It’s time to soiree with O.J. on Friday the 27th

The amazing gift of O.J. Brigance continues to give to the universe and he’ll be back with the Brigance Brigade on February 27th as the “Soiree With O.J.” continues to raise awareness, funding and real support for families affected by ALS. Drew Vanlandingham of The Brigance Brigade updates Nestor on The Juice and plans ahead for the event and the future of everyone’s favorite local hero.

Nestor Aparicio discussed the upcoming Winter Soiree on February 27th, hosted by the Brigance Brigade Foundation to support those affected by ALS. Drew Van Landingham highlighted the foundation’s 19-year history of providing essential resources like ramps and bathroom restorations, emphasizing that all funds raised go directly to helping families. The event will feature a VIP meet with OJ Brigance, live and silent auctions, and celebrity guests. The foundation also plans future events, including a golf tournament on May 3rd and a 57th birthday celebration for OJ in September. Nestor encouraged support for the foundation and shared personal anecdotes about OJ’s resilience and communication abilities.

• [ ] Announce the May 3 event location publicly (publish location details) as stated to be announced tonight
• [ ] Prepare and bring success stories and examples of families helped by the Brigance Brigade to share at the next visit/meeting
• [ ] Coordinate for OJ to send a brief ‘hello’ email to Nestor (facilitate or request the email be sent)

Maryland Crab Cake Tour and Upcoming Events

• Nestor Aparicio announces the return of the Maryland crab cake tour and mentions fresh lottery tickets.
• GBMC sponsors an event at Costas and Dundalk to honor Nestor’s father and Dan Rogers’ 1966 play.
• Nestor promotes the WNST tech service and new sponsor Farnham and Darmer.
• Nestor reminisces about OJ Brigance’s visit to his studio and their long-standing friendship.

OJ Brigance’s Journey and the Brigance Brigade Foundation

• Nestor shares memories of OJ Brigance’s communication through his eyes and computer.
• Drew Van Landingham provides an update on the Brigance Brigade Foundation, which has been helping people with ALS for 19 years.
• The foundation provides ramps, bathroom restoration, and other support to help people live with ALS.
• Nestor and Drew discuss the importance of the foundation’s work and the upcoming event on February 27th.

Details of the Winter Soiree Event

• Drew Van Landingham explains that all funds raised go directly to helping families affected by ALS.
• The event on February 27th will feature a VIP meet with OJ and Shanda Brigance, Kiana Stewart, and Rick Ritter.
• There will be live and silent auctions, including a wine auction where individual bottles will be auctioned off.
• The event aims to raise funds for patients and their families, emphasizing the importance of the gift of time.

Support for Caregivers and Families

• Nestor shares his personal experience with his wife’s illness and the importance of caregiver support.
• Drew highlights the foundation’s efforts to support not only patients but also their caregivers and families.
• The foundation provides resources and support for various needs, including Hoyer lifts and ramps.
• Nestor and Drew discuss the importance of communication and the technology that allows OJ to communicate through his eyes.

OJ’s Communication and Technology

• Nestor reflects on the amazing technology that allows OJ to communicate despite his condition.
• Drew explains the computer system that OJ uses to type with his eyes.
• The conversation highlights the importance of the mind and brain still being active despite the physical limitations.
• Nestor shares his admiration for OJ’s ability to communicate and the impact it has on those around him.

Upcoming Events and Fundraising Efforts

• Drew outlines the foundation’s upcoming events, including a golf tournament on May 3rd and a summer program.
• The foundation will celebrate OJ’s 57th birthday in September, highlighting his remarkable journey.
• Other events include a back-to-school program, a signature event, and a caregiver month fundraiser.
• The foundation also celebrates various holidays with 31 Days of Giving to support their mission.

Personal Reflections and Final Thoughts

• Nestor reflects on his age and the realization that he is older than OJ.
• The conversation ends with a call to support the Brigance Brigade Foundation and attend the upcoming event.
• Nestor expresses his appreciation for the foundation’s work and the importance of community support.
• The segment concludes with a shout-out to Heidi Klotzmann and a reminder to stay positive and support the cause.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Brigance Brigade, ALS awareness, OJ Brigance, fundraising event, winter soiree, February 27th, Martin’s West, caregiver support, patient assistance, live auction, silent auction, community support, ALS research, family support, 57th birthday celebration.

SPEAKERS

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Nestor Aparicio, Drew Vanlandingham, Speaker 1

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 to Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. We’ll be getting the Maryland crab cake tour back out on the road. I’ll have some fresh lottery tickets that aren’t the scented holiday ones, although they were pretty lucky batch with the candy canes. Also our friends at GBMC put us out on the road. We’re going to be at Costas and Dundalk first week of March to honor my father and his birthday, I’m also going to be honoring Dan Rogers, who’s got his 1966 play going right around then as well. And if you’re in the sports biz around here, make sure you’re on our wnst tech service, all brought to you by Cole roofing and Gordian energy. That would happen if there’s any breaking news from the Ravens or the Orioles and Luke has us on to all that. We do have a new sponsor here in Farnham and darmer giving some love to the comfort guys they love. When I do stories about community and good stuff, kind of like Bill Cole and Cole roofing did to bring all this forward. OJ Brigance was my dude from the beginning, as a stallion. I remember they brought him into my studio at the Radisson Lord Baltimore, on the third floor behind the elevator above the ballroom. Well, we were right above the kitchen, so we always smelled like steaks and burgers and chicken coming up in the alleyway behind there. And we had, we had the last two suites in the whole hotel they didn’t want to sell, which is third floor over the kitchen. Bad, hotel room, noisy. We made a radio station there was kind of like, W, K, R, P, w, w, L, G and O J came into the studio that day, and I met him, and he later played in the NFL with Miami and Baltimore and back and here in a Super Bowl. And of course, Brian Billick, when OJ went into Brian and said that he had an opportunity to change the world. And that was, oh, 20 years ago now, the Brigance Foundation, the Brigance brigade, and I’ve been having family on I used to pass OJ every day that I walked through the facility in his office with his special toys, and he could look at things and talk to me through his eyes and his machine, and I would sit and he would try to make me laugh through his computer. So I love OJ, and anything for OJ. So the next Friday, or it could be this Friday, the 27th we’re doing a big night drew Van Landingham is here. He’s running things now, man, it’s been a long time for the fan. How many are my right?

Drew Vanlandingham  02:22

2018 so 2007 was his diagnosis. And then they’ve been doing this for 19 years. Like Shanda likes to say, we’ve been doing this for 19 years. So 19 years, they’ve been helping people, you know, really, really helping people with trying to get them any type of anything that can help them with ramps, bathroom restoration, anything to help them live with ALS healthily, and also give them hope and joy and light like that can be OJ, you know, right, like you were saying, He’s talking to you through his eyes. He’s giving you all these awesome type

Nestor Aparicio  02:57

don’t make me cry. Don’t do it. Don’t that tells

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Drew Vanlandingham  03:00

you, that tells you, that tells you it’s going to be alright, you know, it’s not the end of the road. And there’s always a way to communicate, because he does truly communicate with his eyes through a computer. And it’s quite it’s quite amazing.

Nestor Aparicio  03:14

OJ, I’m watching you, you know, you know, I’m watching you. It’s my role to make him laugh. So sometimes that was difficult for him through it all and and the smiles, but so update me first. Let’s start with the event. We have an event where the money goes what we’re doing, and then I want to juice update, squeeze the juice a little bit, because I don’t have one. I The modell family and I remain very close, and I know when the reunion happened back in December that, you know, juice made the game can do certain things. Can’t do other things, but, but, yeah. I mean, when it word got to me and I said, Let’s do this, man, let’s, let’s update everybody on the juice. Yes.

Drew Vanlandingham  03:56

So first of all, about the soiree, everything that the foundation raises Shandon and OJ take nothing for that. They literally everything. Everything that comes in goes directly out. You know, a lot of people, you would think in this position, because of his ALS, that would give them perks of some sort. It doesn’t. They give everything away. Everything that comes into the foundation goes directly back out to help families. We keep costs small staff small on purpose, because ALS is cost over $250,000 a year to live with. And we hand out grants throughout the entire year to families that apply for the grant program. And that’s why these fundraisers are so important. In the month of November into December, we had eight to 10 new families in a in a short month’s time, and then we will get more families. The awareness is up and the disease is, unfortunately spreading. So Shandon OJ and the brigands brigade here, they are in place to literally help bring awareness, light, joy and give the gift of time. Because. That’s the one thing you cannot get back. We can buy a new house, we can we can buy a new car, we can buy new clothes. But the gift of time is the one thing that’s valuable, and that’s what they give people, and that’s what we give people here. So February 27 630, to 1030 you’ll have a VIP meet with OJ bergants and Shanda brigants, which I will tell you, is such a blessing to watch him speak and to hear him say hello. And then, of course, we have Kiana Stewart of the housewives of Potomac, Baltimore girl, but also, at the same time, a phenomenal business owner, and our own WJ z’s, Rick Ritter, he’ll be also anchoring. They’ll do a meet and greet with everybody. And then we’ve got a couple other celebrity guest that’ll be joining, but we’re going to have some music. We’re going to have some live auction. We’ve got a wine auction that’s going to go and it’s going to the wine auction is going to we’re going to auction off individual bottles of wine. And then what will happen is, the end of the night, that will all go in a pot, then they will run a trip. And then at the also, we’ve got live auction items that are going to happen, as well as a silent auction. And all of that money, all of it doesn’t go for me, doesn’t go for small step. It literally goes to the patients. And it’s not just about the patient, you know, it’s about the family. You know, you got the patient, and then they’ve got a caregiver, and then they’ve got children, and when they’re when they’re diagnosed, when they’re in the diagnosis, and then after, unfortunately, they’re not here, what’s helping those other people?

Nestor Aparicio  06:21

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Well, caregiving doesn’t take a minute off either. And no, my wife’s a two time leukemia survivor, and she, you know, she spent a lot of time in the hospital. And just, it was just unbelievable, the amount of care anytime anything medically happens, and this journey that OJ has been on. It’s been so inspiring to everybody, to everybody everywhere. So if you get out support, this is, this is Friday, signature winter soiree with OJ. I like that. It’s over Martin’s West. It’s brigade Brigance brigade. Foundation, of course, been fighting als for for 19 years. And, you know, I noticed they now throw a party. I mean, nobody’s gonna be disappointed if they go out to Martin’s West. Food’s great. The vibes Great. Parking is easy. You know, been there a million times right on the west side. And get out and get out. Get out. It’s winter blues. Get out something, right? Tickets.

Drew Vanlandingham  07:21

Go to brigands brigade.org to get your tickets. We have tickets available. We try to take home as many we want as many people as we can, because we want you to see what you were saying about juice man. What a inspiration. He’s doing great. The the doctors cannot explain it. He will tell you that it’s a description of his faith. Why is he is still here, and it’s amazing that he is here to share his love and light with us, but you know, just like we’re talking, he does the same thing, but he does it with his eyes.

Nestor Aparicio  07:48

Send me an email, Hey, OJ. Come on you. They got my email address, you know. Throw me a note. Say hello from you, you know. So, yeah, you know, yeah, OJ is near and dear to my heart. And obviously, what we’re fighting here in ALS, and we’re always hoping that there’s going to be cures, answers, you know, in all of these sort of modern day diseases, Lou Gehrig’s, and the notion that there can be help, and that when people are diagnosed, there’s so much more support than there was even 19 years ago, right?

Drew Vanlandingham  08:29

100% we’re not just about, like I said, we’re not just about the patient, we’re also about the caregiver. We’re also about the kids that are here, the family members, the people that live with, the family that live with the patient. We’ve really, we’ve, we’ve gained a lot of resources to be able to help people that even email in and ask us. Hoyer lifts, you know, view screens, ramps, things of that nature. We try to direct you to places when you’re in need of that. What’s that machine called that

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Nestor Aparicio  08:55

allows OJ to communicate because, like, and I’m not, I’m not being OJS watches, so he knows I’m being funny, but I got root canal, and the hardest thing in the world for me was not being able to communicate as a communicator. Like I had that moment where, like, I’m back in the chair and I can’t speak, I can’t get what I want, you know, like, and I’m, like, trying to communicate, and I’m thinking to myself, and I’ve been into AI the last 90 days in a big way, right? And all of this technology, yes, that allows OJ to communicate, even in being predictive of next words and things like that that he would want to say and phrases, but he would literally, it amazed me, it was Willy Wonka in the way that the AI is Willy Wonka to me that he’s the only human I’ve ever known who’s been a friend of mine. I would walk by, back when I was a real media member. I would walk by the front hallway, and OJ was right in the front hallway, and he didn’t know. All the media members. He knew me. He knew a handful of old schoolers, and some of them didn’t stop the talk. I always stuck my head in, and I watched, you know, the deterioration of his natural communication become this thing, this computer, this mind, this this thing where he clearly could not move, and he’s there, and he’s completely there. Sense of humor fully there. But with his eyes, I saw him communicate with me. Now, I’m pretty hyper, dude, right? I mean, I am so like, I got to calm down. And there was a whole thing in the building where they don’t want me in the offices and like that, and, oh, and there’s locker room and, like, yeah, it’s a whole different thing. And that’s for but, but talking to him was a gift to me. Every time I did it, and every time I did it, there was something funny. He would ask me how Jen was before and after her illnesses, because this is when this went on in 14 and 15 and he still and when my wife and I would see him out, we would stop, and there’s just a big fanfare around him, usually at Martin’s west or one of these events where we would see him in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. We see him a lot of places, but the notion that he could communicate, well, that is something that 25 years ago was not even thought about. It’s probably something that within his own thoughts, in 2007 and eight, that he could still be communicating with me, sure, all these years later, it’s, it’s unbelievable. It’s, it’s when I think about, he’s the only person I’ve ever communicated with in that way, in that environment, from an old friendship, that we have history OJ and I, and he has history with everybody. And the ability for him to be able to communicate that was a gift to all of us, and it’s certainly for him, and for anyone that’s witnessed this knows what’s possible.

Drew Vanlandingham  12:11

So you said, you asked me about, you know what, how? What? It’s called, the easiest way for everyone to understand. It’s a computer. It’s a computer that he basically, instead of typing with your fingers, you he types with his eyes, so on the computer that sits right in front the eye, connects the letters, connects the words, and builds a paragraph, builds a phrase, builds an answer, and it’s you know, what’s so funny about ALS it affects your ability to your brain tells you want to move Your hand, but you can’t move your hand, but the mind and the brain is still there, like you were saying. OJ, still

Nestor Aparicio  12:46

an athlete. He thinks fast, Sky, strong, Sky, no doubt.

Drew Vanlandingham  12:50

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He just, you know, so that’s what people don’t understand about that. You know, it’s a computer that you type with your eyes. He speaks to you through his eyes. And I always say, it’s funny when people say you can always tell what a person’s feeling or feeling, what they’re thinking by the way they look at you. With OJ, that’s true. And with all of our patients, they all have different levels of where als hits them. But with the the amount of the amount of words and just grammatical things that come out of that man’s heart, number one, and mind second, it’s mind blowing to me. And in fact, before I began my journey here at the brigands brigade foundation, I was doing stuff with the brigands brigade, and it was only a few moments I could hear him speak, because I was just in awe. You know, we all day to day, we take advantage of the fact that we can pick up our coffee cup, we can walk to the restroom.

Nestor Aparicio  13:36

And sometimes 15 minutes in that dentist chair drove me nuts, not being able

Drew Vanlandingham  13:42

to and so how thankful we should be.

Nestor Aparicio  13:46

I came home and cry, you know what I mean? Like, I was like this. That sucked, you know, like that, really? So I yeah, I just think that, and funding this and helping people and the person next week and next month and next year that’s afflicted by this. It’s very, very important. So I’m sending everybody out right now to Brigance brigade. It’s a network out there. The foundation is pop it in. I’ll have it out of Baltimore positive as well, the signature winter soiree with OJ, yeah. And you’re like, you can look nice for this, right? You’re allowed to dress up.

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Drew Vanlandingham  14:21

You can, you know what? Put it on a little bit, right? Yeah, it’s all going to be in reds and blacks and golds, and it’s going to be, you know, the time is now, hearts of gold. And so you want to dress up, but you know what? We just want you there. So if you’ve been working all day and you want to come, you come right on. We love all however they come to us, because we want everybody to feel the love in that room and feel that that’s why we do what we do. It’s not about us, it’s about the patients, then it’s about the families and they’re the stars. They’re the stars the show.

Nestor Aparicio  14:48

And what else we doing now, you guys run through the streets, I know and said, serve drinks. That was always a big run, and Harvey to bring people down and do that. What else do we got coming up here? I’m on the website. Here upcoming events. We had bites, we have golf tournaments. We have the five, five.

Drew Vanlandingham  15:07

Yes, that’s going to be May 3. That’s being announced tonight. Of so we’re saving a little bit excitement for that new location, exciting things, changing up. Love That’s May 3. Then we have a summer program that we’re working on, and then the fall, we do a back to school that helps families with people that have children that are living with ALS. Then we do we’re going to be doing a signature event this year, because number 57 will be turning 57 OJ Bergans is going to be 57 living with ALS, and that’s quite an amazing thing. So we’re celebrating 57 it’s going to be 57 that’s going to be in September. Then we have October, we have some golf tournaments coming up with our board members. And then November, we highlight our caregiver month. We do a caregiver month fundraiser. And then in the holidays, we do all Hanukkah, we do Kwanzaa, we do Christmas, we celebrate everyone, and we do 31 Days of Giving. And that, again, goes out to help everything we do here. That’s why we do all of this goes to help the families and the stars the show, which are the patients and the people living with ALS

Nestor Aparicio  16:06

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juice is just turning 57 I’m 57 from October. I didn’t even realize that I was older than him. Man, I juice. I gave you too much respect. I treated you like an elder, and clearly I was the older one the whole time. I didn’t realize this. Where’s my 57 I’m

Drew Vanlandingham  16:23

already 57 we’re gonna have you, we’re gonna have you a cake and him a cake. Right next to September

Nestor Aparicio  16:28

29 1969 I mean, I’m 68 so I didn’t all right, man, juice, I put you on a pedestal. I mean, you were like, would have been the younger brother. I mean, let’s be honest. Seriously, support the juice. That’s my dude. It’s everybody’s dude, right? I mean, everybody’s Dude, it is. So my wife sends her love and, you know, go crush it like you’re always doing it out there next to the next Friday 27th they’re doing it at Martin’s West. You know, the food’s gonna be good, you know, the vibes gonna be great. It’s soiree with OJ, get on out and true. Come get a crab cake with me sometime. We’ll sit down and talk more about the foundation stuff. And I’d like to, next time in we’ll talk more about some success stories and some families you’ve been helping around here. Because I think, you know, I

Drew Vanlandingham  17:09

would love that I appreciate every bit of your time, every bit of everybody’s time. And, yeah, just know that we can’t wait to share with the world more about ALS and how we can make it better.

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Nestor Aparicio  17:17

Well, I tell you what, I appreciate it, and we, you know, good visits here this week, and this is how we hold the thing together with the old school and the new school. And I got to shout out, you know, all of the Heidi klotzmann’s who make the world go around. Heidi, I love you.

Speaker 1  17:29

He’s amazing. She’s amazing. Heidi is an OG man. I mean, she, you know, come on.

Nestor Aparicio  17:37

Heidi says, do it. I do it. Or else, that’s right, you know. So that, or else her mom comes, you know. Now I got real problems. I I am Nestor. We are W N, S, D, AM, 1570 Towson, Baltimore. I gotta get out and see I gotta get out and soiree a little bit more. So I run into Heidi and her mom. I’m sorry, with us next Friday. Come on, suare, man, I don’t know. My Tux doesn’t fit me the way it used to. I got to figure it out. Come as you are, come as you are, come as you are, come as you that’s like a Nirvana song. I like that. Yeah, tell Jason, thinking about him too. For sure, we’re back for more Baltimore positive. Stay with us.