Winds of Change Newsletter, December 2005     See sidebar for table of contents

T H A N K S !

Thank you!

To Joan Linville of Van for all the hard work she put into helping to save our homes and communities.  We need more people like you!

To Jim and Jean Foster for doing interviews with folks and telling them like it is. 

To everyone who attended the Friends of Mountains meeting in Van. We need your support always. Call (304) 245-8481 to find out the time and date of next area meeting.

To David Orr and his wonderful wife for showing Larry Gibson and Maria Gunnoe around the Oberlin campus. Thank you for the tremendous support that you continue to give to all of us who are affected by mountaintop removal. 

To the students in the Oberlin environmental policies class: You rock! Keep up the great work – It is so encouraging to see such a great group of kids in action! 

To Mary Wildfire and Greg Wood: WOC on! Thanks to RB for shelter in several storms. To Don Alexander for lots.

Thanks to all the incredible folks in Mingo, Logan, Raleigh and Boone Counties who continue to show incredible spunk and perseverance in the face of adversity!

To Chris “Willie” Dodson, Walter Young, Patricia Lynn Feeney, Julian Martin, Bill Price, Michael Morrison for all your help with outreach in Mingo County. Great work! And to Wilma and Terry Steele and Carol and Walter Young for giving us a pillow for our sleepy heads in Mingo County, and Barb and Roby Chafin for an early thanksgiving dinner. Also Leroy Runyon in Mingo County, your support is necessary and priceless. You all keep up the good fight.

To Christine Zachary, Michael Morrison, Chris “Willie” Dodson, John Gancs, John Taylor, Eddy, Balance Callicoat, Libby Callicoat and Whitney Eskew, for mailing help.

To Perry Bryant, Julie Archer, and Steve White, and others who for a job well-done at the public hearing on the 527 bill during the September special session of the WV legislature.

To Si Galperin, Susan Sobkoviak, Winnie Strezlecki, Julie Archer, and John Welbourn for their Clean Elections sub-committee work.

To Mayor Richie Robb – D now – for always standing up for democracy and the public interest.

To Kathryn Stone, for her ever-generous and secret donations for FOM and Clean Elections (a little birdie told us!).

To the Unitarian Universalists in Charleston for the use of their facilities for meetings.

To Sister Connell and her peers in Whitesville.

To the Sylvester Dustbusters.

To Reverend Jeff Allen for patiently pursuing and succeeding in bringing Community Shares to West Virginia! And for his many great ideas, his dedication to the land and people of Appalachia, and his courageous spirit and witness to the faith community about the importance of preserving God’s Creation.

To Allen Johnson, Carol Warren, Mary Ellen O’Farrell, Dr. Bob Marshall for their service on the steering committee of the newly formed Christians for the Mountains.

To Jack Spadaro, a true patriot and road “warrior” for his volunteer efforts to help stop mountaintop removal.

To OVEC board member Regina Hendrix for leading the Christians to the Mountains tour to Kayford Mountain and her continued efforts to preserve Blair Mountain as a site on the National Register of Historic Places.

To OVEC board member Larry Gibson for endless work.

To Lisa Smith for being a quiet inspiration for us to want to do our best.

——————————

Thank you for a great Treehuggers’ Ball 2005 – Our 16th Annual Ball:

All the volunteers!

Michael Morrison, Meaghan Duffy, Tyler Gagai, Regina Hendrix, Mark Smith, Jerise Fogel, Elizabeth Duke and Mary Wildfire for outreach, collecting items and staffing the ball.

All the donors!

Avalon Gifts (Connie Zirkle), Big Rock & the CandyAss Mt. Boys, Borders Books, Chili Willi’s Restaurant, Chris Worth, Cold Stone Creamery, Empire Books, Frog Creek Books, Gina Hart-Smith, Happy Camper, Hillbilly Hot Dogs, Java Joint, JB Dolin, Jerise Fogel, La Paix Herb Farm, Lavalette Nursery, Mark Smith, Mary Ramsay, Michael Morrison, Nawab Indian Cuisine, Old Village Roaster, Rick Bady, Scent from Heaven, Starbucks Café, Wes Harris and West Tenampa Restaurante.

The musicians!

Thank you Tonya Adkins and Brett Senters & Co. Plus an extra big thanks to Big Rock and the CandyAss Mountain Boys. You were all great as usual. Special thanks to Eric Fout of Big Rock for the organizing and promotion work.

The hosts!

Thank you Amber and Jason (Java Joint) for your patience and your kindness, and for opening up your space to all of us radical types. Many thanks also to the wonderful staff.