It was November and we had just finished a busy few months with the federal election. As my focus turned back to working on our Parkinson’s Chapter project, I heard some of our board members had gone to a conference on Parkinson’s. There were many positive comments from those that attended the Davis Phinney Foundation Summit that had just occurred in Ottawa. After reviewing the material brought back from the summit it was obvious that this organization had a very different outlook at our common concern of living with Parkinson’s. The manual called “Every Victory Counts” was a collaborative approach to collect the most current information on “Living Well With Parkinson’s” disease. The leader of the organization was an accomplished cyclist competing on the world level both at the tour the France and the Olympics before being diagnosed with PD. He obviously turned his winning attitude and abilities to making a program that can and will impact many “People with Parkinson’s” (PWP).
Seeing the request for applications in the event program, I decided to apply before leaving for a well deserved holiday in the sun. Will in St. Marten, I was contacted to complete a phone interview for the volunteer position. Although reception was touch and go, all went well and I was accepted as the second Canadian Ambassador. As ambassador I now have access to more material and resources to help others live better despite having this disease. I get excited to know that there are over 60 ambassadors in USA & Canada and we will be encourage to collaborate on the creation and delivery of more products for our community. With a clear mandate, great set of values and corporate culture that motivates, I can only see a positive outcome from this opportunity! For more info go to www.dpf.org or https://www.davisphinneyfoundation.org/teams/joe-van-koeverden/
