Our trip to the Grand Canyon was great.  We stayed at the Mountain Country Lodge in Williams AZ.  It was a bed and breakfast about an hour
from the canyon.  Ellen provided typical challenges, but nothing we were not prepared for.  The kids enjoyed the train ride from Williams to the Grand Canyon and back complete with train robbery and free Coke.  I hope your summer activities are safe and fun.

Several individuals will be attending the conference hosted by the Down Syndrome Congress in August.  Stay tuned for updated information that they bring back to share at our meetings.  We wish them a safe and prosperous trip as they will be taking our new Year 2000 Calendars "Sharing Our Joy" with them to sell.

Last month we had a representative from DHS talk about the Waivered Services Program.  If you were like me you were still confused when the meeting was over.  Several of us discussed the need to assemble the information in a more understandable format and make it available at another meeting and on the web site so stay tuned for this information as well.

Have you ever noticed that those who are handsome, beautiful, glamorous,
wealthy or sophisticated do not usually find love?  Think of the problems that many, if not most, of the Hollywood celebrities have, and I think I've made my point.  It reminds me that love and long-term relationships must be based on something more than charisma, status, wit
and money.

In every marriage more than a week old, there are grounds for divorce. The trick is to find, and continue to find, grounds for marriage.  Love is based much more upon our attitudes and decisions than upon our feelings.  We choose how we are going to think and to live.  Our feelings will follow those decisions.  When we reverse this, we often get ourselves into big trouble.

Love doesn't die a natural death.  It dies when we make wrong decisions, and choose not to replenish it source.

This story is reprinted from Perceptions - Observations On Everyday Life by Dr. Tom Harrison, Senior Pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church, Tulsa, Ok.

We will miss you, Andrea!!                   Top of Page
Andrea Eden, former President and current secretary of DSAT is moving to Harrah, Oklahoma with her family.  Andrea has devoted countless hours to the Down Syndrome Association of Tulsa.  She has always been available to help new parents, get the newsletter out, bring snacks to meetings and spread the word about DSAT.  She has done all  of this while being a wife, mother to two terrific kids and working a full-time+ job.(We think she may be superwoman!)  Thank you Andrea, for all you have done for us.  The DSAT family is a better one because of you.  We will miss you greatly!!

Help!                      Top of Page
As you can see, we now need a secretary.  Don't let the big shoes scare you.  The main duty will be taking minutes at the meetings.  Come and be a part of a great team!  Call Kim Wofford at 622-6906 to volunteer your time.

June Recap                  Top of Page
Our June speaker was Linda Broerse from DHS.  Linda had the task of explaining the ever-changing waivered-services waiting list.  For every question she answered there were ten more around the corner.  SO if you missed the meeting or still have questions please call the DHS Intake office at 561-1335.

We also talked about a new soccer league starting in the fall for kids 8 and up with developmental disabilities.  For more information please call Chris and Kathleen Brannaman at 396-0465.

The Tulsa ARC is sponsoring a support group for parents of high school students and young adults with disabilities.  Call Sherilyn Walton at 582-8272 for details on "Exploring Transition Issues".

LOOKING AHEAD               Top of Page
Mark your calendar and plan to attend the following DSAT meetings:
July 29-Calendar Unveiling
Aug. 20-Challenger baseball-Molly Faucault
Sept. 16-Vision Issues-Dr. Carol Sweet
Oct. 21-Fall Festival
Nov. 18-Sibling Issues-Sherilyn Walton
Dec.5-Christmas Party

July Meeting Change:               Top of Page

Our July meeting has a topic change and a date change.  We will unveil our calendar but there will not be a party.  Because the Calendar committee will be frantically working to get set up for the Gatesway Balloon Festival there wasn't time for an official celebration but I can assure you we will be celebrating all weekend at Gatesway. ( See related story.GATESWAY).  On JULY 29 from 7PM-9PM at the Special Olympics building we will be having an open house.  Please note:  There will NOT be childcare provided.  Calendars will be available to be looked at, purchased and if you want to help sell them, you can checkout up to 20. Calendar Participants-This is your chance to look at proofs and order pictures.  We will accept cash, checks or credit cards.*** If you are unable to attend the open house and want to purchase pictures you MUST call Kim Wofford by July 28!!!

Drumroll Please!                Top of Page
Now what you have all been waiting for…we hope! A sneak peek at our fabulous YEAR 2000 calendar.  Our calendar will be called Sharing our Joy!  It will retail for $12 and will feature a variety of children and adults in different settings.  The pictures, graphics, and captions just have to be seen but we can share some of the text you will find throughout the calendar.

We have always planned for this calendar to be a fundraiser for DSAT but our overriding goal was public awareness.  If one person learns about Down syndrome or thinks about Down syndrome in a more positive light then our efforts were not in vain.  SO on the back cover we have our most powerful statement:  As parents of children with Down syndrome we want you to know that our dreams for our children are the same as ANY parent…to be all that they can be.  This calendar is our way of sharing our children with you.  They are our greatest joy!  May their faces fill you with pride in the human spirit and bring happiness to your day.  Thank you for Sharing Our Joy!
 

On each month of the calendar there will be a fact pertaining to Down syndrome.  There are sponsors of  each page and acknowledgments at the front of the calendar. 

Calendar Committee:  Lynette Lambert, Lori Blankenship, Jayne Smith, Tracey and Shelley Wilson, Kim Wofford and Steve Wright. 

$$$ dreams

Many people have asked what the money we raise will go towards so following are some of our plans:

~Library update- We plan to put current books in libraries in NE Okla and cull out the materials that are dated before the 90's.

~Scholarships-We want to provide money for teachers and parents to attend conferences. 

~Respite assistance

~Dances/mixers- provide a gathering for young adults with disabilities

~provide grants for adults with DS to work.

~general operations

~A Down Syndrome Research & Medical Clinic

We are hoping to involve all members in the decision process.  We would appreciate any input or further suggestions. 

NEXT YEAR
We are getting ready to form a calendar committee for the 2001 calendar.  We will be looking for volunteers.  We also ask that everyone start thinking about contacts that will help us get a larger portion of the calendar funded for 2001.  So as you show off our first edition be thinking about next year.  We need printers, paper, sponsors, etc.  No idea is stupid and no contribution too small.  We need everyone to share our enthusiasm!  We will also be looking for calendar participants.  What are we using as criteria? 
Some of the areas are : Number of calendars sold this year, active membership in DSAT, involvement in DSAT,  a positive attitude, and many more…

GATESWAY
We will be debuting our calendar at the Gatesway International Balloon Festival July 30-August 1.  We will be selling our calendars.  We will be working in 3-4 hour shifts.  We still need a few volunteers so please call Kim Wofford ASAP to sign up.  We want to show the community that we plan to be involved on a more visible level.  We might all benefit someday from what Gatesway does.  SO help out DSAT, the calendar committee, the disability community and the community at large by volunteering your time.

National Down Syndrome Congress Conference              Top of Page

The NDSC is having its national conference Aug. 6-8 in Pittsburgh.  Several DSAT members will be attending.  One of the main reasons our calendar is coming out so early in the year is to take advantage of the opportunity to sell it at the convention.  There will be an estimated 4000 people in attendance.  We will have a DSAT booth at the conference and Lynette Lambert and Kim Wofford will be selling calendars at the booth as well as passing out information about DSAT.  We hope to sell many calendars and give our calendar stars a chance to be seen NATIONWIDE.  Get ready Pittsburgh! 

A Special Thanks                     Top of Page
We would like to sincerely thank CITGO for printing our newsletter free of charge for the first half of  1999.  They worked it in to their very busy schedule.  We were able to spend those funds on other areas of the organization.  THANK YOU!

We are still looking for a sponsor for the rest of the year.  It would involve printing a four page newslettter (approx 250 copies)  Let an officer know if you have any ideas.  If we can get someone to print the newsletters we can save 70 dollars per newsletter.  We put out a newsletter every other month.
 

It's simple now!!                  Top of page
We have a new web address and it is sooooo easy…

 www.dsat.org

A big thank you to our Prez, Tracey Wilson, who doubles as our webmaster.  Our site is something to be quite proud of.  Be sure and check it out.  It is updated regularly.  Pass our web address on to your friends and relatives.
 

Secretary:
Vacant

Treasurer:
Theresa McFall 272-4406 

Newsletter: 
Marilyn LaPoint 371-2279 

Calendar Committee:
Lynette Lambert
Lori Blankenship
Jayne Smith
Shelley Wilson 

Scholoarship/Library Committee
Marilyn Lapointe
Andrea Eden 
Jill King 

Party Planner
Kimberly Myers   (918) 266-3214 

General Needs Assistants
Karen Baker 

Web Master
 E-mail Tracey Wilson