23 May 2010
This month is going by so very fast, but yet last Monday seems like such a long time ago. How does the work?
Jack has really been helping more and more people with interviewing. He will meet with them and go over questions that would be asked in an interview, give feedback, help with questions that might be hard to answer etc. etc. A couple of fellows have had had good interviews and have gotten the job. So that’s always exciting!!
It’s always wonderful when the timing is so right. A company will call and need an employee and then someone comes in looking for that exact kind of job and has the skills needed.
One morning a company called needing some help in the afternoon passing out flyers for a few hours, just a temporary thing. So I spent time calling people in that Stake/area and found a couple of people willing to go out and earn a few dollars for the day.
Not just a few times we meet with people who have left their previous jobs because they were asked to do something that they thought was morally wrong, be unfair or not truthful with customers etc. I admire them for standing by their values when it is such a tough job market out there. We know the Lord will bless them for remaining faithful, sometimes you just don’t know when or how.
It’s interesting that a couple of days ago a young man from Hawaii called and wanted some help with a particular job he had seen on the ldsjobs website. It seemed odd to help someone in Hawaii, but I was able to search for the jobs from here and give him a bit of guidance as to what to do. He said he could never get in touch with the Center over there.
The BYU Management Society has a Chapter here in Dallas. Friday they had a ‘networking’ breakfast that Jack & I attended. We signed up a couple of weeks ago, which was good because it filled up fast. Garry Riding, a VP in T-Mobil, was the speaker. We had to have a security clearance and get a badge etc to be admitted into the building.
He shared some of the things that he found important in his career development. It was very positive and good. Good to hear testimonials of some of the points that we talk about and encourage people to do in their job search. It gives it all more meaning to what we say. It helps us know how to encourage people more.
We were also able to meet a couple of Stake Employment Specialist in person that up to this point we’ve only emailed back and forth or spoken on the telephone – so that was really great. Warner Blair from Fort Worth and Jeanette Giles from out at Gilmer are both great people.
We have actually had several of those really busy days this week. Never finishing up anything before moving onto another activity, answering the phone or helping someone who walks in etc. Donna T. had a couple of emails that she had to get out Wednesday. During the day she had been able to open up her email account, been disrupted, by the time she got back to it had been timed out and had to start again. By 5:00 closing time she had not accomplished even one sentence. Some days are like that. And to think I was worried that I wouldn’t be busy out here.
Our P-day was………… good. We went to the Pioneer Village in Fort Worth and then we headed to the same type of thing in Dallas. However it started raining so hard that we decided it wouldn’t be much fun walking around in outside, not to mention the driving. There were tornado watches and warnings through out the afternoon and evening but the rain was the worst that we got into. However there were some tornados in some unpopulated areas that occurred that evening.
There is a choral group that I have heard of recently in the area that I’m interested in. They are not an LDS group but the conductor and most members are LDS. They seem to be similar in nature to Zephyr Singers in Logandale. Last Sunday I was mentioning to Jack that I wish I could find a contact within the group to learn more about them.
Monday morning a gal came in to do volunteer work at the Center from one of the Single Adult Wards. She is also looking for a job. I visited with her, about her background and what she would like to be doing. She recently graduated from BYU-I in choral music. I asked her if she was involved in any music groups currently – she is a member of ‘Evening Song!’, the group I’m interested in. I was so excited. They are doing a fireside this evening in one of the Stakes that we were planning on going to. However, Friday Julie P. asked Jack & I to take care of an assignment this evening – so maybe another time we will have opportunity to hear ‘Evening Song.’
This evening we are going to The Colony Ward in Frisco and doing a fireside for the youth about – you guessed, it jobs and careers. They have many activities and resources already prepared at the Center so that it was easy to plan and prepare. It should just be a fun thing to go share with the youth.
And in fact that is coming up pretty soon so I best be getting ready for that. Jack is over to the Carrollton Stake Center helping set up chairs for a Single Adult fireside there tonight. He’s always willing to help out!
We hope you have had a good week too. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family.
Our Love,
Mom & Dad
Jack n Gaye
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Turtle Creek - Highland Park
Act on a tip from Cousin Jane Rizzone we drove down into the heart of Dallas and found Turtle Creek Parkway.
This is a affluent section of the City.
You didn't didn't see allot of Ford 4-wheel drive trucks in this area.
There was however, many beautiful bike paths along the river walk
Part of the trail is boardwalk, great fun for bikes.
Highland Park has maintained strict zoning ordinances. Known for its quality housing, the town still has many parks running along Turtle Creek and is home to the Dallas Country Club.
Highland Park investors chose this name as it was located on high land that overlooked downtown Dallas.
The Highland Park Village became somewhat famous in the early 1980s when the popular television show Dallas used to shoot on location there.
We just enjoyed the afternoon after the Employment Center had closed.
The Water Lillies were just starting to bloom
This is a affluent section of the City.
You didn't didn't see allot of Ford 4-wheel drive trucks in this area.
There was however, many beautiful bike paths along the river walk
Part of the trail is boardwalk, great fun for bikes.
Highland Park has maintained strict zoning ordinances. Known for its quality housing, the town still has many parks running along Turtle Creek and is home to the Dallas Country Club.
Highland Park investors chose this name as it was located on high land that overlooked downtown Dallas.
The Highland Park Village became somewhat famous in the early 1980s when the popular television show Dallas used to shoot on location there.
We just enjoyed the afternoon after the Employment Center had closed.
The Water Lillies were just starting to bloom
Many of the street are tree lined creating a canopy effect
A beautiful section of Dallas, thanks for the tip Jane!
We will return another afternoon!
A beautiful section of Dallas, thanks for the tip Jane!
We will return another afternoon!
Jack n Gaye
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Log Cabin Village - White Rock Lake
The Carrollton Stake Center is the location of our Networking Class on Tuesdays. Those that attend exchange business cards and discuss their job search.
The log cabin village along the Trinity River in Fort Worth.
Sister Nelson caught this weeks laundry up and got it all drying.
The Blacksmith shop had a working smithy there, he pumped up the forge and showed us the ropes.
The School house was moved here from its location on the Trinity River
The Texaco pump
Here Elder Nelson tries his hand at teaching in Texas
The Grist Mill was the favorite stop at the village.
We had a small stove like this one in the little white house on Whitney Ln
beautiful spring day on Thursday for our visit.
Then just for fun we went to Mount Vernon on White Rock Lake. The Hunt Family of the JB Hunt Catsup fame build a replicate of the Washington Mt Vernon.
Sister Nelson said, "Well we are here, now what?"
Oh yeah, we will watch the SMU girls sculling team
Welcome to Mount Vernon in Dallas,Texas!
A beautiful evening as the Sun set on White Rock Lake.
The log cabin village along the Trinity River in Fort Worth.
Sister Nelson caught this weeks laundry up and got it all drying.
The Blacksmith shop had a working smithy there, he pumped up the forge and showed us the ropes.
The School house was moved here from its location on the Trinity River
The Texaco pump
Here Elder Nelson tries his hand at teaching in Texas
The Grist Mill was the favorite stop at the village.
We had a small stove like this one in the little white house on Whitney Ln
beautiful spring day on Thursday for our visit.
Then just for fun we went to Mount Vernon on White Rock Lake. The Hunt Family of the JB Hunt Catsup fame build a replicate of the Washington Mt Vernon.
Sister Nelson said, "Well we are here, now what?"
Oh yeah, we will watch the SMU girls sculling team
Welcome to Mount Vernon in Dallas,Texas!
A beautiful evening as the Sun set on White Rock Lake.
Jack n Gaye
Sunday, May 16, 2010
May 16th 2010
16 May 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
Can you believe it, we’re half way thru May already. The days and weeks hurry by.
Today was our Stake Conference, and the Dallas 6th Ward sang. I was amazed at how well it all came together in the end. When you get everyone there at the same time and have an extra practice it makes a big difference – that coupled with some prayers. Last week it was sounding pretty weak, but it was quite nice today.
The talks were centered around families and the importance of having the Savior in the center of all our relationships; also keeping the husband and wife relationship strong, remembering to take time for that outside of time with the children. Another theme was ‘that everyone is important; don’t ever think you’re not.’
Each person we meet each week gives just that many interesting experiences. It seems that we met with several ‘friends’ at the beginning of the week, who are getting more desperate in their job search as their funds run out, become late on rent payments, car payments and only have a few dollars left. It can become such a downward spiral, if you don’t have computer access, gas or even a car to get out and look for a job, no phone to leave a number for call backs etc, it gets harder and harder. We remind them that they can come to the Center and use our phones, computers and we will fix them something to eat if they are hungry.
Both of the new Sr. Sisters have been able to come to the Center this week. We are each getting more specific assignments and more specialized as we get more help. That is a good think I think, you don’t feel like you have to know EVERYTHING. We are helping them get to know the ways of what we do and they are really getting the idea of it.
Tuesday Elder Nelson and I went to a resource mtg in Fort Worth regarding helping people with criminal records get back into the work force. (One of my areas). It was helpful and gave us another contact or two on people to visit and find out more information. This meeting was sponsored by Catholic Charities, held at the Baptist Church and the Mormons were invited too. The have a lot of unity, all working together to help people.
I also helped a young lady who has been leading a very rough life but is trying to make a turn around and leave her past life behind. She came in just an hour before closing time so we didn’t have much time to work together but we had a good visit and shared some ideas with her. We know where to pick up on her next visit, possibly tomorrow. We will do some personality tests and interests tests in career development to help give her some ideas on a direction she might like to go for a job/career. (Career development is another one of my assigned areas.)
We’ve done some checking on a job we heard about in Louisiana where they are hiring 500 people to help clean up the oil spill. Some have shown an interest in this, they have to be willing to work 24/7 for 3-4 months. The long timers give a word of caution however, I guess they did a similar thing with Hurricane Katrina but many of the people didn’t get paid. The companies just left with the $$.
Which brings up another topic. We had the opportunity to learn about storm clouds that spawn tornadoes. Julie P. invited us outside Friday and explained the sky to us. There were a couple of different banks of clouds moving in opposing directions, then they turned a shade of dark green, these are some of the warning signs for tornados. Fortunately we only received some strong winds and heavy rains for about 30 minutes. We never felt threatened but it was very interesting.
Jack had a man come in that was preparing for an interview and wanted him to help him through some questions. He had some difficult things to address about his recent history of being employed, poor credit etc. That afternoon the man went to his interview, the next day he called and they had notified him that he had got the job. They were both pretty happy.
I worked with a middle aged man originally from Viet Nam. He had been in the newspaper industry for many years but had been let go. Not a thriving business anymore. He is a friend, but has a son on a mission in Sacramento, CA. He is very proud of him and was interested in our mission experience.
We’ve also been working with a man who is in construction management. He has a job he is applying for this week. He had applied for one last week and was told for that one job there were 600 people from all over the country applying for it. That is some pretty tough competition.
Jack helped with measuring the grain in the silos out back recently. He enjoys his time out there. With 9+ people (that’s just the staff) in the Center most of the time, 7 of them being women, he slips out there a little more frequently, just to get a little fresh air. I think he’s about got Art convinced that he is a country boy and knows about physical/manual labor. Art sees him as a business type guy – but then all he sees him in is his suit and white shirt and tie. He’s shown some people a picture of him with his beard, hat, on a horse and they recognize him.
Brother & Sister Stoddard came in with his daughter this past week. He moved here a couple of years ago from Henderson. He worked at the LV temple on the Wednesday evening shift. He appears he left just a month or two before we started but we enjoyed a nice visit about common friends serving on that shift.
Jack also helped with the web-i-nar Wednesday evening, explaining to the Ward and Stake Specialists how to sign on companies.
Also fairly frequently people will come in needing a priesthood blessing. Jack and one of the other brothers always gladly respond. We always keep oil close by. He had that opportunity this past week again.
Thanks to Jack’s support I was able to have some fun recorder experiences this week. Tuesday evening he drove me to where the Dallas Recorder Society was meeting. The first portion of the evening we listened to some professional level performances. Then we all played together. There are about 15-20 people there. It was great fun. I was somewhere in the middle ground – there were those that were better than I, fortunately it worked out that I sat next to them and was able to enjoy their playing – there were also some that were not as skilled as I so I felt comfortable there. They were all very gracious and welcomed me there.
Saturday afternoon Charlie invited us out to his home. We had some pizza and salad, the four of us. Then Charlie and I played recorder/harpsichord music and Jack and Carla visited. What great friends they are.
The weather prediction for our P-day this week was stormy so we stayed close by. We went out to Fair Park in Dallas and enjoyed some of the museums and the Grand Canyon movie at the Omni Max. It was good to see the desert and a few shots of Las Vegas.
It’s great to see the new babies that have been added to the Miller family recently. What precious little spirits. Thanks for sending pictures. We send our congratulations and love.
Thanks again for your love, prayers and support. What wonderful family and friends we are blessed with. Our prayers are with you daily too. We are grateful to be having these many wonderful opportunities to serve.
We love and miss you and hope y’all have a great week,
Grandpa & Grandma, Mom & Dad, Jack & Gaye
Elder & Sister Nelson
Jack n Gaye
Dear Family and Friends,
Can you believe it, we’re half way thru May already. The days and weeks hurry by.
Today was our Stake Conference, and the Dallas 6th Ward sang. I was amazed at how well it all came together in the end. When you get everyone there at the same time and have an extra practice it makes a big difference – that coupled with some prayers. Last week it was sounding pretty weak, but it was quite nice today.
The talks were centered around families and the importance of having the Savior in the center of all our relationships; also keeping the husband and wife relationship strong, remembering to take time for that outside of time with the children. Another theme was ‘that everyone is important; don’t ever think you’re not.’
Each person we meet each week gives just that many interesting experiences. It seems that we met with several ‘friends’ at the beginning of the week, who are getting more desperate in their job search as their funds run out, become late on rent payments, car payments and only have a few dollars left. It can become such a downward spiral, if you don’t have computer access, gas or even a car to get out and look for a job, no phone to leave a number for call backs etc, it gets harder and harder. We remind them that they can come to the Center and use our phones, computers and we will fix them something to eat if they are hungry.
Both of the new Sr. Sisters have been able to come to the Center this week. We are each getting more specific assignments and more specialized as we get more help. That is a good think I think, you don’t feel like you have to know EVERYTHING. We are helping them get to know the ways of what we do and they are really getting the idea of it.
Tuesday Elder Nelson and I went to a resource mtg in Fort Worth regarding helping people with criminal records get back into the work force. (One of my areas). It was helpful and gave us another contact or two on people to visit and find out more information. This meeting was sponsored by Catholic Charities, held at the Baptist Church and the Mormons were invited too. The have a lot of unity, all working together to help people.
I also helped a young lady who has been leading a very rough life but is trying to make a turn around and leave her past life behind. She came in just an hour before closing time so we didn’t have much time to work together but we had a good visit and shared some ideas with her. We know where to pick up on her next visit, possibly tomorrow. We will do some personality tests and interests tests in career development to help give her some ideas on a direction she might like to go for a job/career. (Career development is another one of my assigned areas.)
We’ve done some checking on a job we heard about in Louisiana where they are hiring 500 people to help clean up the oil spill. Some have shown an interest in this, they have to be willing to work 24/7 for 3-4 months. The long timers give a word of caution however, I guess they did a similar thing with Hurricane Katrina but many of the people didn’t get paid. The companies just left with the $$.
Which brings up another topic. We had the opportunity to learn about storm clouds that spawn tornadoes. Julie P. invited us outside Friday and explained the sky to us. There were a couple of different banks of clouds moving in opposing directions, then they turned a shade of dark green, these are some of the warning signs for tornados. Fortunately we only received some strong winds and heavy rains for about 30 minutes. We never felt threatened but it was very interesting.
Jack had a man come in that was preparing for an interview and wanted him to help him through some questions. He had some difficult things to address about his recent history of being employed, poor credit etc. That afternoon the man went to his interview, the next day he called and they had notified him that he had got the job. They were both pretty happy.
I worked with a middle aged man originally from Viet Nam. He had been in the newspaper industry for many years but had been let go. Not a thriving business anymore. He is a friend, but has a son on a mission in Sacramento, CA. He is very proud of him and was interested in our mission experience.
We’ve also been working with a man who is in construction management. He has a job he is applying for this week. He had applied for one last week and was told for that one job there were 600 people from all over the country applying for it. That is some pretty tough competition.
Jack helped with measuring the grain in the silos out back recently. He enjoys his time out there. With 9+ people (that’s just the staff) in the Center most of the time, 7 of them being women, he slips out there a little more frequently, just to get a little fresh air. I think he’s about got Art convinced that he is a country boy and knows about physical/manual labor. Art sees him as a business type guy – but then all he sees him in is his suit and white shirt and tie. He’s shown some people a picture of him with his beard, hat, on a horse and they recognize him.
Brother & Sister Stoddard came in with his daughter this past week. He moved here a couple of years ago from Henderson. He worked at the LV temple on the Wednesday evening shift. He appears he left just a month or two before we started but we enjoyed a nice visit about common friends serving on that shift.
Jack also helped with the web-i-nar Wednesday evening, explaining to the Ward and Stake Specialists how to sign on companies.
Also fairly frequently people will come in needing a priesthood blessing. Jack and one of the other brothers always gladly respond. We always keep oil close by. He had that opportunity this past week again.
Thanks to Jack’s support I was able to have some fun recorder experiences this week. Tuesday evening he drove me to where the Dallas Recorder Society was meeting. The first portion of the evening we listened to some professional level performances. Then we all played together. There are about 15-20 people there. It was great fun. I was somewhere in the middle ground – there were those that were better than I, fortunately it worked out that I sat next to them and was able to enjoy their playing – there were also some that were not as skilled as I so I felt comfortable there. They were all very gracious and welcomed me there.
Saturday afternoon Charlie invited us out to his home. We had some pizza and salad, the four of us. Then Charlie and I played recorder/harpsichord music and Jack and Carla visited. What great friends they are.
The weather prediction for our P-day this week was stormy so we stayed close by. We went out to Fair Park in Dallas and enjoyed some of the museums and the Grand Canyon movie at the Omni Max. It was good to see the desert and a few shots of Las Vegas.
It’s great to see the new babies that have been added to the Miller family recently. What precious little spirits. Thanks for sending pictures. We send our congratulations and love.
Thanks again for your love, prayers and support. What wonderful family and friends we are blessed with. Our prayers are with you daily too. We are grateful to be having these many wonderful opportunities to serve.
We love and miss you and hope y’all have a great week,
Grandpa & Grandma, Mom & Dad, Jack & Gaye
Elder & Sister Nelson
Jack n Gaye
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Cotton Bowl & Fair Park-Dallas Tx
The Cotton Bowl from the road
We parked the old trusty Ford and begin our journey through Fair Park.
First stop the Cotton Bowl.
Jack at the historic core of Fair Park. It contains significant examples of art deco exposition architecture constructed for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition. Many of these buildings have been restored and are most actively used during annual festivals such as the State Fair held at the end of Sept. It has been called "one of the most spectacular public spaces in the United States
Sister Nelson seated at the Old Mill Stream Inn Inn. Thank you Miller's!
Sister Nelson at the Old Mill Inn It is clad in fieldstone and incorporating heavy-timber construction, this was the exhibit building for the flour milling industry. It now serves Fair Park as a restaurant.
The Old Mill Inn. A respite on a hot Dallas afternoon.
A good healthy hike to the Cotton Bowl from the Old Mill Stream Inn
Oh the Nelson's love hiking the bike's would have been better!
The is the Texas Star. The Texas Star, opened in 1985, is the largest Ferris wheel in North America. Open during events at Fair Park, come during the fair at the end of September and we will go ride it on P-day Thursday.
Sister Nelson at the naturalistic water feature named The Lagoon.
The Lagoon had many benches and shady spots around it. Very nice area of Fair Park
The Science museum is a spartan building clad in Texas limestone and shellstone built as the centerpiece of the Lagoon area. It is located near the Cotton Bowl. In 1996, the museum's added the IMAX Theater. Sister Nelson and I attended the showing of the Wild Colorado and Grand Canyon. It had several shot of Las Vegas and a great clip about the Toroweap Point. This just did wonders for our spirits after a week of sad story's about job loss and unemployment. On the bright side we have had many more companies sign on to recruit employees. I wish Bro Arnie Cottam had been along. Robert Redford was the narrator of the movie!
We parked the old trusty Ford and begin our journey through Fair Park.
First stop the Cotton Bowl.
Jack at the historic core of Fair Park. It contains significant examples of art deco exposition architecture constructed for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition. Many of these buildings have been restored and are most actively used during annual festivals such as the State Fair held at the end of Sept. It has been called "one of the most spectacular public spaces in the United States
Sister Nelson seated at the Old Mill Stream Inn Inn. Thank you Miller's!
Sister Nelson at the Old Mill Inn It is clad in fieldstone and incorporating heavy-timber construction, this was the exhibit building for the flour milling industry. It now serves Fair Park as a restaurant.
The Old Mill Inn. A respite on a hot Dallas afternoon.
A good healthy hike to the Cotton Bowl from the Old Mill Stream Inn
Oh the Nelson's love hiking the bike's would have been better!
The is the Texas Star. The Texas Star, opened in 1985, is the largest Ferris wheel in North America. Open during events at Fair Park, come during the fair at the end of September and we will go ride it on P-day Thursday.
Sister Nelson at the naturalistic water feature named The Lagoon.
The Lagoon had many benches and shady spots around it. Very nice area of Fair Park
The Science museum is a spartan building clad in Texas limestone and shellstone built as the centerpiece of the Lagoon area. It is located near the Cotton Bowl. In 1996, the museum's added the IMAX Theater. Sister Nelson and I attended the showing of the Wild Colorado and Grand Canyon. It had several shot of Las Vegas and a great clip about the Toroweap Point. This just did wonders for our spirits after a week of sad story's about job loss and unemployment. On the bright side we have had many more companies sign on to recruit employees. I wish Bro Arnie Cottam had been along. Robert Redford was the narrator of the movie!
Jack n Gaye
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