The Tina McGeary 'Inventor-prise'

My sister's (Tina McGeary's) obituary ran in today's paper.

This afternoon, I got a call from Ed LaChapelle from Bend Research.

Apparently, in 1992, my sister volunteered for a seminar put on by the Jacob Javitts Foundation, for education/business partnerships.

This committee created a contest, called "Inventorprise", which was sponsored by Bend Research, which would yearly present a science problem to be solved. And that Tina was very involved in the creation of this idea. It was for grades K through High School, with prizes given out.

Apparently, Tina and Ed were the two original committee members who were still involved every year, and that the good folk at Bend Research had decided they should name a prize after Tina.

He thought it would probably be the Middle School prize, because it had been Tina's idea that something (like a ski pass to Bachelor) be given out since entries had begun dwindling. Since then, they were getting plenty of entries.

All of which made me feel really good. I knew that Tina volunteered in many different ways. And I'm happy that it was noticed.

They haven't finalized it, but they wanted to know if it was "all right" with the family.

Um....yeah. Hell, yeah.

In the same conversation, he talked about how Bend Research sponsored 5th grade classes to the Bend Science Station. Something like 30 classes, which would involve a class almost every week of the year, coordinating between the Bus Barn and the classes and the Station.

When Ed called Tina, she said, "Oh, I'll take care of that."

I can just hear the cheerful tone Tina would say that, and then follow through without further ado.

And apparently, through her position as office manager at Marshall school, she's done that for the last 8 years.

I knew Tina volunteered in many things, but she didn't really talk about it much. I just knew that she was doing it.

I just thought that was kinda cool.