The Schlumberger Cycling Club, along with the ConocoPhillips Bike Club and the Chevron Cycling Club would like to invite you to join us at the 4th Annual Independence Ride taking place on November 13 in the city of Wallis, TX. The event raises money to help bring our disabled veterans from the Gulf war back into society and regain their independence.
We were lucky enough to be granted an interview with Neil Campbell of Wallis Independence Ride to ask some questions about their upcoming event happening on November 13, 2010
How long has the event been around and how did it start? This will be our 4th annual ride. It is always held on one of the weekends bookending Veterans day in November.
What was the motivation behind starting this event and who benefits from it? A few of us in our cycling club decided to get a bunch of riders together for a long ride in the fall of 2007, each invite a friend and throw in $20-30 each. We would give all the money raised to a charity. A suggestion from one of the riders, to give the money to disabled veterans from the Gulf war was received unanimously. We contacted the Independence fund and the rest is history. That first year, with just 3 months of planning, we had close to 400 riders show up and raised over $60,000 with ride registrations plus some corporate and personal donations. We brought in a dozen disabled veterans from across the country and took great pleasure in helping many of them regain even a little piece of independence
How have they been able to utilize the funds in the past? Much of the money we have raised has paid for the expenses of the veterans to come in for the weekend (flights, hotels, transportation, meals, etc.). Anything left over has been used to help purchase ibot wheel chairs and specialized cycles to suit specific veterans disabilities.
Logistically, can you give us an idea how many volunteers, finances and planning it takes to put on this event? We need a team of about 240 volunteers to make the weekend go smoothly. Many of those come from the Schlumberger Cycling Club but we gets lots of unsolicited help too. I have a team of 26 committee chairs who step up for specific needs (veterans logistics, printing shirts, coordinating volunteers, arranging for food, etc.) Money is one of our biggest hurdles as we don’t really know how many veterans we can afford to make travel arrangements for until we have some idea of how much will be available. Unfortunately this year the corporate sponsorship is down so our ability to bring is lots of veterans has been hampered.
Which was the most rewarding experience throughout the years hosting this event? Two years ago we had a local vet participate in the ride. He is a triple amputee. We strapped him into the seat of a specialized hand cycle and with just one usable limb, an arm, he rode 24 miles on his own. He came back to the finish line with tears in his eyes. It wasn’t pain, but joy and excitement for what he had been able to accomplish. Each year we try to pick out one of the incoming veterans to make a special presentation of a new specially adapted cycle at the Friday evening dinner. Two years ago it was a recumbent tricycle for a young guy suffering from a traumatic brain injury. Last year it was a tandem bike for a blind guy. This year it is going to be a specialized cycle for a quadriplegic.
What’s the average number of riders per year who finish the race? They all finish….LOL…. some just do more distance than others. We had around 700 total riders last year including over 60 veterans.
How many riders do you medically assist during the average race? We have actually assisted more non-disabled veterans than disabled veterans with medical needs. The veterans are very resilient and do not ask for much assistance, even though it is available. Last year we partnered up a fit rider with most of the veterans to ride alongside and be there just in case.
What was the worst accident you had in this event? As stated above, the worst incident was a non-disabled rider. The rider got her wheel crossed with another just a few miles from the finish and went down hard. She had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance with a concussion.
What can folks do to support you and your mission? As stated above, money is always a big need. People can go online to the independence fund website at http://www.independencefund.org/ to donate or if they come to the ride they can throw donations in the box. If they are able to ride even 12 miles we encourage them to register to ride. Registration is done through our ride website at www.wallisride.com<http://www.wallisride.com>
How many port-a-potties do you have? 34, including a few handicap ones
Any celebrities joining the ride? Certainly some unsung heros but no big names this year. We are already working hard to have Gary Sinese and his world renown Lt. Dan Band to come be the key entertainment next year. Gary is better known as Lt. Dan from the Forest Gump movie and is more recently known as the boss from CSI New York. He was the celebrity figure in a similar event this year in Beaufort SC and brought in lots of participants.
Additional stuff you would like to let folks know about this years ride? Come one, come all. Watch a couple of videos below and become convinced. If any folks have items (football tickets, basketball tickets, hotel coupons, golf passes, etc. that would sell on our silent auction, we could always stand to have more items on the table. Last year we raised $4500 alone on the silent auction.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyJu_7BocR4]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIvr-5QZfe4]
Thank you Neil for granting this quick interview and we hope with this small thing we can help your cause.
Click here to view the event details for the Wallis Independence Ride