Below is a picture of me cheesing hard at the HIA-LI's 24th Annual Business Achievement Awards. Touchstone Fire Protection was nominated for Rookie of the Year as one of the four finalist out of hundreds of businesses. When we initially found out of the recognition we were definitely excited, but once the ceremony came... I was overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement. It wasn't about winning, which is unique for myself because of my typically ultra-competitive personality.

I remember the day clearly. It was September 11th and I was sitting in Dr. Marshal's 2nd period 8th grade Social Studies class. Dr. Marshal was a dedicated teacher, one of those men whom made his money and decided to pass his knowledge on to the youth of the nation. His demeanor normally was very, very consistent; calm and dry. We had a tiny tubed television mounted in the corner of the tiny trailer classroom. It was the only classroom in all of the school with cable because