FMYI | For My Innovation

Do you remember Brian Grant? The tenacious Power Forward for the Portland Trailblazers, Miami Heat, and the Los Angeles Lakers with a big heart? Well, he has Early Onset Parkinson’s. Was diagnosed when he was 36. True to his character, Brian turned it into a positive. Something bigger than his already huge battle.

He decided to be a change agent and evolve the Brian Grant Foundation into a force to be reckoned with in the fight against Parkinson’s. Brian, along with his Executive Director Lauren Forman and a great team of volunteers, set sights on pulling together a launch party called “Shake it Till We Make it” unlike anything else ever seen in Portland, Oregon.

From the beginning, his team was interested in using an FMYI site to help organize the planning across numerous stakeholders. Guided by our mission of empowering teams to make a difference and a triple bottom line commitment to people, planet, and profit, we were of course eager to help out with the event.

“FMYI was one of our very first sponsors to step up and support our event,“ Brian said. “We’re proud to have FMYI as the communications sponsor for Shake It Till We Make It and The Brian Grant Foundation.“

Brian and his amazing team pulled off an unbelievable event, raising an incredible $350,000 for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Spanning two days, “Shake it Till We Make it” featured a sold-out celebrity gala at the Rose Garden arena and golf tournament at Pumpkin Ridge on August 1st and 2nd. FMYI Portland team members were there to represent and we were starstruck.

At both the gala and the golf tournament, we were surrounded by some of the NBA’s greatest players and coaches as well as other famous athletes and celebrities. At the gala, we were honored to be in the midst of the great Muhammad Ali and inspired by the courage and leadership of Michael J. Fox. And Rafael Saadiq (remember Tony Toni Toné?) brought down the house at the end of the night. The entire FMYI team was out of their seats and grooving (some had better dance moves than others).

Three high points for me: talking with Brian Grant and seeing the excitement in his eyes about the event, seeing Katrina getting her picture taken with Pat Riley (even though I’m not a big Lakers fan!), talking at the golf tournament with Tom Gorman, a former pitcher for the New York Mets (the greatest baseball team ever).

Favorite memories from our team:

Evan: “Charles Barkley. I’ve never seen a superstar more approachable and excited to interact with strangers. Also, from the marketing side of me, I really liked the consistent wooden floor theme — the slide shows, everything was wood themed/colored, including all logos and photos.“

Michael: “I was really amazed at how the players were mixing with everyone. I thought they were incredibly patient about taking pictures with anyone who asked. Brian Grant had a strong presence and it was nice to hear that he came back to Portland because it was easier to get involved in the community. Nice speeches by Pat Riley and Michael J. Fox.“

Courtney: “Socializing in the same circle as the original Rip City Trailblazers Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter and Jerome Kersey! I spent the better half of my childhood watching these guys play and collecting their player cards so it seemed like a dream for me. Also, I loved and felt inspired by the speeches. My uncle has Parkinson’s so seeing and feeling the amount of support Brian Grant, Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali have been able to receive is encouraging. Especially, for those affected by the disease who deal with it on a daily basis.“

Sarah: “Almost spilling my drink all over myself as I took a picture with Brandon Roy. He’s so nice! He was sitting and eating with friends and family so I was too embarrassed to ask for a picture. Natasha wasn’t and he graciously took one with me as well. It was amazing to see how he and others mixed with everyone and didn’t mind taking pictures.“

Graeme: “Golfing with Met’s pitcher Tom Gorman and chatting with Charles Barkley. Raphael Saadiq was amazing. It was great to see the place get up and dance…talk about night in Portland.“

Eric: “At the golf tournament Tom Gorman and Charles Barkley seemed to take their role seriously — they really wanted us to enjoy ourselves, and contribute to the cause.“

Positive vibes were flowing everywhere. It was truly a beautiful moment. Thank you Brian Grant for all that you do, and for giving FMYI a chance to contribute!

-Justin