PAUL  STOKES, now from Madison, Wisconsin was been selected as the 
December 2003 Footer of the Month

Here's why:

Every year I find selecting the December Footer of the Month to be one of my more difficult tasks.  It's the final selection with no more to follow for the year.  By December we usually have several great candidates to choose from and we have a whole year worth of accomplishments to look back on.  So I end up stressing out a bit more making sure we have made a good choice.

When I look back on 2003 to identify a candidate, I look for several things:  I look at character, accomplishments, skiing ability, personality, and challenges overcome.  We selecting Paul Stokes as our December 2003 Footer of the month because he stood out in front when each of these topics was discussed.

First, and foremost, Paul set out on a mission 2 years ago to complete his college degree.  2003 was the year he accomplished his goal.  He studied hard, while working to support his family, and graduated with a degree in Marketing.  He built character, showed his determination to stay the course, and learned a lot in the process.

Paul then made some hard decisions to move his family to Wisconsin, away from his family and friend's in Texas. At the same time, he decided to go to work for a start up wetsuit and watersports apparel company Fluid Distribution.  Talk about putting it out on the line.  That takes guts and I commend him for it.  The challenge has given Paul the opportunity to build a company from the ground up.  Startups require a lot of hard work and long hours, and Paul has not shied away from any of it.  He jumped in with both feet and has been traveling the country promoting the new line and signing up as many dealers as he can.  Traveling a lot means time away from his wife Heather and 2 year old son Spencer.  Time I'm sure he'd prefer to spend at home, but time he has committed to building a better future for his family.

Another huge challenge Paul had to contend with during 2003 was rehabilitating his neck from injuries sustained from years of barefooting.  Paul discovered that he had 3 bulged discs in his neck which required him to stop skiing for several months to explore the possibility of whether physical therapy would help improve his situation.  It improved some, but he had to make a tough decision to retire from world level competition.  Paul decided not to compete in 3-event tournaments during the 2003 season to give his neck more time to heal and time to concentrate on his new career.  Despite all the chaos of graduating, moving his family, running barefoot clinics, and starting a new career, he still made time to attend the US Nationals to be the Announcer for 2 days and support his friends.  He was on site all day both days and then hopped a plane back to Wisconsin to attend the Figure 8 Nationals.  To my knowledge, Paul was the only skier I know that attended both the US 3-Event Nationals as well as the US Figure 8 Nationals (Footstock).  He even competed in the Figure 8 competition, and won 3rd place.  Unlike many top Pros who are rarely at tournaments unless they are skiing, if they attend at all, there has never been any doubt as to Paul's commitment to Barefooting and being passionate about growing the sport and supporting young skiers.

To top everything off, Paul took the time during the year to write several articles for us here at BarefootCentral.com.  His Stories from the Road and One-on-One Foot Talk articles were always interesting to read.  He continues to be a valued BarefootCentral.com Team Member and we hope to see many more articles from him in the years to come.

So Congratulations to Paul for being our December Footer of the Month.  Now you are eligible to be voted the 2003 Footer of the Year.

Be sure to check out Paul's new company website at http://www.fluid-distribution.com.

Chuck Gleason