Sunday, June 6, 2010

Great Giving, Great Caring, Great Sharing

I've never been much for card games of any kind. Not that I don't like cards, just never spent much time trying to learn. I don't even play computer Solitare. So you can imagine what went through my mind when I was invited to be a featured blackjack dealer for a fundraising casino night. Lucky for me a co-worker came to the rescue with a crash course. Our Executive Producer for Sports, Tracy Carmony, brought her deck of cards to work and tought me "Blackjack Dealing 101." So, after reporting LIVE, from the Georgia Tech baseball game it was off to the Marriott Marquis downtown to help people "gamble" for good. Atlanta-based Morrison Management Specialists (http://www.iammorrison.com/) was the host for MPower, its charitable giving foundation. 100% of the proceeds went to Meals on Wheels Association of America. It was a night of great food prepared by celebrity chefs and music by Rupert's Orchestra. Everyone was dressed for an elegant evening and in this atmosphere yours truly was shown to the blackjack tables to begin my duties. I had company: my co-worker Chesley McNeil was there to participate in the evening's activities. Chesley ended up at the craps table and I heard occasional screams coming from that direction. I hope they were for good reason, for Chesley's sake. I managed to deal several hands to some delightful people who were caught up in the spirit of the evening, just having fun. I would like to thank my friend Claudia Brooks D'Avanzo for inviting me to be a part of such a wonderful event. The second annual "Great Giving, Great Caring, Great Sharing" casino night was a big hit, and I'm going to sharpen my dealing skills in hopes of being invited back again next year.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Up, Up and Away! Parks Sisters Update

It's the first weekend in June and it's an important weekend for the Amazing Parks Sisters. Alycia and Mikayla traveled to College Park, Maryland, to take part in a High Performance Tennis Combine. It's the first of several trips they'll be taking during the summer months to participate in training sessions at facilities that are designated as High Performance Facilities by the United States Tennis Association. This weekend's trip comes a week after the Parks Sisters spent two days participating in workout sessions that were taped at Rick Macci's academy in Florida. Alycia and Mikayla were among some of the nation's elite junior talent that will be seen in future installments of Tennis Channel Academy. The Tennis Channel's cameras came to Florida to show Macci's special brand of instruction and the Amazing Parks Sisters were there. In all, four segments were taped last Friday and Saturday. According to Michael Parks, " The producers of the television project were amazed at what they saw from Alycia and Mikayla."

Remember, this is June, so now we can say that the Parks Sisters have been playing tennis for two years. They now have their summer workout schedule that has them on the court twice daily, from 8 to 10 a.m. followed by school work, then back on court from 3-5 p.m. After the afternoon workout it's time to go to the beach, or ride on their bikes and scooters for awhile before doing homework. This time is important to Michael Parks, who wants the girls to have fun, and when workout time is done Alycia and Mikayla usually leave the facility to keep their lives balanced.

Finally, Alycia and Mikayla would like to give a special thanks to Airtran Airways for their assistance with travel to the High Performance Tennis Combine in Maryland this weekend. It may be the start of a long relationship  that could include a feature on the Parks Sisters in the "GO" inflight magazine. We'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, the segments that were shot at Rick Macci's will be shown in July and August on the Tennis Channel. Also, don't forget to read about the Amazing Parks Sisters in the July/Augusta edition of USTA Magazine. And keep an eye on Sam's Passing Shots. There's more to come....