Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy

Craig has decided to take a brief break from blogging and has asked some of the volunteers to take the helm while he’s on break. I decided to take him up on the offer because, being pretty competitive, I want to prove that I can do at least as good a job as him. After all, I am an IT guy.

If you watch Star Trek, I’m like the Spock to Craigs melodramatic Kirk. I lend a cold, calculating and sometimes impatient hand to his posts as "executive editor" and "blog poster". Yep, I set up a sweet system for him to post without my help and he still sends me Microsoft Word files that I have to move into the blog and link everything up to make sure you guys can find the resources that he is talking about. See, I want to make sure the Walla-Pa-Looza web experience is one in which you have the information that goes along with his mushy “wanting to save the world” ramblings.

I’ve been thinking about what to post here and figured the best thing to do would be to talk about how I got involved with Walla-Pa-Looza and what I’ve learned over the past year.

I remembered Craig from high school and friended him on Facebook because of that – but I don’t remember ever actually meeting him before our first Walla meeting. According to him, he hung out with the same people I did. Go figure – I don’t remember us actually hanging out or anything. I guess I was too busy doing peoples homework in computer class. Looking back, I really should have done MY homework instead. I passed that class, if I remember correctly, with a D. In any event – I was watching his posts and reading his notes – but as far as I had known I had never met him.

Nick Bionda, one of my best friends in high school, called me about providing web space for the group. Nick, Craig and a rag-tag group of volunteers were planning this big event for August 1, and since I had donated web space for another friend of ours, he wanted to find out if I was interested in doing it again for the Walla folks.

Obviously I said yes.

I worked with Kevin to put up the original version of the web site. Ok, I didn’t really work at all – I just told him what to do. More accurately, I told him what I thought he did wrong after he did it – thats just how us IT people work. After a while, I started to take over so that Kevin could focus on other things. He did a great job, but he had way more important work to do – and I guess I am a bit of a control freak.

When we had our first meeting about the August 1 event, I finally got to meet everyone. I remember sitting in the parking lot of the Johnsburg Community Club being nervous. I have no idea why. Looking back, I think it was that I knew I had no skills in the area of sales, sponsorships, or whatever they were doing and what they had put together so far was pretty impressive. Hell, as an IT guy I don’t even have people skills. When it came right down to it, I just wasn’t sure I had anything to contribute.

What I found when I walked into the club was a bunch of people that had found something that I had been looking for – a way to make a difference. More than that – they were trying to make a difference and have fun at the same time. They were excited, motivated, and if I may say, quite effective. In about 30 days they had the building blocks of a pretty large charitable event – and it was going to rock the Johnsburg area in a big way.

Over the past year, in one way or another, I’ve participated in three events with this group and I found there were things I could contribute. Whether it was selling tickets, serving pizza, emptying trash, or just showing up, participating and donating. Even the act of writing a blog entry so the chairman can get a rest from his lengthy commute downstairs to his office is something that matters. I feel like I’m making a difference, no matter how small.

There are three things that I’ve taken away from this last year or so of being involved in Walla-Pa-Looza that I’d like to share with you:

1. You can’t do it alone. You need good friends in your life. People you care about and who care about you. If you’re lucky, you’ll find (or re-find) a group of people like those I’ve been lucky enough to reconnect with.
2. "It is our turn". Craig has said this a few times in the past year and its stuck with me. It’s our generations turn to help. To make a difference. To have an impact on people who need help. No matter how small the contribution, it’s a contribution and its needed. There’s a lot of hurt in the world. We need to do whatever we can to help.
3. You can help people and have fun at the same time. While what your working on may be serious, the way to deal with the seriousness is to have fun with the people you are doing it with. I can honestly say, while this group takes what it does very seriously, there is a real sense of fun in what they do – and thats a great quality to have in the people you contribute with and gets the best out of everyone.

If you’d like to get involved in Walla-Pa-Looza, as a sponsor, a volunteer, or just to do “little things” to help, contact one of the folks on our contact page. If you would rather just donate, we have a place for that too. Remember, every little bit helps – no matter how insignificant you might think your contribution is, it can have a significant effect on someone you may not even know.

I hope to see you on July 31 for Walla-Pa-Looza 2010. It’s going to be a great time for a great cause. When you get there, come over and say "Hi". I’ll be the cranky looking guy in the purple shirt staring at his phone.

Live long and prosper, and remember – as a very wise man once said, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few … or the one".

I ran into a handful of guys that have helped with Walla-pa-looza this past weekend and thought I would focus on them, since they were were with us since day one. They are the Woodstock Infantry Association. To give you a little background on how they became our partners in charity I will need to start with Chad Miller. Chad had seen my note on Facebook and invited me for a beer to discuss how I was going to pull my first charity event off. Any discussion with Chad always includes beer so, I was ok with that. Chad had given me some information on a successful meat raffle his group put together at Horizontals in Wonder Lake, IL. They raised approximately $4,700.00 for families of fallen soldiers here locally in McHenry County.

So, I was very interested in how they put the event together and asked Chad for his assistance and since that May evening at O’Leary’s Pub in 2009 The Woodstock Infantry Association has done security at three of our events, set up meat raffles, and helped us set up and tear down. They show up on time, work their shifts and never complain.

The Woodstock Infantry Association was put together to aid the families of the soldiers that are currently deployed or have been killed in action but they serve our community much more than that. They have raised monies for a memorial in Woodstock, worked security at the Galt Airport Woodstock event and much more.

This organization is the same group of guys that at one time protected my family, the home I live in and the ground I walk on.

When you get a chance, go to the Woodstock Infantry Association website so you can learn more about this group of veterans and the things they do here in our community and if you can, offer some support. This is a remarkable group of people and although I am not a veteran I am proud to say that I am affiliated with them and I hope they will be able to help at our events for many years to come.

I am taking a couple of weeks off but we will have some guest bloggers posting some great stuff and pretty soon we will tell you who is playing our BIG event on July 31st 2010 but you will have to continue to read our blog to find out. So, please continue to tell your friends about the charity that rocks for cancer!

Anything’s Possible!

Thanks,
CW

Today I am going to give you recap of the events from this past weekend and even some pictures too! What do I care? I have "people" that will put them in the blog so that they look just right and its no extra work for me …

Tom Sikorske, Taylor Radtke, and Craig Wallace

Saturday night a few of the volunteers from the Walla-Pa-Looza group and my new friends from the Johnsburg Lions Club showed up at the Johnsburg Community Club for a pizza party to celebrate our fundraising efforts and finally present the Radtke family with the results of our fundraising collaboration. We gathered around 6:30 pm and had some social time and around 7:00 pm Half Times Pizza brought some pizza’s for everyone to enjoy. We then presented the Radtke Family with a check for $6,000.00! They were very gracious and extremely humbled.

Taylor Radtke

I was happy, but of course, I wish we could have done more. I never feel like I do enough. I always think that I could have worked a little harder or done a few things differently that might have made just a little more of a difference. But as many of you that are reading this know, I’m a perfectionist and that’s something I struggle with.

Many of my friends crack jokes about how I always look so serious. I can’t help it. I worry a lot.

Anyway, I have sputtered off track here. Let’s get back to the task at hand. So Saturday night we took some pictures, shared some hugs and said goodbye. I drove away Saturday evening hoping and thinking I made some new friends. I have plenty of room for a few extra friends in my life. Let’s hope they do too!

Sunday morning I was ready to go. We were off to the McHenry Lions Pancake Breakfast at the McHenry Moose Lodge, then my family and I headed over to meet the rest of the Walla-Pa-Looza folks to walk in the 2nd Annual St. Patrick’s Day parade.

The Walla Crew at the St Paddy's Day Parade in McHenry

There’s nothing like seeing a bunch of middle aged people dressed in purple throwing candy at youngsters. Although I had plenty of beers, I enjoyed every minute of it because these are the people I consider my closest friends. They put in the hours, the effort and are extremely dedicated to our organization.

I laugh to myself because every time we get together it feels like one big sleep over. I sometimes wish it wouldn’t end. The inner child in me wishes we could all live right next door to each other. That way, when one of them gets mad at me they can just walk in and slap me around – or if I need some computer help, I could just drop in.

After the parade I ended up back at the Community Club for the JBBL Mustang draft for the 2010 season. I am starting to wonder if I should see if they could let me bring a cot to keep there so I can take naps in between meetings.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that helped with our event to raise money for the Radtke family and to all of my friends and comrades that marched with us in the parade this week. You guys all make these good things happen and I am very thankful to each and every one of you. As we all know, you can’t do it alone.

Next week I am going to talk about some friends of mine that have protected us all …

This week, you get an extra blog posting – kind of a two for the price of one!

The Walla-Pa-Looza folks and our friends from the Johnsburg Lions will be presenting a check to the Radtke family. I am so pleased with the effort that was put forth by all the folks involved. As I had said in last week’s post, it was so great to see the people come out to support a family that needs our help. I have a feeling of pride knowing that every little bit helps – and who better to help than someone that brings such happiness to others.

I enjoy seeing the results and the impact our efforts make.

I know that Monday’s posting had a hint of sadness in it but I started to think that maybe I needed to focus on the positive in my life and not the negative. So, with that said I wanted to promote an event put together by our parade chairman Mike Betts. Mike has signed up the Walla-Pa-Looza folks to walk in the Second Annual Shamrock Salute, Rotary St. Patrick’s Day Parade in McHenry on March 14th, 2010. The parade starts at 1:00 pm. We will be in our standard issue purple gear handing out candy and doing what we do best. Our volunteers will be out in full force promoting our next event, scheduled for July 31st. I hope you and your family will come out and say hello. Mike has put some work into this parade and I am very thankful to him and all the volunteers that work so hard promoting and working for Walla-Pa-Looza.

Also, my friend Donna Grabow has set up a team for the ABTA Path to Progress walk. Look for the Just Jackson team if you would like to donate.

Again, thank you for your efforts on the Radtke benefit and I hope to give you some updated information on how much was raised and how the check presentation went. I am sure we have some pictures to share as well.

Thanks again.
Craig

This past week was an emotional roller coaster for the Wallace family. We were just getting settled down after a great benefit for my new friend Taylor Radtke when this past Thursday our next door neighbor made the decision to take his own life. He was 17 years old.

I was attending the Johnsburg Lions meat raffle at C’s Pizzeria & Pub across the street from our house, when I saw an ambulance and police cars heading into our neighborhood. Moments later, my cell phone rang and my heart skipped a beat. It was Joanne. She had concern in her voice. She told me that they brought out a stretcher next door and someone was on it. My first thought was that someone had a heart attack or something. I was wrong.

Later on that evening I was still across the street when I was told that our teenage neighbor took his own life. I decided to wait until my children were asleep so I could go home and explain the situation to my wife. I felt that discussing this that night would not be the best choice. It would be better to explain it to them in the morning. We eventually told both boys. It was pretty hard for us to explain what had happened but we made it through. We left a note for the family in their mailbox letting them know that we were sorry for their loss and that if they needed anything to please let us know.

On Saturday, I spoke with one of the siblings and asked how she was doing. She said she was ok, but that she was afraid to go into her brother’s room because she was the one that found him. I felt so sad for her but she seemed pretty strong. She had said they were working on the funeral plans and things that go along with that. I told her that if her parents needed anything to please let us know. Later that afternoon her other brother and a cousin were fixing a spaceship out in the driveway that belonged to the deceased. I guess they were paying tribute to him in there own special way. I didn’t ask why they were doing it, I knew why.

Even for those of us with children, we can only imagine what this family is going through right now. Please take a quick moment to say a prayer for them today and give your children an extra strong hug.

Taylor Radtke Autographs Craig's Shirt

This morning I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to write about. It wasn’t because I had a lack of topics. I mean we had an earthquake in Chile, the threat of a tsunami in Hawaii and the issues that Haiti is dealing with. But today, I am thinking about how a community rallied around a family and a little girl.

Her name is Taylor Radtke and she is one of the coolest little girls I know. She showed up at the benefit and even won the dart tournament! Her mother Laurie told me that she has had some serious setbacks but, you would have never known it. She was so polite, happy, and of course social. Meeting Taylor made my weekend. She is an incredible individual.

This past Saturday night I witnessed young and old come together to eat, drink, dance and donate for a wonderful cause. This event didn’t make CNN or even CLTV for that matter but for one cold February night in northern Illinois, a group people tried to make a difference. Four different groups – Walla-Pa-Looza, Peter & The Versatiles, The Johnsburg Lions and The Woodstock Infantry Club – organized a great benefit. I am not sure at this point how much money was raised but I can tell you I saw a ton of money being spent. I saw money being spent on meat raffles, 50/50 tickets, pizza, beer and much, much more. That just shows me that even in this lousy economy that people still want to help.

I am hoping that whatever we brought in helps take the load off of the family because they have gone through way too much. Nobody deserves the pain and anguish that Laurie and Jeff are going through. I told Laurie that I put this together because I was hoping if something ever happens to our family people would do the same, and you know what? I have a feeling that they would!

My only other hope is that I get to see Taylor show up at other Walla-Pa-Looza events because her smile and her courage are contagious and I would love to have her sign every benefit shirt I ever wear for the next 50 years.

Taylor, you’re the one that is "choice" not me……