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The raffle prize table will be back again for today’s blood drive at the Webster Recreation Center from noon to 7 pm.

The two-day Webster Community Red Cross Blood Drive came back to town yesterday, at St. Paul’s Church, and by all accounts, it has been very successful already.Regular donors who know this blood drive for the coupon packet provided by local businesses were a little surprised but pleased with the new twist this time around. After signing in, each donor was handed 10 raffle tickets, which they could use to try for more than two dozen prizes. Then they were handed a free Red Cross t-shirt, and three other coupons, including one good for a pint of ice cream at Brusters.

All of this before they even sat down. Which means that even if for some reason you’re told you can’t donate blood today (like, my iron was too low again), you STILL get all the freebies just for coming in and trying to donate.

Despite the strong turnout of donors, the wait times were quite short and there were plenty of donation tables to go around. Most people were getting in and out within about an hour.

Today, the blood drive moves to the Webster Recreation Center, 1350 Chiyoda Drive, from noon to 7 pm. All of those great things will be happening again — the raffle prizes, the t-shirts, the coupons — PLUS the Woman’s Club of Webster will be manning the canteen with home-baked cookies.

So consider taking an hour out of your day to be a hero and help save lives, by coming on down to the Webster Rec and donating. Here are some of the prizes you might win:

• Gift cards from Abbott’s Frozen Custard
• Gift certificates from Barry’s Old School Irish
• Paul Mitchell products from Beyond Cuts Salon
• Gift certificate from The Chicken Coop
• Gift card from Eastway Liquor
• Free hair cut certificates from Great Clips
• Gift basket from Hegedorn’s
• Gift basket from Kittelberger Florist
• Grumblers and pint glasses from Knucklehead Craft Brewing
• Free month of classes from Matsunami Karate
• Gift certificate from Natural Alternatives
• Gift certificate from Ron’s Auto Repair
• Gift certificate from Rubino’s
• Fruit gift basket from Schutt’s Apple Mill
• 10 free classes from Strike Back Martial Arts
• Decorative vase and Lenox candle holders from The Garage Sale Store
• A free ice cream cake from The Goodie Shoppe
• Free month’s membership from World Gym

PS: A Huge thank you to all of our local business owners who have helped make this drive a success.

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I never had the pleasure of knowing Mary Ann Gangi, but from what I learned about her on Friday night, I really wish I did.

Mary Ann, who was a third grade teacher at Klem South Elementary, and who had been with the school for more than 20 years, passed away unexpectedly last year.  On Friday night, the school honored her with a joint PTSA Family Fun Night and Mary Ann Gangi Scholarship Fundraiser.

Hundreds of people filled the school’s lawns throughout the evening. Children were kept entertained with a bounce house, face painting, and lots of lawn games. Food trucks and vendors lined the bus loop, along with a silent auction table and raffles. Some of the school’s young musicians even provided entertainment.  And there were lots of cow connections, including cowhide balloons, because Mary Ann loved cows.

It was all a fitting tribute to Mary Ann, whom Klem South Principal Erin Land called a “warm, wonderful person.”

“When you met her, you immediately felt a connection to her because she cared about you,” Land said. “It doesn’t matter where you met her, on the street, in the classroom, she was just that kind of person.”

“The work that she did in her classroom often revolved around peace and mindfulness and community. So we thought this event was a great way to honor her in her memory.”

Money raised at the event will benefit the newly established Mary Ann Gangi Scholarship Fund. Details are still being finalized, but Land believes the fund will go to support teachers who want to continue Mary Ann’s legacy by creating mindful, community-based activities in her classrooms, and for children who want to participate in them.

Donations to the Mary Ann Gangi Scholarship Fund, can be sent c/o Halina Gangi Dooley, Klem Road South School, 1025 Klem Road, Webster NY, 14580.

Here are some images from the evening:

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Just a quick reminder that I will be presenting my 2016 Tour de Parks talk again, Thursday night at the Brighton Memorial Library beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Still haven’t heard about it? Well, basically, last year I challenged myself to visit every one of Rochester’s east-side parks. I tried to hike a bit in every park that had trails, I took a lot of photos, and recorded my adventures in a blog.

It was a long year, but I accomplished my goal. Mostly.

You can hear all about it at Thursday night’s presentation. Chances are you’ll see a park or two that you recognize, and perhaps learn something about parks you never knew existed.

There’s no admission, and you don’t have to bother registering. But the library folks did promise they’d make cookies (it was the only compensation I asked for). So please do come, because I’d much rather speak to a larger crowd than just a few people. I promise it will be interesting.

And cookies. Just sayin’.

The Brighton Memorial Library is at 2300 Elmwood Avenue.

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It looks like the rains might hold off tomorrow morning for Webster’s Memorial Day Parade and remembrance ceremony, but make sure to bring an umbrella in case one of the passing thunderstorms should find us.

Monday morning’s parade will begin on Sanford Street (next to Spry Middle School) at 9:30 am, then works its way down South Avenue and onto West Main Street. The parade will conclude with a ceremony at Webster Rural Cemetery, on Ridge Road at Holt.

The parade is always nice, but it is the ceremony which really moves me. Every year, members of our Webster veterans organizations and Scout troops spend several days placing American flags on the graves of thousands of veterans buried in our local cemeteries. You’ll see them peppered throughout the Webster Rural Cemetery, marking the resting places of those who fought for our freedom.

The post-parade ceremony is extremely moving. There are speeches, local officials lay wreaths, and children place flags at the headstones representing all of our country’s wars. And when members of the Webster Marching Band play Echo Taps, I always choke up. I’m thankful that I don’t have to visit my son’s grave in a military cemetery, and cannot imagine the pain felt by those mothers who do. 

I have not been able to attend the parade for the last two years because I’ve been out of town. But this year, I’ll certainly be out there with  my camera, traveling up and down the streets and at the cemetery, so keep an eye out for me!

Here’s a gallery of photos from 2013, a sampling of what this event is all about.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.