Remember the 32

One year ago on April 16, 2007, I listened in horror and near disbelief to breaking news reports as the death toll kept mounting until a total of 32 people had tragically lost their lives and scores of others were injured in the worst massacre in United States history. It might have been somewhat believable if it had happened on a university campus far across the country or at an institution of higher learning elsewhere in the world. But incredibly it was happening virtually in our own back yard...and, or all places, at my alma mater, the university to which I devoted 4 years of my life and a part of my very soul. The national tragedy was happening at the university in which I take great pride as an alumnus. It was happening at VIRGINIA TECH!

As unbelievable as this horrific event was to digest, even more incredible was the courage, grace, and poise with which the Virginia Tech community valiantly responded to the tragic turn of events. As I reflect back on the tragedy one year later, I am amazed at the strength and resilience of those whose lives were directly touched and changed forever by this day that changed the world. It is this "Hokie Spirit" that emerged from the tragedy and impressed the world that makes me especially proud to be among the 200,000 Virginia Tech alumni spread across the globe.

Since the tragedy, expressons of support have flowed in from loyal alumni and friends around the world. Over $9.5 million in memorial gifts have been generously donated. The Dave Matthews Band and the New York Yankees have made special appearances. The Virginia Tech Alumni Association says that "perhaps the most recent signal of Hokie spirit is the acceptance rate by students who have been offered admission to the university this coming fall...already hundreds ahead of last fall, which was itself a record-breaking year. This past year has certainly been a year of renewal for all associated with the university.

Today, no matter where your collegiate allegiance lies, be filled with the wave of "Hokie Spirit" and sense of unity that has emerged from this unspeakably tragic taking of promising lives and shattering of human dreams. Please remember in your prayers the families who lost loved ones as they reassemble the shattered pieces of their lives. In tribute to the 32 who lost their lives and dreams that April day in Blacksburg, VA, let's all rededicate ourselves to serving others unselfishly and, in our own small ways, to making this world a better place in which to live and love one another :O)!

A proud "Hokie,"
Richard