I am going to take an opportunity to name drop a bit in this post. Of course, I cannot mention everyone, but there are a few very special people that I need to mention. People that have influenced me in ways that are very unique. I am doing this because I worked for a basketball coach, Bill Wilson, who once told me, "Certain people have made sacrifices for you to get to where you are today, and when given the opportunity, you should thank them." Here is my opportunity.
After an amazing day at the Cedar Rapids JDRF Walk for the Cure, I must start with my Pump Princess team. All of you have volunteered countless hours to help us reach our fundraising goal and beyond. I know that all of you have been stressed and have a certain level of frustration with me because my goals are high. You always rise to the occasion and by now, have learned that nothing is impossible. The thing that I love the most abut our team this year is that all of our efforts were driven by passion. This year there seemed to be more of an emotional attachment to our efforts and I feel as if we really embraced the true meaning behind all of our efforts. Congrats to all of you for not accepting average.
I want to thank Michael and Lindsey Roberts for friending us this past year and helping us realize that we are more than just average people. Your leadership by example has shown our family that we can achieve, as long as we believe. Your time wih us as helped us find the missing pieces in our lives which includes spiritual, dreaming and confidence. Your support continues to be unmatched by others and you'll always have a special place in our hearts. Thank you for taking a chance on us and believing in us, when we didn't believe in ourselves.
I had an opportunity today to thank a friend that has impacted my life in a way that he never knew about until today. I heard this man speak at Advocare Success School in August 2011. He said, "I don't have a script, I speak from the heart". I wrote that down and decided to recite those words every time I got ready to speak at a JDRF function. I knew that if I spoke from the heart that not only would I be passionate, but also truthful in the message that I was trying to convey. So after an event that I attended today, I decided to share with J.P. Penzkover how much he has been an inspiration in what I have done over the past year. I spoke of the goals that I have for JDRF and how I have pursued those goals by using his quote from Success School. Much too my surprise, he was well aware of what I had been doing and offered his words of encouragement and congratulations. I presented him with a t-shirt from our walk and told him that I would understand if he never wore the shirt, but I wanted to give it to him as a token of my appreciation and of how much he had to do with our success this year.
Finally, the ladies of Eastern Iowa JDRF. I am not sure that everyone really understands the hard work and dedication it takes from all four of these ladies to make JDRF possible. Michelle is constantly busy with office work. Meredith, not only lives with juvenile diabetes, but is helping others that are fighting her same battle. She spends a lot of time organizing different events to help raise awareness and advocate for the cure. All of this while she is a wife and soon to be mother. Kelsey has a special way of relating to the children. My girls absolutely love her and I know that the other kids feel the same. She is such a positive role model for the kids and makes the kids feel special when she is around. Ann Elise started as a mother that wanted her daughter to be cured. She made the promise and each day works her tail off too ensure that she is fulfilling that promise. Her compassion motivates all of us and drives us all to do more.
I don't want to give our total funds raised for the walk, because we have four weeks until donations are officially closed for this year's walk, but I will say we not only met our goal, but blew it out of the water. I have a number that I would like to have be our final number for this year and will spend the next four weeks achieving that. None of this is possible without the above mentioned people. I ask that these people take a moment and pat yourselves on the back. You are inspiring and I thank you all.
I also want to give kudos to everyone that came to support juvenile diabetes at Westdale Mall today. Thanks for taking a little bit of your time to support us and our fight.
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