To all my Chipping friends;

This fall I will be traveling to Nepal and trekking to the Mt. Everest Base Camp in support of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. My goal for fund raising is $20,000. Funds raised support the society, including MS Research and support for those with MS. You can read about the MS Climb program at www.msclimb.ca. For me, this is not just a journey to Everest, but a journey of body, mind and spirit and there are many reasons for making this journey. For those that have met me, I am not the fittest guy in the world and the journey for me has already begun... I'm working on an exercise program (delayed by ribs broken while skiing) and changing my diet. I need to be ready to walk about 10 miles per day at altitudes up to 18,000 feet. This means that I will be seeing very little of the buffet lines in Vegas or a lot more of the trail when I am there. If anyone wants to join me on a short hike Super Bowl weekend, I'd be happy to lead one.

I am still at the initial stages of setting everything up for donations and getting my campaign going. In addition to seeking personal and corporate donations, we are planning several events here in Edmonton including a Gala Silent Auction, Pub Night, neighborhood garage sale and a poker tournament hosted by one of our local casinos. A friend is helping set up a web site where I can share the entire journey from day I was accepted to go to the day I get home. This (hopefully) will include updates and photos along the trek route.

I would like the support of my chipping friends, but I am not certain that any donations made in Canada are tax deductible in the US. So, I did something that I thought would be applicable to the chipping community - created a new personal chip. I have worked with Debbie Meister who has graciously donated her design services for me and we (mostly her) have created a design for a chip that has been submitted to Chipco for manufacturing. I am hoping to have them delivered in time for the Super Show...

I will be selling the personal chip for $10. I have paid for the manufacturing of the chips myself so that all of the money raised will be going to the MS Climb. The chip includes the photo of Everest, the local name for the mountain, Chomolungma, which means "Godddess Mother of the Earth", the MS Climb logo, my thank you, my name and club membership number as well as the sanskrit Namaste. The order went in for 250 chips.

Of these, 50 will have the edge printing done on them and will be coming with me to Everest. These chips will be as close to the top of the world as I can get. These will be sold for $20 each. I will pack them and carry them the entire way.

These chips will not be available fore trade, however I will be donating a couple to the club for the personals collection.

If you are interested in one (or more) of the chips, please contact me with all of your relevant information. I will be taking pre-orders of the chips to gauge the level of support and participation. If I need to, I will order more.

If you have any questions about MS or the MS Climb, please feel free to contact me directly and I will try to help you out as much as I can.

Thanks in advance for your support!

Namaste,

TOM