Michael Jordan and I have a similar story. Except the part about six NBA Championships. It’s hard to grow up in the Michael Jordan era and not love basketball, especially when you share the same hometown. However, Jordan’s basketball domination didn’t start in the spotlight. When he was a sophomore at Laney High School in Wilmington, he was cut from the team. “You can’t play” That moment became a the driving force behind one of the greatest champions sports will ever […]
Known for its rich history, the Bahamian island of Bimini has been a temporary home to such great influencers as Earnest Hemingway, Jimmy Buffett, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Legends of the Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth still linger in the salty Bahamian breeze as the culture speaks of its past. It was a mission trip with Young Life to this beautiful island that changed my life. I now know that this trip was the beginning of the story I am penning […]
When you see ‘Godfather’ you get this image of Marlon Brando or Al Pacino in a strong italian accent saying, “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” What a great movie! Certainly not for the faint at heart, but amazing acting and an amazing story of mafia life. Any list worth its weight will have it as one of the top 10 of all-time. But you see, for me, that concept of godfather wasn’t even part of my […]
Baseball was a way of life. Between my brother and I playing, Mom running the concession stand, and Dad coaching and umpiring, Winter Park Optimist was our second home. I can still hear the cheers from the sidelines, smell the freshly cut grass, and taste the sweat mixed with red clay. For the first eighteen years of my life, baseball was my identity. It was what I loved. You see, my dad was a great athlete growing up, but through a rare […]
As if Middle School isn’t Awkward Enough At eleven years old you’re faced with enough change in your life, the last thing you want is more. However, in addition to the internal challenges, I faced an ominous set of external challenges as I embarked into middle school. D.C. Virgo was a revamped inner city school and despite the fact that there were three other schools closer in proximity, I was bussed nearly eight miles away based on a Board of Education’s decision to […]
Trisha was a dreamer. She chose to look at all that life could be and celebrated the special moments. She met people and ideas with excitement. Even when she was diagnosed with cancer, she dreamed big. Outside of her husband, she wasn’t going to tell anyone and cancer certainly wasn’t going to stop her. In fact, her 38th visit to Disney World, the year she was diagnosed, held the same excitement as her first. It wasn’t until Christmas that year […]
Having three boys I knew the day would come, I was just hoping it would be delayed. This weekend, my three-year-old son, Matthew, who I will affectionately call MJ, fell from the couch and broke his left arm just above the elbow. The experience was traumatic as it was the first time I had really seen him hurt. We’d dealt with bumps, bruises, viruses, and the occasional tantrum of an emotional overload, but never this. His response was one of […]
We get busy in life. Matt reminds us of why we dedicate ourselves to something other than ourselves.
- Robert Wagnon, CEO, Republic State Mortgage
