Recently announced as Executive Assistant to the President of the National Health Federation, my first trip was scheduled to meet several Board of Governors members on the West Coast and to interview quite possibly the oldest living President of the NHF, Charles Crecelius from Nevada City, California, as I drove with President Scott Tips from Los Angeles to San Francisco during four days. Arriving at LAX late Sunday night, the action soon began the next morning.

Susan Negus, member of the Board of Governors and Treasurer, graciously hosted me at her Santa Monica apartment. Susan provides tireless work for the NHF and was in contact much of the week with President Scott Tips. She is such an inspiration to me as she clearly eats, sleeps, and breathes the work of the NHF.

We all met with Ben Lizardi on Monday to work on the updating the brochure at the Monrovia office of NHF. Ben is an amazing graphic artist with great creativity and savvy. We all converged to fine tune a new brochure that will accompany the DVD of the film clip by Kevin P. Miller done for the NHF exposing Codex and the work our President performs on our behalf at the Codex meetings.

President Scott Tips, Susan, and I met Tuesday with Board of Governors member Dr. Hans Kugler, who shared all the latest research on telomeres, mitochondria, and stress levels over a thought-provoking luncheon. If you haven’t read Dr. Kugler’s biography, I urge you to do so at http://www.thenhf.com/page.php?id=146 Dr. Kugler’s biography is a fascinating read and will completely inspire you. This is the ‘stuff’ your Board is made of. In a word: impressive and powerful. I sensed the power that drove the Federation to higher and higher levels as I interacted with the President and Board during my visit.

Before lunch, we all welcomed newcomer to the Board, Dr. Shiva Lalezar, at her West Los Angeles office, “Health & Vitality Center.” The meeting was summed up well by Dr. Lalezar, “When a group of scientists gets together, we could go on forever!” It was indeed stimulating conversation on the latest therapies while we got to know Dr. Lalezar, a lovely Persian-born woman and new mother of twins. Her library reflected the recent seminars she has attended, many of which of I have gone to myself as a Nutritional Therapist and received cutting-edge information. She specializes in detoxification and chelation and nurses her twin babies between patients. That is dedicated focus and this is your NHF Board. Look for an article soon in the Health Freedom News from Dr. Lalezar.

Tuesday evening entailed driving to Auburn where we arrived at midnight. President Scott Tips is well organized and spent the days we drove as if he were sitting behind his desk, taking phone call after phone call, referencing notes and taking more notes – all while driving like a race-car professional at the Indy 500. I have to admit, I closed my eyes and prayed a lot. The ability to multi task and avoid accidents and/or police involvement is honed to a fine art in President Tips. He is a man with a mission and knows how to get from point A to point B in record time while accomplishing a full day’s work in the interim. We made it to Auburn and arranged hotel accommodations in anticipation of waking early to meet with perhaps the oldest living past President of the NHF, Charles Crecelius.

Charles is 90 and sharp as a whip. His eyes pierce like an eagle’s and his answers are never far behind the questions. He suggested we meet at “the best place to eat in town”: the Methodist Church. The quaint town of Nevada City looks like a tourist paradise with a flavor all its own, but there would be no shopping, no stopping – evidently the 10-minute beach break was ‘it.’ We parked outside the church and saw Charles and his housekeeper Rosemary waving us in. Finally, homemade food…It was noisy but Scott began.

The story that unfolded will appear in the Health Freedom News magazine but let me just say, this past President of NHF is one impressive man. Charles Crecelius is vital, quick, and still an activist with a heart of a servant and a leader. I sensed the powerful influence of the two men who sat opposite Rosemary and me, eating the fare of the Methodist wives who prepared

the meal. I typed notes on the tiny keyboard of my iPad, straining to hear over the noise of the diners and took pictures as I could.

To gain some quiet, we followed Charles who still drives quite well (and sanely) at 90, to his rural home. Past horses, cattle, farms, and fields we wound our way around roads we hoped to be able to find our way back out of. At Charles’ home, Rosemary served us coffee and tea while we proceeded to get video and voice recordings of his journey into the health-freedom movement. It turns out it was the Hoxsey cancer issue that was the hook that pulled this mighty man in.

I listened with fascination as he told his stories and stood amazed at the fire in his light-blue eyes and the passion that still fueled his thoughts and actions. May we all be so lucky; may we all live with such intention and may we inspire others as he did me. When we left, I hugged his small stature hard and felt privileged to have been a part of recording this moment in his history. I told President Tips that I saw tears in Charles’ eyes. I am liking this post….

On to Marin County at breakneck speed, weaving in and out of traffic and doing desk work from the front seat of the rental car all at once. We had a luncheon meeting with Dan Kenner, Secretary and Chinese Medicine Practitioner. Dan, Ph.D. L.Ac. is a writer and consultant in alternative health care. He is licensed to practice Oriental Medicine in Japan and the U.S. Since 1983, he has endeavored to integrate the naturopathic medical traditions of North America and Europe with the traditional medicine of East Asia.

 

 

We had an amazing lunch at a Puerto-Rican restaurant enjoying plantains, black beans, and rice and, once again, stimulating conversation on health freedom and therapies. Plus, everyone we met was invested in creating a more cohesive NHF, updating the website and reaching a broader demographic. The enthusiasm was contagious. We jotted notes, exchanged ideas and web links, and knew that our combined efforts were going to benefit many.

We took pictures at the curb with Dan before heading out to our next appointment meeting with Dean Radetsky, member of the NHF Advisory Board over an early dinner. Dean is awash with ideas and reminds me very much of enthusiasm barely contained. I wonder if the NHF members realize what passion, dedication, and single minded focus drives each of the Board and the President. Over and over, I witnessed it. It made me proud to be a part of this great movement that will bring health freedom to the World.

Over the course of the entire week, I had a total of ten minutes downtime, which I spent trailing my toes in the surf of a beach park we passed. Five minutes walking north. Five minutes walking back to the south before I brushed the sand off my feet to start this journey.

In this world of the freedom fighter, I found that every productive minute counts. From my newcomer’s perspective, I can assure you: you have a Board and President you can be proud of. There is little time off and they are working hard on your behalf often until 2 and 3 in the morning when we are all sound asleep. This is indeed a week of days in the life of your President, Scott Tips.