Book Reading Binge

My college English teacher Mrs. Samuels told us over thirty years ago about a habit she started several years prior to that time. The habit was saving books over several months for the express purpose of having something good to read while on summer vacation.

During our child raising years, I was lucky if I got through one or two books during a summer vacation. So I put that habit on hold, until the past two years. Since that time, I start stashing anywhere from four to ten books that I'd like to read while on a summer vacation.

Last year, we vacationed at a cottage in Bass Lake up in the Sierras. My stash of books included a holiday novel, an autobiography by Dr. Phil's wife, and a Robert B. Parker cowboy adventure.

None of the books I took with me on vacation ranked high on a "recommended" list, but they did entertain for the summer hours spent sitting outside in the cool air of the Sierras.

This year, I started my vacation book stash shortly after the beginning of the year. I took a book about outstanding women written by ABC News reporter Cokie Roberts, a book on fatherhood from Fox News morning anchor Steve Doocey, a mystery novel, and a personal story about a man's effort to overcome the effects of a stoke.

It was an eclectic mix of books. It did make the vacation pass by fast.

Nook-S.Newvine

Reading is a wonderful past time for me. I was read to by my Mom at a very early age. Teachers in those critical early elementary years helped nurture my love of books by reading to our classes all the time.

The teen and college years found my reading concentrated primarily on assignments for classes. Then came the family years when any spare time was quickly taken by demands of raising children, maintaining a house, and nurturing my professional career.

One of the many benefits I've enjoyed in these years since my children have left the roost is the time to settle down with a good book. I started keeping track of the books I've read in the past few years.

Over twenty books in 2009, sixty in 2010, and forty so far as we cross the halfway point of 2011.

I may not have liked each book, but I have certainly enjoyed the gift of having time to read.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced

How a Small Upstate New York Village Used Corn to Put Itself on the Map

The Rotary Club I belonged to in Avon, New York is celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of a summer festival that has put the community on the map.

The Avon Corn Festival provides entertainment, arts, and (you guessed it) corn to tens of thousands of visitors over the past two and a half decades.

The Avon Rotary Club sponsors the event, but it really belongs to the entire community.

The idea for a Corn Festival began when interested citizens met to brainstorm ideas for some kind of event to celebrate the community’s agricultural heritage.  Some civic clubs and interested community members grabbed onto the idea of a festival named after a popular local crop and made their idea happen in 1987.

In the early years, the festival experienced some growing pains.  But one organization, Avon Rotary Club, hung in there and continues to present the event every year on the first Saturday in August.

As a member of the club, my memories include the several weeks of preparation, an intense week leading up to the festival, and an extremely long day when the festival actually arrived.

Year after year, the festival defined summertime in that small upstate New York community.   One year it rained practically all day.  We had company visiting and thought their first exposure to the festival would have to wait until another year.

Later in the day, the rain stopped and we took a walk to the festival grounds where I saw one of the largest crowds ever.  It seemed the entire community wouldn’t let the rain spoil their event.

I joined the Avon Rotary Club in 1995 and was elected President five years later.  One of my duties as President was to welcome the community to a free rock and roll concert to cap the full day of activities.

I felt like a cross between Dick Clark and Ryan Secrest as I introduced the band called the Skycoasters!

There would have a lot of hard work the day and night of the festival, but our job was far from over.  The next morning, every Rotarian was expected to be back at the festival site to take down any remaining booths and tents, as well as to sweep the streets and get the area looking better than we found it just two days prior.

I have spoken and written about this community’s celebration of agriculture to groups in New York, Delaware, and here in California.  I speak to groups in our state about how a small village in upstate New York could create a powerful tourism venue.

I’ve written about Avon Rotary’s fund raising event in a book on personal development skills Soft Skills in Hard Times.  My message is simple: find something that makes your town unique, mobilize your community’s energy through volunteers, and promote the heck out of it.

It was a privilege serving in Avon Rotary for ten of the twenty years I lived in that community.  My proudest moment during that time was sponsoring a member who would eventually become the first woman President of the Club.

Being part of the Corn Festival was truly the most rewarding aspect of my time with Rotary.

Everyone in the Club knew that a successful festival would help the Club give back to so many community organizations and charitable causes.

In twenty-five years, that single focus has never changed!

Steve Newvine lives in Merced and served as President of the Avon, New York Rotary Club in 2000-2001

Learning From Teaching

I have the first graders at Elmer Wood Elementary School in Atwater to thank for giving me a reason to have hope for our future generations. I presented a Junior Achievement program to Ms Harris’ class on May 5. Junior Achievement is a national non-profit program designed to provide children of all ages with a better understanding of business and how a strong business sector can help foster stronger and safer communities. The program uses volunteers from the local community.

The volunteers come into the classroom armed with a learning "kit" of lesson plans and classroom materials such as posters, handouts, and take home items. The take home items included refrigerator magnets and postcards. After an orientation session, the volunteers are ready to teach the program in classes signed up to the program.

I was a J-A presenter in a second grade class about ten years ago when I lived in upstate New York. I still cherish a group photo presented to me by the class when I finished that five-unit program.

Fast forward ten years to 2011 and I find that not much has changed in how the program is set up and executed. I picked up my learning kit the night before my class.

I had to skip any orientation due to the short time frame between signing up and presenting. Fortunately, my previous experience from the 1990's prepared me for what to expect of the program.

I arrived at Elmer Wood School at 7:30 am, signed in at the principal's office, and was directed to the classroom. There, I met twenty smiling faces and Ms Harris. She helped me set up the room with a giant poster of a small community. After giving me an introduction, she sat close by as I began my presentation.

The J-A courses are generally broken down into five sections. Ten years ago, I presented these sections over a five-week period. This time around, I would present all five sections in one three-hour period. Talk about pressure!

The first section dealt with that poster we put up on the wall in front of the class. The students were encouraged to point out things they were familiar with such as a school bus, children, trees, and pets.

From this participation exercise, we were able to define a family as a special group of people who may differ in age and relationships but who are connected to one another in some way. We even concluded that different types of family members live in our community and that they all can help one another make it a good place to live.

Part two was about making the distinction between what you need and what you want. Again, there was a lot of class participation as I held up pictures of things we need, such as: healthy food, clothing, and a home; as well as pictures of things we want, such as: an ice cream cone, a video game, and a pet.

Some of the students challenged the idea that a pet is a "want" rather than a "need". As a pet owner (our cat Bob has been with us for twelve years), I tend to agree with the kids.

The third unit helped the children define what a job is and why a job is important in helping families acquire their wants and needs.

Junior Achievement kits contain workbooks and handouts so that the students can participate in developing their own vision of jobs and career paths. These young people were only six and seven years old, but already they are getting ideas about what they would like to do when they grow up.

Session four was the most active section when I placed a large map of the neighborhood on the floor. The students circled around the map and took turns pointing out such things as a police station, a school building, a hospital, and a fire station.

We connected the locations on the maps to the concept of "does this place provide us with a want or a need?" The children enjoyed this session the most. I suspect they enjoyed this the most because they could finally get away from their desks and form a circle around the floor map.

We wrapped it up in the final section with a review of everything covered in the previous four sections and making the point that jobs help families live better lives. I stressed how their hard work in school would eventually earn them a diploma.

I then handed out certificates of completion to the group. The certificates were prepared by J-A coordinator Michelle Gonzales in anticipation of a successful completion of the five sessions.

The group was very appreciative of my visit and wished me a safe day as I prepared to leave. I packed up what remained of my Junior Achievement kit, and left the school at the end of the morning.

I really have to hand it to the teachers who are with our children most of the day. They have to be nurturing, firm, and in control throughout the day. Without these key components, the J-A program could not achieve the level of success is has achieved over the years.

But I really have to give a shout out to the students. Their attention to the material being presented, their naturally inquisitive nature, and their enthusiasm really made an impact on me. As a volunteer presenter, I got so much out of this group of eager young people.

I'm thankful to work for a company that encourages volunteer opportunities such as Junior Achievement and permits me time away from the regular workday to participate in these activities. I was impressed with the level of support received by the program coordinator in preparing for my day-in-the-classroom.

And I was overwhelmed by the dedication to learning I observed in the teacher Ms Harris.

Most of all, I felt honored to be in the presence of our future generation of learners. They are beginning to form ideas about how they can contribute to their communities.

They are getting ideas every day about how they might contribute to improving the quality of life when they leave school.

If this first grade class at Elmer Wood Elementary in Atwater is any indication, I think we are in good hands.

They have given me renewed hope in the future.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced and is a member of the Business Education Alliance of Merced, (BEAM) an organization of business people and educators working together to help produce a world class workforce in Merced County. BEAM is affiliated with the Merced County Office of Education.

You never forget your first job. And I have a picture to remind me of just how special that time was.

The webmaster of this site, Brad Haven, is always challenging me to provide a picture with my columns.  He has explained to me how a picture can help illuminate a point.  He has even sent me an article about how a picture is worth more than a thousand words. 

He’s right.  Pictures definitely help when you’re trying to tell a story.

I believe I have found another reason to look for a photograph to accompany each of my columns.   So taking Brad’s advice from early in this assignment, I went back to my photographs.

After the most recent post on my eight years as an altar boy, I struggled with what the next subject should be.  I really don’t have anything to say about the US getting Bin Laden; I’m satisfied that justice was delivered. 

I could weigh in on Mother’s Day, but by the time this is posted, the holiday will have passed.  Maybe next year.  That left me searching for the next idea.

When you encounter writer’s block, go to the pictures.  And that’s what leads me to this photograph I found in my career scrapbook the other day.

The photo shows a very young Steve Newvine (on the right) trying to write a television news story from the newsroom at WICZ-TV in Binghamton, New York.  The year was 1979.  The man on the left was my first television news boss Mark Williams.   Mark had been elevated to News Director only a couple of months prior to the time this photograph was taken.   I was his first hire.

Fresh out of college (Syracuse University) I interviewed for the job during my finals.  I remember not being so sure I impressed him in the interview, but I had an audition tape (a video tape of stories I produced while at a college internship at another TV station). 

Mark saw enough potential there is put me on his short list.  He promised to get back to me by the end of the week.

He called me again on a Thursday night and said he had to run a few things past his general manager.  He said he would call me Friday.  I hung up the phone, announced to my parents that I wouldn’t be going to sleep that night as I worried about whether I would actually be offered the job.

I did fall asleep later that night (probably early in the morning of that Friday).  I stayed close to the phone all day Friday.  At six-thirty PM, someone in my family suggested I go outside for a walk.  I resigned myself to thinking that maybe Mark got caught up in his work of the week.  I put on my sneakers and headed out the door.

Then the phone rang.  It was Mark.  He offered me the job.  I accepted.  He asked when I could start, and I said “Monday!”  We wished each other a good weekend.  I hung up the phone, hugged my family, and started packing for Binghamton.

I said my goodbyes to my grandparents, withdrew my life savings up to that point (about $500), and left for my first paying job in television news that weekend.

As the picture shows, I reported and wrote news for the station.  Mark and I, along with four or five other staff people, made up the news department.  We had no state or national wire service.

Mark had a lot of contacts throughout the viewing area that he routinely called to get tips on potential local news stories.  I learned from him and the others how to produce a news story, how to assemble an entire newscast, how to shoot video when my photographer couldn’t accompany me on a story, and how to connect with the local community.

During my year and a half at WICZ-TV, I did every on-air job the station had including news, weather, sports, talk show host, and outdoors sports reporter.

Station finances in 1980 forced a layoff that spared my job, but sent a chilling message to everyone that we better cover our bets and prepare for even tougher times.

I started looking for a new job shortly after returning from my honeymoon in July.  In October, I left the station for WAAY-TV in Hunstville, Alabama.  I stayed in television news for another fourteen years.

I’m glad I found that old picture from thirty-two years ago in my scrapbook.  I exchange an occasional email from the man who hired me.

Some of the radio and television broadcasters in the Binghamton market have formed a reunion club. They host a dinner and awards event every year.  One of these days, I’m going to attend.

You never forget your first job.  I had lots of jobs throughout high school and college that helped pay college costs and other expenses, but the first job the field that I trained in will always remain a special memory.

And I have a picture to remind me of just how special that time was.

Steve Newvine was a broadcast journalist from 1979 through 1994.  He lives and works in Merced.

My Eight Years as an Altar Boy

Altar boy

In the wake of the recent celebration of Holy Week and Easter, I got to thinking about some of the times I experienced as a boy and young adult in upstate New York.  In particular, I recall the years I was an Altar Boy at St. Martin’s Church in Port Leyden.

I started when I was in the fourth grade back in 1967 when all boys in my religious education class were invited to become Altar Servers.   By the way, girls were invited to take part in a service club known as Sodality.  It would be many years before girls were permitted to serve on the altar.

Sister Agnes Claire was our trainer and she was a tough taskmaster.  We had practice once a week after school at the church.   Our practice began with a prayer, then repetition of the elements of the Catholic Mass and our role in helping the priest on the altar.

We learned when to genuflect, how to genuflect, how to hold the book of priest prayers, when to get the water and wine, how to hold the gold-plated paten under the chin of persons receiving Holy Communion, and when to ring the bells during the Eucharistic Prayers.

Week after week, we’d go to practice.  Week after week, we’d review each segment of the celebration while learning what to do and what not to do.  But week after week, Sister told us we were still not ready to take our place at the altar.

Eventually, we would each be issued a black cassock and a while surplice.  This was the official “uniform” of a server.  We were told to take the cassock and surplice home and “have our Mom wash and iron them”.  It was another step toward getting an assignment.

Finally, in February 1968, I got the call.  One afternoon after school, Sister Agnes Claire phoned my home to tell me that I would have my first assignment on the altar. I was told I would be “serving on the side”, which meant that I wouldn’t have to actually do any of the things I had been taught during the past five months.

My only job was to show up with my cassock and surplice, process out of the priest’s sanctuary with the other “real” servers at the beginning of Mass, and sit on the side of the altar throughout the service.

I was nervous and recall being pushed out onto the altar from one of the senior servers when my feet seemed to be stuck to the floor at the start of the Mass.  But I got through it.  I think my Dad was in the congregation that first night.  My Mom had not yet converted to Catholicism.

Within weeks, I would get my shot at actually serving as a “real” server.   By the next year, I fancied myself one of the senior types who helped the newbies overcome their nervousness.

Over the years, I was tempted to give up my altar serving.  Several of the boys who started with me that first year had already dropped out of the ministry.  Some were not even coming to church anymore.

The temptation to end my stint as an altar boy was strong.  After all I reasoned, I was a teenager and the cassock and surplice were not really cool.  But with some encouragement from my Dad to stick with it, I persevered.  By the time I was a senior in high school, serving on the altar was a badge of honor I wore proudly.

The last Mass I served at St. Martin’s was the day after my high school graduation.  I still wonder if Sister Agnes Claire purposely scheduled me for that day so that I wouldn’t be tempted to overdo it on the partying after the graduation ceremony.  I’ll never know.

Father Lyddy

Our priest during those late teen years was Father Lyddy: a kind man and a good teacher.  As we continued to grow into our roles, Father Lyddy allowed my friend Phil and me to read scripture as a Lector during Masses when we were serving Mass.  That’s where I got my first opportunity to Lector.   Little by little, he was introducing us to other ministries in the Church.

Serving on the altar also cemented my friendship Phil.  The two of us had known each other since kindergarten, but our time as Altar Boys at St. Martin’s created a unique bond that remains to this day.

I’ll always remember Holy Week when I was in my late teens.  For an Altar Boy, this was the World Series of serving with three special celebrations followed by the Easter Sunday Mass.   There were special rehearsals for these services.  By then, Phil and I were always assigned the Mass on Holy Thursday, the service on Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday.

Many times after Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday services, Phil and I would just stand outside the church and talk for what seemed to be a good hour or more.  While we both remained friends, both of us had expanded our base of friends to include others.  But our service together as Altar Servers created a special bond.

Upon graduation from high school, Phil entered the United States Air Force Academy and had a successful career in the military.  I went on to Herkimer County Community College and Syracuse University before embarking on my first career as a television journalist.

Throughout our professional lives, we both continued to serve our respective parishes in ministry roles:  Phil was a Eucharistic Minister and I became a Lector.

I’m grateful for those eight years as an Altar Boy.  I’m certain it kept me engaged in a church going culture that existed in my family during my years growing up.

My service built a foundation for my volunteer work in church ministry that continues to this day. 

But most of all, I associate my time as an Altar Boy as a positive experience that I wouldn’t have traded for anything.  It was indeed a blessing.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced and is a parishioner at St. Patrick’s Church in Merced. 

The E-Reader and the B-M-T-R List

I won a prize at the Greater Merced Chamber mixer the other night.

I try to attend a few of the Chamber’s monthly networking events during the year.  As many of you may know, I am the former Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber.  Going to the Greater Chamber's mixers help me reconnect with Chamber members, local government office holders and staff, as well as new folks interested in promoting their businesses through the Chamber.

The event sponsor was Comfort Keepers, a home health care company.   It’s customary at these events that a raffle be held.  I bought some tickets when I learned that the proceeds from that night’s raffle would benefit the local Food Bank and Catholic Charities.

Both are among the many human service agencies that help our community. Comfort Keepers chose these two organizations and solicited local businesses and their suppliers to provide prizes for the drawing.

Besides knowing that 100-percent of ticket sales would benefit these two charities, the raffle boasted some pretty nifty prizes.  And as luck would have it, I won an e-reader.

Now I can read books without paper.

I spent the weekend getting my e-reader ready to go.  It was surprisingly easy for a technically challenged person like me.  Within an hour, I had downloaded the Complete Works of Mark Twain.

Within a few days, I had finished reading A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.  I chose that novel as my first e-read because it was available and because I often feel I don't read enough of the classics.

Having enjoyed The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in grade school and Huckleberry Finn in high school, I thought it would be fun to go back to basics.  Mark Twain is getting considerable renewed interest in recent months following the publication of his autobiography some one-hundred years after his death.

Reading with an e-reader has been a real adventure.  I tap the screen when I reach the bottom of the page.  If I tap too lightly, the page won't turn.  If I tap too hard, it turns more than one page.

Lighting was always an issue when I read a book on paper.  I need to be in a well-lit room or outdoors.  With the e-reader, the book itself is lit like a computer screen so a room light is no longer necessary.

Outdoors, the model I have does pretty well in sunlight, although it hasn't really been tested until it comes up against a San Joaquin Valley summer sunshine day.  I'll let you know how that works in July.

Most importantly, the e-reader has allowed me to read classic literature on my terms.  Many classic books are available for free through the e-reader manufacturer.

Others, such as a Bible or the Mark Twain collection I purchased, are just 99-cents.  Best sellers, such as former President Bush's autobiography Decision Points, cost about ten to fifteen dollars for an e-reader edition.

I'll probably fall into a routine of continuing my weekly trips to the Merced Public Library for the latest books, while picking up an occasional book at a bookstore or church sale. I plan on using the e-reader for my self-described BMTR books.

BMTR books are books I’ve “been meaning to read”.  Last year, I promised myself to concentrate on classic literature.  That focus resulted in only one classic (A Picture of Dorian Gray) among the nearly fifty books I read in 2010.

With my e-reader, I can load up many more at low or no cost.  I may actually have a better shot of completing more of the classics this year.  Let’s hope so.

At any rate, I'll probably end up reading more thanks to my newest option for enjoying books.  And I haven't even started to explore the possibilities with getting newspaper and magazines through the e-reader.  It will be one step at a time for me as I expand my digital horizons.

I won more than just a prize the other night at the Chamber mixer.  I also won a new way to enjoy one of my favorite pastimes: reading.  I entered the digital age for books.  And I couldn't be happier.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

Volunteerism

My good friend Jim North invited me to speak before the Merced Kiwanis at the club’s February 16 meeting.  He asked me to prepare some comments about volunteerism as the club is trying to attract new members. Currently, I am on inactive status at another Merced service club.  My work demands take me away from regular club attendance so I asked my service club to put me on that status. 

What that means is that I remain linked to the organization, but am temporarily relieved from such membership requirements as regular meeting attendance.

I believe in volunteering for a number of reasons.  First of all, the Merced community needs it.  Any community with unemployment as high as Merced’s rate ~ certainly has more than its’ share of challenges. 

Volunteers can help identify needs, and rise to the occasion to meet these needs.

Volunteering benefits the person giving his or her time to a good cause.  Just ask the men and women of Merced Kiwanis about how they feel as they plan and work on a community project. 

Whether it’s their thirty-plus years as bell-ringers for the Salvation Army’s holiday fund drive, preparing turkeys to help feed over two-thousand people at the Thanksgiving dinner at the Merced Rescue Mission, or serving up pancakes at their annual fall breakfast, these volunteers are having a good time and feeling good about their community.

Merced Kiwanis also helps children in our community through scholarships, the Zoo-Boo Halloween event, the Junior Olympics, and the Special Olympics.  Club members feel good about the work they do.  Our children benefit from these volunteers, who also serve as role models for community stewardship.

I wrote about volunteerism as one of fourteen soft skills in my 2009 book Soft Skills for Hard Times. I wrote the book as a means to give credibility to employers who often tell me they could train an employee on a specific job, but that it was hard for them to teach someone on such soft skills as attitude or showing up ready to work. 

I took these common soft skills, added a few that I thought were relevant, and compiled a quick read on what gives employees an added advantage in today’s economy.  Naturally, I think volunteerism is an important soft skill.

In the chapter on volunteerism, I share the story of a friend of mine who had passed away at the age of eighty-four.  I first met him when he was on the interview team for a job that I was up for at a chamber of commerce. 

He took me to task for not having any volunteer activities on my resume.  I defended my resume by saying I was too busy working to have time for civic activities.  He didn’t like my answers and he let me know it. He was right.

Somehow, I was hired by the organization and I stayed there for ten years.  But I made it my business to inject myself into the community.  One sure fire way for me to do that was through volunteering.  I joined a civic club, stepped up my church related activities, and said, “yes” more and more when called up to serve in the community. 

I have my friend George to thank for showing me that volunteering matters.

There’s a country music song that George Strait, one of my favorite singers performs regularly.   One of the lines in that song goes like this:  “You don’t bring nothing with you here, and you can’t take nothing back.  I never saw a hearse with a luggage rack.”

The person who wrote those lyrics for George Strait is onto something.  We come to this life with nothing, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave.  What really matters is what we do during the time we’re here on this earth.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced