Stu’s Story:
I want to tell you a story about a great kid who grew into the best man I will ever know .
I want to tell you about a great person who loved life and all people he encountered along the way.
I want you about the person who accepted and respected all people, and the man who loved to listen and understand thoughts and feelings of others. Some have said that “Stu got it – he understood life”, and some have said he had the “it factor” with his athletic ability. The kid that was awarded the 8th grade citizenship award for challenging his piers and teachers strive to be the best, the kid that grew into an incredible athlete, and the best hunter and fisherman and friend I will ever know.
I want you to know our son, Stu Sligh, who was much greater than the sum of the two of us, and we want you to understand his love for life and our hope and dream to share his love of life with others so they may have a chance to reach their dreams. If we all live as committed as Stu was, we will all become better people.
Stu’s accomplishments are unbelievable in his short life – all region football and baseball player, fifth ranked quarterback in the state after his sophomore season, part of a state and national baseball grand slam record, but most important to us and something that really speaks to his character was the team captain award for football his sophomore year, which is a vote and selection by his teammates –something that he was very proud of.
When I think of Stu, I often think and see him in his number 5 jersey – because I think 5 reminds me of who he really was and what he was really all about – Faith, Family, Character, Class, and Commitment. , he loved his family, his piers defined his character as team captain, he did everything with class, and he was more committed to his friends and activities than most his age.
While Stu’s life was short, he did so much with it, and in doing so it should remind all of us to recommit ourselves to do the same.
To meet Stu one would never know of his abilities as he was always very humble in his approach. On his 16th birthday, June 23, 2011, while traveling home from a football camp, he told me that he wanted to play baseball in college for Vanderbilt University. I am not sure there were many that knew of his college goal, but on his 17th birthday Coach Dan Garofano and Coach Tim Corbin made his hope and dream a reality.
Through Stu, it is now our hope and dream to continue to share his love for life with others. Through his Foundation we will give those that need assistance a chance to reach their hopes and dreams. After all, Stu’s life was really all about helping others, and clearly this is his legacy.
“You know, I was thinking, if we believe in God, then there is really nothing we have to worry about.” – Stu Sligh, Athens Y Camp, Summer 2006, Age 11
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