Man of the Year 2010...Bob Mills

He did it! As if you had any doubt....but Dad was officially awarded the LLS Dayton Man of the Year on Friday night at the Schuster. It was a great event for a great cause. Tons of people attended the event and lots and lots of money was raised. I was particularly impressed with the number of people who bought live auction items, only to donate them back to the cause in order to be auctioned off again. I was also very impressed with the girl of the year, Maria, who the Men of the Year were raising money on behalf of. Her family stood up and bravely told their story to the entire audience. It takes some guts to be able to share such an emotional trial with a room full of strangers. They seemed to be such a nice family and such an inspiration to me. I want to be there, on the other side, telling our story and being cured and done with this disease.

I was very proud of my Dad. Proud of what he has done in raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Proud of what he has done to raise awareness about cancer in general and in particular pediatric cancer...something most people never talk about. I was proud as he talked about the other kids that had lost their battle, namely Ashley and Davey who he was always thinking about. Most importantly, I was proud of what he has done to honor his granddaughter. Years and years from now she will realize that he did this for HER and to prevent the suffering of other kids. She will know that someone stepped up to the plate and said this is not OK...please end the suffering for these kids. And he did this all in the wake of his own personal tragedy. We have barely had time to deal with the grief for Mom and the sadness for Ally, but the time to react was now. While most people would have holed up in their homes and collapsed under the weight of it all, he soared to new heights. And, as I always say, MADE A DIFFERENCE.

Rather than me rambling on about such an amazing act, I will just put the video out here of him being named Man of the Year 2010. As he was collecting his award, I was trying to hold the video camera and also keep from crying and shaking.....(will post later...computer problem)

Thanks Dad for teaching me and so many other people the definition of the word generous. And compassionate. And love. And persistance. And on and on and on....