Raising the Roof on Graduation Rates -- Bob Returns to Earth

Bob has safely returned to the ground floor after 48 hours on the roof. This morning, we had a small celebration to welcome him back.

This included presenting him with the "smiling Starfish" traveling trophy -- an internal prize for staff or VISTAs who go above and beyond their job description -- and a photo collage of images from his time on the roof.

Keep reading for more photos and the final tally of mentors who have made verbal commitments to Starfish by the end of the event.

This is Bob and the WTLC booth that came yesterday afternoon for a live remote broadcast over the lunch hour.

Friday morning... notice the change in the weather with the overcast sky... the cherry picker from the tree service truck came back to bring Bob back down from the roof.

And the final tally of people who called in and made verbal commitments to be mentors during the 48 hour stunt is......

63!

We are completely blown-away by this response from the community and the amount of media coverage we received during the past two days. All of us are a bit bleary-eyed this morning from two days of crazy work hours, but it was worth it.

And the brainstorming for next summer's event has already begun... the leading idea? Survivor: Starfish Roof.

Raising the Roof on Graduation Rates -- Above the fold

So it's bigger news if it runs with a photo above the photo in a print newspaper.

The story is technically what would likely be known as the "secondary centerpiece," but half of Bob's head is above the fold of today's Metro+State section of the Indy Star.

Here's the link to the whole article.

Right now, we've got WTLC out in the parking lot with a booth, prizes and a live broadcast. Other staff has the camera, but more photos to come later.

Raising the Roof on Graduation Rates -- The VISTA photos

Bob is still on the roof.


Yesterday afternoon, I got busy and never had a chance to post these photos. These are mostly the summer VISTA crew (along with yours truly occasionally). Without their help, this event would not be going as well as it has been. They've also just been very cool and helpful all summer long.

The count for potential mentors is hovering around 30 right now, give or take a few.

Today at the lunch hour, we've got WTLC coming to do a live remote broadcast. Expect more photos later...

Raising the Roof on Gradution Rates -- Life on the Roof

Bob has now been on the roof for not quite 5 hours.



So far, the camera has been passing from staff to staff, so I can't claim that all these photos are mine, but here are some further glimpses of life on the roof for Bob.



Up with him on the roof, Bob's got his laptop, a table and chair, his cell phone, a very long extension cord to plug his stuff through the window upstairs, a tent, sleeping bag, umbrella, pillow, cooler, and, um, bucket. I don't think I need to elaborate on what that's for.



We've gotten a number of calls from people who have stopped by on the street or saw him live on TV this morning. The current count for potential mentors is ..... drumroll please.... 30!

48 in 48 should be no sweat!

Raising the Roof on Graduation Rates -- Bob Ascends

Yes, mentoring fans, Starfish Initiative Mentor Services Director Bob Goodrum is on the roof of Starfish Initiative.

He's been up there for about 105 minutes so far, and his feet won't touch the ground for another 46.25 hours-ish.

This morning, we had Fox 59 news here doing a live shot from the roof (another segment will run on the 10 p.m. news tonight). Also, the Indianapolis Star sent over a photographer and we're expecting a reporter to come by at some point. Mitch Daniels' campaign RV was here as well (don't worry... no VISTAs were involved in any sort of campaigning activity and we've invited his challenger, Jill Long Thompson to stop by sometime too...).

We had a pretty good crowd of mentors and guests and staff this morning to cheer Bob on as he went up to the roof. The original plan had been that Bob would just climb a ladder... but his ladder was too short so he called a tree business who brought over their truck with a cherry picker and Bob rode up to the roof.

And then watched his "ride" move away.

Now that Bob's on the roof, he's taking phone calls from potential mentors and calling folks who expressed interest in the past.

More photos to come later, along with updates on the recruitment count.