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Appreciative Mom

From: Andrea Kenney
Sent: Monday, DATE REMOVED, 2010 11:35 AM
To: - All Ranch Staff -
Subject: Thank You to YBGR Staff from Parent

Email has been modified to protect privacy of youth and parent.


Thank you to YBGR Staff,

I just got off the phone with a mom who brought her son to Paul Stock Lodge on Thursday for residential care. She wanted to thank the staff for the way they handled a difficult situation.

[The mother of the youth] works in law enforcement and says she knows how difficult those situations can be, and called to say that the Paul Stock staff was calm and in control of the situation. She was “very impressed” with the interaction and also thankful to the Paul Stock staff who communicated with her in the middle of the situation.

[The mother of the youth] also said that whenever she has called YBGR, whomever she has talked with has been very helpful in answering questions and she is "so appreciative". She has called several times and [YBGR staff] have taken time, and she has not felt like they were trying to “get her off the phone”. She has been very impressed and thankful with the YBGR staff and they have made her feel much more comfortable about leaving her son here.

He [the son] has been in another facility in the past - and they were not treated well by that staff. She [Mom] wants the YBGR staff to know that it is so wonderful for her to feel “that it seems like the staff at Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch really do care about her, her son and their family and she wanted to say thank you”.

Staff, thank you for your consistent great work with children and families. This mom wanted you to know how impressed she was with your professionalism and care. Thank you to this SPECIAL MOM for taking time to make the call to thank the staff at YBGR.

Andrea Kenney

Director of Public Relations, Media and Grants

YBGR

Award - SCHOOLS OF EXCELLENCE from the National Association of Special Education Teachers

Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch
Yellowstone Academy

Awarded the 2010-2011 - Schools of Excellence

Yellowstone Academy has been selected as a National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) School of Excellence!

This award is the highest honor a private special education school can achieve through the NASET professional association. The recognition is bestowed on private special education schools that meet rigorous professional criteria and have demonstrated truly exceptional dedication, commitment and achievement in the field of special education.

The following are the 13 eligibility criteria a private special education school must meet to be a NASET School of Excellence:

I. Licensure: All NASET Schools of Excellence must be licensed by their respective State Department of Education.

II. Licensure of Professionals: All NASET Schools of Excellence employ special education professionals who are certified or licensed in their respective professions.

III. Student Population: All NASET Schools of Excellence educate students with disabilities and or disorders. This includes, but is not limited to, individuals diagnosed with:
Autism, Deaf-Blindness, Developmental Delays, Emotional Disturbance, Health Impairments, Hearing Impairments (Including Deafness), Learning Disabilities, Mental Retardation, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairments, Speech and Language Impairments, Traumatic Brain Injury, Visual Impairments.

IV. Enrollment Size: All NASET Schools of Excellence are schools dedicated to meeting the individual and unique needs of their students.

V. Staff/Student Ratio: All NASET Schools of Excellence have a very small Staff/Student Ratio.

VI. Age of Students: All NASET Schools of Excellence serve a student age population, with all students being between 3 to 21 years of age.

VII. Related Services: All NASET Schools of Excellence provide various types of related services for their students including, but not limited to:
Audiology, Cochlear Implant Services, Counseling, Deaf Community Interaction, Evening Tutorial Program, Local Mainstreaming opportunities, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Psychological Services, Speech, Sign Language Services, Transportation, Vocational Evaluation.

VIII. Curriculum: All NASET Schools of Excellence ensure that students receive a well rounded curriculum to meet the specific needs of each individual student with a disability.
IX. Length of Operations: All NASET Schools of Excellence have been in existence for at least 10 or more years.

X. Number of Months Open: All NASET Schools of Excellence are open a minimum of 10 months out of the calendar year.

XI. Multiculturalism: All NASET Schools of Excellence seek to provide a multicultural environment.

XII. Affiliations and Memberships: All NASET Schools of Excellence are affiliated and/or have memberships in other professional associations and organizations.

XIII. Admissions Procedures: All NASET Schools of Excellence have a specific admissions procedure that they follow and adhere to in accepting the students in their programs.

Memorial Honors Mary Beth Martin

The main campus of YBGR is located west of Billings. The campus is located on both sides of 72nd Street West. In 2007, YBGR relocated the main entrances with the East Campus entrance moving to Hesper, rather than 72nd Street. When Mary Beth Martin passed away, her family wanted to honor her in a special way and they offered to provide a sign at the new entrance. Mary Beth's niece, Jenn Weber works at YBGR and was aware of how a sign at the new entrance would benefit visitors to the campus. With the input of her Uncle Dennis and other family members, a large stone was carved and placed at the entrance. Thank you to Jenn, Dennis and the members of the Mary Beth Martin family and all their friends that donated to make this lovely memorial possible.

Jenn and her uncle were featured in the YBGR Foundation Wrangler in 2010. This is the text from that article: Dennis Martin met Mary Beth when he moved in next door to her when he was in 9th grade and she was in 6th. In high school, Dennis became her boss at the A & W drive-in. Love bloomed across the hedge and over root beer floats and the deep fat fryer! Twenty-eight and a half years of marriage and two boys later, Dennis lost his Mary Beth, but he found a way to honor her memory. Dennis gave memorial gifts to Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch to help purchase a sign for the East Campus entrance.

"Mary Beth knew from experience as a mother that every child needs a good foundation. Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch knows how to do that, so I'm glad to honor Mary Beth in this way," Dennis said. Dennis's niece Jenn Weber is a residential coordinator at the Ranc,h and we are blessed to have their family involved in making Yellowstone the best it can be. Thanks to the Martin family and to Mary Beth's friends and loved ones who gave in such a lasting and meaningful way. We greatly appreciate it!

Sponsorships For Equestrian Program

We are grateful to our many friends who support the equestrian programs at Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch. These corporate sponsors have generously provided funds that underwrite the cost of the facility and help with providing equipment to the youth in the horsemanship classes and youth in the equine assisted psychotherapy program.

For additional information on the YBGR Equestrian Program, click here.

For information about the Bill and Anita Jones Equestrian Center facilities and our SPONSOR-FRIENDS, click here.

Granite Realty Gives Back

Liz Miller, Broker/Owner of Granite Realty, in Billings, presented Andrea Kenney with a donation check from Liz and her clients, Sam and Angelina Watt. Granite Realty has a program where proceeds are given back to the community. We thank Sam and Angelina for selecting Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch for their gift, and for Liz Miller for making it possible. Thank you for giving back to our community and helping YBGR's kids!

Andrea Kenney is the Director of Public Relations, Media and Grants for Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch.

SPURS Team is Impacting Lives

A round up is underway to identify the SPURS Team.

SPURS members are Supporting Partners to Underwrite Ranch Sustainability at Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch.

For more information Click Here

Community Service & Volunteerism

Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch encourages volunteer participation by our staff and youth to benefit the communities where they live.

In several Montana communities staff are involved in events such as the Relay for Life (American Cancer Society). In addition to having teams walk the relay event, staff have developed unique and creative ways to raise funds for the American Cancer Society, including an annual silent auction, car wash, ice cream social, and chili feed. Many staff or their family members are cancer survivors, so we cheer for one another in a personal way.

We also encourage our youth (with staff) to participate in community service projects such as washing dogs and cleaning cages for local animal shelters, pulling weeds and picking up trash at community parks, schools and museums, organizing clothing at Family Services, serving food at the Rescue Mission, and playing bingo, along with other activities with the elderly in nursing homes.

We believe volunteerism promotes leadership, citizenship, and develops a global view with participants. By encouraging our staff and youth to volunteer and participate in community service projects, we are able to impact every community in a positive way.

Interns Enrich Lives

"I have been with YBGR for the past 10 years. During my tenure, we have frequently utilized interns from several colleges including Rocky Mountain College. Rocky's interns are well-prepared and hands-on from the beginning. They are willing to jump in right away and work with our kids. They are well organized and their writing is very detailed. Rocky is very thorough with their paperwork. We receive information about the interns prior to them arriving, with evaluations and clearly outlined deadlines. We never hesitate when approached by Rocky about internship possibilities. Our experiences have been very positive. We welcome the opportunity to work with Rocky in future internship possibilities."

Staff, Jenn S.
Yellowstone Boys & Girls Ranch

NOTE: YBGR has multiple internship opportunities including (and not limited to) counselor, master's therapist, master's non-clinical practicum’s, human resources, marketing, pastoral care, treatment manager, behavior specialist, chemical dependency counselor, nursing, recreational therapy, social worker, and equine assisted programs. There are many opportunities for college students! To learn more about YBGR's internship programs or to see if an internship program can be set up to meet your needs, contact the Human Resources Department at YBGR.

Yellowstone County Empowering Youth Program

Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch was awarded a $750,000 grant for a three-year federal program called the Communities Empowering Youth (CEY) Grant from the Administration for Children and Families.

The project was awarded to Yellowstone Boys & Girls Ranch to work with agencies in Yellowstone County who work with at-risk youth. Mary Hernandez was hired as the grant director and works directly with the non-profit organizations providing training that help build capacity within each organization. Some areas of focus are program development, leadership development, community engagement, and organizational development.

The goal of this grant is to help these organizations partner with others in the community and provide a collaboration of efforts that will promote a healthy environment. The capacity of their collaboration will help meet the needs of at-risk youth.

“We just really believe there are opportunities for expanding and improving services to children in Yellowstone County,” said Glenn McFarlane, YBGR CEO, “We really want to focus on being partners and growing those partnerships. Somebody’s got to take the lead on it, so we just said ‘let’s go for it,’”