Walk for Hope:Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Today is a special edition of Celebrity Rookie Cards. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, I created this card to commemorate the effort of Andrea Evans and the City of Hope's Walk for Hope.
For more than a decade, the Walk for Hope has raised funds for research, treatment and education. In 2010, there were Walks scheduled in eight cities across the U.S. New for the Walk in 2010 is the color purple, which represents all women's cancers research and education.
Andrea Evans has been a Celebrity Ambassador several times, leading the walkers, while walking with various members of her family. Andrea's mother is a breast cancer survivor.
I realize my previous Celebrity Rookie Cards always featured the celeb wearing a jersey, but I am making the exception today for the cause.  Andrea is wearing her Walk hat though.  That's good enough for me and this special edition card.

Happy Birthday Andrea Evans

As well-documented here, I have been a fan of Andrea Evans for a long time. I watched her on tv's One Life to Live back when I was in college (it was better than actually going to class). Today though, I am going to use this space to highlight a cause very important to Andrea.
Andrea's mother is a survivor of breast cancer. Andrea and her family are big supporters of Walk for Hope. Andrea has been the Ambassador to several Walks and her and her family usually make the Walk at one or two locations each year. I have had the pleasure of meeting Andrea at several Walks in the Chicago area.
Over the years, I have also had the pleasure of getting a few sponsors connected with the Walk for Hope. Obviously, it is a great cause and I am glad to have contributed a little over the years.
The Walk itself is truly inspiring. The majority of the Walkers and attendees are clad in pink. Most are there to support or remember a relative or friend who had cancer. There are plenty of laughs, tears and hugs.
This year, there will be a Walk for Hope in 8 cities (Chicago, LA, Philadelphia, Phoenix, SD, SF, Seattle and Washington DC). I'll be at the Chicago event, which will be in October).
Happy birthday Andrea and thank you for your tireless work with the Walk for Hope.

Andrea Evans and me in Evanston, IL-Late 1990's.

6 in 30-Johngy Style

I am always up for a good blog challenge. The folks at Dinged Corners came up with the challenge of 6 Cards in 30 Seconds. The basic concept is to grab a binder of cards and in 30 seconds, find 6 that make you happy. The key is not thinking (oh I love that aspect) and just reacting. I decided to grab my binder of signed 8x10's for this mission.
Aside from choosing photos over cards, I tried to stick to the concept. I didn't just scroll to my favorites (no Mike Squires or Billy Joel). I just grabbed the first 6 that gave me a good feeling immediately.
Roddy Piper signed a reproduction of the NIE ad in which he appeared for Lerner Newspapers. This picture represents a lot of great memories. The fact that I got Piper to appear in the ad still boggles my mind. That was followed with an interview. Finally, in one of the most surreal moments in my life, Laurie and I met Piper in Florida.I didn't even know Michael Callan was going to be at the convention. I just stumbled onto his booth. I loved his tv show My Occasional Wife (in reruns), which sparked a bit of a surprising chat with Callan.I was a Kev-Head. Starting when I was in college, until he left the Chicago airwaves, I always listened to Kevin Matthews. When I first started at Lerner Newspapers, Matthews was always on our radio. Louie and I talked to him a few times and saw him at a couple comedy clubs. Matthews left Chicago in the early 00's and is currently at WLAV in Grand Rapids, MI.
Andrea Evans has been a long-time favorite of mine. Evans was a teenage crush of mine. She also appeared in the NIE ad series for Lerner. I have supported her efforts in the Walk For Hope and she has done great things for the clients who I brought in as sponsors. This 8x10 was from the first time I met her and obtained her autograph after trying for many years.
Few things are cooler than former Chicago White Sox catcher Ed Herrmann sporting the old red and blue uniforms from the early 70's. I just love this photo. It brings back great memories.
Following old school Ed Herrmann is old school Jim Pappin of the Chicago Blackhawks. I love this great b/w shot of Pappin moving in on Bernie Parent. It reminds me of growing up watching Pappin and those Hawks on my small b/w tv.

Tina Clayton Lord Roberts Roberts Roberts Rogan Vickers

I have to send out belated birthday wishes to Andrea Evans, actress formerly on tv's One Life to Live. As a teenager, I had a bit of a crush on Ms. Evans. I was heavily into autographs at the time, but I could never get a signed picture of Evans, much to my frustration.
In the late 90's, I met Evans for the first time at a local mall, where she was doing a product promotion. I finally got my autographed photo after so many years.
A couple years later, I learned that Evans was involved with the Walk for Hope (to cure breast cancer). There are several Walks nationwide and Evans participates in a couple every year, usually doing the Chicago one with her mom, a cancer survivor.
As the Marketing Manager at Lerner Newspapers, I worked out a deal where Lerner became a sponsor of the Walk. Later, Evans would become one of our celebrity spokespeople for the NIE ad series.
Global Traveler magazine has also been a sponsor of the Walk. Last year, I did an interview with Evans for a piece on the Walk for the GT website.

Andrea Evans and me at Northbrook Mall in Northbrook, IL-late 1990's.

Interviews:2008

Here is the complete listing and linkage for all of my 2008 interviews.

I interviewed Rick Monday right outside the Dodgers' clubhouse at Dodger Stadium in June of 2008. We talked mostly about when he saved the U.S. flag from being burned. I wrote a piece about that for Global Traveler magazine's website. That GT piece was read by David Stein on Sporting News Radio.To hear the Rick Monday interview click hereTo hear David Stein read my piece click here


For another piece on GT's website, I interviewed wrestling personalities Al Snow, Terri Runnels and Scott Taylor separately at Wizard World in Rosemont, IL in August of 2008. We talked about travel, their current life and their future plans.To hear the Al Snow interview click hereTo hear the Terri Runnels interview click hereTo hear the Scott Taylor interview click here


I interviewed Mike Easler and Larry Bowa together during batting practice at Dodger Stadium in June of 2008. Easler talked about his favorite city, while Bowa wasn't quite as decisive about his. I also helped Bowa with fielding practice, although that is not part of the interview.To hear the Easler and Bowa interview click here


I interviewed Hall of Fame broadcaster Peter Gammons of ESPN on the field at Dodger Stadium in June of 2008. It was long before the game started and there were only a handful of people even there. We discussed his favorite cities.To hear the Peter Gammons interview click here


The last interview I got at Dodger Stadium in June of 2008 was with Ryan Dempster. Dempster had an unbelievable season after converting back to a starting pitcher after being a reliever for several years. Dempster was very loose and seemed happy to talk for a bit.
To hear the Ryan Dempster interview click here


I interviewed ESPN broadcaster Jon Miller at Dodger Stadium in June of 2008. Miller gave me over 3 minutes of his time, which is quite a lot for an unscheduled interview. He talked freely about a number of his favorite cities.To hear the Jon Miller interview click here


I interviewed Hall of Famer Joe Morgan right as he headed into the dugout moments before the game at Dodger Stadium in June of 2008. Morgan only had about 30 seconds, but I logged in another Hall of Famer!To hear the Joe Morgan interview click here

Doing some research for another GT website piece, I attended a couple of TNA wrestling events in the Chicago area. At the fanfest, i was able to interview Christy Hemme, Lance Rock and Jimmy Rave (collectively known as the Rock N Roll Infection). We talked about travel and the expansion of TNA.To hear the Christy Hemme, Rock and Rave interview click here


At the Walk for Hope 2008, in Glenview, IL, I interviewed actress Andrea Evans for a GT online piece. Evans discussed her return to tv's One Life to Live, her commitment to Walk for Hope, her partnership with Lather and her future plans.To hear the Andrea Evans interview click here

Friendly Encounters

This is another in a series of meetings of my friends and celebs.

I have known Rosemarie for about 10 years. Rosemarie lives with her husband and two daughters (Amanda and Alana) in Calgary, Alberta. Rosemarie does web design and with her daughters is very involved in the Calgary 4-H Southpaws.
After running a fan site for actress Andrea Evans of tv's One Life to Live, she was contacted by Evans to do her official website. After a couple years of running the that site, Rosemarie started running the official site for actress Marianne Muellerleile, too.
In 1999, Rosemarie and her daughters visited the set of The Bold and the Beautiful at CBS studios in Los Angeles to spend some time with Andrea Evans.

Rosemarie, Amanda, Alana and Andrea Evans.
Andrea Evans and Alana at CBS Studios in Los Angeles, CA-July 1999.

Walk for Hope

October is Breast Cancer awareness month. Last Sunday, I attended the Walk for Hope in Glenview, IL on behalf of Global Traveler magazine. Actress Andrea Evans (One Life to Live) was the Celebrity Ambassador for the event. I have been a long-time fan of Evans, dating back to my teenage years. I met her in 1999 when she appeared at a local mall.
Shortly after, I got involved with the Walk for Hope by getting my employer (a community newspaper in Chicago) to be one of the sponsors for the Walk. In 2003, Andrea agreed to appear in a series of ads I was running to promote our Newspaper In Education program.
Since leaving the newspaper, I have participated in the Walk for Hope, but not in any official capacity. This year, I interviewed her for my weekly Global Traveler online piece.
Andrea and I talked for a while and I learned about Soap for Hope, her latest project in which she partnered with Lather (a skin care company). Evans created Soap for Hope from the ground up and is proud that 100% of the proceeds go to the City of Hope for breast cancer research.

Andrea Evans and me at the Walk for Hope in Glenview, IL-October 2008.