Northwest Adaptive Paddle Sports Off to a Great Start

Wow! Awesome things are happening with Northwest Adaptive Paddle Sports, the non-profit paddling organization for the handicapped I helped co-found with four other people.

The five of us have settled on a name, and we now have a logo designed by yours truly. I have created a Facebook page for Northwest Adaptive Paddle Sports and will be working on creating a website once we have settled on the look and feel we want.

We selected George Stokes to be the executive director. Megan Berry will serve as assistant director. I will serve as the public affairs officer. We chose Chris Mayou to be the treasurer. We're still in need of someone to serve as our legal affairs officer and someone to serve as our community outreach person.

Most exciting, I had a conversation with Steve Martin of Tigard Parks and Recreation a little over a week ago. I wanted to discuss with him the feasibility of installing a mobile hoist on the dock at Cook Park to assist the handicapped with getting in and out of their boats. Steve expressed interest in making Cook Park and especially the Tualatin River more accessible to the handicapped. However, he had some reservations about the hoist and whether or not it might impede people from being able to fish from the dock. He wanted to see the particulars of the hoist before committing to the idea. I suggested to him that maybe we configure the beach to make it accessible for the handicap to launch from there. I relayed his concerns and enthusiasm onto George.

George met with Steve this past Thursday and reports the meeting went better than expected. They decided to scrap the idea of installing a temporary (mobile) hoist on the dock at Cook Park. Instead, Tigard Parks and Recreation is going to take some of the money it receives from the Oregon State Marine Board (OSMB) for maintenance of the dock and use it to purchase an add-on dock designed for the handicapped. The dock will attach to the current dock at Cook Park. They're also are having the beach regraded to make the river more accessible to the handicapped. Click here to see a video of a dock similar to what Tigard Parks and Recreation will be build at Cook Park.

I spoke with Tony Dentel at PGE this morning about the possibility of installing a temporary hoist or a handicap dock at Timber Park on Estacada Lake similar to the one Tigard will install at Cook Park. He told me that my timing was perfect. PGE was already planning on replacing the dock that is currently there with a new 60' dock it recently received. With minor modifications, the new dock should be able to accommodate the handicapped. He was very receptive to NAPS' request to make the dock usable to the handicapped.

Good things are happening.