December 15, 2010 Visit To Mountaineers Chapter
Mountaineers Chapter
On November 18, 2010, I flew northwest from Ohio, stopping in Minneapolis, to visit the Mountaineers Chapter located in Seattle, Washington. It's been many years since my last visit, but this remains a vibrant modern city picturesquely situated between the Olympic and Cascade Mountain ranges. It rarely snows there, but just my luck - it snowed.
I truly enjoy opportunities to visit the homes of our members to see what they collect and this trip did not disappoint. On this visit, I saw Tinkerbell, Goofy, and lots of trains.
The Mountaineers were chartered as a chapter on July 17, 1991 and has grown to 45 families. They meet monthly, except in July, rotating at the homes of various members.
And they also gather on occasion to watch a new Disney movie at the theater. Plus the ladies like to "do lunch" sometimes and go antiquing. One never knows when a Disney collectible might show up - which just has to be bought! This is a very close knit group of friends who share our common passion for Disney.
Each August, the chapter sponsors Mouse Meet - an annual weekend of speaker seminars, pin trading, show & tell, and vendor sales. Sounds like a mini DFC Convention.
Other yearly events include a pot luck picnic and a Christmas party.
It's always gratifying to see how hard our chapter members work to give back to their communities. The Mountaineers participate in a number of charities, including a toy drive for the local Children's Hospital, Make a Wish, and the Freemont Food Drive. In addition, the chapter donates cash to a few additional charities.
The Mountaineers Newsletter is published bi-monthly and includes great articles with color photographs about past and future chapter events and activities of the members.
With all this having been said, by far I was most impressed by a young lady named Sarah White, the 16 year old daughter of a member. She had recently gone to Disneyland to participate in what I believe was her first half marathon event. Afterwards, she met an elderly lady who had unfortunately fallen during the race and did not earn a completion medal. Sarah insisted that the lady take her medal. Well, that lady contacted the Walt Disney Company and Mickey Mouse himself showed up at the young lady's high school with a replacement medal. How cool is that? Check out this link to the local tv news story: http://www.komonews.com/news/
