Big Bear Lake, CA, May 29, 2013 – The Big Bear Lake International Film Festival is pleased to announce that Tim Wood will accept the 2013 Community Appreciation Award at this year’s festival, set for September 20 – 22.
Tim’s long history with Big Bear began nearly 40 years ago, when he left his job as a journeyman printer at the Long Beach Press Telegram and moved his family to the mountains. In 1976, he started in a new career at Spencer Real Estate. About 10 years later, he joined Mountain Gallery Realtors, and around 1985, he bought what was by then Coldwell Banker Mountain Gallery Realtors. In the late nineties, his son Tyler joined the group, and three years ago, the company changed its name to Coldwell Banker Tim Wood Group.
The high performance of TWG has allowed Tim to give back to his community in many ways. With his growing expertise and success being recognized nationally, he was hired to coach some of the top real estate agents in the country – donating his fees to various Big Bear programs.
With a love of the outdoors to match his strong work ethic, he has also volunteered in the kayaking and snowshoeing programs at the internationally acclaimed United States Adaptive Recreation Center, which established the first full-time on-site adaptive ski school in Southern California at Bear Mountain.
Other important contributions includes cofounding Operation Breakthrough, providing substantial support to Soroptimist International of Big Bear Valley’s annual mammogram program, and partnering with Simeon Prophet to provide over 500 coats to kids through Healthy Start.
Many of Tim’s endeavors reflect a belief that children are society’s greatest assets. But perhaps his broadest and most far-reaching undertaking has been the Big Bear Lighthouse Project. The nonprofit organization is actively advancing the vision of “creating child honoring communities in which children are put first in the minds and hearts of all agencies, organizations, businesses, groups, clubs and individuals,” a state that also calls for adults treating each other respectfully and feeling a sense of belonging in the community.
Since its founding in 2006, the Lighthouse Project has launched or inspired a variety of programs designed to make Big Bear an even better place to live. It is now an umbrella organization for several like-minded organizations. Among them: the Big Bear Strings program, a student musician ensemble that consistently earns a Gold Rating at the Forum Music Festival; vegetablegardens at local schools and the student-produced book, What Grows in a Garden?; the Community Gardens; the Positive Campaign Initiative, in which local office candidates pledged to conduct their campaigns with integrity and to consider the impact of decisions on future generations; Common Ground, dedicated to strengthening families; Coaching Boys Into Men; and Odyssey of the Mind.
They also work in partnership with the Southern California Mountains Association, a group that supports youth development through conservation initiatives.
The idea for the Lighthouse Project came to Tim during long days of walking the 500-mile pilgrimage route, Camino de Santiago. He realized that after years of philanthropy, he wanted to do more than write checks, and that adults need to “emotionally, physically and financially invest in children.” On that same journey he found himself in a cathedral that took 500 years to build. He marveled at the motivation it took for people to work on a project for decades, with no promise of seeing the end result. That same kind of foresight rounds out the Lighthouse mission statement: “To create a child honoring community is to create a cultural and social revolution that will impact the future for generations to come.”
When accepting Rotary International’s Eagle of Excellence Award in 2006, Tim read the following piece that is attributed to a 12th-century monk:
“I Wanted To Change The World”
When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.
I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.
When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.
Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.
He followed by saying, “Responsibility has to be much more than just writing a check….I think I can make a difference in Big Bear, as we all can…..but it starts with us. It starts with you; it starts with me. If we change us, we can make a difference in our families, our families can make a difference in our town, then we can make a difference in the world.”
The Big Bear Lake International Film Festival thanks Tim Wood for helping Big Bear be an exemplary community making a difference in the world.
For more details on the September 21, 2013 Community Appreciation Award Ceremony and other events, visit bigbearfilmfest.com.
The Big Bear Lake International Film Festival (September 20-22, 2013) is a non-profit organization dedicated to showcasing the emerging talent of screenwriters and independent filmmakers within the idyllic setting of Big Bear Lake. Our goal is to nurture a festival that is highly creative, filmmaker friendly and which provides an educational experience for those people interested in all aspects of the film industry. We’re committed to providing a truly exceptional experience for independent filmmakers and enthusiasts alike. Our proximity to Los Angeles and Hollywood allows opportunities for professionals in the Film, Television, and Entertainment industries to access up-and-coming independent work in a relaxed and idyllic setting. The public is invited to experience what MovieMaker magazine calls “One of the Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.
