“Kids of 911 callers to receive free back-to-school shoes - St. Petersburg Times” plus 1 more

Kids of 911 callers to receive free back-to-school shoes - St. Petersburg Times

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 01:36 PM PDT

Times staff
Posted: Aug 12, 2010 04:36 PM

TAMPA — The eight children of the women who attempted to help Officers David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab will receive free back-to-school shoes courtesy of police and the University Mall.

Renee Roundtree, 37, Rose Dodson, 32, and Delores Keen tried saving Curtis and Kocab after the two Tampa officers were fatally shot June 29 during a routine traffic stop.

On Friday, their kids will get to pick out any two pairs of shoes at any store in University Mall. Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor and the department's Black History Committee will join the kids on the shopping trip.

The mall will also treat the families to lunch.

In addition to new shoes, Tampa will assist the women with housing and other back-to-school needs.

The women have also been offered access to a department grief counselor.

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Mike Suski transforms himself from "couch potato" to leader of Grand Blanc Kids Crim ... - MLive.com

Posted: 29 Aug 2010 07:03 AM PDT

Published: Sunday, August 29, 2010, 10:00 AM

Mike Suski knew he was overweight, knew his blood pressure was high, knew his habits were poor.

But seeing that in print put him over the edge.

Eight years ago, Suski, a manager for U.S. Steel, took a company physical. While working from home a couple weeks later, he received the results, which showed many, as he said, "coach-potato-like things."

Suski got up from his desk and walked three miles during his lunch break.
"I haven't stopped walking, running since," Suski said.

Suski, 49, has run in the Boston Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Houston Marathon,
several local 5- and 10-kilometer races and some indoor triathlons. He's also preparing for a 50-kilometer race next month in Indiana.

None of that appeared possible eight years ago.

"I looked tired," Suski said. "... I knew I had to change something physically, or I might have had a heart attack within four years."

Instead, Suski peaked as a runner within four years. And that's when he decided to give back.

Suski took over the Grand Blanc Kids Crim Summer Running Club in 2006. The free club begins each June and serves as a buildup to the Crim for kids aged 4-13.

Of the 70 runner in the club (up from 12 when Suski started), 50 planned to participate in Friday's Kids Crim Invitational Race and about 10 planned to run in Saturday's mile or 5-kilometer runs.

In order to help those runners prepare, Suski had to be selfish those first four years after receiving the physical. He wasn't ready to run himself, let alone teach others how to do it.
He didn't understand simple things like changing distance and pace day-to-day, having proper shoes and wearing light colors on hot days. So, there was a lot of learning by error.

There was also a lot of learning by research.

Suski read books and magazines on running. He taped the Olympics and other top-level running events. Then, he re-watched them while running on his treadmill in his basement, paying close attention to the runners and broadcasters, searching for lessons he could apply to his own running.

As a result of his transformation, Suski lost 35 pounds and learned to deal with stress better.

"I just basically changed my whole life," Suski said.

Running the Grand Blanc Kids Crim Summer Running Club has, in ways, changed Suski's life again. He has truly found a passion in teaching the sport to children.

Suski enjoys the simple pleasures of it — running with his daughter, 12, and son, 10; the smile on the athletes' faces when they receive their year-end medals; and the club's youngest members not quite grasping the concept of running slowly during warmups, instead sprinting just so they can run with "Coach Mike."

"That, to me, is the best," Suski said.

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Kids Shoes

Sunday, August 29, 2010