Honored and Humbled: Watching Our Dream Come True
By Dr. Mindy Fagaly Kushniroff
There are moments in life that take your breath away — not because they are loud or grand, but because they touch a place so deep inside you that words feel small beside them. That is exactly how I feel today.
To be honored in this way… to be recognized for something that began as a quiet dream between my late husband, Tony, and me… it humbles me more than I can say.
This journey didn’t start with applause or attention. It started with two people — Tony and me — sitting together, talking about the kind of difference we wished we could make in this world. We didn’t have much, but we had faith. We had love. And we had a shared belief that helping children, lifting families, and supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was a calling placed on our hearts for a reason.
Tony isn’t here to see this moment with his own eyes, but I feel him with me. I feel his steady encouragement, his quiet strength, and the way he always believed that even small acts of kindness could ripple farther than we ever imagined.
To stand here now — watching our dream take shape, watching it grow into something real and meaningful — fills me with a joy that is hard to describe. It is a joy rooted in gratitude. Gratitude for the people who have supported me. Gratitude for the mission that continues to inspire me. Gratitude for the chance to honor Tony’s memory in a way that keeps his spirit alive.
And yes… gratitude for being recognized. Not because I need the recognition, but because it tells me that the dream we shared mattered. That it is making a difference. That love, when given freely, truly does outlive us.
I am honored. I am humbled. And I am deeply thankful to everyone who has walked beside me on this journey.
This isn’t just my story. It’s our story — mine and Tony’s. A story of hope, of purpose, and of believing that even one life can shine a light bright enough to guide others.
And today, that light feels a little brighter.
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