Tournament of Champions

On ESPN3 with Molly (notice distance from the back glass)

What an evening in New York City. I've wanted to attend the Tournament of Champions, a squash tournament held in Grand Central Station, since I learned about the venue as a freshman, but I never bought tickets because the schedule conflicted with Choate. Even while on my gap year, I delayed the purchase of tickets, because leaving in the middle of the week while employed is not particularly convenient. Two weeks prior to the tournament, I thought to myself, "when will there ever be a good time to see this tournament," and mustered up enough confidence to splurge on the tickets. To my surprise, seats were still available, but as the images below show, in the absolutely worst section. By pure coincidence, my friend Molly also happened upon two equally bad tickets and we were sitting next to each other. Before the final started, two JP Morgan associates volunteered their box seats to Molly, and graciously she invited me to sit with her. I don't mean to brag, but money can literally not buy these tickets. We were sitting in a JP Morgan (tournament chief sponsor) box 3 rows directly behind the back glass. Frank Stella -- you might have heard of him -- was sitting in a box adjacent to ours. The squash itself was exceptional. Nick Mathew bested James Willstrop in 4 games to reclaim his number one ranking.

TOC, Before and After

The seats I payed for ...

The box seats I moved to

RhodySquash Fundraising

In the past, I've written about the administration of RhodySquash and the challenges (and triumphs) of delivering our program. But as I like to say, when I'm not working with the RhodySquashers or coordinating with volunteers, I think of ways to raise money. As of writing this post, we've raised $47,425 dollars (the specificity is consistent with the transparency that all nonprofits require). We have two classes of donors, both equally important. "Large" donors consist of those who give $1000+, and "small" donors are those who give less. Our first line of fundraising is the board (it is no coincidence I'm working on expanding from 7 to 12 members), and from there we network, constantly seeking ways to expand our reach. Often my contact with an individual will begin over lunch, and blossom with contributions and new individuals they introduce me to as our rapport grows. A less grandiose way to describe my job ... I Schmooz. The rest of the winter, spring, and summer promises the introduction of a capital campaign, actual fundraisers, more lunches, and nonfat lattes during the many impromptu coffee breaks.

Because press is a huge component of our program, I promise to post the articles in which we've been featured thus far. Indeed, as of today (the night Newt takes South Carolina), we look forward to a visit from both the Providence Journal and ABC 6.

In other news ... "Midnight in Paris" is my new favorite movie!

An impromptu dinner

In line with staying hungry and foolish, I made an impromptu trip to Cotuit on Tuesday night to see Teddy, Will, Maddox, Ethan, Zander, and Bandar (from left to right). As the last to arrive, I was greeted by a bunch of Choate friends who I haven't seen in over half a year. Mrs. Maddox was there too to cook a delicious multi-course meal. Up until now, the group with whom I've kept in touch has been limited, so it was really nice to see a new and additional group of alums. Per usual, we reminisced into the late hour of the night, periodically checking into to see the speeches from the New Hampshire Primary. Suffice it say, I failed on all counts to maintain my diet.