I love bikes. But more than the bike itself, I love what the bicycle adds to my life. Free
exercise on my morning bike commute to work. An instant stress reliever after a tough day. An active way for my family and I to travel to our favorite destinations. A way to escape into the woods - just to name a few of the amazing benefits the bicycle. As a #girldad to two amazing young girls, of course I wanted to instill my love for bicycles into them as well. For my oldest daughter, Stella, that was no problem. She took to the bicycle right away and I’m already struggling to keep up. As for my youngest, Olive, that was another story. Her balance bike had started to collect a serious layer of dust in the garage. If I was lucky, I might be able to get her to sit on the bike for a few seconds but even that was a rare occurrence. She just didn’t have the confidence to get going. And then she did a 180. The Norte Estrellas program came to her preschool and that made all the difference. Ben and the volunteers made riding bikes fun. They slowly showed the kids the skills they needed and gave them plenty of time to practice. Equally important was the social aspect. The preschoolers loved “bike day” because they had an opportunity to be silly with their friends — all while being physically active and learning an important life skill: how to ride a bike. Now Olive loves riding her bike and wants to ride every chance she can get. Olive’s story is just one of hundreds, maybe thousands now, across the region of those young and young at heart who have been encouraged and empowered to be more physically active directly because of Norte. I am truly humbled and honored to have the opportunity to serve this amazing organization as Board President. Norte has an incredible staff and countless volunteers who are working to bring Norte’s vision of happy, healthy, strong communities to Northern Michigan. But they can’t do it without you. Thank you for your support of Norte and please help us keep the momentum going.
With gratitude,
Board President
Chris Hinze NORTE | 2019 ANNUAL REPORT
3
