11/01/07 Cathy Juchmes

Sometimes stories or articles just take off in a direction of their own. That's what happened when I was writing this story. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to tell you about it. I called Cathy Juchmes recently to get some details about a horse program she has developed, but while talking to her I realized I had to tell you just how busy this lady is. First, what I guess you would call her day job, she works four days a week at a larger Eastern Washington school district as a teaching aid for special services. Now this fills most of her time during the school year, but she has a summer job also. Cathy oversees twelve youth program horse camps that use around 270 head of horses from Miller-Blue Outfitters. Some of these camps involve national organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Camp Fire. The camps are located in Oregon and Washington with participants also coming from California and various eastern states. Her duties include matching horses to certain camps, making sure bridles, bits and saddles fit each horse, and pairing horse types with human personalities and abilities. Cathy also trains staff employed at the camps who have come from Australia, Europe or anywhere in the United States. Remember I told you Cathy works four days a week for a school district? Well, she loves work so much that gives her a full day a week to pursue another job and passion that I'll tell you about tomorrow. I'm Jeff Keane.