Laura Wilkinson Foundation: Olympic gold-medalist and World Champion Diver, Laura Wilkinson, dives into the world of non-profit fundraising.This is new news, but in my little world I haven’t crossed paths with too many celebrities, but last night I had the opportunity to meet gold medalist Olympic diver, Laura Wilkinson, at the Chamber’s new member reception. As a new member of the Chamber, she had the opportunity to introduce herself to those on hand and she dove right in. She shared with the crowd, her vision of a world class training facility. It will include a 20,000 square foot gymnastics area and a 10,000 square for diving dryland training room. I was impressed with how comfortable she appeared to be speaking to a crowd of approximately 200 strangers about her foundation to make this dream come true. Then I thought “You silly,” she’s an Olympic champion. If she can dive off a 10m platform under the scrutiny of an international panel of judges while being viewed by millions on television, she can do anything. Laura Wilkinson is the only woman in history to win a gold medal in every major world competition in platform diving: 2000 Olympic Games, 2004 World Cup, and the 2005 World Championships.

I took the plunge and introduced myself. I found out that the facility would include cardio and weight training, dance studios and dance stage, an auditorium, and a medical treatment facility. Oh, and of course a diving pool with multiple 1 and 3 meter springboards, a full set of platforms, a sparging (bubbler) system, and hot and colds tubs. As the cliché’ goes, ”Build it and they will come.” You can bet they will. I shudder to think about training at the National Training Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the winter. Even heated, indoor pools won’t make it any more desirable to go to the training center if you have to shovel snow to get there. Also think of the revenue a world-class facility would bring to the economy by hosting national and international diving competitions, and possibly even Olympic diving events. My mercenary little heart says this is a good thing.

But the primary reason her foundation is so important…if the training an Olympian goes through enables them to have the confidence to deal with uncomfortable situations and withstand life’s excruciating pressures, then this is a good thing. Life doesn’t always go down easy, and learning to be resilient and handle life’s pressures, is an acquired skill. A training facility that will create the desire for young athletes to reach their full potential is definitely a good thing.

Starting a grass roots effort to build a world class training facility is a lot of work. It will take a lot of time, energy and determination, but Laura has demonstrated time and again that she has what it takes to get the job done. So she decided to take the plunge and dove headfirst into the world of non-profit fundraising to build her foundation, and she chose to do it in The Woodlands; this is a good thing too. The Laura Wilkinson Foundation is an all-volunteer, non-profit 501(c)3 organization. For more information become a fan of her Facebook page and also go to www.lwfound.org