Today, I have the honor of helping celebrate Shot@Life’s 1st birthday bash by interviewing one of the Champions. Adrian G., who blogs at Adrian’s Crazy Life is a wife, mother and grandmother and holds down a full-time job while running her own small business. Adrian lives a very full life and still makes time to advocate for a good cause. I had the chance to interview her about being a Shot@Life Champion and what she has learned so far.

Adrian (in the white blazer) and the Utah delegation in the Budget Office, Washington DC.

Why is Shot @ Life an important cause for you? I first met up with the Shot@Life folks when I was at the Evo Blog conference - which is also where I met Lucrecer. I was really floored by how committed they were and how much support was being provided by the blogging Community. We are all busy people and it’s no accident that my blog is named Adrian’s Crazy Life. I love to help people, but it has to be quick and easy actions that I can fit into the insanity of my life. In a nutshell, this sounded like a way I could help actually save children’s lives by sharing information on Facebook or my blog, getting involved in blog carnivals or Twitter parties and doing a little fundraising. Even using the Charity Miles app to raise money for charity while I walk. Those are all simple things I can do to make a big difference in the world.

While attending the conference in February, what was the one thing you learned that you did not know before attending? I learned a lot about the effectiveness about vaccines. I know there has been some negative press about them lately, but over the last 30 years, so many millions of lives have been saved in the world as a result of vaccines, I don’t think you could really measure it. Could you imagine a world where we didn’t have vaccines for such virulent diseases as smallpox, polio, and measles. I think probably half the population might be gone by now without these life-saving vaccines.

Shot@Life Champions on Capitol Hill, Washington DC.

What was one of your most memorable moments while in Washington? I think our visit up to Capitol Hill was really memorable. I was excited and nervous and just really thrilled to be there. But on the other hand, it was easier than I thought it would be. I realized that these are just normal offices with laptops, cubicles, and conference rooms. Especially with my 35+ years in the Corporate world, that was a pretty comfortable environment for me. It took a lot of the intimidation out of it for me, and I felt much more comfortable in speaking with the staffers we were meeting and in sharing our information with them. They were interested, asked good questions, and gave us some useful advice on how to promote our cause with the right people.

What does Shot@Life mean to you? I think it’s a great cause and I am so proud to be a part of it. I got Bill Gates’ annual letter/video/interactive presentation (he’s pretty techy!) shortly before our trip to DC and I felt so honored to be able to be a small part of their efforts to literally change the world. He showed a lot of figures (I’m a big numbers girl) that clearly demonstrated how the Foundation’s programs are making a significant difference in some of these problems that other people thought were unsolvable. I mean who would have thought we could erradicate polio in a country as large as India? I mean, it’s one of the most populous countries in the world and yet, there has been NO POLIO CASES anywhere in the country in over two years. That is literally mind-boggling, and a good portion of it has been through the efforts of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I think that’s pretty awesome to actually be a part of something like that.

I want to thank Adrian for allowing me to interview her and for her dedication to being a Shot@Life Champion. She is one amazing lady.