“STEM is vital to America’s future in education and employment, so equal access for people with disabilities is imperative, as they can contribute to and benefit from STEM,” said Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy. “The leaders we’ve selected as Champions of Change are proving that when the playing field is level, people with disabilities can excel in STEM, develop new products, create scientific inventions, open successful businesses, and contribute equally to the economic and educational future of our country.”

The Champions of Change program was created as a part of President Obama’s Winning the Future initiative. Each week, a different sector is highlighted and groups of Champions, ranging from educators to entrepreneurs to community leaders, are recognized for the work they are doing to serve and strengthen their communities. Hoby was nominated by Douglas Sprei of Learning Ally, a nonprofit that produces accessible audio textbooks for blind and learning disabled students.

Hoby, who is blind, was inspired by programs offered by the National Federation of the Blind in high school, and with encouragement from professors, colleagues and others, he gained the confidence to challenge and refute the mistaken belief that STEM fields are too visual and, therefore, impractical for blind people. He currently is working towards his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at UC Davis.

Hoby also founded and teaches at an annual chemistry camp near Napa for blind and low-vision high school students. Chemistry Camp demonstrates to the students, by example and through practice, that their lack of eyesight should not hold them back from pursuing their dreams.

In between his studies and other projects, Hoby travels to the winery to host the monthly Tasting in the Dark, a blind tasting experience that he helped establish with our winemaking team last summer.

“Francis Ford Coppola Winery has been extremely fortunate to work with someone as talented as Henry Wedler to help develop Tasting in the Dark,” said Corey Beck, Director of Winemaking and General Manager.  “Not only has Henry been a inspiration to our guests and the employees of the winery but he has one of the best palates I’ve ever been around when it comes to wine tasting.”

We now have a collection of Coppola films in Napa just for employees. On the library bookshelf (next to the time clock), there are laminated cards for each of the films we currently have available. If you’d like to check out a DVD, just take the laminated card to Lorraine and she will give you the DVD to take home.

You are welcome to borrow each DVD for up to two weeks at a time.

MOVIE TITLES CURRENTLY AVAILABLE:

• Apocalypse Now “The Complete Dossier”The Rainmaker
• Bram Stoker’s Dracula “Collector’s Edition”
• The Conversation
• Dementia 13
• The Escape Artist
• The Godfather Trilogy
• Hammett
• Hearts of Darkness w/Eleanor’s follow-up documentary Coda: Thirty Years Later
• Jeepers Creepers
• Jeepers Creeeper 2
• Lost in Translation
• Marie Antoinette
• One from the Heart with extra footage
• The Outsiders “Two Disc Special Edition”
• Peggy Sue Got Married
• The Rainmaker
• Rumble Fish
• Somewhere
• Tetro
• The Virgin Suicides
• Youth Without Youth

Like last year, booking a Cabine is the ONLY way to reserve a spot at the pool on a given day. A handful of daily passes will be available, but they will only be available on a first-come, first-served basis (and most likely, will be gone within minutes of opening).  So plan ahead, and book your cabine early! Call Guest Services at (707) 857-1471 to make your reservations or for more info. SEE EMPLOYEE PRICING BELOW.

2012 Pool and Winery Park hours
♦ March 30 – May 20, Open Weekends (Friday – Sunday), 11am – 6pm
♦ May 25 – September 30, Open Daily, 11am – 6pm
♦ October 5 – October 28, Open Weekends (Friday – Sunday), 11am – 6pm

2012 Cabine Packages
Includes: Four (4) pool passes, up to four (4) lounge chairs, use of four (4) towels, two (2) wine tasting flights plus two (2) ‘surprise’ tastes of exclusive wines, and two (2) souvenir water bottles.
♦ General Public – $125 per cabine
♦ Wine Family Members – $100 per cabine
♦ EMPLOYEES – $90 per cabine

2012 Cabine Packages Weekday Specials (M-Th, Jun & Sept only)
Includes: Four (4) pool passes, up to four (4) lounge chairs, use of four (4) towels, two (2) wine tasting flights plus two (2) ‘surprise’ tastes of exclusive wines and two (2) souvenir water bottles.
♦ General Public – $100 per cabine
♦ Wine Family Members – $90 per cabine
♦ EMPLOYEES – $90 per cabine

2012 Daily Pool Passes*
♦ Adults (ages 13+) – $20 per person
♦ Children (ages 2-12) – $10 per person
♦ Seniors (ages 65+) – $10 per person
♦ Wine Family Adults – $15 per person
♦ Wine Family Children & Seniors – $7 per person
♦ EMPLOYEE – $15 per person
♦ EMPLOYEE Children & Seniors – $7 per person
Children under 3 years of age may use pools free of charge
* Limited availability, cannot be reserved in advance

Please note these photos were all taken during the initial set-up because the flash from a camera would have disrupted the viewing.

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