“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” By Socrates
Count Me in 2022!
The responses to “Count me in 2022” have been very encouraging. Unexpected, several “Friends” I seldom (maybe never) hear from have indicated “Count Me In 2022”. And, of course several of the more vocal “Friends” have expressed their desire to continue. The deadline to inform me is the end of December. Please take a minute to send me an email saying “Count me in 2022”.
My only purpose for this request is to update my current mailing list and discontinue sending weekly Posts to email addresses belonging to “Friends” who are no longer interested. After eight years, the list is large and in great need of updating. The six week window of opportunity to declare your desire to be retained on the list will end at the end of December. Starting this week, there are five weeks left.
End of the School Year Event….
On Saturday I was among several others who attended (virtually) the final presentations for the Copey Learning Center students. The students have officially completed this semester of on-line education. 
This event was a full one hour display of the students’ accomplishments. From kindergarten level up thru high school students, all spoke of their work and experiences.
One of the most astonishing presentations included the development of a cultural recipe book. The recipe book contains unique recipes from the various provinces in Costa Rica. In the near future, I hope to do a special Post highlighting the recipe book. Hopefully, we can find a way to mass produce and distribute this item in the United States.
Congratulations to the students, the “Dream Team” teachers, Celeste and Catalina, and all others including the Emory & Henry College students. Everyone is commended for the dedication and devotion that was on display during the Saturday event. 
At the conclusion of the presentations, two key announcements were made. The first announcement pertained to an opportunity for the Copey Learning Center to gain international recognition for its work.
The second announcement pertained to the development of a new and emerging presence of the Copey Learning Center on a variety of media platforms. A key part of this will include a strong focus on the relationship with Emory & Henry College, the Copey Learning Center, and the very popular “Pathway Project”.
December is Scorecard Time
It is time for this year’s financial and non-financial scorecard to be presented. This is the annual accounting of our involvement and progress supporting the Copey Learning Center for the year. In spite of Covid-19 and mandatory shut-downs and closures, we have a lot of great news to report. Stay tuned.
The Home Stretch!
Year’s end for the school year at the Copey Learning Center is always a strange time for me. The school break is close to three months and on the surface it would seem even I can take a break from “Friends of Copey”. But, that has never happened. Historically, I have spent the middle to the latter part of December gathering and preparing the annual scorecards. I am completely convinced that all “Friends” should be informed and educated on what the year has produced from our
involvement. The scorecard or yearly review is an excellent tool for various reasons.
The scorecard becomes a matter of record, an accounting of our efforts, and a historical record hopefully available 25 or 50 or more years from now for others to see and perhaps learn from. For us now, it is a performance evaluation and measurement of our sincerity to do what we profess to do and believe. Our scores have been great over the years and continue. Thanks to “Friends”.
What a great success we see in Copey! On Saturday I watched the wonderful end-of-school presentations by the students. They made me want to cry – they worked so hard and spoke English so well! Thanks to all the teachers!!!