Kid's Day July 17-18 Watkins Glen

RSO,
You can drop the (hopefully) and delete one of the Speed Junkie's - I'm only bringing my nice personality to this event... lol
Bob
 
Am I the only one who does not know who or what SCDA is?
 
RJD1022 said:
[FONT="]Sports Car Driving Association (SCDA)
And, now you know...[/FONT][/QUOTE Thanks RDJ - you have fulfilled my requirement to learn something new every day!
Click to expand...
 
FYI: In exchange for the track donating lunch for the camp (THANK YOU WGI!!!!!!) they have asked for our group to help setup/serve drinks/clean up so please everyone pitch in (and also let the campers eat first) and show our gratitude for the track management's generosity!
 
THANK YOU to everyone who signed up so far!!! Let's keep the list growing and get our best turnout ever!

RSO
Larry B
RPM
Mark and Sue
Speed Junkie (hopefully)
Jesse (maybe Sasha too!)
Frankie (A/K/A Lamchop)
Speed Junkie
Passline
silver2002
pbassjo


 
Please also let us know if you are bringing a guest because the camp needs a headcount for dinner since we will be dining with the campers that Monday evening.
 
We had a great showing at the River Run, I had hoped that all there, would attend this most important event. Yes, it's 2 days off from work, yes, the motel isn't a Ritz Carlton, but putting a smile on these kids faces, both at the camp, and at the track, is worth it!!! Make every effort to attend, you won't regret it!!!!
 
acuhon said:
We are going. Two more cars will show up.
Jerry & Jane
Click to expand...

Thank you Jerry & Jane!!!

Today is Teddi Mervis' birthday. Teddi died 38 years ago and was the inspiration for Camp Good Days. Her dad and camp Founder, Gary Mervis, posted this today:

Who would believe that what started 38 years ago to give the youngest of my three children, Teddi, who was nine at the time, and 62 other children, a residential camping experience, would turn into what Camp Good Days is today.

Following Teddi’s diagnosis, it became evident that the toughest part of her battle with cancer, was not the craniotomy, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy; it was the loneliness of being the only child in her school and neighborhood dealing with cancer. This was robbing her of that very special time in her life called childhood, where children have that sense of invincibility; they think that they will live forever and that there is nothing they can’t do. As Teddi’s father, she looked to me to navigate through her cancer journey. I remember being with Teddi in her bedroom where she would look up at me, thinking that I could provide the answers that she wanted, only for me to go into the bathroom, grab a stack of towels and break down and cry because I couldn’t help her, and I couldn’t help her to understand what was happening, because I myself didn’t understand.

During the winter season, I was watching the Today Show one morning, Tom Brokaw was the host at the time, and they said they would take a sort break, and when they came back, they were going to take the viewers to see a special place. To this day, I don’t know why I decided to watch through the commercial. In the segment, they showed children who were dealing with cancer at a camping facility. They were smiling and laughing and singing songs around a camp fire, and fishing in a pond. I thought of what I saw all during my drive to Albany and how I wanted Teddi to have that experience. When I was in Albany, I shared what I saw with a young lady in the office, Kathleen, who would put famous TV detective, Columbus, to shame. She contacted the Today Show, and they agreed to send a copy of the show segment to me. She then tracked down the reporter and asked him to call me, which to his credit, he did. I talked to him for 45 minutes and there was excitement in his voice about what he had seen and what I wanted to do. I was also able to get in touch with the doctor who was in charge of the program and learn more about his. Rather than send Teddi to the program that was far away, I began to talk to two friends of mine about starting my own program, and I convinced the doctor to come to Rochester to talk about the process.

So, on a cold morning in Rochester, at the Academy of Medicine, Camp Good Days was born. There was no name, no money, and no volunteers, but we definitely had the kids. I was able to find a doctor who was willing to be the medical director, and for the next eight months, I worked on putting the first program together. We were able to have the first camp at Camp Eagle Cove in the Adirondack Mountains on Fourth Lake. There were 63 children who participated that first year: 21 from Rochester, 21 from Syracuse, and 21 from Buffalo, along with 77 volunteers. Everyone who was there that first summer has very special memories in their hearts from their time there. Soon after the children were on the bus to go home, we were already talking and planning about how to make next year bigger and better, and the rest is history.

Over the years, Camp Good Days has had great growth. I am proud to say that we were the first organization in the country to start providing programs to meet the specific needs of children with a sibling or parent with cancer, and later we established a program for men and women with cancer. When I started Camp Good Days, I made two promises to myself, and I have done my best to make them a reality. One was that Camp Good Days would never be a bureaucracy, because my career was with the state government, and that was probably the second largest bureaucracy in the world, and the second was that no family would have to deal with the financial anxiety of sending their child to camp when they were already worrying about the question, “why did my child get diagnosed with cancer?” I never wanted camp to be a source of financial stress for a family already dealing with so much, and so I said that all of our programs and services would be provided free of charge to the participants, and I am pleased that all of the programs and services have been free for the last 38 years. This is only made possible because of generous individuals and special events like our Camp Good Days Wine Competition and Auction Dinner. It is crazy to think that 38 years have gone by. Over the past 38 years, we have served over 47,000 campers from 22 states and 34 countries, and we will add to these numbers after this summer. Many of our programs and services have served as models for other cancer programs and organizations all over the world. As today is Teddi’s birthday, I keep thinking of everything that we have accomplished over the years and I am so thankful for everyone who helped to make this happen.

One day while visiting at the cemetery where Teddi is buried, I thought that I would like to do something for Teddi’s grave, and so with the help of some of the staff in my office, and the cooperation of the cemetery, we made a beautiful plaque for Teddi’s headstone. A few days ago, some of us visited the grave to see what it looked like, and it looks beautiful. Over the years, whenever I have had a difficult decision to make, I would find myself going to where she is buried; it is a very quiet place, and I can talk to Teddi there. It is so amazing to realize that one girl’s battle means so much to so many children and families from all over the world. I would like to leave you with the idea that children are not possessions, they are a gift from God, and we should always make sure to tell those that we love how much they mean to us. God bless you all, and have a safe and happy summer.
 
THANK YOU to everyone who signed up so far!!! Let's keep the list growing and get our best turnout ever!

RSO
Larry B
RPM
Mark and Sue
Speed Junkie (hopefully)
Jesse (maybe Sasha too!)
Frankie (A/K/A Lamchop)
Speed Junkie
Passline
silver2002
pbassjo
Jerry
Jane


 
Room is booked
Can't wait to see the kids and all our friends

Have a safe and fun 4th of July weekend!
 
Last edited:
THANK YOU to everyone who signed up so far!!! Let's keep the list growing and get our best turnout ever!

RSO
Larry B
RPM
Mark and Sue
Jesse (maybe Sasha too!)
Frankie (A/K/A Lamchop)
Speed Junkie
Passline
silver2002
pbassjo
Jerry
Jane
Climberao

 
Last edited:
Had hoped to go and enjoy the fun for a good cause, but have previous plans and commitments at the Cape!
Hope weather and all conditions are perfect for all in attendance.
 

Bob,
To help keep your count as accurate as possible, please note you have me listed twice.
SpeedJunkie

 
Bob,
Thanks for posting "The Rest of the Story"! I can say it brought more than 1 tear to my eye. It also gave me an idea - why don't we write some checks and pool them together and present the whole lot of them to the camp at the dinner.
Camp Good Days are a highly rated charity by Charity Navigator - see the link - https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=8632
Looking at their Annual Report it looks like donations from individuals and corporations declined in 2016. Maybe we can help to reverse that trend.
Bob M.<strike></strike>

 
THANK YOU to everyone who signed up so far!!! Let's keep the list growing and get our best turnout ever!

RSO
Larry B
RPM
Mark and Sue
Jesse (maybe Sasha too!)
Frankie (A/K/A Lamchop)
Speed Junkie
Passline
silver2002
pbassjo
Jerry
Jane
Climberao
Peter Mills

 
SpeedJunkie said:
Bob,
Thanks for posting "The Rest of the Story"! I can say it brought more than 1 tear to my eye. It also gave me an idea - why don't we write some checks and pool them together and present the whole lot of them to the camp at the dinner.
Camp Good Days are a highly rated charity by Charity Navigator - see the link - https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=8632
Looking at their Annual Report it looks like donations from individuals and corporations declined in 2016. Maybe we can help to reverse that trend.
Bob M.<strike></strike>
Click to expand...

Donations are always welcome but as an FYI we have Konica Minolta sponsoring us and we have given as much as $20,000 in the past thanks to KM!
 
Last edited:
Bob O.,
I'd like to say "I'll see their 20 and raise them 20, but...
Still, I'll bring a check. I have to send my charity dollars somewhere & I always like it to be highly rated and for a very good cause - Camp Good Days qualifies!
Bob M.
 
RJD1022 said:
I wish I could go, but I will be on vacation during this time. :mad:
Click to expand...

ditto.......it was a blast when I was last there, hopefully next year. Have fun!, GREAT way to spend a day.
 
THANK YOU to everyone who signed up so far!!! Let's keep the list growing and get our best turnout ever!

RSO
Larry B
RPM
Mark and Sue
Jesse (maybe Sasha too!)
Frankie (A/K/A Lamchop)
Speed Junkie
Passline
silver2002
pbassjo
Jerry
Jane
Climberao
Peter Mills
Ron Witt

 
15 cars, come on NE, we should be able to get to 20 at least!!! I'll be the first to admit that it might not be the nicest hotel in the NE, and maybe the camp food isn't the greatest, and the lunch at the track............well, 'nuff said. Putting a smile on these kids faces, at the camp the night before, and at the Glen, well, that's just priceless. I so look forward to this each year, and appreciate all the work, behind the scenes that Bob and Larry do, to make it happen. Don't miss out on this, it's well worth it. You will get more smiles per mile at this, than any other venue!!!!!
 

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