From The President

Jim Bibles - Board President of the Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area

TERESE’S TALES
AN INTRODUCTION FROM THE NEW BOARD PRESIDENT

When I was eight years old, I was blessed with the arrival of a new friend. Little did I know at such a young age that this person would forever change my life for the better. The little baby that was born on November 10th 1977 was no other than Blair Hogan and ever since his birth I have been a part of his life. Even in our adult years we spend a lot of time hanging out. Blair and his family are members of my family and we have been "joined at the hip" ever since.

So in 1998 when Martha founded the Connection she asked me to be the Board Secretary, which continued until 2006. My mom, Camille, was Martha’s administrative assistant until her illness in 2002 and Kathy took over and even outside of the Board I have worked on fundraising events such as the Cajun Fest and last year’s first Annual Gala. Needless to say, the Connection has been a part of my life and I am honored to be the new Board President. I have already met such amazing people and I am pleased to announce our other new Board members, Judith Clark, Paul Crawford- Treasurer-, Rick Acuna- Central Valley Liaison- , Mike and Karen Zolnier and Andreas Dereschuk.

I want to take this time to thank past President, Maura Perkins, who has established such a fine Board of Directors and who took the time to mentor and train me. I couldn’t have asked for a more talented predecessor and will continue to keep her "connected". I also want to extend my gratitude to Nancy LaBelle who continues to be our fearless leader and as Board President I encourage all of you to support the upcoming fundraising events that keep our Connection "connecting". Many thanks also to Karen Lochner who organized the recently held Bowl-a-Rama, Marianne Iversen who supports our programs, Peggy, who keeps the office running and to my second mom, Martha, who continues to love and encourage me. I think secretly she has groomed me for this position since I was eight years old.

As we continue to make connections, get ready for the most fun(raising) ever and keep looking out for emails about all of our events.

Thanks to all of you for letting me be your President and feel free to contact me at teresemarieg@comcast.net.

Enjoy the season,
Terese Ghilarducci
Board President