Hoop Dreams Scholarship Foundation

Sadly, one of the best, most popular and most impactful non-profit organizations in Washington, DC over the past 13 years is shutting down due to lack of funds.

But, instead of mourning the closing of the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Foundation, I’d like to focus on what we accomplished for so many deserving youths as well as the legacy of the HDSF.

I’ve been an up close observer of HDSF as a long-time friend of the founder, Susie Kay, as well as serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the past few years.

In a nutshell, we were able to provide over 1,000 academic scholarships over the 13 years.  Many of these recipients are from lower-income areas; come from a single-parent families; and, are the first ones to attend and graduate college from their immediate family.

I am blessed to have two wonderful mentors, Ted Leonsis and Mario Mario.  They are both legendary in DC for their phenomenal philanthropic vision and efforts.  But, I must also send major props to another person who “showed me the way,”  Ms. Susie Kay.   I watched this incredible person launch her dream of helping and providing students from Wards 7 and 8 (areas that many DC area people have never been to) the opportunity to go to college.

I watched her give and give and give.   It was due to her energy and passion that so many of us from the business community signed on to help her make her dream come true.

As I told the board at our meeting earlier this week, watching Susie in action helped spur me on to get more and more involved with community service, mentoring and non-profits.   I  now work in some capacity (board member, adviser, connector, volunteer, fund-raiser) for 14 non-profits in this area.    I know that over the past decade we have touched and improved the lives of hundreds and hundreds of deserving young men and women.

Multiply my simple efforts with the many others that were touched by Susie’s actions at HDSF.  So, in effect, she not only helped 1,000 students receive scholarship, she and her HDSF has helped spur community involvement — and has literally impacted tens of thousands of lives.   The legacy will continue for decades and decades because many of these young students will be the ones mentoring the younger generations.

I am so proud of the mentees I’ve gotten to know over the years.  They will remain friends for a lifetime.  Michael – who has become a younger brother to me – is a proud graduate of Hampton Univ and now works for Verizon; Fanchon just graduated from Temple Univ; Ayana is a rising senior at AU; and Emily is a rising junior at Princeton Univ.

To these young men and women; to Susie Kay; to our board; to our many wonderful mentors and volunteers — I salute you for all of our fantastic efforts.   Yes, we are closing down this year, but the dream will live on.

Title IX celebration at the White House

What a special afternoon.  I went to the White House for the 37th anniversary of Title IX, which is one of the most important pieces of legislation passed in the 20th century.

There was a one-hour round-table session hosted by Valerie Jarrett, President Obama’s senior adviser and confidante, and Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education.  Joining them was the legendary Billie Jean King, leaders from the Women’s Sports Foundation and leaders from the education, science and engineering fields.

Per Wikipedia, Title IX states:  “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”^[1] Although the most prominent “public face” of Title IX is its impact on high school and collegiate athletics, the original statute made no reference to athletics.^[2]

Since I’m a sports person, that’s the part I’m focused on.  I helped invite a few of the sports leaders that were in attendance y-day.   I’m a strong supporter of women in athletics, the WNBA and the new women’s pro soccer league.   As one who tries his best to support diversity, I think it’s remarkable to see the increased number of girls and women participating in a wide range of sports from all age groups.

With our increased focus on healthcare costs and helping reduce obesity, the issue of health and fitnesss will continue to be a critical issue in the coming years.   So, if we can continue to put the spotlight on the importance of Sports and Health / Fitness, the country will be better off.

This is difficult to believe but yesterday was the first time that Title IX was ever celebrated at the White House.   Ms. Jarrett said this will become a regular occurrence and that we’ll be celebrating the 38th anniversary of this important legislation a year from now at the White House.

My kudos to the trailblazers and champions of women’s sports, such as Billie Jean King and Donna de Varona who showed us the way.   Thanks to their courage, vision and dedication, it’s a more level playing field now for female athletes from youth leagues to high schools to colleges to the professional leagues.  There’s still a long way to go, but we’re moving in the right direction.

The past week

Since I was on the road, I didn’t blog last week, so here’s a quick catch-up:

- Tue, Jun 16:  I’m co-teaching a Sports Leadership Management class in Georgetown University’s Sports Industry Management Masters program.    It’s a bit different teaching grad students vs the undergrad seniors I teach during the spring semesters.   But, similarly to the undergrads, the grad students have been terrific thus far … very interactive and engaged in the class.  I’m enjoying it very much thus far.

- Thu, Jun 18:  I went back to one of my favorite cities, Montreal, for a couple of days.   I’m continuing to work on sharpening the business plan for my new sports strategic advisory firm, JLynn Associates.  My friend, Rob, has been terrific in helping me with the branding and positioning of my new business.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to launch a web site soon for the business (hopefully sometime in July).

- Fri, Jun 19:  Montreal is such a great city … only a 75-minute flight from DC.   It definitely has a European flavor.  And, I love Old Montreal – it’s one of my favorite parts of town.  And, eating at Garde Manger is a must!

- Sat, Jun 20:  Back in DC.  I went to a superb b-day party for Jarvis Stewart at the House of Sweden.   The HOS is a great, great venue for a party — located on the water right next to the Georgetown Harbour.  The party was full of great friends, a good meal and hours of dancing and fun.,

- Sun, Jun 21:  Ugh, somehow got up at 7:00 am to play baseball at 8:00 am.   Not wise on limited sleep – yes, I missed a fly ball in CF in the 1st inning.  LOL.   But, once I started to sweat it out, things got much better.  But, we lost our play-off game and the spring season over.  Time to go home and watch the US Open on the couch on Sunday afternoon!  I did take a break to run over to Arlington National Cemetery to pay respects and wish Happy Father’s Day to my Dad.   Love you, Dad.  Miss you.

- Mon, Jun 22:  I went back to AOL for the first time since I left in late March.  I gave a presentation to the interns — on the Dulles campus as well as ones who tele-conferenced in from the NY and Baltimore offices.   I love talking and sharing tips and advice with the younger generation. 

Tokyo

The last blog posting was brief since I was still tired from the jet lag.  But, I’m catching up on my rest.  Here’s some observations about Japan, in particular Tokyo.

First, I do love living in the US.  I’ve been here since my junior year in high school (I spent 13 of my first 16 years in Japan).   But, it’s interesting to travel internationally — in comparing countries / cities, each has its own plusses and minuses.

Random observations about Japan:

- The public transportation system is remarkable.   Both the trains and buses have schedules and times listed — and they show up on time over 90% of the time.

- The roads are so narrow in Tokyo — I don’t how the bus drivers navigate the roads … but they do so — with grace and humility.   It’s rare to hear loud honking, drivers yelling and people making obscene gestures.

- The service is world-class … at hotels, restaurants, stores, public venues, etc   People seem more considerate and friendly.   I realize each culture is different, but it’s clearly noticeable and appreciated when visiting Tokyo.

- Wow, are there a lot of people living in Tokyo!  If you think Manahattan is crowded, try walking through Shinjuku or Shibuya during the morning or evening rush hour.

- The way the locals cram into the trains in rush hour is unbelievable.  They squeeze in there … and they have employees that help squeeze citizens in the train cars.  It’s a bizarre scene but one that takes place daily.

- Tokyo can be expensive, especially at restaurants, but if you like comfort food, like ramen noodles, it’s very affordable.   To me, eating ramen noodles is like eating pizza in NYC (it’s the signature, local and go-to food).

- The sushi in Tokyo is out-of-this-world.   No surprise, but the freshness of the fish is outstanding.

- Conducting a business meeting in Tokyo with high-level executives is quite different than doing so in the U.S.   It’s a good idea to learn the proper etiquette before holding a meeting.  It was a great learning experience for me.

- I visited our family cemetery in Yoshikawa, which is over 600 years old.  It’s definitely remarkable to be able to trace about the lineage over 600 years old.   I gain so much strength each and every time I visit.

- In closing, it was great to visit our relatives and Tokyo – as well as the homes we used to frequent when we were kids.  We may be getting older, but the memories are still so fresh and vivid.

Peace.

Japan

I returned from Japan on Tuesday afternoon.  Although it was about a 12.5 hour flight, it wasn’t too bad.  I don’t sleep to well on planes – I only slept about two hours but I kept myself busy by reading magazines, a book and watching movies.

It was a terrific trip to Japan — for both business and personal reasons.  In terms of meeting with new potential clients / partners, I had three excellent meetings.   I’m looking to developing relationships with these  executives.

Personally speaking, my brother and I had the best time with our relatives.   A couple of nights before we left, we had a fantastic family reunion, with 19 in total at the dinner.   So many laughs and good stories were exchanged.

More on Japan to come in the next blog.

Macau

Although I rarely gamble or bet, I’ve been to Las Vegas many, many times — for work-related conventions, sports events, birthday celebrations, bachelor parties, etc.   Vegas is one of the great and most fascinating cities in the world — it’s “always on.”

So, I had to take the opportunity to check out the “Las Vegas of Asia,” which is Macau, located right outside of Hong Kong.   They have these high-speed turbo boats which make the 40-kilometer trek in about an hour.  It’s very convenient.

I’ve been reading that Macau has surpassed Vegas in regard to total gambling revenue but Vegas still has greater revenue from hotel stays.   But, many of Vegas’ top operators have or are building places in Macau.

I was expecting something similar to the Vegas strip, but that’s not the case (I think primarily due to the lack of land).   But, I did venture over to the Venetian, brand new Hard Rock Hotel / City of Dreams, Wynn, etc.

These hotels were pretty amazing — and very similarly to Vegas, they are ostentatious and over-the-top.   Just spectacularly built.

But, in addition to being built alongside each other like on the Vegas strip, the number of entertainment shows seems limited.  I’m sure it’ll increase as time goes on.  But, the main way they make the money is from people playing at the tables.  And, table after table was filled with players.

I only stayed for a few hours but now I have a better idea of Asia’s Vegas.  Oh, and since I don’t gamble much, I only spent $10 while in Macao – on a glass of wine at the Hard Rock.

Hong Kong

The first couple of days in Hong Kong has gone well.  I love this city — it’s always electric and energized … similar to other great urban cities such as Tokyo, New York, Paris, etc.

The thing that catches your eye as you make your way from the airport to the hotel is the massive number of high-rises and sky-scrapers.   There is limited land available in HK, so they build up (and up and up).  It definitely reminds me of Tokyo and Shanghai in regard to the numerous tall buildings.

I’m staying at the brand new W Hotel on the Kowloon side.  What a stunning and great hotel.  I strongly recommend it to visitors traveling to HK.  In the past, I always stayed at the Ritz in Central, but they’ve torn it down.

I did venture to Lan Kwai Fong during my first night here … it’s like the Georgetown or Adams Morgan of Hong Kong — since there are many bars and restaurants.  Such a great selection of places!

My primary reason to come to Hong Kong was to meet with the partners of a law firm to see if we can structure a working partnership for my sports strategic advisory firm.   In that regard, the trip has been very successful since we were able to get a good framework in place.  But, it definitely won’t be easy since my comfort zone is doing business in the US, but now I need to learn about to do business in China and Japan.  I’m energized about the opportunity and will give it my best shot.

Time to get some authentic Chinese eats!  Ciao.