We have written a few of these spotlight pieces to help promote the businesses and charities that are supporting us on Kids Are Heroes Day. When we do this, we ask for a paragraph or two from the person or company we feature so that they can “blow their own horn” so to speak. Michelle Lindsay has worked with us in the past on Kids Are Heroes Day in 2009. I knew how good her work was, so when she agreed to come all the way from Alexandria, Virginia to Frederick, MD again to do pro bono work for us, we were naturally thrilled. I didn’t know, however, how much she is being recognized in her field as she explains below. It certainly isn’t surprising, because all along I’ve known how phenomenal her work is (see examples below) and deserving of being showcased in elite international magazines and beyond. But when people get to be “big shots” as she certainly is, it’s nice to know how eager she is to come to our little city and photograph our kids. Even if you are not looking for a photographer, we encourage you to visit her website to see some more stunning pictures.
“Originally from the Midwest, Michelle Lindsay found a home here on the East Coast back in 2001 when she moved to Boston to study Graphic Design and Photojournalism. After working as the Director of Marketing for a small Portrait Studio, she founded Michelle Lindsay Photography LLC in 2006. In 2008, she relocated her business down to the DC area. Located in Northern Virginia, Michelle photographs around 20 weddings a year, as well as children and family portraiture. She is available for commissions anywhere in the US and abroad and has enjoyed working in various locations including New England, the Midwest, the Bahamas and London, England. Known for her fresh viewpoint in wedding photography, Michelle’s work has garnered her recognition in various bridal publications and blogs, including Washingtonian Bride&Groom, theKnot, Brides, Get Married, Southern New England Weddings, United with Love and Capital Romance. An active member of the photographic community, Michelle also thoroughly enjoys being an educator. She has presented on a national stage at Imaging USA and in 2010, Michelle Lindsay Photography was named one of the Top 10 Up and Coming Studios by the Professional Photographers of America. Michelle continues to work on personal photography projects and her personal work can currently be viewed at Dulles Airport as part of the International Gateway Gallery.“
A few months ago I stumbled across this group on Twitter. They are a group of musicians whose sole purpose for getting together is to help organizations with humanitarian causes raise money by providing benefit concerts for them. My first reaction was that this was an incredible idea. This is a perfect example of how people can take their passion for something, in this case music, and turn it into a real positive force. Imagine my excitement when I discovered that they were only 25 miles away from us! I felt an immediate need to contact them. As many of you know by now I don’t particularly like asking for things, although you might not be able to tell that judging from our Twitter stream. But with Kids Are Heroes it’s different. If we don’t ask, things simply won’t happen. I really wanted to have some of her musicians play for us at Kids Are Heroes Day.
Robin Fay Massie is the founder and director of Musicians for Mercy. I hear she also plays a mean viola. I couldn’t have discovered a more enthusiastic, gracious and welcoming partner. I was hoping she would send a string quartet. Instead she asked for the dimensions of the stage. “If it holds 16 people then that’s how many I’m sending!” she said. We are so lucky to have met Robin and can’t wait to hear the performance. It’s so cool that she’s also sending gifted young musicians to highlight which I’m sure will inspire our heroes. Check our schedule to see when the Musicians of Mercy will appear.
Here is a complete description of them as offered by their leader:
“Musicians of Mercy (MOM) is a collective of over seventy musicians and artists based in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area. Founded and directed by violist Robin Fay Massie, the group was formed in January 2010. Our mission is to support victims of natural disasters and other humanitarian causes throughout the United States and other countries. Our volunteer members are professional musicians who have performed with various orchestras such as the National Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, U.S. Air Force Strings, The President’s Own U.S. Marine Band, Delaware Symphony Orchestra, Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, as well as other freelance musicians, gifted high school musicians and music teachers. MOM concerts showcase gifted solo performing artists, chamber ensembles, jazz combos, and a full orchestra.
Since January 2010, our concerts have generated large funds from generous attendees which were donated to charitable organizations such as Save the Children, American Red Cross, Youth Frontiers, GLSEN, World Vision, and most recently, FIRN. We are very much looking forward to participating in Kids Are Heroes Day 2011! Truly, kids are the lifeblood of our community!
As part of our spotlight series on Kids Are Heroes Day, we are blessed to have not one but three photographers who are all offering their services pro bono to make this a very special day for the heroes. Amanda is one we have known for over a year and are so lucky to have the privilege of knowing her. If you would like to meet her she will be covering the 10AM-1PM shift on Kids Are Heroes Day.
Amanda Rodriguez is a Maryland blogger, writer, and professional photographer. As owner of Then Again Photography, she specializes in snapping pretty pictures of pretty people and loves when those pretty people are pint sized the most! Amanda is a self-taught photographer her always had a love for photography, particularly when it comes to snapping photos of faces (she is not into the nature-y stuff at all!). Her love of all things photo blossomed when she became a mom herself in 2001, right when digital photography was really starting to take off. After snapping more than 6,000 photos of her own children she realized that, she possibly had a picture related sickness, and that her skill with a camera had developed quite a bit! Her first client came in 2008 and she has not looked back since photographing everything from religious ceremonies to blogging conferences! In addition to being a photographer, a freelance writer, and a mom to three handsome Dudes, Amanda is a humor blogger with a rapidly growing online following. Her blog, parenting BY dummies, is filled with not only funny stories of Dude Mom Life, but photos to prove the awesomeness. Rather taking pictures of her own children or those of others Amanda can always be found with a camera in her hands an a smile on her face! She is more than smiling to be a part of the Kids Are Heroes photography team!
For me at least, preparing for “our first rodeo” was quite stressful. After all, MaryMargaret and I had spoken in front of schools before but we had never experienced anything like this. As we practiced and practiced starting weeks beforehand, we always wondered how it would actually come off. I don’t think either of us dreamed it would come off as it did.
The Grand Ballroom at the Richmond Convention Center
Last Thursday we headed to Richmond for the #DSRPT11 conference as we were invited to speak to a group of 500 business entrepreneurs. The hash tag represents “disruptive thinking” as all the speakers and especially the headliner, Sir Richard Branson, have a reputation of thinking outside the box. As we arrived at the Richmond Convention Center we were a bit taken aback by the size and grandeur of the room. Two giant screens were hung adjacent to the stage and one other larger one above it. When we arrived our slides were on all screens which made it a bit surreal. This was really going to happen. Our speech coach told us that we should see the venue beforehand, learn every aspect of our entrance and get the feel for the whole thing so we knew what to expect. I can’t tell you how important this was to us. We both got miked up and went through the entire presentation to an empty audience. This was critical for us to get through the next day.
We delivered our speech on Friday after lunch. MaryMargaret showed no sign of nerves throughout the entire day until she realized we were on next. “Now I’m nervous!” she said. But she never showed it. I on the other hand had very little sleep the night before and was almost hyperventilating that morning. It wasn’t so much because of nervousness about speaking in front of people, it was more about the fact that the material was so important to me and I wanted to deliver it the right way. I really didn’t want to mess it up. But when I arrived at the venue I saw how relaxed everyone was and interested in the content of the other speakers. This made me realize that we were really in the right place at the right time.
So then it was our turn. I still had a bit of the jitters but MaryMargaret was flawless. I didn’t really realize that until I watched it back later. We had a bit of a gaffe in the middle which turned out to be funny. I’m not sure if people thought we scripted that or not. I think the biggest surprise we received was the crowd’s reactions. Both the speech and the video we presented sparked several rounds of applause during, and MaryMargaret got a rousing standing ovation at the end. I also heard later that a few tears were shed, including some by my wife who was working the Flip video camera. The results of her efforts are seen below.
So after having completed the speech it was time to finally breathe out and enjoy the rest of the day. Many of you know that I credit Sir Richard Branson when I talk about the genesis of Kids Are Heroes. MaryMargaret is the flame but Sir Richard was at least a big part of the spark. We watched his presentation which included a fascinating look at the upcoming adventures of Virgin Galactic, which is the company he formed to take “ordinary” people into space. Thanks to the WONDERFUL folks at Richmond Unite, the company that hosted this entire event, we did get the opportunity to meet him, not once but twice. We did a “meet and greet” that night and were also invited to a brunch with him the next morning. I finally got to give him the acknowledgment I’ve always wanted to about how his words helped us start the organization. Talk about a surreal experience.
Hero Ethan from VA on left, Sir Richard and MaryMargaret
So I really must thank the folks from Richmond Unite for offering this opportunity to us, as we hope it acts as the launching pad for similar future events. I must also mention again our speech coach Mike Boyd, who helped us gain the confidence we needed and also improved our delivery tenfold.
In the three years we have been involved with Kids Are Heroes, both MaryMargaret and I have been asked to speak at relatively small venues from time to time. Now both of us have been asked to speak at a large one. Richmond Unite is a non-profit out of Richmond, Virginia whose sole purpose for existing is to raise money for other deserving charities. As it turns out, one of their board members is a friend of Sir Richard Branson, a business mogul and someone that we have mentioned several times in our past. Besides being one of the catalysts for the genesis of Kids Are Heroes, we also were one of the winners of his PitchTV contest in 2009. So in order to assist with a big event Richmond Unite was planning, they invited Sir Richard to be the headliner for the event. Now when when our Twitter friend Fiona (@BetterEdit) got wind of this, (knowing our connection to Branson) she asked us if we were coming to Richmond. This was the first I had heard of it. After looking at the event and realizing the fundraiser was for local children’s charities, I thought this was a perfect opportunity for us to be there. Luckily for us, the organizers of the event felt the same way so they asked us to speak at the conference.
Now although I had spoken in front of an audience of 5000 way back in 1993, it has been a long time and I must say I am not a professional speaker (yet). However if there is a chance it will advance our mission then we are “all in” to do it. Plus it will be a great opportunity for MaryMargaret. Thinking back to 1993 I remember giving up a family reunion at Easter time to practice for the speech. I don’t regret it because it did come off rather smoothly. So I knew that we were both in line for a LOT of practice. But that wasn’t enough. After all we’re included in a list of established and esteemed speakers such as Mark Victor Hansen, one of the creators of the “Chicken Soup” series. I thought our interests would be best served if we had some help — some coaching from someone I really respected.
I had met Mike Boyd at a local toastmaster’s meeting. He is the president of the local chapter. I just happened to run into him again as he was coaching a young girl who taught a public speaking class to youngsters. This was the guy I needed to talk to. Even though we met only briefly twice, when it comes to Kids Are Heroes I can’t be shy so I told him, “Mike, we need help and we can’t afford to pay you. Feel free to tell me to go climb a tree but I have to at least ask.” Well I was amazed at his response. He quickly started thinking of ways he could help. He teaches at a local community college so the first thing he did was offer his class as a venue for a dry run. We did two in fact. He even gave out evaluation sheets and had the students evaluate us after the presentation. They gave us unbiased constructive criticism. We discussed the strong and weak points. After each set of evaluations we tweaked our presentation accordingly. To top that, this past weekend Mike invited us to a venue where we could practice our speech and get his critical comments one on one. There were extremely valuable to us. He even suggested we film ourselves so we could see for ourselves how we were doing. That turned out to be a key suggestion because when I watched myself back on tape I realized my part of it was rather bland. I had to take things up a notch.
Mike even offered us a third class we could speak to as our final “test”. I cannot say enough how much all of this has helped us and how lucky we are to have received his help and expertise. I would highly recommend Mike as a speech coach to anyone who would need it. Please see his schedule at the bottom of this post for upcoming “Communicator” classes he is offering to middle and high schoolers. MaryMargaret is indeed enrolled in the class starting next week.
The event is the #DSRPT11 Conference on Friday, September 9, 2011 at the Grand Ballroom of the Richmond Convention Center. If you are local to Richmond I hope you can come and say hello after our presentation. But go easy on us. After all, this IS our first rodeo.
Mike Boyd Center for Empowered Communication Session I begins 9/13/11 from 3:30-5pm
Session II begins 9/28/11 from 3:30-5pm
Sessions to be held at
Mt St Mary’s University Annex
5350 Spectrum Dr
Frederick MD
Call Mike at 301.524.0240
This is the third installment of our series showcasing all the wonderful volunteers who are lending us their skills and talents for Kids Are Heroes Day 2011. The Oakdale Owls will make their third appearance this year and they are always a highlight of the day. We are excited to have them perform the Kids Are Heroes theme song for the first time live on stage.
From their musical director, Jessica Fitzwater:
“The Oakdale Singing Owls is the inclusive chorus from Oakdale Elementary in Ijamsville, MD, directed by music teacher Jessica Fitzwater. These 4th and 5th graders meet once a week before school to work on their singing and performance skills and to prepare for multiple performances throughout the year. During the 2010-2011 school year they had the unique opportunity to participate in the premiere performance of the brand new Kids are Heroes theme song, by Chip Richter. They are so excited to perform this song, along with other inspirational works, at this year’s Kids are Heroes Day. Thanks for the opportunity, Kids are Heroes! “
In May of 2011 the kids performed our theme song for a video. It turned out beautifully — here is the result.
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We have written a few of these spotlight pieces to help promote the businesses and charities that are supporting us on Kids Are Heroes Day. When we do this, we ask for a paragraph or two from the person or company we feature so that they can “blow their own horn” so to speak. Michelle Lindsay has worked with us in the past on Kids Are Heroes Day in 2009. I knew how good her work was, so when she agreed to come all the way from Alexandria, Virginia to Frederick, MD again to do pro bono work for us, we were naturally thrilled. I didn’t know, however, how much she is being recognized in her field as she explains below. It certainly isn’t surprising, because all along I’ve known how phenomenal her work is (see examples below) and deserving of being showcased in elite international magazines and beyond. But when people get to be “big shots” as she certainly is, it’s nice to know how eager she is to come to our little city and photograph our kids. Even if you are not looking for a photographer, we encourage you to visit her website to see some more stunning pictures.
