As the Rick Hansen 25-year anniversary relay wraps up Wednesday (May 23) where it began in Vancouver, I’m happy to reach into the digital archives to relive his finish line moment.

It feels to me like yesterday that I interviewed him by phone the night before he set out from Vancouver. I spoke with him again by phone as he made his way through Toronto, and I was in Vancouver to greet him two-and-a-half years later as he crossed the finish line — where he admitted he was afraid at the outset but encouraged those gathered not to be when following their dreams. Click here to listen to the latter interview.

His courageous tour raised $26 million. His foundation has leveraged the amount through partnerships and investments into about $245 million, which is used to improve the lives of those with spinal cord injuries.

A dream fulfilled; thousands of lives improved.