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NEWS&VIEWS by Jacqueline Bennett

Posts from the “Gratitude” Category

Windham Bigg Play, “Remy’s Grinders” & Another Successful Super Bowl Sunday Fundraiser

Posted on February 8, 2016

  Article & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead   It was another successful year for the annual Windham Bigg Play, Inc. Super Bowl Sunday fundraiser featuring “Remy’s Grinders”. According to Bigg Play board members 650 grinders were sold this year which marked a historic 50th anniversary for the National Football League Super Bowl event. Proceeds from the “Remy’s Grinders” sales will help send young baseball players abroad on goodwill trips.               Bigg Play – Baseball International Goodwill Games Promoting Learning and Advancement of Youth – made its first trip in 1996 to…

A Memorable Thanksgiving Hosted by Mike & Melane

Posted on November 28, 2015

  Reflection & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com (Featured photo by April)  It is hard to believe another Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. My nephew Mike & his wife Melane put on a lovely dinner at their home. As with many Thanksgiving dinners across our land it was reflective of much time and tender loving care put in by our hostess and host – but Mike is the first to say the credit goes to Melane.     From Tom Turkey himself to a succulent baked ham, mashed potatoes, winter squash, turnip, sausage dressing, fried brussel sprouts with sliced red peppers and scallions, and whole kernel corn all topped with piping hot gravy prepared by our hostess and served in hand-made Comte ceramics, to…

“He was the empty seat at Thanksgiving” Wall That Heals-Vietnam Memorial-Honor, Gratitude, Emotion in Manchester, Connecticut

Posted on October 9, 2015

  Article & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   “He was the empty seat at Thanksgiving, the stocking not hung at Christmas, the sibling missing from the photo, the birthday not celebrated. His death became the before and after in the timeline of our lives.” – Emile Miller   Speaking in a sometimes faltered, tearful voice, Emile Miller, the sister of Pvt Keith Alan Miller, U.S.M.C., shared those poignant words Thursday, October 8 during a Memorial Service to honor  “The Wall That Heals”, a Vietnam Memorial visiting Manchester, Connecticut from Oct. 8-11. One of fourteen young men from Manchester killed during the war in Vietnam, the news of Keith’s death on September 7, 1967 changed their family forever and came when she was just…

K9S FOR WARRIORS, Travelers Championship, Liberty Bank Team Up To Aid Vets with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Posted on June 11, 2014

Write-up by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb As if the chance to see top notch professional golfers compete in person is not enough of an incentive to attend the upcoming Travelers Championship, here’s another. Travelers Championship has teamed up with K9s For Warriors and presenter Liberty Bank to help a Connecticut veteran struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. As part of a new initiative for Military Appreciation at the Travelers Championship, a “deserving veteran” will receive a shelter rescue dog which will be trained to become a service canine. The Travelers Championship is slated to get underway on June 16 and run through June 22 at the TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT. “We are honored to continue to support our military through programs such as…

Hoping for a January Rebound

Posted on January 11, 2014

Having been under the weather – no pun intended- for a few weeks, my energy level has been at an ebb. Typically, I would have been out and about snapping photos of the polar vortex’s impact on New England and sharing that information here. However, I channeled my energy into my work – which by the way included a very pleasant interview with Vladimir Petrenko. Now a skating coach in Connecticut, he is a former competitive figure skater himself and the brother of Olympic gold medalist Viktor Petrenko.   I did take some blog pics on January 2 just as a substantive snowstorm was getting underway following an already moderate snowfall – both coupled with sub-zero and single digit temperatures brought on by what…

Thanksgiving – a Special American Holiday

Posted on November 29, 2013

By Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb “There is one day that is ours.Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American.” – O Henry – American author. After the road races, football games and Macy’s Parade, most Americans sit down to a lovely Thanksgiving Day dinner. In its purest form, this is a day to come together with friends and family to give thanks for the bounty of the Lord, a plentiful harvest and what is truly most important in life – the health and well-being of loved ones. History tells us the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians at Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday to be observed each November. Centuries later,…

Hand to Heart – Join the Gratitude Campaign to Thank America’s Military

Posted on November 8, 2013

By Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb A simple touch of the hand to the heart is all it takes to say “thank you from the bottom of my heart.” With the approach of Veterans Day on Monday, November 11 this is a perfect time to join “The Gratitude Campaign” to thank the men and women of America’s military for their service. Founded by Scott Truitt, the campaign uses a modification of sign language for “thank you” originated in France in the 1700s and brought to the American School for the Deaf in the United States in 1816. Realizing awkwardness about approaching a stranger might keep people who wanted to thank the troops from doing so when they crossed paths with service members in places such as…