All,
Finally back. Long trip. Long flights home. But happy to be back in Erie (despite the 50-degree weather and the week of rain expected 🤨)
But “reality” ain’t so bad, and started with a bang my first day back. Two events, both related to Jim Kelly (ex-Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback).
The first was the unveiling of our Joe Moore Award mural, which our good friend, Jason Mumford, recently finished on the wall of our ETN building facing the main drag in downtown Erie. As a reminder, LP is the Official Logistics Sponsor of the Joe Moore Award that honors the best offensive line in college football. Like LP, the O-line is what makes stars of the QBs and running backs–the ones who do all the “dirty work” to clear the way for success. The unknown heroes.
The mural is stunning. Here is a cool time-lapse video of how Jason does what he does (freehand. Hard to believe!)
https://youtu.be/jbBrOpe6Bp4?si=AdvlTe-hwRe1UV6A
Jim Kelly was kind enough to attend this event. As a Hall of Fame QB, he full well knows the value of a great team up front. He had Will Wolford, Jim Ritcher, Kent Hull, Glenn Parker, and Howard (House) Ballard up front for all those Super Bowl years protecting him and opening holes for Thurman Thomas and the other running backs. Fitting that he could make it.
Afterwards, I had the honor of introducing Jim as the guest speaker at the Jefferson Society Global Summit, in front of a packed house of 500 people at Gannon University. Jim gave a powerful and very moving talk about his career and life and how one gets measured by how you handle adversity, because every life will have some (Jim has had way more than his share, unfortunately), but how the grit and toughness and perseverance that made him a star QB helped him through all the personal trials as well. That toughness plus the unwavering support of his 4 F’s. Faith. Family. Friends. Fans.
It was a memorable talk, and no one in the crowd was unmoved. Jim’s final message was what I used for today’s morning thought: “Make a difference today for someone who’s fighting for their tomorrow.” Good and important advice.
An unforgettable evening. (And our good friend, Paul Markewicz, Ryan’s Dad, even got to catch a pass from Jim at the end of the night and to keep an autographed ball. Luckily for Paul–and for all of us who know him–he didn’t let the nerves get the better of him, and he made the catch easily 😉).
Onward! -JB
Greeting Jim Kelly for the mural unveiling at Logistics Plus. (Notice the yellow Hall of Fame jacket
Paul made a good clean catch after answering Jim’s trivia connection. Did not embarrass himself or us 👍
Nice keepsake 🙂
Jim, taking over my desk in Union Station 😊
Joe Moore Award mural. Jason always does such a great job!
Our cool JMA t-shirt giveaways 🙂
Here is our announcement if you want to see more 🙂
Logistics Plus Unveils Joe Moore Award Mural in Downtown Erie