Posted in Blog on September 1, 2015.

This past Saturday’s March On For Brain Injury was a terrific success! Thanks to all those generous donations, the Hudson Valley walk exceeded the Brain Injury Association of NY State’s (BIANYS) goal and raised $52,238, not including the event day registrations.

The New York City teams (The A Team, BIA-NYC, TBI Strong, and Team Wald) collectively raised almost $10,000, nearly a fifth of the entire event’s proceeds! Augustus and I paired up to create The A Team, and we are grateful to the twenty friends and family who walked with us. We are particularly grateful to our teammate Lisa Warner and her husband Nate who raised almost half of our team’s proceeds!

The amount of planning involved was an extraordinary cognitive feat! As the chairwoman of BIA-NYC, I agreed to be the point person in Grand Central Station on Saturday morning at 7:15 AM. My old roommate in Hells Kitchen allowed Augustus and I to spend Friday night at her home, which was a 15-minute cab ride away. Thanks Caren and John!

When we arrived, a few members already there were easy to spot wearing their teal blue chapter t-shirts. Seventeen New Yorkers met in Grand Central Station for the Poughkeepsie-bound train to The Walkway Over The Hudson. The fare from New York City to Poughkeepsie cost more than the registration for the event itself, and there was still a strong NYC presence. During the 2-hour ride, some passengers read, others studied for college exams, while I excitedly posted pictures to FaceBook.

Another thirteen friends arrived separately. It was great to reunite with the Feenan family, as Thomas walked with us last year! I was particularly excited that PP (my prayer partner) was able to join us, as he returned from Turkey days before. I kept bragging that he turned down officiating two weddings to be there!

Once we arrived, we found out that the Mahoney’s restaurant bus was unable. There wasn’t a driver who had a proper license to operate it. Instead a ten-person passenger van shuttled us across the river. Because The A Team was in the fifth and final load of passengers, we missed the opening presentation and started the walk late.

This didn’t effect the group’s morale. While the chapter’s secretary Debbie waved her pompoms, we chanted Be BIA-NYC, Be Be BIA-NYC (pronounce bionic). It was a beautiful day, and a great time to reunite with old friends and make new ones. I am incredibly proud of the BIA-NYC Chapter!