HUGE ANNOUNCEMENTS!!

First off, the big, huge, ginormous announcements:

Sheridan College will be donating 12 credit hours worth of tuition to the tournament. If you didn't have a reason to sign up, now you do. This is over seven hundred dollars worth of tuition. I would like to publicly thank Randy Thompson and Dr. Kevin Drumm for this generous gift. This is absolutely amazing. We will also have 10 voice lessons for auction from Gene Sager, an excellent instructor here at Sheridan College. The Sheridan College Dental Hygiene club will be donating all proceeds from their bake sale next week to the fund.

The smaller announcement:

The organizational meeting has been moved to CTEL in the Whitney building due to W167 being too small. It's still at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

I talked to Dave today and he's doing okay. He's overwhelmed by the support he's receiving. Here he tried to be a jerk, and this is the thanks he gets.

More updates as they come in!

-Meg

(If anyone needs to get a hold of me, I'm still at the Wingate, only now #117)

Just a quick update

I started archiving the donor list because it was getting so long. That's a good thing though. The full list is on a webpage linked off of this one and the most recent donations are listed on the front page. I'll shuffle them around though, so the same few don't continuously stay on the front page. I want to make it fair for everyone.

I also added a couple more people on our "Usual Suspects" list. We now have Cody Donahue, another one of Dave's students. He's a great guy, so I'm happy to see him come on board. We also have Mike Lanker (my dad) who is a big Texas Hold 'em player and is going to deal in the tournament. He also said he'd help any beginners who want it. He's helped me before, but that was right before he took my money. He won't be playing though, he'll be dealing, so it will be okay to sit at his table.

I can tell Dave is feeling better. I talked to him this morning and he's starting to get ornery again. That's a good sign. We hope to see him up here for the tournament. Like I said, if he makes it up here (which he said he will), he'll be the dealer at the final table. There's more to come next week, same Bat time, same Bat channel.

-Meg

Urgent notice about organizational meeting!

When I sent out the global email to everyone, I forgot to list the time of the organizational meeting. It is at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2nd in W167 on the Sheridan College campus. I will be sending out another global email, but I need faculty to do it. I'm not cool enough for global email privileges.

-Meg

Day 7 of Organization

Well, it snowed again today, but I got out and about on Main St. today. It wasn't snowing so hard today and I wore real shoes today.

We added a couple of new donors today and got set up for our organizational meeting. The global email with the press release went out today. I linked an events calendar onto the blog to keep everyone up to date. It's under our lists of donors. Our organizational meeting is going to be April 2nd at 4 p.m. in W167 at Sheridan College. Community members are welcome to attend. W167 is in the Whitney building across from Dave's office. I did find out his classes are covered, so there is no danger that anything will be canceled. I talked to Dave today and he continues to sound better. He's excited by how well things are going. I'm definitely excited by the way things are going. The response has been very enthusiastic and we've got some great stuff for raffle. We have an awesome prize that will be revealed later, so keep your eyes peeled. For the tournament, Wade at The Trophy Case in downtown Sheridan is going to donate three trophies for first, second and third place. So the winners will have a memento and memories.

There's another option for donation as well. Donations can be brought to the Writing Center on the campus and given directly to me or someone in the office.

I can't wait to get back to campus and really start networking with people. I'm so excited to see an idea I had while brushing my teeth beginning to come to fruition. I called John Molloy last Thursday and told him about my idea and he said we should get it going. So, in part thanks to his encouragement, I got it underway this week and more people will be coming on board next week.

I'm taking tomorrow off for the most part, but I may have some more to report over the weekend. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment or email me at meglanker@hotmail.com.

-Meg

Day 6 of Organization

We added some new donors, so be sure to check them out on the side. Efforts were kind of hampered today due to the requisite Spring Break snowstorm. Of course, I was traipsing around in flip-flops, hoping in vain the temperature would suddenly hit sixty degrees.

The press release has been handed out all over town and people are starting to buzz about the actual fundraiser. It looks like we'll have some fine art up for auction, along with lots of merchandise and gift certificates from generous businesses all over town.

I've talked to some people who are very interested in helping out and I added two new sections on the website. One lists our volunteers, under the heading "The Usual Suspects." Check it out, and if you know any of them, give them a pat on the back. Or a back rub, depending on how well you actually know them. The other isn't so much a new section as it is a new link. I'll keep all of Dave's messages under one link, so if you want to see them, they're under "Letters from Dave" in the links section.

I'm still trying to figure out how we can get a Batman thing going in the fundraiser. Maybe, if you come to the tournament dressed like Batman, we'll give you a couple of free raffle tickets for your trouble. I imagine that outfit might get hot after awhile.

Until next time...

-Meg

A Message From Dave

Hi all. Just checked my email and saw Dave sent me a message to post on here, so here it is.

"Well Gang:

I guess you are not going to get rid of me so easily. As already posted, I am at home resting from the ordeal of being in the hospital. Boy, if you want or need rest, the hospital is the last place one wants to go. Needles every 4 hours or so and some too cheerful CNA coming in at "0" dark thirty to check your vitals. What a trip, but seriously, I have never seen such a great bunch of true professionals both in Sheridan and Colorado Springs. The medical staff in Sheridan were on top of this the whole time. When I arrived in Colorado Springs, I had nothing but the best.

I have been tolerating the chemotherapy drugs well, with very little side effects. I am weak and lethargic but I can't tell if it is from the flu, which is the reason I went into the ER in Sheridan in the first place, or the chemo drugs. Either way, I am sure that I will gain the strength needed to come back and finish the school year. There is no time line here as of yet and it will all depend on how well the body responds to the treatment and when the docs feel comfortable about letting me come back up to Sheridan. I am guessing two, three, or four more weeks should do it.

I want to thank everyone for all the cards, calls, and prayers. I am supposed to be the hard ass here and the outpouring of people has made me quite humble. Sometimes one does not know how they are received or perceived until something like this happens and you have to take stock in your worth. Right now I believe I am the luckiest man alive with all my friends, family and college around me.

There is one more thing that I need to say to the criminal justice students and that is about the criminal justice program at Sheridan College. It is so important to understand that you, the students, are the criminal justice program at Sheridan College. This is not Dave's program or anyone else's. It belongs to the students. How you as students react to all this will be the determining factor in the worth of the program and your worth within the criminal justice profession. The program is not built upon one or a few people, it is built on a concept of what criminal justice professionals should be in our society. I have talked about this with each and everyone of you and you know what I say is true. That is why it is so important that you continue to continue on with what you do well. And that is to be good students. The college is on top of the situation and have made some changes to try to make all this work. It is a good plan and all the students should be able to fit into the process without a lot of problems if they remember why they are at the college and those lessons they have already learned. The proudest testimony you could give me, would be that all worked out well and learning took place, that the instruction was better, the students learned more and the school year was a great success. It is not going to be easy adapting to new teachers and new styles of teaching,but you can do it. I am so very proud of the way you guys are adjusting and coping with all this. Hang in there and we will all get through it, maybe better then before. Maybe, just maybe, I will come back with a heart..... NO! Probably not.

Thank you for all you do,

Dave Marquith "

Day 5 of Organization

Wow, wow, wow...the response has been incredible. We've added new donors to the list and even more will be coming. I've made contacts and set up meetings and have started spreading the word. I distributed the press release today and it's already hanging up in several businesses downtown. I'm exhausted, but it was completely worth it. We've got some great stuff for raffle, like gift certificates and a very nice messenger bag. And I'll be starting again tomorrow. Please, feel free to contact me for any information or with any suggestions. I also spoke with an old friend of Dave's today and found out a little piece of trivia. Dave was once a prom king. I would love to see that picture, because it is hard for me to imagine a fresh-faced, teenaged Dave "Nick" Marquith on stage. That's a story for when he gets back.

So, in closing, what do Dave Marquith and Batman have in common? Easy. One's a fierce advocate of law and order and the other guy wears a mask and a cape. It's up to you figure out which one.

-Meg

News Update

I've been very busy organizing today, but I would like to kick this post off with a major announcement:

Dave is out of the hospital!

He's resting at home in Colorado Springs and will hopefully be back before the end of the semester. His medication is extremely expensive and he will need to take it for the rest of his life. So we're still doing everything we can.

I spoke to him this morning and he sounds well. He is very excited for the tournament and wants to deal at the final table. That would be a nice touch. I've been pounding the pavement today asking local businesses if they would like to contribute. I've made some good contacts and we received our first donation today. So please, if you're in the Sheridan area, patronize our wonderful donors and let them know you appreciate what they did for Dave. Several other businesses have said they will donate and as they do, I will posting them here.

I have a bank account set up for donations. To contribute, you can either go to any First Interstate branch and ask to contribute to the "Dave Marquith Fundraiser" account or it can be mailed to:
Dave Marquith Fundraiser
c/o Meg Michelena
35 E. 9th St. #1
Sheridan, WY 82801

I will then mail you a receipt for your deposit. I also talked to The Sheridan Press today and they are going to do a story on the event itself and our fundraising efforts. Continue to keep Dave in your thoughts and prayers and I'll keep everyone up to date right here, same Bat time, same Bat channel.

-Meg

Update

Judy, Dave's wife, says Dave is insisting the money be used for a scholarship. Well, I told Dave he can do whatever he wants with it, so he can establish a scholarship, take flight lessons, or get some glamor shots taken - In other words, whatever he wants! Apparently, he is doing very well and we may see him up here in Sheridan in the next few weeks. If he does make it to the tournament, he can be the dealer at the championship table. If Dave plays, the tournament will last an hour. I've heard stories about his poker skills.

The suggested name for the scholarship is "The Dave Marquith I'm Not Dead Yet" scholarship. I suggest "The Bat Grant." You know, I may be able to get a Batman reference in on every post. We'll see.

I'll be setting up a bank account for donations on Monday, and I'll post information on how to donate here when I have it. Hopefully, a person will be able to just go to the bank and contribute.

I'll be posting some links about CML, which is the form of Leukemia that Dave has been diagnosed with. I'll keep everyone up to date and in the meantime, to the Bat Cave! I have lots of work to do, and only 27 hours to do it in. It's as Dave always tells us when we complain about assignments - "There are 27 hours in the day. You just need to find 3 of them."

-Meg

Good News

I spoke with a good friend of Dave's first thing this morning and the Leukemia he has is very treatable and it is not as severe as it could have been. This does not mean we can't help. Stay tuned for more information. This weekend, I'm compiling a log of potential donors so I can start doing some footwork on Monday. If Dave doesn't get a Spring Break, then neither do we! We're going to do everything we can to make his life a little easier because he deserves it. After all, we have to help get him well in time for the new Batman flick. If you know Dave, you know why.

-Meg