Fwd: 9 Days til the next Summit Against Racism - Check out the Great workshops

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Summit Against Racism" <summitagainstracism@gmail.com>
Date: Jan 15, 2015 7:59 PM
Subject: 9 Days til the next Summit Against Racism - Check out the Great workshops
To: "Mark Rauterkus" <Mark@rauterkus.com>
Cc:

17th Annual Summit Against Racism is only 9 Days away Take a look at all the great workshops we have planned.  Register Today Chin to the Sky: The Life Sentence of Avis Lee –        Chin to the Sky is a multi-media creative story-telling performance of the circumstances surrounding the Life Sentence of Avis Lee that illuminates the underlying causes of gender-based violence and fighting oppression which contribute to their imprisonment. This 30 minute performance will be followed by discussion.           When Avis was 18 she was the look out in a robbery that ended in death. Avis is now 54 years old and has spent 34 years in prison. She has no chance of getting out unless her sentence is commuted. She never pulled the trigger. We believe she deserves a second chance. The story comes to life with an amazing performance by Blak Rapp Madusa starring as Avis Lee, a vibrant bird costume made of paper designed by Leslie Stem, and a tiny suitcase show illustrated by Just Seed's artist Alec Dunn. Life Without Parole affects the lives of over 5,100 people in PA. This sentence that is death by incarceration disproportionately affects people of color and poor people in Pittsburgh and all of PA. Acting Out: Creative Problem Solving to Address Everyday Racism       Curious about how to address your classmate, co-worker or that stranger on the bus when they say things that are racist? Wondering how to shift your volunteers, school projects or staff meetings from thinking that is perpetuating injustice? In this workshop, brainstorm and build resources to interrupt the racism that is affecting our schools, workplaces, families, and lives. Please come and share your frustrations as well as your ideas and hopes! Strategies for Achieving Racial Justice & Building our Human Rights City            This strategic planning and networking workshop will help identify priorities and build a strategy to advance the Human Rights City Action Plan, which aims to make peoples lived experiences in Pittsburgh more consistent with our status as a "Human Rights City." Panelists will discuss elements of the Action Plan that help advance racial, cultural and economic justice. They will assess how activists and groups in Pittsburgh can work to improve racial justice in the city and will offer concrete proposals for projects or actions that can advance the Action Plan. The discussion will include how the history of colonialism and racism are intertwined and the importance of truth telling about our history as part of the work for racial justice.   You and the Police: Rights, Responsibilities and Reality       "You and the Police: Rights, Responsibilities & Reality" will be an interactive exploration, discussion and instructional exchange focused on managing police encounters safely and with common-sense. The team's composition is diverse in race, gender, roles and functions giving participants access to practical advice & insight from people experienced and informed about community concerns & risks, police management & philosophy, and police accountability. The inherent dangers to civilian and officer safety in police encounters, pedestrian and traffic, will be analyzed from a practical perspective. Q&A, role-playing scenarios, general discussion and a tabletop exercise will be incorporated as the team & participants review a new informational brochure, "You and the Police: Rights, Responsibilities & Reality" produced by a civilian and law enforcement team, including some of the panelists.   Discipline: Moving Beyond Zero Tolerance toward Justice        This workshop will explore student disciplinary practices and consequences for African American students in Pittsburgh Public Schools and how students, parents and community groups are working to change them.  We'll take a deeper look at restorative justice practices as promising alternatives.  Participants will become more informed and empowered to work for change in and out of school.     Then and Now: An Exploration of August Wilson's Works and the Evolution of Local Racism       This workshop will use the writings of August Wilson to explore the everyday experience of race in the Pittsburgh area. It will begin with readings from excerpts of Wilson's plays, taken from his Century Cycle, set in different historical periods.  These will act as prompts for a group discussion on the meaning and significance of Wilson's words and characters, and how they reflected the situation of black Pittsburghers in the past and still resonate in the present. We will conclude with writing prompts seeking scenes from a Wilson-inspired play set in the 2010's. Lessons from "Facing Race" – Report Back from National Conference for Racial Justice       In November of 2014, 1600 people gathered in Dallas, Texas for the country's largest multiracial conference on racial justice.  The 4th annual Facing Race conference was hosted by Race Forward, who publishes the daily news site Colorlines.  In this presentation you will hear stories and strategies learned from locals who attended workshops, panels discussions, and the Racial Justice Leadership Institute. Presenters will share information about the use of Racial Equity Impact Assessments, trends in mainstream media's coverage of racism, strategies to move philanthropy towards a racial justice and tales of overcoming divide and conquer tactics in coalition organizing. Land and Housing Justice – Who's Land, Our Land!       This workshop will look at the history of the expropriation of land and exclusion from quality, affordable housing in communities of choice that have prevented African Americans and other people of color including Native Americans from having control over their land and access to quality, affordable housing and from building wealth. Strategies for combating systemic racism in national, state and local land use and housing policies will be discussed with workshop participants, including the campaign to mandate affordable housing for very low income households in all publicly financed or assisted development projects from the Lower Hill District to other major development sites in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. In addition, participants will gain an understanding of Community Land Trusts as a method for resisting gentrification by ensuring community control over land for permanently affordable housing, small businesses, and greenspace. Two sides of the same coin -- Teen Dating Violence and Intimate Partner (Domestic Violence Prevention)              Intimate Partner (Domestic) Violence is a hidden dilemma in the bigger conversation of violence in our communities, which no one wants to talk about.  It often begins during the teen dating years, when teens are still working out how to have healthy relationships.  This workshop will use the action points listed in the Coalition Against Violence (CAV) document -"Strategies for Change: Building More Peaceful Communities" – sections on Domestic Violence Prevention and Teen Dating Violence.       Using the proceeds from the annual Summit Against Racism, the Black & White Reunion continues to provide Jonny Gammage Scholarships to African American law students who win our essay contest.  This past year we were able, in partnership with NEED, to offer two $2,500 scholarships to assist two students on their journey to becoming attorneys working for justice.  Share Forward Invite your freinds HIV-AIDS: Racial and economic disparities in Prevention, Treatment and Social-Economic supports       Workshop will educate and engage participants on health issues and racial and gender stigma faced by Men having Sex with Men (MSM) in the African American community is driving up HIV infections and poor health outcomes for this group. Participants will learn about current strategies and services aimed at prevention, intervention and treatment of HIV and Sexually-Transmitted Diseases among African American MSM. Dismantling Racism in Organizations             This mini-session over lunch is a follow-up to work done by a group of people since a workshop presented at the 2014 Summit Against Racism. Since the Summit, a group has met seven times during the year to continue supporting each other in our work to dismantle racism in our organizations. We'll share out what we've learned, the resources we've gathered, and what we've accomplished. We'll also give participants a chance to consider ways they can take action to help build an anti-racist/racial justice culture in their organizations. Grab your lunch and join us!   From Ferguson to Pittsburgh: Building an Inter-generational Movement for Racial Justice       What are the intersections of Ferguson and Pittsburgh? Join us for an intergenerational panel of local organizers, professionals and artists working across political strategies to strengthen a national movement against police brutality and a racist criminal justice system. This discussion will provide an analysis of events stemming from grand jury and jury decisions in Ferguson and beyond, as well as perspectives on the politics of those jury processes, police-community interactions in Pittsburgh, the criminal justice system, and the impact of youth leadership and coalition building on these issues.   Internalized racism is a concern for all of us: The Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy as an example of anti-racist education       In February 2015, the Iota Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., will begin its 4th year of the Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy, a 10 week program designed to address the miseducation of Black students, developed as a practical application of Dr. Woodson's - often called "The Father of       Black History" - seminal work, The Miseducation of the Negro. This miseducation includes being taught lies of falsehoods, partial truths and erasures.  One of the results of this miseducation? Internalized inferiority.  African Americans and other people of color have a long history of addressing internalized inferiority in their children, but what of White people? Are not White children also miseducated with the critical difference being internalized superiority? This session will share the Omega Dr. Carter G. Woodson Academy as an example to racial justice advocates, particularly our white colleagues, of a way to connect the abundant literature and conversation about internalized racism to the education of children and in doing so help develop youth as racial justice advocates. Shaping the Vision: A Conversation with the Community on Planning August Wilson Center 2.0        This workshop held by the AWC Recovery Committee in collaboration with local artists will discuss a series of questions for participant response with the goal of further clarifying an AWC 2.0 program framework which will be inclusive and sustaining. Questions include 1. how to create programming that embodies AW's love of community, pioneering, and progressive spirit; 2. how can we foster  a strong sense of "community" as a central value (and essential support) of the AWC's future programming. The Revolution will Not be Funded: A Critical Look into the Department of Human Services and Non-Profit Organizations       In some communities, law enforcement symbolizes racism and injustice. Numerous accounts show that an institution proposing to protect and serve often fails poor people and people of color. This is also true for many social services. The unwritten belief is that these institutions do not work; they are, instead, tearing communities apart and driven more by their funding sources then the agency mission and needs of the people they serve.  This presentation will focus on the complexities of social work. It will first give a brief history and then discuss present challenges. The presenter will break down all parties involved, discuss specific institutions that are especially damaging, and present some local agencies that are making positive change. The presentation will also include an open discussion about ways to combat the nonprofit industrial complex. Environmental Justice is Racial Justice: What the intersection of environmental and racial issues means to the future fight for justice and equality       This workshop will focus on racial disparities in the placement of environmentally hazardous projects - incinerators, coal plants, and landfills - in or near predominantly low income communities of color. These projects have huge health impacts on these communities, which sometimes go unnoticed. This racial and economic disparity of environmental impact, in combination with the low engagement of environmental groups with communities of color, make it challenge to organize people and gain the public's attention to change these conditions. Educating low income minority communities about environmental justice issues is necessary to gain traction in putting our transition to clean , livable and just planet in motion. Minority communities must be at the front of the fight for climate justice, a movement centered around the most marginalized and the most silenced people around the world. An action goal of the workshop is to engage participants in the new community-based campaign to make the Cheswick Coal-fired power plant cleaner and less harmful to low income minority communities in Pittsburgh. Copyright © 2015 Summit Against Racism, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you attended the Summit Against Racism either this year or years prior. We are just getting our contact list together so if you don't wish to be on this list please find the unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email. This intends to be a relatively low volume email list with announcements about local organizing around police brutality and the annual summit against racism. Our mailing address is: Summit Against Racism c/o East Liberty Presbyterian Church 116 S. Highland Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Fwd: Invitation: PPS Summer Dreamers Event Thurs Jan 22nd at 2PM at Pittsburgh Faison

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Superintendent Office <superintendentoffice@pghboe.net>
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Subject: Invitation: PPS Summer Dreamers Event Thurs Jan 22nd at 2PM at Pittsburgh Faison
To: Superintendent Office <superintendentoffice@pghboe.net>

Mark January 22 on your calendar! The Wallace Foundation has released the first round of findings from their $50 million study on summer learning. These results describe the near-term impacts of the program that was offered during the summer of 2013. Please join me, The Wallace Foundation, RAND Corporation, Grable Foundation, the Heinz Endowments for the summer learning community event "Looking Ahead to Summer" taking place Thursday, January 22, 2015 from 2:00 – 2:45 p.m., at *Pittsburgh Faison K-5, in the school's Gymnasium. We will use this time to share the initial results and other exciting news related to this year's program with those who have been valued partners. As a partner in our work to strive for Excellence for All, we wanted to provide you with an opportunity join us and share in this exciting moment for Summer Learning.

 

Please RSVP to Kristen Frankovich at kfrankovich1@pghboe.net  or by calling (412) 529-3668 by Tuesday, January 20^th.

 

*Pittsburgh Faison is located at 7430 Tioga Street, Pittsburgh PA 15208.

 

Linda S. Lane

 

Superintendent

Pittsburgh Public Schools

341 South Bellefield Avenue. Pittsburgh, PA  15213

412-529-3600 (W)  |   412-622-3604 (F)  | superintendentoffice@pghboe.net 

 

Hotline: 412-529-HELP (4357) | zz-parenthotline@pghboe.net

 

Please make note of the new phone number for our office as well as our schools and offices district-wide.   

 

--

--
Ta.
 
 
Mark Rauterkus       Mark.Rauterkus@gmail.com    
PPS Summer Dreamers' Swim and Water Polo Camp Head Coach

Varsity Boys Swim Coach, Pittsburgh Obama Academy

Head Water Polo Coach, Carnegie Mellon University Women's Club Team
Pittsburgh Combined Water Polo Team

http://Rauterkus.blogspot.com
http://FixPA.wikia.com
http://CLOH.wikia.com
412 298 3432 = cell

Fwd: New! Red Cross Aquatic Attraction Lifeguarding Course

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From: "American Red Cross National Headquarters" <donotreply@kramesstaywell.com>
Date: Jan 13, 2015 10:31 AM
Subject: New! Red Cross Aquatic Attraction Lifeguarding Course
To: <mark@rauterkus.com>
Cc:

To view this email as a web page, click here.

Forward to a Colleague >           New! Aquatic Attraction Lifeguarding Course The American Red Cross Aquatic Attraction Lifeguarding (Water < 3'), now available, is a basic-level course for entry-level participants at pools or attractions with maximum water depths of 3 feet or less. Examples of extreme shallow water attractions (3' or less) are Winding rivers, Catch pools, Slide run outs, Water play areas, and Slide dispatch. Here are some benefits of the Aquatic Attraction Lifeguarding course. Provides flexibility of training for your park environment All staff have consistent professional level training in First Aid, CPR, AED Expanded training options, especially valuable for facilities with extremely shallow water Specialized course content focusing on the knowledge and skills to guard water depths of 3 feet or less Bridge courses available to certify Aquatic Attraction Lifeguards in Lifeguarding or Shallow Water Lifeguarding 1-hour in-service training available to orient current Red Cross Lifeguards to the Aquatic Attraction Lifeguarding skills In addition, there are optional add-on modules to the Aquatic Attraction Lifeguarding course. Check them out below. Administering Emergency Oxygen Bloodborne Pathogens Training Asthma Inhaler Training Anaphylaxis and Epinephrine Auto-Injector Training Course Certification: Lifeguarding/First Aid/CPR/AED (Water Less Than or Equal to 3'), valid for 2 years. Professional lifeguarding certification including First Aid and CPR/AED for professional rescuers and Waterpark skills module content. The course length is 22 hours, 30 minutes (23 hours with optional skill practice session). Current Lifeguarding instructors and instructor trainers who wish to teach the Aquatic Attraction Lifeguarding course or conduct in-service training in the aquatic attraction lifeguarding skills may complete a free online instructor bridge. Online instructor/instructor trainer bridge is now available on Instructor's Corner, so check out Instructor's Corner. Please contact your Red Cross representative for more information about the new Aquatic Attraction Lifeguarding Course!           American Red Cross National Headquarters 2025 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 1-800-RED CROSS redcross.org

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, click on the following link: Unsubscribe This email was sent on behalf of the American Red Cross by Krames StayWell, 780 Township Line Road, Yardley, PA, 19067, USA

Fwd: Sam Hazo's 'Tell It To the Marines'

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Hemington
Subject: Sam Hazo's 'Tell It To the Marines'

It's not often that I will shill for something, but Sam Hazo's Tell It To the Marines is an exception to this rule. This is an exceptional and heart-felt effort by the long-time master of the art of poetry, prose and theater and well deserves your attention and support. I have been fortunate to have read the play and can wholeheartedly endorse is as a evening which will be well spent should you elect to attend. If you have not had the opportunity to read Brian O'Neill's column about the play in today's Post-Gazette, it is posted below in full. Do yourself a favor and make plans now to attend a performance in early February.

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Sam Hazo's 'Tell It To the Marines' shows the brutal cost of war

 

                      Sgt. Mark Fayloga/Marine Corps

Brian O'Neill / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

January 11, 2015 12:00 AM

I was wondering how Sam Hazo, author of a string of books as long as your arm, still has the drive to write at 86.  Then I came to this line in his latest play:

"You're never too old or too young when it comes to matters of conscience, Leo,'' an old priest tells his twin brother.  "Conscience has no birthdays.''

That's from the third and final act of "Tell It To the Marines.''  The six-character play will have a like number of performances at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland on the first two weekends of February.

That venerable hall may seem an unlikely setting for an anti-war play, but great homage is paid to Marines' sacrifice in this work, and there is no shortage of respect among Mr. Hazo's fellow military veterans for this playwright and his passion.

Mr. Hazo, who served stateside with the Marines in the 1950s, was an early critic of the second Iraq War.  He's never wavered.  His play, set entirely in a Pittsburgh living room in the fall of 2007, shows how that war — any war — devastates families.

It's such a fact-packed polemic it could be an op-ed piece in another form, but Mr. Hazo believes the better way to show the true consequences of war is through the same vehicle used by Shakespeare and the ancient Greeks.

On an afternoon last week so cold that schools were closing and all brass monkeys were advised to stay inside, Mr. Hazo crossed a couple of rivers to talk about the play in my North Side home.

"'Medea,' 'Oedipus,' 'Hamlet,' 'King Lear,' 'Othello,' 'Romeo and Juliet' — it all comes back to family,'' Mr. Hazo said.  "It's the unavoidable unit of life.  If you're sick in another city and have no one to look out for you, you know what family means.''

This play centers on four Marines from two generations in one family, the Killeens. Leo is the stalwart patriarch, a Vietnam veteran.  His twin brother, Paul, is a Roman Catholic priest and godfather to Leo's two sons, Andy and Steve (who is never seen).  Andy is home from the war in Iraq and Steve is still in the fight.

The arguments between father and son are heartfelt and bitter.  Leo's wife, Edna, and Andy's wife, Madge, have cooler heads.  The latter woman asks, "Neither of them are going to change, so what's the point?"

The same might be asked of the play itself.  However artful the argument, it's coming long after most Americans have decided how they feel about the second Iraq War.  But Mr. Hazo, who wrote this a couple of years ago, said he didn't write it to change minds.  He doesn't believe writing is so much a willed activity as an "inescapable response to an impulse or idea or inspiration that demands to be put into words with the writer merely the indentured servant.''

The play's premiere at Soldiers & Sailors represents quite a turnabout.  Back in 1991, during the first Iraq War, the hall's directors spent months trying to keep the local chapter of Veterans for Peace from even meeting there.

Current leadership is ready for the healthy clash of ideas in an all-American family.  Soldiers & Sailors president and CEO John F. McCabe said this distinctive art form ties into the mission of honoring and remembering service members.

For director Rich Keitel, the challenge will be making sure the audience is watching a real family, not talking heads making political points.  But with some of the city's best actors — Jeff Howell, Maura Minteer, David Crawford, Daina Michelle Griffith, Justin Fortunato, Tom Kolos — Mr. Keitel likes his chances.

Mr. Hazo, once Pennsylvania's poet laureate, has written before of the impotence of art against weapons.  His poem "Parting Shot'' begins:

Nothing symphonic will come of this
nothing of consequence, and nothing
to silence those whose business
is creating funerals where widows
in their twenties carry folded flags
to empty bedrooms.

But there's dignity in the struggle to make sense of it all.  Tickets are $20, with discounts for seniors and students.  They're available at www.soldiersandsailorshall.org or by calling 412-621-4253.

Brian O'Neill: boneill@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1947.

 

Raising Libertarian Kids

PITTSBURGH COMMUNITY SERVICES CAREER FAIR152

Join us in attending a Career Fair held by Pittsburgh Community Services, INC.  The career fair will host local employers and training programs for all.  A complimentary lunch will be provided as well for those individuals who participate.  The career fair will be held:

When
Friday, January 16, 2015

Location
480 Wadsworth Hall
Oak Hill Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Time
10 am – 2 pm

For more information on the event, click here.
To visit the Pittsburgh Community Services Inc. website, click here.

Hill District event on Sunday with ministers

Press Release Notification.

Contact:
Rev. Victor J. Grigsby; Email: vic6179@aol.com; Tel No: (412) 566-1437

Rev. Glenn Grayson; Email: glennggrayson@aol.com; Tel No: (412) 621-9612

The Hill District Ministers Alliance (HDMA) will hold a “Prayer and Justice” Rally at Freedom Corner (Centre Ave. & Crawford St.) at 2:00 p.m., in Pittsburgh’s Hill District on Sunday, January 4, 2015 to pray for God's blessing and healing upon our communities and our nation, and to respond in non-violent demonstration against the recent
non-verdicts by Grand Juries across our country and to the senseless violence in our communities against civilians and police. We also pray for God's intervention in the homicides in our city and the "Black-on-Black" crime that continues to plague our communities. As we transition into the New Year, with one prophetic voice, the rally is a collective effort to bring people together who have a conviction to pray over the city of Pittsburgh and address the safety and policing concerns of the African American community. This Rally will convene as members of Hill District churches march down Centre Avenue (beginning at Centre and Kirkpatrick at 1:30 p.m.) and join in solidarity and pray for National and World Peace, Federal and Local Governments, and Human and Civil Rights. We will cry out to God and appeal to city officials for community safety.

The Hill District Ministers Alliance, which is leading the Prayer and Justice Rally has organized to provide an avenue for people of all denominations to rally against the violence and victimization of African American males across this country. HDMA’s mission is to bring Pastors and churches together to relieve the burden of all people, promote justice and equality, and to strengthen families and communities and consists of the following nineteen African American churches: F.O.C.U.S. Pittsburgh, Rev. Paul Abernathy, Bethany C.O.G.I.C., Rev. Cleo Brooks, New Light Temple Baptist Church, Rev. Phillip Battle, Warren United Methodist Church, Rev. Leslie Y. Boone, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. Vincent Campbell, John Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church, Rev. Rebecca Cherry, Macedonia Baptist Church, Rev. Brian Edmonds, Church of God in Christ, Rev. Eric Ewell, Wesley Center A.M.E. Zion Church, Rev. Glenn Grayson, Central Baptist Church, Rev. Victor J. Grigsby, New Pilgrim Baptist Church, Rev. William A. Hill, Bethel A.M.E. Church, Rev. Steven A. Jackson, First Church of God in Christ, Rev. Kenneth Irvin, Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church, Rev. Johnnie Monroe (Pastor Emeritus), Olivet Baptist Church, Rev. Tyrone Munson, Calvary Baptist Church, Rev. Marie Kelley, Warren United Methodist Church, Rev. Don Blinn, Jr., Trinity A.M.E. Church, Rev. Yolanda Wright, Amani Pastor-Exec. Director, Rev. Lee Walls.

During the Rally, Pastors will address such community concerns and make demands of local officials (Mayor Peduto and Chief of Police McClay) and leaders concerning:
- police community sensitivity training that includes African American leadership in the training
- a Pittsburgh Police force that reflects racially and proportionately the community in which the officers serve with an overall increase in the number of African Americans on the Pittsburgh Police force
- a broader conversation of city officials with the African American community’s leadership to further discuss solutions to:
• poverty and income inequality which couples with it the Commonwealth’s efforts to reduce unemployment and poverty among the State’s minority population.
• the equitable allocation of public dollars for community and economic development
• the high degree of incarceration of African Americans

Established as an entity to address community needs as a voice for the underserved and underprivileged, the Hill District Ministers Alliance recognizes the systemic and societal issues that have had negative impact on the African American community and are determined to take action to create justice for all people. We are dedicated to the promotion of human rights, equality, and the complete fulfillment of the Gospel mission “to act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.” (Micah 6:8).

30 December 2014

Family Christmas Letter, sent on New Year's Day, 2015

Happy New Year, 2015

Food is our common ground, a universal experience…James Beard

Looking back on 2014, food has been a strong theme for us. Many friends and family have provided us with food, the equipment to make great food, and food recipes that shaped our experiences this year. Finding time to sit down as a family for meals is a priority and has taken many shapes this year as we manage various schedules. If you are in Pittsburgh, let us know, we’d love to share a meal with you!

In March, the whole family made a trip to Orlando, Florida, for one of Catherine’s conferences with Grant and Mark heading on to Dallas for one of Grant’s water polo competitions. Mark arrived in Dallas and made his way to a hospital where they removed his burst appendix. This started a 5 week stay in two hospitals which involved Mark eating almost no food! As part of his recovery, his sisters (who were instrumental in his care) gave him a Vitamix blender. If you don’t have one, put this letter down and get one. This piece of equipment has allowed us to create things from scratch that we never would have imagined. Whether it is smoothies, almond or coconut butter, or tomato bisque (recipe included), we use this blender multiple times a day!

We enjoyed visits with Erik as he took breaks from his studies at Swarthmore College. He has been a good sport about trying all the new things we’ve been creating in the kitchen. Erik was thinking about food this summer in Washington, DC, while he was an intern in the Office of the First Lady. We’ve included one of Michelle Obama’s favorite recipes. He helped with Mrs. Obama’s school lunch initiative and other child health issues. Friends of Mark provided housing for Erik. We really can’t thank them enough! Erik continues his work from a distance with the Loveless Cafe – another great place for food, especially the biscuits and jams!

Mark was hired as the women’s club water polo coach at Carnegie Mellon University. He is still the boys’ varsity swim coach at Grant’s High School, Pittsburgh Obama Academy. He managed another successful Swim and Water Polo Camp for nearly 200 kids with Pittsburgh Public School’s Summer Dreamers. Open, drop-in community water polo for adults and high school swimmers happens at 5pm every Friday at Thelma Lovette YMCA on Centre Ave in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. At a recent AM swim practice, Mark gave a phone interview to the BBC about a swimmer he coached 30+ years ago. Ebooks, apps development and a Kickstarter campaign are on tap for early 2015.

Grant continues to golf, swim and play high-level water polo which sends him to the suburbs and local colleges many evenings each week. One way or another, we all have dinner together whether it is at 4 or 10 pm, and sometimes both! Grant went to the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics with Greenwich Aquatics (CT). He and Catherine had fun spending time with close friends in New York while Grant practiced with that team in July.

This friend is a gourmet cook so Grant got a sense of what it would be like to be an athlete with a private chef!

Catherine continues to help her Mom stay in independent living with frequent visits. A recipe from Mark’s sister, Margie, is one of Barbara’s favorite dinners (recipe included). Barbara is the perfect person to bounce cooking ideas off of and she taught us the trick to great kale salads (recipe included).

We hope you’ve had time over this holiday to share food with loved ones and we wish you the time and space to do more of this in the New Year. Here’s to good health and happiness in 2015!

Mark, Catherine, Erik, and Grant

108 South 12th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203; mark@rauterkus.com; NUKED other ADDRESS

412-298-3432; 412-xxx-xxxx

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Some recipes we thought you might enjoy in 2015!

White House kitchen Garden Cucumber Soup (a recipe from Michelle Obama which she shares in her correspondence)

2 cups almond milk (or scald 2 cups milk w/a handful of slivered almonds; steep 10 minutes, let cool, leave almonds in)

2 large cucumbers; 3 oz Greek yogurt; 2 Tbsp dill, salt, toasted almonds, Greek yogurt, and dill for granish

Peel, seed and coarsely chop the cucumbers. Add cucumbers, almond milk, Greek yogurt, dill and salt to blender and puree until smooth. Serve chilled. Garnish w/toasted almonds, a dollop of Greek yogurt and sprig of dill.


Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken (shared by Margie Guyer, Mark’s sister)

2 lbs boneless , skinless chicken breasts; 1 pkg Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix; ½ cup water; 1 8 oz pkg cream cheese;
1 can cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom soup)

3 cups cooked white, long grain rice (or for a low carb version, put this over spaghetti squash or other vegetables)

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix together Italian dressing mix and water, pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours OR low for 8 hours. Mix together cream cheese and soup in a separate bowl. Remove chicken from the crock pot to a plate. Pour cream cheese/soup mixture into crock pot and mix together with dressing in the bottom. Return chicken to crock pot and mix gently to shred the chicken. Cook on low until heated through. Serve on rice (or spaghetti squash).


Tomato Basil Bisque (from The Joy of Cooking (and Eating) Fat)

1 large onion sliced ¼ inch thick. 6 large or 12 small tomatoes (about 3 cups worth); 10-15 fresh basil leaves; ¼ cup light olive oil; ½ tsp finely ground black pepper; 4 cups chicken broth; 1 cup heavy cream

Put olive oil and onions in a pot and brown over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Cut the tomatoes in half and add them along with the basil leaves and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes (tomatoes should be soft). Place all of this into a blender for 60 seconds. Rinse the cooking pot, place a large sieve over it, and strain the blended mix though it. Discard any solids. Add the chicken broth to the tomato puree and warm over heat. Take soup off the heat and whisk in the heavy cream.

We really like this Bisque served with Giada De Laurentis’ Parmesan Crackers. Place heaping Tbsps of shredded Parmesan cheese onto parchment paper covered backing sheet. Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees. He dips these into the bisque (kind of like grilled cheese and tomato soup without the carbs!)


Kale Salad

Barbara Palmer taught us the trick to great Kale salads. Use scissors to cut the kale away from the stalk and then into small pieces. Drizzle lots of olive oil over the cut up Kale and then scrunch it with your hands (this breaks the stiff veins and is the key to great kale salad – scrunch a lot!). Then add the juice of one lemon and the zest. We like two variations from here: 1) grate parmesan cheese and sprinkle bacon bits over it or 2) add ½ cup of quinoa, feta, and pecans.

Polar Bear Swimmers, join us on Fridays at 5 pm

Gotta try this if you want to make great strides in your use of technology in 2015

The Perfect 50 Slide Show

Perfect 50 from Mark Rauterkus

BC swimming workout videos and photos

Foxcatcher movie gets a primer from the swimming perspective

Going to or have been to the movie, Foxcatcher. Here is some historical context. 

http://swimswam.com/foxcatcher-story-swimming-hall-fame-john-du-pont-not-depicted-foxcatcher-movie/

I'll try to see the movie in the next week or so. 

Managing Self Mind Map

Mind Map from Biggerplate. Click for larger view.

Fwd: USA Men To Meet Italy In Southern California

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <noreply@usawaterpolo.org>
Date: Dec 23, 2014 12:45 PM
Subject: USA Men To Meet Italy In Southern California
To: <mark@rauterkus.com>
Cc:

To view this email as a web page click here.

Happy Holidays USA Water Polo Fans! Don't miss out on your chance to see our Men's Senior National Team in action as they take on Italy in a three game series starting this weekend. USA team captain John Mann joins four-time Olympian Tony Azevedo along with rising stars Alex Bowen, Bret Bonanni and McQuin Baron to take on the Italian National Team at three locations in Southern California. See below for the full roster. Team USA will meet the reigning Olympic Silver Medalists and 2011 FINA World Champions in Italy onDecember 28at Newport Harbor High School,December 30at Pomona-Pitzer, andJanuary 3at USC. Tickets are on-sale now, available for $20 to USA Water Polo members and $25 for non-USAWP members. To purchase tickets, click here. In addition, prior to theDecember 28meeting in Newport Beach, members of the Men's National Team will host a clinic from9-11am. The clinic is limited to only 80 athletes, to register, click here. We hope to see you at the pool! USA Men's Senior National Team vs Italy (all times PST) December 28 - 2pm- Newport Harbor High School December 30 - 7pm- Pomona-Pitzer - Haldeman Pool January 3 - 2pm- USC - Uytengsu Aquatic Center PURCHASE TICKETS Men's National Team Roster - Exhibition Series Vs. Italy Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) Jesse Smith (Coronado, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) John Mann (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC) Janson Wigo (Ft. Lauderdale, FL/Stanford/Olympic Club) Josh Samuels (Villa Park, CA/UCLA/NYAC) Alex Bowen (Santee, CA/Stanford/Stanford) Bret Bonanni (Huntington Beach, CA/Stanford/Stanford) Alex Obert (Loomis, CA/Pacific/Sac Polo) Conner Cleary (Goleta, CA/Stanford/Stanford) Nolan McConnell (Laguna Beach, CA/Long Beach St./SET) Jackson Kimbell (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/Newport WPC) Luca Cupido (Newport Beach, CA/California/Newport Beach WPC) Anthony Daboub (Newport Beach, CA/UCLA/Bruin) Nikola Vavic (Palos Verdes, CA/USC/Trojan) McQuin Baron (North Tustin, CA/USC/Regency) Drew Holland (Orinda, CA/Stanford/Lamorinda) Ben Hallock (Studio City, CA/Harvard Westlake (HS)/Bruin)   Contact Us: www.usawaterpolo.org Phone - 714-500-5445

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