Hopefully, you were lucky enough to have someone who helped you along in life.  Maybe it was small gesture that made a big difference.  Maybe someone spent years mentoring you to the person you are today.  Perhaps they taught you about 'life lessons', or maybe they gave you that break at work that set the pace for you.  If this happened, then you should be thankful that you were fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.

 This leads me to think about a group of people that could really benefit from some good fortune...the elementary school crossing guards in our SBMC Youth Achiever Program (YAP).  These children get up earlier than their fellow students; they arrive well before the start of school and stay late in the day, ensuring the safety of the other student'-s during the ingress and egress process for car riders, walkers and bus riders.  These kids are today's school leaders, but they will be the 'movers and shakers' of tomorrow's Jacksonville! 

 Every year YAP helps support the Pine Forest Elementary school crossing guards.  This program recognizes and rewards these students who make a positive contribution to our community.  These kids are doing the right thing; they see the necessity and importance of their positions, and they see the positive results of their actions.  As a reward for their dedication, SBMC helps to finance their annual trip to Washington D.C.  On this trip, they get to see the sights of the National Mall and learn more about the history of our country.  These children will bring home a lifetime of memories from this excursion, and assuredly a more positive outlook on our country as a whole. 

 That reality is made possible, in part by those of you reading this.  You are the ones who've sponsored our Youth Achiever Program events.  You are the ones who've bought the chicken dinners.  Your contribution may appear to have been a tax write off, or a donation, but it's really an investment in these children's (and Jacksonville's) future!

 Here's what you get for your sponsorship investment:

1)    Sponsors will stand up at the Wednesday meeting and introduce themselves and their businesses to the children and their parents.

2)    Sponsor's business names will be on a banner at both the Wednesday meeting and the Thursday cookout.

3)    Company names will be on every T-shirt.

4)    There will be a table at the Thursday cookout for sponsor's literature and promotional materials (that all parents will see).

5)   Lastly, your company will be advertised on the SBMC website in 2015.

 I want to thank those of you who've already agreed to be a sponsor this year.  If you haven't yet made your decision, time is running out quickly!  I implore you to contact Bruce Fouraker (904) 521-8026 [email protected] or Frank Wallmeyer (904) 237-8701 [email protected] as we have to 'go to print' late Monday to be ready for this Wednesday's meeting.

Also, don't forget to purchase your Bono's chicken dinner tickets.  Remember: It's for the kids!