by Glendale Sports Center | Aug 28, 2023 | Glendale City News
Photo: Courtesy of the YMCA of Metro Denver
by Angelica Rodriguez Luna, Marketing Manager, YMCA of Metro Denver
Are you a parent of a teenager looking for a program that challenges your child, gives them a chance to grow as a leader, builds friendships, and makes an impact your community? Look no further than our YMCA Service Project program!
What does your teen gain from the program?
- Develop Leadership Skills: Through the Y Service Project, teens gain invaluable leadership skills that will benefit them in all aspects of life. Whether it’s project planning, effective communication, team collaboration, or problem-solving, the program provides a hands-on learning experience!
- Make Positive Change: By being actively involved in planning and executing a service project, kids can address issues that matter to them and witness the positive impact of their efforts firsthand.
- Build Lasting Friendships: The Y Service Project is not just about community service; it’s also about building a tight-knit community of like-minded individuals who share a passion for making a difference. Teens forge bonds with other teens (often from different schools and communities), share experiences, and create memories.
- Earn Community Service Hours: As if all the personal growth and rewarding experiences weren’t enough, the Y Service Project also allows teens to earn community service hours for school or other organizations.
“Be courageous, be respectful” is what one teen had to say about her involvement in the YMCA Service Project program.
What kind of projects will teens take part in?
Teens can do anything, from assisting with the YMCA’s Beyond Hunger Food Pantry Program, to volunteering at a shelter/kitchen, to supporting a community garden. So, consider empowering your teen to lead the way and join like-minded students in the YMCA’s program this fall. Also, learn more about the Youth in Government program offered by the YMCA. Get the details at https://denverymca.org/teen-programs.
by Peter Boyles | Aug 28, 2023 | Blasting with Boyles
OPINION
John Bandimere and Peter Boyles
We’ve seen the final Mile High National Drag Races at the legendary Bandimere Speedway. After all of these years and all of the racing that took place, John Bandimere, by the way one of the best guys I’ve ever known, announced that piece of American drag racing in Colorado is over.
There was a time in my life that I think I could have eaten grease. We knew cars. Chronicle publisher Chuck Bonniwell and I have many times talked about our love affair with cars and both of us remember car dealers making big deals about the new models that came out in the fall. The local Chevy dealer, A to Z Chevrolet on Allegheny Boulevard, would cover the windows with newspaper and say how many days before the new models were revealed. And it was a Saturday, and they would tear the paper down, and we’d be all lined up in the street to see. Car magazines like Car and Driver would come and we seriously studied the ’57 Chevys versus ’57 Fords.
Last Sunday I went to a car show, believe it or not, in Fairmount Cemetery. A perfect place. There were ’58, ’59 Cadillacs, Broughams, convertibles, and such wonderful automotive products like Larks, Gremlins, and the ever-popular Dodge Dart. Who bought those?
We were carheads and we talked about cars, and I’ve said this on the television show that I did with John Bandimere. One of the guys that I grew up with, we’ve reconnected. His name is Tom Holmes. His dad owned the Atlantic gas station and tragically passed away young. Tom was a tough kid and now we talk and one of the questions I’ve pondered is, who did we look up to? Who did we, in the early ’60s in Pittsburgh, look up to? The kid with the cooler car. And Tom and I have asked each other what was it that we wanted when we graduated from high school and we wanted a nice car, mind you, not a new car. A girlfriend and a little bit of money in our pockets. Not $10,000 in the bank, or a hundred dollars in your wallet.
We would have been more than happy. But it had to do with having that car.
I actually had a 1955 Chevrolet convertible. And I saw one at this car show and you instantly trip back to that time period.
And Detroit knew to put a beautiful woman in their car ads and she was known as “the promise.” “You buy this car you’ll get this woman.” And she always had on a prom dress or a one-piece bathing suit in high heels. Go figure.
And you wonder why all these guys that are my age are nuts today.
And now I think it’s coming to an end. The greens hate internal combustion, they intensely dislike automobile racing on any and all levels.
I had the ability at one time to tell you any car I saw on the road — what engine was in it, what year it was, and who made it. Today in parking lots they all seem, I hesitate to say this, they all look alike to me. We have a running gag how do you tell a Tesla driver? The answer is don’t worry he’ll tell you. I’m still driving a pickup truck and getting a new motorcycle and going out to get louder pipes for it, the legendary neighbor hater pipes.
It’s sad to see the end of an era. Both of my children drive sensible cars. One of the things I can say when Tom and I were kids, nobody had a sensible car. In the words of the legend Chuck Bonniwell, “I never had a sensible car till I was 50.”
So long John Bandimere, goodbye to a golden era.
— Peter Boyles
