MAKING MEMORIES IN 2014

Greetings All,

As 2014 rolls on by, I continue to rack up the frequent flyer miles and have done my very best to give it the old college try at every spot I land.  Having said that, I have been lucky enough to mix in the following into my travels recently in between spreading the word about NECHAMA nationwide and prepping for storm season to take off.

• A few rock concerts highlighted by Milton/BC High's own Harry Sills Live at the Hard Rock in Boston). Check Harry out here: Harry Sills' Music!  He is such a talented guy and it's wonderful to see him pursue something that makes his heart happy.  An example to us all no doubt.  Keep it up bud!  However, his lovely fiance Chrissy just ran/dominated the Boston Marathon.  That's more impressive if you ask me.  
• Country concerts mostly attended by myself.  And by most, I mean all (David Nail, Randy Houser, Cale Dodds). 
• Attended The Masters golf tournament with my best bud from Clemson, Mr. Dave Bernard. 
• Plenty of supervised babysitting all over our great nation. Parents of young children, the secret is gummy bears and ice cream.  Get with it.
• A few hikes but not enough
• A couple of family, BC High, Clemson, and Nantucket caddy reunions!  Great to see you all!
• Tricked a few women into have dinner with me. No Big Deal!!
• Caroline B's 1st birthday party. 
• Two 2nd 29th birthday parties and one 3rd 29th. (Christine, Gill, and Liz... none of you look a day over perfect)
• Involved in a Fashion Show.  Ironic because I can't match and essentially wear the same ridiculous outfit everyday
• Some golf filled with a few birdies and plenty of double bogeys
• Some competitive eating contests nationwide.  None of which ended particularly well for me
• Family time.  Thanks to the various relatives who house and feed me when I find myself in Boston every so often.  Brian and Emily, Thank you very much and I'll be gone soon!
• THE BOSTON MARATHON.  Thanks to Pat and Jess as well as old friends Bryan Mahoney and McKenzie Wessen + so many others for making the 2014 Boston Marathon something I will never ever forget.  Unbelievable performances by all!

Before this turns into a novel, I would like to say that the last few months have been a real ride.  It has been a privilege to see so many of you entering such exciting times in your lives.  There are opportunities to do some really wonderful things out there and many of you are grabbing that chance and running with it.  Keep it up!  It's inspiring.

Mark/Chops

Tracking some serious tornado activity throughout much of the southwest/midwest at the moment.  Something tells me I'll be hitting the road before the ink is dry on this post.

The Future Is No Place To Place Your Better Days

MY TRYOUT VIDEO FOR THE BOSTON CELTICS!

9 FOOT HOOPS ARE GREAT FOR THE EGO

RECENT 2014 DESTINATIONS

MISS CAROLINE, LETS NOT TELL MAMA I PUT SOME SUGAR IN YOUR GERBER MUSH...

MY BEST FRIEND MARYBETH DOMINATING ICE CREAM

FORCED THIS FATHER OF TWO TO TAKE A PICTURE LATE NIGHT AFTER CAROLINE'S 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY!

ME AND SUPERMOM ABBY!  

TWO HOMELESS LOOKING MEN AND MS. ALICIA.  BLESS HER FOR PUTTING UP WITH HER HUSBAND.

WHEN UNCLE MARK/CHOPS BABYSITS, YOUR KID IS GOING TO EAT CUPCAKES AND I'LL MAKE NO APOLOGIES FOR IT

MARYBETH AND CAROLINE AKA MY TWO BEST FRIENDS WHO ARE GOING TO HELP UNCLE MARK/CHOPS MEET GIRLS

MORE COUNTRY CONCERTS.  DAVID NAIL AND RANDY HOUSER IN ONE WEEK!

ALL YOU CAN EAT CONTEST WITH SAM IN CHICAGO!

UNDERDRESSED FOR DINNER WITH YAEL!

VISITING FRANK.  CONGRATS ON BECOMING A DAD!

FINAL COUNTDOWN!  LAURA AND ME RIGHT BEFORE BABY CHARLOTTE ARRIVED!  

MONSTER POWER CONCERT IN CHICAGO WITH MARISSA.  I THOUGHT I COULD BE HER NIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR, BUT THE GUY IN THE BACKGROUND BEAT ME TO IT.

DINNER IN MINNEAPOLIS WITH MY FAVORITES.  GENE AND JANE.  OH DAN WAS THERE TOO...

SPRING TIME IN MINNEAPOLIS = 10FT SNOW DRIFTS

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA AT THE 2014 MASTERS WTH THE ONE AND ONLY DAVID BERNARD.  THANKS FOR TAKING ME MAN!

CHILDHOOD NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS REUNITED AT THE 2014 BOSTON MARATHON!

 SURVIVORS, SUPER HEROES AND FRIENDS... PAT AND JESS AS THEY CROSS THE 2014 BOSTON MARATHON FINISH LINE IN RECORD TIME!

 

 BC HIGH TEAMED UP WITH BOSTON COLLEGE CREW TO FORM A DOMINATING CHEERING SECTION!

BOSTON COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL BUDDIES REUNION TO CHEER ON PAT AND JESS!!

EVERYONE MEET NATALIE.  NATALIE MEET EVERYONE.  THIS GEM BELONGS TO MY GOOD PALS DAVE AND KATHRYN!

NANTUCKET CADDY PALS AND THE BIRTHDAY GIRL CHRISTINE!

CAUGHT UP WITH MY OLD PALS HARRY THE ROCKSTAR AND THE  NEXT BEAT WRITER FOR THE RED SOX, PHIL.  

CHEER ON PAT AND JESS!

Greetings All,

My pals Pat Downes and Jess Kensky as well as many of the other survivors and heroes from the 2013 Boston Marathon are taking part in a Tribute Walk which will cross the marathon finish line this Saturday morning. We are putting together a SUPERFAN section to cheer them on and we'd love to have you join us.

Send me a message if you are interested and I'll get you all the details. 

BOSTON STRONG
Mark/Chops

mmcgilv@gmail.com  

PAT DOWNES LADIES AND GENTS!

CHECK OUT HIS SPEECH ON THE 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY.  INCREDIBLE STUFF!
CLICK HERE: PAT'S SPEECH

PAT AND JESS DOWNES!  TWO HEROES!

THE FUTURE IS NO PLACE TO PLACE YOUR BETTER DAYS

WINTER TRAVELS

Hello All,

I'm playing blog catch up for the winter...  I have been up and down the east coast getting the word out about NECHAMA Jewish Response To Disaster AND having some fun while doing it!  We are in a very strong position to make a move once something hits this spring.  The storms are never good, but it is a solid feeling for us to be so well prepared for when they do.

I saw a good quote today.  "Find something you would die for and live for it"  I thought that was worth sharing.  I have no idea who said it.

Anyways, it's only a matter of time until I hit the road once more.  Catch me if you can.  I'd love to see you.

I hope you are all well and a BIG thank you to all those that made time in their busy schedules and sacrificed couches to have me.  Much appreciated.

Mark/Chops

The Future Is No Place To Place Your Better Days

WINTER 2014

FIRST CRACK AT A SYLVESTER DINNER PICTURE HERE IN NEW YORK

JACQUI, BUBBA, AMANDA, PETE, AND ME.  LOVE THIS FAMILY!

YOGA WITH THE MCINNES CHILDREN - IM STILL SORE FROM DOING THIS.

BOSTON FOR SUSAN'S BIRTHDAY!

BLONDIE MADE THE PARTY!

COUSIN JEN!  

MY NURSE AND GOOD PAL MS COLLEEN!! 

KATHLEEN AKA MRS. WAHLBERG AKA MY FAVORITE

FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE WITH THE CHIEF OF STAFF IN WASHINGTON DC!  SO I WENT OLD SCHOOL! BLAIRE AND MARK CIRCA... A LONG TIME AGO!

IN VIRGINIA TRYING TO GET THIS COUGAR TO COME DOWN FROM THE TREE

SHE WOULDN'T COME DOWN SO I WENT UP.

RICHMOND, VA - WITH COUSIN JUSTIN, CARRIE, SOHPIE, AND BENNET!! LOVE THESE GUYS!

MIDDLEBURY VERMONT MARDI GRAS WITH KEITH AND GINA

BENNET! -  THE FUTURE DISASTER RESPONSE FIELD OPS SPECIALIST

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB FASHION SHOW WITH THE TWIN!

TAKING IN THE VIRGINIA COASTLINE 

VERY BAD PICTURE.  VERY GOOD PEOPLE.  ALI AND ROBIN IN MARYLAND!

BEN AND JERRY'S WORLD HEADQUARTERS - VERMONT

RAN INTO NECHAMA ALL-STAR BARRY GLASS NEAR CANADA.  (NOT IN CANADA.  THEY STILL WONT LET ME IN THEIR COUNTRY!! 

VISITED THE ONE AND ONLY BUCKET!  NEW HEAD PRO AT MANCHESTER COUNTRY CLUB LADIES AND GENTS! (PICTURE CIRCA 2008 AS WE FORGOT TO SNAP ONE THE OTHER DAY)

FAST START TO THE NEW YEAR!

Hello All,

It has been a jam packed winter for this guy so far.  My camera didn't survive our tornado response deployment in central Illinois so I am short on pictures until I grab another.

I road tripped it from Minneapolis to Boston to see my family for the holidays.  Spending time with them was great.  It isn't often I get home these days and I enjoyed every minute of it.  From there I made my way to New York to join up with our Superstorm Sandy rebuild team on Long Island.

I then made my way super south out of the country and spent a week down in Cancun, Mexico.  Beautiful company.  Beautiful hotel.  All you can eat food.  Terrible weather.  All and all, good times had by all.

Since my return, I have been working my way up and down the east coast spreading the word about my disaster response team.  Recruiting volunteers, fundraising, networking etc.  Luckily enough, I have been able to mix business with pleasure and have been meeting up with some Clemson pals all over the place.  Thanks for the good times Ali,Robin,Sabrina,Bill etc...

I am back in NYC bracing for another snowpocalypse that's hitting while I write.

Itching to book a flight towards warmer weather.

Hope everyone's new year is off to a great start

Mark/Chops

The Future Is No Place To Place Your Better Days

MY TRAVELS THE LAST MONTH OR SO

ROBIN, ALI, CHRIS, AND LAURA.  AFTER A LATE NIGHT IN MARYLAND!  FOLLOWED THIS UP WITH ANOTHER LATE NIGHT OF SHENANIGANS WITH SOME OF THE CLEMSON CREW GUYS THE NEXT NIGHT!

MY BOY STARBUCK BALNER WAS RECOGNIZED, AND RIGHTFULLY SO, AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST GAME CHANGERS IN THE WORLD DURING 2013.  GREAT MAN.  GREAT FRIEND.  GREAT LEADER.  PROUD TO KNOW YOU AND LUCKY TO HAVE YOU AS PART OF THE NECHAMA TEAM!

CHECK OUT THE ARTICLE BY CLICKING HERE: STARBUCK BALNER IS A BALLER!