KiteLife is pleased to announce the creation of the “Spirit of Kiting Award” (KSOK) for the year 2004, and hopefully for many years to come.
This announcement is being made to solicit nominees for the 2004 KSOK award. The purpose of the “Spirit of Kiting Award” is to recognize, honor and reward those individuals who you feel best exemplify the kind of spirit and character that makes them the most valuable asset in our sport today.
Why are we doing this? — It is our hope that by bringing this individual’s achievements to the attention of the kiting world, he or she will provide the kind of example (to others) that best exemplifies those qualities of generous spirit and character we most admire in our fellow fliers. It is also our hope that this recognition will inspire others to follow in their footsteps, thus improving our sport and the lives of those who are touched by it.
How it works:
YOU, as an active member of the kiting community, are the life-blood of our sport. You are the front line, so to speak, and you know someone in the sport who could very well be the recipient of the first “Spirit of Kiting Award”.
What we are asking is that you tell us about this individual and what he or she has accomplished and contributed to our sport that you feel is important, inspiring and directly contributes (in a positive way) to those aspects of kiting that make it so enjoyable for you.
Nominees MUST be active members of the sport (i.e. they must own and actually FLY kites of some kind). Whether they teach others to fly, build kites or are a member of a club or a sport kite league, they must be actively involved in kiting and making a contribution toward the involvement and enjoyment of others.
Here is just one example of what we mean –
John Q. is a member of a local kite club and volunteers to go to local public schools and teach children how to make their own kites. He brings his own kites along for demonstration purposes and to teach children how to fly. He goes out of his way to put a positive spin on kiting, promotes it as a family sport and has been steadily increasing the membership of the kite club.
At kite club events, he is always the first to arrive (to help set things up) and the last to leave at the end of the day. He either helps to organize these events or is the key to their success. Since he has been involved in kiting for many years, he is able to teach other members of the club some of the more esoteric aspects of our sport. He hold clinics on indoor flying, bridle adjustment, tuning tips, etc., and gives of his time and energy freely and without hesitation.
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The above is only one example of the kind of individual we want to know about. Obviously there are many types of involvement and contributions to our sport that an individual can make and those are the people we want to know about. You know the kind of people we’re talking about here —- they give thanklessly of their time and energy and are always there, making our shared pastime that much brighter. They bring something to the sport BECAUSE of their involvement in it that makes showing up at the kite field and seeing them the BEST part of our day.
While we are an American based internet magazine and thus have a closer perspective on our part of the world, nominations will also be warmly accepted and considered for people from any country worldwide.
We have enlisted a hand-selected panel of 5 renowned kiters from all over the USA, most of whom have been very active in various committees, festivals, and other facets of kiting, both single and multi-line.
[twocol_one]Troy GunnAl Stroh
Deb Lenzen
Steve Santos
Bill Rogers[/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last]Texas
California
North Dakota
Rhode Island
Washington[/twocol_one_last]
We encourage you to participate in this special recognition by either posting in the Kitelife Forum, or by emailing the Editor directly.
