Work(s) in Progress

Support Martha

I know that I have written about my friend the magnificent Martha Simmons before, most recently here.

Martha is always running or working with some health related non-profit - March of Dimes, ALS Association (where I met her in 1999 or so...), Limb Preservation Foundation and most recently Dani's Foundation whose goal is to find the cure for Ewing's Sarcoma, a generally fatal cancer of children and adolescents. And yes, of course, I'm on her Medical Advisory Board.

Martha is stepping up for cancer on August 8th. You can support her here. Even $5 would help. 

Dani's Foundation is also having a virtual silent auction (between now and July 31st)...amazing trips and interesting art bags (I donated one that was crafted by my friend Jung Park the founder and CEO of metroboom - a place where men can get custom suits, shirts, shoes, and even haircuts) are up for "sale." Check it out. Buy something even. 

Martha's silent auction trips are how I finally ended up seeing both Hawaii and Napa Valley this past year. I'm very tempted by some of the trips to Europe: Prague, Paris, culinary school in Italy, Ireland...so many choices.

Support Martha; Cure Cancer. What else do I need to say?

My First Trip to Napa Valley

A few months ago I mentioned that I needed a traveling companion for an excursion to Napa Valley that I "won" in a silent auction at an event for  Dani's Foundation.

Wow! I returned early Tuesday morning and I am still thinking about what a wonderful time I had.

I flew into Los Angeles on Thursday evening. My flight was delayed and just about every flight mishap that could happen did. In spite of the ominous start, the rest of the trip was simply outstanding. The weather was terrific - mid 70's or mid 80's and sunny the entire time. Everything else transpired without mishap.

My traveling companion and I drove up route 1 stopping in Big Sur at Nepenthe for lunch. What a magnificently pretty drive. We arrived in Sonoma in time for a delicious dinner at the Eldorado Kitchen before settling into the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. I learned later that Boyes Spring is a bit past its prime, but the Fairmont was a beautiful place to stay and had a terrific fitness center.

Friday we drove around the Sonoma & Napa Valleys stopping in at Hess (to see the museum), Stag's Leap, Clos du Val, and Twomey. Of these, Twomey was by far our favorite for the quality of wine and the tasting experience. Just about all of the vineyards charge for a tasting; however, we learned that if you just wanted to taste a single varietal (e.g. "just the cabernet please") or ended up buying some wine that these fees might be waived. In general, portions are large enough to share so I highly recommend doing that as some vineyards had more that one tasting package and many are willing to pull together a package that suits your tastes (e.g. "just the reds please").

Friday afternoon we checked into the Meritage, the resort & spa I "won" in silent auction. The Meritage was tucked into an office park and so one view faced office building and the other a vineyard. In spite of the location it was new, immaculate and had all of the amenities one might hope for as a business traveler (bare bones gym, free wireless internet, 24 hr everything, etc.). That evening we enjoyed our Wine Train experience. I'd recommend doing this at lunch or mid-summer so you can enjoy the views out of the windows. It was fun if kitschy. And while great wine can be purchased on board, you might be better off bringing your own and paying the corkage fee.

The next day we explored Napa Valley in the back of a comfortable sedan hosted by Beau Wine Tours again as part of the silent auction package. I suspect that this may have led to the first and I hope last time I start drinking at 10AM. We started at Duckhorn, which makes several wines that I knew I loved. In terms of easy to access vineyards, Duckhorn was the highlight of the trip for me. Great wine, wonderful experience, terrific service, etc. From there we moved on to Prager Port Works, Cakebread & Salvestrin. The people at Salvestrin were terrific, giving us a tour of their wine making areas and process. The tawny port at Prager was excellent but not a part of their normal tasting package. Cakebread was somewhat disappointing. I've enjoyed their wines at several restaurants but the experience (and wine) was not on par with some of the others we had on this trip. Service matters and while I was a customer in the past, I suspect that I will not be in the future. Their loss really as I went in expecting to buy and to have a wonderful experience.

If the trip stopped here it would have been excellent, outstanding even. However, from this point forward, the trip veered into the surreal. So utterly outstanding that I barely have the words to describe it.

Sunday evening was filled with wine and a tour at the Napa Valley Reserve - beautiful grounds, an inspiring cellar & caves in process and incredibly delicious wine. We followed this treat with dinner at the Press in St. Helena. I never thought I'd say this but have the chicken! Really. Amazing.

We woke up early Monday morning to head to the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma where I enjoyed the Audi Sportscar Experience and got to drive the Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro with its "soul stirring" 525 hp V10 engine on the track.

My traveling companion and I shared a private lesson. We each had our own car. I really did not want to get out of mine.  

This was a very high tech experience. We inserted flash drives into the cars' computer for our final laps on the track. In theory they'll send an email when we can view our laps on-line. I suspect they'll look something like this:  You Tube. The goal is to keep 1 to 1.5 car lengths between your car and the instructor's car. I know that my gap was too large for most of my laps (much like the linked video). The cones on the track mark the turns and apex. Helpful. As you can hear, the instructor coaches you (or in my case, makes fun of you!) through the track, commenting or giving guidance or encouragement as needed. I had no clue I'd enjoy this sort of thing, but I'd put the experience among the top ten days in my life.

Joy. Bliss. Fun.

I want to do it all again!

Minds Matter

I met today with one of my Advisory Council members, Jamie Pruett. I learned that he was also serving as the President of Minds Matter. What a wonderful organization.

From their website:

Founded in 2004, Minds Matter of Denver connects underprivileged metro Denver students with adult mentors, who provide assistance with academic development, SAT preparation and the college application process; including school selection, essay writing, and interview skills. At present the Minds Matter of Denver Prep Program works with 10th and 11th grade students in selecting and applying to summer college programs, where they can bolster their academic record by taking college credit courses and experience campus life. In the fall of 2006 we began our first Senior Program to assist high school seniors with the entire college application process, including school selection, essay writing, and financial aid paperwork.

Each student is grouped with 2 adult mentors who typically have complimentary interests and personalities with each other as well as the student. Mentoring groups meet once a week during the school year, for 2-3 hours at a single location, where Minds Matter volunteers can supervise a structured session for all students and mentors.

Mentors not only guide students through the application process, but also provide a deep level of commitment and encouragement. Mentors work with students for at least one full academic year and typically through the student's high school graduation. In this time, the students often develop close bonds with their mentors and readily seek their guidance and friendship. Yet, students are not the only ones who benefit from the Minds Matter program. Our mentors also find relationship building with both the mentees and with other volunteers a satisfying and rewarding experience.

Jamie started as a Mentor in this program several years ago. What a wonderful way to make a difference.

Pondering Oprah

I've been thinking a lot about Oprah Winfrey over the last few weeks. I've never seen her TV show but know that it is popular. She  routinely makes the top 50 lists of the most powerful women in the world hosted by Forbes or Fortune. I am always interested in how people in such positions decide to use their power.

Oprah made headlines last month for some alleged abuses by a head mistress at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls she opened in South Africa in January of 2007 (wikipedia link).

Back in July of 2006, I shared my dream of boarding schools, such as that built by Oprah, being safe havens for any who need them. This idea, for me, started back at least a year prior in an international entrepreneurship class where we were asked to come up with international franchise opportunities. I presented a scaled down version of a non-profit boarding school that grew during my visionary leadership class as described here.

My thought on hearing about the scandals at Oprah's school was not "oh the horror" but "oh my gosh she built my dream!" Oprah started this dream back in 2000 after a meeting with Nelson Mandela. She almost gave up when people could not see her vision for this school. She built a magnificent learning center for young women in South Africa. The mission of her school is simple.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls - South Africa supports the development of a new generation of women leaders who, by virtue of their education and leadership, will lead the charge to positively transform themselves, their communities and the larger world around them. To accomplish this goal, the Academy provides a rigorous and supportive educational environment for academically talented girls who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The Academy strives to equip its learners with the intellectual and social skills necessary to assume positions of leadership in South African society and beyond.

I can already envision the impact these young women will have on the future of our world.

You can learn a lot about a person by observing how they react in a crisis. When Oprah learned of the alleged abuses at her school, she literally dropped everything and went to South Africa. The headmistress accused of the assaults was fired. Oprah apologized to the students and their families. Each student was provided a cell phone and Oprah's direct number. The girls were told to call her with any problems or concerns. It is so uncommon these days to see leaders taking responsibility. Oprah completely owned this problem, claimed it, and empowered all in her care, even if really they are only in her care in name only, to contact her directly.

I think that all of our educational leaders could learn from Oprah's response to this crisis. The next time you see a bomb threat or shooting on a college or high school campus, could you imagine the principal or president responding in this way? You might think that these people could not possibly have the time to answer so many phone calls, to personally talk to each person who is concerned or affected. I used to think so myself. But if Oprah has time to do this, how could they not? In the face of this extraordinary example, how can any of our educational leaders do less.

CPR Saves Lives

A story in my local paper caught my eye today. A two year old boy was hit by a truck. A neighbor, Jennifer Elder, heard the thud and ran to the scene. She came across a man holding his lifeless bloodied son, sobbing. Jennifer administered CPR and mouth to mouth respiration and the boy's heart began beating again. The boy is now in serious condition at Children's hospital. Another person prevented the vehicle that hit the boy from leaving. This driver is suspected of driving under the influence. Heroes all.

To find CPR and other first aid classes in your neighborhood, try the American Red Cross.

Breakfast of Champions

Last week I attended the annual Breakfast of Champions event held by the Mile High Down Syndrome Association in conjunction with the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. The goal of this event is to raise money and awareness for people with Down syndrome whether for research or family support services.

Often the keynote speaker is a person or family member of a person with Down syndrome such as Annie Forts who spoke last year.

This year was different. This year a professional motivational speaker, Sam Glenn, gave the keynote presentation. I have never seen anything like this. There was a large chalk board on the podium. After the introductory speeches, the lights went dark. Two spot lights were turned on and illuminated the large dark board. Inspirational music echoed through the room. Sam leapt onto stage and donned a glove and a mask. For the next ~15 minutes he drew in vibrant colors. At first it was difficult to make out what the image would be. My brain kept trying to make recognizable shapes from the swirls of color. At first I thought it would turn into some psychedelic stuffed animal but slowly the scene emerged, much like this image. You can view a video clip of his light house drawing process complete with inspirational music. But that was not all, when the drawing was complete the light show began, with the score from the first Star Wars movie playing in the back ground. A spotlight from the light house moved across the water. The birds flew out of the picture. Compelling words and ideas flashed across the image. The mood in the room, which had been somber after a mother shared her experience of learning that her newborn unexpectedly had Down Syndrome and the health problems she had faced, lifted.

After the drawing and light show were complete, Sam Glenn regaled us on attitude. To lighten up. His humor was somewhat crude and yet the tension flowed out of the room. He spent time telling us, and showing us, how a single person, through his or her words and actions can completely change the feeling of people all around. He mesmerized. One person, with his or her glum and unhappy attitude, can bring down all those around them. So too can one person with a bright smile and a kind word raise up the mood of everyone within the sphere of his or her influence.

Who would you rather be? Who would you rather spend time with? Be that person.

The Limb Preservation Foundation

The Limb Preservation Foundation was founded in 1987 by Dr. Ross Wilkins with the sole purpose of saving lives and limbs. In his own words: When I started my practice over 20 years ago, 80% of patients with bone and extremity cancer died without their limbs. Today, because of the work that has been accomplished by The Limb Preservation Foundation and others, those statistics are completely reversed. But I have to tell you; even though fewer patients die or lose their limbs, this work doesn't get easier. In fact, it is harder than ever to lose these patients and friends.

The Limb Preservation Foundation has a variety of Programs that serve both patients and the community.

• Patient Assistance-so that all people with extremity issues could have access to the best medical care regardless of their ability to pay
• Emergency Distress Fund-a "last resort" fund to extremity patients with health or human welfare issues
• Medical Transport-to assist patients needing travel assistance to a specialized medical facility
• Limb Cancer Support Network-to provide emotional support and resource information to patients, family members and caregivers.
• Education-to promote awareness and prevention of limb-threatening conditions, generally due to traumatic injury, to both the public and medical professionals
• Scientific Research-to develop new therapies for the treatment of bone cancers and non-healing fractures.

My friend Martha is the executive director of the Limb Preservation Foundation. A few weeks ago she hosted a "free" breakfast for the foundation which promoted many of the ongoing initiatives of the organization. This was an incredible event which lasted only about 1 hour. Many people came to tell their personal stories about how they were benefited by the work of Dr. Ross Wilkins and the Limb Preservation Foundation. There were cancer survivors who did not have to lose limbs; parents of child survivors; spouses who got a few more years with a cherished husband or wife; people who had seen the flyer on how to preserve a limb that was removed by injury and were lucky enough to have it reattached. There was not a dry eye in the room. And then came the ask to support the foundation in their efforts. From a business perspective, this was an incredibly well orchestrated event. More than $400,000 was raised at this 1 hour "free" breakfast which was attended by just a few hundred people. Way to go Martha!

If you would like to support the Limb Preservation Foundation, you can do so here.

Team in Training

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education, and patient services. The Society's mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Like many nonprofit organizations, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, must raise money to support its mission. One wildly successful program is Team in Training which has raised more than$660 million from more than 295,000 volunteer participants.  Many people use Team in Training to prepare for their first marathon, half-marathon, triathlon or century bike race. For example, an athlete needs a coach to help them train for an upcoming event and signs up with Team in Training. As the athlete is training for his or her event, he or she is raising money to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Everyone wins: the foundation, patients, families, athletes. I love this business model.

My ex recently did Ironman Hawaii as part of Team in Training. He raised almost $5000 in honor of his friend Mike. His rational for participating in the event was this:

I am training to participate in the Hawaii Ironman on October 21, 2006. While this is usually an individual pursuit, I am competing this year in honor of my friend and co-worker Dr. Mike Shertz, who recently relapsed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. For those of you who have not met Mike, he is a father, husband and emergency physician in his mid 30's. Before becoming a physician, Mike was a Green Beret and has since been an instructor for our local fire and police departments. A few years ago, Mike went to South America for intensive training in tropical medicine and has traveled the world on medical relief missions. The word that comes to mind when trying to describe Mike is 'inspiring.'

I'm completing this race in honor of Mike and all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes, and need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

As a follow up, he sent a email summarizing the event and graciously agreed to let me share it here.

Well, it all went down October 21 on the 'big island' of Hawaii. The earthquake a few days before the race definitely made things interesting. When I arrived, there was a lot of debris on the road including some huge boulders that had come by landslide. A few cracks in the pavement but nothing too wide. By race time things had mostly been cleared and the bridges repaired.

Swim (2.4 miles). All of the nervous energy from the six month training build-up is released at 0700 when the cannon fires. Watching it on TV, it looks like total mayhem in the water with people swimming over each other. There was a bit of that with a few face kicks and body blows but after 500 meters everyone fell into their swim rhythm and spread out. At the turnaround boat it was essentially open ocean and there was a lot of swell and chop. If I was alone in it, I would have been freaked out but with 1700 other people, it was pretty cool.

Bike (112 miles) This race is notorious for wicked winds on the bike course. When I was here in 2001, there were 60mph gusts and athletes were blown off their bikes (and couldn't get back on because they couldn't keep the bikes on the ground). This year the winds were much more mellow except for a headwind the final seven mile climb before the halfway turn. The upside was riding 40mph after the turnaround. It is the closest thing I have ever felt to flying.

Run (26.2 miles) If running a marathon sounds insane after swimming and biking for so long, it is. At some point on the run, there is a conversation between your body and mind where the body says, "Yeah, that's pretty much it. I think we should call it a day." This was about mile 11. At mile 15 I ran with an Army Captain who had his foot blown off in Iraq. He had given a speech the night before and closed with this, "If you are out there on the course and feeling sorry for yourself, you are missing the whole point." He asked me if I was racing for someone. I told him about Mike, the Leukemia fundraiser and all of your generosity and support. Thank you.

Finish. 13hr 21min 

Congrats on a great event. Thank you RB for letting me include your story here. My best wishes to Mike and others like him. What an inspiration the Army Captain was during that long run. "If you are out there on the course and feeling sorry for yourself, you are missing the whole point."

Amy and Annie

I want to tell you about two incredible women: Amy and Annie.

The July 20 issue of my local paper, the Westminster Window, which unfortunately does not post its stories on-line, had a truly inspiring story written by Krystal Fowler about Amy Garcia a local 20 year old young woman. Like many girls her age, Amy is about to head off to college, on scholarship, having just graduated high school with honors. What is completely unusual about Amy is that she accomplished this with Down Syndrome. While it would be easy to think that simply completing high school, in mainstream classes, would be an accomplishment for this young woman, this is not all. She participated on her swim team for all four years. She also held a job at Adventure Golf and took classes in dance and karate. The article has a quote from Amy "I'm out to prove to people who think that Down Syndrome kids can't do anything. I think I prove them wrong. I want to show them what they can do, to prove to these people that these kids can do these things." If only we all had this attitude.

I met Annie Forts several months ago at a breakfast in her honor called the Breakfast of Champions hosted by the Mile High Down Syndrome Association and the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (see disclosure below). Annie, who also has Down Syndrome, serves as a self-advocate. I have lifted Annie's bio from here: The primary focus of Ann's speeches is to help people understand that there is definitely an "UP" side to life with Down syndrome. She created the concept of "UP" syndrome to redefine, in a positive way, the image of mental disabilities and to focus on the ABILITY portion of the word "disability." Ann has served seven years as a member of the President's Advisory Committee in Washington, D.C., called The President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Ann has received numerous regional and national awards for sharing her "UP" syndrome philosophy with her peers, their families, students, teachers, doctors and social workers.

I remember listening to her speech thinking that in part is was your typical leadership or personal development advice. I've unfortunately lost my notes. However, two stories stick in my mind. First, she told a story of how people generally stare at her since she looks different. She related how in one case, she walked up to the person staring at her, introduced herself with a smile, handed over her business card, and sat back down. She does this with everyone; she worked the room and met every single person after her speech. It was pretty incredible. I found myself thinking that as introverted as I am I would find this very difficult. Would I have the gumption to work the same room she just waltzed through? No. The second was a piece of advice. Annie is not a patient person so she realized that she could not wait for or count on others to create opportunities for her. Her advice was don't wait, do it yourself.

What are you waiting for?

-----

Disclosure: I have been employed by the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute since 1995.

Seeking Common Ground

Today I attended a luncheon celebrating the 13 annual Building Bridges for Peace hosted by the non-profit Seeking Common Ground. Until a colleague invited me to attend yesterday, I had not heard of this organization. Until today, when I read about the Palestinian-Israeli conflicts, I could not envision how the issues between these people would ever be resolved to create lasting peace. Seeking Common Ground may have the answer. Seeking Common Ground strives to empower individuals to change the world by creating peaceful communities through integration, socialization, communication, and leadership development.

The mission of the Building Bridges for Peace Program is to bring together young women (16 -19) from Israel, Palestine and the United States to participate in an intensive summer program. During their time together participants learn new communication techniques, develop leadership skills and engage in activities that promote peace and the status and empowerment of women.

After the summer program participants return to their respective communities to continue in a year long follow-up program. Our inaugural program took place during the summer of 1994. These women are able to meet and live with young women from diverse ethnic, racial, and religious communities.

The speakers at the luncheon first described the formation of this organization and its overall mission of global peace. The founders were obviously saddened that there is still a need for their organization. Later in the program, the summer camp participants talked about their experiences interacting with and learning to understand the "other." Given all of the recent headlines about the unrest in the middle east, these talks were truly inspiring. If these young ladies can come together to find some common ground, what else is possible?

The founders of Seeking Common Ground are now looking to create an Institute with year round programs to accelerate their outreach.