“To enlighten and evolve through the art of Kenpo”
| Volume 12 |
December 2007 |
Issue 3 |
From the President...
From
the President...
by Bryan Hawkins, President, UKS
During the course of our lives, we occasionally have to endure the passing of those who are close to us. Although death is an unavoidable fact of life, we are never completely prepared for it. Sometimes we have the luxury of saying goodbye, but oftentimes a death is sudden and unexpected, so we are not afforded the closure that helps to soften the blow of a death. In mid-December, a good friend and Kenpo student, Ed Godfrey, died.
Ed was battling a number of serious health issues that finally got the best of him. I got the news of Ed’s passing on Wednesday evening, December 12, and went to visit the family, especially to check on his 9½ year-old son Bryan. Bryan, his mom Sherry, and I spent some time looking at photo albums of Ed and reminiscing about all the good times. After a while, Bryan and I ended up in his room/game room so I could get an education on video games. On the wall of Bryan’s room was a picture of a young boy standing on a beach overlooking the ocean and involved in some sort of beach activity. Under the photo it read “PRIORITIES: It’s not about the type of car you drive, the size of house you own, or the amount of money in the account. It’s about making a difference in a child’s life.” Sitting on that bed in Bryan’s room at this time of sadness and reading that passage could not have been more appropriate. In Ed Godfrey’s life, like in all of ours, with the ups and the downs of business and personal relationships being as difficult and as drastic as they can sometimes be, Ed always had his number one priority in mind: his son Bryan. Those of us from the Kenpo school will remember Ed for his generosity in times of plenty, his strong training ethic in times of good health, his great humor in times of greater happiness, but mostly we’ll remember him for being a great dad and making a difference in a child’s life.
Our friend will be missed and remembered.