marathon swimmer – coach – advocate – friend
Dear Mayor and Council Congratulations on your new roles. I wish you every success. I am writing to you in regard to my friends Lisa and Meliah, two Spirit Orcas and Victoria Special Olympic Athletes. I am asking that in your new role you help them. My partner and I take Lisa, Meliah and our friend,Ben, for … Read moreRe: Lisa & Meliah
September 16, 2022 I am writing to you to gain better understanding of polling stations and voter equity. I am resident of Victoria, British Columbia. As with all cities across the province, we are actively engaged in a municipal election. While reviewing the city’s list of voting opportunities, I noted that the City of Victoria … Read moreDear Elections BC
letters@timescolonist.com It started with a @JohnsonStBRDG tweet that was quickly amplified by others. “Honestly, I have very little bandwidth for caring about police being struck by motorists when virtually nothing is done by those same police to ticket or prosecute drivers…” Tweeters rallied around the account hailing the poster as an inspiration. I found myself … Read moreWords Matter – the breeding of hatred in Victoria
Dear reader: please note I do not have a professional editor. There is a high probability you will find typos and grammeros. If you do kindly pop me a note so I can correct them. It is a much nicer approach than making fun of me for not being perfect. On July 11, 2022 I sent … Read moreCity of Victoria Response to Missing Middle Questions
Dear City of Victoria Re: Missing Middle Initiative Public Engagement Session I regret that I will be working at the time you are hosting the Missing Middle Housing Initiative information sessions and am unable to attend. As a stakeholder in the City of Victoria, I am hoping you can provide answers to the questions I … Read moreMissing Middle : Missing Information
Dear neighbours I wish to share something with you. I hope you are able to take a few moments to read it. The past week and a bit have been very challenging. I have been hearing things, things that have left me feeling very weary and troubled. It all started with Pickleball Courts. Normally I … Read moreBeacon Hill Park and Sour Pickles
The Spirit Orcas are a group of open water swimmers living with intellectual disabilities and who swim across waterways throughout the province. Over the past 6 years they have established themselves as experienced open water swimmers by completing: a 30km relay across Lake Cowichan, becoming the first known group of people to swim a 20km … Read more#SwimGift: Swimming with Spirit Orcas
I have been hearing the word inclusion more and more these days. Organizations are sharing stories of how they are welcoming those who have been traditionally excluded and celebrating their acts of inclusion. But is simply welcoming someone enough? As a coach to athletes with intellectual and physical disabilities, inclusion requires me to meet each … Read moreI will meet you where you are: coaching for inclusion