P.J. McINTYRE'S

            I have to send a huge Thank You out to my boy’s in Cleveland; Rory, Eamon, and Kyle for putting together what was a great event Friday night at P.J. McINTYRE’S Irish Pub in Cleveland.  As I have recently learned fundraising and event planning is a full time job, I have been swamped with planning and organizing since I left my job in May.  These guys managed to put together a great and successful evening all while holding down their 9 to 5’s. 

            I said to Azure at the beginning “as corny as it sounds if we are able to help one person or convince one individual to pick up the phone and call someone, to seek their help instead of choosing suicide then it will all be worth it.”  After an event like the one these guys put together on Friday, I realized that we are going to impact more than one person.  To everyone that came out on Friday-I cannot thank you enough!  Your support was heart warming and encouraging.  I know that there will be days when the mountains will seem to go on forever, on those days I will think of all of you and keep riding.

            One of the best parts of the night for me was when several people pulled me aside and spoke with me about personal experiences they have had with mental illness.  Whether it was a family member, a friend, or their own, several of these people said that what I was doing gave them the confidence to be more open about their personal experiences.  So to all of you, THANK YOU for sharing you personal experiences I know it is not an easy thing to do!  If people across the country have the same response that all of you did we are going to change the way people view mental illness. 

            We are all packed up and getting ready to leave my brother in Chicago we are off to the west to do some altitude and mountain training with a stop in some the National Parks and then a short stop in Seattle.  After that, Prudhoe Bay here we come.

I forgot that in addition to Kyle helping to put the fundraiser together. He won the 50/50 raffle and donated the winnings back to the fundraiser. And for those of you out there thinking it... It wasn't rigged we picked four numbers that no one claimed before Kyle's winning number was picked. Kyle... Thank you for your generosity.