Closed

So I notice that it has been a while since my last post.  I have good reasons, honestly.  A couple of weeks ago I was in Chicago with the wife and baby and our internet connection was...spotty.

 (Completely unrelated side note here.  Do you know how hard it is to find authentic, Chicago-style deep dish pizza in Chicago?  The North Side of Chicago, where we were based, had dozens of highly-rated pizza places that all served thin crust.  When I found a couple of famous deep-dish places in downtown Chicago the wait was over 2 hours.  My best deep-dish experience in the Windy City was at Uno's Airport Pizza.  It was not awesome.)

Last week I was busy setting up the Joel's Place booth at the Tanana Valley State Fair in the monsoon that we call summer 2014.  Joel's Place grew up at the Fair.  One of our first homes was at the fairgrounds and when we found a place to call our own, we picked it to be only a few blocks away from the fair.  We have had a presence during at the fair for the past 15 years.  Last year was the first year that we were actually allowed to set up a small skate park.  It was a small win, but a win nonetheless.  This year we have the same stretch of pavement as last year, but we are much busier.

We have had dozens of new youth sign waivers and ride with us for the first time.  When the sun is out, you can expect to see anywhere from 5 to 25 kids hanging out, laughing, riding, falling and generally enjoying themselves...it is just like being at Joel's Place except with more fried food.  Kelli and the staff have done a spectacular job of being welcoming to both our members and the new faces.  It has been a great success and, thanks to the Fred Meyer Foundation, we have been able to offer free riding during the fair which has served us well.  "Free" is not something that you see a lot at the fair.  I am sure this has contributed to our great attendance.

During this week of the fair, Joel's Place has been closed.  I was talking with our staff this week about the value of focus.  Last year we tried to keep Joel's Place open and run the fair site and it just stretched us too thin.  The staff were stressed and having to put in overtime; our volunteers were called in over and over; no one had much fun and kids tended to stay away from both sites.  Focus allows us to present a high quality product with an appropriate amount of support resources.  The kids win.  The staff win.  The fair wins.  The parents win.  It is tempting to think that our mission will be advanced more effectively if we are able to be more places, be open more hours, offer more programs.  In reality our mission thrives when we focus on what we do well and fades when we spread ourselves too thin.

So we are closed this week...and it is going great.  See you next week!