Dreaming Big | Changing Lives
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The Value of Confidence
I’ve been asked why I chose to partner with Rodan + Fields when:
- Sales are not my thing;
- My passions are in the arts and advocacy; and
- Sales are REALLY not my thing.
The fast and easy answer is this: My own life has changed since I began using the products.
My skin has changed and as a direct result, so has my life!
My whole life I’ve battled skin issues. For the first time, I am experiencing something tremendously positive with my skin. At 49, this is a blessing I never thought I’d see. Friends I have introduced the products to have contacted me with the same heartfelt thanks I shared with my friend who introduced me to the products!
I talk about what is passionate to me. That’s who I am as a person — whether it is my faith, my passion for animals, for the arts, politics, or Little League kids who bring the world together — I share what is deeply passionate in my life and I keep sharing it!
The truth is we all talk about what is meaningful to us. Whether it be the latest movie we saw and loved, a book we read, a restaurant we ate at, fishing on the river, a political viewpoint, shopping local, sporting events involving our kids, a charity fundraiser, our feelings at a certain moment in time, etc,…whatever it may be, we all talk about the things important to us.
In essence, we are ALL selling SOMETHING.
We are all selling something to someone at any given time we communicate. The transactions we are seeking may have an emotional value, a financial value, a spiritual value, an educational value, a persuasive value, etc…but it definitely has a value of some kind attached to it.
For me, I desire for the second half of my life to be focused on changing lives. And Rodan + Fields offers me the greatest opportunity to do that
- Through their business model that empowers individuals to become financially independent AND
- Through their products that create the results so very many people are longing for – beautiful skin!
Now that’s value!
And that I love to sell!
~ Penny
PS…The skin care industry is a $2.5 BILLION business. Currently, R+F products are only available in the USA. When R+F was first sold through major department stores like Nordstrom it was the TOP SELLING skin care line. R+F is now sold exclusively through independent consultants like myself.
AND
It is going international in less than 2 years. Canada – you’re first!
If you would like to learn more about the business and/or the products, visit my websites:
To learn how to get the best skin of your life!
And
To learn how you can make your dreams come true!
You can also meet Dr. Katie Rodan + Dr. Kathy Fields and learn why they started this new Anti-Aging company:
Senator Max Baucus Supports the Slaughter of Horses
December 7, 2011
Ms. Penny Ronning
Dear Penny:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the slaughter of horses. I appreciate hearing from you.
I have always worked hard to ensure the humane treatment of animals, and I will continue to do so in the future. However, it is important that horse slaughter legislation not place any unnecessary burdens on ranchers and other horse owners, or put horses at even greater risk of harm or cruel treatment. That’s why as part of the 2009 Agriculture bill, I commissioned a study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the impacts of the current restriction on federal dollars to inspect horse processing facilities in the United States.
The study, released on June 22, 2011, showed that horse prices and sales in U.S. have declined since the ban came into effect. In addition, the ban has not resulted in a significant drop in the number of slaughters, but rather, has shifted the market to Canada and Mexico. Overall, the welfare of horses has declined as they are being transported greater distances to be slaughtered in places where they are not protected by U.S. humane slaughter laws. In addition, a rise in cases of abuse, abandonment, and neglect have strained state, local, and tribal horse welfare resources. If you would like to read more about the report, it can be accessed on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-228 under report number GAO-11-228.
On November 18, 2011, the President signed into law H.R. 2112, which ended the ban on domestic horse slaughter. I supported ending the ban. You can read more about my support of this bill at http://baucus.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=754. With the passage of H.R. 2112, we can now fight to restore the jobs shipped to Canada and Mexico as a result of this ban. We can also make sure that injured and sick horses are not abandoned or subject to inhumane treatment.
Thanks again for getting in touch. Please contact me should you have any further questions or concerns on this or any other matter of importance to you. You can also visit my website at http://baucus.senate.gov for more information on current issues that affect Montanans.
Sincerely,
Troy Davis
What you can do to resist Troy Davis execution in final hours
We are going into a difficult day. The state of Georgia is about to do something horrific. It is prepared to kill a person who may well be innocent. However, we have not been sitting quietly by here in Atlanta and everywhere worldwide.
The state of Georgia has proven our point: the death penalty is too great a power to give to the government. Human institutions are too prone to bias and error. The death penalty is a human rights violation and it must be abolished.
Here’s what you can do in the final hours:
Appeal to anyone who has any direct power or influence to act to prevent this execution! If those you appeal to try to claim, “I don’t have the power to intervene,” Remind them that they do have power, even if it is through their influence and not their legal authority. Contact:
1. Fax or call the Parole Board and ask them to reconsider their decision and grant Troy clemency. Fax: 404-651-8502 and 404-651-6670 (try both as they will be busy), Phone: 404-656-0693 and 404-656-5651
2. Fax or call the Savannah District Attorney, Larry Chisolm, and ask him to urge the local judge to vacate the execution warrant. Fax: 912-652-7328, Phone: 912-652-7308.
3. Call the local judge, Penny Haas Freesman, and ask her to vacate the warrant. Phone: (912) 652-7252
4. Call the Governor, Nathan Deal, and ask him to use his influence to encourage the board to grant clemency. Phone: 404-656-1776.
5. In Georgia, stand with us, saying “NOT IN MY NAME!”
a) Capitol vigil – 6pm
b) Prison vigil – 5:30pm across the street from the prison at Towaliga County Line Baptist Church (153 Short Road, Jackson). Take I-75 to Exit 201 and head toward the Hess gas station (turn left (east) off the interstate if heading south on I-75) on Barnesville-Jackson Rd. (Ga 36) and turn right past the gas station.
6. Join vigils tonight in locations across the US!
This is a time to be heard, not a time to submit. And please remain respectful to those who answer the phones. There is no need to be rude or to yell – the strength of our message will come through the volume of calls we generate, not in the decibels of our individual voices.
The thought of what may happen at 7pm tonight is outrageous, but it is all the more reason to continue to have hope, to continue to take action, and to continue to fight against the unjust death penalty.
For more on Troy visit: http://www.amnestyusa.org/troy
My United States Tomato
My United States tomatoes
A short time ago I was grocery shopping at Albertsons, the predominant grocery chain in my community. I was in need of a few tomatoes and was stunned to find that ALL of the tomatoes on display for purchase at my local Albertsons store were imported from either Canada or Mexico.
Two sided produce stand packed with tomatoes from Mexico and Canada
Not one. single. tomato. was from the United States.
Huh? How can that be?
I live in Montana. We are an agriculture state.
As I stood there with a perplexed look on my face, the manager of the produce department approached me and asked if I had found what I was looking for or if I needed help.
I took a deep breath, slowly let the air out while looking around at the other customers and then began…
“Do you have any United States tomatoes?”
“Do we have what?”
“United States tomatoes.”
“Oh…I’m…well, I think so.”
He walks around checking the labels on the various bins of tomatoes and the labels on the tomatoes themselves.
After he checks all the tomatoes on both sides of the stand, he says, “It looks like we have tomatoes from Mexico and Canada.”
“Yes, that is what I discovered also.”
Pause.
“How is it that a grocery store chain as big as Albertsons doesn’t have any United States tomatoes for sale? Would you say that most, if not all, of your produce customers are Americans?”
“Yes.”
“Then why is Albertsons choosing to support the citizens of Mexico and Canada over their own customer base? I find it hard to believe that there are no tomatoes available for purchase by Albertsons in the whole of the United States of America. All of your American customers are supporting your job and the jobs of the Albertsons’ executives, why is Albertsons not working harder to support the jobs of their customer base?”
“It’s probably more cost-effective for them to buy from Mexico and Canada.”
“Ahhh, for whom? You see, that’s why our economy is in the shape it is in. Companies like Albertsons choose to buy products for cheap from other countries and then turn around and sell those products to Americans — often for an inflated price. So, here’s the deal. I’m not buying any tomatoes from you today. Instead I am going to go post on Facebook that I could not find a single United States tomato from my local Albertsons grocery store.”
“Oh please don’t do that,” he said with kindness.
At this point I realized that we had a small audience of customers watching and listening…and one woman was watching and listening intently.
As people were nodding their heads in agreement I knew I needed to let this poor manager get back to his job and so I began talking with a friend who had come upon the scene.
I noticed that the produce manager began talking with the woman who had been watching and listening to our conversation so intently. I assumed that she was another customer with a question.
My friend and I continued talking as we moved into another aisle. She was telling me about her own experience over a cantaloupe.
We had been talking for about 15 minutes when the produce manager walked into our aisle smiling.
“I’ve been looking for you. I’ll have United States tomatoes here by tomorrow afternoon!”
I perked up.
“The woman that had been standing to the side listening to us was from Sysco. She said that she could deliver a case of United States tomatoes by noon tomorrow. Would that work for you?”
BIG SMILE. “Yes, that would! Thank you, James.”
The next day I returned to Albertsons.
Guess what…the United States tomatoes were there.
AND
They were cheaper than the tomatoes from Mexico and Canada!
United States tomatoes on the far right!
REQUEST
And
Buy American!
Voices of Love and Joy
A brief overview of a long story:
Kapsa Shady Lane Kennels in Ballantine, MT was raided December 30, 2008 by the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office. The seized animals (approximately 200 English shepherds, Pugs, and mixed breed dogs, a number of which were about to give birth, along with 3 cats and several birds) were taken into custody by Yellowstone County and sent to Metra Park arena (local fairgrounds) and Moore Lane Animal Hospital where they were cared for by volunteers while the case of animal cruelty against Linda Kapsa was played out (approximately 9 months).
On July 9, 2009, Kapsa pleaded no contest, and after a spay/neuter clinic the majority of dogs would soon be released for foster and adoption. ONLY on condition that the volunteers caring for the seized dogs receive first choice for adoption of the dogs for which they had been caring did Kapsa enter the plea deal. Judge Watters, the presiding judge, acknowledged and agreed with the condition.
National English Shepherd Rescue (NESR), a nonprofit organization based out of Ollala, WA, was selected by Yellowstone County to oversee the adoption/fostering of the dogs. NESR has had a long standing feud with Kapsa and worked with Yellowstone County for months prior to the raid.
During the 8 – 9 months in which the seized dogs were housed at the fairgrounds in horse barns, Penny Ronning volunteered more than 1,500 hours, spent more than $2,000 for the daily care needs of the dogs and was highly praised as one of the top dog handlers during her many months working with the dogs.
Each volunteer dog handler was assigned a stall of dogs to help socialize. Ronning began working with Love, Joy, and Happy the first week of January. Love, an English shepherd, was 10 years old at the time; Joy, an English shepherd, was 1- 2 years old at the time; and Happy, a black Labrador mix, is of undetermined age.
Night of July 4, 2009 Penny in stall with Happy, Joy, and Love.
Documentation shows the tremendous progress demonstrated by the dogs which were in Penny’s care. Love, Joy, and Happy were among the very first dogs to be leash trained. Joy was the first dog to master the agility course and the only dog that could run the course fully in one direction and immediately turn and run it in the opposite direction. Joy was even highlighted on the local news with Penny running her through the agility course.
However, not all at the fairgrounds was as it was presented in the press to the public. During the months the animals were in Yellowstone County’s custody close to 70 of the animals died horrific, brutal deaths. Abuse of the animals by volunteers closely associated with Yellowstone County officials and abuse of the animals by Yellowstone County employees occurred all too often.
Money being spent by the County as reported to the public was in serious question. Volunteers were paying into the thousands and thousands of dollars on the daily care needs of the dogs. Volunteers were supplying ALL labor for the daily care needs of the dogs and ALL labor in the construction of the facilities housing the dogs.
Volunteers that questioned any of these practices or that spoke up were fired and denied all access to the dogs and the County facility known as Metra Park.
Penny with Love
During the months in which the dogs were housed at the fairgrounds, Penny was noted as one of the most dedicated and hard working volunteers. Documentation proves the many, many hours she sacrificed and devoted to the well-being of the dogs. Photo, written, and video documentation as well as other volunteers’ affidavits reveal and prove the tremendous bond established between Penny and the dogs with which she lovingly cared for and worked with on a daily basis.
In May 2009, after witnessing a dedicated volunteer wrongfully and disgracefully “discharged” because she dared to question and to speak up, Penny began to question how both the dogs and volunteers were being treated by Yellowstone County.
In June 2009, Penny wrote a letter to the three Yellowstone County Commissioners requesting badly and desperately needed supplies.
In July 2009, Penny was asked by the defense to be a neutral party during Kapsa’s court ordered walk around in which Kapsa was to select 20 dogs that would potentially be ordered by the court to be returned to her. Penny was asked to be present to verify that, as best she knew, each stall of dogs at Metra Park contained the dogs that were supposed to be there. She was also asked to verify, as best she knew, which dogs volunteers wanted to adopt. Penny was asked to perform this task because she had been described by other volunteers as being honest, fair, and the one volunteer that had dogs in all four barns at Metra Park. She was described as being the volunteer with the most knowledge of all 4 barns.
Penny with Eddie
When the time came to “apply” with NESR to adopt the dogs Penny applied to adopt Love, Joy, Eddie, and Happy — 4 of the 8 dogs for which she had been the handler.
In June of 2009, Penny had emailed the president of NESR asking what the adoption process was going to be for the volunteers. In July, the president wrote Penny back stating that NESR had not yet determined a process and that NESR would not be discussing it with the volunteers.
Also in June 2009, the president of The English Shepherd Club and active member of NESR told Penny during a phone conversation that one of the dogs Penny had been working with and wanting to adopt had a long list of NESR members waiting to adopt and that Penny would have to “fight” for the adoption.
Toward the end of July 2009, the president of NESR and the adoption coordinator for NESR finally came to Montana to actually see the dogs for the VERY FIRST TIME and begin the adoption process. A dog trainer out of Pennsylvania with experience in search and rescue was deemed NESR’s professional animal behaviorist/expert and the person leading the evaluations on the dogs.
Unknown to Penny and performed when she was not present; Joy was the first of all seized dogs to be “evaluated” by NESR. According to volunteers witnessing the “evaluation” Joy performed beautifully. Also at this time, volunteers witnessed highly abusive treatment by the NESR professional animal “expert” and “evaluator” of Love, the 10 year old English shepherd.
Volunteers later witnessed Eddie being manhandled by one of NESR’s “expert evaluators”.
Penny walking Joy
The NESR “evaluation committee” deemed Penny’s group as “having made no progress since January” and denied her the adoption of all English shepherd dogs for which she applied. She was also not offered ANY English shepherd out of the entire 200+ English shepherds now needing homes. While Penny was brutally and cruelly being denied the adoption of Joy, the president of NESR told Penny that they were going to “give” her Happy, the black Labrador.
It should be noted that documentation reveals NESR’s disdain for Happy and Happy’s presence among the English shepherds. It was documented that this “animal expert” for NESR had stated that Happy should be in a stall by herself since as a Lab she will teach the young English shepherds bad behavior and she would drive Love, the older and highly intelligent English shepherd crazy.
Happy laying outside the stall she shared with Love and Joy
In the end, NESR denied Penny the adoption of Happy also. They chose an 81-year-old former volunteer to award Happy and then stated that Penny rejected Happy.
NESR also claimed that Penny’s adoption applications were appalling and that absolutely no animal rescue organization would give her an animal based upon her applications.
Penny has many years in rescuing and fostering dogs.
One of Penny’s co-handlers who also spoke out was also denied the adoption of a dog as was Penny’s mother who was also a volunteer.
Penny’s mother’s application was acknowledged by NESR and then completely ignored. Penny’s co-handler, Kelly Dennehy’s application was deemed by NESR as being turned in late even though at the time Kelly turned in her application the dogs had not yet been released by the court for adoption placement by NESR.
After repeated attempts and requests by Penny and Kelly and vast numbers of concerned citizens throughout Yellowstone County and the nation, NESR refused all discussion on the matter.
The truth is that both Penny and Kelly were denied as acts of retaliation on the part of Yellowstone County and NESR.
In 2009, because of NESR’s adamant refusal of discussion Penny and Kelly began legal action to adopt Love and Joy.
In 2009, volunteers filed suit against Yellowstone County also.
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For the first time on my blog, I am sharing my own personal story.
For more information and to follow, please click here.
Bring Joel Home
JOEL’s STORY
written by Dr. Suzanne Fiala
Dr. Suzanne Fiala lives in Seattle. She is a beloved and popular family physician who began fostering for the local chapter of Dogs Deserve Better in October, 2010. Between October 2010 and March 2011 Dr. Fiala fostered 11 dogs for DDB, including 2 litters of puppies. All of the dogs were pitbulls or pitbull mixes. Dr. Fiala received accolades on the DDB FB page for her devotion and hard work.
The last dog she took in for foster was Joel, an adult pitbull male that weighed in at 27# and was too weak to stand. Joel was chained to a picnic table in someone’s yard for his short life, and with his sister Julie, fed a handful of food every 5 days.
When Joel was taken to the emergency vet he was 24-48 hours from death – emaciated, weak, his bowels and other organs were shutting down. DDB took possession of the dog and placed him with Dr. Fiala the next day, February 1. Joel was, by their admission, the most damaged dog they had ever had in their local program. The local DDB rep hoped Dr. Fiala could save Joel, if anyone could.
Dr. Fiala took Joel to her home. She warned her children he might not live through the night. That first night, Dr. Fiala and her children sat around Joel and laid hands on him, sending him love and positive energy, and whispering softly and kindly. Dr. Fiala dozed on the dog bed next to Joel, to offer him water, food, and to maintain constant human touch with him. She told him to please hold on, and to give her a chance to show him what love felt like. And miraculously Joel slowly came back to life. Dr. Fiala remained with Joel 24/7, carried him to and from her office in the daytime, fed him bits of roasted chicken, rice and organic vegetables every 2 hours until his gut started working again, and the vomiting and explosive diarrhea stopped. Over a month’s time Joel went from a living skeleton to a vibrant, beautiful boy. His emotional scars were deep, but those improved over time as he came to trust his new family, the first people who had ever been kind to him.
Through February and March, Joel and Dr. Fiala were inseparable, day and night. Dr. Fiala’s children and other dogs welcomed him, and life became a wonderful and happy routine. Dr. Fiala enrolled Joel with a trainer using only positive techniques, to advise and help her to socialize Joel to humans and animals alike.
Throughout March, however, things started feeling really wrong with DDB. The local rep did not reimburse Dr. Fiala for any of the money spent on Joel’s care, though that was the condition of fostering and the bill quickly rose to over $1000. Also, Dr. Fiala noticed that the DDB website was soliciting donations for costs for Joel’s care that she herself had paid for…so where was that money going? And perhaps most troubling, Dr. Fiala came to believe that Page, the local state rep, played God with dogs in need. The ones that got media attention got Page’s attention, and other cases of suffering dogs in need were pushed aside.
At the end of March, Dr. Fiala was so disillusioned she felt compelled to write a letter to DDB-National founder, Tamira Ci Thayne, expressing her concerns. Dr. Fiala also quietly decided she just wanted to formalize Joel’s adoption, and get out to do rescue work elsewhere with people of integrity.
April 2 – Dr. Fiala announced on her FB page that she was adopting Joel, to the pleasure of many local Joel fans.
April 4 – Page, the local DDB rep, posted on the DDB-WA FB page that Dr. Fiala was adopting Joel.
April 7 – Dr. Fiala sent her letter of concerns to Ms. Thayne in PENN.
April 7 – Dr. Fiala mails her signed adoption contract to DDB. The contract does NOT require a countersignature, and is the last, formal step in the adoption process. The contract is only offered AFTER DDB okays the adoption.
April 8 – Dr. Fiala is contacted by Marie Belanger, ‘regional rep’ based in Indiana and told she will investigate the concerns from the letter.
April 8-10 – a series of exchanges between Dr. Fiala and Ms. Belanger quickly show hostility and defensive posturing, and Dr. Fiala’s witnesses, who Ms. Belanger promises to contact, are never contacted.
April 14 – local Seattle DDB reps go to the doggie daycare near Dr. Fiala’s medical office where Joel was spending some time socializing, and take him.
They notify Dr. Fiala after the fact in a voice message, saying that Joel has been ‘repossessed’ because the contract is not valid, that it was a “National decision”, and that Joel has been rehomed with another foster family. The adoption contract has clearly been altered by someone other than Dr. Fiala, item #3 saying ‘the dog will not be chained’ has been crossed off. DDB’s claim is that Joel was taken because, after 6 months of devoted volunteering, after fostering 11 dogs, after the rep has been to Dr. Fiala’s house half a dozen times, they suddenly discovered Dr. Fiala was a dog-chainer and was not fit to keep Joel.
No one in the animal rescue network in Seattle has seen or heard from Joel again.
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Click here to follow Suzanne’s and Joel’s story on Facebook.
