I was warned. Yes, upon accepting the invitation to speak at the National Association of Letter Carriers convention in Los Angeles, I was told to prepare myself. Everyone said that NALC members are some of the MDA’s most enthusiastic supporters. And they were right.

But I already knew what I was in for. The NALC and I go way back, and I owe them a lot. Remember that time I went skydiving to celebrate doubling my life expectancy? It wasn’t my idea originally. The Colorado members of the NALC were the ones who suggested I do something big – back in April of 2015. And I’m glad they did! If they hadn’t, I very well may not have become the first adult National Goodwill Ambassador for MDA. After all, the media attention my skydiving story attracted was what inspired MDA to reach out to me. And the rest is history.

So you can image my trepidation preparing to go on stage, not knowing what the relentless and persuasive crowd of 6,000 at the national convention might convince me to do next. Thankfully, it went off without further incitement. It was an honor to be able to share that story, along with my life story, with the wonderful people of the NALC. It was really cool to have my Colorado peeps, the ones responsible for this whole thing, cheering me on from the back too. Believe me, Colorado showed up that day. It was great.

Everything about my time at the convention was wonderful. Each and every person I interacted with was full of love and support. I’m so thankful I was asked to join in the fun and had the opportunity to meet NALC President Frederic Rolando. He is hysterical and beyond kind to everyone he interacts with. I loved goofing on stage with him.

I’ll never forget my time in the City of Angels with 6,000 of my closest friends and their passion for MDA and our mission to help more people live longer and grow stronger. Because that’s exactly what they’ve done. Since the NALC began fundraising for MDA, they’ve raised a grand total of over $100 million dollars to fund critical research, clinical care and summer camps across the country. We couldn’t have made it this far without them, and I wouldn’t be the same guy I am today without them – for starters, I definitely wouldn’t have jumped out of that plane.

Follow in NALC’s footsteps and help us continue to raise money for research and treatments for muscular dystrophy.