It is not often you come across someone in life that you
trust so deeply before you have ever even met in person. Our Face of the Fight this week brings
knowledge and experience to the table, but more than that his quiet confidence,
rational thinking, willingness to jump in wherever he can and humor have become
an indispensable asset to the cause.
Although he began advocating for medical cannabis years
before us, Luke Shultz has always put our kids first.
Always.
If it were up to him, he'd probably give up his hope of
access in order to give our kids what they need. His selfless service to the
cause has been an inspiration to those of us who are blessed to call him
"friend".
Campaign4Compassion is not just moms, you know. One of our
longest standing team members is Luke.
The first time I met him, he was standing stoically in the
corner at a meeting. Listening
intently, shoulders back, taking it all in. I initially thought he might have had a law enforcement
background, hair trimmed perfectly, booming voice, and perfect posture. I then noticed a hat sitting at his
feet surrounded in medicine bottles and I knew there had to be more to his
story.\
Luke is a severe chronic pain patient; his life often spent
standing in a good position or lying flat on his back. Driving a car is impossible and riding
in one requires much forethought.
Luke still shows up.
Every event, every lobby day, every planning meeting, Luke
is there. He is someone you can
count on every time, with a smile on his face and passion in his voice. That
says a lot about his character. It
also says a lot about his commitment to the cause, this isn’t just a pastime
for Luke; he puts a brave face to the plight of adult chronic pain patients. He goes out of his way to educate
others on the benefits of medical cannabis for multiple diseases, calling legislators,
taking a new advocate under his wing, always offering advice and support. He works tirelessly to keep everyone
informed on new legislative information and uses his time to collect and input
information on hundreds of fellow advocates into a program he and his son
designed to make our lobbying efforts easier.
A peacemaker, an advocate, an amateur comedian, C4C is so
proud to highlight Luke Shultz as our “Face of the Fight”.
“Campaign4Compassion always has some project going, some
event, some meeting. There's a lot of work behind the scenes to prepare for
various obligations. Luke is always the first person to volunteer. There has
never been anything that he wouldn't do for this cause. I'm grateful for his
friendship, and for his drive. But I'm mostly thankful that every single day,
at least once, he cracks a really corny joke that makes everyone laugh for a
moment. And in those moments, even if you're feeling frustrated and tired, Luke
reminds you that life is good, no matter what.” ~Lolly Myers
“Many people in Pa suffer with chronic, debilitating pain on
a daily basis but so few that we know do it with such heart. Luke is
relentless. He is fearless. He is determined. But...I think something we can
all appreciate about Luke is that, through all of the ups and downs over the
last two years, knowing that he lives in constant pain, he maintains a stellar
sense of humor.” ~Dana Ulrich
“It is has been an honor to watch my good friend Luke Shultz
grow from an involved participant to a real leader. He has established an
impeccable reputation and demonstrated his dedication, loyalty and
trustworthiness. He works hard and he works smart. I could go on and on about
Luke's contributions to the cause of reform but the best thing that I can say
about Luke is that he is truly a good and decent man. In today's world, that
means a lot.” ~Les Stark
~With admirable inner strength Luke pushes forward every day
to achieve safe access for all Pennsylvanians in need. I am so honored to work
along- side him and feel blessed to have met a man with such a wise soul and
fun loving heart.” ~Cara Salemme
Luke is an educated and passionate Medical Cannabis
Advocate. We are so fortunate to have him in this fight for PA. He has taught
us all how to live with such grace, while suffering from unspeakable pain!
~Diana Briggs
The first interaction I had with Luke was online. He was
helping about 20 mothers of epileptic children compile a list of side effects
of FDA approved drugs that our children had experienced. As he read through
more and more side effects that they had lived through, his comments of
compassion and concern were evident. That list became the posters you see at
every rally, press conference or meeting. ~Angela Sharrer
