My Trip to Vancouver

March 11, 2008

Last week, I had the honor of being invited to speak to an audience of nearly 6,000 people at the General
Motors Place in Vancouver, BC. My speech was just part of a day of motivational speaking run by a
company called The Power Within www.powerwithin.com,
which produces motivational and training programs for the general public as
well as corporations. I was thrilled to be included with guest speakers such as music legend, Quincy Jones and tennis extraordinaire, Andre Agassi. Itâ€™s always fascinating to hear the success stories of truly inspirational
people. My speech was about who influenced me to strive for higher goals and how I went about building my
business. One of the highlights of the trip
was flying over the magnificent mountains of the Cascade Range. The Cascade Range of
Western North America extends through Oregon and Washington States
into Southern British Columbia in Canada. Being part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, some
of the Cascades are volcanic, including Mount St. Helens which produced a major eruption in 1980.

Here I am with Quincy Jones!!

A very lively and receptive audience! I took a snapshot of them.

The very handsome Canadian Tenors

Mount Baker, in Washington State, has an elevation of 10,778 feet, or 3,285
meters. It was named by explorer George Vancouver for 3rd Lieutenant Joseph
Baker of the HMS Discovery, who saw it in 1792. The peak is heavily glaciated
and it receives record amounts of snow and is famous for its Mount Baker Ski
Area.

Mount Rainier, also in Washington State, is the highest peak in the Cascade Range reaching 14,410 feet, or 4,392 meters. It has the most glaciers of any peak in the lower 48 states and its summit has two volcanic craters. The last volcanic eruption occurred sometime during the 1800's, and geologists expect that the volcano will someday erupt again. Explorer George Vancouver named this peak to honor his friend, Rear Admiral Peter Rainier. All of Seattle is treated to its magnificence - its glorious shape and omnipresence - I have never been closer to it than on this flight when our pilot flew right over it for our cameras!