With a supportive Advisory Board which included Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Governor George Pataki and Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, ACCESS began connecting people who needed help with those who truly understood their special need.  From that simple idea has grown an amazing support organization that continues to expand its reach.  ACCESSwas there for the friends and families of 9/11 victims.  And they reach out to survivors every time an aviation disaster occurs.  Their only mission is to help facilitate the grieving process.

 

When I first met Heidi, I was immediately drawn to her foundation because of the natural intersection of her life's work and mine.  Whereas ACCESS focuses on helping people overcome the emotional effects of air disasters, I knew that structured settlements had helped many of these same people overcome the daunting challenges that confronted them when they needed to make important financial decisions at a crucial juncture in their lives.

 

I thought about Robin, a young widow with three children whose husband, Scott, was killed in a small plane crash in Alaska in the early 90's.  Despite the fact that Robin and I met under such unhappy circumstances, I am extremely proud to have played a role in helping her put her financial life together following her tragic loss.  

 

I was touched when I received a letter from Robin not long after we concluded her structured settlement.  She thanked me for helping her honor Scott's memory, for helping her to take care of his children and for "being sensitive to (her) broken heart."  If only an organization likeACCESS has existed at the time because I know it would have eased Robin's suffering.

 

I thought about a guy who went to my high school whose life was also cut short when he was killed in a small private plane crash leaving behind a widow and three small children.  Though he graduated nine years before me, like everyone else in town I was proud of our alumnus' accomplishments on the baseball diamond and deeply saddened by his untimely death as was the entire New York Yankees organization when their captain, Thurman Munson, died.  I wish there had been an ACCESS for the Munson family in 1979.  

 

If you know anyone who is suffering from the aftermath of losing someone they cared about as the result of a commercial, private or military air disaster, please let them know they do not need to suffer alone.  Have them contact ACCESS.  They will listen.  They will understand.  And they will care.  

 

I'm proud to call Heidi Snow a friend of mine and proud to be a continuing sponsor of her work through ACCESS.  To learn more about Heidi's touching story or to find out how you or your company can support her cause, contact accesshelp.org.   

 

Thank you for the continued opportunity to be of service!