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McGowan ranked as the organization's No. 1 prospect entering 2003, and he finished that season strong by going 7-0 in Double-A. He started strong in 2004 and seemed on the verge of his first big league promotion when a torn elbow ligament halted his progress. He had Tommy John surgery in May 2004 and didn't return to the field until June 2005. Interestingly, the Blue Jays nearly voided his first pro contract ($950,000 as a supplemental first-round pick in 2000) when they discovered he had an inflamed elbow. It's conceivable that he may now be pitching with a healthy elbow for the first time as a pro. McGowan rehabbed vigorously from surgery, as evidenced by his relatively brief 13-month recovery period, working without a ball to refine his mechanics. His focal points were working to stay back during his delivery so his arm could catch up to his body, and getting on top of his pitches to deliver them on more of a downhill plane. McGowan pitched respectably in his first taste of the majors, going 61⁄3 innings in his debut to register the win, but seemed more relaxed on the mound when he moved to the bullpen in September to limit his workload. In his final appearance of the year, he struck out all four batters he faced with electric stuff. McGowan has overpowering frontline stuff and pitches down in the zone with explosive life. He has four major league weapons to attack hitters with, starting with a 92-94 mph four-seam fastball that he frequently dials up to 96 in relief. His fast-developing change is already his second pitch, and it's an effective weapon against lefthanders. He maintains fastball arm speed with the pitch. McGowan's breaking stuff is less consistent but does show promise. He gets good rotation on a downer curve, though his 86-88 mph slider has more the look of a potential out pitch. When it's working for him, his slider features sharp twoplane break. McGowan is athletic, quiet and diligent, and he has shown the aptitude to make adjustments to his level of competition. Like many young power pitchers, McGowan struggles to command his fastball, and sometimes his heater lacks movement. Big league hitters weren't as prone to chasing his breaking stuff out of the strike zone, so he'll need to get ahead in the count with his fastball. He's also seeking more consistency with his breaking pitches. The Blue Jays believe his curve and slider will be better than average once he learns to command them in the strike zone. McGowan showed a lot of growth in 2005, but he still has much improvement in front of him. He'll need to refine his fastball command if he's to become the front-of-the-rotation starter the Blue Jays envision. He'll compete for a rotation spot in spring training, but would benefit from a few months pitching at Triple-A Syracuse.
A second-team All-American as a junior, Romero was the first pitcher selected in the 2005 draft. The Blue Jays took him sixth overall and signed him for a club-record $2.4 million. He was one of Cal State Fullerton's two aces on its 2004 national championship team. Romero is poised on the mound and attacks hitters with command of three above-average pitches. He moves his fastball in and out and usually throws it at 90-92 mph. He gets late action in the zone with his two-seamer. His power downer curve is sometimes his second pitch, while other times it's his changeup, which he uses to combat righthanders. Romero doesn't have dominant stuff. While his delivery is efficient now, the Jays are working to get his fastball on a more downward plane. After a heavy amateur workload, Toronto limited him to a strict 50-60 pitch count during his debut. Romero likely will return to high Class A Dunedin to start 2006; with a strong spring, he could start in Double-A. He should move quickly and is a safe bet to reach his ceiling as a No. 3 starter.
After turning down lucrative offers to turn pro with the Mariners (out of high school) and the Yankees (as a draft-eligible sophomore), Purcey signed with the Blue Jays for $1.6 million as the 16th overall pick in 2004. He started his first full season in high Class A and reached Double- A by the end of July. Purcey's 91-93 mph fastball tops out at 95 and explodes on batters as it arrives at the plate. He also generates awkward swings and misses with his plus 12-to-6 curveball, one of the best in the system. He has the makings of a quality changeup and has good arm speed with the pitch, but it's not as advanced as his other offerings. Command has been by far Purcey's biggest stumbling block, in part because he has difficulty repeating his release point. The Blue Jays are also working with him to improve his pitch efficiency and stamina by not maxing out on every pitch. Purcey is a physical pitcher with power stuff. He won't reach his potential as a No. 2 starter if he doesn't consistently throw strikes. He almost certainly will begin 2006 back in Double-A.
One year after Lind signed with the Blue Jays as a draft-eligible sophomore, he has become the best hitting prospect in the organization. He led the high Class A Florida State League in doubles and extra-base hits while ranking second in batting and hits. Lind has the quickest bat in the system, making him Toronto's only position prospect with star potential. Described as a natural-born hitter by one Jays official, he uses a picture-perfect lefthanded swing to make hard contact to all fields. He's doesn't panic when he falls behind, as his advanced two-strike approach allows him to be more selective and get pitches to hit. Lind's desire to improve defensively has been questioned. To his credit, he worked doggedly to improve his left-field play, taking two rounds of batting practice flyballs a day to hone his jumps and routes. His arm is fringy and he's a below-average runner. Lind is expected to start 2006 at Double-A. The Blue Jays see him as their left fielder of the future and a middle-of-the-order presence capable of hitting .300 with 40 doubles and 20 homers. If his glove proves unplayable in left, he may return to first base.
A strained elbow ligament in 2002 and recurring blisters on his pitching hand may have scared teams off, but the Blue Jays snagged Banks in the second round of the 2003 draft. He has shown improvement in each of his first three pro seasons. Banks is one of the minors' finest control pitchers and went eight straight starts without a walk last year. In the second half, he began to pitch down in the zone more effectively, something he didn't do in his first taste of Double-A in 2004. Banks commands both sides of the plate with a solid-average fastball that sits at 90-91 mph and touches 93. His splitter is a major league out pitch. Banks made strides with his fringy curveball late in the season, gaining the confidence to go to it when behind in the count. Less frequently, he'll go to his slider or changeup. He's still perfecting his pitch sequencing. He's vulnerable to homers, perhaps because he is so resistant to giving up walks. The durable Banks finished among Eastern League leaders in innings, strikeouts and complete games. He's bound for Triple-A and the Jays are excited about his future as a No. 3 or 4 starter.
A two-way player at UCLA his first three seasons, Janssen devoted full attention to pitching his senior season. He went from a 49th-round pick by the Orioles in 2003 to a fourth-rounder by the Jays in 2004 to one of the system's best prospects in 2005, when his 2.18 ERA ranked fourth in the minors. Janssen commands four pitches for strikes. He creates good natural cutting movement on his 89-91 mph two-seam fastball. He throws a solid-average slider with good bite, a changeup with tailing action and an average though soft curveball. He follows a gameplan when he pitches, keeps the ball on the ground and is adept at holding runners. None of Janssen's four pitches projects as above average, and it's uncertain how his stuff will play against more advanced hitters who swing and miss less frequently. He wore down a bit as the season progressed, so he needs to get stronger. With his ability to throw strikes, Janssen looks like a future No. 4 starter in the majors. He'll open the season in Double-A.
No. 1 on this list a year ago, League saw his progress stall after his callup to Toronto at the end of 2004. He made the Jays' Opening Day roster in 2005, struggled in the majors and never got back on track in Triple-A. Switching roles from starter to reliever and back probably hasn't helped his development. League has a special arm. He throws everything hard. He popped 101 mph on the radar gun in the big leagues and typically sits at 94-96 mph with diving action in the strike zone when he's on. His hard slider clocks in at 88-91 mph. League's changeup has sinking action and is thrown so hard (88-92 mph) it looks like a two-seam fastball. League gets in trouble when he can't locate his pitches. He can't get away with pitching up in the zone because his stuff flattens out. He doesn't consistently repeat his low three-quarters release point and is far more hittable than he should be with his stuff. The club still thinks League will one day close in the majors. They believe that with pitching coach Brad Arnsberg and a veteran staff, they have the support system in place to facilitate his growth.
Rosario was just starting to blossom in 2002 when he injured his elbow in the Arizona Fall League and required Tommy John surgery. He hasn't fully recovered the feel for his stuff. The Blue Jays neglected to call him up in 2005 despite the need to bolster their bullpen. Rosario was shifted to the bullpen in August to begin grooming him for a late-inning relief role. He throws his plus fastball at 93-96 mph. To complement his heater, he throws an above-average 86-88 mph changeup with late action and an 85-88 mph slider. All of his pitches were sharper when he worked in relief. Despite his arm strength and velocity, Rosario has a tendency to lose life and command on his fastball. He also lacks feel for his secondary stuff, especially his slider. Some observers think he pitches as if he fears hurting his elbow again. Because he missed the entire 2003 season, Rosario has one option remaining, so he won't have to clear waivers if he doesn't make the big league team in spring training. He should open the season in the Triple-A bullpen.
A member of three College World Series teams in three years at Texas, Thigpen saw more action at first base because the Longhorns had one of college baseball's top defensive catchers in Taylor Teagarden. Thigpen has taken to full-time catching even better than the Blue Jays expected, throwing out 40 percent of basestealers and reaching Double-A in his first full pro season. Strike-zone judgment and athleticism are Thigpen's calling cards. He's a line-drive hitter with a short stroke and gap power. He's a cerebral catcher who studies ways to set up opposing hitters, and he works well with his pitchers. He's versatile enough to play anywhere but shortstop and center field. Thigpen is agile behind the plate and has made strides with his footwork, but still can improve his receiving skills. When his mechanics break down, his arm can rate as slightly below-average. The Jays see Thigpen as an everyday catcher and will give him every opportunity to succeed. His strong finish at Double-A was encouraging. He'll likely start 2006 back with New Hampshire.
Perkins was a Little League and high school teammate of Rich Harden while growing up in Victoria, British Columbia. Perkins reached Double- A in 2005, though he missed time with a strained ribcage after having back and elbow injuries in 2004. Perkins' power arm rivals any in the system. The action on Perkins' heavy 93-96 mph sinking fastball has been likened to a bowling ball, and it's a true out pitch. He throws two average secondary pitches: a hard 86-87 mph slider and a developing changeup. He gets high marks for his mound presence and makeup. Pitch efficiency never has been Perkins' strong suit because he struggles with his command. Despite having a prototypical pitcher's frame, he doesn't have ideal mechanics. He often throws across his body and his shoulder flies open when he uses his slider. He needs to slow the pace of his delivery and repeat his motion. Command is often the last thing to come for power pitchers, and the Blue Jays are optimistic Perkins will figure it out. If not, he could have a bright future in the bullpen. His spring-training performance will determine if he's ready for Triple-A.
Marcum was the starting shortstop and closer for Southwest Missouri State's 2003 College World Series team. He has moved quickly since turning pro and made his major league debut last September by not allowing a run in five relief appearances, including two-inning stints against the Red Sox and Yankees. Marcum doesn't have a knockout pitch, but he commands his stuff and he works ahead of batters. He throws his two-seam fastball at 88-91 mph to both sides of the plate. His changeup, which he uses to combat lefthanders, is a plus pitch because he maintains fastball arm speed. Marcum's late-breaking, 81-83 mph slider is effective and he can spot it when he falls behind in the count. His curveball is fringy and likely to be shelved if he stays in the bullpen. He has a quick arm, and his upright delivery might be best suited for relief. He got into home run trouble at Triple-A when he would catch too much of the plate in fastball counts. It's all about sequencing and location for Marcum, who doesn't have a large margin for error. Despite working mostly as a starter in the minors, he's a strong candidate to rejoin the Toronto bullpen at some point this season.
Quiroz has been largely invisible since his huge 2003 season in Double-A, missing chunks of the past two seasons to injury. It's now uncertain what kind of return the Blue Jays will get on their initial $1.2 million bonus investment in Quiroz. His troubles started during his breakout year, when he suffered a collapsed lung toward the end of the season. He was stricken with the same problem last spring, and had surgery to build scar tissue in an attempt to prevent another reoccurrence. His left hand was broken by a pitch in 2004, and he has played a total of 141 games during the last two years. Quiroz has gotten rusty after the layoff from live pitching, but he has a good batting eye and is capable of delivering bigtime power for his position. He does have a long swing, however, and never has hit for much of an average. His receiving looked shoddy in the Arizona Fall League, and though he has plus arm strength and a quick release, he threw out just 29 percent of basestealers in 2005. He has well below-average speed on the bases. Quiroz' injuries have been fluky, and he played through his first collapsed lung for a time, thinking it was just a severe chest cold. But now he's heading into his eighth season in the system, and Curtis Thigpen has passed him in the Jays' long-term plans. Quiroz will have to fight for the big league backup job in spring training, though he may be better served by getting more regular playing time in Triple-A.
A fourth-round pick who signed in June for $162,500, Patterson arrived in pro ball with an impressive hitting résumé. A third-team All-American in 2005, he hit 50 homers as a collegian and led the Cape Cod League with a .327 batting average in 2004 after finishing eighth at .288 the year before. Despite being a little old for the short-season New York-Penn League--he was a senior sign who went undrafted as a junior--Patterson couldn't have made a stronger impression, as he led the league in RBIs, extra-base hits and slugging percentage. He's an aggressive hitter who's locked in at the plate and likes to jump on the first pitch he can handle. Though his swing is somewhat unconventional, it's compact and his bat stays in the hitting zone for a long time. He has shown an ability to hit fastballs and breaking balls in any count. Patterson played center field in college and in his pro debut, but he profiles more as a right fielder. He has the arm strength for right field and he's an average runner. Expected to begin 2006 in high Class A, Patterson will try to make the same jump Adam Lind did last season.
Cheng had a decorated amateur career in Taiwan, pitching for the 1996 Little League World Series championship club and several other national teams. His heavy workload scared off other clubs that scout Asia, but he hasn't had any physical problems since signing for $400,000 following the 2003 World Cup. Cheng led the Rookie-level Appalachian League in strikeouts during his 2004 debut and finished third in the low Class A Midwest League last year, when he was the youngest pitcher on a Jays full-season affiliate. Cheng's out pitch is a plus curveball. He commands it better than his 86-88 mph fastball, which features so much life that he struggles to throw strikes with it. He led the MWL in walks. Cheng is still developing his changeup. He has made great strides acclimating to the U.S. culture and he's learning English rapidly. Toronto would like to see Cheng pitch more to contact and be more aggressive instead of trying to be too fine. He'll tackle high Class A in 2006 and the Jays project him as a future starter. With his curveball, Cheng at least should become a lefty reliever.
The Blue Jays gambled on Yates when he was a nondescript reliever pitching behind the likes of Huston Street and J. Brent Cox at Texas, and it's paying dividends. Yates emerged in 2005, his second pro season, making more progress than any pitcher in the organization save Casey Janssen. Yates's curve is a true 70 pitch on the 20-80 scouting scale and is the best in the system. His 88-90 mph fastball is just fringe average, though he can hit 92 consistently out of the pen. After learning a changeup in instructional league in 2004, Yates was switched to a starting role at low Class A Lansing last year and took to it with aplomb. He took advantage of his starts and side sessions to refine his changeup, which he didn't use in relief. After Yates was promoted to high Class A, pitching coach Rick Langford implored him to mix his pitch sequences and not become too reliant on his curve when going for strikeouts. Yates also needs to be more attentive to how batters are reacting to him, something working with more experienced catchers might correct. He's a safe bet to begin 2006 in high Class A, where he'll continue to get innings as a starter. He may return to the bullpen in the future.
Area scout Marc Tramuta liked Cannon so much that he advocated drafting him in the second round in 2004. The Blue Jays waited until the eighth round and signed him for $25,000, a discounted rate because he was a college senior. Cannon powered through three full-season leagues in 2005, hitting a total of 32 homers to rank fifth in the minors. He tore up two Class A leagues before finding the going tougher in Double-A. Cannon doesn't pick the ball up well against lefthanders, and Double-A southpaws fanned him 25 times in 48 at bats. He does have the best pop in the system, as well as the batting eye and patience to take walks. Because he was born with two club feet and had three operations on each foot as a child, Cannon has trouble starting and stopping on the bases and in the field. Limited to first base, he has a well above-average arm for his position and was clocked at 90 mph as a pitcher at The Citadel. After exceeding Toronto's wildest expectations in 2005, he'll take another crack at Double-A this season.
Cosby looked to be on his way up after a solid 2003 performance in high Class A and a stellar spring-training follow-up, but five games into the 2004 season he completely tore the anterior-cruciate ligament in his knee and missed the rest of the year. He showed few ill effects once he returned last year, finishing among the Eastern League leaders in average, doubles and slugging percentage despite playing his home games in the brutal offensive environment of New Hampshire's Fisher Cats Ballpark. He's not patient at the plate, but Cosby makes contact and drives the ball, producing for both power and average. Defensively, he has quickness, solid hands, a strong arm and average range at third base. He's still working to regain his full speed and agility, and he's still learning how his knee will react to spins and throws on the run. The Blue Jays expect Cosby to be fully recovered in 2006, two years away from his injury, and he destined for Triple-A.
The Florida State League's 2004 pitcher of the year, Ramirez moved up to Double-A last year and was nearly as effective except for becoming much more vulnerable to homers. He sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of Toronto's upper-level pitching prospects, but he has good stuff. He throws a sinking 90-92 mph fastball that can reach 94. His slider and changeup can be plus pitches at times, though he doesn't produce as many groundballs as someone with his sinker/slider combo should. Ramirez uses his changeup as his main weapon against lefthanders, and he'll need to refine it to remain a starter. A streaky pitcher, he gets hit when he falls behind in the count. His mechanics place stress on his elbow--he came down with tendinitis at season's end--and the Blue Jays are working with him to close his delivery, which also will aid him in keeping his pitches down. He employs a slight pause in his windup to help throw off hitters' timing. He may return to Double-A to start 2006, but Toronto would like to see him force his way to Triple-A in his eighth season in the organization.
Pettway enhanced his draft stock by shedding 20 pounds for a junior season that culminated in second-team All-America honors as he helped Mississippi get within a game of the College World Series. Several Southeastern Conference opponents considered Pettway, and not Indians second-round pick Stephen Head, the Rebels' most dangerous hitter last spring. After Pettway signed for $440,000 as a third-round pick in June, he struggle more than expected against pro pitching. He had trouble making contact, which may be the result of a brief layoff during negotiations and/or a lack of advanced wood bat experience. Pettway is an aggressive hitter who favors swinging at the first pitch, and he was frequently induced to put less-than-optimal pitches in play. He utilizes a level, consistent swing to hit for average and he's expected to develop power--some think he'll have more than Ryan Patterson-- as he matures. A two-way player who also relieved at Mississippi, Pettway played catcher when he arrived in college and has enough arm for right field. He has below-average speed and ordinary range, so he profiles more as a left fielder. After working on his selectivity during instructional league, he'll head to low Class A to begin this season.
Diaz won the Appalachian League batting title in 2003 and has earned league all-star honors in each of the past two seasons. With quick wrists and hands positioned over the plate, Diaz can get his bat on just about any pitch. He's a classic bad-ball hitter who puts the ball in play nearly every at-bat, resulting in low walk and strikeout totals. A spray hitter with an inside-out swing, he has yet to develop much power. Diaz has a live body and runs surprisingly well for a catcher. He has a strong arm, throwing out 36 percent of basestealers in 2005, and he blocks balls well. His gamecalling needs a lot of improvement, as he needs to work better with his pitchers to formulate gameplans. With Curtis Thigpen moving ahead of him, Diaz may have to repeat high Class A until an everyday job opens in Double-A.
The first player ever drafted out of Guam, Hattig joined the Blue Jays in a July 2004 trade for Terry Adams. Hattig was in the midst of a career year that saw him hit 22 homers, but he failed to build on that effort in 2005. He hurt his elbow in spring training, sidelining him for six weeks, before lingering hamstring problems ended his season after 37 games. Hattig has a good swing from both sides of the plate and controls the strike zone, though he rarely has hit for much power with the exception of 2004. Hattig isn't much of an athlete and needs to spend more time on his conditioning, a lingering concern. He's adequate at third base, where his arm is average, but lacks first-step quickness and likely will have to move to first base in the future. He has the makeup to put bad at-bats and errors behind him. His quest to become Guam's first big leaguer will resume in Triple-A this year.
Griffin led the Triple-A International League in home runs and RBIs in 2005, finally showing the power three organizations had been looking for since the Yankees drafted him 23rd overall in 2001. New York sent him to Oakland in the Jeff Weaver trade in July 2002, and the A's moved him to the Blue Jays for Jason Perry in January 2003. In college, Griffin was known more for his ability to hit for average. He topped .400 in each of his three seasons at Florida State, set a Seminoles record with a career .427 mark and had coach Mike Martin call him the best pure hitter in the program's history. But after slugging a mere .430 during his first two pro seasons, Griffin spent his next two in Double-A learning to identify which pitches he could drive. The tradeoff for his power has been a drop in batting average and a spike in strikeouts. At least he still draws his share of value. Griffin's value consists entirely of what he can do with the bat. He's a below-average runner, thrower and defender who's limited to left field and first base and may fit best at DH. The Blue Jays rewarded Griffin's 2005 performance with his first major league callup to give him an idea of what he has to do to make the club, and he homered off Kansas City's Jimmy Gobble on the final day of the season. Griffin will get the chance to make Toronto as a reserve outfielder and pinchhitter this spring.
A teammate of Brian Pettway's at Mississippi, Fowler was the fifth of five Rebels to go in the first five rounds of the 2005 draft. A fifth-rounder who signed for $182,500, he has a down-breaking curveball that's already a major league pitch. He backs up his curve by using a quick arm action to throw an 88-91 mph fastball, which he locates down in the zone. Fowler's fastball is deceptive in that it looks faster than its velocity and has late life, running in on lefties. His changeup is average at times but remains a work in progress. He'll have to get stronger after tiring down the stretch at short-season Auburn, which affected his control. He'll have to refine his command and maybe add a slider, but otherwise the Blue Jays are pleased with his progress and think he mainly needs experience. He may make a two-level jump to high Class A this year.
The Rockies tried to sign Litsch as a 37th-round draft-and-follow from 2003, and considered redrafting him in 2004. When he declined both offers, the Blue Jays took him in the 24th round in 2004 and came to terms with him as a draft-and-follow after he spent a second season at South Florida Community College. Litsch had a dominant pro debut, overmatching Appy League hitters with four pitches and excellent control. He goes straight after hitters, mixing his 88-92 mph four-seam fastball, which cuts away from righthanders; a slider he throws at 84-86 mph with plus potential; a fading changeup; and a solid-average curve he throws to alter batters' eye levels. He's an aggressive pitcher, though sometimes he'll try to be too fine and throw a perfect slider when he just needs to throw the pitch for a strike. Toronto is trying to get him to throw his pitches on more of a downward plane, as he occasionally loses his direction to the plate. He'll head to low Class A to begin 2006.
Rodriguez struggled out of the gate in his full-season debut in 2005, hitting .173 for the first two months and just reaching the Mendoza Line at season's end. Unlike Lansing teammate Chi-Hung Cheng, who made a smooth transition to his new surroundings, Rodriguez had trouble adapting to the colder temperatures and more extensive travel in the Midwest League. A raw five-tool talent, Rodriguez has a long way to go to harness his physical abilities. The center fielder is the organization's top athlete and he's a plus defender, thrower and runner. But he doesn't yet possess basestealing instincts and needs to improve his leads and jumps. At the plate, he fell into bad habits early and began pressing. He has good bat speed and power potential, but has several adjustments to make at the plate after striking out 114 times in 111 games. Rodriguez will try to get back on track when he repeats low Class A this year.
Drafted as a third baseman in 2003, Roberts was shifted to second base in instructional league that year and the transition has gone smoothly. He didn't distinguish himself in his first crack at high Class A in 2004, but it took him just two months to master the level in 2005 and he didn't stop hitting after a promotion to Double-A. Roberts has an advanced approach at the plate--he placed third in the Eastern League in on-base percentage--and opposite-field power. He'll take a pitcher's pitch on the outside corner and serve it to right field. While he's an offensive-minded second baseman, Roberts has average speed, range and arm strength, solid hands and an effective double-play pivot. He's a high-energy player whom opposing managers commend for his professionalism. He's ready for Triple-A and getting close to his first big league promotion.
Despite an inconsistent junior season at Texas A&M in 2005, the Blue Jays made Ray a seventh-round pick on the strength of his dominant summer the year before in the Cape Cod League. Ray was more consistent as a pro than he had been in the spring, and Toronto believes he can remain a starter after he pitched in multiple roles for the Aggies. His best pitch is an 89-93 mph fastball with late life, and his heater sat at 92-94 when he came out of the bullpen in Cape Cod. His slider rates a 55 on the 20-80 scouting scale, and he also throws an average curve and an in-progress changeup. The Jays were impressed with his feel for changing speeds and attacking hitters. Roving pitching instructor Dane Johnson helped simplify his approach, but Ray will need to improve his command if he's to remain a starter. He also can do a better job of trying to figure out what hitters are attempting to do against him. He'll open his first full pro season in low Class A.
Romero generates surprising velocity for a pitcher who's generously listed at 5-foot-10, getting his fastball up to 91-92 mph. He ranked third in the Florida State League in strikeouts last year, and when he's on he throws strikes with his fastball, locates his changeup and puts batters away with his above-average, sweeping curveball. At other times, he'll pitch in the high 80s and be much more hittable. Romero is athletic and very sound mechanically. He's using a new low-three-quarters arm slot, suggested by roving pitching instructor Dane Johnson to improve the width on his curve. Romero struggles at times to set batters up for future at-bats, and he pitched well coming out of the bullpen, suggesting a likely future role of lefty reliever. The Jays would like to see Romero make a run at their Double-A rotation this season.
Butler led Nevada with a .340 batting average as a senior in 2005, piquing the Blue Jays' interest with his plate discipline and hitting approach. After they nabbed him in the eighth round and signed him for $25,000 last June, Toronto has compared him to former Wolf Pack stars Ryan Church and Kevin Kouzmanoff. Butler was too advanced for the Appalachian League but headed there because the Jays had too many corner outfielders at Auburn. He made the most of his assignment, finishing second in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and extra-base hits. Promoted for the New York-Penn League playoffs, Butler had a five-hit, six-RBI game in the semifinals. Butler has sound pitch-recognition skills, making adjustments to offspeed pitches, and plus power. He's limited to left field by an average arm and below-average running speed. The Jays are optimistic about his chances against advanced competition and could push him to high Class A, though he'll probably begin this year in low Class A.
The Blue Jays wanted to take an advanced high school hitter early in the 2005 draft, but their targets kept getting taken by other clubs. They settled for Stone in the 11th round, making him the only prep player they signed last year and their earliest high school hitter selected during general manager J.P. Ricciardi's tenure. Because they lack a complex league team, Toronto was looking for a polished hitter who could make a quick adjustment to the pros. Stone delivered on both counts before fading in August. His best tool is his bat, though he needs to get stronger to take advantage of his projectable power. The Jays were impressed with Stone's batting eye, but he struggled to make consistent contact in his debut. Quiet and a diligent worker, Stone is capable at second base but could stand to improve his footwork around the bag. While his arm is average, he needs to speed up his pivot to catch up with the faster level of competition. He made strides in that regard during instructional league. He could open 2006 in low Class A if he has a good spring.
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Filmography [Auszug]
2018: [11.16] Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Cast: Newt Scamander), Directed by David Yates, with Johnny Depp, , Carmen Ejogo,
2015: [09.05] The Danish Girl (Cast: Einar Wegener / Lili Elbe), Directed by Tom Hooper, with , Sebastian Koch,
2015: [02.06] Jupiter Ascending (Cast: Balem), Directed by Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski , with Mila Kunis, ,
2014: [09.07] The Theory of Everything (Cast: Stephen Hawking), Directed by James Marsh, with , ,
2012: [12.25] Les Misérables (Cast: Marius), Directed by Tom Hooper, with Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, ,
2012: [] Birdsong (Cast: Stephen Wraysford), Directed by Philip Martin, with , ,
2011: [05.11] Hick (Cast: Eddie Kreezer), Directed by Derick Martini, with , , Rory Culkin,
2011: [10.09] My Week with Marilyn (Cast: Colin Clark), Directed by Simon Curtis, with , Kenneth Branagh,
2011: [] The Miraculous Year (Cast: Connor Lynn), Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, with , Susan Sarandon,
2010: [07.23] The Pillars of the Earth (Cast: Jack), Directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, with Ian McShane, ,
2010: [] Black Death (Cast: Osmund), Directed by Christopher Smith, with Sean Bean, ,
2009: [11.20] Glorious 39 (Cast: Ralph), Directed by Stephen Poliakoff, with , ,
2008: [09.14] Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Cast: Angel Clare), Directed by David Blair, with , ,
2008: [02.15] The Other Boleyn Girl (Cast: William Stafford), Directed by Justin Chadwick, with Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana,
2008: [01.18] The Yellow Handkerchief (Cast: Gordy), Directed by Udayan Prasad, with William Hurt, Maria Bello, ,
2007: [] Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Cast: Thomas Babington), Directed by Shekhar Kapur, with Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen,
2007: [05.18] Savage Grace (Cast: Brooks Baekeland), Directed by Tom Kalin, with Julianne Moore, Anne Reid,
2006: [12.11] The Good Shepherd (Cast: Edward Wilson Jr.), Directed by Robert De Niro, with Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin,
2006: [08.10] Like Minds (Cast: Alex Forbes), Directed by Gregory Read, with , Toni Collette,
2005: [] Elizabeth I (Cast: Southampton), Directed by Tom Hooper, with Helen Mirren, , ,
2003: [] Doctors (Serienhaupttitel) (Cast: Rob Huntley ), Directed by Dominic Keavey, Terry Iland, with , , ,
1998: [] Animal Ark (Serienhaupttitel) (Cast: John Hardy), Directed by John Gorrie, Dirk Campbell, with , , ,
Awards [selection]Oscars 2015: Best Actor in Leading Role in The Theory of Everything
Filmography nach KategorienDarsteller
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subset: commoncrawl


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The sun melted as it struck the horizon to the West. The once orange globe now burned fiery red as it descended back to hell to refuel for the opposite side of earth. Purple mixed with blues and yellows shot forth in to the nothingness of the Milky Way where it lingered for light years before reaching the doorway to Heaven and vanishing altogether. An invisible hand took hold of massive clouds and shifted them slightly, causing people far below to bow in awe as the sunset began to reach its' zenith. Far above the outstretched arms of mankind, stars began to awaken from slumber and the moon rose to victory as his eternal foe was snuffed out beyond the Pacific and was no more.
The sunset described above was concocted in my imagination on the way home from work the other night. It is a figment of my heart. The real sunset was rather uneventful yet beautiful in its' own right. No fireworks. No orgasmic blast of colors raining down from above. No altercations between sun and moon. The people driving in front of me continued on their paths towards wherever while I rested my head against the cushion and listened to Lyle Lovett sing about flour tortillas and the woman he loves. I began to wonder what type of words would describe moments of true happiness. When I listen to him sing about over-easy eggs and sleeping in on Sundays, I am convinced the hype we see on television is nothing more than smoke in mirrors. I wonder if the most precious moments in our lives really do commence over breakfast with a loved one. I watched the hula-hooped Hawaiian girl bobble back and forth in agreement on the dashboard of my van. Traffic crept along blissfully unaware of the perplexing dilemma which I faced so I rolled my window down to ask the little old lady beside me how she felt about the word Bangarang. She asked if I wanted a blue orangutan. I rolled up my window and sped away with images of blue monkeys throwing bananas and causing anarchy around town.
I believe we are allotted a handful of wonderful experiences in life which sweep away depression and cast light on the shadows of loneliness. We wait patiently for good tidings and great joy because some clever person told us it was a virtue and all that jazz so take a number, sit down and wait your turn. Do yourself a favor and bring a book because it may be a long wait. In all honesty, I am tired of waiting. Sometimes we need to step out of our shells of fear and uncertainty and take the plunge because nothing will ever happen if we stay stagnant. If we never have the guts to go off the beaten path once and awhile we run the risk of never finding the secret doors God intended us to find. These doors are not your main objective mind you, just interesting side quests. But there is a catch. Like our fragile human frame, these expeditions are vulnerable to time and will be swallowed up by the past if we are too timid to step out on a ledge and claim what so rightfully belongs to us. It makes me sad to think I passed up many doors in my own life that I was supposed to unlock. Fortunately I know there are more waiting for me to walk through. Actually, if you were to look down the road of my life at this moment, you would see a bunch of blue apes hanging a sign over what appears to be an ancient wooden door overrun with ivy and suspense. I think they are welcoming me to Bangarang.


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Sitting on the end of our bed, I was staring into Linda's side of the closet. She owns some very bright clothing, clothing worn by anyone else that would seem flamboyant. In fact, Linda can wear an ugly Christmas sweater with style; it becomes part of her wardrobe.
I'm dressed as I often am for work – grey stone washed jeans, a black button-down shirt, grey checked jacket and black high-tops. It goes well with my white hair and my white beard.
I think the differences in our style speaks a lot about differences in our personalities. I tend to be direct in communication while Linda is more nuanced. In many ways it has served us well in the almost 20 years we've been business partners.
As I write this, Linda is sitting for a job interview. Professionally, whether we like it or not, we are going through a partnership divorce. When the two of us left our last dealership on December 21st, she said, "I won't stand in the way of your next job." What I heard was more realistically, "I won't let you stand in the way of my career."
Standing by her side as she went through her anxiety last night and hovering as she buzzed about with barely contained excitement this morning, I couldn't help feeling the contrast between her warm and bubbling personality and my greyness.
We just came off a 16-day road trip to and from Florida.
Linda and I have discovered we're good at being on an adventure together. Well, as couple over the last 20 years until this trip, we were. We've only really hinted at the reality that we're going through this professional divorce, but the mix of emotions have been there and left us each in our own dissociative fugue.
The greatest sadness for me is that we'll never be able to validate our last twenty years together. Each of us has made choices in support of the other that has entailed personal and professional sacrifice. Each of us has had our share of #MeToo moments on that journey that not only impacted us individually but together as a couple. Linda has opined more than once that "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result" when talking about what hasn't been working in our business but we've never really explored how that referred to a couple in business together.
For almost the entirety of our relationship we've also been a professional partnership. I guess the greatest fear for both of us, unspoken, is that as we move apart in our own respective directions professionally, we also risk moving apart as a couple.
But I'm willing to take that risk. If anyone deserves to be able to realize her ambitions, it is Linda. The rest will just have to take care of itself.


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Gennady Golovkin Net Worth is a Kazakhstani professional boxer who currently holds the unified WBA (Super), WBC, and IBO middleweight titles. In this article, we are gonna talk about Gennady Golovkin net worth 2018, Gennady Golovkin wiki, Gennady Golovkin fights, Gennady Golovkin salary, and much more.
Gennady Golovkin net worth 2018
|Gennady Golovkin net worth 2018
|$25 million
|Gennady Golovkin fight's salary
|$23 million
|Gennady Golovkin endorsement's salary
|$2 million
According to the report issued by Forbes in June 2018, Gennady Golovkin net worth in 2018 is $25 million USD. Golovkin won his first 37 professional bouts before facing Canelo Alvarez in September 2017. The two fought to a draw, but it was the biggest payday of GGG's career at $20 million thanks to his cut of the revenue from the 1.3 million pay-per-view audience. He is the world's highest-paid athlete in 2018 with $25 m USD of net worth.
His net worth includes $23 million from his fights and $2 million from endorsements.
Gennady Golvkin salary/income
As we mentioned, he is the highest paid athlete of 2018. He earns $3 million salary for a fights. This one was mentioned by Kevin lole.
Looks like I read @GGGBoxing purse incorrectly: It is $3 million pic.twitter.com/ENas9T1918
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) September 15, 2017
Apart from Gennady Golvkin salary from fights, he also earns from advertisements and endorsements which is quite impossible to tell currently, because it varies every year and depends on the number of endorsements he does.
But latest the latest endorsement fees of Gennady Golvkin was calculated as $2 M.
Gennady Golovkin wiki
|Gennady Golvkin
|8 April 1982
|Source of wealth
|Martial Status
Gennady Golovkin was born in April 1982, in the city of Karaganda in the Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union (present-day Kazakhstan) to a Russian coal miner and Korean mother, who worked as an assistant in a chemical laboratory.
Gennady Golovkin has three brothers, two elder named Sergey and Vadim and a twin, Max. Sergey and Vadim had encouraged Golovkin to start boxing when Golovkin was eight years old.
He became a scholarship holder with the Olympic Solidarity program in November 2002.
Gennady Golovkin fights
At the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Bangkok, he won the gold medal beating future two-time champion Matvey Korobov (RUS) 19:10, Andy Lee (29:9), Lucian Bute (stoppage), Yordanis Despaigne in the semi-finals (29:26) and Oleg Mahskin in the finals.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics he beat Ramadan Yasser Abdelghafar 31 – 20 and Andre Dirrell 23 – 18, losing to the Russian Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov 18 -28 to take the silver medal. He qualified for the Athens Games by winning the gold medal at the 2004 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in Puerto Princesa, Philippines. In the final, he defeated home fighter Christopher Camat.
At the world championships in 2005, he sensationally lost to Mohamed Hikal. He finished his amateur career with an outstanding record of 345–5.


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We've mentioned wrist wraps with shoe buckles and multi-layering for the colder months ahead. Today, it's all about your waist and accentuating your figure with some classic wrapping techniques. Many of us tend to steer toward dark neutral colours as winter approaches and there's nothing wrong with that.
Especially for the office, classic colours are both sophisticated and professional. Whether you design to throw on a pencil skirt, fitted dress, or trousers, a patterned silk scarf can become your go-to accessory all winter long.


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Tri-State Manufacturers' Association issued the following announcement.
As a manufacturer, you know that manufacturers need to attract the next generation of talent—people with the skills and attitudes necessary for innovation and success.
Manufacturing careers offer good salaries and exciting opportunities that are on the cutting edge of new technologies and products. However, our industry is often misunderstood in the eyes of young people, as well as the parents and teachers who influence their career choices.
To help change the image of manufacturing in the West Central region, Dream It. Do It. West Central will be launching a manufacturing "Career Dream Team," a group of young, manufacturing ambassadors who will represent the industry in the region's schools and communities.
The Manufacturing Ambassador program is a best practice of The Manufacturing Institute and has been used successfully in many states. West Central's effort will be like the Nebraska's Career Dream Team initiative, the first Manufacturing Ambassador program in the United States.
Manufacturing ambassadors within the West Central region will join a unique national network of professionals dedicated to engaging, educating and employing today's students in high-quality manufacturing jobs, while educating career influencers like parents and educators.
Ambassadors are early-career employees who play a front-facing role in their community, representing the manufacturing industry. They bring forward a message of inspiration, passion, and drive to potential students as they consider their future and what they want to do in life. They share their real-life stories of success, and in doing so, help young people "find their dream."
We are currently in the process of recruiting manufacturing ambassadors to be part of the Career Dream Team. Ideal candidates are: 29 and under, hold a degree or certification in a manufacturing-related field, understand the core values of the company they work for, can represent their company well to the public, are comfortable talking to middle and high school students, are willing to describe their educational pathway and job duties in front of an audience, and would be willing to participate in a classroom presentation, career fairs, industry tours, and facility tours.
Two training sessions are planned in early December to prepare participants for their role as a manufacturing ambassador and a member of the Dream It. Do It. West Central Career Dream Team. Manufacturers who have a candidate for the program should contact Michelle Landsverk by firstname.lastname@example.com or 218-280-1755.
Original source can be found here.


text: SET - Bottle, 100 ml, transparent, oval, PET + Sprayer, white, with transparent overcap CODE: 105575 Inquiry Qty pcs Wholesale only!Contact us for lead time and minimum order quantity (MOQ)! Shipping information Most products can be ordered in other colors than those displayed, but also in colors of your choice. The product color displayed on the screen may differ from the real color. Please bear in mind that a longer than displayed shipping term may be in place for certain products, or there may be a minimum order quantity. All In Packaging assumes no responsibility for product compatibility. Customers are advised to perform stability testing before an order is placed. Prices and other data are subject to change without notice. Share Name of your friend E-mail of your friend Your name Your e-mail Your message SET - Bottle, 100 ml, transparent, oval, PET + Sprayer, white, with transparent overcap http://allinpackaging.co.uk/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=6818 Features Neck size: 20/410 Volume: 100.00ml Colour: Natural Transparent Material: PET Neck type: Screw on Category: Sets Field of use: Bath products Cosmetic Household chemicals Shape: Oval Overcap: Yes Collar: Ribbed Weight 18.60 g Ask about the product Amount Text Question Email Name Anti-bot validation


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Foot massage
Do It Yourself Foot Spa
Our feet are probably the most abused parts of our body. They carry our weight as we hurry from one task to another in the course of our daily lives. We force them into fashionable but pinching shoes with ridiculous toes, tight straps or high heels. At the end of … Read more
Relaxing Foot Massage
Our feet constantly take the pressure, wear and tear of getting us from point A to point B, leaving them feeling achy and worn. Giving a foot massage, whether to yourself or to a friend, is a special relaxing treat that releases tension instantly. Read on to learn how to … Read more


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Space Balls
Space Balls is an interactive inflatable game where teams throw dodgeballs to turn off lights. It's the RED team versus the BLUE team. Teams consist of either 1 or 2 players so up to 4 people can play at a time. The person or team who can turn off the most lights during the battle wins.
Dimensions: 15′ D by 15′ W by 12.5′ H for inflatable
Electric Needs: One 15 amp circuit
Age Group: Ages 4 and up
Capacity: 80-100 people per hour
Great Additions to Your Party
Archery Ball
Cowboy Showdown
Galaxy Battle Arena


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Sunday Morning Small Groups
Cup Of Coffee For Ladies - ABC Coffee Shop(Across the street from St. John) Sundays 9:30 AM
Women's bible study of the book "Treasured" by Leigh McLeroy. Open to ladies of all ages. Led by Linda Aves. For more information you can contact her at 817.675.7157.
Led by the Spirit - Room 305 Sundays 9:30 AM
Study of the scriptures referenced in LCMS lectionary schedule calendar, series B. Led by Bill Pirtle.
Wild Places - Sundays Room 110 @ 9:30 AM
Study through Right Now Media. Wild Places with George Dejong. Led by Gary Aves
Messianic Studies - Room 306 Sundays 9:30 AM
Messianic study led by Stan Seat.
Blended & Blessed - Room 111 Sundays 9:30 AM
This bible study is for parents of blended families. Led by Richard & Gretchen Riddle.
UNLOCKING THE MYSTERIES OF GENESIS - Room 200 (Conference Room) Sundays 9:30 AM
This Right Now Media series seeks to resolve the conflict of evolutionary theory vs. the creation story of Genesis. Led by Eric Goodman.
Week Day Small Groups on Campus
Tuesday Morning Women's Bible Study - Room 305 & 306 Tuesdays from 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
All women are welcome to join this bible study led by Tammie Rael. Childcare is available. For more information, contact Tammie Rael at 817.559.3783 or email@example.com.
55 and Over Bible Study - Youth Area, 3rd Tuesday of every month from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
This bible study is for men and women age 55 and over. Lunch is provided. Led by Pastor Tim.


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The video is part of an exhibition in Iceland about volunteering.
All In A Days Work from Tosh Kara on Vimeo.
All In A Days Work from Tosh Kara on Vimeo.
"I'm sharing a room with a German, Spanish
and a Romanian girl. It's like gaining three sisters over night!!"
I'm settling into EVS life quickly :-) So much has happened since I left England on Thursday!!
I'm living with 8 other people in a small flat in the City Centre. The flat is in a small square near to the train and bus station. We are lucky because our room has a balconary that overlooks the square.
I'm sharing a room with a German, Spanish and a Romanian girl. It's like gaining three sisters over night!! It's ok at the moment, but I never seen to get a minute to myself. The other girls are really nice and helpful. We also share the flat with a French guy and four guys from Turkey (they keep themselves to themselves).
On Friday I spend the day unpacking and having a look around the City. It is very pretty. I can't take photos because my camera broke the night before I left :-( In the evening, all of the EVS volunteers were invited to a language student's home for dinner. The food was really good. We had a dish made with pork, egg, potatoes and spices, a mixed salad with Greek dressing and another dish made with Turkey, potatoes and lots of spices. For pudding, we had pancakes and a strange dish made of cookies, sour cream, sugar and jelly.
On my birthday, the girls made me breakfast in bed which was so sweet :-) Later, we went to a football match with some of the boys from the other flat (they have been in Hungary for eight months). It was so cold that my bones were frozen! In the evening we went to a local bar. There is no real night life in the City. There are three or four bars and one small nightclub. Anyway, two random guys gave us a massive cream and chocolate cake!! It was amazing!!
Today was my first day working at the office. It was manic because the organisation has just moved from an office across the road. Today was the opening ceremony. I also went to my first two England lessons. It was really relaxed and informal. The English teacher chooses a topic and we talk to the students about it. So today we talked about the different rules and customs in each of our home countries (England, Italy, Spain and Romanian). The students were really shy and didn't want to talk very much.
Everybody I have met so far in Hungary has been very friendly and helpful. The hardest thing to cope with at the moment is communication. A lot of the others can speak English. However, they find it hard to understand my accent. I didn't realise that I speak so fast when I'm at home!! Robbie seems to understand me the best. He is from Romanian and speaks five languages fluently!! I think that my English will get worse this year!! It's strange to listen to so many lanuages at the same time!
EVS involved a lot of firsts for me; it was the first time I had travelled outside the UK alone, the first time I took a night train, the first time I had lived in another country, the first time I had seen mountains. One of the greatest parts of my EVS experience was that these first time experiences did not end when I arrived at the project but they continued up until the very end. I feel every part of me was touched and changed somehow by my time as a volunteer; from allowing me to become more conscious of the resources we can take for granted in British society today to bringing bigger concepts further to my attention such as the role of consumerism and the problem of climate change.
I volunteered for 9 months in France at a centre accueil called Vaunières, meaning Black Valley, which is hidden away at 2,500 meters altitude in the French Alps. The village hosts a variety of people including groups of school children, teenagers with social problems, international workcamps and passing mountain hikers. During the summer months there was often large numbers of visitors, sometimes reaching around the one hundred mark.It is a tiny village that dates back to the twelfth century and it is isolated in a way that is quite hard to comprehend in today's world of modern connections. It took me a while to adjust to this solitude but now I am incredibly grateful that I was able to experience such a different way of life during my EVS.My daily life as a volunteer changed and evolved during my time at Vaunieres with relation to what groups were visiting.
If you are reading this because you are contemplating becoming an EVS volunteer then I hope my story gives you the reassurance you are searching for. It is such an amazing opportunity and a real privilege to be able to live in another country and immerse yourself in another culture. It gives you time both to discover yourself and, in my experience at least, provides an opportunity to find many new possibilities for the future and a chance to meet many wonderful people. Also, there is always that guiding hand of Concordia behind you if you run into any problems.
If you are reading this because you are contemplating volunteering at Vaunières, I would whole heartedly encourage you too. There are not many places where you can feel so disconnected from the pressures of modern consumerism yet still be immersed in all the beauty of human potential. It is a magic place. Just remember to bring a good book and maybe some knitting to help pass those cold winter nights….
"Workcamps" with international volunteers around the different parts of Iceland, learning to drive a tractor, discovering the magic of Icelandic turf houses and turf as a building material, sleeping outside in the summer night sun (no darkness!), staying inside in the winter darkness (too much darkness!), planting trees, herding hundreds of sheep, learning how to milk a cow, seeing the northern lights, eating cured shark, cleaning the coast and building furniture from the driftwood, discovering the Icelandic Sagas and beliefs in hidden people and elves, building a children's playground, organising and leading a bicycle camp around the south of the country, making a vegetable patch and greenhouse, frosty mornings, sitting in "hot pots" and hot rivers (a favourite Icelandic past time), often seeing more animals than people on a daily basis, alien landscapes and lava fields, huge open horizons, fishing, never having the same day repeated, painting, learning how to build a shelter with just wood and rope (no nails!), glaciers, volcanoes, sleeping in bunk beds, hiking, always cooking in huge quantities, strange dentist visit (they have TVs on the ceiling!), new people, new ideas, new recipes, lots of energy, tiredness, silent landscapes, noisy houses, and the strongest WIND.
My hosting organisation's website proudly bears the moto 'Everybody is other in another way'. I like this sentiment, a lot, it summarises perfectly how it feels to be here. The language barrier, interacting with the disabled residents, how everything is different yet oddly fits together to make somewhere I feel I can call home. My first two months have gone so fast it feels like I finished hanging my photos on the wall of my room only yesterday, yet when I think of the things I've done and the progress we have made it feels like I've been here my whole life. The first few weeks were all about guided tours around our new lives and the paperwork to suit, but as the days marched on we soon found ourselves making friends and finding novel ways of communicating with the world around us.
For those who don't know, Hungarian is an isolated language which contains many unnecessarily long words and bears no real resemblance to any western European language. This coupled with the fact English is not often phonetic makes remembering how to pronounce things almost impossible and as such I am sceptical that I will ever become proficient but I will endeavour to continue trying. Another hindrance is the pesky English accent I own as, when we go round the room practising pronunciation, the Germans get a big thumbs up, the Dutch make a reasonable attempt and I get a 'well at least you tried' kind of look.
The work we have been given here, at times, has not seemed like a lot. We have been sharing it together between the 5 of us. However, I think as we start to find our feet's better, the work load will start increasing.
The tasks I have done so far include:-
I soon expect that my level of German will increase rapidly. I am taking a course that runs two times a week, when my German language level increases I will find it much easier to work and live in this society.
I have been very happy with the level of support and hospitality that I have received from my host organization to help me branch out and find new activities and people. I was especially impressed when all the staff sung me happy birthday which was co-ordinated in a choir by a music teacher during a staff meeting!
I'm finding it incredibly difficult to describe my first month in Brest in only a few short paragraphs. My new life here began the moment I stepped off the plane. I met my first new friend in the airport. She was a Welsh Erasmus student and through her I met a whole horde of Erasmus friends. Five minutes later I met Martine – my mentor for daily life here. She has been a major help. From taking me to Ikea on my first day to taking me to the doctors to get my medical certificate to do sports, she has been absolutely indispensable. Next I met my mentor at work, Agnes. Without her I would never be able to do my job. I have continued to meet new friends every week. In fact, I seem to meet people every time I take the bus, although I suggest you avoid those people!
I have had the opportunity to travel a bit throughout Brittany already. My on arrival training was in the south of Brittany. Despite the often strange training techniques and the fact that people spoke English more than French, it was a very useful week. It was a great opportunity to meet other EVS volunteers and now I have friends living in Paris, the alps and the south of France! I also learned to say, "j'ai la gueule de bois" – "I have a hangover" in French. A very useful phrase when the majority of your friends are Erasmus students. I have also travelled a little with the Erasmus students and will soon be heading to Paris with them. Furthermore, I travelled to the North of France with the boss of my hosting organisation to work as a translator. The 11 hour car journey is something I won't be forgetting any time soon! And this weekend I will be travelling to Nantes with the gaelic football team of which I am a member despite only playing twice in my life (and being absolutely atrocious).
In terms of work, I help organise projects on international mobility and have successfully held my first event (although Agnes really did all the work), I do a lot of translation, I hold english discussion sessions, I appear to have won my battle with the photocopier and I am finally learning the incredibly complicated art of poster making so I shall soon be helping a lot more with events! I also have my French courses which are a great help and even count towards my work hours!
Now that I am into my second month I no longer look the wrong way when crossing the road, I find the French keyboard easier than the English and find it acceptable to eat pain au chocolat for breakfast every morning. However, my Scottish accent remains as strong as ever. Brest is an amazing city to live in. I have so many great new friends, am surrounded by bars (mainly irish), cinemas, theatres, students (mainly irish) and whenever I think I'm learning more about the Irish culture than the French, I just eat a crepe and all is well.
From my journey down to the Concordia office in Brighton to the many train journeys I have enjoyed in Austria, it has all been a great challenge so far.
Duties at the youth centre include playing video games with the teenagers who can freely drop-by whenever they want (when the youth point is open!),chatting with them (in German) and generally being there for them. They really appreciate having somewhere they can come to meet their friends and to relax.
In my free time I find myself often cycling along next to Lake Wörthersee, the most popular lake in all of Austria. I have also taken to climbing up a couple of mountains here in the beautiful Alpine air and who can miss Monday night's show, "die Millionenshow", Austria's version of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire', I never miss it for sure when I have a say over it!
As I write this in mid-October, the sun is shining once again and the trees have a lovely colour. The only problem now is deciding where to cycle to in this bike-friendly country.
"...I will remember this year for a long time."
One year ago I had no idea that I would be about to spend a year in Latvia, now I I can't believe that in a matter of days it will be over.
The office where I have been volunteering is nothing like I imagined it would be before I arrived, however despite there being things I would change I'm grateful for the experience that I've had.
Work in the "World at Our Home" office can often be sporadic, as was the case for a few weeks at the start of the summer, but in the last month it has become crazy again as we plan for a seminar and a youth exchange both of which will take place during October. As well as this, at the moment we are also writing applications for seminars and an exchange that will hopefully take place next year and also looking for the new generation of volunteers for the centre to host and coordinate.
Looking back on my time I've been here I realise just how much I was able to see and do and even if there were moments when I wanted to give up (and very nearly did) I will remember this year for a long time.
Before I came Latvia wasn't a country I was interested to visit, but I'm glad I did because I would never have been able to experience what I have; from swimming in a lake to finding that travelling four hours+ to get to Riga or Lithuania really isn't so bad after all and seeing more countries in the last few months than I ever expected, to making friends with people from France and Spain to Italy and Romania and surviving a winter with temperatures of -30°c.
My bags are packed and soon I will be embarking on the four hour journey to Riga. The thought of four hours on a coach or train used to worry me but now the thought that it'll be the last time I do this journey is strange to comprehend.
But with every end, there is a beginning and I'm looking forward to future challenges. Thank you to everyone who made this possible.
EVS is a fully funded volunteer scheme. Email firstname.lastname@example.com to find out more.
This article is dedicated to my parents whose lives were cut short by cancer – my mother in 2008 and my father last year - but who inspire me every day.
I must admit, it took me a while to find Giat on the map. I was sitting in my classroom in Kuwait one sweltering June afternoon long after the students had gone home, and I'd just had email confirmation of my acceptance on a project in the Auvergne region in central France. One of the benefits of international volunteer projects is the opportunity to visit places far off the beaten track and meet people from a wide variety of cultures, nationalities and backgrounds.
This was my sixteenth international volunteer project (my earlier projects were in Russia, Germany, Turkey, Macedonia, Greece, Serbia and Romania) but my first in France and my first camping project. The work focused on three places near the campsite along the shore of la Ramade, the nearby lake: rebuilding a footbridge across a marshy area, rebuilding a footbridge to the lake's bird observatory, and clearing the lakeside path. Volunteers also worked to clean the observatory and signpost the area with information on local wildlife.
The local community in Giat, a village of some 900 people, were very welcoming; there were regular visits from the mayor and his deputies, often bringing a very welcome snack, to see how we were getting on and to raise our spirits. If ever we needed our spirits raised it was because of the weather: it rained... and it rained... and it rained. This wasn't just drizzle of the kind you get used to if you grow up in Britain, as I did: it was downpour... after downpour... after downpour. It rained almost every day, often most of the day. I think Kristýna timed the longest downpour as lasting eighteen hours! The weather inevitably had an effect on our schedule. The first working day it rained we were given the day off. It soon became clear however that if this continued we would get no work done! So we either braved the elements with waterproof clothes or did work which could easily be done inside, such as painting and varnishing signs for the footpath.
Conversations ranged widely, from the way of life in each other's countries to politics, from music to sport, from past international volunteer projects to family and friends. In many cases we did our best to learn each other's languages, did the occasional crossword or Sudoku together, and read newspapers and books. There were many games and sports too, from card games to guessing games, from football to Frisbee. And inevitably – we were in France after all – there was pétanque, which I played for the first time (with mixed results I should add!). The rural lakeside setting was ideal for outdoor activities like jogging and swimming (until, even for the most hardened swimmers, the lake became too cold!).
There were also many excursions: to the region's largest city, Clermont-Ferrand, to the Museum of Radio in Saint-Avit, to the beautiful village of Crocq, to the medieval festival and to the market in Giat, watching the Tour de France as helicopters buzzed overhead, hiking in the mountains, buying cheese at Châteaubrun, enjoying a lavish Bastille Day breakfast and guided tour (and even trying out the hose!) at the local fire station, riding on an aerial runway and watching two spectacular firework displays. We also spent a few days at a nearby project in the village of Chantelle where work was progressing on renovations to the abbey, and from where we attended the Festival of World Cultures in Gannat and visited the picturesque village of Charroux.
As I return to Kuwait for the new school year I know that I will miss this summer's international volunteer project in Giat – the place, the surroundings, but most of all the people on my project. My new surroundings are a world away from rural France, but the memories of this summer are still here and will be with me forever.Barney Smith, volunteer in France, 2011
My route to this year's international volunteer project in Cluj Napoca, Romania, was as exciting as it was unconventional. Keen to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, the only former Yugoslav republic where I had yet to step foot, I found a cheap Ryanair flight to Zadar in neighbouring Croatia a few days before my project was due to start. Two bus journeys later I was in Sarajevo and had soon checked into my night's accommodation with a local couple in their city centre apartment. As I strolled in this quiet, low-key, almost provincial capital city, it was hard to believe that this was the scene of so many atrocities in the violent break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Eight decades earlier it was another death in Sarajevo – the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria – which would be one of the main causes of the start of the First World War. As the reassuringly familiar sound of the call to prayer echoed around the city at the end of an afternoon of sight-seeing, I was reminded that this country boasts one of Eastern Europe's largest Muslim populations.
From Sarajevo I took an overnight bus to Belgrade, a city I knew well from last year's international volunteer project, the renovation of a school in Kragujevac, Serbia's fourth largest city. From Belgrade I took the daily train to the Romanian city of Timisoara before boarding a connecting train to that country's fourth largest city, Cluj Napoca. After a well-earned rest I met up with the two Italian group leaders and the other volunteers: as well as a fellow Brit there were participants from France, Germany, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland. Our work consisted of organising and supervising activities for children mostly from poor families at a centre which was funded by the European Union and located in one of the city's more deprived suburbs: these varied from table tennis to origami, from painting to English lessons, from Monopoly to football. There were also day-trips: to the city's Central Park, as well as to the Botanical Garden with over 10,000 plants from throughout the world. We were joined at the centre by the Romanian staff, as well as by long-term volunteers from Azerbaijan and Germany. Despite the poverty of the children's families, there was never any hint of envy, nor did we have any worries about showing valuables such as cameras. We encountered only friendliness, humour, helpfulness and an overwhelming sense of hospitality.
It was during one the football sessions that I was left in agony by a tackle which went badly wrong. For the next week I was limping and had to get used to the idea of limited mobility. As I looked around enviously at people walking or running effortlessly, I saw this as another reminder that physical fitness can never be taken for granted. Three years earlier I experienced a far more powerful example of this. That summer I left for the first of three consecutive international volunteer projects in Turkey. Little did I know as I waved good-bye to my mother from a National Express coach on a rainy Friday afternoon in June in the English seaside town of Dover that on my return she would be fighting for her life in the Intensive Care Unit at London's King's College Hospital, a life which, tragically, would be cut short by cancer nine months later.
As in any Romanian city, there were constant reminders in Cluj Napoca of the country's revolution, from the 21 December 1989 Boulevard, named after the day soldiers opened fire on protesters opposed to the regime of dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu who would be toppled and executed days later, to the Anti-Communist Resistance Monument which stands proudly next to the city's Central Park. During the project we made the most of our opportunities to experience Romanian culture and visit the local area. On the first Sunday we hired two cars and drove to the Turda Salt Mine, one of the largest such mines in Europe. Later we escaped the summer heat by swimming in a nearby lake. The second weekend, as I nursed my horribly bruised toe in some of Cluj Napoca's coffee shops and pavement cafés, made my first steps in learning Romanian and listened to podcasts downloaded from the BBC World Service, most of the other volunteers visited the cities of Sighişoara, considered by many to have the most beautiful and well-preserved inhabited citadel in Europe, and Braşov, widely known as the Jewel of Romania.
As I boarded my Wizz Air flight home, I reflected on how, in the era of budget airlines, international travel has become so much easier and more affordable than it once was. What a delight it is to be able to print your boarding pass in the comfort of your own home the day before, and to be able to go straight to the gate on the day of the flight. Whatever the occasional discomfort of budget travel, these airlines have undoubtedly made a huge contribution to bringing the peoples of Europe together.
As I start my sixth year as an expatriate teacher in Kuwait, I look forward to my next international volunteer project with excitement and enthusiasm. Who knows, I might even be persuaded to play football again. But maybe next time I'll stay in goal.
Barney Smith, volunteer in Romania, 2010
Tina tells us all about her first 5 months as an EVS volunteer in Lithuania...
Well, where do I start?! I'm around halfway through my EVS and with still around 5 months to go, this is the perfect time for me to reflect and write a blog for Concordia…
I am living in Kaunas, Lithuania which is Lithuania's second city. It's a nice city – not too big, but substantial enough to have an array of interesting museums, an ancient castle, historical monuments, a beautiful old town, as well as my personal favourite –the two rivers that flow through the city. In terms of my project,I'm working at a day care centre for adults who have psychological disorders, including anything fromschizophrenia to depression. As it's a day care centre the clients can drop by whenever they like during opening hours, and during this time we run different and engaging activities for the clients to participate in. The activities range from basic health and fitness exercises to arts and crafts to excursions to simply a game of cards or the ever popular 'Uno'. The work is varied and we have the space to run our own activities and projects, should we wish, which is a really nice way to contribute to the centre and its people.
I have done plenty of volunteering in the past, but nothing on a long term basis like this. And I'm certainly not going to sit here and tell you that it's easy. It's far from. But what I will say is that, as clichéd as it is – it really doesresemble a roller-coaster with highs and lows aplenty. But I must say that with the lows that come from time to time, the highs are well… they are sky high! So let's start with the highs. What do they include? Well I would certainly start with the people I've been lucky to meet. With so many volunteers you are constantly surrounded with a rich array of different cultures, customs and traditions, andit truly is a network of cultures like no other. It's amazing. And that doesn't even include all the fascinating Lithuanians I've met who've taught me so much about their culture which I've been fortunate enough to experience first-hand. The scenery and landscape is also astounding – Lithuania has about 30% forest land, many beautiful lakes and fantastic greenery – I know it's something I'm desperately going to miss when I head back to England at the end of my EVS. Other than the people and the landscape, the food is fab, the history is fascinating (and very recent and therefore very raw) and the adventurous lifestyle of being a volunteer makes it all very spontaneous and exciting at times.
In terms of the lows, well these are mostly based around the differences in culture. The language was a big problem to begin with – despite living in Lithuania's second city, English is barely spoken. This caused a great deal of misery and frustration when I'd get lost outside in the -20 weather and really struggle to communicate with people and navigate my way about as I would normally do if I'm lost somewhere. Over time, this has certainly gotten easier as I've become familiar with the language, as well as the city overall. And speaking of -20 – the weather! Wow, I've certainly learnt how to dress up warm. But one of the lows was certainly when the heating got turned off in our house in April when it was still very cold – the shock in learning that some of the heating in Lithuania is still centralised and controlled by the city astounded me. Being freezing cold in my own room was a definite low. Other cultural shocks and lows have come about, but I would certainly say that you really learn to cope and deal with them better as time goes on, and I know that I have learnt a great dealduring these highs and lows.
In conclusion, if you can do an EVS, you really can do anything. It's the type of non-formal education you just can't get from anywhere else – the whole programme is very unique. Do think about it carefully before you apply. But in essence: if you really want to stretch yourself, develop on a personal level, do something completely different, all whilst meeting some amazing people and having some fantastic experiences along the way, then definitely consider becoming a volunteer. Good luck!
2011 is an important year for volunteering. Not only is it the European Year of volunteering but also the International Year of the volunteer +10. With such a big year ahead of us, Concordia is very excited to be part of a worldwide Alliance Flag Tour campaign promoting and encourage active involvement within civil society.
Two flags will be travelling through 4 continents, 25 countries and hosted by 36 different voluntary organisations to celebrate the valuable contribution the voluntary service has on society, communities and individuals. The participating organisations will take the flag to one of their voluntary projects or an organised event, inviting and informing the local community.
More than 100 staff and volunteers attended the opening ceremony in Armenia on the 4th March. The two flags have now started their journey's and are on their way to South Korea and Wales. The Flag Tour will finish at the General Assembly 2011 in November in Southampton, United Kingdom hosted by Concordia with a celebration and display of the season's events.
Be a part of this event! Follow the flag around the world to celebrate this special year of volunteering.
Unlike most project experiences, I began mine feeling very tired. Prior to my arrival to the project, I had already spent 3 days in Moscow, travelled to Mongolia for 5 days on the Tran Siberian train and went on a 3 day trip to the countryside (which I thoroughly recommend). So I was slightly drained of energy but intrigued to see how the next two weeks would pan out.
My first day of the project was quite relaxed. With an early start, I left my hostel and was picked up by the manager of MCE (Mongolian Workcamps Exchange). We arrived at an apartment block with children's climbing frames and play sets scattered around. I was then introduced to the supervisor of the project and he took me to our apartment, where I was pleasantly greeted by the rest of the volunteers. There were 2 girls from France, a girl from South Korea and a guy from Hong Kong. The apartment wasn't fully furnished but was equipped with the essentials, such as a kitchen, bathroom and 2 living areas, which we slept in. We also had a sofa bed and a TV that occasionally played badly dubbed episodes of Lost.
After our quick introductions we went to visit the first part of the project, a children's orphanage. As soon as we entered the building, we were surrounded by knee-high kids welcoming us and grabbing us by the hand. We were taken to a classroom where a group of hyper and energetic 8-12 year olds waited for us. I realised this was the class we'd be spending time with for the next two weeks. The kids spoke little English, some more than others, but we were able to communicate quite well and had a very entertaining meet and greet session where we were exposed to some of the talents of the children.
(Above: Asha, bottom right, with the other volunteers and their supervisor "K" at the orphanage)
After a play session and personal tour around the rooms of the orphanage, we made our way to the second part of the workcamp, a secondary school. As we entered the classroom, the students were already sat down at their desks and surprisingly in uniform (well, partially). There were mainly girls at the age of 14-16 years old. They were more laid back than the kids at the orphanage but still excited to meet us and full of enthusiasm. We divided ourselves around the class and got to know the students in more detail. I was quite amazed at the variation in the levels of English in the class. While many children spoke good English, some were at same level as the younger kids we met at the orphanage.
Before the project, I hadn't planned anything in the way of lesson plans and activities for the children in either group, because I didn't know what to expect. I was very open to see who we'd be teaching and at what level. Each day before class, we would discuss and brainstorm ideas for the next lesson. We decided that each session would have a different focus, for example grammar, punctuation, vocabulary etc. Then we would always end class with a game of charades or hangman. At the orphanage, our sessions were less structured and we mainly organised lots of arts and craft activities. We also helped with the cleaning on the weekends, which the entire orphanage (120ish) took part in.
(Above: volunteers with the children at the orphanage)
Through this experience, I have met some great friends and been exposed to a beautiful country that I hope I will return to in the near future.
Asha-Jennings-Grant, Volunteer in Mongolia, 2010
Read more about North South Programme>>


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TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) Dozens of people marched and carried signs following a fatal shooting by an off-duty police officer in east Alabama.
A demonstration held Wednesday afternoon follows the death of a man identified by relatives as 19-year-old Javaon Ousley. The Alabama A&M University student was killed by a Lincoln police officer Tuesday.
"Our hearts go out to Mr. Ousley's family, as well as the extended family of friends and faculty at AAMU who might have known him during his first year," said AAMU President Andrew Hugine, Jr. in a press release. "of course, our counseling team will provide counseling resources as needed, and we will be reaching out to the family."
A statement from Lincoln police says an off-duty officer was shot in the arm while completing a Facebook Marketplace deal. But the statement doesn't mention the fatal shooting or give details about what led to gunfire.
Ousley was black, and some protesters carried signs saying "Black Lives Matter."
Relatives say they can't get answers about the shooting, which happened near a housing project basketball court in Talladega.
Ouley's grandmother, Janice Ousley, says relatives want to know what happened.
AAMU's Student Government Association will be hosting a prayer vigil Sunday, Aug. 18 in honor of Ousley as well as fallen students, Franky Banks, graduate student Deloi Cook on the Quad.


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Lightweight crossovers are all anger these days and even high-class car manufacturers cannot stay away of making money on the trend. Lexus is all set to discharge a latest form of NX compact cross-over. The 2020 Lexus NX gets some design up-dates and protection section gets a boost as well.
Also, the new design will receive very innovative dash panel and device panel as well magnificent sitting choices and a spacious cottage. The first design in the NX cross-over series is new presented to the public in delayed 2014. From that period, this design is remodeled few times.
2020 Lexus NX Upgrade, F Activities package
The 2020 Lexus NX cross-over gets some average design changes. The spindle grill is still massive but it gets some changes too to look like friends RX and LX. The L-shaped LED running lights to look smooth. There are enough sharp wrinkles on the body and few shapely lines that combination at specific perspectives to provide the vehicle innovative look, from different perspectives.
With optionally available F Activities program, you get dark capable honeycomb grill, artificial air intake, down side showcases, and 18-inch tires. Exterior colors include Caviar. It is sold in three editions, NX 300, NX 300 H and NX 300 F Game.
2020 Lexus NX Interior and Exteriors
The cottage definitely like lavishness at every corner. The materials have modest colors like dark greys and modest silvers. Its dash panel is structured and gives a cabin element. Chairs are quite comfortable and with reasonable lower back support. A lot of storage choices there for holding containers and small devices in the cottage. Standard freight space is only 17.7 cubic feet.
2020 Lexus NX Safety Features
Lexus NX 2020 gets improved protection feature compared to the current design. The improved Lexus' Safety System+ brings in people recognition, brilliant high-beams, road leaving aware, powerful mouth cruise management along with lots of safety bags. The new 8.0-inch touchscreen technology for managing enjoyment features is good but the software itself requires improving. Enform Safety Connect is available for 10 years.
All designs get functions like 17-inch metal tires, leader infotainment manages, dual-zone heating and cooling, Wireless and automated front lights. There a variety of offers to pick from. The Comfort program contributes blind-spot aware, vented front side seats while Luxury program contributes a power liftgate, leather furniture and internal wood cut. There are a top quality program and a routing program that you can buy additionally.
2020 Lexus NX 300h Model
The multiple edition gets a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine and a two-motor multiple program combined with AWD. However, the top side engine unit will create 114 HP, while the rear one 67 horse power. This combination will provide a total production of 194 horsepower
Furthermore, in the NX 300h, you will get electric-only method along with Eco, Normal and Game ways. The multiple edition stands out in this aspect of gas mileage with the 33/30 mpg (AWD).
2020 Lexus NX Engine and Transmission
The 2020 Lexus NX comes with two types of powertrains, as it is. The platform cut gets a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine which makes 238-horsepower. It is coming with a 6-speed automated gear box gearbox. The platform cut offers reasonable gas mileage of 22/28 mpg.
Read More : 2020 Audi A8 Redesign, Rumors and Specs
The Lexus NX F Game gets a special Game mode- which contributes some pizazz to driving and is EPA ranked 22/27 mpg. However, its 18-inch tires add to road noise and it also increases the rough ride.
2020 Lexus NX Price and Release Date
The starting cost of 2020 Lexus NX 300 should be close to $37,000. However, the multiple design will start at $41,000. Expected release time period should be in delayed 2018.The new design 2020 Lexus NX is a nice high-class compact cross-over that comes with fantastic design and powerful engine choices. Its improved protection measures many personalization choices create it a suitable competitor in this section. Some of the designs that will 2020 NX contend are Rolls royce Q3, Infiniti QX30, BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz GLA and Jaguar E-Pace.


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Corporate Biographies
For customer service inquires please contact email@example.com
Violeta Sales
Corporate Director of Groups, CMP and CMM
Violeta Sales, Corporate Director of Groups, represents AMResorts®' six brands as a director of groups, meetings and incentives; with business origination throughout the United States and Canada. Equally as importantly, she is responsible for maximizing revenues and achieving targeted corporate goals and objectives.
Violeta represents Zoëtry® Wellness & Spa Resorts, Secrets®, Breathless®, Dreams®, Now® and Sunscape® Resorts & Spas through the meeting and incentive market by coordinating all logistical aspects — at a multitude of associations, planner events, trade shows and other industry gatherings.
Violeta has a proven track record that spans two decades as a top-performing Director of Group Sales with Sol Meliá helping increase revenues. Her extensive knowledgebase and acumen has grown out of the development and nurturing of relationships with some of North America's most notable clients in the meetings and incentives market.
Violeta possesses impressive business judgment, negotiation, and closing skills and is a strong presenter. She is also a CMP and CMM, two of the most prestigious certifications in the industry.


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HENDERSON COUNTY, Ky. (8/11/19) — Audri Beth (Pendergraft) Blair, 46 of Robards, died Friday at St. Anthony's Hospice Lucy Smith King Care Center.
She was born June 13, 1973 in Henderson to Vicki Wurth and Richard Pendergraft, and a member of Point of Grace Church. Blair was preceded in death by her grandparents, Kenneth and Julia Pendergraft, Aubrey and Doris Williams and Betty Jo Collier.
Funeral services are 5 p.m. Monday at Tomblinson Funeral Home in Henderson. Visitation is noon-5 p.m. Monday at the funeral home, with Bro. Brad Pendergraft and Bro. Darrell Powell officiating.


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Anne Henvey
I cannot remember a time when I wasn't drawing. I've loved to draw and paint my whole life. My father often had little contests between my sister and me. He would give us various subjects to draw, and then would declare which was his favourite. I owe my love of painting to him.
I'm inspired by the wonder of nature ... sometimes I paint in a realistic style, re-creating scenery or a favourite pet, other times I'm caught in a wave of whimsy and let my mind (and my brush) go where they want.
website: www.annehenvey.com


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Dynamic methods are like "traits" but for older versions of PHP.
PHP has a great way of extending object methods through a catch-all. Agile Toolkit implements catch-all for all of its objects which is then wrapped through some hooks to bring the functionality of addMethod(). It allows you to register method in any object dynamically. Note, that if such method already exists, you wouldn't be abel to register a method. This is typically used for compatibility, when some methods are obsoleted and controller re-adds those methods back.
$obj = $this->add('MyClass');
$obj->addMethod('sum', function($o, $a, $b) {
return $a + $b;
Agile Toolkit also adds hasMethod() into all object as a preferred way to check if method exists inside object;
if ($obj->hasMethod('sum')) {
$res = $obj->sum(2, 3); // 5
You can also remove dynamically added methods with removeMethod();
echo $obj->hasMethod('sum'); // false


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Looking for a cost-effective way to reach out to your student? Purchase a Care-Pak today! Prices range from $15-$45 and come in a variety of themes available at various points throughout the year.
If you have any questions about Care-Paks, please don't hesitate to contact us at email@example.com
Clicking the link below will take you to TouchNet, the HPU program that accepts credit card purchases for items around campus. While the full list of Care-Paks available for purchase is listed below, the only Care-Paks that will be visible on TouchNet are those currently for sale.
Happy shopping!
ORDERS ACCEPTED: August 1 - AUGUST 31
Delivery: Within 1 week of last accepted orders
The Shark-Pak is a great way to help students feel immediately connected to their new university, and is a wonderful gift for those new to HPU. Every item is guaranteed to have the HPU logo and branding. While items may vary, the current roster of items includes: an HPU t-shirt, water bottle, felt pennant, Shark mascot decal, ID holder and notebook.
NEW! birthday-PAK $25
ORDERS ACCEPTED year-round
The Birthday-Pak is a wonderful way for new students to receive a surprise from their loved ones on their special day. While items may vary, the current roster of items includes Birthday funfetti mug cake, sprinkles, balloons, party hats, glow bracelets, birthday blowouts,a light-up Birthday sash, Birthday-themed Playdoh multi-pack,a small plush toy, all in a birthday gift bag and tissue paper.
Delivery: Within 1 week of last accepted orders
The Boo-Pak will be a way for families to ensure that their students are having a festive Halloween. Each item will be reflective of the fun that is had around this fun holiday. While items may vary, the current roster of items includes: a full sized candy bar, fun sized candy, candy corn, popcorn, pumpkin stress ball, and a masquerade mask, all packaged inside a pumpking bucket.
ORDERS ACCEPTED: January 1 - FEBRUARY 8
Delivery: Within 1 week of last accepted orders
A special holiday treat, the Sweet-Pak will be a way for families to shower a little love and care on their students around Valentine's Day. While items may vary, the current roster of items includes: an individualized valentine, hershey kisses, valentine rice krispy treats, sugar cookies, small stuffed animal and cinnamon candy.
ORDERS ACCEPTED: OCTOBER 15 - NOVEMBER 23 & March 20 - April 25
Delivery: Within 1 week of last accepted orders
The Survival-Pak will be a nice way for families to give their students a little boost during finals season. It is the most comprehensive Care-Pak available, and a really affordable rate! While items may vary, the current roster of items includes: a Starbucks frappuccino, caffeine candy, energy bar, coffee mug, trail mix, fruit snacks, a piece of fruit, highlighter set, smart water, nutella and go pack, stress ball or similar, chocolate bar, red bull and gum.
ORDERS ACCEPTED : SEPTEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 8 & January 10 - May 1
Delivery: Within 24-48 hours of purchase
The Sick-Pak is a special way for families to reach out to students who aren't feeling well, even though they are far from home. While items may vary, the current roster of items includes: tissues, throat lozenges, vitamin C gummies, soup bowls, herbal tea and a puzzle book, all packaged in a reusable basket.
HPU will not be held accountable for Care-Paks not picked up by recipients if proper notification attempts have been executed. The ultimate responsibility of pick-up resides with the student. A second attempt at notification will be executed if the Care-Pak has not been collected within three days of first notification. Should the Care-Pak contain perishable items (such as fruit, cookies, malasadas, etc.) this information will be included in the notification, however HPU cannot remove perishable items from packages once they are completed. Care-Paks will be held for four weeks. No refund will be issued for unclaimed packages. We have the right to substitute a like-product in the event the one pictured is unavailable.
The Care-Pak program is completely cost-neutral and is designed to be solely a benefit to students and families. Care-Pak materials are purchased by staff and put together by Peer Mentors and office workers in Student Life. If an item price is lower than anticipated, no refund will be provided, however any extra funds (typically cents on the dollar) will go towards a) covering costs if an item is priced higher than anticipated -or- b) sending a Care-Pak to a student in need as identified by Residence Life staff.