PHS Homecoming Parade Marshall wears crown, rides pink fire truck

Palisade High School’s 2013 Homecoming Parade had two new looks last September.

            With lights flashing on the pink “Delaney” fire truck, and music from the PHS band wafting behind, the Parade Marshall Diana Vera wore a tiara while waving and smiling to the crowd.

Both entries in the parade symbolize how the community and school show their care, respect and honor of others.

The Delaney fire truck is on loan to be used by each of the fire departments in Mesa County to remind people of the awareness of families struggling with the effects of cancer, and to raise money to help them. Palisade had the truck for three events: Wine Festival, last Farmers’ Market and now for the PHS Homecoming Parade.

The Parade Marshall’s selection is given to a school personnel or community person to honor his/her efforts at Palisade High.

This year Dianna Vera, long time Spanish and now International Baccalaureate program teacher, was not expecting her selection.

“Usually it goes to someone who has retired,” she said humbly.

“And the crown was a nice gift from some former students,” she admitted with a smile.

She wore it proudly in the parade with her PHS sweatshirt, and when she walked on the football field to be honored at Saturday’s game.

Dianna Vera almost didn’t come back to school this fall.           

She had a rough summer break due to some major medical issues. After 18 years at Palisade High, this was the first time that she started the year part time instead of full time.

This conscientious, dedicated instructor worried about her Spanish I and II and IB students starting out the school year without her full attention and preparation.

“I came back full time just before Parent-Teacher Conferences, Sept. 12. I got to know my kids before I talked to their parents,” she said.

“My kids.” That’s the way Dianna Vera feels about all of her students. She creates a personal connection with each individual in her classes. She cares, and her students, past and present, respond to her attention.

Two weeks ago Dianna was selected by the student body to be this year’s Homecoming Parade Marshall.

“I was so surprised when Dave Carlo (Student Government Sponsor) came into my classroom and told me the news,” she said.

Within days two PHS graduates from last year, Pantha Grasser and Emilee Castleton, had lunch with her.

 Excited about Ms Vera’s honor, the two Colorado Mesa University students decided that they were going to get her a tiara to wear at Homecoming.

“I thought they were joking, so I said I wanted amethysts on it because that

 would look good with my silver hair,” she laughed remembering that statement. “Don’t spend your money to buy one,” she told them seriously.

They surprised her in her classroom with a hand-crafted silver filigreed crown, not tiny but tall tiara size, covered by purple stones.

Dianna Vera loved her homecoming crown from her students, and appreciated the special honor of being the Homecoming Parade Marshall this year.

Traveling Time -- November 2013

Well, we are off to Texas to see the Grandkids.
All my grandkids live in Texas, and I have not seen them since. . . forever, it seems.
I did see Jane (the oldest) in June, and I saw all five from Houston in October.
But this is my chance to see Ron, Peter and Susan.

Great start when I come in the house and see this cutie to greet me.

Think Pink in Pink October

A pink fire truck is pretty hard to ignore among the vendors, tents and crowd on Main Street Sunday afternoon’s last Palisade Farmers’ Market.

But there it was, an impressive fire truck, fully operational, water-pumping vehicle that had been repainted soft, soothing pink instead of red. In addition to the color and distinctive cancer ribbon designs, this truck had chrome script writings of the word “Delaney” placed statically on the front, back and sides.

The “Delaney fire truck” is on tour across the county. This is its 2^nd display in Palisade; the first showing was at the Wine Festival, and the pink firefighter will be in the Homecoming parade on Friday.

Designed and donated to be a symbol of courage and support to the cancer families in Mesa County, it was named after Delaney Clements, a local young girl who is a survivor of cancer and her family’s foundation “Delaney Donates.”

Palisade’s Fire Chief Richard Rupp and Water Board member Elaine Korver welcomed all Farmers’ Market visitors who came up to admire the big pink truck on Sunday, and both explained the purpose of the firefighters’ project.

“If you are a cancer survivor or have lost someone to cancer, you can write a message on the truck.” Elaine asked and then had to explain the Delaney fire truck project again and again.

“Some people knew about it, and they came to sign the truck that day,” she said.

One family talked about their special connection with Delaney Truck. Their daughter had been in the Children’s Hospital in Denver at the same time as Delaney.
“We are friends with the family because of Gracie,” Rusty Lloyd said as he and his wife, oldest daughter Elly, son Carter and two Lloyd grandparents from Kansas watched the middle daughter write her message.

      Gracie is a survivor of liver cancer, yet she is a bundle of 8½-year-old blonde energy who could not stand still. She was constantly dancing from foot to foot while waiting to know how and where to write her message.
       Consulting with everyone in her family what she should say, she then asked Elaine if she could draw a picture of herself next to it.

Gracie was happy with the results, but she impatiently twirled and talked before the family walked away from Delaney’s Fire Truck.

“She promised me that if we had the truck here next year, she would come back to sign it again,” Elaine said with a smile.

Another joyous survivor came to the Farmers’ Market, Lynette Pickering of Denver, came up all smiles to Chief Rupp and proclaimed, “I’m a breast cancer survivor. Can I sign the truck?”

“Of course, you can,” he responded before asking, “How long?”

 Lynette tossed her cute little cap to her husband Randy and revealed her short mass of re-growing hair.  With an even bigger smile, she replied proudly, “Five days free of chemo.”

Randy explained they came to the Valley to play golf for the weekend, if Lynette felt up to it.

She interrupted, “I’ve been golfing for three days and feeling fine.”

Now her husband was all smiles. “We didn’t think she could go that long.  She is tired, but still doing okay.”

Before they left, he took pictures of his wife posing with her short-cropped hair-do, standing next to her message of hope on the pink fire truck.

Not all the visits were happy, Elaine Korver said about volunteering at the Delaney Fire Truck all day, “It was hard. Cancer hits a lot of people. Some cancer survivors want to keep it private. Some people would read the messages or watch others writing, but they did not want to do that,” she said.

Gently she would encourage everyone to support and help people struggling with cancer by donating money or buying a shirt while at the pink fire truck or from any fire department in the valley.

      Elaine called Chief Rupp over to model the official Palisade Fire Department pink shirt that matched the truck, similar to what each of the county fire departments will be wearing in “Pink October.”

 “All firefighters will wear pink shirts with the same design on the front: ‘Courage and Support’ streaming on the cancer ribbon image over the words ‘Mesa County Firefighters,’ and the word ‘cancer’ will be falling into the nozzle of a fire hose.

“Each individual department logo will be on the back,” she said.

To raise money and awareness about helping cancer families, anyone can purchase a similar pink shirt with the logo on the front, but instead of one department logo on the back, that shirt lists all 11: Palisade, Grand Junction, Central Orchard Mesa, Clifton, Gateway, Platte Valley, East Orchard Mesa, Glade Park, Land’s End (Whitewater), Lower Valley (Fruita), and DeBeque.

This is the second year for GJ firefighters to honor and raise funds for cancer survivors and families.

Last year the Grand Junction Fire Department committed to help Delaney in her fight. Because her grandfather had been a firefighter, all the GJ firefighters wore pink tee shirts in October to show their support to all cancer patients.  That alone raised $9,000 in Pink October.

This year the Valley Fire Chiefs agreed to unite and expand their cancer awareness project, adding the Delaney Fire Truck.    Symbolic in color and size, this unique fire truck was donated by the Central Orchard Mesa Fire Department to the Grand Junction Fire Department.

Local organizations donated time and money to have it painted and customized in honor of Delaney Clements’ foundation “Delaney Donates,” and to be a symbol of hope, courage and strength to all cancer families. Now through October it will be on a fundraising tour to each of the county fire stations.

The pink “Delaney” fire truck will be in Friday’s Homecoming Parade, and then it travels to the Fruita Fall Festival.

This is not a typical appearance of a fire truck, but it leaves a powerful impression wherever it tours. Hopefully, its message will make everyone Think Pink against Cancer and raise awareness and funds for cancer research, survivors, family and friends.

Last two Funny Misconceptions about Moms and Back-to-School

Yep, the last two funny misconceptions. Remember I borrowed these from a blogger named Diana, so I can't take the credit (and really I don't think these last two are the golden ones that she wrote). 

So if you have or had kids back to school, this list should give you a smile or not.

#9: Moms don’t mind taking you to school if you miss the bus.

Your bus comes at 7:10 am….which means that you should be standing by the door at 7:05 am.

Not eating breakfast, chasing the dog around the house or in the bathroom, asking me to check your homework while I’m taking a shower.

Get it together! I don’t like running down the street in my jammies at 7:12 screaming “Please wait” or “If you stop I’ll show you my boobies.”

##

#10: Moms cry on your first day of school.

We do cry but they are tears of joy.

I have done my job.

I have successfully kept a human child alive for at least 5 years without doing any major damage.

Motherhood is the hardest job in the world!!

Sure, doctors save lives and CEO’s run million dollar businesses but…you teach a kid not to poop their pants and then you can say you’ve made the world a better place.”

Funny Misconceptions of Moms and Back-to-School

Misconception #8: Moms love after school activities.

      I don’t know who made up this idea of organized clubs and sports but they should be the ones in charge of carting your ass around.

      Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against all after school programs. I just wish they would offer it during hours that would work best for me so that dinner wasn’t at 8:30 at night followed by 4 hours of homework.

      Why not do it on the weekends and call it “after-hours activities” so mommy and daddy could actually go out one night and pretend that we have a life of our own.

      Don’t worry about us though I’m sure that me and “what’s his name” will be married a very long time.

Thanks, Teach --Another borrowed blog

I freely admit it. I’ve taken teachers for granted.

Sure, as a kid, you wanted the ones that weren’t too hard on you when you screwed up, or maybe
the ones who never noticed when you did.


As a parent, you merely hope they will turn your children into the smartest kids in town. We look at state rankings of schools and hope ours is smarter than that dumb school down the street. Because, by God, my kid needs to have a good job someday so I’m not supporting them till they’re 35.


I’ll admit it. When I get my kid’s report cards, or test scores, or whatever, I congratulate my kids for the good grades, and question the teachers about the bad ones.


Then, it hit me. When your 4 year old, who’s never been more than 8 feet away from you is dropped off at school for the first time, and you’re at work all day stressing about it, the teacher is the one with him, making sure he’s ok.


When your house is just so loud from your 2 or 3 kids being cooped up all summer, and you can’t wait for the house to be quiet again, the teacher is the one who happily receives them.


When a kid is having problems at home, the teacher is the one that comforts them and gives them a sense of normalcy.


When you get a call that the school is on lockdown, because of whatever craziness is going on in the world at that time, the teacher is the one who is there to comfort them.


When an EF-5 tornado is zeroed in on your kid’s school, and you are 10 miles away, helpless and hopeless to reach them in time, the teacher is the one who makes sure they are in a safe place.


When that same tornado, or even a crazy person with a gun, enters the school, and attempts to take the life of your child, and you wish you were there to jump in the way, the teacher is the one who does.


This is for all the teachers who I ever had, and every teacher my kids ever had, or will ever have. You may have never had to take a bullet for me, or protect my child from a falling wall, but it wasn’t until now that I realized, you totally would have.


I apologize for never treating you with the proper respect. The same respect we give our fireman and our policeman, should have been given to you.


Thank you for everything you ever did, and everything you were in position to do, but never had to.


Good job, teach.

Bo Wright

Continuing the Countdown of Funny Misconceptions of Moms and Back to School

Today you will notice that I added a little color to my text. Just to jazz it up, and I have given you two, not one, misconceptions. So enjoy.

#6: Moms like helping you with your homework.

What? I am scared out of my mind. I’m pretty sure that I forgot everything I learned in fifth grade by the time I was in sixth grade.

I have no idea what you are talking about most days.

I don’t really know my 12 times tables.

I read the cliff notes to all your summer reading, and I don’t know how to conjugate anything but I do know that song “conjunction junction what’s your function” if that helps at all.

And please don’t even say the words “new math” to me. What the heck was wrong the old one?

     ##

#7: Moms can’t wait to pack your lunch every day until we die.

I hate doing laundry.

Making dinner every night is the bane of my existence, so making your lunch every day for an entire year, in terms of “mom fun,” lies somewhere between brushing plaque off the dogs teeth and scheduling my annual pap smear.

Listen, as a child I hated what my mom packed me for lunch. But, like every kid before me, and every generation to come you will find a kid to trade with…I’m sure someone likes sardines.

#5 Funny Misconceptions about Moms and Back to School

I hope some one is enjoying these misconceptions as much as I do, and not getting bored with my borrowed blog. I would add photos but I still don't know how to do that. When I learn, I will go back and add images.

So #5: 
Moms like covering books in that annoying sticky paper.

     What exactly will you be doing with these books that I have to cover them in a plastic laminate?

      Do you often teach in the rain?

     Or while the children are drinking soda and eating soup?

     Do you know how long that takes?

     Has any parent in the history of education been able to do it without any air bubbles in it?

      From now on I’m covering it the old way…brown paper bags. That way I can cover the books and pack their lunches at that same time.

      Who says moms can’t multitask?

PS. Please tell my son if he can’t find his lunch to look in his science book.

#4 Funny Misconceptions about Mothers and Back-to-School

Misconception #4: Moms like school paper work.

      How many trees are you planning on killing to tell me the same stuff I had to pay a babysitter to listen to the other night?

      You know our name, where we live and our emergency phone numbers.

      He doesn’t have a nickname….call him “stink butt” for all I care.

      We don’t have any “special circumstances” that you need to know about.  

      He lives in a home with two parents who may or may not like each other at any given time and they will fight.

      If that qualifies as a reason he can’t get his homework done on time then he won’t be able to function as an adult and have a real job, so you may want to “educate” him on that life lesson.

#3 Funny Misconceptions about Mothers and Back-to-School

            Remember I am not writing these, or making them up. A Mom in NYC blogged these, but even she said she didn't write them either. So this is a giving-credit-where-it-is-due-chain. Want to join?
#3 is not my favorite because being from Oklahoma, my kids never had "a project on wigwams made by some Indian tribe" that we did not know (also being Native American, I know most of the major tribes). Also, I personally always liked Parent-Teacher conferences.

Misconception Number 3: Moms like back to school night. Why must we do this every year? I got it already. You’re the teacher…I’m the parent. My kid is either going to be smart or dumb. If he gets a certain number or colored dot on his discipline chart, he can’t get a prize from the prize box, pretty simple stuff.

Listen, I’m pretty old school. If he doesn’t listen to you…you can throw something at him. I don’t care. But I got a lot of work to do at home and I’m paying a babysitter right now. Plus, I’m pretty sure you are going to assign some project on wigwams made by some Indian tribe I’ve never heard of, so I need to get home and start my research.

So, I got it. We’re all here for the betterment of the kids. Blah Blah Blah. Can I leave now?

#2 Funny Misconceptions about Moms and Back-to-School

Misconception Number 2: Moms like to go school shopping. 

Are you freaking kidding me? Why do I pay taxes?…so I can rack up a 200 dollar bill at Staples for crap that we have laying around my house in junk drawers. Why does it have to be new pencils? What’s wrong with the chewed up, broken strawberry shortcake pencils sitting in the bottom of the toy box for the last 6 months? And how many subject books can you possibly need? What happened to reading, writing and arithmetic. If they added a couple of things for parents to that list I wouldn’t mind so much….why not pencils, erasers and vodka …..or some Nyquil.

"Borrowing" another blogger's blog

 If I knew how to post great FaceBook postings, I would. BUT, since I don't have the iota of knowledge how to do that, I have to turn back to "old school" techniques -- borrow and paste.
School has started (everybody knows that), so I am sharing TEN Funny Misconceptions of Moms and Back-to-School by a clever woman by the name of Diana.
One at a time. Check back for the others.

Misconception Number 1: Moms miss their kids when they go back to school.

Seriously. I’ve had enough of you by now. Every morning with the “what are we going to do today, Mom?” is finally over. I’ve had looked at your face twenty-four seven for the last 77 days. It’s time to go learn something. No more asking me about the pool, when is the next snack or if you can stay up late and watch a movie. It’s over….You’re going back to Hogwarts and I get to have a life again. 

There is a Christmas morning for parents and it’s called “back to school.”

##

Stack 'em deep; Teach 'em cheap. Back to the classroom, Teachers.

          I'm no longer a teacher, but I still read teacher blogs, websites and resource materials.
         So here it is August once again. The thrill of inservice, last minute work days and Open House anxieties are already happening.
          I can't help but zoom in on the blogs, websites or anything that encourages, inspires, lists that I can recommend to those brave souls who are willing to join the education profession. Some body's got to do it, and I'm not going to be doing it any more.

Children's Nature Center opening in October

For three years the Grand Valley Zoological Quest (GVZQ) non-profit has been raising awareness and funds to build a zoological center here in the Valley.

 By October the GVZQ will open The Children’s Center at 404 Jurassic Avenue in Fruita.

         Executive Director Janet Gardner was excited to sign the lease last week for the 3000 square foot facility located across from the Dinosaur Journey and a part of the Culture Corridor in Fruita that leads from I-70 and over the Colorado River to the National Monument.

 The Children’s Center will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will consist of several educational immersion exhibits, both with and without animals. 

“Phenomenal exhibits such as the coral reefs, living fossils, rainforests, animals of Western Colorado, and arthropods will provide opportunities for both formal and informal education,” Gardner explained.

Since 2011 over 16,000 students of all ages have participated in the Grand Valley Zoological Quest’s educational programs throughout the Valley.

Fruita Fall Festival, Farm and Ranch Days, EdZOOcation Day, Boo at the Zoo, Zoorific, plus after school programs at Shelledy Elementary and Grand Junction High were just a few.

       According to Gardner, “All this without the benefit of a building to call home.

         The Children’s Nature Center will be the first step in the Zoo Quest to have a non-profit, self sustaining accredited zoological science building on the Western Slope so Valley residents will have a local facility and not have to travel 250 miles to Denver or Salt Lake City, and visitors can learn about the area wildlife and beauty.

Executive Director Janet Gardner is very excited to reach this three-year milestone for GVZQ. “Opening this Children’s Center will allow us to expand our education programs and increase our outreach to the community about education, conservation and importance of animals in our lives.”

“Imagine the excitement in education we can create with The Children’s Nature Center!”

Exhibit sponsorship opportunities available call Janet at (970) 245-6588.

Visit us at: www.gvzooquest.org

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/gvzoo

I'm Nobody, so I'll write my Memoirs

Everyone said I was lucky it was a small stroke. That I would recover use of my right side, but it would take time-- weeks or months.  Homebound, basically stuck in our second floor bedroom, I had nothing to do. I couldn’t walk, write, or read without extreme focus or pain for the first month.

As the numbness and tingling of my nerve endings receded slightly, I contemplated the future. Of course I looked at the dark side of mortality. Planning my funeral, or even worse, accepting the limits of living an active life, pressed me into depression. That was the second month.

Loss of reading and writing hampered me the most. The two activities had kept me sane through 31 years of teaching and 36 years of raising four children. Now, I could do neither, not even work part-time at the library or freelance write for two local newspapers. Just lie there in bed, take my pills and cry; I was really having a pity party.

Only for brief moments, I would not allow self-pity to bring me down. I would make plans for the future, no matter what. We needed to sell the house and move to a rancher—downsize that’s what I told my husband and friends. Of course, I couldn’t do the lifting, packing, moving as I discovered quickly when I tried. I did walk to the new neighbors’ house and get their tossed out moving boxes. I spent two days back in bed recovering from “over-doing” that much energy.

That’s when I decided. I’m going to write my memoirs.

I’ve never done anything famous or heroic, but things just happened to create my complex story that sounds unbelievable in some ways.

But after 60 years of love, friendship, family and work, I think every one has a life that is uniquely designed just for her/him. We are all “nobody” until we tell our stories.

I'm nobody! Who are you? 


Are you nobody, too? 


Then there's a pair of us -- don't tell! 


They'd banish -- you know! 



How dreary to be somebody! 


How public like a frog


To tell one's name the livelong day


To an admiring bog!

             By Emily Dickinson

Fruita recycling for GVZQ

Recycling is not easy, but anything worthwhile is not easy.

Consider the Grand Valley Zoological Quest (GVZQ) efforts to build a certified educational center here on the Western Slope.

Thanks to businesses, individual contributors, donors, educators, fundraisers, social media and volunteers, Zoo Quest non-profit is raising funds through paper recycling.

Last month a Paper Recycling bin was placed in Walgreen’s parking lot at the corner of Aspen and Cherry Streets in Fruita. People filled it within one month.

Kudos to Fruita Times, Walgreens, and the Welcome Center—these local businesses told us of their efforts to help GVZQ—by recycling their pounds of old papers: newspapers, brochures, shredded or whole computer or office paper, etc.

Kudos also to all the individuals who recycled any extraneous papers: newspapers, inserts, telephone books, Post-it TM notes, paperback books, hard cover books, magazines, envelopes, colored paper, cardboard, egg cartons, dark-colored accordion files, cereal boxes, soft drink or beer cartons, soft cover computer manuals, paper bags, even junk mail, whole or shredded, all types of paper, (except tissue and plastic coated) etc.

Be sure to remove staples and clips.

NO PLASTIC or TRASH as recycling items.

Any business, family or individual may drop off miscellaneous paper items at the Fruita Walgreen’s recycle bin.

Waste Management is servicing the paper bin; all proceeds going toward The Children’s Nature Center.

Contact www.gvzooquest.org or GVZQ on facebook if anyone wants recognition for donating, sponsoring or recycling for the GV Zoo Children’s Nature Center.

After three years of its quest, Grand Valley Zoo Quest and supporters can help the planet, educate the children, and save the zoological animals by donating paper clutter to the GVZQ bin in Fruita.

 Coming soon – another GVZQ paper recycle bin will be placed at the Monument Village Shopping Center in the Redlands. 

Getting Better Every Day

I have improved so much in the month since I had the stoke which affected my right side.
I'm not back to 100%, more like 76% or maybe a little more, but I can tell, "It is getting better every day."

June 10th, a Monday that everything changed. Both Byron and I were rushing around to get out of the house. Byron faced his last week of summer class at CMU before retirement. He needed two old computer keyboards to return to the college, so I jumped up to get them out of a storage box in the computer room for him. The minute I touched the keyboards, my fingers started tingling.

I am totally allergic to insect bites and wasp stings, so I immediately assumed I was having a reaction to  a spider bite. I washed The numminess in my fingers were

Four movies in one month, from May 16th to June 30

Haven't made it the movies much, until this month.
Maybe because I had the time to lay around this month---
Or it might be that Hollywood finally put out some of the better movies.
        Enough about me: the Movies--
May 16th -- Star Trek, the new version -- Great! Can't wait to see, rent, or buy the DVD.

June 14th -- Superman, Man of Steel -- It was good, it just wasn't as good as I anticipated it would be.

June 28th -- The Heat -- Very good, even though I didn't know it was coming to theatres this month.

June 30th -- Monster Inc. University -- Cute, well worth the money, another movie I never expected to spend money to see. It was a sequel of a Disney/Pixar child's movie.

A "Good" Stroke?

I almost died in June, but I didn't.
It was only a stroke.

"If there is anything such as a good stroke, you had a good stroke." my doctor said on Monday, June 10th.
"It was a small one on the left side of your brain. It was not a bleed; it was an ITS, and we caught it early." he continued.
            That sounds so casual, but I was terrified.
           All I could knew about strokes was "You will die. You will never recover. You will be a vegetable."
          Apparently several of the medical staff at the doctor's office, the hospital and my friends had heard those same childhood ideas about strokes. I could tell in their glances of pity.

           

Luckily, all that was wrong.  

I am recovering now, slowly and surely

Experienced Animal Director comes to GVZQ

         Former Palisade resident Holly Tumas, the Animal Husbandry Director of ZooQuest, has years of experience with domestic and wild animals. She will present information about the care and handling of zoo animals at the GVZQ booths.

        Holly and her family lived in California for over 40 years before renting in Palisade for eight months last year before moving and taking her volunteer job with GVZQ.

        Few people know that Holly has a degree in Exotic Animal Training and Management and has worked with Jack Hanna, many movie and television celebrities. Yet she is more passionate talking about her favorite animals she trained and handled while working in her home state.

      This petite young woman was born and raised in California and received a degree in Journalism, Marketing and Public Relations at Long Beach State. Her first job with Paramount Studios placed her as assistant movie publicity department for such shows as Star Trek, the Next Generation, ET and others.

      “This is where I’m suppose to be. Training animals is my true passion.”

       It was a good thing that Holly was passionate about this because she found out that it was an intensive 24/7 schooling schedule.

      “I loved it. I jumped in 110% of two years of my life, very intense program. We were taking classes during the day, helping clean the zoo every morning and evening and feed the animals. On 2 or 3 evenings a week we would work the ‘Night Watch.’

      She graduated in May 1997, and Holly laughed at telling the name of her degree program, “ You are going to love the acronym: E.A.T.M., which stands for Exotic Animal Training and Management Program.”

      In 1998 Holly came back to be the American Teaching Zoo assistant at her alma mater until 2009. The job became more than full time, but she found the time for her marriage and the birth of her child.

“The move was a time to be a stay-at-home mom and wife,” she admits. “After we moved from Palisade, I learned about the Zoo Quest to build a zoological center, and I feel this move was meant to be.”

     Holly connected with every animal she trained, and she has pictures that help her relive her memories of the people and animals that she met and will never forget.

     This weekend she begins handling and presenting the Grand Valley Zoological Center animals to her Colorado neighbors, and she starts her new career, caring for the amazing animals that will be in the Western Colorado Wildlife Conservancy.