Dad rocks!

So my dad is getting this great award from the city of Huron, SD tonight, the Distinguished Civic Service Award. My brother Jon wrote a terrific tribute to him here. I couldn't agree with him more on this. We all are very proud of him. We have known for many many years what many others in Huron knew, and now the rest will know, that our dad is a very selfless man.

We all learned very early how important it is to give back to your community and your family, and not in that order. Being the youngest of 3 sons, I got to see how important it was to our parents to be supportive and involved in everything their kids were doing. I can't remember a single time where mom and/or dad were not at a function of ours. If one couldn't make it, the other was there. Most of the time, both were there. I still remember a Christmas Concert at school that dad was going to have trouble getting to because of meetings on one of his many boards. He made it just in time. It was just a Christmas concert, and I was the only one left in school at the time, but it was important for him to be there, and he made it.

Us three boys were involved in different things. Brent and Jon were involved in basketball, soccer, and track. I was involved in one-act plays, oral interp, and band. It didn't matter what it was, they made it to pretty much every event. Dad never ran into a function that was too far away. I remember going along to drop Jon off at hockey camps in northern Minnesota, basketball camps in Kentucky, taking me to a German language camp up in northern Minnesota, going up to Fargo to watch Jon run an indoor sprint when he was running track for the U (a race that lasted all of 3 seconds because Jon sprained his ankle pretty much out of the blocks). All of that didn't matter, what was important is that we went and supported each other. Have you ever known someone who thinks Chicago is on the way home from Branson, Missouri or Des Moines, Iowa? Since I've lived in Chicago, mom and dad have made those types of trips many times. If they are within 6 hours of us, then we're on the way. :)

That value has been greatly instilled in us kids. That is why I am back in South Dakota right now. I knew as soon as I saw that he was getting this award that I had to come and be a part of his big night. After all, nothing has kept him from coming to support us. Its been a long day, I left home at 5:30AM, but I wouldn't miss it for the world!

Thanks, Dad, for all you've done for us and the great example you and mom have set for us. You really deserve this recognition and I'm glad to be here for you this time.