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Do one thing better today than you did yesterday.
This update comes amid a very strange and unpredictable year. What will we remember about 2020? Will it be that school was interrupted, baseball and football seasons were either canceled or shortened. People worked from home and others were quarantined. We had a national toilet paper shortage, who would have thought? What I hope you all had a chance to do was to slow down. I hope that you were able to connect with your loved ones and take an inventory of the the things that really matter to you. People. I hope that the word People is at the top of your list. People matter. Some individuals have been very humbled this year. It was the first time for many to be unemployed, struggling to pay the rent, seeing loved ones get sick, and in general humbled by the fact that we are not invincible. We are not so special that we are immune to tough times. Money is not People. Things are not People. Vacations are not People. Football is not People. David loved football! But even he was quick to say that football is not more important than people.
You are our People. There are no words to adequately express our gratitude to you. I would mention all of you by name if I could. I would also undoubtedly mess up and leave important names out. Please know that from the bottom of our hearts, WE THANK YOU! We have been blessed to have so many friends and family donate to and participate in the making of the David Allen Finke Memorial Fund. Investing in the young adults and our future leaders is important to us because it was important to Dave. Because of your participation and giving, Dave is able to continue to actively participate in giving back to the people and activities that he has been passionate about.
We would like to update you on the fund's giving in the 2019-2020 school year:
We were fortunate to award scholarships to graduating seniors again this spring. Six student leaders received scholarships in Dave's name. We hope that our graduates feel inspired and excited about their next chapter in learning. May they continue to grow into their leadership roles and learn values of good citizenship.
The Dave Finke Foundation partnered with the WSR Grid Iron Club to provide guardian caps for all WSR football players to include the entire Youth Football Program through the High School level. The guardian cap is a soft-shell helmet cover engineered for impact reduction. They reduce the amount of impact during practice, a time when the players get a lot of repeated collisions. The goal is safer practice with fewer head injuries.
Dave was extremely passionate about his participation in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. A donation in Dave's name was made to the Wavery-Shell Rock Fellowship of Christian Athletes. "Sharing the Victory" - We hope to continue to help the FCA financially when they need.
This year we also made a donation to the UNI basketball program in Dave's name. One of the students very close to Dave's heart and previous scholarship recipient of ours currently plays on the Panther Basketball team. Go #50!
In closing: This is a group effort and we should all be so proud of the impact we have on these young adults. My wish for you is that People will always be a priority and that you continue to nurture your relationships. Let Dave's light continue to shine through you!! Be mindful of your words and actions. Learn from your mistakes. Give yourself permission to change your mind. Fight for what you believe in. Stand up for your brothers and sisters. When you fall down, pick yourself back up and finish the race. Be a good leader and have a great day!
Much love and gratitude - K
The desire to continue Dave's love and legacy is heavy in our hearts. What a great example he has set for us. We feel very blessed to have your support and the opportunity to provide so much to the GoHawk Community in memory of Coach Dave. It feels good to give back to a community that was such a big part of Dave's life. It feels good to just breathe his name and cherish memories and relationships. All of this is made possible through fundraising through our One Mission Fund site and our annual Dave Finke Memorial Golf Outing.
Dave lived his life with a Win the Day attitude - approaching each day with a servant attitude and trying to make the lives of those around him better in any way possible. Dave had a goal of striving to be better or do better each day. You can too!! You can start right now, by doing one thing better today than you did yesterday. Win the Day for those around you. You don't have to mentor an entire football team; you can make a difference in just one person's life with a smile, a kind word or gesture. Nothing could honor Dave's legacy more than for us to go on living life for others. Each one of us has the power to leave a positive impact.
We would love to see you wearing Dave's Win the Day tee as a reminder to BE GOOD TODAY. Send a word of encouragement with our custom Win the Day note cards (favorite quotes from Dave's twitter feed.) Attitude is contagious and kindness leads to more kindness. Help us spread this message...
My brother, Dave Finke lost his life here on earth in the early morning of October 30th, 2016. Dave's heart just gave out; the simplest way to explain it is that he was a young man with an old man's heart. Dave's death didn't just create a void for our family, but there was a large group of students, athletes, coaches, friends, and community that were feeling a void as well. It's overwhelming really, how much impact and influence one person can have on a community. Our hearts are broken, but we can make a choice about how we get to continue living. We can stay stuck here wallowing in this cloud of grief or we can choose to honor how fully my brother lived his life. Dave understood just how precious life is and so he lived his in a way that really felt like living. He was "all in" and he shared that with all of us.
Dave and his family relocated to Waverly in 2008 and he started asking the questions "What can I do?" and "Where can I help?" He got involved with the W-SR football program as a volunteer coach. He loved football, but more importantly he loved impacting young peoples lives. He taught principles such as being good leaders, being involved in the community, and always putting your team before yourself. From his coaching bio, "My goal is to help them prepare physically for victory on the playing field and, more importantly, mentally for success in the game of Life." Shortly after Dave joined the W-SR football team, he also started mentoring Christian Athletes. He led morning bible studies, where he shared his faith and messages of God through an organization called Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA.) I think all of us gravitated towards Dave because he knew how to show his authentic self. You didn't have to guess where you stood with him and he wasn't afraid to tell you his beliefs. He was resilient, beautiful, brilliant, and flawed all at the same time. Dave was a good Dad to 3 young boys. He was a beloved husband. Dave believed in God, servant leadership, family, fun, hard work, taking chances, owning up to mistakes, being small town Iowa proud, multi-sport athletes, team first, doing good to others, and trying to do better every day. He wasn't some super-human dude- just a guy who cared about people and he would balk at calling what he left a Legacy. But what else do you call it? Dave left a Legacy of Caring.
I hope that we can continue to share Dave's love, extend his influence, and honor his priorities. Your purchases and donations through this fund will serve as an extension of Dave's passion for mentoring young adults. All proceeds will provide financial support to 3 things that Dave was very passionate about: (a)David Allen Finke Memorial Scholarships awarded to graduating seniors (b) W-SR chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (c) W-SR Football Program.
A total of $2,000 in 2017 and $3,000 in 2018 was awarded in scholarship money to W-SR graduating seniors that exemplified leadership qualities, were outstanding role models, and were also involved in FCA. We hope that these students will be encouraged to go on serving as leaders in their school and community. That they will have a positive impact on others in the same way Dave has.
"Winning doesn't make you a better person, but being a better person will make you a winner. Winning the day is about YOU, not the scoreboard..." - Coach DF
40% of each purchase will go to the David Allen Finke Memorial Fund - Thank you again!
