[Paddlewise] News about me

I have been struggling with my hope to someday become modest and my
pride in being given this honor.

Pride wins.  Don't know if this is a victory for the angel on one
shoulder or the devil on the other.  Maybe it's only the voices in my
head.

Anyway, here it is . . . 





Illinois Paddling Council Announces 2007 Paddler of the Year Award


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The Illinois Paddling Council today named Jim Tibensky Illinois Paddler
of the Year for 2007. For more than three decades Jim Tibensky has
demonstrated excellence in paddling.

Jim discovered canoeing in Boy Scouts. I loved it so much he says,
that I jumped at the chance to race. The rest is history. Between 1968
and 1994 he won seven state championships, twenty-five Midwest division
championships and eight national championships.

Over the course of his racing career Jim competed in a total of 328
races winning 168 first places prizes, and placed second and third 37
times each!

Tibensky was the course designer for two World Cup races, three Champion
International Slalom Series, and two National Championship races that
were held in Wausau, Wisconsin and South Bend, Indiana. In 1996 Tibensky
officiated as a Scribe at the Atlanta Olympic Games. He currently
teaches paddling at the Geneva Kayak Center in Geneva, IL.

Since 1998 Jim has been the head kayak guide for week long sea kayak
trips offered through Omni Youth Services of Illinois, a unique
wilderness therapy program serving youth and families of Chicagos
Northwest suburbs. Jims passion for wilderness kayaking and commitment
to youth development combine in supporting the expedition kayak trips
that OMNI runs for troubled youth. The trips teach teens teamwork and
self-sufficiency. He has contributed over 200 volunteer days over the
last decade, touching the lives of countless youth, and impacting the
quality and safety of a local counseling program that has since earned
international recognition.

Perhaps the most unusual paddling Jim does is as the Aquatic Unit of
the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors. The group picks up birds that have
hit the Loop buildings during migration season. When a call comes in to
rescue an aquatic bird from the river or lake, Jim is there. He finds a
slalom kayak is the perfect duck and goose rescue vehicle.

When hes not paddling, teaching paddling or rescuing stunned ducks,
Tibensky works for the Federal Defender Program, the law firm that is
the public defender for the federal court in Chicago. Jim grew up in
Chicago and lives with his wife Gail in DuPage County.

>From paddling to racing to mentoring youth and new paddlers, Jim
Tibensky has, throughout his long paddling career, been an outstanding
example of achieving excellence in paddling, teaching and mentoring
others to do the same. The IPC and the paddlers of Illinois are proud to
recognize his contributions with the 2007 Paddler of the Year award.

The IPC is an umbrella organization of the canoe & kayak clubs of
Illinois. Its mission is to represent the interests of paddlers and to
foster and recognize excellence in paddlesport. Nominations for the
Paddler of the Year award come from paddlers statewide.

To read an interview with Jim Tibensky go to
http://www.illinoispaddling.org
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