Remarks of Bonnie Grueninger, Program Director, JNH:

We are grateful indeed to all the people at Commerce Bank and the Kemper Foundation for this wonderful luncheon to honor Terry Anzalone, who is a terrific example of a Jamestown New Horizons volunteer. Our special thanks go to Don Zykan. And, we thank all of you for coming to help us celebrate.

There is an artist in England, named Thelwell, who does wonderful cartoons about children and their fat little ponies. One of my favorite Thelwell cartoons shows this darling little rider at the horse show, accepting her blue ribbon - while the other little riders in the class "smile politely."

Then, the next cartoon illustrates what happened after the show. The rider who won the blue ribbon is galloping away for dear life because things are being thrown at her - horseshoes, apple cores, riding crops, anything the other little riders could find to throw.

Terry is the first Jamestown New Horizons volunteer that we have ever singled out for an award for outstanding service - because - we truly feel that each and everyone of the Jamestown New Horizons volunteers is worthy of such an award.

(And some of the volunteers are here today.)

Terry, they have promised that they will be on their very best behavior, and will smile politely - and even applaud - when you accept your award. However, remember what happened to the little rider after the show.

I have known Terry Anzalone for more than 20 years. She has tremendous love for both horses and children. So I guess it's no surprise that she has committed so many years of service - and financial assistance - to Jamestown New Horizons.

But, there is a "mystery" here: "How does Terry find the time to do all that she does?

In addition to her husband Ray - who has done a lot for Jamestown New Horizons - five children and a whole slew of grandchildren, including Ricky who lives with her, she's involved with church activities, school activities, Little League, house cleaning, yard work, shopping and taking the family pets to the groomer and to the vet. She never forgets birthdays of her family and friends. She works 40 hours each week at the Paulo Products Company in St. Louis, and she probably spends nearly 2 hours a day in rush hour traffic. Most people would consider that quite enough for anyone to be doing.

How has she found the time to volunteer at Jamestown New Horizons?

Where did Terry find the time, along with Chris Taylor, Dorothy Walker, Lorraine Rickelman, John & Oliver Grueninger, Ray, Donna Gonzalez, Jan Kennedy and Tom King, to help create Jamestown New Horizons? At one of the early JNH board meetings - before we began providing equine-assisted therapy - some of us were literally down on the floor in the office with a dictionary and papers spread everywhere trying to complete the Federal Tax Application to become a not-for-profit organization. We couldn't afford a lawyer to do the job.

We had been warned by a person at the IRS that only a specialist could do the job right. Well, we were lucky - we didn't know we were incapable of doing it. We were successful, and had the 501(c)(3) classification in less time than it usually takes a specialist to do the job.

Where did Terry find the enthusiasm during the past 18 years to participate in every kind of fund-raiser imaginable? Our first annual auction was held in the outside riding ring, in the rain, to raise a thousand dollars to help build the wheelchair mounting ramp - the first in North America that was built at a therapeutic riding center to ADA standards.

The endless garage sales, the bake sales, the raffles, the dog show, the horse show, the Day in the Country - anything & everything we could think of to raise operating funds for the program.

Where did Terry find the energy to do all-day car washes, 5 times a year at the Halls Ferry Circle, to provide scholarships for kids with disabilities?

Without the benefit of a school or a church cafeteria, how was Terry, along with Pat Jasper and many of the other volunteers, able to organize a huge barbecue at my house and deliver lunches to business people all over North County?

That was the first fund raiser that we decided to never attempt again. It was successful - the pork steaks were delivered hot and the cole slaw cold, the business people were happy and JNH raised enough money to pay for its insurance that year - but never again.

How did Terry find the courage to go before various organizations in North County to ask for funds for a program that many people believed was no more than a pony ride?

How did she find the nerve to walk down the streets of St. Louis, proudly wearing her JNH red shirt, her black hunt boots and tan riding breeches, serving on a two-person clean-up crew for the Anheuser Busch Clydesdales, just to promote the JNH program? The drivers on the wagon kept looking around to see what we were doing that caused the spectators to cheer more for us than for the Clydesdales - while Terry & I were absolutely astounded by the productivity of those big horses.

How did Terry find the time for years to walk with the Jamestown New Horizons parade unit in the Florissant Valley of Flowers parades and the St. Louis Christmas parades?

How does she find the time to help get sponsors for our annual golf tournament?

How does she find time to serve as the Secretary of the Jamestown New Horizons Board of Directors - a wonderful, caring, hard-working group of people?

Where did she find the faith during this past February board meeting - when JNH was short of funds to complete the indoor riding arena - to say with conviction, "Somehow, we will find the funds"?

And thanks to the generosity of Steve Kohnen & Kevin Behlmann at Kay-Bee Electric and to the tremendous efforts of Chris Basler and Chris Taylor for a successful golf tournament - the Freedom Arena was completed!

Where has Terry found the extraordinary caring and love that caused her to give up her riding time with her favorite horse, Arizona, so that she can walk with kids with disabilities to keep them safe while "they" ride Arizona?

How does she find the time to represent all of the Jamestown New Horizons volunteers?

That's the mystery. She is an amazing person. Thanks, Terry!

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