Meet that athlete Gigi Petion

TAMPA - As he prepares to soar over a high jump bar several inches taller than most folks' backyard privacy fences, Gigi Petion says he tries to clear his head of just about everything -- everything but the song he is singing and God, whom Petion sometimes asks for a little help.
"Especially on the higher heights, I'll say 'Lord, I need you right now,' " said Petion, a senior at Alonso High. "I don't ask every time I jump. Just when I feel like I need a Iittle help. But each time I've asked Him, it's worked and I've gotten the height."
As the son of Haitian parents, Petion says he knows the power of prayer and how fortunate he is to be growing up in the United States. Each time he comes out to track practice or a meet, Petion seems to be having the time of his life. And this season, his enjoyment includes being the top high jumper in Hillsborough County with a mark of 6 feet, 8 inches and tied for the second best jump in the state.
"Being near the top of the state just makes me want to work harder this year -- way, way harder," Petion said. "I know that all those guys below me are coming for me and I can't stay still."
That sort of work ethic and humility is something his Alonso track coaches love about Petion, whose goals this season include clearing at least 6-10, winning a state title and earning a college scholarship. What puzzles head coach Roger Mills is the fact for all his drive and athleticism, Petion didn't experienced much success in any sport until he came out for track as a sophomore.
"He's a kid that other coaches in other sports seem to have abandoned," Mills said. "He's a heckuva of a basketball player but never really settled in there and in football, he just didn't get the ball thrown his way very much.
"But in track, Gigi fits in with us and this team perfectly. He's exactly what we want for our track program -- humble, quiet and a good person -- and feels comfortable with us because of the sense of family that we have."
Suddenly, however, it's Petion's senior year. And since track is his final option toward his dream of being a college athlete, timing is running short. As a result, Mills says Petion is motivated and focused.
"You have no idea how important success in the high jump is to Gigi," Mills said. "After what didn't happen for him in football his senior year, this is it for him. He wants colleges to notice him, he wants an opportunity compete there and he has the grades to do that."
The attention is starting to come. Petion has now cleared 6-8 twice this season and, at last week's Charles Johnson Invitational, just missed a meet record 6-9 when his calf clipped the bar off the standards after his torso had cleared the height. Even those who don't follow the sport closely begin to take notice of a prep athlete that is inching their way to that elusive 7-foot mark.
Petion's high jump coach, former Florida State University all-American Shawn Brown, says 6-10 is only a matter of time for Petion. And he believes 7-0 is not out of the question. It will likely take 6-10, however, before college coaches start to take notice.
"I told Gigi before the start of the year that (6-10) is what we need in order to start making some phone calls to coaches and I know he's going to get that soon," said Brown, who was a state champion in the high jump for Bloomingdale. "I do believe he has 7 feet in him because I've seen at a few 6-8 jumps and even some 6-10 attempts where he was clearly over the bar if he had just put everything together.
"It's going to take a lot of technique and, maybe most importantly, the mental capacity to say to yourself 'Yea, I know I can do it.' That's something not every jumper has but Gigi is quietly confident and has the ability to do it."
Some days, Petion says the high jump is all he thinks about, Whether he's at home or at school, he often finds himself daydreaming about it. And at night, he has dreams about floating over the high jump bar.
So if you see Petion looking a little intense -- maybe even looking like he's in a trance -- on the day of the meet, it's likely because he is focusing on the high jump. And once he begins the competition, his attention is riveted on the event.
Just before the meet, Petion picks a single song to be his mantra to repeat over and over during the competition. Carol City-born rapper Rick Ross is a favorite on his I-Pod, but it can be nearly anything. Lately, Petion has been entering the high jump competition when the bar gets to 5-10 but he's been making 6-2, 6-4 and even 6-6 on first attempts.
When it gets down to him and just a few competitors, that's when you will see Petion take a water bottle and splash some of it on his face. Besides all the technique he has learned, the sprinkle of water is something he learned from Brown, who had a personal best of 7-4.5 at FSU and cleared 7-0 or better 10 times.
And when Petion's name is called to jump, he can often be seen standing 20-25 meters away for the start of his looping approach to the pit, staring at the sky. Sometimes, Petion says, he imagines himself being giant in size and the bar being a small obstacle. And on those special occasions, Petion is looking skyward asking a higher authority for some help.
"The high jump is such a mental thing and looking up toward the sky -- not at the bar -- and talking to God can take me out of the moment, take it out of my hands and away from the pressure of that moment," Petion said. "I don't want to think about the bar or missing or anything. I just want to do it."

By BILL WARD TBO.com
   Published: March 16, 2011

Charlie Sheen: Headed to Haiti?

You never know what he’s got up his sleeve next, and now  Charlie Sheen is reportedly taking his comedy tour to Haiti.
The “Hot Shots” actor is apparently working with close friend, Sean Penn, to make Haiti a stop on his quickly sold-out upcoming stage plans.

According to TMZ, all the proceeds from the show will go to charity efforts of Penn's in the nation still recovering from hurricane devastation.
Meanwhile, it was reported early this morning (March 21) that CBS is willing to forgive and forget all of Charlie’s recent antics and continue broadcasting “Two and a Half Men.”
                                                                        
                                  gossipcenter.com

From pop star to president? Haiti looks set to elect 'Sweet Micky.'

While the race offers a marked contrast in personalities, both Martelly and Manigat are right-of-center moderates. Both promise to speed up rebuilding, fund education and health care, create jobs, strengthen Haitian security forces, and offer Haitians living abroad dual citizenship. Whoever wins, the political landscape will remain deeply unsettled, with former President Aristide just one of the wild cards.
“Beyond Aristide, several concerns surround the election,” says Professor Jones, the political scientist. “Can it be staged without any of the major problems that occurred last fall, which included a large numbers of voters who were turned away from the polls, voter intimidation, and outright fraud? It’s going to be a close election and the business class seems to be worried about Martelly’s inexperience, but at the same time they seem to think that they can work with him.”
Hotelier and musician Richard Morse, a first cousin of Martelly whose Oloffson Hotel has served as the campaign’s unofficial headquarters, says Martelly’s candidacy represents the will of the people.
“He got back on the ballot when the powers-that-be realized his level of popular support,” says Mr. Morse. “Martelly wants to build homes and improve the infrastructure, but billions in aid haven’t come in because there is no faith in the Haitian government. He’s not talking about right-wing or left-wing, but about helping the Haiti people.”
Opponents on the left point to Martelly’s rumored past ties to right-wing elements of the Haitian military, and the Miami Herald recently reported that in the past year he lost three South Florida properties to foreclosure after defaulting on more than $1 million in personal loans, leading some to question his business judgment.
Big challenges
Regardless, Martelly’s ability to cut across political lines impresses political observers in the capital.
“Martelly’s music and style appeals to Aristide supporters, and he is the only one in this election to match Aristide’s popularity on the street,” says Georges Michel, a historian and journalist in Port-au-Prince. “He is also a businessman and has made money by honest work. Most Haitian leaders, when they come to power they don’t know how to create wealth. They want to steal, siphon, or share whatever revenues that are available.”
Whoever wins, the next president of Haiti faces enormous challenges, including 70 percent unemployment, hundreds of thousands of tent dwellers in the capital, and a lingering cholera epidemic. "Establishing a new political leadership able to respond to the aspirations of the Haitians is an essential condition for intensifying the reconstruction and development efforts," the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said in a March 18 statement.
Though nearly $10 billion was pledged by other nations following the 2010 earthquake, as of the end of 2010 only 43 percent had been released for relief efforts.
“Some of that aid will be released when Préval is gone and the new president is enjoying a honeymoon, then a much bigger portion will continue to be withheld until the new administration proves its competence and trustworthiness,” says Jones. “Then there’s another large portion that foreign governments and NGOs have never had any intention of giving to Haiti.”

        The Christian Science Monitor

Wyclef shot in Haiti

Wyclef , Haitian superstar has been wounded on his hand by a gunshot in Delmas Port-au-prince . The news went fast over Twitter and Facebook . Wyclef has been involved in those past days in Michel Martelly's campaign . Michel Martelly is running for president of Haiti . Wyclef has been released from the hospital later that night . According to his doctor Wyclef is fine ,and he will be able to get back to his activities soon .

The generosity of Wings Over Haiti

Everybody wants to save the children. It’s the cliche that tipped the point that jumped the shark in a perfect storm.
But few people, however well intentioned,  bestir themselves from the sofa to aid those in distress. Most of us — speaking first-person plurally — make a tsk-tsk-ing sound, perhaps tap a PayPal button, and wish that man and the gods were less cruel.
And then there are those rare individuals who drop whatever they’re doing and dash to the worst places on the planet to lend a hand.

Jonathan Nash Glynn, a well-known artist in this erstwhile whaling village, belongs to the latter demographic. On Jan. 13, 2010, the day after Haiti’s horrific earthquake, Glynn was en route to South Florida in his single-engine Cessna when he had a change of heart. Stopping in Miami only long enough to find a temporary home for his co-pilot — a dappled dachshund named Lily — Glynn grabbed some charts and turned his plane toward the heart of the apocalypse.

Not knowing whether he’d be able to find a landing strip, Glynn carried 15 gallons of extra fuel, enough to make it back to Turks and Caicos. In the first of many instances of providential reprieve, he found a place to set down in the seaside town of Jacmel. The “airport” was a small gravel and asphalt strip between two 10,000-foot mountain ranges where a twin-engine Piper crashed shortly after Glynn arrived. Glynn himself had only a hand-held GPS to guide him.

How one decides to enter such a fray is, for most, not easily understood. For Glynn, it was a simple calculation: He had an airplane and time. Then things got complicated.

Upon arrival in Haiti, he learned that thousands of amputations were being undertaken with carpentry saws and no anesthesia or antibiotics. For the next 19 days, Glynn became an air force of one, transporting morphine, antibiotics and surgical saws to medical outposts.

Those life-saving days were life-altering for Glynn and also for 43 lucky Haitian children and their families. In the span of a year, Glynn has created a foundation — Wings Over Haiti (WingsOverHaiti.org) — through which he has raised about $100,000 for food, water and a school in Croix-des-Bouquets  just north of Port-au-Prince.

Two partners, who found Glynn via Facebook, have been crucial to his success. Melissa McMullan, a sixth-grade teacher in Port Jefferson Station, N.Y., is head of the Wings Over Haiti School. Her students in both countries work interactively as part of the school’s mission to build learning partnerships. Co-director Shad St. Louis, a guidance counselor in Middletown, N.Y., is a native of Croix-des-Bouquets whose mother slept with a machete at her side before the family escaped Haiti’s political turmoil and emigrated to the United States when St. Louis was 12.

The artist, the teacher and the counselor understand that Haiti’s hope rests with its children, who first need a full tummy and then a school. Glynn, an idealist without illusions, says that he can’t save the world, but he figures that he can help 43 children get a toehold.

Ages 3 to 6, these lucky few now have five teachers and three laptops. They have food, which costs about $1 per day per child, and clean drinking water, thanks to a new 70-foot well. And they’re learning to read and write.

Like all children, they vary in their abilities, but one girl is “brilliant,” Glynn says with what sounds an awful lot like parental pride. “I can’t wait to see what happens to her as she gets older. . . . Humans are too fragile for us to think we can mold their success, but we can try to give them the best chance possible to make the most of their lives.”
A 59-year-old bachelor “for too long” and without children of his own, Glynn has set aside his career for the indefinite future. It may be gratifying to paint and sculpt for the art crowd, but incalculable is the reward of seeing a well-fed child in a clean blue “Wings Over Haiti” T-shirt holding up his schoolwork.

Glynn and his team have big plans, if limited resources. They recently bought two acres on which they hope to build a new school and a medical center. They also hope to cultivate the land, thus providing work for the adults, food for the community and the possibility of a self-sustaining future.
It is a mere dent. A tiny drop of sweet water in a deep well of despair. But it is sure something.

kathleenparker@washpost.com

Zio Sport Outfits Children in Haiti

Press Release -  Children’s active wear company, Zio Sport, has shipped more than 26 boxes of clothing to Clothes4Souls. The non-profit organization will then send the apparel to the children of Haiti. The Caribbean nation was ravaged by a devastating earthquake last year.

“The kids in Haiti still need our help,” Zio Sport President and Co-founder, Ragan Melton said. “These kids have nothing. Clothes4Souls will ensure that the children of Haiti receive much-needed clothing. Clothes4Souls focuses on children, just like we do here at Zio Sport.”

Zio Sport’s donation included shirts, shorts and pullovers. The donation totaled nearly $38,000.

Clothes4Souls gives free clothing to those in need in the United States and around the world. Clothes4Souls works with manufacturers, designers and retailers to donate unused inventory instead of destroying it.

Clothes4Souls is a division of Soles4Souls, which collects new and gently-worn footwear for people in need. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has distributed more than 10 million pairs of shoes to people in 125 countries, including the United States.

About Zio Sport:

Nothing says, “get out and play” like Zio Sport. The Austin, Texas-based company outfits kids around the country with high-quality, active wear for ages 4-14. At Zio Sport, it’s all about the kids. In fact, Zio Sport consults with children in the color, fabric and style of all their clothing. This family-owned company encourages a healthy lifestyle with the simple idea that kids who are comfortable, keep playing longer. Zio Sport started when a grandmother and two mothers felt there was a void in high-quality, stylish sportswear for children. Just months later, the three developed their own line of children’s active wear. Now Zio Sport is available online and in select retail stores nationwide. Learn more about Zio Sport at www.ziosport.com.

Contact:

Derek Castillo, Media Relations, Derek@redmediagroup.com, (512) 560-4286

Surging crowd welcomes 'little priest's' return home

Jean-Bertrand Aristide spent nearly seven years in exile.

Photographed by:
KENA BETANCUR REUTERS, The Gazette
Former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned home to Haiti on Friday after nearly seven years in exile in South Africa, promising to serve his country "with love" but making no direct reference to a crucial presidential election just 48 hours away.Aristide landed about 9 a.m. in a private jet, accompanied by his family and an entourage that included actor Danny Glover and other international supporters.
Minutes later, Aristide delivered a speech - at times in French, Spanish and English - in which he criticized the exclusion of his Fanmi Lavalas political party from the election.
"Today, the Haitian people mark the end of exile and coup d'état," he said. "We must move peacefully from social exclusion to social inclusion."
Pandemonium ensued as soon as Aristide's caravan tried to leave the airport. Haitian riot police waved back the surging crowd to clear a pathway. Thousands of Haitians, many of them young men, beat drums and marched through the streets, chanting his name and shouting that he had returned. The crowd appeared to be following Aristide toward his villa.
Aristide's arrival just before Sunday's vote could be a factor in a political contest already roiled by fraud, violence and disorder. Though he will not be on the ballot, some here believe he could sway the contest by showing support for one of the candidates - each of whom has opposed him in the past.
It was Aristide's third dramatic return to Haiti in the past two decades, during which "the little priest" has been a dominant presence in the country's affairs - whether from office or exile.
The former shantytown preacher won a landslide victory to become Haiti's first democratically elected leader in 1991, only to be deposed in a coup seven months later. He was restored in 1994 with help from President Bill Clinton and thousands of U.S. Marines.
Aristide lost a re-election bid in 1996 to former ally René Préval, Haiti's current president, then returned to office from 2001 to 2004, until he was ousted in a rebellion led by former elements of the Haitian army, which Aristide had disbanded. Under pressure from the United States, he fled into exile in Africa, later claiming he was "kidnapped" by American officials.
Both candidates have said Aristide has a right to return to Haiti. But supporters of former first lady Mirlande Manigat seem to be courting Aristide, hanging banners likening his return to the homecoming of "father."
Her opponent, Michel Martelly, a popular singer, could be hurt more by Aristide's arrival, because his popularity has surged lately among Haiti's poorest, whom he has courted with a slick, energetic campaign.
By NICK MIROFF, The Gazette