Jennifer Marquez is an amazing young lady in so many ways. She is a graduate student in nutrition at the University of Florida in Gainesville. I believe that she will go very far in her chosen field of study. She reminds me of my daughters. She is full of energy, sweet, and tenacious -- A rare mix of toughness and tenderness at the same time. She has the heart of a servant!
I first met Jennifer at the 2009 running of Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. Then, in the fall of 2009 while Kiki and I were driving back from the Bass Pro Shops Marathon in Springfield, Missouri, Jennifer called me. She told me of her dream and desire to see TEAM 413 represented with a booth at the Boston Marathon Expo. She told me that she wanted to raise the funds necessary for the booth space. I gave her permission to do what she could and we made some preliminary plans. Jennifer went to work and raised the amount needed to get us to Boston!
This past weekend she was able to see her dream become a reality. For the first time since 2004 TEAM 413 had a booth at one of the most well known and respected marathons in the world. She got to work the booth. She was able to talk to lots of old friends and new people. She got to experience the “inside” of the booth after seeing the “outside” of the booth. That's something that I'll never be able to do but love giving other people that unique opportunity.
I have now come to know and respect Jennifer for her desire, tenacity, motivation, drive, sense of humor, ability to get the job done, and so much more. However, more than anything, I came to know her as a sister in Christ. She loves the Lord with all her heart and it shows in her face, her heart, in her words, and in her actions.
Jennifer will go far in whatever she chooses to do in life and I am so proud to have her on our team. God bless you, Jennifer! You made your dream come true and at the same time fulfilled one of ours too!
Under HIS Grace…
Chris
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