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For 15 Years We’ve<br />
Watched You Grow!<br />
By Shellie Miller<br />
Back in the days before the internet was a central part of all of<br />
our lives, the only way to find out about league sign-ups was to<br />
“know someone” involved already, drive by a sign posted near city<br />
hall, or accost a kid in uniform and ask how to get your 7 year-old<br />
on a T-Ball (or other) team. 16 years ago it was five phone calls and<br />
4 incorrect contacts that led me to a league President who informed me<br />
that flag football signups had been the week prior.<br />
Scott and I developed the Spectator to meet one of our family’s needs, but also to<br />
bring a closer sense of “community” to our family-oriented cities. I remember our first photo shoot, with him taking<br />
pictures using a borrowed camera with film. 36 shots and he’d need to change the roll! Parents on the soccer field<br />
were very suspicious and peppered us with questions. I distinctly remember calmly telling one angered father that<br />
someday he’d be asking us to get action shots of his daughter on the field instead of making a loud scene about<br />
“invading” their privacy. Today, my hopeful words have been ringing true since a few months into our venture. At virtually<br />
every event where we have a photographer, both athletes and their parents clamor to get in front of the lens<br />
and have their photos published. I liken the Spectator to a monthly yearbook of things going on in the ‘hood.<br />
Being in South Florida, we’ve seen friends come and go, and what better way to meet the new ones and bid farewell<br />
to others? Our very first issue featured a boy who was battling leukemia, Evan Diaz. When he lost the fight, our<br />
community reached out to his parents in a mighty way by showing them enormous amounts of compassion and<br />
offering help in many forms. Today we have websites, but<br />
we had none of that then….just personal interactions with<br />
people physically showing up to offer assistance,<br />
prayers, sympathy and encouragement.<br />
Our Family in Focus is something we made certain was a<br />
staple because “connection” is what we’ve decided<br />
should be the mission of our magazine. When you “meet”<br />
a new family in the Spectator, they could be people you<br />
may not feel compelled to get to know. However, the<br />
information in their article may start a conversation that<br />
wouldn’t have happened otherwise. A common college,<br />
hometown or child who shares a team with one of our<br />
kids builds a bridge that creates bonds benefitting both<br />
them and us. I can’t tell you how many stories and subsequent<br />
friendships I hear about from families who were<br />
approached at the grocery store, PTA meeting or coffee<br />
shop by someone who saw them in the Spectator.<br />
Today, Scott and I have friends that we consider family<br />
who we may have never met without embarking on this<br />
publishing adventure in 2002. The guy who called to<br />
advertise introduced us to a guy who did our real estate<br />
closing, whose family was featured, who joined us to create<br />
a fundraiser, which had hundreds of people attending<br />
that helped several terminally ill kids be granted “wishes.”<br />
Thank you for the amazing opportunity to share your<br />
lives and stories for the past 15 years….all because we<br />
couldn’t find a sign-up opportunity for a disappointed 12<br />
year-old.<br />
Rom. 8:28<br />
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