Eric was a special person loved by all. He was known for his dedication to the fire department. Even his best friend, the fire chief, shared at the funeral how a call would go out, and he’d still be getting his coat on when he’d see Eric drive by. He swore he thought Eric lived in his firefighter uniform. 

“He loved that fire department,” Lisa said. “He lived and breathed it.” 

Eric touched a lot of people in his life, but in the wake of his death, he would still continue to impact even more. Darryl Collins was one of those people. 

Two days after Eric’s death, Darryl, 44, underwent surgery for his new lungs. When he was 24, he had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a terminal illness which greatly affected his ability to breathe. In February, he was put on an oxygen tank, but after falling ill despite always keeping fit as a P.E. teacher and athlete, he was having difficulties bouncing back this time. 

I got down on my hands and knees on my bedroom floor and cried out to the Lord to be with me. To help me trust Him. To give me peace. And friends, He answered like never before. From that moment of total surrender, complete loss of self-control, Jesus met me in my despair, my weakness, my sin, my inadequacy and He said, “You can’t, but I CAN.” He reminded me that because of his sacrifice, I already have victory over cancer and death. 

Growing up in Boone, Becca knew at 16 years old that she wanted to be a lawyer. Her father was a well-known attorney who started the law firm now known as Eggers, Eggers, Eggers, and Eggers. He taught Becca and her brothers and sister about the law from an early age, regularly discussing legal strategies at the dinner table. 

Since I was 12 years old, I’ve had an incredible sensitivity to race-related issues and have carried a significant weight of personal responsibility to address them. Maybe it was my dad’s fault. He played no games with me when it came to the classroom. At 14, his mom died and he started working full-time to provide for his siblings. He received a diploma but never made more than $10 an hour in over 40 years of working third shift in mills. He managed his money well and demanded academic excellence from me because he was determined for me to do “better” than him. As a result, in middle school I was the only black guy in my grade in the academically gifted classes. There was one black guy in those classes in the grade above me and one in the grade below me.