Shabu Shabu

Betty working the hot pots.

Last evening, Ken and I were invited to a Shabu Shabu dinner party at Betty Tong and Joe Miner's beautiful new home in Medina.   What fun!  It is such an interactive experience cooking at the table in bubbling broth with all the myriad flavors and foods that can go into the hot pot.  I know I won't remember all the ingredients, but here is at least a partial list that included three kinds of thinly sliced beef (grass-fed, Kobe, and one other), chicken, scallops, clams, prawns, fish cakes, shrimp balls, pork balls, tofu, cabbage, baby bok choy, and three kinds of mushrooms.  The magic flavor was the special sauce that was at every place setting in bowls in which each of the cooked items could be dipped and then eaten with bites of sticky rice.  Though we each had access to the hot pots, Betty spoiled us and spent most of the dinner party standing at the table, working the hot pots by cooking the various ingredients and dropping them into our bowls.   

Ken Hatch, Trish Markey, Stanko Milov

We had a great time interacting (or was that acting up?) with the other guests including friends, Afshan Lakha, Kim Richter, Trish Markey, Kim & Kevin Oakes, Steve Kutz, Courtney Womack and PNB Principal Dancer, Stanko Milov.  Afshan warned us not to overcook the beef and that she had learned that by the time you dip the beef in the boiling hot pot and say "Shabu, Shabu" twice, that the beef is cooked.  Seemed to work perfectly!

Ken Hatch, Joe Miner, Kevin Oakes enjoying beer.

Joe and Betty had just moved into their new home a couple of weeks ago and last night was the first time that Joe had his new bar set up with a beer keg on tap.  He has the most gargantuan beer glasses I have ever seen; each appearing to hold a half-gallon of beer.  I am not a beer drinker, but Ken, Joe and neighbor, Kevin Oakes, thought the Manny's Pale Ale on tap was exceptional.

Women of Valor

Ken & Cathi Hatch, Fredda & Steven Goldfarb

Yesterday, I was one of 11 women honored as a "Woman of Valor" by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell at a large luncheon at the Westin Hotel Seattle.  Senator Cantwell read a brief background about each honoree individually and presented each of us with a crystal award engraved with our names and area of recognition and "Women of Valor Awards 2011".  My award was for excellence in the field of Small Business Development.

Ken and I attended the luncheon and sat at a table with fellow honoree, Fredda Goldfarb and husband, Steven along with Betty Lou Treiger, Patti Savoy, Dana Frank, Debra Doran and Susan Arksey.  Fredda's award was for excellence in the field of Veterans' Advocacy.  Other friends attending the luncheon that I saw were Janet Levinger and Will Poole, Dan Rosen, Pat McDonald, Gary Gayton and Karen Gamoran, who originally called me about the award.



Patti Savoy, Cathi Hatch, Dana Frank

 Other "Women of Valor" honorees included Janis Avery for Children & Youth Advocacy, Martha Choe for Trailblazer, Kathy Fletcher for Environment & Conservation, Patricia Shepherd-Barnes and Dr. Beti Thompson for Health Advocacy, Marilyn J. Smith for Women's Advocacy, and Megan Karch, Alma Franulovic Plancich and Estela Ortega for Public Service & Community Development,

U.S. Senator Patty Murray kicked off the luncheon and talked about the exciting win for Boeing with the tanker decision that had just been announced the previous day.  The luncheon was also a fundraiser for Senator Cantwell's re-election campaign and following the awards, the featured speaker was U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski for Maryland.  She is the longest serving female U.S. Senator.  Senator Mikulski is a 4'11" dynamo that is a riveting speaker and regardless of political leaning was completely entertaining to everyone attending.

Ken Hatch & Debra Doran

When I arrived home following the award luncheon, I had to move my Seattle Dances! mirror ball trophy to the side to make room for my new "Woman of Valor" trophy!  What a nice problem!

Featured ZINOpreneur of the Week: David Sypniewski of Skora Athletics, LLC

David Sypniewski

Our ZINO Society featured ZINOpreneur Member this week is David Sypniewski, Founder and CEO of Skora Athletics, LLC. David presented his company at the ZINO Society Roundtable Investment Meetings in February, 2011. We asked him to share the answers to a few questions about his company.

• What is your one-sentence elevator pitch? . . . Skora is striving to become the leader of lightweight performance footwear that helps promote injury-free running.
• How did you come up with the idea for your company? . . . The seed for Skora footwear was planted when the company founder suffered a year-long injury due to running in over-cushioned shoes.
• The word that best describes your company culture is . . . Free-thinking.
• How are you different from your competition? . . . We don't cling to doctrine new or old, or hold ideology over practicality.
• What is the biggest challenge you face? . . . The lightweight running footwear segment is red hot and Skora must enter the market as a Spring 2012 product offering.
• How much money have you raised to date? . . . $115,000
• If someone gave your company $3 million tomorrow, how would you use the money? . . . Introduce a women's running footwear line at launch; scale up marketing and enter key overseas markets.
• Why will your company be successful? . . . Company founder has been barefoot running since 2002.
  
  We have an authentic story, a strong team and retailers waiting for product. Our footwear approaches design and performance from a rational, honest and realistic understanding of a runner's real needs.

February 2011 Roundtable Meeting Programming

February 2011 Roundtable Meeting Luncheon, Bellevue

This past week, we produced two successful ZINO Society Roundtable Investment meetings on Tuesday evening at our sponsor host of the evening, Foster Pepper and Thursday lunch at Harbor Club Bellevue to showcase four entrepreneurs who were seeking capital, mentoring and referrals by presenting their businesses to ZINO Society  Elite Roundtable Members, Associate Roundtable Members and Sponsor Members.  The four  featured ZINOpreneurs included Mhairi Veolsgen of BroVO Spirits, Damien Wilson of MyTown Inc., David Sypniewski of Skora Athletics, LLC and Bill Kallman of Scayl.

Bob Toomey, ZINOpreneur Damien Wilson, Gary Wilson

At the Tuesday evening event, we also showcased keynote speaker, John Kueber, COO/Group Publisher for Tiger Oak Media, a provider of regional media including Seattle Business Magazine and over a dozen other major events, web sites, and media projects on the west coast, who shared with us some of the trends, predictions and pitfalls facing business today.  His predictions included Governor Gregoire being re-elected, Mayor McGinn being defeated, and the Huskies winning their upcoming season 8-4. 

Ken Hatch and ZINOpreneur Mhairi Voelsgen

And we also featured new ZINO Society Wine Professional Member, Jay Dewitt of Dumas Station Wines, a small, family-owned winery focused on creating Bordeaux-varietal red wines with grapes from their estate Walla Walla vineyard. One of the wines being poured was their 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon which received 93 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

A Culinary Battle in Seattle

Chef Matt with Colleen Brown

Last night I attended the new United Way of King County fundraiser, "Top Chef and Exec" challenge.  The event was part of a United Way initiative to raise $1 million to help end hunger in our community.  It was a reality show format featuring four chefs from Tom Douglas Restaurants paired with business executives Colleen Brown of Fisher Communications, Brian McAndrews of Madrona Venture Group, Dan Fulton of Weyerhaeuser and Shawn Jones of Wells Fargo,

Cheftastic Colleen decorating the cake

The object was to cheer on the "cheftestants" and donate in their names as they took on the challenge - to prepare a meal using the ingredients typically found at a food bank.  To kick off the evening and to determine which Chefs and Execs got which supplementary ingredients, there was a flash cake decorating contest which Colleen Brown and partner Chef Matt of the Palace Ballroom handily won by cutting their cake into four pieces and decorating it with orange frosting and a photo of UWKC Campaign Chairs, Brad Smith and Kathy Surace-Smith.  For their supplementary ingredient, they selected the tray with assorted fresh herbs.  The other three contestants were given one of the remaining ingredients which were chicken, cheese or fresh vegetables.

Hsaio Ching, Kathy Surace-Smith, Brad Smith, Renee Behnke

There were over 100 friends and fans attending to cheer on the cheftestants including Carl Behnke, JJ McKay, Dee Dickinson, Bill Miner, Randa Minkarah, Julie & James Sun, Elizabeth & Jonathan Roberts, and Delphine & Charles Stevens.

Tom Douglas served as the emcee for the evening while the compeition judges included Renee Behnke, Hsaio Ching, and Brad Smith & Kathy Surace-Smith.  They took their job seriously tasting a "Spam Tonnato" or sauteed Spam served with a creamy mayonnaise-like tuna fish sauce as shown in the photo included with this blog posting.

Winning cake is 3rd from the lift.

The winner of the competition was Brian McAndrews, who was selected through a combination of judges' scores and the amount of money he raised for United Way of King County.

What Kind of Camp did you Say???

Just a brief funny story.  Friend and PSBJ columnist, Patti Payne and I were quickly emailing back and forth regarding an upcoming community event and after about the third interchange, Patti signed off saying that she was on her way to "boob camp".  I was fascinated because I had never heard of boob camp and wondered what I have been missing.  So, I emailed Patti asking what she does at boob camp.  Of course, it turned out that Patti had merely made a typo and really meant "boot camp" and that she was off to an exercise class.  She immediately called me and we both laughed so hard that it brought tears to our eyes!     

Wings of Hope Takes Flight!

Jim & Sue Bianco

What a party last night!  Ken and I attended the 23rd annual HopeHeart Gala, "On Wings of Hope" at the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal with friends Jim & Sue Bianco.  Over 450 people were there to celebrate at a party ably co-chaired by Vanessa Strickland and Heather & Michael Sandoval.

We were instructed to leave our tuxedoes and ballgowns in the closet and come dressed "rocker chic".  Sue Bianco looked HOT in fabulous over the knee boots and an Alexander McQueen super short skirt and see-through lace top that husband, Jim, had selected for her.  Once again, the Biancos, the Sandovals and several others, generously donated $10,000 to the "raise the paddle" segment of the auction.

Cathi Hatch and Vanessa Strickland

The space looked fantastic with ethereal lacy light chandeliers in the pre-function area and lounge chairs and couches along the sides of the walls in the dining and auction area and a full stage and tall tables in the concert area, all produced by event expert, Kate Harrison.  The featured entertainment was Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, but in addition there was a tattoo artist at work, a magician and an amazing artist, Brian Olsen, that painted huge oversize paintings using his hands and paint brushes on black canvas very quickly.  I was especially impressed with his Jimi Hendrix and Marilyn Monroe paintings.  The Jimi Hendrix painting brought several thousand dollars at the auction.



Cathi, JJ McKay, Ken



Pat Wallace and Steve Kutz



Ken Hatch, Dark Angel, Michael Sandoval



In additon to the Biancos, Sandovals and Stricklands, it was fun to see many friends there including Steve Kutz & Courtney Womack, Sharon & Jay Ballantine, JJ McKay, Pat Wallace, Felicia Guity, Janie Hendrix, Tim O'Keefe, Fredda & Steven Goldfarb, Patti & Bill Savoy, Julie & Tom Skerritt, Afshan & Andy Lakha, Sandra & Phil Nudelman, Chris & Kathy Burgess, plus many more. 

A Hot Spot for a Dinner Party

Earlier this week, Ken and I were invited to join Leslie & Dale Chihuly at their Chihuly Boathouse and Hot Shop for a small dinner party to welcome new Seattle Symphony Orchestra Executive Director, Simon Woods, who is coming from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and will be joining SSO fulltime in May.



Leslie Chihuly, Ken & Cathi Hatch



John Pohl & Simon Woods



When we arrived, long-time Chihuly associate, Billy O'Neill, was serving as the designated bartender in the Hot Shop.  Dale's crew were hard at work blowing "feathers" for a chandelier they were working on.  Joey Kirkpatrick was working with the crew to add a colorful glass wrap and shape the feathers while Tom Douglas was the designated chef for the evening.

Joey Kirkpatrick

When we were seated for dinner, I was seated next to Dale and though we both like truffles, we share the secret dislike of truffle oil drizzle which is so popular right now.  Other than the hint of truffle oil in the salad course, the dinner was absolutely delicious and beautifully prepared and served.  It was fun to talk with Jon & Elizabeth Roberts, Sherry & James Raisbeck, Jane Zalutsky, Susan & John Pohl, Leo van Dorp and the rest of the guests.  Jon Roberts was constantly on his Blackberry checking on their puppy that had just eaten a bag of Valentine candy and was at the vet being checked out.  Happily, it turned out that she was okay.

Dale & Leslie Chihuly, Tom Douglas

It will be interesting to watch all the changes at the Seattle Symphony over the next several months with Simon, the new Executive Director just beginning to take on the administrative management reins at the same time that Jerry Schwarz retires from his long-time role of Music Director and Ludo Morlot prepares to fill his shoes as Music Director Designate.  Chairman of the Board, Leslie Chihuly, is doing a fantastic job of helping the organization and all of its constituents work through the transitions.  She and the entire SSO Board of Directors will definitely have their hands full!

Dinner in the Evelyn Room 

First Course

Carrot Soup

Curried Pistachios

Second Course

Winter White Salad,

 Belgian Endive, Aged Parmesan, Truffle Oil

Entree Course

Coriander Grilled Tenderloin,

Braised Artichokes,

Nepitella Mint and Shallot Salad

Dessert Course

Tom's Triple Coconut Cream Pie

Featured Wine Professional Member : Freddy Arredondo of Cave B Cellars

Freddy Arredondo

At our recent ZINO Society January Roundtable Investment Meeting, our featured winery was ZINO Society Wine Professional Member, Cave B Estate Winery.  Winemaker, Freddy Arredondo, was on hand to pour a selection of his current releases.  I asked him a few questions about Cave B that I would like to share with you here:

• How long has your winery been in business?. . . Our first vintage was 2001 and our tasting room in Quincy opened in early 2004
• How many total wine cases did you produce last year?. . . A little over 5,000 cases
• What style(s) of wine do you produce?. . . We produce a wide array of varietals and wine styles from big Bordeaux reds to more esoteric varieties like Tempranillo and Barbera and even off-dry and dessert style wines.
•  What made you decide to get into the wine business?. . . I got into the wine business by way of food. I was a chef in my prior career and working with food initiated my interest in wine. The more I worked with wine pairings the more my interest began to shift to wine production.
•  What ratings have any of your wines received?. . . I currently don’t enter wines into a lot of competitions. The one wine competition that I always enter is the Seattle Wine Awards. In the most recent Seattle Wine Awards competition we did really well, earning One Double Gold, two Gold, three Silver and two Bronze medals.
•  And from which experts? . . . The experts were the judging panel for the Seattle wine awards.
•  Please list your current year wine labels. . . . We actually produce a large number of varietals. Blanc de Blanc Sparkling wine, Chardonnay, Semillon Viognier, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Riesling, Semillon Ice Wine and a few others.
•  Where can consumers purchase your wine? . . . We actually have a tasting room in the Seattle area at Urban Enoteca in Georgetown. So that is the best place to go for the widest selection of our wines. We also self distribute in the Seattle area and our wines can be found in many of the QFC stores, since they staff wine stewards.  We’re also in many of the specialty wine shops and many of the finer restaurants in Seattle.
• What is the biggest challenge you face?. . . I would say that my biggest challenge is trying to maintain a personal presence on the west side of the state while keeping up all of my responsibilities in the wine cellar here in Quincy.
•  What is your favorite wine to drink other than your own?. . . This is a tough question because my favorite changes with what it is that I’m eating. I am really big into food and wine pairing. There are truly so many fantastic producers of wine in the state so it is impossible for me to name one or even just a few.

Let the Good Times Roll!



Lisa Silver, Cathi Hatch, Dan Gerrity



Master of Wine Monday Guests


Last night, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in the elegant Grand Hyatt Hotel hosted our ZINO Society Master of Wine Monday.  We were greeted with a glass of bubbly by Ruth's Chris Manager and Wine Director, Kris Owens who then gave us the opportunity to try our palates on a blind wine tasting "game" as the guests were gathering.  Our job was to determine whether the wine was Old or New World, what the predominant grape was or whether it was a blend, who was the vintner and what vintage.  Several people were able to determine that the wine was New World and that the predominant grape was Cabernet Sauvignon and that the vintage was likely 2007.  The wine turned out to be Greg Harrington's excellent 2007 Gramercy Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon.

Twenty-two ZINO Society members and guests enjoyed a beautiful evening of delicious "N'Awlins-style" food from the kitchen of Chef Ian Branning, paired with fine wines and excellent service.  I don't normally care for Chardonnay, but was pleasantly surprised at how well the Zanzibar Playa Sol Chardonnay paired with the slightly smoky and spicy bacon-wrapped scallop with root vegetables.

Wine Director Kris Owens, Cathi Hatch, Chef Ian Branning

Wine Director Kris provided information about the food and wine as we proceeded through the courses.  Though everyone was clearly having a great time, ZINO Society Elite Roundtable Members, Alex Camara and Lisa Silver, developed a plan to have guests rotate seating midway through dinner which raised the fun factor and noise level even several more decibels.

The food was beautifully presented with strong, flavorful components.  My favorite course was the Filet with Bleu Cheese Crust and just a drizzle of Bearnaise sauce on the plate.  It was also paired with my favorite wine of the evening which was the Napa Valley 2006 Signorello Cabernet Sauvignon.  The entire experience was really outstanding and I would highly recommend Ruth's Chris Steakhouse as an excellent option for future private parties.  See the full menu below.

WINE AND FOOD PAIRINGS

Shrimp Remoulade

Mango, Celery & Seared Lemon

2007 Zanzibar Gabi Sauvignon Blanc Columbia Valley

Bacon Wrapped Scallop

Roasted Root Vegetables & BBQ Butter

2007 Zanzibar Playa Sol Chardonnay Columbia Valley

Filet Mignon with Bleu Cheese Crust

Béarnaise & Julienne Potatoes

2006 Signorello Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Braised Short Ribs

Sweet Potato Casserole & New Orleans BBQ Sauce

2008 William Church Bishop's Blend Columbia Valley

Chocolate Sin Cake

N.V. Heitz Cellars Ink Grade Port

Seasons of the Heart

Sarah Rindlaub, Ken, Cathi, John Rindlaub

Last night Ken and I attended Angie Lepley's Tangerine Travel "Seasons of the Heart" lively party with incredible food by Chef in the Hat, Thierry Rautureau, wines from Long Shadows Vintners, a fun filled casino and a showcase of Barrier Motors luxury automobiles.  A portion of the proceeds of the silent auction and casino went to the support of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Greater Northwest Chapter.



Kathleen Shoup, Mia Vyzis, Sarah Narbaitz



Alicia & Michael Hatch were enjoying the party and it was fun to catch up with Kathleen & Allen Shoup who were there pouring their wines along with son Ryan,  his girlfriend, Mia and their daughter-in-law, Sarah.  Patti Payne were there serving as the master of ceremonies and we also connected with John & Sarah Rindlaub and Patty Barrier, who was there having returned from the desert to attend along with the fleet of gorgeous Barrier Motors' automobiles on display. 

Cathi & Ken

Angie looked spectacular in a long red gown as she stood at the door greeting each guest.  Another great party, Angie!!



Barrier Motors' Sales Team

Artists Abound



Ken Hatch with Kathleen Schafer

Last evening Ken and I were invited to join friends, Kathleen & Tom Schafer, at their lovely lakeside Mercer Island home as their family friends, the Horiuchis and the Tsutakawas got together with others to support a non-profit organization, Nikkei Concerns, that supports elder care for Japanese Americans.  

Kathleen is a trained artist and their home and life is filled with art, in addition to their wine focus with their winery, àMaurice Cellars.  Their collection includes her own art as well as art of several of the Northwest Masters such as Paul Horiuchi, George Tsutakawa, Mark Tobey and Morris Graves.  àMaurice has also developed artist series wine labels in tribute to the Chateau Lafite Rothschild artist series labels and  two of the wines that were being poured were "The Horiuchi" red blend and "The Tsutakawa" red blend.  Both wines were to my palate delightful and were blended by their daughter, Anna Schafer, who is the talented winemaker at  àMaurice Cellars.

Jerry Tsutakawa & Cathi

I so enjoyed re-connecting with artist, Gerry Tsutakawa and his wife, Judy.  We reminisced about when I was in their home over 20 years ago when I was the chairman of the Northwest Art Project for the Junior League of Seattle to see what was then his father, George's studio, and is now his studio.

Two of Jerry's brothers, Deems Tsutakawa and Marcus Tsutakawa were part of the excellent jazz quartet that entertained the party guests.  Deems was on the piano and Marcus was on the bass while friend, Tim Horiuchi was on the bongo drums and brother-in-law, Gordon Uchima on the saxophone.

This was an evening replete with artists of all kinds; musicians, winemakers and visual artists too!

Marcus Tsutakawa



Deems Tsutakawa







Party with a Prince!

Hostess Alexis Phelps & Stanko Milov

Earlier this week, I attended a lovely party hosted by Alexis Phelps at her home, to "Party with a Prince".  In this case, the "Prince" was Stanko Milov, who is a principal male dancer for Pacific Northwest Ballet and has multiple talents as a music composer, a concert pianist, dance choreographer, teacher, and visual artist.

Stanko grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria, where his chosen profession as a male ballet dancer, is a revered profession open to only the most talented classical dancers.  He began his classical dance and piano training at age eleven at the State Choreographic School in Sofia, where he graduated with honors before coming to the United States.  He was a principal dancer with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre where he was the recipient of a 1997 Princess Grace Foundation Dance Fellowship Award.  He joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as a Principal dancer in 1999. 

Stanko is bigger than life, both physically at around 6'6" tall, and in personality.  I have heard several of the female ballet dancers say that he is their favorite dance partner, because of his height and strength and that they feel so safe when he does lifts with them.



Stanko Milov & Cathi Hatch

 Alexis invited many of her PNB Board of Trustees and STARS friends to join her in the opportunity to spend time appreciating Stanko's talents. When we first arrived, we were greeted by Stanko and one of his paintings was conspicuously displayed just inside the entrance.  Alexis made sure that her guests were all very well taken care of with glasses of champagne and delicious nibbles.  Alexis is a hostess who gets every detail right!  From her festive tabletop to the colorful collars on the champagne bottles to the homemade potstickers, it was a beautiful event and so much fun to see so many friends including Sherry Raisbeck, Pat Wallace, Sarah Rindlaub, Betty Tong, Cindy Lee, Suzy Krabbe, Laura Peterson, Leslie Chihuly and a host of others.  

Pat Wallace, Alecis Phelps, Cathi Hatch

When we departed, we were invited to take with us a CD of Stanko's piano solos, entitled Heartfelt which he has dedicated to his family and friends with this, ". . . I would like to thank my family in Bulgaria who taught me to believe in my dreams, and all of my friends who believed that this could be possible."

Suzy Krabbe & Stnko Milov

I know that I along with many others look forward to watching Stanko continue to grow and develop his artistic passions!

Becoming Catalysts for Community Change

This morning I spoke at the  Northwest Exchange 2011 Conference for women hosted by the Junior League of Seattle at the Washington Athletic Club.  Current and future leaders of the Junior Leagues from Boise, Calgary, Eugene, Great Falls, Olympia, Portland, Salt Lake City, Spokane, Tacoma, Yakima, Wenatchee and Seattle gathered for the weekend to exchange ideas and gain skills and training to position themselves to help each of their Leagues become "catalysts for change" in their communities.

AJLI At-Large Director, Evelyn Zabo
and Junior League members
particpating in "The Helium Stick"
exercise.

My topic was Team Building and I shared with the 65 women in attendance some of the "a-ha" moments that had occurred during my active Junior League years, particularly when I was Junior League of Seattle President in 1991-92.  We talked about problems we have experienced with teams, reasons for team building, attributes of successful teams, valuing each member of a team and using their diverse backgrounds to make the team more successful, dealing with obstacles to effective teams, and the importance of collaboration.

As part of the experiential learning, I asked the group to participate in two exercises.  The first was for each table team to figure out what is the most outrageous thing that they had in common with one another in a very limited amount of time.  Their answers were entertaining and sometimes hilarious, particularly the small team of three that reported out that they had all been picked up for shoplifting.  The room exploded with gasps first and then laughter when they admitted that what they really had in common is that they were good liars.

The second exercise was one called "The Helium Stick" where the object was for a team to balance a stick with a loose metal washer on each end horizontally on their index fingers and carefully lower the stick to the ground without losing the washers or actually grabbing or holding the stick.  The learning was all about the need as a team to understand the goal, overcome obstacles, communicate together effectively to achieve the desired results.  One of the telling comments afterwards that one of the participants shared was that it would have been easier if there had been a leader of each team.
I was once again impressed with the strength and power of the women in the room and how committed they are to making the world a better place by living the mission of Junior League to promote voluntarism, and develop the potential of women to improve the community through the effective action and leadership of trainined volunteers.  I would want any of them on my "team" anyday!

Health-Care Law Diagnosed Unconstitutional

It was very interesting to hear yesterday the recent ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson that the new health-care law that requires all Americans to obtain insurance is unconstitutional.  It recalled for me many of the points that Washington State Attorney General, Rob McKenna, made in remarks to the Women Corporate Directors group last April which I summarized in this blog posting.

So now we can watch and wait as this issue no doubt wends its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.