Ironman Steigerwald & Flint Park Conservancy Beat the Clock to Earn Over $40K for Playground

by Judy Silberstein

Photo by Action Sports International

(December 4, 2003) Larchmont Ironman John Steigerwald has won another race – this time against the clock and the balance sheet – to earn $10,000 from the Janus Foundation that will go towards the Flint Park Playground renovation project. When he competed in the Florida Ironman Triathlon back on November 8, he placed #1488 in the athletic competition but #1 in fundraising, having collected $27,000 in pledges for his chosen charity – the playground project. The Janus Charity Challenge gave him only 2 ½ weeks to turn those pledges into cash and earn the bonus $10K.

“You know what, “ reported Steigerwald, “I feel really good. We started really late – just a week before the race. For starting that late, we’ve done extraordinarily well.” He credits Chatsworth Principal Jane Hand for steering him to the Flint Park project.

“He’s pretty amazing,” said Catherine Kortlandt, President of the Flint Park Conservancy, a private organization that is partnering with the Village of Larchmont to make improvements in the park. “He’s done a great job on this. Thanks to him we are well on our way.”

The Conservancy and the Flint Park Playground Committee has been developing plans for replacing the aging equipment in the park. Last month the Committee came before the Village Board with a detailed presentation, recommendations and budget. (See: Playground Group Unveils Final Recommendations: What Do You Think?) They hope to get approval from the Board and raise the $150,000 budget in time to have a new playground available in late Spring of 2004. Steigerwald’s earnings will provide a healthy kick-off to the fundraising effort.

“The (Steigerwald) money had to come in by Thanksgiving,” reported Brigid Brennan from the Flint Park Conservancy’s Playground Committee. Two weeks before the date there was some tension, but a surge in donations during the last week took the pressure off as the deadline loomed. The final tally is still being reckoned, but it's gone over $30 thousand. “I’m so relieved,” she admitted. “ We’re off to a wonderful start. “

“People are still learning about the playground and starting to get involved,” said Brennan. “There’s a lot of excitement in Larchmont." She also wanted people to know it was not too late to participate in the fundraising - there's still a way's to go before the final $150,000 goal gets met.

Meanwhile, Ironman Steigerwald is already thinking about his next athletic and fundraising challenge. “I’ll be running the Lake Placid Iron Man in July,” he reported, “And if the playground project still needs support, we’ll do an additional fundraiser then.”

The Ironman USA events typically combine strenuous athletic competitions with a charity component. Competitors must finish the course – by first swimming 2.4 miles, then biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles. Only finishers can participate in the Janus Charity Challenge.

For next September, Steigerwald and three friends are aiming for an even bigger Ironman challenge – raising $200,000 for the Barth Syndrome Foundation. Steigerwald and Larchmonters Gary Rodbell and Sam Jensen will be joined by Rodbell’s brother-in-law Tim Monetti for the competition. This will be the second Ironman event in support of BSF; in October 2002, Steigerwald and Rodbell combined forces to raise $74,000 and earn an additional $5,000 for coming in second in the Janus Fund Charity Challenge.

The athletes learned about Barth Syndrome, a debilitating genetic disorder that affects only males, from neighbors Steve and Kate McCurdy, whose son Will has the disorder. “Will is extraordinary,” said Steigerwald. “Though he has constant headaches, Will never complains.”

Recently a friend of Will’s died from Barth. That sad event, though, led to a breakthrough in the understanding of the syndrome. Now many of the affected children are being tested for a related heart condition that may be correctible, reported Steigerwald. He has hope that research supported by the BSF will be able to help in immediate and tangible ways.

“It is touching how people have come together,” said Steigerwald about both the Barth and Flint Park fundraisers.

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