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It was a really hot, August day in Birmingham, Ala. During a mid-afternoon break of the National Scouting Report national meeting, I was chatting with a fellow high school scout when the phone rang.
“Alan?” a woman’s voice asked.
“Yes, how can I help you?”
“This is Sonja Thomas,” she said.
Her voice was emotional and happy, which was odd and concerned me.
“Hi, Sonja. How are you? And the girls, how are they?” I asked.
She went on, “That’s what I’m calling you about. Joe and I are just driving away from Western Carolina (University), and we wanted to call you and let you know how much we appreciate everything you did for Sam and Melissa.”
“Well, that’s awfully nice of you. You’re welcome. It was a real pleasure working with them and you,” I replied.
“Really, what we want you to know is what happened over the past two days. Yesterday we took Melissa to Pfeiffer (University) to drop her off there. When we went in to settle up with Admissions, what they handed us as our bill for her first semester blew us away. That’s not an inexpensive school and the invoice we were looking at said that we owed $1,300. We were shocked.”
“Wow, that is really good,” I responded.
“And that’s not all,” she continued. “Today, when we took Sam to Western, same thing. We stopped by Admissions, but this time the bill was only $600 for Sam’s first semester. Joe and I looked at one another and almost at the same time said, “We need to call Alan.” So we’re calling to say that when we invested with you and NSR, we had no idea what would happen, but we trusted you. There was something in your attitude, voice and confidence that told us that we had to enroll her with you. And here we are driving away from our second school in two days having paid less than two thousand dollars for them to go to college. We know that this would have been impossible without you helping them and helping us to go through the recruiting and the process. What you’ve done for us is simply amazing and we cannot thank you enough.”
By this time, I was the emotional one. It was hard to speak. Finally, I was able to say something.
“Sonja, it’s families like yours that make working in the business rewarding and so satisfying,” said.
Sam Keppel went on to start at second base for Western Carolina’s inaugural softball season. She helped to lead the team to 18 wins, shocking everyone in the Southern Conference. The 5’9″ slap hitter was known for her scrappy play. By the end of her sophomore year, Sam was forced to give up the game due to lingering injuries. Today she has the title of Risk Management Coordinator for Enterprise Holdings in Charlotte, NC.
Her older sister, Melissa, a 5’10” third baseman for Pfeiffer’s softball squad chose to leave the team after her freshman year to focus full time on her studies. She graduated with honors in three years. Melissa also lives in Charlotte with her husband, Raymond, and their son.
“Sonja, it’s families like you that make what I do worth the calls, the college visits and the time needed to make your girls’ dreams come true,” I confessed.
Sonja and I hung up after saying good-bye. I have gotten similar calls over the years. When they come, these parents validate what I do and what NSR does for these young athletes. We really do change lives every day.
National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.