archive: February 2012  |  view all recent posts

Mark honored at Halftime of Bama/Florida Game

At halftime of the Alabama/Florida basketball game on February 14, 2012, our family was presented with the PING golf bag that Cory Whitsett used to win the Patriot All-America Invitational in December.

In addition to Mark being recognized, Jeffrey Ausborn from Gadsden, was also recognized. He was a pilot in the Air Force and was killed April 27, 2011 in Afghanistan. He left behind a wife and five children. We were thankful we got to meet some of his family, including his saddened parents. Whitsett's teammate, Bobby Wyatt, who placed second in the tournament, presented his bag to the Ausborn family.

Close up of the bag. All bags used in the tournament were to be auctioned off to raise money for Folds of Honor. We are very grateful to those who donated money for the purpose of having these bags given to the families of the fallen. We were told these bags raised thousands of dollars towards scholarships for Folds of Honor. We thank these donors very much and hope to meet them soon and personally thank them.

Cory with our parents. He seems to have a bright future in golf. He was recently named to the Hogan Award watch list.

Cory was very gracious and honored that he could represent Mark in the tournament. He expressed his appreciation for the military protecting our freedoms and allowing him to do what he loves.

Tough Mudder for Mark and Johnnie

This past weekend, we had a team of 21 participate in Tough Mudder in Georgia. This event raises money for Wounded Warrior Project. We chose to run in honor or Mark, Johnnie Yellock II, and Emmett Norris.

Mark, who paid the ultimate price for freedom.

Johnnie, who was severely wounded by an IED attack in July. He is making great progress and had his halo removed from his leg last week.

Baby Emmett, who is our friends Stephen and Jill Norris' baby, was born January 18, 2012. He had critical health problems that immediately put him in NICU and left him on life support for several days. We are amazed to see his progress and that he was released from the hospital today.

The picture below is our team, called 'Desk Jobs'. Most of the team consisted of the Norris family. Obviously this was taken before the race because after 11+ miles, 27 obstacles, cold and windy conditions, and much cold water and mud, we were smoked. It was all worth it to do in their honor. We suffered, but nothing compared to what they went thru.

This is the back of our shirts.

We met an Air Force PJ at the recruiting tent and when he heard Mark's name, his draw dropped and said "Mark Forester is the standard that we live by." We continue to meet people who Mark affected for the good.

Tough Mudder is a great event that requires teamwork, determination, and grit. We were honored to take part and to see so much patriotism surrounding the race.