For those of you who do not know, Mr. Joel Prive was our official Udall Legacy Tour Driver. I have a pretty silly memory of meeting Joel Prive for the first time…..
Everyone on the tour had yet to meet Joel until the official kickoff event in Washington DC. At the official kickoff event of the Udall Tour, we met so many wonderful supporters of the Udall Foundation. I remember shaking Joel’s hand and telling him it was nice to have met him. He joked back to me and said “he’d see me around”. I soon found out what that meant once we boarded the motor coach for the first time and he was sitting behind the driver’s seat! It’s a laughable memory and one I can now joke about.
Joel was far from just our driver. He is also a husband and father of three. His wife Lisa was a huge supporter of the tour – she frequently read our blog and commented on the tour flickr photos. His children are Zak age 7, Emily age 5, and Caitlin age 3. We had the pleasure to meet his family at our Vermont stop. Joel, in addition to being a family man, also helps run Lamoille Valley Transportation in Vermont as Operations Manager with his father and owner, Norman. Lamoille Valley Transportation, along with the Udall Motor Coach, were first to be Green Certified with the new program through the University of Vermont Extension.
In Phoenix, Joel’s family joined us for the last few days of the Udall Tour. We are thankful to all of our family and friends who we had to part with for this journey. For example, Sapna spent weeks away from her fiancé, David. Her wedding was only a few weeks after the tour! Between the crew, we all left friends, boyfriends/ girlfriends, brothers/sisters, parents, and other loved ones. Traveling around the country for eight weeks came with a sacrifice to those we love – and we are appreciative for all who supported us while we were away. Joel, however, was the only one who had to leave a spouse and children. Lisa, Caitlin, Zak, Emily, and Norman - thank you for your support and for sharing your husband, son, and father with us.
Joel was one of our biggest motivators and supporters. Joel hiked with us in national parks, he came to our alumni meet ups, he helped us plant trees, remove invasive species, made sustainable pizza with the Portland Boys and Girls Club, and much much more! Joel also made sure we always found a place to get B20 biodiesel, made sure the motor coach was always in tiptop shape, and did his best to make sure we made it on time to all of our many stops across the country. Joel never complained and always stayed positive. He significantly enhanced the group dynamic on the tour.
Joel left us with many fond memories. I’ll never forget when a dead branch was in the way of the motor coach while in Grand Teton. Joel stopped the coach and jumped up like Tarzan to move the branch. Joel went canoeing with riders on Jenny Lake in Grand Teton, went to a Harry Potter party at a bookstore in Seattle with riders, and he took Bret to the post office to help us mail off our Parks in Focus cameras for our programs in Michigan and New Jersey. To write down all of the things Joel has done would take many many pages! Yes, Joel was our driver. Most of all, he is our friend and a part of the Udall family.
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