Running for a Cause

 

 

No matter how strong one person or an entire family is I know that strength is always tested. Cancer has put my family to the test more times than I will ever understand and beaten us more times than anything else. My mom is an only child and my dad has only one sister so our immediate family has always been small and close. Since I was 12 we have lost the battle to cancer four times, and are currently on our fifth battle for a woman who has already sacrificed too much. My aunt has lost both of her parents, her husband, and her first born son to this disease and now continues to fight her own battle.

As a small family, we have constantly pulled together and done what is necessary to stay strong, but I have often felt helpless or that I am not doing enough. So now, I am going to do the one thing I know feels right, I am going to run. I will be running in the NYC Marathon (my very first marathon) this November for the American Cancer Society DetermiNation® Team. Running makes me feel like anything is possible, and I know the more I run, and the more money I raise the more we will find ways to treat, prevent, and cure this disgusting disease. My goal is for Auntie and I both to cross our finish lines of this 20 year journey with our arms raised high in victory. We will win this time! And we will finally shout that one word we all, especially my aunt, deserves to hear - Remission.

You can support my efforts by visiting my personal page  and making a donation of whatever amount you can. Your donation will help the American Cancer Society save lives by helping people stay well, helping people get well, by finding cures, and by fighting back.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/DetermiNation/DNFY11National?px=36633955&pg=personal&fr_id=62209

Thank you for all your support!

Do It Yourself at DUKAL: Halloween 2013

With a wide offering of products, DUKAL is excited to announce our first annual Halloween Costume competition. Many employees participated with their thoughts of what products they would use to create the perfect Halloween costume:

Maggie Karl (Manager, Contract Manufacture): “I’d use the DawnMist® line of products and be “late for work”.  Pajama shorts and a button down shirt (incorrectly buttoned, obviously), shower cap on my head and toothbrush in hand, maybe half a leg of shaving cream if I’m feeling a little risky?  Plus a good assortment of DUKAL Adhesive Strips to cover up all the nicks and cuts I (always) get from rushing!”

Christen Doughty (Accounts Payable and Payroll Manager) would be a gauze mummy using DUKAL Gauze, Bandage Rolls, Conforming Stretch Gauze, and 1 lb Cotton Roll

Eryn Marx (Marketing Assistant) would be Richard Simmons using our Resist-A-Band® line including the Exercise Bands, Band Loops, and Tubing as props

Tony Betti (Central Regional Sales Manager) would be a wheel of cheese wrapped in DUKAL gauze

Other’s made their ideas a reality:

From left to right: Rich DeJoseph (Account Executive) as Freddy Kruger OB/GYN, Matt DiClemente (Project Coordinator) as a sheep, Eryn Marx (Marketing Assistant) as a pirate, Lauren Cassandro (Accounts Payable Coordinator) as Smurfette

An in-office poll of the best costume was close between Freddy Kruger OB/GYN and the Smurfette…in the end the Smurfette received the most amount of votes, Congrats Lauren!!

Lifting With Grace

Our very own Maggie Karl (Manager of Contract Manufacture) will be participating in a great cause for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Read her thoughts below on this unique charitable event! 

When I was a sophomore in college my parents called one night with some pretty bad news.  My Mom had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer, and was starting radiation treatment immediately.  Luckily, it was caught very early, and she is now a 10 year SURVIVOR in this fight.  So this year, rather than walk in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I decided to do something that pretty much completely horrifies her, in her honor.  I’ll be participating in a Barbells for Boobs fundraiser at my Crossfit gym (Crossfit South Shore LI) this Saturday, October 19^th.
 

Barbells for Boobs’ mission statement is to provide funding for qualified low income and uninsured women and men who need screening and/or diagnostic procedures in the prevention of Breast Cancer.  Every $80 that is raised provides a screening for someone who could otherwise not afford it.  My personal goal was to provide this screening for 5 people, and I was able to reach that goal this past weekend!  The workout most gyms will be doing is called “Grace”, which is 30 Clean and Jerks for time,(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_and_jerk ) with a weight of 135lbs for men and 95lbs for women.  However, my sadistic and wonderful trainer has confirmed that he’s cooking up something special for us, and we’ll have to show up to find out what’s in store. 

 

If you’re around and interested in watching, come by any time after 9am, it’s right around the corner from the Corporate Office.  Oh, and if you’re interested in donating to this cause, my team is only about half way to their goal at the moment, though we are ranked 42^nd of 813 participating gyms, which isn’t too shabby (please see below)! After I peel myself and my poor mother off the ground (me from exhaustion, her from having to watch me do this to myself) I’ll post pictures and an update.  Is anyone else fundraising this month?  Let’s hear about it!

 http://fundraise.barbellsforboobs.org/fundraise?fcid=260271

“This is madness!” – THIS. IS. DUKAAAAAAL!

The Spartan Sprint by Danielle Pan

Sparta was an ancient city-state of Greece (home to the Spartans) and well known for its fierce warriors with six pack abs like Gerard Butler…Okay, that’s from the movie 300 but the point here is that those Spartans were powerful! They were fighters!  DUKAL Corporation?  Yeah, fierce is our middle name.

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It didn’t sound so scary when my supervisor approached me for the first time and said “Hey, Danielle, Chris is doing the Spartan Sprint on April 13th, want to join? You’ll have plenty of time to train.”

“SURE!” (As a new hire at DUKAL I am practically overflowing with enthusiasm at all times of the day)

This exchange happened in January, which left me, along with my Supervisor, our Marketing Assistant, and one of the Operations Managers about 3 months to train (ample time I thought). Plus according to the official race page this was a 5k distance, so how bad could it possibly be?

You know those people who get a cough and a runny nose, and then they look up their symptoms on WebMD and determine that they actually have contracted Ebola?  That’s essentially what happened when I started researching this event… 8 ft walls? Box jumps? Ropes?  Rowing machines? Javelins? BURPEES?!!!!!! I was more and more grateful that I was working at DUKAL with every passing day – I figured I’d need all the medical supplies we sell to cover my wounds come race day.

3 months passes by surprisingly quickly and the big day we piled into my supervisor’s car and headed out to Citifield. We were hampered by weekend traffic and arrived at the venue slightly later than anticipated but we got through registration successfully. (Did I mention that you have to sign and hand in a death waiver? A DEATH WAIVER… but I digress.)

We waded into the throng of racers waiting for their heats to begin, the temperature was surprisingly cold for April, and even though we were technically indoors you could feel the frigid air seeping in. They released us in groups of 15 and after just a few minute pause and the signal to start…We were off!

Among some of the more memorable obstacles included  wooden climbing walls, jumping up flights of stair with an elastic band around your legs, rowing 500 meters in 2 minutes, and navigating treacherous monkey bar contraptions.  Of course, all that pales in comparison to that wonderful moment when you finish that last obstacle and wobble to the finish line on noodle legs.  I felt such a great sense of camaraderie as we joined each other at the finish… breathing heavily but still alive.

The team catalogued our collective injuries post-race and the results were thus:

·         Bruises in an assortment of sizes and locations

·         Scrapes ranging from barely there to lightly bleeding

·         Sore muscles

·         Pulverized palms

·         Stubbed toes

·         Stinging forehead from being smacked in the face by my own pigtails (Just me)

Resisting the urge to swath myself in adhesive bandages, I displayed my wounds proudly in the office on Monday.  I’d say this would have to be one of DUKAL’s more memorable competitive moments, it was pretty glorious, and we’d totally do it again…I think. 

Maybe one of you dear readers would like to join us next year in this ultimate feat of athletic prowess? We’ll be waiting for you at the start line J

 

Bandages n' Brackets: DUKAL's thoughts on March Madness

There are a lot of reasons to love the month of March. (The vernal equinox or the ushering in of a much needed change in weather comes to mind)  Spring training comes to a close and opening day (GO METS!) is right around the corner.  The NFL draft conversation and trades begin to pick up steam.  But these event pale in comparison to one of the most heavily watched spectacles in sports, March Madness.

March Madness is one of the biggest sporting events on the sports calendar.  From March 21^st to finals on April 6^th, college diehards and casual fans plan evenings and lunch breaks around games throughout day.  Everyone loves an underdog, and anything can happen in any given game.  But the underdogs shine brightest during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.  Records are wiped clean at the tipoff of every game.  Sure, the Duke’s and Syracuse’s are favored, but the Florida Gulf State’s and Butler College’s are on equal ground with the powerhouses of college sports. 

It also brings camaraderie amongst friends and co-workers.  Everyone’s got a pick to go deep into the tournament.  Whether you pick winners based on whose mascot looks cooler, use a secret statistical formula, or ride your alma mater all the way through the tournament, one’s picking is a big part of why March Madness grows in popularity from year to year.  It makes for good conversation while the coffee brew in the morning, or friendly banter over lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Who are we picking? 

Rich DeJoseph , Northeast Account Executive - “Now that my initial pick of Gonzaga was struck down by the unexpected Witchita State Shockers, I’d bet the farm on Kansas riding their record through the final four over Duke in the championship.”

Travis Torre, Director of Logistics – “Everyone loves Cinderella stories.  I think that’s one of the big reasons why the television ratings are at an all time high for the tournament.  Teams like LaSalle and FGSU (Florida Gulf State University) have gone out and usually dominant teams.  I have a lot of family that have graduated from Florida, so I’m picking them to win tonight against FGSU, and to win the whole tournament, beating Louisville in the Championship game.”

Eryn Marx, Marketing Assistant - Duke

Matt DiClemente, Project Coordinator – Kansas

Suzanne Carlino, Graphics Manager – FGCU

Connor Farrell, Project Coordinator - Michigan

Who do you think will win it all?!?  Tell us who you think will win and why in our comments section below, Facebook, and Twitter!!