“The General” Marches On

Gwen M. (aka “The General”) smiles on Day 1 of the Boston 3-Day in 2013.

When the women said, “This is The General,” I had to ask. “Gwen here works as an access nurse at Mass General for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients” her friends responded. Gwen M, from Boston, has been working in a key position at The Gillette Center for Breast Cancer, caring for women at a time when there are unanswered questions and an unknown future.

Gwen is surrounded by a solid group of wild women on the Susan G. Komen Boston 3-Day and by chance I was photographing in Cambridge on Day 3 at a cheering station when Gwen waltzed in. She immediately pulled Nancy P. (an original member of their team “Wild Women Originals” and cancer survivor) out of her wheelchair and waltzed with her!

Gwen M. (aka “The General”) dances with close friend, cancer survivor, and original member of “Wild Women Originals” Nancy P. on the Boston 3-Day 2013.

Thank you Gwen for your inspiration, warm smile and dedication!

Crafting the Perfect Fundraising Letter

Each summer, I eagerly anticipate the announcement of the next year’s 3-Day event series schedule. When the 2014 3-Day schedule was posted today, I was happy to see that the 2014 San Diego 3-Day will take place on the same weekend in November that I have come to love. My 2013 event is 109 days away and I am ready to start fundraising for 2014!

As a 3-Day coach, I hear from participants who tell me they don’t know what to say in their fundraising letter. My response is always, “Tell me why you became a 3-Day walker.” It‘s amazing how easily the words then flow. Inspired, tearful or celebratory, I love hearing what motivated them, and after listening to their story, I tell the walker, “Congratulations. You just wrote your fundraising letter!”

One walker who needs no help writing his fundraising letter is Burt Lipshie. Burt started his 3-Day journey in 2004 in San Diego and has not stopped walking since! Burt completed his 15th 3-Day in Boston this past weekend, and is preparing for his 16^th and 17^th 3-Day journeys in Chicago and Dallas. I asked him to share the secrets of his fundraising success. Continue reading →

Outside the Pink Tent

A walker takes down her tent on the Susan G. Komen Boston 3-Day®.

After yesterday’s hot weather that had so many walkers finding water at new, makeshift stops, this morning’s mood was calm with a hint of satisfaction. I moved through camp as I have for the last few days, somewhere between a visitor and a photographer. My position in relation to the walkers is one of allowance. They permit me there, possibly so they can get a photograph in the slideshows or possibly because they want to feel like someone from the “outside” has seen them amid hundreds of others, someone unique in a sea of so many similar stories. But of course, they are unique, and the uniqueness of each story — every one — is overwhelming to someone who is invited to listen to them and watch their movement of 60 miles by foot over three days.

A Susan G. Komen Boston 3-Day® walker suits up in her tent on the last day.

I am grateful for it, and admittedly, we are both exposed. The walkers to the elements, to each other, and most difficult sometimes, to the camera. I find myself exposed as well. I wear the dark grays and blacks of a staff member; they wear pinks. I am a man; a large percentage of them are women. I am not often walking with them; they are pushing up hills in 95 degree weather. I stand out and I am identified by most on Day 3 as a photographer. There is no hiding. My movement around their tents, around the only sacred space for three days, leaves me careful with the camera and whom I approach. It’s a delicate balance with those who want to talk more this morning and those who are quiet, and anticipating the long journey into the heart of Boston, the final destination of this powerful movement of people.