Groups Unite to Give Bikes to Performing Stars of Marin

[Photo: left to right -Felecia Gaston, Executive Director of Performing Stars of Marin; Joe Terry, Chief Executive Officer of Corporate Visions; Marin County Sheriff Lt. Scott Anderson; and Lewis Jordan, Marin Housing Authority]

This story began in Napa, on January 28, 2015 when Robyn Bartkowski, Project Manager of Turning Wheels asked us to work in teams of 3, to create 40 teams to assemble the bicycles. First was a scavenger hunt of a 100 items to qualify receiving a tool kit to put the bikes together. Many of us had never put a bike together which made it an interesting adventure. In less than an hour, the teams put 40 bikes together.

Forty boxes of bicycles to be assembled by 40 teams:

Here is one team, clockwise: Steve Harris, Michelina Jones and Lisa Cummings, wracking their brains, arms, hands, fingers and collaborating to build the bikes:

Later in the afternoon, at 4 pm, we were asked to gather in the main courtyard of the hotel to wait for a visitor – we speculated it would be a motivational guest speaker. We waited, waited and waited.

Joe Terry, looking at his watch saying, “Almost here – just a few more minutes.”

Finally, a group of 9 children, ages 9-10 year old, walked into the courtyard with their leader, Felecia Gaston, Executive Director for Performing Stars of Marin. These 9 children were from Bayside Martin Luther King School of Marin City. They were selected to represent all the other 31 children who would be receiving bikes and helmets based on good conduct, good achievement and a letter each one had written explaining why he or she deserved to receive a bike.

[See photo below of the 125 CVI staff, Turning Wheels of San Jose, Shelley Walker, Event Planner, and 9 proud happy students from Bayside Martin Luther King school.]

What about the remaining 30 bicycles? February 14, 2015 was another huge day. The remaining bicycles and helmets were given out at Bayside Martin Luther King School in Marin City where Joe Terry, CEO of Corporate Visions, Lynn Zambrano, and Charlotte Kobayashi attended. Additionally, the Principal of the MLK, Jonnette Newton, Marin County Sheriff, the Marin Housing Authority, Robyn Bartkowski, from Turning Wheels, and parents with their children came to receive bikes, helmets, locks plus, safety training.

Let the photos tell the rest of the story…