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3 men smiling in the event
Pat Daley, Riki Ellison, and Rob Joyce at Gibsons, Chicago.

On Tuesday, Patrick Daley our esteemed Board Member hosted our Chicago YIP event prior to the start of Game 6 of the World Series at one of the most prestigious steak houses in Chicago, Gibson’s where we were all cheering for the Cubs. In the same room and area, the Rugby World Champions, the New Zealand All Blacks who are playing Ireland on Saturday, and their entire team and coaches were there for dinner. A little bloodline as Grandfather played for the Maori All Blacks and his brother was the first Captain of the New Zealand All Blacks – Thomas Ellison. There was nexus of champions in Chicago – Winners, Winning Cultures, and World Champions of the Chicago Cubs and the New Zealand All Blacks and we are throwing in YIP right in the middle of it who know how to win and fate brought them together.

Both Patrick and I messaged well together and continue to get our message more refined, but very authentic and from the heart. Our program is just phenomenal in what it does to our nation, to our inner cities, to our student-athletes, to our cadets, to our Marines, to our chosen Academic Institutions. We have figured out and applied a unique unprecedented application of helping to solve huge issues that our nation faces with discrimination, racism, poverty, access all through two major components and core elements – TRUST and LEADERSHIP.

Direct input for our program beyond increasing capitalization from the attendees focused on our public media campaigning, marketing, and social media messaging to gain awareness and support. Particularly with Edelman one of the biggest advertising firms in the world and the biggest in Chicago who are providing consultation for free for our overall strategy and marketing and putting YIP into the higher echelon of social programming. Also, we give a little love to the NFL as they matched Rhett’s and my donations as current and former NFL players in their support of our program.

There is a movement with future programming for YIP, yesterday afternoon I spoke with the Secretary of Education of the State of New Jersey as they are leading the effort to have YIP at Newark, New Jersey at Rutgers University for next summer. A future program at SMU in Dallas also looks to very prominent. There was also a little Reggie Push from South Bend on bringing the program there. We even had GOOGLE Midway show up “the Brooke” as she took me to lunch at the rooftop Google earlier in the day walking me through social media messaging and how the big boys, the politicians, and the biggest companies in the world push messaging out. We are maybe able to play in this game.

With the Cubs winning the World Series in dramatic fashion, the Bears even winning against the Vikings, the All Blacks, the Maori All Blacks all there with us in that city for those special days this week, our YIP fits right in and belonged right with them on Winning Organizations and World Champions

Let’s get after it!

Dream it, Be it, and Lead it.

Permanently Impacting Our Nation’s At-Risk, Inner-City Youth