It’s here. This afternoon I’ll be leaving for New York City, and on Saturday I’ll be joining Team Chenango on an important journey: the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of the Darkness Overnight, an 18-mile dusk ‘til dawn walk to raise awareness for depression and help prevent suicide.

It’s going to be an emotional night, I know, because we’ll be walking in memory of the loved ones and friends we’ve lost to suicide and in honor of all those they left behind. We walk, too, to prevent suicide, to save others the heartache we have endured and to help people who struggle with depression and other mental illnesses receive the treatment they need.

It is a cause that is important to my teammates and I, because suicide has touched each of our lives in different ways. For the same reason, it is an important cause for many in our community. So many have offered us their support, through their participation in our May 1 golf tournament at Blue Stone, through donations and through their kind words and thoughts. We will walk with each of them, and the loved ones they’ve lost to suicide, in our hearts.

Through the generosity of our family, friends and this amazing community, we have far exceeded our initial fundraising goal. We set out to raise $10,000. As of yesterday, we had raised over $17,000.