Here we are at the winter solstice. Soon, we'll notice more daylight. In Humboldt County, lights went back on after a harrowing 6.4 magnitude earthquake at 2:34 am that shook, rattled ,and rolled and left many in darkness. Our thoughts reach out to our colleagues, friends, clientele, community partners and others as they cope with cleanup, repair and managing through the trauma of the temblor.
Recently, ANR colleagues at Second Street came together to brighten up darkness. A memorial celebration for Barbara Bellieu showed the many sides of Barbara. Barbara was private and reserved and many spoke of her bravery in facing life's daily opportunities. Tu Tran talked about the ANR French club. Others spoke of her kind spirit and wonderful smile. Many copies of the book Killers of the Flower Moon the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI were shared for people to take home. I highly recommend the book if you haven't read it. I was fortunate to borrow it from my local library as an audio book.
Other areas of brightness are visible each evening. Festive decorations on homes and businesses light up many communities. It's fun to walk around my neighborhood or drive around other towns/cities and see how people decorate.
As we wind down 2022 there's so much to be thankful for with new hires. In October and November we onboarded a combined 19 new Community Education Specialists. Welcome one and all: Karyn Utsumi (CalNat), Claudia Pardo (Kern), Cynthia Morales (Santa Barbara), Kevin Kamp and Emma Burt (Central Sierra Nevada MCP), Karen Looye and Angelina Gutierrez (San Mateo), Yolanda Cruz and Zubia Mahmood (Santa Clara), Rhiannon Willingham (San Diego), Lorenzo Levinger (Marin), Michelle Ross, Giselle Escobar and Michael Ryan (Capitol Corridor MCP), Mea van Staden and Mariela Wajler (Alameda) Mikele Olson-Calbert (Contra Costa), Jill Tyler(Ventura) and Johnny Yang (Sutter Yuba).
Although many may be on vacation, others continue to work. Thank you to all our staff who keep ANR running day in and day out! A special shout out to all our REC employees who keep everything running 24/7, 365!
As the year draws to a close, enjoy time with family and friends while we collectively reflect on our many opportunities to effect change to make California and the world a better place. May you and yours have a comforting holiday season. Salutations of the season!