Newsletter, June, 2010 Right Angles
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY SOUTH
OKANAGAN
NEWSLETTER, JUNE, 2010
RIGHT ANGLES
PENTICTON HOUSE NEARING
COMPLETION
Maria and her family are enjoying their home. 173 Stocks Crescent is nearing completion. The first coat of stucco is complete and weather willing further coats will be completed by month’s end. Downspouts, one stair rail, rain barrels and touch up paint should complete the build. The final inspection will be soon.
NEW
BOARD MEMBERS
Habitat for Humanity South Okanagan is delighted to welcome four new members to the Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors. Grant Horton, who is manning our web site, Jan Dobson who is the new Treasurer, plus Mac Paterson and Merle Kindred. Mac and Merle offer the following biographical sketches.
Malcolm Paterson
Mac, who hails from Sackville, NB, spent his entire 40 year career in cancer research. He is a graduate of Royal Military College (Bsc), Queen’s University (Msc) and University of Tennessee (PhD). He held senior posts at Cross Cancer Institute (Edmonton), King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) and SingHealth, a cluster of 3 hospitals, 5 specialty centres and 9 polyclinics in Singapore.
His research into hereditary breast cancer contributed to the development of Herceptin as an effective immune therapy for this debilitating disease. Thanks largely to the efforts of superb groups of trainees, including 60 postdoctoral/MD fellows, and colleagues during his career, he was able to author 165 scientific articles, speak at 120 scientific meetings and deliver 200 lectures at various medical centres/universities in 18 countries. He is now retired and resides with his wife Sandi in Okanagan Falls.
Merle Kindred
Merle recently returned to Canada with Penticton as her home base. She is now serving on the HFHSO Board. She and her late husband, Skip, an architect, began their involvement with HFHI in the late 1980’s when Skip designed a passive solar Habitat home for a new affiliate north of Detroit. Merle participated in the Jimmy Carter Work Project with the Oglala Lakota in Eagle Butte, SD, in 1994 and subsequently had a conversation with Millard Fuller, HFHI co-founder, about building energy efficient homes. Later Merle was asked to write an article for the first HFHI newsletter on the award winning passive solar homes for high latitude conditions (6 metres of snow a year) designed by Skip for their affiliate in the northernmost part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
After Skip’s sudden death in 2000, Merle pursued a doctorate in Rhetoric and Technical Communication at Michigan Technological University with the express purpose of dealing with what she and Skip had decided was a key issue relating to improving energy use in the build environment: not the technology, but communication strategies leading to altered perception of the need for change and then action relating to energy use. During this time she also served on the Board and as President of the Copper Country Habitat for Humanity affiliate.
There is another full chapter of Merle’s involvement and accomplishments in Kerala, India that will be continued in the next newsletter. Ask her about these experiences when you see her. She is honoured to be serving on this affiliate’s Board of Directors and hopes to see it producing affordable, energy efficient, award winning homes for Okanagan citizens in the years ahead.
HABITAT’S WEB SITE
Thanks to Grant Horton the new web site is up and running and can be accessed at www.habitatsouthokanagan.ca
SUMMER CONCERT AT ST SAVIOR’S
The tickets are $15.00 for adults and $10.00 for students. Buy them at St Saviour’s, Lifesong or at the door.
HUTH STREET BUILD
The plans for 28 Huth Avenue build are proceeding slowly through the city planning department. Barry Chickloski, a former city building inspector is working on our behalf to see them through successfully. Once the permits are issued we will be able to begin the selection process to choose an appropriate family.
EXECUTIVE ELECTED
At the first Board Meeting following the General Meeting in the spring the following executive was elected.
Chair Florence Barton
Vice Chair Lynn Popoff
Secretary Susan Maia
Treasurer Jan Dobson
HABITAT BOARD MEMBERS
Florence Barton, Mike Stuchbery, Lynn Popoff, Mac Paterson, Merle Kindred, Susan Maia, Margareta Johnson, Grant Horton, Jan Dobson, Tom Hedquist, Martin Bosse
NOTE TO OUR VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers are the heart of this organization. We thank you for all your fine work on both builds. As soon as the building permits are through we will be activating our list of volunteers to seek your help and assistance again. We have been out of touch for far too long and we intend to remedy this when our next build begins! We plan to talk to everyone in the near future.