Thank you

Today is the beginning of Week 2 of my post-AOL life. First and foremost, I’d like to thank everyone for your wonderful emails, FB messages, phone calls, text messages, etc over the past week.

It’s been absolutely overwhelming, but of course, in a very good way.  I think I received over 250 – 300 messages.   Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to respond to everyone individually but I want everyone to know how very much I appreciate the various messages.

With the popular explosion of text messages, Facebook, etc, there’s much more of an outpouring of communication when one goes through a major change in life – positive or negative.

I can clearly think of this happening three times in the past few years.  The first time it occurred when I was fortunate enough to be announced as one of the winners of the “Andrew Heiskell” award, Time Warner’s most prestigious honor for community service, back in 2006.   My email box over-flowed that week.

Then, early in 2008, when my Father passed away, I received an incredible outpouring of messages in so many various forms — phone calls, emails, text messages, cards, in-person visits, etc.   Every single form of communication was important to me and helped me  and our family get through a most difficult and trying time.   I can honestly say I gained so much strength from those many “touches” during that extremely difficult period in my life.

And, the third and most recent is the past 7 – 10 days.   I’ve been blown away with the so many nice things people have written.

As a young child growing up, I was taught to try to treat everyone fairly and with respect.  I’ve tried to live my life that way.  And, I’ve tried to teach the many younger people I mentor the important of doing it that way.   And, the reaction I’ve received from people during these three times in my life just goes to show that if you treat people well, give back and help others, the return is even that much greater.   Again, thanks to all for your many wonderful messages.   I am moved deeply.

Washington Redskins Cheerleaders

I had a tough task yesterday morning.   I served as a judge for the Washington Redskins cheerleader preliminary try-outs.  It’s  a tough job, but someone has to do it. 

The Redskins cheerleaders are regarded as the “First Ladies” of the NFL.  They’re a terrific group of women — who in addition cheering at Skins games and making numerous local appearances — also travel throughout the world.    They’ve been to numerous military bases throughout the world to boost morale for our hard-working and dedicated soldiers.

I grew up on military bases in Japan.   I fondly recall when NFL players, college players, the USC dance team, etc would come to visit our Army base in Tokyo.  It definitely was a morale booster.   But, I imagine it’s even that much more so for the soldiers who are without their families and working long, grueling hours.

These ladies put in a lot of hours during the season to perfect their routines.  It must be quite a rush performing in front of over 90,000 fans at FedEx Field, the largest stadium in the NFL.

Hail to the Redskins!  And, the “First Ladies of the NFL!”

SEME 2009

Whew, what a long, good day.  I was at Nationals Park today from 9:00 am – 7:30 pm for our SEME (Sports Events Marketing) 2009 Conference.   SEME, which is hosted by Georgetown University, is a terrific conference for undergraduate students, graduate students and people interested in working in the sports industry.

We had over 250 in attendance … and over 90 sports and entertainment executives came to speak on various panels.  I was on two panels and also participated in the networking luncheon.

The first panel was titled “Industry Trends and Outlook for 2009 in Sports.”  Matt Winkler, SEME founder, was our moderator.  I shared the panel with Tim McDermott, CMO, Capitals; Andy Feffer, COO and EVP, NFLPA; and Bill Krause, VP, UnderArmour.

The second panel I sat on was the “Changing Role of News and Sports Media.”  Meredith Geisler was our moderator and the other panelists were Jim DeLorezno, Octagon; Kelly Perdew, CEO, RotoHog (an winner of Donald Trump’s “Apprentice” in year 2); Chartese Burnett, VP, Nationals; and Jim Welch, Sports Editor, USA Today.

This is our sixth year of the hosting the conference … and, it keeps bigger and better every year.  I think it’s a great place for the students to come to network, job hunt and learn.

Tomorrow is another full day of great sessions!

AU

I had an excellent night last night.  First, we held our bi-monthly board of directors meeting for our Asian youth development group, Asian American LEAD.  The board is comprised of a group of talented and caring individuals.  I’m honored to be part of this group — and I love the positive impact we’re making on the lives of the many students we help and support.

Then, I hustled over to my alma mater, American University, to guest lecture to David Eyl and Chris Hudgins’ Sports Marketing class.

The AU campus continues to grow.   There are new AU buildings along both Nebraska Ave and Mass Ave.   And, the class I spoke to is in the new addition to the Kogod School of Business.   It was a great classroom with excellent technology capabilities built in.

The students there have it so good now … there’s even a Wagshal’s Deli in the Ward Circle Building (when we were there we used to have to drive down Mass Ave to the original Wagshal’s to get the classic pastrami sandwich).    The Mary Graydon Center has a bunch of good eating places, including a fantastic cafetaria.  And, of course, they have their on-campus gym as opposed to having to trek over to Ft Myer where the Eagles played when we were there.

It’s always good to be back on campus.  Too bad they don’t stage the Spring Concert anymore — those were good, fun times!

Georgetown – WNBA

For tonight’s class, our students presented the first of two class projects. The assignment was to create a marketing plan for Washington’s WNBA team, the Mystics. Earlier in the semester, Ted Leonsis, the majority owner, spoke to our class.   I asked him if the class can do a project for one of his teams.  Well, the Capitals are selling out nearly every game.  So, they don’t need much marketing help.  But, the Mystics, on the other hand, need help, especially with ticket sales.

Overall, the eight groups of students did a pretty good job.  It certainly wasn’t an easy assignment since the WNBA is having some difficulty with TV ratings and ticket sales.   It’s particularly hard in city like where there’s so much competition for the entertainment dollar … Redskins, Capitals, Wizards, Nationals, United, Georgetown U, U of Maryland, AU, GWU, etc.  Plus, on top of that, the Kennedy Center, Warner Theatre, Shakespeare Theater, etc.

I managed AOL’s partnership with the WNBA over a 5-year period.  And, I’m good friends with a number of their all-star players, including Swin Cash, Sue Bird, Ruth Riley, Alana Beard, etc.  And their President, Donna Orender, is a long-time friend.

I’m a big fan of the WNBA.  I’ve watched with admiration as the league continues to grow and evolve.   The talent level continues to get better and better.

Lots of guys bash the WNBA and LPGA.  But, the truth is, the style of play of the WNBA is how a vast majority of men play the game, r.e. rare dunks, good passing and teamwork, lots of movement and cuts.  Similarly, most male golfers hit in distance much more like LPGA golfers than PGA golfers, who frequently bomb 300-yard drives.

Plus, the WNBA players are so much more gracious with their time and commitment to community service – as opposed to many of the prima donna NBA players.

Lastly, with my recent experience in Diversity and Inclusion, it’s great to see the growth of female sports.  Title IX was indeed a major law that has had far-reaching impact.   It’s great to see so many females being active in sports — from the youth leagues to high schools to college to professional leagues.  We are all better off for it.

Good-bye, AOL

Today was my last day at AOL.  It’s been a terrific 14-year run.  I feel blessed and fortunate to have worked at such a great company.   Yes, we’ve been taking heat from a lot of people over the past years, but I take great pride in being a part of the AOL family.

I’m leaving to launch my own relationship management agency — JLynn Associates, focused on Sports and Entertainment.   A vast majority of time was spent in Business Development and Account Management for AOL’s numerous strategic sports partnerships, including the NFL, NBA, NASCAR, MLB, NHL, WNBA, Turner Sports, HBO Sports, Sports Illustrated, ABC Sports, WWF, PGA, Athlete Direct, STATS, SportsTicker, NTN, etc.

I feel like it’s now time to better leverage my sports rolodex — so after discussing this at length with my group of advisers and confidantes, it’s time to move on.  Plus, I’ve worked at major media companies for nearly 20 years now — I’m interested in trying something new and different.

I have so many wonderful memories from my AOL days.  Yes, I was fortunate to attend Super Bowls, World Series, NBA All-Star Games, NBA Finals, Olympics, World Cups, Stanley Cups, NASCAR races, etc.  And, I very much enjoyed the past couple of years working on our Diversity and Inclusion efforts.

My key takeaway is the people I met — I was fortunate to work with so many terrific and talented people.   I met one of my primary mentors in life at AOL — and I’ve mentored over 40 co-workers over the years.  And, I’ve met many friends who are and will continue to be life-long friends.  Also, a large number of former clients have also become very good friends.

My nickname, at various times, was the “Mayor” of the AOL campus and “Mayor” of the sports industry.   Yes, I’m a people person.  But, it’s because I was surrounded by so many terrific people at both AOL and within the sports industry.

Thus, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to AOL.  I’m proud to be a 14-year veteran of AOL and will continue to be a member of the AOL family for life.   I wish my colleagues there tremendous success.  And, I look forward to connecting with and working with some of my former co-workers.

Thank you, AOL, you have made such a large, positive influence in my life.  I would mention names of people that positively impacted me, but that list would be far too long and I wouldn’t want to leave anyone off the list.

It’s been a roller-coaster ride … from being the third-ranked online service provider when I joined … to acquiring the largest media company in the world a few years down the road … to the ups and downs over the past decade.   But, it’s been well worth the ride … and I leave the campus today with enormous pride and joy.  It’s all good.   Peace.

Georgetown Law Center

I spent the entire day on the Georgetown Law Center campus.   We were there for Georgetown’s Sports and Entertainment Symposium.

I participated on the first panel, “Effect of the Internet on the Sports, Entertainment and Media Worlds.”  I shared the panel with four distingushed attorneys (I was the lone MBA) on the panel.   I thought we had a terrific exchange of ideas on how the internet and new media are affecting the music, film and sports worlds.  We did our best to talk about our areas of expertise as well as provide career advice to the law students.

Then, we held a luncheon that honored the esteemed Sen George Mitchell, who graduated from GU Law in the mid 60′s.  He’s truly one of the great people in this country — his body of work is amazing.   He’s already done so much for the US … and will continue to do as President Obama has asked for his expertise in dealing with the situation in the Mideast.

I moderated the third and final panel session, which was titled “The Behavior of Entertainers and Athletes and How it Affects their Employment Contracts.”   We had a superb group of panelists — Damon Jones, Club Counsel, Washington Nationals; Derrick Mayes, CEO, Executive Action Sports (and one of Notre Dame’s all-time greats); Ben Block, who works on NFL issues for Covington and Burlin; and Matt Winkler, Assoc Dean of GU’s Sports Industry Mgt program.

We discussed a number of issues, including the upcoming NFL / NFLPA collective bargaining agreements, Michael Vick, Michael Phelps, salary caps, rookie wage scales, steroids, etc.

This was our 2nd Sports and Entertainment Symposium — I’m already looking for to next year’s event!

Super Leaders

We held our Super Leaders board meeting earlier tonight, led by our founder and role model, Brig Owens.  Brig is a remarkable person who has been overseeing Super Leaders for over 22 years – that’s an incredible commitment to the DC community.

The mission of the SL program is to “identify and train a team of students in selected schools to resist the negative pressures of their home, school and neighborhood environments.  SL develops these students to be positive role models and peer leaders in the effort to prevent substance abuse, violence, teen pregnancy, AIDS, academic failure and other problems effecting their peers and younger children.  The program also focuses on life skills and physcial fitness initiatives.”

300 – 500 students are enrolled each school year, reaching more than 5,000 students through outreach and student leadership.

Our Executive Director, Ms Frankie Crosby, is a fantastic person who oversees the program, including the weekend retreats.   She is another role model and leader in this community.   We are fortunate to have Frankie and Brig showing us the way.

The board is comprised of a number of leading business executives from the greater DC region.  It’s great to see the dedication of this entire group to “give back” and to help create a more level playing field for the DC children from lower-income families.

I’m honored to be part of this team.

Georgetown – guest speakers

Yesterday was the first day back on the Georgetown campus after Spring Break.    Normally, we don’t have a full class right after the break since some students are still coming back to campus but we had pretty much a full group last night.

For last night’s class, for the first time this semester, we had two guest speakers.   Since every speaker thus far this semester has been a male, I invited two female friends of mine to present to the class.

The first guest speaker is not a sports figure, but since sports is entertainment, I figured the class would enjoy hearing her recent experience as a contestant in Miss America.

Kate Marie Grinold, the reigning Ms Washington, DC just finished in the top 10 in the recent Ms America pageant in Las Vegas.   She described in detail her terrific experiences as a contestant.  What’s remarkable is that KM had never participated in a pageant until the one last Spring for Ms Washington DC, yet she still managed to land a top 10 finish — which is outstanding!

The second guest speaker, Christine Brennan, is one of the top sportswriters in the country.   She writes currently for USA Today — and she’s also written 7 books, including a best-seller about women’s ice figure skating (Nancy Kerrigan – Tonya Harding).

Chris is a terrific person and wonderful writer.  She went to Journalism school at Northwestern – with her dear friend, Michael Wilbon.  She covered the Univ of Florida and Univ of Miami in the early 80′s, including the championship they won in ’84 (and when they first started calling themselves the “U”).

She then joined Wilbon at the Washington Post.  She made history in ’85 as the first female sportswriter given press credentials to enter a NFL locker room (she was the beat reporter for the Washington Redskins).

Chris was part of an all-star team of sportswriters at the Washington Post, including Wilbon, Tony Kornheiser, John Feinstein, Sally Jenkins, Len Shapiro and so many others.

Chris is a true trail-blazer and pioneer in the sportswriting world.   To see more her work, you can read her on Thursdays in USA Today or go to http://www.christinebrennan.com.

AU Eagles are dancin’

Wow, wow, wow!  The AU Eagles did it again yesterday.   They beat Holy Cross to capture the Patriot League Championship and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the 2nd year in a row.  Last year was AU’s first-ever time to the Big Dance.

Congrats to Coach Jeff Jones and his team, mostly the 7 seniors who played superbly throughout the season.

AU’s Bender Arena was packed yesterday afternoon for this thrilling event.   Per Patriot League rules, the visiting team is allocated 1/3 of the tickets, so it wasn’t all AU fans, but it was a rollicking atmosphere.

DC Mayor Fenty was there w/ his twin sons … as well as most of DC’s sports media types.   AU might be the only DC area team going to the NCAA Tourney this year, which is hard to believe.  But, hopefully, Maryland will make it too after their terrific win over Wake Forest last night.

Last year, the over-matched AU Eagles battled gamely against the supremely talented Univ of Tennessee Volunteers.   The Vols only led by 1 point w/ 6 minutes left but they went to beat the Eagles.  It’ll be interesting to see who AU is matched up against this year.  We’ll find out tomorrow evening on “Selection Sunday.”

But, before we get to the selection show, there’s still a ton of college hoops to be played today / tomorrow, including the thrilling Big East and ACC tournaments.   When I woke up this morning, I was bummed to see the windy, rainy weather in DC, but now I’m okay with it since I’ll be in front of my TV this afternoon watching great hoops action (just like I’ll be doing the next couple of weekends with the NCAA March Madness)!   It’s all good.