Perkins 2010 Boston Marathon Team
Our 2010 Boston Marathon Team is comprised of Perkins staff, parents and dedicated friends and volunteers. Support our fearless team of 17 cross the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, April 19th by helping them reach their team goal of $200,000 by making a gift.
Support the Team or Support A Perkins Team Member Below.
Meet The Team Members:
Charlie’s company sponsored a table at the 2009 Perkins Possibilities Gala, and Charlie and Joan were invited to attend. The Gala was an unforgettable experience for them and the night’s events left them thinking of ways to get involved in supporting the school. Since the Gala, Charlie and his son, Michael, volunteered at the Vision 5K and Michael worked at the Perkins school on his summer break from WPI they also participated in the ‘2009 Taste of Perkins’ instead of exchanging birthday presents. Charlie is proud to be able to contribute in another way to Perkins. His goal is to not just finish the Boston Marathon, but to be a contributing member of the Perkins Team.
Support Charlie's Run!
Kristina's daughter, Naomi, was born with a severe brain injury. Doctors thought she would never see, hear, walk, talk, or even eat on her own. The family kept faith and believed their little girl would be healed. Today Naomi, 3, attends Perkins Early Learning Center. "She absolutely LOVES school and cannot wait to get there every day," says Kristina. Naomi continues to progress, but gradually, not instantly. Kristina says she already knew “our life is a marathon.” This is Kristina’s second year running the marathon for Perkins! Last year, her mom came from Texas to cheer her on, and her friend Heather sprinted alongside her for the last portion of the race.
Gianna Driver lives in Redwood City, CA and is excited to help raise funds for educational initiatives for children and adults who are blind. Being legally-blind in one eye herself, Gianna values the gift of vision and wants to spread awareness about how we can help the visually impaired lead more meaningful lives. Gianna is particularly intrigued by the low Braille literacy rate and is doing what she can to increase it. Gianna is involved in several community organizations in California, and is the founder and CEO of GIANNA (www.weargianna.com) an organization that creates life-changing opportunities for severely disadvantaged artisans in the developing world. The company’s community involvement includes sponsoring annual eye camps in several rural artisan communities abroad.
John Geraci was introduced to Perkins when he enrolled his son in Perkins’ infant toddler program. John’s son was born at 24 weeks with ROP and is legally blind. John’s son is now 7 years-old, in public school and has a vision teacher who was trained at Perkins School for the Blind. John is so proud of what his son has accomplished, and is glad to be able to support Perkins by running the 2010 Boston Marathon.
Mike has worked at Perkins School for the Blind for nearly 10 years and feels privileged to be able to assist people in reaching their goals in life. Mike is running the 2010 Boston Marathon in honor of two of his aunts. His aunts taught him to persevere in the face of adversity and the importance of doing for those who cannot do for themselves. In running the marathon for Perkins, it is Mike’s goal to contribute to a school he feels has blessed his life.
Erich Manser is 37-years old and lives in Leominster, MA with his wife Lisa, 4yr old daughter Ellie, 16-month old daughter Grace, and Border Collie (and running partner!) Charlie. Diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at age 3, Erich has experienced a gradual loss of eyesight, which he feels makes him more adaptable than he might otherwise be. He works full-time from a home office for Hewlett-Packard, and is also working independently on the development of a new assistive technology for use with visual media and entertainment. As Erich likes to say, "You don't need eyesight to have vision!" He is thrilled to be a part of the Perkins 2010 Boston Marathon team!
Richard Muscio learned about Perkins when he lost his vision in 2001. Richard regained partial sight 15 months later and found his passion for running. He plans to run 7 half marathons in 5 months prior to the 2010 Boston Marathon! Richard lives in San Diego where he is actively involved in fundraising and charities. He is on the Board of Trustees for the Monterey Museum of Art and is the Founder of the Oceanside Turkey Trot, a Thanksgiving morning 5k run that benefits physical fitness programs for Oceanside city school students. Richard is also founder of the Virginia Ann Scheunemann Memorial Fund, a San Diego charity that assists low-income and uninsured women with cancer in acquiring cancer care products.
Jenn Musso is running in honor of her 11-year-old nephew Kevin Lagzdins. Kevin was born prematurely with detached retinas resulting in blindness. Kevin is thriving in a mainstream classroom with the support of vision teachers and orientation and mobility specialists trained at Perkins. Jenn is a novice runner, but has run the Vision 5k for the past 5 years. Last year, Kevin joined her!
Burt Palmer lives in Connecticut and is a distant relative of Samuel Gridley Howe. This relationship made him more curious about Perkins, which led him to take a tour of campus. The tour of the school, from a historical perspective, and experiencing its employee’s enthusiasm for the students motivated him to run to 2010 Boston Marathon for Perkins. Burt’s hobbies and passions include fishing, boating, golf, and marathons (running Boston is a life long dream of his!) as well as mission work both domestically and internationally.
Mike has been teaching physical education in Perkins’ Deafblind Program for seven years and this is his second year running the Boston Marathon for Perkins. "My students have taught me about having strength when you are against the odds, to have courage when you're scared to try new things, and to have commitment to keep working when you're tired, sore, and frustrated. My students have taught me so much about how to be a man and how to live a peaceful life."
Tom lives in Reading, MA and his youngest daughter, Ali, is a 2008 graduate of Perkins. Tom is very happy to be running for Perkins and says that he and his wife can’t say enough good things about Ali’s experience and the staff at Perkins.
Chris Rife is an avid runner and lives steps from the Perkins School for the Blind campus. His wife, Dorinda, works at Perkins and Chris enjoys running at the campus track once or twice a week, and other times along the Charles River. Chris has run seven marathons, including the Boston in 2004, and has been kind enough to offer his guidance and expertise in running to some of the more novice runners on the team.
Michelle is a mom, a wife, an employee, and a runner. Michelle decided to run the 2010 Boston Marathon to accomplish a lifelong goal, support Perkins and to show her children, niece and nephew (who has ocular albinism) that with hard work, commitment, and perseverance, they can achieve anything.
Bill Schawbel, a member of the Perkins Trust Board, is running the 2010 Boston Marathon to celebrate his seventieth birthday. Bill was astonished to learn that braille literacy rate among the blind stands at only 12 percent, and he wants to do his part to increase that percentage. He ran the Boston Marathon thirty years ago, and again twenty years ago and is looking forward to the chance to do it again, this time in support of Perkins.
Julia Shaw is a recent graduate of Wellesley College, where she was captain of the Varsity Crew team. Julia can't think of a better way to run her first marathon than in honor of her great-great-grandfather, Samuel Gridley Howe, and the incredible institution he started years ago.
Adam has been determined to run the Boston Marathon since childhood. Adam grew up in Western Colorado and is an avid mountain bike racer, runner and ice hockey player. He works in the Perkins International program. Not particularly fast runner, qualifying for Boston was something of a dream for Adam. By running the 2010 Boston Marathon for Perkins, he has the perfect opportunity to help children with visual impairment and additional disabilities around the world while fulfilling a life goal of his as well. Adam is honored to support Perkins with his training and commitment to run.
Steve’s son, Willie, is a 2008 Perkins graduate. Steve has not always been a runner, but was inspired by something he witnessed on his first visit to Perkins School for the Blind in 1999. Steve had just started running and a few laps around the local school track was his latest accomplishment. That day at Perkins, Steve saw a young man using a cane to guide his run. This motivated Steve to continue running and to this day he has completed 8 marathons!
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