Jimmy’s Blog

I attended a lot of holiday parties over the past two weeks, but my favorite one may have been the one I attended for Asian-American LEAD on Saturday afternoon at Asbury Church in DC.

Why was it my favorite holiday function?  For one simple reason — the joy on the faces of the numerous AA LEAD students, particularly during their talent show and when they received their gifts.   The singing of Christmas carols by the kindergarten and elementary students was simply priceless – I couldn’t stop beaming.    Hopefully, I’ll be able to post a link to the video that was shot at the party – then, you’ll see what I’m talking about.

I’m on the board of directors as well as co-chair of the development committee for AA LEAD (we’re part of the VPP family).   The organization’s mission is “to promote the well-being of Asian American youth and families through education, leadership development, and community-building. We focus on the Vietnamese, Amerasian, and Chinese immigrant and refugee communities” in DC and Maryland.

I still vividly recall the email I received from one of the high school students after I first met with them in ’07.   The young man wrote something along the lines of “…I remember all the info and advice you gave us … I always heard that if you worked hard, then you can be successful, but I always thought that was a myth because I never met a real successful person such as yourself.   But there you were, it was good to meet you and now I know that myth is true.”

That email further validates to me why it’s important to get involved as a mentor or volunteer.  Many of these young students from low-income families in DC don’t have role models (for a multitude of various reasons).  But, if we can show them that hard work and a college education can help make a difference in their lives, then it’s well worth the effort.   When the light bulb goes off in the young student’s mind — and they can see a brighter future — it’s worth any and all work we put in to try to make a difference.    Thanks for allowing me to share this story with you.

The Redskins.  Sigh.  What a rocky ending to the season after their glorious 6 – 2 start.   But, to be honest, my friends and I were all predicting a 7 – 8 win season earlier this summer with a new coach in place.  So, we can’t be too bummed with the .500 record.

First and foremost, I strongly feel that they should keep Coach Zorn in place.  The organization needs stability.  You can’t win when you keep changing head coaches — similarly to businesses can’t succeed if you keep switching out the CEO every 1 – 2 years.

Secondly, the overall talent level is pretty good.   They’re in fine shape at the skill positions (Campbell is a good QB, they have quality running backs in Portis and Betts, and they have two stars in Cooley and Moss).  Lots of people complained about picking the three receivers — I think they’ll turn out be good players — especially if train hard in the off-season and come more prepared to play next year.

The obvious key is to improving the team, especially for the long term, are the lineman – both on offense and defense.   The ‘Skins need to focus their off-season moves on adding lineman on both sides of the ball.  And, they shouldn’t over-pay for vet lineman … instead, they should draft and develop a core of good, young lineman.

Look at the past Super Bowl champions as well as the top teams this year — what do they all share in common?  Strong line play.   It’s an old-fashioned saying – but the teams that can run the ball, protect their QB on passing plays, defend the run and rush the QB – are the teams that are successful.  Look at the strong line play of the Giants, Steelers, Patriots, Titans, etc.  They all share these characteristics.

The ‘Skins will most likely lose to Eagles this Sunday and then defeat the Niners the following weekend.  So, they’ll end up with a 8 – 8 record.   It’s not the desired result, but we Skins fans will have to deal with it … and hope management improves both lines in the off-season.  Hail to the Redskins!

I just got back from dinner at one of my favorite pizza places in DC — the Pizzeria Paradiso on M St in Georgetown.   The 8-inch margherita with pepperoni and sausage.   So money.  Perfection.

So, I didn’t eat a lot of pizza as a kid since I grew up in Japan.    We spent 13 of my first 16 years in Tokyo – where there aren’t a lot of pizzeria joints.   In fact, the only I remember as a kid in Tokyo was Shakey’s, which is a far cry from the legit places (although the bowling alley at Camp Zama had good pizza’s)!

My first real pizzeria I visited was my freshman year in college when I went to visit one of my closest friends, Kevin Guthrie, at Princeton.   I had my first pizza by the slice at a real authentic joint at Victor’s Pizza on Nassau St.   Such great memories of the pizza and stromboli at Vic’s.

Then, my next big pizza experience came when I worked out of our AOL office in New York 1 – 2 days a week for 3+ plus years.    In between my client visits to the offices at the NFL, NBA, MLB, Sports Illustrated, etc, I’d always try to get at least 1 – 2 slices for lunch — normally at Ray’s or Famiglia (and, of course, John’s Pizza).   Can’t go wrong at those places.

Some complain there’s not good pizza in DC, but I beg to differ.   I love the pizza at Paradiso, Match Box, Faccia Luna and the Italian Store.   Ciao.

Wow, what a day yesterday – so much going on!   The first event of the day was the highly anticipated Georgetown – Memphis game at the Verizon Center.   I was invited to watch the game in the suite of President Jack DeGioia of Georgetown University.   The suite was packed with DC’s power crowd, including FBI Director, Robert Mueller; former CIA Director, George Tenet; WSJ’s Al Hunt; writer Mark Shields, etc.

I has also been offered floor tickets from GU’s number one fan, Ted Leonsis.  So, after spending part of the time in the suite, I went and sat in the floor seats with a couple of friends.  The action on the court was action-packed.  Fortunately, our hometown Hoyas pulled out a victory in overtime vs the Memphis Tigers, who were finalists in last year’s NCAA Championship Game.

Next was our staff holiday dinner at the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto in Tysons Corner, hosted by my boss, Ms Tiane Mitchell Gordon and her husband, Len.  This restaurant was terrific (and is recommended).  We had the Chef’s Tasting Menu — it was a fantastic meal — plus lots of stories and laughs.  Oh, and make sure to have the sommelier match the wines w/ the various dishes – they do a great job there of story-telling.

After dinner, the next stop was the annual holiday party of Mike and Sheryl Wilbon.  This is always a terrific party since they have fascinating and terrific friends (Sheryl is the best).  Plus, we met their new son (who has more hair than Mike and I combined).  It’s great to see the continued success of Mike — after many years of being a fixture on the local scene with his great work with the Washington Post, he’s now one of the most popular sports experts in the country with his outstanding work on ESPN’s “PTI” as well as NBA on ABC work.  He continues to be one of the classiest and nicest people in the business.

Thank goodness for Sunday, the “day of rest, ” since it’s definitely needed.   And, the NFL schedule on TV is full of great games today.   Peace.

I attended the Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP) Holiday party / birthday day celebration for Senator-elect Mark Warner last night at the beautiful home of Norma and Russ Ramsey.   What a great night … it was a house full of members of the VPP family … people who care deeply about making a difference in the greater, Washington DC community – particularly in helping improve the lives of children and youth from low-income families.

VPP is the brain-child of Mario Morino, the “Godfather of Philanthropy” in this region.  He co-founded VPP in 2000 with Raul Fernandez and Mark Warner.    They raised $30 million with their initial fund in ’00 with the help of many of the top business and philanthropic leaders in DC (the full story can be found at http://www.venturephilanthropypartners.org).

VPP helped fund 12 terrific non-profits in this region, including Asian American LEAD (I’m on their board of directors), See Forever Foundation, SEED Foundation, Latin American Youth Center, College Summit and other outstanding organizations.

With the leadership of Jack Davies, an outstanding person and close friend, VPP is in the midst of generating a second round of investments.  This goal this time is to raise $50 million.  Despite the downturn in economy, VPP is continuing to plug away and is well on its way to meeting its’ goal.   I’m involved as a donor (at the junior level).  And, I’m working on connecting the VPP family to the younger generation of up-and-coming business leaders in this region.   We got off to a good start last year and we’re looking to continue to expand our VPP family in the coming year.   If you’re interested in getting involved as a donor or investor, please let me know and I’ll put you in contact with our good friends at VPP (Carol Thompson Cole, Eleanor Rutland, Tim Wierzbicki, etc).

My two mentors in Philanthropy are Mario Morino and Ted Leonsis.   I’ve promised them I’ll take what they’ve taught me over the past decade and will pass it on to the next generation.   I was extremely fortunate to be part of Greater DC Cares’ “2008 Class of Change,” which honored the 10 rising leaders in philanthropy in DC.  So, the “Pay it Forward” program we’ve created is working.   As we raise the awareness of the importance of philanthropy, community service and mentoring, the more we will help improve the lives of the inner-city youth from low-income families.  Thank you for helping us making our dream come true.

Last night, I attended the NFTE Holiday Party and Youth Showcase (National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship).   Wow, once I again I was blown away with the great work and business savvy of these young entrepreneurs (most of them are in high school but there was even one 7th grader pitching his wares).

AOL has been a long-time supporter of NFTE in greater Washington, DC region.   Per the http://www.nfte.com site, their mission is “to provide entrepreneurship education programs to young people from low-income communities.  Our vision is that every young person will find a pathway to prosperity.”

I’ve been fortunate to serve as a case competition finals judge the past three years.   NFTE normally has 12 – 15 business executives serving as judges.  Some of the top entrepreneurs in the region, such as Ted Leonsis and Raul Fernandez, have served as finals judges.    The terrific Julie Kantor has been the driving force of NFTE in the DC region for the past decade.  Just like Susie Kay, Tynesia Boyea-Robinson, Rosetta Lai, Marcy Mistrett — other brilliant Executive Directors of non-profits in this region, Julie has boundless energy, drive and dedication to the youth.

To add a neat twist to this past year’s competition, a documentary is being filmed about the year-long NFTE competition by Mary Mazzio and 50 Eggs films (slated to come out next Spring). This year’s DC region winner, a junior from Suitland HS in PG County, designs outfits for youth cheerleader and dance teams.

I’m good friends with a number of Washington Redskins cheerleaders (the First Ladies of the NFL)!   I asked the contest winner at the competition if she would like to meet the squad.   Of course, she said yes, so we set up a film shoot at FedEx Field this past September.   Thanks to the graciousness of Stephanie Jojokians and Melanie Treanor, we spent a couple of hours shooting the contest winner pitching her outfits to a few members of the squad as well as having her observe the team practice.  Hopefully, this cool scene will make into the documentary!

If you’re interested in getting involved with this outstanding and important organization, please go to http://www.nfte.com.

They say magical things happen in Las Vegas, and sure enough, that’s what happened last night at the MGM as Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao upset Oscar “Golden Boy” Dela Hoya.   Wow, what an amazing night.

We started off by attending HBO’s pre-fight party at the Wolfgang Puck Restaurant.  As usual, there were plenty of HBO stars (from “Entourage,” “The Wire,” etc) and athletes (Bernard Hopkins, Reggie Miller, Gary Sheffield, etc).   Plus, plenty of movers and shakers from the boxing world.

Nearly everyone of the “boxing experts” at the party thought that Dela Hoya would defeat Pacquiao, primarily because of the size difference.  Oscar is three inches taller and had a seven-inch difference in reach.  Plus, Manny was moving up two weight classes (it’s amazing to consider that he debuted at 106 pounds when he first started fighting professionally 12 years ago).

We entered the arena about 45 minutes before the fight … the place was buzzing and was full of energy and excitement … this was the biggest fight of the year, with over 1 million PPV’s projected.  They did the usual roll call of celebrities in the audience … Mike Tyson, Russell Crowe, Usher, J-Lo, Magic Johnson and so many others.   We had an actor from Entourage and one from The Office sitting next to us.

They did three national anthems before the fight … the Filipino, Mexican and American anthems … then Michael Buffer did his famous intro’s, including the legendary “Let’s get ready to rumble….”

It looked like there were more fans for Oscar than Manny, but things changed fairly quickly once the fight started.   There was a clear difference in size, but you could also see the difference in quickness right away.   Oscar seemed befuddled at Manny’s hand quickness … and he also grew clearly frustrated that he couldn’t hit the Pac-Man.

Chants of “Manny, Manny, Manny” erupted in the 2nd and 3rd rounds as he quickly gained control of the fight.   Many of the fans seemed in disbelief … after all, Dela Hoya was a strong 2-1 favorite and most of the late action at the Vegas casino’s was being placed on the Golden Boy.

At the end of the 3rd and 4th rounds, Dela Hoya’s face clearly showed he was getting tagged repeatedly by Pacquiao.   In the sixth round, Dela Hoya almost went down … Pac-Man was peppering him repeatedly with jabs.   This continued into the seventh and eight rounds … Dela Hoya looked spent … and sure enough he didn’t make it out for the ninth round and Pac-Man was declared the winner!

Wow, what a joyous celebration in the arena, outside the arena, in the streets and at the hotels.  Filipino flags were seen everywhere.   This was truly a fantastic win by Pacquiao.   And, sadly, this may be the end of the career for the former champion, Dela Hoya.

Manny, Manny, Manny!!!!

I’m heading to Vegas this evening for the weekend — my buddy, Tavs and I, are going to the Oscar Dela Hoya – Manny Pacquiao championship fight tomorrow night at the MGM Grand.    There are very few things in Sports as exciting as a championship boxing match in Vegas … the buzz and electricity is incredible … and, the people-watching is a hoot — especially the peeps from LA and Vegas.

Dela Hoya is favored since Pacquiao is moving up in weight class for the match.   And, of course, the “Golden  Boy” is more experienced but Manny Pac is regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.   HBO has been running a great series called 24 x 7 with excellent training camp footage and story lines.   I’m pumped for the fight.

We’ll be attending HBO’s pre-fight party at the MGM.   This is always a good, fun time.   Last year, we went to the HBO party before the Dela Hoya – Mayweather fight.   Lots of HBO stars were there, including actors from Entourage and The Wire (which was my favorite show on TV).    And, it’s a virtual fashion show at both the pre-fight party and the fight.    I’ll bring my camera this year so I can try to capture some good shots – and I’ll post them on FB.

Who do I like in the fight?  I’m rooting for Pac-Man … and, I think his tenacity and desire to win is unparalleled.     So, I’m picking him to win a split decision over the great Oscar Dela Hoya.

We had our annual AOL Holiday Party earlier today.   It certainly wasn’t like the old days when we had over-top-top parties and rented out venues like Union Station, Westfields, Marriott Wardman Park, etc.  But, with the downturn in economy and focus on reducing expenses, the parties were instead held at the respective regional offices.

I thought today’s party was terrific … it was great to have a couple of thousand people together on our Dulles campus.   Yes, it was more mellow than the past, but there was a good, quality feel about today’s party.

I’m in my 14th year at AOL … and I’ve seen many ups and downs over the years.   Back in the mid to late 90’s, we were the “hot” company, but things go in cycles.   Now, Google is the hot company and maybe Facebook is next.

But, I’m still very proud to work for AOL.   There are still lots of excellent, hard-working, high-quality people who are busting their humps.  Despite all of the negative stuff that’s spread around in the blogs, we’re still one of the four major global players in internet space.   Our monthly reach is still over 110 million users.

Yes, lots of my friends have left AOL, but many of those people are still friends and a good number of them will be friends for the rest of my life.   For that, I’m grateful.

I’m sick of all of the naysayers and negative people that are constantly trying to bash AOL.   Lots of people like to take shots at others and make themselves feel good about it.   Well, they can take that negativity and stuff it.   I’m proud of what we built at AOL over the years and I’m very proud of the people I work with now — I’m surrounded by wonderful,talented and caring people.   Happy holidays.