A gold star wife is the finalist for a TV special on courage and sports -- but she can't win without your vote.
It's no secret that I think Gold Star wife Lisa Hallet is an amazing woman. After her husband, Cpt. John Hallett, was killed in Afghanistan in Aug. 2009, she started an organization aimed at helping people remember the fallen through running. What started as a group of people from her unit meeting every Saturday morning to circle her with support has morphed into an organization that touches thousands around the world. They wear blue to remember the fallen, the wounded and those left behind.
Lisa was selected as the finalist for the USAA Athletic Inspiration Award from thousands of potentials. If she wins she will be profiled on the CBS special Courage in Sports, set to air at 5 p.m. on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11.
To make that happen YOU have to vote.
I'm not going to lie -- the three other people who have been nominated are some stiff competition. They are all mind-blowingly courageous in their own ways. But I would argue that Lisa deserves this award just as much, or more than, these other contenders. Instead of swallowing her whole, she didn't just channel her grief into doing good for herself, she used it to touch others -- including me.
You can vote for Lisa once a day until the contest closes Oct. 1. Let's see an amazing member of our own community win this thing.
