Thursday, May 21, 2009

Race Committee Meeting #3

The 3rd meeting of the Komen Arkansas Race for the Cure took place on Wednesday, May 20, 2009. LOTS going on!

Paul Allen with the Arkansas Travelers attended to make a presentation of the money raised at the Mother’s Day at Dickey-Stephens Park. The Arkansas Travelers will also have 3 days in August that people who register for the Race will get into the ballgame free.

Ellen Kreth, 2009 Race Chair (16th race)
and Donna Easley, 2010 Race Chair (17th race)
in their pink Arkansas Travelers jerseys

Publishing Concepts sponsored the pink jerseys that were worn by the players and auctioned off after the game. Shari Erwin also told us that Publishing Concepts is working to recruit the largest team of nurses, Nurses for the Girls. They have already begun registration at nursesforthegirls.com.

The theme for the Race this year is It’s MY RACE to win. The focus for this is to do something (the Race) for you. We tend to do things for others, so this one is for you. Concentrate on yourself and remember that your health is important too. (Please note that we are no longer allowed to have our own race logo. This is simply the theme.)


Team Captain Kits are in process and will be ready for download by the Team Captain Party on July 19. Mary-Margaret has everything under control for the party in spite of her new baby boy—William Terry born April 3. Congratulations, Mom and Dad Marks! And Donna is getting ready to order Boutique items to have on hand.

Train for the Cure has been confirmed at War Memorial Stadium and will be limited to 500 participants. You can register for this program when you register online for the Race beginning July 19. Once 500 have registered, this option will no longer be available.

The Press Conference has been scheduled for Wednesday, August 12, also at War Memorial Stadium.

The Pink Martini Party has been scheduled for September 12 at the home of Cindy and Chip Murphy. Cost will be $75 per person and will include a live auction.

AND the Three Miles of Men Tailgate Party has been set for October 9 at Diamond Bear. Three Miles of Men will also soon be joining Susan G. Komen for the Cure: Arkansas (go join as a fan if you have not already done so) on Facebook.

There was much discussion on Kids for the Cure. I have already posted about the art contest for the t-shirt and I think the other details deserve a post of their own, so I’ll skip that part for now. However, Komen will have a booth at Dino Dash on May 30 to hand out the rules and information concerning the Kids for the Cure T-shirt Contest.

The committee is working on Put a Fork In It. They are contacting restaurants to ask them to donate a portion of their Race Day proceeds. These restaurants will be listed in various places to encourage participants to patronize them after the Race, including the Jumbotron. If you know of any restaurants that might be interested, please let us know.

Vickie Metrailer, Komen Board President, gave us an update from the Board and thanked us for all of our work. That thank you extends to all of you, as we could not have a Race and raise the money without each of you. She began her work with Komen in 1996 when there were 7400 race participants. Last year, there were 46,000 participants and grants were given this year to the total of $1.1 million. THANK YOU!

We also ended the meeting with a presentation. Gracie Kreth attends Crestwood Elementary in North Little Rock where the 5th graders held a Charity Fair. Each charity represented had a booth and each booth had an activity to raise money for their charity. Gracie’s charity was Komen. She had a Mini Race for the Cure and raised $97.75. Way to go, Gracie!

Gracie and Ellen Kreth

Next meeting is Wednesday, June 17.

Thanks,
Jill

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Kids for the Cure®

Kids T-shirt contest sponsored by


The Arkansas Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure is hosting a T-shirt design contest to kick off our new Kids for the Cure® program in this year’s Arkansas Race for the Cure in downtown Little Rock on October 17, 2009. Kids will have the opportunity to register for the Race as a Kids for the Cure® participant.

The Arkansas Affiliate invites children 12 and under to submit an original drawing for our first ever Kids for the Cure® T-shirt. The winning artwork will be used as the signature design on the 3,000 T-shirts ordered for this program.

The rules for the competition are:
  • Artwork must be submitted on 8 ½” x 11” white paper or cardstock and mailed flat (folded paper cannot be formatted for T-shirt printing) to Komen Race for the Cure, 904 Autumn Road, Ste 500, Little Rock, AR 72211, by Monday, June 15.

  • Incorporating the theme of this year’s Race: “It’s MY RACE to win” is suggested.

  • Design should incorporate the Komen pink ribbon somewhere in the art. (Take note of the ribbon in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure logo at the top of the right hand column of this blog.)

  • Only markers should be used in the artworks. Do not use crayons or colored pencils, as they do not transfer well onto T-shirts.

On the back of the artwork, please include the following in pencil:
  • Designer’s Name and Age

  • Name of school

  • Year in school

  • Home address

  • Parent or Guardian’s name

  • Contact telephone number and email address

By submitting a design, the designer and the designer’s parent or guardian consent to the entries becoming the property of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and agree to the entry being used for promotional purposes. Entries will not be returned.

The winners and their parents or guardians will be asked to attend the 2K Family Walk on October 17, 2009, as part of the Race Festivities.

The entries will be judged by a panel of judges based upon creativity, neatness and the overall spirit of the Race for the Cure®. The judges’ decision is final.

Funds from the Race for the Cure® are used to help eliminate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease and are used for education, screening, treatment and research programs.


More on this new program later. With this deadline quickly approaching, I wanted to get this information to you as quickly as possible. It can also be found on the Komen Arkansas website.

Jill

Letter to Team Captains

A letter went out on Monday to the Team Captains that we have in our database. In case you have not received yours, here's the info:


May 15, 2009

Dear Team Captain:

Sweet Sixteen! The Arkansas Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure is celebrating 16 years of fighting breast cancer on behalf of the women of Arkansas. We are excited about the 2009 Komen Arkansas Race for the Cure®. Leadership is essential in building a great team and we can’t do it without you. Please join us to make Saturday, October 17, 2009, another record-breaking event.

We have new and exciting things happening this year and we don’t want you to miss any of it. This year’s theme for the Race is “It’s MY Race to Win” and the colors are pink and plum.

We are no longer maintaining a team captain database and email list. Announcements will be made via our two new methods of communication. We have our blog which is designed specifically for Team Captains, http://arrftcteams.blogspot.com. It includes general team information and a list of all upcoming activities. In addition, we have our own social network, Komen Captains. You can read about it and learn how to join on the blog (Exciting News posted on 4/7/09).

We are now on Facebook! Look for Susan G. Komen for the Cure: Arkansas and become a Fan. We will post fun and important info!

We also announced our start date for the Train for the Cure program: Monday, September 7th (Labor Day) at War Memorial Stadium. Our run/walk clinic will meet every Monday and Thursday night from 6:30 to 7:30. You will be able to register for the clinic when you register online for the 2009 Race, but space is limited.

The Team Captains Party will be held July 19th from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Patrick Henry Hays Senior Citizens Center in North Little Rock. We have changed the format in order to provide Team Captains more time to ask questions, to visit with other team captains, and to learn more about some of the other activities that take place preceding the Race.

While we have made great strides in Arkansas, there is still so much that needs to be done to help uninsured and underinsured women. And to do that, we must raise additional funds for mammograms. Please encourage your team to participate in our online (and very easy) email fundraising, Because I Care™.

We look forward to working with you as we celebrate Sweet Sixteen. If you are not the Team Captain for your organization this year, please forward this to the new captain.

Sincerely,

Susan Talley Brown
2009 Teams Chair


Thanks,
Jill

Monday, May 18, 2009

Vote for Kris Allen

Just to keep things straight, this is not a Komen "authorized" post. This is purely my views. The ladies with Komen may or may not agree. In other words, I'm not asking at this time. :o)


I received an email this morning that said it better than I can:

Ok you guys, this is it!!!! Please watch American Idol on Tuesday, May 19th, AND vote, Vote VOTE for Kris Allen!! You can vote by calling toll free or by texting (there is no extra charge for texting by American Idol just At&t; if you have a texting package, then it goes by that. I encourage you to get an unlimited package, at least for this month to use to vote.)

You can go here to Kris Allen Nation for ALL the details for voting and events happening this week for support!!!!

Voting will be open for 4 hours this Tuesday instead of just two--8pm to 12am. Please vote as long as you can, as many times as possible...voting is unlimited on how many times you can vote. I know this seems like a long time, but this is the last night! If you can’t vote the whole four hours, please vote as many times as you can...some people have been able to get 4000 texts done in 2 hours so with 4 we will get so many more!

Remember to think positive on his winning and visualize Ryan Secreast saying “Kris, you are our New American Idol” and it will come to pass!!!!

Please pass this on to your friends, family and co-workers!

Thanks!!!!!!



There's also information at B98.5 and Fox 16.

Don't forget--VOTE!
Jill

Friday, May 15, 2009

New Sponsor - Genghis Grill

Raise Money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and eat at one of Little Rock's newest restaurants - the new Genghis Grill!

Mike Pierce, Jr., the owner of the new Genghis Grill, is donating 20% of all food sales during the Grand Opening on May 18th, 19th, and 20th. That's this coming Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the 19th, please join us at Genghis Grill for a press conference at 2:00 p.m. where the Arkansas Affiliate of Susan G. Komen will be introduced.

Genghis Grill is located at 12318 Chenal Parkway in west Little Rock.

We hope you all can go to Genghis Grill for a delicious meal and come to the Press Conference for a big showing in support of Susan G. Komen and our generous sponsor!


And thanks, Emily, for this announcement.

Jill

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Mother's Day with the Arkansas Travelers

Don't forget the Arkansas Travelers' Game this Sunday, May 10, Mother's Day at Dickey-Stephens Park. The game starts at 2 p.m. The Travelers will wear pink jerseys in honor of Komen. After the game, the jerseys will be auctioned, and the proceeds will be donated to the Arkansas Komen Affiliate! Please come out and enjoy the fun and support Komen.


Jill