Thoughts from the President

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" (Ephesians 6:13, NIV)

TODAY'S WORD from Joel and Victoria Osteen:  Sometimes, people have problems because they are making poor choices or doing something wrong. But other times, people are having difficulties because they are doing something right. When you're determined to fulfill your God-given destiny, and you're taking steps to improve your life or make a difference in your family or community, don't be surprised if you face opposition. The enemy is not going to just roll out the red carpet and watch you fulfill your God-given destiny. He'll do whatever he can to keep you from moving forward. The Apostle Paul said this, "A wide door of opportunity is open for me and there are many adversaries." I've found anytime you try to go forward in life, anytime you try to make progress, there will be opposition. But with God on your side, you can stand your ground! Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. If you're facing opposition today, keep standing, keep believing, keep hoping. Keep fighting the good fight of faith until you see the victory He has in store for you!

Cary's Thought: Just going through a recent spiritual battle of my own I studied this particular passage. I like you have heard about "the breastplate of righteousness", "protect your feet with the gospel of peace", "the shield of faith" which protects us from the fiery darts of the wicked one, "the helmet of salvation", and the "sword of the Spirit, which is salvation", I have had these memorized and realized the importance of these in my life since Vacation Bible School. I went to Vacation Bible School so often as a child that I thought it was the school my parents enrolled me in during the summer months, so I know these principles. Each one of these are so very important in a battle with the evil one. But through all the years of memorization I always stopped short. If you continue to read it is clearly stated: "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perservance and supplication for all the saints. (vs. 19). Bottom Line we need to pray for each other. As I think back over these past few months I am overwhelmed at so many of my friends who were not even aware of the circumstances that committed to pray. I am more than ever aware of the importance of prayer for each other. It is part of our "ARMOR".

MY PRAYER TODAY: Lord, I ask that each day we do engage in battle. I pray that our Spiritual walk is one that demands engagement. I pray that we commit to make a difference for you. I pray that before we go into warfare each day that we put on all our protection. I pray that part of that protection is a covering of prayer for each other. Lord, I need the prayers of your saints on a daily basis. Thank you for the Joe Roggemann's of this world who have committed to pray for myself and FCC. Thank you for providing the best equipment available to overcome our daily struggles. You are a Mighty God and for that we are so thankful.

Wow, what can I say about God's blessing upon The Fellowship of Christian Cheerleaders. I feel so humbled to be a part of such an awesome event. I feel that each team participating this year did a tremendous job representing your school or church and your community. Even with a troubled economy we were blessed to have another great turnout.

It was also special for me to have Wendy Barrett working side by side with me for the last 15 Nationals. She is a big reason that FCC has remained financially stable during this tough time. We have experienced many memories over these 15 years together. Thank you Wendy for another special year together.

I also want to thank several special volunteers: Tammy Rose, my dear friend from Tyler, TX did an outstanding job as the Event Coordinator. She has been such a blessing over the years as a coach and co-worker. Tammy you did an excellent job "running" nationals this year. Thanks for your professionalism. You are such a pleasure to work with at each of these events. You have been a special blessing to me this year. And a special thank you to Angie Stalnaker who once again took a week off from her job to do all the computer entry of the judges scores. Angie thanks for giving us the new spreadsheets for this year....they were awesome. Thank you Blake Myers for making the FCC and Impact Website so informative and user friendly to our coaches and schools. You have been a blessing over the years. And a special thanks to the many more volunteers who contributed throughout the weekend.

Words cannot express my appreciation to Rick Abasial for putting together the BEST Judges Scoring System in the USA. Thanks my friend for the many hours of work that went into our new system. I am thrilled with the quality of the new system as well as the feedback that our judges can now give our programs. Thanks so much for not only producing the new system, but for being so giving of yourself to coaches through conference calls and personal appearances to make sure that everyone had an understanding of the new system.

We are so thankful to once again have the privilege to conduct this event in the beautiful Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. Our hotel pickup was over 3500 room nights with the hotel being completely sold out on Thursday and Friday evening. The hotel and employees due such a terrific job making each attendee feel special. It was such an honor to meet and visit with Mr. Harris Rosen on Thursday evening and again on Sunday morning prior to leaving. He and his team are such a class act. We also officially made the Rosen Shingle Creek the Home of FCC Nationals thru 2016. I am just sorry that I did not get to hear the "horn" in Leslie's office when I signed the contract. (Inside joke with the sales staff) It is so great to be able to work with Jonathan (sales), Rodger (Convention Services) and Dawn (Catering) again this year and for future years. It makes it so much easier to work with people who know our event and want to make it a special memory for everyone attending.

It was also great to know that our 2007 Entertainment - Tammy Trent and her terrific road manager Anita Rundell were vacationing at the Rosen Shingle Creek as well. Tammy is one of my favorites and if you have not heard her story, it is amazing. On Wednesday evening I sent them a gift basket via the Shingle Creek and she posted a very nice thank you via "Twitter"....

It was great to have one of our own, Frank Byers and the Perfect Peace Band provide the music for the Welcome Party along with the FCC Staff. The band also provide the pre-show for the National Christian Cheerleading Awards Show on Friday evening.

Friday evening was an Awards Show that I will never forget. Big Daddy Weave put on the show of a lifetime. All 2000 plus in attendance were totally connected and engaged. Our 2009 Camp song - "What Life Would Be Like" by BDW was a BIG hit. The Special Awards: Scholar Cheerleaders, Coaches, Amie Roggemann, National Coach of the Year, Marissa Rodriguez, FCC Staffer of the Year and the moving story of 2009 Courage Award Winner - Hank Gregory provided a great memory. Tony Morris, singing his annual tribute to the Coaches, this year "How Great is Our God" is always special to me because he is a former staffer of the year and part of the FCC family. Tony this year provided a memory for the ages...after His song to the Coaches, Tony pulled out a ring, dropped to His knees and asked former staffer Nikki Falana to be His wife. It brought the house down, as 2000 plus people were chanting "Say Yes, Say Yes" and it reached a fever pitch when she said YES...This will be in my top 5 memories of Nationals in 21 years. At the conclusion of the Big Daddy Weave concert it was exciting to see people pray to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. That is what all this is all about anyway....using cheerleading as a platform to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

After such a memorable Friday, January 1, 2010, Saturday would be another eventful day. It started with a very competitive "Competitor's Cup" and All-Star competition on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon was particularly special to me to see 550 plus Impact competitors from 35 programs take the stage. What started as a vision 5 years ago is quickly becoming the training ground for the next generation of cheerleaders. It was the first time in our 21 year history that we had standing room only for Nationals. Even with 2150 seats, the Impact Awards show was maxed out. God once again provided the words to say for His story, His gospel and His good news. It was exciting for me to have my 7 year old daughter Caylin to be part of the gospel presentation. Once again our mission to spread the gospel through cheerleading was solidified as many accepted Christ. Saturday evening once again did not disappoint. The Finals were as close as they have ever been with team after team raising the bar. Congratulations to each team for an outstanding job of representing Christian cheerleading.

One of the special events each year for me is the Saturday evening Judges Dinner. I want to thank the terrific judges panel of Lance and Carol Wager (Owners of ACA), Kevin and Jenn Brubaker (Owners of Cheersport), Susan Clark (former NCA executive), Troy Hedgren (Owner of Magic All-Stars), Rick and Terri Abasial (Owners of Top Dog All-Stars) and the best Judges Coordinator in the industry, Stacey Helfrich for bringing their expertise to FCC Nationals. Everyone in the industry always ask me how we get such a All-Star panel of judges and honestly I can say it is God's blessing over the years. Their input and advice through the years has contributed to the success of the National Christian Cheerleading Championships. Thank you judges for your commitment to Christian cheerleading and for your friendship over the years.

A tradition each year is the LATE night (Saturday) or EARLY morning (Sunday) Staff meeting. It is a chance for me to in some poor pitiful way try and share my appreciation to the FCC Staffers who work 16 hours a day to make FCC Nationals the best in the industry. The "FCC TIGERS" wearing the Black and Blue provide their own transportation to FCC Nationals, work countless hours behind the scenes so that each team can experience a memory of a lifetime. I am forever grateful to each staffer for their contribution. I would like to list each staffer who was a part of the 2010 Nationals Staff:

Bert Adams, Frank Byers, Sami Corcoran, Britt Cosby, Katelyn Darling, Ally Duce, Mickey Farris, Meagan Gobble, Crissy Jo Goss, Mandy Hanson, Brandon Knight,Alex Lyons, Cody Martin, Katy Mercer, Sarah Morgan, Molly Neumann, Sara Norton, Courtney Odum, Gracie Phelps, Marissa Rodriguez, Carrie Sellar, Whitney Smith, Billy Stuckman, Meagan Wagnitz, Paige Wells, Miriam Wilson, Aimee Yocum, Kyle Zambrana, Mike Zumpano. And our Florida Impact Representative Rea Mennenga.

These are the HEROS and SERVANT LEADERS who deserve our prayers and appreciation for making 2010 Nationals a success.

Once again congratulations to each and every competitor who participated in the 2010 National Christian Cheerleading Championships. Thank you coaches, cheerleaders, parents and friends for so many thoughtful emails, cards and calls. Make sure you put the 22nd Annual National Christian Cheerleading Championships on your schedule - December 30, 2010 - January 1, 2011. You can end your year and start your year with FCC....Thanks again for another memorable year!

As I am sitting here on Thanksgiving night, I do so with a thankful heart. God has been so good to me and the Fellowship of Christian Cheerleaders. He has continued to show His favor on myself, my family and FCC. He has opened so many doors of opportunity to go through. It is hard to believe that FCC is approaching our 25 year camp anniversary in 2010. Who would have ever imagined that a young man with a passion for coaching football would be involved in administering an organization that involves cheerleading. I often think where FCC would be with someone with a cheerleading background leading this organization. There are so many qualified individuals I can think of right now who would do a super job with FCC. God in His mercy has called me to this task and I do not take it for granted. I honestly can only credit God for the success of FCC. He and He alone deserves the glory.

I am thankful for a terrific administrative team that God has allowed me to partner with in daily ministry. Wendy Barrett has been my loyal coworker and dear friend over the past 15 years. We have experienced the mountain top successes and also walked through the valley of defeat together. Wendy has done a tremendous job with our finances and allowed us to do so many things over the years that we normally would not have been able to accomplish. She has also been a valuable relational professional with our hundreds of coaches nationwide. She has been the organizational balance that I have needed for so many things. She has always been there in the time of crisis and for that I am eternally grateful. Thanks Wendy, for your service to our Lord, to FCC and for your true devotion to your friend. I am also thankful for the job that Tina Fears has done as our National Representative. Her desire for excellence in programming has been a source of encouragement to me these past few years. I am so thrilled for the continued improvement of the Impact program and training that she has been a huge part. Thanks Tina, for your drive for excellence.

I am so humbled and thankful for the hundreds of college cheerleaders that have worn the Black and Blue of FCC over the years. Our summer staff has definitely made the difference in our organization. These student athletes have been so giving of their talents and treasures. Many have joined us on our mission trips as well. I wish I could call each of them by name in this letter but they are best known as the FCC STAFF. So FCC STAFF I love each and every one of you.
I am thankful for the hundreds of coaches who have been loyal through the years to FCC. We have continued to be the leader around the country because of this loyal group. Thanks for the many hours that you invest weekly in the lives of young people. Thank you for the all the work in the trenches. You are truly the warriors. Thanks for joining us in the vision of Christ Centered Cheerleading Excellence Worldwide.

And last but not least thank you campers. You are the reason that we exist. You are the reason for every activity, every competition, every camp, and every leadership conference. Thank you for wanting to make a difference on your campus and in your communities. Thank you for allowing FCC to be a small part of your world. It is our desire to show you excellence in cheerleading for the sole reason of worshiping Christ.

So as I conclude the 2009 Thanksgiving letter. Let us all remain thankful for all things. A thankful person is a happy person. Have a Great Thanksgiving weekend.