MEMBERS SPOTLIGHT

Candi Smucker - 1,000 Women Nobel Peace Prize 2005 Nominee

Candi Smucker, featured in the Sonoma Index Tribune and the S.F. Chronicle, has been nominated for a project called the 1,000 Women Nobel Peace Prize 2005.

Details to follow, but in the meantime, please click on the links above and read all about it! We are so proud of our church member. Veronique Mistiaen, Chronicle Foreign Service Wednesday, June 29, 2005 quotes Candi in the S.F. Chronicle,

"In my work growing fair-trade retailing in the U.S., I have found that the greatest change happens from the ground up," Smucker said. "When I have the opportunity to visit artisans whose goods we sell and ask them what difference our purchases make in their lives, I know that every drop of purchasing we can do contributes to an ocean of change."

In Patricia Henley's Sonoma Index Tribune article of July 1, she quotes Candi as saying,

"The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded for big things and big things are wonderful," Smucker said. "But where change really happens is when multiple people do small acts over and over again. This project honors all those small acts. ... It is many people doing small things that makes the biggest difference for world peace."

Download Candi's September 2005 sermon here.

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Roger Wright Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Congregation member, Roger Wright, chairman of RLW Analytics Inc. recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Load Research Committee of the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies (AEIC). This is the first Lifetime Achievement Award ever made by the organization.

Roger was selected for the award for his contributions in the field of load research, a science that helps electrical utilities, such as PG&E analyze and understand the electrical needs of their diverse customer base. As a result, utilities are able to procure enough energy to meet the needs of their customers.

RLW Analytics provides innovative analytical, engineering and market research consulting for energy companies and end users.

Susan Heffelfinger, aka, Butterfly Clown, Goes to Russia

Susan Heffelfinger, an RN in the oncology unit at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, not only uses humor and laughter to help her patients here but also children in Russian orphanages and hospitals. She is part of a larger group of about 40 clowns from 10 different countries who have tried to make a difference in the lives of these children.

Patch Adams, world-renowned doctor and clown, is Heffelfinger's inspiration. Robin Williams starred in the 1998 film "Patch Adams". She heard Adams speak at a convention in San Jose in 2003 where she signed up to be a part of his clown troupe for a two-week tour of Russian children's hospitals and orphanages. Susan will be leaving in November for her second trip with Adams and his troupe.

Heffelfinger says that clowning and humor help her patients deal with having cancer. "It helps them heal and healing is what it's all about."