Aaron Sorkin and Jimmy Buffett taught me how to tell a story, and if Buffett had recorded this song 🎵 after generating millions, if not billions, under his Margaritaville umbrella, it would be hypocrisy. He recorded it when he was broke and playing in bars.
Next time you have two or three minutes to spare, it’s a catchy tune and explains the entire thought process of my efforts of Ministry.
Write ✍️ about what matters to you, not what you think others want to read….
The photo 📸 above the brain 🧠 child of my dear friend, Ron Cochran ! It’s called the Vickey Voucher, and in the business I’m in, we call this part a 2-fer !
See 👀, Vickey Ritchie and her / our Special Olympics Basketball program are set to be our honored 🎖 guests on Sunday. The first half of the 2-fer is that Vickey normally has food available for the team during the halftime break. Treating each of them to lunch not only keeps their routine going but it enables Lin and I to cover the bill with the dedicated people who have offered up their Sunday afternoon to work the Concession stand !! Win, Win 🏆
From 12:00 until 2:15 pm, I will do my absolute best to provide as much good, clean fun as possible and at the same time shine a light on as many people as we can.
Now, we have the Concession Stand and the Special Olympics covered, so what’s next ?
We have signed up such a next level duo to perform our National Anthem that we had to hire them a Personal Security detail !
Greg Bolen, yes, the same Greg Bolen that his name plastered across our very site this story appears on has agreed to protect the dynamic duo of Samantha Reed and Joi Ogle !!
I’m pretty sure that it’s ever so rare, once in a lifetime performance, that we feared that the cost of admission would skyrocket to see 👀 this, but I remembered that everything is FREE!
The amount of respect 🙏 I have for these two women is matched only by the respect I have for our National Anthem itself !
Let’s circle 🔵 back to Vickey Ritchie and Company for a minute. The athletes will be participating in our introductions in the same way it is handled with an International soccer ⚽️ match ! Half on the Alumni side and half on the Lady Cavaliers side.
Three more groups that I do everything I can to show appreciation and support for will have center stage in the parking lot from Noon to 2pm.
Kristy Jones and her family, Eddie and Dakota Walls ➕️ Ryan McCafferty of The Carroll News.
Kristi Jones has two very special children and a pretty cool Father to boot. The car above belongs to their family and Maci is about to slide 🛝 into the seat that her Big Brother, Trenton has occupied for a number of years.
Dakota Walls, pictured here with the Alumni group last year, is the son of Carroll County graduate 🎓 Eddie Walls. Dakota is currently a student on The Hill and a treat to work with !
The third factor in this triangle 🔺️is young Ryan McCafferty. Ryan officially started the job at The Carroll News, which I unofficially handled across a few years. It has been an absolute pleasure to assist Ryan and his efforts at every turn possible. Sports in general, but his passion is Motorsports.
I will be turning over the 🎤🎙🎤 to Ryan for this part, and I have complete faith in his ability to handle the situation with both 👪 families. A mixture of Q & A, ➕️ photo 📸 ops with both cars will be included !
At roughly 2:15ish, we will flip the script and have the rest of the day be about the softball game scheduled between the current high school players and the alumni players.
At this point 👉, I will simply try to hang out with my Hero, Greg Bolen, because he’s frickin Greg Bolen !!!
Maybe, if I slip him $20.00, he can get me an autograph of our singers !!!
One point to clarify is that the singing is not designed to be humorous, not even a little.
See, I care about a number of people in the community, and this will be my final attempt to create a performance like this, I wanted to love and appreciation for Special Olympics Basketball, Carroll County Softball, Carroll County High School, The Carroll News, Dakota Walls and Kristy Jones +
A great deal of heavy lifting 🫴 for sure and I simply could not accomplish this without some key players.
The field and the program belong to Coach Rick Nester, the school 🏫 is run by Mr Chuck Thompson, the Athletic Department by Kevin DeHaven.
Samantha Reed, Joi Ogle, and Greg Bolen are people that I feel blessed to interact with from time to time ! Ron Cochran is one kind soul…
No cost, food available for purchase, our own version of a Car Show, a singing performance that probably be an One and Done and then some softball at one of the nicest facilities in the Commonwealth.
Know, you know what I know as Thursday night has become Friday morning 🌄.
Andrew Good is a busy, busy young man, and watching him operate from a distance is a joy. Later tonight, over at Luray Middle School 🏫 he will be the person who is responsible for the volleyball 🏐 tournament that our son is coaching in.
That is one of many, many things that Andrew is responsible for on any given day as he is dedicated to providing wholesome opportunities for the folks in his area.
Having been responsible for well over 100 golf ⛳️ outings over the decades, I can truly appreciate the manner that Andrew conducts his business.
Taking the time to walk people through exactly where their money is going is a big part of the success of the annual event !
The course is easy on the eyes 👀 for sure but difficult to play. Yet, someone will manage to card a 59 on the par 72 layout. But there is no threat of it being our group.
We are missing our fourth golfer 🏌️♂️this morning as Marion Harris remained in Carroll County as he has adult responsibilities to tend to but should be ready to hit the ground running before the 8:00 am check in time on Saturday.
Chris and one of his Volleyball teams after they won 🏆their tournament last night.
Am I partial to Mr. Good because his efforts provide multiple opportunities for my son ? It probably doesn’t hurt, but my Kiddo speaks highly of everything he does and how much he cares about the people he does it for.
To call 📞 today, a ” practice round ” would be a REACH. Everyone enters a golf tournament for a different reason, with mine being caring about the cause of the event. Pencil ✏️ in our 65 now, but know that we will compete for most fellowship experienced.
Last year’s Team photo 📸
Andrew Good, we see you, Sir, and are very appreciative of your efforts !
The view of the River from the 1st green.Jersey Mike and Andrew…
November 4, 2022, was the last time that Matt and I were in the same room. It was at his home in Western Massachusetts, and I had driven there after watching Duke University play football at Boston College.
We first met years earlier out at Hoover Dam while we were on a tour bus 🚌 heading out to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
My traveling party that day included my late father, wife Linda, and Christopher, while Matt was flying solo. Chris and Matt are close in age, so they hit it off almost immediately. In fact, I am not sure but feel pretty comfortable about the fact that shared a drink or two on the return ride back to Vegas.
While I happily share my own challenges in life, I am more protective of stories that belong to other people. So, I will just summarize that point in life by saying that Matt was in need of a friend that day.
We struck up a conversation about the circumstances, and I agreed to pick him up the next morning in hopes of completing his quest. It took a bit to accomplish it, but the experience created a memory that I still treasure today.
Matt is in a great place, with a beautiful bride and lovely children. I’m not sure that our paths will ever cross again, but I am thankful that they did back then.
