March 21, 1989 – The By-Laws are approved.
May 19, 1990 – The 1st annual Spring Social Dinner is held at the Richmond Marriott.
July 1990 – Dr. Monmahon Khokhar, at the time with Sheltering Arms Hospital, is the first doctor to work with the group in regard to PPS. In July 1990, he attends the Washington Rehabilitation Hospital PPS Clinic and reports back to the group. He begins working on creating a PPS Clinic at Sheltering Arms.
September 22, 1990 – Pat Poole hosts a covered dish picnic at her home for the group. This was repeated the following year.
December 2, 1990 – The1st Annual Christmas Party is held from 2:30 – 4:30.
February 25, 1991 – The first article about the support group is featured in the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper.
June, 1991 – Members of the group meet with the Director of Sheltering Arms to discuss the possibilities of creating a post-polio clinic.
November – December 1991 – The first issue of our newsletter is mailed. Sandra White is editor and there are 200 people on the mailing list. We ask for suggestions for a name, and by the next issue, Polio Deja View has been suggested by Charles Hamilton of Richmond.
September, 1991 – Dr. Henry Holland attends his first meeting and then presents his first program, “The Emotional Effects of Dealing with PPS,” in March of 1992.
November, 1991 – Dr. Henry Stonnington, Medical Director and John Allred, Director of Sheltering Arms, meet with the group to explain their plan for the Post-Polio Clinic.
January 13, 1992 – Board members meet with the Post-Polio Clinic team to discuss the final touches and express our concerns and wishes.
January, 1992 – Monthly meetings of the support group move to Saturday afternoon from 2 til 4 in the afternoon.
March 26, 1992 – Opening of Sheltering Arms PPS Clinic. The approximate cost for an evaluation is $900 including EMG. They see 37 people the first year, then increase the days a week which the clinic is held to meet the demand.
April 11, 1992 – Covered dish lunch meeting held from 1-3pm at Jack and Karen Wilson’s home in Darlington Heights, VA.
April 25, 1992 – Richmond Times-Dispatch runs an article on the opening of the PPS Clinic.
October, 1992 – Dr. Jane Wotton heads up the PPS Clinic.
January, 1993 – We temporarily move our Saturday meetings to The Rehabilitation Hospital of Virginia on Fitzhugh Avenue while remodeling is done at Sheltering Arms.
May, 1993 – First time that Dr. Lauro Halstead from National Rehab Hospital in DC speaks to our group. It is a monthly meeting and 76 people attend.
February, 1994 – Peer counseling begins at the PPS Clinic.
April, 1994 – Hugh Gallagher, author of “FDR’s Splendid Deception,” speaks to our group.
August 25, 1994 – Another article is in the Times-Dispatch about our group.
January-February, 1995 – Ed Gates and Pat Poole co-chair the Newsletter Committee; eventually, Ed takes over as editor.
March, 1995 – After two years, our monthly meetings move back to Sheltering Arms.
April, 1995 – First meeting to focus on caregiver/partner PPS issues. Rev. Rose Young is the moderator.
March 30, 1996 – Our 1st Annual PPS Conference is held at Sheltering Arms. Dr. Lauro Halstead, Hugh Gallagher, and Dr. Jane Wootton are the speakers at an all day conference. 150 people attend.
September, 1996 – Carol Ranelli becomes editor of our newsletter.
August, 1997 – Dr. Henry Holland, then president of the group, has us divide into age groups according to when we had polio. Each group discusses their individual experiences. A lively and boisterous period followed; ie: the birth of the “PPS Toddlers”. Later, he even writes an article for the newsletter entitled “The Toddler Mystique.”
September 25-27, 1998 – Our 1st Annual PPS Retreat is held at Camp Easter Seals East in Caroline County, Virginia. Dr. Jane Wootton is our speaker on Saturday morning with a “Post-Polio Update.” Dr. Rizwan Ali speaks in the afternoon on “Psychological Aspects of PPS.” We also have vendors presenting their products in the gym. Cost is $50 a person for the weekend and $15 for Saturday. The treasury subsidizes the remaining costs. Thirty people attend for the weekend and three for Saturday only.
November 14, 1998 – The 2nd PPS Conference is held at Sheltering Arms. Dr. Richard Bruno is our speaker for an afternoon conference.
December, 1998 – First CVPPSG webpage was designed on the Easter Seals website.
It was during this time that many members of the group would go out to dinner after the Saturday monthly meetings. It was a way to continue talking about PPS issues and just socialize with friends.
April, 1999 – Dave VanAken conducts his first “Caregiver/Partner session” during a monthly meeting.
September 24-26, 1999 – Our 2nd Annual PPS Retreat is held at Camp Easter Seals East. Pam McMillan, counselor at Sheltering Arms, speaks on “Dealing Psychologically with PPS.” She also conducts a Family Support Discussion with spouses. Cost is $75 for the weekend, $15 for Saturday. 20 attend.
January, 2000 – Start requesting $10 dues to offset the cost of the newsletter, conferences and retreat.
February, 2000 – Marilyn Decker, Social Chairman, organizes the first Brown Bag Auction to raise money for social events during the year.
April, 2000 – Reestablish the Peer Counseling group for the PPS Clinic. Eight members of our group participate.
August, 2000 – Our monthly meetings move to Children’s Hospital on Brook Road when Sheltering Arms Hospital building is sold.
September 22-24, 2000 – The 3rd Annual PPS Retreat is held at Camp Easter Seals. Sue Briggs, PT was to speak on the “Role of Physical Therapy in PPS” and Jann Hartman speaks on “Nutrition and PPS”. Cost is $85 for the weekend and $15 for Saturday. 15 attend.
October 7th, 2000– Outgoing president, Henry Holland, is presented a plaque from the support group for his outstanding service and leadership during his terms as president.
March 24, 2001 – The 3rd PPS Conference is held at Children’s Hospital from 1 til 5: “2001- A Brace & Pace Odyssey.” Dr. Mary Ann Keenan, orthopedic surgeon and head of the PPS Clinic at Moss Rehab in Philadelphia, is our speaker, as is Dr. Jane Wootton. Cost is $10. 51 attend.
September 21-23, 2001 – Our 4th Annual PPS Retreat is held at Camp Easter Seals. Planned speaker could not attend, so Henry filled in. We also hold small group discussions for PPSers and their caregivers. 22 attended.
November 3, 2001 – Charlie Brower is given a plaque for his years of work as liaison for March of Dimes on behalf of our support group.
September 20-22, 2002 – Our 5th Annual PPS Retreat is held at Camp Easter Seals. Biggest attendance yet when 41 people from six states attend. Commonwealth Medical Associates gives morning presentation on the latest assistive devices and equipment. We also have a panel discussion of Dr. Bruno’s book “The Polio Paradox”. Cost is $75 for the weekend and $25 for Saturday.
October, 2002 – Several members of our group take Jewel Cooke and her husband out to dinner as a thank you for her years of service to the group as Regional Director of Easter Seals Virginia. She is leaving Easter Seals for work at another non-profit organization.
September 19-21, 2003 – Our 6th Annual PPS Retreat is cancelled at the last minute due to Hurricane Isabel. Camp Easter sustained power outage and many trees were down.
October, 2003 – Dr. Jane Wootton retires from Sheltering Arms. Dr. Albert Jones will head up the PPS Clinic. Within a year, the PPS clinic is disbanded as an organized entity.
January, 2004 – After several months of work, our new CVPPSG website is up and running. Eric Johnson, with University of Richmond, is our web master. He works with the group to redesign our logo and maintain and update the website.
February 28, 2004 – We begin to organize our “mid-month lunches”.
September, 2004 – The 6th Annual PPS Retreat takes place at Camp Easter Seals. Dr. Lauro Halstead is our first speaker, giving a PPS update. Dr. Courtney Goodman, Pharmacist, later speaks on PPS and Medications. 29 attend. This is our last retreat at Camp Easter Seals as it was sold within a year.
January, 2005 – The CVS 2004 Volunteer Challenge Grant select us as an Outstanding Group. The original amount applied for was $500, but CVS granted us $1,000.
April, 2005 – President Carol Kennedy applies to the IRS for non-profit status. She had been working toward the final application for several months, both through the State Corporation Commission and the IRS.
September 24, 2005 – The non-profit status application is received and APPROVED. We are now independent of Easter Seals Virginia.
October 1, 2005 – An all day Post Polio Conference takes place at Children’s Hospital. Fifty attend. Speakers are Dr. Mary Ann Keenan who spoke on “Protecting Our Joints” as well as Sue Briggs, PT and Dr. Courtney Goodman who answered questions on medications.
March, 2006 – We receive authorization for Non-Profit Mailing status. Our first newsletter using our Non-Profit permit is mailed.
June, 2006 – Our Annual June Lunch is a celebration of our 20th Anniversary!! We’ve come a long way in the past 20 years! Congratulations to our Support Group for a job well done.
March, 2014 – Begin holding quarterly meetings in March, June, September, and December. These are strictly social gatherings except in September when there is also a very brief business meeting.
June, 2016 – Our web site is updated by our new webmaster, Sheryl Johnson.
December 3, 2016 – Our Christmas party at The Grapevine Restaurant includes a celebration of our 30th anniversary.
This history was created by Carol Ranelli with the help of past newsletters and minutes from general and board meetings…plus the recollections of members.