A Remembrance by Tootie Schan

Former Garage Sale Coordinator

I was an Aramcon from 1997 to 2004. Prior to that, my husband worked for Saudia from 1988 to 1997. I played a small part in contributing to the PAWS coffers by heading the Garage Sales for a period of 4 years.

My introduction to the PAWS sales was by helping Doris Spence during her last year in Saudi. Once she left there was a void of leadership for the garage sales. A meeting was held and I was happy to take on the job. There was so much cooperation among the people that volunteered to help me, including my husband, Ro.

We had many dedicated people participating in those sales, with the welfare of the animals at heart. Prior to the actual sales, there was a mountainous amount of work to be done. We had volunteers show up to do pickups and tackle sorting, sorting and more sorting.

Some of the names stand out in my mind but there were many so please forgive me for any omissions. We could never have been as successful as we were without the following people:

Judy Miller polished, cleaned and repaired articles, organized and tagged clothing for the women's shop. It was a huge undertaking; her help was invaluable to me and our cause.

Kelly Al-Nashmi was cashier on Wednesday and was a shrewd negotiator.

Lani Marchal was a consistent aid in all aspects of the sale.

Melanie Driemen kept us energized with food and water, plus providing a venue for the sale. She assumed the role of cashier on Thursday mornings and proved to be a shrewd negotiator also.

Carol Twombly collected the funds and paid our veterinary bills.

We had various people volunteer to do set up, to work the sales and to do the inevitable cleanup, husbands included. The Aramco warehouse guys delivered the tables and clothes racks.

It was a laborious and sweaty undertaking but the GARAGE SALE CREW was a wonderful group of people and looking back, it was the most rewarding time of my life in Saudi Arabia.

Also, I might mention the contribution of items "for sale", never ceased to amaze me. People were so generous to the PAWS effort. Looking back, I would say everyone involved, felt a sense of pride and satisfaction for such a worthy cause. I still have a few articles I purchased at the sales which trigger happy memories.

I don't know how many times a number of us bought items at one sale then donated them back the next, yours truly included! It was amazing how one item could circulate so many times, continually generating revenue for PAWS.

There were two families with young children that came to every sale so they could spend their allowance to support the animals, and also go home with that newly purchased prized possession!! Another generation learning the value of caring for the animals.

The parties were just another memory of sharing time with good friends-99% PAWS People.

Hopefully this will give you some insight into the activities of PAWS and the participants, in times gone by. I'm sure the people of today are just as dedicated and committed as we were.

We still have Melanie Rose (named after Melanie) as our last remaining PAWS rescue animal. She's also affectionately known as the one-eyed terrorist!!

Regards,
Tootie Schan
Oyama, BC. Canada