Friends:

Lee here. Great doings these last few weeks, so let’s get started:

August 7: The USA Triathlon Women’s Committee honored Cherie with the “Spirit of Judy Flannery Award” at their annual Athlete of the Year dinner in Milwaukee. From the press release:

The USA Triathlon Women’s Committee is pleased to announce Cherie Gruenfeld, from Cathedral City, Calif., as the winner of the 2014 Spirit of Judy Flannery Award. Established in 1997, the award honors Judy Flannery, a Grand Masters multisport athlete, who served as the first Women's Commission chair and was tragically killed in a bike accident.

“The Women’s Committee is proud to reintroduce this award in Judy’s memory and to continue her legacy of outstanding women competing in and serving our sport,” said Tara Comer, Chair of the Women’s Committee. “We received several outstanding nominations and the committee selected Cherie based on the criteria — excellence in multisport, high moral character, and commitment to use triathlon experiences in service to our sport.”

Gruenfeld, one of the most celebrated Grand Master triathletes, who recently aged up to 70-74, has a long string of athletic honors: 11 Ironman World Championship titles with several course records, Ironman 70.3 World Champion (2012), a nine-time World #1 ranked Amateur Ironman Triathlete, USA Triathlon Female Grandmaster of the Year (2001, 2007), and she is a multi-time USA Triathlon All-American. In addition, she is a coach, motivational speaker, and author of “Becoming an Ironman.” Gruenfeld has inspired many through her work as the founder and director of Exceeding Expectations Foundation, a non-profit based in San Bernardino, Calif., that serves an inner-city population and encourages at-risk kids to move their lives in a positive direction, using the sport of triathlon as the vehicle.

After being introduced by USA Triathlon board president Barry Siff, Cherie receives a beautiful cut glass bowl
presented by paratriathlete Melissa Stockwell, the first female U.S. soldier to lose a limb in the Iraq War.

Photo by Brenda Barrera

August 19^th: The San Bernardino City Unified School District Board of Education gave special recognition and appreciation to the Exceeding Expectations Foundation, its volunteers and its students. Each of the kids was given a certificate, and Cherie was invited to address the Board and all in attendance. Read the full story here.

Also, take a look at the beautiful video (here) made for us by Jim Hawks, of Circle Take Media, which was shown at the Board meeting before the kids were brought up to the front.

August 13^th: Volunteers Trailer Craig and Brad & Ryan Harris, friend-of-the-kids David Brenner and I took college-bound Anthony and Jesus to see the Angels whup the Phillies. Jesus is going to Cal State San Bernardino and will remain an Angels fan, but we’re concerned that Anthony, who is headed to Cal State East Bay, might fall in with the wrong crowd and become a Giants or (heaven forbid) Athletics fan. We can only hope that being a member of Exceeding Expectations has taught him to recognize the right way to be.

Brad celebrates the first of four Angels runs with Anthony and Jesus as Trailer Craig looks on:

Ryan was determined to learn how to properly a score a game,
and had the perfect teacher in David.

August 15^th: Our great friends at the Talbert Family Foundation started a wonderful tradition a few years ago of giving us two brand new bikes every year. Christian is the latest EE kid to benefit. Does he look happy, or what?

August 31: After this morning’s run training (last session before our “Race for CAF”), the kids urged Cherie to take the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS, with brothers Anthony & Joseph volunteering to do the dumping. The “one dollar from everyone” she mentions refers to every EE kid kicking in a buck, which we’ll combine and send to our good friends at the Blazeman Foundation for ALS. Bob and Mary Ann Blais are pioneers in the War on ALS, and several years ago established the “Blazeman Memorial Scholarship” for EE kids in memory of their son, John Blais.

 Click here or on the photo below to see Isi Ibarra’s YouTube video of the Coach getting a bucketful.

Just for fun

Remember this 2004 photo (left) of 10-year-old Isi Ibarra running with Cherie? Three weeks ago during summer run training I took a new picture of the two of them in exactly the same location. Isi, all grown up, is now a freshman at Riverside Community College and a cross-country star on their track team.

And then there are two of my favorite EE photos of all time (below), taken by our friend Rick Dressler. That’s Brandon Holguin, too young and scared to swim on his own, being carried across the pool by Cherie. Below them is Brandon today, a U.S. Army paratrooper who doesn’t look like he’s afraid of anything.

Coming up in two weeks: Our annual multi-distance race to see which five kids get to attend the Challenged Athletes Foundation’s San Diego Triathlon Challenge on October 19 in La Jolla, California.

Thanks, as always, for your generous support of the kids. Hope you’re all having a great summer.

-lee