Sunfield Area SPY's Report---4/1/10

Dirt Sheet News

+ The Sunfield Area Sponsors of Programs for Youth wish to acknowledge a number of recent donations to either the Scholarship Fund or the Youth Activities Trust Fund that came in from the following fine folks:

* Lyle Van Houten

* Al & Marilyn Van Antwerp contributed in memory of Harold Hanna.

* Ed & Louann Woodman contributed in memory of Harold Hanna.

* Oren & Rosie Best gave in memory of Sam Bruce.

* John & Jan Webster made contributions in memory of Harold Hanna;
Roy Hough; Bill Feasal; and Ruth Stambaugh.

* John & Sandra Fisher made donations in memory of Sam
Bruce and Joyce McWhorter.

* Don & Carol Ray gave in memory of Marie Wegener.

* Steve & Patti Ray contributed in memory of Marie Wegener.
* Ilah M. Hough donated in memory of Joyce McWhorter.
* Steve & Sharon Summers gave in memory of Joyce McWhorter.
* Contributions in memory of George Lake came in from:
John & Sandra Fisher Fred & Sheila Van Vleck
Rosa Fleetham Lindy & Beth Hynes
George & Betty Cole Mark & Mary Hanna
Gary & JoAnn Roth Phil & Peg Heinze
Mike & Amy Acker Don & Caroline Ray
Durwood & Ardyth Dow Bill & Helen Bulling
Larry & Kate Mapes John & Shirley Lich
Ken & Evie David Dean & Maureen Cross
Juluis & Marjorie VanGansbeke Anonymous
Thank you ALL for choosing this means to help us help kids!

+ HELP WANTED! The SPY’s next Texas Hold ‘Em working event is happening the weekend of Thursday through Sunday, April 8th; 9th; 10th; and 11th. at Tripper’s in Frandor in Lansing. We need some help! Care to lend a hand? The work is easy and these events are critical to the many programs we provide. Give event chairman Sam Coan a call at 517-566-7182 and sign up for a shift, waddya say?

+ Honest Roy’s Quote-Of-The-Week: “"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."

+ Andy Woodman’s Sports Trivia Question-Of-The-Week: What team won each of the first five World Series it played in? (Answer later in this column)

+ REMINDER: The SPY’s first Adopt-A-Highway trash pick-up of the season will take place on Saturday, April 17th starting at 9 AM. Pleas make a note of it.

+ Trivia Question-Of-The-Week: How much did the heaviest raccoon ever recorded weigh? (Answer later in this column)

+ Didja Know Department: This week’s topic is everything you may, (or may not), want to know about Twinkies. Twinkies are as amazingly good as they are disgusting. But do you know why? Here are some Twinkie facts for you to “digest”:

* Phosphorus, part of a key Twinkie ingredient, was discovered in 1669 by German alchemist Hennig Brand when he boiled down the urine he collected from local nuns.
* Other Twinkie ingredients include the rocks trona and limestone.
* Twinkie cream gets its slippery sheen from cotton cellulose, which serves the same purpose in rocket fuel.
* Despite popular lore, Twinkies will not survive a nuclear war any better than you will--their average shelf life is 25 days.
* There are 500,000,000 Twinkies made per year.
* President Clinton even put a Twinkie in a time capsule.

+ The “Sports Trivia Question Just For ‘Smarty-Pants’ Mac Cready Question-Of-The-Week: The New York Yankees have lost 13 World Series---the most in the history of Major League Baseball---mainly because they have been in the most championships. But, what team ranks second in losing the most World Series? (Answer later in this column)

+ Swede’s Groaner Corner: If you ever get the sudden urge to run around naked--- you should sniff some Windex first. It will keep you from streaking.

+ Trivia Question-Of-The-Week: The heaviest raccoon recorded weighed 62.6 pounds.

+ Andy Woodman’s Sports Trivia Question-Of-The-Week Answer: The Boston Red Sox won their first World Series in 1903 and won again in 1912, 1915, 1916, and 1918. It took them 86 years before they won their sixth in 2004.

+ The “Sports Trivia Question Just For ‘Smarty-Pants’ Mac Cready Question-Of-The-Week Answer: The Dodgers rank second, having lost a total of 12 World Series.

+ We have received a total of ten (10) applications this year for the SPY’s Community Foundation scholarships. From time to time we are asked “What happens next?” Here is an outline of the Scholarship Evaluation / Selection Process in a nutshell:

* The applications are picked-up the day after the deadline by someone that is not involved in the evaluation / selection process and forwarded to the Scholarship Committee coordinator.

* The Scholarship Committee coordinator, (who also is not involved in the evaluation / selection process), reviews each application packet for completeness. To be deemed complete, each application packet must have, at a minimum---the completed application; the student’s short essay; two teacher recommendation forms; a recommendation form from one non-related person in the community; and a transcript of the student’s high school history.

* The coordinator then compiles each piece of the scholarship application packet; and blocks out the name of the applicant and all references that would lead to the identification of the individual. This step is done to eliminate potential personal bias or favoritism, allowing each application to stand on the merit of information contained, the recommendations submitted, and the student’s documentation.

* The coordinator then assigns each packet a reference code that serves as the means of identification for the rest of the process.

* The coordinator then runs a full set of copies for each member of the Scholarship Evaluation / Selection Committee.

* There are normally 7 or 8 members of the Scholarship Evaluation / Selection Committee. These members are volunteers from the community and cannot have the potential of being related to anyone who could have applied for a Community Foundation Scholarship in that year.

* The members of the Scholarship Evaluation / Selection Committee then do an independent review of the submitted material using whatever methodology they choose, and come up with a personal ranking of the candidates. They usually have two weeks to complete this step.

* The coordinator then sets-up a meeting date and time for the members of the Scholarship Evaluation / Selection Committee to come together as a body to discuss their individual process steps and rankings, share insights gained, and compare notes.

* There are many discrete steps that are employed by the committee to come up with a final overall ranking of the candidates. The important aspect of this step is that the final ranking is achieved through consensus, with everyone agreeing, rather than majority voting.

* After everyone on the committee agrees on the final rankings of the candidates, they then go through a determination process that establishes how many scholarships or awards will be given out, and the dollar amounts of each.

* The final recommendation of the Scholarship Evaluation / Selection Committee is then forwarded to the SPY’s general membership meeting for approval.

* The actual identities of the candidates are not revealed until Senior Awards Night.

+ If anyone has any questions about the SPY’s Community Foundation Scholarships, please contact John Fisher at 566-8278.

+ To find out more about the SPY’s organization, download forms or applications, or catch-up on past issues of the “Dirt Sheet”, go to the SPY’s website at www.sunfieldspys.org.

+ MDLXXVI