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| Board of Directors Treasurer Bill Gugerty presenting Anjali Arnold one of two first ever Vitality Awards |
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| Rusty Stout receiving the second of the first ever Vitality Awards from Bill Gugerty |
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| Anjali and Rusty embrace while receiving their Vitality Awards as Vitality Ambassador Uschi Kessler and Adaptive Skating Coach Yvonne Dowlen applaud |
Rusty Stout, the Founder and President of the Vitality In Action Foundation, received a plaque recognizing his “immense efforts and contributions without whom the ideas embodied by the organization would be mere hopes of individuals rather than the action of an organization.” Rusty was completely shocked and surprised by the award. He described his emotions saying, “We did what most people consider impossible with too few resources, people and money, but we are very pleased with the outcome.”
The Vitality In Action Foundation and the Vitality Fair embodies a lifetime of work for Rusty, without whom the organization would not touch the lives of so many in the community. With tears in his eyes and a smile on his face, Rusty recounts receiving the award as “extremely gratifying and the most precious award he has ever been given.” Rusty is a truly amazing and inspirational person for his strength and his vision for the future of the foundation and for the community. He teaches people how to take risks, so even if they fall down they are able to get back up again and continue living a vital life. Rusty is living proof that anything is possible and truly embodies the words printed on his honorary plaque.
Anjali Arnold, the Managing Director of the Adaptive Skating Programs, was also honored by the Board of Directors, which unanimously voted to name the Vitality Skating Program the Anjali Ability Academy. She was also recognized with a plaque commemorating her “immense efforts and contributions without whom the concepts of Vitality would remain mere ideas.” Anjali describes this moment as “a truly surreal experience because she was in complete shock.” The first thoughts that came to her mind upon hearing the news at the Vitality Fair were, “How ridiculous,” “how wonderful,” “but what are they thinking?”
After a having few days to regain her thoughts, Anjali was able to comment on her true feelings about the awards. “As it so happens,” she describes, “Anjali, in Sanskrit, means ‘offering’ and also means ‘receiving’. So by definition, my name represents the universal process of giving and taking, the continuous spontaneous natural flow that stems from the quintessential force of affinity that causes all effects in the universe. This is the way I teach, simultaneously, the way I learn. My name is who I am. My soul, for the first time in this incarnation, feels validated in ways that words cannot express.” Anjali helps people to recognize the everyday “miracles” that each person possesses within themselves. She has touched and changed so many lives by her amazing gifts and incredible heart. There is no one more deserving of these two awards than Anjali.
Needless to say, there was not a dry eye in the room after the Vitality Fair. Even now, looking back, Rusty and Anjali continue to re-live the powerful emotions they experienced that day from the Vitality Fair and from receiving their awards. There are no two people more deserving of the first Vitality Awards than Rusty Stout and Anjali Arnold. With them at the reigns, we look forward to many great things for our community and a very high bar for future Vitality Award honorees.
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