Sevens

OK, so I changed the Sevens jeans logo and added the second Seven... as it should be. Click on the logo above to go to the Sevens Jeans site.

Earnings

Thanks to those of you who occasionally click on the ads on the right hand column, $42.81 has dribbled from Google's pockets to the Sevens class account since our last reunion in August. Of course we don't see a penny until the amount reaches $100, but I suspect we'll get there before 2012. A lot of the $42.81 came earlier in the life of Sevens, but the total is slowly creeping up. Anyway, thanks for supporting Sevens. Stay warm and stay well.

Tornado Tim

Hoosiers urged to be tornado vigilant

From 1950 to 1994, Indiana ranked second behind Texas in the financial damage caused by tornadoes at $1.6 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars, according to NOAA data.

Indiana ranked 15th in number of tornadoes and sixth in both fatalities and injuries for the same period, NOAA said.

“Tornado Tim” Baker, a professional storm chaser [and Sevens member], said he sees some bias in the traditional Tornado Alley maps.

Most Tornado Alley maps are drawn based on data gleaned from the past 50 years or so, but Baker suggests that the “alley” shifts with weather patterns, usually on an annual basis. Recent warming trends can have the effect of shifting the boundaries of the alley to the east, he said.

Okay, okay... I know it's not our Tornado Tim Baker...

Neptune's Garden Productions

If you weren't able to attend the Sevens Reunion in August, or if you did and were distracted by how little we've all changed, you might have missed Sevens member John Wheeler's Excellent Dive Video (be patient for the video to load). There are lots of John's underwater videos and stills to be found in Neptune's Garden.

Upward

I don't know if you're familiar with "Upward Sports" -- it's an evangelical sports ministry for kids from K through 6 that started in a church in South Carolina in 1986 and has grown like gangbusters. Today, half a million kids or so participate in Upward Football, Soccer, Basketball, and Cheerleading all over the country.

Sevens member Brad Mattax is a regional rep for Upward -- and what a region... Brad covers not only Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, but his region extends to the entire Northeast of the United States:

Brad is originally from Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He started at Upward in September 2005. He has been an Upward Basketball League Director for 9 years, a Soccer League Director for 6 years, and a Flag Football Director for 2 years. He and his wife, Barb, have five children. Brad enjoys tennis and running Upward with his wife.

We all know, of course, that this blurb on Brad is wrong. He was originally from Road One, just north of Ossian.

Note: Upward Sports, Fort Wayne Area.

Sailsbery Returns

Past Northern Wells Super, Dr. Michael Sailsbery is the new, interim superintendent of Northern Wells Community Schools. He was coaxed back from Pennsylvania to fill the role until a permanent superintendent can be found.

You'll notice, in the article, that Sevens member Scott Elzey is a member of the school board.

Our question? Why doesn't Sevens member Jon Bennett, Principal and Assistant Superintendent down Bluffton way come home and take this job?

Muliple Chemical Sensitivity

If you know anyone with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), you know how cleaning fluids, or perfumes or a wide variety of normal things found in homes or the workplace can trigger terrible headaches, weakness or dizziness. Thankfully, scientists, including Sevens member Dr. Barbara Sorg, are working to understand this disorder and its opposite (chemical addiction).

Pooley Enterprises

Sevens member Duane Heyne is the Construction Operations Manager for Pooly Enterprises out of Orlando. Duane has managed construction jobs for Lockheed Martin, NASA and even Disney World. How many of us have walked through the Asia Kiosk in the Animal Kingdom without knowing one of the Sevens helped put it in place?

Transconductance

Sevens member Gary Stefura out of Endicott, NY patents a transconductance current regulator.

Creative Arts Center of Wells County

Sevens member Mark Thomas will have some of his smithing art on display for the Creative Arts Center of Wells County October 15 through November 28, 2007. Click on Mark's picture, above, to go to his web site.

Water Furnace

Sevens member Bob Brown explains how advances in plastic pipes have aided geothermal heating and cooling.

Robert R. Brown, director of product development and marketing for WaterFurnace, says other technological improvements have propelled geothermal growth.

“What’s really changed, too, is plastic pipe,” he says. “It’s all thermally fused – the joints are fused plastic, so there are no glues and no clamps, and they don’t leak.” He calls the newer piping “very reliable” and maintenance-free, and says the life expectancy of the pipe “is about 200 years.”

United Way

Sevens member Tim George, working for WBAT Marion, helps jump start the United Way Campaign in Marion.

WBAT helped the United Way through an on-the-air auction Thursday morning that brought in $1,004.

"We just feel like we're contributing in a small way to jump start the (United Way) campaign with this," WBAT Operations Manager Tim George said.

Project Lead the Way

Sevens member Joy Garton Krueger joins Project "Lead the Way."

Joy Garton Krueger, Ph.D, most recently with the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) Program of the Purdue University College of Engineering, has joined Project Lead The Way, Inc. (PLTW) as Director of Assessment and Evaluation. She brings a vast experience in higher education and P/K-12 leadership, teaching, program development and evaluation, and research to the PLTW initiative.

Dr. Krueger earned her doctorate at Purdue University College of Education from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in Instructional Research and Development. She has served Purdue University in several roles throughout her fifteen year tenure.

There's much more information on Joy's career inside the link at the top. Congratulations, Joy!.

Masked Cooks

Sevens member Allen Strehler, gets a mention in the Chicago Sun-Times. June, 2007.

The masks have been in use since La Casa del Gordo opened in January. Restaurant owner Gerry Geffen was intrigued after having seen masks used at restaurants in Mexico. General manager Felipe Gaytan says customers ask about the masks "all the time."

Customer Allen Strehler, 48, calls the masks "more of an image thing."

'Makes you feel good'

"What really matters," Strehler says as he picks up a takeout lunch, "is how clean your utensils are in the work area and how the foods are treated before you get them."

First Entry

There's only so much a message board can do... I've wanted to play around with reporting items of interest in the area, especially items of interest to the Class of 77, while also allowing for pictures, creative thoughts and whatever else comes to mind.

Thus this site: Sevens (77).

I won't find out about everything, so send me information, if you want it added. And since many hands make easy work, just let me know if you want an invitation to add entries yourself, rather than just commenting, and I'll send an invite your way.

Lastly, by putting a little ad square and a search block on this blog, this site will hopefully generate funds for our next class event just by you reading this site. How? Well, you'll see an ad for various things on the right side of the Sevens page and every time someone views it or clicks on it, some pennies drop out of Google's pockets into the Sevens fund. Also, there is a search block at the bottom of the page, and every time someone uses it to search the Internet, there exists a possibility that Sevens will be credited. Easy and rather painless. I don't expect big things, but it will all go to our class and every little bit helps.

Note: Google gathers information. It's what they do. You should be aware of the following:

• Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads this site.
• Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads here based on both the content on sevens and on your browsing history, including other sites you have visited. So, if I'm writing about bicycles, you might see an ad for bicycles... but if you've visited a site about sump pumps, you might see an ad about sump pumps.
• You can opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy.

Thanks for visiting.