This Saturday, July 13th, is our Summer Picnic! Remember, it will be at Fallen Leaf Lake, in Camas, Washington. Show up anytime after 11:00 am; lunch at 1:00 pm; dancing after lunch. Water will be provided, and grills are available.

Bring a potluck dish to share, your family, your own tableware, and games (e.g., volleyball, bocce ball, badminton, etc.).

Directions: Take Hwy 14 east to Camas. Make your way through Camas to Everett, which is also SR500. Turn left into the Private Drive just before the Lake Rd. traffic signal.

Or: From I-205, take Mill Plain east to 62nd Ave, and turn left. Turn right on SE 1st St., which becomes NW Lake Rd. At the signal light where NW Lake Rd meets Everett, turn right. About one block past the signal light, turn right into the Private Drive.

According to the Georgia Pacific website, "The [Camas] mill has an active wildlife habitat restoration and enhancement program. Special emphasis has been placed on company land that contains critical habitat such as the Camas Slough, Lady Island, and Fallen Leaf Lake. These areas are home to more than 125 species of animals and birds including coyote, deer, ducks, geese, heron, osprey, and songbirds..." [www.gp.com/camas/environmentalstewardship.html]

So, come prepared to hike through the woods and watch the exotic wildlife. See you there!

Very BIG KUDOS to Geri -- who led 4 (four) dancers (including herself) in a "come dance with us" demo at the World Beat Festival in Salem, on Saturday, June 28th. The temperature was 100 F, but the covered stage was well constructed for dancing. The audience joined in on stage for walking dances suitable for attendees who had never even seen SCD. The finale was "The Folksy Fivesome" (yes, danced!). The fifth dancer, Carlee Murphy, was a quick study -- she has danced previously. Some of you will have met her at the Northwest St. Andrews Society Vancouver Social last September.

A big thank you also goes to Tom Halpenny, and van driver, Robert Stuart.

Now that the elections are behind us, and we have almost the same set of officers as last year, we should be able to move on with our 'next steps' without too much trouble. Thanks, by the way, to all of you who attended the unforgettable, two-part AGM, and helped us (me) work through the proceedings. Out of all this, I think we have some very good governing documents, not to mention a strong group with a lot of very interested participants.

Aside from the boring paperwork side of things, though, we have a few opportunities for dancing this summer, but not so many that we're going to feel overworked.

First up is the Summer Picnic. If you have never attended one of our picnics, you really should come. We get to use the private park usually reserved for people who work at the Camas Mill. The focus is not just on dancing - more on eating to start with, then a little dancing, then other stuff that's just fun, like bocce ball and croquet. This year we have swimmin' water, which could add a whole new facet to the activities.

Then we have the Portland Highland Games, dancing on the field near the misters (Oh, mister!). We're going to need everyone's support this year - take a turn at manning the tent, let people know when you can be around, show up early to help set up. Plus, we're all going to have to 'Fred-up' and talk to people we don't even know about Scottish Country Dancing. It should be a growing experience for us all.

There's a Portland International Festival the following weekend - not sure we got enough people signed up to do a show. And the Clark County Fair on August 10th, which I'm sure Liza will be emailing about before long.

Then, just as the zucchini begin to overwhelm us, it will be time to come back to class and dance again (and try to give away zucchini, or trade for something better). I am very much looking forward to seeing you all in the fall.

Now I have to go and attend to that paperwork.

On 26 May, the Vancouver USA Scottish Country Dancers lost their most enthusiastic cheerleader. Fred van Nus had been in the hospital for a scheduled surgery and was anticipating returning home when he unexpectedly passed away.

Fred was very active promoting Scottish Country Dancing, anything Scottish, or even remotely related, even though he was a full Dutchman. In some ways he had become more Scottish than many born there. Fred arranged trips to the theater, social events, concerts, ice cream, dances in other locations and so many activities that they are difficult to count. In every case, he was very active in reaching out to our hosts and audiences alike, providing information on dancing and our group. Fred had been involved in SCD for 33 years.

Fred was a humanitarian, naturalist, conservationist, and an environmentalist with a strong belief in community. His career path took him through the US Army Medical Service Corps for 28 years before retiring. Fred then moved on to Professor of Optometry, University of Waterloo, Ontario, and Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR.

Fred's membership in professional, service, and social organizations were numerous and international, including Lions International since 1959 - recipient of the Melvin Jones Fellow award for dedicated humanitarian services, as well as the American Optometric Association, American Optometric Foundation, American Academy of Optometry, Canadian Optometric Association, Friendship Force, Bats International, Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, MOAA, Salmon Watch, Nature Conservancy, and too many more to list.

He enjoyed a lifetime of fishing and used barbless hooks for catch and release methods. No matter where he lived he established connections and bonds of friendship across various communities, cultures, and languages making everyone feel like family. Among his many accomplishments: he worked with the Washington State Legislature to officially pass into law the Washington State Tartan Bill, the first State Tartan west of the Mississippi. He was a thoughtful, caring man with a great sense of humor, always ready to share some nugget of information on a wide range of topics, or sharing different wines and foods. His heart was too big to contain all he felt for people, communities, countries, nature, and world that he so loved.

He is missed.