Drastic Measures!

Wow, what some people won't do to get out of a little friendly competition! Here we are with just 4 days to go until the rappel and Pat has to withdraw from the competition. I knew he'd take it pretty hard when the Angles got out the broom to sweep the Red Sox in the first post season series and I thought he'd be really disappointed when the Bronco's handed New England their second loss of the season, but REALLY, going under the knife for a shoulder that has bothered him for a long time? I'd say the timing of all of this is just more than a little suspect (wink, wink).

Well Pat, I'll miss you on the rope and we'll take that Mexican lunch delivered to the KIT offices anytime after the event. You're still a Classy guy!

It's Crunch Time!

Only 10 days to go until the big rappel! I'm still kicking a little **** on the Wii every morning and really feeling like the workout is getting me ready for what promises to be the experience of a lifetime - rappelling from the Hyatt. We've got a great group of people who are going to join me on this wild ride; some coming from as far away as Canada and North Carolina. It's so wonderful to see everyone's commitment to the lives of children with disabilities. Many community businesses have stepped up to help us with this effort, so if you have the opportunity to patronize one of the businesses that has helped KIT with this event we'd truly appreciate your gesture. Here are the businesses who have stepped up to lend a hand:

StayClassy.org

Bridgepoint Education

Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego

Over the Edge

Dowling & Yahnke

Family Gym

John Brice & Associates Public Relations

Bay Bird Inc. Public Relations

PR Photography by Tim Bosko

Intergrated Media

Oh Pat, Where Are You?

It's been a while since my last entry, been up to my eyeballs in weddings this summer ...definitely fun but it's taken me totally out of my pre-rappelling conditioning routine! Time to get back at it and box with the Wii in the morning. Wonder where Pat's been? Not heard from him lately either, must still be licking that Boston Creme Pie off his face ...speaking of Boston, what the heck happened to the Patriots last week Pat? They let a first year quarterback take them down? Ouch!

We're getting down to the wire for this rappel and it's so exciting to see all the new rappellers getting such tremendous support from their friends and family. Many of you are so close to making your goal of $1,000, keep it up and finish strong, the kids are counting on you!

Hey BTW, in case some of you haven't heard, Scott from Stay Classy was recognized this week by San Diego Metropolitan Magazine as one of the "40 Under 40" to watch in San Diego County; congrats Scot, a well deserved honor.

Pat Walsh vs. Boston Creme Pie

Let the games begin!

With just 8 weeks to go before we rappel, I thought it was time to get serious with the wager between Pat Walsh of Stay Classy and me. So we’ve established the wager: The person who rappels down the building the fastest wins, but there is one little caveat. Since Pat is but a mere child and I am somewhat his senior (we’ll just leave it at that!) Pat has agreed to give me a 15-second credit for every thousand dollars I raise for KIT.

To begin the festivities in the true spirit of fun competition, I fulfilled my promise to give Pat his favorite Boston Creme pie without benefit of a fork, check out the pictures.

What will the losing rappeller have to do (or wear)?!? Stay tuned...

Got ya last Pat!

Woo Hoo, You are Awesome!

Way to go rappellers - wow, if you put all of our efforts to generate funding for the Over the Edge event together, we've hit our first milestone - $10,000. All of us at KIT are thrilled that so many of you are showing your support for children with disabilities; thank you for all you've done so far.

For the rest of you who are watching from the sidelines, I know some of you want to rappel, so let's get with it. What the heck are you waiting for? Come on, set up that page and join our team, it's the Classy thing to do!

The Care & Feeding of The Strategist

It seems that Mr. Walsh, The Strategist at StayClassy is up for a challenge, says he's "a slow starter but finishes strong"....slow starter? Try NOTHING - I see a big fat zero in his fundraising column. Come on Pat, you've got some catching up to do.

Today I asked Pat what his favorite flavor of pie was because if he doesn't step it up he just might need to be "fed" a little Boston Creme pie to give him the energy to give me some competition. Hey Pat, when you least expect it, a little Boston Creme pie without the benefit of a fork, is waiting for you! :-)

I'm back!

Hi all, I've been a little disconnected for the past week and a half, took some time off for our daughter's wedding. I'm delighted to say a GREAT time was had by all and now I'm back to work and back to my training for the OTE event.

Behind the scenes here at KIT, we've been busy putting the last details in place for our newest partner with the OTE event, Stay Classy. We're thrilled to have StayClassy.org as an event partner and I personally look forward to challenging Pat Walsh, the Stay Classy "strategist" to a friendly little wager (exact details of the wager will be announced soon, so check back to see what we've got cooked up for this event)! It seems that Pat turns 30 the day before the OTE event, I guess he thinks he might be able to complete the rappel faster than this "well seasoned" older woman from KIT ...we'll see about that!

Hyatt visit nets practice site!

Today we visited the Hyatt with industrial ropes expert Jan Holan (skalagroup.com) to check the rappel site for ease of access, safety and to find a practice site. I'm delighted to tell you that we were successful on all counts, Mr. Holan knows his stuff! We searched all over the Hyatt for the perfect place to set up the practice area and it turns out that it's right next to the landing spot. We'll be able to have all of our activities up on the 4th floor pool deck; an awesome site for day-long festivities.
By the time I got back to the office today, the official press release had gone out and people started calling to inquire about the event. So game on, get your fundraising page all set and let's get ready to rappel!

No pain, no gain!

Oh ouch, a 5:30 a.m. wake up call Monday through Friday to start getting in shape for my rappel; I figured I'd better get started now to be in shape by October! I decided to take advantage of the Wii Fit that my family gave me for my birthday, why not, how hard can it be? Well was I ever surprised when I completed my first 30 minutes of exercises and found myself sweating and breathing hard; this stuff is more challenging than I thought! The fun really got intense when my daughter told me I should be "rolling" after I exercise. Have you ever tried to roll out your sore muscles on one of those hard foam rollers? Good grief, this is supposed to be good for me? Off to a hot bath and massage.

Holy Cow, that's a long way down!

YaHooo, we've secured the building; I looked over the edge & wow, that's a long way down! The view from the 33rd floor of the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego (that's right, we'll be rappelling from the Manchester Grand!) is spectacular. KIT is thrilled to have the Hyatt as our partner in the Over The Edge event. Don't miss your chance to rappel with me, go to www.overtheedgeforkit.com to learn how you can join me for the thrill of a lifetime; thirty-three stories, impacting thousands of lives, one priceless experience, check it out!

Ever So Close .....

KIT is ever so close to securing the participation of the tallest waterfront building on the west coast. Yahoo!!! Can you imagine what the view is going to be like from up there? As soon as we get this deal through all the legal channels I'll be able to tell you everything about this exciting partnership.

I'd better hurry up and start doing some push ups or something to get these little old arms in shape for the rappel. More to come....

Checking Out The San Diego Skyline

Now that we're moving forward with the event, I find myself looking up; suddenly I became aware of San Diego's changing "skyscape". I've been here long enough to know that the El Cortez hotel was once the tallest building in San Diego - wow how things have changed! It seems to me like the waterfront would be a great place to look for a building with a fantastic view. I mean if you're going to rappel, you might as well enjoy the view on the way down.

With the help of several members of KIT's Board of Directors, we started making contacts with building owners to determine their interest in being the host site for Over The Edge. After several days, eureka! Two business groups are showing interest ...both along San Diego's amazingly beautiful bay. This is going to be fantastic!

Looks Like We're Going To Do This Thing!

Can you believe it, the staff at KIT loved the idea of the event! So my next task was to sell the idea to our Board of Directors. After a great deal of research about previous Over The Edge events in Canada, I approached the Board fully armed and ready for their questions. After a short discussion where we focused on fun things like insurance and liability, the Board voted to move forward with the project - Yahoo!! Now, to find building that would allow us to do such a crazy thing like intentionally using a rope to go from the top floor to the street level rather than taking the elevator. I'm sure someone downtown will see the value of hosting this event, I just need to find him. More to come....

You Want To Do What?

That's what my husband said when I told him I was thinking of doing something really different to create awareness and generate funding for KIT - he knows I'm really passionate about my work, but he thought this was going just a little too far over the edge. You see I'd been researching different ways to garner support for KIT during these challenging times and I came across an event called Over The Edge. What a concept - find the tallest building in San Diego and allow people to legally rappel from the top to the street. Wahooo - with all the thrill seekers in San Diego, this could be really fun!

I decided to test the idea of going Over The Edge for KIT to the staff; I'll let you know how it goes ...wish me luck!