What a day! Congratulations to the Buddy Walk team and their will, passion, love
and commitment to enhance the lives of us all. I walked away from Saturday’s
SVDSN Buddy Walk knowing every person who attended will never be the same. They
may look the same, smell the same, but they are not the same.

What began as a walk with food and a little entertainment became a full fledged
street celebration…Grass roots and guttural to the core. The message was sent
on this sunny, Fall day, at Cunningham County Park. It is now the responsibility
of every person in attendance to take the celebration to their schools,
communities, and businesses.

The group that needs to lead this charge is the Husbands and Dads. Our wives
have been carrying the torch for years while we are off doing whatever it is we
do to make a living. I am guilty as any of you and watched as my wife and this
year’s Buddy Walk team (a couple of men) and all women, turn a single day into
magic. It wasn’t about them. It was about their/our children. They were all
in from the outset. I was so proud of the team, taking no prisoners.

Truth is if we want to change our schools and communities for more than one day
per year it will take all of us. It is up to every man, woman, and child along
with relatives, teachers, and politicians. I, for one, am glad there was a day
like Saturday because it showed us all what can be. Now it is up to us to make
Saturday’s success become the norm. Our wives(and a couple of dads) may have
started something but it is now our turn to take the baton and finish the race.

Thank you for shining the light on what can be…I am looking forward to changing
additional lives before our next get together.

With Admiration,

Tim Gruber