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2007 Autumn in Carolina and SAWCAR
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And they're off!
2006 Autumn in Carolina and SAWCAR Race
The fifth
Autumn in Carolina with the 3rd SAWCAR (Scooter and Wheel Chair
Association of Racing) event, organized by Don and Bettie Jo Wilson, was held October
6-7 in Rural Hall, North Carolina
, at the
Fellowship Hall of Kingswood United Methodist Church.
Note from Don:
On October 1, the weather forecasts for Saturday October 6 was cool (upper 60´s, lower 70´s) and clear. The forecast went down hill from there. By the time folks began arriving Friday evening, the weather was damp and getting cooler. Martin (PLS) and Mary Ann Beckner, Gary (PLS) and Robin Duke, Barbara (PLS) and Arthur Neely, along with Lynn Petch (PLS) and friend Debbie Rollins checked into the motel and joined Bettie Jo (PLS) and I for a meal at the Mayflower. Our daughter, Tracy, drove in from Atlanta and joined us. Bettie Jo´s care provider Traci Stanley also was present. After a full and fun meal, most of the group returned to the motel for a bit of socializing before bed.
Rain fell off and on throughout the night, and was still lightly falling as everyone gathered at Kingswood United Methodist Church fellowship hall. The Friday arrival group was joined by Jean Mills (PLS), her sister, Doris White and caregiver, Mabel Lee; Cece Russell (HSP); Judith West (PLS) with spouse John Skau; Sarah Roberts-Witt (PLS) and friends Kim Black and Kim Harmon; Dana Brower (PLS); and Bettie Jo´s sisters, Mary, Janna and June. The count was nine PLSers, one HSPer, and fifteen caregivers, spouses, friends, and relatives.
Old friendships were renewed and new friendships forged, especially by Dana, Lynn, and Sarah, each of whom had never met another PLSer. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and fresh-from-the-oven Orange Glazed Sticky Buns sometimes made talking a challenge, but soon everyone felt at home, and conversations filled much of the morning. Tracy Wilson, a trained massage therapist now a staff writer for HowStuffWorks.com, conducted a workshop on hand and feet massage. While I am sure that everyone took home information about massage, Bettie Jo took home the best feeling hands as she was the "subject" for the demonstration.
The catered box lunches from Mrs.
Pumpkin´s, sponsored by Nestle USA, hit the spot, and after
everyone had finished, Don led a "Thorns and Roses" workshop.
Each participant and their caregiver were given a red card and a
blue card. The were asked to write the ONE thing that best
pleased them about the other on the blue card (good), and the
ONE thing that really made them see red on the red card. Names
were not included on the cards. Each card was read to the group
and discussed. As the session progressed, the general comment
about the
caregivers followed the lines of they do too much, over protect
and sometimes are impatient. On the good side, caregivers were
considered always there, cheerful, and do everything possible to
help in every way. Caregivers considered their "charges" (PLSers
and HSPers) to worry too much, sometimes become frustrated when
trying to communicate, and sometimes impatient. The caregivers
were most impressed by trust, gratitude and inspiration of their
charges. The session seemed to be interesting but a bit long.
During the last session, SAWCAR
(Scooter and Wheel Chair Association of Racing) founder and
promoter of the scheduled afternoon races had been watching the
weather. Rain and ceased but the wind was blowing fiercely.
After discussion with competitors and caregivers, the decision
was made to hold the races quickly and then return to the
fellowship hall for presentations. Each racer, three scooters
and five power chairs, was presented with shirt and cap of a
current NEXTEL Cup driver. Numbers associated to that driver was
added to
the machines. As the racers moved out of the fellowship hall, it
looked like NEXTEL drivers moving from the garage area to the
starting line.
The scooters were first to race. Starting positions were determined by drawing numbers. Martin "Mad Dog" Beckner drew the pole position, with Jean "Smiley" Mills in the middle in here soon to be retired Rascal 4-wheeler, and "1 for Duke" Gary Duke on the outside. Smiley, wearing the 21 outfit of Ricky Rudd, jumped to a quick lead as the green flag fell and was never threatened. "Mad Dog" driving the #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. scooter and the #88 UPS/Dale Jarrett scooter driven by "1 for Duke" fought for second place for part of the first lap, but "Mad Dog" was just too fast. The order of finish was Smiley, Mad Dog and 1 for Duke.
The five power chairs were next to race. Bettie Jo "Green Thumb" Wilson drew the pole in her Penske South #12 Ryan Newman Special. Barbara "Stormy" Neely in the #20 Tony Stewart chair started second, first time racer Sarah (Keyboard ) Roberts-Witt in the Kasey Kahne #9 third, with Cece "The Shot" Russell, the 2005 Scooter winner, moved up to the power chair division driving the #18 J.J. Yeley ride. Starting fifth was Dana "The Cat" Brower also in her first event, driving the #11 Denny Hamlin chair. Cece "The Shot" was able to get a good start and left the other racers to fight over second and third positions. Stormy and Keyboard had an early battle for second, with Stormy taking that position. The Cat moved in to challenge Keyboard for third and after a short battle moved ahead. Green Thumb had a typical Ryan Newman day. So cold that her chattering teeth almost drowned out the cheering of the fans, she "froze" at the start and after finally getting the chair going straight, hit the inside wall as she drove out of the fourth turn. The final order was The Shot, Stormy, The Cat, Keyboard and Green Thumb.
Cece and Jean then raced for the overall Championship. In view of the cold weather, the race was shortened to one lap. The Shot started on the pole position with Smiley along side. They started neck and neck at the drop of the green flag and were chair to scooter going into the first turn. Smiley came out of the second turn with a slight advantage, and she extended it up the backstretch. The Shot tried everything, but just did not have the speed to catch Smiley. Everyone quickly returned to the fellowship hall where North Carolina PLS Ambassador Judith West presented Cece and Jean with plaques for winning their divisions and a trophy along with a candy bouquet to Jean "Smiley" Mills as the Grand Champion.
Every participant had a great time, even if a little cold, and were ecstatic when told that they each go to take their NASCAR driver outfits home. Even with the cold, the third annual SAWCAR races were a success. Almost everyone left in route to their home or to visit other locations. Cece, Barbara and Arthur joined Don, Bettie Jo and Tracy for a meal to end the Fifth Autumn in Carolina. Bettie Jo and I cannot express the joyous feeling that we have in having everyone visit with us and hope to repeat in 2007. The SAWCAR races generate funds for research. We are waiting for the final report from all sponsors and will send that report later.
Contact Don: don-wilson@earthlink.net2005 Autumn in Carolina and SAWCAR
The fourth Autumn in Carolina with the 2nd SAWCAR (Scooter and Wheel Chair Association of Racing) Race (photo at right) organized by Don and Bettie Jo Wilson, was held October 8 in Rural Hall, North Carolina, at the Fellowship Hall of Kingswood United Methodist Church.
Summary shared by Don
Folks began to arrive in Winston-Salem late Friday afternoon. It had been raining for two full days causing many attendees to have major problems getting there. Saturday’s meeting began with Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Orange Glazed Breakfast Buns and plenty to time for participants to meet each other. The rain was still falling, and the afternoon races were in jeopardy. Mel and Jill Ellison of Learning Resources brought Eye Response equipment along with other types of special communications gear. After their presentation, Bettie Jo Wilson and Barbara Neely had a test drive.
Tracy Wilson gave a presentation on How
to Select a Massage Therapist and described different types of
massage. She was available to give reflexology massage in the
afternoon. After a catered box lunch, Bettie Jo presented Adaptive
Gardening. She made the presentation with the aid of a laptop
computer and Text Aloud software. A Power Point slide show
completed the presentation. Bettie Jo also had crafts and cards
that she had
made, and also seeds saved from heirloom plants.
Racing time was approaching. Scooter and power chair drivers donned uniforms from Nextel teams of Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd, Elliott Sadler, and Ryan Newman along with hats from Kasey Kahne. Everyone then go a close up look at a NASCAR Modified racer, which is actually pound for pound the more powerful car racing under the NASCAR banner.
The rain stopped, and the Autumn in Carolina races began. Cece “The Shot” Russell, Ronnie “Frogger” Grove and Martin “Mad Dog” Martin lined up for the two-lap scooter race. Mad Dog was the defending champion, but fell behind at the start. Frogger led most of the first lap before being passed by The Shot. Cece held on for the win.
Bettie “Green Thumb” Wilson, Barbara “Stormy Neely and Annette “The Blond Bombshell” (also known as “The Prez”) Lockwood lined up for the powerchair race. Green Thumb went a little off course and The Blond Bombshell jumped out to a long lead, winning handily. Stormy Neely blamed her loss on her crew chief (husband Arthur) claiming that he forgot to charge her chair overnight.
“The
Shot” Russell and “The Blond Bombshell” Lockwood raced for the
Championship, with Annette easily outrunning Cece. Trophies
were presented to Cece, at left in photo, and Annette. Annette, on
the right. Annette also received the
Championship plaque and a special candy bouquet.
The group gathered for dinner at Hill’s Lexington Barbeque, after which those brave enough to stay up a little longer met in the hospitality room for stories, jokes and conversation. The trip home on Sunday was made in much better weather. Everyone seemed to enjoy himself or herself, and Bettie Jo and I will try to hold Autumn in Carolina V next year.
2004 Autumn in Carolina, features the first SAWCAR (Scooter and Wheel Chair Association of Racing)
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