Blog #524: Closing the Book on 2025 at "Going the Distance"

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As the winter holidays continue, we now reach the point that the time will soon come to close the book on 2025 and open a fresh new book on 2026. A lot has changed at "Going the Distance" as we prepare to mark the 5th anniversary of the organization that I built with the purpose of advocating and training the importance of neurodivergent acceptance from someone who is living the experience.

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While I will say that 2025 has been a year of change and restructuring, I have to keep in mind that I am continue to show gratitude and appreciation for how far Going the Distance has come. For one thing, 2025 was the year of "Operation Grinch" which was the relocation of the business from Springhouse Trail in Seekonk to Commerce Way in Attleboro. I will confess right now that the move was not a very smooth one. In fact, there was the fact of being pulled in 20 different directions, getting mentally settled in and having to just go through the whole process.

If I could make a comparison to Operation Grinch, it would have to be a comparison to the making of "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) that saw uncomfortable wardrobe and makeup, mistreatment of Judy Garland and the Munchkins by Metro Goldwyn Mayer executives, burn injuries to Margaret Hamilton in the Wicked Witch of the West's first scene in Munchkinland to an ever changing roster of directors.

But as hard as the filming process was of L' Frank Baum's classic novel, the end result was an audience favorite that resulted in "The Wizard of Oz" being the most watched film of all time, producing the greatest song of all time in "Over the Rainbow," and overall, just setting the bar for future films like Star Wars.

I would most definitely say the same in regards to Operation Grinch. The process was slow and rough, but in the end, the move proved to be a wise move and now, Going the Distance is in a really strong position going forward.

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The next big hurdle that came with 2025 was the fact that Going the Distance was twice pirated by scammers who had nothing better to do with their lives. The incidents occurred in July and October of this year and taught myself and my folks a lesson: that Going the Distance was not untouchable. GTD was as much a target as any business in terms of scammers. It in fact makes me think of another MGM film that came out almost two years ago called "The Beekeeper" (2024) which is about what happens to people who are scammers.

As a result of these pirated attacks, we came together and set up strong safeguards to ensure that Going the Distance never has to endure something like this again. Going the Distance is essentially my creation and a creator doesn't like it when his creation is threatened.

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Me with Autism Tree Executive Director Dayna Hoff and Board Member Laura Odom at the 2025 Autism Tree Neurodiversity Conference on November 8th

Me and Autism Tree Director of Operations Rebecca Barron during preparations for the Autism Tree Grand Office Opening on August 17th

Finally, the last big challenge came in the form of how Going the Distance will operate when it comes to possible customer connections and how we will work with our core partners.

In October 2025, Going the Distance underwent a restructuring period where I had to eliminate several costly measures including stepping away from supporting Boca School for Autism, the school I helped co-found in 2023 as a member of the board of directors for the Unicorn Children's Foundation in Florida as well as focusing more on professional conferences and trainings that better reflect the mission of what Going the Distance means.

This meant I decided to stop pursuing and presenting at comic conventions following Boston Fan Expo this past August and focusing more on getting speaking engagements that results in compensation. In a recent meeting I had with our core partner and investor, the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, we came to the conclusion that about 90% of the speaking engagements that I will probably end up participating in are local and that's fine by me.

It also is an advantage as I also restructured the way I will travel for 2026 and beyond. For 2026, I will focus more not just on Flutie, but also on my role as an advisory board member for the Els for Autism Foundation in Jupiter, Florida and most importantly, my role as Core Team Leader for the Autism Tree Foundation in San Diego, California.

While Flutie and Els are key members of my core (with Els being more of my specialty in terms of supporting employment for neurodivergent individuals), Autism Tree has grown tremendously since I joined the organization as a volunteer in 2019 and have since worked my way up to Core Team Leader.

We currently have over 2,000 families in the San Diego and San Francisco metro areas that have reached out to us for support and seeking out social group opportunities such as Mentorship programs with the University of San Diego's Football, Basketball and Baseball sports teams, Adaptive Arts Workshops, Spectrum Social Groups, etc. and that number is expected to grow in 2026. Furthermore, Autism Tree recently opened up a new office space this past August that will give our families a place to call home away from home.

By focusing a majority of my in person travels to San Diego with support from the Flutie Fellow funds, I feel a sense of structure and knowing that Going the Distance is not endlessly throwing away money that should be focused for something like this. You might say that 2025 is where we start to treat Going the Distance more and more like a business rather than a charity, because when all is said and done, that's how businesses survive when they are treated as a business and not as a game.

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In conclusion, while 2025 was challenging at times, the important fact was that we survived the challenges that came our way and we look ahead towards what 2026 has to offer. In fact, I already have several projects in the works for 2026 that include a book documenting my personal experiences as a neurodivergent student in the Seekonk Public School System and a planned podcast series called "The Neurodivergent Owl" that I hope to debut at some point in the second half of 2026.

I also want to make it clear that as Going the Distance celebrates it's 5th anniversary in 2026, it will continue to do so in this sometimes violent world we live in. As I said in my end of the year letter, I took a quote from Fred Rogers saying that it is highly important to look for the helpers during times of distress.

The recent events at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and Bondi Beach in Australia as well as the senseless murders of Rob "Meathead" Reiner and his wife, Michele in Brentwood, California, are tragic and will more than likely trigger fear and anxiety in our society, but Going the Distance remains committed to providing a safe space in conjunction with our core partners that empathizes the importance of community to the families and individuals we serve and support.

All we can do now is look ahead to 2026 and what positives we will find in the new year so until then...

Catch you all later!!