Great story and great memories. I was involved as a Des Moines nurse and Iowa Dept. of Public Health nurse with the Vietnamese refugees. I attended there annual New Year's event. Governor Branstad would attend that and I would meet him at the door and have him come and first honor the oldest person there, Mrs. Baccam, mother of Rang Baccam. I have not been impressed with the Governor now. She had cut Public Health before the pandemic. Never cut the health department. Ray and Branstad would have not done that. Thank you for this story. I worked with the Laos population and the Combodian with Von Pabmisaw.
Thank you Richard - when I read Governor Reynold’s callous remarks last week my eyes teared up. I thought of Governor Ray’s love and compassion for the Southeast Asian immigrants and thought what a difference a few years make. This isn’t the Republican Party I once knew and Governor Reynolds is definitely not the Governor Bob Ray was.
Thank you, Richard, I'm still confused about the Hmong refugees and where they fit in this timeline. What a great speech to give at a national conference! Tell us something about why Robert Ray was such a great governor. This Democrat remembers him fondly. And thanks for the picture of you with the Rays. After all these years of Julie talking about "Richard," I just realized I met you long ago. Don't know where or when, but probably something related to Jules.
This is such a beautiful message about the stark contrast between that wonderful man and the current governor. And what a stunning, ironic photo of sunlight breaking through clouds and falling below — not on—the lady welcoming refugees to our shores! What’s happened to those values?
With a nod in the direction of Michael Gartner (who served on the Iowa SHARES board), Richard has, as usual, hit it out of the park. I still get chills when those words from Governor Ray's St.Louis speech are repeated. I was there and just blown away by the sheer power of his remarks in a religious setting. He single handed reversed the direction of the 30,000 Church of Christ delegates from opposing the refugee program (as a continuation of the war by taking away the best people from countries that needed them) to strongly endorsing it. Julie's Potluck was, as usual, quite delicious
Well said, ol’ friend!
Great story and great memories. I was involved as a Des Moines nurse and Iowa Dept. of Public Health nurse with the Vietnamese refugees. I attended there annual New Year's event. Governor Branstad would attend that and I would meet him at the door and have him come and first honor the oldest person there, Mrs. Baccam, mother of Rang Baccam. I have not been impressed with the Governor now. She had cut Public Health before the pandemic. Never cut the health department. Ray and Branstad would have not done that. Thank you for this story. I worked with the Laos population and the Combodian with Von Pabmisaw.
Thank you Richard - when I read Governor Reynold’s callous remarks last week my eyes teared up. I thought of Governor Ray’s love and compassion for the Southeast Asian immigrants and thought what a difference a few years make. This isn’t the Republican Party I once knew and Governor Reynolds is definitely not the Governor Bob Ray was.
Thank you, Richard, I'm still confused about the Hmong refugees and where they fit in this timeline. What a great speech to give at a national conference! Tell us something about why Robert Ray was such a great governor. This Democrat remembers him fondly. And thanks for the picture of you with the Rays. After all these years of Julie talking about "Richard," I just realized I met you long ago. Don't know where or when, but probably something related to Jules.
Excellent, Richard. Thanks for this poignant reminder.
From Susan Knapp: So sad that Kim Reynolds is now the face of the Republican Party. Such an embarrassment for our state.
From Jean Lloyd Jones:
This is such a beautiful message about the stark contrast between that wonderful man and the current governor. And what a stunning, ironic photo of sunlight breaking through clouds and falling below — not on—the lady welcoming refugees to our shores! What’s happened to those values?
Peace,
Jean
From Ken Quinn:
With a nod in the direction of Michael Gartner (who served on the Iowa SHARES board), Richard has, as usual, hit it out of the park. I still get chills when those words from Governor Ray's St.Louis speech are repeated. I was there and just blown away by the sheer power of his remarks in a religious setting. He single handed reversed the direction of the 30,000 Church of Christ delegates from opposing the refugee program (as a continuation of the war by taking away the best people from countries that needed them) to strongly endorsing it. Julie's Potluck was, as usual, quite delicious
Well done, Richard, thank you...........................thank you.