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Remember to click on the blue letters to link to the rest of the story!

                      "The name has changed, 
            but the commitment remains the same"

    F E L L O W S H I P - L O Y A L T Y - S E R V I C E

HALL OF FAME WINNER

 
West Virginia Chapter #42
    Harold "H.V" Smith Harold Smith
H.V. became a Pioneer twice, once with AT&T after 21 years of service and then again after transferring to C&P Telephone of West Virginia. Giving of his time and himself to overlapping multiple projects has been a way of life for H.V. Having served in chapter, council and club positions, he continues to dedicate his time to the service of others. In 1988, H.V. was recognized as "the telephone man" who discovered a crash victim who had lain in a ravine overnight following a car accident. The victim's survival was attributed to H.V., and a handwritten letter from the victim's son, a second grader at the time, stated, "Thank you for finding my daddy. You saved his life. I love him a lot and you a lot. Love, Chris." H.V. has been planting flowers for 30 years for the contestants, their families and volunteers to enjoy at West Virginia's International Sports Jamboree. H.V. built and maintains the 3,600 sq. ft. Telephone Pioneer museum in Parkersburg, the largest in the state. When the West Virginia step central office facilities became obsolete, H.V. took a long look at the thousands of discarded switch covers and got an idea. That idea turned into almost 7,000 birdhouses made by hand and sold as a fund raiser, most recently for the Sports Jamboree. Not stopping there, he has also made over 240 cedar blue birdhouses

 

 

Angel wings
At the West Virginia Chapter's Annual meeting this fall, two life members were honored as charter members of the chapter's new Life Member Angels program. They were Helen B. Simpson from Parkersburg, W.V. and Patricia "Pat" Reveal from Charleston, W.V.

Helen's dedication to Pioneering was always there during her active years, but after retirement and marriage she put her heart and soul into the organization. Her goal was to keep the Parkersburg life members active in their community plus keep the fellowship a strong component of the group. With her partner, Chet, Helen set out to make Parkersburg a strong supporter of the distribution of student dictionaries. Every school in Wood County, W.V., has received dictionaries over the last three years. Helen's volunteer efforts continue through her church, women's clubs and the many other organizations she and Chet support.

Pat Reveal may have retired 17 years ago from the "telephone company," but there has never been a day that she was not on the job for Pioneering. Serving in the Charleston, W.V. council and chapter positions throughout her career, Pat's transition to leadership positions after retiring was a smooth road. When the W.V. Chapter office lost its administrator, Pat stepped up to the plate and took on the daily responsibilities. With her partner, Jerry, Pat keeps the office functioning. This includes the little issues, such as trash removal, as well as the day to day processing of vouchers from all over the state. She has served as dictionary coordinator since the project began. Her work with her church, her Bible study group, her role as mother and grandmother and her dedication to Pioneering are exemplary. As surrogate mother and friend to all leaders of the clubs, councils and chapter in West Virginia, she keeps them on their toes through phone calls, e-mail messages and snail mail.

AFFINITY AND REWARDS CREDIT CARD

Pioneer Credit Card
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TelecomPioneers is the world's largest corporate volunteer organization. Founded in 1911, we are a dedicated group of more than 640,000 men and women -- committed to serving our communities through North America and beyond.
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No annual fee and a credit limit up to $25,000.00.

 


Flower Petal

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If you will notice we have a new item on our menu.  It is entitled FlowerPetal.com
If you need to order any flowers for Mothers Day, Anniversaries or even for a death,
 just click on the link.  It will take you to a site where you can order flowers for any
 occasion.  By ordering from this site, you will be sending 12% back to the WV Chapter.
 If you would prefer not to order on line you may call 1 800 444-0531 and place your order.
 12% minus $2.50 will be sent back to the Chapter.  Have the following information handy
 when you call.  Recipient's name, address and at least one telephone number, delivery
 date, a general idea of the desired arrangement (including possible flower allergies of the
 recipient), price range, card message, delivery time restrictions, payment details and the TelecomPioneers chapter name and /or number.  Ours is WV Chapter 42.  This is a great
 way to raise money for our Chapter.


INTERNATIONAL SPORTS JAMBOREE

Jamboree Participant    Zila Schimmel  Justin Moore

This article appeared in the Verizon/Frontier/Telecordia Telecompioneers Communicator in September 2007.

Ellie Dickerson Face Painting
The 29th Annual International Sports Jamboree was held the weekend of July 20-21, 2007 at the beautiful North Bend State Park in Cairo, WV. Twenty-five visually impaired and/or wheelchair bound participants ranging in age from 10 to 25 came from MO, Canada, OH, NJ, PA and WV to enjoy a weekend of fun and fellowship. They enjoyed competing in wheelchair relays, races, basketball games, beeping basketball, beeping horseshoes, Frisbee toss and other events geared especially for these young people. Some were there for a repeat competition; others were experiencing these new activities for the first time. They had the chance to run, ride a bike or play softball for the first time in their lives. Plus, they had the opportunity to make new friends. The West Virginia Chapter provided many volunteers and designed special sporting events tailored to the children's individual needs.

The following article appeared in the Winter 2007 edition of the Pioneer Press.

WEST VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL HANDICAPPED SPORTS JAMBOREE

North Bend State Park has been the site of the International Handicapped Sports
 Jamboree for the last 29 years.  Hundreds of youngsters from North America come
 to participate in the games and feel special for one weekend each summer.

They race, play ball, play hard and have fun in the process.  Some run, ride a bike
 or play softball for the first time in their lives.

West Virginia Pioneers design special sporting events tailored to visually or physically
 handicapped individuals.  There are hiking trails and an outdoor amphitheater which
 was renovated by the Pioneers.

The tandem bicycles, beeping balls, beeping horseshoes and all the other games are
 also maintained by the Pioneers year after year.

At the beginning of the games, each contestant is introduced as they enter the sporting
 field.  At the awards ceremony, each is awarded medals for their efforts.  They are
 entertained by clowns and local talent throughout the weekend.

Each contestant leaves with fond memories and new friendships.  And for the Pioneers
 who support this important project, the smiles on the faces of the participants are the|
 very best reward.

 

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