Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty Blog

Mountain climbing event raises more than $25k for Big Brother Big Sisters

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 07:45:52 -0800

Mountain climbing event raises more than $25k for Big Brother Big Sisters

Sunday, August 8, 2010
By Lynn Parish

As it turns out, one man at Coldwell Banker Commercial Schneidmiller Realty will go to great heights to help kids.

Mike King, an associate broker with the large Coeur d’Alene real estate agency, traveled to western Washington in mid-July to scale Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan for the 2010 Coldwell Banker Climb For Kid’s Sake, a national fundraising event that raises money for the youth-mentoring program Big Brothers Big Sisters.

King and the rest of the five-person climbing team raised more than $25,000 this year for BBBS, an amount that covers the cost of matching about 25 children with mentors. During the past four years, the climbing effort has raised a total of more than $100,000.

From Left to Right:
Steve DuBrueler, CBC Premier Properties; Brad Jubin, CBC Bullard; Mike King, CBC Schneidmiller Realty; Isaac Wells, Clearwire; Rick Davidson, Realogy.

This year, the team began its ascent on July 8 of Mount Shuksan, which is east of Bellingham in North Cascades National Park and just south of U.S.-Canada border. The climb took two days, and the group got within 300 feet of the summit of the peak, which is at an elevation of 9,127 feet above sea level. King said the last 300 feet of climbing involves Class 4 and Class 5 rock climbing, and the group and its two guides decided the weather were too severe to attempt the summit.

“The weather was perfect going up, but you never know what you’re going to get at the summit,” King said. “The mountains have a tendency of making weather systems of their own.”

After a day’s rest, the group tackled Mount Baker, which is just west of Mount Shuksan and about 1,600 feet higher. The climbers reached the summit in two days, but as at the Shuksan, the weather at the mountaintop was harsh, so they descended quickly.

In past years, the group has successfully reached the summit of three other well-known Northwest peaks: Mount Hood, Mount Adams and Mount Rainier.

King has been involved in each of the Climb For Kids events. He wasn’t a climber before getting involved in the events, but he was a Big Brother through a local chapter of the organization. Now, he’s heavily involved in the both the program and the avocation.

“I thought it would be a fun thing to try, and I got hooked,” King said.

The rest of the climbing teams included volunteers from across the country, ranging from Coldwell Banker associates from Atlanta and Washington, D.C., to a telecommunications professional from Seattle.

Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty, in addition to sending one of its brokers, was one of 24 corporate sponsors for the event.

Along with supporting the Climb For Kids, the company is a community partner of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Habitat For Humanity, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and its agents are involved in nearly 40 charities and civic organizations throughout the Inland Northwest.

Climb for Kids 2010

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 05:21:09 -0800

Tomorrow the 2010 Coldwell Banker Commercial Climb for Kids team will meet in Seattle to embark on this year's climb of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan.

Over the past three years our team has raised over $70,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters and successfully reached the summit of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier. Tomorrow, I will meet up with this year's team of Coldwell Banker Commercial associates from across the country and we will climb Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuskan to raise support for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Our team has a goal of raising $30,000 this year for BBBS. We have over $25,000 committed thus far and need your help to reach our goal. If you would like to help raise money please visit our donation website at https://www.events.org/cbcclimb/

About the Climb
We will begin our ascent of Mount Shuksan on Thursday morning July 8th. The climb will take two days, weather permitting. Following a climb to base camp on Thursday, we will make an alpine start on Friday at 1:00 a.m. and expect to be on the summit by sunrise and all the way off the mountain by Friday evening.

We have a travel day Saturday and then we will begin our ascent of Mount Baker on Sunday morning July 11th . The itinerary calls for a two day climb. Following a climb to base camp on Sunday, we will make another alpine start at 1:00 a.m. Monday morning and an expected summit by mid-morning. Our team will descend the mountain Monday afternoon and be off the mountain by sunset.

We will be carrying a SPOT Navigator and you can track the team’s progress online at http://bit.ly/c4kclimbtracker. We will begin updating our location beginning sometime Wednesday as we make our way towards the base of Mount Shuksan. This link will provide up to the minute progress reports of our ascent and descent of both mountains, and as such you will be able to celebrate the team’s success when we reach each mountain’s summit and safely descend.

I want to thank all of you who have donated funds in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters. Your donations have an incredible impact on kids through this one-on-one mentoring program. We are close to reaching our goal and need your help to finish.

If you would like to donate you can do so at https://www.events.org/cbcclimb/. You can also donate in $5 increments to Big Brothers Big Sisters by texting the word: CLIMB to 40579.

2007 Mt. Hood Summit

2009 Mt. Rainier Summit

$900 Donation to the Boy Scouts of America

Mon, 31 May 2010 11:31:04 -0800

On May 26, Jack Forsight from Wells Fargo presented Fred Sharp and Keith Tomblin with a $900 check made payable to the Boy Scouts of America. Fred and Keith are participating in Wells Fargo's "Share Advantage Program" which allows agents to donate $300 to the charity of their choice for every home loan their clients open with Wells Fargo. Thank you Fred and Keith for your 3 recent closings!

Bowling for Big Brothers Big Sisters

Sun, 16 May 2010 05:53:02 -0800

On Saturday our company participated in Bowl for Kids. This event was a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kootenai County. I have been a Big Brother in the program for the last four years. It is a great organization and it is a privilege to be involved in the mentoring of local kids.

Leading up to Saturday’s event we created a fundraising competition between our two buildings; 1924 Northwest Blvd. versus 2000 Northwest Blvd. Our associates in each building had a week to make pledges. It was a fun way to raise support and at the end of the week our 1924 building had pledged the most. Overall, we raised over $2,500 and our team was ranked the #1 fundraising team among the 20 other teams.

All the teams met up over the weekend for the Bowl for Kids finish. My “little brother” from BBBS participated, but as you can see from the pictures he is not so “little” any more.

Thank you to everyone that participated and pledged money to Big Brothers Big Sisters. If you did not get a chance to help out this time, up next is our annual Climb for Kids. Over the past three years we have raised over $70,000 and have climbed Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier. In July, I will meet up with a team of Coldwell Banker Commercial associates from across the country and we will climb Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuskan to raise support for BBBS. If you would like to help raise money please visit our donation website at https://www.events.org/cbcclimb/

Me and my "Little Brother"

Mike Gregg bowling like a pro