The Volvo For Life
Friendship Awards
visit www.VolvoforlifeAwards.com
Eight Nominees
Ken Holden and Ted Leonsis
e-buddies Florida and Virginia
Ken Holden and Ted Leonsis have an astounding relationship that has connected their hearts and lives through daily interactions, starting with the e-buddies program in 1999. The two begin and end each day with shared e-mails about their day, its ups and downs, and of life's lessons shared. Their amazing friendship has changed their lives, and continues to do so with each passing year. Three hundred and sixty-five days a year these two young men find fellowship and bond through a continuing conversation in messages to each other.
Ted's e-mails support, encourage, humor, and inspire Ken, who works as a school volunteer. Before this friendship, Ken was insecure, introverted, and overwhelmed by his diabetes. The remarkable diversity of experience these two bring to their fellowship -- Ted is a noted businessman and philanthropist -- has resulted in a life-changing friendship for both. Ken's self-esteem has greatly improved, and Ted's perspectives have deepened. Worlds apart yet bound by sentiments so intertwined, Ken and Ted have woven a rich, and vibrant friendship.
Ken and Ted enjoy making faux billion-dollar bets with each other on various games, and they love to chide the loser of the parry. Both enjoy discussing films. They challenge each other to lose weight and bet on who will lose the most. Since Ted became involved in film production, Ken had to have a video camera to begin shooting a reality film project of his own. With Ted's coaching, Ken has become more hi-tech and accomplished in filmmaking. The two enjoy each other's company and often attend sports and Best Buddies events. For example, going with Ted to see his hockey team play is a big thrill for Ken! He also loves joining Ted and his family at the annual Best Buddies Ball. Ted often invites Ken to visit, so the two can enjoy working out in Ted's sports room.
Among the very first to establish a friendship via the innovative e-buddies program, Ken Holden and Ted Leonsis became the "poster guys" for this program. In no small way, their example has helped expand the program to include many thousands of Best Buddies since its humble beginnings in 1999.
Ken and Ted's friendship has helped open the doors of technology to those with intellectual disabilities. Their early Internet friendship has paved a path for others of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and abilities to find common ground and deep friendship. Ken and Ted's friendship has attracted the attention of the media, and Ted certainly has become a powerful Best Buddies advocate. When Ted received the honor of Business Man of the Year, he spoke of his friendship with Ken in an interview in the Washington Business Journal. When he appeared on the Oprah Show, Ted spoke warmly of Ken and the Best Buddies program, and even had a film clip about Ken that Oprah shared with her worldwide audiences. Whether appearing on Oprah or the Today Show, Ted never fails to praise Ken and the program. And Ken wholeheartedly reiterates Ted's feelings, adding, "We are great together! We are a team! We are buddies!"
Jennifer Farnsworth and Heather Soldano
Massachusetts
My four-year relationship with Jen has changed our lives. Since my freshman year, we have developed such a strong friendship that even during my semester abroad during my junior year, Jen and I remained in constant contact. Before joining Best Buddies, I had a number of rewarding experiences working with children with disabilities. But I never knew how rewarding a friendship with a peer with an intellectual disability could be. We share goals. We share experiences. We share the milestones in each other's lives. I am there to help Jen through the stress of passing her MCAS to get her high school diploma. I am there when the strict rules at her group home have upset her, or when she wants to share her feelings about the newest cute boy in her life. And Jen is there for me, as well. As my friend, she encourages me to persevere when homework or the MTEL tests have overwhelmed me. Her constant jokes and bubbly personality inspires and uplifts me. As I have struggled with my post-graduate plans, Jen has given me not only emotional support, but also practical solutions, such as advising me to write pro/con lists to weigh my options.
Best Buddies has done so much for Jen. When we first became buddies, Jen never wanted to go to the Wheelock group events; social gatherings seemed to make her uncomfortable. But our friendship has helped build up her confidence. When I came back from my first Leadership Conference all pumped about Best Buddies, she also became excited about helping to plan a fun year for our chapter.
In fact, she has done an awesome job as Buddy Director over the past two years. She has recruited new members at our Activities Fair, interviewed potential College Buddies, and even spoke about Best Buddies on stage to promote our Bake Sale during the intermission of the Sign Choir Concert. She has made a very impressive, well-organized binder about Best Buddies to keep our notes and printouts from the Best Buddies Web site. She has become not only a person engaged in a mission, but also a crucial member of our Best Buddies team. Clearly, Jen has come a long way from the person who once felt uncomfortable in Wheelock group events. Her progress continues. After graduating high school last year, she began volunteering and working for different organizations. I think that a lot of her newfound confidence has come from her role as a leader in Best Buddies.
Our friendship has extended far beyond Best Buddies activities to include all the small but bonding activities and intimate confidences close friends will share. Jen and I love shopping together and exploring the Boston area. We work creatively around our limited budgets, enjoying crafts, movies, volunteering at the Pumpkin Festival, dancing at Best Buddies parties, and even taking up karaoke. Jen loves to hang out with my friends and meet new people, and many of my favorite college moments include those in which Jen, our mutual friends, and I gather at the Wheelock cafeteria for our own special time. Last year, Jen moved from fifteen-minute walk away to more than an hour away by commuter rail and subway. But we find the ways to remain close in spirit and in person. We make special arrangements for Jen to come to group events during the week whenever possible. In between our get-togethers, Jen and I constantly chat on the phone or over the Internet. Even when I took a semester abroad, Jen would surprise me by buying phone cards to return my calls and contact me via my international cell phone. Jen's long voicemails always make me smile, whether she calls to persuade me that we really do have time to see a movie and go shopping, or to ask exactly what I will wear so that we can dress like twins.
Jen and I have served as leaders of the Wheelock Best Buddies chapter for a number of years, during which I was Membership Coordinator College Buddy Director. Jen has served as Buddy Director for the past two years. We work as a team with the other officers to develop fun ideas for our chapter events and to encourage participation in other Massachusetts events, such as Buddyrama. During our Winter Craft Night, we also invited representatives from the state office, and Jen became our first buddy to sign up for e-buddies. We proudly advertise for Best Buddies with our friendship jewelry and by spreading awareness of the program's ideals and mission. Throughout all of our activities in support of the Best Buddies mission, Jen has done an amazing job, from her first public speaking role ever, to her helping organize Best Buddies material for our chapter.
Winning an award would be the most amazing, wonderful thing to happen to both of us, but it would especially empower Jen. She dreams of traveling more and working for Best Buddies one day. Her leadership skills have come such a long way, and she has the drive and ability to do so much if given the chance. She filled out this nomination form on her own, and has had the highest hopes for the opportunity to see NYC, attend the Leadership Conferences, and spread the word about Best Buddies. But in a very real way, I feel like I already have won the greatest award: my friendship with Jennifer Farnsworth. Jen has inspired me to become the best friend, the best colleague, and the best person I can possibly be. Even though I graduate in May, both Jen and I know that our friendship remains a life-long commitment to each other, no matter where our lives may take us.
Jordan Judman and Kerstan Wallace
Texas
During their entire high school careers, Jordan Judman and Kerstan Wallace have taken part in the Katy High School Best Buddies chapter in Katy, Texas. Kerstan and Jordan have the most unique friendship I have ever witnessed. It surpasses the Best Buddies commitment. Kerstan says that Best Buddies is far from an obligation; he looks forward to seeing Jordan every day. Kerstan also coaches the Katy Wolf Pack, Jordan's Special Olympic team (softball, basketball, and track). Kerstan has changed Jordan's life by introducing him to new social activities, new friends, and taking him out into the world. Prior to Best Buddies, Jordan found it difficult to make genuine friends that he could see outside of school.
But in spending time with Kerstan, Jordan has improved his social skills and self-esteem significantly. And their friendship has also expanded Kerstan's life and views as well. He joined Best Buddies, like many people, out of a sense of duty or obligation. Yet, it is Jordan who has actually enriched Kerstan's understanding of the world, helping him mature and learn a new, enlightened sense of equality and community. I have no doubt that the two Best Buddies will share a life-long friendship.
The two love to eat and watch movies! They also enjoy going to the park and playing basketball. Other activities they enjoy together include visits to the arcade, (Kerstan has yet to beat Jordan at air hockey), to the Sonic for chocolate sundaes, mini-golf, and to the bowling alleys at Times Square, where Jordon works. They also love going to the Katy Tiger football games! Jordan loves to give Kerstan the best relationship advice, and Kerstan teaches Jordan how to ask a girl to dance and mean it! But most of the time, they don't even have to do anything in particular to have fun. They just enjoy each other's company.
Kerstan Wallace is the Katy High School Best Buddies President, and Jordan Judman holds the Buddy Director position. They lead the Katy High School chapter by example, and they never miss a single event! As leaders, both Jordan and Kerstan have become our biggest -- and most successful -- promoters. Under their great leadership and example, the Katy ISD School Board meeting recognized the Katy High School chapter as an outstanding Best Buddy Chapter. Thanks to Jordon and Kerstan, we also received the Outstanding Chapter award at the Leadership 2004-2005 Conference and yet again during the 2005-2006 one! Above all, Jordan and Kerstan have become true friends, bringing to life the real purpose of Best Buddies in every way.
Lindsey Rodriguez and Jessica Bialecki
Connecticut
Lindsey and I became involved three years ago with the Best Buddies Chapter at Yale University, where I have served as College Buddy Director (CBD) for the past two years. Prior to joining the Yale chapter, Lindsey and I both participated in the Wilbur Cross High School Best Buddies Chapter, located in New Haven, Connecticut, for which I also served as Chapter President and Lindsey served as the Buddy Director.
I first met Lindsey when she came to my high school at the beginning of my senior year. Though initially shy, Lindsey eventually played a leadership role in our Best Buddies chapter as Buddy Director. Six months later, it felt like we had had a friendship our entire lives. Together, we attended Homecoming, played Unified Sports, and walked together across the graduation stage. When I moved on to Yale, Lindsey and I refused to let our friendship die. We have been matched through the Yale chapter for three years now.
Lindsey has inspired me to increase my commitment to the Best Buddies chapter at Yale, which won the title of Most Outstanding Chapter in Connecticut, 2006, and for which I have served as the College Buddy Director for the past two years. Lindsey and I have big plans for the summer after my college graduation (a long-awaited trip to Puerto Rico), but more importantly, we both know we will remain friends for life. Lindsey has been the sister whom I never had, and I have given her the confidence to achieve things she might not have otherwise considered. For instance, she has landed her first job as a nursery school bus aide, which she has done happily and well for the past three months.
Lindsey's family emigrated from Puerto Rico, so she speaks both Spanish and English. Lindsey loves helping me practice Spanish, which I study at Yale. The many favorite things we do together include going to the movies, baking cookies, cooking dinner at my house, sharing special occasions, such as decorating my family's Christmas tree, and of course, shopping at the mall! Lindsey and I have served as a model buddy pair for the Yale chapter for three years. Our friendship has inspired me to seek out positions of leadership within the Yale chapter, where I currently serve as the College Buddy Director. Additionally, as a friendship pair that has continued through high school and college, I feel that Lindsey and I bring to life the ideals Best Buddies represent.
I founded the Best Buddies chapter at Wilbur Cross High School and served as the Chapter President there during my senior year of high school. I was the Membership Coordinator for the Yale Best Buddies chapter during my freshman year of college and the College Buddy Director at Yale for the past two years. I also have served on the Connecticut Best Buddies State Advisory Board since January of 2004, and I worked as an e-Buddies Training Corp Intern during the summer of 2004. Additionally, I have participated in the Best Buddies Volvo Hyannis Port Challenge for the past two years, reaching the Cape Club fundraising level in 2005.
Lindsey, who insists that she herself is "not a biker," has inspired me to ride in the Best Buddies Volvo Hyannis Port Challenge for the past two years, both times with a picture of her in the back pocket of my jersey. I will ride for Lindsey again this year. I can only hope that my fundraising and bike riding efforts will help enable others to experience the same amazing bond of friendship that Lindsey and I share.
Margaret Winters and Else Lipner
Florida
Margaret Winters and Else Lipner have one of the most remarkable Best Buddies stories to tell. Margaret had practically languished on the Buddy waiting list for quite some time, due to her difficulty in communicating. Hearing impaired, Margaret knew sign language. However, due to her cerebral palsy, she could sign only with some difficulty. When Else joined the citizens' branch of the program, she knew sign language solely in Danish. Yet, somehow Margaret and Else found a way to communicate. They have done so by creating their very own dialect of sign language, mixing English and Danish!
Their friendship has not only changed Margaret's life, but has also enriched Else's as well. The two have become the best of friends. They share a great sense of humor, which makes them seem more like sisters than friends. What once seemed like a challenge to find Margaret a buddy now seems more like an act of destiny. Margaret and Else have found their soul mate in each other.
The pair visits each other every day. They have taken numerous vacations and cruises together. More recently, the pair volunteered for a local animal rescue organization to save dogs from abusive masters and find loving families for them, a cause for which both Margaret and Else share a passion. The pair never misses an event. They inspire our volunteers and convey our program's principal ideals. In the past, many individuals throughout the community seemed hesitant to join. But since Margaret and Else have attended Best Buddies conferences, their closeness, their friendship, and their connection have inspired others to follow their example.
This pair of Best Buddies -- Margaret Winters and Else Lipner -- has become by far one of the most inspirational matches I have seen in the program. They transcend boundaries and refute stereotypes about individuals with intellectual disabilities. Only by meeting them can one truly comprehend the magnitude of their intimate, sustaining friendship and its life-affirming effect on one another, Best Buddies, and on society in general.
Stephen White and Brock Anderson
Utah
Stephen White and Brock Anderson met at the Utah State University College Chapter and participated as Best Buddies over a three-year period. The two connected immediately, since both have contagious smiles and easy-going personalities. Brock has since graduated, married, and now lives in Salt Lake City, eighty miles from Stephen. But their friendship endures. It has deepened and grown beyond the college chapter experience. The two continue to participate in programs and activities through the Utah State Office, and on their own. They talk and e-mail each other several times a week, get together for weekend visits, and participate as partners in various sporting events.
Their committed and lasting friendship earned Stephen and Brock the Utah 2006 Friendship of the Year award. Upon winning the honors, Brock stated, "Stephen demonstrates consistent, unconditional friendship, and he has taught me how to be a friend. I am inspired by his optimism and zest for life. I have learned to focus on the abilities of an individual, rather than on his or her disabilities." Brock added, " We're more alike than we are different." Their friendship has encouraged Stephen to take chances in life and to try new things, including Special Olympics. Stephen notes, "Brock is my best friend, and now his friends are my friends, too."
Stephen and Brock share many interests, including a love of sports. They rarely miss a USU game. It goes without saying that they are both big Utah Jazz fans. In 2004, the two best buddies participated in the Volvo Hearst Castle Challenge, and in 2006 they took part in the Best Buddies Utah Relay Team, for which both solicited pledges to raise matched dollars for the program. Like young guys everywhere, Brock and Stephen love movies, watching TV, eating, and just hanging out.
The two Best Buddies always inspired others at their chapter, where Brock served as College Buddy Director. Brock now serves on the Best Buddies University Advisory Board. Stephen and Brock's friendship has also garnered media attention. For instance, the two appeared in a VHCC video, and a CBS news crew filmed a segment on them for national broadcast as well. When the two buddies participated as part of the Utah Team in the 2006 Wasatch Back Relay, a two-day, 170-mile race, their amazing friendship inspired a story that appeared in the June 25, 2006 edition of the Herald Journal. A similar article also appeared in Salt Lake City's Desert News as well.
Now entering their fourth year as Best Buddies participants, Stephen and Brock remain the best of friends. Stephen served as a groomsman for Brock at his wedding, and now maintains a job in housekeeping at the University Inn. Throughout life's many changes, these two young men remain close. Stephen is the first to volunteer for any sporting event, and Brock is always by his side or cheering him on to achieve his personal best. Their friendship is such that Brock's family has practically "adopted" Stephen. As the newest family member, Stephen shares a close and enduring friendship with Brock's wife, siblings, and friends.
Joyce Leanier and Emma Real
New York
For the past two years, I have belonged to the Best Buddies College Chapter at New York University (NYU). During my freshman year, I served on the E-Board as the Treasurer, and this year, as a sophomore, I now serve as the College Buddy Director. In just six years, the NYU division has become New York's most successful Best Buddies chapter. We have already begun to expand our organization's outreach efforts.
Joyce Leanier and I share a special friendship because we see each other as equals. When Joyce and I first met, we were both a little shy. But after we started talking, Joyce opened up to me about the hardships she experienced in the past, and I about my family and school life. From the very start, we connected as if we had known each other for years. These days, we always greet each other with a hug, and leave each other with love and a smile on our faces. As all longtime friends do, Joyce and I have our own traditions. For example, every Sunday morning, we go to Dunkin Donuts for coffee, donuts and our weekly "catch up." We go so often that the workers know our orders by heart!
Our friendship has become an example to all the other members of the organization, inspiring our peers not only to see the benefits of the program, but also its broader themes: compassion, fellowship, and unity through diversity. In fact, on October 17, 2006, the university paper, The Washington Square News, ran a feature on the Best Buddies organization at NYU. The article described the organization and the value of friendship that members bring to each other. The article featured Joyce and me, and it described at length how our friendship exemplifies the program's core values, goals, and benefits.
But for all the attention we have received, one thing will remain long after the spotlight turns elsewhere: Joyce Leanier and I will always have a unique connection and a deep friendship. We truly love and respect each other. Joyce is one of my closest friends, and I am so very blessed to have her in my life.
Brian von Eiff and Brad Worrell
Indiana
In the autumn of 2005, my son, Brian, and I signed up for Best Buddies, which matched Brian and Brad Worrell shortly after the first of the year in 2006. Brad has since become a Chapter Officer, and I serve on the Quality Enhancement Committee for Best Buddies, Indiana.
Brian and Brad belong to the Carmel High School Chapter of Best Buddies, Indiana. Brad is currently a junior, and Brian, a sophomore. Both of their families attend the same parish church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Brad sponsored Brian's membership in The Knights of Our Lady, an organization of High School boys who serve at the altar for Sunday Mass and volunteer their time in other parish youth activities. Through Best Buddies, Brian and Brad have become close friends, and together the two have since undergone dramatic and moving transformations. Brian now has many friends and has become a role model for other kids with Down Syndrome. Brad has come into his own as a mature, compassionate, and caring young adult.
Brian and Brad's closeness reflects Best Buddies' many positive, life-affirming ideals. Brian and Brad enjoy what all close friends do in high school, including eating lunch together, attending dances and parties together, taking part in youth programs at church, and joining extracurricular projects during and after school. The two often just "hang out" together and with their mutual friends, just for the pleasure of each other's company.
Through published articles and living example, Brian and Brad have made many people aware of Best Buddies. The two have drawn in more volunteers to the program. Both Brian and Brad take part in the program's fundraising activities, which includes The Art of Friendship. This project calls for a Best Buddies pair to create an original work of art for auction at a gala Best Buddies affair at a local museum. Brian and Brad have become tremendous assets to the Best Buddies program. Our community has noticed this. For example, during the summer of 2006, two articles in separate publications featured Brian and Brad's story. The first appeared in Buddy to Buddy, the newsletter of Best Buddies, Indiana. The second piece appeared last October in The Spirit, the newsletter of record for Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Since the two have come into each other's lives, Brian has opened up. He communicates more verbally; he has learned to make new friends on his own; his grades have improved in school. Most importantly, he feels he belongs to and indeed has become part of our larger community. Indeed, whether in Church, at school, or on his way anywhere in town, people now call out, " Hey Brian. And Brian will turn around with a grin on his face and respond to them by their name. Brian and the town in which he lives have, in a fundamental sense become larger and yet more intimately aware of just what community is, all because of Brad Worrell and the Best Buddies program. And Brian has changed Brad, as well. Brad has learned what a true friendship entails, and therefore has grown in wisdom, learned patience, and embraced maturity with a new found sense of strength and grace.
