Reflection: 2016 Olympic Games

Citius. Altius. Fortius. I remember first hearing these three words in a movie I watched about running legend Steve Prefontaine roughly 15 years ago. The narrator of the movie, who was also playing the role of Bill Bowerman (founder of Nike) in the film, stated that these words were the motto/mantra of the ancient Olympic games. They mean “Faster, higher, stronger,” and again the narrator reminded viewers that it does not say faster higher and stronger than others, just faster, higher, stronger. 

When I think about this mantra I find myself inspired. To me it is a reminder to not be satisfied with the status quo, to not become complacent, to not settle into mediocrity. It is a reminder to daily press forward and to bring my very best into every arena in life. And we celebrate this mantra every four years by bringing some of the most incredible athletes in the world together to compete, and to celebrate the fact that they have daily pushed themselves to bring their very best into a global arena.

For me, every day of the Olympics is filled with inspiration. Whether it is from watching Usain Bolt continue to excel as the fastest man in the world, watching Michael Phelps add to his medal total, celebrating Simone Manuel, Maya Dirado and others earn their first, or smiling as a West Virginian and WVU student earned the first gold medal, these events make me want to bring out my very best as well. Adding to the inspiration is the thought that this year for the first time there is a refugee team. Often forgotten by the rest of the world, these athletes remind us that regardless of our circumstances, we are all capable of pushing through to bring our very best to the world around us. And if these stories are not enough, I am amazed at what technology has brought into these Olympics. The silver medalist in javelin is a Kenyan who learned and refined his skill from watching YouTube videos. 

In the first Olympic games I can remember watching, fellow West Virginian Mary Lou Retton shocked and captivated the world with her gold medal performance. While it was amazing to watch, at the time my aspirations for life really didn’t expand beyond my zip code. I wanted to be a better student, and a better human being, but how that would translate to how I lived my life did not take shape for me until much later. Now, in these Olympics, there is actually a website to connect aspiring future Olympians to pursue their dreams and get connected to an Olympic sports program. Now, the learning journey is just a click away.

But for most of us in the world, the closest we will come to the games is a television or radio broadcast. We will watch and listen intently and cheer for athletes from our home country, athletes who have won our hearts and respect, and/or the entire field of competition for the milestones and benchmarks they have achieved. How can we bring this Olympic fire into our own hearts, into our own communities, and into our own families? 

I believe the answer is in the Olympic mantra, citius, altius, fortius. If we can hold off looking to our right and left to see how we are competing with others, and focus on the interior competition, I believe we can see greatness blossom. Too often, each one of us are plagued with self-doubt, with wounds from the past, and with fear of failure, and so we never really bring our best. What would happen if each one of us brought forth our best effort each day into each area of our lives? Of course I know there will be days that each of us falter, days in which we do not bring our best, and days in which our best is not quite as good as the day before, but that just gives us an opportunity to practice resilience, to dust ourselves off, and to push forward again like Mo Farah in the 10,000 meter race for the gold.

During the Olympic season, and indeed during every season, may we each strive to bring our very best effort and our best selves to the world around us so that we can look back at the end of the day and say that we gave it our all, and left nothing back.

Disaster Response Efforts In West Virginia Update: How Can You Help?

In late June, many areas in the southern part of West Virginia were hit with tremendous flooding. Homes were swept away. Family members were lost or injured. The waters were indiscriminate in sweeping through towns and bringing rapid destruction and damage to thousands of homes. And as the waters subsided, the people of our state began doing what we always do, rolling up our sleeves and helping one another out. People were working together to ship cleaning supplies and toiletries to those hard hit areas.

One of the best volunteer organizations that I have discovered when it comes to disaster response, and one which I would recommend to anyone looking to deploy, is Team Rubicon. The leadership of Team Rubicon has been trained in crisis and disaster response while serving in the military, and they bring all of that training and leadership into every disaster to which they deploy volunteers. One of the most challenging parts of disaster response for those who want to support is coordinating efforts. They require all volunteers to complete some online training modules before they deploy in an effort to ensure that all volunteers are fully equipped to make their punches count. I fully recommend signing up as a volunteer not just for the response that is needed now, but so you are equipped and prepared to deploy the next time an unexpected disaster strikes. Jamie and I also created a fundraising page with Team Rubicon to support their efforts. Will you consider donating? Jamie and I support Team Rubicon because we believe in the leadership, we are impressed by the staff, and we think they have a very coordinated and regimented training and disaster response program that gets veterans and civilians together to live out some of the best qualities of citizenship and service.

There's still lots of work to be done, and more and more people are launching initiatives to support. WVU Alum Ken Kendrick contributed matching toward raising funds for WVU Extension. Brad Paisley donated toward a Go Fund Me page to encourage others around the country to pledge their support. Jennifer Garner launched a campaign with Omaze to raise money through t-shirt sales for Save The Children's efforts to help children in those communities hardest hit. Jim Justice opened the Greenbrier resort to families in need. All over our state, people have rushed out to purchase supplies and make donations of various types in response. 

I have a few friends who have traveled down to support friends and family members directly, and ALL of them have come back stating that one of the greatest needs presently is simply manpower, and will be for the foreseeable future. Our state needs people to volunteer their time to respond to the cleanup needs. Universally, organizations are discouraging people from deploying on their own, but there are lots of groups out there to serve with. If you can, mobilize with a group that is already organized, if you are unable, then support efforts financially to help equip others to get out there. It is some dusty, dirty, muddy, mucky work, and your contribution, at whatever capacity will be appreciated.

Whatever you can do to help, do it! If you have time and skills that can help with the response in southern West Virginia, deploy with a reputable group and serve. If you are not available to help directly, or you can’t donate goods like those listed on the United Way website above, donate to an organization you know does great work! I am incredibly proud of the way people in our state have rallied to support these efforts, and I know that my fellow West Virginians will always make the best out of a difficult situation. We are a resilient community, a community that supports one another, and one that holds firmly to a commitment to service.

Recent Flooding In West Virginia And What You Can Do To Help

Over the last few days, my home state has been hit with massive amounts of rainfall which has led to intense flooding all over the state, but some of the worst areas have been in the southern half of the state. Entire towns were under water, and some people have even lost their homes.  I watched as my social media feed was filled with images and videos that my friends were capturing as they watched the waters roar. 

The waters have largely receded now, and now comes the cleanup. The cleanup is not what people typically imagine. People think about gathering scattered debris, or wiping down some surfaces in homes that remain intact, but it is so much more. I grew up on the Ohio River. There is a floodwall that surrounds my hometown of Parkersburg, West Virginia. In my lifetime I can only remember a few times that the floodwall was sealed off. The longest time was during the flood of 1985, but even just a few years ago, the waters rose high enough to cover most of the small park that exists outside the floodwall where the Little Kanawha and the Ohio Rivers meet. As the waters receded, the park area was covered with mud and muck that was about 2 inches deep. The fire department was deployed to wash the mud off the walkways and roads of the small park, otherwise, it would have remained muddy, mucky, and nasty.

 

When my dad was growing up, the floods seemed to come annually to the small house he and his siblings grew up in along the same stretch of the Ohio River. They would evacuate, and then return when the waters had receded. He remembered having to get snakes out of the house that had washed in with the flood waters, or which had slithered their way in to a place of temporary shelter. And then it was time to get to work clearing out the mud and the muck, and trying to discern what was salvageable.

That same scenario is being lived out by thousands of West Virginians right now. Their homes, if they were not washed away, may be damaged beyond repair. Some of these people live outside what is considered to be the flood zone for their area, so there are questions about whether insurance will help them recuperate their losses. And they need to wait for a visit from the insurance agents to help them discern.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Right now, people are dealing with the immediate. They are working with groups like Team Rubicon and other first responders to begin the massive cleanup, to conduct search and rescue operations for missing people. There are still people unaccounted for, and there are more than 20 dead. Forty-four of this state’s 55 counties were declared in a state of emergency.

In a moment like this, it is easy to wonder what a person can do to help. The desire is there for most of us, but there is also a degree of uncertainty. There are shams being created to exploit people’s generosity, and there have also been rare instances of looting in the wake of this disaster. But that’s not the way of most of the people of this state, or of this world. We want to help, and many of us make assumptions about what is needed, many relief workers call this a “second disaster.” This is where good intentioned people send items that are of little or no use to the people in need. In this instance here in West Virginia, first responders and relief workers have done a great job being extremely specific about needs. West Virginia University students have an incredibly organized website and volunteer effort to collect needed material donations. If you can, donate some time to help organize resources to be sent to the areas of need.

If you live further away, you can donate to organizations like the United Way, Red Cross, or Team Rubicon to support disaster response efforts. Personally, Jamie and I chose to give to Team Rubicon’s flood response efforts. This organization is led by former Marines, and they are bringing their crisis response training to deploy volunteers in chaotic environments in an organized way. They are not only bringing their skills into the environment, they are also providing both civilians and other veterans an outlet for continuing to use their training to serve others. In every interaction I’ve had with their staff team and volunteers I have been fully impressed. In fact, as full disclosure, Jamie and I have also signed on to be volunteers and receive training.

Whatever you can do to help, do it. If you have time and skills that can help with the response in southern West Virginia, deploy with a reputable group like those listed above and serve. If you are not available to help directly, or you can’t donate goods like those listed on the United Way website above, donate to an organization you know does great work! I am incredibly proud of the way people in our state have rallied to support these efforts, and I know that my fellow West Virginians will always make the best out of a difficult situation. We are a resilient community, a community that supports one another, and one that holds firmly to a commitment to service.

Clara Grandt Santucci Set To Compete In 2016 US Olympic Trials

Back in December last year, I wrote this post about fellow West Virginia native Clara Grandt Santucci. I felt like it was worthwhile to write another post and share the video below that was produced by Pikewood Creative in Morgantown, because Clara's story is one that all of us from the hills of West Virginia can be proud of. We need to be sharing these good stories more often in our world, and it has been encouraging to see my hometown TV station WTAP share a two part series about Clara as well.



Saturday, February 13 at 1:22PM EST, Clara will be running with 200 top marathon competitors in the 2016 US Olympic Trials, and this race will be broadcast on NBC, and personally, I'm incredibly excited and hopeful for her. From what I know of her, she is an very humble lady who is extremely dedicated to bringing her best to all that she does. She is a woman of deep faith and commitment, and she has been fiercely training and persevering toward this long term goal for the last four years.

Jamie and I have been sharing her story with everyone we know and encouraging them to tune in for the race on Saturday. Jamie can remember running track in high school against Clara (they went to different schools), and Jamie said, "Everybody knew that Clara would win the races in which she competed, and it didn't matter what school you went to, everybody wanted to see her win too--she was just that kind of person--even at a young age."

I want to encourage you to tune in and cheer her on Saturday afternoon, and if you live near the site of the marathon trials in Los Angeles, whether you are a native West Virginian or not (but especially if you are a West Virginian), get out there and cheer Clara on toward her Olympic dream!

Let's go Clara!!! You have already made us incredibly proud, but keep going!!!

Reflection: West Virginia State House and Senate Recognize Nuru’s Work

One year ago today, on Wednesday January 21, 2015 at approximately 11AM, Nuru was given a double honor in the home state of Nuru’sCEO and founder Jake Harriman. Along with board members John Hancox and Andy Cogar, Jake and I were invited to stand before the West Virginia House of Delegates to receive a citation honoring them for the work Nuru has done to fight extreme poverty and to celebrate the strong role West Virginians have played in the organization since its inception whether by working directly for Nuru, volunteering, or giving financial contributions to help Nuru grow from an idea to have incredible impact on over 50,000 lives in Kenya and Ethiopia over the last six years.

And as soon as the House of Delegates had finished honoring Nuru, Andy, John, Jake, and I were ushered to the other end of the West Virginia State Capitol where the Senate was waiting to pass a similar resolution and honor the work of Nuru.  After the Senate passed the resolution, all of the members of the Senate came together for a photo and shook hands with Nuru’s West Virginian representation.

The Honorable Corey Palumbo sponsored the resolution in the Senate, and The Honorable Stephen Skinner submitted the sponsored the resolution in the House of Delegates. It was truly wonderful to have both houses of the West Virginia Legislature take time to recognize the work of many West Virginians and WVU Alumni who have helped drive this mission forward.  In fact the resolution mentions staff and board members by name.

Personally, it makes me proud as a West Virginian to have the work of Nuru celebrated and recognized in our state’s Capitol, and additionally proud of all of the volunteers, financial supporters, staff, and board members from West Virginia who have helped carry this mission forward from its beginning, and I am excited for the next chapter Nuru and West Virginians will continue writing in the work to end extreme poverty!

Downtown Black Bear Burritos Benefit For Nuru International Monday October 5 2015 530PM-Close

I'm so excited! Two of my favorite things are coming together to smash extreme poverty in the face! Black Bear Burritos, one of my favorite Morgantown restaurants is hosting a benefit night for Nuru International October, 5, 2015 from 530PM to close at the downtown restaurant location! There will be live music AND proceeds from the sale of the special "Bowl Lotta Love" will benefit Nuru!!!

It means a lot to have a local business championing Nuru, but it has even greater meaning because one of the owners of Black Bear, Jason Coffman, has been my friend since high school, and, while I always get super-amped when people join Nuru's efforts to fight extreme poverty, it is extra special when good friends and folks from our state get involved! Nuru's CEO, Jake Harriman, hails from Preston County, West Virginia and many of Nuru's earliest staff and board members are either native West Virginians or WVU alums (and sometimes both!). People from our state love to celebrate good things that West Virginians are doing and Black Bear and Nuru are two entities as a West Virginian that I love celebrating!

And Black Bear, aside from being a business launched by a good friend and high school classmate (senior class president I might add!), is a business that in my opinion champions good things in and from our state. For starters, the black bear is West Virginia's state animal! The artwork featured in the restaurants comes from West Virginia artists and many of the musicians who setup on the stage are either West Virginians or they hail from Appalachia. Not only that, Black Bear strives to host an assortment of West Virginia crafted beverages along with maintaining an array of ingredients for their food sourced locally. This benefit follows closely on the heels of Nuru getting recognition by official resolution from both the WV State Senate and House of Delegates for its work fighting extreme poverty in Kenya and Ethiopia.

In addition to these amazing West Virginia connections, I'm also proud to say that almost every one of our early staff at Nuru has eaten at Black Bear at least once, so Black Bear Burritos has become something of a legendary dining establishment among those early Nuru alums. And as Jamie and I have increased our travel to share Nuru's story with other people and invite them to join our efforts, Black Bear Burritos is one of the 'tastes of Morgantown' we look forward to enjoying when we return.

On a more personal note, I'm incredibly proud of what Jason and Matt have done in creating Black Bear Burritos. Jason, Matt, and their team have created what I consider a restaurant atmosphere that provides a common ground and a community space for people from a variety of backgrounds and tastes. A kid friendly space with frequent live music and local art, and a delicious menu with something for just about anyone is kind of a tall order for a college town (or any town for that matter). When friends visit from outside Morgantown, Black Bear is one of the first restaurants I want to introduce them to. And when friends visit who used to live in town, it's usually at the top of their list of places to dine upon their return.

I'm really excited about seeing some old friends at the event tomorrow, and possibly making some new friends too! If you are unable to join us for the event, will you stop by our event page and donate online? Every contribution helps!

Hope to see you there! And remember, together, we can end extreme poverty in our lifetime! Let's never stop believing we can change the world, because to not believe it would be downright silly!

Go Black Bear! Go Nuru! And let's goooooooo Mountaineers!

WOW! Nuru International CEO Jake Harriman Introduces Former Presidents George W. Bush And Bill Clinton

July 9th at 6PM ET, West Virginia native Jake Harriman gave a speech (starting at 57:30 in the above video) as part of his graduation from the Presidential Leadership Scholars (#PLScholars) Program, and at the conclusion of his speech, he introduced Bill Clinton and George W. Bush for their remarks to the graduating class. Jake is part of the inaugural class of 60 #PLScholars, and over the last few months he and his classmates have been receiving mentorship from these two former Presidents as well as their staff and the staff of former Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and George H. W. Bush.

To be accepted as a PLScholar, Jake and his classmates had to go through a rigorous application and interview process, and were charged to identify a key leadership challenge for themselves or for the industries in which they worked. For his challenge, Jake chose to explore what he would need to do to take Nuru into increasingly fragile countries to be able to improve the livelihoods of farmers and their families, and to help make the world a little more secure and safe in the process. Jake has been coming away with a ton of insights that are helping Nuru become a better organization, and helping him to become a better leader. You can read some of those insights here.

And now as Jake graduates from the program, his classmates selected him to give the opening remarks at their graduation and to introduce these two former Presidents. There's an ancient Hebrew proverb that I've been reflecting on a lot lately, "Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men." Jake has shown himself to be skillful in leading Marines, leading Nuru, and now, he has been given this incredible opportunity to stand before two great leaders.

This is a huge moment for Jake and for Nuru, and of course, it is a moment for pride for West Virginia University, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Marine Corps, and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, but I believe it is also a great moment for the amazing people of our state. Long before Jake had been part of any of those prestigious institutions, he was growing up to be leader, by the grace of God, through the influences of family and community that he was surrounded by in the Mountain State. If you grew up in West Virginia, you grew up hearing the jokes and the slams when traveling to other places. Jake represents a different West Virginia, a West Virginia that is more accurate to the truth of who we are. He grew up on a small farm, and for him and his siblings, they were learning from parents and neighbors the value of service and hard work, just like many of the rest of us from this great state. West Virginians look out for others. And when one of us does something great on a regional, national, or global stage, it is a victory for all of us. I'm incredibly proud of Jake for being a man on whom this kind of honor can be bestowed. I'm incredibly proud of our Nuru team in Kenya, in Ethiopia, and across the states who have helped bring an idea about ending extreme poverty into reality. But, right now, I am beaming with pride as a West Virginian with other fellow West Virginians as we watch one of our own rise up into the spotlight for just a moment to let the world see what our people are really like. Go Jake! Go Nuru! We are all proud of you!

Nuru November At West Virginia University

The last couple of weeks, I’ve been able to watch a handful of really cool initiatives get started in my wonderful home state of WV, and every day I feel even more inspired by what friends and neighbors around our state are willing to do to confront the crisis of extreme poverty that exists in our world.

Just this month, a group at West Virginia University, YoungLife College, started an initiative called “#NuruNovember.” I was able to share a bit of Nuru’s story, our WV and WVU roots and connections, and a vision of where we are going and how they could be involved. These students grabbed hold of the issue and began taking action.

So what are they doing? This week, they have been set up in the Mountainlair Student Union at WVU telling people about Nuru’s work, and challenging others to take action and help Nuru continue to expand its life saving and life transforming work in Kuria West Kenya.

They have set a goal for the month of raising $4078 dollars as part of their initiative during the month as well. The number 4078 is the grocery code for yellow corn and so these students really got creative with their goal. One of Nuru’s programs involves helping farmers increase their crop yields to be able to feed their families. Before Nuru arrived, families in the community suffered in chronic hunger. But with the help of Nuru’s programs, and the support of amazing individuals like these students, over 10,000 people have had their lives changed for the better.

I hope other groups and individuals will follow the example of these students and choose the path of action over apathy. One out of six people on the planet live on less than the buying power of $1.25/day, but together, we have the tools, knowledge, and resources needed to bring lasting change.

Together, we truly can end extreme poverty, one community at a time. 

WVU Inaugural Big XII Matchup

Well, Jamie and I didn’t land tickets to WVU’s Big XII Debut against Baylor, but we were thankfully able to listen to Tony Caridi give the play by play during the game. And, we live close enough to the stadium, that we were able to walk over and visit with a few friends before the game, and we had a few friends visit us afterward at home.

And what a game it was! It was one of the highest scoring games I can remember—for both team combined, and I believe it set records for the most points scored in a Big XII game ever too. And everyone is talking about Geno and his incredible numbers (here’s a great article from the Oct 1 USAToday that talks about his and WVU's success and potential for the Heisman this year). I’m hopeful that these young athletes will stay healthy and that they will be able to continue to build on this momentum as they depart for games in Texas over the next two weeks.

Not only were the athletes incredible, but Jamie and I were able to take a peak at the stadium as we walked home yesterday, and we saw sections of Mountaineer field striped in Blue and Gold—it looked incredible seeing folks decked out in WVU colors, and it was cool to hear the roar of the crowds along with “Air Raid” sirens after each reception for a touchdown.

What a season thus far, and I hope we see many more games of similar stature this year.