Let’s see…where to start?  Some good news, some not so good, and what’s next…

First of all, a hearty thank you to our donors, participants, and supporters for a successful poker tournament!  Your combined generosity helped us raise $3,450 for our on-going endeavors in Haiti.  And of course, congratulations to our evening’s big winner, who was awarded a 3-bottle vertical flight of Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet.  Given the enthusiastic response, we hope to repeat this event in the near future, so stay tuned!

Additionally, we were named a top 25 contributor to ebay’s Giving Works program for July 2010!  This recognition was in response to the $8,900 we raised for Massachusetts General Hospital’s MindLink Foundation by auctioning a classic 1986 Pontiac Trans-Am muscle car.  Here is what Lorrie Norrington, President of ebay Marketplaces had to say…”Every month, eBay community members donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to great causes when they buy and sell on eBay. Last month you were one of the most generous. Thank you!  With your help the eBay Community raised $3,149,015 for charity last month. We truly appreciate your philanthropic spirit and applaud how you embody what makes the eBay community so special.”

On the downside, the funding we had hoped was eminent for our proposed expansion and major repairs at the Haitian Community Hospital in Port Au Prince, Haiti remains in question.  Our partner in this endeavor, the Real Medicine Foundation has aligned a consortium of three strong private hospitals in Haiti and is vigorously pursuing substantial funding to support on-going operations, as well as our major construction work.  Unfortunately, like many things in Haiti, this opportunity appears to be bogging down in the hot political debates over control of reconstruction funds.  We remain hopeful that a solution will materialize, but it does not appear to be the clean elegant model of a private donor that we had hoped.  We’ll keep you posted!

Of course the Haitian Community Hospital has not been our only focus in Haiti and business and philanthropic opportunities continue to present themselves.  We will certainly advise as we get traction with other projects.  In the meantime, in order to keep the lights, put bread on the table, buy Momma a new pair of shoes, etc., we are engaged in multiple commercial and residential projects in the US, including Shell retail petroleum work for Circle K in KY, IN, and PA, residential projects in VA and WI, and supply chain consulting work in TN and NJ.