United We Serve

This morning President Barack Obama announced a new initiative called United We Serve. Mr. Obama encourages Americans of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to get out this summer and serve! At the National Ability Center, we could not survive without our army of volunteers. We are thankful for them everyday. For those of you who don't volunteer already, let this be your call-to-action. Come serve with us! We need you, and you will feel good for having helped out in your community. If you are interested in coming up to help in any of our many summer programs (cycling, horseback riding, swimming, water skiing, archery and more), call Jennifer Carpenter at 435.649.3991. She will get you pointed in the right direction. If you are ready to start today, our monthly volunteer orientation will be held tonight at the NAC at 5:30pm. We hope to see you there.

Better Wasatch Front Transportation?

-Courtesy of Katie Rowley and the Utah Parent Center

Wasatch Front Mobility Management Project

Public Asked to Share Ideas to Improve Transportation Services for Wasatch Front Older Adults, Persons with Disabilities and Persons with Low-Income

Wasatch Front Mobility Management Project

The Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC), Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), Utah Transit Authority (UTA), and Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG) are collaboratively conducting the Wasatch Front Mobility Management Project. Project planners invite organizations and residents to provide input on how transportation services for older adults, persons with disabilities and persons with low income can be improved through better coordination.

The objective of the Wasatch Front Mobility Management Project is to develop service and business plans for efforts that improve the coordination of transportation for older adults, persons with disabilities, and persons with low income. The project area includes the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) service area and areas within the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) and Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG) planning boundaries.

Each Open House is scheduled to last two hours. Planners will share results of recent findings, and will seek the assistance of Open House participants to confirm the study findings, to identify any instances of unmet needs, service gaps or service redundancies that are not among the findings, and to offer thoughts on preliminary coordination strategies.

Input from the Open Houses will be used to develop transportation coordination strategies to address unmet mobility needs among older adults, persons with disabilities, and persons with low income. A second round of open houses will be held again in November to gain feedback and to help prioritize alternative transportation coordination strategies. The details for the second round have not yet been finalized.

In addition to open houses, the project team will also hold a series of focus group meetings for older adults, persons with disabilities and persons with low income. The focus group meetings will consist of small group discussions of 8 – 12 participants from each of the three groups. Individual focus group meetings will be held in three different locations within the project area. Participation in focus group meetings is by invitation only. To participate in a focus group meeting, visit the project website. From there you will be asked to respond to a brief questionnaire. Responses to the questionnaire will be used to identify individuals that reflect a representative sampling of older adults, people with disabilities and people with low incomes. Focus group participants will receive a $25 stipend.

Members of the media should contact Barbara Thomas at Wasatch Front Regional Council (801) 363-4230 x 124 or visit the website at http://www.wfrc.org/cms/wasatchmobility/.

For general information about the Wasatch Front Mobility Management Project, the Public Open Houses, and focus group meetings, members of the public should visit the website at http://www.wfrc.org/cms/wasatchmobility/, or call the toll-free project hotline at 1-877-281-5199.

For special accommodations, please call the project hotline at 1-877-281-5199 at least 48 hours in advance of scheduled meeting times.

Dates, Times, and Locations for Public Open Houses:

Box Elder/Weber/Davis County Area Open House:

Tuesday, June 16, 2009, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Weber County Library
2464 Jefferson Ave.
Ogden, UT

Salt Lake/Tooele County Area Open House:

Wednesday, June 17, 2008, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Salt Lake City Main Library
210 East 400 South
Salt Lake City, UT

Utah County Area Open House:

Thursday, June 18, 2008, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Utah County Health and Justice Building
151 South University Avenue
Provo, UT

Equestrian 20th Anniversary on PCTV

More than 200 people joined us this weekend to celebrate two decades of horseback riding at the National Ability Center. Thanks to everyone who came and participated. Richard Lee Cody's music was fantastic. Dancing lasted well into the night. Thanks to Bandits for providing the food. Thanks, as well, to Sage Creek Equestrian and Whisperide for all their help in putting the event on. If you couldn't come, check out what was seen through the video camera lens of Park City Television.

Jon & Kate Plus 8

Jon outside the National Ability Center's Ski & Snowboard Center at Park City Mountain Resort.

At the end of the ski season, we had the opportunity to host Jon Gosselin of TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8 at the National Ability Center's Ski & Snowboard Center on the hill at Park City Mountain Resort. Jon learned about the recreational programs the NAC offers and volunteered with our Ski Program Assistant Manager, Tracy. The two of them help one of the NAC's most adventurous participants, Shay, on a ski lesson. Shea has Cerebral Palsy, and skis both on the Greatest Snow on Earth during the winter and in the water that snow leaves behind during the summer.

Jon tests a pair of outriggers (to aid in stability during ski lessons) as Tracy explains the program.

Jon met up with Tracy and Shea (along with a two-man camera crew) for an overview of the Ski & Snowboard Program before hitting the slopes. They talked about the different equipment and training needed for adaptive skiing. With the background Jon's father had in working with people with disabilities, Jon seemed to pick up on things pretty quickly. He was impressed with the variety of situations that the NAC could adapt lessons for. Being a nationwide leader in adaptive recreation for people with physical and cognitive disabilities means the program managers and ski instructors need to be ready for just about anything! Last year our instructors taught more than 20,000 lessons for the fourth consecutive year.

Shea and Tracy enjoy a good laugh with Jon before heading to the ski lift.

Early that morning, conditions were perfect with a few inches of snow having fallen overnight. It didn't take long for the snow to really start falling as the three headed out for the lesson. The group skied as much as they could in the white-out conditions before calling it a day.

We look forward to hosting Jon and the rest of his family should they ever decide to come to Park City again.

If you would like to learn more about the programs offered at the National Ability Center, you can visit our website at DiscoverNAC.org or call us at 435.649.3991. We provide recreation for people with disabilities throughout the year, and we encourage you to give us a call if you are interested in water skiing, horseback riding, cycling, archery or rock climbing with us this summer! Winter registration won't begin until September, so enjoy the warm weather while it's here. The snow will return soon enough.

If you are interested in supporting us in our mission, you can donate to us through PayPal, or you can contact our Development Officer, Scott Lyttle at 435.200.0983.

Tours of our facility are free and are available Monday - Friday 9am-5pm. Accomodations outside those times can be made by emailing our information inbox at info@DiscoverNAC.org.