LiveStrong Summit- Day 2, Pink Moose

After having a light breakfast we headed into the Mershon Auditorium for the opening session. We heard Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17th Surgeon General of the US. He spoke about the new National Call to Action on Cancer. The document gives steps you can take to take to reduce your risk for cancer.

After Dr Carmona's speech, the breakout sessions started. We took a walk through the OSU oval and ended up at Postel Hall where our PINK track on advocacy was meeting. Mandy Ellerton from Grassroots Solutions was our track leader. After a talk about "power" we broke down into smaller groups. I was part of the pink moose- Go Moose!( bring both hands to you head and spread your fingers like a moose's antlers)

In the morning , we learned how to plan a media event and we listened to the LiveStrong Army Upstate(SC) leader talk of events that she held.

After lunch we were charged with making a 60 sec commercial about why cancer should be a national priority. Each group was given small video cameras and we started outside to begin talking about what should be in our commercial. We were all really focused and started shooting - even enlisting one of the food cart people to help us out. When we brought the camera inside we learned that the commercial had to be filmed all at once. Back outside we went to try to reproduce the commercial- amazingly we were able to complete it in record time. We all watched each group's commercial. It was incredible that each small group of strangers could produce such outstanding work in 40 minutes.

The regular day ended back at Mershon.In the middle of the lobby area, we got a chance to meet Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN. He was nice enough to allow his photo to be taken with Kevin and to talk to Alycia on the phone. (Thanks Dr Gupta for being so approachable.) That afternoon we heard Doctor Freeman, Ralph Lauren Cancer Center, was the doctor who started the patient navigator system. He gave an inspiring talk.The photo is of Lance and Dr Freeman

As the LiveStrong Army - Central Jersey leader, I attended a dinner sponsored by the LAF for all Army Leaders throughout the world. It was a fun gathering at the Buckeye Hall of Fame restaurant. I got a chance to meet leaders from Nevada, Oklahoma, Georgia, South Carolina , Hawaii, Rhode Island and Germany. I also caught up with Courtney another OC survivor who I met in Austin in 2006.