Zach wins The Open!

Congratulations Zach Johnson!

Last week I stood up here with an update on Zach Johnson’s play in the British Open. Little did we know that he would go to become the champion of the most prestigious and oldest golf event in the world, the British Open. And the 144th annual event was held at the birthplace of golf, St. Andrews Old Course in Scotland. It is quite an honor for, as Zach says “a kid from Iowa who has been blessed with some talent.” Here are a few things to note about this special guy from Cedar Rapids.

HE HAS USED THE SAME PUTTER HIS ENTIRE CAREER… Most players change putters frequently, but Zach is the exception, using the same putter since during his early day in the minor tours.

HIS OPEN WIN PUT HIM IN ELITE COMPANY… With his victory at the 2015 Open, Johnson becomes just the sixth person to hoist the claret jug at St. Andrews and win the Masters. The other five: Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Sam Snead, Steve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo. Not the worst of congregations to join.

WHAT JOHNSON LACK IN DISTANCE… With a 280-yard average, one of the shortest players (164th) on tour -- he makes up for in accuracy. Johnson's boasts a 73.4 accuracy percentage , third-best on tour.

JOHNSON WASN'T THE BEST PLAYER ON HIS GOLF TEAM… You would think a two-time major winner would have been the star of his college team at Drake. He wasn't the best player on his team, but he had the perseverance and work ethic to continue to develop into a star player.

JOHNSON'S CADDIE IS QUITE THE PLAYER HIMSELF… Damon Green competed on the lower levels of golf, capturing 75 victories on mini-tours. Green decided to give caddying a try 15 years ago, and has been on the bag for all of Johnson's wins.

HE SPENT YEARS IN THE MINORS and developmental leagues for six seasons and his breakthrough was in 2003, when he won Player of the Year honors on the Nationwide Tour.

HE HAS HIS OWN FOUNDATION… Johnson and his wife started the Zach Johnson Foundation, focused on helping children and families in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Some of the foundation's programs include Birdies That Care (which helps provide college scholarships to those in need), Kids on the Course (helping children realize opportunities in the classroom) and the Zach Johnson Foundation Classic.

HE WON THE MASTERS in similar fashion… Due to rainy weather with strong winds and cold temperature, he won the 2007 Masters with one of the worst winning scores, but two strokes better than Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen and Rory Sabbatini.

JOHNSON ONCE SANG AT WRIGLEY FIELD… That's right, Johnson can sing! Okay, not really, but Johnson was given the honor of performing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley Field.

And that’s a few things to note about our local Cedar Rapids guy, Zach Johnson. This year’s winner of the British Open. Congratulations to Zach, you make us proud. And that is the Bottom of our News on this July 24th , 2015!

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Email

Email Blunders

Good morning my fellow Daybreakers! 

Have you ever sent the wrong email to the wrong person? I’m guessing most everyone has done something similar. Wouldn’t it be great if there was an ‘Undo’ key to simply fix those blunders? The two most common mistakes are sending the wrong attachment or hitting the Reply All button instead of the Reply key.

Well, here is a recent true example I wanted to share with you.

A couple had set up their vacation and with the idea that the wife would be joining her husband at their destination a day later from her business trip. When the husband reached his hotel, he decided to send his wife a quick email.

Unfortunately, when typing her address, he mistyped a letter in the email address and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher’s wife whose husband had passed away only the day before. When the grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and fell to the floor in a dead faint.

At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:

To the love of my life… Just got checked in. Everything is prepared and I am anxiously awaiting for your arrival tomorrow. P.S. Sure is hot down here.

And that is the Bottom of our News on this July 10th , 2015! 

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4th of July 2015

Freedom is Never Free!

Good morning my fellow Rotarians.  Let me share some thoughts about our upcoming Independence Day holiday. 

You may have heard this before, but freedom is never free!  Consider the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence and what happened to them in the following months:

§  Five were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.

§  Twelve had their homes ransacked and destroyed by fire.

§  Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; two others’ sons were captured.

§  Nine fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.  What kind of men were they?

Well, 24 were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants and business owners; nine were farmers and plantation owners. They signed the Declaration knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships and his shipping company burned and destroyed by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in penniless.

Vandals or soldiers looted many of their properties.  Others had their homes taken over to be British headquarters and when they were done, the homes were destroyed and their families were imprisoned and torn apart.  Most of those men died bankrupt.

These are true stories about the men of the American Revolution. They were well educated and they had their security, but they valued their liberty and freedom more.  Here was their pledge…

"For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of THE divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave us a free and independent America. During the Revolutionary War we didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and therefore we fought our own government!

Some today take our liberties for granted and many don’t realize we owe a debt of gratitude to the patriots who came before us. So, it’s not just another “holiday weekend” at the beach.  The 4^th is a holiday with a true purpose.

This is the best weekend of the summer in my opinion.  We have a local Freedom Festival, time to spend with family, picnics, ball games, awesome fireworks and more.  At some point I'd like to suggest that you pause to reflect on the history, struggle, sacrifice and significance behind your celebration.  Tell your kids and grandkids about this.  Unfortunately, many are not learning about this holiday anymore in our schools. 

I am very grateful we have an “Independence Day” in America and for those patriots who went before us.  Remember, freedom is never free!  And this is our news on this Friday, July 3, 2015.   

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