After paddling the Mississippi River from source to sea, all 2345 miles, in 80 days at 80 years old, I was honored, to be nominated for the Canoe and Kayak Magazine “Spirit of Adventure Award”. I appreciate all who voted for me and wanted to let you know that thanks to you, I won and was presented the award Thursday evening August 4, 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah!

Let me tell you a little about why I paddled the Mississippi River and ultimately why your vote was so important. The mission, one might say purpose, for paddling such a long dangerous river was to raise awareness and increase funding to fight T1 Diabetes (often called Juvenile Diabetes). No one even close to my age has ever paddled the entire Mississippi River before.

Yes the river is dangerous at any age and, of course, my family and friends were worried. Early on I knew I must somehow communicate with them daily. After extensive research, I knew I made the correct choice. I selected SPOT GEN3^®. Yes, my SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger was with me, at my side, every inch of the way down the river to the Gulf of Mexico. 110 miles south of New Orleans, LA, my family and friends were able to rest easy when they saw I was safely camping on a sand bar, under a giant tree or in a canoe camp. So many families were following my progress. I found the kids especially identified with my journey. In some cases, parents have told me their child would not go to bed at night until they checked my SPOT Share Page and saw where I was camping for the night.

I paddled the full Mississippi River, under every bridge, around every dam, through numerous life threatening conditions, in record high waters, sometimes enduring great hardships all for those kids suffering from T1 Diabetes. To date, my journey has raised over $22,000 to help in this endeavor and it is my sincere hope that a cure will soon be found.