METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) – In the middle of making lunch.
In the middle of a hospital kitchen is where you find 43-year-old Craig Blackburn.
And as WGNO Good Morning New Orleans features reporter Bill Wood wants you to know, Craig Blackburn is in the middle of motivating somebody.
Bill Wood wonders, “where do you get the motivation to motivate?
Craig Blackburn says, “you motivate them because you see the person first.”
Bill Wood responds, “when you walk into a room, people smile.”
Craig Blackburn believes “they do smile if you walk into that room, you go into that room and be the best you can be.”
At East Jefferson General Hospital, Craig clocks in as a volunteer.
On the job, he’s an inspiration.
On wheels.
Craig has Down syndrome.
It’s a genetic disorder that is supposed to slow you down.
Not this guy.
He’s a married man who met his wife on a blind date six years ago.
Bill Wood asks, “was it, love, at first sight?”
Craig says it was.
“We got married in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands on the beach,” Craig says.
Bill Wood wonders about the honeymoon.
Craig says, “it was on a cruise ship.”
Craig loves sports.
In his spare time, he’s an equipment manager for the New Orleans Pelicans.
No doubt preaching his positive sermon to the team.
He says, “you put on a smile every day when you’re at work.”
And as he says, that’s it.
That’s all you need.
You don’t even have to think about it.
Craig Blackburn already does the thinking for you.
