Janet,
Congratulations on your continued recovery. I'd be happy to write anything to help you with your new website. I think its a great idea and name. I wrote something for the Los Angeles Athletic Club back when I did the race for the first time a few years ago which explains how I got involved initially (I pasted it below). You can use that and/or anything I've written in any of my e-mails and I'm glad to help.
Suzanne Leider, The Sarcoma Alliance, Ocean of Hope, and how I got involved. . . .
I first became aware of the Sarcoma Alliance a couple years ago when one day my brother Tony, from San Francisco, asked me to pick him up from Manhattan Beach. He spent that day helping set up the tents and refreshments for the incoming paddlers who had just journeyed across the San Pedro Channel from Catalina and finally arrive 32 miles later on the shores of Manhattan Beach. It was then that my brother told me about this race they call the Catalina Classic and all the non-profit organizations it supports to help raise money to fight cancer including the Sarcoma Alliance. All I can remember thinking is, "those paddlers are nuts!"
Then in 2002 Suzanne Leider, co-founder of the Sarcoma Alliance and close friend of my familys, succumbed to Synovial Sarcoma after a 10-year struggle. She was the sister of my brother Tonys partner Philip Leider who is now President of the Board of Directors. Upon being diagnosed with this rare form of cancer, Suzie, as a registered nurse tried to find out as much as she could about the disease but was frustrated with how little information was actually available. Thus, she was inspired with a dream to create a resource for sarcoma patients worldwide. In 1999, Suzie co-founded the Sarcoma Alliance with high-school friend Keith Munemitsu which today stands as the leader in supporting, educating, and guiding those afflicted with sarcomas as well as their families, friends, and caregivers. The Ocean of Hope (O2H) campaign was created to raise awareness and funds it is the largest fund-raising event of the year for the Sarcoma Alliance. O2H is a 32-mile paddleboard race held each year in conjunction with the Catalina Classic that starts at Catalina and ends at Manhattan Beach Pier.
We lost Suzie shortly before the Catalina Classic in 2002, four years after the O2H campaign was founded. That was the first time paddlers of the O2H team would paddle ashore without Suzie the first to greet them. When I was approached by my brother and Philip to try the Catalina Classic, I thought it would be a great way to pay tribute to a great woman Suzie Leider, and I could get in shape in the process (I had gained 20 lbs. studying for the LSAT). I didnt know what I was getting myself into! After getting a paddleboard (they arent cheap), learning how to use it, chartering a chaser boat, breaking the fin on my paddleboard by an incoming wave, and countless hours of training in the water and at LAAC I did it in 7 hours: 29 minutes. And I'm already looking forward to doing it all over again next year!
For more information about the Sarcoma Alliance or to donate, logon to: www.sarcomaalliance.org
Sincerely,
James Buckman
