As the New Year chugs along (can you believe it’s already February!) we continue to honor some of the new generation of AccesSurf volunteers. This month, we are stoked to have Gabe Ruiz be our Volunteer of the Month! From the moment that he started volunteering with us, Gabe showed that he was passionate and dedicated. Gabe has quickly risen the ranks to be one of our Water Safety all stars – heading up safety rotations on the water, conducting board tests for new volunteers, and even helping to give the safety briefing from time to time. Aside from rocking it at our main events, Gabe can be seen at just about every special event we do. We could go on and on, but it’s best to hear from the man himself:
I found out about AccesSurf through Kristen Kelly, the same person who gave me the confidence to chase the dream of surfing. I must admit that I knew about it months before I ever had the guts to join, however, I was stopped by the fear of having to meet new people and the worry of not fitting in, or that I wasn’t good enough at surfing. It seems silly now because the people at AccesSurf were the most welcoming group I had ever met. No one asked me where I was from, or why I was there; the only thing that mattered was that I was there to surf and so was everyone else. No matter what’s going on in the world or in life, I know that every first Saturday of the month I get to surf with the happiest people on the planet, and nothing beats that.
Thanks for being there Gabe – we appreciate you! And yes you are right, NOTHING beats that.
