“For it is in giving that we receive.” — St. Francis of Assisi
Remember my post about Gerritt Rogalski collecting school supplies for a UCF class project? I decided I wanted to do more than just talk about the school supply drive, so I bought a nifty yellow backpack and dropped it off with my editor Jamie at the Watermark Media headquarters. Then Jamie forwarded an e-mail I crafted to all the Watermark staff, challenging them to fill the backpack with school supplies. I’m happy to report that they responded with enthusiasm! Not only that, a Friend of Watermark (similar to being a Friend of Bill, but you can drink) Megan Bixler bought her own bookbag and filled it with supplies!
On Wednesday, July 28, we attended Doug Ba’aser’s trivia (as we often do) at Orlando’s Hamburger Mary’s where Gerritt serves. First, we endured a rather harrowing couple of rounds of trivia; harrowing primarily because our publisher, one Tom Dyer, was playing on a rival team, made all the more distressing by the fact that his team kept beating us. Mr. Dyer’s team begged out before getting to the Gay, Gay, Gay Round — the final round in which our team usually cleans up, and did — saving themselves all manner of embarrassment.
Once the dust had settled, all battle wounds were dressed, and all 2-for-1 drinks were downed, we presented Gerritt with the backpacks and posed for this photograph.
From left to right, that’s Megan with her awesome preppy bag, me holding the Watermark bookbag right over Hamburger Mary’s face, Sir Doug Ba’aser, hunky Gerritt, and Scott Stowell who had nothing to do with the school supplies but apparently jumped in the photo to brag about the Crowded House tickets he won from Hard Rock Live. Photo by Jamie Hyman aka Tiger Beatdown.
Gerritt let me know that people contacted him through the Scottie Saves the World blog and donated about $200 worth of supplies to the drive. So a big thank you to all of you who gave!
