Wake the World AL Event......AWESOME!
 

I would just like to give a shout out to Heath Patton and Greg Hodgin for all the hard work they put it to make this event, not only possible, but great..... I think we had 43 kids at the event and I think every last one had a blast... We had 14 boats for the kids were able to get all they wanted...I had four in my boat and became friends with all of them in just one day..Really enjoyed seeing them have such fun learning all the different water sports-tubing, kneeboarding, skiing, wakeboarding, and wakesurfing.. All the kids from big oaks ranch were great...polite, respectful, thankful, and etc..just great kids..

I know this was the just year for the event in AL but everything went great.. I am sure they will be planning an event for next year, so if you live in the Lewis Smith Lake area get up with Heath Patton and make sure you don't miss the event next year... I promise you will not regret it.. it will be a huge blessing...

Also if you want to start an event in your area, I know Greg will be super pumped to help get it started. He started the Wake the World event four years ago...

I think I had as much fun as the kids did. It was great seeing them get up on the boards for the first time and then even better as they got comfortable enough to start playing and going back and forth over the wake.

LD... it was great to meet you and your crew! Hope y'all had an easy trip home afterwards.

It's hard to put into words what the day is like. It is an experience that will stay with you forever. Thanks so much to Heath for putting this on. And a huge thanks to all the great volunteers and boat owners, without you guys, nothing is happening!

One of coolest things for me is all the great people I get to meet! They love the water, They love kids, They love to have fun, They are all generous with their time and equipment. They care about the well being of others, The volunteers are awesome!

Great meeting you too Chris .... The ride home was long.... Ha I was give out.....but it was totally worth it..... Me and my wife were looking at cabins in the area for next year so we could make both days. Ha.

Greg I think you get the medal for best volunteer ha you have made every event. That is awesome.

BTW great to meet you too Greg. This ministry u started is great and it us taking off like crazy.

Every year there are so many great WTW stories that I get to hear from other boat owners or I get to experience myself. I am going to tell my favorite so far from this year:

On the second day of WTW NC - Badin Lake, One boat driver (Richard), was talking about this sweet 12 year old girl (Ciarra) and how inquisitive she was asking questions. She made the comment at some point during the day that,"Someday I would like to be adopted, but I want to make sure I like them first."

OK so that is one girl out of 125 kids...

The next day I have Chris (the Marina Manager) with me and he starts asking me what I think about adoption or foster parenting. Turns out he was talking about the same girl! Out of 125 kids he is talking about the same girl! He asked me to find out more about her situation.

After doing WTW Lake James and then WTW Alabama, I returned home and met with Chris. I suggested that he & his wife (Pat) to go with us to the Children's Home and we will take them out for pizza. The next day he and his wife arrived at the home an hour before I did to talk with a case worker and get the paper work started!

On Saturday night I brought the girls cottage (8 girls) out to the lake and met Chris & Pat on their pontoon for supper and fireworks. Chris was able to call each girl by name and even had their favorite sodas on board! It was great to see Chris and Ciarra sitting on the back of my boat together talking, knowing that in a few months Ciarra's wish is going to come true. As of right now she has no idea....How cool is that?

That is awesomw..... Def going to change that little girls life.

Awesome!!! What a great event for everyone involved. I would love to help with an event in Texas. We had a "Wakeing on the Water" camp through our Fellowship of Christian Athletes great event, but it just faded.
Bring it to Texas!!!! Great job, please continue posting about the adoption.

That is the kind of story that makes your day! Very cool!

Yeah guys... had a great time at the event. Super rewarding and looking forward to being involved next year!

Wake the World Texas is this Monday, July 18th at Canyon Lake near San Antonio.

Wake the World Kansas City is also the same day on Smithville Lake.

Wake the World Tennessee is August 8th on Norris Lake

Wake the World SoCal is also August 8th on Lake Elsinore

Wake the World White Water is August 11th at the US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC

I wanted to update on Chris & his wife and Ciarra.

They are most of the way through the paper work to have her at their home full time. There has been tons of paper work, background checks, foster classes and several home visits. After the foster parenting is complete it will take another few months before the adoption will be complete.

From Texas WTW: Ryan & Cory Caroll are taking simiar steps to adopt a girl named Delores.

From WTW AL: Heath & Jennifer have taken steps to be an approved resource. They are able to go by and pick up kids for the day.

From WTW NC: First time boat volunteers, Mike & Kristi, were so impressed by the time they spent with the kids, they took 11 kids out from another group home later in the summer.

Also from WTW NC: Britney from High Rock Outfitters , a certified yoga instructor, now has a class once a week for the girls at the group home near her house.

From WTW Lake Mead: Stuart & Kristina stop by the group home quite often and know most of the kids by name. Stuart owns Boulder Boats and has coordinated a reward program for the kids to go out on the boats when they are testing and taking pictures for the website.

When we started WTW, kids being adopted out never even entered my mind! WOW! And I I am amazed how several volunteers are now involved year round.

The adults amaze me as much as the kids!