Tla-o-qui-aht member Ann Barker, 56, begins her day early in the morning by having her favourite cup of coffee, does her household chores and sets out for her walk.
The sun, bright and warm, is a delight for Ann, but she walks no matter what the weather conditions may be. It’s a relief to finally get some sunny weather, but Ann will walk whether it is raining, snowing, freezing or hot.
In the past few months, Ann has been called by many people to go for a walk, which is a switch as she has been trying to get people out and about walking for some time now. Ann said she sometimes walks up to five times a day, and says she prefers to walk rather than catch the bus or a ride to her destination if possible.
Ann is a fun, loving, kind and generous lady and has numerous friends. Watching Ann shows a lot of respect to the people she talks with. Ann is very amiable and loves being with family and friends. Ann has a keen sense of humor and loves to make people laugh.
Throughout the year, Ann participates in a variety of sporting activities, including volley ball, floor hockey and slo-pitch.
During a friendly volley ball game at the AW Neill School in Port Alberni, she doesn’t waste any time joining in a game already in progress. The teams are made up of both male and female, old and young. Ann can hold her own, and is quick and ready to do her share in the game.
Ann plays for the Diamond Dawgs slo-pitch team in Port Alberni. She is the pitcher, and does a great job. Diamond Dawgs play in the league games that are usually played every Sunday. The team works together to fund raise, so that they can travel out of town for tournaments.
This year Ann hopes to try out basketball and horseshoes as other means of staying active.
In 2013 Ann injured her knee while playing slo-pitch game and was laid up for eight weeks. It was tough on Ann not to participate in any strenuous activities until her injury healed completely.
Ann has been on the waiting list for physiotherapy for more than a year, but said she could not wait any longer, so once Ann’s injury healed she started to find ways to strengthen her knee by doing stretches and slowly building up exercises at home.
While on one of our evening walks Ann talks about her life’s accomplishments and is proud to share that she volunteered at the Bread of Life as a cook. Ann learned how to cook by taking cooking classes with NETP (Nuu-chah-nulth Employment and Training Program). She also provided catered meals for meetings and workshops that were held in Port Alberni and Tofino.
Ann took the NETP Driving Course and is taking opportunities to learn how to drive a vehicle on the busy streets of Port Alberni. It is no easy task and can be quite daunting, but nonetheless she is looking forward to the independence this will allow her once she gets her driver’s license.
Ann has worked at various jobs in Tofino and Port Alberni and travels to Parksville five days out of the week to do housekeeping.
Ann is especially proud of her children and shared that they have all graduated from high school and her boys Ryan and Christopher are working in the construction business.
Most recently, Ann has taken up cultural dancing again and thoroughly enjoys relearning how to dance and has a lot of pride and a sense of belonging by being involved.
Her late grandmother Edith Simon was a real inspiration and role model to Ann and her family as she could speak her own language and knew a lot about culture and the history of their family and Tla-o-qui-aht.
Edith taught them who they were as a family and where they came from and to always know who their relatives are.
Ann’s late mother Marie George (nee Thomas) comes from Hesquiaht and her late father Ned George comes from Tla-o-qui-aht. Ann has relatives living in Columbus, Ohio and regrets not being able to see them much.
At the end of the day Ann starts planning her activities for the next day or weeks ahead. Ann is an inspiration and role model by being involved in daily physical activities to keep fit and healthy.
