Had a busy week; with highs and lows.  I'll start with highs: I volunteered last week preparing for the Chamber Gala, and enjoyed a wonderful evening celebrating the Volunteers of the Year (the ARC of Katy volunteers), the Business of the Year (CHRISTUS St. Catherine Hospital), and the Citizen of the Year (Ray Wolman.)  I appreciate very much that the Chamber focuses each year on people and organizations in our community that contribute to making the Katy Area a wonderful place to live.  

• The ARC volunteers are part of the ARC of Katy Adult Activity Day Program.  The program is for adults  in our community with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Part of the program is for the participants to volunteer in the community, and the City of Katy, Keep Katy Beautiful, Katy ISD, the Chamber, the Katy YMCA, and other organizations are served weekly by the participants, whose "Can Do" at positive attitude and generous outlook exemplify the spirit of volunteer service.  
• CHRISTUS St. Catherine gives back to the community in many ways, such as a Breast Cancer Walk, Mammogram Mondays, a vision program that provides exams and glasses to underserved students in Katy ISD, a Heart Run, Mobile Health Unit, etc.  They have a terrific Cardiac Care Unit that gave me back my husband.  'Nuff said.  I love them.  
• Ray Wolman is a terrific choice for Citizen of the Year.  He taught in Katy ISD for 40 years before retiring last year.  He started as the only science teacher at Katy High, back when it was a small 2-A district.  He has touched every student in the district if they ever went to the Outdoor Learning Center, which he ran for many years.  He is  a dedicated teacher, who helped over 50 Boy Scouts achieve Eagle Awards.   He works tirelessly to preserve our heritage through the Katy ISD Folk Life Festival, as well as the Katy Heritage Society, Katy FFA Rodeo Parade, etc.  His focus is on educating and empowering the citizens of our area to improve our environment.  His selection as "Citizen of the Year" was a real home run!

Lows will come in a separate post; suffice to say I'm proud to be a part of the Katy Community and appreciate the Chamber for sponsoring this event that allows us to reflect on the type of community we truly are.