Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Tag: barefoot ski ranch

  • Skiing in the 2012 Barefoot Nationals

    The 2012 Barefoot Nationals were held in the same place as last year at the Barefoot Ski Ranch in Waco, Texas. Even the heat was the same as last year, hitting 108 on one of the days.

    Since the doctor was adamant about waiting the full nine months after ACL surgery, I took it really easy over the summer and didn’t do anything new. I was pretty much happy to be able to stand up and make it down the lake.  I stood up a little too fast on my trick run, but the nice crew granted me a re-ride. My brace flew off, so we headed back to the dock to tape it. It didn’t matter– the darn thing flew off twice on both falls, leaving me with bruises on my left leg and a black eye.  Slalom wasn’t much better– the first run was okay, but I fell on the second run.

    Back to the drawing board to learn how to barefoot all over again for next year.

    But the best part of the tournaments is not the skiing, it’s the people. I’ve met so many people who inspire me and push me to new heights. They’re accomplishing amazing things with their lives.  I took a moment to grab a photo with Jim Boyette, the world’s oldest barefoot competitor:

    Jim is amazing– he’s been to every single Nationals since the first one in 1978. You can read more about him here:

    World’s Oldest Competitive Barefooter

    Jim Boyette, Still Competing

    Keith St. Onge and I were interviewed by KWTX TV Channel Ten and we had the chance to talk about his upcoming book, “Gliding Soles,” which will be released in September.  Keith and I spent the last two years writing this book together and we uncovered some amazing stories from his life journey and the lessons he learned along the way.

    The print version of the interview is here (the video portion was removed):

    Deaf Skier Overcomes Adversity

    A big thank you goes out to Phonak and HearingLikeMe, the company who made it possible to compete in tournaments. Another thank you goes out to Anytime Fitness Naperville, Badger Balm (they supplied the sunscreen and lip balm) and Tommie Copper.

    Next up is Women’s Week at the World Barefoot Center, where I’m hoping to accomplish a back-to-front instead of a back-to-splat:

  • Sponsor Spotlight: General Motors and Driving the Midwest

    In early August, I will be heading down to the Barefoot Ski Ranch in Waco, Texas in a brand new Chevrolet, thanks to Connie Burke from General Motors. I met Connie at a Chicago Social Media Club event earlier this year and she told me about her program, Driving the Midwest.

    Connie Burke has been working for General Motors for 26 years, but her recent position as a Communications Manager has been the most exciting, thrilling, satisfying position she’s ever worked in.  Not only is Connie part of the social media team at General Motors, but as part of her job, she gets to hand out cars to folks all over the Midwest.

    “Driving the Midwest was an outgrowth of the social media program that we created in Chicago, called  Chevy Missions,” said Connie.  “Chevy recognized people that were making a difference in their community.  We gave vehicles to help those were were making a difference in the community –whatever their passion was we wanted them to experience it with our cars.”

    Driving the Midwest program began in March, 2011 as one of five regions, and includes all of the General Motors brands, Chevy, Buick, Cadillac and GMC.  “We’ve received good feedback about this program, and people fall in love with our products as a result,” Connie explained.   “We have a lot of fuel-efficiency vehicles, like the new Chevy Cruze— a  small car that feels like a mid-size car–and it gets up to 42 miles per gallon.   Our cars have improved so much over the years.  We’ve added features like Bluetooth, separate entertainment systems, a 30 gig hard drive that holds iPod music and even the Onstar parking assistance which includes a back-up camera.  We’ve added lots of safety features as well.”

    Of all of the keys she’s handed out under the program, the most memorable one for Connie was handing the keys over to Mark Horvath prior to the SOBCon 2011 conference in Chicago.  Mark is known for his work with people who are homeless.  His mission is to teach people how to use the internet to search for jobs– and break the cycle of homelessness.  They may not have a physical address, but as long as they have email and wifi access, Mark teaches them how to make things happen.    “That was the best day of my career– it was very emotional,” said Connie.  “Just to see his face light up…  He realized that his hard work was recognized–that his work is really important.  That’s the part of my job that is really validating, honoring people who make a difference.”

    There’s no typical day at work for Connie, as she’s involved in all kinds of events.  One day, she might be on a baseball field helping to clean up, the next day she will be at an event such as the Detroit Motor City Pride or speaking at a conference.   Just recently, she kicked off Theresa Carter’s Route 66 Tour to raise money for Endure to Cure.  Just before that, she handed over a Chevy Cruze to Melisa Wells, who just released a book, “Chicken in the Car and the Car Won’t Go.”  The back of the truck was chock full of useful donations for the Ronald McDonald house. 

    I feel extremely blessed to soon be the recipient of a vehicle from General Motors for our trip to the Barefoot Nationals in August.   Two years ago, on my 44th birthday, I spent that day feeling down and missing my youthful days of barefoot water skiing.  Now two years later this August, I’ll be celebrating my birthday with my family, and a whole new community of barefooting friends— what an incredible blessing!   Thank you, Connie Burke and General Motors for making this possible!