Why does Bob Lewis want to do this ? 
I am a sixty year old grandfather whose career path as been somewhat varied, much of it in Real Estate in one capacity or another, realtor, nominee, business partner.  My life took a decided turn one day, when I received a phone call from my son’s guidance/career counselor.  The counselor said, “Mr. Lewis I am obligated, at law, to tell you, that you have a teen at risk”.   

This took Leah Anne (my wife of 32 years) and I down a road that neither one of us ever expected.  It was a road full of fear, worry, self recrimination and deep reflection.  We looked for support for ourselves, and for our son.  Luckily, we found a parent support group(whose funding has since been cut) and through this group, I became aware of the nature and extent of the problem.  We discovered that the well being of our family was and is very important to us as it was to the hundreds of parents we met through the organization. I subsequently volunteered at the orientation meetings over a five year period. 

Our family experience, along with a deeper appreciation for healthy functioning family, some modest public speaking skill and some seminar creation ability lead me to the development of the communication portion of a youth employment support program. ‘A Chance to Choose’, has become a successful federally funded program which I have been actively involved in for the last three years.  As Program Manager, I became more aware many of the difficulties with which our youth struggle.  Many of them, reliving the same issues their parents had faced when they where youth.  It became very clear to me that although a loving family upbringing does not guarantee a child clear sailing through life, it sure helps and it does make the way back a lot easier.   
I was privileged to see what kind of a difference a person can make with a nurturing, supportive approach.  I have also experienced the frustration that many of administers of programs face, around proposal writing, funding cuts, and elimination of funding. The need to support individuals and families does not go away when the funding is removed it surfaces in the overloading of welfare and justice systems or it becomes a direct cost to the society at large.        

Some of the more turbulent events in my life have allowed me appreciate the benefit of nurturing, loving, support.  I make a conscious effort to bring that type of environment into as many areas of my life as possible.  It has transformed my life. I see the family as the fundamental building block of society.  Happy healthy functioning families create happy healthy functioning communities which in turn create the environment for humane government policies and business practices.  It all starts with each of us as individuals making an effort to bring peace and harmony into our circle of influence.  If we are to make this world a better place for people to live that is where we need to start.  So lets get started.