May Volunteer of the Month

Charlie Osborn Background
Charlie grew up in Goshen where he lived for
27 years until he joined the Navy. After serving
for four years, he returned to the area and
currently lives in Elkhart as he has for the
past 30 years.

Time volunteering
He started volunteering in January of 2009.

Why he began to volunteer
Charlie says his friend and one of LoveWay’s current volunteers Jim Baxter encouraged him come out and see what we were about. He says he’s always enjoyed working with kids and thought it would be a good experience.

Favorite thing about LoveWay
His favorite thing about LoveWay is the love of the kids. He likes seeing them progress and having fun too. He also enjoys getting to know all the horses.

Favorite Horse
Charlie says it is a tie between Spike and Shanna for his favorite horse.

First memory of LoveWay
He anticipated having lots of fun on his first day at LoveWay and Charlie says it has been a fun experience for him so far.

In his spare time
When not helping in class, participating in our sign language class, or grooming horses and cleaning stalls here at LoveWay, Charlie also volunteers at the Elkhart General Hospital as a Red Coat. He likes to ride his bike and watch educational TV too.

Leading with Feeling

LoveWay is beginning a new program called "Leading with Feeling" for groups that want to work on team building.

Participants will learn how working with horses can teach you to be a stronger leader in the workforce. Horses are fantastic at reading body language and can determine the ability of the person working with them. They are outstanding mirrors of the person training them and can help teach new skills and techniques that will cross over into any area. By tuning into ourselves, and making changes with our attitude and skills, we can learn how to become a strong yet tactful leader. This is a ropes course, a team building exercise and a great way of learning in an outside of the box environment. The class will cover trust issues, how to apply pressure, taking the time it takes, and how to tune into body language. The horses will be the teachers and Amanda Pierce will guide the program.

The class will run around 5 hours long, and can be customized to the group of people that you are sending. A consultation with Amanda will be included to talk about any questions you may have and to properly prepare you for this exciting opportunity. Lunch is included and we will schedule breaks.
The instructor for the course Amanda Pierce started riding at the age of 10. She spent her childhood on horseback and moved from Indiana to California at the age of 16. In California she worked with many top west coast horseman, and she was able to see how large top notch horse facilities were run. She took a one year apprecticeship program in stable management to pursue her passion full time. From there she managed a team of 22 polo ponies for a full season in New Zealand working with a professional polo player. Working with the horses were always a high priority, but Amanda soon began to realize that you had to be able to manage the owners as well. In this line of business you must be able to work with the people as well as the horses.

Upon returning to the midwest, Amanda worked in manufacturing, management and sales. She worked her way up from the bottom, so she has a unique perspective as to what it is like to be on both ends of the workforce. She believes that a good leader is an effective communicator, and that in the current era that we live, people do not practice these skills. Her emphasis is to never stop learning and always try to understand that every action will produce a reaction.

Amanda resides in Union Michigan with her husband and business partner Terry Pierce, and two sons Carter and Satchel. She runs a small private horse facility and teaches private lessons in practical horsemanship on and off farm. She takes lessons herself and enjoys her horse and mule. In her free time she runs with her family, and enjoys skiing in the off season with her boys.

April Volunteer of the Month

Jim Yoder

Background
Jim grew up near SR 120 where he attended a
one room country schoolhouse. He was in the
1st class to graduate from York Elementary
School. He currently lives in Goshen with his
wife. He retired from Troyer Products after 20 years.

Time volunteering
He started volunteering in January of 2006.

Why he began to volunteer
He was looking for something to keep him busy and knew that LoveWay needed help. He thought it was a worthwhile organization and decided to give it a try.

Favorite thing about LoveWay
Jim says his favorite thing about LoveWay are the kids. They are all very special and he likes to see them having such a good time.

Favorite Horse
Sam is Jim’s favorite horse at LoveWay because he doesn’t have many bad habits. He usually does what you tell him to do. He also likes all the hair that Sam has.

First memory of LoveWay
Jim remembers being eager to get started and wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. He’d had horses most of his life but didn’t really have much experience with kids except for his own.

In his spare time
He likes to hunt, fish, and mushroom hunt. He also likes engines a lot and has two antique tractors: 1939 John Deere B and 1940 Farmall A. He likes spending time with his wife, 3 children, and his grandchildren.