I worked with Dr. David Geeslin at the Indiana School for the Deaf, where he served as superintendent for many years. When he retired in the summer of 2025, I wanted to give him something personal.
Earlier that year, David shared an article about his camping journey with his wife, Holly. They started with a tent, then purchased a small camper. As their family grew and their camping needs changed, the campers and vehicles grew with them.
They always considered themselves car people and never expected to own a truck. Their journey eventually took them from an SUV to a Ford Ranger, then an F-150, and finally a red Ford F-250 that could safely pull their larger camper.
With retirement ahead and more camping in their plans, I wanted the gift to bring them back to where their camping story began.
I designed the sign using their Ford Escape Hybrid and a small camper from those early years, along with the line, “We are car people!”
Once the design was finished, I sent it to Simply Willow Creations to produce the sign. Simply Willow Creations is Deaf-owned, and working with Deaf-led businesses and Deaf-owned vendors is important to me.
I presented the sign to David at his retirement party. He was floored and loved it. It was more than a sign. It was a piece of their story and a reminder of where their years of camping began.
Read Dr. Geeslin’s original camping story →
Dr. David Geeslin’s thank-you message
Transcript with a Video Description
Video description
Dr. David Geeslin records a close-up vertical video indoors. He wears green glasses and a multicolored plaid shirt while signing directly to the camera.
Transcript
Dr. David Geeslin: “Wow! Genius! You read my story. We’re truck people! Genius! And my SUV, Big Blue, the Ford Escape Hybrid. Oh my! That was a champ! That was the best one! Wow! Thank you! Thank you! Love you!”