Friends: The Ones You Make Earlier in Life May Help You Later

When I attended Florida State University in the early-1990s, I wrote for the FSView school newspaper.  I originally started out as the student government writer, but then worked my way up to features editor.  For my last semester in Fall 1994, I was the sports editor and even had a sports talk radio show five nights a week on WTAL 1450 AM.

I worked with a lot of great people, many who have gone on to do some amazing things. Sports Editor Manny Diaz is now the defensive coordinator with the Mississippi State Bulldogs.  Photo Editor Lance Rothstein worked for many years with the St. Petersburg Times and now resides in Belgium.  Melanie McCullough went to work for Duke University and then the V Foundation before finding happiness as the Director of Communications for a church in Chapel Hill.

However, this blog entry is about one person in particular - then-Sports Writer Mike Avila.

Mike and I hit it off immediately.  We had great sports discussions and wrote a lot of side-by-side pieces where he expressed one opinion and I expressed another.  One particular memory I have is getting Mike a press pass to interview then-WCW World Champion and FSU football legend Ron Simmons before a match at the Leon County Civic Center in Tallahassee.  Simmons totally broke character for the interview and Mike asked him excellent questions, including what it was like to be the first-ever African-American World Heavyweight Wrestling Chamion.

After graduation, Mike and I lost touch; through the years, I looked him up many times.  Unfortunately, Mike Avila is a very common name and I never did locate him.

That all changed with Bobby Bowden's retirement.  On December 2, the day after the retirement, I managed to stage an event on Twitter that included about 50-75 others who changed their avatar for 24 hours to Bobby Bowden.  Gators, Hurricanes, LSU Tigers and Seminoles all participated in #Bobbyfor24. 

One of the people who participated that day was a person on Twitter named @MikeAvila. When I reach out to him, we immediately realized who each of us was - after 15 long years, I had finally found Mike.  It was no surprise to me that Mike has gone on to become a successful writer/producer/contributor for many news organizations in New York.

As 2010 moved along, Mike and I communicated often on Twitter.  Finally, on April 16 (my dad's birthday), Mike friended me on Facebook.  When I confirmed him, it said he had one mutual friend.  I naturally thought it was someone we wrote with at FSView.  However, to my surprise, it was a friend of mine from South Florida that I met through Twitter almost a year ago: @JoseBoza.

Jose and I are both in Public Relations and would often talk to each other at events about PR and other communications-related topics.  Not once did we ever talk about sports, though.

When I noticed Jose was the mutual friend of Mike and me, I was curious.  So on Saturday, April 17, I called Jose up to talk.  I found out that he and Mike went to Coral Park High School together and he was a year or two behind Mike's class.  At that point, I explained to Jose about how I knew Mike and that Mike and I were huge sports fans.

That led Jose to mention he had wanted to talk to me for a while because he could tell from my Facebook and Twitter posts that I was a big sports fan.  He mentioned he had thought about starting a blog/website for a long time that dealt with social media and sports in a way not yet being done.  The second he said it, my ears perked up and I began agreeing with him.  He said he thought I would make a great partner on this venture.

After adding my good friend Jarret Streiner AKA @jarret23 (who I have known since high school and reconnected with a few years ago via a client event) to the team as our web designer, we went through some names until Jarret came up with "Pitch to the Rhino."  It plays off the children's riddle, "What do you do to an elephant with three balls? You walk him and PITCH TO THE RHINO!"

One month to the day of my first conversation with Jose, we launched the site on Monday, May 17.  It has been a fun project so far thanks to the support of so many on Facebook and Twitter, and one that keeps this old sportswriter-at-heart involved in sports

Had I not been such good friends with Mike back in the day and had Mike not friended me on Facebook, none of this may have ever happened.  Thanks, Mike!

Coach Karma

Karma is something I've always believed in - if you do something nice for someone, it will pay off for you down the road. 

To the left is a photo of a Hess Express gas station in Tamarac, Fla. on the corner of Southgate Boulevard and University Drive.  If you would have told me that my good friend Goldy and I would ever have an encounter there that would be something we'll talk about 10, 20, and 30 years down the road, I would have originally said there's no way.

However, that's exactly what happened on the evening of Friday, May 7.  First, I must go back in time before I can go forward.

The Seminole Club of Broward County's yearly banquet with Florida State's head football coach was a date all South Florida boosters always circled.  For 34 years, Bobby Bowden packed the house and told jokes.  However, with new FSU Head Coach Jimbo Fisher on his first banquet tour, tickets were still in high demand because it would be his first speaking engagement as head coach in front of many boosters.  In addition, with rave reviews from other Seminole booster clubs across the state regarding his speeches, the interest was at an all-time high.

My buddy Goldy had purchased two tickets with the intent of taking his dad; however, a conflict came up for both of them and they were going to be out of town the day of the banquet.  Goldy offered me the tickets since he couldn't use them and I jumped at the chance.  I invited my friend Tony (@AbeFroman21) to join me.

On May 7, I was running low on gas as I approached Woodmont Country Club, but because I was afraid I was going to be late and I didn't want Tony not to be able to check-in, I arrived at the event practically on fumes decked out in a garnet FSU shirt.

Once inside, thanks to Tony's Iron Arrow Booster status, we were afforded the opportunity to take a photo with Coach Fisher and interact with him.

In my brief time with Coach Fisher, I told him I had seen Part 1 of a two-part article about him in the May 6 Palm Beach Post regarding his love of hunting (the second part runs May 13). He told me he hadn't read it yet but that he does love to hunt as much as the author of that story said.

We then sat down, enjoyed dinner, and around 8:15, Coach Fisher got up and spoke passionately about his new job, his expectations, and took questions and answers from the crowd.  After 45 minutes, he received a standing ovation and the event started to wrap-up.

While most stayed for a few minutes for a raffle, since I hadn't played golf earlier that day with the boosters, I got in my car and called Goldy, who was in between flights at the Atlanta Airport.  The distance from Woodmont to the Southgate Hess is about 3 minutes tops.  During the entire car ride, I gave Goldy a play-by-play of what Coach Fisher had said and why I liked everything I heard.  I also thanked Goldy about 20 more times for the tickets.

I pulled up to the pump at Hess closest to the front door (and the photo in this blog is exactly where I was on the 7th when I was talking to Goldy).

As we continued to talk, a white Navigator pulled up right next to the curb and out stepped a man from the passenger seat.  I cut Goldy off in mid-sentence.  "GOLDY, You're not going to BELIEVE this.  Jimbo Fisher is walking into the Hess station!"

Goldy thought it was as cool as I did, and I was hoping I would be done pumping my gas before Coach Fisher finished inside so I could approach him and tell him how much I enjoyed his speech.

As I started walking over to the front door, where Coach Fisher was about to come out, I told Goldy, "I am going to try and get Coach to talk to you, so sit tight."

Coach walked out and I gave it my best shot. "Coach, you were great tonight at Woodmont.  I was hoping you could do me a quick favor. My buddy who gave me his tickets to the event because he ended up having to be out of town on business happens to be on the phone with me right now - could you please say hello to him?"

Coach Fisher looked at me for about two seconds like I was out of my mind.  Honestly, I didn't blame him for doing so, and for a guy who had just spoken 45 minutes non-stop, I wouldn't have been upset if he didn't do it.

He then took the phone and did the thing that Goldy and I will be talking about for years to come:

"I wish you could have made it tonight buddy - we missed you!"

Goldy then spent the next 90 seconds speaking to Coach Fisher, who wrapped up their conversation by thanking him for buying the tickets even though he had to give then way and told him he hoped he would be able to support the team in person in Tallahassee this year.  Coach Fisher then gave me my phone back, shook my hand, and was gone in the blink of an eye. 

The second he drove away, I believe the next words out of both my mouth and Goldy's as we spoke on the phone was "AHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHH!"

I STILL can't believe this happened! Here's why I believe in karma and how it paid off for Goldy:

1. My buddy Goldy and his family run a charity event each year that benefits students that want to go to college, and through his tireless efforts, he continually gives back to these kids and their families and never asks for anything in return.

2. Goldy never asked for anything in return for giving me and Tony his tickets - he just wanted them to go to two people who would appreciate seeing Coach Fisher's first speech in Broward County as head coach.

3. I could've gotten gas before the event, but chose not to.

4. I could've been facing University Drive instead of the actual front of the station when Coach arrived - had that happened, I may have never seen him.

5. I had JUST seen Coach Fisher five minutes before he arrived and had taken a photo with him earlier in the night, so I obviously recognized him right away when he got out of the car - had I not been at the banquet, I'm not 100 percent sure I would have realized it was him.

6. Coach Fisher could have simply said no, but instead, he showed a side that has earned him two fans for life no matter what he does at FSU during his tenure.

As we reflected on the story a couple of times over the weekend, we still can't believe it happened.  What sticks with me about the entire incident is that although Goldy would have enjoyed Coach Fisher's 45 minute speech, the 90 seconds he did share with Coach are a minute-and-a-half he will never forget.  I'm just glad my phone didn't die during the call!

The Bible of the PR Industry

As my Public Relations career has now reached 8 1/2 years, I received exciting news the other day: I'm featured on a five-person panel in the May 2010 issue of PR Week.  This marks the first time in my PR career I've been included in our industry's "Bible", and I could not be happier.

My inclusion in this article is just an example of something I've always believed in: things happen for a reason.

When I was promoted to Manager of Social Media at the agency I work at at the beginning of March, we sent out a press release about my new position and responsibilities.  One of the publications we sent the release to was PR Week, which, although no longer a weekly publication, is still the industry-leader when it comes to sharing PR stories from around the country.

A writer with their staff contacted me at work one day in late-March to ask me if I was interested in participating in their Master Class panel feature on Social Media for the May issue.  The first thought that came to mind (besides yes) was - timing is everything.  If my title hadn't changed when it did, I may have never gotten this opportunity.

The essential question the reporter asked me was, "How do you best incorporate offline experiences into social media strategy?"

Due to copyright restrictions, while I can't share the content of the story publicly (subscribers to the magazine can access the article in print and online), I will say this: anytime you can engage people online and build value offline, you're doing things the right way.

When the article was released on May 3, I discovered for the first time who the other four panelists were.  To be featured in an article with people who have large social media followings like Todd Defren (@tdefren) and Chad Latz (@chadlatz) is something I will remember for a long time.

As I begin my 3rd month in my new role, I'm so excited of what's to come over the next 8 1/2 years and beyond. Hopefully, the highs will continue to exceed the lows.