Jun 30, 2015
Name: Bruce Reisdorf
Funeral Home: Clark Associates Funeral Home
Location: Katonah, NY
Favorite Pastime: Bruce is passionate cyclist who has been participating in the Tour de Cure bike charity ride for 10 years. The Tour de Cure is a series of fundraising cycling events held in 44 states nationwide to benefit the American Diabetes Association. For 25 years, this annual event has helped raise millions of dollars towards diabetes treatment and research. Bruce’s dedication to this important cause stems from his mother’s struggle with diabetes.
There are a number of different Tour de Cure routes that participants can take depending on their location and physical ability. Every year, Bruce chooses to ride from Buffalo to Niagara in New York, a distance of 100 miles. To commemorate his 10th year participating in the Tour de Cure, Bruce decided to add an additional 400 miles to his journey by riding his bike from New York City to Buffalo before joining with his Tour de Cure group. Bruce documented his experiences along the way, updating his blog, tourdeempire.wordpress.com, every day during the trip.
“For over 35 years I have driven across NY State to visit family and to ride in the Tour de Cure. I thought just once I would like to ride my bike across the state,” Bruce explained. “I am also an avid Star Wars fan and to celebrate the new Star Wars movie Episode VII coming out in December, I called my ride across the state “The Tour de Empire” as in the “Galactic Empire” in Star Wars and also NY is The Empire State. At first, my wife and son thought I was crazy but as the date drew nearer, they became as excited about it as I did.”
Bruce’s journey took 9 days and during that time he covered a total mileage of 515, averaging about 60 miles per day. More importantly, Bruce was able to raise a great deal of money in support of the American Diabetes Association, earning the title of “Top Individual Fundraiser” within his group for the second year in a row. He raised more than $13,300. ASD was proud to sponsor Bruce on his journey and help him to support those suffering from diabetes.
“Every day I wore a different Tour de Cure cycling jersey and a sign on my back that said “from the Hudson River to the Niagara River” to bring awareness to my cause,” Bruce said. “I met so many wonderful people along the way. I’ll never forget the woman from housekeeping that I met in the elevator of the Albany hotel I stayed at. She read my TDC jersey and said: ‘you raising money for people with diabetes? My mother died from that. Thank you for what you are doing.’ ”
Check out this great video of Bruce being interviewed by a Buffalo news station:
“It really was one of the best weeks of my life and I will never forget it.”
-Bruce Reisdorf.
Thank you Bruce for sharing your favorite pastimes with us. If you would like to read more about Bruce’s Tour de Empire ride, check out his blog. If you are interested in learning about how you can get involved with a Tour de Cure in your state, click here.
ASD’s “Favorite Pastime” Series:
We would love to share more photos of funeral directors enjoying their favorite pastime. Send us a photo of you engaged in your favorite hobby or activity for us to share and show others what you love to do when you’re not doing outstanding work at your funeral home! We love sharing photos and stories from our clients, so be sure to check out our new Funeral Director Artist of the Month Series and Extreme Weather Challenge as well. Please email all photos or inquiries to jess.fowler@myASD.com
“It really was one of the best weeks of my life and I will never forget it.”
-Bruce Reisdorf.
Thank you Bruce for sharing your favorite pastimes with us. If you would like to read more about Bruce’s Tour de Empire ride, check out his blog. If you are interested in learning about how you can get involved with a Tour de Cure in your state, click here.
ASD’s “Favorite Pastime” Series:
We would love to share more photos of funeral directors enjoying their favorite pastime. Send us a photo of you engaged in your favorite hobby or activity for us to share and show others what you love to do when you’re not doing outstanding work at your funeral home! We love sharing photos and stories from our clients, so be sure to check out our new Funeral Director Artist of the Month Series and Extreme Weather Challenge as well. Please email all photos or inquiries to jess.fowler@myASD.com
About The Author
Jess Farren (Fowler)
Jess Farren (Fowler) is a Public Relations Specialist and Staff Writer who has been a part of the ASD team since 2003. Jess manages ASD’s company blog and has been published in several funeral trade magazines. She has written articles on a variety of subjects including communication, business planning, technology, marketing and funeral trends. You can contact Jess directly at Jess@myASD.com
