Hello Everyone!

I wanted to start a new topic here so that everyone would see it. I want to thank Minnie and Dan for all of the hard work they did to make our walk on April 9th a success. The only thing they didn't have perfectly planned out was the wind!

I enjoyed meeting everyone from the OCF in person: Minnie and her incredible, beautiful family, Dan and Marcee, Tom and Nicki, Rosie and her lovely family, Carol and Steve. I know I am forgetting people, so please forgive me.

It was pretty funny meeting at the restaurant Friday night, discretely looking for neck dissection scars, and going up to strangers asking "Are you with the Oral Cancer Foundation?" but I made some friends over the weekend and I am happiest about that.

Again, I can't say enough about the great work Minnie did to make this happen. I don't know how she did it but it was fantastic!

Congratulations Minnie!
Barb (or Bobbi)

Barb, it was so nice to meet you and thank you for the awesome amount of money you collected.
The wind was a bit of a pain but other than that, I am so glad we made the trip and participated!Sorry I missed the Friday night dinner, I could have gotten to know each of you better.
Carol

I just wanted to say how proud I am of my mom, Minnie, for her hard work orgazizing the walk this weekend. It was an amazing experience that touched my heart in a way I can never explain. I met some incredible people this weekend that I hope to see again next year. For the first walk to raise as much money as it did, everyone should be very proud of themselves. From the message board members to the strangers who read about the walk in the paper, I think everyone walked away with something this weekend. (If we could have gotten rid of the wind, it would have been perfect!) Mom, I know you were nervous about this weekend, but I don't think anyone could have done a better job. (Tell em to bring it on if they think they can!) I love you.

**A special hello to Mckayla and Lawson!! You guys were adorable!!

Everyone!
Do not miss next year's event!
The Chesapeake walk was wonderful The forecasted rain did not appear, and the brisk wind did not deter any of us from enjoying an inspiring day. Minnie did, in fact, organize a great event and Charity is right about everyone 'walk(ing) away with something.'
Coming face-to-face with some of those who have offered love and support on this board was down-right fun......! Tom and I got to the crazy-busy restaurant and looked around and was I excited when I recognized Danny Boy from his profile picture! That began a great evening...
Barb's family was well represented - great, fun people and what an amazing fund-raising job they did! Dan and Marcee certainly add spark, and not enough can be said for Minnie and her crew! Rosie's presence made me think that there were OCF angels sanctioning the entire event. All in all, we met great people!
Carol, so sorry we didn't get to spend time getting to know you, but Baltimore is not so far away! Will the Nationals play the Orioles??? We'll meet you up there!

Met a woman from the community who walked with her family - she is a breast cancer survivor and was so happy to be able to contribute in some way to the fight against 'our' cancer. She said she'd be back next year for us.

Best news for us is that Tom managed to walk the entire 10 miles! My legs wouldn't carry me past 9, but I certainly cheered him on that last leg. He took a loooonnggg nap afterwards!
Minnie and Danny - your courage and outlook really provided him with renewed optimism. Rosie and Barb - your stories reinforced our resolve to never second-guess ourselves when it comes to our health and well-being!

I do hope there are more events soon! I'll continue to sell pies and quiches for more contributions - - I've got a ways to go to get to Barb's contribution!
Love you all!
Nicki

Nicki, Count me in for the O's/National game, I am a BIG O's fan!!!!At next year's walk, we plan on spending a night or two so we can go out with all of you! Wow, Tom did great doing the 10 miles. It took us about 4 1/2 hours drive each way to get there and it was so worth it! Next time, I want to spend the night in VA. A friend of ours came to the walk from Baltimore, don't know if you met him, his name is Dennis. He stayed at a real nice place on the beach in Va Beach. He brought his fiancee and two children. It was great meeting you and Tom. I knew I loved Minnie before I even met her, she did an awesome job and I cannot thank her and her family enough. Carol

Hello Nicki,

I can't add much to what you posted. I know it came from your heart!!! It was so nice to meet you and Tom. He looked good and seemed in good spirits. Part of the process of putting this behind us in some small way.
There is light at the end of the tunnel!! I hope it's getting bigger for both of you.

"Ya Gotta Believe"

Love Ya, Danny Boy

Thanks for all the nice words guys. I like to think of it as a WE thing though. Without all of us and our experiences in life it would have been a flop. We all have a common bond that I felt throughout the day. It was remarkably easy to talk to all of you, like I had known all of you forever. Don't get me wrong, I rarely have issues running my mouth with anyone new that I meet........I tend to make friends waiting in line at a store. But this was different, it wasn't small talk or my irritating habit of wanting to know every detail of some strangers life. This was deep and meaningful because I knew I was talking to people who completely understood me and my feelings. Talking to Tom about how his eating would improve was especially rewarding to me, to see the hope light up in his eyes was such a rush. I fully intend to share a 5 course meal with him next year at the walk.
The day could only have been better if every member of the board had been there to share it. Maybe next year.
Minnie