May 16th

Today was a very difficult day for me. This week I lost a friend that really meant a great deal to me. When I started work back in 1999 at Vulcan I joined the team of PeopleSoft support that included Donald Chow. He was also a PeopleSoft developer and had been working for Vulcan for many years. He took me under his wing and taught me the Vulcan ropes. He was a very smart man and one that was willing to share his knowledge with me. He became like a brother to me over the next few years. When you work next to someone for 9 years you almost know them better than your family. I know I cared for him as if he was my family. He stood by me through many challenges and we tried to give advice to each other through many experiences we both had. Donald was from Taiwain and I remember as his boys grew up he would ask me questions trying to understand the slang of America. He always wanted to make sure his boys were behaving. I remember him asking me "If booger was a bad word" he did not want his kids saying something that was wrong.

Well back in the fall- my friend Donald was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer. We knew this would be a difficult fight for him - but Donald had awesome faith and belief and started within days receiving treatment and working to beat this cancer. My heart broke this week when I learned that Donald lost his battle early Tuesday morning. Today was his funeral. I think I cried for 3 hours straight. I ask for you to continue to pray his family - Anita, Wesley and Jeremy.

I will never forget him and he will always hold a special place in my heart.