In just a few short weeks.......

We'll be hosting the first, and maybe the only, Everett Peca Gala for Brave Hearts. This event will both honor Everett and his life and his battle, but it will also raise money (hopefully) for the Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) where we received such wonderful treatment in an attempt to make him well.

We've been planning this gala for a year now. And way back last June it seemed so easy, we expected it to just all fall together nicely. Now that its just a few short weeks away, we're in panic mode. Nothing is falling into place like I hoped, in fact, it feels as though its falling apart instead. Don't get me wrong, we haven't been slacking. We've got a venue, a menu, advertising and tickets. We've got raffle items, we've got silent auction items and door prizes. We've got a few great volunteers and plenty of cheerleaders, what we don't have is guests. You can't have a gala without guests, not a successful one that is.

I'm not sure what went wrong. With want ads placed online, posters distributed all over town, a beautifully written news paper story (front page!), and word of mouth, you'd think we would have sold a bunch of tickets, we should be laughing and relaxing and preparing to party. Not so. We have about 95% of our tickets remaining to be sold. I'm nervous.

But, thankfully, there's hope still! We received an e-mail yesterday morning from a local TV network, and they want to interview us LIVE to talk about our gala and Everett. Our first instinct was "NO WAY!", Elvis and I are not "TV" people. We're not public speakers, and we're pretty socially awkward. But, lets me honest here, we're not in the position to be turning away publicity at this point, and it's come at such a direly needed time, I can't say for certain it isn't God sent, and who would turn that down? So, on June 12th, I'll get off work at 7am, drink a few energy drinks and arrive at the TV station at 10am, to do a live interview at 11am! I hope I don't come off looking like a zombie!! I hope that this will help us spread the word about our cause, about our son and about the great work Sick Kids does and why we want to help them continue to do it. I hope we'll sell out on ticket sales and that we'll be able to stop panicking and start dress shopping! I hope this is the help we need that saves us from having to cancel our beloved gala. Wish me luck!

I have to remind myself, we're doing this for them.......


And mostly for him. So no one forgets that he was, is, and always will be one of our babies. His life was short but incredibly important, he touched hearts, changed lives and made an imprint on so many. God had a plan for him, and we're watching it unfold before us. We're doing this for him. And in the end, we know it will be worth it!


Katie