The following is an email that I received from Ardell's son, my step-son, Jules Wilson. As some of you may or may not know, Jules has some real good goals in his life. I want you to all watch the video on You Tube. Just scroll down his email and click on the link to You Tube to watch his video. He is actually the person narrating the video and the pictures are all of him training for his tri-athelon in Victoria, Saanich BC on July 13th. This is his 4th consective year and each year he places in the top of all the athletes. The video is of him actually training for the race and all the money he raises goes towards his own personal goal and the donations are made to the Victoria Women's Sexual Assult Centre in Victoria. In the video you will see a portion of him winning Mr. Black BC 2006 contest. The two pictures of him just before the presentation of 1st place is of him modelling and reciting his self-written poetry.

Ardell and I are so proud of this young man. I am very proud to have such a step-son. Jules works as a counsellor for troubled teens and does very well at his job. He is a part time youth pastor at his church, and is a very faithful Alcoholic Annonymous Member, who on June 16th, celebrated his third year of sobriety. We were in Vancouver to support him in his feit and celebration of his Cake. Jules lives in Vancouver, B.C.

Then of course his sister is pretty precious to us as well. Melanie works for a government department in Victoria, is very athletic herself and loves to make home made greeting cards. Her greeting card company is called Ladybug cards. They feature her very own photography and designs. Whenever she sends us a greeting card, it always has such appropriate wording for the occasion. Ardell and I think the world of her also.

I hope all our family can meet Jules and Melanie soon. They are exceptional kids and we love them dearly.

Just wanted to share this video with you for now. Hope you all are not drowning in this rain and hail storms. Even the worms in Calgary are drowning, we have had so much rain, and it is still raining and just won't seem to stop. It is pretty bad when just this morning, I said to Ardell on the way to work at 5 am this morning, it is something when you have to have the heater in the van on in the middle of July to drive to work. Ardell starts work at 6 am, so I drive him downtown every morning at 5 am for work. I come home and have a little nap before I leave for work at 6:45 and rush to get to work for 7 am. But then, I am off at 2:45 pm, and Ardell is usually home by C-Train by 4:30 pm and I meet him at the train to bring him home. Consequently we are usually in bed pretty early on week days. Now it is late and I should go to bed myself. Just wanted to share this video with you. If you would like to donate next year, please let me know and I can forward any donations on to Jules for his worthy cause.

Jules Email:

Good Morning My Friend,

I wanted to take the time to thank you for your support and/or generous donation to the Victoria Women's Sexual Assault Centre's (VWSAC) Triathlon of Compassion. As of Sunday July 13th, the event had raised approximately $16,000. Of that total, approximately $2,500 or 13% came from your generosity. The volunteers, staff members and recipients of services at the event were all ecstatic about our efforts again this year! I have no way of truly expressing their level of thanks and well wishes for your contributions.
Over the past three years, we have been able to raise over $10,000 through your contributions alone to help VWSAC provide programs and services to women and children who have experienced sexualized violence. That is an amazing and unsurpassed fundraising total for this event. Each year, we add to our legacy of support, understanding and caring.

RACE DAY
As for the race itself it was challenging but very picturesque. This year they changed the swimming venue and the run route. The 5K run was done out along the ocean and posted a magnificent view and a welcomed ocean breeze on a hot summer's day! As per usual the participants were very supportive of each other and laughter was at an all time high. Our excitement continued to grow and no participant finished the race without being greeted by a chorus of cheers and applause for their efforts. The finished line was well populated with massage tables, an espresso bar and great music from a local radio station. A-Channel news was also on hand to interview many of the race participants.

We continued the after party by handing out awards for race times, team spirit and fundraising totals. I am very proud to say that for the 3rd year in the row we were amongst the top 3 fundraisers for the event and twice, including this year, we finished number 1!!!

THANK YOU CORPORATE SPONSORS
At this time I would like to thank my two corporate sponsors this year: Isaac Payne who trained me at Drive Fitness Gym in Richmond (www.drivefitness.ca) and DJ Hunt of www.hunt.fm Canada's new leading source for hip hop and RnB, who provided a shout out for my fundraising efforts on his weekly national podcast. Finally I can't say enough about Andrey Carey who coordinated the race again this year and the folks at VWSAC especially Tracy Lubick who have been strong supporters of our efforts over the years.

NEXT YEAR
This year we changed up our approach to fundraising with a promotional video which was posted on You Tube. No doubt others will try this tactic next year after the rave reviews it received. That said, I look forward to re-eventing the fundraising game again next year and promise to be in even better shape for the triathlon.

Feel free to share with your friends news of this event and if they haven't watched it yet, ask them to watch my You Tube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boJyvHtygBI) so that more people can be aware of the issue of sexualized violence and become aware of a great organization that is available to support them if they need it. Remember, the stats are pretty clear, 1 in 3 women at some point in their lives will experience sexualized violence. Every year that we support VWSAC through our fundraising efforts we also extend our presence of caring to the community and let victims of sexualized violence know that they are supported and they are not alone.

Until next year I wish you all the best in your adventures.

Jules

PS - There will be a tribute video posted shortly online for you to view some of the activities that went on during the Victoria Women's Sexual Assault Centre's Triathlon of Compassion. This video will include a special thanks from Andrea and Tracy two people instrumental in ensuring this event occurs annually and that the message of help, healing, and hope gets carried on.