Editorial: Business Development Director Tom Hanley
Disheartened and in disbelief, I watched from the office yesterday as early news reports started to come in on Twitter. First, our friend and reporter at the Indy Star, Barb Berggeotz, had a retweet of “something strange going on” when talking about the marathon. Then reports of a bomb, and a second bomb, stories and videos and images…they kept coming in and highlighted the severity of the situation.
Social media is an amazing tool, we’ve used it to share our stories, meet new people and fund raise. Yesterday though, watching the social media feeds, it was how we got news. It was how as a social media society many of us connected.
Fitness is supposed to bring us all together as a community-it’s the message we deliver every day and it is a pillar in our corporate and personal worlds. Learning of this attack in Boston, my avid runner of a wife was devastated and said, “I’ve got friends there, it’s a run I’ve always wanted to do, this is personal to the running community”.
Fitness is a UNIVERSAL tool, it’s a way to connect with others, a way to make oneself healthier, it’s a way to be part of something bigger. Fitness is how we connect to our students, to our program partners, to our sponsors….fitness and the relationships and social dynamics from it keep the wheels turning even when the world seems to stop for a moment in time.
If you’re a runner, today is the day to wear your favorite race shirt and go for a run in it, if you’re a bicyclist then get out and ride and wave at every single runner, no matter what your “sport”, do SOMETHING, ANYTHING today to support the fitness community here in Indianapolis and across the country.
Our message is Kids Riding Bikes, but our goal is community betterment through healthy and active lifestyles. This is the time to set an example for the youth we work with, that fitness helps heal us all and allows us to stand united.
Tailwinds to you all, every single day.
-Tom