volunteers, some of whom help out once or twiceaweekintheirsparetime;others,likeSr Kathy Obermann, who come daily to man the charging stations and is indispensable to daily operations.
When she has time to take a break, she enjoys sitting with guests in the Rebuild courtyard, with its wide benches shaded by lush palm trees and tall bamboo.
“It’s really cool when you share community with people,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many people in the course of a day ask me about my two little boys. They’re not saying it to be polite. They really care.” Team effort
Planning for the Harry Tompson Center’s construction project started more than two years ago and was long overdue, Kelley explained.
“Our center is constructed of modular trailers and wooden decking and was never designed to be permanent,” Kelley said. “Heavy usage, weathering and the wear-andtear of nearly 18 years of foot traffic were threatening the structural integrity of our facilities.”
On top of that, showers and toilets were falling through the floors, creating unsafe and unsanitary conditions, and the center was outgrowing the office space, which it shares with DePaul USA
In late 2022, the board, led by longtime board president Mary Baudouin, created a capital campaign committee, chaired by CPA Stephen Romig. With help from board members Paul Buras, James Pellerin and others, they began fundraising. They raised the money, hired architects and engineers, secured permits from the city and put the project out to bid.
It broke ground in early 2024 and phase one was completed about a year later. When the new facility opened, guests were amazed and raved about the comfort of the showers and the luxury of having hot running water to shave with in the sinks.
“To see the appreciation our guests have for what we offer here is really special,” Wain said. “It’s about meeting them where they are and hopefully, many times, leads to something more.”
Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie riegel@theadvocate.com
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what I was going to find. There, to my horror, were my panties that I had “carefully” placed in my pillowcase earlier that morning. I believe in always having certain necessities with me in the cabin — and there they were for all to see. They had been looking at them for 10 full minutes, debating what to do.
D’Aquin later told me that when the flight attendant started down the aisle with the drink cart, he couldn’t take it anymore He had visions of them getting caught in a wheel. All I knew was that I had to be with this group of people for a full week. How was I going to recover?
I said, “Thank you,” picked up the panties, put them back in my pillowcase, buried deeper this time, and tried to go back to sleep. But my face was burning. I was mortified. I wasn’t
sleepy anymore. I took t next two hours on the flight to talk to myself and gear myself up for making light of the most embarrassing moment of my life. When we arrived in Canada, I did my best to acknowledge the hilarity of the situation. I sought D’Aquin out in particular We had mutual friends. I had heard he was funny He was. We started to laugh about it. We became friends. Seventeen years later, he is one of my best friends I officiated his wedding. He remains a light in my life. I don’t know if we would have become friends had “the airplane panty incident,” the most embarrassing moment of my life, not occurred.
Enduring embarrassment, according to lots of research, can be a factor in leading to success. If my embarrassing experience is an indicator, I would say that the research is right.
Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.
