguish this motion to clarify from other battles fought over the recount, she said that in the previous State Supreme Court case the Democrats had insisted that all rejected ballots be recanvassed. This case, however, regards only correcting errors or inconsistencies in canvassing.

Ed, Jack & Flea To Rock Bridge School '07!

To contact us Click HERE
The line-up for this years annual Bridge School Benefit on October 27th & 28th will see Eddie reprise his 3-piece band that perfomed earlier this year at Hullabaloo, featuring Jack Irons (ex-PJ drummer, for those of you who didn't know) and Red Hot Chili Pepper's bass slapping legend, Flea!

Lets keep our fingers crossed for lots of acoustic No Code/Yield goodness!

The full line-up is:
- Neil Young
- Metallica
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- Eddie Vedder with Flea and Jack Irons
- Tom Waits with Kronos Quartet
- John Mayer
- Tegan and Sara
- Regina Spektor

Buy tickets now at www.livenation.com

Breaking Ground on the 79th SSC's New Home

To contact us Click HERE


Los Alamitos, Calif. — The 79th Sustainment Support Command hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $29 million U.S. Army Reserve Center on Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, Oct. 15.
Projected to be completed in early 2013, this new 52,479 square foot Army Reserve Center will be the future home of the 79th SSC, the Headquarters for roughly twenty-five thousand Army Reserve Soldiers and government civilians throughout the Western United States.
Creation of this facility is also helping stimulate the local economy by utilizing more than 50 sub-contractors which employ more than 1,000 Southern California workers.
Maj. Gen William D. Frink Jr., commanding general of the 79th SSC said, “this facility could not have come along at a more ideal time, as our nation contends with high levels of unemployment, debts, deficits and security concerns, the creation of this new facility has and will continue to make significant contributions to the local economy while helping to provide for our common defense.”
In addition, this new facility is being built in accordance with the green building movement. The United States Army, Air Force and Navy have developed policies that require sustainable design and development of their installations. These policies meet and, in many cases, exceed presidential directives on environmentally appropriate practices.
This project alone is expected to see a twenty percent reduction in energy costs, a twenty percent reduction in water use, and divert twenty percent of the construction waste from the landfill. In addition to other sustainability features, more than twenty percent of the building’s energy consumption will be powered by solar panels.
“These practices equate to savings to the installation and ultimately the taxpayer, and are a testament to the sustainability in construction standards of the Corps of Engineers,” said Frink.

Governor's Race

To contact us Click HERE
While I've been trying to force myself to remember what happens to alcohols in the presence of aqueous sulfuric acid, Kos diarist N in Seattle has been paying attention to the WA Governor's race. Here's his summary of the race as of Tuesday, with 32 of 39 counties reporting:

...The composite story through Tuesday is that, even with over four-fifths of all counties reporting, only about 32% of Washington's gubernatorial ballots have been recounted. A mere 13% of the recounted ballots were cast in counties where Christine Gregoire outpolled Dino Rossi. Some 439 new for-a-candidate votes have been tallied -- 184 for Gregoire, 248 for Rossi, 7 for Bennett. If we accept all numbers shown on the Secretary of State website, including the clearly-erroneous ballot count from Cowlitz County, the new-found vote rate is now 4.8/10000 ballots. From that value, we can estimate that the total number of new-found votes for a candidate might be 1375. That's down quite a bit from Monday (5.8/10000, 1687) and the weekend (7.1/10000, 2058). However, this estimate doesn't take into account the several hundred improperly-invalidated ballots from King County.

Wait-and-see remains the only rational outlook on the Washington gubernatorial race.

Here's his summary of Thursday's results, with Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom Counties reporting in. Which is to say that only 40% of the states votes have been officially recounted to date. So waiting (patiently or not) remains the only option.

Secretary's Office on the Recount

To contact us Click HERE
Just talked with a communications staffer in Secretary of State Sam Reed's office regarding the contentious recount appeal currently on the docket of the State Supreme court.

She said that the Secretary of State's current position under CW 29A60210 was "basically requesting that the Supreme Court make it clear that canvassing boards have discretion to correct errors or fix discrepancies in the count." Speaking for the SoS, she said it was their belief that "there is a safety valve", and that a previous Supreme Court ruling didn't say the ballots now in question shouldn't be counted.

To distinguish this motion to clarify from other battles fought over the recount, she said that in the previous State Supreme Court case the Democrats had insisted that all rejected ballots be recanvassed. This case, however, regards only correcting errors or inconsistencies in canvassing.

Gettin' Dirty

To contact us Click HERE
The morning started off ... not so well at all. It had rained the night before, the PT field was muddy. (Can you guess where this is going? :-) Somehow whatever we did, we were not fast enough, did not push hard enough, did not try hard enough. After stretching and several rounds of pushups and flutter kicks, the Drill Sergeants told us to run down a hill (to a point where we could no longer see them) and await instructions. They then called "Fall In!" (the command to get into formation). We sprinted as fast as we could, lined up into something vaguely resembling a formation (many would call it a gaggle), and then tried to straighten out into four uniform rows. After we failed miserably for a minute or so, one of the Drill Sergeants would yell out "Too slow! Back down the hill!". After about the fourth iteration, the Drill Sergeant stood so that we would have to stand in deep muddy puddles and called "Fall In!". I thought "sh*t, my socks are going to get wet." Somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew my socks were the least of my worries.

As our feet became wet, the Drill Sergeant called out "Front leaning rest position - Move!". You may recall from a previous blog that the "front leaning rest position" has nothing to do with resting. You get down on hands and feet, body straight, ready to perform the pushup. "Down!" called the Drill Sergeant. We moved down in unison. "Up!" was the next command we expected to hear, but it never came. Instead, we heard "All the way down!" There we were, face down in the puddle. "Roll to the left!", "Roll to the right!", "Roll to the left!", "More to the left!" (to make sure everyone ended up in the deep part of the puddle. "Up!"

After that, we did our final stretches, and were dismissed to go upstairs, shower, and get ready for our first day of HMMWV driving school. You might think that we would be upset, but the opposite was true. In the shower we all kept talking about how much fun it was to roll around in the mud - kind of like being a kid again.

Breaking Ground on the 79th SSC's New Home

To contact us Click HERE


Los Alamitos, Calif. — The 79th Sustainment Support Command hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $29 million U.S. Army Reserve Center on Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, Oct. 15.
Projected to be completed in early 2013, this new 52,479 square foot Army Reserve Center will be the future home of the 79th SSC, the Headquarters for roughly twenty-five thousand Army Reserve Soldiers and government civilians throughout the Western United States.
Creation of this facility is also helping stimulate the local economy by utilizing more than 50 sub-contractors which employ more than 1,000 Southern California workers.
Maj. Gen William D. Frink Jr., commanding general of the 79th SSC said, “this facility could not have come along at a more ideal time, as our nation contends with high levels of unemployment, debts, deficits and security concerns, the creation of this new facility has and will continue to make significant contributions to the local economy while helping to provide for our common defense.”
In addition, this new facility is being built in accordance with the green building movement. The United States Army, Air Force and Navy have developed policies that require sustainable design and development of their installations. These policies meet and, in many cases, exceed presidential directives on environmentally appropriate practices.
This project alone is expected to see a twenty percent reduction in energy costs, a twenty percent reduction in water use, and divert twenty percent of the construction waste from the landfill. In addition to other sustainability features, more than twenty percent of the building’s energy consumption will be powered by solar panels.
“These practices equate to savings to the installation and ultimately the taxpayer, and are a testament to the sustainability in construction standards of the Corps of Engineers,” said Frink.

Ed, Jack & Flea To Rock Bridge School '07!

To contact us Click HERE
The line-up for this years annual Bridge School Benefit on October 27th & 28th will see Eddie reprise his 3-piece band that perfomed earlier this year at Hullabaloo, featuring Jack Irons (ex-PJ drummer, for those of you who didn't know) and Red Hot Chili Pepper's bass slapping legend, Flea!

Lets keep our fingers crossed for lots of acoustic No Code/Yield goodness!

The full line-up is:
- Neil Young
- Metallica
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- Eddie Vedder with Flea and Jack Irons
- Tom Waits with Kronos Quartet
- John Mayer
- Tegan and Sara
- Regina Spektor

Buy tickets now at www.livenation.com

Gettin' Dirty

To contact us Click HERE
The morning started off ... not so well at all. It had rained the night before, the PT field was muddy. (Can you guess where this is going? :-) Somehow whatever we did, we were not fast enough, did not push hard enough, did not try hard enough. After stretching and several rounds of pushups and flutter kicks, the Drill Sergeants told us to run down a hill (to a point where we could no longer see them) and await instructions. They then called "Fall In!" (the command to get into formation). We sprinted as fast as we could, lined up into something vaguely resembling a formation (many would call it a gaggle), and then tried to straighten out into four uniform rows. After we failed miserably for a minute or so, one of the Drill Sergeants would yell out "Too slow! Back down the hill!". After about the fourth iteration, the Drill Sergeant stood so that we would have to stand in deep muddy puddles and called "Fall In!". I thought "sh*t, my socks are going to get wet." Somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew my socks were the least of my worries.

As our feet became wet, the Drill Sergeant called out "Front leaning rest position - Move!". You may recall from a previous blog that the "front leaning rest position" has nothing to do with resting. You get down on hands and feet, body straight, ready to perform the pushup. "Down!" called the Drill Sergeant. We moved down in unison. "Up!" was the next command we expected to hear, but it never came. Instead, we heard "All the way down!" There we were, face down in the puddle. "Roll to the left!", "Roll to the right!", "Roll to the left!", "More to the left!" (to make sure everyone ended up in the deep part of the puddle. "Up!"

After that, we did our final stretches, and were dismissed to go upstairs, shower, and get ready for our first day of HMMWV driving school. You might think that we would be upset, but the opposite was true. In the shower we all kept talking about how much fun it was to roll around in the mud - kind of like being a kid again.

Breaking Ground on the 79th SSC's New Home

To contact us Click HERE


Los Alamitos, Calif. — The 79th Sustainment Support Command hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $29 million U.S. Army Reserve Center on Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, Oct. 15.
Projected to be completed in early 2013, this new 52,479 square foot Army Reserve Center will be the future home of the 79th SSC, the Headquarters for roughly twenty-five thousand Army Reserve Soldiers and government civilians throughout the Western United States.
Creation of this facility is also helping stimulate the local economy by utilizing more than 50 sub-contractors which employ more than 1,000 Southern California workers.
Maj. Gen William D. Frink Jr., commanding general of the 79th SSC said, “this facility could not have come along at a more ideal time, as our nation contends with high levels of unemployment, debts, deficits and security concerns, the creation of this new facility has and will continue to make significant contributions to the local economy while helping to provide for our common defense.”
In addition, this new facility is being built in accordance with the green building movement. The United States Army, Air Force and Navy have developed policies that require sustainable design and development of their installations. These policies meet and, in many cases, exceed presidential directives on environmentally appropriate practices.
This project alone is expected to see a twenty percent reduction in energy costs, a twenty percent reduction in water use, and divert twenty percent of the construction waste from the landfill. In addition to other sustainability features, more than twenty percent of the building’s energy consumption will be powered by solar panels.
“These practices equate to savings to the installation and ultimately the taxpayer, and are a testament to the sustainability in construction standards of the Corps of Engineers,” said Frink.

Governor's Race

To contact us Click HERE
While I've been trying to force myself to remember what happens to alcohols in the presence of aqueous sulfuric acid, Kos diarist N in Seattle has been paying attention to the WA Governor's race. Here's his summary of the race as of Tuesday, with 32 of 39 counties reporting:

...The composite story through Tuesday is that, even with over four-fifths of all counties reporting, only about 32% of Washington's gubernatorial ballots have been recounted. A mere 13% of the recounted ballots were cast in counties where Christine Gregoire outpolled Dino Rossi. Some 439 new for-a-candidate votes have been tallied -- 184 for Gregoire, 248 for Rossi, 7 for Bennett. If we accept all numbers shown on the Secretary of State website, including the clearly-erroneous ballot count from Cowlitz County, the new-found vote rate is now 4.8/10000 ballots. From that value, we can estimate that the total number of new-found votes for a candidate might be 1375. That's down quite a bit from Monday (5.8/10000, 1687) and the weekend (7.1/10000, 2058). However, this estimate doesn't take into account the several hundred improperly-invalidated ballots from King County.

Wait-and-see remains the only rational outlook on the Washington gubernatorial race.

Here's his summary of Thursday's results, with Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom Counties reporting in. Which is to say that only 40% of the states votes have been officially recounted to date. So waiting (patiently or not) remains the only option.

Secretary's Office on the Recount

To contact us Click HERE
Just talked with a communications staffer in Secretary of State Sam Reed's office regarding the contentious recount appeal currently on the docket of the State Supreme court.

She said that the Secretary of State's current position under CW 29A60210 was "basically requesting that the Supreme Court make it clear that canvassing boards have discretion to correct errors or fix discrepancies in the count." Speaking for the SoS, she said it was their belief that "there is a safety valve", and that a previous Supreme Court ruling didn't say the ballots now in question shouldn't be counted.

To distinguish this motion to clarify from other battles fought over the recount, she said that in the previous State Supreme Court case the Democrats had insisted that all rejected ballots be recanvassed. This case, however, regards only correcting errors or inconsistencies in canvassing.

Gettin' Dirty

To contact us Click HERE
The morning started off ... not so well at all. It had rained the night before, the PT field was muddy. (Can you guess where this is going? :-) Somehow whatever we did, we were not fast enough, did not push hard enough, did not try hard enough. After stretching and several rounds of pushups and flutter kicks, the Drill Sergeants told us to run down a hill (to a point where we could no longer see them) and await instructions. They then called "Fall In!" (the command to get into formation). We sprinted as fast as we could, lined up into something vaguely resembling a formation (many would call it a gaggle), and then tried to straighten out into four uniform rows. After we failed miserably for a minute or so, one of the Drill Sergeants would yell out "Too slow! Back down the hill!". After about the fourth iteration, the Drill Sergeant stood so that we would have to stand in deep muddy puddles and called "Fall In!". I thought "sh*t, my socks are going to get wet." Somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew my socks were the least of my worries.

As our feet became wet, the Drill Sergeant called out "Front leaning rest position - Move!". You may recall from a previous blog that the "front leaning rest position" has nothing to do with resting. You get down on hands and feet, body straight, ready to perform the pushup. "Down!" called the Drill Sergeant. We moved down in unison. "Up!" was the next command we expected to hear, but it never came. Instead, we heard "All the way down!" There we were, face down in the puddle. "Roll to the left!", "Roll to the right!", "Roll to the left!", "More to the left!" (to make sure everyone ended up in the deep part of the puddle. "Up!"

After that, we did our final stretches, and were dismissed to go upstairs, shower, and get ready for our first day of HMMWV driving school. You might think that we would be upset, but the opposite was true. In the shower we all kept talking about how much fun it was to roll around in the mud - kind of like being a kid again.

A Tribute to Tom Hayes: "American Story? Small Town Story?"

To contact us Click HERE
Below is a wonderful story recently published online by Jeff Hayes. You can follow Jeff at the following link: http://www.aligntechsolutions.com/american-story-small-town-story/

American Story? Small Town Story?

Does Bedford Falls really exist or was it just a figment of Frank Capra’s imagination for the perfect town in his film “It’s a Wonderful Life“? And are there other such idyllic towns in the U.S.?  In the world?  Does the success of such small towns and villages stem from location, location, locationas real estate agents tend to say or does it have more to do with a collection of inspired individuals like George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart in the film)?  Are there distinct advantages to living in smaller communities?
From the film, “It’s a Wonderful LIfe”.  Source: MyMerryChristmas.com

Growing Up in America

As I was growing up my family moved somewhat frequently.  We moved from one end of the United States to the other and several places in between.  Our father’s job was demanding.  His company was keen on sending him first to one location and then another to help the company’s holdings establish best practices.  He was, in a sense, the Michael Gerber of the restaurant industry.
We moved to larger cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and Kansas City most of the time but occasionally moved to smaller towns. The first two small towns we lived in were not very much like Bedford Falls.  Sure, their Chambers of Commerce thrived and business was good.  The churches and temples were full on the correct days.  Schools did their best with the resources they had.  Town leaders convened meetings to discuss the important issues of the day.  But these towns lacked heart.  And vision.  They weren’t used to looking at themselves from a birds eye view and because of this they didn’t look like Bedford Falls.  Instead they appeared to be collections of self-interested theologues.  Big fish in small ponds.  Praising the divine and quietly wishing the less-better-off would either leave town or get a clue.

Big Cities or Small Towns?

Anton “Tony” Nelessen, Program Director of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, is certain that many more of us humans will begin living in large cities as time goes by.  His visionary work will undoubtedly lead to better living conditions in large cities around the world, and do so with significantly greater levels of sustainability.
I had an opportunity to speak with Professor Nelessen earlier this year about his focus on urban living.  ”It’s about quality of life,” he said.  ”Many more services will be available to many more people while providing interesting, sustainable places for them to live, work and recreate.”  It didn’t occur to me to ask him what he thought were the advantages of growing up, instead, in a nice small town.

Municipal Anatomy

Lexington, Missouri.  Source: History-map.comWhat does it take to keep a town going?  Regardless of the origins of a city, village or town, every municipality requires:

• Some form of government.
• Utilities like water and electricity.
• Protection: Police, fire, ….
• Education.
• Bankers and/or investors.
• Medical service providers.
• Attorneys.
• Retailers and other employers.
• People.

Some of you will argue that I’ve got the order all wrong or that I’m missing several key elements.  Others will argue that we could outsource virtually every one of these services.  Many municipalities do just that (perhaps the people part is not altogether outsourced).  Speaking from experience, a greater proportion of the population will know one or more of the above mentioned service providers in small towns as opposed to larger cities.  Why?  Because in smaller communities the chances are pretty good that one or more neighbors fulfill those roles.  In larger cities the service providers are expected to run like well-oiled machines so as to reduce the overall tax burden.  This increases the competition for jobs, frequently pulling people from other parts of a (large) city to perform a job better for less money.
In contrast Lexington, Missouri, and smaller towns like it have benefited from individuals who are very much like George Bailey:

• Selfless.
• Confident.
• Positive.
• Kind.
• Helpful.
• Certain that we can achieve a goal even if I cannot do it alone.

This happens for reasons that I’ll get to in just a minute.

Integrity and a Few Good Folks

Where do great leaders and townsfolk come from?  For a period of time the U.S. Public Health Service forgave medical school debt in exchange for physicians moving to, and practicing medicine in, rural areas of the United States.  Some extraordinary doctors could be found in sparsely populated areas.  And where good medical help is available, other people soon follow.
Generally speaking, the individuals who are best suited to serve as civic leaders have the right combination of personality, talent (think Strengths), passion and opportunity.  It also helps if the leaders think in terms of the greatest good and truly want what’s best for the town.
Miles Davis is quoted as having said, “You have to play a long time in order to play like yourself.”  I believe this wholeheartedly and not simply with regard to playing musical instruments.  Is it possible that we humans are better able to learn what we’re made of when we make our homes in smaller communities? Something I’ve been wondering about for quite a while is whether civic leaders in small towns aren’t much more like small business owners than their big city counterparts.

Tom Hayes in High Relief

Thomas C. “Tom” Hayes (1943-2012). Not your average civic leader.Now enter Thomas C. Hayes:  Coach, guidance counselor, school principal, mayor, neighbor, husband, father, uncle and friend.  Was Tom Hayes the George Bailey of Lexington, Missouri?  Tom was not the owner of a local savings and loan company as was George Bailey.  Instead he was a community builder.
In brief, Tom began his coaching career in the mid 1960′s.  In total, he brought numerous Lexington High School wrestling teams and football teams to Missouri State Championships. Sports teams are the heart and soul of a small town.  Throughout his career as an educator, he remained a coach at heart; and in his approach to getting things done.
In 1998 Tom retired from education and became Mayor of the City of Lexington.  Statistics show that within one year of his taking office, crime fell by half.  It stayed that way throughout his years in office.

Approach and Philosophy

As Tom grew older, he combined his natural ability to sell his vision to others with a modest desire to improve life for those around him.

• Selection process:  Tom selected people for a job and sometimes selected jobs for specific people.  He did this in coaching sports and in coaching everything else.
• He used a team approach for every project.
• Led from the sidelines by empowering, delegating, negotiating and following up.
• Big picture guy – visionary.

Individuals who are capable of bridging space and time—people like Tom Hayes—are timeless.
Recent news articles describing honors Tom has received:

• Hayes leaves behind remarkable athletic legacy at Lexington HS
• Skelton pays tribute to Hayes’ service as Lexington mayor

Sustainability is About Human Resources Too

For me Tom Hayes, or rather “Uncle Tom” as I was privileged to call him, is perhaps best characterized with a couple of statements:

• Vision:  ”Here’s mine if you need to borrow one”; and
• “The value of one person is infinitely more important than the entire world [sic].” – Author unknown

He was keenly aware of the tragic loss of potential goodness and energy in persons who came from “tough circumstances”. Did he change the circumstances? Sometimes. But he always gave them a better vantage point.
Was Tom Hayes the “George Bailey of Lexington, Missouri”?  No.  He was much more than that.  He was a real person who touched the lives of a great number of people in his town.  All of them, in fact.
So, is this an American Story or a Small Town Story?  I think it’s the Human Story.  And there are selfless, generous people like Tom Hayes around the world.  My hat’s off to them.

About Jeff Hayes

Jeff Hayes is Principal at AlignTech Solutions. He is a technology expert and speaks publicly on the future of technology. His areas of expertise include information technology in banking, healthcare, education and the social sector. View all posts by Jeff Hayes

Ed, Jack & Flea To Rock Bridge School '07!

To contact us Click HERE
The line-up for this years annual Bridge School Benefit on October 27th & 28th will see Eddie reprise his 3-piece band that perfomed earlier this year at Hullabaloo, featuring Jack Irons (ex-PJ drummer, for those of you who didn't know) and Red Hot Chili Pepper's bass slapping legend, Flea!

Lets keep our fingers crossed for lots of acoustic No Code/Yield goodness!

The full line-up is:
- Neil Young
- Metallica
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- Eddie Vedder with Flea and Jack Irons
- Tom Waits with Kronos Quartet
- John Mayer
- Tegan and Sara
- Regina Spektor

Buy tickets now at www.livenation.com