Walking Across America to Raise Awareness of Problem Gambling: Join Michael on July 1, 2011 in Boston!

by Keith Whyte, Executive Director, the National Council on Problem Gambling

This year’s conference theme, Revolutionary Changes and Emerging Innovations, reflects the journey of the problem gambling field over the past quarter of a century. Progress can be measured in many ways. For one speaker, it is in miles. 2,484 miles or about 5.2 million steps. This is distance from Seattle to Boston that recovering gambler Michael K. will cover on foot to reach the conference. (The 25th National Conference on Gambling Problems taking place in Boston July 1-2, 2011).

Michael set out on October 4, 2010 to raise awareness of gambling addiction and “… to exercise the one-day-at-a-time aspect of any long-term commitment. Just as bet-free days accumulate behind me one at a time, the walking miles build up slowly a day at a time.” We’ll update you on Michael’s progress as he closes in on Boston, or you can follow him at http://michaelwalksamerica.blogspot.com/

Conference attendees are invited to join up with Michael on Friday morning and walk with him on the last leg of his journey. The drum and fife corps of the Middlesex Volunteers will escort us through Boston Public Garden, across to the Park Plaza hotel and into the ballroom for an inspirational start to the Conference on Friday, July 1, 2011.