Volunteer Profile: Richard Brouwer

By Tanya Byl

Richard Brouwer is one of the organizers of the Lake-to-Lake Bike-a-thon, from Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, the first Saturday of June for the last four years. So far the Bike-a-thon has raised $183,000 for the Nakekela Clinic in South Africa. Look for updates about the current Bike-a-thon in a future issue of Word & Deed magazine. We caught up with Richard via email.

W&D:  Rich, tell me a bit about yourself for our readers – who you are, where you live, who's your family, what you like to do in your spare time. (Okay, I know the last one....)
RB: Ok, Cuz, here goes....My name is Richard Brouwer and three "F"s are very important to me: My faith, my family, and, well, fishing. I love to fish. It clears my head and de-stresses me.I’ve been married for almost 25 years to my incredibly beautiful and extremely tolerant wife Francine. She is my best friend and the mother to our three kids, Tracey-Lynn (and her husband Brad), Michael and Jordan. I've been a cop for about 26 years and and have done some pretty interesting stuff at work.I have always been involved in charity work, whether at work or for our Christian school. As far as the Bike-a-thon goes, I'm a good organizer and delegator – it saves me doing the work myself! I would be lost without Mark Fintelman's attention to detail. He's amazing at the computer and "sweats the small stuff" for me.Tanya, do you need a picture? I have at least one of me holding a fish...lol.

W&D: Yes, a picture would be great! About the Bike-a-Thon....how did it all begin?

RB: It's all Jake Sinke's fault, blame him! Five years ago, Bob Sinke and I were the junior young peoples’ leaders for our church (Heritage Reformed in Jordan). Jake, who is very involved in Word & Deed, came up to me one day at church and asked me if I would be interested in organizing a bike-a-thon to get our junior young peoples involved in fund raising. I thought it was a great idea, but I figured if we were going to go through all the work of organizing a bike-a-thon, we may as well invite everyone. Well, one thing led to another, and here we are today....P.S.... Couple of fishing pictures for you, Tanya. If you're looking for one with me in a black suit, you'll be looking for a long, long time.

W&D: Love the pics - you need to i.d. the fish for me. You must be in the middle of organizing this year's Bike-a-thon (the fifth, right?). What's all involved in getting it off the ground?

RB: The fat green fish is a largemouth bass. The big silver one is a salmon. About the Bike-a-thon – lots and lots of phone calls! Actually, Mark Fintelman and I start talking about the Bike-a-thon every year around January. But, it’s always too cold then, so we discussed other things, like going to Florida to fish and escape the snow. Anyways, it’s our fifth year now. Because we’re getting old and our memories are not quite what they used to be, Mark and I take notes at the end of every bike-a-thon. Then, at the beginning of the year we review those notes to remember what worked, what didn’t, and how we can improve. As you might have guessed, Mark is the “details man” and is incredibly organized. He is also a teacher and loves to hand out homework. Unlike when I was in school, I actually have to complete these assignments. So, long story longer, it’s getting easier every year. Partly because of Mark, but mostly because of our volunteers, they’re the glue that holds the bike-a-thon together.

W&D: About how many volunteers do you need each year for the Bike-a-thon? Where do they come from and what do they do?

RB: We need about 20 volunteers each year for the bike-a-thon and the really neat thing is that they come from a whole bunch of different Reformed churches in Niagara. It is a great crew who come back year after year and there is NO way we could run a fundraiser of this size without them! We have volunteers driving buses and trucks transporting bikes and people, others driving the route, posting directional signs and dropping off water, and more volunteers registering people in Fort Erie and Niagara Falls. Then we have ten people at our five rest stops, supplying our riders with drinks, treats to keep their sugar levels up, and a shady place to get off their bikes and stretch their legs. We also have three guys in trucks with cell phones who handle flat tires and other breakdowns our riders might have.Once that's all done, our barbecue team steps up to the plate and gives our riders an amazing lunch complete with hamburgers, sausages and salads. It's quite a day! We have been very blessed with really generous donors in the past four years and have raised about $183,000 so far. Think about it; that is an amazing amount! This year our goal is $50,000, but I'm hopeful our donations may even surpass that! 

So, to all who participate in our bike-a-thon, whether volunteering or riding, thank you very, very much! For those of you who have never attended, give it a try. It's a great family day and a pile of fun!

Tanya Byl is a member of the Free Reformed Church of Hamilton, Ontario and one of the editors of Word & Deed Magazine