Sept-Oct 2018 FINAL NEWSLETTER

Bridgewood Farms

“Providing Heart and Hope for a Community devoted to the challenges of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities”

Chairman September & October 2018
Rod Chaves
Vice Chairman A New Way to Check-in at Bridgewood Farms
Sheri Brown
Secretary You will soon spot some changes to the way clients, volunteers, visitors
Deborah Ellsworth and staff “sign-in” when they arrive at Bridge-
Treasurer wood Farms. Thanks to a very generous do-
Pat Sendelbach nation from all the folks at Abby Realty, we
will now have an electronic check-in system
Board of Directors utilizing badges and fingerprint identification
Shawn Cannon for everyone who visits BWF. This system will
Jim O’Hare help us digitally track
who is here, helping
Eduardo Rodriguez us make sure every-
Jerry Shumpert one is accounted for
in case there is every
Executive Director an emergency. This
Flo Nelson program is scheduled

Associate Executive to begin October 1st, so stay tuned for more in-
Director formation

Karen Jones Bridgewood Farms Annual Charity Golf Tournament
Administrator Monday, October 22, 2018
Enid Goodman
We are excited to announce that the
Our Mission Bridgewood Farms Annual Charity
Golf Tournament will be held on
Bridgewood Farms is the Monday, October 22, 2018 at
premier provider of Atascocita Golf Club in Humble, Texas.

programs and services The tournament will be a scramble
in partnership with fami- format. Registration and lunch start at
lies and the community, 11:00 a.m. followed by a shotgun start at
1:00 p.m.
enabling individuals
with intellectual and The entry fee is $125 per player which includes your green fee, taco lunch and
developmental disabili- dinner following the event. You also have a chance at winning a trophy and door
ties to reach their prizes! We will have a silent and live auction at the event. Sponsor Forms and
Golfer Entry Forms are available on our website or contact Judy at 936-856-6460 x
highest potential 100 to have them sent to you. Registrations must be received by October 5th.
through training and
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! Contact Enid at 936-856-6460 x 104 to volunteer!
life experiences
that build self-esteem We also need your time, talent and auction items! Call Kristi at x 103
and promote personal

independence.

Page 2 Bridgewood Farms Newsletter September-October 2018

Bridgewood Guardians

After taking the summer off, the parent group, Bridgewood Guardians,
is getting back to meeting! The next one will be on Thursday,
September 27, at 6:00 at Luby's in Conroe. Our "guest" speaker is
really one of us. Sheri Brown is going to share how to create a story
about a family member with disabilities. She has a template she used
when she was living out of state to provide her daughter's story. It
gives those who work with the person valuable information about their
past, the current interests, their really special needs, etc. It is more
useful than the reports workers get from doctors, agencies, or even us
when we fill out fairly short forms. We think we'll all benefit from having
Sheri teach us how to do it. We met on the 3rd Thursdays of the spring
months, but we are changing it to the 4th week this time. We were
unable to get the library at a reasonable time, so we are giving Luby's a try. You can come early or stay
late and eat, or eat while we talk! Also pencil in meetings on the 4th Thursdays in October and
November, although we'll discuss those at the Sept. meeting and may make a change.
HOPE TO SEE ALL PARENTS AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS THERE. You can bring your BWF
participant, too, of course.

15th Annual Burn Your Buns Bike Ride Results

Even though the weather threatened to damper everyone’s spirits, the
15th Annual Burn Your Buns charity bike ride went on as scheduled.

This year’s ride was also dedicated in honor of Steve Shoger,
longtime supporter and organizer of the Burn Your Buns bike ride.
Steve will be missed and we are forever grateful for his legacy of

commitment and service to
Bridgewood Farms!

Braving the rain with our dedicated riders were the Conroe
and Lake Conroe Area Rotary Clubs, Quality of Life

Chiropractic, National Charity League Montgomery Chapter,
Bridgewood Farms employees, family
members and friends. Ian Warren
Davy Holak took the reins this year as
the director of the event, making sure
the path was well-marked, the rest
stops well stocked and the riders kept safe by also acting as SAG drivers!
Thanks, Ian & Davy! And with the help of our awesome Rotarian friends,
a relationship 15 years in the making, our rest stops were efficient, fun
and integral in taking care of our participants!

Bridgewood Farms was also blessed to have participation from Pct. 1
Constable Philip Cash’s office, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s

Department, and Montgomery County Hospital District to ensure the safety of all cyclists.

We were also privileged to have a number of generous sponsors this year, including: Jeff Tacy &
Marissa Gonzalez, Borden Dairy Products, Canino Produce, The Ark Church, The Friends of Conroe, Costco

Wholesale, Lynch Signs...and SO many more!

MANY, MANY thanks go out to our volunteers….our parents, friends and community
partners are the BEST!

Page 3

Every Little Bit Helps!

DO YOU KNOW that there are a TON of employers out there that will MATCH
your charitable contributions? Some of our area’s biggest employers, including
Anadarko, Aon-Hewitt, Ball Corporation, Borden and Entergy, will double your
donation simply because you ask! Check with YOUR company’s HR department
to see if it might be an option for you, too!

As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, Bridgewood Farms is able to take place in community give-back
programs that provide easy ways to support our programs and services when
you make everyday purchases.

Kroger Share Program: Each time you shop at a Kroger grocery store and
present your card at checkout, a percentage of your purchase amount will
be saved and sent to Bridgewood Farms. You can set up your card online
or Kroger Customer Service will assist you.
Www.krogercommunityrewards.com BWF Code (YQ627)

Amazon Smile Program: Amazon will donate .5% of the price of your eligible
purchases to Bridgewood Farms when you designate them as your charity
of choice! Go to www.smile.amazon.com to sign up!

Halloween Lunch and Dance Party

We are so happy we could scream! Halloween is just around the corner.
Please join us on Wednesday, October 31st, for our annual Halloween Party

at BWF! Come with your best dressed costumes to receive great prizes!

Event fee is $6 for lunch

Please donate candy and goodies for Halloween treat bags

*We are in need of parent volunteers to assist with goody bags and
cookies. Please contact Judy if you would like to help*

NASA OTA Students Return

Thank you to Texas Special Occupational students with both Lone Star College and
Children’s Project, Inc. for St. Catherine’s University will return this fall to the BWF
donating the tickets for our
clients and families to attend campus. These students volunteer their time to work
NASA in August! It was an with our clients in a variety of ways, visiting and
enjoyable day and all had alternating classrooms to get exposure to all the
much fun participating in the activities, exhibits, and lunch. And
our thanks to all the volunteers that helped with this grand trip! programs and assisting with 1-on-1 and small group
settigs to provide assistance in the class rooms. We

look forward to welcoming them!

Meet Our Board of Directors

Jerry Shumpert

Jerry Shumpert has been on our Board of Directors for more than13 years and is a retired
executive from the automobile industry. He has also been the coach for our Special
Olympics golf team in the past. His son, Jody, is a client member of the Bridgewood Farms
family and has been for 17 years.
Currently Jerry is chairing the 2018 BWF Charity Golf Tournament at Atascocita Golf Club.
He has poured tireless effort into securing sponsorships and making sure it will be a great
success! Thank you, Jerry!

Page 4 B r i d g e w o o d FBarri dmgse wNoeowds lFeat tremr sS e p t e m b e r- O c t o b e r 2 0 1 8

Meet Our Clients

Gina Swik

Hello, I’m Gina Swik and I’ve been a ending Bridgewood Farms at
their day program for 2 1/2 years. We went on the cruise with our

friends and had an awesome &me. I go bowling with Special
Olympics. I have made many lifelong friends while a ending
Bridgewood Farms. I a end ceramics and PE. I help keep Bridgewood
Farms clean with my part-&me job. I’m so thank for for this job.

(Wri en by Gina Swik)

Bridgewood at a Glance

Fond (but sad) Farewells

Lucy has been a part of BJ’s Recreation Center and Bridgewood Farms for over 28 years. During this
time frame, she has been involved in many aspects of daily programming along with extracurricular

activities in the community and Special Olympics. Lucy has lived with
Executive Director, Flo Nelson, and has been a member of her family for

more than 28 years.

Lucy has been an absolute joy to be around and very entertaining with her
vocabulary to say the least! Our staff has always watched out for her, making

sure her physical and medical needs are met, walking with her to classes,
assisting with ramp bowling and just making sure she is busy with various
projects in each of our daily programs at Bridgewood Farms. Her friends
always make sure to help her, too, because she is dearly loved and such a

sweet person!

Lucy has seen many changes in her lifetime and she is getting ready to

Miss Lucy make an even bigger change. Lucy will be moving into an long term care

program at Park Manor in The Woodlands. She will be sorely missed because

she has been a huge part of our program for a long time and it’s hard to tell our friends goodbye. We

wish her well in her new surroundings and she’s excited about this new journey. Please visit her any

time and she is already looking forward to seeing her special friends again!

Mandy has been employed as the Bridgewood Farms bookkeeper since 2008 after having bowled
several years as a Unified Bowler for our Special Olympics team. With prior experience as a self-
employed and independent embroidery entrepreneur, and an accounting manager in the building
industry, Mandy has been a tremendous asset for the growth of our residential homes and future
apartments. Her business acumen has made her invaluable with our day
programming by keeping everything accurate and up-to-date. That and
her knowledge of a little bit of everything, specifically IT support, make

her a one-of-a-kind, unique person and employee!

Sadly, Mandy will be leaving soon and moving to New Hampshire. Her
husband, Michael, has been transferred so she and her son TY are
tagging along for this exciting new journey in their lives.

Mandy has always been dedicated and loyal to her family, friends and Mandy Cannon
Bridgewood Farms, and she will definitely be missed as a colleague! We

will miss her gentle spirit and helpfulness, but hoping she has loads of
fun in this new adventure. We wish her well in this new phase and hope

she will be able to send us some fresh lobsters soon!

Page 5

Special Olympics Bocce CRAFT SHOW VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!

Bocce practice has begun for Bridgewood We are scheduled to show
Farms and all athletes are excited about our products at three craft
preparing for the upcoming area and state level shows in October. If you are
competitions! able to volunteer your time —

Area Bocce Competition: September 22nd please contact Enid at
SHSU Huntsville 936-856-6460 x 104

State Bocce Competition: October 18-19 • October 11: First Baptist Church in Conroe 9:00-3:00
College Station • October 13: Jamaica Beach Market 10:00-3:00
• October 24: April Sound Craft Show 9:00-3:00
If you have any questions, please contact Coach Gregory at
936-856-6460 x 114

EfTA Provides Interns for BWF Welcome Brandie Young to BWF!

This summer, we were blessed with

two high school interns provided by Please help us give a

Education for Tomorrow Alliance, or warm welcome to Brandy

EfTA. These eager students spent 2 who will be taking over
weeks at the Farm, volunteering with our Ceramics Mandy’s bookkeeping
and Health/PE programs. They spent time working duties at the Farm! We
with our amazing clients and got first hand experience are very excited that she
with how wonderful it is to spend time with our special has joined the team!
friends here at the farm! Thank you, Monica Bomkamp

-Enia and Education for Tomorrow Alliance, for

connecting us with these great

students!

Here are just a few ways that you can give back to Bridgewood Farms!

• Purchase items on the Wish List • Give your time to assist teachers in class

• If your employer provides matching charitable • Volunteer to help with Annual Golf Tournament on
donation fund, donate and match! October 22nd

• Help with fall craft fairs in October • Assist with the Halloween Luncheon

• Join the BWF Guardians Parent Group • Like and follow us on Facebook to keep us with us!

A Special THANK YOU to all who have volunteered and made
contributions to Bridgewood Farms!

Flo Nelson; Karen Jones; Judy Lopez; Ian Warren; Helen Downey; Peggy Apple; Kris & Mike McBride; Kelli Hamilton; Tyler Hamilton;

Palmeri Family; Hildebrandt Family’; Conroe Rotary Club; Lake Conroe Rotary Club; Sandy Dees; Jim O’Hare; Pat Sendelbach; Joe

Hagerty; Peter & Sam Zimmer; National Charity League– Monarch Chapter; Davy Holak; The Woodlands Cycling Club; Bennett

Family; Borden Dairy; Bubela Family; Canino Produce; Cannon Custom Homes; Jaime Castaneda; Christa Krumins; Costco; City

Councilman Duane Ham; Garza Family; David Hill; Pam & Sky Holak; Investment Management; Jeffrey Tacy; Marissa Garza; Jerry

Snyder; Krolczyk Family; Linda Tiernan; Mules Cycling Club; Oakcrest Farms; Dr. David Orchanion; Quality of Life Chiropractic; Ruby

Page; Schwisow Family; Shaw Family; Shawn Patterson; Shumpert Family; Simmons Family; The Ark

Church; The Friends of Conroe; Union Pacific Rail Road; Ward Family; Will Metcalf Campaign;

Montgomery County Hospital District EMS; Philip Cash’s Pct 1 Constables Office; Montgomery County

Sheriff’s Department; Willis PD; Derrick McCarley; Charlie & Judy Parada; Mary Davis; Kirby Thomson; Ian

Warren; Leslie with Conroe/Lake Conroe Rotary Clubs; Sarah Matej; Texas Special Children’s Project;

Marie Valaperto; Micahel & Gayle Mills; Jack Elliott; Mary Gail Duddridge; Nancy Hicks; Shelby

Nelson; Patrick McGannon; Cathy Silva; Bert & Sonny Prater; Jon Harris; Jay Jones; Lani Life; Jennifer

Hutzler; Jason Bulkowski; Georgette Falcon; Ginny Bodman

Page 6 Bridgewood Farms Newsletter September-October 2018

September Happenings 2018-19 Important Dates

09/03: LABOR DAY—BWF CLOSED Sept 3: Labor Day—Closed
09/08: BWF Fall Dance @ TWCC 7:00-9:30 PM Sept 8: Fall Dance
09/11: Incredible Pizza $15
09/20: Client Luncheon $6 TWCC 7:00-9:30
09/22: Special Olympics Area 6 Bocce Tournament—SHSU, Oct 31: Halloween Luncheon
Nov 20: Thanksgiving Feast
Huntsville Nov 22-23: Thanksgiving— Closed
09/24: Star Cinema Grill $23
09/27: Special Olympics Area 6 Golf Tournament—Bryan

October Happenings Dec 8: Special Olympics Area
Dec 15 : Bowling Competition
10/06: OctoBEAR Fest Craft Show Montgomery 10:00-5:00 Jan 1: Christmas Dance
10/11: First Baptist Church Crafts Show @ Conroe 9:00-3:00 NEED April 13: TWCC Noon-3:00

VOLUNTEERS New Year’s Day
10/12: Incredible Pizza $15 BWF Closed
10/13: Jamaica Beach Market Craft Show 10:00-3:00 Family Picnic
10/18: ExxonMobil @ Bridgewood Farms Day of Caring
10/18-19: Special Olympics State Bocce Games, College Station 2019 DANCE DATES
10/18-20: Special Olympics State Golf Tournament, Bryan March 9 @ 7PM
10/22: Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser at Atascocita Golf Club
10/25: Star Cinema $23 May 11 @ 7PM (Prom)
10/24: April Sound Craft Show @ April Sound 9:00-3:00 Sept 28 @ 7PM
Dec 21 @ 12PM
NEED VOLUNTEERS
10/31: Halloween Lunch & Costume Contest $6

*Please sign up in advance and prepay for all Community Outings*

Meet Our Staff

Bridgewood Farms teachers and staff are an integral component to the success of Bridgewood Farms! Each issue we will

Joe Hagerty Brenda Pilgrim

Joseph Haggerty grew up in Brenda initially started working
Holmesburg, PA. He is the 5th of as an assistant in the ACE
14 children born to Eleanor and
George Hagerty. Joe attended program in 2013 and became
Father Judge High School in our data entry clerk in 2016.
Philadelphia and graduated from She has 2 pre-teen daughters,
Lincoln High in 1970. Breanna and Savannah, that
keep her busy with school
The property Bridgewood Farms sits on was once a activities. She also works a p/t job on the weekends
Christmas tree farm and Joe was the groundskeeper
and assisted the clients with planting, growing, caring to help support her children’s extracurricular
and selling the trees at Christmas time. Joe enjoyed activities. Brenda is very focused on her kids’ lives
taking customers and clients around the farm and
helping to cut down their selected tree. In 2002, by continuing to keep them motivated and
Bridgewood Farms became home to the clients and successful in their academic endeavors and this
Joe became the permanent groundskeeper.
makes her a very busy mom!
Joe moved back to PA for 2 years, but missed Texas
so much he found his way back home. Joe and his Brenda and her family are originally from Texas, but
wife, Lynn, became Host Home Providers in 2015 for have moved all around the US and Mexico before
3 young men.
finally returning back home. She is currently working
Joe has a special place in his heart for the clients who on her AA in Human Services at Lone Star College.
dearly love and respect him.
Brenda is a wonderful and caring asset to our
programming needs at Bridgewood Farms and a go-

getter in every task she takes on!

September 2018 PagPea3ge 7

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

23 4 5 67 1
8
LABOR DAY BWF Dance at
TWCC 7-9:30
BWF CLOSED 15

9 10 11 12 13 14 22
Incredible SO Area Bocce
Pizza $15 @ SHSU

16 17 18 19 20 21 29
Client
23 24 25 Luncheon $6

Star Cinema & 26 27 28
SO Area Golf
Grill $23 @ Bryan

30

October 2018

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

7 1 2 3 4 5 6
14 OctoBEAR
21 8 9 10 11 12 Fest Craft
28 Show 10-5
1ST Baptist Incredible
13
Conroe Crafts Pizza $15 Jamaica Beach
Market Craft
Show 9-3 Show 10-3

15 16 17 18 19 20
SO Fall SO Fall
24 Classic- Bocce Classic- Bocce
April Sound College Station College Station
Craft Show
9-3 ExxonMobil Day
of Caring

22 23 25 25 27
BWF Golf Star Cinema &
Tournament Grill $23
Atascocita Golf
Club

29 30 31
Halloween
Lunch and
Dance Party
$6

Bridgewood Farms

11680 Rose Road
Conroe, TX 77303
Phone: 936-856-6460
Fax: 936-856-2620
“ Bridging the gap for the
Intellectually Disabled”

Become a fan of Bridgewood Farms

We enjoy having visitors come see our
facilities and meet our clients & staff. To

request a tour or learn more about our
programs, services, and volunteer oppor-
tunities, call us at 936-856-6460 or visit

our website
www.bridgewoodfarms.org

WISH LIST

Pre-Vocational Training: Acrylic Paints (Primary Colors); Hodge Podge (Glossy); Wired Fall & Christmas Ribbon; Small Christmas
Ornaments; Glitter (All Colors); Hobby Lobby & Michael’s Gift Cards

Ceramics: Studio Equipment and Materials; Kiln Shelves RF159 21” x 1”; NRA-04 Pugmill (to recycle clay); Assorted Maygo Glazes;
Firing Rods; Slip; Clay; Stilts (bed of nails)

Horticulture: Four Oscillating Fans; Acrylic Paints (Assorted Colors); Paint Brushes (All Sizes); Tangle-free Expandable Garden Hose;
Seven Dust; Epsom Salt; 2 3-Gallon Sprayers

ACE: Activity Workbooks (Assorted Levels); Books (Assorted Levels); Dollar Tree Gift Cards
Health and PE: Pedometers (Class Set of 30); Jump Ropes (heavy gauge rope); Stress Balls (hand sized)

Grace Manor: Bagless Vacuum Cleaner
Hick’s House: Bagless Vacuum Cleaner; Gas Weed Eater
Residential Properties: Riding Lawn Mower; 50’ Extension Cords; Leaf Blower
Shop/Barn– Various Shop Tools (screwdrivers, hammers, pliers, etc.,); 4” Angle Grinder; Stihl 20-24” Chainsaw; Riding Mower; Shop

Vacuum

Celebra ng 50 Years Serving the Special Needs Community 1967-2017