Rubbing shoulders with a national hero

Last night Jake and I attended a charity auction dinner hosted by KPMG to benefit Cure Kids, an organization that focuses on childhood diseases. The person at the check-in table didn't hear my name clearly, and asked "Jamie Fitzgerald?" before finding me on the list. Little did I know that Jamie Fitzgerald is one of New Zealand's biggest modern-day adventurers, and he was the guest speaker for the evening. 

Fitzgerald has rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, a feat that took seven weeks, and he has walked across Antarctica to the south pole, which took an incredible 52 days. Amazing.

We also heard from Brendan Dallas, a first-year KPMGer who road his bike all the way from the very northern tip of NZ to the south in 19 days to raise money for Cure Kids. It's inspiring to hear the stories from people like these folks, who not only push themselves so hard, but do so in a way that benefits other folks. Nice work guys.