What Goes Around, Comes Around

As many of you know, this year CIG launched the Brake for Bela campaign – a public service campaign that aims to combat the seasonal increase in neighborhood automobile/pedestrian accidents during the summer months when kids are out of school.

Last weekend, the entire CIG crew went to a Rockies game as the “grand finale” of the inaugural year of our Brake for Bela safe summer driving awareness campaign. Decked out in our Brake for Bela T-shirts and armed with more than 2,000 campaign stickers, we pulled out all the stops in an attempt to give the campaign one final push and spread the word before the end of summer. It was the perfect day – great weather, good company and a sold-out stadium full of people. But no day at the ballpark would be complete without the ritualistic “wave.”

I’ve participated in many waves at sporting events over the years, but I have never been a part of the effort to originate a wave – and I have to say, it was really quite fascinating. Originating a wave takes perseverance, teamwork and patience. The CIG section set out to orchestrate an epic wave, one that would make the even the biggest waves look like ripples in a pond. Recruiting other members in our section and with all the energy we could muster, we threw our arms overhead, stood up, quickly sat down and waited for the impressive effect to immediately make its way around all 50,000 spectators.

Ok, so the first attempt fell a little flat. The wave made it about 50 feet to the left and died. So again, we engaged the crowd around us, pumped up the energy and tried again. This second attempt went a little further – about 70 feet. We continued this pattern for at least a half-inning, refusing to give up. We knew it was only a matter of time until the momentum would overwhelm the apathetic fans that were inadvertently crushing our dreams.

And then… finally… the floodgates opened and our very own wave wrapped around the entire, packed stadium a total of five times!

Throughout this whole process, I sat back and watched our little seedling wave slowly roll its way 50 feet around, then 70 feet, then 100 feet, then 300 feet, finally gaining enough force to slingshot itself around the stadium. Watching the wave and its development got me thinking about this first year of the Brake for Bela campaign.

As with any grassroots effort, Brake for Bela started off small. We’ve worked hard to spread the message through social media, traditional media and word of mouth. So far, the results have been incredible, and we plan to continue the campaign’s momentum throughout 2011, making an even bigger splash next year. With a little perseverance, teamwork and patience, I’m entirely confident that within a few years, Brake for Bela will become a household name, raising awareness and saving lives all over the world. And, just like at the Rockies game, CIG and our supporters can look back and say, “we started that wave.”

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08/29 at 03:04 PM

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Smileys

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below:

What is 2 + 3?

Next entry: Great Expectations

Previous entry: Listen with Care