Tag Archives: Volunteering

Last Monday in August

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Just a reminder. My latest book, Recall, is on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Recall-Connie-Cockrell/dp/1484886224/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375657368&sr=1-2

It’s been a crazy month, and truthfully, I’m not sure where it went. In a week, I’ll be hip deep in the Northern Gila County Fair. I’m the VP of Exhibits. A fancy title that means I’m in charge of the entire exhibits tent. Yep, we’re still in a tent. Maybe we’ll have a building next year.

So what does that mean, to be in charge of all the exhibits? It means that anyone who wants to enter their barley or their quilt or their painting of Aunt Madeline, comes to me and my team. They’re called Superintendents and take care of each area of interest, Agriculture, Photography, Hobbies, Canning, and so on. Even though we’re a small fair we get thousands of entries. They all have to be tracked, displayed, judged and prizes, if any, awarded. Then at the end of the fair, those exhibits have to go back to the right people.

Just this year we put up a web site: www.northerngilacountyfair.com. Check it out. It’s still rough but it gets the information across.

This will be my second year as the VP of Exhibits. It’s still a huge learning curve. I hope I pull it off again this year.  If you’re in central Arizona September 6, 7 or 8th, stop on by the Event Center at the south end of town. I’ll be there all day every day, usually in the Exhibits tent. Hope to see you there!Image

Memorial Day

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I did a Facebook post this morning specifically acknowledging the immediate members of my family who have or are currently serving in the military. I didn’t mention my husband’s brothers; Steve Cockrell who served in the Navy and Mike Cockrell who served in the Air Force, both in Vietnam.

I also didn’t specifically name my military friends. They number in the hundreds. Some are still serving even though I retired in 1995 after 20 years. Some I just met, retirees like myself who served in all the branches of the service from Merchant Marine to Air Force and those who were police, fire fighters and EMT’s.

While today is to remember those who volunteer and serve in these most dangerous of positions. Let’s remember there are a lot of volunteers who don’t put life on the line but who make our lives immeasurably better by volunteering in every aspect of out lives.

My hat’s off to all of you!

Planning My Time

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Plans. We all have plans. It might be; go to the store tomorrow and do the monthly grocery shopping. It might be to plan the next family trip to somewhere exotic. There are the plans we make, like the shopping that will definitely happen and those that won’t, like that exotic vacation for just you and the spouse.

I’m a retiree, so you’d think I would have a pretty free calendar. That’s what you’d think if you didn’t know me. I do quite a bit of volunteer work; I like to go out with friends.  Of course I also want to hang with the hubby. There’s exercising, gardening, taking care of the house, you know, all of the nuts and bolts of living.

But I’m also a writer. I have lots of things I want to get done: edit the last draft novel, write short stories, design book (paper and ebook) covers, blog, outline the next novel idea, indie publish said stories or novels, submit other stories/novels to magazines and publishers.  But life interferes. I have to do the other stuff, hang with spouse, garden, shower.

I love doing those other things, so I have to balance them. Tomorrow morning I go hiking, I have to call my mom about lunch time my time zone, I have a volunteer meeting tomorrow evening. Sometime in there I’m going to try and get some writing done.

I’m not doing anything different than all of you are doing. Everyone’s life is a balancing act between what has to be done and what you want to do. I try to make sure there’s time for the spouse and friends. Less time spent on dusting. Sometimes, I even get some writing done.

How do you spend your day?

After the Fair

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Starting on September 4th, I was fully engaged in the Northern Gila County Fair.  Luckily I wore my hiking boots because I’m pretty sure I put in many miles each day from the 4th until the 9th, walking, walking, walking.  

This was my first year as the VP Exhibits Tent.  Whew,  It’s like putting on a party for several thousand people and it’s a lot of work.  Most notable, I learned how to use and fuss with, swamp coolers.  Getting the water hooked up, getting the 3 coolers to work, learning how to keep them from flooding all over the tent floor, lots of fun!

The weather was wet and rainy the first day of the fair.  It was like being at the fair in Fulton-Montgomery County (the Fonda Fair!) in upstate New York.  Almost made me homesick.  Despite the rain, approximately 1200 elementary school kids came charging through the fair grounds, teachers gamely trying to keep their little charges in line and not touching the displays.  

Best of all, I finally had time to get to know the various Superintendents of each department.  Hobbies and Handicrafts, Canning, Baking, Fine Arts, Home Arts, Photography, Horticulture, Agriculture, Floriculture and unique to this state, the School Exhibits.  Such nice people and all of them wanting to make their Department’s exhibits the best they can be.  

We talked all weekend about our selves, our families, and most of all, how to make next year’s fair even better.  

I’m looking forward to working with them again!