Are We Having Fun Yet? Adventure Fund

06/30/2023

06/23/2023

One of the things Doug loved was a good story. He was in his element when he was in front of a crowd telling of some adventure he had been on and all of the things he learned from it. We had some great trips together and all of them were packed with fun, learning, and sometimes a bit of difficulty. The most wonderful part of them was meeting new friends and discovering new cultures.

Julia Crider is about to embark on an amazing adventure - the 25th World Scout Jamboree. She has been selected as a US Scout Ambassador, and she will travel to South Korea this summer to represent our country.

To say that this would have excited Doug is an understatement - to say that Julia is our grand-daughter is something we are both proud of! We all can’t wait to hear her stand up like her Grandpa and tell her tale of adventure and new found friendships.

When Doug said, “Are we having fun yet?” Julia heard him loud and clear! Here is a little bit from Julia about her adventure:

One of the things Doug loved was a good story. He was in his element when he was in front of a crowd telling of some adventure he had been on and all of the things he learned from it. We had some great trips together and all of them were packed with fun, learning, and sometimes a bit of difficulty.

07/20/2022

Doug was the kind of guy who loved to tinker and fix things. He especially loved motors. He and his Dad, Bud, took apart and put back together a lot of engines and machinery in their years of farming.

Curtis Meyer is a young man Doug and I have known since our daughter, Kristin, moved to Missouri many years ago. We have watched him grow into a young entrepreneur. Curtis has always loved cars and had the “hand on” attitude that we admire.

We are proud to select Curtis as our next Are We Having Fun Yet Fund recipient. Good luck Curtis! We wish you the best at Pitt State!

Deb Harford

Please read a little bit from this wonderful write-up that Curtis provided us:

Doug was the kind of guy who loved to tinker and fix things. He especially loved motors. He and his Dad, Bud, took apart and put back together a lot of engines and machinery in their years of farming. Curtis Meyer is a young man Doug and I have known since our daughter, Kristin, moved to Missouri m

09/20/2021

Throughout our lives, Doug & I enjoyed spending time with so many dreamers and doers. We especially enjoyed getting in on the "ground floor" of young people starting out their journeys in life. Here are four stories about some young people we are excited to support with the Are We Having Fun Yet? Adventure Fund:

Chloe Baldwin has had a dream of theater in her mind from a young age. Chloe is a creative entrepreneur who just made the leap to Los Angeles after a few years developing her professional acting, fight choreography, and creative consulting in Chicago. She loves telling and sharing stories that speak to our collective humanity. She graduated from DePaul University and has performed at Goodman Theater, in tv shows for Amazon Studios, and more. She's so thankful to be a recipient of this fund, of course for the assistance it will give in her pursuits, but even more so in what it stands for.

Sy Salinas has been enthralled with flying for most of his 16 years. Doug loved spending time with Sy and sharing the joy of aviation with him. Now Sy has begun to embrace another adventure, Super Cup Series racing. Lots of adventures lie ahead for this young man!

Avelardo Rivera is a recent grad from the University of Illinois having studied Agricultural and Consumer Economics. Born and raised in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, Ave made the decision to explore the world outside of Chicago and was the first in his family to attend college. Proficient in Spanish, French, Portuguese, American Sign Language and Sierra Leonean Krio, Ave’s latinx heritage has positioned him to be people-oriented and culturally aware/sensitive in the context of international affairs. His curiosity and passion for community and development has led him to work for USAID-funded projects across Sub-Saharan Africa, working with teams in Malawi, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, and Ethiopia. Currently, Ave is a Program Coordinator at Banyan Global where he provides financial, administrative, and programmatic support to assist in the implementation of their worldwide projects. Ave’s work is rooted in the belief that people have an innate ability to bring about change. He enjoys working with different capacity building projects to ensure that people have the knowledge, experience, and momentum to maintain impact beyond the length of interventions.

The EAA Young Eagles program was something Doug loved to support. Young Eagles was launched in 1992 to give interested young people, ages 8 - 17, an opportunity to go flying in a general aviation airplane. Doug could always be found at the airport giving kids their first airplane ride and lesson. He broadened many horizons through the program and freely shared his passion of aviation with so many kids over the years.

These three young adventurers and the Young Eagles program are the first recipients of Doug's Are We Having Fun Yet? Adventure Fund. Our family started this fund as our way of encouraging & supporting all of the "outside the box" thinkers that Doug loved so much.

Good luck kids, have some FUN!
Deb Harford & Family

01/12/2021

Check out, share, and like my brother-in-law and sister's new business!

01/01/2021

Happy New Year! On behalf of all of us in the Harford Family we would like to thank you for your love and support of our family during this first holiday season without Dad. We are looking forward to a new year ahead of bright skies and amazing adventures ☀️

08/26/2020

https://www.arewehavingfunyetfund.com/blog/the-encouragement-to-go-for-it

On one conversation, Dad asked me - What’s holding you in place where you are now? What would be the most incredible thing you can imagine for next year? Through that conversation he encouraged me to look into finding work abroad. He told me the time is never better than now. It will only be mor

08/26/2020

https://www.arewehavingfunyetfund.com/blog/parlez-vous-french

Still in 1995 we are leaving Ottawa today for a few days in Quebec on our way up the St Laurence Sea Way. I had done my homework on language when flying and knew it was supposed to be all in English if that is what I needed. We were flying into the Main airport in Montréal, so I was nervous.

08/21/2020

https://www.arewehavingfunyetfund.com/blog/new-pilot

Today’s adventure is about a new 72 hour TT Pilot in a rented Skyhawk. Deb and I loaded up Becky (10) and Kristin (6) to go to the World’s Fair in Knoxville TN.

08/21/2020

https://www.arewehavingfunyetfund.com/blog/off-to-the-ozarks

Now at 103hrs TT and just added Mandy to our family it’s off the Ozarks with three kids and Deb and I in a rented 172.