MARATHON YOUTH SERVICES
NEWSLETTER
August 1, 2003
Volume 3, Issue 8
A Note from the Director
We have
experienced a phenomenal summer so far at
Marathon
Youth Services!
Reynolds Group Home has run
completely full for the entire summer, this through the dedication and
commitment of placement agencies to keep children close to home, intervening
sooner rather than later when institutions, hospitals or corrections may be the
only alternative. Thanks go out to the many outstanding social workers we’ve
had the pleasure of working with to make this possible.
In our new adult services venue, Hamilton House filled to its
capacity as soon as our license was received. We now have four fine young men
making this their permanent home. Additionally, Prospect Place is now home to
two guys, with the line forming to increase this also to four residents as soon
as licensing is complete. Again, our deepest thanks to the great case managers
and guardians of these guys.
All this happens because of the dedicated community professionals
and families we have the privilege of working with. And, of course, our
dedicated and professional staff, compassionately offering incredible guidance
and structure to all we work with.
What’s next? Our Board of Directors is expanding, and we’re
actively looking for one or two more members. If anyone is interested, we’d be
glad to hear from you. We still wish to do more for our community and are
developing plans to do so. We are in the process of developing our mental
health clinic, primarily to serve our residential clients.
First, however, we are going to stand still for a moment, check the
wind, see that we are solid and stable, and then take the next step. We are
having an awesome journey! Thank you for walking with us….
Doug Adams, MS…..Director
Read on about the activities and programs of MYS. Please visit us online at www.marathonyouthservices.org, and feel free to direct any inquiries to Doug at 715-842-3240, or email us at admin@marathonyouthservices.org.
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CONTENTS
1.
It Is What We Do…for our own children too (a proud Dad speaks)
As many of you so well know, our role in raising and guiding our children is to
establish stability, and then promote and support their independence. Whether
our own children or the children we work with, the process is the same. I’d
like to share a glimpse of my own son….
A handsome young man of 17, Deven has done well in school, scored high on his
ACT, lettered in varsity football, was voted best defensive player and tied for
best offensive player as well. He works hard, is responsible, and is dating the
coach’s daughter.
Deven also began racing with me when he was 14. He started with a couple of
races the first season, several more the next until he now races a full schedule
at the Marshfield Super Speedway, and almost as many races at State Park
Speedway. He currently is in 5th place in point standings, and has a
clear shot at finishing 2nd. He is also doing very well at State
Park.
One day after doing very well in a race, he had a particularly large grin on his
face. When I inquired as to his special happiness, he revealed that he had a
special goal this year…to beat Dad in a race. He had just met that goal!
Deven timed into the top 5 of the field at a State Park race and had the honor
of racing in the fast dash, or Trophy Dash, and I started directly behind him.
The green flag waved and the field took off with Deven leading the first lap,
and the next, and the next, until the checkered flag dropped with Deven leading
the field. A proud Dad was following in second place, with the rest of the
field trailing behind. He had done it…..beaten the field and place first, but
most notably for him, he had placed ahead of Dad, and I’m so proud of him for
it!
Deven has more growing to do, and more learning to accomplish. That day will,
however, not doubt stick out in his memories as one of the special ones, for
both of us. He set his goal of beating Dad in a race, and did it! I saw my
teaching and support of his efforts pay off. A great day for both of us.
Doug Adams, father of four…
2.
Here it is, the first week in August already….the fair is over and
it’s about time to start thinking about school again. The fall semester that
is. Our guys at Reynolds Group Home have been involved in school right along.
In fact, they only recently finished up the summer session. Seven of our guys
were involved in the Wausau School District summer school at Horace Mann Middle
School, and one boy took part in the North Central Technical College Alternative
High School Program. They all did a great job and passed their classes.
Congratulations to all the boys for their excellent efforts!
Attention is now being turned for the remainder of the summer to projects that
need attending around the house, and having some fun of course. Recently we
have started to repaint the front and back porches at RGH. Carol and Anthony
have spearheaded the effort over the past two Friday nights of the month of
July. The boys have been a big help. They got the porch ready with cleaning
and taping, as well as helping with the actual painting. August will provide us
the time to do some more projects. Look for more updates.
The front porch is done, and it looks great! Now it’s on to the back…..
Another note of interest is submitted by Rick about one of the boys at RGH….
As football season approaches,
RGH staff has been working to generate interest among the guys to actively
participate. Indeed, one of the young men has stepped up to the challenge.
Darrick is a young man from Menominee Indian Reservation that has no played a
lot of football in any organized form….but certainly presents the physical
attributes to be a very competitive buy on the field. We will continue to work
with him on the mechanics of the game. On July 30 I introduced Darrick to the
coach by in the weight room to kick off his physical training. I also picked
him up a T-shirt in the office so he could look the part…he was beaming with
enthusiasm with the opportunity.
However, Darrick has been reminded that I am a staunch supporter of
the Merrill Blue Jays…and that there would be at least one Friday night that I
would have to be a fan of the Lumberjack’s opponent. In spite of that, I will
always be a special fan of the sharp young player from Reynolds Group Home.
Rick Ferree, RGH Coordinator
3.
July was that special month for a couple of the
staff at MYS. Celebrating their birthdays this month were Carol on July 26, and
Caryn on July 31. We all want to wish them both a Happy Birthday! We’ll keep
their ages a secret, for now….
4.
Once
again we’re proud to announce a couple new staff members. As demands increase,
we continue to be fortunate in finding such fine people to join our team. This
month we introduce Josh Schuch and
Chris Samuels.
Josh joined the Marathon Youth Services staff on July 1, having most recently
been employed at Horace Mann Middle School as a Teachers Aide in the CD
department. He also continues to be employed part time as a swim instructor at
the YMCA. Josh says he enjoys swimming, music, movies and spending time with
him 2 year old daughter, Madeline. We are looking forward to a long
relationship with Josh, and are very pleased to have him on our team.
We’ve also
been joined this month by Chris Samuels. Chris brings with her a BA degree in
Art and Design from the University of Northern Iowa, and a BS degree in
psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Chris currently
lives on Half Moon Lake with her 8 year old son Britian and 6 year old daughter
Kirstin. She says she enjoys outdoor projects and activities with her kids
during her free time. We’re very happy that Chris has agreed to join us, and
look forward to her many talents.
As Summer 2003 moves forward, so does Marathon Youth Services, Inc. We hope
that by the end of summer we’ll complete our licensing at Prospect Place and be
able to accept two more young men into residence. We’ve already had multiple
inquiries about those vacancies. We’re also making progress on our pursuit of a
mental health clinic license. Look for more information on these efforts next
month.
This week we are installing high speed internet access at both Hamilton House
and Prospect Place. With that we hope to involve our young men more actively in
using our web site as a venue for self expression. Look forward to regular site
contributions from residents at
www.marathonyouthservices.org.
If you have any questions or program requests, feel free to contact Doug at
715842-3240 or
dadams@marathonyouthservices.org. We are always interested in your thoughts
or comments.
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Property of Marathon
Youth Services, Inc. 2003
Produced by Jim Prozinski
PCS 2003