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HTML Title:
Meet a Scientologist—Gina Kugler
Display Date:
Friday, March 16, 2012
Display Location:
Palm Harbor, Florida
Images:
PDF Version:
Scientology helped Gina Kugler imbue her life with a sense of calm and take it in the right direction.
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The way Scientologist Gina Kugler of Palm Harbor, Florida, juggles career, family and volunteer work, she makes it all look effortless.
“People tend to think of me as even keeled,” she says. “and I can see why. I don’t freak out under stress. If things are falling apart around me, I think, ‘Let’s see what we can do about this. There has got to be a solution.’ And because of what I’ve learned in Scientology, there always is.”
Kugler’s equanimity serves her well when caring for the school, sports and social activities of her three children ages 10-15, managing the finances of her husband’s business, and volunteering with the Church’s drug education and prevention initiative. She is a strong supporter of drug education, which unfortunately was not available to her and her friends when she was growing up.
“In high school, I began drinking and taking drugs. I thought I was having fun, but it was actually bringing me down,” says Kugler. “I dropped out of school—I just didn’t care about it anymore. My relationship with my family really deteriorated because of my dishonesty and the way I was treating them. Fortunately, I woke up one day and thought, ‘This is all wrong.’”
Kugler looked to Scientology to turn things around.
“I remember taking a Scientology course and thinking, ‘Wow, what I’m reading seems true.’ I realized it was not too late to change my life,” she says. “I learned to spot my friends—they were the ones who really cared about me doing well. It became much easier to think for myself. Just by being more responsible, I boosted my self-esteem.”
Kugler got the second chance she was hoping for. She went back to school and graduated, and today, no matter how busy she is with family and work, Kugler always fits in time to help the community.
She took over managing the “One Mile Fun,” where children can participate in the Say No to Drugs Holiday Classic, in the Clearwater, Florida. She first became involved through her husband Brad, a professional photographer who documents the race each year. The Classic is an annual 5K and 10K road race started 23 years ago by the Dianetics Athletics Association of the Church of Scientology and is organized each year by the Clearwater Community Volunteers.
Gina Kugler also volunteers for the Sunscreen Film Festival, an annual event hosted by the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Film Society to encourage the creation, production, and exhibition of independent film in Florida.
“Volunteering is a part of me,” she says. “It’s not something special. It’s integral to my life.”
To learn more about what Scientologists are doing to create a better world, watch “Meet a Scientologist” videos at www.Scientology.org [10].
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The popular “Meet a Scientologist” profiles on the Church of Scientology International Video Channel at Scientology.org now total more than 200 broadcast-quality documentary videos featuring Scientologists from diverse locations and walks of life. The personal stories are told by Scientologists who are educators, teenagers, skydivers, a golf instructor, a hip-hop dancer, IT manager, stunt pilot, mothers, fathers, dentists, photographers, actors, musicians, fashion designers, engineers, students, business owners and more.
A digital pioneer and leader in the online religious community, in April 2008 the Church of Scientology became the first major religion to launch its own official YouTube Video Channel, with videos now viewed more than 6 million times.