Groovefest NYC and the First Annual Fall Fling are Successes!
Groovefest NYC was a huge success. We had the bar, Hurley's totally packed.....and we almost cleared the one bar out of beer completely, nice work. The Navy vs. Notre Dame game was so exciting....triple overtime and Navy won for the first time in 43 years! We were all going nuts! The best part is we raised almost $15,000 for the fund, unbelievable! Hats off to Chris Perkins, Tom Heptig, Mike Martin, and Whitny Perkins for all your hard work to make that event so fun and successful. I met some great new people and caught up with old friends in NYC. If you missed it this year, you'll have to join us next year for Navy vs. Air Force!
Fall Fling here in Norfolk was also a great success despite some very chilly weather. It was pouring down cold rain that morning, but after a few prayers and a talk with Mike:) the sun came out and it dried up. We still had about 200 people show up to bear the cold. The kids didn't seem to mind and enjoyed our games, prizes and face painter. We had some awesome raffle prizes and silent auction items that everyone seemed to like as well. All together, we were able to raise close to $11,000 for the fund at the Fling, so I was so pleased!
Thank you so much to all of you who helped me put together the Fall Fling. I would have NEVER been able to pull it off without you all to support me. Last weekend was a true testament to how blessed I am with amazing family, friends, and community. The generosity and kindness of the human heart never cease to amaze me.
The BIGGEST, and most wonderful news of all for the fund, is that we now have enough money to cover the first two years of scholarship recipients! I was waiting to see how much we'd be able to raise before I set a number on how much I'd be able to distribute and how. We will be able to make the scholarship a 4 year scholarship. The recipients will be rewarded $2000 a year over their four year period in school. (They will have to maintain a minimum GPA that is still being determined to keep the scholarship)
This is great news and I hope we can begin to make a difference in some deserving students' lives, while carrying on Mike's positive spirit.
Run for Team Groove!
I wanted to let you all know about another project that I'm launching for the scholarship fund. Team Groove will be a group that I'll be putting together to run in the Shamrock races here in March. 'Groove' was Mike's nickname in college. There is a full marathon, half marathon, and an 8K. If anyone is interested in running a great race early next spring, avoid gaining the holiday lbs (or working them off your butt after the holidays!), and run for a good cause, come join us!
The idea is pretty simple: You pay $100 to sign up for the race and the extra money after the race fee goes to the fund. When you sign up, you'll get: A kickoff party to meet team members, a weekly motivational email with links to training schedules, a really cool technical tshirt to wear on race day, and an awesome afterparty on race day.
You don't have to run the actual race with team members. There will no doubt be people running at all different paces, but the concept is to raise money for a good cause and have fun! I will be training for the full marathon and will try to make it to Final Kick on Saturday's for their 7:30AM long runs if anyone wants to join me.
****NOTE: YOU DO NOT NEED TO SIGN UP WITH THE SHAMROCK RACE IF YOU ARE GOING TO RUN WITH TEAM GROOVE!!! YOU ONLY NEED TO SIGN UP USING OUR FORM!
Here is the link to the Shamrock Sportsfest website for race information: www.shamrockmarathon.com But remember, don't sign up through the race, sign up through us!!!