Hello, Friends: Recently we gathered for our annual Exceeding Expectations Awards & Scholarship celebration. This was an opportunity for us to look back on where we started and to recognize the achievements and progress made in the past 20 years. In 2001 our group was 12 kids, no parents and only a dream of what might be possible. In 2023 we had a group of around 60 people attending the party and a lot to celebrate. I believe these photos can tell the story better than my words. Enjoy!
EE kids,
family members and supporters
Isi and
Archi, early EE members and now college graduates,
Ms.
Veronica Acosta is presented Outstanding Teacher/Volunteer award by
Ahris,
Two
volunteer fathers, Salvador and Meli, joined Archi to compete in the
IRONMAN 70.3
Richard
presented an award to teammate Eduardo. He spoke of Eduardo as:
Long-time
EE supporter Molly Thorpe presented a scholarship in memory of her
mother, Goldie,
Nik
Keller, a 2013 graduate from UCSD, grew up in EE. He now has a
lovely wife, is
McFARLAND
FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
Much of
our growth comes from within. Current members recognize potential
teammates,
The next
generation. Keep your eye on these 12-and-under youngsters.
Thanks to
supporters such as Reese, our kids have the
Miguel, a
very talented pianist, entertained us, playing whatever song anyone
asked for.
Marlene
and her wonderful husband, Hilario, with their two daughters,
Jacque
Irons is the teacher who invited me to speak at Cypress School,
which was the beginning
At the end of our presentations, I asked for two group photos:
Kids in
college or college graduates (missing: those who attend college out
of the area)
Parents &
families
In the early days of EE, there would have been no one in either of these photos. I see this as a measure of our success. ______________________________
This is a team effort and would not be possible without the generosity of all our wonderful Exceeding Expectations supporters. We look at your support, financial and otherwise, as an investment in us, and we all work hard to make that investment a good one.
Thank you and Happy 2023!
-Cherie
P.S. Those of you who have supported us by making your Amazon purchases through the Amazon Smile program have probably gotten emails from Amazon with the sad news that the program is ending as of Feb. 20. It's a real shame, but thanks so much for helping us out by using it while it was in operation.
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