Brandon J. Buchanan: The Winner
Within
There
was talent and there was diligence, and then there was
luck shining through Brandon J. Buchanan's days. Take the
time he entered a contest, sponsored by Bloomingdale's, a
block from his apartment, where the prize was a Ducati
motorcycle. He really wanted to win. He hadn't heard
anything, said his father, Ron, so he phoned the store
one day to ask who had won.
"It hasn't been announced yet," someone at the store
told him.
"Well, it wouldn't happen to be Brandon Buchanan,
would it?" he asked.
The employee gasped and said, "How did you know?"
It was a charmed life that Mr. Buchanan, 24, an
equities trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, led in many ways.
In other ways, his hard work made the difference. When he
wanted to master some aspect of lacrosse, he would go out
and drill the ball against the side of his family's barn
in Honeoye Falls, N.Y., until he was satisfied. When he
was 15 and wanted to fire up the neighborhood dogs, he
began barking until they all joined in. Snow fell, and he
hitched a toboggan to the family tractor and pulled his
twin siblings around.
"He was a beacon light," said his mother, Cheri, who
was called "Mumzdarlin" by her son. "He really did lead
all of us."
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