Category Archives: Uncategorized

Neil Armstrong Dies at 82

Neil Armstrong died of complications after heart surgery at Age 82

From the Los Angeles Times Story latimes.com

August 25, 2012 |  1:14 pm PST

Armstrong

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, died following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures, a statement Saturday from his family said.

The Associated Press report did not say where he died. Armstrong had heart surgery earlier this month, but few details were made public at the time. Armstrong was a reticent, self-effacing man who shunned the spotlight whenever possible

Armstrong’s lunar stroll on July 20, 1969 — watched by an estimated 600 million television viewers worldwide — established him firmly as one of the great heroes of the 20th century.

PHOTOS: Neil Armstrong dead at 82

Read the Full Story…………
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Neil Armstrong

From Wikipedia

Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was the first person to walk on the Moon, as well as an American astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor and United States Naval Aviator. Before becoming an astronaut, Armstrong was a United States Navy officer and served in the Korean War. After the war, he served as a test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics High-Speed Flight Station, now known as the Dryden Flight Research Center, where he logged over 900 flights. He graduated from Purdue University and completed graduate studies at the University of Southern California.

A participant in the U.S. Air Force‘s Man In Space Soonest and X-20 Dyna-Soar human spaceflight programs, Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962. His first spaceflight was the NASA Gemini 8 mission in 1966, for which he was the command pilot, becoming one of the first U.S. civilians in space. On this mission, he performed the first manned docking of two spacecraft with pilot David Scott.

Armstrong’s second and last spaceflight was as mission commander of the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969. On this mission, Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the lunar surface and spent 2½ hours exploring, while Michael Collins remained in orbit in the Command Module. Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon along with Collins and Aldrin, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.

On August 25, 2012, Armstrong died in Cincinnati, Ohio,[1] at the age of 82 due to complications from blocked coronary arteries. FULL STORY…..

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“Neil Armstrong was a hero to many a kid of the late sixties and early seventies and he is still one of mine to this day. – JW Najarian”

I remember like it was yesterday, the excitement of watching the launch of the majestic Saturn V rocket as it sent Neil, Buzz and Michael into space to rendezvous with the moon!

The touchdown was nail biting and so exciting and of course the first pictures and those famous words… One Small Step For Man; On Giant Leap For Mankind.

We were glued to our television sets and as kids many of us including me dreamed of the adventures we would have in space.

I am still a Star Trek, Dr Who, Sci-Fi loving geek. Apollo 11 was such a life changing experience for me. It set my course for many years to come.

I ended up working in a NASA facility after joining the Navy. I worked with the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Lab’s (NAMRLD) detachment stationed at the George C. Marshal Space Flight Facility out of Mischoud, LA.

JW Najarian with Emil Pardee at Michoud NASA facility

Me and my step father Emil Pardee at Michoud Facility where I was stationed in 1978

My duty assignment was to strap into what became of the original rocket sled that the legendary John Paul Stapp risked his life on, and get shot down a track to test how the human neck reacted to high acceleration and G force shock.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UEYxf4fl_A]

I was the 89th human research subject to ride a sled device and new I was part of something very special. NAMRL  quit using rockets to power the sled and traded this out for what I believe was a nitrogen filled cylinder which gave them more control over the G Forces. I made runs that subjected my body to over 18Gs of force.

We were working to hopefully save lives, but giving scientists the data they needed to design better, more effective safety devices for pilots and motor vehicle drivers.

Saturn V first stageBack to Apollo. Our offices were located in the Saturn V test cell building of the facility. The building had once housed 4 of these monster first stages, but now only one was left.

It was my incredible luck that they never restricted access from me of that huge room that enclosed the rocket. I got to check it out from up close for the time I was stationed there which was just under 3 years.

Buzz Alrin with JW Najarian

Buzz Aldrin and JW Najarian 2007

Since that time I have had the opportunity to meet Buzz Aldrin twice. Once in Aspen at a cocktail party and recently at the Beverly Hills Hotel for the night of 100 Stars. I was able to get an interview with him and I get a shout out to the US Veterans, the group I run on LinkedIn.

I am so grateful to have lived to see the moon landing and even more grateful to get to work in a facility and close to some of that grand history.

Neil Armstrong dieing reminds me of that magnificent era when we all seemed to have a sense of purpose in America. We may have disagreed about many things, but we were proud to be in the space race and more proud that we knew we were winning.

It is said that Neil never went after the spotlight and that says so much about our heros. My condolences to his family and friends and I never met him, I for one will miss him and remember.

Los Angeles Dodgers aquire OF Shane Victorino

The Los Angeles Dodgers have aquired OF Shane Victorino from the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Dodgers just seem to keep building their team up better and better by the day. The Dodgers only had to give up pitcher Josh Lindblom and a minor league pitcher.

The Dodgers now have an outfield consisting of All Star Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Shane Victorino. That is one hell of an outfield. Dodgers just got Hanley Ramirez recently and now Victorino. Those are 2 big bats to help the line-up out.

Lets see if the Dodgers will really make a strong push towards the playoffs. They are tied for first place with the Giants right now. With their new outfielder Victorino they might just breeze on throughout the rest of the season and are now a strong World Series contender. – Bear

Justin Blackmon not making a good name for himself

Dear Fans,

Justin Blackmon wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars pleaded guilty to drunken driving in Oklahoma in a deal that avoids jail time. Blackmon was arrested during a traffic stop in Stillwater, Okla., on June 3’rd. A breath test showed his blood-alcohol content to be three times the legal limit. Judge Michael Stano imposed a deferred sentence of one year, meaning Blackmon will serve no jail time if he fulfills the terms of his sentence. The terms are he was fined $500 and must complete 50 hours of community service. Blackmon is one of five remaining unsigned first-round picks. As of now Blackmon is not on the right path and is not setting himself up for a good NFL career. This could now cause major problems with himself and the Jaguars. Hopefully he will realize that this was a stupid mistake and wont let anything like this happen again.

TED Finally Posted The Income Inequality Speech You Weren’t Supposed To See – Business Insider

nick hannauer When Business Insider originally posted that there was a TED talk by a billionaire that was not published I was very curious as to why.

Now that I have seen the speech I am more confused than ever…….

What do you think?

TED finally posted a video of Nick Hanauer’s TED talk on income inequality this afternoon, caving to media pressure and criticism that the organization was trying to placate its elite audience.

As we noted earlier, Hanauer’s presentation is actually pretty underwhelming. But you can judge for yourself whether it is as “politically controversial” and “insulting” as TED officials claimed it to be.

Watch the video below:

Read Complete Article http://www.businessinsider.com/ted-finally-posted-the-income-inequality-speech-you-werent-supposed-to-see-2012-5

Nicolas “Nick” Hanauer

is a Seattle-based entrepreneur, venture capitalist, author and activist with a knack for identifying and building transformative business models.

In 1995, Hanauer became the first non-family investor in Amazon.com where he served as a Board Advisor until January 2000.

In 1996, he founded and served as CEO of internet media company aQuantive, Inc. (originally Avenue A) and became Chairman of the Board when the company went public in February 2000. aQuantive was acquired by Microsoft in August 2007 for $6.4 billion, the largest acquisition in Microsoft history.

In 1998, he founded Gear.com and served as Chairman until it merged with Overstock.com in 2001. @

Nick’s Blog http://nick-hanauer.com/
Nick’s Twitter @NickHanauer

MyPillow and Orange County Choppers Unveil Custom Motorcycle at Mall of America

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBzFFt3fD_U]

Onsite event to honor Michael J. Lindell for his entrepreneurial leadership of
“Made in America” and humanitarian accomplishments

MyPillow


Bloomington, Minnesota  ORANGE COUNTY CHOPPERS came to Minnesota on April 5th, 2012 The internationally famous Orange County Choppers came to Mall of America to unveil a custom motorcycle for MyPillow Company. One of the fastest growing companies in America, MyPillow has been making headlines across the country. Owner, CEO and inventor of MyPillow, Mr. Mike Lindell will be there along with Paul Teutul, Sr. for this exciting unveiling which will be filmed for Discovery’s American Chopper television show. MyPillow opened its doors eight years ago and is rapidly becoming one of our Nation’s fastest growing independently owned companies.

Over the past several years, Michael J. Lindell has become a household name, and now with a newly launched infomercial, he is one of the most watched persons in America. Born and raised in Minnesota, Michael has been an entrepreneur all of his life. His creativity and driving passion to find success helped him conquer addictions, bankruptcy and several near death experiences to develop the life-changing product that became MyPillow. His extraordinary life story of recovery and perseverance inspires everyone who hears it and has attracted the attention of movie producers and writers from Hollywood. He has also started work on a memoir to share is story and inspire others for success.

Mike recently created his own television show called “The Mike Lindell Show”. Mike’s goal for the show is to help people change their lives by sharing personal, inspirational experiences from the heart and bringing on guests from around the country to do the same. His honesty and candor is refreshing at a time when the population is seeking authenticity.

Mike began his quest to create “the world’s most comfortable pillow” eight years ago when he was having difficulties in his life including not being able to sleep. He recalled the comfort he found in his pillow in his youth and set out to find this same comfort in his adult life. After years of research of both pillows and sleep disorders and experimentation with fill and fabrics, he combined health, comfort and durability to create one of the only patented pillows made here in the USA. He shared it with two of our country’s top neurologists who specialized in sleep disorders. They tested it and found that MyPillow properly supported the vertebrae which led to greater amounts of REM sleep and significantly better overall rest for the body. MyPillow now has thousands of personal and medical/professional testimonials and endorsements.

Since the first pillow was made in Carver Minnesota, MyPillow has been invited to be part of the gift basket programs at the Academy Awards (Oscars), the ESPY Awards and the American Music Awards, making MyPillow “The Pillow to the Stars”.

Orange County Choppers has developed a special bike for Mike Lindell celebrating his individualism, character, perseverance and the success of MyPillow. The April 5th unveiling brings Orange County Choppers to Minnesota for the very first time to honor this “hometown entrepreneur.”

Mike Lindell is a regular on ”The Laura Smith Show” on FOX radio. Later in April, he will be an honored guest at a FOX News forum with Geraldo Rivera called “Putting America Back to Work.”

Being a “life changer” at heart, Mr. Lindell is using his success to help change the lives of others. His charitable contributions have included MyPillows for our Military as well as The Imus Ranch, a working cattle ranch for kids with cancer. Mike has also partnered with “Breaking Free” which helps victims of human trafficking by offering employment and assistance in returning to society. At the heart of Mike’s passion is The Lindell Foundation, recently created to ‘reach the unreachable’, starting with those who are suffering with crack addition of the worst kind. He plans to open ‘free’ centers nationwide to support addicts both with recovery and mainstreaming into society and create an environment of hope in the lives of those seeking a better life free from addiction. Mike’s commitment to create jobs here in the USA with an All American made product has become a reality in a overall unstable economy. The dream of owning your own business with a worthwhile product is alive and well here in homegrown Minnesota.

ABOUT MyPillow:

Founded in 2004 by Michael J. Lindell, MyPillow is one of the top 10 fastest growing companies in the USA. An advocate for American Made product and ambassador for creating jobs in America, the company manufacture “the worlds most comfortable pillow’. Promoting health, comfort and durability, MyPillow is renowned for owning the only US paten in the category. A philanthropist at heart, Michael J. Lindell recently founded The Lindell Foundation to ‘reach the unreachable’ and continue his thrive towards an addiction free society. For more information please visit: www.mypillow.com

MyPillowMyPillow
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For More Information
please contact:

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New York, NY 10019

T: 212.333.2085
F: 866.548.5448

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We Are Changing Our Name!

JW On Purpose is Changing it’s Name!

That’s right once again we are changing the name of this blog.

Here is the lowdown. I first opened this blog to journal a bit. Then I started doing interviews of some semi celebs and authors. Now I have been doing interviews of finance and business for www.CREPIG.com for sometime.

These interviews were, however, quite dry in content and I wanted to have some fun. I have now interviewed around 200 Authors and Celebs on their stories, causes, projects and just interesting stuff.

At first I just thought I would name it JW Najarian‘s blog… Then it got bigger so I thought maybe JW360 as I and my content are quite eclectic. It then morphed again to JW On Purpose as a friend noticed my focus on cause and purpose.

I really like JW On Purpose and will continue to blog under that name, but mainly it will just be me sharing my thoughts and observations.

This blog is now going to be called On Purpose Magazine. Although it doesn’t come out weekly or monthly etc.. it does contain a plethora of diverse interviews. My mission is to serve phentermine online interesting, entertaining, educational, intriguing, enlightening and inspirational interviews with the most interesting people I can get in front of.

Why a Magazine? Cause it sounds good. Today you have to brand something and you need to keep the name easy and hope it talks to what you are trying to portray.  So we ceremoniously christen this blog with the name On Purpose Magazine.

Why On Purpose? First I liked the double entendre meaning of the phrase, on purpose. What I want to do, for the most part, is “Do On Purpose, with Purpose”. So you will notice most posts lean toward a cause or purpose.

The Site will be moving and be all New and Improved!

Also Coming Soon………………

We have decided that WP.com does not afford us the growth and functionality we desire so we will be moving to WP.org with a whole new look and feel. Should Really be cool… This will happen the the next month or so…

Come share the journey and please do not hesitate to join in.

The Journey of 1000 miles starts with this first step.

Welcome to:

On Purpose Magazine

JW Najarian
3/12/12

Being Unemployed

I almost never just steal a story from another blog to get content for my blog, but The Drinking Hat Blog is always great and this story brought back so many not so wonderful memories of when I used to be jobless… Oh wait.. I still am.. Please make me rich Internet so I don’t have to go looking for a real job!

Protected: JW Friend Exclusive – Meet Gary Goldstein Face to Face

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New Facebook Timeline Profile How to Get it Now

New Facebook Profile

New Facebook Profile in Beta

Facebook announced Timeline, it’s new profile view, today at F8.

It’s not technically available yet, but if you’re feeling a little sneaky, follow these steps to get it now.

(Thanks to TechCrunch for figuring this trick out!)

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/get-facebook-timeline-2011-9#ixzz1ZCQtOFI6

Lip-Dub Videos I Just Love Em

Have you seen all the new Lip-Dub videos?

If you don’t know what they are by the name I am sure you have seen a few without realizing it.

Recently the show The Office did one to “Nobody But Me”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac2Cs9bCe6E

And recently Entertainment tonight said goodbye to Mary Hart with this cool video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdxQki3sniA

This one is one of the most famous but I will let you watch and decide:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPjjZCO67WI]

 

Here are a couple of other favorites:

Harvey Danger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMuRWRqpQXQ

Clark Retirement Home http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ7-n930zJo

 

 

 

New Generation Motivation with John Leslie Brown

John Leslie BrownJohn Leslie “High Hopes” Brown son of Legendary Speaker Les Brown on New Generation Motivation

www.JohnLeslieBrown.com

John-Leslie ‘High Hopes’ Brown is a motivational speaker and hip-hop artist  who possesses a natural passion and charm aptly placed at the heart of his delivery. He travels nationally and internationally giving profound  messages of inspiration to both young and mature audiences.  ‘High Hopes’, is not just another nickname, but a philosophy.  ‘H.I.G.H H.O.P.E.S.’ which is an acronym for a “Hip-hop Intellectual Going Higher Helping Other People Everywhere Soar”. This has become his life’s passion and mission.
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During a recent conference Networking Fool Correspondent Lisa Schneiderman got a chance to talk about John’s work with helping kids, by using RAP music to inspire, motivate and give positive hope. John helps kids, but also is a great speaker himself. He has spent the last few years joining his father on stage to give his highly passionate message.

John Leslie Brown Album

Listen to Music Track - CLICK HERE

Born in Detroit, Michigan, John-Leslie presently lives in Los Angeles. He is the youngest son of the Emmy award-winning, world renowned motivational orator, author and television personality Les Brown.  This is where John-Leslie first developed his passion for changing lives.

John-Leslie began his professional speaking career at the early age of 14, becoming the highest paid  teen speaker in America, captivating audiences and targeting young people with speeches, songs and most importantly, his message: “Our lives will serve as either a warning or as an example.

John-Leslie has also been a community advocate and grassroots organizer. He solicited private donations from the celebrity community to pay for a charter bus to take local  Los Angeles residents to Jena, Louisiana for the infamous “Jena 6” case.  John-Leslie also volunteered as a teacher at Activities for Retarded Children (ARC), where he later became a full-time staff member.  He also started a Teen Speakers Bureau in Los Angeles to help young adults develop their communication skills. In addition, he has participated in dozens of teen summits, spoken to hundreds of youth in juvenile facilities, performed in countless shows and have made numerous media appearances.

John-Leslie Brown is also the author of the E-book “II Live Your Dreams” and has produced 10 motivational CDs that have been sold worldwide. Brown, along with his sister Ona and their father Les, comprise the internationally acclaimed First Family of Motivation.

Now 25-years-old, John-Leslie is already considered a staple in the self-development industry being called upon to provide presentations, seminars and workshops for entrepreneurs, universities, church groups, leading corporations and organizations such as Amway Global, CEO Space, Herbal-Life, the Boys and Girls Club, the National Youth Achievers, UCLA and the NAACP.   He has also shared the stage with such greats as the Dalai Lama, Richard Branson, Bob Proctor and Bishop T.D. Jakes.

With the ability to reach millions at his fingertips, John-Leslie is inspired to lead by example, consistently demonstrating a purposeful life filled with ‘giving back’ and making a unique impact.

Networking Fools

We hope you enjoy this Networking Fools Podcast Presentation, a Network Alchemists Production..

Social Media – We Have Come a Long Way From Bulletin Boards

Bulletin Board BBSIn the late 70’s, 80’s and 90’s we had Bulletin Boards (BBS) and that essentially was the Internet. You could chat (multiple phone lines), upload and download files and mail messages. If you sent a message from California to New York; it could get there in 3 days or 4 or 5 or more depending on the BBSes you were sending them through. The BBS was run by a system operator who was officially called the SysOp and his job was the building and daily maintenance, which was a full time job. Uploading a file could take hours and so you had to wait in queue, The whole thing was buggy and highly technical and cumbersome at best. It was the high tech of the day, but we were always striving to do more faster and easier.

I had the opportunity to work with the now famous D&D VIP Dataexchange as a CoSysop. I was just learning and my teacher and mentor Doug Luce was a pro who knew the ropes and worked very hard to make sure his members were serviced. We also had hackers then and we had to run watchdog programs to keep things safe. It seems it was fun for some to get into your member or chat database and wipe it out?

Now we have an open architecture that allows us to send email around the world in seconds, upload and download huge files in no time. As the founder of a couple of social media sites I find that we still spend too much time maintaining, marketing, seeding, taking care of complaints, checking links, SEO, paypal, building, changing, educating ourselves on a continuing moving learning curve.

Maybe it is not so different?

Bulletin boards are long gone, most of them, I believe…. but it is possible that Social Media is more like the early cell phone, microwave oven or fax machine. We know they existed, but did not know if they were right for us and our business. Then more and more people had them and we realized we needed them too. So we got them and really didn’t know what to do with them…. Now we can’t live without them….. So Social Media is here to stay, whether you understand it or not and the early adopters will be the winners.

I will start putting out layman tips, tricks and observations to help you along with SEO, Social Media, Social Marketing and whatever else pops up.

Stay tuned.

JW Najarian

CREPIG

CREDAA

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Riding the horse drawn streetcar at Disneyland. Cool but not rainy

Memorial Weekend 2009

Published Originally – May 24th 2009

As a Navy Vet I have always had a soft spot in my heart for servicemen and their families. I love and respect anyone who lays their life on the line for me, my family, our security and our freedoms.

It seems that all agree that the servicemen of past and present are not treated and or held in the reverence they should be. Not all are willing to do much about it, however. It so seems like a shame that banks were bailed to the tune of hundreds of billions, but other domestic and long time issues like our servicemen and their families have never been addressed, though many may have been eliminated with 100’s of millions or 10’s of billions much earlier.

On this Memorial Day I want to take a moment to recognize veterans past, present and future and thank them for being there for us. Thank them for putting us first and hoping that we take a minute to donate to one of our favorite veterans charities to put the serviceman first for a change.

All veterans have so much to be proud of and can hold their heads up high for they are our mighty warriors who protect and serve with honor and a devotion that is only understood by other soldiers, sailors and airmen.

A special thank you to every person who has given their lives for the freedom and security of their fellow. Let us not allow one life to go unremembered and un-honored as each life was given separately by each person.

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy what the military veteran has won and and has provided for each of us.

JW Najarian
US Navy Veteran
Naval Aerospace Medical Research Lab
USS Leftwich DD-984
1976 – 1981

Grand Wailea – Day 4

MADE THIS A PAGE ON ACCIDENT BUT DIDN’T WANT TO LOOSE IT.

I was going to write a blog entry every day of our trip…. Oh well. We have been so busy that I am too tired to spend anytime writing. My emails are stacking up big time.

We yesterday we went up to Haleakalah Crater. We started at the Kula Lodge…. Best Bacon Burger around. This is the place where in July a friend of mine, who was talk by the Hawaiian elders in the spirit of Aloha, She came from Oahu to do a HUB talk and I was fortunate enough to be able to also speak there. The next day she took me to the Kula Lodge and brought me through an acient ceremony teaching me the ways of Aloha and allowing me to see the world in a much different way.

The botanical gardens there are very cool and there is an outside fireplace they use to cook pizzas. Also have a great gift shop and flower shop.

The crater was awesome. I had been there in 1978 and was very impressed. Little has changed and it is one of the must do things on the island. If you are really daring you can go at 2am and watch the sunrise over the volcano as well as ride a bike down. The summit is 10,023 ft and you don’t want to run around too much while you are there.

We ended with dinner at Momma’s Fish house in Pa”ai and what an awesome meal it was. The town shuts down at 6pm and there is a lot of shopping there so go a little early. I saw an old friend Chealsea at Momma’s she works there… very cool… She gave me a chocolate treat to welcome me to the island.

This moring I jogged for 1/2 hour, worked out at the gym, and snorkled out a 1/4 mile and filmed a sea turtle.

Now we are driinking strong cocktails and eating burgers poolside…. I hate that I have to leave…

JW

Poolside at the Grand Wailea Day One

85 degrees with a cool breeze from offshore. I am sitting in my cabana looking out towards Molakini where the tourists love to go on day boats to snorkel. I am at the top pool so I have to go down 3 or 4 water slides and swim accross several pools to get to the in the water bar… Very nice. Yes I can order drinks to my cabana, but what fun is that.

I actually worked on some CREPIG stuff today between trips to the beach. BTW you can get out of the pool and you are about 100 or so feet to the ocean… Nice.

We were here in July and it was so clear and nice. This time it is a bit breezier and more hazy, but still can’t beat it.

The flight on Delta was great. The plane was clean and the service was first class… Oh yes we flew first class. I watched Yes Man and some other movie with Adam Sandler about kids stories. I love the message of Yes Man as it talks about saying yes to life and it’s possibilities without fear. OK you will have fear, but you don’tet it stop you.

I am going to swim to the bar. I will be back soon.

JW

Miracle on South Central a Huge Success

miracle-on-south-central-banner1

As the Los Angeles Coordinator or the Miracle on South Central Ave., I want to thank all the wonderful volunteers who turned out and the the fortunate givers whose donations we received.

We gave away food boxes that will last weeks to over 3000 families and around 9000 people came through our lines as we also gave out hygene products, toys, water and Avon came out and gave gift baskets to all the families.

We had celebs and Los Angeles Lakers and singers and all around fun. If you want to see the photos and videos go to this link. www.flickr.com/photos/jwnajarian/sets/72157611273935986/

The trucks started rolling in around 3am in the morning. The line started around 5am slowly at first with only about 12 or 15 people to start. My good friend Francis Fiermonte or White Emerald Financial Group stayed the night at my place so we could get down to the Salvation Army building early. Francis’ job was to take the camera and document the day for me. I took the video cam with me to get some video. As it turned out I got too busy to continue to video the event, but Francis did a great job of taking shots all through the day.

It was an incredible sight that we sadly did not catch. As we drove up at 6am South Central Ave was dark except for red truck tail lights as far as the eye could see. There were 14 full size trucks lined up in the center divider in front of the center and I tell you it was amazing. The volunteers and truck drivers unloaded without a break until noon and I believe we still missed 2 trucks. Since we were still unloading at noon we ended up starting an hour late. Some people were not too happy, but we had planned in advance and we staggered the times at which people would show up to get food. This helped keep things under control.

The line just kept getting longer and longer, but I was assured that the line had rarely gone beyond the building. Mortimer of the Salvation Army came up with the idea of doing a dual line giveaway to speed things up. This was brilliant and we were able to get the lines moving rather fast. This did not stop the line from going beyond the building by about six blocks.

We had over 200 volunteers help out and we were short. It was difficulft finding relief for people who had been on the line or handing out food. The funny thing is that most of the volunteers when asked if they wanted relief refused. What a great group. Everyone took pride in what they were doing and most did not want to leave when there were so many that needed help.

In the last 2 years Spryte Loriano with Feed333.org, has put together the largest one day food giveaway in our nation’s history. This year she put together several events over many days in different cities. I believe it was the largest collaborative food giveaway in our nation’s history. The sponsors to name a few, were Humanity Unites Brilliance, Feed the Children, The Salvation Army, The World Trust, The NBA Players Association and others.