I want to take a moment to tell a very personal story. I'll make this brief because I once heard a pastor say that "there is no such thing as a sermon that is too short."

About 10 years ago I first met a young man who was dating the daughter of one of my best friends. Frankly, I was decidedly unimpressed, and so were our friends. He was brash, and exaggerated his stories. He seemed to be unable to hold down a job long, and was always in need of money. He was undisciplined and seemed destined t failure.

But over time, he proved us wrong. He matured and kept getting closer and closer to that narrow path. He stopped trying so hard to impress us and instead wanted to be trusted by us. He settled into a business, and learned to work hard at it. Eventually he made that little business a success. But much more important than that, he found faith in God, and became a honorable man in every sense of the word. The story ends with him marrying my friends daughter.

I am so proud that this young man is my friend. I would be proud to have him as a son or a son-in-law, but I am lucky he is a friend. He is not perfect, but Lord knows, neither am I. This young man didn't come from the best of homes or the best of situations, but he has become one of the best of human beings and I am a better person for having known him.

Only about 3 weeks ago, I learned that at one time he and his brother were involved with the local Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.   Am I saying that Big Brothers Big Sisters is the reason for his success? No. I credit that first to God, and then to his magnificent in-laws, and to his wife, and to the young man himself. But over the life of this young man a bridge was built between failure, and foolishness, and success, integrity, and honesty. Big Brothers Big Sisters built a part of that bridge. We all know that a bridge which isn't complete, is no bridge at all, and this young man's life would likely not be what it is today if it weren't for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

So that is one reason Preferred Insurance is supporting Big Brothers Big Sisters during our centennial celebration. They are making bricks and building bridges and changing little lives in very big ways. That is also why we are asking you to support them too. These are few of the ways you can make a difference.

• Be a Big: The most important thing you could do right now is volunteer to be a "Big". Big Brothers Big Sisters has a waiting list of "littles" who need the guidance and love of someone who can show them the way. You don't have to be perfect, no one can relate to perfect people. If you've had a rocky road to travel, you may be able to help someone avoid that road. It takes time, but if you have that, or can make that, you can change a life.
• Flock A Friend: You can participate in the flamingo flocking fund raiser. Call Preferred insurance at 877-415-8342 if you have someone you want to "flock" or you want to make a donation and get flamingo insurance so you don't get flocked. It has been fun, and 100% of all donations go to the specified charity.
• Get A Quote: You can ask Preferred Insurance for a quote. This may look like shameless marketing, but this month Donegal Insurance has generously agreed to donate $5 for every quote we do, whether the person buys anything or not. Preferred Insurance will match that $5. So ask us for a quote and we will donate $10, and probably save you enough money that you can make a generous donation too.
• Just Give: Lastly of course, you can just make a donation. That is obvious but if you click here we can help you make a credit card donation right now.

Big Brothers Big Sisters and Preferred Insurance and You can make quite a team, and quite a difference. Your Ohio insurance agent has been here 100 years, but we aren't standing still and we are remembering to give back for all you have given us for so very long.

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