S.I.C.2010 Day 1

We’ve wrapped up our second day at the 2010 Summer Institute on Community.  Whew!  what a whirlwind.  It’s being presented and hosted by Realizations, which his headed up by Hope Dittmeier, who is a helluva director.  Last night, at the end of our first day, Hope and I and a few others sat up thinking and drinking and she said she felt like she’d been here 3 days already.  Well it feels like 5 now!  A quick recap of Day One:

Arrived Monday and checked in.  It’s on the grounds of the Louisville Seminary, which is absolutely the perfect place for any conference. ever. 

It’s just gorgeous and the grounds and buildings surprise you in every way and make the experience all the better.  We started with a welcome from Hope and a keynote from Peter Leidy.  Peter’s a pretty funny guy and entertained us with some songs, but he was to be outdone a little later, as you’ll see.  He discussed the differences between compliance and curiosity, both as roles as givers and receivers of services.  There is some irony to this, which I’ll touch on for Day 2.

After Peter’s keynote, we moved into our first courses.  I was signed up for “Social Role Valorization Around the Kitchen Table” with Janet Klees of Legacies and the Deohaeko Support Network in Toronto.  Janet’s got a pretty cool thing going up there and told us all about Deohaeko.  We really didn’t get into SRV much in that first session…more just learning about Deohaeko, which was a fine place to start.

The highlight of Day 1, for me, was after dinner, when we were entertained by Patrick Henry Hughes. 

Patrick played about 10 songs and spoke about his life and just capped off a terrific first day.  I broke open the bourbon and a few of us toasted our arrival and learning.  I was up with friends (new and old) until nearly 2 a.m.  It was exhausting, but terrific.  Day 2 recap coming soon!