On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Whidbey General Hospital Foundation, I want to thank all the volunteers who helped make the 2010 Tour de Whidbey a success. Despite the dismal weather leading up to the event, over 470 riders came to ride on what turned out to be the one sunny day of the weekend. The wind was a challenge for riders as well as volunteers. Bless you all for hanging in there! The ride raised over $50,000 for the hospital despite the challenges.

We also want to acknowledge dedicated members of the Island County Amateur Radio Club and the Island Wings motorcycle group for doing such a fantastic job of monitoring the routes. And a special shout-out of appreciation to the Windermere Real Estate agents who arrived at 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning to put on the breakfast for the riders, and to the ladies of the Polly Harpole and Dr. Paul Bishop guilds for the afternoon chili feeds.

The riders are so appreciative of the meals before and after their ride. They also sing the praises of the community volunteers at the break stations from Whidbey Vision Care, Oak Harbor Church of Christ, Oak Harbor Soroptimists, Whidbey Island Bank, Langley Chamber of Commerce, as well as hospital employee volunteers from the Diagnostic Imaging and Medical Ambulatory Care/Oncology departments and Employee Council.

The Tour de Whidbey is a community effort to support Whidbey General Hospital. We are humbled by the generosity of the ride sponsors, volunteers and riders.

Laura Blankenship

Whidbey General Hospital Foundation