Robin K. Olivier, M.S. CCC-SLP

A Virginia Brother and his wife are bicycling across America as a fund-raiser for the RiteCare Childhood Language Program.

Pictured in front of the Richmond, Virginia, Scottish Rite clinic are (l. to r.): Bro. John C. Emory, Jr., 32°, President, Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co., Inc., Richmond, Virginia; Judge James B. Wilkinson, 33°, Orient Personal Representative and President of the Richmond clinic’s Board of Directors; Robin K. Olivier, Executive Director of the clinic and author of this article; and Bro. Emory’s wife, Lea, who will accompany him on a cross-country bicycle trip as a fund-raiser for the Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center at Richmond, Inc., which is a RiteCare Childhood Language Program facility.

One day, a man came up to me and announced, “My wife and I are going to bicycle across the United States. We want to do this as a fund-raiser for the Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center in Richmond.”

Now, there are fund-raisers, and there are FUND-RAISERS. This, in terms of personal commitment and effort, is definitely the latter. Talking to John in more detail, he told me how he and his wife, Lea, rediscovered the joy of bicycling and wanted to use this joy as a catalyst to raise funds to help children with speech, language, or hearing disorders.

Bro. John C. Emory, Jr., 32°, and his wife, Lea, have two children, have been married for 37 years, and will celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary while on the trip. Lea is an Assistant Professor at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond where she teaches Information Technology. John is President of Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., Inc., a Past Master of Woodland Heights Lodge #345, in Richmond, and currently the Treasurer of Richmond Randolph Lodge No. 19, also in Richmond. He is a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Richmond, ACCA Temple Shrine, and Manchester Royal Arch Chapter No. 48.

Almost 25 years ago, John and Lea began riding with groups or other couples on trips often 50 miles or more in length. Some trips took place over several days and included “self-contained” camping where all your gear is carried with you on the bicycle. They joined Bike Centennial, now known as Adventure Cycling Association, and began learning about the cross-country developed all over the USA to encourage traveling by bicycle for fun, fitness, and self-discovery. The seed was planted that someday they would embark on the kind of cross-country journey that other cyclists spoke about so passionately.

This is not the first long-term bicycling excursion the Emory’s have taken. To celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in 1997, the couple flew to Paris, taking along their bicycles and camping gear. They toured the Loire River Valley and other parts of France south of Paris on bicycle. For over three weeks and 900 miles, John and Lea bicycled and camped. They also found that bicycling was the best mode of transportation for getting around Paris itself. It was the most pleasurable vacation they had ever taken.

After many years of hoping and dreaming, John and Lea will finally take that journey across the United States. Start-ing in May from Yorktown, Virginia, the couple will travel through approximately ten states to reach Astoria, Oregon, in August 2004. During the trip, which is estimated at about 4,500 miles, the couple will ride during the day and make camp at night, traveling with all their gear in tow.

The ambitious goal they have set is to raise $45,000 for Richmond’s RiteCare Childhood Language Program. The mission of the pediatric speech and hearing center is to provide testing and treatment to children with communication disorders, with fees based on the families’ ability to pay. This fund-raiser will help provide the needed services many children otherwise could not receive. Sponsors can contribute by sponsoring a portion of the trip or the entire journey at five cents per mile. Or, if 200 people commit to sponsoring the full trip ($225.00 each), Bro. John and Lea will succeed in their goal. The couple is funding the trip themselves; therefore, all contributions will go directly to the Richmond Center, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. All sponsorships are 100% tax deductible.

We will be tracking the Emory’s on their trek across our great nation, watching them with eager anticipation as they stop at various Masonic landmarks along the way. You may follow along as well via the Internet by typing in the address http://groups.yahoo. com/group/jletransam. This Web site currently includes a list of the towns the Emory’s will travel through as well as photographs of the couple. Additional information will be added in the near future.

If you would like to be a part of this amazing adventure, you may send a check payable to:

Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center at Richmond, Inc.
4202 Hermitage Road, Richmond, Virginia 23227-3755
ATTN: Bicycling Across America

We thank Brother John and Lea for their efforts to help children with speech, language, or hearing disorders communicate better. Let their example remind us that each of us can make a real difference in this world if we let our hearts choose our pathways.

Robin K. Olivier is the Executive Director of the Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center at Richmond, Inc., a RiteCare clinic. She has been with the clinic since 1992. Robin has a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech and Hearing Handicapped, a Master Degree in Speech Pathology, and will receive Non-profit Management Certification from Virginia Commonwealth University this fall. Contacts in addition to the address above are Tel. 804-266-6699; Fax 804-264-5988; childhoodlanguagecenter@erols.com; Web site at www.childspeech.org.