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Mountain Mentors June mentor of the month: Bill Putnam

Bill Putnam and his mentee, Daniel.
Special to the Daily |

What is your background?

I am retired with two sons who are off living their lives in Oregon and California. I spend a lot of time snowboarding, hiking and biking.

What led you to become a mentor?



I heard an ad on the radio. I miss snowboarding and other activities with my sons, so I thought this would be a good activity to try out.

What do you enjoy most about being a mentor?



Just the interaction with a young man who is growing up and occasionally feeling like maybe I helped him just a little.

How does mentoring fit into your life?

I have time and I enjoy being able to spend some it with a younger person.

What is a favorite activity you have done as a mentor?

Tutoring algebra! I was reading the text book and working problems to get ready to meet with Daniel. I haven’t studied in a very long time, so it was a challenge.

One day, he looked at me and said, “This is actually fun for you, isn’t it?” I was busted!

I hope it was occasionally fun for him, too.

Do you have advice for someone who is considering becoming a mentor?

Do it! It’s a great experience.

What Daniel had to say about his Mentor Bill:

What do you like best about having a mentor?

In today’s society, parents have to make more sacrifices to raise a healthy child. For me, I had severe depression and had not one soul on the planet to help me understand this chemical imbalance.

My grades dropped exponentially, and Bill Putnam was the only man who understood me better than I did.

Through this, he helped me get through what I felt as impossible to pass any math classes.

What is a favorite memory with your mentor that you have?

My favorite memory with Bill was when he used his physics knowledge, and I used my snowboard knowledge to progress both of us in the terrain park.

Elena (Daniel’s mom):

Because Bill is highly-educated and very well-rounded, we feel privileged for Daniel to have Bill in his life. Bill has become a private tutor for Daniel in multiple subjected in school.

Bill is also very well-traveled and is able to expose Daniel to many different realms.

I feel very fortunate that Daniel has been blessed with being matched with Bill.

For more information about Mountain Mentors, call Shawna Lane at (970) 668-9182 or check out the Mountain Mentors page on http://www.summitcares.org.


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