THE STORM

from January/February 2021

BORN IN 2020

& THE STORM HOCKEY

of the American Special Hockey Association

Chris Kreider

New York Rangers This year, Kreider has been volunteering - for the pleasure of being with these kids. NY Ranger Chris Drury has also done some Storm clinics in the past.

By Marc Fleisher

Debbie McQuilkin grew up in Lakewood, Washington, the daughter of a commercial fisherman. “Sometimes there was lots to eat, sometimes not so much.” A roommate in Spokane introduced her to her husband, Kevin McQuilkin, and the young couple moved East in ’87, married in ’88, and moved to New Canaan in 1990. Their first house in New Canaan was on Millport Road, then a decade in a bigger house on Ponus Ridge, before they ‘bought the farm’ in 2011 - They’re the folks who own the Abby Normal Farm on Oenoke Ridge - the Federalist red brick mansion with the great red barns and the alpacas. Their four kids, Colin (’89), Austin (’92), Kieran (’93), and Molly (’97), all started in the New Canaan public schools and then went to King Low Heywood. Colin went on to Kevin’s alma mater Gonzaga, Austin to Loyola Maryland, Kieran to Washington & Lee, and Molly is currently a senior at Gonzaga.

All three McQuilkin boys played hockey at the Winter Club, and Colin and Kieran played for King…while Debbie played the dutiful ‘hockey mom’. She was managing a team at the Winter Club in New Canaan in 2006, when she filled a garage with used hockey equipment from a charity drive. A round of calls led her to the American Special Hockey Association’s then President, Mike Hickey, who suggested Debbie use the equipment to start a team within ASHA. Debbie told Hickey “But I don’t have a child with a disability”; Hickey responded saying “Right, if you did you wouldn’t have time to run one of these teams”, and; Debbie, on that first call, and immediately impacted by Hickey’s point, determined “OK, I’ll do it!”

“I knew I needed someone to actually run the hockey, so my first call was to John Corcoran, who played pro hockey in Sweden and who I knew as a hockey dad around town. That first Summer in 2006: we got ice for a couple of weeks in Darien; we had 6 kids, who we put in the equipment from the Winter Club charity drive and some other borrowed stuff; we had a couple of coaches, and; my boys helped out. It was magical for sure! The next step was to find ice for a regular season, and the rinks in Darien and Stamford couldn’t find time that would work for our kids. John and Mike Ferguson, who run Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport, right away allocated our coveted Sunday afternoon ice time, and we ran a program with 10 kids in 2007. That grew to 15 in 2008, and 30 in 2009, and now we’re stabilized at around 60 kids playing every year.”

“Our whole thing is ‘Life Skills Through Ice Hockey’. Our application asks only: ‘Please provide a short description of your athlete’s disability - this will only be used by our coaching team to better connect with your athlete’. Mostly we have kids with autism, including all ranges on the spectrum. We have a lot of kids with Down Syndrome. Several kids with severe physical challenges. And a few kids with severe ADHD - they sometimes move on to play on a typical team. We have kids from all over Fairfield County and upper Westchester. We break the kids into two groups, so we can accommodate those who are struggling to skate or who have trouble following instructions in the group that starts every Sunday at 3:30, and then have a group of more advanced skaters and bigger kids in the group that goes at 4:30.”

The size and quality of the program is impressive! Many kids stay on for multiple seasons, but Debbie estimates there may now be about 500 Storm alum! John Corcoran runs The Storm’s 9 person coaching staff (as a tribute to how rewarding the experience is, everyone who has tried coaching is still on the staff). Then, John McCormack runs our mentoring program - mentors are assigned one-on-one to a different player each week. There’s 90 mentors, who are hockey players from local high schools and colleges, many of whom work for several years and beyond the requirement for a resume entry. Debbie estimates that by now The Storm has involved over 1,000 mentors!

“For some of our kids, this will be the first time in their life they will play on a team or wear a team jersey with their own name on it. For many it’s the only organized sports team they have tried and a chance to be around other kids like them. Trying something new can be scary, but these kids rise to the occasion! I can’t tell you how many parents say to me ‘Until now, my child would watch hockey, now he gets to play! Kids get on the ice and relax, have fun, make friends, learn skills and make real physical strides! It’s life changing. It makes them feel good about themselves and their many achievements. We play other teams in the area and throw a pizza party after each home game. The kids learn a lot of important social and basic life skills that we take for granted, and they build lifelong friendships.”

Some of The Storm coaches gather on the ice

Mentors wait to get out on the ice

“We go on trips to play away games as well, like against the Raptors in Mamaroneck, but we’ve also had trips to places like Albany, Buffalo, Lake Placid and Maryland. We get buses, and everyone who wants to go and participate, can go. We try to keep the hockey - and the whole experience - as typical as we’re able. Players take ‘shifts’ in ‘lines’ and spend the rest of the time on the ‘bench’, but we don’t have ‘icing’ or ‘offside’, as those are difficult concepts for a lot of our kids. All the teams and coaches are basically in the same mind set and do their best to match opposing player capabilities, and allow players of every level to have some role in the competition. The kids talk about these trips all year long.”

There’s a $400 admission fee, but scholarship is generously available. Remarkably, The Storm provides the helmets, pads and all other equipment required for every athlete that needs it. They furnish the skates in conjunction with Ferguson’s at Wonderland of Ice, who handles the storage and fittings. (Unusually, The Storm prefers used skates over new, as they tend to be more comfortable.) Debbie amalgamates donated equipment and buys whatever else is necessary, and keeps the equipment inventory in a storage unit on Route 7. Every athlete gets a shell that goes over their own pants, and a jersey with their own name on the back. “I hear from lots of parents that their kids got their first Storm jersey and didn’t take it off for two weeks”, Debbie said, “it’s their pride and joy.” Each athlete gets an equipment bag, and about that Debbie declares, “That’s one of my only rules. Every kid has to pull his own bag.” There are occasional goodies like a team beach towel or hat, and everybody gets a trophy. “The trophies are really important. It’s a symbol of their accomplishment and makes them feel like a winner. The bigger the better. With their name on it.”

Dr. Harvey Bluestein

“Sweaty” Mike Bluestein, 17

“SAM’S BEEN WITH THE STORM FOR 9 YEARS, THE FIRST 6 AS A PLAYER, AND NOW AS A MENTOR. HE PROCESSES SLOWLY, BUT HE’S REALLY DETERMINED. HE LIKES TO BE AROUND FOR HIS BROTHER, MIKEY, WHO HAS ATAXIA AND CAN HARDLY WALK AND STRUGGLES TO STAY UP ON HIS SKATES, BUT WHO IS SHARP AS A WHIP. THEY LOVE BEING ABLE TO DO THIS TOGETHER. THE STORM HAS BEEN A BLESSING FOR US! IT’S THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK FOR MY BOYS AND, IN DIFFERENT WAYS, HAS BEEN CRITICAL FOR EACH OF THEM.”

- Dr. Harvey Bluestein (Sam & ’Sweaty’ Mike’s Dad)

Sam Bluestein, 22 Student at Sacred Heart University

THE STORM HAS AN EXPENSIVE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT CALLED A KAYE TRAINER, WHICH HOLDS AN ATHLETE IN A SLING OVER THE ICE AND ALLOWS AS MUCH GRAVITATIONAL PRESSURE TO BE PLACED ON THE LEGS AS DESIRED. THAT’S ‘SWEATY’ MIKE BLUESTEIN GETTING OUT ON THE ICE IN “THE K”.

Seamus O’Neill 15 Some of the kids can really play. Seamus has a great wrist shot and he’s vowed to get out of the chair to skate this year.

Andrew Blackwell 14 New Canaan resident Drew unabashedly rushed Kreider (with no penalty called for ‘holding’).

Lucas DiGiacomo 13 Pound Ridge resident

But all this doesn’t come cheap, and The Storm needs to raise about $25,000 a year to make ends meet. For years, New Canaan resident Boyd Hardin held an annual golf outing at the Country Club of New Canaan, with the proceeds going to The Storm, but that ended in 2019. Debbie is not shy about fundraising, parents solicit contributions, and Board Members, including John Corcoran, Jeff Engborg and New Canaan resident Terry Connors, do what they can to raise funds.

Still, donations are required to keep what is formally known as Southern Connecticut Storm Special Hockey, a 501(c)(3), alive and flourishing.

As important, having established The Storm as an institution, Debbie is looking to retire as President, Program Director and the force behind The Storm, and for someone new to take the helm. It may take a new hockey super-mom, or it may take a small committee of dedicated volunteers, but Debbie feels it’s time to transition to new leadership.

Debbie talks about her 15 years of dedicated hard work on The Storm as though she was the one ‘getting’ all that time. She says, “I feel like I’ve got 60 kids in addition to my own, like I’ve been the hockey mom to each one of them, and shared in the reward of each of their successes”. She has a special humility and grace, and a calm smile that hides the thousands of details she has to bring together to produce The Storm each week and each year. She only directs attention to the Board Members, coaches, mentors and others who’ve helped her make it happen. And Debbie’s husband, Kevin, who has carried a lot of bags of equipment, and showed up just about every Sunday to help out, and chaperoned on all the trips…and kicked-in the bucks to fill the gaps - he says, “It’s one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Just being around what’s happening out there on the ice makes you feel good. These kids are really inspiring.”

WEDDING

ANNOUNCEMENT

LISA FAITH SHER & JOHN WESLEY CHAMBERS

Lisa Faith Sher (daughter of Michael and Susan Sands and Carol Sands Kaminski) and John Wesley Chambers (son of Louise Chambers and the late Theodore E. Chambers) were married on August 8, 2020, in their backyard in Bedford, by Town Supervisor, Chris Burdick (who was recently elected to the New York State Assembly). John is the President of H.C. Wainwright, a New York City-based investment bank, and Lisa is a Managing Director at Stern Investor Relations, a New York City-based investor relations firm. John has one daughter Hayley Jewel Chambers (age 20), and Lisa has two daughters, Rachel Melina Sher (age 30) and Lindsay Brooke Sher (age 27).

Lisa and John were set on the date 08/08 because they are both interested in numerology, and 8 means balance and harmony and also represents the infinity sign. But, when they contacted the town clerk, who typically officiates marriage ceremonies in Bedford, she was not available to officiate on that day, so Chris kindly offered to perform the nuptials. What a way to become town residents!

The event was small and intimate, which was exactly what the couple wanted - pandemic or not. Other than the officiant and photographer, they celebrated with one guest/witness - a close college friend of Lisa’s. Lisa’s passion for fashion and style (and internet browsing) led her to: David Austin ‘Juliet’ roses from Bedford Village Florist; Badgley Mischka shoes; a dress from Neiman Marcus online; and, hair accessories from Twig & Honey. Her resale Jimmy Choo handbag arrived in the nick of time from the RealReal. John chose his style online by Ralph Lauren. And Bedford-based photographer, Jennifer Mullowney, captured the magic of the day.

Lisa was living in California when the couple got engaged, and moved back to New York City to be with John. In Summer 2019, the couple rented a weekend place in Bedford, which they chose because John has been a member at Glen Arbor Golf Club since the early 2000s. That summer, they began looking for a home to call their own for weekends and made the big purchase in December 2019. When the pandemic hit, and given that both Lisa and John would be able to work remotely for the duration, the couple made the move full-time to their new home (where the wedding took place). Now that they are full-time residents, still working remotely, spots like Lucia’s and Truck in Bedford, Spiga in New Canaan, and Tengda in Katonah, have become the couple’s go-to favorites.

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Blogger Bride A Covid Bride tells her story of becoming Mrs. Rushton

BY ASHLEY RUSHTON

@STYLEELYST

For those of you that do not know, I am a CT-based Lifestyle Blogger – I specifically curate beauty and fashion centric content. I started STYLEE LYST in 2018, and took the brand and business full time in 2019. My website is home to my favorite beauty products, go-to fashion staples and travels alike – I also cultivate content on my Instagram and Pinterest as an influencer.

I’m a New Canaan native, and went on to study at Arizona State University for my undergraduate degree, and later a master’s in business marketing at Cornell. Each of the jobs in my early career were building blocks for my lifestyle brand. I started in Special Events at Calvin Klein and then transitioned into agency and in-house PR/Marketing for both big box and indie beauty brands. My brand became a natural extension of my interests and strengths, and I’ve worked hard to keep it authentic as it grows and changes.

I met my husband, Bobby Rushton, in July 2014, and Bobby and I became official on September 19, 2014. He’s from West Islip, Long Island, but now he’s got a pretty good claim on the “Mr. New Canaan” title in addition to the labels “Coach” and “Mr. Rushton” by which he’s commonly known around town. He’s a tenured Third Grade Teacher and Team Leader at South School, the Executive Director of the New Canaan Athletic Foundation, runs the entire New Canaan Wrestling Program, is a Director and a Coach for Eclipse Lacrosse Club, is a Varsity Coach for New Canaan Lacrosse, and sits on the Football and Lacrosse New Canaan Athletic Foundation Boards.

We got our first place together - in New Canaan - with our yellow lab, Zeus - in 2016, and were engaged on November 3, 2018. I was already developing STYLEE LYST, and as it grew into my full-time career, the brand also became more intertwined with the wedding.

Throughout 2019, Bobby and I worked meticulously to plan each aspect of what was going to be our perfect day. Feeling that we’d chosen the best vendors for a rather lavish wedding, we were psyched to celebrate in June of 2020. We could envision our ceremony on the vast manicured grounds of the Country Club of New Canaan, and a reception in the high-ceilinged ballroom.

I chose a classic ‘A-line’ gown from a beautiful shop in Darien, A Little Something White. It wasn’t what I had expected to like, and it was the first dress that I tried on in the store, but after trying on about twenty others, I knew it was the one. ALSW was amazing through the tailoring process, and I grew more and more excited with each fitting. I worked with ALSW to create a custom veil, and chose gorgeous earrings from their ‘Something Old’ collection. Ditching the typical NYC wedding dress shopping was an amazing decision - the ladies at ALSW were extremely knowledgeable, efficient, and kind. And, it felt even better to be working with a local, women-owned business.

The rest of the winter was filled with selecting a DJ, photographer, videographer, florist, and so many other vendors for our big day.

We hired Irene from Soiree Special Events in the home stretch of the planning process, in February 2020, to help with some of the final touches and day-of.

It became apparent early in March that our date, and maybe even our wedding, was in jeopardy. I immediately called Irene and we worked with vendors and our venue to pick a new date as we rushed to make lots of COVID-adjustments. It just so happened that the CCNC had September 19th available, as did all of our vendors - and it was our dating anniversary; it felt serendipitous!

At our tasting in July, we were told that we’d have to drastically cut-back the size of our guest list. Our originally planned 210-person wedding was cut back to just family; our parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We painstakingly had to let our friends and extended family know the news, and it was the hardest part of the adjustment, but everyone was so graceful, empathetic, and understanding.

As the day inched closer and closer over the summer, I continued to work on the final touches. After many makeup trial mishaps, I decided to do my own bridal makeup - but not without the help of Melba. Melba

Little did we know, COVID would have other plans…

owns Eye Coco Studio in Ridgefield and is a lash and brow expert. She worked with me on lash extensions for a few months prior to the wedding, and perfected a set for the big day.

I was a ball of nerves on September 19, but everyone at the CCNC worked through the constraints of COVID to make us feel completely comfortable, safe, and as normal as possible. Bobby and I even got to walk through the Club dining room...where friends of ours from the Club and around New Canaan who did not make the family-only cut to attend our wedding had taken all the tables to help share in our celebration in any way they could!

I got ready with my wedding party - my Maid and Matron of Honor, my two cousins (who are much more like sisters), Bobby’s two sisters, my Mom, and my 95-year-old Nana. Although it was a much smaller group than my originally intended bridal party of 13 people, it was intimate and lovely. And, despite some of my closest friends not being able to celebrate in-person, I was able to FaceTime with them while I got ready and still felt like they were part of the process. I also still sent each of them luxe goody bags filled with beauty products, monogrammed makeup bags from the Quilted Koala, bracelets from JL Rocks, custom silk robes, and gorgeous silk pillowcases from Fisher’s Finery - a brand I adore and wanted my girls to experience.

It was truly the best day of our lives! Sometimes what you get in life is what you never knew you wanted. I certainly wouldn’t have wished for a COVID wedding, but I’m so grateful that I got to celebrate in a town that means so much to me and surrounded by our closest family! And we couldn’t be happier to be Mr. and Mrs. Rushton!

If you don’t know the story, Will grew up on Great Hill Farms Road on the border of Pound Ridge and Bedford. His dad, Christopher Reeve, who the world knew as Superman, suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury from an equestrian accident when Will was just 3, and died when Will was only 11. Will’s mom, Dana, an author, actress, singer, and activist, and Christopher’s champion, herself succumbed to lung cancer at 44, less than 2 years after Chris’ death, leaving Will an orphan at 13.

Knowing that she was dying, and planning for Will’s future, Dana chose neighbors Ralph and Ann Pucci to adopt Will. And Will was embraced and supported by the community as a whole, and particularly by the folks at Rippowam Cisqua, and then Brunswick. Then Will followed in his mother’s footsteps choosing Middlebury College, where he graduated cum laude with a degree in English and American Literature.

Fast forward to the present... Will is living his dream as a broadcast journalist at Good Morning America. He’s smart, positive, genuine, humble, socially conscious... was named one of Town & Country’s top 50 bachelors... lives in Gotham... and looks a whole lot like Clark Kent!

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE SUPERMAN’S SON?

I’m not, I’m Christopher and Dana’s son. And I know that my dad is beloved around the world for the role that he played. But I certainly don’t think of myself as Superman’s son. Just like if your mom or dad is a lawyer or accountant or teacher, they don’t come home and go over that day’s work in detail. We weren’t analyzing movies or watching my dad’s clips, we were talking about my homework and whether my room was properly cleaned, and all the things you deal with in every family.

I didn’t really grow up around lots of other celebrities – I grew up here in Bedford… although I hear now that lots of famous people like Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively and whoever else live here…but, I was not part of a celebrity culture, and that was an intentional choice by my parents. They never lived in L.A. or subscribed to the Hollywood lifestyle or mentality - in fact they rather loathed it. My parents did everything they could to give me the most normal and healthy childhood they could. That included school, friends, sports, extracurriculars...repeat. I always felt as a kid here that people really respected our privacy and normal lives.

My parents were obviously public figures and I’m extremely conscious that there have been inherent perks and advantages that have come along with that. But my parents always instilled in me that we were incredibly lucky and must always be grateful. They taught me not to use our name to get something and never to expect special treatment, and it seemed to me they rejected special treatment more often than not. My mom’s mantra was that ‘you had to give more than you take’.

And my dad was paralyzed from the time I was 3, so it’s involved in all the memories I have of him. I did recently watch a documentary he did just before his accident, about the grey whale migration from the Baring Straight down to Baja Mexico. He did that for National Geographic, and I used to watch that with him all the time as a kid. That was probably the closest I came to thinking of my dad as a movie star, or anything more important than being my dad...and whales are still my favorite animal.

I did once get to be on Sesame Street when I was in second grade. That was nepotism at work, I was terrible, and I never really had much of an interest in acting. We had a good time – that was a good day, Big Bird and Zoe, me and my dad. But my very famous dad didn’t feel like a celebrity to me.

TELL US ABOUT THE PUCCI FAMILY AND ABOUT YOUR HALF-SIBLINGS.

From left:

Will Reeve, Ralph, Ann, Nicole, and Michael Pucci

“They are life savers. They are the very best people.”

They are my adoptive parents, my guardians, my counselors, my cheerleaders. They are the reason that I was able to emerge from the darkest period of my life – relatively unscathed.

They were our next door neighbors. Michael and Nicole are both very close to me in age. Michael was my first best friend, and our parents were really close. Michael and Nicole would come over in one of those little red plastic Jeeps and pick me up when we were little. I’ve been tagging along with the Puccis for as long as I can remember. So, ultimately, when my mom was very sick and had to make a decision about what was going to happen to me, she made what was the best decision she ever made as far as I’m concerned...she asked the Puccis to be my guardians...and they said yes! They took me in, and they loved me, not even like a son, they loved me, and do love me, as a son. The Puccis are my family and they always will be. I think their legal jurisdiction over me expired when I turned 18 – which was a decade ago… but when I say ‘I’m going home’ - it’s their house.

And I’m really close with my brother Matthew and sister Alexandra, who are my dad’s kids from his relationship with Gae Exton before he met my mom. They’re my half-siblings, but we always say, ‘there’s no half’! They were born and raised in London, but went to college in the U.S. My sister lives in D.C. and my brother lives in L.A., but we try to get together as often as possible. They each have two kids and I think I’m doing a pretty good job being an uncle. It’s really not that hard being an uncle to kids under the age of 5, because I just get to do the fun stuff. But I will say that I’m more than adequate at feeding them, and changing diapers, and even getting them down for naps… I can do the full thing!

Will visits the auditorium at Ripp, where he reminisced on many early 2000’s performances.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE MEMORIES FROM GROWING UP HERE?

Too many to condense into a usable answer, but I think, in an overarching sense, that my memories are of community, the laughter and the love, and coming to school - here at Ripp - where I felt heard and celebrated and understood. I felt so encouraged in every aspect of my life.

Will visits Rippowam Cisqua, his elementary and middle school, where he now sits on the board

Driving around here, everything I see reminds me of something - an experience with my parents or my friends. Going to movies at the Playhouse was such a treat. And there was nothing better than a half-day Friday at Ripp! My mom would pick me up from school, usually with some friends, we’d stop at the Bedford Village Deli, get my sandwich - the ‘Mr. T’, and eat on the Village Green, and then go to some extra-curricular. It was so innocent and pure... and a whole lot of fun.

Doing anything with my dad required a lot of planning, so we couldn’t really be spontaneous. But it didn’t deter my parents from living as normal a life as possible. We would go to Dinardo’s in Pound Ridge, and Spacarellis in North Castle, and Luna in Mt. Kisco (I think it became Woody’s on Main). My dad’s 50th birthday party was there, and my mom sang at it.

More than any one particular memory growing up here, I remember mostly how growing up here made me feel. I love this town, I love this school, and I love the memories here.

HOW DID YOU GET TO BE A BROADCAST JOURNALIST? ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOUR DAD HAVING WORKED AT THE DAILY PLANET?

I’ve pretty much always known I wanted to do something pretty much like what I’m doing. The real joke is that I wanted to be a professional athlete...until I realized that I couldn’t be one… so I figured that the next best thing would be talking about sports on TV! I grew up with ESPN on in the house pretty much 24/7, and my parents were huge sports people. I always dreamed of anchoring Sports Center.

Through a whole bunch of lucky breaks, I got an internship at Good Morning America in the summer of 2012 - and I was hooked. Being behind the scenes in the organized chaos at GMA, and then putting out this immaculate product, was intoxicating. And I remember the specific day that I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do. I was in the control room during a breaking news situation - it was the Colorado movie theatre shooting. Seeing the reporters act aggressively in pursuit of the facts and the truth, while maintaining respect and sobriety, and putting all of these whirling, whizzing, disparate pieces into a cohesive product - live on television- was like magic! Being a part of that… I realized, yeah, that’s the thing I want to do!

I didn’t think I had the skill set, temperament or patience to go into production, and I’ve always loved to tell stories and write and entertain and perform. I’ve always felt comfortable with public speaking.

In my second summer as an intern at GMA, I stuck around late about once a week or so, and became good friends with the camera crew and stage managers. I would show up with a suit on, and ask the team to stay an extra ten minutes, and I would sit at the anchor desk and have someone run the prompter for me. I managed to make a really professional reel I could send out to news organizations. Lot’s of networking and resumes later, I was introduced to the head of talent at ESPN, who said they were willing to take a chance on me and gave me a start right out of Middlebury.

I worked at ESPN for a few years, and I’m so grateful to the folks there, and for my time there, for so many reasons. I was a bit of an oddity starting out there because I wasn’t a seasoned broadcast professional or a former athlete or coach. Because that meant there wasn’t always a natural assignment for me, I invented a role. I created this thing we called ‘The Will Reeve Experience’. It was a series of all the cool things that you would dream of getting to do as a sports fan, but would never get to do because you don’t get the access. ...I was a groundskeeper for a day at Wrigley Field, I was a tour guide at Yankee Stadium, I was a cheerleader at Clemson, I was a RUFF/NEK at Oklahoma, I was a yell leader at Texas A&M, I was a bull wrangler at Colorado, I was a ticket taker and pretzel vendor at Michigan, I was a part of the Ohio State Band, I was the Eagle handler at Auburn. ...And I got to anchor Sports Center occasionally!

Then there was this one time I remember I was anchoring, and during commercial break I noticed the floor crew, the producers in my ear, the cameramen, my co-anchor - they were all doing their own thing, focusing on whatever was up next in the show. Nobody was treating me with kid gloves. I had a moment where I was looking around the studio, and I said to myself ‘Wow… I’m a part of this… they’re treating me as an equal and I am doing this’. And it wasn’t just a dream. That was a really special moment for me. I’m doing the thing that I’ve really always wanted to do.

Will interviews Patrick Mahomes II (the quarterback of the KC Chiefs, and 2020 Super Bowl champions) for GMA With the band at an Ohio State football game

Will stands-in as a cheerleader at Clemson

WHAT’S THE COOLEST PART OF BEING WITH GOOD MORNING AMERICA?

One feature I did that was particularly meaningful for me was getting to meet Chris Barr – who was paralyzed surfing in California and received a cutting edge treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. We were granted access to Barr’s final appointment at the Mayo Clinic... before he was happily kicked out the door.

I met with Barr, in his wheelchair, and his wife, and I couldn’t help but think of my parents, who had given so many interviews in that exact context... and here I was as the interviewer. They told me about his story, then we met with his doctor, and we did all the perfunctory elements of a day-long TV shoot. ...As things wrapped up, Barr rolled up to me in his wheelchair and… GOT UP!… AND WALKED DOWN THE HALLWAY WITH ME! These were among the first steps he had taken without assistance. I was blown away! I was thrilled for him, and thrilled to have been a personal witness. It was something that I always hoped and dreamed that I would get to see my own dad do...and he never got the chance. Seeing Barr leave his wheelchair left me speechless...and I really don’t remember the rest of the interview.

That, and getting to do the final leg of Janne Kouri’s wheelchair ride across America. Janne is an alum of Brunswick, where I went to high school, who went to Georgetown and played football there... and was later paralyzed. He did a ride across America, and I got to join him for the final leg! Robin Roberts had profiled him at GMA a couple times before in his journey to try to walk again, and she so graciously passed the baton to me to tell this part of his story. I got to do the final 40 miles with him – him in his power chair and me on a bike. We finished at the Georgetown Library and I conducted the interview, still all sweaty from the ride! Awesome!

Getting to do my job at GMA and bring attention to the spinal cord community at the same time is a highlight of my career and life.

I was moved by the experience of covering the California wildfires last year. We were right in the thick of things and I got a real appreciation for the tremendous work the firefighters are doing.

And then there’s the universe of fun and different assignments! ...I’ve gotten to climb glaciers, and descend to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. I’ve travelled far and wide. I’ve interviewed Will Farrell and Julia Louis Dryfus together, and Billie Eilish. Every day is a new opportunity, and I have to pinch myself and remind myself that this is real.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR WORK ON THE BOARD OF THE REEVE FOUNDATION?

My dad’s ultimate dream was a world of empty wheelchairs. I’m really proud to continue my parents’ legacy and to further their mission to find cures for paralysis, and provide quality of life care for affected individuals and families.

The spinal cord community is hyper-focused right now on something we call ‘The Big Idea’. Tens of millions of dollars in research in epidural stimulation have led to a device that’s placed at the base of a patient’s spine and sends signals to electrodes that are also surgically implanted in the patient. The technology has already proven successful in resuscitating functions including temperature regulation, bowel and bladder regulation, and sexual function, and even in getting walking muscles working as a part of a rehab regimen with some patients. And right now, we like to say that we are in the ‘1980s cellphone’ version of the stimulator...with all technology improving according to Moore’s law...and the 5G version - and the getting patients up to walk again part - just around the corner.

What we’re doing right now at the Reeve Foundation is having a tangible, visible, obvious, and incredible impact on peoples’ lives, in a way I think my mom and dad could have only dreamed of. It’s incredibly exciting to be an agent of hope in that way.

Will with his siblings Alexandra and Matthew at the 2019 Annual Reeve Foundation Fundraiser

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40 Westchester Ave. Pound Ridge NY 10576 914.764.5679 JAN/FEB 2021 www.wittus.com

YOU’VE OBVIOUSLY FACED A LOT OF ADVERSITY AND TRAGEDY IN YOUR LIFE, BUT YOU COME ACROSS AS A REALLY POSITIVE PERSON WITH A VERY POSITIVE OUTLOOK.

EVERYONE WE’VE SPOKEN TO ABOUT YOU LIGHTS UP AT THE MENTION OF YOUR NAME AND HAS NOTHING BUT POSITIVE THINGS TO SAY ABOUT YOU. IS IT A CONSCIOUS DECISION?

As you can imagine, much like anyone else’s life, my life isn’t a string of one green light after another. But I grew up in a house where optimism and positivity were the rule. My parents projected an air of hope and calm. My mom often said ‘there’s not enough time in the day to sit around feeling sorry for yourself’. Does that mean that I don’t have my moments of extreme self-doubt or bad moods? No, I’m very much a human-being, and I have my moments just like anyone else. It’s not a conscious decision for me to be any one way or the other. I think I’m inherently positive.

I believe that hope is what sustains humanity when it’s at its best, and I learned that from my parents for sure. When you’re in a house where tragedy is right around the corner at any moment, you have to have hope that things are going to be okay, because there is no other way to move forward. I’ve been so exceedingly fortunate in my life, despite anything bad that has occurred, I still think that I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I was born to the two greatest parents that anyone could have, and I’ve had all the advantages handed to me. I was born on third base... it’s up to me to get home. I’m a gainfully employed, straight, white male… I realize I’m privileged. That’s how I try to think of things. What I can control is how I behave, and how I act, every day. I don’t always succeed at doing the right thing at the right time and I’m nowhere near perfect, but I live trying to be the best person that I can be.

My dad had a framed needlepoint Abraham Lincoln quote hanging in his office that’s in my apartment now. It says: “When I do good I feel good, when I do bad I feel bad. And that’s my religion.” My dad organized his entire life around that principle, and I try to do the same. Not just in bringing attention to finding cures for spinal cord injury, or cancer, but more generally bringing focus to the fundamental issues of equality for all people.

So...‘Underwear-gate’…. It went viral on Instagram...Last March, when the nation was newly adjusting to Covid, you were doing a segment on GMA whence the camera panned down and revealed...

I swear they are gym shorts. I should have brought them to prove it to you! I literally wore them on a run the other day. Nike gym shorts.

Then...the irony...that your dad came out of the phonebooth and went to work in his underwear...is not lost on you…

...I get it. But it was just an unfortunate sequence of technical events that led to my frame being a little too wide on national television for a blip, but I’m glad that it made some people smile during a difficult time. I’m so grateful to ABC and the public for being supportive, and seeing it as nothing more than a harmless, even funny, and definitely embarrassing moment. It’s a moment I’ll always remember...and that several of my friends and colleagues will anyway never let me forget.

Who are the 3 people you’d have to dinner tonight if you could?

Just my mom and my dad if I could, but otherwise: Sasha Baron Cohen, Andrew Sorkin, and Maya Angelou. If you don’t come away from that dinner a better writer and a better person, then you’re hopeless.

An emphasis on outdoor education has never been more important.

Learn how we are using Bedford as the backdrop for our curriculum. Schedule a virtual tour with our Admissions team by calling 914-244-1296 or emailing admissions@rcsny.org.

YOUR NEW OFFICE COULD BE HERE.

• Individual offices starting at $800 per month • Coworking starting at $200 per month • Office suites available from 3 to 30+ people • Reciprocity with WorkHouse NYC flagship at

Grand Central • Ample parking

WorkHouse is located off exit 39 of the Saw Mill River Parkway, adjacent to the Bedford Hills train station.

info@workhousenyc.com workhousenyc.com

WORKHOUSE

BEDFORD

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