BOLD Testimonials

2011	BOLD Harley Ride Testimonials
	I am writing to share responses from those who participated in the 11th Annual BOLD Harley ride that took place on June 4 and 5 of this year. As a VIP participant, I can truly say that the experience gets better and better each year. This year, with the over night extension of the fun, the experience was extra special, because it made extra time available to meet and get to know the volunteer Lions, guides and drivers who gave of their time and resources to make this year’s ride a success. Sincerely, Lion Marty Hutchings
Dawn Wangard, Mother of VIP BOLD Child, Dylan:
	My family had the best time this past weekend on the BOLD Harley ride. First I would like to thank God for providing the nice weather. We have done more events with the BOLD Kids project so this event was so great to meet sooooo many new faces. There are too many to mention. Gator, Tom, Ray, Steve and Jackie Those are a few of the people I know worked really hard to put this event on! You guys are wonderful. Special thanks to all of the Lion's chapters who took such great care of us! As I told friends about this event, words could not express my emotions as I drove my car behind the line up of VIPS's. The thunder on the road with the bikes was an awesome thing to experience. Tom Eigner was Dylan and Craig's driver and he took really great care of them. I am very blessed. My heart of appreciation goes out to the countless others - the drivers and other volunteers who gave of their time. I know their lives were touched by our magical weekend. This one will not be one I will ever forget. Having a child with disabilities is not easy, but I am thankful to have an organization like BOLD to make the outdoor activities seem more normal! I am sure I am forgetting to thank many, I know the weekend Famous Dave's, The Great Wolf and how can we forget Dunkin Donuts! May God Bless each of you and your families, Hugs Dawn Wangard
VIP Scott Hegle:
	This was the best ride ever. I especially enjoyed the two day event, and the food at both venues on Saturday was outstanding. The hotel was very nice, although the water park was geared more for children, which worked great for me as I had my 4-year-old with me. Let’s try to make each ride a two day event. My thanks to all the cycle drivers. Without them, this would not have been the success that it truly was.
VIP Cindy Alioto:
	I had a awesome time.. Thank you to all who helped put this together. Their time, efforts and thoughts of making this a blind friendly event was very successful. And I want to thank the drivers for taking time out of there busy lives to give us the chance to feel the open wind on our faces, hear the roar of the bikes and all the weird, wonderful and some times not so nice smells! The 3 drivers I had a chance to ride with (Kirk, John, & Billy) have such fullfilling lives and for them to take the time to be with us is so special and touching. And we did NOT go away Hungry. Thanks to all who purchased us the food. Yum Yum! Again Thank you to all, I am now an official motorcycle mama!!! Cindy Alioto (Totally blind only for the last 2 years.
VIP Howard Kaufman:
	I haven't been involved in BOLD, regularly since 1980. This gives me a flash forward prospective on the organization. I was thrilled to see the evolution of BOLD, both in terms of philosophy, inclusion, and scope of activities. Bold has evolved with it's members to include activities that are enjoyable, as we all age. Most of all the people involved in the Water Park weekend are not of the ski racing generation. The inclusion rather than the segregation of participants and their families is a very welcome development. Most welcome is the change to a view of "VIP's" and guides into a team of equals, rather than as "helpers" and "helpees". This makes the true value of BOLD possible. The weekend was great, the weather was perfect, the water park was full of varied water related experiences. Guides were available and appreciated, because their is not a way to safely navigate the area using a cane. A folded cane is not a desirable object for company hurtling down a slide in a raft. Thank you all for your generous efforts in support of this project!!!
VIP Rosy Goodrich:
	I loved the weekend. The food was good. The accommodations were great. Riding three legs out of four certainly was a point in the right direction. I enjoyed the water park, the lazy river, the hot tub, and the slide with the big splash on the bottom. It was amazing to hear the bucket of water come down and watch the kids run in three inches of water. There are no words to express my appreciation. The drivers, the volunteers, all the Lions helping out, without them there would not have been a Harley ride. Thanks a million. Sincerely, Rosy and Ariel (Ariel is her guide dog)
VIP Jennie Post:
	I would like to extend a cordial welcome to Jackie and Steve Schneider, Dick Walters, Tom Martin, as well as the rest of the bold committee in conjunction with Gator, the Columbus Lions , The Richfield Lions, and the Dells Lions for orchestrating this Harley event. Without them, the event wouldn't have taken place. I felt that the trip ran smoothly. Everyone cooperated when necessary. I would also like to thank the Harley drivers for dedicating there time and effort in to this trip as well. Without the drivers, we wouldn't be riding the bikes. If I was to have anything changed for another Dells Trip, I would only ask that the VIPS pay a little extra into the bold fund. This will make it possible for Bold to create more activities in the future. Lastly, I feel that Bold as a whole is coming together. Because of that, the Harley ride was truly a success. Jennie Post
Jody Cahala, Mother of VIP BOLD Child, CJ:
	A huge thank you to everyone involved in the 2011 Harley ride. Our son CJ, is a 14 year old VIP, and he really enjoyed every moment of the exciting two day event. As parents, we are very grateful for the wonderful and generous volunteers that we have meet thru the BOLD program. It is awesome for our son to have so many positive and supportive influences in his life. It is amazing to us how many hours are involved in planning events like the Harley ride, and every minute is VOLUNTEERED from caring people wanting to help and enrich the lives of others. Our family is truly blessed to be a part of BOLD. With sincere thanks, Jody, Scott, and CJ Cahala

Past Year Testimonials
March 2007	VIP Kevin Meyers:
	Dear Ken, I would like to thank the Lions Clubs for all the monetary donations they have made to the Blind Outdoor Leisure Development organization. I have participated in a number of events BOLD has put on over the years, allowing me to get more out of life. There are many good events BOLD sponsors. The one I participate in the most is downhill skiing. I lost my sight at age 25 in an accident that nearly killed me. When I had sight I went downhill skiing. I loved this sport and wondered if I would be able to ski again after I lost my sight. Thanks to the individual who told me about BOLD, I was able to once again participate in a sport I really love. Downhill skiing with BOLD has given me the opportunity to add some excitement to my life. It has also helped me develop a higher level of self-confidence. Plus, taking on a challenge such as downhill skiing requires me to put my trust in the guide. Now, you might say I have to put my trust in my guide for all the BOLD activities. This is correct, and when it comes to downhill skiing I have to put much more trust in the guide. In most other activities I would be holding on to the guide's arm. For downhill skiing, the only thing I am holding on to is the guide's voice. This is more challenging, risky and requires a lot of trust, which leads to a higher level of self-confidence. Once again, I thank Blind Outdoor Leisure Development and the Lions Clubs for giving me many chances to ski at Sunburst, and at a weekend trip to Indianhead ski resort. If the skiing events no longer took place, I would lose most (if not all) of the major excitement in my life. Kevin Meyers Registered Corporate Coach Advanced Toastmaster Silver http://www.mytruevision.net

2011

BOLD Harley Ride Testimonials

I am writing to share responses from those who participated in the 11th Annual BOLD Harley ride that took place on June 4 and 5 of this year.

Sincerely, Lion Marty Hutchings

Dawn Wangard, Mother of VIP BOLD Child, Dylan:

My family had the best time this past weekend on the BOLD Harley ride.

First I would like to thank God for providing the nice weather.

We have done more events with the BOLD Kids project so this event was so great to meet sooooo many new faces. There are too many to mention. Gator, Tom, Ray, Steve and Jackie Those are a few of the people I know worked really hard to put this event on! You guys are wonderful.

VIP Scott Hegle:

This was the best ride ever. I especially enjoyed the two day event, and the food at both venues on Saturday was outstanding. The hotel was very nice, although the water park was geared more for children, which worked great for me as I had my 4-year-old with me.

Let’s try to make each ride a two day event.

My thanks to all the cycle drivers. Without them, this would not have been the success that it truly was.

VIP Cindy Alioto:

The 3 drivers I had a chance to ride with (Kirk, John, & Billy) have such fullfilling lives and for them to take the time to be with us is so special and touching. And we did NOT go away Hungry. Thanks to all who purchased us the food. Yum Yum!

Again Thank you to all, I am now an official motorcycle mama!!! Cindy Alioto (Totally blind only for the last 2 years.

VIP Howard Kaufman:

The inclusion rather than the segregation of participants and their families is a very welcome development. Most welcome is the change to a view of "VIP's" and guides into a team of equals, rather than as "helpers" and "helpees". This makes the true value of BOLD possible.

Thank you all for your generous efforts in support of this project!!!

VIP Rosy Goodrich:

I loved the weekend. The food was good. The accommodations were great. Riding three legs out of four certainly was a point in the right direction.

I enjoyed the water park, the lazy river, the hot tub, and the slide with the big splash on the bottom. It was amazing to hear the bucket of water come down and watch the kids run in three inches of water.

There are no words to express my appreciation. The drivers, the volunteers, all the Lions helping out, without them there would not have been a Harley ride. Thanks a million.

Sincerely, Rosy and Ariel (Ariel is her guide dog)

VIP Jennie Post:

I would also like to thank the Harley drivers for dedicating there time and effort in to this trip as well. Without the drivers, we wouldn't be riding the bikes.

Jennie Post

Jody Cahala, Mother of VIP BOLD Child, CJ:

A huge thank you to everyone involved in the 2011 Harley ride. Our son CJ, is a 14 year old VIP, and he really enjoyed every moment of the exciting two day event. As parents, we are very grateful for the wonderful and generous volunteers that we have meet thru the BOLD program.

It is awesome for our son to have so many positive and supportive influences in his life. It is amazing to us how many hours are involved in planning events like the Harley ride, and every minute is VOLUNTEERED from caring people wanting to help and enrich the lives of others.

Our family is truly blessed to be a part of BOLD.

With sincere thanks, Jody, Scott, and CJ Cahala

Past Year Testimonials

March 2007

VIP Kevin Meyers:

Dear Ken,

I lost my sight at age 25 in an accident that nearly killed me. When I had sight I went downhill skiing. I loved this sport and wondered if I would be able to ski again after I lost my sight.

Once again, I thank Blind Outdoor Leisure Development and the Lions Clubs for giving me many chances to ski at Sunburst, and at a weekend trip to Indianhead ski resort. If the skiing events no longer took place, I would lose most (if not all) of the major excitement in my life.

Kevin Meyers Registered Corporate Coach Advanced Toastmaster Silver http://www.mytruevision.net

Sincerely,
Lion Marty Hutchings

We have done more events with the BOLD Kids project so this event was so great to meet sooooo many new faces. There are too many to mention.
Gator, Tom, Ray, Steve and Jackie Those are a few of the people I know worked really hard to put this event on! You guys are wonderful.

Again Thank you to all, I am now an official motorcycle mama!!!

Cindy Alioto (Totally blind only for the last 2 years.

I enjoyed the water park, the lazy river, the hot tub, and the slide with the big splash on the bottom. It was amazing to hear the bucket of
water come down and watch the kids run in three inches of water.

Sincerely,
Rosy and Ariel (Ariel is her guide dog)

I would also like to thank the Harley drivers for dedicating there time and effort in to this trip as well. Without the drivers, we wouldn't be riding
the bikes.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in the 2011 Harley ride. Our son CJ, is a 14 year old VIP, and he really enjoyed every moment of the exciting two
day event. As parents, we are very grateful for the wonderful and generous volunteers that we have meet thru the BOLD program.

With sincere thanks,
Jody, Scott, and CJ Cahala

I lost my sight at age 25 in an accident that nearly killed me. When I
had sight I went downhill skiing. I loved this sport and wondered if I
would be able to ski again after I lost my sight.

Kevin Meyers
Registered Corporate Coach
Advanced Toastmaster Silver
http://www.mytruevision.net