Meet Isabelle

 By Isabelle Privé

"Only 2 years ago..."

Hello to everyone who's following our Kilimanjaro adventure.

My name is Isabelle. If you'd told me 2 years ago that I'd be joining such an adventure, I expect I'd have looked around to see who you were talking to!

At that time, I was smoking a packet a day, eating badly and didn't get much exercise.

On October 14, 2009, my life took a turn for the better when I stopped smoking, And that soon turned into an upward spiral towards better health.

Giving up smoking also means putting on weight so I realized that I had to do something about my diet. I was lucky enough to be able to attend sessions with a nutritionist put on by my employer. That too changed my life.

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So - give up smoking and start a healthier diet.

Always thanks to my employer, I decided to participate in the 10km Montreal Marathon in 2010.
I wanted to walk....I ended up running 7 km out of 10! I had fallen in love with jogging! And I'm still in love with physical activity. I've developed a passion for jogging, yoga, zumba, Pilates and I'm hooked on the feeling of wellbeing that comes with a good workout.

To repeat: give up smoking, eat well, get more exercise.

So, last December, when I read, on the office electronic notice board, an invitation to join in an adventure and climb Mount Kilimanjaro, I only had one question:

"Will I be sorry if I don't do it?"

And as my reply was "Yes", I decided to go for it (in spite of empty pockets!) and rise to the challenge.

And up to now, I have no regrets. I've found a wonderful team - each member more motivated that the rest. What I love is that we're all "ordinary people" with a job and a family. No Olympic champions or millionnaires. We'll all have to work very hard on the fund-raising activities necessary to make our dream come true. We'll all have to train really hard to get to the fitness level required to reach the top. And I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.

Do you get the feeling that I'm somewhat carried away with excitement?

Translated by Pamela Gauvin

We Have Our Official Name

By André Lachapelle

In April 2011, the whole team voted on the choice of our official name.

Kilimandjaro 2012 existed already - an organisation connected with Valleyfield Hospital, if I'm not mistaken...

.....anyway, the team has spoken!

And our official name is....... hold your breath..... drum roll!.....

KILI-2012

Nice, isn't it? It connects with the name we'd chosen in the first place, is short, efficient, unpretentious and representative.

A big thank you to Manon Marleau for having thought of it!

Translated by Pamela Gauvin

First Team Meeting - March 2011

By André Lachapelle

Time goes quickly. Very quickly....

On Monday, March 28 2011, we held our first team meeting to talk about financing the Kilimanjaro project.

But what a lovely lot of people! I'm not really surprised. It stands to reason that signing up for an adventure like Kilimanjaro means that you're already someone special.

We'd arranged to meet at the Saint-Hubert near the Bell Center in a small private room that was perfect for our discussion. Once we'd eaten, we got on with the agenda. Another nice surprise - everyone stuck to the subject, no going off at a tangent or indulging in futile arguments. Everyone pulled his weight.

We decided to have a fund-raising activity for Easter, another for Mothers' Day. Sell chocolate for Easter and nice gift baskets for Mothers' Day. Other activities were discussed and will take place at a later date.

There was such a good feeling all evening. It was really inspiring. Everybody volunteered so willingly to take part in the activities.

So, the week after the meeting, I carried out a little experiment. I did nothing connected with the project and I didn't contact anyone. I wanted to see if there was any momentum or initiative, if anybody made an effort to get on with the project.

My team passed the test with flying colours. Chocolates had been bought and distributed to the right people for the Easter activity. It seems that team spirit is developing well and everyone feels responsible. It's great to see!

Translated by Pamela Gauvin