Watch Out Atlanta -- here we come!

We made the decision -- ATLANTA 2011!

As much everyone I talked to LOVED the idea of San Diego, it just seemed to make better sense for us to do Atlanta, where we could have more family support for all the first timers, and less travel expense.  I think it's also going to allow us to build a bigger team, which makes me really excited.  Spreading that Music City Spirit!

The discount code SAVE25 is good until Friday, so read my blog entry below about what exactly the 3-Day entails.  There is a team password to join Music City Spirit, but only so I can make sure everyone understands my fundraising philosophy before they commit.

My 2-Step Fundraising Philosophy, quite simply is this:

1.  We're a TEAM.  Everyone is going to help everyone else.  There won't be any prizes or competition for who raises the most money, because we're all going to be focused on helping each other meet their minimums.  Last year, I was able to channel several hundred dollars in donations to teammates so that we ALL had met our minimum before the walk.  It all goes to the same place!

2.  In order to share in any particular fundraiser's proceeds, you need to participate in that fundraiser.  Obviously people will do their own individual fundraising (like, for instance, some crazy people shave their heads to raise money.)  But here are some of the group fundraising activities I'm looking into.  Proceeds will be distributed to those who participate in each fundraiser.  Obviously, the earlier you join the team, the more group fundraising opportunities you'll be able to participate in!

- Mother's Day custom soap gift packages  (taking orders in April)
- Pampered Chef Fundraiser (in May when they have PINK products!)
- Crop for the Cure 2
- Booths at Lennox Village Farmer's Markets
- T-shirt sale
- Pied Piper Creamery event
- WalMart booth

What else?  I'm open to ideas -- especially ones that allow us to reach people outside of our circle of friends, like booths that don't cost money.

Coming To Your City. Ummm... where do you live?

I live in Nashville, TN -- the Healthcare Capital of America. (Believe it or not, the music industry doesn't even come close to healthcare as an industry in Music City.) You'd think, we'd have a 3-Day Walk here. But nope! I need to get on my friends at the NCVB about that.

Last year, we did Washington, D.C. Why there? Well the dates worked, 2 of my teammates had never been, it was a manageable distance, and it sounded like fun. Because, if you're going to walk for 3 days, you want it to be somewhere with some scenery. Obviously, Atlanta is closer. But I know that on more than one occasion I uttered something along the lines of "Who wants to walk around Atlanta for 3 days?"

Well this year, the two cities we're looking at are San Diego... and Atlanta. And about every 10 minutes, I change my mind. I was having this conversation (via email) with my friend Taylor (Who is an AMAZING cancer survivor herself.)ME: I'm trying to make a decision on where to do my 3-Day this year. There's a strong battle between Atlanta and San Diego.

TAYLOR: Ooooooo exciting stuff! I feel like the last time I heard you talk about it, you were still iffy about whether or not you were actually gonna do it for sure. When's the Atlanta one?? Wouldn't that be like...extraordinarily more convenient than San Diego, haha? Too bad Atlanta is ugly. And hot. And smoggy. And San Diego is gorgeous. And had consistently spectacular weather. And an ocean.

My friend Jenny has been bugging me to go out to San Diego to do it with her.

ME: Yes to all of the above. I was waffling... I wasn't sure I wanted to make the commitment to all that training again... it really kills your weekends. So I was thinking maybe I'd just crew Atlanta. Then I had a little epiphany that that was taking the easy way out... so unless they find a Cure in the next 6 months, I need to get my butt out there and walk.

In addition to the scenery and the weather... here's what I'm working with:

Atlanta (October 21-23) 

PROS: Location... Lower travel costs = more money towards the cause....Could get a bigger team together... Lots more people to train with locally on the same schedule... Our families could come down and cheer for us which is HUGE. People that needed to could drive back Sun night and be at work on Monday. Happens DURING Breast Cancer Awareness month, which is cool. The whole world turns pink.

CONS: Who wants to walk around Atlanta for 3 days? And a lot of the additional people I could recruit as teammates would come from my same fundraising base.  (Although in hindsight... I don't know that that's necessarily true.)

San Diego (November 18-20)



Yes that's my husband.  The picture was taken at a D.C.cheering
station. But he was a San Diego sailor.  Maybe they knew that?

 

PROS: Scenery. The weather. The Ocean. My friend Rosemary would join a team for this location, and do it with her sister, who lives out there. The Ocean. You and Jenny. Have I mentioned that I LOVE the ocean? And my dad and husband were both San Diego sailors and I've never been. Pretty much none of these except the people are good Pros. But my husband is Mr. San Diego! Surely that's a sign that I need to see the ocean? Plus it's later in the year, so it's longer to train and fundraise -- including ALL of October. And on post-walk Monday, the ocean could massage our aching feet.

CONS: Cost. We're looking at AT LEAST an additional $500 in travel costs. Less people would be able to join our team, AND none of our families would be there. Just Rosemary's family, and probably my incredibly loyal yet crazy friend Sandi.

TAYLOR: As I sat here reading and pondering your email, I too had an epiphany (I have lots of those in case you haven't noticed). At the end of the day, isn't this about finding a cure? And raising the absolute largest amount of money that you can possibly raise, so that there CAN be a cure? Aaaaaand maybe not so much about scenery, weather, convenience, cheerleaders, etc? While I totally and completely understand the importance of ALL of those things, looking at the bigger picture and the fundamental purpose of the walk, kinda makes all of those factors seem a little obsolete. It doesn't matter if you're walking through an ugly city, alongside the beach, or even around in circles in a 5 x 5 ft room....you're still walking for the same purpose: a cure. As for convenience and cheerleaders...there ain't nothinnnn convenient about cancer and if I've learned anything over the last 3 weeks, it's that even if you don't have a room full of cheerleaders, they are still there with you in spirit and truuuuuust me, you most definitely can still hear and feel their cheers and support...even if it's coming from a billion miles away.

So at the end of the day, I think you need to pick whichever place will allow you to raise the MOST amount of money...whether that's Atlanta with it's lower travel costs, a bigger team and the fact that it's during breast cancer awareness month OR San Diego where you have more time to raise $$ and less people cutting into your fundraising base. I'm also a big proponent of following your gut...even if what you're gut is telling you isn't necessarily what you OR what other people want to do.

Regardless of what you choose, I'm REEEEALLY glad you're doing it again!

My husband pointed out that while all of that is true… getting the BEST possible experience out of the event (whatever that is, whether it’s scenery or cheerleaders or weather) is what is going to make people come back year after year, and raise more money over the long haul.

All of which means, I’m more confuzzled than ever. My gut says Atlanta. My heart says San Diego. My head says there’s not a WRONG choice. But I want to make sure we pick the MOST RIGHT choice.  And, that I don't let anyone down.  Which probably isn't possible.

The $25 registration discount expires at the end of the month… so I plan to make a decision in the next week.

So You Think You Wanna Do A 3-Day, eh?

Over the past few weeks I've been talking to a lot of people who are contemplating doing the SGK Breast Cancer 3-Day this year.  So I thought I'd create a little rundown of what you need to know if you're thinking of joining my (or anyone else's) team.  So here we go:

1.  It will change your life.  Being a part of something THAT big and THAT amazing is an incredible experience.

2.  It takes time.  That to me was the hardest part.  You don't walk 60 miles without training for it.  And training for it means you have to be willing to give up some family time.   It also means getting up early.  Here are the key things I learned about training:

- Make sure your family is supportive.  If you have a spouse, make sure they are on board and willing to pitch in with the things you're going to be too tired to do.  If you have kids, make sure they can be covered, and will be ok with you being around a little less for a while.  My husband and daughter were AMAZING.  But a 13 year old definitely requres less maintenance than a 3 year old does.

- Stick to the training schedule.  SGK lays out a 16 week or 24 week training schedule.  (I do the 24)  You have to BLOCK that time out on your calendar.  There's some flexibility on what days you do things, but plan for short walks 3 days during the week and long walks on Saturdays and Sundays.  Short Walks start at 45min-1hour (3 miles) and get longer as the event gets closer.  Long walks start around 2 hours and by the end take up the better part of your Saturday.  Saturday walks are longer than Sunday.  Click here to see the 24 week training schedule and make sure it's something that fits into your life.

- Proper shoes and clothes aren't negotiable.  More on that in a minute.

Now... if you miss a day, is it the end of the world?  Absolutely not.  But if your intentions are good and you are focused, you're going to be on schedule more than you're going to be off.  And you'll be fine.  And I'll be first to admit I did pretty much ZERO cross training on the schedule.  But I did at least 80% of those long weekend walks.  And I walked ALL 60 miles.

3.  It takes money. 

- There's a $90 registration fee (currently a $25 discount good through the end of the month, so let's make up our minds already!)

- There is a $2300 fundraising minimum.  This is a BIG, BOLD event.  It's meant for those who are dedicated to the belief that "Everyone Deserves A Lifetime."  Don't let the fundraising scare you.  Especially considering that you're thinking about this in February.  Plenty of time!  I'm looking at a late fall walk, so if you break it down it's less than $300 a month to raise.  Trust me, we're going to get it done.  EVERYONE on my team will meet their minimum and then some.

- In addition to the money raised for the cause, you'll need 2 pairs of good shoes, at least 6 pairs of athletic socks, 3 pairs of athletic pants, and a waist pack.  We'll do team shirts to walk in.  After you sign up, you're going to be telling everyone you know that you're doing this, and hopefully everyone you know is going to get you gift cards to Fleet Feet for your birthday / mother's day, etc.

*I have seed money for t-shirts.  We'll also sell t-shirts as a fundraiser this year.*

- Unfortunately, there's not a walk in Nashville.  (Yet?)  So there are also travel costs involved depending on where we decide to walk.

That's the 3 biggies.  I have learned a LOT from my first 3-Day last year, in Washington D.C.  And I can't wait to do it again!  The benefits far outweigh the downsides (like that 5:30am alarm on Saturday), and I LOVE that my daughter gets to see her mom doing something THIS cool. 

One other key thing I took in from last year's experience:  You have to be big and bold about TELLING people you're doing this.  If you don't tell them, they don't know, and they won't donate to you.  They may even donate to someone else.  I raised the majority of my money through Facebook.  No lie.  And then once I met my minumum (and then some!) I was able to donate my share of team fundraising activities to help my teammates meet theirs.  And the earlier you start with the fundraising, the sooner you'll meet your minium and be able to focus on the training part.  And that is a HUGE blessing.

Music City Spirit will be traveling to either Atlanta (October 21-23) or San Diego (November 18-20) this year.  The requirements to join the team are pretty simple:  You have to participate in team fundraisers in order to benefit from them, you have to represent Music City with pride, and you have to get along with me.  :-)

So... who's in?  And where are we going to go?

The Cowboy, The Bucket List & The Believers

It's been brought to my attention that I never fully blogged about my 3-Day experience. It's not for a lack of trying. It's just OVERWHELMING when you think about trying to put this incredibly amazing experience into words. So I've kind of let the pictures on our Facebook wall do the talking. But I *will* tackle it at some point.  Maybe.

In the meantime, I'm going to bog about another cancer related experience I had that was also incredibly amazing. And, I should point out, somewhat related because it involves two of the people who first made me aware of this whole 3-Day experience to begin with.

It was December 16th, 2010. Opening night of Garth Brooks’s 9 show run at the Bridgestone Arena, which is home to the SIRIUS XM studios where I work. I was super excited about the night. Not just because I’m a big Garth fan – which I am. But because my intern, Taylor, was going to her first Garth show.

Taylor’s from Oklahoma. She – and half of her family - graduated from Oklahoma State – Garth’s alma mater. The first time her mom left her with a babysitter was so she could go see Garth in concert. Taylor choreographed gymnastics routines to Garth songs. Her grandparents live down the street from the G-man, and she’d run into him in Walmart. But she’d never spoken to him. She’d CERTAINLY never seen him in concert. And you know… in order to see Garth these days, you gotta go to Vegas.

That was… until Garth announced he was doing a flood relief show in the very building Taylor was interning in. But even then, as all the GarthNutts know… getting a ticket was pretty much impossible the day they went on sale. We both failed. For a couple of days we were really bummed. Then three cheers for my wonderful friend Kendel, who managed to grab two lower bowl tickets and needed someone to go with. I snagged her extra ticket, so Taylor could go see Garth in concert. Because seeing Garth in concert was the #1 item on Taylor’s Bucket List.

In case you just blew by that last line, let me repeat it:  Seeing Garth in concert was the #1 item on Taylor’s Bucket List.

It's easy to dismiss a 22 year old with a Bucket List. So I should tell you that Taylor has cancer. Two types of cancer, actually. The doctors had given her a few weeks to live… three and a half years ago. I could write for days about how much I’ve learned from this fiercly stubborn, ridiculously snarky, incredibly faithful, beautiful young lady that God placed into my life. But I know most of you are here because you heard I have a good Garth story to share. And boy do I ever!

About a week before the show I’d sent a note to everyone I knew remotely connected to Garth telling them about Taylor. About how her grandmother took her to the Opry when she was five years old, and she announced then that she was going to move to Nashville. You just know that I played the OSU card. At the press conference announcing the Nashville show, Garth made a statement about how if this was a bucket list item for someone, now was the time. I wanted him to meet someone who truly had him at the top of her bucket list. There was a press conference the day of the show, and all I was asking for was a couple of minutes for her to get to meet him. Because I knew it would be pretty special for him too.

So I sent the note. And I waited. And I waited. And I waited. And I heard nothing. Now Taylor had NO idea I’d sent the note, and she was just excited as all get out to be seeing Garth. Then, a couple of days before the show, she got a fever. A bad one. And she wound up in the hospital. That wasn’t fun. She was… shall we say… less than pleased with this turn of events. But she had people all across the country praying for her. (Shout out to the amazing cheering section she had on my Facebook page!) Taylor NEEDED to be out of the hospital by the 16th! Fortunately, her doctor was a Garth fan. In fact, he had tickets to the Friday night show. So Thursday morning he sprung her loose, with instructions that she had to take her temperature every hour, and come back if it hit a certain point. YAY for the power of prayer!

Meanwhile... I’d heard nothing back from my request. So Taylor and I went to the press conference. And I made her ask Garth a question. Which I’d tried to get her to do at half a dozen previous press conferences for other artists, and she wouldn’t do it. But she did for Garth. And as I sat there in the press conference looking around at all the people I’d put my request in to, I started getting mad that no one had even bothered to tell me “no.” I was only asking for a couple of minutes! So when it was over I left her with my co-worker Storme Warren, who was doing a TV interview with GB. So even if she didn’t get a chance to talk to him privately or get a picture taken, maybe she could meet him.

Sharing the Garth joy!

And she did. And she was thrilled. And we put her on the radio talking about it. Which would give this story a happy ending if it ended right there. EXCEPT… there’s more. You should know with the Garth Angels around, there’s always more!

It’s about 6 o’clock that night, and my phone rings, a number I don’t know. I step out of the studio and take the call, and the person on the other end says:

“Hi Joyce, it’s Tracy Greenwood, Garth’s assistant. Garth wanted to see if you wanted to come backstage tonight before the show. And will you have Taylor with you?”

Yes and yes? Yes! Now Taylor and I weren’t sitting together at the show, I was going to the show with my friend Sandi, and Taylor was sitting with Kendel on the other side of the arena. So we all meet up, exchange tickets, and I tell everyone we’ll meet at the seats, I have somewhere I need to take Taylor. Yeah… I didn’t tell her where we were going until we got there. Then the fun of watching her freaking out began.

There are about 8 of us I guess, taken backstage to a meeting room that’s being set up for a Teammates for Kids event that evening. Because apparently two full benefit concerts on one night wasn’t amazing enough for Garth to be doing. We wait there. I whisper to Taylor that we’ll let everyone else go first so we could talk to him in private. Turned out to not be necessary. After a few minutes Tracy comes and gets us, leaving everyone else behind, and takes Taylor and I to Garth & Trisha’s dressing room.

I’m not sure I can adequately put into words what the next 15 minutes or so were like. But I want to try. Garth, remembering his quick meeting with Taylor earlier in the day, introduced her to Trisha, even mentioning her hometown and OSU. He asked her if she was interning with Storme, to which she said no, she was working with me. Garth says “Ohhh…. So how’s THAT going.” (I may or may not have given him a little shoulder ram while protesting “heyyyyy!”) He TOTALLY put her at ease, and was even heckling Trisha about what she was wearing. (“You’re not wearing that on stage are you?” She didn’t.)

I told Garth about how Taylor had been in the hospital right up until that morning. And she was able to tell him about her doctor asking what was so important that she had to get out, and her answer was that she was going to see Garth!  She got to tell him that he was the #1 item on her bucket list. He was so cute… he asked Tracy if they knew where she was sitting so someone could keep an eye on her. Taylor was like “I’m FINE!” (Her favorite 2 words in the English language.) He said to her – “You’ve never been to one of these. It gets hot and we get LOUD.”

Garth also asked her if she had a favorite song. Hers was “Cowboys & Angels.” Garth was noticeably impressed that she’d picked an album cut. She proceeded to tell him how she had this whole video in her head about using that song in her wedding, because she just knew she was going to marry a cowboy someday. He told her it wasn’t in the setlist that night, but he sung the opening few lines, and talked about the songwriters, in particular how that song had Kent Blazy all over it.

Oh! We also had a conversation about fake hair. I don’t remember exactly how it got started, but Garth and Trisha knew that I’d shaved my head, and I think Trisha made a comment about my wig that I was wearing… and somehow Taylor must have said something about hers, because Trisha admitted that some of her hair was fake too.  (She looked amazing, BTW.)   And then Garth took off his hat and said “yeah, mine’s not real either.” Which, if you’ve saw him take off his hat during those shows, you saw that he’s coloring it. We all laughed. (Personally Garth, I think the grey looks good.)

So we took pictures, and gave hugs all around, and then we left so they could go meet with the other folks. And you could have powered the arena with the electricity in Taylor’s smile when we left.

As I have reflected back on that experience over and over, I am always, always, always amazed at how incredible they were with her. How lighthearted and fun they kept it, and how they put her at ease. How they didn’t rush her through, sign something, snap a picture, next! I’ve seen pictures from other people’s backstage meet & greets and they were from the public room. It truly was a very special one-of-a kind experience. And that wound up being invaluable in the days ahead.

The very next day Taylor wound back up in the hospital. Her fever was back (or quite honestly, it probably never went away.) Everyone that came into contact with her had to wear blue moon man suits and take a bath in Purell. And EVERYONE that came in contact with her knew she’d met Garth. All the doctors, the nurses. I can just imagine them coming in and looking over her chart… asking “How are you feeling today Miss Taylor?” And her reply (of course) would be “I’m fine.” Followed by “Did you know I met Garth Thursday night?” Or “ Miss Taylor, does this hurt?” “Really, I’m fine. Let's talk about Garth.  Did you get to go to a show?” Pretty soon, the staff was coming in and starting off the conversation with “So, I hear you met Garth!”

At one point, Taylor was told the mortality rate for someone in her condition with sepsis was 80%. I’m 100% convinced that the adrenaline flowing through her veins and the joy in her heart tipped the scales in her favor. And lest you think I’m exaggerating, I offer up her Facebook status from after the show that night:

Sorry future husband/children/grandchildren/great grandchildren/etc. Today was and will always be the BEST day of my life.

How's THAT for a look at cancer?

Or the one from chemo the next morning, complete with the picture:
Still too over the moon happy from last night to care even the sliiiiightest bit that a nurse in a HazMat suit (where's mine?) is pumping toxic chemicals (capable of producing 3rd degree burns if exposed to the skin) into my veins (which have already seen more than the full lifetime quota I was told my body could safely receive of the drug) OR that in several hours I will be a shivering, puking, pathetic puddle on the bathroom floor. Nope, don't matta'. I saw Garth.


Which brings me to today, and why I’m FINALLLLLY, some 6 weeks later, getting around to blogging about all this. I believe that the gift that Garth &Trisha gave to Taylor had a lot to do with saving her life. I believe in the power of music and I believe in the power of prayer.

Tomorrow Taylor is going in for some pretty risky surgery. The odds they’ve given her aren’t even as good as those crappy sepsis numbers. So I’m rounding up the believers and focusing everyone in one common goal:

Taylor needs a miracle. Miracles happen every day. To quote my friend Amy “Why not Nashville on a Friday?”

If you BELIEVE that miracles can happen… if you BELIEVE that prayer works… if you BELIEVE that Taylor can once again defy the doctors, then share, post, email and tweet this… and
Pray without ceasing.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (New King James Version)

4 Women ~ 60 Miles ~ 3 Days ~ DONE

We made it.  Slightly bruised and blistered, but each with all 10 toes intact, and completely inspired and awed by the experience.

Once we decompress and process things a little better, there will be tons of stories and photos to share.  So bookmark this page.  :-)  A few photos have been uploaded to our team Facebook page, and more are coming.

We're also sharing photos and stories from the event this Sunday at Hillcrest United Methodist Church in Nashville.  .  Come see us at 9:45am in Fellowship Hall ~ and we'd love for you to stay for 11am church service.

The Washington D.C. 3-Day involved 2,000 walkers, several hundred crew members, and raised $5.3 million dollars for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  And that number will only go up.  We still have 30 days to take donations -- if you haven't yet, please contribute online to one of our team members.

We haven't picked a city for next year yet, but you better believe that Music City Spirit will continue to walk until there's no longer a reason to walk, to wear pink, or to fight for a Cure... because they'll have found one.

Because EVERYONE Deserves A Lifetime!

WOOOO HOOOOO ~!

We leave for D.C. in 33 hours... at this moment, ALL team members have met our $2300 fundraising minimum, and counting checks that haven't posted yet, we're well over $11,000 raised in the fight against breast cancer.

Even more important, we've been touched to the core by the stories people have shared and the generous spirit that has lead people to open their hearts, their checkbooks, and their businesses to us.

Now we can fully focus on the event itself!  The journey of a lifetime is well underway... watch facebook.com/MusicCitySpirit for photos and status updates from Washington D.C.

xoxo
Joyce, Julie, Annette & Bridget

Open Letter to Our Hillcrest UMC Family

Dear Hillcrest Family ~

Next Thursday, we leave for Washington D.C., where we are participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure ~ an event staged at 15 cities across the U.S. this year. We walk 20 miles a day, 3 days in a row, sleeping in tents at night and showering in a truck. And we can’t wait!

The decision to join the biggest and boldest event in the fight against breast cancer was made here at Hillcrest, on the Sunday morning of Discovery Weekend. Since then, we have logged hundreds of training miles, and raised over $10,000 in the fight against breast cancer. All working toward next weekend’s big event.

If you’d like to write a note of encouragement and support that we can read in camp at night, there is a mailbox in the welcome center. Leave them there by Wednesday, and Gary and Delaynie will deliver them to us next weekend.

Since beginning this journey we’ve heard dozens of stories of women who have battled this disease. We’re carrying a ribbon boa to D.C. honoring the names of the survivors and the memory of the angels who lost the fight. We’d be honored to carry a name for you, just let a team member know, or email JMRizer@aol.com.

Other ways you can support our team:

1. Pray! For strength, good spirits, & good weather.

2. Like our Facebook page ~ facebook.com/MusicCitySpirit Updates from the event will be posted there throughout the weekend

3. Wear pink to church next Sunday, so we can be there in Spirit!

Annette Donahey, Bridget Worden, Joyce Rizer & Julie Austin


Haven’t donated yet? Click Here to contribute to our team!