PORT TOWNSEND — The co-founder of the ReCyclery, which has worked to increase bicycling in Port Townsend, is moving on to other ventures.
Chauncey Tudhope-Locklear, who was named Young Professional of the Year in January by the county Chamber of Commerce, will pursue an occupation as a life coach and a hobby in metalwork.
He also hopes to attend college in 2016.
“The ReCyclery is having a profound impact in promoting bicycle use for a healthier and more sustainable community,” said Kees Kloff, ReCyclery board chairman, at a potluck honoring Tudhope-Locklear on Friday.
“It’s here because Chauncey and his brother Dash had this idea to get people to bike more.”
About 40 people gathered at the ReCyclery, 1925 Blaine St., to honor Tudhope-Locklear, 28.
Kolff read a statement from Jefferson County Commissioner Kathleen Kler.
“Your example of doing what you love and doing it to build community while benefiting the local economy and personal health deserves our admiration and gratitude,” Kler wrote.
The ReCyclery, founded by Chauncey and Dash Tudhope-Locklear, began conducting bicycle repairs in 2007 outside the Food Co-op.
It moved to an uptown location in 2009 and to its current location in 2011.
It now has three paid staff members, four interns and about 150 members, who pay a yearly fee in order to support the cycling community and benefit from its programs.
The ReCyclery has sponsored educational programs and events to get people, specifically children, on their bicycles and away from video games.
It takes donations of used bikes in bad repair, fixes them up and sells them to the public at an affordable price.
Future programs include proactive efforts to get more young girls using bicycles, Kolff said.
In his remarks to the crowd, Tudhope-Locklear cited Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King as inspirations.
He said that the ReCyclery is a family.
“If you trace us back we all come from the same place. We are all family here,” he said.
“Community is recognizing family in the people around you that you might see as strangers, and the ReCyclery has taught me that.”
When he said that following dreams “makes this place the paradise that it is” the crowd began a spontaneous rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one,” they sang.
“I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
