As you have been supporting our family fight against Cystic Fibrosis, months and now years have passed since we started.  The last year (2001) has been a wonderful one indeed.   Jenny has been pretty healthy and our family has enjoyed a year of relative bliss.  My wife Denise and I wanted to give you an update on how Jenny is doing.  We also wanted to give you a re-cap of the people and events that made 2001 so great.  What a difference your prayers and support have made in our lives and in the lives of children bravely fighting this disease.  Thank you for your kindness and thank you for being Jenny’s guardian angel!

Today Jenny is almost three years old.  Looking back a year ago, 2000 looked to be off to a terrible and ominous start.  As we approached the holidays Jenny was hospitalized for a lung infection (right after her 2^nd birthday).  The resultant two-week stay lasted through Christmas and New Years.  Just a few weeks earlier we learned that our friend Chris Vlahos had died at the age of 26.  We met Chris at Children’s hospital when Jenny was first diagnosed.  Chris was an incredibly courageous and generous person.  He openly discussed his own illness and was always available to help our family with Jenny.  That news combined with Jenny’s diagnosis of having pseudomonas (the worst bacteria to have for a CF patient) and her hospitalization in late December were a terrible blow to us.  Our hearts were heavy going into the New Year. 

We went to Mass on Christmas morning in the hospital chapel.  I wish that all of you could have been there with us that morning.  With maybe 10-15 other families (some with kids that were seeing their last Christmas) we gathered in prayer and thankfulness to celebrate the birth of Christ.  Denise was pregnant with our fourth baby (Adam was born HEALTHY on June 18, 2001!).  That Mass was the most sacred and happy moment of my life.  I can’t describe my emotions in any way that would come close. It was a moment of Grace.

Despite the shaky start, 2001 turned out to be an all-star year.  Jenny has enjoyed great health all spring, summer and into the fall.  We have gotten into a daily routine of chest physical therapy (to keep the lungs more clear) enzymes with meals, water soluble vitamins as a supplement and close monitoring of Jen’s weight gain.

Mostly though we have followed the advice of Chris’s Dad who called me in tears to let me know Chris had died.  His dad Ted said that the only thing that comforted their family was the fact that as they were growing up, there was never five minutes in their house without laughter.  Our family has enjoyed a wonderful year, we have carried on Chris’s spirit.  Stop by the Smith house and you won’t be able to pass much time before being interrupted by laughter.  Chris’s present.

Jenny is a real wonderful kid.  We are amazed that she isn’t spoiled in the least.  She has grown into a tough minded and yet tender little girl.  Stubborn like her dad and kind like her mom.  We are lucky to have had so many folks visit us this year.  In addition, our family, extended family and friends have all worked hard to raise money this year on behalf of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. 

Final numbers are in for the year and Team Jenny has raised an amazing $324,000!  So many have helped us reach this goal.  Here's a summary of the events we attended and the things people have done to help us raise this money.

Annual NE Region CF Dinner, Cambridge MA

January 2001:       At the 45th Annual CF Dinner, Team Jenny was honored for being the highest fundraiser during the May 2000 Great Strides Walk to cure CF.  All together we raised almost $60,000 in our first ever walk-a-thon!  I (Dave) stammered through a tough 15 minute speech about our family's experience with this disease.  About 1500 people attended the dinner, which is held every January in Cambridge.

March 2-4, 2001:          Our company, Factory Five Racing, Inc. had decided to donate a Roadster race car kit to raise money for research for CF.  After meeting with the good folks from the CF Foundation, it was their recommendation that we donate a car during an annual fundraiser held by American Airlines called "Celebrity Ski".  We contacted Bernie Willett (in charge of the event) and he put our car into the auction section of the event.

The event has been centered around three young girls with CF.  Sam, Libby and Piper have grown up with this event from young girls to now (they're about 20 years old).  Sam and Libby are sisters and the evening was quite emotional.  People have seen them grow up and when they got up to speak about their current health and how the last year has gone there was not a dry eye in the place.  When you are faced with someone so young and beautiful fighting for their lives with such tremendous courage it is hard to not act.

Last year at this event, the famous baseball player Jim palmer was so moved that he stood up and offered his Cy Young award for auction without notice.  Being in the presence of someone in need does things like that.  It got better though because the award fetched over $100,000 and the guy who bought it went over to Jim and told him to keep it.

In March, Denise and I went out to this event and were joined by Denise's friend from college, Mira and her husband Tom Winter.  The three days went by quickly as Tom and I spent time skiing while the girls (both pregnant) worked the visa cards up to their limits in Vail village.  We were lucky to meet some great people.  Everyone at Celebrity Ski has some connection to this disease.

We also met two famous skiers who wouldn't get out of the car.  Billy Kidd and Wayne Wong were the two coolest guys at the event.  Tom Winter got a pair of ski's autographed by Wayne and gave them to Jenny.  It was a once in a lifetime event.

I (Dave) went into the school and showed all the kids the medicines and equipment (breathing machines etc.) that Jenny uses every day.  Then the kids went out and collected sponsors from the neighborhood.  The day of the march, Denise set up games and obstacle courses for the kids to complete.  We had a great time, the kids learned about CF and about making a difference.  The biggest surprise was that the kindergarten and first grade students raised over $4,000!  All of the money went directly to the CF Foundation.  It was easy and fun to do!

Whenever I drop off Madison now at school, the kids still ask me questions about Jenny and about CF!  Advice that was given to us early was to make Jenny's CF treatment known to her teachers and to others.  what good advice that is.  The school community has been a great source of support!

April 16, 2001:          My brother Pat Smith and I decided to run the Boston Marathon along with about 15 other runners, all dedicating the race to raising money for the CF Foundation.  We started training in December and by April 20, we felt like we were ready.  We completed the 26.2 mile run in about 4 hours and ten minutes.  We're proud that we offficially qualified for next years race (as 55-60 year old women).  Many of our family and friends were gathered at the halfway point in Wellesley with signs of encouragement and of course, Jenny.

It remains one of the greatest experiences of my life.  Together, Pat and I raised $12,000.  Special thanks to the people at Motts Applesauce for the corporate sponsorship.

May 20, 2001:          Many of our friends and family participated in the annual Boston Great Strides Walk.  Each year over 10,000 people make the six-mile walk along the Charles River.  This year we had about thirty people walking for Team Jenny.  Everyone helped out.  My Dad volunteered to run the water stations, the Weeks family maintained a strong contingent (Randy and his family are two year veterans of the walk), a lot of folks from the village attended (the Donaghy's, the Blatchford's, the Veale's, the Howland's, the Fitzpatrick's, the LeDucs)  and kids from the local high school worked booths as CF volunteers.

A special note, Keith LeDuc (we met his wife Liz up at Children's Hospital as she was Jenny's nurse) and his wife Liz participated in the walk.  Keith volunteered and showed up for us while he is battling his own illness.  Keith has been diagnosed with ALS.  He is as brave and big hearted as they come.  Thanks for the support Keith and Liz!

Alliance Energy Fishing Tournament

June 14 & 15, 2001:  We met John Gargano at the Annual CF Dinner.  John runs Alliance Energy, a division of Global Petroleum.  He also spends a great deal of his time volunteering and helping others. 

John came by Factory Five Racing to let us know that he wanted to help our fundraising by hosting a Tournament.  By the time he was finished he had organized a two-day Cape Cod based fishing tournament that raised $89,000! 

We were lucky to participate in the tournament.  My brother Mark Smith, our good friend (and ex-WBCN News anchor) Charlie Austin and Randy Weeks were the guests of John on the boat Watanye.  Seeing us fishing was a bit like a stooges film.  We caught some huge striped bass and bluefish and had a great time out on Cape Cod Bay! 

The fleet of charter boats all donated their catch and prize money to the CF Foundation.  New England area CF representative John Cox received the donations after the first day of fishing.  Special thanks to John Gargano and his staff, Mark Dagesse, Pat Dylan, and Pam Weight.

Ohio Spring Fling Rally

Jenny and I flew out to participate in the rally where hundreds of people literally took over a small town in Ohio with their hot rods.  The event raised $40,000 for CF and was attended by over 500 people. Jenny and I drove our 400 horsepower coupe racecar into the lead of the parade with a police escort.  The warmth and generosity of people at this event was epic.  I can’t wait to attend next year.

Our Heroes

There’s no way possible to thank everyone who has contributed this last year with time, money, and a part of themselves.  From big hearted race car builders like Rich Oben (donating proceeds from an assembly video) to people like the parents of FFR engineer Jim Schenck, our family has an un-payable debt that we are profoundly thankful for.