Rick Hansen is more than a celebrity. He's one of Canada's greatest living heroes and I am so excited to be able to share this high five with you! 25 years ago I personally got a high five from Rick when he wheeled into my hometown on his Man In Motion Tour raising money for for spinal cord injury research. I will never forget the moment that his cycling glove made contact with my hand. It's perhaps the most well-travelled glove in all of history; not only did it go around the world with Rick as he inspired millions but it also went out of this world and around it again in orbit in August 2007, when Canadian astronaut Dave Williams brought it into space aboard a mission on the U.S. Space Shuttle Endeavour!
Rick Hansen High Fiving in Newfoundland today
Along with this High Five I'm also excited to share the news that the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay kicked off today in Newfoundland and will end up here in Vancouver on May 22nd, 2012! He did the journey by himself two and a half decades ago (and I can't imagine the number of people he high fived along the way!) and this time he'll have help from 7,000 participants from across Canada who have made a difference in their own communities and in the lives of others. They'll be walking, wheeling and running in the nine-month, 12,000 kilometre Relay that retraces the route of Rick’s original Man In Motion Tour through 600 communities.
Stay tuned for more from the Relay and be sure to check out this video below. It'll give you chills.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvRPtAu4_jE
