Well, I gave all of you a day or two off as I hit the pavement with Lauren and our hundreds of walkers on Saturday and Sunday of this weekend. It was quite a weekend commencing Saturday morning leaving from the Aventura Mall where we greeted hundreds of students, community leaders, elected officials, and athletes, all of whom are committed to helping us in our efforts to fight and prevent childhood sexual abuse. From Miami Dolphin CEO Mike Dee and General Manager Jeff Ireland’s wife Rachel, to NFL standout Brandon Fields to former NFL great Keith Sims to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez. So many walked with us all day. Many came to walk in support of other family members, others came to walk for themselves. The Regional Manager of Publix, Bill Fauerbach and his wife Dottie, came to walk the final mile Saturday as we reached the Publix Supermarket in Pompano. In Pompano, we were greeted by one hundred plus Publix employees who made sure the Walk Team ended their day not only with a warm welcome but with Gatorade, water and snacks. Publix has been a true partner in our efforts and we will never be able to thank them enough for that support and leadership.
After a long, long day of walking (28 plus miles), we boarded the tour bus provided by Ashbritt and headed to the American Airlines Arena to watch our partners the Miami Heat smash the Philadelphia 76ers. Following the game, Lauren and I were guests of Sun Sports for the Miami Heat post game show. Almost ten minutes of the post game show was about Lauren’s Walk and the Miami Heat’s continued commitment to our efforts to end childhood sexual abuse. We reboarded the tour bus and arrived back to the end of the day Hilton hotel in Boca Raton and got there at about 1:00 AM. Just another short day in that 39 mile trek called “Walk In My Shoes”. Emotions ran high all day and then we got up again Sunday for our walk through the City of Palm Beach and the City of West Palm Beach and a refreshing walk along Ocean Drive continuing to raise awareness and provide education to Floridians. All in all, a great weekend as Lauren continues her Walk through Florida.
– Ron Book
