What I witnessed!

Sometimes in life we run across certain people or maybe even witness certain events that we may be astonished by. It may not happen very often but it might from time to time. When that time comes it is hard to forget. Sometimes they are good things and sometimes maybe not so good but unforgettable nonetheless.

I can say that there are only probably a handful of events that I’ve witnessed that left me astonished to the point that I never forgot. Some of those are good and some are bad but are unforgettable to me.

I can say that I just witnessed one of those events this past Sunday that I’m sure I will never forget. I witnessed men and women across the auto industry come together for a common purpose(Not everyone one was from a car lot but may have been friends of some that were). We came together for the one purpose of helping someone in need. 

Often times car salesmen aren’t looked at in a positive light. We are often referred to as vultures that prey on people. We rank right up there with attorneys and politicians as some of the most crooked industries. Are there some bad ones? Yes there are but there also many more good ones.

Having said that....

The purpose of all of us coming together and uniting on a 24 hour Facebook Live-A-Thon was to help one of our friends in need. We came together to give assistance to and raise money for a friend that is beginning a battle of a very serious and life threatening disease. It’s a disease that I don’t even like to mention and yet has affected so many around this world. It is the disease of cancer.

Michelle was diagnosed just about a week ago with stage 3 breast cancer and it basically devistated this family. They are a very strong family that’s very genuine and kind and this disease has infected them. Though only one actually has the disease all are affected. 

With disease comes expenses! The problem they are having is the fact that they are self employed which causes a problem from the insurance aspect since many private insurances are very expensive and at the very least have very high deductibles which may sometimes cause the care to be overwhelmingly expensive to be able to pay for. I’m not sure how much treatments and surgeries would be for something like this but I imagine it’s very high.

So, from the leadership of a few people from the business we started a 24 hour Live-A-Thon that somewhat mimicked the old telethons that you remember as a kid. We took over Facebook for a solid 24 hours holding this event. Around 48 individuals gave up around 30 minutes of their time to go Live from their personal Facebook pages in order to try and help raise awareness, ask for prayers and donations in order to help this family. We started at 12 a.m. on Sunday July 29th and ran 24 hours until 12 a.m. on the 30th. It was a time for each of us to go Live and share our thoughts about the family, that some of us have become friends with and others didn’t even know. It was a time to listen to stories about people that may have possibly gone through something similar. There were many stories of overcoming trials and addictions and many tears shed. There were scripture readings and many prayers said! There were some that sang songs and others danced. It was a time of smiles and laughter and also heartache and pain. There were many that were going Live for the first time and some that do it all the time. 

Why did we do this???

Because we care! Because we saw a need and addressed it! We did it not just because they are our friends and connected to our industry.... we did it because we love them. People that don’t even really know them stepped up and gave what they had in order to help a family in need. It’s hard to give your time and money to people and causes you don’t know but they did it and I’m proud to have been able to witness it and also be a part of it!

Thanks to all who went Live, gave donations and offered prayers! I’m happy to know you guys and girls and I pray that God would bless you for your efforts!

If you would like to read more about Michelle you can go to her Facebook page by going to https://www.facebook.com/michellesri and if you would like to donate please go to https://www.fightwithmichelle.com/ . Thanks for your support!

Help for a friend!

Many people have bad tastes in their mouths when it comes to car salesmen these days! We are ranked right up there with attorneys and politicians. Some of these feelings have come from experiences of loved ones and friends in the past and some have come from recent situations. Some of them are warranted and some may not be.

There have been a quite a few of us that have been trying to change people’s perceptions of the car business but it has proven to be a daunting and difficult task but we press on! It’s often hard to break down the walls that have been created by past bad experiences but we are trying!

One way to see this is in an effort that is happening as I wrote this. You see, social media has become a very powerful tool. I have met many awesome people around the country and around the world via social media! I have made many friends that I otherwise would have never met and many if not most of them are in the car business or attached to it in someway. 

Two of those people are Chad Morgan and Michelle Sri who are the owners and operators of Quickpage... a video emailing/texting app that is used to send compressed video to clients in order for them to be able to watch and see them easier and better. I have met them online and in person on a number of occasions and both are very caring and genuine people. I have become friends with them and so have many others along this journey over the past year.

I am giving you this short story to tell you that recently they found out that Michelle had stage 3 breast cancer and it is very aggressive. It’s certainly something that nobody wants to have to endure or even at the least even mutter the words “cancer”. They are trying to be strong for their kids and each other but I’m sure it is weighing on their hearts and minds. To go along with this they are self employed which means they have little to no insurance and anyone that knows anything about these medical expenses will know that it’ll be very expensive to treat. 

The cool part is that the automotive industry is coming together to support these wonderful people! We are doing a Facebook Live Telethon starting at midnight eastern tonight and running for 24 hours. There are many of us throughout the industry that will be doing 30 minute segments on our personal pages primarily to pray and to raise money to assist them in their fight to come. It’s a way for us to help a family in need and that’s part of our automotive community.

I will begin my 30 minute segment beginning at 9:30 a.m. eastern tomorrow which is 8:30 a.m. central. I would like for all of my friends to join me on this Live event in order to pray and raise money. If you can’t make it Live here is the link to donate http://fightwithmichelle.com/

Any and all amounts will be appreciated and no donation is too small so please consider this most important donation if you join me or if you’re not able.

We are an industry of individuals that care about others and try and take care of those we love! Help us in this effort to help some great friends and people I have come to love and respect!

Thank you and God Bless