Today the Roanoke Times published an article about the Jarrett Lane Memorial Fund, and the upcoming golf tournament that will support the fund. It’s a great article that touches on how we want to use the memorial fund to better the lives of youth in Giles County.
Golf event to raise money for Jarrett Lee Lane Memorial Fund Saturday sees the first Jarrett Lane Memorial Golf Tournament held in honor of the student from Narrows.
When her children were little, Tracey Lane had to work overtime so she could afford to send them to 4-H camp and out-of-town sports and leadership programs. The single mom was determined to give her children a window into the world beyond their small Narrows town.
So when it came time to design the Jarrett Lee Lane Memorial Fund in honor of her son, killed in the April 16, 2007, shootings at Virginia Tech, she and her daughters decided to help other parents of needy but promising area youths to do the same.
The inaugural Jarrett Lane Memorial Golf Tournament will be held Saturday at Castle Rock Golf & Recreation in Pembroke to raise money for the fund.
Summer camps, sports and Boys State leadership programs played a huge role in shaping Jarrett Lane’s character. “I remember 4-H Camp especially, that was a key thing in the beginning that opened Jarrett’s eyes to the possibilities of life outside of our small town,” his sister Alicia Lane-Farrell said.
Lane, the valedictorian of his Narrows High School class, was less than a month away from earning his engineering degree when he and 31 other students and faculty members were killed.
He was known for his fun-loving and generous spirit, his intellectual curiosity and his willingness to play pick-up sports — any sport — any time, any place. He kept a variety of balls in the trunk of his car just in case an opportunity arose and, as a child, once dug holes in his mom’s back yard to practice golf putting. When she complained, he blamed the holes on the dog.
While two other scholarships have been established in his name — one by his Narrows class, the other by his Governor’s School class — the Jarrett Lee Lane Memorial Fund is operated by his family.
Lane’s friends from Narrows and Virginia Tech are expected to attend the event, along with his family. Nongolfers are encouraged to participate by playing Captain’s Choice style, allowing all team members to play off the best team shot.
Lane-Farrell views the event not only as a conduit for remembering her younger brother but also as a continuation of his legacy. “He only got to the 22-year mark, and now our goal is to keep his story alive so we can continue his legacy by helping others,” she said.
The registration fee for teams of four is $300 per team, and teams can register by calling the golf course before Friday at 626-7276. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winning team, and a cookout is expected to take place after the tournament about 1 p.m.
For more information on the memorial fund, e-mail Lane-Farrell at alicia@aliciafarrell .com or go to JarrettLane.us
Contributions to the fund may be mailed to: Jarrett Lane Memorial Fund, c/o Celco Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 361, Narrows, VA 24124.
(Thanks to Beth Macy at the Roanoke Times who has done a wonderful job at sharing Jarrett’s story.)
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I traded big city buildings for big rolling mountains last week and went to visit my family in Narrows. Sometimes life gets a bit confusing and a girl just needs to go home and be with the people that have known her the longest.
It was a good trip full of family fun, gardening, writing and enjoying the beauty of mountains.
It rained nearly every day I was there, but we had one beautiful summery day and spent it playing in the pool with my nephew and nieces. Of course, this means you are about to be overwhelmed by their cuteness with a few pictures I took.
Kennedy
Kaydance
Landon
Kennedy
Kaydance
Fawntane and the girls
Fawntane & Kennedy
Kaydance
The girls watering flowers I planted
Landon asking me not to take his picture
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I’ve been a slacker lately with blogging, but that’s about to change. Over the next few weeks I’ll be adding some new stuff on here about writing, my journey over the past several months and finding (err…searching for?) fulfillment in life. On my professional blog I’ll be writing about social media, communication, marketing and fun businessy stuff. Also over the next few weeks I’ll be re-launching my website and growing my business.
Lots of plans, here’s hoping I get most of it done. Along with the laundry and gardening.
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Notice the lack of posting around here? Well, that is because it’s April. The most difficult time of the year for me as I “prepare” for the anniversary of when Jarrett was killed. I’ve been feeling a lot of stress and worry about the upcoming anniversary, but I’m trying to be gentle on myself.
Anyway, some very nice folks in Giles County have offered to host a golf tournament in honor of Jarrett, with all proceeds going to his memorial fund. Even if you are not a golfer, please help us spread the word!
Here are the details:
Castle Rock Golf and Recreation of Pembroke, VA will host a golf tournament in honor of Jarrett Lane, one of the 32 students killed at VA Tech on April 16th, 2007. All proceeds will benefit the Jarrett Lane Memorial Fund and its mission to better the future of deserving youth in Giles Country.
The tournament will be held on Saturday May 9th, with a tee time of 9:00am. Teams of four will play on one of the area’s most beautiful and challenging golf courses. The registration fee is $300 per team, and teams can register by calling the golf course before May 8th at (540) 626-7276.
Just to let you know, the Jarrett Lane Memorial Fund is used to provide college scholarships to Narrows High Grad. We have a vision of expanding this to provide financial assistance to deserving youth in Giles County who wish to participate in various academic, athletic and leadership development programs.
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Clean out your closets and bring all your unwanted clothes to my house on Saturday for the ultimate swapping event. Trade in that ugly sweater your aunt gave you at Christmas for your friend’s cute pink skirt that you’ve been lusting after!
Clothes, shoes, purses, accessories, and anything else you want to get out of your house (husbands, children and pets are not included in this offer). I might throw in some home decor stuff.
I will have snacks and mimosas. Also, it’s an open invitation to all women who have junk in their trunk…I mean, unwanted clothes in their closets.
When: Saturday 3/21, 11am-2pm
Where: My house (leave comment or email for directions)
Why: Because we love new clothes, even “new-to-me” clothes.
This year marks 10 years since I graduated high school, so that means it’s time for a reunion. Mine has been scheduled for sometime this summer, but tonight some of my former classmates are gathering to plan the celebration. I’ve decided to make the drive back home to attend the planning party.
I still have extra envelopes from these announcements and the matching thank-you cards
There were only 5o-some people in my high school class, but even with a class so small we still had our cliques and drama. I wonder how that will affect us 10 years later. I don’t think I was really involved in the drama. I guess it was hard to get involved since I kept my nose in a book or was too busy with sports & clubs. But, that also meant I didn’t have a lot of close friends who knew me well. I think most people considered me a “friendly” person, but I only had a couple of close friends. And, since our graduation a decade ago, I haven’t spoken to, seen or had any contact with most of the people from my class.
Don't you think more people should wear solid gold gowns?!
Needless to say, I’m a little nervous about tonight. Luckily we are meeting at a place that I hear has good beer. That should help take the edge off. Plus it will be entertaining because only two or three of my former classmates have seen me drink or heard/understood my slightly inappropriate sense of humor.
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I’m going to guess that like me, many of you have a lengthy to-do list you’d like to tackle this weekend. Mine includes finishing up some projects for work, cleaning out my flower beds and conquering the mountain of laundry that I’m fairly certain has devoured at least one of my cats.
But, instead of getting started on my to-do list, I’ve decided to waste time playing on the internet. Here’s a list of my favorite things that I’ve discovered on the internet while procrastinating on my to-do list:
My super powers include flying throughout the city saving stray cats!
2. I started following askastripper on Twitter. You never know when you might have a question that only a stripper could answer, or what valuable insight she might have into life’s everyday dilemmas. Also, I love that she uses phrases like “Peace, love & boobies”!!!
3. Much to her disliking, I’ve decided to search the internet for a boyfriend for one of my single friends. Let’s just call this friend Kitty. Kitty isn’t the kind of girl that’s desperate for a boy, but this isn’t about her, it’s about me finding new ways to waste time on the internet. By using one of my other friend’s Match.com account I have found the perfect guy for Kitty. I’ve spent some time trying to stalk this guy on Facebook & MySpace, but still haven’t found him.
So, there you have it, my top 3 internet-time wasters. Go forth and have fun creating your own hero. Maybe you can ask the stripper for advice. And please, give your superhero the power of internet stalking so I can continue to embarrass my sweet friend, Kitty.
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I’ve had a run of good luck lately with obtaining new clients and projects! Which has been good when realizing I need to make money, but not so good when I realized this means less time can be spent napping.
Circus
Yesterday I drove to Roanoke to attend the circus with Fawn, her kids, my mom and grandmother. This circus was organized by the Shriners, and from what I can tell it was the George Carden Circus. I’ve been to the circus a few times in my life, but tend to avoid them these days because I’m afraid of clowns. Although, when offered a ticket to go with my nephew & nieces on their first trip to the circus, I couldn’t decline.
Luckily for them they are so young they will not remember this circus. However for me, I will be forced to live the rest of my life haunted by things I saw. Here are three reasons why I will never again go to a George Carden circus:
1. All the circus ladies wear thongs under their very, very short skirts. Well, except for two special ladies who I swear were wearing hand-me-down Playboy Bunny costumes with big purple bows placed right where the good Lord split them. I saw more ass at this family-friendly event than I’ve seen in women’s locker rooms.
2. In one of their skits, a clown paraded around with a pistol, held a clown at gun-point and killed the other clowns. The killings were complete with sound effects of shots. Um, wtf?? I don’t even know what to say.
3. Over-priced everything. Sure, the kids got in free, but the cost of activities and food inside now means that one of them will not be able to go to college. After spending about $60, the kids got to ride an elephant twice around a 20-ft circus and ponies around another small ring.
Cute Kids
Need to recover from the circus nightmare? Got the image of circus ass stuck in your head? Well, replace it with these sweethearts. I’m saving my money to buy some kisses.
Kisses for Sale
Ewww....
Practicing for V-day
Ladies Man
Kennedy
Kaydance
Sweet Sisters
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Like many of you, I celebrated the holidays by eating too much, staying up too late, enjoying too many homemade snacks, drinking too much and taking daily naps. It was too good.
But, then I had to come back home and face reality. Sleepless nights, lazy days, inability to focus and the occasional shakes, it felt like I was going through withdraw.
To give myself a swift kick in the rear, I started a “mostly” raw diet. And, it has been amazing! My energy is up and my mind is clear! My daily headaches are gone. I feel incredible, and have no doubt that I will develop some sort of superhuman power in the next week.
I’ve tried raw before, and failed. But, I will not fail again! I planned for success. First, I’m doing mostly raw. I get 1 non-raw meal or snack a day, which is usually bread, with a side of bread and bread on top. Second, I knew I had to get some decent recipes that didn’t involve using ingredients I’d never heard of, or kitchen equipment I don’t own. My MIL (aka, Goddess of Raw), gave me a book that has been my lifesaver. I’ve found a few quick-n-easy recipes that I’ve actually enjoyed, and surprisingly keep me satisfied.
I’m having such a good experience eating mostly raw, that I’m getting excited to plan and plant a larger garden this year!
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I’ve been using Twitter for a little over a year and I love it! It is a wonderful and fun way to connect with friends. But, yesterday I experienced true Twitter love.
Desperately wanting a cranberry orange muffin from Captain Buzzy’s, but feeling a bit lazy and silly. I Twittered that I would willingly give my love & friendship forever, in exchange for one of these delicious treats. Later I went outside to get something out of my car, and nearly stepped on a brown paper bag sitting on my door mat, and inside of that small bag was a delicious muffin from Buzzy’s!
Now I will commit my love and friendship forever to a certain, sweet lady.
Friends are friends forever, if they treat each other to muffins
(Sh! Please don’t tell her that I was already planning on being her friend forever!)
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My neighbor’s dog has gone missing. Please spread the word so that Flip can come home soon.
Here are the details:
Name: Flip
Occupation: Being super cute
Type: Dachshund aka wiener dog
Appearance: Brownish red with white patch on chest
Gender: Male
Weight: Approx 13 pound
Clothing: Red Crocodile Collar with tiny bones
Flip’s disappearance:
Around 9:45am today (1/18), Flip went outside on the 600 block of North 31st Street to potty in the vacant lot next door. Flip’s owner went back inside to grab something, taking her eyes off Flip for less than 30 seconds. Once going back outside, she couldn’t see Flip in the vacant lot.
But, she did see a black male with an older white/grey Buick or Cadillac put something into his back seat. Flip’s owner thinks this man might have put Flip into his back seat.
She is offering a cash reward for Flip’s return home. If you have any information, please give her a call at 814-4556. Or, leave a comment here.
Thanks!
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Please watch the whole video because the best part is towards the end. (Sorry for the low quality, but as any true fan would do with their favorite rock star, my sis took this video with her cell phone.)
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I recently started a business/life coaching program. Each week I meet with my coach and in between sessions I have homework assignments. One of my homework assignments for last week involved writing a list of 50 words that describe Jarrett, plus writing a list of 50 words that Jarrett may have used to describe me.
I have had a difficult time writing about who Jarrett was and what he meant to me. My words never measure up to what I’m trying to convey, plus it is painful. But, this exercise excited me. I thought it was easy and simple enough, and could possible be a step in the right direction. So, here it is, my list of 50 words that describe Jarrett.
1.Playful
2.Light-spirited
3.Genuine
4.Thoughtful
5.Helpful
6.Loving
7.Considerate
8.Objective
9.Fair
10.Moral
11.Clever
12.Jokester
13.Ambitious
14.Goal-Oriented
15.Athletic
16.Good Sportsmanship
17.Handsome
18.Dreamer
19.Passionate
20.Friendly
21.Gentle
22.Curious
23.Aesthetic
24.Sympathetic
25.Confident
26.Entertaining
27.Witty
28.Laid-back
29.Brave
30.People-pleaser
31.Sociable
32.Accomplished
33.Dedicated
34.Independent
35.Modest
36.Giving
37.Responsible
38.Competitive
39.Happy
40.Care-taker
41.Hopeful
42.Grounded
43.Dependable
44.Optimistic
45.Lover of Life
46.Family-Oriented
47.Grateful
48.Adventurous
49.Respected
50.The total package
It was a fun exercise, and has inspired me to give 50-word lists to others and to make an effort to share affirmations with people I care about.
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