When former Rotarian Walter Glaser designed the LightWalker, he did so from personal experience. Walter used a walking stick himself towards the end of his life. He discovered that existing walking sticks were inconveniently designed, easy to drop, and then difficult to pick up, uncomfortable for the shoulder, difficult to manage when trying to handle something else, such as your wallet at the shops (or a torch when going to the bathroom at night), inconvenient when getting into cars and then having to find a place to put them out of the way. Walter, who was by now retired, turned his creative mind to a solution for himself. His project turned into a hobby as he realised his creation would have wide appeal. He perfected the prototypes, established a relationship with a reliable manufacturer, organised shipments and started to market the sticks through pharmacies. Walter, who passed away earlier this year, has donated his remaining stock, about 1,200 walking sticks, to the Rotary Club of Glenferrie to use as a fundraiser, or to give away. If you are available to be part of the Committee now being formed to promote, sell and distribute these walking sticks, please contact me via email, or at a club meeting. We are about to get started in time for Christmas!
To read Walter's explanation of how he came to design LightWalker, click on Read more...
