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Help! Gregg
"The Mad Barber" McNair
has his hair clippers out again and I
am the one he has in his sites this
time!
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If
you are a regular reader you know that
McNair, the Chairman at PPX
International, is an ardent
supporter of The
Water School, a life-saving
non-profit charitable organization that
Gregg and (through his educational
efforts) many others in the domain
industry have rallied around. A couple
of months ago in a fund raising effort
for The Water School at the 2012
DOMAINfest Global conference
in Santa Monica, California
McNair cajoled three well-known |
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industry
figures, Vern Jurovich, Jeff
Gabriel and Bill Lozada, into
letting him shave their heads in
exchange for donations from those on
hand to witness the spectacle. They
wound up securing over $30,000 in
pledges - more than half of which
have now been paid (more details on the
effort can be found at WaterShave.org).
One
evening at DOMAINfest Global while I was
chatting with Gregg and Jan
Barta about the three guys
who were about to |
(Left
to right) Jeff Gabriel, Vern
Jurovich and Bill Lozada
after Gregg "The Mad
Barber" McNair and his hair
clippers
got through with them at DOMAINfest
Global in February. |
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be
"led to the slaughter" later
that night, Barta blurted out that he
would donate $10,000 for my
scalp! I thought he was joking, but he
wasn't. Ever since then Gregg and
another domain industry pioneer, Richard
Lau, have been scheming to lure me
into their trap (Richard and Gregg both
serve on The Water School's Board of
Directors). When asked what it would
take for me to succumb to McNair's
clippers, I tossed out a crazy number -
$50,000 - expecting that would get
me off the hook. |
I
should have know better than to under estimate
McNair and Lau, who just turned
the heat up to the boiling point
with a news release I just received. I learned
that another heavy hitter has joined
their cause and I am starting to worry that my
"luxurious locks" could be in serious
jeopardy now. Their release is below:
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Gregg
McNair (left) and Richard Lau
representing The Water School's Board of
Directors |
Can
you imagine a bald Ron Jackson?
Domain
industry personalities Jan Barta
and Frank Schilling of Elephant
Traffic and Internet
Traffic respectively, have
conspired with Gregg McNair of PPX
International to convince Ron
Jackson to allow Gregg to shave Ron
bald at the upcoming Domaining
Europe 2012 conference that
will be held in Valencia, Spain April
26-28. |
Ron
has set a minimum price on his hair of $50,000
and Jan and Frank have answered the call with $10,000
each so we are well on the way to raising a
good amount for the Water
School's life saving work in
Africa. After Frank quickly responded with a
pledge to match Jan's we have begun earnestly
looking for others to support the WaterShave
Jackson event in Spain.
You
may recall Vern Jurovich, Jeff Gabriel
and Bill Lozada were shaved by Gregg for
the Water School after receiving pledges in
excess of $30,000 during the DOMAINfest Global
conference in February. At that meeting, Ron,
who is also a fervent Water School supporter,
was challenged by Jan to go under Gregg's
blade and we fully expect that "friendly
persuasion" from the domain community will
convince him to "support" our new
initiative. Perhaps the best known and liked
person in our industry, Ron commands respect
from all who know him and we invite everyone to
support Ron in this endeavor to help save the
lives of kids in Africa.
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The
Water School has been informally adopted
as the domain space charity with more
than 60 industry participants
actually visiting projects in Uganda
and Kenya. The program educates
children and families about the SODIS
technology that disinfects local
water using the UV rays of the sun,
reducing the incidence of death,
especially among children, from
preventable waterborne diseases. (visit WaterSchool.com
for full details about the
organization's work.) |
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Richard
Lau said, “The Water School program is 100%
tax deductible, 100% sustainable and 100%
of any donation goes to the field in Africa. I
urge all my colleagues to rally behind Ron and
help change the course of thousands of kids’
lives. Any amount, even $50 will make a
difference and you can donate online at WaterShave.org."
Sincerely,
Gregg McNair and Richard Lau on behalf of The
Water School.
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Ron
& Diana Jackson |
So,
here we are. At this point I know that
my wife Diana, my hair and I will
all be going to Spain next month, but
I'm afraid only two of the three
will be on the flight back home! Every
dollar donated to The Water School will
make it harder to weasel out of this
one.
Gregg
and Richard suggested that perhaps I
could acknowledge all donations of $500
or more with a thank you in this
column the next time there is updated
information to pass along. I
would, of course, be happy to do that,.
However, as to how happy I would be
running around with no hair this
summer - probably not so much!
Still, it isn't over until the fat lady
sings and 50K is still a good
distance away. My fate (as well as my pate)
rests in your hands! |
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