It has been a joy living in four very distinct places in my life. The first 18 years in Indiana. 4 in Los Angeles. 8 in Atlanta. And going on 7 in St. Petersburg, FL. More than living in these places, it has been a privilege working with some amazing people.

Starting my own company was always on my radar. Because of that, I maintained a list of people that are first and foremost great people, but also excel at some area that my future company may need.

One of those was Gina Donnelly Theising.

She was the Associate Director of Chapel Programs at Azusa Pacific University. She was so good at what a lot of people aren't good at: office administration. She did that relatively unsexy job with such joy and love that just permeated through the entire office contagiously.

The timing to start my own company was very much a struggle for me. I'd say I really wrestled with it for about two years. The time came in June of 2019 when I finally accepted it was time to leave the best job I ever had and start Vy Technology.

Like every year, I was planning on spending the 4th of July with my family up at the lake in Coldwater, Michigan. So I said, "I think I know where I stand on this, but I am going to take that week just to clear my head before I do what I need to do."

In the middle of that week I got a message that Gina died at 47 years old in an ATV accident.

This world can be tough sometimes. Good things happen to bad people. Bad things happen to good people. That's a conversation for another day. If this were a just and fair world, probably everyone reading this blog should have gone before Gina. She just loved everyone. She saw the value in everyone.

When I went to her funeral a few weeks later, I was awe struck how many people were there. I thought I knew the people who knew her. If I were to guess, the large Catholic Church in Simi Valley, CA had about 100 pews. They were all full. But the people I knew maybe took up 5 of those pews. It was then I realized just how big of an impact she had. That was all because of how much she loved.

She was always the first one there for anything. She would sign up for the marathon you wanted to run. She'd go hiking if you wanted to go hiking. She had a zeal for life and that zeal always involved others.

I am sure she had her selfish moments. Though from the outside that was not evident. She just loved and valued people the way God loved and valued people. We want to be a culture where we value all people the way Gina valued all people.

Thank you, Gina Donnelly Theising. We will strive to be like you.