If you haven’t already noticed, the 164th California State Fair has made its way back to Sacramento for its 50th Anniversary at Cal Expo. And as always, the state fair has lined up several special events, including freestyle motocross, a corn dog eating contest, Best of California Brewfest, horse racing, fireworks, and the Wienerschnitzel Wiener Dog Races…that’s right, wiener dog races!! But the fun doesn’t stop there, the state fair also has numerous of specialty foods, concerts, cooking demonstrations, wine and beer competitions, carnival rides, educational exhibits, and a petting zoo. Aside from your SlideBelt, what else could you possibly need? 

So, if you find yourself in need of a good time or if you're simply craving some delicious finger-licking food, I encourage you to head on over to the state fair and indulge in some memorable fun. Just make sure to stay hydrated, I’m sure it’ll be a hot one.

We all remember the devastating earthquake that ravaged the tiny Caribbean island of Haiti in 2010, but what you probably didn't know is that current Sacramento King and former Kentucky Wildcat, Skal Labissiere, was one of those Haitian children who was trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building. 

As the 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the western hemisphere's poorest country on January 12th, Skal's 3 story family home came crashing down on himself, his mom, and his younger brother, who were all in the family's living room when the shaking began.

With a collapsed wall leaning against his back and rubble all around him, Skal was forced to sit among the debris in a crouched position for over 3 hours before his dad and neighbors pulled him out. The prolonged crouching wrecked the limbs of a growing 13 year old (who's now 6'11"), leaving him unable to walk for weeks after. 

With schools, homes, and city infrastructure in shambles, the devastating aftermath of the earthquake forced Skal's parents to make the gut-wrenching decision to send him to America to get an education and develop his basketball skills beyond the options available to him in Haiti.

By August of 2010, Skal had moved to Memphis, Tennessee and by July of the following year, he'd already begun receiving scholarship offers from major D1 programs. In 2015, he signed to play at Kentucky as the #1 high school recruit in the country and in 2016 he was picked in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings.   

Becoming a professional athlete is an amazing success story by any standard, but for a kid who had his life literally crumble around him and moved to America without knowing a word of English, his is a story that surpasses every sports cliché you've ever heard.

Before this week, Skal hadn't been back to Port-Au-Prince since moving to Memphis in 2010. This week, with the help of the NBA and the Kings, he's back in his home country for the first annual Camp S.K.A.L. (Skills, Knowledge, and Life) to be a beacon of hope for a country that still hasn't recovered. In addition to his inaugural skills camp, Skal also donated the country's first heartbeat detection machine that will allow rescue teams to find people trapped in rubble after a natural disaster.

The Kings social media team has been putting out great videos of Skal's trip back to Haiti. If you're interested in following along and seeing more of his trip as he visits his old neighborhood and reunites with childhood friends, check out http://www.nba.com/kings/skal-returns-haiti.

{**Reminder, today is the last day for everyone to complete and submit your survey for Great Place To Work. Based on the analytics, 25 of the 30 of us have submitted the survey so if you aren't sure if you completed it yet (there are so many I've been asking you guys to do lately and I know they all get confusing) or if you need a new survey sent to you, let me know. Thank you! -Cassidy}

As I turn 24 on Sunday, getting older seems to be the only thing on my mind. The main thing I love about birthdays is all the people you reconnect with! Just a reminder to reach out to family, friends and loved ones that you don’t always get to talk to. Life gets so busy but it’s the relationships you build that will light your way in dark times. Even if it’s not their birthday! You can always just say hi!

Funny birthday fact…

“The most common birth date of the year is the 5^th of October which falls 9 months after New Years Eve.”