H.R. Jones and Hughes Elementary Schools

The Genesis group and the Hugh R. Jones Elementary and John F. Hughes Elementary schools had a Career Exploration Program for the 5th graders. They put this on at Jones Elementary - and bussed over the 5th graders from Hughes. There were 130 (approximately) students involved - my main thought about this whole thing would be that I would have an incredible headache and lots of stories (not good ones) to tell my co-workers.

Not so... These children were FANTASTIC! They were interested, they asked questions, they didn't interrupt, they wanted to know more. My group was made up of 5 professionals - we had about 5 minutes each to tell the kids what we do and how we got to where we are, etc. There was me - the computer geek, Kara - a licensed dietitian from the NYS Beef Council, Joe B - a retired teacher, mortician, truck driver, author, etc. Mr. J (can't remember his first name) - a prosthetist and orthotist, and Mike K - an editor from the OD. We all had different stories, but I think that we were able to get the kids to understand that you have to learn, work and never quit to do what you love.

So - Utica Elementary Schools are doing something right. The kids were interested, well behaved, and the teachers were fantastic. For someone who gets stressed out with too many kids running around - I didn't have any issues! Woo Hoo!

Thank you to Genesis Group and Ray D'Urso for all that you do for the Mohawk Valley.

If you don't like the weather, just wait a little while.

I have heard this forever about the weather in upstate - it is true, sometimes. Today we had sun, then rain, then sun, then wind and clouds, then sun, then a spectacular thunder and lighting show that lasted a good hour. Every time I thought that it had gone, I was sitting on my front porch and enjoying it, it would circle back around. That is one thing about living in this valley - the storms sometimes seem to bounce off the hills and come back around a few times. So today was one of those days that you just had to wait 15-30 minutes and the weather would change. It is pretty nice tonight - I opened up all of the windows and am enjoying the fresh air! It's sweet! The AC is nice to kill the humidity, but fresh air is the best.