~ Highlights of 2011 ~

Shamrocks For KODAs
Multitude of thanks to Scott & Terrie Berdy for
opening up their home for the Annual Fundraiser.
Endless thanks to Desiree & George Cartmell for the labor of love
they poured into cooking a scrumptious Mexican dinner for all to devour;
to Sharon Wilson and Tina Jo Breindel for a vast array of shamrock-themed desserts!
Very special thanks to Candace Hodgson, who was the Tournament Director,
Scott Berdy and Ray Chahayed for their logistics expertise; to Gerri Ehrlich-Perna, deaf professional dealer, for providing complimentary casino game lessons to our fans. More special thanks to our hardworking bartenders, waitresses and kitchen staff:
Dyan Kovacs, Marcy Woodard, Vanessa Woodard, Desiree Cartmell,
Shelby Cartmell, Lisa Price, Gloria Moriarty, Gloria Daniels, Teresa Maxwell,
Renee Love, Zibby Bayarsky, Kyle Bayarsky, Mary Ruth Summers, and Georgette Visco.
Special thanks to Ron McLaughlin of Tobacco Barn for donating custom-packaged cigars for the evening! To Victor Valdez, Don Burnes and Mike Anderson, we extend you much gratitude for helping us before, during and after the nightlong event!!

3rd Annual Family Bowling Night
Over 40 patrons attended for a night of bowling and mingling at Jewel City Bowl in Glendale.
Special thanks go to photographer, Robert Audette, for capturing forever moments.
Sincere thanks to everyone who came for the cause!

CSUN Sign & Run
Although the rain cancelled the run, the event continued on, expo-style.
Many people came to support CSUN’s National Center on
Deafness (NCOD) and visited the KODAWest booth.

Mother, Father Deaf Day Picnics
Two picnics hosted by Francine Stern (Los Angeles)
& Tina Jo Breindel (Riverside) to honor deaf parents,
~ only two of many that are hosted across the country.
Consider hosting one in your area!

*In 1994, this organization, Children of Deaf Adults designated one day each
year for hearing children (young and old) everywhere to honor their Deaf parents:
Mother, Father Deaf Day, held each year on the last Sunday in April.
The day is usually marked with events such as picnics, beach outings, or dining out.

Tennis & Fun Day
KODAs, Deaf and hearing children were treated to a
day of free tennis lessons and complimentary lunches.
Parents were welcomed to participate and learn!
Presented by the GreeneLight Foundation (one of our sponsors),
and the Burbank Tennis Center. We thank you for this
unique enrichment of the lives of the children who participated.

5th Annual KODAWest Camp
@ Camp Surf in San Diego, CA
Molly Bowen: Camp Director
Henrik Ek & Turquoise Townsend: Assistants to the Director
Over 100 campers and staff attended
this sold-out camp on the shore, our largest yet!
Very special thanks go to Sarah Hawkins of RoadRage Photography and to
Charles Katz for donating their photography and videography services, respectively.

Thanks to all of our 2011 Camp Sponsors:

GreeneLight Foundation
Sprint Relay
DawnSignPress
Purple Communications
coda365
Sorenson Communications
Joe & Gina Sanders

Warped Tour, KODA Style
The Vans Warped Tour donated tickets
allowing a group of KODA Teens to be acoustically stimulated,
which does not occur often in their deaf homes, by hundreds
of bands on tour at the Seaside Park in Ventura, CA.
Special thanks go to Debra Leavitt-Gilmore for organizing this.

6th Annual Day at the Beach
Over 300 families and friends, our largest gathering ever, attended
this day of Sun ‘N Surf. Beach games were played to win great prizes.
Heartfelt thanks go to ZVRS for donating prizes.

Got Pumpkin Gathering
Rain or shine, this event brought together 80 parents
and children to Live Oak Pumpkin Patch in Redlands, for a spooktacular day!
Tina Jo Breindel, once again, went out of her way to make this happen!
Our thanks to you, Tina Jo, is endless!

KODA Teens Laser Tag Night
A great group of KODA teens from far and wide
gathered for a night of fun and met new and old friends.

Festival Of Lights
Family Night at the Mission Inn
Many KODA/Deaf families attended
this festival and were greeted with amazing
display of lights and a spectacular fireworks
show to kick off the holiday season!
Sincere thanks to Ashley Stacy for
arranging this for our families!

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We would like to welcome our newest board member, Eric Feris.
In addition, we thank the following members for their continued loyalty:
Deanne Bray-Kotsur, Tina Jo Breindel, Bill Greene,
Charles Katz, Joyce Linden, and Francine Stern.
Thank you all for being our backbone and for thrusting us into success!
We would like to bid adios to Mike Anderson who served the past three years.
Thank you for being a part of KODAWest! We wish you well in your new endeavors.

Special recognition and sincere thanks go to our technical consultant,
Maisha Franklin, who has helped us selflessly since the formation of KODAWest!

We have been fortunate
to have sponsors and volunteers support KODAWest in nurmerous ways.
Please join us in expressing gratitude to our supporters for without them, KODAWest
would not have made these events possible to serve our countless families.

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Please continue to check back for more updates.
If you are not yet a member of the KODAWest
Facebook group, please join us by going to this link: KODAWest@groups.facebook.com.
If you have ideas, or suggestions, please email us any time at kodawest@aol.com.
We are always looking for ways to serve our wonderful community.
We hope to see many of you at one or all of our 2012 events.

Have a great year!