Tag Archives: Komen 3-Day®

2016 Seattle 3-Day Opening Ceremony Speakers—We Are the 3-Day

The 2016 Susan G. Komen 3-Day® began on a gorgeous Pacific Northwest morning in Seattle with a beautiful and stirring Opening Ceremony. Walkers, crew members and supporters joined their hearts and hopes in the shared promise of bringing about the end of breast cancer, one footstep at a time.

As part of the Ceremony, we were honored to welcome some special 3-Day participants to the stage, where they shared their own inspirations—both heart-warming and heartbreaking—for being part of the 3-Day. #WeAreThe3Day

Danielle Winston – My Grandmotherimg_5179“I walk in honor of my grandmother this weekend. When she was diagnosed with this disease, she attacked it with a strength and grace that I hope I inherited from her. I walk so that NO grandchild loses their grandmother to breast cancer. I’m Danielle and I AM the 3-Day.”

Monica Flory – My Mother img_5184
“I became involved in the 3-Day when a close family friend was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001. I stay involved because in the last 10 years, more than 10 friends have been diagnosed. In 2011, my Mom was diagnosed and fought a hard battle and beat it. It’s because of her strength that I’m determined to be a part of the solution. I’m Monica and I AM the 3-Day.”

Mark Weedin – My Wifeimg_5182“I signed up for this walk – my first 3-Day – because I have been standing alongside my wife Kim for the last 10 months as she has fought breast cancer, round two. I also wanted to honor my sister Kathy, my mom, and my mother-in-law Jean, who we lost to this disease. Kim was supposed to be here with me today, but she passed away 11 days ago. If she were here, she would tell you all to never stop fighting, to never ever give up. I am her voice now. My name is Mark and I AM the 3-Day.”

Cathy Skotzke – Myselfimg_5193“I am walking in the 3-Day because I know what it means to battle cancer first-hand. I am a 2-time cancer survivor of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and thyroid cancer. I went through intensive chemo and radiation and almost lost my life. But I was spared, and I want to do my part to help us get closer to finding a cure. I’m Cathy and I AM the 3-Day.”

Becca Brickman – My Friendimg_5186“I started this journey when my best friend Tina was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer last Thanksgiving. I wanted to do this journey to show her my love and support. She has two young girls and I would love to see our efforts result in a cure for the all the girls of tomorrow. I’m Becca and I AM the 3-Day.”

Beata Stensager – My Family img_5190“My reasons for walking began 10 years ago when a dear friend that’s now a 27-year survivor, asked me to join her in a Race for the Cure (you know, that little one). Today, it’s an honor to carry the My Family flag because I’m walking these 60 miles in memory of my young niece, Julie Ann, who was taken from us just weeks ago. I’m Beata and I AM the 3-Day.”

 

Together, we are strong. Together, we can defeat breast cancer. Together, we are the 3-Day.

Exciting Updates to the 3-Day’s Social Media

With the 2016 3-Day season underway, you might be noticing some new elements in the 3-Day’s social media coverage of the events. Here’s what’s exciting, fresh and new for this season!

But First, Let’s Talk About What’s Familiar – Everything you know and love about following the 3-Day on social media is still going strong. We post to Facebook and Twitter every day of the year, and we blog, Pin and Instagram several times a week. We have an ever-growing library of videos on YouTube and of course, the 3-Day website and your Participant Center (though not strictly considered social media) are your go-to 3-Day online headquarters for everything from general event info to your own personal and team fundraising progress.social-media-icons

When one of the 3-Day events is going on, you can count on even more action from the 3-Day social media team! We share photos and videos at the ceremonies, from the route and in camp dozens of times throughout ever 3-Day weekend. So if you and your loved ones aren’t following the 3-Day on social media, get on it! None of you will want to miss what we’re sharing.

Hashtags 2.0 – Hashtags on the 3-Day aren’t exactly new either (we dedicated this whole blog post to them a while back), but we wanted to give you a refresher on those funny looking number signs and words you sometimes see at the end of posts.

Hashtags serve the purpose of sorting and grouping together pieces of content (photos, tweets, status updates) that have something in common. The same way that a fifty-person 3-Day team might all wear matching flamingo socks to help identify them as a group no matter where they all are on the route, hashtags identify similar social media posts (such as fifty different Instagram photos with #flamingosocks), no matter where or when they were posted. The hashtag (#flamingosocks) groups those posts together the same way the actual flamingo socks would group those teammates together. Nifty, huh?

Each 3-Day event has two main hashtags associated with it:

  • #The3Day – this identifies a post as being part of ALL of the content having to do with the 3-Day as a whole. We put this hashtag on just about everything we post.
  • Event-specific hashtags help group together the posts that have to do with that particular 3-Day city. There’s a different one for each of the 7 events, as you can see here: 3day_2016_socialmedia_hashtagthe3day_v1

And then there are a couple others you’ll probably see popping up, especially during the 3-Day events themselves:

  • #WeAreThe3Day – We use this hashtag (and encourage you to use it too) on social media posts that show/tell a little piece of the whole big, beautiful 3-Day story. #WeAreThe3Day posts are usually centered around various individuals (and from time to time, teams) that make up the patchwork quilt of the 3-Day family, and they aim to share a small slice (told in the 3-Dayer’s own words) of what makes those individuals and their experiences unique.
  • #The3Day_Selfie – This year, we’ve dubbed Day 2 of every 3-Day event “Selfie Saturday.” 3-Dayers are encouraged to post their best selfies*—whether they’re on a 3-Day event or at home—with this fun new hashtag. (*Safety first! Remember to stop and move to the side of the route if you want to take or post a picture.)3day_2016_social_selfiesaturday_fp

Some of you may be saying, “Okay, the hashtags are on the post. So now what?” When you’re logged in to Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, type a hashtag into the Search box and it will show you the various tweets, pictures or posts that have that hashtag on it. But not ALL of them…keep in mind that that some posts may not show up in the search results, even if they included the hashtag. This is most likely due to privacy settings on the different social media sites. If you’re not friends/followers with someone who has posted with the hashtag you’re searching, you probably won’t be able to see those posts (and they won’t be able to see yours).

Facebook LIVE! – Last year, we live-streamed from the 3-Day a handful of times, but with the new Facebook Live video feature that came out this spring, we’re going to be bringing you more live video broadcasts from the 2016 3-Day events. In addition to streaming the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, morning walk-outs and the arrival of the last walkers each day, we’re hoping to also bring you those fun and memorable “only on the 3-Day” moments from the route and camp.

Facebook sends out alerts when we begin a live broadcast, so to make sure you don’t miss any of the action, be sure to follow the 3-Day (and if you miss a live stream, don’t worry, the videos will be posted to the 3-Day’s Facebook page after we’ve called “Cut!”).

Snapchat – It’s not just for teenagers anymore (heck, even the White House is on Snapchat now)! Starting in Seattle this week, the 3-Day will be snapping throughout the event weekend. If you use Snapchat, add us so you can follow our Story on each event! You can add us by username (The3Day), OR use our Snapcode:

To add The 3-Day to your Snapchat friends, open Snapchat, point your camera to this image, touch in on your screen and hold!

To add The 3-Day to your Snapchat Friends, open Snapchat, point your camera to this image, touch it on your screen and hold!

When you’re out at the 3-Day, be sure to snap using our customized 3-Day geofilters! You can add them to your pictures or video when you’re at Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and when you’re at camp.14067633_10157275721180392_1638649753997878687_n

 

Tell us the ways you enjoy following the 3-Day on social media!

The Seattle 3-Day Coaches Talk About…The Seattle 3-Day Coaches!

They’re the helpful cheerleaders on the other end of the phone call or email when you have questions or concerns. They’re the smiling faces welcoming you and your teams at meet-ups and workshops and building up community excitement for the 3-Day. They’re the guiding hands leading the crew captains and teams to greatness. That’s right, they’re your Susan G. Komen 3-Day® coaches!

As we get ready to return to each of the seven splendid 3-Day locations, we wanted to take a few minutes to catch up with the coaches from each event. Today, the Seattle 3-Day Coaches are in the spotlight!

Since last year’s 3-Day, the Seattle team has seen some changes.

  • Paula, Seattle’s Participant Support Coach for the past 2 years (and a 3-Day coach since 2005), retired over the summer and has been enjoying time with her husband, kids and grandsons. She will be cheering at the San Diego 3-Day in November.
  • Jon, who has been the Crew & Volunteer Coordinator in Seattle since 2014 moved on to the 3-Day Event Planning team in the spring, where he has been helping plan all seven 3-Day events. Jon will be working on staff at every 2016 3-Day (except Dallas/Fort Worth, where he’ll be walking for the first time), so you can still say hi to him in Seattle next week!

So that brings us to the stars of today’s show, the current team of Seattle coaches. Let’s cozy up with Aubrey, Jen and Kathleen and see what they had to say about each other!

Aubrey (Seattle Local Events Coach) aubrey

Kathleen says, “Aubrey is super enthusiastic about her love for the 3-Day. It is obvious she wears her heart on her sleeve and wants everyone to have an amazing experience.”

Jen shared, “Aubrey is so passionate and dedicated to the cause. She has a very personal connection to the cause as her mother is a survivor. She is also a longtime participant and fundraiser, which means she really knows how to personally connect with the Seattle walkers.”

Jen (Seattle Participant Support Coach)

Prior to joining the Seattle team, Jen was the Participant Support Coach for the Philadelphia 3-Day. You can see what she shared about herself last year here.jen-haber

Aubrey had this to say about Jen: “Three words (okay, four) to describe Jen are organized, forward-thinking, and effective. She has the ability to jump in with both feet and get to know participants on a personal level without much effort. It just comes naturally to Jen. Even though I haven’t worked on a 3-Day event with Jen, I had a great time doing a route drive with her back in June. It was great to connect with her face to face and get excited about our new route.”

Kathleen tells us, “Jen is super reliable and really knowledgeable. She always goes above and beyond to make our jobs easier. She jumped right into Seattle without missing a beat!”

Kathleen (Seattle Crew & Volunteer Coordinator)

 This spring, we were happy to welcome back Kathleen, a former Crew Coordinator who returned to the 3-Day after spending a few years at home with her little guys. Since she hasn’t been around for any of our past “Meet the Coaches” posts, we started her off with a few get-to-know-you questions: kathleen-2015

  • Describe your job in 10 words or fewer – “Fun, puzzle-piecing and ever changing with lots of smiles!”
  • We’re one week from the Seattle event. What’s a typical day like for you these days? – “Kind of crazy! There are many documents that need to be filled in and prepared, and lots of phone calls and emails to be returned. This is also the time of year when the most crew changes occur.”
  • What are 3 things that we didn’t know about you? – “1) I have an identical twin sister.2) I have two awesome little boys. 3) I love spending time outdoors. I work outside as much as possible (and usually run inside when the phone rings to limit background noise)!”

And, here’s what the rest of the Seattle team had to say about working with Kathleen:

“I’d describe Kathleen as very determined! She jumped right back into things as the Crew & Volunteer Coordinator this year and has tackled a bunch of challenges with perseverance and a great sense of humor!” – Jen

“Kathleen is considerate, helpful, and positive. She is great about taking on challenges with grace and poise. She makes great connections with her crew team and you can see that they are her #1 priority. On the many conversations we’ve shared with each other, the one thing that rings clear is that Kathleen is a supportive sweetheart. We share many of the same feelings and interests, which is fun, comforting, and encouraging.” – Aubrey

Will you be on the Seattle 3-Day? Be sure to say hello to the coaches (they’re easy to spot around camp and the route in their light grey Staff shirts)!