Desert Messenger

September 4, 2019 www.DesertMessenger.com 11 ������ | C������� FTF 9/11 CEREMONY 6pm Tuesday, Sept. 11 th Celia's Rainbow Gardens Heroes Bell Area Quartzsite Town Park PATRIOT'S DAY - NEVER FORGET Chairs & Refreshments Available For further information please call 928-927-6551. Stonework Blockwork Repair Tile Mexican Brick Fence JOE KIRK MASONRY (Not a licensed contractor) 864-201-5664 First Things First Colorado River Indian Tribes Region honored with Eddie Basha Award for Leadership and Service Community volunteers from the First Things First (FTF) Colorado River Indian Tribes Region were honored Sunday. August 25th at the organization's statewide early child- hood conference. The FTF Colorado River Indian Tribes Regional Partnership Council, made up of local volunteers from the region, received the Eddie Basha Re- gional Partnership Council Excellence Award for Leadership and Service. The annual award recognizes one of 28 regional councils from across Arizona for inspiring its local com- munity to come together and pro- mote positive and lasting change on behalf of young children, thereby enriching all of Arizona. Brandon Basha, the eldest grand- son in the Basha family, presented the award to the community volun- teers at the FTF 2019 Early Child- First Things First CRIT honored hood Summit opening recognition celebration, held at the Phoenix Convention Center, Aug. 25. He read from the region's nomina- tion which highlighted the council's signifi cant role in implementing a Summer Transition to Kindergar- ten program for children who will attend kindergarten in Parker Uni- fi ed School District. The principal at Le Pera Elemen- tary School, which is in the Parker school district, approached the council in October 2017 with con- cerns that the majority of children arriving to kindergarten were not prepared to start school. After a rigorous review of local data and resources, the regional council im- plemented the Summer Transition to Kindergarten strategy for children who had not had the benefi t of attending preschool. In addition to several one- week sessions over the year, the council has asked that the children be provided a weekly class over a sustained period of time and to provide education to parents to assist them in preparing their children for kindergarten. "This approach has proven to be very successful," Basha said. "Fami- lies have made a great effort to attend each class and it has encouraged parents to learn alongside their children. One parent shared that she has seen so much progress in her child's ability to recognize letters and has noticed her daughter does a lot of imaginary play using a lot of the songs she learned from the program." The FTF Colorado River Indian Tribes Region is defi ned as the Arizona part of the Colorado River Reservation, including the town of Parker. The region lies entirely in La Paz County. PHOTO: Pictured from left to right: FTF CEO Marilee Dal Pra; Brandon Basha; FTF Colorado River Indian Tribes Council Chair Elvira Aspa; FTF Colorado River Indian Tribes Regional Director Tara Gene; FTF Service Coordinator Vanessa Sandoval; FTF Senior Director Ashley Pascual; and FTF Board Chair Gerald Szostak. Otherd who serve on the FTF Colorado River Indian Tribes Council (but not pictured) are: Vice Chair Brad Sale, members Delise Beavers, Isabel DeLeon, Gloria Flores- Lopez, Norma Ray, Monica Rosnagle and Brian Wedemeyer.

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