Mike Smith:
You would think with a couple of seasoned radio people that this would be a little more organized.

Mike Smith:
Mike Smith here on The Trail 103.3.

Robert Chase:
Pulling on the heartstrings with that one.

Mike Smith:
Yeah, Paul Simon, “Father and Daughter.” I bet a lot of fathers out there can identify with that one.

Mike Smith:
And in the Trail studio—my friend, my former colleague, my continuing mentor—Robert Chase. My friend… my continuing mentor, Robert, nice to have you in.

Robert Chase:
Thanks for having us in, Mike. Appreciate it.

Mike Smith:
And you say “us”—the other part of that equation is Mazzy Chase. Hi, Mazzy.

Mazzy Chase:
Hello.

Mike Smith:
Look at this.

Robert Chase:
This is her.

Mike Smith:
This is so cool.

Robert Chase:
How amazing.

Mike Smith:
I love the fact that Mazzy came to work at the station and was like, “I don’t know about being on the air… might be kind of fun. I don’t know.”

Mazzy Chase:
It’s less scary now.

Mike Smith:
Oh, good.

Mazzy Chase:
Yeah.

Mike Smith:
Good.

Robert Chase:
She’s broken through.

Mike Smith:
Yeah.

Mazzy Chase:
A year ago?

Robert Chase:
Nope.

Mazzy Chase:
Nope.

Robert Chase:
Yeah.

Mazzy Chase:
I was like, “I’ll just be out front assigning prizes, giving out coffee and cookies, and doing kind of business-type—the business side of the business.”

Mike Smith:
Yeah.

Robert Chase:
She’s got a little performer in her.

Mike Smith:
All right. So you two are up to some good things.

Robert Chase:
Mazzy—JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, is now Breakthrough T1D. It’s probably going to take a few years to get that figured out.

Mazzy Chase:
Yeah, I am struggling to remember every time, for sure.

Mike Smith:
So JDRF, as well as type 1 diabetes, has been in your life how long?

Mazzy Chase:
26 years. Just had my 26th anniversary.

Mike Smith:
Do you remember those early days?

Mazzy Chase:
I don’t. I wasn’t quite two.

Robert Chase:
Yeah. She was 20 months old when she was diagnosed. And so I’m glad you don’t remember those days.

Robert Chase:
Because at 20 months old, her mother and I—we were blindsided by diabetes. It was a shock to the system.

Robert Chase:
We had no history of diabetes on either side of the family.

Robert Chase:
And when it happened, she ended up in the hospital. Your mother would know, but it was at least three days, maybe four.

Robert Chase:
And for her mother and I, it was a crash course in what is diabetes and what are we going to do when we take her home.

Robert Chase:
And all that came with it.

Robert Chase:
And when we got her home, what it came down to was injections—syringes, needles—three to five a day, minimum.

Robert Chase:
And that was from 20 months old until she was five, when she qualified—she had to be at least five years old back then—to be put on the pump, which was a godsend.

Mazzy Chase:
Yeah.

Robert Chase:
And in large part due to JDRF and their raising money each year.

Robert Chase:
We were living in Chicago then, and I ended up on the board of directors of the JDRF for two years.

Robert Chase:
And it was during that time that I really understood their mission.

Robert Chase:
The executive director at that time would say over and over again, “It’s my job to lose my job. I want to move on and help somebody else—but let’s find a cure.”

Robert Chase:
And so the efficiency in which that office—the largest JDRF office in the country—ran was super impressive.

Robert Chase:
And it made a mark on me.

Robert Chase:
So I was fully on board to do what I could each year to raise money.

Robert Chase:
And that’s why we’re here today.

Mike Smith:
Yeah, and we’re going to let everybody know how they can help raise money. The Trail 103.3 is behind this.

Mike Smith:
Before I ever met Mazzy in person, I remember all those years ago—we had Mazzy on our website, and you were just a little kid.

Mike Smith:
I think it was an ad campaign you were involved in.

Mazzy Chase:
Apple Jacks? Or chips?

Mike Smith:
That’s what I was thinking—kids this sweet don’t need sugar.

Mike Smith:
And I remember two things: one, what a sweet little kid—and two, wow, that’s a lot of needles and hassle for Mazzy herself.

Mazzy Chase:
Yep.

Mike Smith:
And it’s been up and down, but having JDRF there—and now technology—has got to be really great.

Mike Smith:
I think about what we do on smartphones, but the fact that you have this pump that deals with insulin and blood sugar—that’s a big game changer.

Mazzy Chase:
Yeah, now that everything is accessible from your phone is huge.

Mazzy Chase:
That just makes everything so much easier.

Mike Smith:
But Robert, it’s not the last solution.

Mike Smith:
The last solution is a cure—making it so researchers have researched themselves out of a job.

Robert Chase:
Right. But it is the research over the years that has increased the efficiency of the technology.

Robert Chase:
It’s made her life better and easier, but it’s still a struggle. It’s still difficult.

Mike Smith:
Yeah.

Robert Chase:
But the end goal is a cure.

Robert Chase:
And Mazzy has ended up in the hospital many times.

Mazzy Chase:
A lot.

Robert Chase:
Yeah. And that’s a difficult thing—something neither one of us wants to go through again.

Robert Chase:
So you never know when it’s going to strike.

Robert Chase:
The beautiful thing about the walk is families coming together.

Robert Chase:
Whether you’re newly diagnosed or you’ve been at it as long as we have, it’s a chance to network, meet others, and find support and knowledge.

Robert Chase:
For folks to come out and walk together—it’s a week from this Sunday, the 26th, at Ogren Park.

Robert Chase:
The walk starts at 2:00, sign-in at 1:00.

Robert Chase:
You can come out and be with others—even if there’s no diabetes story in your family.

Robert Chase:
Any donations are tax deductible. It’s a 501(c)(3).

Robert Chase:
Around 95 cents of every dollar goes to research.

Robert Chase:
That’s why we’re in full support of the efforts.

Mike Smith:
And of course because of you, Mazzy.

Mike Smith:
We’ll share this on social media. The local goal is $25,000—we’re at $14,163.

Mike Smith:
We’ll also share info about “Miles for Mazzy.”

Robert Chase:
That’s our team. It started in 2000 at the first walk in Chicago.

Robert Chase:
We had a friend create the logo—Chicago shirt, all the donors on the back.

Robert Chase:
We’ll have to figure out how to get more shirts.

Mike Smith:
Speaking of shirts—I’ll throw in some Trail 103.3 t-shirts.

Mike Smith:
And Robert’s about to talk about some incentives.

Robert Chase:
I’ve got three items from my personal CD collection—minimum $50 donation.

Robert Chase:
Todd Rundgren, signed backstage in Detroit in 1992.

Mike Smith:
Nice.

Robert Chase:
Bryan Ferry—his first solo album—signed in Chicago in 1993.

Mike Smith:
Right, and before you came here, you were meeting everybody.

Robert Chase:
Those were the Chicago radio days.

Mike Smith:
And a book is forthcoming, hopefully.

Robert Chase:
And the last one—Bob Dylan’s Time Out of Mind, signed by Daniel Lanois.

Mike Smith:
Very cool.

Robert Chase:
So yeah—minimum $50 donation.

Mike Smith:
If you want one, text Mazzy at 406-604-1033.

Mike Smith:
You don’t have to walk to donate.

Robert Chase:
It’s really about the dollars.

Mike Smith:
And you don’t have to be loaded—$5, $10—it all counts.

Mike Smith:
Mazzy, give us the details again.

Mazzy Chase:
It’s Sunday the 26th at Ogren Park.

Mazzy Chase:
Walk starts at 2:00, sign-in at 1:00.

Mazzy Chase:
Three-mile walk along the Clark Fork River.

Mazzy Chase:
You can donate online.

Mazzy Chase:
There’s also booths, raffles, food—it’s really fun.

Mazzy Chase:
And if you’re diabetic, you get a cape that says “Breakthrough T1D.”

Mazzy Chase:
Super cute—easy to spot everyone.

Robert Chase:
There’s a raffle afterward, food—it’s about three hours total.

Mike Smith:
Again, it’s about showing up—for family, friends, even people you don’t know.

Mike Smith:
That’s how we move this forward.

Robert Chase:
Thanks, Mike.

Mazzy Chase:
Thank you.

Mike Smith:
Mazzy, you work here—the door’s always open.

Mike Smith:
Robert, you founded this place—the door’s always open.

Robert Chase:
Still got my key.

Mike Smith:
Yeah, sometimes he just shows up overnight.

Robert Chase:
“Is this thing on?”

Mike Smith:
The ghost of Robert.

Mike Smith:
Alright—thank you, friends.

Mike Smith:
Here we go—Dirtwire, “Strength in One,” featuring Trevor Hall, on The Trail.