Category Archives: Event

MORE Participant Center Tools That You Forgot (or Never Knew) Were There

For every 3-Day walker and crew member, their online 3-Day Participant Center is their headquarters for every last detail of their participation. We’ve blogged before about some of the best goodies that can be found on the Participant Center, from invaluable fundraising resources to tools for connecting with the rest of the 3-Day community.

Today, we’d like to point out just a few more of the incredible features of your 3-Day Participant Center that may have slipped off your radar.

Meet on Your Time – We encourage all 3-Dayers to attend an in-person meeting or workshop if possible (you can find one here), but we know that it’s not always easy or convenient to get to these meetings. If that’s the case, you can virtually “attend” a pre-recorded meeting to learn about different aspects of your 3-Day preparation, such as training and general event prep. These informative videos are available here.

Handbooks at Your Fingertips – If you’ve walked with us before, we don’t send you printed walker handbooks through the mail, but that doesn’t mean that these helpful guides have gone away. Handbooks for fundraising, training, event prep, team captains, training walk leaders and crew are available in electronic form in your Participant Center and at The3Day.org/Handbooks.

Checklist: Check – If you’re a list person, we have one for you right on your Participant Center home page. Scroll down the page and you’ll find a handy list of the most important things you can do to get your fundraising started. Each of the items can be handled right through your Participant Center; just click on the one you’d like to complete next, and when you’ve finished it, that item will be checked off for you!WhatToDoNext

Learn From the Best – On your Participant Center home page, look at the left side navigation menu. There are headings there for Top Fundraisers and Top Teams. If you’re looking for a little motivation with your own fundraising efforts, click through these names of participants who are crushing the fundraising game. You’ll be inspired by their stories and you may even get some ideas about great ways to personalize your and your team’s fundraising pages.

 

Introducing the 3-Day Step Squad

Earlier this year, we launched the Susan G. Komen 3-Day® Step Squad, a select group dedicated to spreading the word about the Komen 3-Day in their local communities. We were overwhelmed with the number of applicants and want to thank everyone who took the time to apply. It was truly amazing to see such enthusiasm and support for the 3-Day®.

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The Susan G. Komen 3-Day Step Squad is comprised of nearly 100 energetic and passionate participants from throughout the United States who have dedicated their personal time to help us tell the story of why the Komen 3-Day is so amazing. The Step Squad raises awareness of the 3-Day through media interviews, social media, community engagement and word of mouth, educating their local communities about the event and our mission to end breast cancer forever.

Teaming up with the Step Squad and once again serving as our National Spokesperson, we’re happy to share that Dr. Sheri Prentiss will be joining us on-event this year! In her role, Dr. Sheri will be at the forefront of our grassroots efforts, not only serving as a spokesperson for the media, but also as a local ambassador dedicated to educating, recruiting participants and engaging the community about the 3-Day’s mission to eradicate breast cancer forever.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Sheri and the inaugural group of Step Squad members below. We encourage everyone to look for our Step Squad members on-event. You’ll see them in their Step Squad shirts and representing the 3-Day with the media.

Here’s a sneak peek into one of the great media stories secured by Step Squad member, Dena McLauchlin, a seven-city walker, who shared her story with local TV station KTVB in Boise, ID.

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Photo by KTVB

 

Step Squad Members:

Renee Barney                                                               Lynn Piasecki

Alicia Grazioli                                                                Nancy Cooley

Linda Harris                                                                   Melissa Dickhausen

Ann Salter                                                                     Rachel Malecha

Vanessa DeKoekkoek                                                   Kathy Hamann

Wendy Headland                                                           Patty Middleton Miller

Lisa Hamlett                                                                  Sherril Anderson

Ann Vondriska                                                              Cori Olson

Stephanie Hartman                                                        Lynette Lenz

Leanne Johnston

Amy Wofford

Dottie Cornelius                                                             Ellen Harward

Jay Furr                                                                        Renee McCollum

Lauren Leiker                                                                Shelley Middleton

Kathy Schreiber                                                             Gerald Tucker

Linda Savell                                                                  Irma Turnipseed

Elaine Yount                                                                 Harriet Hankerson

Brooke Kincade                                                             Rosa Broddie

Cheryl Howard                                                              Courtney Meckley

Nikki Bristol                                                                  Kate Vitetta

Monica Bonds                                                               Maryjo Allen

Jan Culbertson                                                              Angela Hazzard

Jennifer Steinmetz                                                         Lori Bader

Taylor Long

Beth Dupras                                                                  Judy Gonzales

Donna Kearney                                                             Merrit Alve

Donna May                                                                   Michele Bertone-Buck

Kelly McGill                                                                   Amber Gossett

Becky Carfagno                                                            Tara Anne Hart

Pegi Orso                                                                     Sharon Hudspeth

Ron Reinhart                                                                 Ashley Rawls

Lorraine McGee                                                            Debby Rich

Vicki Layne                                                                   Robin Cordry

Janna Kono                                                                  Bill Wetsel

Jeffrey Hollett                                                               Joe Zinser

Becky Ward                                                                  Karen Kaplan

Christine Camper                                                           Donna Edwards

Julie Jokinen                                                                 Lisa Molkenbuhr

Kristian Kauker                                                              Caroline Skowronek

Pia Dowling                                                                   Franne McNeal

Heather Hoff                                                                 Jim Hillmann

Lois Bear                                                                      Dena McLauchlin

Michelle Buessing

Lisa Busalacchi

Alison DuBose

Sally Dunbar

Tara Farrell

Ashley Fuhr

Kathy Giller

Liz Goldman

Lucy Millman

Cheryl Papiernik

Abby Grossman

Kathy Schwab

Cheryl Jagoda

Mallory Martinez

Denise Gourley

Kim Huber

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flying the Flags of Hope

Today is Flag Day in the United States, and while we all should honor the Stars and Stripes in our hearts, here at the 3-Day, we have some flags of our own that carry very special meaning too.

At our Opening and Closing Ceremonies and in camp, we are surrounded by flags and banners with inspirational words and phrases, giving us motivation, encouragement and hope. One of the most powerful moments of each Closing Ceremony is when we raise the final flag over a sea of triumphant walkers, crew members and survivors, signifying our commitment to a world without breast cancer.12031392_10156039901120392_5626771338758218186_o 13268374_10156909268860392_6896089530611072979_o

We also raise a very special flag in camp on the first two nights of each 3-Day event. This flag is carried into camp, amidst incredible fanfare, by the last walker to arrive each day.

It’s a beautiful tradition on the 3-Day. Instead of celebrating the first walker to make it across the finish line like most other races do, we instead ignite everyone already in camp to come out and cheer in the last walker. With their arrival, our 3-Day family is complete for another night.

So to tie in with Flag Day, we gathered some thoughts from a few of our last walkers from the 2015 events, sharing what that experience and that special flag meant to them.

Kathryn Labbe, who lives in Mesa, AZ, was the last walker (along with her teammates) on Day 1 of the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day last year. Kathryn has participated in the 3-Day every year since 2006 (except 2014), and will be walking this year in the Twin Cities. When asked how that Day 1 was for her last year, she said, “My day was long, hot and exhausting, but fun. It was great fun being last walkers.  We were so happy to have made it to camp. We didn’t care if we were last.” Kathryn reminds us, “It’s a walk, not a race.”

Kathryn (far right) and teammates

Kathryn (far right) and teammates

At the 2015 Atlanta 3-Day, Julie Hipple, a five-time walker and a stage IV breast cancer survivor, was our inspirational camp speaker on Friday night, sharing her experience with metastatic disease and Komen’s impact on her treatment. On Saturday, Julie continued to inspire her fellow Atlanta 3-Dayers by raising the last walker flag at the end of Day 2. She describes that day as “Awesome, exhausting, memorable. My feet were sore from kicking cancer’s butt all day!” For someone who has had such an emotional and personal connection with breast cancer, the experience of walking into camp and raising the flag was, as Julie put it, “Amazing! Being a stage IV survivor, every step is an accomplishment. Walking into camp was like going home…to my 3-Day family!” Julie will be walking this year in San Diego for the first time. She also shared this very important message: “I always support the 3-Day event specifically because 75% [of net proceeds raised] goes to support research, which is literally keeping me alive. The treatment I’m on now is a new drug that is a result of Komen research dollars at work!”

Julie (middle)

Julie (middle)

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On Day 3, walkers end at the Participant Finish Area before heading into Closing as one big group, but we still announce and celebrate the arrival of the last walkers. At the Philadelphia 3-Day last year, the last walker on Day 3 was none other than Aubrey Cushing, our very own Seattle 3-Day coach. Philly was her 8th 3-Day (she’ll be walking there again this year for #9), and she says this about her condition as she neared the end of her 60 miles last year: “It was so hard. My feet were blistered and bleeding. I finally decided to take off my shoes and walk barefoot the last five miles into closing.” Aubrey told me about what continued to push her through to the end: “I loved the Philadelphia community, so that made it much easier to endure the mileage. Besides that, I had a great teammate that walked almost every step of the way with me. Towards the end of the day, the three of us on my team made sure we held hands and crossed the finish line together. My husband, two sisters-in-law, brother-in-law, nieces and nephew were all there, plus all of the crew and other walkers. It was the most magnificent moment ever. I was walking for a friend of the family who was going through a difficult battle with breast cancer. All weekend long when it got tough to walk, I kept thinking, “Vanessa Strong, Vanessa Strong, Vanessa Strong.” Vanessa is a thriving survivor today and I am so inspired by her strength when things got tough.”

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Aubrey (center), hand in hand with her teammates.

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Whether you’re the first walker to finish, the last walker, or one of the thousands somewhere in between, every step you take is bringing about tremendous impact and making a difference. And whether you raise the flag or cheer for someone else who does, every one of us can share in celebrating the small victory of being one day closer to ending breast cancer.