Presented from Friendly House, three HGP members share stories of notable events in their lives. Organized by Suzanne Thornton.
Presentation by Carey Booth about ways, big and small, to go green at home, and outdoors. Her house has been on the city’s Build It Green tour. She has a solar hot water system, photovoltaic panels, an electric car, a rainwater collection system, a rain garden, composting, food garden, and Backyard Habitat. Ms. Booth studied ecology ecology in college and graduate school. She became a Master Recycler in 2013. She makes going green seem fun and not a chore or a guilt trip.
Kevin Fitts provides an overview of the mental health consumer movement. Mr. Fitts is the Executive Director of the Oregon Mental Health Consumers Association. His first experience of the mental health field occurred when he was a patient involuntarily committed to Damasch State Hospital at the age of 19. After a few years of instability including hospitalizations, homelessness, trauma, and substance use problems, he found peer support and he developed ways to cope.
Presentation by Robert Sanford. There's a world packed inside quality poems, but it's pretty crowded in there. Sanford provides tools to open up some poems (crack the concentration code) and discover their truths and pleasures. This is the ninth of his poetry programs; the first eight were very well received. Sanford taught poetry in his first real job: High School English Teacher. Since then he’s been a police officer, professional speaker and trainer, human resources manager, and technical writer. He joined HGP in 1998 where he originated the emcee position, having served as emcee for seven years.
Presentation by HGP member Todd Kimball. Todd writes: “Laughter has been shown to reduce stress, improve memory, boost the immune system and enhance creativity.” He sees stand-up comedy as an under-appreciated voice of humanism. From Jim Jeffries to the late George Carlin, Todd shows that stand-up comics have the ability to raise questions about religion in a way that other forms of dialogues cannot. Stand-up comics are verbal entrepreneurs. Todd has tips on how anyone can become funnier and find more enjoyment in life.