PEARL HARBOR — Harold O’Connor, 88, was a Navy Fireman First Class on the USS Thornton, a destroyer seaplane tender, in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked.

“All the torpedo planes were coming right off our fantail,” O’Connor recalls. “I watched the West Virginia go up from two torpedoes that were dropped. All hell was breaking loose. I saw the bombs that hit the Arizona.”

That’s just one of O’Connor’s World War II stories from the Pacific. The Hawaii man was again on the Thornton in 1942 taking Marines to Palmyra Atoll, when the ship ran aground on New Year’s Eve. There he saw two torpedoes streaming toward where he stood.

“I said, ‘Goodbye world,’ and I hit the deck,” O’Connor said. “Nothing happened. I got up, and here come two more torpedoes. They came right under where I was standing.”

O’Connor’s recollections go beyond Japan’s 1941 attack on Oahu and so will the new $58 million Pearl Harbor center under construction for the USS Arizona Memorial here, says Daniel Martinez, chief historian for the emerging World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.

Go here to read more.

Source: USA Today

Heh, all youse Washington, DC insiders, here’s some info for upcoming DC concert tour or festival or parade performance:

The National Archives has a new “Archivist,” and, oddly, he is the first Archivist of the U.S. to be a bona fide Librarian! He is David S. Ferriero (sounds like stereo), 63, and says, “I have 10 billion things I have to worry about,” was confirmed by the Senate on Dec. 6. “He loves Mozart and Southern writers,” sez the Post article. He hails from NY Public Library system, since 2004, and Duke Univ. as Librarian and Vice Provost since 1996. He oversaw Duke’s $55 mill. library expansion. Before this he worked at MIT library for 31 years. Good pedigree, eh. The article sez he takes a pay-cut, poor man, to just $162,900, aw, half of his NY salary. What a guy!

Archives - established by Congress in 1934. 700 Penn. Ave., NW at 8th St. & Constitution Aves. Exhibition Hall open summer 10 am - 9 pm. Holds US records dating to 1774, relating to US civil, military and diplomatic activities; on display: Declaration of Independence (1776), the Constitution (1789), Bill of Rights (1798) and one of two known copies of the Magna Carta (1297). It’s genealogical records are a great attraction to many people wishing to trace their family tree.

The bldg, designed by John Russell Pope, opened in 1935. It has 72 Corinthian pillars, each 52 ft. high, grouped in colonnades around the bldg’s four facades. Sculpting was done on-site by James Fraser, wife Laura and ass’ts. Next time you’re here doing a parade or ?, please note the pediment above the Const. Ave. entrance: The Recorder of the Archives (1935) features an elderly man seated on an architectural throne resting on two reclining rams, symbols of parchment. Above the rams is a decorative frieze based on the flower of the papyrus plant, the symbol of paper; paper and parchment together made possible the housing of the documents in the Archives. There’s more. Check it out online.

Standing sentinels at the bottom on the Const. Ave steps are two 8-ft. tall limestone figures, Heritage (fem.) and Guardianship (m.). The inscription, said by Jefferson, reads “Eternal Vigilance Is The Price Of Liberty.” Inside is the 75-ft. half-domed ceiling, showing the Declaration and the other biggies. They are in a bullet-proof, helium-filled case that is covered w/ a green ultra-violet filter to protect from aging due to light and air exposure. Each night the docs are lowered into a 50-ton bombproof vault 22 ft. below the floor of the Exhib. Hall. No worries, eh. So check it out on you next visit here. Great stuff!

Vincenzo

Vince Patterson, DMA, is a professional musician performing and teaching in the Washington, DC area. Since joining the Marine Band in 1974, he has played, sung and conducted in, the Library of Congress’ Coolidge Auditorium, The Kennedy Center, Washington National Cathedral and many other concert sites on the east coast. Vince heads up the Music Celebrations Washington, D.C. Office.

By Rick Steves
Tribune Media Services

Shopping in Europe can be fun, but not if you let it overwhelm your trip. I like to shop smart, spending my time — and money — efficiently. Based on three decades of travel, here are my top tips for shopping in Europe.

Shop in countries where your dollar goes farther. Shop in Turkey, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Eastern Europe where the dollar is relatively strong. For the price of a doily in Britain, you can get a lace tablecloth in Spain.

Shop at flea markets. The most colorful shopping in Europe is at its open-air secondhand markets. Among the best are Amsterdam’s Waterlooplein, London’s Portobello Market, Madrid’s El Rastro and Paris’ Puces St. Ouen. Flea markets anywhere have soft prices. Bargain like mad. Pickpockets love flea markets — wear your money belt and watch your day bag.

Check out large department stores. These often have a souvenir section with standard local knickknacks and postcards at prices way below the cute little tourist shops. While the stores seem daunting at first, they generally work like ours. Most are accustomed to wide-eyed foreign shoppers and have English-speaking staff.

Full Article Here

Of all the cities in the world, only Paris comes remotely close to matching Venice in terms of sheer beauty and romance. You’ve seen it in photos and films, but there’s no substitute for the reality — the shimmering Grand Canal, the gondolas slipping down watery alleyways, the elegant palazzos emerging straight from the sea.

Venice once ruled the Mediterranean as a shipping power, amassing vast wealth and producing some of Europe’s greatest artistic and cultural treasures. But over the centuries Venice has declined a bit and now has less than half the population it had at its peak. What remains of its former grandeur — the crumbling palaces, the sumptuous art in its museums and churches, the fantastic rituals of Carnevale — makes Venice a living tribute to the past.

Full Article Here

Air Canada has begun trial offers of Internet service onboard some flights between Los Angeles and the cities of Toronto and Montreal.

The service will cost $9.95 per flight for customers with a laptop computer and $7.95 for a personal electronic device.

The airline said the test will run until Jan. 29, and then it will decide whether to offer the service on other routes. The service from Aircell will be available only in U.S. airspace.

Aircell also provides in-flight Internet on some Delta and American Airlines planes.

“This initial phase is intended to get our customers’ feedback,” said Louise McKenven, senior director of marketing for Air Canada, in a statement. “The ultimate rollout of our inflight internet service will be finalized pending the outcome of the trial period as well as obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals and the development of ground infrastructure in Canada to provide a domestic network.”

Source: Associated Press

By CARYN ROUSSEAU Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO November 9, 2009 (AP)

From Greektown to Chinatown, from the Polish Triangle to Pakistani restaurants on Devon Avenue, Chicago has a wealth of diverse ethnic neighborhoods to explore.

Chicago is known as a city of neighborhoods and Patricia Sullivan, manager of the city’s Chicago Neighborhood Tours program, said visitors need to leave the tourist-heavy Loop and Michigan Avenue areas to really see the different ethnic and cultural corners of the city.

“They’re distinct and they’re beautiful,” Sullivan said. “The architecture is different, as are the restaurants and the stores. It’s really a melting pot.”

By no means an exhaustive list, here are highlights of some of Chicago’s ethnic neighborhoods:

Full Article Here

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Eph Ehly and Professor János Czifra will co-direct the second-annual Mozart International Choral Festival, June 29 - July 3, 2011, in Mozart’s birthplace - Salzburg, Austria.

This choral event will take place in Salzburg’s famed Dom, where Professor Czifra holds the same position as Herr Mozart once held - Domkapellmeister.

Some great Mozart - Salzburg links:

Mozart Choral Festival Webpage
Mozart’s Salzburg Church Music
Salzburg Cathedral - Salzburg Tourism
Mozarteum
Mozart’s Birthplace

Paris is so large and has such a variety of attractions that it’s worth thinking carefully about where to base yourself to get the most from your visit. Although central Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements – discrete regions that spiral clockwise, like a shell, out from the city centre – these are just arbitrary administrative boundaries that overlap the old, village-like quarters from which the city developed.

Base yourself in one of the following historic quarters and you get the best of both worlds: easy access to the rest of the city, plus a heady mix of history and modern-day Parisian life every time you step out the door.

Full Article Here

By Rick Steves
Tribune Media Services

As everyone knows, Pisa has the famous tilted tower you can climb, but an unspoiled Renaissance wall you can bike encircles the lesser-known Lucca.

These two Tuscan towns, near Florence and each other, make for an easy day-trip from Florence. But if you have time for more than a touristy quickie, each offers great Italian city scenes — offering visitors the chance to savor Pisa’s rich architectural heritage, and bask in Lucca’s genuine charm.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most iconic images in the world, but it’s not the only sight in town. It leans near the town’s other biggies — the cathedral and baptistery. This creamy white threesome floats regally over the green-grass Field of Miracles. Imagine arriving in Pisa as a sailor in the 11th century — the sea came to just outside the surrounding walls, the church was the biggest in the world, and spread out before you was an ensemble of gleaming white marble. Even choked with street-market stands probably then and certainly now, the square still lives up to its name: the Field of Miracles.

Full Article Here

Last Friday afternoon was very special - we renewed acquaintances at Historic Congressional Cemetery (HCC) with foundation president Cindy Hayes and the many dynamite docents who take such good care of our MCI groups. The occasion was John Philip Sousa’s 155th birthday party. The Marine Band traditionally does a “stand and blow,” graveside, to honor Sousa’s time and leadership of the Band and his illustrious contribution to American Music.

This year was especially rewarding: there were about 150 people there for the ceremony and short concert! You may be interested to know this job was the genesis of the Marine Band Public Affairs Office. How? Thought you’d never ask!

In 1980 yours truly was standing in Marine Band full dress, saxophone hanging around neck, at Sousa’s grave thinking, “why is the Band here?” Looking around the cemetery on the walk in, headstones were knocked over, grass and weeds were waist high, feral cats screeched ominous, eerie sounds from various points and wild dogs were heard and seen, lurking behind dead trees and the rotting little chapel. [You don’t want to hear about the odors wafting thru the acrid southeast DC air. . .]

So, quite alone, we marched to the graveside, were positioned horseshoe-shape around the silent groundstone/ bench and played Sousa’s “Semper Fi” (Marine Corps’ official march, “Semper Fidelis”). A line officer, Marine Corps, approached the music-stand-rostrum and read some hyperbole. This included a biblical reference, Old Testament, where he quoted, paused frequently (he was reading . . .) and stammered “BEE- -zel- -bub.” Now you can imagine this is all it took to send the band over the edge; still, no laffing out loud, so all we could do is revel in shoulders bouncing up and down, heads bobbing deliriously and everybody KNOWING we are all thinking the same “what the expletive” are we DOING here?

It was at this magical, totally preposterous moment I had an epiphany. The Lord channeled to me this message: “the Marine Band needs a PR office!” So, sez I, “better make it happen!” (Had lots of PR/ concert promotion/ management work in prior years.) So I made an app’t to see the Director, presented him the proposal to start an active Public Affairs Office (PAO as the USMC terms it) and he said yes. Soon, the Band had it’s first “Concert Information” phone line (same number today, 202-433-4011 - try it!) and official Marine Band letterhead, among other upgrades. The rest is history.

Today there are four people in the PAO shop, which accounts for regular LARGE ads in the weekend section of the Wash. Post, a PAO presence at every concert handing out brochures and the decent-sized crowd at Friday’s Sousa event. Quite a turnaround from the squalid 1980 scene, eh?

Well, that’s enuf HCC history for one Musing. Now you know . . . the rest of the story. This should be “a good talking point” with band directors who ask, “What do we do in Washington?” Tell them the whole story of the Sousa Graveside job and how today’s Congressional Cemetery is clean, paved, manicured and staffed by caring, conscientious docents who will bring this place ALIVE for the students!

Right. So get those buses and planes pointed to DC! We can handle it!!

Musical regards,

Vincenzo

Vince Patterson, DMA, is a professional musician performing and teaching in the Washington, DC area. Since joining the Marine Band in 1974, he has played, sung and conducted in, the Library of Congress’ Coolidge Auditorium, The Kennedy Center, Washington National Cathedral and many other concert sites on the east coast. Vince heads up the Music Celebrations Washington, D.C. Office.

by Jeff Lunden
NPR Music News

November 5, 2009 - Opening night of New York City Opera’s new season is Thursday. A longtime scrappy alternative to the plush Metropolitan Opera, the company has struggled to make a comeback after financial and artistic turmoil.

The New York City Opera makes its home on the plaza of Lincoln Center, right in the shadow of the Metropolitan Opera. But New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini says there’s always been room for two opera companies in town, because both have been so different…But recently, New York City Opera has fallen on hard times. Last year, there was no season at all. The company closed its theater for a costly renovation. Then, the Belgian impresario hired to lead City Opera, Gerard Mortier, bolted when he couldn’t make his ambitious plans happen. And finally, the stock market — and the opera’s endowment — plummeted. With a $15 million deficit, the company almost closed down.

Go here to read more.

By Harriet Baskas
Travel writer
MSNBC

Airline passengers are getting dinged for everything from checking a bag to upgrading beyond the middle seat.

As carriers nickel-and-dime their customers, it’s hard to believe they would offer a cool new amenity at no cost. But that’s exactly what’s happening. Several airlines with Wi-Fi-equipped airplanes are letting passengers try out the service for free.

Last Saturday, on her connecting flight from Salt Lake City to Washington, D.C., Pam Scott of Spokane, Wash., got her first chance to try in-flight Internet service. She surfed — for free — thanks to a promotion offered by Delta Air Lines and Aircell, the provider of the Gogo in-flight service. “Loving it,” Scott wrote in a message sent from the skies, “Nice to be in touch on such a long flight.”

Austin, Texas-based event planner Nichole Wright’s first taste of in-flight Wi-Fi was also free. She was on her way to New York City on business when a Delta flight attendant handed her a free pass. “I was thrilled,” says Wright, “and it worked very well; a huge time saver. I think I would pay for it in the future.”

Food blogger Alejandra Ramos would probably pay, too. Access to in-flight Wi-Fi was complimentary the day she flew with United Airlines from New York’s JFK airport to San Francisco. It was an extremely turbulent flight, so Ramos focused on e-mailing with her online friends. “I told them all about my nervousness and it was nice to have several dozen of them giving me their tips for staying calm while flying.”

Go here to read more.

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI
Published: November 4, 2009

WASHINGTON — Wednesday was classical music day at the White House. The festivities and performances were sponsored by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, created by executive order in 1982. The first lady serves as honorary chairwoman of the committee, and Michelle Obama, fully embracing that function, has created a White House Music Series.

Click here to read more.

Sun Tea Fundraiser

Making tea with natural sunlight is not only eco-friendly, it’s delicious too. Your group can get donations for large gallon glass jars and tea bags. Pre-sale orders for a gallon of sun tea and then arrange a day to make all of the tea. Drop off the tea at a pre-determined day along with a thank you card attached to the glass jar.

Silent Auctions

Although this fundraising idea isn’t exactly new, it’s definitely green! By having items donated from community businesses and running a silent auction, your organization can make a lot of money.
Hold the auction yourself by placing a clipboard with room for the bid amount and the person’s name. People can walk around, look at items and place their bids.
Alternatively, the bidding can be done in secret with each person donating a specified amount. Whoever pays the most gets to keep the item and the rest of the funds are collected as a donation for the organization.
You can give your silent auction a green theme by getting donations from gardening shops or by using recycled materials.

Green Cookbook Fundraiser

Help your community eat better and use locally grown produce, all while getting donations for your organization. First, collect recipes from your local community or look online for organic and eco-friendly recipes that use locally grown items. Spread the word about the recipe collection and you’ll be sure to have a lot of submissions.
Once all the submissions have been collected, have the students or members of the group type up the cookbooks. You can get them printed very cheaply on recycled paper and spiral bound. Once the books are created, hold a bake sale with recipes from the book and sell your cookbook. You may also be able to put a few books for sale at local shops.

Planting Trees

Taking donations and planting trees is probably one of the most eco-friendly fundraisers there is. Although you could do the planting yourself, there is a much simpler way to fundraise. An organization called Help the Planet (just do a quick Google search for the URL) will plant one tree for every bookmark that is sold by your organization. The bookmarks are sold at $3 each and you can keep 30% of the money raised. In addition, a tree will be planted. Talk about win-win!

Fundraising Ideas from: http://ezinearticles.com/?Green-Fundraising-Ideas—Raise-Money-the-Eco-Friendly-Way&id=3063988

Green Holiday Wrapping Paper - With the holiday season just around the corner you can raise money by wrapping presents with waste materials. If you contact your local AAA office they will be glad to give you hundreds of out of date maps.Maps have too much ink to be recycled and the AAA tosses thousands of them every year. They are large enough to wrap most boxes and you can also fold them into gift bags.

Your group could be wrapping for donations. I’ve heard of groups take in several hundred dollars in a single day and your only expense will be tape!

Another great Green Holiday Fundraising Ideas is Selling Christmas Trees!

Things to remember when planning your Christmas Tree Fundraising event:

•Recruit plenty of volunteers
•Price it right
•Advertising is the key
•Make your Christmas tree lot stand out

Recruiting Volunteers – Have volunteers sign up in shifts. You’ll need volunteers to sell the trees, cut stumps and load the trees on cars, and others to make wreaths to sell from the trimmings.

Pricing – Know what your competition has and how it is priced. Price your trees and wreaths accordingly. Make sure potential customers know that all profits are for a good cause.

Don’t skimp on advertising – Your Christmas fundraising efforts will only be effective if people know you are there! Take advantage of newsletters, email lists and even TV and radio.

Stand out from the crowd – Make your tree lot visually appealing. Use twinkle lights, yard ornaments and pretty signs. If your budget allows, get a snow making machine or one that blows bubbles that look like snow.

Additional information
We have hundreds of articles with fundraising advice on the best ways to raise funds. Read this article for more details on fundraising with Christmas trees and this one to add Christmas carols to your holiday fund raiser event.

Christmas Tree Fundraising Idea from: http://blog.fundraiserhelp.com

The Lee High School Orchestra is proud to announce its sixth annual “Million Dollar Duck Race,” set for 9 a.m., Saturday, November 7, at the C.J. Kelly Park, 5500 League Drive. Orchestra students are selling ducks for $5 each. The winner of the duck race will receive a $1,500 prize, and runner-up prizes include tickets to the Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins game, a $500 gas gift card and a PlayStation. One lucky duck will be insured for $1 million. If that duck finishes first, the buyer of the duck will receive a $1 million prize. Jay Hendricks will emcee the vent.

Karen McAfee, LHS Orchestra director, said her students sold 4,000 ducks last year, and hope to sell 5,000 ducks this year. “The kids really work hard to do a good job,” she said. “The fundraiser will help pay for our spring trip to Colorado Springs, and for the extra things we do.” Private lesson scholarships for economically disadvantaged students, college scholarships, and more are made possible by the funds raised.

The first Exhibition of Aerial Locomotion was held at the Grand Palais, Paris in 1909. In 2007 the International Paris Air Show again provided the opportunity to meet all the players in the sector, with over 150,000 trade visitors. In 2009 (held every two years), the Show marked a hundred years of technological innovation in aeronautics and space conquest with an event that continues to look to the future of the industry.

For touring groups wishing to visit Paris, we highly suggest avoiding the city the dates of June 18 - 27, 2011. The official dates of the Show are June 20 - 26, but we need to allow a couple days on either end so hotels can empty out. During this time, the hotels in Paris increase their rates for the thousands of business travelers in the air industry.

By Rick Steves
Tribune Media Services

It was my last day in Athens after spending several weeks producing two exciting television shows on Greece. My brain was fried. I was concerned I was getting a cold, and I felt that getting sick was God’s way of telling me to slow down. Instead of heading out on a shoot, I ditched work and spent the day lounging poolside on the rooftop of my hotel. Thankfully, it worked. The next day, I felt recharged.

After 30 years of travel, I’ve figured out what I need to do to stay healthy when traveling. For me, wellness starts at home. An early-trip cold used to be a given until I learned this trick: Plan as if you’re leaving two days before you really are. Keep that last 48-hour period sacred (apart from your normal work schedule), even if it means being frenzied before your false departure date. You’ll fly away well-rested — and 100 percent capable of enjoying the bombardment of your senses that will follow.

Anyone who flies through multiple time zones has to grapple with jet lag. It’s simple to spring your wristwatch six to nine hours forward, but body clocks don’t reset so easily. After crossing the Atlantic, your body wants to eat when you tell it to sleep and sleep when you force it to go to the Louvre. You can’t avoid jet lag, but you don’t have to condemn yourself to zombiedom either. On the flight over, I eat lightly, drink lots of water, avoid coffee and alcohol, and minimize sugar. The in-flight movies are good for one thing — nap time. With two or three hours’ sleep during the flight, you’ll be functional the day you land.

On arrival, plan a good walk. Jet lag hates fresh air, daylight, and exercise. Stay awake at least until the early evening. You’ll probably awaken very early on your first morning. Get out and enjoy a “pinch me, I’m in Europe” walk, as merchants set up in the marketplace and the town slowly comes to life. This will probably be the only sunrise you’ll see in Europe.

As in the United States, Europe is also dealing with the H1N1 flu. Just be smart and heed the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, regularly wash your hands with soap and water, try not to touch your eyes, nose and mouth, and get vaccinated if the shot is available to you.

To stay healthy, it’s crucial to get enough sleep. Most people need seven to eight hours a night. It’s tempting to go, go, go while you’re in Europe. As if channel-surfing on a great TV with an infinite number of channels, there’s always something enticing beyond what you can comfortably experience. The best way to stay healthy is to pace yourself and know your limits. Rather than a marathon of museum visits, I punctuate my sightseeing with cafe stops.

Click here for the rest of the article.

by Sharon King Hoge

Ireland’s second-largest city after Dublin, Cork draws big business with a warm Irish welcome.

It may be only a tenth the size of Dublin, but Ireland’s second-largest city offers such a wealth of arts, education, history, recreation and commerce that proponents score Cork City with a “perfect 10.” Situated on an “island” embraced by two channels of the River Lee, the city which originated on marshland (hence its Irish name, Coraigh, from corcach, meaning swamp) has transformed itself into a major metropolitan center.

An important trading hub since the Middle Ages, Cork sent hides, wool and cloth around the globe and famously became the world’s largest exporter of butter. When the potato famine struck, its port saw the departure of thousands of immigrants overseas, and during the civil wars fierce battles between British and Irish left this “rebel town” burned and pillaged. Late in the 20th century, when the shipbuilding industry and local Ford and Dunlop plants closed down, Cork turned to other opportunities. With the emergence of technology it has successfully attracted major international corporations.

Full Article Here

by Barbara Radcliffe Rogers and Stillman Rogers

Nestled in the German countryside, Heidelberg is an Old World city with a decidedly cerebral twist.

Mark Twain was enchanted by Heidelberg, Goethe fell in love here, and composer Sigmund Romberg chose it as the setting for his much-loved operetta The Student Prince. Allied forces spared it during bombing raids and, after World War II, chose it as the location of the U.S. command headquarters, USAREUR. This combination of visitors (and in the case of the bombers, non-visitors) and romantic fancy has made Heidelberg almost a legend, vying with Munich as the most popular German destination for American travelers.

First-time visitors still fall quickly under the spell of this atmospheric old city, just as writers, the fictional prince and post-war GIs did. Today, international meetings and conventions fill the hallowed halls of Heidelberg’s university during the summer, creating new waves of devotees to spread its fame.

Full Article Here

By SETH KUGEL
Published: October 25, 2009

THE map showed two obvious ways to get from Catas Altas, a sleepy village in the foothills of southeast Brazil, to our hotel at Serra do Cipó National Park, a highland steppe with vertiginous canyons and cave paintings. There was the wimpy way, a roundabout route that would take us over smooth asphalt and trusty highways. And then there was the manly path: a direct shot along rutted dirt roads that wound through lazy towns like Taquaraçu de Minas and Jaboticatubas.

I couldn’t blame my travel companions, Adam and Neil, writer friends from New York City, for leaning towards taking the easier route. Our rental car, a silver Chevy Prisma with a low-hanging chassis, wasn’t exactly fit for dusty rural shortcuts. But we were in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, where bumping along dirt roads is part of the thrill. So straight ahead we went.

The first stretch took us through green pastures and cornfields demarcated with fences made from barbed wire and jagged wooden stakes. Then, around one bend, a whitewashed, red-tile-roofed mansion appeared like a mirage in the dust. Curious, we pulled up, wandered through the out-of-place manicured lawn and found a gentleman farmer from the city examining his banana orchards. Rather than shoot us for trespassing, he invited us in for coffee and homemade guava paste.

For me, that was a typical moment in Minas Gerais, Brazil’s second-most populous state but considered by many to be its rural heartland.

Full Article Here

EVliving.com

Ford Motor Company and Drive One 4 UR School Event Raises $3,540 for Dobson High School

Mesa, Ariz. – Dobson High School students and families participated in Ford Motor Company’s Drive One 4 UR School program on Sat., Oct.3, and raised $3,540 for the school’s Band Programs. In all, 177 people each raised $20 for Dobson High by test-driving a Ford vehicle provided by Berge Ford.

Drive One 4 UR School, which launched in 2007, demonstrates Ford Motor Company’s commitment to supporting local communities in good times and in bad.. During the past two years, Ford Motor Company has provided more than $1.3 million to high schools that have participated in the program, with further plans to continue this fun, engaging way to help high schools raise money to support their sports and extracurricular activities.

“We loved being able to sponsor the Drive One 4 UR School event, and we’re so glad the community turned out to support Dobson High,” said Steve Countryman, General Sales Manager at Berge Ford. “We know the money will be put to good use, and we’re pleased with the responses we got to our vehicles — especially the Ford Escape and the Ford Fusion. We heard nothing but great feedback about these two great vehicles.”

“Events like Drive One 4 UR School really show how much this community cares about our students,” said Glenny Carter, Band Program Parent Advisor for Dobson High “We can’t thank Ford Motor Company and Berge Ford enough for sponsoring this event. Our kids really had a great time and appreciate all the support”

Published on behalf of Dobson High School
Dobson High Band Programs are planning a huge trip to China in June 2010. They have been selected to participate in the 2010 Shanghai World Expo Music Festival with further participation in the 2010 American Celebration of Music in China. For more information, visit http://www2.mpsaz.org/dobson.