Rebecca Eppelmann, The Record's audience engagement editor, wants to help all of us get in shape -- and she promises me that it doesn't have to hurt to get there.

This Thursday at 6 p.m., we are inviting both seasoned and amateur runners to join us in our Community Media Lab on the first floor of our downtown Troy building for a session on how to avoid injuries.

Dr. Tim Maggs, a specialist in Sports Biomechanics, will present a hands-on injury prevention seminar that will focus on how to prevent and care for all types of running injuries, figuring out “good” vs. “bad” pain, and the importance of stretching.

Maggs has been a Sports Chiropractor for 35 years, is a national lecturer on fitness and conditioning, worked in the New York Giants (professional football) strength department, was the founder and director of the Team Stick Kenyan Running Program, gives 25 seminars a year to doctors on the importance of structural biomechanics, and has completed 16 marathons.

In addition, he has developed the: Structural Management Program, Structural Fingerprint Exam, and the Maggs Muscle Management Program.

As The Running Doctor, Dr. Maggs has contributed to: New England Runner, Florida Running & Triathlon, Chiropractic Economics, Chiropractic Products, Pace Setter and American Chiropractor magazines; and a frequent contributor to many other running publications.

Maggs is heavily involved in the Training Challenge for the Freihofer’s Run for Women and frequents their Saturday training sessions for consultation with participants.

Space for this seminar is limited, please RSVP at http://bit.ly/Zk9PI8

Free parking for the session is available in The Record's lot on Broadway between Fifth and Sixth avenues.

 

Wow!

Thanks to all of you, The Record’s first Red Cross blood drive -- held in our first-floor Community Media Lab – was a great success.

Jim Shake, account manager, biomedical services for the American Red Cross, reports that the Red Cross collected 26 units from 30 donors, including seven first-timers. This was approximately 124 percent of the pre-established goals for the drive, Jim reports.

What's even more exciting is that this blood can now provide the gift of life to as many as 78 recipients.

The constant stream of people kept Community Engagement Editor Rebecca Eppelmann busy checking people in and moving them along to the very capable Red Cross staff.

Happy to see my friend Nora Dwyer taking part in the blood drive. No matter what the need is in this community, Nora is always there doing whatever she can to help. She’s one amazing lady!

In this case, the need was great. The Red Cross blood supply had reached emergency levels, with 50,000 fewer donations than expected in June. This shortfall left about half the readily available blood products on hand than was available at this time last year.

Record reporters Andrew Beam and Danielle Sanzone were happy to help out as blood donors as was our IT guru, Pete Blanchette.

It was my first time as a blood donor. I always wanted to do it, but I never got around to following through. Rebecca couldn’t have made it any easier for me by scheduling a blood drive one floor below my office.

The Red Cross staff was terrific: Friendly, professional and capable. I admit that I was a bit nervous and did have a mini panic attack as I was finishing up my donation; the staff quickly calmed me down, got me hydrated and later sent me on my way back to work on the second floor.

One final note: Let me congratulate Rebecca for doing a terrific job organizing this event. Whether it was hanging posters throughout downtown Troy, encouraging all of us to promote the blood drive through social media, writing reminder stories for the print edition, this was her project – and she did a great job helping others. We’re proud of you Rebecca!   

P.S. Stay turned for upcoming events in our Community Media Lab!

The Record participated in its first “Troy Night Out” in June.

For the uninitiated, “Troy Night Out” is a monthly arts and cultural event held the last Friday of every month in downtown Troy from 5 to 9 p.m. Organizers say the special event regularly draws more than 1,000 people to the Collar City to enjoy art, music, restaurants and shops throughout downtown.


First, let me offer my thanks to Elizabeth Young, executive director of the Troy Business Improvement District, for helping us host the event in our Community Media Lab, located on the first floor of our building at the corner of Broadway and Fifth Avenue in downtown Troy.

Elizabeth is a terrific lady to work with and her energy and enthusiasm are contagious.

Our TNO event featured a photo exhibit by ASlyerImage Photography and a performance by area musician Greg Guba.

The photo exhibit, which features the work of Charlie and Gina Slyer and their daughters Toni and Amanda, is still on display in our Community Media Lab, which is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday through the end of this month.


We invited you to stop by and check out the work of this talented family and consider purchasing one or two or three of their reasonably priced photos.

Our thanks also go to Greg Guba, a local musician with more than 30 years of experience, who performed a variety of musical styles throughout the evening.

Everyone who stopped by to visit us that night commented on how much they enjoyed Greg’s music and the photos taken by the Slyer family.

Stay tuned for a schedule of future “Troy Night Out” events planned in our Community Media Lab.

The Record is taking part in Troy Night Out today, and we invite you to stop by between 5 and 9 p.m.
For the first time, a combination of art and music will be featured in our Community Media Lab, which is located on the first floor of our building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway.
On tap tonight in the CML will a photography exhibit by ASlyerImage Photography and a performance by area musician Greg Guba.
The photo exhibit is a family affair, featuring the work of Charlie and Gina Slyer and their daughters Toni and Amanda. I enjoyed talking with the family Tuesday night when they were here setting up their exhibit and was impressed with their work.
Guba, a professional musician for more than 30 years, will be performing a variety of musical styles from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. including rock, blues and the music of today. In the interest of full disclosure, Greg is family, my sister-in-law Lisa's brother. He's a good guy and a talented one, too!
I'm looking forward to the event and hope you'll join us. Check out the photos, listen to some music and enjoy the refreshments.
Hope to see you here!

P.S. Thanks to Elizabeth Young, executive director of the Troy Business Improvement District, for helping The Record become a part of Troy Night Out.

Paul Vandenburgh, radio host on WGDJ 1300 AM, will be broadcasting his morning show from The Record's Community Media Lab on June 30 from 5 to 10 a.m.

The popular morning show personality, who is also president and general manager of the radio station based at the Times Union Center in Albany, plans to invite various Troy officials to drop by the Community Media Lab to address Collar City-related issues.

Vandenburgh has strong ties to our coverage area, and we are looking forward to Thursday's broadcast as well as several more in the future.

This won't be the first time the broadcaster has taken his show on the road.

He frequently broadcasts his show from the Rensselaer train station and YNN in Albany as well as periodic appearances at the Saratoga Race Course and The College of Saint Rose in Albany.

On Wednesday night, we hosted a "soft opening" for The Record's new Community Media Lab.

Guests of honor at the event were people many of you have come to know: Our community bloggers.

The program, which was organized by Tom Caprood, The Record's digital specialist, included some light refreshments and two videos, one featuring some of our bloggers, the other Record employees talking about the newspaper's "digital first" philosophy and its impact on our news cycle.
You can check out both of these videos on our website.

Probably the best part of the evening was the conversation we started with our bloggers. It was a good exchange of ideas and blogging tips, a discussion about how we can all support each other and work together, and ways we all can do a better job serving this community.

I personally enjoyed meeting some of our bloggers for the first time, and I look forward to many more conversations with them in the future.


My thanks to Tina Urzan, who writes "The Way It Is," Sean Wilkes, "Fishing Out Loud"; Peggy "The Dart Lady" Kownack, "Unique Perspective"; Rod Aldrich, "Shamrock Road"; Vito Ciccarelli, "Community Thoughts" and Marcie Prey, "Hellions of Troy Roller Derby," for taking the time to get together with us Wednesday night.

Kudos to Tom for putting together the videos and leading the discussions with me.
By the way, stay tune for details about the official grand opening of our Community Media Lab. We hope it will be a place to be for this community.