New website

Please visit my new website at http://www.tomstroup.com... thanks, tom Stars Earn Stripes NBC

NAP TIME

PIANO IN THE KITCHEN

We just finished renovating a school and we headed back for the last day to give some drinks to the volunteers who are finishing up the final clean up of the school. As i park the car i hear music coming from the KITCHEN. This is what i found. Chip taught himself to play the piano and does not know how to read music........tom

Water Delivery

This is another example of American ingenuity....tom

The Contrast of Arts

water Delivery

Another hard day on the set. We are working very hard and it is very rewarding. The schools are in dire need of help and the communities are pitching in to effect change. Wait until you see the stories....tom

Denise Cramsey, Executive Producer of School Pride

For those of you that don't know this is Denise Cramsey the Executive producer of School Pride. When you watch the video you will see why we all care so much about this "vision". She shares her dream with us to help communities help themselves. The more we do at these schools the more we realize it is not about the school as much as it is about the people who live in the community. The school is the heart beat of the community. It is an honor to be a part of this....tom

THE ATTIC

There is a lot of effort by everyone to make this happen, but one of the top dogs in the construction end is our man "T-BONE". He pulls long hours and is always on the move. He also played pro football for the NY Jets, but he doesn't talk about it much. This is a video of T-bone and i lowering a 1930's chandelier to the floor 30 feet below. The attic was so cool. It was like going back in time because if you think about attics never change. It was very cool. It took us about 15 minutes to lower the chandelier to the ground.......tom

This is our film crew about 40 feet up on a boom filming us putting in some paneling in an auditorium. Remember, every time you see a host doing something risky, the film crew is right there with them, but they have a 35 pound camera in their hands....tom

WATER BREAK

We are so busy that we only have a couple of seconds for a water break......tom

THE BIRD

My nephew Shawn and his fiance Andrea just bought a beautiful home in downtown Windermere. It is a 1920' bungalow and they are doing some home improvements before they move in.

They kept hearing a noise in the fireplace chimney, but we all thought it was rats so we left it alone. After three days we could not stand the suspense any longer and we opened the damper and found two baby birds.

One of the birds had already expired, but the other was still alive. My son Jarred being the life saver that he is ( he's a paramedic) decided to try and save the bird. He put it in a box, dug up a worm and the bird ate it like it was candy. This is video to prove i am not making this stuff up just for acceptance (yuk, yuk)......Tom

FROG JAIL

We spent a lot of time re-building our old 1920's home. We put in a hand built water feature with a fountain, natural plantings and no chemicals. Well apparently the frogs (and other animals) feel like we did a good job. Snakes, birds, dogs, squirrels, possum, raccoons, and yes frogs love to visit the "pond". Apparently after a rain the frogs send out a twitter to meet at the "pond". They emit a very high pitch "croak". We sleep with our windows open all year long and after many sleepless nights i had to start capturing the frogs and releasing them in the morning. Anyone with a similar problem please note that you must relocate them far, far away or they will come back. This night i only incarcerated 2 violators, but i have had as many as 13 in one night. I would never hurt the frogs so the attached video shows you my very effective solution....tom

Of course a visit home is not complete without a stop at my local starbucks and a cup of "joe" with the boys. Actually none of us drink coffee, we are tea men and we are proud.....tom

Baby Benjamin and the pool

Our neighbors and good friends, Ben and Michelle Snyder celebrated Ben's birthday and father's day today so we got to watch their son Benjamin. He is a GREAT kid and a pleasure to watch. He reminds people how good life can be. We played in a homemade pool and i guess he got tired because this is me "burping" him. He was asleep before the first "pat"....i like to call the pool photo "old school baby sitting". A great day..Tom

YOGA FOR TWO

Back home for a few days. Of course Dawn and i went to Biram's Yoga as soon as we could. We have been going to this particular studio for several years. The owner is Melissa McMurray and she is one of the original "pioneers" of Bikram's yoga.

My brother in law Mohamed first introduced us to this practice. Now my sister Debora is an instructor and we are loyal fans.

If you want to check out Melissa's studio, and i recommend you do, her brand new studio is located at:

3218-B EAST COLONIAL DRIVE ORLADO, FL. 32803 PHONE: 407.896.2530......Tom

This is our last school on our Summer tour. We made the announcement to a middle school in East LA. I was told that the main building of this school is over 100 years old.

This school is in desperate need of a "facelift". The kids are awesome and the teachers are great. We just need to give the school the look it deserves.

We believe we will get huge community support because

a lot of the families who live in the area have had numerous generations attend this school.

It is going to look incredible when we are done. Another note worth mentioning is that it is very common in this school (as in many schools) for the teachers to spend some of their own money to paint and buy material for their rooms....God bless teachers....tom

This shot was taken at LACES (Los Angeles center for enriched studies) high school. This high school was one of the first "magnet" schools in California. They have a very challenging schedule and the students travel from many hours away on public buses.

When i asked one of the students why she traveled 4 hours a day to get to school, she told me that the teachers made her feel like she was important.....There were over 1200 students at this school and they all seemed very happy. Everyone on the crew said they felt a "good" feeling on the campus.

The students were very polite and open. The students have a very good academic standing and they all are very motivated to go on to college. We will have a good time and expect to have great stories of success in the fall.I believe these students will inspire many other students across America...From left to right: Jacob, Whitley, Dr. Kim (the principal), Susie, Cheryl Hines and me.....tom

SKYPING

For those of you who are not world travelers like me (ha ha) this is how Dawn and i "talk" to each other at night. It is called "skyping". We can look at each other while we talk, it is awesome because i fell like i at least get to see her......I am in the little screen on the bottom.I will be home on the 17th for 10 days and then back to work for another eight weeks.

Their will probably be some voice over work that i will need to do and then the big debut....September 17th 8pm on NBC........c u soon....tom

YOGA AND COFFEE

I drove past the NBC studio offices for the first time today on my way to breakfast.

I always said i was going to start drinking coffee when i retired. I decided to give it a test run today and i ordered some Italian brew.

It really tasted good so i had two cups (that's how i roll). Then i decided to go to an early Bikram yoga class.

For those of you that don't know Bikram is over 100 degrees and lasts 90 minutes.

I was extremely "dizzy" for the entire class. So just for the record, 1oo degree yoga and two cups of Italian coffee does not mix......Lesson learned.

I think i will stick to green tea for a while....tom

BEHIND THE SCENES

I just got my apple computer and i am learning to use my I video. This is a scene where i am supposed to break the glass and sound the fire alarm to get all of the students to come outside. Once outside we are standing on the bed of a big truck and we announce to them that their school has been selected for a re build. Apparently the glass is plexi glass and it is UNBREAKABLE. We had to replace it with real glass and re shoot. This shot took 3 takes.......I told you this was hard work.....tom

UNBELIEVABLE DAY

Walk with me through your minds eye for just one minute. Picture a small rural town just outside of Nashville, rolling hills, trickling streams, small grocery stores and quant coffee shops.

Now picture this same town receiving a full years worth of rain in less than two days. Homes were washed away, roads and bridges were destroyed, people were forced to leave their homes and businesses due to water damage and the accompanying deadly mold that follows.

Now picture an elementary school that was 8 feet under water. All or the supplies are lost, all of the teachers and students personal property is destroyed and the children are forced to end their school year with no certainty of when they can return.

This community grabbed their boot straps and they went to work.

The local residents and many volunteers began to re-build the roads on their own. They did not become a community that became more divided because of this natural disaster, instead they became a community who pulled together and willingly gave of themselves, their time, their money and their resources to help those who suffered losses due to this terrible tragedy......

Now to put all of that in perspective, the above picture is that same community coming out to let us know that they are willing to go one step further and continue to help us (School Pride) re-build that school.....This trip reminded me what America is all about......people caring about people......what a blessing to be there for this day....and yes, we all cried.....tom

Today was a GREAT day off. Hot yoga, coffee and tea at a great place in Nashville called "cafe coco", Shopping at Whole Foods and talking to Dawn on Skype for 40 minutes. Susie bought me a juice drink made from apples, ginger,spinach and kale.... She calls it "SUSIES GREEN LEMONADE"....Try it you will love it. It was very invigorating! We are going to hit the ground running tomorrow. The first call for the ladies is 6 am. the guys show up at 7 and we will be very busy the rest of the day......We fly out the next day, but you will have to stay posted because we are not supposed to reveal the next location until after we make the announcement at the school....

The guys saluting was on the door at cafe coco...I just liked it....If you are reading this blog, please tell your friends to check it every day so i can stay in touch...c u soon...tom

LIFE ON THE ROAD (TWO)

Life on the road.......One hour and 40 minute flight from Baton Rouge to Nashville.....Left hotel at 1030 AM, plane was late and we took off at 1pm, we missed our connecting flight in Dallas, waited over two hours for next flight. Caught next flight at 430 to Nashville. The pilot told us he needed to re-fuel in Memphis. Re-fueled, pulled away from terminal, returned to terminal and pilot said he had to switch crews. One and a half hours later we took off. We flew 20 minutes to Nashville and ordered to go food (above photo) from Chili's. One hour and 40 minute flight that left at 1200 pm arrived at room in Nashville with Chili's to go meal at 1030 pm......Life is a great adventure. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Except Dawn, of course.....tom

P.S....that is water.....

MOTOR POLICE

Today was a very rainy day so we had to do our announcement inside of a very small gym. Tis was our first elementary school and the kids were great. Many of the teacher there were "volunteers' that worked for an organization called " teach for America". They volunteered their time to assist schools with teaching needs. There were also many teachers who were long time teachers from within the community. It was a great example for us to see all of these teachers working so hard. We had a police escort in the pouring rain by about 15 motorcycle police officers. I filmed them prior to the escort......video attached....see you tomorrow with another update....Are you there?.....tom

ROUTE 66

Crazy day of travel today, but i cannot believe how exciting this is. What i am seeing all over this Country is communities that are very proud of their home town and love the opportunity to show us all the good in their community. in spite of the fact that these schools are in such bad condition they are still very committed to giving their children the best education possible. I am also realizing that they are wiling to do whatever it takes to make their schools better. I am still finding time to workout with our team. Susie posted this photo on here site......This is a short video of where we have been.You will get the answer to where this is when the show aires....see you soon...tom

TRAIN

I am trying to create a "montage" of this adventure. My Lawyer Shawn Diederich and i are going to edit it all into a home video. As i was sitting in my room i noticed a large train in the distance. I grabbed my i phone and ran as fast as i could to catch it on video. The attached video is the result of my efforts....tom

RUN

I decided to go to Burbank today to look for something good to eat. I took a cab and realized that the cost for a cab ride is "pricey". So i decided to "run"back to my room. I used my map Apps on my i-phone and it took me straight to my hotel. The only problem is the cab ride seemed a lot shorter. At least i got a good workout....Tom

Leaving Home

I am leaving home for the Summer and i wanted to video my house (and wife) so that i could just look at the video and "click my heels"....tom

Lazy Sunday

Enjoyed a wonderful Sunday with my family before the busy week.

Today's Workout

My workout for today was 5 pull ups, 10 push ups and 15 air squats (for 20 sets). One of my "friends" showed me this workout. Your goal is to do it as fast as you can. You can create any combination of reps as long as it it 100 pull ups, 200 push ups and 300 air squats. I do not have a pull up bar at home so i did the pull ups by propping open my front screen door and using the door jamb as a pull up bar (can you say old school). If anyone wants to try it i will send a free SWATWORKOUT dvd to the fastest time. Then i will tell you what my time was.....tom

Four Videos

Check out all four School Pride videos.
http://www.nbc.com/school-pride/video/

SWAT Training Today

I am SWAT training today at a remote intercoastal island. We are assaulting the island to rescue a mother and child. So far so good. Everyone is safe and secure. Another successful SWAT training day. - Tom

Breaking News: NBC UNVEILS THEIR NEW FALL 2010 LINE-UP - 13 NEW SHOWS AND 13 RENEWALS

From NBC: From executive producers Cheryl Hines ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") and Denise Cramsey ("Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "True Beauty"), "School Pride" is a proactive, alternative series that tells the stories of communities coming together to renovate their aging and broken public schools. While transforming the school, the community also restores its sense of value and school pride. The cameras follow students, teachers and parents as they roll up their sleeves and rebuild their own schools, concluding with the unveiling of a brand new, completely transformed school. They are motivated by a quartet of community organizers and personalities -- SWAT Commander Tom Stroup, interior designer Susie Castillo ("House of Payne"), comedian and former substitute teacher Kym Whitley ("Til Death") and political correspondent Jacob Soboroff ("AMC News"). Together, the team of experts will lead the community through the makeover process. Months later, cameras will revisit the school to discover the lasting effects of the transformation -- a renewed sense of school pride and an increase in student achievement scores. "School Pride" is produced by Horizon Alternative Television.

School Pride Gang!