Hats Off – November 15, 2019

Our Hats are Off to Chris Allender and Mike Takada for putting together and running a wonderful youth con November 1-3. Their calm and steady leadership enabled UCE to host about 100 youth from around the area and 25 youth group leaders. Our space is one of a few in our region that works really well for the youth cons but it can’t happen without the many hours of planning Mike and Chris provided, as well as the willingness to spend the entire weekend here with 100 teenagers. Mike and Chris also brought a truly meaningful social justice program to the Con. Bonsai Burmudez of the Youth Empowerment Performance Project (YEPP) led the youth through an exercise involving dramatic arts, which provided insights into experiences of oppression. Mike and Chris also wanted to recognize the many people that contributed to the success of the con, including their youth group co-leaders: Ally Hunter, Natalie Lawson, and Maxine Lapin. Our deep gratitude to all of you.

Additional thanks to:

Barbara Ghoshal
Carolyn Leman
Cindy Sammons
Alice Swan
Michael Skilton
Anne Figert
Jane Wurster
Eric Schwabe
Christine Peters
Martha Holman
Meredith Hayden
Nicole Kramer
Ed Finkel
Jordan Strueber
Emily Marlowe
Sean Talmage

And Staffers, Liz Kennedy, Adam Gough, Vicki Doebele, Kathy Talmage, Kathy Underwood & Sandra Robinson were also instrumental in helping things run smoothly.