Greetings Everyone!
I’d like to take a moment to thank all of those who attended and supported our 65
th
Annual Dinner Dance and Awards Ceremony at the McKinley on June 7
th
. It was another successful event where we take the opportunity to thank and acknowledge our outstanding staff members, participants, and community members for their dedication and support of the organization. To close the ceremony, we announced that ACHIEVE will be renaming their Guardianship Program after James M. Hayes – a lifelong supporter and advocate for ACHIEVE.
Planning is well underway for ACHIEVE’s 10
th
Annual Savor the Summer Event which is taking place at our Cutler Pond Road site on Thursday, August 22
nd
from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. I hope you will join us for this evening of local wine, craft beer, and gourmet fare. To learn more and/or to purchase tickets, please click
here
!
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Amy Howard
Chief Executive Officer
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ACHIEVE held its 65th Annual Dinner Dance and Awards Banquet, presented by the ACHIEVE Foundation Board of Directors, on June 7th at The McKinley at Huron Campus. Attended by 400 guests, the highlight of this year's Dinner Dance was the 2019 Awards Ceremony, featuring beautiful videos produced by our Video Sponsor, Ad Elements. ACHIEVE's CEO, Amy Howard, Assemblyman Clifford Crouch and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo presented all of ACHIEVE's annual awards to individuals, staff members, local businesses, and community members to recognize their contribution to our mission.
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The evening's festivities ended with the announcement that ACHIEVE is renaming their Guardianship Program to the James M. Hayes Guardianship Program, after Community Service Award Recipient and lifelong supporter of ACHIEVE, James Hayes.
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To view photos from our 65th Annual Dinner Dance, and to view the award videos, click here:
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Animal Adventure
Submitted By: Sadie Kinner
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Individuals from Carlton Street were thrilled to visit Animal Adventure and give extra love to the giraffes! They even decided to bring along their housemate who they lost last Fall, Barb, who was an avid April the Giraffe follower.
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Dairy Day Parade
Submitted By: Tanya Marshman
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Staff and individuals in Chenango LOVE participating in their Dairy Day every year. They get dressed up and have fun in the float they make together. This year, they were thrilled to take a picture with the Dairy Princess, who ended up being a staff member's daughter!
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Gilbert Lake State Park
Submitted By: Sue Benjamin
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Living in Upstate New York, you learn to take advantage of any warm, sunny day! Participants from Chenango decided to visit Gilbert Lake State Park for a fun-filled day of yard games, exploring, and a delicious lunch under the sun!
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Strawberry Festival
Submitted By: Theresa Melnyk
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This year's Strawberry Festival in Owego was a success! Not only was it a beautiful day to spend outside in the historic town of Owego, but everyone was able to have some sort of sweet strawberry treat!
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On the Pond ~ At Cutler Carnival
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On June 21st, On the Pond ~ At Cutler hosted a carnival to celebrate the start of Summer! All ACHIEVE participants were invited to enjoy a carnival that offered carnival games, cotton candy, popcorn, grilled food, face painting, pie-in-the-face, and even a dunk tank! What a great end of the week, and beginning of Summer!
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Planning is well underway for our 10th Annual Savor the Summer Event! Over the past decade, Savor the Summer has grown to become a premiere event in the Southern Tier. Hosted by ACHIEVE and The Foundation Board of Directors, this year’s event will take place
Thursday, August 22, 2019
at ACHIEVE’s Cutler Pond location. Presented by M&T Bank, this elegant tasting event features offerings from over 40 of the region’s finest restaurants, wineries, and breweries. The expected 500 guests also enjoy live entertainment and an impressive silent auction overlooking the beautiful vistas of Cutler Pond.
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Event Opportunities Still Available
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Dairy Queen
Submitted By: Rachel Gardner
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Randy has been asking to go to Dairy Queen for months now, telling everyone how much he wanted to go to his first Dairy Queen. Staff Member Rachel Gardner helped Randy fulfill his dream. Randy was all smiles on the ride to Oneonta and proudly ordered and paid for his hot dog and Blizzard. On the ride back home, Randy continued to thank Rachel for taking him. Moments like this remind us just how special and rewarding working for ACHIEVE truly is.
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Ithaca Science Center
Submitted By: Caitlin Ropp
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Team Tioga visited the Ithaca Science Center and enjoyed lunch at Stewart Park afterwards. Everyone had a great time learning from the Magnification Station and Space models, the Atom Transporter Station and the Carbon nano-tubes. The favorite all around seemed to be the Fat Tail Gecko Lizard we got to hold!
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Women's Fund
Submitted By: Tori Studer
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Girls Night Out
Submitted By: Theresa Melnyk
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The female residents of Main Street decided to have a GIRLS NIGHT OUT and chose to go to the Olive Garden. They had an amazing time, with lots of laughing and chatting. Since they don't do this often, they thought it would be a great time to capture the moment in a picture!
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National Selife Day
Submitted By: Tori Studer
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Did you know that June 21st was National Selife Day? We asked staff to celebrate by taking a selfie with whatever fun activity they were up to that day! We got a collection of smiles and good stories!
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Ghost Stories
Submitted By: Caitlin Ropp
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Steven, Robert, Kayla and Vickie enjoyed a morning out and about checking out all Owego has to offer, including some haunted stories that have aired on national TV from the Dugen House, formally known as the Park View Restaurant . Apparently the spirits of three Cowboys often hang out at the stools that Robert and Steven are seated at. We didn't witness any paranormal activity, but had a blast learning and eating lunch! This hotel/restaurant has been around since 1886 and has a fascinating history and story.
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Greenhouse Update
Submitted By: Shawnta Smith
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On the Pond ~ At Cutler individuals have been learning about growing plants all Spring, and boy, were they excited to see just how well everything is doing! They were especially excited to see that their radishes grew almost as big as their hands!
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Chenango Day Habilitation Visits Simpson's Pheasant Farm
Submitted By: Belle Burchill
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A group from the ACHIEVE Day Habilitation Chenango visited the Simpson Family Exotic Pheasant Farm, located in Plymouth, NY. The program-goers enjoyed a tour of the farm, feeding the exotic birds while learning about the care taking involved in raising them. The tour group also observed the incubation and hatching of the pheasant chicks born this Spring. Fun was had by all as the visit wrapped up with a photo-op with taxidermy pheasants and a thoughtful souvenir from Mr. and Mrs. Simpson; all members of the group received a real peacock feather!
Opportunities like this really give the program-goers a sense of appreciation for, and inclusion in our local animal-agricultural community. As a way of furthering their experiences this Summer, the ACHIEVE Day Habilitation programs will be visiting a number of other local farms, emphasizing on the importance of participating in the therapeutic nature of interacting with animals and the value of learning through experience.
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75th Birthday Party
Submitted By: Theresa Melnyk
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We love celebrating birthdays here at ACHIEVE! The Main Street residence surprised their housemate Patrick by making him his favorite dinner, spaghetti and homemade meatballs, and taking him to his favorite place - Tioga Downs!
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Butterflies
Submitted By: Caitlin Ropp
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#Team Tioga has been learning all about butterflies, and both sites are hatching their very own Painted Lady Butterflies. To continue this learning experience, we visited the Butterfly Museum in Oneonta and were surrounded by such diverse and beautiful butterflies, birds, and other animals! Everyone had such a great time exploring and learning.
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Reunited
Submitted By: Mary Dunlap
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It's always great to reunite with old friends! Mary and Lee used to volunteer together at Tioga Opportunities years ago. Little did they know that these old friends would reunite when attending a luncheon! It was great to catch up, and they will always hold a special place in each other's hearts.
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Party Night
Submitted By: Melissa Blakeslee
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Everyone looks forward to attending the monthly Party Night - and June's theme was Luau! The dance floor was filled with grass skirts, Hawaiian shirts, and beautiful flower leis! To see the Party Night schedule,
please click here!
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Baseball Hall of Fame
Submitted By: Melissa Blakeslee
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Recreation Respite spent the day in Cooperstown, NY to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is a trip the program takes each Summer and is a favorite for many participants!
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Stepping Stones
Submitted By: Tammy Vinal
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What better way to celebrate the beginning of Summer than by creating beautiful stepping stones for the garden? Some of ACHIEVE's Division Managers even stopped by to join in the craft - and they had a blast!
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National Flag Day
Submitted By: Tori Studer
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On June 14th, flag advocate Jesse wanted to share with everyone what National Flag Day was about. After doing research on the history of National Flag Day, and learning some interesting facts about flags, he created a short video to share with the community!
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Horticulture
Submitted By: Samantha Griffiths
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The Site-Base Pre-Vocational program at ACHIEVE assists participants in learning career skills and exploring the many careers offered! Recently, participants have been learning all about the horticulture profession, and seeing what an average day would be like.
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Red Carpet Surprise
Submitted By: Caitlin Ropp
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#TeamTioga was excited to be honored at this year's Dinner Dance, and were certainly surprised when they were greeted with a red carpet entrance thanks to their Division Manager Amantha!
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Bark-9 Pet Therapy
Submitted By: Shawnta Smith
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Thank you to Bark-9 Pet Therapy for attending the On the Pond ~ At Cutler Carnival with your four legged friends! It was a great addition to such a fun day!
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HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY 4th OF JULY!
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overACHIEVEr's Half-K Classic
September 28th - Chenango
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