Press Releases

Winter Park Mayor David Strong provides 5,000th Ride for ITNOrlando

Winter Park Mayor David Strong provides 5,000th Ride for ITNOrlando

When Eleanor Irvine, 88, needs groceries, she simply hops into the car and travels to her neighborhood supermarket. But it's not her car she hops into because she gave up driving over 30 years ago. Ms. Irvine relies on ITNOrlando.

"Imagine how surprised Ms. Irvine was when the volunteer who picked her up was the Mayor of Winter Park," said Tom Porter, Executive Director of ITNOrlando. ITNOrlando currently has 20 volunteer drivers who, along with the organization's paid drivers, provide rides in Winter Park, Maitland, Eatonville, Orlando and surrounding areas. "Volunteers are the backbone of our organization, and we hope that others will follow Mayor Strong's example and be inspired to help."

Honoring Ann Nicolson
Tom Porter, Executive Director, ITNOrlando, Thursday, February 14, 2008

Ann Nicolson

Ann Nicolson was the first ITNOrlando volunteer to drive for us, even if it was just "pretend." One of the local news shows did a story about us and Ann drove for the television camera weeks before we gave our first "real" ride. Over one hundred times since then, Ann got into her car, picked up a customer and drove them to their destination. Ann, like all of our volunteers, was a very generous person.

One of Ann's first riders was Eleanor Irvine. They discovered they had a lot in common and quickly became good friends. Ann would drive them to lunch, to look at the newest stores and restaurants that had recently opened and to evening social outings. On the news clip, Ann said that she liked to drive and mentioned that she wanted to ensure she had a place in someone's car when she could no longer drive. That place was in my car on January 11, 2008, sooner than any of us expected and it was from a hospital to Ann's temporary home in a Winter Park rehabilitation center. Ann passed away on Thursday, January 31, 2008.

The following Monday, I picked up Eleanor Irvine and we drove to the memorial service. I was not surprised when several of Ann's lifelong friends and family members noted her many interests, her sense of humor and her zest for living. I was not surprised when they recounted the many ways that she helped others and generously gave of herself. And I was not surprised when Ann's daughter Lucy told me she learned generosity from her mom and directed that the mileage credits Ann earned go to Eleanor and that Ann's car go to ITN.

It's sad knowing that I will no longer talk to Ann or see her smiling face at our volunteer celebrations. I'm sure that those of you who knew her will miss her, too. I hope that Ann's family (and I believe Ann) will take comfort in knowing that she is still giving generously to our customers and still providing rides to Eleanor Irvine.