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.
If any of you have read more than one post of mine and happened to read the last one, you’ll note the similarity in last names from our first two spotlights. That is no coincidence. Conrad is indeed Laken’s father. We met Conrad at a networking event last winter. That is where I learned of his prowess with the video camera. I’m not a bold person usually, until it comes to Kids Are Heroes, when I step into high gear and indeed I have to be. I asked him to videotape a local elementary school choir singing our theme song. I just wanted the raw video as we don’t have the budget for an expensive piece. I thought I could put something together myself. Not only did he give us a break on the price but went way over and above what was expected and produced an awesome video, something I could NEVER have done, seen here:
Well Conrad has offered his services this time pro bono to stream the Kids Are Heroes Day event LIVE on October 29th so that those who cannot make the trip can get a peek to see what it’s actually like. We are so privileged and thankful for him and his awesome work.
Now getting back to the connection with his daughter, after we met and he discussed it with his family, he discovered that Laken had sang the national anthem at a previous Kids Are Heroes Day event for us. We are very excited to have her repeat this year and I bet there will be a proud dad in the audience filming her.
So here is some more information about Conrad and his business. I for one would recommend him highly and I think we are very fortunate to have him.
Conrad Weaver is the President and Owner of Conjostudios, LLC, a video production company based out of Frederick, MD. Conrad’s award-winning work has taken him from the halls of Capitol Hill to the streets of Guatemala. He has provided video services for numerous local businesses and non-profits, as well as national organizations and government agencies. In 2010 Conrad received an International AVA Award for his documentary about the Vigilant Hose Company in Emmitsburg, MD – telling the story of their 125 years of volunteer service. And in 2011 Conrad was awarded a prestigious Telly-Award for his documentary called “Mi Refugio.” This short film tells the story about a school in Guatemala that helps children who live and grow up in and around the garbage dump.
Currently Conrad is producing a documentary called “The Wheat Harvest Movie” that tells the story about the people who harvest the wheat that feeds the world. This project is scheduled for completion in late 2012, and will be aired on a national cable channel. To see a short trailer about this movie, visit: wheatharvestmovie.com
In his spare time Conrad enjoys skiing, hiking, backpacking, sailing, and traveling. He lives in Emmitsburg, MD with his wife and two children.
We would like to thank all of the wonderful people who are contributing their talents in one way of another to make Kids Are Heroes Day 2011 the best one yet. To that end each week we plan to focus on one individual or business that is making a contribution to Kids Are Heroes Day, which will occur on October 29 at the Francis Scott Key Mall in Frederick, Maryland. This is a day where we invite all the heroes from our website to celebrate what they do. So far as of this writing we already have 15 confirmed heroes attending, with one coming all the way from southern Florida!
Laken Weaver
We like to start the day off right away at 10AM with the singing of our national anthem. Laken performed it for us two years ago and is honoring us with her singing talents once again this year. We haven’t told her yet, but we are expecting a Canadian or two to attend as well, so she may be singing more than she planned for. And we are putting her on notice now that invitations are out to other children from Australia, England, Indonesia, Kenya and South Africa. She might be up there for a while. We asked Laken to tell us a bit about herself and here is her response:
“My name is Laken Weaver. Iʼm sixteen years old and I attend Catoctin High School and also Governor Thomas Johnson High School for their Advanced Music Studies Program. Iʼve been involved in many things having to do with singing and music. For the past six years Iʼve performed with the Frederick County Honors Choir, and Iʼve performed with the Maryland All-State Choir for the past 4 years. In June of 2011 I performed with the MENC All-National Honors Ensemble at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
I have studied privately with my voice teacher, Dr. Kathleen Taylor, for almost 6 years. I have grown so much studying under her and Iʼm am pleased to be able to perform the National Anthem on Kids Are Heroes Day. And I do believe that all kids really are heroes.”
Thanks so much Laken for helping us out again this year. We know you’ll do us proud once again.
I don’t think that a day goes by without me thinking of this day. Whether it be the ones we have enjoyed (this will be our 4th), or the ones we plan for. Last year’s event was amazing. I knew it would be a tall order to top it so I got to work on it MUCH earlier in the year this time. It was important to have it sponsored as we had to shoulder that responsibility in the past ourselves. We struggle in the current economy just like everyone else so that was no longer possible. Thanks to our Kids Are Heroes Day Giving Wall, and the kind companies and folks who have purchased bricks on it, we will be able to hold a reception for the kids this year. That’s what we have been working on and now we can also say we are taking that a step further. I’m proud to announce that for the first time we will be able to sponsor one hero and his/her guardian to come to the event this October. Why that makes me feel so good is because I am always hearing from families who would LOVE to come and be with other like minded children but cannot due to the cost of travel and accommodations. At this point we can commit to inviting one hero and guardian from the USA to be here with us. We are hoping for more donations, individual and corporate, to allow us to sponsor more. Our heroes who wish to be subsidized will write an essay and we will choose the best one(s) based on need and desire to be here.
Last year we enjoyed 23 heroes from all over the world, who ranged in age from 4-16 years old. And when I say all over the world I mean ALL over the world. Diana Onyonyi traveled 16 hours by plane, all the way from Nairobi, Kenya to be with her diminutive colleagues. This year Alaina Podmorow is scheduled to attend and she hails from British Columbia, Canada. As I mentioned 23 heroes were in attendance last year. We expect many more than that this year since our total number of heroes is 224 as of this writing. And since we now represent six countries, who knows how far they will travel? At the event, each one is invited to share their efforts with all who approach them. They are given opportunities to speak on stage and/or entertain in some way. One of the highlights of the day is the recognition ceremony where all heroes get a “thank-you” certificate from the mall. And of course they always get a real kick out of the reception, because that’s when they get to interact with each other the most and make new friends.
So what did we come up with for this year? Thanks to a chance conversation with Osjah’s mom, we will be having our first “Cupcake Wars” event at Kids Are Heroes Day this year. We have moved the awards ceremony to 3PM and from 1-3, three local bakeries will square off to try and serve the best cupcakes in Frederick. This will also act as a fundraiser for Kids Are Heroes, with hopes to propel us into 2012 with a somewhat healthy fiscal standing. But by definition we do things to support our kids. To that end we also plan to host “Charity Wars” in tandem with the Cupcake Wars. Each vote for a cupcake consists of a vote for a bakery. That vote can also be used to vote for a charity that is supported by our children. Each child in attendance represents a charity that they are working on behalf of. At the end of the competition we will donate %25 of the cash proceeds during the event to one of these charities, as long as it is US based and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. (We’re not snobs, we just have rules and regulations as to what we’re allowed to do.) All votes for all charities will end up in a barrel which the winner will be drawn from.
Our Support
Laken Weaver, who is quite an accomplished young local singer, will be singing our national anthem to start the day. If we can convince her to she will also sing the anthems of other countries represented at our event. Her dad Conrad will be running the live video stream throughout parts of the day. The Oakdale Owls will be back for the third year in a row. This time they will be performing the Kids Are Heroes Theme Song! Our consummate DJ, Wes Morgan from Gettysburg, PA, will be at the helm again with his AMAZING setup. We are excited to welcome the Musicians of Mercy, as they plan to bring a sizable orchestra to play for us. “We will bring however many will fit on the stage!”, says Robin Fay Massie, executive director of the organization. We are SO lucky to have Michelle Lindsay take the first photographer’s shift from 10-1PM. Our good friend and also excellent photog Amanda Rodriguez will have the afternoon shift. Sisters Bake Shop and Angel Cakes LLC two of the finest bakeries in Frederick, will square off for the Cupcake Wars.
Event Details
Kids Are Heroes Day 2011 will be held at the center court of the Francis Scott Key Mall in Frederick, Maryland, from 10AM-4PM on Saturday, October 29th, 2011. Tables for each hero will be set up around the fountain for the kids to spread awareness about what they are doing, and to inspire children of passersby to become involved. People can start buying tickets for the Cupcake Wars at 12PM, and can begin voting (and eating) them at 1PM. The Musicians of Mercy will be on at 2PM. The recognition ceremony for all the children will be held at 3PM.
There will be activities throughout the day, as our kids will have prepared to speak and entertain. Check back to this post from time to time as we will be updating it frequently as plans develop. We hope to see you there!!
Bless me internet for I have sinned. It has been more than two months since my last blog post…
I have no excuse as to why this happened, but I have always been of the mind that if I’m not inspired to write I just don’t do it. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Today I was inspired to write a post not because of anything in particular that happened today, but more because of a collection of events. As you might guess it is a challenging ordeal to start and promote a non-profit, especially in this economy. It is like a roller coaster where sometimes you think you’ve made it through and other times you wonder how soon the doors must close. Lately things have taken a rather large upward swing and it is the result of the support from a LOT of people. Without this support we would be nowhere. So I am now inspired to offer gratitude towards those who have been active in our recent successes. So without further ado, and in no particular order…
Gratitude to @JeffPulver for starting the JustCoz application. This has been a WONDERFUL source of outreach for us since we signed up. People can pledge to donate one tweet per day. I am offered the opportunity to tweet through our pledges’ Twitter streams once every 24 hours. This has grown from nothing to 765 pledges with a collective reach of 785K+. Every once in a while people don’t read what they signed up for and are startled to see that someone else tweeted through their stream. In those cases I am very quick to respond and tell them how to stop it. But most of the folks are happy to do it and I am also grateful to them. On more than one occasion the JustCoz tentacles have spread out to people that may never have discovered us, and our new-found friends are so moved that they have contacted me by phone. It’s a fantastic service! To learn more visit http://justcoz.org/kidsareheroes.
Gratitude must be sent out to our Outreach Leaders. This is a program we started recently that seeks volunteers to help raise awareness for Kids Are Heroes in local communities. Dawn Ranieri (@KAHPhilly), Bob Prankard (@KAHNiagara), Heather Lawson (@KAHFalkvilleAL) and Mariah McMillian (@KAHMobileAL) have all shouldered the task of spreading the word of Kids Are Heroes in their communities. We have several more that are applying and could even have one coming soon from Pakistan! To learn more about this program, visit here.
Gratitude goes to our Giving Wall Donors!! As you know it is extremely difficult to raise charitable dollars for a small non-profit in this economy. For us it has been no different. Thankfully we recently implemented our Donor Wall system, where people can buy “bricks” on virtual “walls” that serve two purposes. It helps us gain some of the much needed funding and also promotes the donors in return. Once purchased, a brick will include a picture or logo, a short description when the mouse hovers over the image, and a link to the donor’s website. Certain “premium” bricks have the ability to link to the donor’s web site AND Twitter pages. Companies and individuals alike have been strongly supporting us on several different walls: Our Foundation Wall (the original), our Corporate Wall, our Blogger Wall and most recently our Kids Are Heroes Day Wall which helps us fund that event. Please check these walls out and support the companies and individuals who are represented there. (Oh and it won’t kill you to buy a brick while you’re at it!!
Gratitude towards Jerry Pearlman (@TaleofaBaseball) for taking me up on our Social Media Makeover program. We helped him get his blog started and gave him a few other pointers and in return he bought two bricks on our Kids Are Heroes Day wall. If your kids want to read a really cool story about baseball, look him up and check out his book!
Gratitude goes to all of our Facebook and Twitter colleagues. We get lots of comments and likes on our Facebook page and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the mentions on Twitter. We feel honored, blessed and are truly grateful for this outpouring of support. And we are excited to see our growth continue at a phenomenal rate.
Gratitude to all 214 heroes featured on our site who hail from 5 countries!! We are about to add a 215th hero and a 6th country (hopefully) as soon as the consent form makes it in the mail from Thailand!! The energy I gain from these children is unparalleled. I am incredibly motivated every morning to get up and start all over again as I discover more kids who do amazing things and interact with both the kids on our site and their parents. It truly makes the world I live in a hopeful one. You can check these heroes out here.
Gratitude to all the folks who have blogged about our organization since our inception. We keep a running list in our press box and at last count there were almost 80 posts about us that we know of. That is such a benefit to us as awareness about what we are doing is key.
Gratitude to artist and Twitter friend Chip Richter (@Music4Kids) who wrote our theme song. Also must send a shout-out to The Oakdale Owls for performing a wonderful rendition of it. And we can’t forget Conrad Weaver of @ConjoStudios for doing a wonderful job on the filming and editing. See for yourself:
Gratitude to Adrienne Lawrence (@ADLawrence) who is not only a Twitter friend but also a reporter four our local paper. (The Frederick News-Post also deserves a shout-out!!) She is always kind and receptive to listening to what we would like to “pitch” to her. She of course doesn’t print everything we send her way, but has been very good to us in helping get the word out to our local community.
Gratitude to our production company NorthStar Entertainment. Check out the video John and Terri created for us. They are in the process of shopping us to different networks in hopes of landing a documentary series. Wish us luck!!
Gratitude goes to my family. This goes without saying but sometimes it should be said. My lovely daughter MaryMargaret, who founded Kids Are Heroes, was just featured as a role model in an international magazine for tween girls. She is my hero as she keeps me grounded every day. The world is truly her oyster. My wife Michelle has been a stalwart supporter of what we are doing since the day we started. She won’t tolerate any sense of negativity and offers a sense of style I will never own to put the touch of class on everything we do.
I’m sure I have more people to thank and when I think of them I’ll add them to this post. What are you thankful for?
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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.
Bless me internet for I have sinned. It has been more than two months since my last blog post…
