Mitch Marks On "The Bright Side Of The Course"

On September 14th I was part of a foursome at the “Bright Side of the Course” golf outing event at Aurora Country Club. This was the second year in a row Fidelity was a sponsor of this event. There are thousands of worthwhile charities and we can only support so many, but I am definitely proud of the contributions we do make. A short list can be Found Here...

Now back to the Bright side of the Course. Tommy Gallagher my brother-in-law lost a great friend, Jim Gerabaldi, to ALS. Here’s what Tommy had to say about Jim: “It’s been a over a year since we lost good friend Jim Garibaldi to ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and we continue to miss his spirit and heart everyday. While Jim’s fight with ALS was short, his determination and will was inspiring to all of us. During one of my last conversations with Jim, he told me to ‘play as much golf as you can and enjoy every moment.’. So with that in mind, we have organized the Bright Side of the Course Golf Tournaments at the Aurora Country Club”.

Tommy took action and his events have raised over $120K in just two years. Actions do speak louder than words. Tommy’s decision to affiliate with The Bright side of the Road Foundation, formed by The friends of Barry Winovich, is even more inspiring.

The Bright Side of the Road Foundation was formed after Barry was diagnosed with ALS in 2006. I first met Barry through mutual friends many years ago. Barry loves music, and our first few meetings were at the House of Blues attending shows together and “rocking out”. I was honored last week on the 15th hole to have a shot of whiskey with Barry!

The Bright side of the Road Foundation has raised millions of dollars for finding a cure for ALS. This is an incredibly inspiring story of the difference a few motivated people can make in our world. Taking action and risking failure is never easy.

I would also like to mention Adam M. Berebitsky, our companies CPA and trusted financial advisor. Adam is a past president of the (ALS) Association (Northern Ohio Chapter), and he and I have had many conversations about this topic. Adam’s passion runs deep.

The most important part of our continued success at Fidelity is the ability to give back. Our team members, families, friends and those we are lucky enough to serve, all have causes close to their hearts. I wish we could do more.

Bill Gates the, largest charitable donor in history with over 40 billion dollars in his foundation, recently said “ I ask myself all the time have I done enough”.