Delayed at the airport, and amazed by what's happened...

From Caryn Jacquish, Supreme Council Director and former Grand Vice Archon, sent after leaving the Games Sunday night:

I am at the airport in Charlotte, NC, waiting for my delayed flight to West Palm Beach to actually take off. I am exhausted but so amazed at the energy that flows through the donors, donor families and recipients at the Transplant Games.

I have volunteered for Phi Sigma Sigma for 20 years, and I have seen commitment on many levels. But this is the first time I have seen so many women from so many different regions, both alumnae and collegiate, give everything they've got, representing the organization so well and doing it all because they wanted to contribute to a great cause. Absolutely amazing. So many athletes, donor families and living donors could not believe that the 125 women from Phi Sigma Sigma were from a "sorority." They could not say thank you enough. We were a big hit.

On a side note, thank you to everyone, especially the collegians from URI, who helped us get all (yes, we got them all) the team pins. My goal is to complete a shadow box featuring the pins and bring it with me to the next Supreme Council meeting. I am hoping it will travel to the LCs and Convention 2009 so that everyone can see it.

By the way, while I have been waiting here at the airport, I caught up on the blog and saw a mention of Larry Hagman in I Dream of Jeannie , which originally aired from September 1965 until May 1970. Here is a link to a short video...

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi4170187033/

(Editor's note: There's simply no way to describe just how many pins Caryn collected, or how tirelessly she "wheeled and dealed" with just about everyone to gather the remaining and most rare for the collection. Remember, each pin represents not only a "team" of organ-recipient athletes but also the spirit of that team in overcoming life-threatening obstacles to achieve health, happiness and the "normal" life that most of us take for granted. Some teams distributed hundreds, even thousands, of pins. Some teams were so small, they could only distribute a handful. Way to go, Caryn and everyone!)