Wendi Paterson Inspiration Award – July

Congratulations to this month’s award winners, Barb Koetsier and Nancy Cronin! We are thrilled to be honoring these two individuals for achieving great success with pole walking and inspiring others to do the same.

Barb Koetsier

“I am so glad I bought the Activator² Poles.  I take them everywhere.  They folded up and fit in my suitcase and I took them to a conference in Mexico.  I used them on the beach every day!  I was able to walk discreetly through the hotel with them folded up in my hand and then extended them on the beach. Our group would walk for over an hour at a time (often at sunrise or sunset) and I managed to do it with the poles.  I don’t think I would have made it without them.”

Barb is a stroke survivor.  She was a 50-year-old healthy female who had a cryptogenic stroke that left her with no feeling or mobility on the right side of her body. She went from using a walker, a cane and eventually the Activator² poles. They now go with her on her daily walks and make her feel secure and confident. Barb is looking forward to using them as a way to really maximize her fitness routine as she becomes more mobile.

She sent us a picture of herself testing out the poles on the first day of her Mexico trip. “No tips was the way to go”, when walking on the beach. She recently moved to the Niagara region and is looking forward to exploring some of the St. Catharines beaches now too. If you live in the Niagara region, don’t be surprised if you see Barb exploring new beaches, trails and paths.

See you soon, Barb or as she refers to herself now, “Barb 2.0” We look forward to hearing more about your evolution and your journey and celebrating your accomplishments along the way!

Urban Poling Inc. is a proud sponsor of March of Dimes Stroke Recovery Program! 1% of all sales from purchasing the ACTIVATOR poles goes towards supporting March of Dimes Canada. Please click here to visit their campaign page.

Next in line with Nancy

Congratulations to this month’s award winner, Nancy Cronin! We are pleased to feature an energetic, passionate and fun-loving fitness enthusiast who has witnessed first-hand the positive impact that adding poles to her walk has had on her health and well-being.

Nancy is a retired nurse with 28 years of experience under her belt who now works for the District of Muskoka, teaching in a variety of settings. She continues to share her love of health promotion by teaching people urban poling (aka Nordic walking). She shared with us that she tries to get in a walk with her 4 Life poles everyday and not only enjoys the physical benefits but loves the social aspect as well.

It’s not surprising that the poles have helped not just her but also her husband, who has lost 16 pounds since he started pole walking in December 2018. As the newly appointed president of Ryde Community Coop, we really hope that a growing number of Muskoka’s residents (and anyone else really!)  will experience just how transformative walking with a set of poles can be. With Nancy’s vivacious personality, there’s not a doubt in our minds that Nancy will be able to spread her joy of Urban Poling and recruit people from all walks of life to walk together. There’s no better time or person to take that first step with!