Q. You are passionate about helping people and hiking, how did all that start?
A. Possibly both began about the same time when I was 8 years old, diagnosed with dyslexia, and sent to the Cardigan Mountain School in New Hampshire, home of the Mount
Washington and the Presidents' range. We spent a lot of time outdoors, on the mountains and now hiking is integral to my life. Additionally, all the students were handicapped in some
way, and the motto of the school was "Fine Origine Pendent" or "the end depends on the beginning". Start anything with good building blocks and you will be able to end with excellent
results. Screw up in the beginning and you get nowhere. We were taught always to cope, to help each other, to look at the big picture and never be myopic, and because we were
financially privileged to be in this school, we were heavily impressed with the notion of "giving back". Q. I know you just delivered 525 wheelchairs in Nepal. Tell us how that came about.
A. My love of climbing and desire to help intersected. Denise and I visited Kathmandu this past May 29th to attend the celebration honoring Sir Edmund Hillary and the 50th
anniversary of his climb. As it happened, I was able to sit next to him, and he told me that climbing Mt. Everest was great, but greater satisfaction by far has been the work that he has been
doing in Nepal since the climb. He has spent 30 years helping these people gather resources for education, infrastructure and health. That really got me thinking (especially since 9/11 had
already occurred) that we are not insular, we have a connection to the entire global environment, and how little I know about the eastern countries. The next day I attended a
Rotary meeting in Kathmandu, met the president, and we decided to consider doing a project together. |
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Q. So, between June and November you were able to decide on a project, and find and deliver over 500 wheelchairs, just
like that? Is this the speed at which the Rotary normally does things?
A. By chance when we returned home, a friend (Dick Grace of Grace Vineyards) introduced me to Ken Behrens, head of his
family's "Wheelchair Foundation". To get 500+ wheelchairs from the foundation, all I had to do was to come up with $22,000, get the product through duty free, find 500+
individual recipients, and do the project in conjunction with another service organization.Q. What was our cost for the project?
A. Our cost for the chairs was significantly lower than it would have been to buy outright. Normally well-made wheelchairs are priced in the thousands, plus enormous shipping and tax
charges. We were able to do this for $22,000 or $42 per chair. Our Rotary members individually contributed $5,000, an amazing thing to see. Calistoga Rotary, North Napa Rotary,
Sierra Madre Rotary, Grace Church and Grace Vineyards contributed the rest. The wheelchairs were made in China, shipped to Calcutta, and finally delivered to Nepal just a few
weeks ago. This program brought pleasure to a lot of people and certainly made me feel good! The thing is, our dollars have so much more impact internationally, we can increase the
effect of each dollar exponentially, and to each recipient in Nepal, the wheelchair is priceless. Well, we all applaud you Phil, as well as all the contributing
Rotarians who have every right to feel ecstatic and proud . I'd like to ask what you will do next, but I think you have accomplished enough for awhile, so we'll end this interview
while you're thinking about it. Thank you Phil! |
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