AA Celebrity Ski 2018
Bjorn Vandug and I were fortunate to be invited to the 2018 American Airlines Celebrity Ski event at Beaver Creek Colorado April 27th - March 5th, 2018. We really didn’t know what we were in for but as it turned out it was a very remarkable event. I want to share with you my thoughts on this humbling experience because I feel our club could share in the miracle of finding a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.
First of all, if you look at the logo of Celebrity Ski above you see “American Airlines”, “Celebrity”, “Ski”, and if you look very carefully at the bottom of the logo you will see in very small font... “Benefiting Cystic Fibrosis”. So there is a misconception this is a Ski weekend for celebrities, a race for celebrities, or an American Airlines event. We soon learned this wasn’t about celebrities, wasn’t about skiing, wasn't about racing, wasn't about American Airlines, but it was about raising money to find a cure for this nasty disease called Cystic Fibrosis...
Bjorn Vandug and I were fortunate to be invited to the 2018 American Airlines Celebrity Ski event at Beaver Creek Colorado April 27th - March 5th, 2018. We really didn’t know what we were in for but as it turned out it was a very remarkable event. I want to share with you my thoughts on this humbling experience because I feel our club could share in the miracle of finding a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.
First of all, if you look at the logo of Celebrity Ski above you see “American Airlines”, “Celebrity”, “Ski”, and if you look very carefully at the bottom of the logo you will see in very small font... “Benefiting Cystic Fibrosis”. So there is a misconception this is a Ski weekend for celebrities, a race for celebrities, or an American Airlines event. We soon learned this wasn’t about celebrities, wasn’t about skiing, wasn't about racing, wasn't about American Airlines, but it was about raising money to find a cure for this nasty disease called Cystic Fibrosis...
Bjorn and I were invited to volunteer after a meeting with Elise Eberwein and she introduced us to the organizers of Celebrity Ski. We really didn’t know what capacity we would be used, but we figured we would probably be utilized in some sort of ”ski” activity... especially since we are representing the ski club and we are both ”avid” skiers (well... Bjorn is). As it turned out, we may have skied a total of less than 2 minutes over the entire week we were there. We were put on teams that put up banners on the safety fences, set up/take down picnic tables/barbecue grills, loading/unloading Fed Ex trucks, and much much more. Early one morning at 0:dark thirty, the phone rang and Bjorn was asked if he could drive to Denver to take some of the band members to catch a flight. So, it was a lot of work from beginning to end and my hats off to Bjorn for helping in this very rewarding experience.
On Wednesday evening we had dinner with a couple whom we had worked with earlier in the day. During the course of our meal we found out their daughter was born with CF (Cystic Fibrosis). They were told when she was born, their daughter would be lucky to live to her 10th birthday. Unfortunately this was the typical lifespan for a child at that time. Because of the CF foundation and events such as AA Celebrity Ski, money has been raised for research and new medicines that allow these children lead somewhat normal lives. Mike (777 Captain based at DFW), and Kristens daughter is now 29, a veterinarian and has a daughter of her own. Although the average lifespan of a person with CF has increased, the disease is still real and the fight isn't over until a cure is discovered. After breaking bread with this wonderful couple and learning of this terrible genetic disease, Bjorn and I walked back to our room thinking of a way to help raise money for CF. We decided the next day to donate a ski week for two at one of our ski weeks at the live auction Saturday night. We figured between the two of us and maybe a few others within the club we could cover the cost. I submitted the proposal to the organizer of the auction and she said she would get back to me. Well, she got back to me Saturday night moments before the auction began and said we were on the block... item #30. She asked if I would say a few words prior to bidding our item to sell our Ski week. By the way, if you haven't noticed, I'm not a good sales person and I have never spoke much in front of large crowds. There were about 500 people there... many of whom were execs from many large corporations. I was a little nervous, but because we have such good people in our club, and I truly love what our club does and stands for, I had no trouble pitching one of our ski weeks to benefit CF. The first bid came in at $3000, second bid $4000. Within 2 minutes the bidding for our ski week ended at $10,100. It was very exciting to see the interest in our club and to know that... what we do one week out of every winter month, had a value that is helping a child live another day.
I personally believe giving is probably one of the most challenging but rewarding adventures you can embark upon. After speaking to the CF foundation representatives, I found out they operate at about 4% efficiency. What that means is 96% of donations are used for finding a cure. American Airlines corporate is one of the largest donors of CF, and the American Airlines Celebrity Ski weekend is one of the largest fundraisers of the year. Because of the aforementioned reasons, and this very humbling week, I would like to designate CF as our philanthropic charity. Our plan is to have a portal on our website that will link you directly to the CF foundation so you can donate directly to Cystic Fibrosis and receive your charitable contribution receipt. All money donated will come purely from volunteer donations. No donations from the club will come from club coffers. Another idea we would like to explore is a raffle at our training camp in December. This could be a way to help raise money to fund our "ski week" at future live auctions at the Celebrity Ski weekend. if you have ideas or suggestions on other fundraising ideas for CF please let me know.
Thanks for you time in reading this, I just wanted to inform you of some very exciting news that we could share and be a part of... The cure for Cystic Fibrosis.
Thank You, Nathan
On Wednesday evening we had dinner with a couple whom we had worked with earlier in the day. During the course of our meal we found out their daughter was born with CF (Cystic Fibrosis). They were told when she was born, their daughter would be lucky to live to her 10th birthday. Unfortunately this was the typical lifespan for a child at that time. Because of the CF foundation and events such as AA Celebrity Ski, money has been raised for research and new medicines that allow these children lead somewhat normal lives. Mike (777 Captain based at DFW), and Kristens daughter is now 29, a veterinarian and has a daughter of her own. Although the average lifespan of a person with CF has increased, the disease is still real and the fight isn't over until a cure is discovered. After breaking bread with this wonderful couple and learning of this terrible genetic disease, Bjorn and I walked back to our room thinking of a way to help raise money for CF. We decided the next day to donate a ski week for two at one of our ski weeks at the live auction Saturday night. We figured between the two of us and maybe a few others within the club we could cover the cost. I submitted the proposal to the organizer of the auction and she said she would get back to me. Well, she got back to me Saturday night moments before the auction began and said we were on the block... item #30. She asked if I would say a few words prior to bidding our item to sell our Ski week. By the way, if you haven't noticed, I'm not a good sales person and I have never spoke much in front of large crowds. There were about 500 people there... many of whom were execs from many large corporations. I was a little nervous, but because we have such good people in our club, and I truly love what our club does and stands for, I had no trouble pitching one of our ski weeks to benefit CF. The first bid came in at $3000, second bid $4000. Within 2 minutes the bidding for our ski week ended at $10,100. It was very exciting to see the interest in our club and to know that... what we do one week out of every winter month, had a value that is helping a child live another day.
I personally believe giving is probably one of the most challenging but rewarding adventures you can embark upon. After speaking to the CF foundation representatives, I found out they operate at about 4% efficiency. What that means is 96% of donations are used for finding a cure. American Airlines corporate is one of the largest donors of CF, and the American Airlines Celebrity Ski weekend is one of the largest fundraisers of the year. Because of the aforementioned reasons, and this very humbling week, I would like to designate CF as our philanthropic charity. Our plan is to have a portal on our website that will link you directly to the CF foundation so you can donate directly to Cystic Fibrosis and receive your charitable contribution receipt. All money donated will come purely from volunteer donations. No donations from the club will come from club coffers. Another idea we would like to explore is a raffle at our training camp in December. This could be a way to help raise money to fund our "ski week" at future live auctions at the Celebrity Ski weekend. if you have ideas or suggestions on other fundraising ideas for CF please let me know.
Thanks for you time in reading this, I just wanted to inform you of some very exciting news that we could share and be a part of... The cure for Cystic Fibrosis.
Thank You, Nathan
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