REACH Water Sports Picnic, Saturday, June 26, 2010- Recap

TEAM RISE Staff, Sponsors, and Volunteers,

From the bottom of my heart, I truly appreciate each and every one of you for your effort, presenting the REACH Water Sports Picnic. Your heartfelt compassion and unconditional support were truly inspiring. This was one of the best days of RISE Adventures short existence. I have written this many times and it seems so weak but, THANK YOU!!

There are way too many folks to thank and I will surely miss some but feel compelled to highlight a few:

-        Paul Margeson/REACH for bringing a great group of persons with physical challenges to enjoy this fun filled day! Paula is totally sight impaired and actually drove a jet ski, wow!

-        Our two corporate sponsors, Randy Smith and Connie Stauffer and their staff, that make all of this possible not only from funding but intimately involved in volunteering their time!

-        Randy Sell/Grapevine Parks and Recreation for not only furnishing the venue and infrastructure, but also his personal dedication spending time as a volunteer for our very important mission!

-        Mike Peters for taking our water sports program to a new level! Your willingness to share your life and experiences make all of this work.

-        Rick Brauer, despite recent family issues, for the excellent job of sailing a full boat all day long!

-        Wayne Holt for not only furnishing his ski boat, but the hard work, inspiration, and the “whatever it takes” attitude he always exemplifies!

-        Joel “Peanut” Hendrix for driving the RISE “Magic Bus” to transport a full load of participants to and from the REACH Plano office!

-        Gary Pickle for the excellent job of demonstrating and acclimating new participants to the RISE Golf Program.

I could continue this list for a very long time and each one of you that contributed your time and effort are equally as important! Again, thank you!

Total attendance was over 125 not including those that registered directly online on the bus. This was the first time any of the participants have ever experienced any of our programs; water skiing, jet skiing, kayaking, tube rides, sailing, and golf. Cooking burgers and hot dogs was pretty eventful but Mike pulled it off, thank you!

We all made a huge difference in the lives of many Saturday. I am physically and emotionally drained in writing this note. As our Summer Water Sports Picnics continue, one down, three more to go, I hope to have your continued support in helping those less fortunate engage in a more productive and fulfilled life.

There are many great pictures.   If you have any pictures of the day please send them to me!

THANK YOU!!

Paul Gray

CEO

RISE Adventures, Inc.