It always does my soul good to see good students with their interested and engaged parents, and college students who are interested in giving back some of what they have been given. I had that opportunity today.

Our annual Breakfast of Champions was this morning and we had people invited from the entire southeastern region. Most everyone was within driving range although some of them did have to get up early to make it. We gave them all breakfast and had a program consisting of some words of welcome and then two stellar students who discussed why they chose to attend the Bagley College and what they have done while being here. The keynote speaker was Dr. Kirk Schulz, VP for Research and Economic Development at MSU. As a former faculty member, department head, dean, and now vice president, he had the experience to relate to the students on many levels. He even has a son looking at colleges now. He nailed the talk and gave them exactly what I was hoping for. It is a shame that he is not the new president for he certainly has the vision and experience.

The other part was watching our current students give up their Saturday and come out to help us. They interacted with our guests and were on panels for discussion. They are the ones who sold the college today and it really makes me happy to see a group of students give back to an organization and take the time to make a difference in someone else’s life. I have no doubt that because of those students today, we will have new students in the fall who will make a difference in the world.

I capped the afternoon off with a drive to New Orleans for my last drill with my current unit. I assume command of a unit in Houston on 01 December.

Just watched the Bulldogs get killed by Alabama. I agree with the commentators, we have a world-class defense— at least we did until they all got banged up by being on the field so long—and if we only had an offense to go along with it things would be great. Well, as we have all grown so fond of saying, “wait until next year!”