Raphael Richter receives Swim for Life Volunteer Award

The Provincetown Community Compact has selected Truro resident and community minded businessman Raphael Richter to receive the David Asher Volunteer Award at the 32nd Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, set for September 7 at the Boatslip Resort, Provincetown. The award highlights his service as a town leader, Swim for Life supporter and his stepping in to provide transport to townspeople to Orleans for grocery shopping during the recent Stop & Shop shut down.Richter is a man on the move. Think Funk Bus, Mercedes Cab, Cape Cab and the Mayflower Trolley. He recently made a move with his family from Provincetown to Truro, headquarters of his fleet of party and mini buses with funky skins and state of the art sound systems. Yes, let’s get the party started!Raphael is a hometown boy whose family’s journey took him to live in several Cape towns as well as Boston’s North and South shores.  He returned to finish high school in Provincetown and has dug into the community with passion and creative entrepreneurial vision ever since. Beginning with partner Ricky Macara at Mercedes Cab, he noticed a need for safe and fun group transport and, with the flair of the late Pearlene, created the pink Funk Bus with eyelashes! It was a hit, and the idea spread Cape wide like the flash of an eyelash.Raphael’s community service is exemplary, serving three years on the Provincetown Select Board, with his last year as chair, personally taking up the mantle of the need for community housing. This led to the town’s overwhelming approval to buy a 28-unit condominium complex for workforce market-rate housing. At the Swim for Life, Raphael has provided transport for years for swimmers to MacMillan Wharf for boat transport to Long Point. This year the Swim start will move to the Provincetown Inn beach due to the increased seal population in the deep waters off Long Point and concern for swimmer safety. The Mayflower Trolley is co-owned by Raphael and Michael Glasfeld, owner of Bay State Cruises, a Swim for Life business sponsor.Perhaps the most touching example of Raphael’s sensitivity to the needs of the community was his quick response to the recent Stop & Shop shut down during the two-week union strike. This left townspeople food insecure, many without transportation to the nearest supermarkets in Orleans. The Funk Bus stepped in and provided free daily roundtrip rides to Orleans for anyone in need.Raphael and his wife Vida have a two-year-old son and a girl on the way this fall. Vida is co-owner of the Nor’East Beer Garden in Provincetown. He presently serves on the board of the Community Development Partnership and on the Truro finance committee.The 32nd Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, a benefit for AIDS, women’s health and the community, is set for September 7, 2019 at the Boatslip Resort and Beach Club. Swimmer, volunteer, boater, kayaker and walker sign up is at the Boatslip Resort, 161 Commercial Street, Provincetown from 7:00-8:00am. Early registration will be on Friday at Seamen’s Bank, Provincetown, from 5:00-8:00pm.The new shoreline Swim will start earlier at 8:00am from the Provincetown Inn to the Boatslip due to the early high tide. The Mermaid Brunch and awards ceremony will follow. The public is invited. Also new this year is a fresh water swim at Great Pond in Wellfleet on the same day.For full details and information go to www.swim4life.org thecompact@comcast.net