It always takes us a while to “recover” from Em’s Annual Volleyball Tournament. It means so much to us to see new and old faces! It’s always a lot to digest. I would be lying if I said, it is nothing but Wonderful. That statement, in fact is true, but the day doesn’t come without mixed and many EMotions. It truly is a wonderful day but that is not all that it is. The day is a testament and reflection on all that can continue to be good in the world. It mirrors the spirit of Em. It has family and friends, it has fun and stiff competition, good food, music, and the great game of volleyball which brought so much joy to Em. For her family and closest friends, it is also a rEMinder of the reality of life here on Earth without her. In fact, Em’s birthday was June 26th, just the day before the tourney. She would have been 35 years old.
It always takes our minds and our hearts a bit to settle after the event. We continue to be in awe that chose a beautiful, summer day in July to share it and be with us!! We do not take that gesture lightly. We appreciate your involvement more than we can express! One of the best parts of the day is meeting new friends and welcoming you into the “fold” and seeing our loving, faithful friends that continue to participate and the ones that show up in continued support and love. We all know how incredibly busy life is, so we treasure your presence! It is a sure way to re-connect and catch up for a brief moment in time. The hard part about the day is not being able to greet, meet and connect with everyone. Please know that we cherish the fact that you indeed were there!
If you were a first-time attender, thank you for joining our volleyball family! We hope you felt welcome and that it left a lasting impression. We hope you take with you the joy of playing amongst your new friends in the special volleyball family-fold that we find so endearing at this event! We hope you continue to make this event part of your summer every year.
To our faithful and true friends that have bought into our belief that there is something oh, so special about being together year after year, we only wish you could know our deepest appreciation for the support and love given, especially over so much time has passed. This is a rare find. It has absolutely aided in our continued healing! We have meaningful relationships because we have experienced loss together and we also know the satisfaction and happiness of reuniting and the gratifying peace that comes from being together in the good times, because many of us have experienced the dark times together as well.
A special shoutout to our many donors! We value both the incredible raffle prizes and the corporate sponsorships. Your generosity is unmatched! You are absolutely appreciated for making this event so successful! You can know that the money/prizes given is far reaching and is truly making a difference. It enables the scholarships given in Emily’s honor to continue and be expanded. It also aids our community with a resource to others that may experience a time of grief and deep need when financial and emotional burdens come from tragedies that may occur. All things that we believe in: .…making beauty from the ashes and being a blessing to others. We thank all of you who purchased raffle tickets as well! So many feel the pinch of stretching the dollar, and yet so many graciously shared your financial gifts to make the raffle another huge success. The “over-top” items donated and the support in buying tickets have contributed to making this so much fun too. It has become something that is very much looked forward to! Thank you!! Also, to those that helped behind the scenes, cooking and pulling pork, lunch set up and tear down, selling tickets, trash duty…and countless other things that go into this. We appreciate your servant’s hearts very much!
And now to the hardest part for us to address because they are all SO appreciated…THE COMMITTEE. This event may have seen its last volleyball flying over the nets 3 years ago when we thought maybe it was indeed time to retire the event. We were blessed with 16 years of Em’s life, and we honored that life for 16 years by means of this annual tournament. BUT... You all, in your love for Em and her family, had the belief that it must go on. You have such busy lives as you raise your children, have jobs, other responsibilities and are truly in the “thick” of it. This season of life for you all is already jammed packed and yet, you somehow carve out time and energy to grow this event. You each have your own God-given talents, and we watch you use all of those to put on the most amazing event, far reaching any idea that we thought it could become. We are so incredibly humbled you decided to tackle this when your lives are already full to the brim. Special shout-out to the supportive spouses for also being huge work horses and supporters! The commitment, meetings, and time given away from your own families is selfless. The work involved….and love behind it… make the tourney what it is and that does not go unnoticed. So, to the Sensational 6, (and spouses/kiddos), (Chelsea Brehm, Ashton King, Ashley Sponhauer, Manda Nurenberg, Jessie Buche, and Lacey Bellin) that came on board and believed this event needed to continue and has proceeded to grow it the last 3 years, will forever be appreciated, adored and humbled by our family! We wish you could see into our hearts! We love you! May God in all His infinite ways shower you with His favor and blessings!
Lastly, we can only imagine what Em thinks of all this! Imagining THAT…. is the best part for us!!
With grateful hearts,
Jeff and Selena Duits
Adam, Sarah, Rydik and Rowan Wrubel
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