I just returned from a Chanco alumni weekend and what a beautiful weekend it was (those who didn't make it need to put it on your calendar for next year NOW!) I wanted to go last year but there was a conflict (oh, how real life can get in the way of what's really important!) This year, Diane Buchanan from All Saints encouraged me to come and be her roommate (btw, we have gotten spoiled rotten being in conference center rooms - I don't know how we braved tent camping before!)

I couldn't get away from work on Friday night so I drove up from North Carolina on Saturday, which I later regreted after finding out that David Carter had performed the first night!! Driving in, I wasn't sure where I should meet up with the group but I got out of my car and started wandering towards the dining hall, hoping to find a friend..the first person i saw was a mother with two children on their way back to the conference center. I wasn't sure who the family was, but the young girl, who looked to be about 2-3 years old, walked straight towards me without hesitation and opened her arms....it was a total unexpected gift! I opened my arms and we embraced - I was so shocked, I nearly cried - a hug from a "new person" was exactly the kind of chanco spirit that I adored and remembered as tradition at arrival to Chanco and here was someone that didn't know who I was or why I was there but made me feel right at home. What a WELCOME!  I later found out that this beautiful gesture was from Caroline Sale, Chuck's daughter and Talley's neice. What a SWEET CAROLINE and insightful ambassador for Chanco's growing new generation. Thank you, Caroline, for making the trip very special! Alumni, keep up the good work encouraging old friends to come back home!!