A proclamation celebrating October as Spellbinders® Oral Storytelling Month. A proclamation celebrating October as Spellbinders Oral Storytelling Month.
Whereas, storytellers gathered at Denver Union Station on October 2nd, 2015 at 4:25 p.m. through October 3rd, 2015 at 5:25 p.m. to set the world record of 25 hours of storytelling. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the Council of the City and County of Denver, Section one, that the Denver City Council proclaims the month of October 2015 as spell binders oral storytelling month and Section two that the Clerk of the city and County of Denver shall attest. And a fix the seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation and that copies be transmitted to Catherine Johnson, Executive Director Spell Binders Ray Moore and Brenda Vasquez. Thank you. Councilman Carson, your motion to adopt. Yes, thank you, Mr. President. I move that proclamation 689 be adopted. It has been moved and seconded. Comments. Councilman Cashman. Thank you. This body promotes sometimes that we think deep thoughts about important issues. I love stories and I've always loved stories. Since I was a little boy. I have distinct memories of sitting on the floor in first grade while Mrs. Slattery read stories to us a few days a week. I remember how excited I would be knowing that on a specific day there would be more tales of our Founding Fathers, the Wild West, or some mythical character that came from the recesses of her mind that opened mind to all manner of imaginative creation. I also remember how excited I was when I found out about this place called the library that had so many, many stories on its written pages. And how those stories freed me to the exploration of all manner of brave new worlds that spoke of what was, what is and what might be. The first book I remember reading was The Autumn Autobiography of Abraham Lincoln. The last book I read recently was A Man's Search for Meaning. Both of those were fascinating and rewarding, but none were quite as exciting as as the stories that Mrs. Mrs. Slattery had to offer, because she was the one who first allowed my imagination to take flight. And that is what storytellers do. They pry open our minds and expand our willingness to hear hear tales different than what we might have heard before. For thousands of years, human beings have passed on history through the oral tradition. I spent this past weekend with old friends celebrating the 50th reunion of my graduation from high school, and it was four days of storytelling at its finest. But as time is not always conducive to accurate recollection, as one of us remembered facts a bit different than the other. Another would add a correction. The actual. Truth of the narrative was refined and the history was made right for us all to carry forth to our family and friends. So I dug up a few quotes that I liked about storytelling from author Philip Pullman after Nourishment, Shelter and Companionship. Stories are the things we need most in the world. Brandon Sanderson, from the Way of Kings, said The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon. And Rudyard Kipling If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten. And my personal favorite from Dr. Seuss. You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. So while while tonight, I am pleased to honor the spell binders for your 25 year commitment to our community and for bringing the miracle of story to so many, many young minds . I want to take this moment of privilege to thank all the storytellers, friends, family, authors, filmmakers, musicians, and Mrs. Slattery for sharing with me your wonderful gifts. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilman Cashman. Any other comments? 689. Seen. Madam Secretary, Roll Call Cashman. I can eat. Lopez. I knew Ortega. Sussman. Black eyes. Brooks Clark. All right. Espinosa. Hi, Gilmore. Hi. Ortega. Mr. President. I. Madam Secretary, please for the vote. Announce the results. 12. 12, 12. 689 has been adopted. Councilman Cashman, is there someone you'd like to invite to the podium to receive the proclamation? Yes, there is. Mr. President, I'd like to invite Ray Moore, and I believe some other representatives of spell binders are with him. Mr.. Mr. President, Council council members, thank you so much for for this proclamation tonight. We really appreciate it. And it, again, just really reinforces and validates what we volunteers are really committed to. That's sharing the oral storytelling tradition, telling kids stories about the star in the cottonwood, about the ghost with one black eye, with a with other kinds of stories, too, like Mrs. Slattery told you way back when. And what I want to say about spell binders is that, as you mention, or as the proclamation states, we have expanded 25 years ago, actually more than 25 years ago, we started in the Denver public schools. One woman had a vision of older. People telling stories to younger people, and it's as simple as that. And we achieved that result and then some. So I really, again, appreciate the recognition and we will obviously over the next month we have a lot of storytelling events planned. You should have in your hands our brochure. Inside, there's a calendar with all the storytelling events that are above and beyond all the school activities we engage in. Normally in the Denver Public Library, for any museum and other places around town that people can come experience stories. Stories that they may like. Like you say, have. Forgotten. And it's good to hear them again, because they remind us or they bring forth memories that help us fill in why these stories are so important. We have a number of people with us. I have a number of other my storytellers and Brenda Vasquez, who is the coordinator of our program for the Denver Public Schools. And just introduce them now. I'll have each one do that in turn. I'm Tom Hobbs, Denver resident and known as The Man in a Hat. And the kids go nuts. There's nothing more satisfying in walking away with your legs hurting from kids, hugging your legs. Okay. I'm Harriet Hoke, and I'm a storyteller. And some of you may remember that. For 32. Years, I was up here and telling you. Stories about. Planning and developing the city. Well, now. I do this for. Children and to help engage their imagination. In terms of what can. Be tomorrow. Hello. Thank you for this opportunity and thank you for honoring our wonderful storytelling volunteers. And just want to remind you that these incredible volunteers do not read books, but they tell stories. And that's there's a big difference there. We are the founding chapter of Spell Binders, and we have hundreds of volunteers donating thousands of hours in our Denver public school classrooms, telling to hundreds of classrooms and thousands of students. And they really do an incredible job of oral storytelling, which results in igniting the imagination of our children, creating an environment of excitement and a an excitement of reading. One of the things we hear often from our teachers is that after our our talented storytellers tell their stories in the classroom, there's a rush to get to the library to check out the same book. So it actually creates a love of reading. So as the manager of the Office of Volunteer Services at Denver Public Schools, I encourage all of you to consider being a storyteller yourself. We have a training. Anybody can be a storyteller if they have the heart and passion for it. Thank you. And again, thank you for approving this proclamation. Paul, thank you for your work on this. And we are very grateful we were going to have a great month. We did set that world record over the weekend. And even though we were a little tired in the process, it was certainly a worthwhile effort. If you happen to catch the story on Channel nine or Channel Seven, maybe you can understand a little bit of this of this whole process, 25 hours of straight stories. And we've just started. Thank you. That. Thank you, Councilman Cashman, for bringing that forward. All right. We've got one more proclamation. 733. Councilwoman Kenney, will you please read proclamation 733? Yes, Mr. President. Proclamation 733. In celebration of Taiwan Friendship Day on October 10th, 2015. Whereas the Republic of China, Taiwan will be observing its 104th anniversary of its National Day on October 10th, 2015. And. Whereas, the Council of the City and County of Member becomes the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office, welcomes the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office