Cooperative Living March/April 2016 - 19

Greg was particularly moved when, after
the Reynas left to return to North Carolina,
he found a gift from them, a small Bible
wrapped in a hand towel. With the gift
was a thank-you note quoting Matthew
25:35, and Kay had underlined the passage,
" ... I was a stranger and you took me in.... "
Greg and the Reynas got together again
in October of last year, when Kay and
Humberto joined Greg and his son, Casey,
for a triathlon in Richmond. The event
was scheduled to include a swim in the
James River, followed by a bike ride,
then a run. But because the James was
swollen from heavy rains, the swim
portion of the triathlon was replaced by a
second, shorter run segment.
Humberto, Casey and Greg competed
in the triathlon as a relay team, with Casey
and Humberto doing the running segments
and Greg and Humberto doing the biking
segment. Casey, a fit 36-year-old, laughed
as he crossed the finish line in the
triathlon's final running segment, behind
Humberto. " Keeping up with him wasn't
easy. It was all I could do to keep him in
sight, " he said with a grin.
" Humberto and Kay will be our friends
for the rest of our lives, " Greg said after the
October triathlon in Richmond. " Kay made
the comment that God had blessed her and
Humberto with meeting us. When my son
Casey heard this, he said 'I'm thankful to
be part of this experience, and I'd say we
are blessed to have met them, as well.' "
Greg also invited Humberto and Kay
to Northern Neck Electric Cooperative's
annual all-employee day in November,
where they talked about the Ride 2
Recovery program and Humberto's
experiences.
" Life can change in an instant, and you
never know what's going to happen, " said
Kay. She thanked the cooperative for its
support of the Ride 2 Recovery event. Next,
Greg asked Humberto if he wanted to say
anything. Humberto took the microphone
and, after a long pause to organize his
thoughts, spoke to the assembled group.
" The injured, people like myself, need
your help, " he told the cooperative's
employees. " We're here for a reason. Little
things can make a big difference. I know
this won't cure me, but it will give me a
little relief. Sports is therapeutic: if I wasn't
doing this, I'd be staying at home. And I
hope that, through God's grace, I can touch
someone else, maybe help somebody else. "
He closed by thanking Greg. " He is
my friend. He's a good friend. He's a
good man. " 
www.co-opliving.com
Ride 2 Recovery
Seventh Cooperative Principle
Underscores R2R's Mission
Electric cooperatives
operate according to the
seven cooperative
principles. The seventh
principle, " Concern for
Community, " underscores
Virginia's electric
cooperatives' support of Ride
2 Recovery and its mission.
Ride 2 Recovery was started in
2008 to help our Healing Heroes©
by restoring hope and purpose. It
has since been expanded to include
first responders, such as firemen
and policemen. It is a national
organization and sponsors a variety
of events from coast to coast.
Last year, Virginia's electric
cooperatives assisted the five-day
Memorial Challenge event from
Washington, D.C., to Virginia Beach
in a variety of ways, from
helping with luggage at
overnight stops to
providing water and
other necessities at rest
stations along the route.
This year, Virginia's
electric co-ops will again be
supporting Ride 2 Recovery, with
employees of various cooperatives
volunteering to help along the
five-day ride, which takes place
from May 30 to June 4.
There are still plenty of
opportunities to help with this year's
Memorial Challenge, so if you'd like
to join the effort and lend a hand
with this year's event, visit the
website at ride2recovery.com for
more details, or contact Kristen Beck
at kristenb@ride2recovery.com.
Come Ride With Our Healing Heroes!
The public can ride alongside our
Healing Heroes© on any of the 14
Honor Rides throughout the year, or
as a one-day rider in any of the five
Challenge events throughout the
year. Visit the website for more
information about all of the Ride 2
Recovery events and programs.
To show your support, you can
donate to Ride 2 Recovery by visiting
r2r.convio.net/goto/nreca and using
the donate link. Here, you can also
find specific information about the
Memorial Challenge, or you can text
the word RIDE to 41444 and follow
the steps to donate. 
March-April 2016 | Cooperative Living | 17
http://www.ride2recovery.com http://r2r.convio.net/goto/nreca http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living March/April 2016

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