Saturday Takeover by Rebekah

Our hearts are broken today.

The Hey Rebekah team lost their biggest cheerleader.

As our sweet, little boy crossed over the rainbow bridge, we celebrate him and the joy he brought to everyone who knew him.  ❤️🐶❤️

Rebekah showed mad courage to pull this off today. Here's some of what she wanted to share with you. 🤗❤️

It was February 2004, and I’d sat down at my desk. As I booted up my computer, a conversation from my early morning breakfast played over in my mind. I’d met a long-time mentor to catch up on business.

Scooting into the seat of my favorite coffee shop, I wasn't prepared for the question she shot at me.

“Tell me the last time you failed." 

I could feel my body tense, as I seemed to melt into my seat. Then it hit me, that hot wave of shame, washing over me like that failure was yesterday.

It all began when I purchased what was then my current company. No, there wasn’t any fanfare or long negotiations. It was simple. I stepped into the owner's office one day, and she asked, “what would you think about buying the company?”

I chuckled—which I’m sure included a snort—thinking she was joking. All the while, her eyes stayed fixed on mine. Holy crap, I thought, she’s serious!

It was only a year before that I’d left my career in morning radio. Here I was, faced with the idea of leaping full force into entrepreneurship.

A million questions ran through my mind, but instead of eloquence at that moment, I heard myself blurt out, “Really!?” Yep, true to today, I’ve always been the one with a quick wit against tough questions.

Speed ahead, and we’d come to terms. There I was, a newly anointed business owner, floating on cloud nine. As visions of growth and revenue goals danced in my head, the stark reality began to sink in. I had zero experience running a company.

I’d only been out of radio for a year, and becoming an overnight entrepreneur wasn’t on my bingo card. For nearly a decade, I’d had a terrific career as one-half of the number-one morning show. But life as a single mom who gets up at 3:00 am to talk on the radio wasn’t as much fun as it might seem.

Most mornings were spent dragging myself out of bed, wrapping my son up, and driving over to my parent's house. There he’d sleep another few hours before this heavenly angel—called my mother—helped him get ready for preschool.

I’d limp into the station, begging for that first cup of coffee, and grumble hello at my morning show partner and production team. I mean, who’s ever ready to say “good morning, everybody” with a wink and a smile at 4:30 am?

Running isn’t for the faint of heart, and definitely not for me. At least, that's what I told myself until 2021. Before that, the mere thought of running a block had me gasping for air. But let's rewind to my early days of dabbling in sports.

I’ve always been a health nut, my family can attest to my excessive enthusiasm for achieving a goal, but I was never athletic.

I remember my early days of giving sports a go. I’d begged my parents to let me try softball, even though I’d never hit a ball. My cousin—playing since elementary—told me to try out for her team.

So off I went, practicing every day in my backyard, hoping to win a spot.

On the day of tryouts, I stepped up to the plate. The coach—encouraging me to choke up on the bat, hunker down, and wait for the ball—had bigger expectations than I did.

Me? I never saw any of the strikes coming. One, whoosh, two…whoosh, three? Pretty sure you know how that ended.

What I didn’t expect was the resolve it gave me. The desire to see something through, to give it my best shot, and to know that I’d done all I could to finish the race.

Maybe that’s what led me to take up running. Maybe it made me fall in love with such a god-forsaken sport. Maybe it made me dig in every day, find my groove, and give it everything I had.

Looking back, though, it’s a funny thing. It was never about softball or even running. It was about being my best. Finding the strength within me to push through no matter what and to know that even on the darkest days, the ones running the race beside me make it all worthwhile.

That’s why I’m here, continuing to run a race after almost twenty-five years of self-employment. But this time, I’m doing it with the most amazing crew anyone could ask for.

It's at times like these that strong communities like ours come together.

On this impossible day, we hope you will all join us in sending Rebekah, Dean, Chris, Cam, and Rolo all the love in the world.