BLR Reunion Soccer Weekend 8/18/12

June 6, 2012 In BLR Play it Forward 2012, BLR Reunion Soccer Weekend 8/18/12, News & Updates, Vermont

blr play it forward

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Full news and schedule of events is finally here…

The Blue Lollipop Road Play it Forward Event is a weekend long event that MAU female soccer alumni will reconnect and reminisce, play soccer, honor past teammates, and give back to the community we grew up in. This event will take place August 17 and 18, 2012 in Shaftsbury and Bennington, Vermont.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

*FRIDAY, AUGUST 17TH:

~Welcome Back Party, 7 PM at Madison Brewing Company

*SATURDAY, AUGUST 18TH:

~Strong Mojo Summit, 10:00 AM at Howard Park

~Alumni Soccer Game, 1:00 PM at Howard Park

~Artist’s Reception- Traci Molloy, 6:00 – 8:00 PM at the Vermont Arts Exchange

~BLR Celebration Cocktails, 8 PM at Pangea Restaurant and Lounge in North Bennington

Why have we created and organized this big event?

There is no doubt that I wouldn’t be the woman I am today if I hadn’t been a soccer team member every year while growing up, and if I hadn’t participated in the 1994 MAUHS foreign exchange program. Through playing sports and having coaches who were incredible mentors, I learned about teamwork and confidence. I learned that by taking care of my body and exercising, I would take care of my mind and soul too. When our team had “all hands in” before each game, chanting: “one…two…three… STRONG MOJO!,” we each knew we had the power – together or alone – to go, be, and do anything. As I stood in Germany during my student exchange month abroad, never having been out of the state of Vermont before, my eyes flew open to see there was a whole big world out there to discover. Since then, I’ve spent time in all 50 states and 13 countries. I’ve learned how to be resourceful, savvy, flexible, independent, and open. I’ve met people I would have never otherwise met, tried foods I never imagined I’d try, and seen sights that have taken my breath away. What I learned most from athletics and travel is that I could do anything I set my mind to. Anyone can.

These are the messages I want to bring back to the place where I came from and share with the younger generation. It’s a pay back/pay forward for what has been a huge part of shaping my life.

*The mojo inspires us to be confident, set goals, and go for our dreams – we can accomplish anything that we set our mind to.  The Strong Mojo Summit will provide an opportunity for current female athletes to meet with alumni, discuss life experiences, and encourage a commitment to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.  

*MAU soccer celebrates the lives of former players and our incredible friends Maria Greene and Brandy Brown, who we lost on August 18, 1994.  A memorial dedication during the BLR Play it Forward Weekend will honor our friends and their amazing sprit and zest for life.

*Travel teaches self-confidence and flexibility; we can all broaden our horizons through travel.  Blue Lollipop Road will reward a travel scholarship to a current female athlete to support her adventure goals.    

*For 25 years, the MAU soccer community has believed in Strong Mojo.  An alumni game will be held to celebrate the mojo, and the dedication of coaches and mentors who supported the growth of many in our community.

***For further information about this event, registration forms for alumni, or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Diane Peacock:

[email protected] or 804.339.6514

If you cannot attend the event and would like to donate in support of Blue Lollipop Road and the memorial scholarship, please click here.

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June 1, 2012 In BLR Play it Forward 2012, BLR Reunion Soccer Weekend 8/18/12

that unforgettable feeling

I just saw the first draft of the BLR Play it Forward Event logo, gasped and jumped back like I’d seen a million dollar winning lotto ticket.

We are near 10 months into planning, I have been eating, drinking, sleeping, dreaming this event- and then some. It’s felt real the whole time, but with one glance at a colored image just now? BAM! – It’s officially really for real for real. (Yes, I meant to write that.)

The excitement that’s running through my veins as I type, is one kind that I dream of having every day with the work I do. That kind that makes you jump out of bed in the morning because you know you are doing something good. By good I mean something great. I have said for so long, all I want to do is work that matters. With the help of  incredibly talented, committed and generous ladies from my home town, and some serious inspiration from above- we have created this amazing thing that totally matters, and event weekend isn’t even here yet.

I’m so thankful for the years of encouragement to always keep going from the people who know me best, and the inspiration from the ones above. Those two things paired with my drive to do work that matters, have brought me to moments like this one where I know without a doubt I’m doing exactly what I’m meant to do.

Today is a big, huge, enormous, crazy awesome feeling.

Whoop!

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May 25, 2012 In BLR Play it Forward 2012, BLR Reunion Soccer Weekend 8/18/12

bad day nothing!

What an amazing and happy surprise to come to my inbox and see that Paul W. from Chicago has made a donation to Blue Lollipop Road today! We are super excited and thankful, especially after the disappointing and confusing news today that were not chosen for Best of the Road. This goes to prove that people out there still believe in Blue Lollipop Road and want to support our message.

I am thrilled because this is the first $ donation that will go towards the Blue Lollipop Road Play it Forward Event weekend and the Blue Lollipop Road Memorial Scholarship fund to be awarded 8/18/12 in my hometown in Vermont.

Huge thanks to Paul. Every penny is appreciated and will absolutely make a difference in the life of a young person who will get the chance to travel and see things they would never otherwise be able to.

Yay for generous donations out of nowhere. You help keep us plugging away at this entity we believe so much in!

 

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May 21, 2012 In 2012 Best of the Road Rally, BLR Play it Forward 2012, BLR Reunion Soccer Weekend 8/18/12

scholarship announcement

I am thrilled to share that we sent the application out today for the Blue Lollipop Road Memorial Scholarship!

This scholarship was established this year by BLR in honor of the spirit and zest for life embodied by my two friends and fellow soccer players, Maria Greene and Brandy Brown, who were killed in a car accident in 1994. (The same lovely ladies BLR is dedicated to.) The mission of this scholarship is to encourage a commitment to an active lifestyle, and to support travel for education and self-empowerment. This scholarship will award a deserving  freshman, sophomore or junior female soccer playing student at my old high school (Mount Anthony Union High School) with a monetary gift for:

*Participating in a MAUHS student exchange program;

*Taking a “Gap” Year between graduation and post-secondary education; and/or

*Going on an adventure travel trip intended for personal growth.

Yeah!

The scholarship will be awarded during the Blue Lollipop Road Play it Forward Strong Mojo Summit on August 18, 2012.

Planning and organizing this event and scholarship has been a long time in the works, so today is very exciting. (Thank you a million times over to my help Traci and Kate Emma!) I know there are a lot of young people like I was, who don’t have the financial means to explore outside their town, so I’m incredibly happy and proud to be able to honor my friends, and work to pay back/pay this forward to a deserving student. My community, school, and programs I participated in all those years ago have been a big part of shaping the woman I’ve become.

If you are an MAUHS student reading this and are interested in applying, please email diane(@)bluelollipoproad.com

If you are a visitor here who wants to support this scholarship fund and the Blue Lollipop Road Play it Forward event please click here. From all of us “kids” that dream big, and desire to keep exploring to better ourselves~ Thank you! I’m still dreaming big at 33 for Mom and I to win a finalist spot on the Best of the Road Rally 2012!

Anything is possible right?

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May 18, 2012 In 2012 Best of the Road Rally, BLR Play it Forward 2012, BLR Reunion Soccer Weekend 8/18/12

what an exciting week!

The voting portion of Best of the Road ended this week so we are waiting with major excitement to see if Team Blue lollipop Road wins a spot on this summers rally. Yeah! Only 6 days until we get news!

Major progress and more participants on board for the BLR Play it Forward Event in Vermont 8/18/12 too. Double yeah!

Even more? The new BLR site is looking slick and getting close to launch time. That’s a trifecta of yeah’s!

It’s been a crazy, busy, exciting and fantastic few days here on the Blue Lollipop Road and we love every minute of it. Here’s to following your passions and living carpe diem style 🙂

 

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May 7, 2012 In 2012 Best of the Road Rally, BLR Reunion Soccer Weekend 8/18/12, News & Updates

coming in may

In these next few weeks of May, here’s what’s happening at Blue Lollipop Road and what you will see:

1.) The launch of an entirely new site.
*Yep! That’s right! We have redesigned BLR and will be launching the new site this month with some new bells and whistles. We have worked very hard and can’t wait to share!

2.) Announcement as to whether or not we were picked to go x-country on the road with the Rand McNally/USA TODAY teams for Best of the Road, Rally 2012.
*VOTE FOR US HERE and spread the word as to why you think my Mom and I would be a great team to explore Small Town America!

3.) The kick off of a fundraising campaign for “BLR Play it Forward” (The Blue Lollipop Road Reunion Soccer Weekend Event and travel scholarship fund giveaway) happening August 18, 2012 in my home town in Vermont.
*This event has been 9 months in the making and means so much to me personally. I am so excited to reconnect with former teammates, honor lost friends, give back to the community I grew up in and reward a travel scholarship to a young person from my old high school to help them go on an adventure travel trip of their dreams. P(L)AYING IT FORWARD is what BLR is all about!

This sure has been a busy winter. Blue Lollipop Road will celebrate a 4 year birthday in October. I love working at all this more and more every day.

As always, I am so thankful for the support and fun from all of you out there. So much more to come and the rest of 2012 is sure to be better than ever!

 

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March 1, 2012 In BLR Reunion Soccer Weekend 8/18/12, News & Updates, Vermont

blue lollipop road reunion soccer weekend!

I have planned a weekend for female soccer alumni of my high school in Vermont to come together to reconnect and reminisce, play soccer, honor our past teammates, and give back to the community we grew up in. I’ve been working on things for months. Some of the biggest pieces are now set in place, so I wanted to finally share!

The Blue Lollipop Road Reunion Soccer Weekend will take place the weekend of August 18, 2012 in Shaftsbury and Bennington, VT.

Part of the festivities will include the STRONG MOJO summit- which will be  an opportunity for current female athletes to meet with former soccer  players. (That’s us!) We will share our life experiences since leaving high school through a leadership/mentor forum. There will be a memorial dedication to Maria Greene and Brandy Brown (our lost friends who inspired me to start BLR), an alumni soccer tournament, and of course, social gatherings.

There is no doubt that if I hadn’t been a part of soccer teams every year growing up, and if I hadn’t participated in the student exchange program through Mount Anthony High School like I did in 1994, I wouldn’t be the woman I am today and this site would not exist.
Through sport and having coaches who were incredible mentors (thanks Traci!)- I learned about teamwork, and confidence. I learned that by taking care of my body and exercising, that I would take care of my mind and soul too. When our team had all hands in before each game chanting: One…two…three…”STRONG MOJO!” we each knew we had the power together or alone- to go, be, and do anything. As I stood in Germany during my student exchange month abroad never having been out of the state of Vermont before, my eyes flew open to see there was a whole big world out there to discover. Since then, I’ve spent time in all 50 states and 13 countries. I’ve learned how to be resourceful, savvy, flexible, independent, and open. I’ve met people I would have never otherwise met, tried foods I never imagined I’d try, and seen sights that have taken my breath away. What I’ve learned most from athletics and travel is that I can do anything I set my mind to.
These are the messages I want to bring back to the place where I came from and share with the younger generation. It’s a pay back/pay forward for what has been a huge part of shaping my life. It brings Blue lollipop Road full circle after all these years.
Stay tuned for a fundraising campaign we will be launching for this event and get ready to spread the word!
With this announcement I will also share that this is a big shift time for BLR. There will be many site changes you will see here soon and a super exciting bit of fame news I’ll dish to you this week!
Here’s to running towards life and never forgetting where you came from.
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