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The CHIP's program for kids by Masons.


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Comments from Carl are in this column.

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Brethren and Friends,

If you have or know of any Members of the Masonic Family or have friends or relatives traveling to Washington this coming summer, below is our tentative Schedule.  Most dates are confirmed but those that say tentative are still up in the air.

Also Brethren and Friends I have received a request from a Brother from Tacoma who is now stationed in Germany who would like to conduct a CHIP's Program there for the Dependants of our Service men.  I have ordered 200  Id Kits in DVD format too send to him and am looking for any help we can muster to help cover this very worthy cost.  If you know anyone out there who can help please have them contact me.

The Goal of CHIP's is to have 12 Regional Chairman with each having 3 Cameras and other Equipment to conduct the CHIP's Program state wide.  This means there is a need for a minimum of 48 Sony Camcorders capable of recording directly to a disk, and the key is, being able to have a hard wired microphone directly tied to the Camera.  We have chosen the Sony version as it offers the best components and we have found and the members are more comfortable the Sony.  The reason being, to be able to obtain a good sample of the Child's voice for the voice recognition part of the program.  These Cameras cost approximately $800.00 Each

Here are some of the scheduled events.  I would like to share with members of the Masonic Family and the Public.

 
*** May 26th at Fort Stillicom in the Tacoma Area Chips program is be coordinated for members of the Military Families in the area.  More information to follow.  This was the result of a call from Pierce County College CJ Division who were referred by those participating in the ST. Johns Christmas Party at Ft Lewis.  
*** June 4th from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM CHIP's Program at Holy Family Church in Kirkland West Gate Lodge in partnership with the Knights of Columbus at Holy Family Church to be host for this event.
 

**** Any member interested in helping at any of these events please let me know and I will send all the necessary information and put you in contact with the Brothers doing the training.  I do have a Spam Blocker on my system so please if you want me to respond include a clue so that I know the request is from a Mason or truly interested party.

Also Remember the 4th Monday of the Month is training and information Month for CHIP's at Ashler Lodge in Bothell start time 7:30 PM please come and learn what you can do to help

Fraternally,
Vincent DiGiulio
Chairman CHIP's Committee

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*** June 5th thru 11th Chips to be offered at Grand Session to both Ocean City and Hoquim School Districts plus other Schools in the Ocean Shores Area
June 16th Awards Presentation at Denny Middle School  

 

*** July 9th 6th Avenue Merchants Association Street Fair in Tacoma Joseph Warren Lodge to Host
July 28th & 29th, 30th Bellevue Arts Fair Tentative
Fridays in July and August (6:00 PM to closing) Music in the Park at Bothell Landing CHIP's to Sponsor all Food Booths (all monies raised per Bothell Parks representative to be donated to CHIP's)

 

*** August 19th and 20th Chips to be Vancouver WA

 

*** August 24th thru September 4th Evergreen State Fair in Monroe Districts #2 and #8 to Host approximately $12,000 has been received as in-kind donations from the Evergreen State Fair Committee for space, TV, Radio, and other forms of Advertisement plus fair parking and entrance fees to be proportioned out to the participants.  This is a 12 day event running for 12 hours each day With Fridays and Saturdays being 13 hour Days.  Program start time is 10:00 AM and usually concludes but not always by 8:30 PM due to noise. (this may change with the new Microphones)

 

September 17th Semi-Annual CHIP's Board Meeting Ashler Lodge in Bothell 3:00 PM

 

*** October 7th & 8th Issaquah Salmon Days Myrtle Lodge to Host
There is also the Possibility of the Bremerton Navel Station Personal hosting a Program for the Families of those in the Military Serving our Country sometime in October. This can become, if approved, the biggest event of the year.

Please also note:   The 1st Thursday in August is the National Family Night Out to Fight Crime and we have in the past and will be again asked to partner with local Police Departments in presenting families with Id Kits for their children.    

If any Brother knows of addition dates please let Ron Swasey, Howard Ballou, or Myself Know so that everything can be coordinated.

We have also been asked to have events in Tacoma, Olympia, Waverly, Yakima, Wenatchee, Brewster, Langley, Anacortes, Kent, Maple Valley, Leavenworth, and North Bend so far.  We are still awaiting confirmation on these requests and are in search of funding sources to help cover the costs.   Also check out the Masonic Float this year and you will see the CHIP's Banner attached.  

On a side note we had a 90 second news spot on Fox News following the Denny Middle School Presentation.  The Program began with "Here is a program offered by the Masons of Washington, God forbid something terrible happens to ....." they highlighted the entire process from the sign-in to the review at check out.  We are also receiving weekly and daily radio announcements provided by Sandusky Studios and their affiliates at no cost, and Fisher Broadcasting is providing Public Service Announcements on their affiliated airways.  The Seattle Times, Everett Herald, and Several Weekly papers are also providing space for the program.

Fraternally,

Vinny

vdkr@mindspring.com

 
I had no idea what the CHIP's program was so I asked Brother Vinny to explain it for me. Here's his reply. This is a GREAT program!!! Maybe you should do this in your area as well!*** CHIP's    What it is?

An Id Program that provides families tools should a loved one become lost or missing.  The tools include 1. A Dental Bite Sample with Saliva Sample for tracking dogs, 2. Two sets of DNA Swabs, 3. A 3 to 5 minute video highlighting the imperfections that make an individual an individual (freckles, scars, mannerisms when speaking) and also a voice sampling for voice recognition, 4. The typical family information and Fingerprint Card with space for all 10 fingers, and in Washington 5. A pamphlet written and copy righted by the RCMP detailing how to recognize if a child has been approached or accosted by a pedophile.  All this is given Free to the Families and no Data is kept or stored.  The program is designed to be repeated every 3 to 4 years there-by creating for the family a true growth chart and information that can be used by forensic scientist to determined what the child would look like later in life as say ages 60, 70, 80 ... should they develop one of the medical difficulties related to aging such as Alzheimer's and they become lost.  With the 2 set of DNA there are also urged to copy the video and send a copy and a DNA sample to a family member outside of the area for safe keeping.  Remembering what happened to family records with Katrina and the Tsunami where 4 families came forward to claim a child whose family was killed in the flooding. I personally do not want to ever see a Child have to go thru that type problem

You can go to <mychip.org> for a detailed description of the MA Program which we obtained most of our ideas here in Washington from.  You can go to the Web page for the National Association of Missing and Exploited Children for information, as the Masonic CHIP Program is considered the number 1 program in the country today. You can go to <caninesforkids> for success stories or you can go to the US Congress which has endorsed the program or the American Dental Association for more information. This program was also featured on the TV Show "Americas Most Wanted" in February of 2005.

I hope this answers some of your questions.

Fraternally,
Vincent DiGiulio
WA-CHIP's Chairman