By Mark Dowd, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Forefront Communications

Flashback to 2017 – fidget spinners were all the rage, Bitcoin was skyrocketing before its (first) HODL drop, and both Forefront and Rides FAR were just starting to take off. When PR veteran and all-around good guy Randy Williams saw the potential synergies between these two ventures, he brought Eric Soderberg and I together with Rides FAR co-founders Bryan and Melissa Harkins to talk about how we could support each other. The trading companies that were among Rides FAR’s early backers were exactly who Forefront wanted to reach, while the services we offered – capital markets-focused marketing and PR – were exactly what the emerging event required to create the brand Bryan and Melissa envisioned. The synergies were obvious, and so a partnership was born.

Over the past seven years, we have worked tirelessly to help each other grow. I am incredibly proud that Forefront’s pro bono outreach efforts have helped the Ride become one of the most recognized capital markets charitable events today, and I am even prouder that many of our customers – companies like Talos, DASH, Tower, CTC, Eventus, STA and others – have become key supporters of the cause.

On the other hand, Rides FAR has been instrumental in making Forefront a well-known brand, with its logo prominently displayed each year alongside industry leaders like Cboe, Goldman Sachs, T. Rowe Price, and XTX. We’ve gained other benefits as well. Our close-knit team has grown even closer by bringing significant others, children, and even parents to the event, creating bonds within our team that I suspect will last for years. I’ve grown closer to many industry colleagues I met at the event and have become a board member of Rides FAR, a role I’m grateful and humbled to take on. And after getting to know the small but mighty Autism Science Foundation staff over the years, my wife even joined them for a year as ASF’s Director of Public Relations while she transitioned from journalist to therapist.

While Rides FAR has had a profound impact on Forefront, we are no exception. Check out the events in White Plains, Toronto, Baltimore, Chicago and (this year for the first time) Miami and you’ll see hundreds of people – colleagues, customers, partners and competitors – strengthening their relationships in unique and intimate ways. As DriveWealth CEO Mike Blaugrund noted, “A tough customer or a fierce competitor seems a little less intimidating when they’re wearing bike shorts.”

And perhaps the biggest industry benefit of riding FAR is this: knowing you’re helping an organization dedicated to fighting a disorder that affects millions of people around the world. The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continues to rise. The CDC announced last year that it affects 1 in 36 children. And while many of these cases involve individuals who are fortunate enough to live relatively normal lives in a society that has thankfully embraced the concept of neurodiversity, about 1 in 4 autism cases involve individuals on the severe end of the spectrum who will require round-the-clock care for the rest of their lives. It’s this latter group where ASF (which has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to codify the diagnosis of “severe autism”) can really shine, providing the family support, research funding and advocacy needed to help. (ASF founder and president Alison Singer, whose brother and older daughter live with severe autism, has written moving pieces on this topic.)

This year’s events are just around the corner and will take place on three Saturdays in the fall – September 21 in Miami, September 28 in Chicago and Baltimore, and October 5 in New York and Toronto. There’s still time to sign up a full corporate team or just yourself, as the events are designed for people of all interests and abilities (various course lengths, bike rentals on site, and even a walking route for those who prefer to be on two feet rather than two wheels). Feel free to contact me or any of my fellow board members if we can help you get involved, or if this is too much for you, please just consider making a donation.

Almost all of us in this industry are lucky enough to be successful. Let’s do something good together.