Ned Erickson: UPDATE Week of May 29

Ending Well with Shannon Rainey and Beth Hilliard

It has been near a month since we sent y'all a normal weekly Update. This one won't be normal either, but it hopefully will provide you a few highlights from our last few weeks back in Winston-Salem and a look ahead to next year!

RECRUITMENT UPDATE

Actually, let's begin with that.

Patrick McCarthy, call of 2017 Wake Forest, Class of 2018 WS Fellow

Tucker Bartholomew, class of 2017 Wake Forest, class of 2018 WS Fellows

We want to also celebrate the arrival of four new Fellows:

Natalie Bayer, Graduate of UNC Chapel Hill

Grace Mezzy, Graduate of Virginia Tech

Sarah Wilkins, also a Graduate of Virginia Tech

and Ashley Trewhella, a Graduate of Clemson University

Last night, Chad Brown, Kim Ickes and I interviewed another candidate, and things are looking positive there as well! Next year is looking bright!

HELP WANTED! WE HAVE SPACE FOR TWO MORE MEN. At this moment, we are in conversations with four men, but none have quite yet pulled the trigger. So if you know a guy who would benefit from the Fellows experience. NOW IS THE TIME. Please point them to the website and get them in contact with me.

ROUND TABLES

Front Porching It at the Paynters

Thank you Rob and Becky for grilling out some burgers for us for our first Round Table post Holy Land.

Back Porching It at the Glenns

And Thank You! Locke and Anne Glenn for chopping up some Chicken for us for our final Round Table of the year.

We celebrated Rahel's birthday

In Celebration, Round Table spilled over to 6th and Vine on Tuesday

LEADER LUNCHES

We continued our string of amazing Leader Lunches with....

Max Floyd, former catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Director of Wake Forest Recreation Department, and author of a new book The River Narrows (highly recommended).

About the prettiest day of the year in one of the prettiest places on earth

Sylvia Oberle, former City Editor for the Winston-Salem Journal, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity, and current Special Project Director for the Pro Humanitate Institute. (She told us she failed at retirement.) But it is clear she has gotten a 4.0 in Life!

Sylvia and Fellows

Mark Nicholson, missionary to Tibet, Founder and CEO of NOMAD Farms, and Executive Director of Passion Life Ministries.

The Mark Nicholson

Examining NOMAD's Chicken Production

And kittens

Will Troxler is eyeing them kittens

We also visited the Shepherd Center and did a sweaty work project...thanks Drea Parker and Sam McKormick for the lunch!

Ten Pallets of Books Later

And the "Forrest Gump" of Winston-Salem." Former CIA, 40 year partner at Womble Carlysle, and outdoor specialist, Linwood Davis

Linwood Davis has let his roots grow deep where he was planted

And finishing up the year with a special luncheon with Coach Bill McClain at Hidden Treasures Event Center.

Could not have asked for a better end to a week

FELLOWS GRADUATION

A perfect evening on the Geer Farm

We celebrated Graduation on May 20th, a bit early, as we still had two more weeks. But it was the best day we could find. Friends and family came into town. Host families, mentors, employers, board members, and churches were all represented. Even my folks came to town! (Really they came for Dave Dave's baptism. Graduation was just gravy.)

So thankful

Not sure if I can quite put into words what these people mean to me

Reflecting back on this year, I have cried on more than one occasion.

THANK YOU for joining me on this journey...

I was telling Kim Ickes last night: we are no longer a team; we are family.

family

And quite possibly the sweetest gift has been how this Fellows Family has blessed mine.

LOOKING FORWARD

In about an hour we are leaving for the mountains to spend the last three days of the program together.

the lake is stocked
tested and approved by the Williams family

my little fish

Dave Dave's big fish

The goal of this last "Advance" is to "End Well," with each other and with the Lord, not that any of these relationships are close to ending. Sometimes it's important to mark the moment, and that is what we plan to do.

The following week the Ericksons will be taking a well-earned vacation!

Please pray for the Fellows. Some are looking for jobs, or at least, longer term options. In two weeks, I'll update you on this. However, if right now you are interested in talking to one of these Fellows about employment, feel free to contact me and I can put you in touch.

Thank you again.

So grateful...