Michelle Petree
This is my third year running with Team Rio, in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. I have also been honored of being a big sister to 10-year old Christina for three years as well. I got involved with Team Rio soon after I was matched with Christina. Christina has been an inspiration in my life and taught me to love life and not to take things too seriously. She has been such an influence on my life and I love spending time with her, whether it be just going to grab something to eat, ice skating, cooking together, or training for the marathon together. Christina is also running the kids marathon this year, for her second year in a row. I encourage everyone to get involved with BBBS, whether it be as a mentor or a volunteer. It will change your life--for the better. As we are all out to better ourselves in training for the 1/2 marathon, and feel good as we cross the finish line, imagine having that feeling every time you're with your little, knowing you are bettering the life of a child and feeling good while doing so! Vishwa Ramachandran
I started out the year 2006 with a resolution to train and complete my first ever half-marathon. I can say right away that the Team Rio training runs were the ones that helped me to achieve this goal. The run schedules were such that even a half-marathon rookie like me were easily able to adapt and build up to the Big Race. Weekly run time-tables from the Team Coach, coupled with the long runs on Saturdays where Team Rio members ran together, were a lot of fun and well-structured to get the best out of everyone. But the highlight, according to me, was the friendship and camaraderie built amongst all of the Team Rio runners who had a blast running for a great cause- that of supporting and raising funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee (BBBSMT). Since then, I have been part of the '07 and '08 half marathons and look forward to my fourth stint in '09 to be part of Team Rio, which has raised more than $300,000 for BBSMT in the last four years! Go Team Rio!Milton Price
I have been matched now for a little over three months and I can truly say the experience has been great! My little is a 3rd grader at Fall-Hamilton Elementary and was having some issues with reading. I visit him once a week and we eat lunch together and read books to each other. During our reading time, he has shown great improvement not only with his reading ability but, also in his enthusiasm for reading. In fact, made the Honor Roll this past reporting period! Additionally, I am on the board for the agency and am running my first half marathon with Team Rio. The decision to become active in Big Brothers Big Sisters has been one of the best decisions I have ever madeDiane Sheets
In 2008 I made a personal goal to participate in my very first marathon. I don't think I had ever run more than a lap around my high school track in order to meet a Physical Education requirement. So, 20 years later at 38 years old and about 100 lbs overweight, deciding to participate in the Music City 1/2 Marathon was a pretty daunting under-taking. But, I thought it would be a good way for me to loose some weight, meet new people and accomplish my personal goal of running a half marathon. I'm thrilled to say, "I did it!" But, there was something even more personally rewarding than just achieving my fitness and weight loss goals. Through my participation with Team Rio I was able to touch the lives of countless young people and make a positive impact on their lives in a truly unique way. Thank you to Team Rio and the Middle TN BB/BS organization for not only helping me do something good for me, but helping me do something truly great for others! Go Team Rio 2009!!Michael Freesmeier
My experience with Team Rio has been very rewarding. This will be my second year running on the team, aside from being great motivation to get ready for the ½ marathon it has been a great way to meet people, support a great local organization, and the best part - my own personal cheering section on race day. It is much easier to get up and run on Saturday mornings when you know 20-40 others will be there training as well. As a "Big Brother" with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization I also realize the impact that the money raised through Team Rio has on children in Middle TN. Big Brothers Big Sisters creates and supports mentoring relationships for children who are in need of a positive role model. For some children in the program their "Big Brother" or "Big Sister" is the only positive role model they have. I have been a "Big Brother" for 3 ½ years and I have watched my "Little Brother" improve in school, gain confidence, and choose a better attitude. As for race day, there is no better feeling than when you hear volunteers from Team Rio on the side of the street cheering you on as you run by. My dad ran the ½ last year and was so impressed with the cheering sections for the Team Rio runners, that this year he has joined Team Rio. He lives and will be training in IL, however this year he will hear the cheers as he runs by the cheering sections in his red Team Rio race shirt. Team Rio is a great way to train for the race, stay motivated during the race, and support Big Brothers Big Sisters.Ally Montes
When I moved to Nashville a year and a half ago, I literally had zero friends and family here. That was really tough because I'm very friend and family oriented. Rather than focusing on what I didn't have, I decided to focus on how I could go about forming my life away from those I love. I asked myself, "What do I know I love doing, regardless of where I reside"? I answered quite simply, "I know I love running, volunteering, and sharing time with family and friends". And so the search began! As I found and read about Team Rio, my excitement grew - it seemed to encompass all three: running, volunteering, and friends/family! Could it be?!
I've met some of my very best friends in TN through Team Rio. I love my girls! As if that wasn't enough, I was perfectly matched with my Little Sister, Jasmine, in mid 2008. She is wonderful, very sassy and adventurous! I have family and friends in Nashville now! And as far as running, well, I've been running consistently since first joining Team Rio in January of 2008.
I am certain Team Rio and BBBS impacts lives beyond that which I can see. I certainly see it in Jasmine, as well as her siblings who have also been matched with Bigs. I couldn't be more grateful to Team Rio & Big Brothers Big Sisters for helping me form a wonderful life in TN. And to think, I actually get the privilege of impacting a child's life in such humbling yet empowering way - what a "Beautiful Mess" I'm in! Become a mentor - it might be easier than you think, and the rewards are lasting!
Dave Clark
The year was 2006 and it was about the 17th time that Jimmy Olander (of Diamond Rio, one of our Celebrity Running Captains for Team Rio) told me about this little group he helped form off a bet between him and Renee about who could run further. I can tell you that he caught me on the right day because I was feeling pretty big....and not in a good way. When I told people I was training to run the half marathon they would either look at me in disbelief, laugh, or say "What the #%$&@!" In fact after a little while I learned not to tell people what I was up to until they were in between bites so I would not be covered in Corn Flakes.
It was very intimidating to think about 13 miles when I first started; especially when Billy (Smith, the team coach) or Jimmy would want to have a conversation with me when I was running just 2 miles. Yeah- Dave don't play that. I started running a slow pace and guess what? That's the pace I still run. I knew that I would never run with the Kenyans...OK, I take that back. I ran with them in Vegas for about 1.2 seconds as they passed me at mile 12, or their 25, while they were on a full out sprint. The basic fact is that I ran over 700 miles in 2007 finishing 2 half marathons and 2- 10k's and all that after nearly passing out on the first 2 mile Team Run on January of 2007. I lost toe nails, blew out my calf twice, had blisters the size of a grapefruit, strained my glutes, had chafing that would make me want to cry, had shin splints, and am currently dealing with some tendonitis in my left knee.
The bottom line is you can do this. Take one mile at a time; listen to people who have done this before and learn from their mistakes and accomplishments. You may just save a toe nail or be able to walk around without looking like you just finished a week of riding bulls at the rodeo.
The Stephens Family
GRANDPARENTS CAN DO IT TOO!
This is our 3rd year to train for the Music City Half-Marathon with Team Rio and it is always a great motivational experience. We accidentally hooked up with the team 3 yrs ago and we have never looked back. It started with a family challenge to get in shape. The same week I saw an advertisement in the paper for an organizational meeting for Team Rio. We knew we would need some help with training so we joined the team. Well, only 3 members of our family (actually the oldest members) have hung in there. Wayne actually broke two toes about midway through the first year's training and had to drop out. That first year we whined and limped along every time Billy added miles. The first time we walked 6 miles, I had to sit in the Jacuzzi for two hours afterwards just to be able to move. But, since then we have been rolling. Last year, we all three completed the half-marathon with better times than our first year and Tricia and I actually completed a second half marathon in Nov. in Huntsville, Al. That experience taught us that it is better and much more fun to train with the team than by ourselves. On marathon day there is nothing more motivational than hearing the Big Brother/Big Sister support team cheering for you. Also, the Saturday long runs/walks are much more fun, or should I say easier to accomplish, when you know the team and the support team of Big Brothers /Big Sisters will be there. Yes, we do walk and occasionally run down hill, but it's not how you get to the finish line- it's that you get to the finish line. This team is a win win situation for us. We are all in better shape and we have helped support a wonderful organization working with the kids of our future. Just one word of advise- DO EXACTLY WHAT BILLY SAYS AND YOU WILL BE READY FOR RACE DAY!!!
Thanks,
Sexy walkers Wayne Stephens (55), Karen Stephens(54) Tricia Callicoat (56)
Bill Culkin
When Bill Culkin took his 10-year-old "little," Tom Shumate, fishing back in 1982 at Percy Priest Lake, he had some tough news to share. Just three years into their match, Bill, an airlines executive, was moving to Indianapolis.
Bill remembers what he told Tom: "I don't know what you think, but here's what I know. Friendships are forever. Even though I'm moving, we're going to keep seeing each other and I'm going to be involved in your life."
Tom was upset by the news. Tom's father had moved out of state years before. His mother had requested the match because she wanted Tom to have a strong male influence in his life. But deep down, Tom knew that his friendship with Bill would not end there.
Tom and Bill were a great match from the start. "Bill took me to a hot-rod show on our first outing," remembers Tom. "From then on, it didn't matter whether we were swimming or playing put-put golf, we always had a great time."
Bill, then a single executive who grew up in a loving family with seven children, recalls that the match was built on spending time together doing activities that were fun.
"I took him to places I'd want to go," says Bill. "The match coordinator at that time said that the young man wants to do what you want to do because you'll be together. Tom and I became friends."
When Bill left for Indianapolis, he kept his promise about keeping in touch. Tom remembers receiving postcards sent by Bill from around the world while he was traveling for his job. "I'd receive one," Tom says, "and would take out my globe to see where Bill was. It made me realize how much more was out there." When Bill was back in town, they would continue to spend time together. Tom was also able to visit Bill in Indianapolis on several occasions.
When Tom was in 8th grade, he and Bill discussed his future. Tom wanted to go to Father Ryan High School, but his mother could not afford it. She had done well to send her four children to private school until then.
Bill, who was raised in Catholic schools and credits his intellectual and moral development to that experience, approved of Tom's school choice. In fact, he approved of it so much that he made an offer that changed the course of Tom's life: Bill offered to pay for Tom's tuition for all four years at Father Ryan. Tom still has the letter that Bill wrote to his mother asking permission to let him pay for Tom's education.
Tom thrived at Father Ryan. During Tom's senior year of high school, Bill drove him to Indiana to look at colleges, including Notre Dame. Bill was there when Tom graduated from high school. Then, when Tom attended Vanderbilt, Bill helped out with his college costs as well.
Tom went on to law school at Notre Dame, helping to realize a dream that the two Catholic friends had. "I remember walking around the Notre Dame campus with Bill my senior year of high school trying to get tickets to a football game and wondering what it would be like to go to school there," recalls Tom. "It was a great honor for me to be able to take Bill to a Notre Dame football game years later as an alumnus."
To Bill's way of thinking, he's received just as much out of his gifts to Tom, as his younger friend received.
"It's been a great part of my life," says Bill, now married and living outside of Chicago. "He's done so much with what he's received. There are a lot of people who've had a lot more advantages - kids who've come from wealthy families and real solid families -- who've haven't done as well as Tom."
Bill's belief in Tom -- now an attorney practicing business and employment litigation for Kay, Griffin, Enkema & Brothers, PLLC., in Nashville -- is what Tom cherishes most.
"When I got married, I asked Bill to be my best man," says Tom. "I wanted to recognize our close friendship and to thank him for believing in me and for all he has done for me."
The older Tom gets, the more he appreciates how much Bill has done for him. "I hope it hasn't made Bill feel uncomfortable, but I started sending him cards on Father's Day several years ago. He has certainly been like a father to me, and his involvement changed my life for the better. Without Bill, I wouldn't be half the man I am today."
Update: In April of 2008, Bill and Susan Culkin traveled to Nashville for the baptism of Tom's daughter, Adalyn, for whom they agreed to serve as Godparents.
When I moved to Nashville a year and a half ago, I literally had zero friends and family here. That was really tough because I'm very friend and family oriented. Rather than focusing on what I didn't have, I decided to focus on how I could go about forming my life away from those I love. I asked myself, "What do I know I love doing, regardless of where I reside"? I answered quite simply, "I know I love running, volunteering, and sharing time with family and friends". And so the search began! As I found and read about Team Rio, my excitement grew - it seemed to encompass all three: running, volunteering, and friends/family! Could it be?! I've met some of my very best friends in TN through Team Rio. I love my girls! As if that wasn't enough, I was perfectly matched with my Little Sister, Jasmine, in mid 2008. She is wonderful, very sassy and adventurous! I have family and friends in Nashville now! And as far as running, well, I've been running consistently since first joining Team Rio in January of 2008.
I am certain Team Rio and BBBS impacts lives beyond that which I can see. I certainly see it in Jasmine, as well as her siblings who have also been matched with Bigs. I couldn't be more grateful to Team Rio & Big Brothers Big Sisters for helping me form a wonderful life in TN. And to think, I actually get the privilege of impacting a child's life in such humbling yet empowering way - what a "Beautiful Mess" I'm in! Become a mentor - it might be easier than you think, and the rewards are lasting!
Dave Clark
The year was 2006 and it was about the 17th time that Jimmy Olander (of Diamond Rio, one of our Celebrity Running Captains for Team Rio) told me about this little group he helped form off a bet between him and Renee about who could run further. I can tell you that he caught me on the right day because I was feeling pretty big....and not in a good way. When I told people I was training to run the half marathon they would either look at me in disbelief, laugh, or say "What the #%$&@!" In fact after a little while I learned not to tell people what I was up to until they were in between bites so I would not be covered in Corn Flakes. It was very intimidating to think about 13 miles when I first started; especially when Billy (Smith, the team coach) or Jimmy would want to have a conversation with me when I was running just 2 miles. Yeah- Dave don't play that. I started running a slow pace and guess what? That's the pace I still run. I knew that I would never run with the Kenyans...OK, I take that back. I ran with them in Vegas for about 1.2 seconds as they passed me at mile 12, or their 25, while they were on a full out sprint. The basic fact is that I ran over 700 miles in 2007 finishing 2 half marathons and 2- 10k's and all that after nearly passing out on the first 2 mile Team Run on January of 2007. I lost toe nails, blew out my calf twice, had blisters the size of a grapefruit, strained my glutes, had chafing that would make me want to cry, had shin splints, and am currently dealing with some tendonitis in my left knee.
The bottom line is you can do this. Take one mile at a time; listen to people who have done this before and learn from their mistakes and accomplishments. You may just save a toe nail or be able to walk around without looking like you just finished a week of riding bulls at the rodeo.
The Stephens Family
GRANDPARENTS CAN DO IT TOO!
This is our 3rd year to train for the Music City Half-Marathon with Team Rio and it is always a great motivational experience. We accidentally hooked up with the team 3 yrs ago and we have never looked back. It started with a family challenge to get in shape. The same week I saw an advertisement in the paper for an organizational meeting for Team Rio. We knew we would need some help with training so we joined the team. Well, only 3 members of our family (actually the oldest members) have hung in there. Wayne actually broke two toes about midway through the first year's training and had to drop out. That first year we whined and limped along every time Billy added miles. The first time we walked 6 miles, I had to sit in the Jacuzzi for two hours afterwards just to be able to move. But, since then we have been rolling. Last year, we all three completed the half-marathon with better times than our first year and Tricia and I actually completed a second half marathon in Nov. in Huntsville, Al. That experience taught us that it is better and much more fun to train with the team than by ourselves. On marathon day there is nothing more motivational than hearing the Big Brother/Big Sister support team cheering for you. Also, the Saturday long runs/walks are much more fun, or should I say easier to accomplish, when you know the team and the support team of Big Brothers /Big Sisters will be there. Yes, we do walk and occasionally run down hill, but it's not how you get to the finish line- it's that you get to the finish line. This team is a win win situation for us. We are all in better shape and we have helped support a wonderful organization working with the kids of our future. Just one word of advise- DO EXACTLY WHAT BILLY SAYS AND YOU WILL BE READY FOR RACE DAY!!!
Thanks,
Sexy walkers Wayne Stephens (55), Karen Stephens(54) Tricia Callicoat (56)
Bill Culkin
When Bill Culkin took his 10-year-old "little," Tom Shumate, fishing back in 1982 at Percy Priest Lake, he had some tough news to share. Just three years into their match, Bill, an airlines executive, was moving to Indianapolis.
Bill remembers what he told Tom: "I don't know what you think, but here's what I know. Friendships are forever. Even though I'm moving, we're going to keep seeing each other and I'm going to be involved in your life."
Tom was upset by the news. Tom's father had moved out of state years before. His mother had requested the match because she wanted Tom to have a strong male influence in his life. But deep down, Tom knew that his friendship with Bill would not end there.
Tom and Bill were a great match from the start. "Bill took me to a hot-rod show on our first outing," remembers Tom. "From then on, it didn't matter whether we were swimming or playing put-put golf, we always had a great time."
Bill, then a single executive who grew up in a loving family with seven children, recalls that the match was built on spending time together doing activities that were fun.
"I took him to places I'd want to go," says Bill. "The match coordinator at that time said that the young man wants to do what you want to do because you'll be together. Tom and I became friends."
When Bill left for Indianapolis, he kept his promise about keeping in touch. Tom remembers receiving postcards sent by Bill from around the world while he was traveling for his job. "I'd receive one," Tom says, "and would take out my globe to see where Bill was. It made me realize how much more was out there." When Bill was back in town, they would continue to spend time together. Tom was also able to visit Bill in Indianapolis on several occasions.
When Tom was in 8th grade, he and Bill discussed his future. Tom wanted to go to Father Ryan High School, but his mother could not afford it. She had done well to send her four children to private school until then.
Bill, who was raised in Catholic schools and credits his intellectual and moral development to that experience, approved of Tom's school choice. In fact, he approved of it so much that he made an offer that changed the course of Tom's life: Bill offered to pay for Tom's tuition for all four years at Father Ryan. Tom still has the letter that Bill wrote to his mother asking permission to let him pay for Tom's education.
Tom thrived at Father Ryan. During Tom's senior year of high school, Bill drove him to Indiana to look at colleges, including Notre Dame. Bill was there when Tom graduated from high school. Then, when Tom attended Vanderbilt, Bill helped out with his college costs as well.
Tom went on to law school at Notre Dame, helping to realize a dream that the two Catholic friends had. "I remember walking around the Notre Dame campus with Bill my senior year of high school trying to get tickets to a football game and wondering what it would be like to go to school there," recalls Tom. "It was a great honor for me to be able to take Bill to a Notre Dame football game years later as an alumnus."
To Bill's way of thinking, he's received just as much out of his gifts to Tom, as his younger friend received.
"It's been a great part of my life," says Bill, now married and living outside of Chicago. "He's done so much with what he's received. There are a lot of people who've had a lot more advantages - kids who've come from wealthy families and real solid families -- who've haven't done as well as Tom."
Bill's belief in Tom -- now an attorney practicing business and employment litigation for Kay, Griffin, Enkema & Brothers, PLLC., in Nashville -- is what Tom cherishes most.
"When I got married, I asked Bill to be my best man," says Tom. "I wanted to recognize our close friendship and to thank him for believing in me and for all he has done for me."
The older Tom gets, the more he appreciates how much Bill has done for him. "I hope it hasn't made Bill feel uncomfortable, but I started sending him cards on Father's Day several years ago. He has certainly been like a father to me, and his involvement changed my life for the better. Without Bill, I wouldn't be half the man I am today."
Update: In April of 2008, Bill and Susan Culkin traveled to Nashville for the baptism of Tom's daughter, Adalyn, for whom they agreed to serve as Godparents.
