Meet the 2023 Denver 3-Day Crew Impact Award Winner, Amy N.!

Meet Amy N., our Denver Crew Impact Award Winner!

What was your inspiration to do your first 3-Day?

In 2006, a few months after completing my treatment for breast cancer, I was starting to look for a way to be a part of finding the cures. I saw a commercial for the 3-Day on TV, dragged my husband, Mark, to an info meeting, and we were both hooked! Now we can’t imagine not being on event.

What has brought you back to the 3-Day year after year?

We keep coming back because the fight continues, and we must be a part of it. But equally important, it’s the people who bring us back. The first-time walkers who drag themselves into the Closing Ceremony, the young kids cheering on their loved ones, the crew going above and beyond (mostly behind the scenes) to make this an experience the walkers will never forget, and the survivors giving their all (often while still undergoing treatment themselves), so that someday others won’t have to go through this fight.

What is your favorite aspect of crewing the 3-Day?

My favorite part is being able to give back to this community whose efforts helped make it possible for me to beat this monster. Crewing is my way to say thank you to the walkers! I love being able to interact with so many people from different walks of life who are all working toward one goal.

What is your best advice to anyone crewing the 3-Day?

Take time to soak it all in! The nature of the event is that there are a lot of “hurry up and wait” situations, but when it is go-time, the minutes and hours will fly by before you know it! At some point you will probably wonder why you got yourself into this, but then you’ll get a chance to make a difference for someone and it will all be worth it. Also, be prepared to start early in the morning.

What’s a fun fact about you?

My heart will always bleed green for Michigan State, but I live in the University of Michigan Wolverine territory, and I still proudly fly my Spartan flag! Also, I often say that I have one purpose on this earth: to make everyone around me feel tall! And I do it really, really well.

What are the most important lessons you’ve learned on the 3-Day?

I’ve learned that friendships made on the 3-Day will last a lifetime. People you never would have encountered in your normal life become so important to you. You may only see them once a year, but you will pick up right where you left off last time. Obviously, this event is about beating breast cancer, but it is also about people coming together to create a community. We don’t call it the pink bubble for nothing!

2022 San Diego 3-Day Crew Impact Award Winner

What was your inspiration to do your first 3-Day?

My first 3-Day was in 2001 in New York City, right after 9/11, on the fifth anniversary of my first round of breast cancer. I heard an ad for the 3-Day and I knew I had to walk; I had to do something. At the Closing Ceremony I stood with a young woman, a few years younger than me, who was crying because she was afraid she would never have children. I showed her a picture of my one-year-old daughter, born soon after my diagnosis. Her tears dried up, and she hugged me. During the ceremony, a woman spoke who had to choose between being in the 3-Day Closing Ceremony and being at a memorial for her brother who was killed in the 9/11 attacks. She chose the 3-Day because she chose hope. I could talk for hours about how amazing my first walk was, but all you need to know is that I was hooked. And, by the way, my daughter took her first steps as I took the last steps of my 60 miles.

What has brought you back to the 3-Day year after year?

The Pink Bubble, the people and the lessons of kindness and compassion bring me back. Nowhere else is there the kindness, the silliness, the joy and the sorrow. The people, my friends, the walkers, the other crew, the staff and the cause make this event addictive. And, of course, my sister would never forgive me if I didn’t.

What is your favorite aspect of crewing the 3-Day?

As a walker, I raised money, played music, met people and had fun. But I saw what a difference the crew made for us. And I knew I was better suited for crewing. Working at a pit stop, I could make the walk better for every walker. When we did a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” theme, our crew chose to play the “Time Warp” continuously, and each walker thought it was just for him or her. When we dressed up as Peter Pan, walkers believed that Tinkerbelle’s magic fairy dust could make them fly. But now, on the Sweep Crew, I can make the walk better for every walker who needs it the most, and then maybe that walker will have a better walk. Maybe I’ll come back next year with a new friend.

What is your best advice to anyone crewing the 3-Day?

First and most importantly, have fun. Have lots of fun, and really have fun outside your comfort zone. Second, give and give and give some more. Pour out everything you have in you for the walkers. Of course, do what the staff and your crew captains ask, be flexible, etc. But remember that the joy you give is what creates the Pink Bubble.

What’s a fun fact about you?

Although I grew up in California, I am genetically a Mets fan, whose colors are Brooklyn Dodger Blue and NY Giants orange. Why? My dad was a NY Giants fan, and my mom is a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, so I truly am genetically a Mets fan. You have got to believe!

What are the most important lessons you’ve learned on the 3-Day?

Obviously, I have learned to listen to the staff, my crew captain and learned to be flexible. Very flexible (except, not at yoga). As I said, I have learned over and over the value of giving and sharing. I also learned a huge life lesson: tolerance is about tolerating what you don’t agree with, not what you do agree with. I love the diversity of the people I know from the 3-Day. That is a gift. I have also learned that I can do what I didn’t think I could do and that my life is better because of it. Oh, and I learned that I can make creative, crazy hats!

Beth’s friend Melissa shared a brief testimonial with us:

“Beth has been a fantastic crew member in the many years I have had the pleasure to work alongside her. She is a supportive friend that is always ready to jump in and help with anything that she can. As a survivor, she is a constant supporter of the walkers, fellow crew, and the Susan G. Komen mission to eradicate breast cancer. She has made an impact in my personal life as well as my 3-Day life, and I am proud to call her my friend. Beth embodies the definition of a 3-Day crew member ? Be Kind, Be Flexible and Be Prompt.”

Congratulations to Beth for being our 2022 San Diego Crew Impact Award Winner! And thank you, Beth, for your continued support and dedication to the 3-Day!

2022 Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day Crew Impact Award Winner

Join us in congratulating our 2022 Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day Crew Impact Award winner, Paullin J.! Paullin has participated in 19 Susan G. Komen 3-Day events over 17 years and has raised over $35,000 in her lifetime.

What was your inspiration to do your first 3-Day?

I have two older sisters who have had breast cancer, and I’ve lost a few friends to it, as well. I attended a 3-Day Closing Ceremony in 2004 in which my oldest sister had walked and I got hooked! It was a very emotional ceremony that brought to light how important this fight to find the cures is.

What has brought you back to the 3-Day year after year?

I have made really wonderful friends who have returned to crew with us year after year. Some are from other states, so I always look forward to seeing them each year. The events are such fun and so meaningful. Participating in the 3-Day is the one good thing that I do for myself each year.

What is your favorite aspect of crewing the 3-Day?

My favorite part is seeing my “3-Day family” who are such caring compassionate people who find this effort as important as I do. We work hard, but play just as hard as well. It’s a very meaningful experience ? hard to explain to others who have not shared it. It’s three days of truly being in a kind and caring world.

What is your best advice to anyone crewing the 3-Day?

Come prepared to work and play hard, and to experience all the emotions that you will have. It’s very rewarding.

What’s a fun fact about you?

I was known in my family as the “little red caboose” ? youngest of four girls.

What are the most important lessons you’ve learned on the 3-Day?

I have learned how important it is to find better treatment alternatives, and hopefully the cures, for breast cancer. It’s imperative that we continue to support this effort and to raise awareness and money to make this happen.

One of Paullin’s teammates provided this brief testimonial as to why she deserves the Crew Impact Award:

“Paullin is such a great teammate. She’s always there to pitch in and get the job done. Paullin and her sister Lucy welcomed my daughters and I to the Pit Stop 1 team in Atlanta years ago and we have been friends ever since. As a walker it was always a joy to see her at the pit stop cheering us on to the next Komen mile. As a teammate she is always such a great support to all of us.” —Steve S.

Thank you, Paullin, for your incredible dedication to our Crew, and to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day! Stay tuned to our blog for the last 2022 Crew Impact Award Winner, coming up in San Diego. You can check out our other Crew Impact Award Winners here.