Meet the San Diego 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 San Diego 3-Day®!

Kim Collings – San Diego Local Events Coachsusan g. komen 3-Day breast cancer walk 60 miles blog meet the coaches san diego kim collings

Describe your job in 10 words or fewer. – “Inspiring people to participate in the 3-Day and helping them believe they CAN! #thisisnotworkitsapassion”

We’re about a week from the San Diego 3-Day. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “There are so many fun last minute preparations for a great event. I am assigning private cheer stations, finding and confirming entertainment, working with camp angels, acquiring goodies for camp, calling participants to ask them to be part of the ceremonies and making daily trips to the post office to pick up camp mail. I feel a bit like Santa every day at this time of year.”
What are 3 things that we didn’t know about you? – “1) I was one of the kids that got to test the Atari games before they were released to the public. Yes, I got to play Pac Man and Donkey Kong first!; 2) I have to start my day with a cup of coffee and peanut butter on toast or I go a little bonkers; 3) I am actually very introverted and being in front of large groups or attending crowded events makes me nervous.”

 

Staci Roos – San Diego Participant Coachsusan g. komen 3-Day breast cancer walk 60 miles blog meet the coaches san diego staci roos

Describe your job in 10 words or fewer. – “Empower, motivate, inspire, reassure and troubleshoot; all alongside fantastic participants!”

We’re about a week from the San Diego 3-Day. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “A typical day is spent doing everything I listed above. In this week leading up to the event my days are heavy on reassure and troubleshoot. 😉 The greatest thing? Knowing, without a doubt, that the promises I’ve made about how incredible the experience is going to be will all be fulfilled. I’ve enjoyed making a lot of virtual friendships this season; we have participants coming from across the United States to walk in San Diego and many of them have promised me a hug or handshake. I intend to take them all up on it!”

What are 3 things that we didn’t know about you? – “1) I grew up in San Diego and have lived here most of my life, but I’ve also lived in New York (Long Island) and San Francisco for extended periods of time; 2) My running playlist includes everything from Led Zeppelin to the Black Eyed Peas, Guns n’ Roses to Eminem, and The Beatles to the Scorpions. (And for those of you coming from Boston – OF COURSE!); 3) My motto: There is nothing wrong with candy corn and coffee for breakfast.”

 

Nanette Schlarmann – San Diego Crew & Volunteer Coordinatorsusan g. komen 3-Day breast cancer walk 60 miles blog meet the coaches san diego nanette schlarmann

Describe your job in 10 words or fewer. – “Leading an extraordinary 3-Day Crew to awesomeness.”

We’re about a week from the San Diego 3-Day. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “My inbox is creating a beautiful song from the notifications it’s receiving on a daily basis. Needless to say, I’m fielding many last minute questions, and am eyeball deep into spreadsheets (have to stay organized, don’t laugh…I’m trying here!), and numerous phone calls to make sure that I share information with my team. Needless to say, it’s VERY busy. ”

What are 3 things that we didn’t know about you? – “1) If I could do anything in the world, I’d sing on Broadway; 2) I was a cheerleader back in my younger days. Eons ago; 3) I’m a Harry Potter fanatic. All 7 of my Harry Potter books sit proudly on my bookshelf. The kids are not allowed to take them without asking. My patronus is a cat. BuzzFeed told me so.”

 

Going to be at the San Diego 3-Day? Come meet coaches Kim and Staci at two special meet-and-greets, on Friday and Saturday in camp, 5:30-6:30 p.m., in the 3-Day Lounge.

Congratulations to the Dallas/Fort Worth Milestone Award Winner, Burt L.!

The Susan G. Komen 3-Day® Milestone Award is given at each event to one walker who has an outstanding history or participation in the Komen 3-Day, and we were thrilled to recognize the incredible Burt L. with this special honor in Dallas/Fort Worth last night.

susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk 60 miles blog dallas fort worth milestone award burt

Burt with Dr. Sheri

This is Burt’s 11th year participating in the 3-Day®, with this Dallas/Fort Worth event being his 19th event. He originally got involved with the 3-Day as a way to honor his dear cousin Judy, who lost her battle to breast cancer in 2004. Just one week after her passing, Judy’s daughters registered for the San Diego event, and it didn’t take Burt long to decide to put his body on the line and join them. Over a decade later, Burt still captains team JuJu’s Girls (and Boys) in Dallas/Fort Worth, in Judy’s memory.

In his time as a 3-Day participant, Burt alone has raised an astonishing $182,170. Even with a total as impressive as that, it’s not the huge numbers but the small moments that stand out the most. Burt shared one of his favorite memories from a 3-Day event, which happened a few years ago here in DFW on Day 3 of the walk. As he was turning a corner after a big cheering station, Burt saw an elderly woman sitting on a beach chair along the sidewalk. She was holding a sign that said, “Thank you. I am a 50-year survivor.” Burt approached her, knelt down, took her hand and kissed it. The glow on her face made all the aches of Day 3 disappear. It’s the kind of connection that makes the 3-Day such an miraculous experience, and Burt is the kind of person who makes those connections his priority.

Congratulations to Burt, the Susan G. Komen Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day Milestone Award winner.

Congratulations to the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day Top Fundraisers!

It was a chilly start to Day 1 of the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day this morning, but soon the sun was shining and guiding the way for the amazing walkers and crew across 20 beautiful miles. The camp show welcoming everyone home included powerful speeches, incredible live entertainment, and some well earned recognition for the top fundraisers.

Top Individual Fundraisersusan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk 60 miles blog dallas fort worth top fundraiser

Huge thanks and congratulations go to Amy K., the top individual fundraiser for the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day. Amy, who is walking for just the second time ever, raised an astonishing $19,170, making her total over two years $36,868. In addition to being a superstar fundraiser, Amy is also the captain of Save the Boobies, and was a literal superstar on her college basketball team, where as a freshman, she set the record in the Southern Conference for blocked shots. That’s what we call the height of impressiveness!

Top Fundraising Teamsusan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk 60 miles blog dallas fort worth top fundraiser team boxing babes round 8

With 93 members, Dallas/Fort Worth’s biggest team in 2014 is also the team that raised the most money of any team: Boxing Babes Round 8. This year, their 8th with the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day, they brought in a total of $157,073. Earlier this year, Boxing Babes Round 8 surpassed the $1 million for fundraising total as a team during their 8 year history, and they ended up with a lifetime total of $1,064,991. Wow! Team captain Bernadette S. was on hand for her team’s recognition,

Top Crew Fundraisersusan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk 60 miles blog dallas fort worth top fundraiser crew

Rebecca R. raised more money than any other crew member this year, with a remarkable $4,285 raised. This Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day, where Rebecca is part of the Gear & Tent crew team, is her 10th event in 10 years, during which time, Rebecca has raise a total of $25,855. When she’s not schlepping people’s luggage around, Rebecca loves to dance, work out, and be her husband’s ranch hand. Not many people know she has a ranch where she feeds animals, hauls hay, clears limbs and more!

Our sincerest thanks go out to all of these extraordinary fundraisers, and every dedicated fundraiser on the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day.