April was a very special and interesting month, as so many things occurred at once.  The first event might overshadow the others, but they were all equally important to Daniel.

#1 – Daniel was a guest speaker at the Launchability Annual Fundraiser 2015 with Dana Carvey as the Entertainment for the Evening and Jody Dean (KLUV) as the Master of Ceremonies.   Daniel’s material for his speech was late in being turned in (his heavy schedule these days), so much of his speech was written for him and when reviewed it just didn’t have his signature.  So very carefully, and for many hours on the day of the speech, Daniel re-sculpted the script so as not to deviate too far from the original, but to make it his own.

He wanted his delivery to be perfect.   To be quite honest, we were both concerned about two things going into this event.  #1 – That the opening joke might not be seen as a joke, #2 – That Daniel’s need for Launchability might not come across as he can seem so ‘normal’ at times.

Come time for his ‘dress rehearsal’, Daniel wasn’t nervous about speaking, only about being perfect.  The venue didn’t faze him, the bright lights were not a problem, he just wanted to be able to deliver his speech from memory, not having to refer to his script too much.

Then when Jody Dean was introducing Daniel, he struggled with the pronunciation of his last name (who doesn’t) and called him David at one point.   However, what we saw as an oh-no moment, Daniel seized as a moment to capitalize upon.   He walks boldly to the podium and announces “Hi, I’m DANIEL FIACCONE”… in such a way that everyone knew he was poking fun and the levity carried him into his opening joke with flare and the audience’s acceptance.   The audience was so responsive and they laughed “with” Daniel as he shared his struggles and warmed to his need for Launchabilities’ services.   I couldn’t help but notice two young ladies seated in front of me, as they listened to Daniel.  He never lost their attention and they seemed genuinely interested in his story.

I kept looking at my mother seated next to me and mouthing ‘he is doing great!”   When Daniel concluded his speech, I watched in amazement as people began to stand and applaud, pretty quickly the whole audience was standing for him.  It was an awesome moment for anyone, but for someone who has struggled for acceptance for most of his 32 yrs – this was an AWESOME moment.   After Daniel’s coach Amy spoke, she invited people to give Daniel a hand and they stood again.   I lost it!   Daniel just grinned, and then with impishly dramatic flair bowed to the audience… which they loved.  Dana Carvey ribbed him backstage about receiving 2 standing ovations.

The only somewhat sad moment was realizing that I was not recording it… then I saw my brother had remembered, only to find out later that his camera had malfunctioned and there was no recording.   I’m still hoping that someone recorded the evening, but even Launchability is searching for that someone!  Too bad, it was worth sharing and replaying.

#2 – As I said in the beginning, many things happened this week – the event shared was important, but Daniel was just as excited about events at work and at NonPariel.    You see, he thought his job was in danger and before this speech, he found out that his supervisors had determined that the productivity levels for his group were not attainable, and they reset Daniel and his co-worker back to ‘normal’ status (as opposed to “warning levels”) and are re-evaluating the productivity numbers for his area.  Then, Daniel received a glowing review from his boss (passionate about his work, respected by his peers, helpful to others, quick learner) as well as a raise!  Oh yea!  Daniel also reported that he and his co-worker have moved beyond some major personal conflicts as well.

#3 – Daniel completed his coding class at NonPariel and was ready to move on to his next level of training (advanced coding) and was concerned about a scheduling conflict between NP & his job at Neiman Marcus Direct.  However, NP again worked to make things possible for Daniel to study and work, but rearranging class times for him.  Thanks NP.

In recent months, Daniel has experienced some major successes in his life.  He has also gained some direction for his future (he loves coding).  He feels successful at work which pays for him to study at NP, so life is definitely moving in the right direction.

Shared from A very grateful Mother….