I have been serving as my team Mentor. Perhaps I've just been a little burned out?? Don't get me wrong. I LOVE being a mentor! I LOVE meeting our new team members and getting to know our veterans better. I LOVE knowing each Saturday I'll see a group of smiling faces ready to tackle some miles in training. BUT I think my own personal mission may have suffered. I suppose at the end of the day, regardless if I help the team cause of my own efforts - it all goes to an amazing cause.
Now, for my wake up call... I just found out I, and the world, lost an amazing person. A man named Toney Russell came into my life last year through this passion of mine when I combined it with my other one - Drag Racing. Toney owned a competitive race team on the tour my team 
was racing on. Anyway, when I put out the call last year for all of my racing friends and "family" to help the cause, nobody took on the challenge better than Toney. That is perhaps simply because he was just that kind of guy. You know the type... Guys who would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. It could also been because Toney had a personal relationship with blood cancer. He himself had suffered and battled for years a lesser known blood cancer called multiple myeloma. Toney had endured chemo, bone marrow transplants, and the emotional toll of not knowing if he'd live or die. However, he beat the odds the Dr's all gave him. He lived and what I mean by that, he truly LIVED! SO, last year in the middle of my fundraising, I found myself the recipient of several checks from Alabama totaling hundreds of dollars, all made out to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. My new friend down South, Toney Russell, came through in a major way hoping to help save lives from the very cancer he was fighting. Toney lost his battle on Aug 23, 2011. I truly believe is now one of the Lords finest Angels!!!
was racing on. Anyway, when I put out the call last year for all of my racing friends and "family" to help the cause, nobody took on the challenge better than Toney. That is perhaps simply because he was just that kind of guy. You know the type... Guys who would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. It could also been because Toney had a personal relationship with blood cancer. He himself had suffered and battled for years a lesser known blood cancer called multiple myeloma. Toney had endured chemo, bone marrow transplants, and the emotional toll of not knowing if he'd live or die. However, he beat the odds the Dr's all gave him. He lived and what I mean by that, he truly LIVED! SO, last year in the middle of my fundraising, I found myself the recipient of several checks from Alabama totaling hundreds of dollars, all made out to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. My new friend down South, Toney Russell, came through in a major way hoping to help save lives from the very cancer he was fighting. Toney lost his battle on Aug 23, 2011. I truly believe is now one of the Lords finest Angels!!!SO, I guess after this week, I received a very harsh and quick reminder that we MUST be relentless in our fight! WE must fight for those who cannot fight anymore, those too weak, too tired, or those who lost their own personal battle. We have to carry on for people like Toney who never stopped believing even thought it would've been easy to quit. We have to keep up the fight against blood cancer for my Michelle who is still laying in a hospital bed, hooked to life support, fighting. We have to for the almost 1,000,000 people in the United States alone!!!
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