Gary Doi, a retired school board superintendent from Penticton and longtime teacher, was the special guest of the Osoyoos Rotary Club recently. Doi spoke about his magazine blog and two books he helped publish, which are all designed to share stories of hope from across Canada and around the world. He is shown with Osoyoos Rotary Club president Judy Miller Bennett. (Keith Lacey photo)
A retired South Okanagan educator is doing his best to make the world a better place to live by promoting and publishing stories of hope from B.C. residents and people around the world.
Gary Doi, who spent 40 years as a teacher and educational administrator, is the founder of A Hopeful Sign, an online magazine blog filled with stories of hope from people around the world.
His website now receives between 70,000 and 80,000 visits per month, said Doi.
He’s also the publisher of two anthologies featuring stories of hope by Canadians. The names of the books are Inspiring Hope: One Story at a Time and the recently published Fly Like an Eagle: Real Life Stories of Hope and Inspiration.
The first book told 74 stories of hope by more than 40 writers, while the second book, published just over one month ago, features dozens of more stories from numerous writers, including several from the Okanagan Valley, said Doi, during a presentation to the Osoyoos Rotary Club last Thursday.
Doi, who retired as the superintendent of education for the Okanagan Skaha School District in 2009, said his goal as an educator was to inspire his students.
After retirement, he wanted to continue to help people and decided to start up his magazine blog with the formation of A Hopeful Sign.
“I wanted to inspire people so they can do better for themselves … and I wanted to do something so I could continue to inspire hope,” he said.
“Hope is the belief or attitude that you can do better and hope is what is there to get you through the tough times in your life.”
A Hopeful Sign was his attempt to create a global market where people could share their stories of hope to inspire and encourage others, he said.
“I started three and a half years ago … and it has become pretty successful,” he said. “I now get 70,000 to 80,000 visitors a month, which is much more than I could ever have hoped for when I started it.”
When he considered shutting down the blog several months ago because it was taking up too much of his time, Doi said he was inundated with requests to not shut it down, so he didn’t.
“My email box was filled up … people were pleading with me to not shut it down,” he said.
The overwhelming response to his blog led him to consider the idea of putting together a book to share stories of hope.
Professional writers, while the other half were written by regular citizens, wrote about half of the stories in Fly Like an Eagle, he said.
Acclaimed Canadian artist Roy Henry Vickers, who details his descent into addiction and long road to recovery, wrote one of the stories.
Another story was penned by a writer from Penticton, who writes a moving letter to her son, who was killed in Afghanistan while serving his country as a member of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Doi contributes his own story of growing up in severe poverty in a large family of Japanese immigrants in the Slocan Valley.
There are a total of eight writers from British Columbia who contribute to Fly Like an Eagle, said Doi.
“All of the stories are about trying to inspire hope,” he said.
As a longtime Rotarian, Doi asked the local Rotary Club to show support for his project by distributing copies of Fly Like an Eagle in lobbies and waiting rooms of various local businesses.
The book would also make a good Christmas present for family members, clients or friends, he said.
The book has already sold more than 800 copies in just over one month and he’s hoping to sell 2,000.
The books are for sale for $20 apiece and can be purchased through members with the Osoyoos Rotary Club.
A Hopeful Sign brings together writers, photographers and artists to share inspirational stories and artworks, all with the goal of spreading hope.
A Hopeful Sign has the ability to add new content every day, said Doi.
The inspiration to start his blog came to him after spending eight months writing a memoir.
He wanted to bring together his ideas and background in education, writing, photography and media and try to spread hope globally.
“I believe that the fundamental role of educators is to spread hope,” said Doi.
Doi has managed to recruit authors and other creative people from the world to contribute to the site.
There now hundreds of regular contributors and the list continues to grow, he said.
Several local Rotary Club members praised Doi for all of his hard work in establishing his magazine blog and publishing both books.
Several members purchased a copy of his latest book from Doi following his presentation.
A Hopeful Sign can be found online at ahopefulsign.com or through Facebook atwww.facebook.com/LivingLearningLeading.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
