Years ago, when a friend noticed Paul Gauthier's competitive spirit in sports, he recommended Gauthier try his hand at boccia.
From then on, "I never turned back," the New Westminster resident said.
Today, Gauthier is a five-time paralympian - a winner of gold in individual and bronze in pairs from the Athens games in 2004 - and he has set his sights to clinch double gold in two years at the summer event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Gauthier uses his paralympic background as a platform for bigger - and selfless - causes. A father to a four-year-old son, he regularly talks to students about dreaming the impossible and helping them to shape their future.
And, earlier this year, Gauthier launched a non-profit provincial group, called the Individualized Funding Resource Centre Society (ifrcsociety.org), to help people with physical challenges - who use the Choices in Supports for Independent Living (CSIL) program - find ways to stay home rather than get the care they need at an institution.
Gauthier, who has cerebral palsy and grew up in foster and group homes, said people with disabilities often struggle to find someone to help them navigate the complex healthcare system.
On Friday, Gauthier will talk about his new group as well as his paralympic successes at the inaugural PeckaKuchaNight for Port Coquitlam.
Organized by Mandara Lebovitz, the acting general manager for the Terry Fox Theatre, and in partnership with School District 43, PKN PoCo will hear from 11 speakers, each presenting a slide show over about 6.5 minutes.
The quick-paced visual show will involve nine artists and two athletes - including Gauthier - who will talk about their passions, skills and talents and present 20 slides for 20 seconds each.
Started in 2003 in Tokyo, PechaKucha (a Japanese term for "chit chat") is the brainchild of Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham architecture. Now, PechaKucha showings are held in more than 700 communities around the world. The last one in the Tri-Cities was staged by ArtsConnect and the city of Coquitlam, at the Evergreen Cultural Centre, in 2012.
Meanwhile, speakers are sought for the next PKNight PoCo, to be held on Feb. 12, 2015. Call Lebovitz at 604-945-9950 to apply.
Tickets for PechaKuchaNight in Port Coquitlam on Friday, Nov. 21 are $12 online via terryfoxtheatre.org or $15 at the door at Terry Fox Theatre (1260 Riverwood Gate). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the show starting at 7:30 p.m. Rock School students from Terry Fox secondary will provide live entertainment.
@jwarrenTC
