The Shannon Fund is $2600 richer after the first full weekend of Shannon Cup 2013. Incredible.
We fully funded another scholarship selling Shannon stuff during the 14A and 14B Rochester girls' hockey tournaments with just twelve teams filling the brackets. Next weekend, 26 teams will converge on Graham Arena as 10 and 12 year old girls compete for the Shannon Cup. We better get another shirt order in ASAP.
Impossible to thank all the volunteers. You know who you are. You insisted on handling EVERYTHING and for that Jen and Erin and I are forever grateful. Next weekend a whole new volunteer list will take shifts behind our Shannon O'Hara Foundation merchandise table.
By the way Girls - Jen O noticed the addition of pink hockey tape on your sticks to go with the lime green for your favorite #9. Pretty sweet.
We spent a lot of time around the rink this weekend trying to support the Rochester teams and watch as many games we could of The Cannons and The Vipers. Those are Shannon's buddies and classmates. Some tears but more laughs as some good Shannon tales were relived.
One of the 14A teams was from Hopkins and it didn't take them long to figure out the Shannon Cup was for the Rochester girl who played on a team that won the Hopkins tournament in November of 2011. They have a better understanding today why their stands were packed with so many Rochester supporters. They all bought Shannon cup shirts.
And in between trips to the hockey rink, we drove Erin up to Coon Rapids where the Spartan 7th graders competed in a two-day basketball tournament. Saturday night was spent with kids running roughshod over a Country Inn & Suites in a Twin Cities suburb. A table for 24 at Buffalo Wild Wings and lots of laughs at a team dinner. All about Erin and her friends - our friends.
Jen, Erin and I talked in the dark in our hotel room as we settled in for sleep. While it will never be the same again, this family of three is having fun and living large. There's a whole community out there that won't let us forget how much we are loved. God bless. That update is all we're capable of tonight :)
