Live Uncommon - Never Giving Up, Always Giving Back.
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on the 1st Day of Christmas....
Dec 01, 2012
....my True LU gave to me.....
....JEN and JEFF PAUL in RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION gear!!! (are you singing this??)
Without JEN and JEFF PAUL and RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION, the Movment would not BE. And so then, neither would we be singing this 31 Days of Christmas Uncommon song. Makes sense to start the song with them then, don'tcha think?? We do...
Here's how LU came to BE...
On a January morning in 2011, JIM and MICHELLE read in the paper that the organizers of the CASI St. Patrick's Day Races were hoping to move their annual fundraising event - the St. Pat's Races - back to downtown Davenport, where it had originated over 25 years before. The newspaper article told of a city council meeting taking place that very evening to hear arguments for and against, and a vote to decide, relocating the race. The RUSSELLs, being old enough to remember running the St. Pat's Race for many years when it had been run downtown, and further, remembering it to be a supreme event during those years, decided they would attend the city council meeting to lend whatever support they could, to a positive outcome - the race moving back downtown. That night at the council meeting, two things went down -- the City Council voted to allow the St. Pat's Race to move back downtown...and the RUSSELLs met and chatted with the CEO of CASI (Center for Active Seniors) - the non-profit for which the St. Pat's Race is held annually to benefit.
A few days later, influenced by the 'GIVE' that comes out of the St. Pat's Race (the entry fees, the sponsor fees -- the MONEY -- actually goes to a worthy Cause - CASI - and is not simply collected for the sake of making money), RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION signed on as the Title Sponsor for the CASI St. Pat's Races. You following this? Because if you are, you may be struck by, as many have before you, the feeling that the LIVE UNCOMMON story, from the very beginning, has been the stuff of "wow, can you believe how that just happened to happen??"
Because the RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION name was going to be attached to the event, it was now paramount that the event live up to the RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION standard of excellence. It was RUSSELL's mission to make sure the St. Pat's Race became a bigger, better event - for the Familes, the everyday runner, the elite competitor, the volunteer, the spectator. It was in this interest of raising the caliber of the event, that the RUSSELLs reached out and personally invited JEN PAUL to come and run. They didn't know much about JEN at that time, but did know that she was a great runner who would most likely win the Overall Female Division. JEN was very humble regarding this personal invite, but she ultimately accepted. So JEN and JEFF were outfitted in some RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION shirts for the occassion.
And so the day of the race arrived. And JEN and JEFF and PAYTON and OWEN (their 3 and 1 year olds at the time) arrived. The kids ran the 1/4 Mile Kids Run. JEN and JEFF ran, literally, stride for stride in the 5K, striding JEN to a record-breaking 17:16 win. JEN, the St. Pat's Race Event, the day -- each a success. Pretty cool, yes?
Even cooler -- JIM and MICHELLE RUSSELL receive a Thank You card in the mail about three days later. From JEN. JEN expressed her appreciation to the RUSSELLs for their role in putting on a great event that she and her entire Family really enjoyed, and for having the confidence in her that allowed her to run an outstanding race. Hmm. The RUSSELLs were very moved by this action.
So...the RUSSELLs talked amongst themselves a bit. They began to see that JEN and JEFF lives seemed to be in alignment with the RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION core values - INTEGRITY, COMMUNITY COA
MMITMENT, EXCELLENCE.
So they created a couple more pieces of RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION pieces for JEN and JEFF. So they could do their thing, win their races, while representing RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION. And they did. JEN and JEFF, that is. They ran. They won. They wore the RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION name. And it was very cool.
And the RUSSELLs, well, they talked amongst themselves about JEN and JEFF some more. Like alot more. The question on the table -- "WHAT are we doing here? We are not sports agents. WHAT are we doing here?" The real question they were asking eachother was "WHY are we so drawn to these two?" So they talked about it more and more, exploring why they were so intrigued by JEN and by JEFF.
They came to this realization -- they were drawn to JEN and JEFF because of WHO they are, as defined by HOW they live.
JEN and JEFF -- devoted to eachother. Fully engaged with their children. Dedicated professionals (both with Masters Degrees even!). Tireless givers to the World around them. Wicked impressive athletes. And applying Excellence to all of the above.
Nice.
Is doing this - living like JEN and JEFF easy to accomplish?? Um. No.
And that discovery was the basis of thought that is, now, LIVE UNCOMMON.
JEN and JEFF PAUL, since Day One of Year One, of the LIVE UNCOMMON RevoLUtion, have served as the personifications of the LU vaLUes. They serve to inspire the RUSSELLs, the LU Team, the World, to dream bigger....reach higher....DO more.....more than what is expected....because it truly does only take ONE.....
.....to change the World. JEN and JEFF, PAYTON and OWEN, YOU --- YOU reading this YOU -- YOU ARE THE ONE.
JEN and JEFF are still up to nothing but good, of course. Both on and off the race course. JEN has won just about every single race she has entered for who knows how long now. She's not counting. JEFF is something like a three-time Professional IRONMAN. The pair just returned from Tempe, Arizona where JEFF successfully completed the IRONMAN for the second consecutive year. JEN, after 'retiring' for the season and having not run even one mile (really and truly she had not run even one mile) in more than a month, came out for the Turkey Trot and won it. Of course. JEFF recently accepted the call to lend his significant talents to coaching again -- this time Freshman Girls Basketball at Pleasant Valley High School. LU sources say he is LOVING it. And you gotta know that his team is loving it too. Right on, JEFF!!
The Crew will catch you up on the particulars of JEN and JEFF's achievements in the later Days of Christmas Uncommon. For now, the Crew just wanted to launch the 31 Days the same way the Movement was launched -- with JEN and JEFF PAUL by RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION.
A quick word about RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION.....2013 will mark 30 years for RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION. In that time, JIM RUSSELL has, personally and corporately, given away over $1 Million to charitble causes. This is a fact he would not tell you, but we will. He is humble. LIVE UNCOMMON, and the World, is grateful for his generosity and philanthopy. It is important that we - LU Crew - recognize RUSSELL CONSTRUCTION's role within the Movement. For, without their significant and continued support, LIVE UNCOMMON simply would not exist.