We are planning some really special things for Memorial Day, it’s about way more than doing Murph and I think this year in particular we can have the best of both worlds and have a very meaningful and reflective holiday coupled with the shared suffering and laughter that comes with throwing down with friends both here at the end of May and soon after when we can get back together again in real life.

A project that we feel have the potential to be extremely meaningful and cathartic in these stressful times is a feature during Memorial Day of the stories we have hidden right here within our own community. Memorial Day started as a holiday for the purpose of maintaining and decorating the graves of fallen soldiers, today that holds in the form of remembering service members who are no longer with us (Veteran’s Day is about thanking people in person, Memorial day is about remembering those we can no longer thank in person). So, if you have a loved one who is no longer with us who was in the armed forces and you would like to share it with our community reach out to us and we will help you record some audio or take a selfie style video. Remember, this person did not have to be a war hero and it doesn’t matter if it was your sister or your great grandpa, if they were in the military and cannot be here with us today let’s celebrate their memory!

Our team has been recording some popular Hero Workouts that we will be trickling out as Memorial Day approaches, these will hopefully inspire you to commemorate the day with a workout that holds meaning and inspires you to make every day Memorial Day.

I am attaching Callie’s video that she made as an example but know that you do not have to do something this awesome, Grant will be putting together a mixed video with audio recordings, pictures, and short videos that members send in.

Grant will be creating a Hero Workout for Army Captain Drew Russell who was killed in action in Afghanistan. Drew was a Kalamazoo local, was a class mate of Grant’s at Western Michigan ROTC and they served together in the same unit. A video and workout will be made and any members are invited to remember with Grant in the way CrossFitter’s do so well, with sweat and struggle.