Tori James - Legend
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For someone so young, to be a legend would be hard to believe, if that person were not Tori James. She has achieved more in her life so far than most of us will ever achieve.
Tori is always quick to credit Guiding, with instilling in her the drive to accept more and more challenges and the confidence with which to face these daunting experiences.
She was a Brownie in Haverfordwest, then a Guide in the 4th Haverfordwest Unit and then a Ranger. She was always at the front, in a leadership role from an early age and her first alpine experience was on a Guide trip to Switzerland.
This obviously made quite an impression on her, as, having achieved a Geography degree at Royal Holloway University, she became a member of ‘The Pink Lady Pole Cats’. This all female group took part in and completed the Polar Challenge, a 360 mile race to the Magnetic North Pole.
How do you follow that?
Well, obviously by becoming the first Welsh woman, and at the time, the youngest British woman, to climb Everest. This achievement was highlighted in a television documentary ‘On Top of the World’.
Girlguiding Pembrokeshire was proud to invite her to become Honorary President. At an all Pembrokeshire celebratory camp, she brought Nepalese prayer flags taken from Base Camp, and inspired so many girls that night, with her stories of the highs and lows of that epic climb.
Since then she has gone on to find new challenges. She has cycled the length of New Zealand and in 2014 took part in Beeline Britain, a journey of 1100km in a straight line from Lands End to John O’Groats. This involved sea kayaking, cycling, mountain biking and hiking. This, too, led to a film, ‘As The Crow Flies’ and this, too, was shared with Girlguiding Pembrokeshire when she spoke to an Annual Review. Even better when the journey passed through Pembrokeshire and many units were able to cheer her on her way from a variety of vantage points.
Tori epitomises all that Guiding can do for young women today. Slight of stature but formidable of character, she takes her Promise seriously and gives back to Guiding whenever she can. She was awarded a ‘Point of Light’ Award for outstanding volunteering over ten years, and the members of Girlguiding Pembrokeshire eagerly await their President’s next adventure. Who better to be an Ambassador for Guiding. Who more fitted to be a Guiding legend.