Party in the woodshop at
Redwood High School!
As a follow up to our sensational N.A.R.I. Holiday Party
at Standards of Excellence in San Rafael, Dan Odetto and I threw down a buffet for 40 youth and adults at the R.O.P. Construction Technology Class on Wednesday night. N.A.R.I., the National Association of the Remodeling Industry , is “the voice of the remodeling industry”, an influential group of remodeling professionals. The North Bay President, Dan Levine Mellion along with instructors David Downey and Tom Eller, all general contractors in “real life” were in full teaching mode for the class and open house. I am a huge supporter of local high schools, especially vocational education, so I was right in my element!
“We not only teach a trade or a vocation, with our hands on-project based learning, we provide real work experience and teach team building, problem solving and real life skills.” said Dan. Students learn about plumbing, electrical, flooring, framing, working with blue prints and so much more and they are eligible for summer internships in the industry.
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N.A.R.I. and the S.O.E. teamed up to
feed youth food and education |
Dan and I set up the table and drinks. With about 35 teen boys and 8 adult students and instructors facing me down, I uncovered the hot pans of food. I revealed
Vegetable Singapore Noodles,
Barbeque Pork Buns,
Vegetable Pot Stickers and
Sesame Chicken with
Brownie Bites and
Mandarin Oranges for dessert. “Wow! Who are you? You are cool!”, “Hey, thanks for the food!”, “This is awesome!” the students called out. Far from being intimidated by the ravenous teen mob, I took the chance to introduce myself and my chef role at Standards of Excellence. “No way, that is so cool, you are a chef for a company?!” one guy remarked. “Thanks, I think so, too”, I replied. The teacher warned me from experience, “Be careful, we have to serve them ourselves or it is a mob scene.”
I looked to the crowd of wild young ones and said, “Can I trust you? Will you be chill as you come through the line?” “Yes!” they called out, and they were fabulous. I know my way around teens and food. Plus, as a guest with the food, I have a huge advantage!
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Girls rule! Dan instructs a student as
she finishes her sawhorse project |
With full stomachs and finished projects under their belt, several of the students helped me wash, dry and pack out my equipment. One very big, soft spoken kid came over to me. “Um, Chef Rachelle? Can you cook for me?” “What do you mean?” I asked. “For my birthday party, like can you come and be the chef?”
“Hey Chef Rachelle, get in the picture!” the group shouted when I tried to get a shot of them. Can’t you just see why I just love teenagers?
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| “Chef Rachelle, get in the picture!” |
More power to you all and to your dedicated teachers!
8 comments:
Hey! Great PR with the community, teachers, and the students. The food sounds scrumptious. Overall a real win for Standards of Excellence, I'd say. Great to team with NARI, and who does it better than Rachelle.
With your energy and enthusiasm Rachelle (and of course your food)it's no wonder the "kids" love you so much!! Thank you so much for representing Standards of Excellence to the community in all the special and caring ways you always do.
There should be more of these type of forums for teens throughout the state. Hands on is a better way to get kids motivated and having good food to boot, can't lose! Keep up the good work!
Thanks, they were a lot of fun!
I think it is spectacular that SOE and NARI work together for such a great cause. It has been a joy to see the efforts from Dan Levine, Tom Eller, and David Downey see such great results. Thank you Rachelle for posting such a positive event. We can all use this news of selfless dedication to making our world a better place on a local level. It truly lifts the spirtis!
Thanks SR SOE, you are my "home team"!
As always you & Dan did a great job & to see helping the youth's helps them to see if this is something that will take them somewhere in life...
Thanks, we hope so!
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