Catch The Caravan For Awareness
by Caroline Mack
It won’t be long before The Caravan For Disability Awareness will roll on out of Texas and keep rolling all the way to the nation’s capital. On April 16th, 2001 a group of Directors from Wheel Me On… A non-profit organization in San Antonio, Texas, will begin their trek across the United States. This journey includes tag-a-points for participants to join and is both new and unusual to promote disability awareness. The brain-storm behind the effort is to prove that awareness in society can be accomplished with a peaceful and entertaining vacation. That is exactly what Wheel Me On… is going to do despite any major advertising or corporate sponsors.
The day following Easter Sunday, a caravan of vehicles will head out of San Antonio, Texas and will leave the eastbound rest area located at Exit #590 on I-10 to head toward Houston, Texas. The main caravan will start forming six miles due north of San Antonio. It will travel along 281 South to Loop 1604 east, then to I-10 East and Exit 590. The caravan pulls out at 8:30 AM. This caravan is unique in that they are traveling without a lead sponsor or major public assistance. Heading off the journey will be Bill Dillow, a semi-retired individual who experienced life-long care taking of his deceased wife who was paralyzed from the waist down for more than 42-years. He plans to move ahead of the pack and provide video coverage as the caravan rolls in to each stop. Dillow, an expert with mainframe computers and 32-year employee of IBM is excited about the trip. He is also the care attendant of the ring leader and the Director of Administrations for Wheel Me On… Jim Harris, an American Blind Veteran, will accompany him and "see" the sights through Bill’s eyes.
Julia Hollenbeck, the Founder and President of Wheel Me On… will follow behind keeping her CB tuned to Channel 33 for continuous contact with the lead unit. She, like the rest of the main caravan attendees, is disabled. Ms. Hollenbeck is a C-5 paraplegic with polyneuropathy and postpolio syndrome. Recently she announced that her son John Musgraves, age 37, will be joining her by bus from Indiana to accompany her on the journey. John is a talented artist who recently lost everything he owned to a fire that destroyed his residence. He also underwent heart surgery to repair a nerve bundle. He has struggled with a psychiatric disability for over 20-years.
Next in line is Glen Middleton, a fellow Board of Director for Wheel Me On… and Paralyzed Veteran of America. This calm natured individual is all for peaceful advocating and utilizes his abilities to advocate directly "just by being out there". Extremely active in legislature events, he travels frequently despite his problems with Multiple Sclerosis and a cumbersome wheelchair. Behind him will be Donna
Statham, Ms. Wheelchair Texas 2000 and Director of Membership for Wheel Me On… Statham lost her ability to walk following an accident five years ago on her honeymoon. And finally, there are the Braun’s who will bring up the rear communicating with their CB. Both are active Board Directors of the organization, both are Paralyzed Veterans of America, and both are in wheelchairs. "Bill and Jerry Braun are probably the most sports active in the organization," claimed Julia Hollenbeck, "Nothing seems to stop them!" She said. Jerry, a recent leg amputee, is getting ready for a ski clinic in Colorado that ends two weeks before the Washington departure with her husband, Bill, who is still able to strap on leg braces to support standing.
"It doesn’t matter if there are two or 200 vehicles," said Hollenbeck when asked about the group. "Of course we hope others will join us and we’ll end up with a thousand but either way, we’ll make an outstanding impression just by being out there. Can you imagine?" She asked. "Vehicles in succession heading down the road with American Flags attached to the tops of the driver’s side windows and waving in the wind? Do you not think people are going to notice us? Can you not imagine what attention we’ll get when we pull in together at any location and Bill Dillow whips out his camera? It is all about awareness. It is all about uniting with the able-bodied and knowing that even though we are disabled, we can still be out there with everyone else!"
In Houston, they will be met by Greg Joyce, Director of Operations for Wheel Me On…at the Forbidden Gardens in Katy. Greg has set up a welcoming committee and Texas style picnic. Following a tour through a miniature replica of Forbidden City in the Orient, the group will be escorted by the Houston Motorcycle Division through the city as the welcoming committee breaks away from the caravan. Greg Joyce is an Air Force Veteran of 16 years, medically retired at the grade of Captain, and actively involved with a variety of disability programs ever since. Asked about his life he said, "I love my family, wheelchair, self, and what I’m doing – I’m having a good time while doing the things I do." Greg is also a sports enthusiast.
Tag-A-Long points have materialized additional supporters and attendees along the route with at least two tag-a-long points each day the caravan is on the road.
By the time they reach their destination, there should be a fairly long procession of vehicles. In Alexandria, Virginia they will be welcomed by Larry Tyrone Hughes, the 1996 Discus Paralympic Gold Medallist and a number of other individuals joining the group there from other states. Maryland Wheelchair Athletics Promotions, Inc. is providing Opening Ceremonies with an outstanding program, including notable speakers and a send-off party at the end of their three-day visit. Touring Washington, DC includes a variety of scheduled events and sightseeing programs all pre-arranged by Wheel Me On…
Sponsors for the caravan include Dixie Flag Manufacturing, San Antonio, Texas; Driver Rehabilitation Services, P.C., Houston, Texas; Home Care Supply, Houston, Texas; Houston Police Department Motorcycle Division; I Can On Line; Maryland Wheelchair Athletic Promotions, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, the Delaware-Maryland Chapter and Texas Paralyzed Veterans Association of Paralyzed Veterans of America; State Bar of Texas, Austin, Texas; Shook Electronics, USA, San Antonio, Texas; The Door In The Wall, San Antonio, Texas; Ultra Reach, LCC, Baltimore, Maryland; as well as other organizations and individual contributors.
Persons interested in more information can log on to www.wheelmeon.com and click on "The Journey" or call 830-980-3369. | |