A Congressman, the Mayor and a Country Music Icon

No this is not an old Kreskin Skit from the Tonight Show it was my day yesterday, November 28, 2007.

First, the Congressman. Through the American Jewish Committee (http://www.ajc.org/) I have had the opportunity to get involved in Intergroup Relations. The major part of that has been spent on the Atlanta Black-Jewish Coalition. The Coalition began in 1982 when Blacks and Jews came together to fight the Voting Rights Act in Georgia. The Coalition then was led by John Lewis and Cecil Alexander. Both men were very active in the Civil Rights Movement and Mr. Lewis was one of Martin Luther King's closest allies. Forward to yesterday, when, as the Co-Chair for the Coalition I had the honor of spending time with the Congressman and explaining our idea to honor him and Mr. Alexander a 25th Anniversary celebration. I have met the Congressman on 5 other occasions but never in a small group setting where we just got to chat for an hour. To hear his stories and watch his eyes as he retells them was just incredible! If spending time with the Congressman wasn't enough, as we made our way out of his office his next appointment was with our Mayor, Shirley Franklin. Again, I have gotten to meet our Mayor and we have even done some messaging and video work for her but to bump into her in an informal and 'off the cuff' session was very cool. We all noticed how she was very personable and introduced herself as Shirley without any pretense as to the fact that she runs one of the country's biggest cities!

On any normal day seeing and spending these two folks would have been enough to leave me on Cloud 9 for about a week. I can't say the day got better but it definitely got more LIVELY.

One of the great parts about my job is we get to do a lot of great work for a lot of terrific non-profits. One of those is the Alzheimer's Association and specifically the Georgia Chapter (http://www.alz.org/georgia/). One of their signature events this year was last night called "Better Start Living" with Monty Powell and Keith Urban. All Country fans know Keith Urban and many more know him because he is married to Nicole Kidman. You might not know Monty Powell (http://www.montypowell.com/) but you should. First, he is a singer-songwriter and has penned numerous #1 Country Hits for folks like Urban, Brooks & Dunn and Tim McGraw. Second, he has dedicated a good portion of his time now to helping raise money to fund research to find a cause for Alzheimer's. That's what last night was about in a big way. The cool part for us is that we were able to do some 'in kind' video and messaging work that gave us 7th row seats and invites to a VIP after party. The night was tremendously inspiring and I have to tell you that Keith Urban just KILLED it. I sat their just astonished by his showmanship and what he can get out of a guitar.

I left the house yesterday at 6:00 AM to run and didn't walk back in until well past midnight but thanks to the folks I spent time with yesterday I am more energized and inspired than I have been in months!

WW update - call me Fat Bastard again...

hadn't weighed in for 3 weeks, just came of the holidays...up 3 lbs.

back to 235.8
total lost - 8 lbs

where's the dedication? the discipline?

I have gone running 4 out of the last 5 days and logged about 15 miles so hopefully I will get back on track.

SEC Championship 2007

Usually this game has a ton of fanfare! For the 2 Universities playing in the game (Tennessee & LSU) I guess it still does but this year it will certainly be lacking the drama. All in all the SEC puts on a good show and there are lots of festivities around downtown that make it a great weekend.

There is also a lot of subtext to this years match up and around the nation:

1. Will Les Miles bolt for the Michigan job?
2. Will LSU fans care and who would replace him? Does Jimbo Fisher leave FSU already?
3. What's the deal with Phillip Fulmer? I guess he keeps his job but are UT fans happy?
4. Which BCS game does Georgia get? Personally I'd like to see them meet USC in the Rose Bowl but that would mean Ohio State is back in a Championship game and that would be a re-run of last year just substitute West Virginia for Florida.

I'll take LSU to win a pretty tight battle.

I'll have a complete Bowl rundown once the match ups are made and you can bet I'll be talking Heisman as my fellow Gator, Tim Tebow, is certainly a finalist if not the front runner.

Another Sports tragedy

Early this morning Sean Taylor, the All Pro Safety for the Washington Redskins passed away from a gunshot wound he sustained Sunday night.

Sean was 24 years old and leaves behind a 1 year old daughter.

He was a tremendous hitter and athlete.

I can't imagine what his family, friends and teammates are going through. More senseless violence right here at 'home'. Why must we be thousands of miles away trying to fix the 'world's problems' without trying to fix the ills of our own society.

My heart goes out to Sean's family, the Redskins and the University of Miami for their loss.

Coexist?

I'm sure a lot of you have seen the bumper stickers that say "COEXIST" which uses different religious/cultural symbols for some of the letters (e.g. - the ying-yang for the O). They seem to be popping up everywhere and while I understand the intention behind the message I feel 'we' as a race, the HUMAN RACE, are not seeing our potential.

Let's look at the word, which comes from exist. To exist at it's simplest definition is to be or to sustain.

I am tired of just existing! If our aspiration is to just get along and deal with each other so we don't kill each other then I want OUT!

When I hear existing I think of the hate being spilled by Pat Buchanon not the intent behind the cool bumper sticker.

Let's not give in and give up. The world can be so much more than one where we "peacefully coexist".

Atlanta's Best kept secret - sports related

Believe it or not it's the HAWKS! yes, the Hawks people.

Last night the Hawks beat the Phoenix Suns 105-96 and they looked GOOD doing it. They are now 2 and 2 on the young season but they are showing real signs of maturity. They have beaten 2 of the best teams (Dallas & Phoenix) and have played very tough in their 2 losses, both on the road.

What has looked like an Organization in complete drift has all of the sudden become something. Let's see why:

1. The young nucleus - Joe Johnson, Josh Childress and Josh Smith are becoming bonafied stars in their own right and the oldest of them (Johnson) has been in the league 6 years.
2. Marvin Williams - this guy looked like another 'dud' pick but all of the sudden he has exploded and is playing with confidence.
3. The rookies - both Acie Law and Al Horford (my man from the University of Florida) are already playing HUGE minutes and contributing (Acie distributing the ball and Al is a MONSTER on the glass)

What might be the best part of this whole thing is that these guys are DYNAMIC and fun to watch. They could easily fit in the West Coast style of basketball as they like to run up and down the court.
There is still room for improvement as these guys will only get better.

Now it is up to you though!

The crowd, while a pretty good size because Phoenix was here, needs to get louder and more supportive in crunch time. The Hawks were up 3 to 7 points late in the 4th Quarter and you could feel the crowd just waiting for the Suns run to put the Hawks away. It never came and now is the time for us to help the boys out!

The Eastern Conference is VERY mediocre. If this team can stay healthy and keep growing they will make the playoffs this year...the future is in sight!

Get to Phillips now while you can get good seats!