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March 2005 Meeting notes
March 18 Meeting Notes
Speaker: Robert W. Dean, General Manager of Castellaw Funeral Home
Surviving Grief: Dean shares philosophy
Robert W. Dean, general manager of Castellaw Funeral Home, shared a brief history of the home and outlined services at Friday’s meeting.
Castellaw’s was founded in 1960 on Concord Road, and built from the ground up on Church Street in 1967. The home offers complete services: chapel, church, graveside, return to home, simple cremation, special needs, and donations to medical hospitals. The staff works with hospice groups and estate planners to address pre-needs, hosts a community education seminar, grief recovery program, and an annual Hope for the Holidays Candlelight Remembrance Service.
As a service, the home will prepare a Life Story Video Montage, including 40-45 photos in a presentation complete with graphics and music. (For those interested in such a montage for a birthday or other special occasion, they will prepare the montage at cost, about $30.)
Dean distributed materials addressing the grieving process. Excerpts from those materials follow.
Surviving Sorrow is a 7-week grief recovery course with a goal of letting go of pain. As many are aware, the stages of grief and loss move from loss to hope, passing through stages of shock, denial, fear, guilt, anger, depression, acceptance and well-being.
Elements of Healing is a collection of wisdom related to the healing process. Excerpts follow:
Try to remember – try not to forget ... Good memories are very important .. Time can result in healing or infection ... You need support from inside & outside your family ... Learning about the experiences of others gives insight into your own story .. Those who have been down the same road can be symbols of hope for you ...
Assume whatever you are going through is normal ... Be sensitive to the fact that people grieve differently ... Share the pain of your darkness ... Feel free to protest, to ask “Why?” of death ...
Take time & space for yourself ... Take time to laugh & time to cry ... Take the
initiative to make things happen ... Create a new life, new choices, new friends ... Reach out & help others ... Try not to dwell on yourself ... Confront guilt by realizing that, all things considered, you did your best ...
Realize there is nothing wrong with wanting to talk to or talking to your lost loved one ... Through God’s language of dreams and visions it is possible to experience the comforting, reassuring presence of your loved ones ... Don’t be afraid to ask God, or thank God, for the comfort of their presence ...
Grief Rituals are created to help remember loved ones in healing ways. Examples are:
Buying a special candle and lighting it at times special to the loved one’s memory (birthday, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, anniversary) ... Writing a special note or prayers, attaching them to balloons, and letting them go ... Creating a scrapbook
of memories ... Donating gifts or scholarships in your loved one’s memory ... Planting a tree or rose bush in your loved one’s memory ... Buying a gift on your loved one’s birthday and donating it to someone who needs it ... Having wedding rings made into a special setting for a necklace ... Writing special letters to your loved one in your journal ... Having a family “memory” gathering to share pictures & reminiscences ...
TODAY’S MEETING
There were 57 members and three guests at today’s meeting.
Up 'N' Coming
March 25
Good Friday
Community Prayer Breakfast
Breakfast at 6:30 a.m., program following at 7.
Rev. Steve Kimmell, pastor of Smyrna First Baptist, speaking.
Special music by Jim Wallace
Guest tickets $5.
Last Week of March
PENNIES FOR PATIENTS - Campbell High Octagon Club
May 6
Vidalia Onion Orders Due; Deliveries May 14
May 28
Recreation Family Day
9-3 p.m. - Tolleson Park
CHILDHOOD CANCER CAMPAIGN
Ongoing through June.
BOARD MEETINGS are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN THROUGH APRIL 15
March 11 Meeting Notes
Speaker: Mike Watson
USO: Volunteers embrace nation’s military
Bob Hope made it famous, and Mike Watson is helping carry on the work of the United Services Organization (USO) in Atlanta.
Watson, speaking to the club on Friday, spoke of a renewed spirit of America that welcomes its troops home. “Whatever their position on Iraq, there is widespread support for our soldiers,” Watson, a new resident of Smyrna and chair of the USO Council of Georgia, said. When soldiers arrive at the airport, “People rise to their feet and give them a standing ovation. They know we’re behind them.”
While many do not think about Atlanta as a military town, Watson said the city is a focal point of today’s military, with the airport a hub for troops.
The USO offers two basic services for the military: Operation Exodus and Operation R&R.
Operation Exodus occurs between Christmas and New Year’s when 30-40,000 troops pass through Hatstfield in a two-week period.
Operation R&R is an ongoing outreach for the two charter daily flights of soldiers who return home for 15 days leave. One flight is inbound and the other outbound for Frankfurt and then Kuwait.
USO volunteers greet the in-bound flights. Those who return are sometimes dusty, coming straight from the battlefield. The USO is there to welcome each one of the soldiers home personally: sometimes with a kiss, and usually with the promise of a hot shower courtesy of USO partners.
“We have seen lots of soldiers see their newborns for the first time. We have seen families reunited. It is a time of uncertainty and excitement.” Of the families, Watson observed, “It is true that those who wait also serve.”
The USO also helps by providing directions and connections to families.
In late September, the organization sponsors a golf tournament, with $1200 fee per foursome. The tournament is played on the Fort McPherson Commons Golf Course.
The USO also welcomes volunteers, although Watson admits there is a waiting list. Nonetheless, he said he’d find a way to plug in club members who want to volunteer.
Watson characterized today’s service men and women as possessing an incredible attitude, and as being professional, focused, and well trained. “We should be very very proud of them,” he said, encouraging volunteerism. “It is a meaningful experience that is contagious.”
For more information, go to www.usogeorgia.org.
Mike is a member of Smyrna First Methodist Church and the Senior Director of Community Relations for Bell South.
Up 'N' Coming
March 19
Welcome Home Picnic --Families of Returning Soldiers
Fair Oaks Park
March 25
Good Friday Community Prayer Breakfast
Breakfast at 6:30 a.m., program following at 7
Rev. Steve Kimmell, pastor of Smyrna First Baptist, speaking.
Special music by Jim Wallace
Guest tickets $5.
Last Week of March
Volunteers Needed -- PENNIES FOR PATIENTS
Campbell High Octagon Club needs adult volunteers from 11:30-1:45 to man table
May 28
Recreation Family Day
9-3 p.m., Tolleson Park
CHILDHOOD CANCER CAMPAIGN
Collections ongoing through June.
BOARD MEETINGS are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN THROUGH APRIL 15
Bring in a new member and get a Marble Slab
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