Job-search Advice

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed Adam Friedman gives "some commonsense job-search advice for new graduates," which is good advice for anyone in "Don't Wear Flip-Flops to the Interview."

The Arbor - May 2011

The lead article in the May issue of The Arbor describes how a family support group blessed the life of one sister whose life had dealt her a series of severe blows.  Through participating in the family support group she was able to feel hope again and return fully to her church family and church activity.

Family support groups are not for recovering addicts, but for those whose lives are so profoundly affected by the addictions of loved ones—spouse, children, or close friends.  In addition, a family support group can bring the healing blessings of the Atonement to any who feel despair because of their circumstances.

The Arbor lists both face-to-face and telephone call-in family support groups available in our area, as well as Addiction Recovery Program meetings.

The Arbor - April 2011

The April edition of The Arbor suggests some simple ways we can improve our lives by turning them to the Savior.  Also see a current list of meetings by phone or in person.

The Arbor - March 2011

The March edition of The Arbor includes an article on using the steps of recovery to heal a marriage, and another on learning to rely on the Lord's Spirit for hope and healing.  As always, it also includes a list of telephone and in-person recovery meetings.

New Therapist

Sister Heather Putney, MFT, is now working as a new part-time therapist for LDS Family Services in Pittsburgh.

 

Heather is a Marriage and Family Therapist who got her degree from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, in 2010.  She completed her internship with LDS Family Services in Nashua, NH.  Heather and her husband recently relocated to the Pittsburgh area and are members of the Pittsburgh 1^st Ward. 

Heather’s clinical areas of interest include: Couple’s and Family Therapy as well as Adoption, Foster Care and Infertility.

Contact Heather at 304-216-8287 (evenings and weekends) or by email at hputney@gmail.com.

Stake Employment Resource Services

After four years of faithful and effective service Brother Ken Soenen has been released as the stake employment specialist.  With Brother Soenen's release we are going to take a somewhat different approach to supporting employment resource services in the stake.  Evan Stoddard of the stake high council, Brother Mark Bondiett of the Washington Ward (newly called and set apart as a stake employment specialist), and Brother Tom Gearhart of the Pittsburgh Seventh Ward (who serves as stake employment secretary), will constitute a team of specialists to assist the ward and branch employment specialists, and Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society leaders in their responsibility to offer employment resource services to the members of their wards and branches.

Where ward or branch employment specialists are serving they will work directly with them.  In units where there is no employment specialist they will work directly with the Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society leaders to offer training and support.  You can contact members of the stake employment by email or phone:

Evan Stoddard    412-431-7188
Mark Bondiett    412-996-8200
Tom Gearhart     412-596-7734

You can call on them to assist where there is need for training or support in employment resource services.  Also take advantage of www.ldsjobs.org.  Encourage those who are seeking employment to register there, complete a profile, and make full use of the excellent training materials they will find there.

Food Storage Order from Walton Feed

For years Jim and Mary Kirk of Greenfield, Ohio, have offered the service of coordinating a bulk order of food storage commodities from Walton Feed in Idaho.  Following is the the announcement of their next order:

If we haven’t met, we are Jim and Mary Kirk of Greenford, Ohio.  From time to time we coordinate group ordering of food storage and related items from Walton Feed, Inc., located in Montpelier, Idaho.  In our opinion they have high integrity as business people, excellent quality products, great service, and fair prices.

It is possible for you to order directly from Walton, but there are advantages to our buying together.  The greatest of these is the drastically reduced shipping cost.  Our group orders come by freight.  A truck holds about 42-45,000 lbs.  That’s a LOT of food!  We seldom fill a truck ourselves but when enough orders are collected at Walton Feed to send a truck east, ours will be on its way.  

You can look at or download the Walton Feed Catalog (price list) from their Web site:  

Or you can call them toll-free for information or to request a catalog: 1-800-847-0465.

If you want to be included in the group order you need to go to the Walton Feed Web site and choose what you want to stock up on.  Then mail or e-mail your personal order directly to us.  We will combine it into one large order (at the same time maintaining its individual identity) and forward it to Walton for addition to the next eastbound truck.  Unless other arrangements are made all orders are picked up at our house after sorting.

It usually takes at least a couple of months for participants in our group to amass the 2500-3000 pounds necessary for a freight drop.  Expected delivery time is hard to determine but it is usually 2-3 months after our combined order is received by Walton Feed. 

We are collecting orders now.  It is wonderful when people order early.  It makes it easier to monitor the accruing weight and gives us a better idea when the order will go in.  If you order early and afterwards discover some other item(s) you want, you can still send us add-ons until we alert you that the order is about to be shipped.

** TENTATIVE DEADLINE FOR ORDERING IS MID-APRIL *

Finances:

            Please send payment with your order in one of the following ways:

1.     Complete credit card information (see order form).

2.     A check or money order made payable to Mary Kirk.

We will send your credit card info and write one check to Walton with the order.  They will debit the credit cards just before the order is shipped.  Bad checks and closed credit card accounts cause great unhappiness at all levels.  Please be considerate in this matter.

Feel free to pass on this information to anyone you think would like to participate.  It’s OK to call or e-mail with questions.      PHONE:  (330) 533-2733            E-MAIL:  happykirks@yahoo.com

We look forward to working with you!

Mary and Jim