One Big Celebration That Lasts for 3 Days – an Atlanta 3-Day Recap from Guest Blogger Cati S.

Cati Stone is the Executive Director for Susan G. Komen Greater Atlanta, and a breast cancer survivor. This year, she was honored to be one of twenty individuals selected as Models of Courage in Ford’s Warriors in Pink® campaign, recognizing inspiring breast cancer survivors and co-survivors. And if all of those things don’t make Cati incredible enough, she has also been a faithful Susan G. Komen 3-Day® walker for several years, and was nice enough to share some thoughts after walking in the Komen 3-Day in Atlanta earlier this month.

“This year marked my 4th time walking 60 miles in the Atlanta 3-Day. My amazing teammates from Team Diamond Stone (also known as the Boo Bees) have always included those closest to me: my Daddy, my sisters, my mother in law, my best girlfriends. We talk all year long about preparing for the 3-Day. We talk about fundraising and blisters and fundraising and logistics (and did I mention fundraising?). We talk about how much fun we had the prior years and about how much fun we are going to have the next time. And then the event happens, and we take a year’s worth of preparation and turn it into one big celebration that lasts for 3 days. We celebrate my having beaten breast cancer, but we also celebrate birthdays and new babies and just about anything else we can think of. We literally sing and dance our way down the street (this year’s dance du jour being the “Tight Pants Dance” from Jimmy Fallon’s show) and then come home at night and sing and dance some more. We are loud and silly and we don’t care who knows it! But we care deeply about finding a cure for breast cancer. In fact, this year we were recognized as the 9th largest fundraising team for the Atlanta 3 Day! In our 4 years, we have raised over $100,000, and we’re not finished yet!

“A highlight to this year’s walk included walking with some very special new friends – Aimee, Tracy and Karen, all of whom are fellow breast cancer survivors and Ford Models of Courage. We all met last spring when Ford brought us together to be a part of their amazing Warriors in Pink program that raises money for breast cancer (over $125 million so far!). I fell in love with these ladies instantly, and walking with them in this year’s 3-Day heightened the entire experience for me. They are true warriors.

“Tracy’s daughter made this video to show what the 3 Day meant to her, and I think it sums things up nicely. It truly is a beautiful experience. http://youtu.be/9eDpqj76FgE”

Thank you, Cati, for sharing your experience with us! We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta again next year!

Meet the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day Coaches!

Every Susan G. Komen 3-Day® event has a core team of three coaches, each of whom plays a different role in helping our walkers and crew members prepare for the Komen 3-Day. For months, these dedicated staffers have been having personal conversations with walkers to help them with their training and fundraising, have hosted dozens of local events to bring participants together and build a community of encouragement, and have organized and inspired the amazing team of crew captains and crew members.

Let’s meet the coaches for the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day®!

susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk blog dallas fort worth coaches

The Dallas/Fort Worth team: Liz, Val, Gayla

Gayla Cruikshank – Dallas/Fort Worth Local Events Coach

susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk blog dallas fort worth coaches gayla

Gayla sporting some 3-Day attitude

Describe your job in 10 words or fewer. – “Recruit walkers and inspire them to reach their fundraising/ training goals.”

We’re about a week from the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “After picking up a bucket of camp mail from the post office every single day (yes, a bucket a day!), I help walkers with final donation issues, such as missing donations or checking on matching gifts. Emails are firing back and forth quickly confirming Cheering Squads and route cues, confirming Private Cheering Station locations, Camp Angel assignments, Camp Show entertainers, and 3-Day Lounge treats that are being donated by local bakeries (don’t forget to stop by the Lounge Friday night before they’re all gone). I have cried a few tears recently with participants when I called to congratulate them for being chosen to carry a Survivor or Honor Flag at the Opening and Closing Ceremony. Since Dallas is the home of Susan G. Komen® Headquarters, I’ve been creating a list of VIPs who will be out on the route walking with and cheering on the walkers.”
What are 3 things that we didn’t know about you? – “1) I won 2^nd place in a Demolition Derby in the Freemont County Fair in Riverton Wyoming; 2) I was the 1986 Senior Class President of Lewisville High School, home of the Fighting Farmers; 3) I had my first job when I was in 4^th grade: a paper route on my horse.”

Liz Parks – Dallas/Fort Worth Participant Coach

susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk blog dallas fort worth coaches liz

Liz having fun on her new toy!

Describe your job in 10 words or fewer. – “Inspire participants and answer questions on all things 3-Day related.”

We’re about a week from the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “Very busy! Lots of calls and emails with last-minute questions about fundraising, what to expect on the event, or online check-in. I really love hearing everyone’s stories and calming a first-time walker’s nerves. I have connected with so many wonderful people and I cannot wait to meet them all in person.”

What are 3 things that we didn’t know about you? – “1) I am extremely clumsy and have broken all my fingers and toes at one time or another, some more than once; 2) I was in the Army and had planned to be a Drill Sargent; 3) I have lived and traveled overseas.”

Val Jones – Dallas/Fort Worth Crew & Volunteer Coordinator

Describe your job in 10 words or fewer. – “Distributor of information, logistics, and encouragement to crew members.”

We’re about a week from the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “Crazy busy! I spend the majority of my days and nights answering emails, loving on my kitties (who sleep on my desk), and making sure that the amazing Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day Crew Captains have all the information they need to help our walkers, crew members, staff and community members have a great event. When I’m done with all that my kitties usually demand more chin scratches before I can get some sleep!”

What are 3 things that we didn’t know about you? – “Friends know I’m amazingly quirky to begin with but things most people don’t know about me include: 1) I am addicted to shopping! I LOVE bags (wallets, purses, totes, etc.) and I even have an app on my iPad that has catalogs on it. I have to start my day looking at Zulily and Hautelook and end my day browsing through digital versions of catalogs. 2) I adore cartoons for young kids. My TV is often tuned to Disney Junior. 3) Handwritten letters are one of my favorite things. I collect pretty stationery and try to write at least one letter a week to brighten someone’s day since (in my humble opinion) there is nothing better than receiving a letter in the mail. At one time I had over 10 different international pen pals.”

Going to be at the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day? Come meet coaches Gayla and Liz at two special meet-and-greets, on Friday and Saturday in camp, 6-7 p.m., in the 3-Day Lounge.

Pacesetter’s Big Ol’ Shanty’s

With their pink head boppers, pink boas and pink tutus, the three members of team Pacesetter’s Big Ol’ Shanty’s look like many other walkers on the Susan G. Komen 3-Day®. Talk with them, and their stories are also very familiar – they walk for loved ones and fellow coworkers who have been lost to cancer or who are survivors. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll discover a company who so whole-heartedly backs its associates that in 2014, they will make the single-largest donation to a Komen 3-Day team….ever.

Pacesetter’s Big Ol’ Shanty’s at the Susan G. Komen Atlanta 3-Day

The Pacesetter’s Big Ol’ Shanty’s get their name from the amazing company they work for, Pacesetter Steel Service, which happens to be located on Big Shanty Road in Kennesaw, GA. Steve Leebow founded Pacesetter Steel Service in 1977. As a young man, Steve worked in his family’s steel distribution center in New Jersey, where his passion for the industry was cultivated. By 1977, Steve ventured out and opened his own company in Atlanta, GA. Through the first 10 years, a small but dedicated group of Pacesetter associates established a steady routine of long hours, customer focus, and teamwork to grow the company. Many associates who helped build Pacesetter from its early beginnings still work for the company. Aviva Leebow, Steve’s daughter, was recently named the new CEO of Pacesetter Steel Service.

It’s Aviva who started the 3-Day team in 2013. “My grandmother, Joan Leebow, died at the age of 44 from breast cancer,” Aviva begins. “I never knew her. I grew up inspired by her story and everything I learned about her. Her world was focused on caring, sharing and giving. For my 30th birthday, I wanted to do something impactful. I chose the 3-Day. This is something she absolutely would have loved to have seen. I’ve always wanted to walk in her honor.”

While her grandmother was her original inspiration for wanting to walk the Atlanta 3-Day, Aviva mentions a number of other loved ones – including fellow Pacesetter associates – who have been lost to cancer. So last year, she started a small but mighty team with one fellow coworker, Corri Green. “Half way through the walk last year, Corri and I looked at each other and said, ‘We are doing this next year,’” laughs Aviva. So here they are in 2014 – hitting the pavement again, and they’ve gained a third team member, their friend, Jessi Whittemore.

So far this season, Pacesetter’s Big Ol’ Shanty’s has raised nearly $10,000. Both Aviva and Corri applaud the company and acknowledge that they couldn’t do this without their support. Their fellow Pacesetter associates hold fundraisers for months leading up to the event, giving of their time, their money and their support for these women who will walk 60 miles over three days. On Friday, all Associates at Pacesetter headquarters took an aerial photo of themselves using a droid, rooting the team on to keep the team motivated while walking. And Steve believes so much in the power of teamwork and in the Susan G. Komen mission that he is going to make sure Pacesetter’s Big Ol’ Shanty’s raises at least $50,000 this year. Utilizing money from a fund created in memory of Claudia B. Waters, Pacesetter wrote a check to the 3-Day for more than $40,000.

Founder Steve Leebow shares the very touching reasons behind Pacesetter’s generous donation.

Steve visited the Atlanta campsite on Saturday night to share a little about why he is giving so generously to the 3-Day. “Fifteen years ago, one of our very first associates in our company, Claudia B. Waters, had the misfortune of getting breast cancer. And the entire company pulled together to try to do whatever we could to help her face the challenge,” Steve recounts. “Our many years of friendship with Claudia truly touched our lives. Her vitality was a constant source of encouragement to each Pacesetter associate, our suppliers and our customers. We miss her steadfastness, her dedication, her life.”

Aviva asks that we also recognize that there are many other Pacesetter associates who have battled breast cancer as well as Pacesetter family members.

As Aviva tends to some hot spots on her feet at Lunch on Day 2 of the 2014 Atlanta 3-Day, she describes an experience the team had a few miles earlier. “We were in Whole Foods and a woman saw us coming out of the bathrooms with our pink tutus,” she shares. “She came up to us and said, ‘I’m officially clear as of 11 days ago! Thank you for walking.’ It’s those moments when you know and see the effect this walk has. It makes it all worth it.”

Corri agrees. “We’ve already committed ourselves to next year,” she says with a big smile.

Thank you, Pacesetters Steel Service and team Pacesetter’s Big Ol’ Shanty’s. You are helping bring us closer to a world without breast cancer.