Sunday, July 25, 2010

Chicago and Our Nation's Capital

In the last couple weeks my husband, Jacob, and I have been on two amazing trips. We've met so many wonderful people and seen some sights that we'll never forget. We are loving every minute of it.

July 8th through 12th, we were in Chicago for the Abilities Expo with our friends from LegaWear. It was a fantastic expo, with a really good turn out. I loved seeing the excitement in people when they realized they could get designer-quality clothes at a good value that actually fit! Regardless of a person's body type, disability or not, our custom-tailored suits, tuxedos and jeans are what so many of us have been searching for. We were also able to do several photo shoots, which were a blast. To check out the clothes and to see how to do your own measurements, you can create a profile at LegaWear.com. You can also check out the LegaWear Facebook page.

One of the evenings, David Lega and Andreas Stenderdahl (founders and owners of LegaWear), Jacob and I were able to catch a cab from Schaumberg, where the expo was being held, into the city. Chicago is beautiful. We walked around in our suits and the weather was perfect. I really enjoyed the detailed architecture on the buildings downtown and the pieces of history that were evident all around. Millennium park was very cool with the big mirrored skyline in Cloud Gate and fireflies dancing around. We got some great photos and spent some wonderful quality time.

We also got to spend some time with our Colours family. For those of you who know the Team, Ernie, Hydred, Domonic and Amber represented. As always, we played, worked hard, looked good and laughed a lot.

Last week, Jacob and I were fortunate enough to be asked to join the 20th Anniversary celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act in our nation's capital, again with LegaWear. The experience is one that we'll never forget. We were officially there for the NCIL National Conference and Expo, but were able to fit so much more into the trip. The expo was great and again, we saw a lot of interest in our clothing. I was moved by the monuments and all that represents the best of our country. The Air and Space and Natural History Museums at the Smithsonian were awesome and I look forward to returning and seeing more.

We were able to participate in a march to the capital to celebrate 20 years of the ADA, which was an amazing experience. At the NCIL Gala and AAPD Justice for All event, we heard a keynote speech by the Attorney General, as well as words from Ted and Patrick Kennedy, among many others. So many moments felt surreal. We were inspired by the stories of extraordinary accomplishments and pride in our country. I'm looking forward to building some wonderful relationships and looking back on the beginning of many friendships as a result from our week in D.C.

On top of these amazing experiences, David and Andreas have asked me to be the Director of National Sales for LegaWear. I am so honored for the opportunity to be a part of such an incredible company with such great potential. To have the chance to do all of this as a team with my husband makes it even more special. So, I'll be working on identifying some sales representatives around the country that are interested in selling our clothing. If you or someone you know is interested, please email me at kristina@legawear.com.

In less than two weeks, we are off to California. I can't wait to be back in Cali, to see my family and closest friends and to spend some time at Colours! I'll keep you posted and thanks for reading.