HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton Rotary Club met on Monday June 11, for its luncheon meeting. Rotarian Jane Torres hosted the guest speaker Chris Robinson.
Robinson is a Maine native and he was raised in the shadows of Mt. Katahdin. His parents instilled in him the virtues of honesty and hard work. Robinson is a graduate of Katahdin High School and the University of Maine at Fort Kent. Robinson was a public school teacher for seven years and then he transitioned to sales management in the auto industry. Robinson has served as a town selectmen and school board member in the town of Topsfield. Later, he has served the remainder of a vacated seat in the Houlton Town Council.
Robinson is an avid hiker, camper and outdoors person who at the ripe young age of 47 had an epiphany of sorts. Realizing that he had been the beneficiary of what the country had given him, he began to give back to the country. More importantly he wanted to honor, remember and assist the individuals who had sacrificed in order for him to live free. Robinson was standing alone on a trail in Baxter State park when “Wilderness Walk for Warriors” was born. The motto “Assisting the Living, Honoring the Deceased” exemplifies the essence of the organization and why it was formed.
Robinson and his brother Tim, who is in the National Guard, developed the organization to help veterans’ families and first responders. The Wilderness Walk for Warriors just achieved 501C3 status.
Some of their projects include: building a wheelchair ramp for a vet who couldn’t get out of his house, buying a wheelchair for a Gold-Star mother who didn’t have the means to purchase one herself, helping a veteran who was in danger of losing his home to bring his mortgage up to date until he could get back on his feet, and providing “thank you” boxes to veterans in the Mars Hill area during Thanksgiving.
Since 2014, the organization has been funding requests with their Wilderness Walk through the Hundred Mile Wilderness Walk of the Appalachian Trail. Each of the eight to 14 members of the team will carry something from a deceased veteran or first responder. This year the 11-person team will be carrying hand painted rocks from the Houlton Rocks Project. Each rock has the likeness of the deceased, their name and their rank. All the rocks have been on display around the Town of Houlton and are currently in Mid-Maine. They will be returned before the walk which begins on July 7.
The rocks are painted by local artists and vary from two to ten pounds. After the trek to the summit the rocks will be given to the families and relatives of the honorees. More information of this important gesture can be found on the Facebook page of Wilderness Walk for Warriors.
