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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