Five years ago today our family business lost “everything” in a fire. Funny how things work though – turns out we “found” so much more that fateful day. In the sometimes difficult years that followed we have found comfort, strength and support in the countless friends, staff, customers and community that make the French Broad Rafting family so special.

Today as we reflect on the amazing things we have all accomplished, we are thankful for every last one of you. On this day we are in a much better place than we were, even before the fire, and there are so many wonderful things on the horizon for FBRE. We look forward to many more years of adventure with you all. Thank you, and Happy November 29th!

Country music seems to have one every other week.  MTV has at least two or three a year.  Campaigns for the Oscars, the Golden Globes and the Emmys will all be launched in earnest pretty soon, and so it was that with great anticipation and no small amount of fanfare that this years French Broad Rafting Staff Awards 2011 were presented last Friday evening. 

The festivities began in earnest with the Raft Guide Olympics, an obstacle course that involved participating raft guides outfitted in PFD’s and a helmet and was, of course, a timed competition.   Guides had to race upstairs through the boat barn, slide down the back of a raft, negotiate the booby trapped aisle of the bus from the back to the front, then dash up the handicapped ramp, an event that in no way will ever begin to replace red carpet discussions of who you are wearing and how did you ever manage to lose the baby weight so fast. 

The awards were fairly evenly distributed among a select group of raft guides, proving once again that there are people who stand out in any profession.  In our case, I’m not sure this is a good thing.  Amos won an honorable mention for falling out of his boat on a calm water trip, and, for the uninitiated among you, falling out of a boat on a stretch of water that is as flat as a pancake and which moves at  snails pace is no small feat.  Makes me wonder just what it was that Justin did to top that, since he won first place in the Best Swim category.

Lyra was chosen “Scariest on and Off the Water” which, by the way, does NOT mean she is a major bad ass. It DOES however mean that if you are an insurance agent, you may want to contact her for coverage, because that girl, delightful though she may be,  is an accident just waiting to happen.

Michael Witt won a host of awards, among them “Most Stylish Maneuver”, for  dumping an entire boatload of customers in the river at Frank Bells.  He, however, managed to stay IN the boat, which isn’t surprising since, by his own admission, he IS a gigantic sissy. He also won the Golden Paddle Award, which means he’s cooperative, clean, friendly, outgoing,  and a real team player. 

Obviously, the people who voted for him have never lived with him.

The entire office staff won the Late Award, and were presented with a gigantic clock to make the prospect of being on time for work a bit more likely.  But only a bit.  I know, because I work in the office and I have absolutely no intention of being on time.  Although the thought IS nice.  Unrealistic as all hell, but nice. 

And what Raft Guide Awards ceremony would be complete without Best Chaco Tan or the Photo Op Antics Award?  I’m not sure how you could tell whether Carl Chandler had a great Chaco Tan or not with the tattoos, rebel flag t-shirt, camoflage shorts, battered cowboy hat, and two toned Van Dyke beard, but maybe the tan was the least visually overwhelming thing about him.  Shawn won for best Photo Op Antics by balancing his paddle on his chin while going over Pillow.  He also won for Stinkest Clothes and/or Gear, so I guess its good that he has a special skill to help offset his special odor.  

In any event it was a great evening with lots of good food and laughter and the great thing about it was that no one needed a stylist, a manicurist, a pilates instructor, a chauffeur or a $50,000 evening gown to have fun.  Nope, we got by on lasagna made with spaghetti noodles, a ratty assortment of French Broad Rafting t-shirts that smelled like mold, and one incredibly cute eight year old named Mariah who gave every competition her all.

Praise Earl….

Like a lot of seasonal businesses, we employ a number of college students as summer help, and now that many of them have gone back to school we can rave about them without having them around to remind us how great we said they were  (although I suspect at least one of our summer photography staff will find a way to remind us, and yes, Conor, I am talking about you!)

Conor McClure is 19 years old and about to begin his sophomore year at Appalachian State as a music student.  His interest in music grew from learning how to play the piano when he was a kid, to wandering into a high school string instrument practise by accident, and taking up the violin for the sheer sport of it.  Conor has been paddling for the past few years and says the thing he loves most about his job as a summer photographer with French Broad Rafting Expeditions, is that he gets to spend his summer on the river, taking pictures from one of the most beautiful places along the river, AND getting paid for it in the process!

Deana Butler is a sophomore at Western Carolina University where she is pursuing a degree in elementary education.  She is also a runner, and while she was excited about going back to school, she wasn’t looking forward to long days spent back on the road getting in shape for cross country competitions.  Deana practically grew up on the river, since her father, Tom Butler, has been a raft guide and trip leader at French Broad Rafting for the better part of the past 29 years.  Deana says her favorite part of the job  is watching people getting bounced around on the river like human pinballs. By the way, the old guy in the picture with Deana?  That’s Ed Ballard, who deserves a blog post all his own!

23 year-old Tasia Hampton is busy getting ready to move into her own apartment now that she’s expecting her first child.  Tasia is the daughter of Mitch Hampton, one of the two twin brothers who own French Broad Rafting, and as she says, “I learned how to raft before I learned how to walk”.  Tasia will have plenty of help with the latest addition to the Hampton clan, since her father, uncle, grandmother and cousins all work at the outpost.  If you throw a rock around here, you WILL wind up hitting a Hampton.  I don’t encourage this kind of behavior of course, I am just saying…..

Laurel Scherer started All Terrain Images  in 2004 after a stint in the Air Force as a public affairs officer escorting news media to sensitive areas all over the world.  In some cases, she also photographed places and events  that were TOO sensitive.  Her last job with the Air Force was designing their website, so it was a natural transition to developing her own photography business in the action and sporting events arena following her decision to leave in 2001.   The thing Laurel likes best about working with college students is watching them develop confidence in their abilities as the summer progresses.

Last, but by no means least, there is Jordan Paris, who turned 20 on August 6.  Jordan had his tonsils taken out about a week before his birthday, so his birthday celebration was hardly the occasion he’d hoped for.  “We went out to dinner” he says, “and I couldn’t eat anything, and then I went home and went to bed”.  Jordan is a junior at UNCA where’s he’s studying  mass communications, although he has plans to attend medical school to become an optometrist in the future.  “I have to have an undergrad degree” he says, “and chemistry just isn’t my thing”.  Jordan, who has been paddling since he was 16, and is a second year raft guide as well,  says what he likes best about being on the river is the peace and quiet of being  outdoors on his own.

I can honestly say that we are really going to miss the summer photography staff.  They are a sarcastic, funny, bright, outgoing group of people and we sincerely hope they will all be back again next year, or we are going to have to harrass a whole new group of photographers, and since we already know everyone’s soft spot, it will sure save some time next year.  Like they say, you always hurt the ones you love and we love you guys a lot.

Yes, Conor…even you…..

About all of the amazing rescue dogs at French Broad Rafting, most of whom had some pretty heartbreaking stories before meeting up with their new humans.

Gunny, a purebred Beagle, was used for target practise by his previous owners, and was so incredibly shy around people  that he was considered unadoptable.  He had two hours to live before being scheduled to be put down, when Korey’s sister, a veterinarian on rotation at the animal shelter where Gunny had been housed, called to ask Korey to adopt him.  

Shady is another dog adopted by Mitch and Korey Hampton after Korey  found him at the school she was attending.  He’s called Shady because he’s not very fond of anyone but Mitch and Korey, so he’s considered a “shady character”

Gizzie, a purebred Shizh Tsu, was found sitting beside an isolated mountain road in two feet of snow one afternoon last December where she’d been dumped by her previous owners.  She was matted, thin and in heat, and the veterinarian said she wouldn’t have lasted the night had she not been found and brought in for treatment.    Raft guide Michael Witt, who is Gizzie’s devoted owner,  still finds it incredible that such a tiny dog could have such a gigantic personality, because she really is one in a million.

Woo was rescued by Marti King from the Madison County Animal Shelter after she was turned in for being “too active”.  Woo appears to be a Boxer/Ridgeback mix and while she certainly has a lot of energy, she is also the kind of dog who can be, and is, extremely chill when the occasion warrants it.  She started going on the river with Marti when she was just a pup, and, at a year and a half old, she is a seasoned rafter with her own PFD!

Maddie was adopted from the Brother Wolf Rescue not quite a year ago.  Her mother abandoned the litter when Maddie was a pup, and while she was found on the road to  the river less than a quarter of a mile from the outpost, but she was taken to a shelter nearly an hour and a half away.  She is a beagle/lab mix and quite the snuggler, and one of the few people Gunny trusts enough to curl up with for an afternoon snooze.

Pisgah belongs to Tim Ramsey, who found him eleven years ago on a hiking trail in the Pisgah Forest.  Tim says that Pisgah was so tiny he fit in the palm of Tim’s hands, and while he had absolutely no idea how a pup that small got that far into the forest, Tim immediately took him home.  Eleven years later, they are still together and they both still work the ladies!

Sho belongs to Amos McGregor, who first saw her at a party where her owner had brought her.  The owner admitted that they  really couldn’t take care of her, so Amos adopted her on the spot.  Shawn’s dog, Dylan, was rescued from an animal shelter after Shawn’s mother saw Dylan and his brother online and decided she wanted to adopt one pup and wanted Shawn to take the other.  Unfortunately, Dylan’s brother, ran away shortly after coming home to live with Shawn’s mom.

It would be easy to say that we were the ones who saved these beautiful animals, but the truth is, there isn’t a raft guide out there who wouldn’t want to trade places with their dogs, because WE are the ones who have gained the most most from the love and devotion of the rescue dogs who found their way into our lives.

 About Carl Chandler, one of our more colorful employees at French Broad Rafting.  And we’re not kidding about the colorful.  Carl not only has an assortment of 22 tattoos and a fondness for doing all kinds of crazy things with his hair (and we have the pictures to prove it!) he is also a Madison county native, having been born right here in the mountains.  Carl grew up on the French Broad River where he spent most summers fishing and hunting back when electricity was a luxury and most homes still had dirt floors. 

Carl has never strayed far from his roots and says that one day when he retires, he hopes to move as far into the woods as possible to become, as he puts it, a “hermit”, which is hard to believe from a man who seems to know everyone in Madison County and would do just about anything for you.    He’s the one you want to go to when you need anything from car parts to appliances, and watching the look on his face as he accesses an extensive internal database of relationships and merchandise to come up with just the right person to refer you to is a marvel to see.

Carl has been driving buses for the past 33 years, but he considers the past 12 years at French Broad Rafting as some of the best of his life.  He thinks of the staff as family and says he loves working here because of the people he works with and drives for.  Carl’s wife Trish also works  for French Broad Rafting, helping to prepare the hamburger and hot dog lunches we serve on our lunch trips.   Even though Carl has had pletny of opportunities to become a raft guide himself, he has often said that because he’s spent most of his life on the water, he didn’t want to “wear it out”"  It probably doesn’t help that last March, when the water was freezing and Carl went rafting with one of the owners, they hit a rock with their boat and Carl got tossed into the drink.  He laughs when he says….”it was COLD!”

Thanks to Blue Ridge Biofuels for delivering our first bulk shipment of B-90 biodiesel for the 2011 season.  B-90 is a biodiesel blend made with 90% recycled vegetable oil and 10% diesel fuel. We have been using Blue Ridge Biofuels for years and are thrilled with it.  Biodiesel is made from recycled material, is produced locally and is an environmentally friendly alternative to petrodiesel.  Also, our guests often comment about the pleasant aroma of french fries.  Our guests love it, we love it – hooray for biodiesel.

We’re starting a new series on the people who work for us at French Broad Rafting, and we thought you’d like to know about one of our trip leaders, 24 year old Marti King, who is one of a handful of female guides on the French Broad River.  Naturally  we are biased, but we think she is easily one of the best.

Marti is from Edgemore, South Carolina, and she got into rafting six years ago at the suggestion of her older brother.  Two years ago, she spent 24 days on the Rio Grande River, and even though she had never camped much before that (or spent that much time on the river all at once)  the 211 mile adventure was one of the more memorable events of  her life. 

In addition to being a raft guide and trip leader, Marti adopted a handful of an abandoned dog a little over a year ago.  Woo appears to be part Ridgeback, part hound dog and all boundless energy.   She’s a seasoned rafter as well, and probably loves boating more than Marti does!!!!  Although Marti gives a better trip speech than Woo does.  Woo just slobbers…..

French Broad Rafting Expeditions is very lucky to have the most experienced staff on the French Broad River.  Not only do we have a “veteran staff”,  we have veterans on staff that we are extremely proud of.  Today we want to express our deepest appreciation for their service in the U.S. Armed Forces.  Thanks to all of the veterans out there and Happy Memorial Day.

Trip Leader- Ed Ballard- U.S. Marines (Infantry and Drill Instructor)

River Guide-Matthew Martin- U.S. Army (Army Rangers)

River Guide-Michael Witt- U.S. Navy  (Navy Seals)

River Guide- Rob Kortus- U.S. Coast (Helicopter Pilot, Commander-Retired)

Owner/Photographer All Terrain Images-Laurel Scherer- U.S. Air Force (Air Force Academy Graduate, Captain)

Co-Owner French Broad Rafting Expeditions- Mitch Hampton- U.S. Coast Guard (Boatswains Mate, Small Boat Coxswain)

Mitch (second from right) on the flight deck of the USCGC Northland 904 during HIFR (Helo In Flight Refueling) Operations

Rafting NC Asheville (Ashville).  White water Rafting, Asheville, North Carolina Go whitewater (white water) rafting near Asheville, North Carolina (NC) on the French Broad River. French Broad Rafting Expeditions is the closest whitewater rafting  to Asheville, NC (only 24 miles) to our Marshall Outpost.  North Carolina Family and Group Rafting. Make your whitewater rafting reservation today on Asheville, Hot Springs, North Carolina’s French Broad River, the closest whitewater rafting.

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• Marco’s Pizzeria (most $ raised by a team)
• Buncombe County Rescue Squad
• French Broad Rafting Expeditions
• Feral Chihuahuas
• Ira B. Jones Elementary School
• Organic Mechanic
• Shaolin Kung Fu of Asheville
• The Hop (first place walking team)
• Veterans for Peace
• West End Bakery
• Earth Fare West Asheville
• Image 420
• Emdeon

In addition to co-chairs APD Chief Bill Hogan and WLOS Jason Boyer, the Runaway Circus, Sherriff Van Duncan and many others took to the street. The top fundraiser was Bruce Kennedy of Asheville and the “Most Pumped” (the walker with the most spirit) was freelance writer Jonathan Rich (AKA White Lightning). The individual to cross the finish line first (at an amazing sprint in heels) was Billy Beard. Our VOICE is honored to have the participation of such a diverse group of Buncombe County men (and the women who support them) as part of the International Men’s March Against Rape, Sexual Assault, and Gender Violence.

Also – a huge THANK YOU to Hip Replacements for providing the men of Asheville with so many amazing shoes!