About a week ago, while giving a talk at Bellevue College, one of the students in Whitney Keyes’ course on new media asked me about the most memorable story I had ever pitched. It didn’t take me long to remember.
In 2004, while serving as a publicist for ABODA, I learned of a story that touched many hearts and lives then and now. I had no idea how far and beyond the story would travel or the impact it would have. The story still warms my heart to this day because it reminds me that the act of storytelling can make a remarkable, potentially life-saving difference.
Sports Columnist Steve Kelley of The Seattle Times wrote a story I pitched to him about a retired pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. Brian Holman and his family were staying in ABODA’s corporate housing near Seattle Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center while caring for the needs of of two of their four children.
One of his two sons had fallen from a ski lift and broken quite a few bones. X-rays later determined he had a brain tumor besides. And, not long after that, his 3-year-old adopted daughter — Kassidy from the Marshall Islands — was diagnosed with leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant. If that weren’t enough, Brian needed open heart surgery. Through it all, the family was strong, loving, and resilient in the face of overwhelming challenges.
The story about the Holman family traveled the world through the power of the Associated Press. In a remarkable turn of events, a member of Kassidy’s biological family read the story, came forward, and offered bone marrow to save her life. In this case, the power of publicity brought hope and a potential cure in perfect timing.
Sadly, Kassidy passed away in July of 2006 at ten years of age. The tributes to her life and the Holman’s love and care for her were many. Now there is a Team Kassidy in Training group of people raising funds for a cure. You can join them, and I hope you do.
Some story pitches touch hearts and lives and make a difference for those at the center of the stories and for those helping to bring the stories to attention. Those are rare stories that make me feel grateful to play a small part as an angel in the outfield, doing this work that I do.
