Good News - March 2021

March 20th is National Proposal Day... Yes, that's a thing! It happens to land on the first day of Spring. So, Good News Wants to Know... what hap- pened during your wedding proposal? Do you remember where you were? And what prepara- tion, if any, did you or your spouse put into the proposal? My fiancé Faye and I have a pretty neat story because we dated in our late teens and early 20s. I had the privilege to propose to her at the exact same spot we had our first date, on the exact same day, (August 18,1985) only 33 years later (August 18, 2018). On the corner of A1A & Oakland Park Boulevard on Fort Lauderdale Beach I knelt down and proposed to her...AND SHE SAID YES!!! (Pretty cool stuff!!!) Coach Rick Andreassen , Founder/President, SAINTS International Sports Ministry and SAINTS Homeschool P.E. I met my hubby Jeff on the first day of a mission trip in the country of Panama. Like me, Jeff had a "checklist” with God-given criteria of who not to settle for less than in a future spouse. During the mission, the majority of boxes had been checked on our lists! To my surprise, on day five Jeff said, "I think we are going to spend the rest of our lives together." Twenty-two years later confirms how right he was. A few months later an official well-planned proposal happened at the Breakers Hotel on Palm Beach Island. Jeff brought along a backpack of items to create the ambiance for a lifelong memory including a proposal poem he wrote for just such a night! Dr. Andrea Hazim, President and Founder, Elev8Life Educational Foundation After securing the Blessing of her Father (Lunch helps), I took my wife Gloria to a regal and romantic restaurant called the Red Rooster Restaurant .It was de- lightful and delicious home style cuisine! The most divine desert dish was pre- senting the ring with my proposal and her paramount response!! 34 years still delightfully dining! Bernard King , Sr., Pastor, Cornerstone Bible Fellowship I remember our wedding proposal 40 years ago well. It was leap year, Feb- ruary 29th, and we had just finished our last day of skiing in Vail with a large group from the Fort Lauderdale Ski Club. Thankful to have survived the week in one piece and mindful of never asking a witness a question to which you don’t already know the answer, I posed the question in this way: “What do you think you would you say if I were to ask you to marry me?” The rest is now history! William “Bill” C. Davell , Director, Tripp Scott Attorneys at Law Dani’s wedding proposal was full of good intentions… in need of redemption. It was a snowy night on a horse-drawn carriage in a faraway land. It involved a stranger, a homeless man, an actor (they may have been the same person); it also involved a hundred dollar bill, and the hero of the story (that’s me) forgetting his lines. And the star of the show was an engagement ring that fell apart in the kitchen sink less than a year later. Bob Denison , President, Denison Yachting At the very minute that I knew that I was going to propose to Eileen, I started planning how I would do it. While we were dating we took a memorable ride on the Water Taxi where I happened to pick up a brochure that advertised placing a brick on the Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale. That’s where my plan started to come together. During the fall of 1993, I ordered a brick that would help me with the proposal. I then had to come up with a ring. After flying to Boston to make the purchase from a family jeweler, I came home to ask her parents for their daugh- ter’s hand in marriage. Thankfully they said yes and a few weeks later I made a test run to locate the brick for the big day. Then on December 18th I brought Eileen to the Riverwalk. When she opened her eyes and I was on one knee, she thought I was giving her a brick for Christmas! Thankfully she read the brick which said “I LOVE YOU EILEEN! WILL YOU MARRY ME? FOREVER YOURS, CHIP!” She said yes, and I am blessed to still have her as my partner in everything. Chip LaMarca , State Representative, Florida House District 93 I was super excited and I could not wait to ask Wendy to marry me. I got the engagement ring during the day and proposed to her that night. I took her to our favorite place on the beach, and as we walked I put our feet together and asked her if she wanted to walk through life together then I got down on my knee and pulled out the ring and asked her to marry me. We visit that special place often and talk about that great day. This year we will celebrate our 29th Anniversary. Chris Lane , President, First Priority of South Florida Here is how it went: After talking with all my family members and her mother, I bought her an engagement ring. I asked Jennifer at her house to marry me, but she demurred. As we were in the car, I asked her, “Do you love me?” She said, “Yes.” Then I asked, “Would you like to spend the rest of your life with me?” She said, “Yes.” But when I asked, “Will you marry me?” she couldn’t seem to bring herself to say yes. I had to go through that several times with her until FINALLY she said, “Yes!” H. Collins Forman , Jr., P.A. With the arrival of YouTube and all things social media, the “art of the pro- posal” has become inspirational, challenging and competitive. Over three decades ago, it wasn’t quite so. I’d love to be able to say that I proposed in some spectacular fashion. My wife was staying at her pastor’s home and watching their kids while they were attending a retreat. I was spending an evening with her that weekend and had an overwhelming sense that this was the right time and the right place. I dropped to my knee and proposed in the living room of her pastor’s house. Fortunately, she said, “Yes!” Craig Huston, Huston Consulting Group, LLC Dr. Andrea Hazim Bernard King William “Bill” C. Davell Bob Denison Chip LaMarca Chris Lane Wants to Know… Coach Rick Andreassen