Hello Woodchuck Volunteers:
We had an extremely successful VA outpatient (veterans) class (Tuesday 1/24/23) thanks to the help of several Woodchuck volunteers: Dale Pappas, Tom Doud, Russ Lambert, Todd Williams, Christian Ziegler, Paul Yarmolich, Rod Proctor, Terry Plys, Gary Raines, Charles Johnson, and Mary Sedgwick. All of you are directly responsible for making this class truly exceptional!
· Prep: Early last fall, some class project materials were prepared by Russ, Charles, Tom, Christian, and Mary. Last week holes for bench dogs were drilled in two workbenches and a jig made for the table saw by Christian, Tom and [Boris]. I probably forgot someone – sorry…
· During class: Charles assisted with same day class preparations. Dale collected data and testimonials, and helped facilitate. Tom, Paul, Rod, Terry, and Gary mentored our 6 veterans. And Mary was a nervous wreck as the class facilitator. Christian ran the chisel and table saw stations, Russ ran the drill press station and Todd ran the router station. Todd also took many photos.
Our first class consisted of 6 veterans (2 males and 4 females): 2 Navy vets, 2 Air Force vets and 2 Army vets. This is very interesting because, in 2022, our local VA hospital served a total of 29,661 patients and of this total only 2,162 were females - that’s just over 7% female veterans! Remarkable! For our first class, I had expected a higher ratio of male veterans; however, this was definitely not the case because we had just about 67% females.
I will share feedback from the veterans and Woodchuck volunteers a bit later. Kari Fritz, VA Recreational Therapist, will be contacting each of these veterans for their feedback and confirm their commitment to the next 3 classes (all 6 told Dale they wanted to come to both). In a separate email, I will ask our Woodchuck volunteers to provide feedback. Then I will compile these and send them to you.
All veterans left with a completed project: a 4”x6” keep-sake box with a military medallion on the lid. The project for February 28th will be a desk clock and glue-up for March. In the March 28th class, veterans will use the glue-ups to make charcuterie boards and butter boards.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
Dale Pappas, Tom Doud, Russ Lambert, Todd Williams, Christian Ziegler,
Paul Yarmolich, Rod Proctor, Terry Plys, Gary Raines, Charles Johnson
Sincerely grateful, Mary Sedgwick