|
NEWS UPDATE:
May 08, 2008
today marks one year from
leaving the hospital. This weekend we are moving into our new house,
looking forward to the freedom that it will bring. Within the next
two weeks the final grading should take place for the yard and throwing
field. Being able to hold throwing practices at the house will be a
welcome blessing. The links page has been
updated. Please e-mail me you have any websites that you would like
included. UPDATE:
April 26, 2008
It has been a long winter and as typical I
procrastinated in updating the website. In
this first update of the new throwing season you should find a few staples
and also a revisit into the past. We
are starting to plan the Wyoming Festival which will be held on June
28-29, 2008. You can find a
preliminary entry form here be aware that entry form might change but I'm
pretty confident that it won't. I
have also put some pictures of the 2007 Dakota Gathering of the Clans
click here to view. I used a
different format for the pictures please let me know your thoughts and
feelings. Back in 2004 I had
the privilege of pulling together the RMSA newsletters.
I recently rediscovered the digital files for these.
If you would like to refresh your memory on some of the excellent
articles that have been written by throwers for throwers click here.
I have also posted the entry form for the Flagstaff AZ games. Click here
for the entry form
One exciting thing I would like to announce is that the 2008 Dakota
Gathering of the Clans will be the host of The Rocky Mountain Scottish
Athletes Championships. The
RMSA has not had a true championship for several years and we are proud to
be able to help bring the championships back.
This is also a my 10th year organizing athletics.
With these two things working together I am hoping to be able to
put together a set of prizes that will be the envy of every athlete that
cannot come up to compete. Stay
tuned for more updates concerning this.
On a personal note: we have spent the Winter
building a new house that is handicapped accessible for me.
It has been a long hard road and have learned a lot.
We've
had excellent contractors working for us and in the end I think
not only will we have a house that I can move around in them but also
enough land that we can hold practices on.
Thank you all for the encouraging words and support you have given
me and my family over the last year. The
Scottish athletic community is full of exceptional people.
I hope to see you all sometime during the season.
UPDATE:
October 21, 2007 The Dakota
Gathering of the Clans went off without a hitch. With the help of
Mark Renken, Jason Renken, Jeremy Johnson, Ryan, Tina and Savoy Schuler,
and Bill Bom the field was set up well ahead of schedule and we were able
to enjoy a little throwing and coaching Friday evening. Weather was
excellent on Saturday for throwing, several people had PR's and the crowds
were very appreciative of the athletes. Thanks to all the judges,
and announcer, and athletes we were able to put on a great competition and
a good event for the community. I have added the results
for the Wyoming Celtic Festival and Dakota gathering of the clans with
this update. I hope to have pictures put out in the next couple
weeks of the two festivals. October 27, 2007 we will be hosting the
Halloween Heavies here in Rapid City. Throwing will start at 10:30
a.m. please feel free to contact me if you're interested in participating. UPDATE:
August 30, 2007 It was
brought to my attention, and rightfully so that I neglected to thank a key
member of my athletic team. Jeremy Johnson not only took two
vacation days to help set up, tear down, and helped run the athletics for
the Wyoming Celtic Festival but he took time away from his lovely wife
Sarah and baby girl. Jeremy has helped us for the past several years
and does so with great enthusiasm. I don't know where Mark and I
would be without the help of Jeremy and Mark's son Jason. As I write
this on the eve of the Dakota Gathering of the Clans I know that both of
these gentlemen will be either over tonight or on the field tomorrow
setting up. I can never thank them enough for their help. If
you see these guys at the festivals please thank them for all their hard
work. UPDATE:
August 18, 2007 We are only weeks away from the Dakota Gathering of the Clans. The throw
will be held on September 1 2007. Anyone who is not pre-registered
needs to be on the field by 8:30 a.m. if you have not already received an
entry form you can print one out here. With
all of your help we ended up raising $3700 for CJ Wright from the CJ
Wright fundraising raffle. This week we are finely sending out all
of the prizes. We thank you all for your support and patience in
this matter. We would have wrapped up everything a lot sooner if a
wasn't for the turn of events that happened Christmas Eve. The good
news is that CJ has been pronounced free of cancer and is in good spirits
and even better health. CJ was also married in May. We wish
the happy couple many years together. As
for me, I left the rehab hospital ( Craig hospital) on May 8 and return
back to Rapid City two resume a "normal life". Two days
after returning I had a meeting with my company to work out a plan on
returning to the workforce. Two weeks after that, I started going
into work close to everyday. With the help of my company and
everyone there I was able to return to full-time employment the last week
in June. I am told this is very unusual for someone in my
circumstances however, I cannot imagine just sitting in the house watching
TV and becoming an Oprah zombie. Going back to the office and solving
problems in getting my mind off of my injury is the best therapy I could
have. I often wonder how the people I was in therapy with are
getting along back at their homes. Since leaving the hospital and
with the help of my lovely wife Mollie and loyal friends and fellow
athletes Mark Renken and Ryan Schuler we were able to put on the Wyoming
Celtic Festival athletics at the end of June and are currently in the
middle of organizing the athletics for the Dakota Gathering of the Clans
to be held on 09/01/07. I hope that we can see as many of you as
possible this Fall. Now for an
update on my physical well-being. As previously mentioned I am back
to work full time, with the help my employees I am relatively independent
at the office. I do need help with certain tasks some obvious like
turning on monitors that I can't reach or that I cannot use my limited
hand movement to turn on, or hooking up removable hard drives onto
computers. Other things that are not so obvious, yet are very
frustrating for me like opening envelopes, retrieving file folders, and
even grabbing binders off-the-shelf. Although my employees are great
in aiding me to be able to work and make a living I couldn't be nearly as
far along as I am without Mollie's help. She is truly my
angel. Without Mollie being there by my side for the past eight
months I doubt that I would be where I am today. You don't really
realize on how great your family is until you go through an ordeal like
this. After the accident and after the surgery I could barely move
my biceps. As of now I am labeled a quadriplegic. Every day I
get more and stronger arm movement and balance. I was in Hawaii for
close to one month in ICU and then life flighted to Denver,
Colorado to begin rehab at Craig hospital. There I began weening off
of the respirator and working on getting more muscle movement back.
I returned back to Rapid City on May 8. At this time I am working
full time, doing physical therapy and occupational therapy twice a week,
working on details to build a new house, and organizing athletic
events. I hope that everything continues to go as well as it has,
and that none of you ever have to go through this. Thank you for all
the support that you have given to me and my family you have truly touched
our hearts and a comfort you have given me while I was laying in a
hospital bed is invaluable, Thank You. Anyone wishing to submit Results, Pictures, Entry Forms, or Practice
Information for the website, please contact the webmaster, using the
"Contact Us" button.
|
