TV Coverage of the IAFF Local 36 BeTheMatch Donor Drive

NBC 4 Washington sent cameraman B.J. Forte to film the donor drive at the Firefighter's Union Hall on October 11th. Click here to view the report that aired on local news that evening.

SHOUT OUT: Get Well Wishes from Cousin Pam

One of the volunteers at the first Bucky2theBone

#BeTheMatch registration drive, was a family member 

who sent her best wishes to her cousin via video.

If you missed this event, you can join the registry online.

Click: https://join.bethematch.org/Bucky2theBone

The Vision for a Zumba-Thon plus a SHOUT-OUT from Watatah & Roze

Picture a Saturday morning, in a large indoor space, people come together for a cause and a cardio workout. No equipment is required; only music and movement will rule the day.

Zumba will work; let's do that!

Participants will pay admission and sign a release to access the exercise space. Funds collected will go to BeTheMatch.org and the signed releases (or a portion of the page they're printed on) will be used as entries for door prizes. Some identifier (i.e.: sticker or bracelet, etc.) will be given to each person once they have paid their admission and signed the form.

In a separate area, outside of the exercise room, some BeTheMatch registration tables will be set up. Anyone can find out more about bone marrow donation and decide if they want to join the registry, and they can do this at no charge.

Although all are invited to do both, those who come just to do Zumba are not obligated to join the registry, and those who come to join the registry are not obligated to pay admission to do Zumba.

When formulating this idea, Cheryl wanted to pitch the basics of it to her Zumba teacher (and international recording artist) Watatah Fiah Lion. Before she could finish telling him about her brother's health challenge, he volunteered to do the very idea she was about to request.

He named it a "Zumba-thon", and that is what will happen on November 7th in Silver Spring!

Since then, Cheryl's fellow #Zumba class member, Emily Kirby, presented the idea to the Woodlin Elementary School PTA, who generously donated the school gym for the function.

So, save the date and invite your friends. Come and workout for a good cause.

November 7th, 2015
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Admission: $10.00 for Adults
Woodlin Elementary School Gym
2101 Luzerne Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910

OCT 27TH UPDATE: Watatah Fiah Lion's music & choreography will be featured on Nov. 7, 2015.
Click here to see one of Watatah's routines from YouTube 
See his #Bucky2theBone shout-out, with Roze, below:

The WTOP Interview

The WTOP 103.5 FM interview began airing on Thursday, October 8th 

and coverage continued until the IAFF Local 36 event on October 11th.

Click here to hear audio of the first two stories that aired.

 Mary, Dimitri & Aimee

 Cheryl at the microphone

Cheryl, Mary, Dimitri & Aimee 

Mary, Cheryl & Aimee after the interview

SHOUT OUT: Lester's Former Coworker Sends A Message Of Support

While Lester's sister, Cheryl, was looking at the facility where the October 11th function will take place, a former firefighter, who happened to be at the Union Hall, shared some encouraging words, and some memories of when they worked together.

SHOUT OUT: Lester's Fellow Firefighters Send A Group Message

Lester Crockett's sister Cheryl stopped by for a visit to Engine Company 26 / Truck 15, which is the Brentwood Station in NE Washington, DC. (a.k.a.: THE FARM). They received her like family. Here is video recorded during her visit.

In this video: Firefighters Dennis, Adam, Solito, The Captain, Tate, Caddington, Miller R.B.and _____

SHOUT OUT: John of Vicino's in Silver Spring, MD

John is an award-winning chef in the Washington, DC area. His Silver Spring restaurant has been popular for decades, while other nearby eateries have come and gone.

On a busy evening, with live jazz being performed downstairs, he took time to send Lester his best wishes and prepare a generous gift certificate, which will be awarded as a door prize on October 11th. Will you be there?

Click here to see details of the event on this blog.

Click here to view the invite on Facebook.

Cheryl's Journey - The Banner Revealed

OCTOBER 3RD

Most of my trips to visit my brother in the hospital have happened during daylight hours, or at least, they began during the daytime. And I've made enough of these trips to have lost count. But this one was my first evening trip.

Unfamiliar with where the free, off-hours parking might be, I took a chance on finding a spot on the street. Most empty spaces were at least three blocks away from my destination. There was no way I was going for a three block walk, in an unfamiliar city, on a Saturday night.

The one-way streets guided me on an adventure a bit farther away than I was willing to look. Suddenly, a strange sounding horn honked at me from behind. The Baltimore MTA street-car was approaching and I was in its path. OK, this was a street I did not want to drive on. I decided to avoid any street that was perforated with those metal tracks.

A very light rain was falling as I waited for the light to change, I noticed what looked like a bag of trash lying on the sidewalk in front of the transit shelter. I inched forward to get a closer look. It was a person curled up in a fetal position, clothed completely in black. I couldn't see a face or a head, just the lump of humanity with two legs sticking out; the back of a left athletic shoe was neatly stacked on top of the right one. At least part of the motionless form was being soaked by the rainfall.

I reached for my phone to dial 9-1-1 and didn't notice the green light in front of me until the street-car driver started to honk again. After giving my details to the police, I figured I had seen enough and should retreat to the safety of the $8.00 parking lot I had always used.

Gathering most of what I planned to take up to my brother's room, I grabbed the vinyl banner I had made to display at our outdoor campus function which had been cancelled due to the rainy weather. He didn't know anything about it, so I thought it would be a happy surprise. When a loved one has a dire diagnosis, happy moments are worth more than platinum-plated gold.

Entering a room full of laughter and smiles, I greeted my brother, sister-in-law and family friend, then immediately unfurled my rolled tube. I should have taken a picture of his face when he first saw it. He gave me a big smile.

"How much did you pay for this?" he asked.

"Why are you asking me that?" I replied.

"I want to get 10 more of them!"

I realized he must be joking, but his comment confirmed he liked it. We all knew it would be leaving with me. Designed to be an eye-catching marker for our cause, it is intended to be on display at each of our Be The Match functions.

Originally, I was in the photograph, standing to his right; I cropped what little there is to see of myself out of the frame. I thought I saw him smile when pictures were taken. When I asked him to send me one to put online, there was no smile. You'll just have to take my word for it: I saw him smile. Nothing else that happened that day, whether good or bad, was more important.

I guess, if I was sick and about to put a picture of myself out for concerned friends and family to see, a smile might convey a misleading message.