Employee Club No. 17
At the high school graduation of our middle son, the valedictorian got up and gave her speech. Come to find out, this young lady was homeless! After the graduation, I spoke to her and the mentor she had, and it was an eye opener. From there I decided to get involved in Employee Club #17 at La Grande. There was an opening for president, and I was elected. With the committee that included VP Manny Baize, Sec. Alan Ashley, Treas. Will Wallace and Hist. Joe Dalton, our club has donated $1200 to Youth in Transition - an organization that works with homeless high school kids in Union County. Some of these kids have even come to our meetings and Christmas dinners, and the valedictorian young woman has since gone on to college. We have also made contributions to our local senior center to purchase a TV (to watch the Super Bowl), to Meals on Wheels, provided a dinner and several gifts to more than 100 kids for Santa on the Train. Other groups we have supported are Apple Eye Care for children who cannot afford eye care; the Friday Back Pack, for children who cannot afford lunches or food for the weekend; the Special Olympics, through Doug Trice, who was the USA Olympic coach in Greece; and our 4th of July fireworks. Thanks to Union Pacific Superintendent Pat Merriwether for the contributions he has made for our Employee Club at La Grande!