Like a lot of people in the Pacific Northwest, I’ve been a lifelong shopper at REI. I think I got my own membership card when I was in high school (more than 30 years ago). REI has also been a supporter of Outdoors for All for many years.
Recently I received a call from some folks at REI saying that they were doing a “people who give back” feature on a number of REI members — and that I had been nominated to be included in the campaign. Needless to say, I was flattered and said that I’d be happy to be interviewed.
I figured that the interview would be a good opportunity to help tell others about the good works that Outdoors for All does in the community and perhaps allow me to mention, too, my involvement with Rotary for the past 27 years. I showed up at REI for the scheduled videotaping interview – and as they were “mic-ing” me up for the interview, they had a big surprise for me: They said not only did they want to video tape me – but that they wanted to present me with a $2,500 gift certificate!
Needless to say, I was stunned! I must admit that for just an instant I thought, “Hmm…my wife Monica and I could really use new bikes for our cycling commutes.” But then the very next instant I thought better of it and said (paraphrasing here) “Well that’s outstanding! Looks like I better go shopping then for $2,500 worth of items from the Outdoors for All wish list!”
Now, talk about fun! I spent the next two hours or so chasing around the REI Seattle Flagship store with my own REI personal shopper and a video tape crew following us. We picked up bike tires, sleeping bags, stuff sacks, sleeping pads, tool kits and much more from the Outdoors for All “wish list” – it was outstanding! And so much fun to bring a couple of shopping carts worth of goodies back to the office, too!
So, thank you REI! A very fun day for a great cause!
Ed
P.S. As of November 2014, REI was still taking nominations for this “give back” campaign”. For more details, visit the following link: http://www.rei.com/givestoke