Even though January is almost at an end I thought I would still tell you a little bit about new things here at The Partnership. This month we welcomed a new employee and four new board members. Our new staff person is Jenna Davis (see picture below) she and her husband and two daughters recently returned and retired to St. James. I hope you will get to meet her soon. Our new board members are Kenny Barnes, Barbara Durnin, Sherry Heavin, and Deborah McKee. Our new officers are Mike Thompson, Chair; Bill Morgan, Vice Chair; John Denbo, Treasurer; and Marilyn Frederick, Secretary. We are looking forward to a great 2012.

Celebrating Community Builders

	Steve Rosen and I listening to CB Jamie Archer. Jenna Davis (our new Development Director), and CBs Dilek Acar and Jim Graham.

In October eleven new Community Builders joined as special supporters of The Partnership. We wanted to welcome them and to recognize our cherished Community Builders in a special way. So, last week our staff and Board of Directors helped to celebrate Community Builders - new and cherished! We all met at the chancellor's house and shared stories about programs, had some good food, and enjoyed each others company. The house was gorgeous and we had fun inspecting it for MS&T's new chancellor Cheryl B. Schrader! 

A few times a year we try to bring our Community Builders together to let them know what is happening at The Partnership. Community Builders are the amazing people in our community who have pledged a minimum of $1,000 a year for five years to The Community Partnership. Without this group of dedicated investors we would not be able to provide many wonderful programs. Community Builders allow us to create, sustain, and sometimes even try out programs that help to provide a healthy and safe future for our community. We are so grateful for our Community Builders support and care! 

I am Moving - I am Learning!

	Children learn when they are moving!

Bruce Wade, our Fit Helps Coordinator spent two Saturdays this month working with childcare providers on a national, award-winning initiative called I am Moving I am Learning. This twelve-hour training helps providers understand the importance of movement and nutrition for children's growing brains and bodies. Providers learned how to incorporate at least 60 minutes of teacher facilitated movement in every day and additional child-directed activity and healthy food choices while in their care. This great program was made possible through funding from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and supplements the great work we are able to do because of the Missouri Foundation for Health!

An additional website in partnership with Head Start called Head Start Body Start has some great ideas for everyone.There are activity calendars, ideas, songs and all kinds of great info for teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone who works with children and hopes to promote a healthy future!  I hope you check it out!

Finally, I received an email from Child Trends - they just came out with an interesting paper that does a state by state comparison of how often children of different ages eat with their families. Believe it or not family meals have some amazing outcomes for children. Even after factoring in many variables, children who share meals with their families do better in school and are more likely to delay initiation of sexual activity. An interesting article!

Hope this little Note finds you well and noticing that the days are getting longer! (Yeah) Please let me know if you have a special program or idea you would like me to talk about in my next Notes - I love to hear from you!