Bright Side of the Road Foundation » Updates

Bright Side Loses A Friend

Bright Side — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:56:27 +0000

The Bright Side of the Road Foundation is saddened to have lost its friend Trish Morgan after a three and one-half year struggle with ALS.

A resident of Twinsburg, Trish passed away on Saturday, March 31, 2012. She is survived by her husband of 30 years, Jeff, and her awesome children Chris, Megan, Kevin and Erin.

Trish so-loved her family and was an active member of St. Rita’s Catholic Church and her community.

She and her family forever became part of the Bright Side family after they showed their spirit as champions of our Mavis Winkle’s guestbartending fundraiser.

Her smile and determination were an inspiration to all who knew her and she will be missed by all of us who walk on the Bright Side of the Road.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are preferred.

Please click here to leave a donation in Trish’s honor.

Denver Bartenders Raise Over $19,000 for ALS Research!

Bright Side — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:20:02 +0000

A big Bright Side “thank you” to our Denver, Colorado bartenders and their supporters who helped us raise over $19,000 for ALS research.

We had a great time at the Front Porch in Downtown Denver — and were provided with the opportunity to renew old friendships and forge new bonds with families touched by ALS.

Enjoy reviewing these great photos from the night:

Bright Side Guest Bartending in Denver, Colorado!

Bright Side — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:53:25 +0000

We’re bartending for a cure at the Front Porch in Denver Colorado on Friday, February 24th from 6pm - 10pm

We’ll be getting together to celebrate friends, share a drink or two, and gather tip’s that will fund research to find a cure for ALS (better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

When Denver is looking for a cool bar, they hang out at the Front Porch! Featuring drinks, couches, good music, fun people? What more could you want?

Located on 15th, right between Lawrence and Larimer, the Front Porch is right in the middle of all the action and always has something fun going on.

The Front Porch
1215 15th St.
Denver, CO 80202

As of early 2012, the Bright Side of the Road Foundation has donated $1,400,000 to ALS research.

And our bartenders need your support…

Click here to virtually tip your favorite bartender.

Simply select your favorite server and then make an online, tax-deductible donation and help your favorite bartender to become the top fundraiser!

Then come to The Front Porch in Denver on Friday, February 24th from 6:00pm - 10:00pm. Share a drink served by our guest bartenders and meet Bright Side founder Barry Winovich!

And of course, there will be real tip jars on the bar to put the evening over the top!

Burntwood Bartenders Raise $30,000 for ALS Research!

Bright Side — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:06:02 +0000

Did everyone have as much fun as it seemed on Saturday night at the new Burntwood Tavern in Rocky River?

It sometimes doesn’t even feel like we are doing so much good when we’re all having such a good time! With the support of our dedicated bartenders and their friends, we raised $30,000 to fund ALS research!

Special thanks to Brett Adams and the entire Burntwood Tavern team for being such great hosts to our traveling circus. And as always, lots of love to our friends in Soulshine for providing live music throughout the evening!

Check out these great photos from the night…

Bright Side Coming to the New Burntwood Tavern!

Bright Side — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:44:18 +0000

Bartending for a Cure at Burntwood in Rocky River

Come to the new Burtwood Tavern in Rocky River on Saturday, February 4th from 7:00pm - 11pm.

We have assembled the hippest, hottest, and craziest activist bartenders in Northeast Ohio…and they’ll need your help! Join us on Saturday, February 4th to celebrate friends, share a drink or two, and leave tips for your favorite bartenders that will fund research to find a cure for ALS (better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

A favorite of the Bright Side of the Road Foundation, Burntwood Tavern offers a warm and inviting atmosphere with a copper top bar, leather soft seating, barnwood beams, and a straightforward menu with steaks, sliders, hand cut fries, smoked, planked, and wood grilled food.

Plus enjoy a fine selection of wines and beers from around the world!

Plus we’ll have live music courtesy of Bright Side friends and favorites “SoulShine!”

The new Burntwood Tavern is located at:

Rocky River
19304 Detroit Rd
Rocky River, Ohio 44116
ph (440) 333-6700

Click here to find out more about our Rocky River Guest Bartending Event!

Over $30,000 Raised by the North Carolina Marty Party!

Bright Side — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:34:43 +0000

Thank you to everyone for all of your wonderful support of The Marty Party Part Duex!

With your help, over $30,500 was raised to support ALS research in just one day!

Click below to see our pictures from our day at the Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon…

We’re proud to share with you these heartfelt comments from some of our Thunder Road runners…

“Thanks to all for an incredible day. Although ALS has changed so much of my life it has not dampened my spirit. Relationships with family, friends and loved ones as well as my strong faith have sustained me. I am most grateful for all of you who braved the cold and ran, cheered us on and donated so generously. Supporting a cause so close to my heart gives me so much encouragement to continue this fight. I remain hopeful that effective treatments and eventually a cure will come to this disease where until recently, there has been little progress. Special Thanks to Jen Leonard who along with Fred Levy willed this event to happen. Barry - thanks for your inspiration!”
-Marty D’Amore

“It’s incredible to think five guys, only one of whom I have met before would give up their Saturday to push me for 26.2 miles. Although I can not see them during the race, I feel every bit of their pain, joy, competiveness and passion for running. It takes a great deal of teamwork to complete this race and it’s that kind of teamwork the keeps Bright Side of the Road Foundation working the way it does. Thanks for letting me be part of the whole experience.
-Barry Winovich

“More inspirational than I dreamed. The whole day was a spiritual high. I think overcoming the pain while pushing was part and parcel of this 26 mile spiritual journey. And what a reward it was to have Will jump on at 25 to cruise up that final hill to the finish. As I told Barry after the marathon, I consider the Bright Side Crew (Barry, Jen, Jack, Treg, and numerous others that I have met who hail from Cleveland and Chagrin) great friends. This all has happened because Marty is one of my most cherished buddies and because Dave Pearce, the leader of Sonic Tonsil, was our link to Barry and Bright Side. How lucky we have all been to meet each other. All of the First Waltz’s and Marty Parties have been lifetime highlights. Oh, and the Party at Dixies, where I saw Marty and Barry’s smiling faces, surrounded by loving friends will never be forgotten. We look forward to the Atlanta Guest Bartendering and the Cleveland Marathon in May of 2012.”
- Fred Levy

“First, many thanks to Barry, Marty, Fred and Jen for allwoing me to be part of the team. What an inspiration you all are to those you are touching. So easy it would be for Barry and Marty to spiral into despression and stay home. But, they haven’t; they are out there fighting. It was sheer joy to be with them yesterday, so beautiful. One of the most special moments for me was watching Barry’s son, Will, take it all in as he sat on his dad’s lap as we approached the finish line. I hope that he will realize that there is a hope even greater than finish lines in this life.”
-Bryan Allf

“Please understand what an absolute honor it was to help in something larger than a personal race. We were not heroes, more just a vehicle that Barry and Marty’s story could be told and understood by other’s. Marathons are as much a mental game as they are a physical test. When you have been running a while and are starting to hurt,, you can start to feel sorry for yourself. There was non of that Saturday. We were party of something so much bigger - Barry and Marty inspired us. What an honor…thank you for letting me be part of this!”
-Todd Davis

“In the past 15 years, I have participated in at least 75 races of different types including 3 ironman triathlons, at least 50 other shorter triathlons, and several marathons including the Disney marathon and Marine Corps marathon. I’ve been to the Tour de France, a World series, a Stanley Cup finals game, and a college championship game. The Marine Corps marathon, in particular, was very special since it was a month after the attacks of Sept 11th, and the participants and the crowds were amazing as we ran by the destruction at the Pentagon.

This past Saturday, I had the honor to run in the most memorable race and sporting event of my life. I joined 4 amazing men who ran for a friend to raise awareness and money for ALS research through the Brightside Foundation. . As a team, we pushed the most inspirational man I have ever met 26.2 miles up and down the hills of Charlotte in 30 degree weather. I think Barry had the loudest cheers out of all 5000 runners that day. I couldn’t hear from all the cheering, but I think Barry wanted us to get that free shot of whiskey at mile 24.

It was truly an honor to run with my new friends and meet the great people from Brightside. But most of all, I want to thank both Marty and Barry (and their families) for letting me share this amazing experience with them. I will never forget it.”
-Dan Tuffy

Columbus Guest-Bartending Photos

Bright Side — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:44:47 +0000

Bright Side of the Road Foundation loved returning to Columbus for another great night of fundraising and guestbartending at the Rude Dog Bar & Grill at Polaris on Friday, September 30th. Thank you to all of our bartenders, their supporters, and our live band for the night OTD!

Thanks again to this stellar lineup of guest bartenders:

Melissa Almaguer
Jean Cesario
Tracy Cherry
Julie Cline
Ari Coatney
Gaylynn Cornwell
Tom Diederich
Julia Ford-Ruth
Mike Gast
Mike Goodfleisch
Beth Hinton
Michael Hopcraft
Wendy Licis
Brett Lindsey
Melissa Lineberry
Bob Niemi
Jim Rollins
Kara Spidle
Len Vega
Kenneth Wallace
Holly Warner
Bob Wing

If you couldn’t make the event, you can still click here to leave a tip for your favorite bartender!

Bright Side of the Course 2011

Bright Side — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:34:48 +0000

From Tommy Gallagher, Event Organizer:

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 Second Annual Bright Side of the Course Golf Tournament on September 14th at the Aurora Golf Club.This is a full day event consisting of lunch, 18 holes of golf at the Aurora Country Club (Jim Beers PGA Professional), Cocktails, and a Clam Bake Awards Dinner with entertainment.

The Golf Tournament

The golf tournament will consist of a 4-person scramble with various contents such as hole-in-one, longest drive, putting competition and more. Golfers also have the unique opportunity to be part of our fund-raising team to raise ALS research funding in honor of our buddy Jim Garibaldi.

Click here for more details and to register.

Not Golfing? Join Us for a Fun-Filled Awards Dinner!

If you don’t want to golf, but still want to take part in a fun event for a great cause, please join us for our awards dinner at Aurora Golf Club. Enjoy appetizers and a great Clam Bake all courtesy of Mazzulo’s.

Plus we’ll have fun entertainment all night long!

Click here for more details and to purchase tickets.

Hudson Guest Bartenders Raise Over $26,000!

Bright Side — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:30:39 +0000

Thanks for joining us at the Old Whedon Grille on Saturday, August 13th for a Bright Side Guest Bartending event.

Check out our photos of the great event which raised over $26,000!

We loved having the opportunity to gather and celebrate friends, share a drink or two, and gather tips that will fund research to find a cure for ALS (better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

Brightside Jenny Skydives for ALS!

Bright Side — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:49:53 +0000

All of us at Bright Side work together to raise awareness and research funding for ALS. Along our journey, we are lucky to meet new people that join our band of hands and become our friends.

This past winter, I met an extraordinary woman, Erin Beckman, who lost her husband, Chris, in January. When Erin told me that she wanted to bring a young, fresh and most importantly, a fun approach to raising funds and awareness for ALS by Skydiving, I was all in!

On June 4th, a beautiful Saturday morning, I headed to Lebanon, OH to jump out of a perfectly good airplane as part of Skydive for ALS in O-H-I-O with all money raised going to ALS-TDI. After all, it has always been on my bucket list and with ‘a reason’ to jump there was no turning back for me.

Courage is “being afraid and doing it anyway.” Barry, Treg, Vince, Marty, Trish, and so many others face their disease with courage every day. I jumped in their honor. Crazy ? Yes. Inspiring and fun? You can’t imagine how much!

Interested in doing something inspiring for to raise awareness or funding for ALS research? Please drop me an email, and Bright Side of the Road can help empower you to do the incredible as part of our Band of Hands!

Learn more about the incredible legacy of Chris Beckman here…