Finishing touches ... Student Yana K. watches as Pam Allen stains the window sill in Room One.
Pam Allen’s Experience of Program “Building”
By Brooke C.
Pam Allen was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and growing up was hectic. She had seven brothers and sisters and attended 17 different schools before graduating from high school.
Allen moved from Fort Worth to Michigan in 1964, and married her husband Mike Allen when she was 19, in 1973. Together, they started a tool business. Their business had correspondence with a man living in Hancock, and eventually the couple moved to Hancock to begin to teach people the tooling business. Then, in late July 2002, Allen was hired by The Family Foundation School, the place which would change the direction of her life.
FFS made a strong first impression on Allen. She recalls, “I met Mike Losicco, and he told me I was going to be working with students in the barn making sets. I asked what other staff would be helping me, and he said I was on my own. I just thought, ‘I’ve got to make this work.’” With that mentality she accomplished her goal, successfully doing set design for her first play, “Peter Pan.”
Allen has been creating the sets for FFS plays ever since, and it’s been a good eight years for her. Her favorite part of this job is, “creating crazy props.” She designed the set for the recent performances of “The Imaginary Invalid” with the help of Kathy Kovaleski, Jimmy S., Tony W. and Adam S., and was most proud of the beautiful columns she created for the stage.
In addition to all this, Allen also breeds Gordon Setters, and her dog, Reagan, recently gave birth to a litter of nine puppies who have made their appearance at The Family School.
Allen also has many new things going for her at FFS. She recently was given a new position, “Assistant to the Vice President in Charge of Communal Spaces.” Along with Rita Argiros, Allen has transformed Old Mann House into Room One study hall, and she is working on turning Whiting Hall into a dining area.
Allen also has a chapel service on Thursday morning. She said, “I’ve been a pastor for nine years, and I work for the For Faith Parish, which is five churches in Sullivan County.” However, spirituality hasn’t always been smooth sailing.
At first she had a hard time identifying with her faith, but when she was introduced to music, everything changed. Allen said, “When I was directing choir I felt called into the ministry. I started turning my will over to God and praying, knowing that someone was out there listening to me.” Allen has put her own twist on chapel, redoing the service with the help of Andrew D. She even added contemporary Christian music and a slideshow, “Through my years in training, I’ve been to workshops on transforming worship.” The work isn’t complete yet; Allen is putting together a committee to discuss further changes.
Chapel isn’t the only thing that’s been transformed; Allen’s life has also changed as a result of working at FFS. She said, “I’m most thankful to the school for allowing me to reconnect to my creative side. When you reconnect to art you see things differently, and you lose that if you don’t stay connected.”
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Pam, I don’t think you are even aware of how many lives you touch in a positive way. It is a pleasure to know you and count me among those who are glad that God placed you on a path to Hancock so you could be part of our lives.