50 Years, 50 Stories - Gerald Huang

Yes, I know we have already posted 50 stories, but we still have more to share! If you read the story below, given to us by former Imagine! employee Gerald Huang, you will see why we simply had to include this in our series, even if it means that technically it isn’t 50 stories any more.

Thanks for sharing, Gerald!

The Spirit of YEEHAW! 

By Gerald Huang 

Gerald Huang (left) and his wife Terrie on their wedding day, with good friend (and Imagine! client) Greg joining them to celebrate.

When I first started working for Imagine!, which was known as the Developmental Disabilities Center back then, I did not anticipate the impact it would have on my life. It has been 13 years since I left Imagine!, but I am reminded daily of the influence it has had on my life. 

I was in my early 20s when I first joined Labor Source, the vocational training program at Imagine!. Having just moved to Boulder after college, I quickly made good friends, many of whom I am still close with today. The focus of our work was job training and community integration. Our activities would take us out to the Pearl Street Mall, or working a shift at Eco Cycle, or getting a restaurant like The Hungry Toad prepared for a day of business. 

One day I had the idea of expanding the community participation beyond the borders of Boulder County. One consumer I worked with, Greg, had a fondness for fishing and the outdoors. Unfortunately, he had never had the opportunity to go camping, let alone to leave the state of Colorado. As his birthday coincided with a long holiday weekend, I asked him if he would like to go camping in Moab where he could fish the Colorado River. A long road trip, a weekend getaway, sleeping in a tent. It was an adventure all of us have had, and now Greg and I were having one as well. Of course, I had to coordinate plans with his residential counselor, Terrie. Pretty soon there were four of us on the trip: Greg, his roommate, Terrie, and myself. 

The trip was a success, and not long thereafter we had our next big adventure. This time Greg was headed to Vegas. By plane. With Terrie and me by his side, we endured a turbulent descent into Las Vegas. The plane was silent with the anxiety and quiet anticipation of doom, but at the moment we landed and knew that all was well, Greg channeled the relief of all the passengers by throwing his fists into the air with a loud cowboy "Yeehaw!," filling the cabin with laughter and joy. 

That spirit of Yeehaw has been infectious. It has united a crew hard at work at Eco Cycle, a lunch crowd at North Boulder Park, a campsite in Moab, and a plane full of weary and frightened passengers. And for the past 14 years, it has united my wife, Terrie and me. As our two children run around in laughter and play, I am reminded of that time with Imagine! that continues to bless me today.