Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir

Jason on January 19, 2012

Reading Time: 3 minutes

A Reservoir Run

This is what the Jackie Onassis Reservoir looks like on a warm summer’s morning. The colors are magnificent, the surrounding park is breathtaking and the city skyline reflects off the water.

In the novel Marathon Man, the main character muses that, “Whoever invented the reservoir must have done it with him alone in mind. It was without flaw, a perfect lake set in the most unexpected of locations.”

Anyone who has ever run, walked, or stood watching the sun rise or set over the water feels that same way. There’s a sense of space and solitude here, unlike any other part of the Park.

Unfortunately, I did not experience this particular scenery as I took a last minute trip to visit my sister in Manhattan before she jet-setted across the pond to study abroad in the UK. As usual, I stayed with my youngest brother Jared in his apartment and we had another epic weekend in the Big Apple which included many delicious meals, a handful of alcoholic beverages, some shopping at his favorite store UNIQLO, a Knicks game (where one team showed up), and of course, a run for the Run4Papa campaign.

Location: Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir, Manhattan, New York.

Temperature and Time: a brisk 19 degrees (not including the wind-chill), High Noon.

Running attire: beanie for head, scarf for neck, winter coat, two pairs of sweats, socks and running shoes (gloves were a big oversight).

Who wanted to be at Central Park in these conditions: not my brother (but he was a good sport).

What did the reservoir look like in January at eye level? See below.

Without much hesitation, Jared quickly filmed a segment on location and I jogged the couple mile route around the reservoir as my brother patiently waited for my return (his ears getting redder by the minute!). Not surprisingly, there were other people running and even one maniac in shorts and short sleeves! Despite the weather, the scenery was beautiful. The skyline was reflecting off the water and with the many of the tree leaves gone, you could see for miles and miles.

Throughout this journey, I have relished training in a variety of unique weather and terrain elements because it makes you constantly reassess your breathing and pace. Whether it’s a shorter run like this one, or a longer one like trail runs or half marathons, training in a tougher environment helps to minimize running mistakes such as jogging at too quick a pace and fighting through mental walls throughout a given race.

My philosophy has always been and will continue to be: “Running is 80% mental, 20% physical.”

And while my training methods are neither regimented or normal by anyone’s standards, I believe they provide consistent and improving pacing results in every race. A more concerted effort toward maximizing my training runs ultimately leads to less wear and tear on my knees and ankles. Through a strong sense of visualization and will-power, I will continue to put one step in front of the other toward this campaign and every run ahead.

To watch video commentary of this run, go to: Run4Papa Meets Jackie Onassis Reservoir

To see photos, go to: Jackie Onassis Reservoir

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Hope is a four letter word

Jason on January 4, 2012

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Aphasia” the Movie

The film “Aphasia”, the true story of actor Carl McIntyre who, after suffering a massive stroke and losing his ability to read, write and talk, struggles against overwhelming odds to redefine his life.

I had the great pleasure to sit down and meet Jim Gloster (Producer/Writer/Director) and Donna S. Scott (Executive Producer) of the movie “Aphasia” last night at a local bar called Sir Edmund Halley’s in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was referred to these two wonderful people through a Twitter mixer many months back. Everyone at this meeting was telling me to get in touch with Jim and Donna and boy was I pleased to have this opportunity to speak with them about creating more awareness for PPA and Aphasia worldwide.

The movie is based on Jim’s friend of 20+ years named Carl, an actor who suffered a severe stroke on September 15th, 2005. Immediately following the stroke, Carl was virtually unable to speak, a condition know as Aphasia. Jim and Donna along with two other team members created this impactful movie to educate those within the medical community, those unaware of Aphasia’s symptoms, and to help bring a voice to patients and families fighting against this disease day-in & day-out.

More than 100,000 Americans develop Aphasia annually. Aphasia affects about one million Americans, or 1 in 250 people. It is more common than Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy. However, most people have still never heard of Aphasia. While the most common cause is a stroke, Aphasia can also result from head injury, brain tumor, or other neurological causes.

In 2008, Carl began making presentations to Speech-Language Pathology classes about his experiences during the stroke and his subsequent recovery process. These engaging presentations also examine Carl’s technique of picture association which enables  him to remember specific words.

It is the success of these presentations which sparked the idea for the film project and the development of other presentations. The success of the film “Aphasia” has led to Carl’s new career as a motivational speaker. He has captivated audiences nationwide with his inspiring story.

Both Jim and Donna travel across the United States as well as international locations such as Australia with Carl for speaking engagements where they screen their movie. Following the movie, Carl comes out and speaks to the audience about his story. There is also an ensuing Question and Answer session after his speech.

They have over 30 speaking trips planned in 2012 alone!

This was a tremendous honor to speak with both of these inspirational people who are doing everything in their power to help bring “Aphasia” onto the national stage. I know they will be successful with this project and their future endeavors.

Jim, Donna, and Carl will be showcasing their movie at ReelAbilities: New York’s Disabilities Film Festival on February 12th and 13th: http://newyork.reelabilities.org/films/view/aphasia

Please take a minute to “like“ their Facebook page at AphasiatheMovie

You can also follow them on Twitter @AphasiatheMovie

Lastly, Carl and the film can be booked through carlmcintyre.com.

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Turkey Bowl V…For Papa and PPA

Jason on December 1, 2011

Reading Time: 4 minutes

 F.A.M.I.L.Y. 10, Dark Team 7 

Day 135 of 315: Turkey Bowl V pushes overall donation total past $30,000!

The 5th Annual Turkey Bowl began like many years before with each team getting together for their own pre-game rituals (which will remain behind closed doors for tradition-sake), and meeting at Andover Field at 9am sharp, on Black Friday morning. The F.A.M.I.L.Y. always rides together while The Dark Team inevitably drives separately per their mantra “You are family. We are individuals” infamously coined by Andrew Sherman, #15 of the Dark Team. As we approached the football gridiron, we could see The Dark Team warming up. We always try to arrive before them, but alas, they beat us every year.

Like many traditions (seemingly superstitions repeated because they worked in years past), The F.A.M.I.L.Y. locks arm-in-arm and walks toward the field only to sprint from the end zone to the 50 yard line. This year, we added a new element to the mix by taking a knee (not an homage to Tebow for you Gator lovers) and screamed at the top of our lungs “Faaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmily” followed by the blowing of a shofar (for effect of course) and sprinted to midfield to warm-up.

Before Turkey Bowl V officially kicked off, our special guest of honor “Papa,” walked out for two ceremonial acts. The first presentation was on behalf of both teams who graciously came together in support of Papa and PPA for our annual game. We raised $1,650 from players, friends and family in support of the Run4Papa campaign going directly to fund research at the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Northwestern University. Secondly, we were honored to have Papa flip the coin for possession. He was so excited to participate that at Thanksgiving dinner, he was showing me his coin flipping motion time and time again. Michael, the captain for the Dark Team chose tails, and as fate would have it, it turned up heads. “You brought a ringer” one of the players shouted and with that intensity level, Turkey Bowl V was underway.

Each touchdown is worth 1 point and the first team to 10 points wins. The F.AM.I.L.Y. chose to defer until the second half and started on defense. We got an immediate 3-and-out and went on offense. Neither team could score on its first 3 possessions. Eventually, The F.A.M.I.L.Y. went ahead 1-0 only to be matched right away by the Dark Team. The nerves and tension were palpable and with no timeouts, subs, or stoppage in the game besides switching sides or temporary injuries, players have to be ready for an adrenaline filled morning. At 2-2, The Dark Team’s rookie quarterback, Dakota, threw an interception which ultimately led to a 3-2, then 4-2 lead for The F.A.M.I.L.Y. At 5-2, the Dark Team made several interceptions (Rogers) and defensive stands of their own to close the gap at 6-4 by halftime.

Last year, the game was 5-5 at halftime. The Dark Team ended up running away with the game winning 10-6 convincingly and we vowed not to let this repeat happen again. Two hours into the game, the jawing continued and emotions were running high as The F.A.M.I.L.Y. led 7-4. The Dark Team was gaining solid yardage by transitioning to a “hurry-up” offense which forced us to adjust from zone to man-to-man coverage; that is, until yours truly got beat on back-to-back plays! As a result, we switched back to zone defense. With the score at 9-6 in favor of The F.A.M.I.L.Y., player’s calves were cramping, their bodies were hurting and each stop was vital to maintain momentum. But like all great rivalries, neither team nor player would EVER admit to hurting and broke through numerous mental and physical walls because of what the next 364 days brings for the loser: utter disappointment and shame.

The last touchdown is always the hardest.

We couldn’t score and we were having a tough time stopping their rookie Quarterback. He was elusive and poised throughout the afternoon. As the score tightened to 9-7, and after every cliché had been spoken in the huddles and between teammates, our quarterback Dustin lead our team down the field by scrambling like a man determined not to be defeated. He lead our team all day and toward the end zone for a 10-7 victory!

The 3-hour melee finally came to an end. Both teams shook hands and we posed for a couple post-game pictures as is our tradition. As players left the field, each person signed the check that was presented to “Papa” at the pre-game ceremony. We all headed off to a local pizza joint called Buddy’s to eat homemade minestrone soup, salad and some of the tastiest square slices the great state of Michigan has to offer.

As part of our newest tradition, the winning team gets to choose the charity of choice for next year…o, and enjoy the victory for the next 364 days!

Watch the pre-game festivities video: Run4Papa Meets Turkey Bowl V

To see photos, go to: Turkey Bowl V

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Turkey Bowl V

Jason on November 17, 2011

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Turkey Bowl V…For Papa & PPA

GameDay: 365 Days of Waiting…0 days to go!

Who wants it more?

 

To donate, go to: PPA Research and Education Fund (Run4Papa)

Where & When? Andover Field –  November 25th, 2011, 9:00 AM

What happens when arch rivals decide to come together ONE day a year over Thanksgiving weekend? Time to pick a side!!!

For years, we have had an annual Thanksgiving day game in Detroit and I am not referring to the Detroit Lions. The game is known as The Turkey Bowl and always kicks-off on Black Friday in our hometown of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The rules are simple: whichever team scores 10 touchdowns first wins. We play an aggressive game of 2-hand touch where inevitably someone is walking off the field injured. Not surprisingly, our shirts are white and theirs are black (insert any creative metaphor you like here). Make no mistake, this is an extremely heated rivalry between two teams: F.A.M.I.L.Y. versus The DARK Team.

BUT this year, we have the notion of a greater good being a fundamental staple for our annual game. We want to come together to support a cause by fundraising for not only this year’s game but all future games down the line. With that premise, we present: The Turkey Bowl V Meets Run4Papa Challenge  to help raise awareness and funds for those fighting PPA each and every day.

The minimum goal is a $1,000. 

Each player is going to pledge X amount as well as promote the game and cause together in hopes of spreading the word about PPA and getting others in the community to be part of this annual event. 100% of all donations go to fund research.

The winner of the Turkey Bowl gets to choose the charity for next year so besides bragging rights and pride, this incentive adds so much more to the rivalry.

The F.A.M.I.LY. – consists of my younger two brothers, my first cousin, and 3 of our closest family friends. We have no egos, we are unselfish, we have no names on the backs of our jerseys and we don’t care who scores so long as we come out victorious. We are unified.

The Dark Team – a bunch of highly fueled competitors who we have grown up with that come together one day a year to go up against us. They constantly replace teammates on a yearly basis if they don’t perform. Nonetheless, do not be fooled. They are highly individually talented, but when put together, things can get chaotic. “You guys are family. We are individuals.” – Andrew Sherman, member of the Dark Team.

Officially, The F.A.M.I.L.Y. leads the overall series 3-1; however, the DARK team won convincingly last year and are looking to retain the title and repeat. Just like Michigan v. Ohio State, both squads look forward to this game for 364 days a year and bragging rights are everything. Losing last year has left the most sour taste in our mouth and I can’t fathom how they dealt with it the previous 1,095 days before!

We have a couple special surprises in store and look forward to competing head-to-head on the field.

If you have any questions, please email: [email protected]

*DONATE NOW*

2. Enter $$$ next PPA Research and Education Fund (RUN4PAPA) – then continue to step 2
3. Scroll to the bottom: In the comments section, write Turkey Bowl V
4. Fill out personal info and you’re finished making a difference and enriching the Turkey Bowl

The 32 Rules of Thanksgiving Touch Football

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LPL Financial Food Fundraiser

Jason on November 11, 2011

Reading Time: 3 minutes

 Cooking for the Cause

Due to the positive swell of voting and support for What Would You Do For THE CAUSE? video from employees at LPL Financial, and unbeknownst to myself, our senior management team took an unexpected initiative and approved a food fundraiser to benefit the Run4Papa campaign the day the charity contest totals were announced. Kathy, one of the managers on theNew Accounts Team in Charlotte and well-known for her culinary skills (she could easily be mistaken for a gourmet chef if she weren’t working in finance full-time) lead the way. Minus the cost of food, all contributions would go directly to fund research for PPA.

Kathy offered to cook twice during the week. On Monday, she prepared chicken curry with rice while on Friday, she cooked stir fry with spicy noodles ($5 a plate). Both days included spring rolls (2 for $1) and cupcakes ($1) which were handmade by her daughters.

Our entire team was emailed the Run4Papa Meets LPL Food Fundraiser flyer. On Monday morning, Kathy prepared a massive cauldron of her homemade chicken curry with over 300 spring rolls and 80 cupcakes to compliment the main dish. Several co-workers paid in advance and requested Kathy set aside their plates due to meetings during our lunch break; some even requested multiple plates – one for lunch and one for dinner (they had sampled her food in the past).

We brought the food up to our break room and before we finished setting up shop, a line had already formed. The mix of curry spices, chicken, vegetables and rice was emanating throughout our floor; the smell alone would make you salivate. We went through all the chicken curry within an hour and had repeat customers for the spring rolls. In the latter part of the afternoon, we walked from floor to floor selling the remaining spring rolls and cupcakes.

Word of mouth spread about Kathy’s cooking from earlier in the week and people from not only our department but numerous others lined up to eat, donate, and express their praise about the campaign. Similar to Monday, the stir fry with spicy noodles and egg rolls went quickly. Moreover, there were people who would donate more than the cost of their food and others who had brought their own lunch but wanted to contribute to the cause.

The takeaway from the LPL food fundraiser amounted to $489! On top of that, Kathy made the donation on behalf of our New Accounts team which ended up being doubled through our firm’s matching program. Overall, the success of the food fundraiser attracted people’s immediate attention, raised awareness for PPA, and collected monies to the tune of $978!

My co-workers had clearly been inspired by the video and previously had no idea about PPA, let alone the symptoms of the disease. I am proud the PPA video produced this type of positive reaction and thus created more awareness about this widely unknown dementia.

Hopefully this video will enable people to take more notice of those battling this disease, and one day with that mentality, PPA will be as familiar to people as Alzheimer’s is today…

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LPL Financial Charity Contest

Jason on November 9, 2011

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Voting for the Cause

I always had the goal of producing a creative video to help create more exposure and awareness for PPA research before the New Year. This idea quiclkly became fast-tracked due to my company, LPL Financial, offering a $500 prize for best charity video, $250 for 2nd place, and $100 for 3rd place. Since I won the last two firm wide competitions-one for our New Accounts Team and another to cover our Annual Conference as a “Rovering Reporter”-I knew people would be gunning to knock me off.  In fact, I got emails internally stating that “You will not 3-peat” and “I was going down.” With this type of incentive and motivation, I wanted to craft a movie that would instantly grab the viewers attention as well as educate people about this relatively unknown disease.

I needed an idea that was fresh and would stick in people’s minds longer than 5 minutes after they saw the footage.

I brainstormed the idea of a silent movie with cue cards explaining the symptoms of PPA and why fighting to raise awareness for research is absolutely essential. The original premise was to stand in a dimly lit room with a spotlight pointed squarly on my body dropping cue cards one at a time while music playing in the background. About 10 minutes into filming, my friend Brad and I realized this wasn’t going to work nor be as effective as we wanted to portray.

We talked about it and came up with something special.

Instead of solely standing in one place dropping card after card, why not venture around Charlotte (my current place of residence) and take photos with the cue cards all over the city? This approach would defintely captivate people’s attention by demanding they not only read each written phrase but also have a scenic visual along the journey. The concept was so moving that we went out that evening and started shooting.

Over the course of the next couple days, we photographed all our shots, edited the movie and blended in background music. I submitted the video to my company for firm-wide voting and qualified in the Top 3. The 3 videos included:

a) Unchained Dogs – building fences for dog owners so they don’t have to chain their dogs down for fear they will run away.

b) Rescue Mission Farm Project – growing fresh produce for those in need in the Temecula and north San Diego County regions.

c) What would you do for THE CAUSE? – creating awareness and research for PPA while bringing light to a disease that over 1,000,000 people fight everyday.

The voting period went from Monday-Friday and on Thursday morning, the 3 of us received an email – 1st Place: Unchained Dogs (113), 2nd Place: PPA Video (101), 3rd Place: Rescue Mission (76). I immediately assembled a meeting with my AVP’s and managers in hopes of spreading the word amongst my firm by establishing a marketing strategy that targeted all 3 of our office locations: Boston, San Diego and Charlotte. The hardest part about generating exposure is ensuring people take a couple minutes out of their busy day to be cognizant of what’s going on. While voting on the video contest will clearly benefit all charities involved, with all work responsibilities we have on a daily basis, this competition can easily get lost in the shuffle of daily emails and routine homepage postings.

Since my SVP has strong working relationships with our Boston office, I asked him to email the executives and get them to view the videos for voting. One of my AVP’s worked in San Diego for years, and I insisted she email all the managers out west and make them aware of the competition. Lastly, I decided to personally email each employee on our marketing and sales teams about the closely contested race and provided them with a direct link to the movies. They now had every opportunity to watch the video submissions and make an informed decision.

The next morning, I got a phone call from corporate communications, “You Won! How did you get so many votes?  What was your secret? We will email you the final totals by lunch.”

Final Totals: 1st Place: PPA (245), 2nd Place: Unchained Dogs (145), 3rd Place: Rescue Farm Mission (131).

The hidden secret to the massive swing in votes for this race was nothing that secretive at all, rather what we are always trying to promote for this campaign: AWARENESS! When people are presented with information about this disease and cause, they take notice.  Managers sent emails to their teams, employees emailed one another and I received loads of complimentary emails from fellow co-workers. Even from the guy who said “You will not 3-Peat!”

Substance = Results.

It doesn’t take much to spread the word, just a couple minutes out of your day. And for spreading the word, Run4Papa raised another $500 for research thanks to the employees at LPL Financial taking a couple minutes out of their day to learn more about a disease they had never heard of moments before…

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Denver Gorilla Run

Jason on November 3, 2011

Reading Time: 3 minutes

 Running Wild in The Mile High City

When Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin “Megatron” Johnson did not “complete the process of the catch,” the Detroit Lions ended up losing  a heart breaker on the road last season to the Chicago Bears. He clearly caught the ball, but it was ruled an incomplete pass. My friends and I decided right then and there we were going to take a road trip next season to watch our boys play in person.

When the schedule was released earlier this spring, Denver was the unanimous choice.  What originally started out as weekend trip to see our boys compete, ended up turning into an extended trip to The Mile High City that embraced Halloween, hosted one of the most enjoyable 5K events around the nation, and of course magnified the hype that is Tim Tebow.

The 8th annual 5K Gorilla Run attracted more than 1,200 runners in ape suits to the Wynkoop Brewery to raise money for the Denver-based Mountain Gorilla Conservation fund.  You can go around this course anyway you would like that is not motorized. For the diehard runner and going for 1st place (male and female), the only requirement is that you have to keep your full gorilla suit on.

There were 3 waves: 1st wave was all gorillas with wheels (bikes, roller blades skateboards, wheel chairs, etc.).  The 2nd wave was all “Silverback” runners (the competitive ones that plan to win the race).  And the 3rd wave was the rest of the walkers, joggers and etc.

Each runner is given a full-on gorilla suit accompanied with a mask and gorilla hands. Most people elect to “add” to their costume.  For example, there were groups of people dressed up as Star Trek Monkeys, Bay Watch Monkeys, Hockey Monkeys on Roller blades and even two monkeys running while carrying a “mock-human” on a stick (arms and legs tied together).

We chose to outfit our costumes in Detroit Lions jerseys! #81 (Johnson), #26 (Delmas), #90 (Suuuuuuuuuuh) and #9 Stafford. From the minute we got out of our car we were getting positive reactions from on-lookers.  Other monkeys wanted our picture together, with them, and of course “Tebowing.”

Since we weren’t in the timed wave, my friends and I really took in the atmosphere of this race. It was a welcome change from some of the other races where my competitiveness takes over and I am shooting for a particular time to hit.

The weather was about 65 degrees and sunny when the race began.  We ran alongside the streets and river of downtown Denver.  We chased after people dressed as bananas, went between a semi-circle of rocks to do a unified “Tebowing,” and stopped at various points to take pictures of fellow monkey runners dressed in costume.  At one point during our race, I saw a skater park and veered off course temporarily to pose on a skateboard. The skaters were laughing and not entirely sure why a monkey wearing a Lions jersey was on their skateboard.

The entire event was so much fun and I highly recommend participating in this race if you live in Denver or if you are thinking about coming to Denver over Halloween weekend in the future. Of course, it didn’t hurt either that the Lions demolished the Broncos and confirm that in fact, Tim Tebow does not walk on water with a 45-10 victory!

To watch video, go to: Running Wild in The Mile High City

To see photos, go to: Denver Gorilla Run

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