This time Sunday morning I will wake up after what, by all accounts, is expected to be a successful Spare Key Groove Gala attended by nearly 900 guests.

For comparison sake, we had 220 guests in 2012.

The power of good.

I am somebody who believes in metrics.  It’s important for me to see where I have been and where I am at.

More importantly, it’s important for me to see where I want to go and where I want to be.

I would be lying if I told you that, in 2012, I saw exactly where Spare Key has come to at this point as the organization celebrates its 20^th Anniversary.

It would be even more untruthful if I suggested that where it is today being the result of the efforts of one person.

Most success one has in life is not derived from the efforts of one person.

It is the sum total of the contributions of many.

The power of good.

Spare Key has a small staff.  In the terminology of my payroll company we have 4 ½ FTEs.

In the terminology of humans, we have 5 people who come to work each day determined to help families with sick and injured children in the hospital. 

It is impossible to do the amount of work that my staff does – not just for the Groove Gala – but throughout the year with only 5 of us.

They make the impossible – possible.

In between their full-time jobs, they have full-time lives.  They are planning their own weddings, taking care of children, worrying about the bills they have to pay and living their lives.

They don’t complain about the amount of work that should be done by three times as many people as we have on staff.

They just expect it has to be done and they do it.

The power of good.

We have a Board of Directors and Advisory Council that is as diverse in how they look, as they are in what they do for a living.

From CEOs and Owners of companies, to folks working for big corporations and small and medium sized family owned and “mainstreet” businesses.

They, too, have lives beyond being members of our Board and Advisory Council.

Children to raise, new children to welcome into the world, children to help survive their entry into the world, businesses to run, sick loved ones to attend to and mourning for family members who have earned their Angel Wings.

The Groove Gala isn’t the only commitment they are asked to support.  They are my sounding board.  My guiding principle.  They contribute more than bottles of wine, or money or their time at events.

They donate themselves.

The power of good.

From our vendors, such as Livewire and edgPRODUCTIONS and their staff, to the staff at The Depot Hotel, to our many sponsors and donors, each plays an integral and influential role in the success of the Spare Key Groove Gala.

The vast majority of them never seek, nor ask for, recognition for what they contribute to Spare Key. 

From donations of large gifts, such as a Ranger 570 vehicle by Polaris to 750 Dilly Bars by Dairy Queen to 1,000 bags of M & Ms with our logo on them given to us by TitleSmart, we can barely keep it all within the four walls of our offices.

The power of good.

I tend to get sappy at times.  I bawled at My Dog Skip so much that it has been banned from our home.

When my Son and Daughter get choked up – whether it is because they are happy or sad – I generally have to look away so they don’t see my own tears.

So, when I get to this point of the year, days before our Groove Gala, my inclination to get sappy magnifies itself.

But, it’s because the love and kindness and generosity of so many people, companies and organizations magnifies itself to Spare Key.

I promise I haven’t been crying as I have written this piece, but I can tell you that my heart is full with the immense amount of support so many people have given Spare Key to get us to where we are at before this Saturday’s Groove Gala.

But, more importantly, the support so many have given this organization in the 20 years it has been helping families “Bounce and not Break.”

Before the night is out on Saturday we will have raised a lot of money to help a lot of families and celebrated the hard work and commitment of countless numbers of people.

I will cry at some point.

The power of good, indeed.