Jimmy’s Blog

As I blogged earlier this summer, the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Foundation, one of the most popular and most impactful non-profit organizations in DC, will be shutting down this year — primarily due to lack of funds.  This is not too uncommon in these tough, economic times.

But, as noted previously, let’s not mourn the shutting down of HDSF — instead, let’s celebrate the the great impact this organization had on so many, many deserving students and families.   Over the 13 years, we generated over $3 million dollars and awarded over 1,600 academic scholarships and renewals.

Please join us this Thursday, Oct 1 from 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm at The Historical Society of Washington, DC, located at 801 K St NW, Mt Vernon Square. Please come by to meet and celebrate HSDF with our students, graduates, mentors, staff, board members, volunteers, etc.   Go to http://www.hoopdreams.org for more information.

Here’s a copy of the blog I wrote about HSDF this past June.   Susie Kay and HDSF have made a profound impact in DC over the past 13+ years.  Please come by on Thursday evening, if your schedule permits.   Thank you.

<<Sadly, one of the best, most popular and most impactful non-profit organizations in Washington, DC over the past 13 years is shutting down due to lack of funds.

But, instead of mourning the closing of the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Foundation, I’d like to focus on what we accomplished for so many deserving youths as well as the legacy of the HDSF.

I’ve been an up close observer of HDSF as a long-time friend of the founder, Susie Kay, as well as serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the past few years.

In a nutshell, we were able to provide over 1,000 academic scholarships over the 13 years.  Many of these recipients are from lower-income areas; come from a single-parent families; and, are the first ones to attend and graduate college from their immediate family.

I am blessed to have two wonderful mentors, Ted Leonsis and Mario Mario.  They are both legendary in DC for their phenomenal philanthropic vision and efforts.  But, I must also send major props to another person who “showed me the way,”  Ms. Susie Kay.   I watched this incredible person launch her dream of helping and providing students from Wards 7 and 8 (areas that many DC area people have never been to) the opportunity to go to college.

I watched her give and give and give.   It was due to her energy and passion that so many of us from the business community signed on to help her make her dream come true.

As I told the board at our meeting earlier this week, watching Susie in action helped spur me on to get more and more involved with community service, mentoring and non-profits.   I  now work in some capacity (board member, adviser, connector, volunteer, fund-raiser) for 14 non-profits in this area.    I know that over the past decade we have touched and improved the lives of hundreds and hundreds of deserving young men and women.

Multiply my simple efforts with the many others that were touched by Susie’s actions at HDSF.  So, in effect, she not only helped 1,000 students receive scholarship, she and her HDSF has helped spur community involvement — and has literally impacted tens of thousands of lives.   The legacy will continue for decades and decades because many of these young students will be the ones mentoring the younger generations.

I am so proud of the mentees I’ve gotten to know over the years.  They will remain friends for a lifetime.  Michael – who has become a younger brother to me – is a proud graduate of Hampton Univ and now works for Verizon; Fanchon just graduated from Temple Univ; Ayana is a rising senior at AU; and Emily is a rising junior at Princeton Univ.

To these young men and women; to Susie Kay; to our board; to our many wonderful mentors and volunteers — I salute you for all of our fantastic efforts.   Yes, we are closing down this year, but the dream will live.>>

I’ve been blogging fairly regularly for the past 10 – 11 months.  I’ve posted a little over 150 blog posts.  My focus has primarily been on philanthropy, education, sports and travel.

My friends are encouraging me to keep blogging — I’ve slacked off over the past week or so, but so it’s time for an update.   And, I’ll do my best to blog 2 – 3 times per week.

What have I been up since my last posting about the Special Olympics?  Here’s a quick review with  a highlight or two from each day:

Thur, Sept 17 – went to the WNBA play-off game between the hometown Mystics vs the Indiana Fever.  Unfortunately the game wasn’t played at their home court, the Verizon Center, since it had been rented to the Discovery Networks.  They played it at Comcast Center on the Univ of MD campus.  They played well but then wilted in the 4th quarter and suffered a tough loss.

Fri, Sept 18 — took the Amtrak Acela to NY for sports and entertainment related business meetings.   We had a couple of great meetings.  Then, went to the apartment of one of my best friend’s for dinner w/ his three kids — love spending time with them.

Sat, Sept 19 — hung out in NY in the morning, then took the train back to DC.  It’s such a great way to travel — no airport security hassles and online access.  It’s good way to get work done while traveling.

Sun, Sept 20 — hit the gym in the morning, as I’ve been doing nearly every day.  I was stoked for the Skins game, but man was it one boring game.  They did defeat the Rams, but it was by a 9 – 7 score.

Mon, Sept 21 — dinner in Korea town in Annandale with my 10 and 14 year old mentees and their Mom.  We had a great, fun time — eating Korean food buffet style.

Tues, Sept 22 — my first board of directors meeting with a new non-profit I joined … the Batter Up / DC RBI organization.  Great group of committed and dedicated people.   Then, at night, an event for DeAngelo Hall of the ‘Skins.

Wed, Sept 23 — attended a Venture Philanthropy Partners event, featuring speeches from Mayor Fenty and Chancellor Rhee.  A wonderful event — full of many of DC’s leading philanthropists and community service leaders.

Thu, Sept 24 / Fri,  Sept 25 — a series of meetings for my new JLynn Associates firm.  A great two days!   It takes a while to build a new business — and I’m working hard to make it happen — excellent movement this week.  Happy camper.

Sat, Sept 26 — what a day!  Dropped off my mentee to Junior Redskins Cheerleader practice in the morning; then attended a 7-hour board of directors retreat for Asian-American LEAD; then attended the Congressional Black Caucus dinner — featuring a dynamic speech from President Obama.  He brought the house down repeatedly with his terrific and motivating speech.

Sun, Sept 27 — a bummer of day, sports-wise.  My fav team, the ‘Skins lost to the lowly Lions, who broke their 19-game winless streak.  And, my fantasy football teams are also getting hammered.  Can’t wait for hockey season to start.  🙂

I attended the Greater Washington Sports Alliance’s annual fund-raising event, the “Sneaker Ball,” on Tuesday night at the National Building Museum in downtown DC.  I was a charter board member of GWSA (for the first four years) and have attended every Sneaker Ball since its’ inception earlier this decade.  Last night’s event was remarkable and memorable, as I will explain in a moment.

This Sneaker Ball event has turned into one of DC’s best annual events — with approximately 1,000 people attending — it’s a mixture of business leaders, politicians, athletes, philanthropists, etc.  Athletes from the Redskins, Capitals, Wizards, Mystics, DC United, Freedom, Bayhawks, etc all were in attendance, including the world’s greatest hockey player, Alexander Ovechkin as well as recently inducted NFL Hall-of-Famer, Darrell Green (one of the city’s all-time heroes).

Each year,  a couple of DC’s sports stars are inducted into the “Washington, DC Hall of Champions.”  Inductees over the last few years include:  Abe Pollin, Darrell Green, Gary Williams, John Thompson,  Ted Leonsis, Morgan Wooten, Dominique Dawes, Art Monk, Brian Mitchell, Brig Owens, etc.

My personal highlight over the years was when I was asked by my mentor, Ted Leonsis, to introduce him during his induction to the Hall of Champions in 2006.  It was a great honor and I was so proud to watch him being inducted alongside two DC sports institutions — Coach Morgan Wooten and James Brown.

But, highlight #2 just occurred last night.  The GWSA board made a phenomenal selection when they inducted Mrs. Eunice Kennedy Shriver to the Hall of Champions.  They could not have made a better choice – it was perfect.  Why?  Because she was the founder of the Special Olympics – and she dedicated four decades of her life to help thousands and thousands of Special Olympics athletes and their families.  She talked the talk, but she certainly walked the walk.  Mrs. Shriver was an extraordinary person and it’s great to see her being honored with the other legendary DC sports figures.

The other brilliant move was who they had deliver her acceptance speech.  The speech was delivered by a Special Olympian who has Down’s Syndrome.  Speaking from experience, it’s not easy to get up on the stage to address an audience of 900 – 1,000 people.  Many people can tell you how nerve-wracking that experience can be.  Yes, this terrific young man simply brought the house down with his speech.  Tears were flowing out of my eyes … I didn’t care if others saw me crying … I know many others had tears flowing, too.  This Special Olympian deserves a gold medal for his outstanding delivery of the speech — it was emotional and heart-felt.  He deservedly received a standing ovation from the huge crowd.

Many of us “give back,” volunteer, mentor, donate time and / or money, teach, etc.  Some people wonder what drives us?  Why do we spend so much time and energy to help others?  Because it’s the right thing to do.  And, the acceptance speech by the Special Olympian clearly reinforces why it’s important to give back and to help others.  Thank you, Mrs. Shriver, for showing us the way through your lifetime commitment to helping others.   You have truly impacted thousands and thousands of families in such a positive way … and your hard work and dedication will be carried on for a long, long time.   We will not let you down.  God Bless.

With Michael Jordan’s induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame, a lot of great memories and thoughts have been flowing through my head this past weekend.  Here’s a few memories:

– As a freshman at UNC, you could see talent and explosiveness.  Then, as many people know, he broke the hearts of all of us Georgetown Hoyas fans with that game-winning shot in ’82.  We were ready to explode onto the streets of Georgetown to celebrate the NCAA Championship, but that didn’t happen that year ’cause of #23.   His flair for the dramatic was obvious.

– I’m also a Maryland Terrapin fan.  Man, MJ really took it to the Terps, time after time.  Who can forget that famous dunk he threw down at the end of that one blow-out victory over the Terps?

– One of my three favorite college basketball players of all-time is the legendary Len Bias (the others are Patrick Ewing and Juan Dixon).  It was with great joy to watch MJ and Bias battle it out.  It breaks my heart to think back to that day in ’86 when they announced that Lenny had died from cocaine overdose.  MJ and Lenny would have been the two most talented NBA players for an entire decade.

– MJ was simply incredible during his first couple of years in the NBA.  Wow, his offensive skills were terrific immediately.  But, what made him such a great player was his desire to be the best — and to improve the weaknesses in his game during the off-seasons.  He became a better shooter and defender over the years.  It’s remarkable when great athletes continue to hone their skills to become better and better — versus relying on their natural abilities.

– Of course, who can forget the dunk contest?  Taking off from the free throw line.  I mean – it was Dr. J-esque.  Simply breathtaking.  Looking at the faces of the other players that were court-side tells it all.  They were in awe.

– After a couple years of battling the Pistons in the play-offs, they finally overcame the hump and started winning championships.  It was pure joy to watch Michael and his running mate, Scottie Pippen.  What a brilliant tandem.  Not many teams have won championships with the types of centers that played on the Bulls.  But, then again, how many great teams ever had such a great duo?

– Dream ’92.  Greatest collection of basketball talent ever assembled.  Enough said.

– I was fortunate to attend a number of games at the Capital Centre when the Bullets (before they changed the name to the Wizards) played the Bulls.  I saw MJ score over 50 points twice against the Bullets, including the one time when he dropped over 30 points on LaBradford Smith in the 1st half (the rumor was Smith had trash-talked him the night before during their game in Chicago).

– I also remember the last play-off series between MJ’s Bulls and the Wizards in the mid 90’s — when the Wiz had C-Webb, Juwan Howard, Rasheed Wallace, etc.  They battled the Bulls well but came up short.  MJ remarked that they were the up-and-coming team in the Eastern Conf.  Well, that never happened.

– I was fortunate enough to meet MJ a couple of times in the owner’s suite of the Washington Capitals.  MJ was always impeccably dressed — everything fit perfectly on him.  And, he was terrific about looking you in the eye when shaking your hand.  He also listened and looked you directly in the eye when speaking.  Obviously, he also has terrific business skills.   Plus, there’s simply an aura around him when you’re in his presence.  The looks on the faces of people that meet him is quite something to witness.

– I remember vividly the NBA All-Star Game in SF when MJ walked to his seats with Ted Leonsis and his family.  The fans greeted him great applause as he went to his seats — total rock-star treatment.  That was also the year that the documentary about him was released.

– Some people were bummed that MJ decided to come back and play for the Wizards for those two years.  But, for DC fans, it was a pure joy and honor.  Yes, he may have been the electric player he once was, but it was still a great joy to watch him play in front of sold-out arenas for those two years.

Well, he’s now deservedly in the Basketball Hall of Fame.  The greatest player ever.  One of the greatest sports champions ever.  A global icon.  A marketing machine.   I thought his acceptance speech was terrific — it clearly showed the fire and desire that drove him constantly.  We were lucky to witness seeing one of the all-time greats play — and to do it the right way.  He has indeed created lifetime memories for us.  Congrats, Michael.

Wow, it’s now been 8 years since that horrible day back on Sept 11, 2001.  So many thoughts and memories —

I remember being in my office at AOL at around 8:30 am on Tues, Sept 11.  I remember when I drove to work that day that it was simply a gorgeous and beautiful day … a perfect Fall day … sunny and clear with mild temps.

I was checking out the site of one of my partners, CNN.com, at around 8:45 am.  I shouted out to a co-worker that I loved that they had a photo caption of Michael Jordan on the front page.   Then, 5 minutes later, one of my co-workers mentioned a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.  They reported it was a small plane so I thought it was an accident.

Then, over the next hour, the horrific news rolled out as not just one, but two planes crashed into the World Trade Centers.  I remember watching with dread as the towers came crashing down.  We all had the same reaction … “no f’ing way!”

Then, the news came out about a plane possibly targeting Washington, DC.  Man, was I mad!

People couldn’t get through to each other on land line or cell phone, so people started emailing and instant messaging to find out about their loved ones in NY.   AOL management realized that we might be a potential target for the terrorists since we were the largest service in terms of instant messaging and email.  So, they sent the employees home for our safety (essential employees who were manning the tech centers courageously stayed there to keep the systems working).

A group of us went to a nearby co-worker’s home … we gathered to watch the news … and we continue to remain stunned.   After doing a quick lunch on the way home, I headed back to Arlington.  I live 1/4 mile outside of DC – next to Key Bridge.  When I got within about 1.5 miles from my house, the roads were blocked and barricaded.  I had to leave my car in a strip mall on Lee Highway and I walked towards my house with my laptop in tow.

The Pentagon, which was the third building hit by the terrorists, is about a 5-minute drive from my house.   I could see the black smoke billowing in the sky as I trudged home.  It was simply a surreal scene — I encountered dozens and dozens of people walking out of DC into Virginia.  They had concerned and worried looks on their faces.   I couldn’t blame them.  We had no idea what was next — were the terrorists going to attack the White House?  The US Capitol?  The Lincoln Memorial?

After getting home in the early afternoon, I watched the news for hours — then I got on my bike and trekked over to the Pentagon.   It’s a sight I will never forget.   Yellow police tape everywhere … black and gray smoke blasting into the sky … sirens from police cars, fire trucks and ambulances.  Was this really going on?  Or, was I dreaming this?  Or, were they shooting a movie scene?  Just incredulous.

I then rode my bike into the city – near the Jefferson Memorial at around 6:00 pm.  Again, yellow police tape everywhere but there was total silence.  I saw very few people — most people had scurried home.  Normally at 6:00 pm, the 14 St Bridge is filled with commuter traffic but not on this day.

I had just purchased a townhouse in Rosslyn the month before the terrorists attack.  The townhouse is right next to Key Bridge, overlooks the Potomac River and is directly across from Georgetown University.  I love hanging out on my deck.  But, in the first month there, I noticed that the planes flying over the river towards Reagan National Airport were quite loud.  But, on that evening of 9/11, it was eerily quiet as the airport was shut down.

There were helicopters constantly flying over the Potomac River at all hours of the night.  The bright search lights illuminated throughout the night — probably in search of other potential terrorists.  And, one could hear the military jets that were high above in the sky and patrolling the Nation’s Capital.

The following morning I took an early morning bike ride to the Pentagon so I could pray and pay respects to the victims and their families.  Again, it was eerily quite and the smoke continued to billow into the beautiful sky.

I also noticed when I was sitting on my deck how quiet it now without the planes constantly flying over the river towards the airport.   It was during that week that I vowed to never complain to myself about the loud noise of the planes — the airport was shut down for the rest of September.  Because, I knew, once I saw and heard the planes again, it meant life was going to be to normal (almost).  It’s 8 years later and I’m sticking to that vow.

I will continue to pray for strength for the victims, families and friends of 9/11.  It was a day we will never forget.  Whenever I go to Arlington National Cemetery to pay respects to my father, Uncle Art, General and Mrs Guthrie, I also pay my respects to the the many military soldiers that have given their life to protect our country.  God Bless.

The day after Labor Day … it’s always one of the worst traffic days of the year in the greater Washington, DC area.   And, it’s one of the things I won’t have to deal with today.

I left AOL earlier this year after a wonderful 14-year run there.  I’ve written frequently about how much I enjoyed my time at AOL.  I was a proud member of the team that helped build the largest internet company in the world … one that was able to acquire the largest media company in the world, Time Warner, back in 2000.  Yes, we had many ups and downs, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time there … I learned much and made so many life-long connections and friendships.

But, one of the things that was most frustrating was the daily commute – which in my case was a 26-mile ride from Rosslyn (right outside DC) to our campus in Sterling / Ashburn / Dulles.  The ride to the campus in the morning wasn’t bad but the commute home was pretty lengthy.  On a good day, it took 30 minutes, but more often, it took 45 to 90 minutes to get home (depending on the traffic on the Toll Rd or Rt 66).

So, one of the things I most enjoy about having my own business is that I’m not spending 90 to 120 minutes in my car nearly every weekday.   And, I’ve build exercise into my daily routine … so I either go to the Sports Club LA every day or hit the Precor in my house for a daily work-out.  I’m easily in the best cardio shape I’ve been in my adult life.  There has been a history of heart disease in my family so I’ll do my best to stay in good cardio shape for the coming years.

One other thing I on a daily basis is to walk to meetings / events instead of driving my car.  Whenever I’m in big cities such as New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, etc, it’s normal to walk 15 minutes or so.  I do like taking in the city in that manner.  So, I’m doing that in DC now.  When I teach at Georgetown Univ, I now take the 15-minute, 1-mile walk to campus vs being stuck in traffic on Key Bridge.  In fact, I walk almost every day across Key Bridge into Georgetown for business meetings, lunches, dinners, etc.

Off to the gym.  Peace.

I’m in LA for one more day … heading back to DC on Sunday morning.  Few observations:

– it is interesting how people do often primarily stick to their particular neighborhoods.  My friend, Chris, rented a great house in the Hollywood Hills.   Most of our meetings and dinners have been within a 5-mile radius.  My Santa Moncia / Venice friends prefer to stay there … they don’t like the West Hollywood scene – and vice versa.

– the saying “car rich, house poor” is an interesting line — my local friends say that means people love to have their luxury cars – even if that means living in not-so-great places.

– it’s a much different lifestyle from the east coast — people go out earlier and come home earlier ’cause the clubs close at 2:00 am vs. the much later closing times out east.  Also, people get up earlier on the west coast and seem to work out much more.

– it is very interesting to see the difference in how people dress for business meetings … much more casual here.  I couldn’t imagine having a meeting w/ execs in NY dressed in jeans – but that can be the norm here.

– it’s great that you can watch college football games at 9:00 am and NFL games at 10:00 am on the west coast!  I’m watching Ohio State – Navy right now.

I will miss the great LA weather but I love the change of seasons on the east coast … looking forward to the cool fall weather and changin’ of the leaves.

I’m back in LA for a few days this week … sports meetings peppered throughout the day and dinners with friends at night.

Last nigh, we had a great dinner at Dan Tana’s, the legendary Italian restaurant off of Santa Monica Blvd.  We then went to Chateau Marmont for drinks.

The scene there was so LA … we had drinks out back … two tables away was  Adam of Maroon 5 …. Cameron Diaz was there … next table over was Ryan Phillippe as his buddies … then the next table was John Mayer.   Everyone was casually dressed and chilled out.  Quite different from the buttoned-up political scene in DC.

The raging fires in LA are obviously the leading topic out here … hopefully they get it under control very soon.

Heading to Katsuya for lunch today …