The World According to Cb...

The World According to Cb...

Monday, January 10, 2011

Old Schoolers Night at LAF

Tonight is a cool celebration dinner for some of the staff here at LIVESTRONG (AKA the Lance Armstrong Foundation).  The leadership here is recognizing those of us who have been on staff for over five years with a dinner at Z-Tejas, the local Austin restaurant where the idea for the Foundation was actually hatched way back in 1996.

I think it’s important to note milestones in life.  To be blunt, I think in life we simply don’t sincerely say “thank you” often enough.  But we take that aspect so importantly here that we have a stewardship section purely dedicated to making sure we’re doing what’s right by our donors, gatherers, and corporate friends.  Making sure the relationship is being well tended is really critical, simply doing a transaction is never the way to go.

The folks that are being thanked tonight have certainly seen a lot, a few of us even recalling our very first place we called home, a fittingly small yellow house just north of downtown Austin.  Back then almost everyone was a volunteer and our mission vastly different than it is today.  In 1996 we were a urological cancer foundation, putting on a bike ride and gala dinner, then taking whatever proceeds were left after costs and donating them to medical research.



Today LIVESTRONG takes its overarching mission of inspiring and empowering people affected by cancer through a two-prong approach: providing direct services and a platform for people to engage in the fight.  Our services may be programs we provide, like our brand new LIVESTRONG Cancer Navigation Center here in our HQ, or a partnered program such as LIVESTRONG at the YMCA.  And there are many ways to get involved, from our LIVESTRONG Leaders program to putting on an event on LIVESTRONG Day Oct 2.

For many of us here back in the day, it was programs like these that enabled us to first engage, ending up as a very meaningful career move in the process.  That may not be the case for you, but I hope it shows that doing something significant – however you define that – can lead to rewards and experiences you never saw coming.  Ciao for now – I’m thinking queso and a margarita! – Cb…

2 comments:

Unknown said...

It's come a long way. Thanks for letting me go along for the ride. It's amazing how much has changed but glad to see so many of the same terrific folks ("Old Schoolers") still involved!

mariojas said...

Great post Chris!

Next time I'm in Austin visiting friends I'd like to tour the Livestrong HQ. I'll DM you for your availability.

Mario in SATX
@mariojas1

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Austin, TX, United States
A proud single dad, strong cancer survivor, and a guy who loves his bike, red wine, family and friends - the order is dependent on my mood...