I cherish the July 4^th holiday.  I love what it represents, that it celebrates some of America's  first and finest moments, and that it reminds us to appreciate the freedoms that we have.  This Independence Day, I am reminded of and have been thinking about many of the things that I often take for granted, including close friends and good health. 

Many of you who have been in the streaming industry know Neal Page.  If you do not know him by name, you know products - such as the Osprey line of capture cards - that Neal created.  As the founder of Osprey, a senior executive at Viewcast, and most recently as founder and CEO of Inlet HD, Neal has had a profound impact on the streaming industry.

In that same time, he has also had a profound impact on Accordent, as one of our original board members, and on me, as a longtime friend and mentor.

For the last nine months or so, Neal has been fighting a rare form of Leukemia.  As anyone who knows Neal would expect, he is fighting valiantly and with his classic sense of humor.   As you would also know, Neal would wring my neck if he knew he was making it into our blog.  

So, I'll quickly transition to the point of this entry.  Among the friends and family rallying behind Neal is his close friend and colleague, John Bishop.  In honor of Neal, and on behalf of the fight against cancer more generally, John will be biking 100 miles in Philadelphia as part of the Livestrong Challenge.  John's  goal is to raise $7,500 in donations for cancer research and prevention prior to the August race.  If you are interested in supporting John, you can make a donation on his personal Livestrong page at: https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=294753&supid=259567932

I must admit I had my reservations about posting this entry, but then I remembered how tight this community has become over the last 10 years or so - and I ultimately decided that this is exactly the type of information that readers of this blog might care about.

Oh yeah, one of the final reasons that I love July 4^th is that it celebrates relaxation and, by extension, time with friends and family.  And so I hope that all of us get a moment to reflect on our independence, reflect on the importance of the people we are getting to spend the holiday with, and, of course, those that we wish we were sharing this weekend with as well.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July.