Monday, November 23, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!

by John Aldrich

At Adopt-A-Native-Elder we like to get a head start on the Thanksgiving holiday and hold our special event on the Sunday before the official day.

Last evening one hundred volunteers and assorted royalty gathered to share in a celebration to honor all of the people who have put in many dedicated hours over the past year on behalf of our Elders. All of the major events in the ANE calendar are over for the year following the successful rug show which ended 2 weeks ago. So it was time to relax and enjoy everyone's company one more time before the year is over.

Our Thanksgiving event is a potluck dinner organized by Virginia Aldrich. The suggestion was made some years ago that we should produce a cookbook of dishes brought by our many volunteers who are also talented cooks. The suggestion was never implemented but the thought behind it remains just as valid. In addition to turkey and ham, there was a cornucopia of other delights - and plenty to go around.

Prior to the meal there was ample time for visiting while we were being soothed by beautiful flute music played by Scott Bitter. C.J. made a presentation to Virginia and Rodger Williams offered a prayer. Linda wasn't able to be with us this year since she had hip replacement surgery a week ago. But Rodger reported that she was doing well and sorry that she couldn't be with us.

Following the meal C.J. reported on the results of the rug show, which were excellent. Eileen Quintana presented four finalists from the Shi Yazhi Princess/Ambassador event at the rug show. These girls presented themselves with great poise as they introduced themselves in Navajo and related what the ANE experience meant to them. These girls work beautifully as a team and had attended a pow wow at UVU following the rug show where they were able to collect donations on behalf of the program.

The evening concluded with some words about the Christmas stocking program by Joan Reid. As we look ahead now to our own Thanksgiving travels and dinners, we wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Keshmish.

Without further comment, here is a collection of photos from the evening:
























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