|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
|
"When you take something on and you get involved in it, you should give it everything that you can give. There's no sense doing something half way." Lynn Rich learned that work ethic growing up in a farming community in northern Michigan. It has served him well in his job running a computer data communications company. However, his determination to do the right thing and to see projects through has been put to its best use in his service to others. What might appear to be an insurmountable difficulty usually earns Lynn Rich's assessment of "no problem." When Lynn Rich says it, "no problem" can be a stunningly courageous statement. At ten or 11 years old, Erin Andrews was introduced to horses by her best friend Nancy, Lynn's daughter, who was involved in riding and showing. Erin came to Nancy's house every day to be around the horses and to help in any way she could. Both girls were horse crazy, so it was all but inevitable that Erin would want to learn to ride horses too. There was, however, an obstacle. Erin had been born a triple amputee - she had no legs and only a partial left arm. Her motorized wheelchair allowed her to go almost anywhere. She was even able to lead Nancy's horses. But Erin's greatest dream was a change in perspective, literally and figuratively. She wanted to view the world from the back of a horse. In America the Good, Lynn Rich shows Erin that dreams do come true. Starting with special equine tack designed by Lynn to the day Erin entered the horse show ring unassisted. Lynn Rich is an example of the goodwill that occurs each and everyday in America. Read Lynn's story on page 28. |
|||
|
|
||||
|
In star-studded Alabama football lore no figure looms taller than Paul W. "Bear" Bryant, who stands Zeus-like among lesser giants of the game. When he retired from coaching the University of Alabama's "Crimson Tide", Bryant had won 323 games. And of the hundreds of players who emerged from "Bear" Bryant's forge, Bryant saved this accolade for John Hannah: "The greatest offensive lineman I ever coached." Twice All America, named to the All-SEC team, and winner of the Jacobs Trophy (awarded to the best blocker in the SEC), Hannah was a shoo-in first round draft choice when it was time to move on to professional football. Snapped up by the New England Patriots, Hannah thought that one of his talented Alabama teammates, his friend John Croyle, would also follow a professional career. "See you in the 'bigs'," were his parting words to Croyle after their final college game together. During his senior year, however, John Croyle felt a calling that was even more powerful than football - the desire to help "children needing a chance." There, the paths of the two friends seemed to diverge, with John Hannah stepping onto the professional gridiron while John Croyle applied himself to helping abused and neglected children. Croyle's zeal for that mission, however, was not the only necessity for its fulfillment. He found a large property that would provide a safe, secure home for children who desperately needed one, but he didn't have the down payment. A chance encounter in the quiet town of Albertville, Alabama, proved providential. Croyle was invited over to the Hannah home, and as the former teammates reminisced and discussed the future, John Hannah came to a startling decision. "John said, 'Tell you what, I'll give you my signing bonus,'" John Croyle remembers. "Coupled with another gift, it was exactly the amount we needed to put down on the property." In John's story you'll learn how a very young man realized his heart for children and helped his friend John Croyle follow his destined path of helping abandoned, neglected, and abused children. Big Oak Ranch is the result of John Hannah's heart and John Croyle's desire to help children. Enjoy the entire story of John Hannah on page 42. |
||||
© 2003 - Wren's Nest Publishing
Do
you know a good american?
Purchase
a book Fund
Raising
About
the Authors Contact
Us