Category Archives: Clallam County

Important WSFN Survey Extended

  By MarkG | November 13, 2012 - 12:42 pm | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Dads! (Moms get your husbands to respond!)

Extended Response time for vital Fathers Network Survey!

Friday, November 16th last day.

 

Here is the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WSFN

 

WSFN would really like 80 more dads to respond to this survey. It will be open through Friday, November 16th. This number is vital to have the survey results be meaningful! Let other dads know about it too! (YES ANY DAD CAN TAKE THE SURVEY! THIS DATA WILL PROVIDE IMPORTANT COMPARISONS AMONG DADS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS.)

There will be a drawing at the close of the survey for a $100 gift certificate to either Lowe’s, Home Depot, REI, or Cabela’s, determined by the lucky dad selected. Take the survey and find out how to sign up for this drawing without a loss of survey confidentiality.

The survey can be taken now through Friday, November 16th! Thank you for taking the survey and getting other dads involved!

The link is also available on our website: http://www.fathersnetwork.org

Reminder–Important WSFN Survey

  By MarkG | November 6, 2012 - 1:14 pm | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Dads! Please Respond to Fathers Network Survey!

Less than one week to participate!

UW-Bothell is helping WSFN survey dads to determine the effects of our program.  This survey is for ALL dads as we are hoping to do a comparison of data from dads participating in WSFN and dads not participating in WSFN, and any other dads out there.  We are very excited about having many dads respond to the survey, so please respond yourself, and send it along to other dads you know to respond also!  ANY DAD is eligible to take the survey! 

There will be a drawing at the close of the survey for a $100 gift certificate to either Lowe’s, Home Depot, REI, or Cabela’s, determined by the lucky dad selected.  Take the survey and find out how to sign up for this drawing without a loss of survey confidentiality.

The survey can be taken now through Monday, November 12th!  Thank you for taking the survey and getting other dads involved!

Here is the link:           https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WSFN

Greg Schell

Director, Washington State Fathers Network (WSFN)
425-653-4286
16120 NE 8th Street
Bellevue, WA 98008
Fax: 425-747-1069
http://www.fathersnetwork.org
A program of Kindering
 
“A powerful voice for fathers and families of children with special needs.”

Important WSFN Survey

  By MarkG | October 31, 2012 - 3:57 am | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Dads! Please Respond to Fathers Network Survey!

UW-Bothell is helping WSFN survey dads to determine the effects of our program. This survey is for ALL dads as we are hoping to do a comparison of data from dads participating in WSFN and dads not participating in WSFN. We are very excited about having many dads respond to the survey, so please respond yourself, and send it along to other dads you know to respond also! ANY DAD is eligible to take the survey!

There will be a drawing at the close of the survey for a $100 gift certificate to either Lowe’s, Home Depot, REI, or Cabela’s, determined by the lucky dad selected. Take the survey and find out how to sign up for this drawing without a loss of survey confidentiality.

The survey can be taken now through Monday, November 12th! Thank you for taking the survey and getting other dads involved!

Here is the link:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WSFN

Greg Schell
Director, Washington State Fathers Network (WSFN)

425-653-4286
16120 NE 8th Street
Bellevue, WA 98008
Fax: 425-747-1069
http://www.fathersnetwork.org
A program of Kindering

“A powerful voice for fathers and families of children with special needs.”

WSFN State Conference Wrap!

  By MarkG | October 22, 2012 - 12:39 pm | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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October 6, 2012 will be remembered by many dads for some time! The WSFN State Conference was a highlight for dads attending, and their comments confirm this without hesitation. Listen to what dads had to say at the close of the day.

“…the Dads Panel & Open Mic continue to amaze me. But more important, the opportunity to celebrate dad is precious.”

“I’m re-energized and will be a better Dad & Husband for at least another year!”

“This is awesome! I like hearing other dads and seeing them overcome the challenges they’ve faced.”

“ Inspiring and Encouraging!”

“The breakout sessions were exactly what I was looking for.”

“Just a great day! Been an emotional year with highs and lows…this day helped keep things and life in perspective.”

“Powerful stories from other Dads-I am so much better for my family after attending this day. Powerful! (My wife loves it!)”

“This day blew me away! It really was important to hear from other dads and know I’m not the only one struggling to make sense of the challenges in my life.”

And there could be many more, but the message is clear. Dads connected with other dads, learned from leading experts on many important topics, and were inspired by other dads and outstanding presenters. Just a note: the conference averaged an “excellent” rating from dads. Wow!

WSFN is appreciative of the several sponsors making the conference possible. Thank you to Kindering for unfailing support; Children with Special Health Care Needs Program, DOH, for their insight into the importance of dads, moms, & families; Microsoft for their outstanding facility; and Starbucks for delicious coffee!

We look forward to next year’s conference and hope to see all of you plus a friend or two in 2013!

(Keep in contact with us through our website: fathersnetwork.org )

A Great Time and Successful Conference Again

  By MarkG | October 7, 2012 - 10:22 pm | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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You may have heard that this last Saturday (October 6th) was the Washington State Fathers’ Network’s annual state conference.  We are still going over the evaluation forms, but the early glimpses of the feedback from dads has been nothing but positive.  We did have a couple of flipcharts out for dads to leave comments or thoughts.  Here is what dads left us:

  • great panel, thanks gentlemen
  • our children as heros…very inspirational
  • I wish every parent had a child with a disability – then they would know what true love was!! Smile
  • My child has a disability – the disability does not have her!
  • Treat your kids today like a nuisance or burden and, rest-assured, they will return the favor some day.

 

Here is a quick synopsis of the day for those who are curious:

Gregg Osborne (Spokane) and Greg Schell (Bellevue) opened the conference and set the tone for the day.  Right from the start it was apparent that we were in for another powerful day for dads (as well as needing to watch the clock to keep the content to just one day Smile ).  Greg Schell’s great four minute talk challenged the room to dream again.  Dream about changing not just our lives, but the community at large.  Next Mike Etzel (Island County) introduced us to this year’s Dad’s Panel.  Every year this seems to get the most votes for favorite part of the conference and this year does not seem to be any different.  The three WSFN dads that made up the panel graciously shared with us part of their stories.

 

By this time we all were ready for our first break followed by our first breakout session.  When we all gathered back together again it was time to hear this year’s keynote.  This time I (Mark Gabarra – Bellevue) had the pleasure of introducing the room to Steve and Gigi Murfitt.  Steve and Gigi are parents to Gabe Murfitt, an amazing young man who happens to have special needs.  Steve and Gigi shared a bit of their story, Gabe’s story, and a message of H.O.P.E. from Gabriel’s Foundation of HOPE.  The Murfitt’s started this foundation to help out families who are dealing with their own special needs with their message of  Help, Overcome, Persevere, Encourage.  Oh, and there may have been a mention or two of Challenger League Baseball.

After a quick lunch, Gregg Osborne was back to facilitate the “Open Mic” time.  This gave anyone attending the opportunity to take the microphone and share whatever they wanted.  A number of dads took the opportunity to share what was on their mind.  We had more than a couple proud moments shared that received rousing applause.  Then it was time for our second breakout sessions of the day before we gathered again for our awards.  This year we had two winners of the Big Time Daddy Award:  John Mahaney and Don Meyer.

 

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This year’s Big Time Daddy Award winners John Mahaney and Don Meyer

After the awards we finished up with our silent auction and Jason Maji shared some closing thoughts.  That brought the official conference events to a close; however, a number of dads decided that was not enough for the day and headed out to the Overlake Red Robin for an [un]official post conference meal.

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The [Un]official Post Conference Event at Crossroads Red Robin.

 

We hope that you can join us [again] next year!

Last Blast of Conference Information

  By MarkG | October 4, 2012 - 7:59 pm | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Here is one last blast of this year’s annual WSFN State Conference information.  You can see the full event information in our calendar here.

Or if you rather have links directly to the information here are those:

WSFN State Conference Invite to Dads 2012
WSFN State Conference Registration Form 2012
WSFN State Conference Schedule 2012
WSFN State Conference Speaker Bios 2012

Dads, this is your last chance to get in on a great event just for you!  If you have not registered yet that is not a problem.  Just print the registration form above and bring it with you and register on site Saturday morning.  If you are going to register on site it would be helpful if you sent Greg Schell an email to help have food orders and registration materials fit the numbers.

If you have any questions feel free to contact Greg Schell at either Greg.Schell@kindering.org or 425-653-4286.

We hope to see you Saturday!

[Un]Official Post Conference Event

  By MarkG | October 3, 2012 - 1:35 pm | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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A major part of of the WSFN State Conference this weekend is networking, meeting other dads, and the spontaneous conversations that occur.  There really is no reason why those conversations need to stop at the end of the official conference time.  The last couple of years a growing group of dads have continued the discussions at a local eatery (mostly the Spokane and Island County Dads – they claim to be “some of the best guys you will connect with during the day” Smile).  This year the only difference is we are announcing this [un]official post conference event ahead of the actual conference.  Let’s see how many local Dads we can get to join the festivities.

You are formally invited to join us to continue the conversation right after the conference (about 4:30PM) at the Crossroads Red Robin (2390 148th Ave NE, Redmond, WA, 98052).  You will not regret participating in this unauthorized yet highly popular part of the conference!!!!!

WSFN State Conference Speaker Bios

  By MarkG | September 28, 2012 - 1:08 pm | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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With the state conference schedule and registration information available we are excited to see dads starting to register for what will be an amazing day (it always is).  For those who have already registered and those still considering we thought we would share a little background information about the scheduled speakers.  Here is some short biography information about this year’s conference speakers (the session they are giving is included).  We hope this helps you decide which sessions sounds interesting to you.

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2012 State Conference Invite to Dads

  By MarkG | September 25, 2012 - 3:44 pm | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Washington State Fathers Network Conference
October 6, 2012
8:30AM-4:00PM
Microsoft Building 122
Microsoft Campus, Redmond, WA

Dads!

On Saturday, October 6, 2012 the Washington State Fathers Network holds its’ annual conference in Redmond, WA on the Microsoft Campus. It is rare for dads having children with special needs to be able to gather with other dads in similar situations, hear multiple experts on highly relevant topics, experience many humorous moments, walk away with way more than expected, and find the day highly inspirational. And that summarizes what only a few of the dads at last year’s conference indicated happened with them. We could go on, but no need. Just know you will have a day to remember, one that has been noted “…as one of the best days of my year” by one dad, and by another ‘…as one of the best days of my life.’

Join us and discover for yourself how energizing meeting other dads and discussing issues related to our children and lives can be! It will be an outstanding and memorable experience-guaranteed!

Remember to bring a picture of your daughter or son for the “Wall of Fame!” We also have fun with a Silent Auction. If you have something to donate that you think dads will like, bring it along. We will be pleased to include it in the bidding! Bidding get’s a little frantic at times so be prepared-bring your wallet. Most of all bring yourself and have a really good day!

Sincerely,
Greg Schell, 425-653-4286

WSFN State Conference Registration Materials Available

  By MarkG | September 18, 2012 - 2:55 pm | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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The wait is now over – the WSFN State Conference registration materials are now available!  Attached below are the registration form and schedule for this year’s conference.  As a quick reminder, the details of this year’s conference can be found online in our calendar (here).  To register please print out the registration form, fill it out, and send it back to Greg Schell (address on the registration form).

The conference this year is $50.00 per attendee.  As always, there are a number of full and partial scholarships available as needed.

If you have any questions please contact Greg Schell (Greg.Schell@Kindering.org or 425-653-4286).