Please allow me to introduce the inaugural Lead Academy Cross Country Team!  About a month ago a good friend reached out and asked if we (Timex) might be able to help out with a Nashville inner city school.  He explained that the school had just started added Cross Country and Track to its athletic program.  The specific need was watches….WHAT ELSE!! My friend shared some details on the school and my heart was broken.  I did the only thing I could think of and called on the Commanders in CT and WI (also known as Keith Meyer and Tristan Brown) and presented the story.

IMG_0243 (video clip of the watch distribution)

I’ve always known that Timex is an outstanding organization but the response that I received from Keith and Tristan put my admiration into a whole new atmosphere!  Let’s just say that less than one week later I had a shipment of 30 WATCHES sitting on my front porch!  You see, the students at Lead Academy had received running shoes and uniforms and the last and MOST IMPORTANT addition were watches!

This past week, I had the pleasure of making the “special delivery!”  My friend put me in touch with the coach and she and I agreed upon a time for me to come by.  I was so excited I could barely contain myself.  The kids had no idea what was about to hit ‘em (as the coach did not mention anything about watches.) As I walked toward the gym the coach was telling me a little bit about the team.  There were 15 boys and 15 girls and none of them had ever been on a running team.  As I made my way down the hallway I could hear the kids laughing and carrying on.  I walked through the door with the big box in my arms and what I saw next was worth a million words!

I saw the widest eyes and the biggest smiles of my entire lives.  This was extra cool because I did not notice that any of the kids were wearing watches to begin with.  At that moment in that gym in downtown Nashville, I truly felt like a king!  This experience makes me appreciate my position on the Timex Multisport Team more than any race experience ever has.  Timex has gone above and beyond the call of service and our team managers gave me the opportunity of a lifetime!

IMG_0226 (check out this interview with the kids and Timex TV anchor, yours truly!)

THANK YOU TIMEX FOR THE PURE JOY I EXPERIENCED AND FOR MAKING A HUGE IMPACT IN THE LIVES OF THESE OUTSTANDING YOUNG PEOPLE!!