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special thanks to Joseph Alton. Joe was the original Tour Manager for THE MR.
DIABETES® WAKE UP AND WALK® TOUR. He guided us through Florida - the first 450
miles of "THE WALK". We refer to this part of "THE WALK" as the "trial run"
because it was during this phase of "THE WALK" we had to determine if we could
do it: physically; psychologically; and strategically. During this particularly difficult period we went through a very arduous learning process. We made numerous adjustments in figuring how to deal with the known and unknown alike. It was also a lot of fun and extremely interesting. Those of you who met Joe will remember his most distinguished vehicle, the original "chase" car, his 1937 Packard limo which he had personally stretched 5'. What an incredible billboard!! Unfortunately, Joe suffered a series of heart attacks, rebroke his neck for which he had surgery the summer before, and a few other maladies. He had to go home to deal with these problems and I'm thrilled to announce that his lifesaving surgeries have been successful. However, he still faces several more surgeries and long term rehabilitation, but the prognosis is very good. Neither Joe nor his Packard will be back on the job. He set a very high standard for his successor to live up to. That successor is Bob Brooks of Mims, FL. And to everyone's satisfaction Bob has met the challenge and even added a few aspects of his own. I'm not surprised, though, because Bob was handpicked for this gig by Joe.
Thanks, Joe for all you've done. You will always be an integral part of this
epic adventure. Back To Wake Up and Walk Tour® |