Contacts:Region Rep and State Chairs
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 Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International
Title Sponsor: Purina, the official feed of PATH Intl.
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From Your Region Rep:
Hurricanes and Tornados and Flooding, Oh My!
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Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 Hurricane on August 25th along the Texas Coastal Bend. The city of Corpus Christi had wind gusts of more than 70 mph, and Victoria experienced 83 mph wind gusts. By August 26th, more than 20 inches of rain had fallen in the Corpus Christi area, all of Victoria was left without water and most residents did not have power. Instead of moving inland and away from the coast like most hurricanes, Harvey stalled over South and Southeast Texas for days causing devastating flooding with some areas receiving more than 40 inches of rain in less than two days. South Houston received 44.91 inches of rain. Estimations have Harris County, which includes Houston, getting one trillion gallons of water dumped on it in four days with 70% of the county being flooded by at least 1 ½ feet of water. Along with the rain came tornados with many Houston area residents being under tornado warnings for hours. From southeast Texas, remnants of Harvey then continued to move across Louisiana causing flooding. With this being dubbed one of the worst weather disasters in U.S. history, the damages are estimated to be in the billions of dollars.
With disasters, come hope and the helpers. We were relieved to find that our centers affected by Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath were mostly okay. Our Louisiana centers all checked in and reported they were doing well after the rains subsided. Our Texas centers did not all fair as well, however, as they were assessing their centers' damages, they were also reaching out to their staffs, volunteers, participants and communities trying to assess needs and
help in any way they could. Centers not in the hurricane's path reached out, and continue to do so, to help.
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Please keep the following centers in your thoughts:
- Glenoak Therapeutic Riding Center, a Member Center in Corpus Christi, had some damage from the high winds. Even as their horses were returning, they were offering space for other horses that needed to temporarily relocate.
- The Riding Therapy Center, a Premier Accredited Center near Victoria, reported that they have been able to start back with lessons and are trying to get back into a normal routine although their covered arena is now unusable.
- Ruffles and Spurs Child Therapy Center, a Member Center in Humble, reported that they lost two residences on site and their arena had water up to the roof.
- Reining Strength Therapeutic Horsemanship, a Premier Accredited Center in Sugar Land, reported that they had a lot of fence and large tree damage. Even with the damage they sustained, they were housing several outside horses that had been evacuated to their area and were doing what they could to help other displaced animals in their area.
- Dream Catcher Stables, a Member Center in Spring, sustained water damage to their hay barn and tack room.
- Panther Creek Inspiration Ranch, a Premier Accredited Center in Spring, was able to evacuate their horses and barn cat. They lost their arena footing due to flood waters and had areas of their property 10 feet under water. In the midst of the flooding they were reaching out to others to find help for another barn that was struggling to evacuate their horses.
- SIRE, a Premier Accredited Center with locations in Hockley, Spring and Fort Bend, reported that they are anticipating several weeks of clean up, rebuilding, and putting life back to normal. The SIRE horses were all safe, and SIRE expressed how grateful they were to the many volunteer and staff people for their heroic efforts.
- Southern Breeze Equestrian Center, a Member Center in Fresno, reported that they were okay.
- JoyRide Center, Inc., a Member Center, in Magnolia reported that their horses made it through the evacuation and returned home, stressed, but in good physical shape.
- Heart and Try Riding Program, Member Center, in Normangee reported they were okay but had lots of water.
- SoleAna Stables, Member Center in Alvin, reported that their herd was healthy and happy. They sent prayers to sister facilities that were in so much turmoil.
To assist PATH Intl. Centers following natural or manmade disasters, PATH Intl. has the PATH Intl. Disaster Relief Fund. This fund helps with expenses that are not normally covered by a center's operating insurance. We have already had some of our affected centers apply and are anticipating more will do the same as their damage estimates are completed. To donate to this fund or to apply for this fund, please click here.
Hurricane Harvey also serves as a reminder for all of our regional centers to revisit their Risk Management Plans, identify when and where horses will be evacuated, ensure that insurance policies are up to date, and retrain staff and volunteers on safety policies and procedures. In 2014, PATH Intl. STRIDES published a Preparedness Issue with great information for PATH Intl. centers regarding risk management, hurricanes, outbreaks and fires. You can access this issue
by clicking here.
August 2017-Many of us started the month by gathering in Ward, AR, for the PATH Intl. Region 8 Conference. The conference, presented by LSTEN (Lone Star Therapeutic Equestrian Network) and hosted by Beyond Boundaries, was a wonderful opportunity to connect and learn. We left refreshed with great new ideas we were eager to try out. By the end of the month, we were all familiar with Hurricane Harvey and some of us were forced to put those new ideas on hold as we assessed damages, rebuilt fences, and scrubbed away mud. Now in the wake of Hurricane Irma, the earthquake in Mexico and the Western U.S. wildfires, we know that many of our PATH Intl member centers and individual members will also be forced to put great ideas on hold.
We've seen the images of rescuers helping others and the mottos of Houston Strong and Texas Strong. Considering what some of our region centers have faced, what many centers are currently facing, and how our organization is responding to the needs, I think it's time to propose a new motto-PATH INTL. STRONG.
Stay strong my Friends and remember that part of staying strong is asking for help when you need it.
~Shannon Middleton
PATH Intl. Region 8 Representative |
Region Baskets at the PATH Intl. Conference and Annual Meeting
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It's that time of year again, silent auction! One of the most fun and most looked forward to events of the conference is the silent auction. Your items help make it that way!
Donate items to the PATH Intl. Silent Auction or the registration bags.
Click here for the donation form. If you have any questions please email
Cher Smith or give the office a call at (303) 452-1212.
If you are interested in contributing to a region basket, please contact your region representative.
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Free Webinar: EAAT and IEPs - Opening the Gate to Collaboration
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A
FREE
webinar
will be held October 16, 2017 at 12 p.m., Mountain Daylight Time for anyone in EAAT interested in learning how to connect their center or services with schools.
"EAAT and IEPs -- Opening the Gate to Collaboration" is part of a
FREE
three-part series presented by PATH Intl. Certified Registered Instructor and University of Oklahoma
Zarrow Center for Learning Enrichment doctoral scholar Andrea Suk, M.S.Ed.
Andrea obtained her bachelor's degree as a learning behavior specialist from Bradley University. She has taught in both Illinois and Arizona as a high school special education teacher where she also quickly developed the role of preparing students for careers after graduation. Upon completing her master's degree in transition through the University of Kansas, she became a transition specialist in Texas. During this time, Andrea completed more than 150 transition plans for students in both high school and middle school settings. Andrea has received distinct recognition for her leadership as the ACE (Architecture, Construction and Engineering mentor group for high school students) mentor of the year in Phoenix, the Walmart Teacher of the Year (Glendale, AZ), and is a Target Grant Field Trip recipient.
Topics covered will include trends, goals, policies and terminology to help facilitate the connection to local schools and special educators. To register for the webinar, click here! The webinar will also be recorded and available in the store for purchase after October, 18. 2017.
The next two webinars in the series, also presented by Ms. Suk, will include ideas for connecting with special education students and connecting with special education teachers. Dates to be announced soon.
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Please direct correspondence about this newsletter to PATH Intl. eNews coordinator. No portion of this publication may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, scanned or electronic process without written permission from PATH Intl. PATH Intl. reserves the right to reject, accept and edit submitted material. The PATH Intl. Region Newsletters are intended as an information exchange and an opportunity for communication for members in the field of equine-assisted activities and therapies. The opinions, practices or products presented in PATH Intl. eNews do not necessarily reflect PATH Intl. policy, imply PATH Intl. endorsement, or comply with PATH Intl. standards. Events listed are for information purposes and do not necessarily reflect PATH Intl. policy, imply endorsement or comply with PATH Intl. Standards. They may or may not be eligible for PATH Intl. continuing education units on instructor compliance forms. For questions regarding CEUs, contact Bret Maceyak at the PATH Intl. office. If you prefer not to hear from us, just click on the "safe unsubscribe" below and we will remove you from our mailing list. Removing your email address from the PATH Intl. member database will prevent you from receiving all email correspondence including event notices and other time-sensitive correspondence.
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