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Hello all!
My mother and I traveled to Maine last week for a few days. We enjoyed our time there especially early Fall season and received wonderful hospitality among friends and people of Maine. The reason we went to the Pine Tree State is that I am chosen to receive an award as well as Roger by the Maine Commission for the Deaf, hard of Hearing, and Late Deafened. Roger was not able to make it to Annual Tea Awards held at Maine State House in Augusta, Maine because he currently works and lives in Seattle and has an upcoming trip to Europe which starts this week for six weeks.
On the behalf of the Commission for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Late Deafened (CDHHLD), I am recipient of an award, “Meritorious Support Services Provider Award” – This award is given to a trained support service provider. This year’s award is in recognition of exceptional support of Roger Poulin in his quest to complete the Appalachian Trail (AT). Roger received an award, “Special Commendation Award” – This award is given to an individual or agency whose activities in and with the Deaf community deserves recognition.
We want to say our heartfelt thanks to the Maine Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late Deafened, DeafBlind, Interpreter, and Hearing community and CDHHLD for their generous and amazing support for Roger’s quest with AT and my work. People said that I am now “Honorary Mainer” since I am now embraced by the people of Maine. 🙂
Annual Tea Awards
Image description: Two plaque awards are displayed with a picture of the State of Maine Seal on top part of award.
On left, Roni’s award – “Presented to Roni Lepore – Meritorious Support Service Provider – In Recognition of Exceptional Support of Roger Poulin in His Quest to Complete the Appalachian Trail – September 18, 2014 – The Deaf Community of Maine”.
On right, Roger’s award – “Presented to Roger Poulin – Special Commendation Award – September 18, 2014 – The Deaf Community of Maine”.
Here is a copy of my acceptance speech upon receiving my award – “Meritorious Support Service Provider” (be mindful that my speech at Annual Tea was not exactly same – upon giving my speech, I was flooded with generosity and gratitude from the audience that my speech altered in some ways for some wonderful reasons!) –
Hello, my name is Roni Lepore and my name sign is . I hail from New Jersey and my mother is here in the audience. I travel to Maine from time to time, not only for hiking on the Appalachian Trail, but also to work, teach, and enjoy the beautiful scenes here in the Pine Tree State. Each time I come here, I am always welcomed by the warm and friendly people of this state. That’s why I keep coming back as much as I can!
When I first found out that I am nominated to receive this award, I was not sure if it was a mistake since it goes to Mainers as I do not live here. Once I learned that it was an exception due to my role as a SSP to Roger Poulin, AT DeafBlind hiker, it is truly an honor to be recognized for my commitment and work. My journey of becoming SSP is probably unique as I received various training, not only here in USA, but around the globe – Australia, Europe, Asia, and Africa. I have worked with amazing and diversified DeafBlind clients from many walks of life – age, gender, race, ethnics, experience, and forth on. Each one of their requests to work with me was never the same. I relish and thrive on some challenges that come with SSP work. Yes, some days, there are difficult or bad moments. It requires one’s courage, faith, and belief to get through and move on. The communication and teamwork between SSPs and DeafBlind clients demand that each person understands the needs of each other’s as it becomes a critical two-way journey of enjoyment and respect.
So, being SSP for Roger Poulin was a completely “different zoo” for me. Roger got to witness my good and ugly sides and still worked together! I vividly recalled that when we first hiked for 3 months in our first year of hiking on the Appalachian Trail in 2010, it was a rough and bumpy road between us. It was 24/7 experience for both of us and we were trying to figure out how to work together and balance our control and power over each other. I wore many hats – hiker, first-aid provider, counselor, water girl, and so forth on, and best of all, a friend. It was probably an unorthodox practice of professional SSP as I may have broken most of rules, but it was Appalachian Trail – that’s where one discovers “true self” after going through phrases of man vs. wild, man vs. man, and man vs. self. That’s the true beauty of realizing one’s potentials through this kind of experience. Once Roger and I conquered Mt. Katahdin with David Whitney and his son, Ateon, we didn’t do it by ourselves. It was our friends, family, community – both hikers, Deaf, and DeafBlind – and even strangers backing us up. The most important of all about being a good SSP is to take a good care of yourself – mentally, physically, and emotionally – and ability to prepare and anticipate as much as one can.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank to the Maine Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late Deafened, and DeafBlind community for recognizing my tireless work and my friends and especially my family for supporting my work. Lastly, Roger is a special person who taught a great deal about how to collaborate with a DeafBlind client even through difficult periods. Patience and respect are valuable legacies that come through Roger and me. Thank you, Roger, for allowing me to be me and being part of your dream to hike on the AT.
Here is Roger Poulin’s acceptance speech for his award, “Special Commendation Award” shown at Annual Tea – in ASL only. English Subtitles and/or text shall be available at later date. Roger gave me his blessings to publish his video here.
Roger’s quote from his interview with The Bangor Daily News was displayed at the Annual Tea –
Image description: “My goal is to show that dreams can become a reality for anyone, regardless of their personal challenges and struggles. I also want to expose the world to understand why SSP (Support Service Person) is extremely important to DeafBlind community.” — Roger “Ad-Cane” Poulin
Here is the list of who’s who on CDHHLD who nominated me and Roger to receive the awards – special thanks go out to them!
Commission for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Late Deafened Members
Last Updated; August 29, 2014
| Patty Sarchi, Deaf Consumer | |
| Sitara Sheikh, Vice-Chair, Deaf Consumer | Christy Callahan, Deaf Consumer |
| Karen Keim, Hard-of-Hearing Consumer | Conrad Strack, Chair, Deaf Consumer |
| Kate Strack, Deaf Consumer | Vacant, Deaf Consumer |
| Mary Hamlin, Hard-of-Hearing Consumer | Vacant, Deaf Consumer |
| Vacant, Family Member of Deaf/HoH/Late-Deaf Individual w/Intellectual Disability or Mental Illness | Vacant, Parent of Deaf or HoH Student |
| Vacant, Parent of Deaf or HoH Student | Cathy Glover, Educator of the Deaf |
| David Sherry, Superintendent or his/her Designee of the Maine Educational Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing/Governor Baxter School for the Deaf | Nicole Duncan, Audiologist |
| Susan Nay, Dept. of Education Representative | Vacant, Local Educational Administrator |
| Theresa Jack, Rep. State/Fed | Meryl Troop, Civil Rights Director |
| Emily Cain, Legislator | Elyzabeth Smith, RID Interpreter |
| Vacant, Legal Rep. | Vacant, Member-at-Large, Medical or Health Care Professional |
| Stephan Bunker, Member-at-Large | Vacant, Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing Student |
| Marty Golden, Member-at-Large | Romy Spitz, Late-Deafened Consumer |
Hello all!
Sorry for late update and quick post – limited Internet access and phone services.
As the world now knows that Ad-Cane finally conquered the Big K this past Tuesday 24-June along with his team, BKOB – David W., Ateon W., and RamSham. Now we are expecting around 25 people joining us to celebrate at BBQ Celebration Party today! It is gonna be a gorgeous weather with spectacular view of the Big K from Lake Millinocket! It is gonna be a fabulous and unforgettable moments!
For those who are unable to attend today’s party, you all are in our thoughts for your incredible support and encouragement for all of these years! Please feel free to send messages/comments/email to Ad-Cane (AKA Roger Poulin) and his team via our blog: https://atdeafblinddream.wordpress.com. Ad-Cane doesn’t use the Facebook often, so I plan to compile all messages together from the blog and send it to him to make it easier for him to read in one place rather than the Facebook’s multiple postings in different places. Many thanks!
Once again, when everything becomes settled down, I shall share stories and photos with all of you. I am going to share a few pictures with you all for now. Enjoy them!
Cheers!!!!
3 Miles left to go!
Climbing on the Hunt Trail – AT
2 Miles left to go – it was the spot from last September where we were forced to turnaround due to high wind and running out of time.
Enjoying the view before continuing to climb toward the Big K.
Foggy weather at the Big K
BKOB Team at Big K!
Hello alll!
Sorry to make this quick posting….hectic schedule lately! We are on our way to Baxter State Park now to resume where we left off…..to finish our business with the Big K! It is the week where we are gonna conquer the spirit of Deafblind hiker achieving his dream!!! At this time, there are at least 10 people coming and supporting him! Tomorrow will be our first attempt to hike/climb if the weather is in our favor and our team’s readiness. We will have remaining 4 attempts rest of this week. Wish us a best luck and relatively injury-free journey! There are so much things to share with all of u, but we need to get going. I promise I am going to share all of these stories after our journey! Love to all of you who support us since 2010! Good luck to USA Men’s soccer team in the World Cup! RamSham out!!!
Oh my…….it is less than 2 months to climb the Big K!!!!!! It is time for me to work on fine-tuning on plans and errands!
UPDATED AS OF 30-APRIL-2014 – between now and Saturday 21-June-2014 – Some information below may be changed/added….please keep checking here from time to time.
Hello folks!
The Spring is around the corner with Phil the Groundhog taunts at us for a long and *wonderful* Winter….plenty of snow up here in Mid-Atlantic and New England states! Anyhow, let’s start with a sad news that I received a couple of days ago…..Bill Irwin, First Blind-Hiker to hike the AT, has died over this past weekend. Bill inspired Cane and myself before we started to hike the AT in 2010. Cane had his book and he lent this book to me to read….I admired Bill’s courage and perseverance to complete the AT. It did open up conversation between Cane and myself on many areas such as risks, preparations, communication system, and etc. Cane and I had an honor or meeting him while we were hiking on the AT in 2011 at Pine Grove Furnace State Park – the midway point on the AT and where the AT museum is. Bill happened to be there to give a presentation as we hiked through….perfect timing! We were in heavens getting to chat with him with a help from wonderful staff at AT Museum who knew some sign language. Bill is now joined with his beloved and loyal guide dog, Orient who hiked with him from start to end on the AT, in the heaven. May they continue to hike in the heaven and remembered forever for their courage and steadfastness.
Now, here is a good news…..Cane, the team, and I are booked for a week from Sunday 22-June-2014 through Saturday 28-June-2014 to make a big climb at the Mt. Katahdin. The details will come out soon, so keep your eyes out for that.
Yesterday was the big day for Ad-Cane and Team comprised of Cane, David W., Paul A., Daren R., and myself. To make the long story short at this time, we got up at 4 am, got into Baxter State Park at 6:05 am, cooked and ate our breakfast at the parking lot in Katahdin Stream Campground (the base of Mt. Katahdin – known as the Big K). We checked the weather forecast and it looked to be in our favor. It must be our day to summit!!!! We began our hiking at 7:45 am. We made a good progress for first 1.1 miles in 45 minutes – relatively easy and gentle slope of the trail. We cheered and said to each other – 4.1 miles to go!!!!!
We went over from small-sized to medium-sized boulders on the trail and we continued to make a good progress. Gradually, we encountered large-sized boulders which required us to scramble and climb. We were doing well until we got on the shoulder of the Big K – within our sight of the summit!!!! To our surprise, the wind was howling – nearing blowing us off the trail! We took a quick break for snack/drink. We resumed climbing, but we saw the marker on the slab – 2 miles to the summit. I looked at my watch and to my dismay, it was 11:45 am. My team came up to me and looked at the marker and my watch. After discussing among ourselves and conversing with two park rangers who were approaching us as they were scrambling to the summit, we decided to abandon our attempt to summit due to 1) unsafe condition (gust wind – it was topped out at 35 mph yesterday!!!! The top speed of wind last week was cloaked at 21 mph.),
http://www.climbingweather.com/Maine/Katahdin?date=2013-09-15
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Sep 21
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 |
64°
50°
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7%
78% PM
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35 mph
78% humidity
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2) limited amount of the daylight available (sunset – 6:36 pm and with approximately 1.5 hour per one mile to scramble/climb – 6 hours for 4 miles one way, 30 minutes at summit, 6 hours back to the base = 12.5 hours),
Millinocket, Maine – Sunrise Sunset Calendar
and 3) safety of our team (hike into the darkness on the unfamiliar trail is not ideal). Cane was pretty crushed by our decision, so were the team including myself. 😦 😦 Safety is number one for all of us, so we must play it wise and not push to the summit. I said to the Big K, “SEE YOU LATER, BIG K!!!!!!” Cane said the same thing a few minutes later when he finally accepted that it was not our day to conquer the Big K. We all arrived at the base by 4:10 pm and greeted by our family, friends, and loved ones. We were thankful that all of us made it safely and in one piece. *sigh* Cane and I discussed and decided that even though we have until 26-September to make another attempt, but the diminishing amount of the daylight available is not in our favor. We decided to hold off the last hurrah of conquering the Big K and completely remaining 2 miles of our AT journey to June or July 2014 – long amount of daylight available and favorable weather condition. We are proud with ourselves and our team for pouring all in what we tried and our family, friends, and loved ones for their steadfast support. I am going to leave you with some quotes:
“Do not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations. For if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live. -Henry David Thoreau
Help others achieve their dreams and you will achieve yours. –Les Brown
Yesterday is but today’s memory, tomorrow is today’s dream. -Kahlil Gibran
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. -Eleanor Roosevelt
We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort. -Jesse Owens
5.2 miles of climbing up the Big K and 5+ miles of climbing down! Will keep u updated tonight. *crossing fingers*
It is gonna be a short note if I can help with that. 🙂 We hiked hard and long for around 48.5 miles for 5 days in row with support and help from our incredible AT Crew – David W. (hiked with us from Jo-Mary Road to Pollywog Stream – around 31.5 miles), Daren R. (hiked with us from Pollywog Stream to Golden Road – around 17 miles), and Priscilla R. We arrived at Daicey Pond in Baxter State Park tonight (Thursday) with *gasp* remaining 7.5 miles to complete our AT journey….gosh! Cane and I became more aware and emotion as we got closer and closer to Katahdin (known as the Big K or K) and saw how majestic mountain was! At Rainbow Ledge, Cane was looking at the Big K for 3rd time and began to weep….the ripple effect began….I weeped, then Daren R. weeped in turn. Such a heart-touching moment to realize that Cane’s dream is within his reach….
Upon our arrival at the Golden Road, Cane and I hiked on our own – slackpacking – a special thanks to Daren R. and Priscilla R. for picking up our equipment, so we can hike lightly and easier. Cane and I started to realize that we were abt to enter into the Baxter State Park and saw the Big K again….we cried! *sniff* All the way from Golden Road to Daicey Pond, it was our moment of reflection “walking” – remembering and talking abt our ordeals over 4 years of our journey….people we met and befriended with….and etc…
Ok, I should hit the sack right now…..plans to share some more stories later today (Friday). Before I sign off, we plans to climb the Big K this Saturday!! Woo-hoo!
We got our huge surprise of our lifetime last night, practically! When Daren R. and Priscilla R. came to meet us up at the Appalachian Trail Cafe in Millinocket by late afternoon to attend the Chili Cook-out, we got a ride in their car. As we were leaving from their car going to the hostel to get dressed up warmly and dry due to wet and cold weather, I noticed something odd about their back window with website address. Right out of corner of my eyes, I saw “www.at….”, I was like WAIT A MINUTE. I looked at their window and saw what they did to decorate their car with a beautiful pride. I gasped and dropped my jaw to the road! I tapped on Cane’s shoulder and directed his attention to the window. He was shocked. We are deeply touched and became emotion knowing that how Daren R. and Priscilla R. are the big part of our journey in 100-mile Wilderness along with Paul A., Abby A., and David W. Here are the couple of pictures for you to check out:
AT Crew – Daren R. & Priscilla R.
AT Crew – Daren R. & Priscilla R.
AT DeafBlind Dream 