A Pink Evening

      Saturday night was a special night at Ernie Shore Field for the Winston-Salem Warthogs and our community. It was "Pink in the Park" night,  a benefit for breast cancer research, and a celebration of    breast cancer survivors.

      Our Lewis and Daggett team had a large contingent in attendance, and we were a corporate sponsor of the event. A night at the ballpark is always a great time for family fun. Our group had a great time, and it appeared that everyone else did too.

      Members and supporters of our local Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation were a delight to work with. They had a true passion for the cause and put all their efforts into making the evening a success. Likewise, we were proud of the passion our L & D team displayed at the ballpark helping out and promoting the cause.

      Of course, pink was the color of the evening. We were struck by the number of men and women who wore pink to support the cause. The survivors group shared a commonality, a "never give up" attitude, and an appreciation for the event.

      The Warthogs organization did a terrific job of hosting the event and giving support to the cause. The players even wore pink jerseys! The whole event served as visible recognition of and support for the families, patients, and survivors of breast cancer.

      We were proud to be part of the event. Our staff even got me to wear a pink shirt for the first time! After all, it was for a good cause :-)!

Never Give Up

      Wow! The Olympic Games have been spectacular - and we are only half way through! It seems everyone is watching and talking about the events. Perhaps we all "participate" in our own way. And, there are metaphoric lessons for all of us.

      Did you watch or read about the men’s 4 x 100 freestyle rely? How do we respond when the chips are down? Do we keep going or do simply give in.

        Jason Lezak gave us something to remember. To set the stage, he was swimming the anchor leg of the relay and was a body length behind when he started. The French team had the lead and had their former world record holder in the water.  The chances seemed slim.

      Lezak is rather unknown. At 32, he was the oldest of the male swimmers. He could have been content and happy with a silver medal. He could have just gone hard, and no one would have questioned him. It seems that just being content wasn’t the plan for Lezak.

      With 50 meters, one length, to go, Lezak, the USA, and Michael Phelps’ dreams were still a body length behind. At 25 meters it still seemed out of reach. Then, Lezak dug deeper. Could it be possible? Yes, at the end by eight one-hundredths of a second he did it. His split of 46.06 was faster than the world record at the distance of 47.50.

      We all probably need to watch our tongues at times. French swimmer Alain Bernard, who was overtaken by Jason Lezak in the final 50 meters of the race, had said in an earlier interview when asked about their competition: "The Americans? We're going to smash them, that's what we came here for." We better watch what we say!     

      The lessons also include teamwork. None of us can do it alone. Even Michael Phelps needed the extraordinary efforts of teammates to swim into the record books, and sports immortality. Don’t we all need the support of others?

      This next week is sure to bring more lessons. Please stay tuned. We’ll likely review more lessons next week.

Always Finish!

     The Olympics are here and have started. We always enjoy watching the Olympics. Moreover, there are always lessons that we learn.

     With the games starting this past weekend I was reminded of an incredible story of "Finishing." Derek Redmond injured his hamstring during a heat for the 400-meter race in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. His father helped him from the ground then went on to help his son finish the race. He came in dead last, but he showed to all of us that finishing is important.

     When Derek's father reached his side, he said "I'm here, son, we'll finish together." In an interview after the race, Derek said "I wasn't doing it for the crowd, I was doing it for me. I'm the one who has to live with it. Whether people thought I was an idiot or a hero, I wanted to finish the race."

     Finishing is important, and sometimes we all need a little help. We try to always remember, and do that, here at Lewis and Daggett. More importantly, we are so proud of our clients who "Finish." We discussed Amazing People earlier this year. Diane and Grady stopped by this past week - they look great! They are using their computer more, and still have those great smiles. They certainly know how to "finish."

     We are fortunate to be able to work with people who are seriously injured, disabled, or hurt at work who still know how to finish. They, like Derek Redmond know that finishing is important, and have personal honor in knowing that they keep going.

     The Olympics are sure to be inspirational and exciting. We can’t wait to see the important lessons yet to be learned from this year’s Olympic games.

Buckle Up

     Please help us keep our children, families and friends safe. Failure to wear safety belts is a greater contributing factor in deaths than any other safety related behavior in our lives.

     In North Carolina it is now the law that all passengers, both front and back seat, must wear seat belts.