Actually this walk all started last October as a conversation between a 4th year dental student, Khadine Alston, and myself. She was the prime mover in all of this. I was the person who had done events like this for other organizations, and had the know how of what it takes to pull one off. As the event organization became more labor intense, (it takes a lot to put one of these on) we solicited the help of the University via Dr. Ross Kerr and Dean Mike Alfano. They helped pull in ABC and other sponsors to help fund the basics like T-shirts etc.

As to doing a walk in Florida, I'd be all for it, but be careful what you wish for, the operative word to getting one of these things off the ground is WORK, and it takes a team of people to pull it off well. It doesn't hurt to involve a dental school and other large organizations to help bear the load and make it happen. But if someone has the time, and the heart to organize an event, they should just email me and we can afterwards talk on the phone. I can give you an idea of how much is involved in making a successful event. A year ahead is not too long. Even though we have the process cook booked, it takes a while and LOTS of conversations for someone who has not done this before to get up to speed and develop the organization of friends, and other groups locally to make it a high attendance event.

By the way the comment about Barb Boland was correct. She contacted me and told me that she was bringing $15,000 in donations to the Virginia event. I was surprised and thought