A Proven Leader

A Proven Leader

10/9/12

 

88 day to Africa

We want to take the opportunity to introduce you to the leader of our expedition to Africa and Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Lynn Foulke is the CEO of RE/MAX Results in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and her experience with the company spans 23 years.  RE/MAX Results is home to nearly 700 real estate agents within 24 RE/MAX franchised locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Lynn's relationship with Africa began in June 2011 and has been growing ever since. 

Our trip in January 2013 will be Lynn's third Kilimanjaro trek, and the second time that she has facilitated charitable contributions and fundraising for the people of Tanzania.  Lynn's work to bring resources and support to this area of the world will continue beyond our trip as she has three additional charity hikes on the horizon.  The focus of Lynn's work has been to empower those within local communities at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro in order to help eliminate poverty and improve quality of life.    

Lynn's first charity hike supported higher education tuition for two women from the Tanzanian Maasai people to attend Concordia College in Moorehead, Minnesota.  It was also for the benefit of malaria education and prevention for 3,000 Kilimanjaro area children.  Click on the following link to view the malaria initiative:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEmBbSr5LDs.  This video also highlights the children of the early childhood education center.  Our group's fundraising efforts will help to complete the construction of the education center and provide ongoing support and materials to the facility.  

Lynn's leadership of our group has been tremendous.  Since August, Lynn has held monthly meetings at her home for the members of our group to become familiar with one another and with the activities and requirements associated with the trip.  At these meetings, we talk about topics such as gear selection, physical training, medications and vaccinations, the culture of the areas we will be visiting and about all other aspects of the trip.

Perhaps the greatest impact of Lynn's leadership thus far has been the contagious nature of her boundless enthusiasm for Mt. Kilimanjaro, TAFCOM, Tanzania and the people of the region.  Her willingness to share her past experiences with us has fueled our belief that we too will find success in climbing the mountain, and that we have the opportunity to make a difference for the people of the community as part of our endeavor.  Lynn's advice about training has been practical and straightforward.  She speaks from experience and her past success instills confidence in ourselves that we will have similar results.

Despite the fact that we will be traveling to a foreign land, encountering experiences that most of us have never previously had, and staying in environments that may be lacking in some of the many luxuries we have become so accustomed to, there has been a sense of peace and reassurance knowing that Lynn has planned out every detail of our trip.  The relationships she has built during her previous trips leaves us feeling as though we are in capable hands, and we know from the stories she has shared that our guides and porters will take good care of us.   

It would be unfair to say that our hopes, expectations, and satisfaction with the journey we will be undertaking lies squarely on Lynn's shoulders.  Each of us has a responsibility to commit ourselves to proper preparation, and our experience may be dependent upon our own lens that we use to view the situations we encounter on our travels.   What can be said about Lynn, however, is that we have every confidence in her commitment to preparing us for the journey in any way possible, and her unwavering support of our efforts toward making this a meaningful and unforgettable experience.  And because of all of this, she is a proven leader.