Blogs

2/09/10

Last week we held a new fundraising event that was unlike any other in our organization’s history. The Essence of Olive Oil; An Olive Oil & Food Pairing Experience, brought 40 people to our office to taste some of the world’s finest gourmet olive oils and sample delicious authentic Italian cuisine at the same time.

Many hours of planning and preparation go into events like this and I want to thank everyone who had a part in making The Essence of Olive Oil such a success.

Special Thank You To The Following:

• Field Reicardt of The Organic Olive Oil Company for his expertise on this subject
• Our friends and office neighbors at Baker Tent & Party Rental for allowing us to use part of their space to host the event and for their generosity with tables, chairs, and linens
• Randy Baker from Baker Catering for catering the event and allowing Chef Maria Cristina to use his kitchen to cook the food
• Amy Ruis from Art of The Table for providing refreshments and for donating a portion of olive oil sales back to Alternatives in Motion
• Lisa Sisson, Charlie Baker-Clark, and the GVSU Hospitality & Tourism Management department for their help with preparing the food, providing volunteers, and arranging for Chef Maria Cristina to be an integral part of this event
• eightWest, Grand Rapids Social Diary, The Grand Rapids Press, and the WGVU Morning Show With Shelley Irwin for promoting this event to the residents of West Michigan
• Kurt & Kyle Spieker for volunteering to be our parking lot attendants on a cold February evening
• Janet Rininger, our GVSU intern who worked on this event from start to finish and played a key role in pulling it all together

Of course, we also have to thank all of our guests for attending the event and supporting Alternatives in Motion. Thank you for helping us Give the Gift of Mobility! 

Click here to check out pictures from The Essence of Olive Oil 

~Matt Chapman
Director of Marketing & Special Events

2/2/10

If you were at work this morning you probably missed the “What’s Brewing?” segment on eightWest that featured Alternatives in Motion. Thankfully the wonderful ladies from the show have posted the clips on youtube for us to share with our donors and supporters.

In the first segment, Alternatives in Motion Founder Johnnie Tuitel explains to eightWest viewers how Alternatives in Motion has been moving people forward for the last 15 years:

In the second segment, Alternatives in Motion Executive Director George Ranville talks about The Essence of Olive Oil and how this idea came to life:

We would like to thank our friends Joy Wellington Walczak, Rachael Ruiz, and Terri DeBoer for sharing this segment with their West Michigan viewers. Keep up the great work on eightWest!

More on eightWest:
Twitter: eightwestonline
Facebook: eightWest
Youtube: eightwestonline

~Matt Chapman 
Director of Marketing

From our research, olive oil tasting events are new to West Michigan. If you’re like me and are wondering what exactly goes on at an olive oil tasting then read the short summary below and learn more. Our staff and board are getting excited for this event and we find each day we are learning more and more about olive oil than we ever thought possible.

About the event:
The Essence of Olive Oil is all about gourmet olive oil and great food. Olive oil enriches the food experience. Participants will develop a personal frame of reference for tasting olive oil and will learn more about buying, storing, and cooking with gourmet olive oil.

Field Reichardt of The Organic Olive Oil Company will lead the group in a short tasting of four oils. The first will be a grocery store variety olive oil; then we will taste three gourmet olive oils from The Organic Olive Oil Company. To finish the tasting, Field will have the group return to the grocery store oil for one final comparison.

Following the tasting, Chef Maria Cristina of Ristorante Le Torri in Peidmonte, Italy will serve classic Italian dishes utilizing two of the gourmet olive oils just tasted. She will explain why she paired her dishes with these particular oils and talk about the characteristics each oil brings to the dish.  

Click Here to Listen to a Podcast with George Ranville and Field Reichardt on the WGVU Morning Show

What’s on the Menu:
Focaccia served with Salami on the side
Bruschetta with tomatoes and eggplant
Salad with chicken dressed with extra virgin olive oil
Penne all'arrabbiata - penne pasta with tomato sauce, capers, and black olives - spicy
Risotto with asparagus
Milanese Chicken, Grilled vegetables with garlic breading

~Matt Chapman
Director of Marketing & Special Events

1/14/10

Power Soccer players from The Flyers of Fort Wayne, IN will be putting on a clinic Saturday January 16 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at the Wolverine Worldwide Family YMCA in Belmont, MI. The clinic was coordinated by GVSU intern Emily West working with Maria Besta from the Community Recreation Department of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital.

Alternatives in Motion will be there. We are taking the first steps towards sponsoring a Power Soccer Team. Power Soccer is essentially indoor soccer played by people in power wheelchairs, and since we spend most of our time here working with power wheelchairs, and people who use them, we like everything about this sport. (Johnnie Tuitel says it’s a blast to play. He has been to a couple of tournaments around the country and would not miss this clinic right here in West Michigan.)

We are looking forward to this event, where local people can put guards on their wheelchairs and give this 4X4 team sport a go. The Flyers are a very serious team of players and they are doing their best to promote the growth of this competitive sport.

For More Information on Power Soccer Visit:

The United States Power Soccer Association
Turnstone Flyers of Fort Wayne, IN

~
George Ranville
Executive Director

1/8/10

Happy New Year!

For Wilfred, 2010 is off to a great start as he is enjoying the newfound freedom and independence of a functioning power scooter. Wilfred contacted us because the power wheelchair he received from the VA hospital had stopped working and was thought to be unrepairable.

In November of 2009 a gentleman donated a 3-wheeled scooter to us that wasn’t working properly and was in need of cosmetic repairs. A fresh set of batteries later the scooter was running great and a little elbow grease made it look good as new. 

George and I delivered this scooter to Wilfred at his apartment yesterday and enjoyed hearing about his time in the Service. While there, we were even able to fix the broken wheelchair that will serve as a back up in the event his scooter stops working. The fact of the matter is that wheelchairs and scooters brake down too and Wilfred is happy to know this will no longer be an issue.

Alternatives in Motion; Moving America’s Veterans Forward! 

~Matt Chapman

Director of Marketing & Special Events