The Celebrity Starter.

I always get a kick out of who is going to say a few words prior to the start of one of our events. At our Citizen's Bank Caesar Rodney Half Marathon, our US Senator Tom Carper is always on hand to greet the runners. I hand him our wireless microphone and as always...the Senator has some nice lines. Not sure who is paying attention but he is always well spoken. Cannon Man (TJ Healy) starts the race with a bang! Or make that boom as he fires off his cannon. At our beach events my wife Barb greets the runners and walkers at the start. She sometimes gets a bit looooooooooooong winded but that is ok. She is my wife. If Pirate Pete is there he will start the race with his cannon. When he is not there we use our megaphone's siren. Not as loud but it does the trick. Other celebrity starters that come to mind are Lt. Gov. John Carney, New Castle County Executive Chris Coons, Rep. Michael Castle, Judge Jane Brady, and CEO of Christiana Care, Dr. Robert Laskowski. All are well spoken.....all are respected.....and all really appreciate you taking the time to help raise money for so many charities. On May 30th I helped out with a unique event. Brad Bolding and Josh Strively, two trainers from Plexus Nemours location in downtown Wilmington ran around the Brandywine and Nemours building for a combined 8 hours covering 56 miles, raising close to $3,000 for the American Heart Association. It was called "Distance for a Difference." The official starter for this event was no other than U of D head football coach KC Keeler. I had the chance to chat with him and was very impressed that he took the time out of his busy schedule to start this fundraiser. So next time you get to the starting line unplug your ipods....and listen up....these folks have some nice things to say about YOU! See you at the races.