How do you begin to describe what we have all just experienced. First the shock of the news that Garrett had been killed, then what his family and all of us experienced was just as unexpected as his death. Over three thousand of you came to celebrate his life with us and to grieve with us and to say goodbye with us. You braved bitterly cold weather standing in line for over three hours to say goodbye. You packed their home, the church and then the cemetery. We had no idea how many people Garrett touched in life and now death. There is no way to begin to describe how powerfully touching these past five days have been. Three of his friends spoke in the celebration along with his pastor and the team chaplain. 
The chaplain, Brandon Hancock, shared with us the importance of living life as an 11 not just a ten. Garrett’s jersey number was 11. 
He challenged the team at the beginning of 4th quarter in every game to hold their hands high to make an eleven - to remember Garrett. When we walked out of the church the entire team was standing outside holding up their hands to make this eleven. All along the way to the cemetery strangers were standing on the side of the road holding up the eleven. The chaplain has allowed me to post his entire comments here.
Words are simply not enough to express how you have blanketed us with your calls, visits, emails and outpouring of love. Garrett would be proud!
Brandon Hancock’s comments:
We’ve gathered here today to honor the legacy of James Garrett Reed and just by looking around this building what a wonderful legacy it is. When I see all of his family, friends, and teammates, it tells me the story of Garrett’s life. It tells me just how many people loved and cared for him and just how many lives Garrett touched. And when I see all of his football memorabilia around you would think we were her to honor Garrett the football player. However that’s not what I want to do now. Garrett’s abilities on the field were truly amazing, but they don’t tell the entire story of his life. He accomplished many things on the field throughout his career, but those accomplishments fail in comparison to what he achieved off the field. I would much rather honor Garrett Reed, the son, the brother, the student, the classmate, and Garrett the teammate than honor Garrett the football player. Because the accomplishments he had in those areas are what really made Garrett who he was. Garrett was a devoted son to his parents, Neal and Sarah. Loved his younger brother, Carter with everything he had. Was the absolute best classmate you could have and finally was the finest teammate anyone could ask for. It’s those qualities that I believe are far more important than anything he did on the football field and it’s those qualities I want to remember today.
When I accepted the position of the Harrison Hoya Football Team Chaplain this year I did it without knowing exactly what I was getting myself into and not knowing exactly what I was supposed to do. So I sat down with Coach Hines and we talked and he suggested that I come and speak to the team every Wednesday along with being there on Friday nights to pray and lead a Bible study. It was after that meeting when the panic set in and I thought to myself “what am I going to do.” What was I going to be able to say to these young men to get help prepare them for the long season ahead. I worried about how I was going to be received. Were the players going to like me, were they going to enjoy hearing what I had to say, and get anything out of it, were they going to include me into their tight knit circle. So I decided I would dig into my bag of tricks and do what I thought would bring them over to my side. I thought I would bribe them. Everybody like someone who brings them a gift, so I thought I would go buy them a gift. So I did my research about what to get them this was the idea that I had. I would love to say that I was original enough to come up with this idea on my own, but if I’m being truthful today I have to say that I stole it from my father-in-law. He had given Dog Tags to a team a few years ago. However none of these current players were on the team then, so I thought it would be way for them to come together as a unit. When I gave them their dog tags, I talked about the importance of them. I believe they are the one of the greatest symbol of unity that this country has. I told them that when you put these around your neck it’s a symbol that you are a part of something that is bigger than you, for a purpose you can’t even imagine. It means that you never leave a man behind and that you are always there for your teammate. It means that you have to do your job because the man standing next you depends on it. It means that you will always do your best. It means that you will have the strength and courage to look adversity in the face and come out the other side better than you were before. I told them it meant being a HOYA. And there was no one on the team that personified those qualities better than Garrett. I never saw Garrett when he wasn’t wearing his dog tag and that meant the world to me. But it I was more proud about how Garrett embraced the ideas of the Dog tags. You see, I never saw Garrett pull his teammates down, I only saw him lifting them up. I always saw Garrett working hard because he knew that was the only way he was going to reach the goals he set out for himself I always saw Garrett doing his job, not wanting the credit for himself only for his team. Garrett wasn’t concerned if he caught 1 pass or if he caught 10. He only cared if his team got a win. I never saw Garrett back down from a challenge. I only saw him embrace it with strength and courage with every ounce of energy in his body. I never saw Garrett get upset at a teammate. I only saw him lifting up their spirits when things got tough. And that to me means this: Garrett knew what it meant to be a friend, teammate, and a HOYA.
Now I’m left to wonder. What if we all did this? What changes could be made in all our lives if we all lived our lives like Garrett did? How much would Harrison High School be if all of the students there lived their life with these qualities? What if we all took a page out of Garrett’s life and always lifted up our friends, our family, strangers, our community like Garrett did? What if we were all willing to put in the hard work that is the cornerstone of success? What if we had the strength and courage to look at the adversity that comes along in our lives and power thru it like Garrett did? What if we lived in a community that didn’t care who got the credit when things were accomplished, rather just wanted our team to get a win? What if we never backed down from a challenge? How much better would our world be? What if everybody in this room made a commitment here today to put on imaginary dog tags and live our lives with the same spirit that Garrett did when he had his on? What would Harrison look like if we all lived like Garrett? What if we all were 11’s? Could we see this school change, this community change, this world change? I believe we can. I believe it’s that change that is going to legacy that Garrett leaves behind. I believe that change is what Garrett would have wanted and I believe it’s that change that we are going to give Garrett.
We have a tradition here within our Harrison community. On Friday nights at the start of the 4th quarter we all hold up our hands to the air and extend five fingers to honor the legacy of Luke Abbate. I never want to see that tradition go away. But today I’d like to add something to that tradition. Players what if everyone put on their helmet, strapped the chin strap up because we never saw Garrett without his on ready to go to play and with our left hand put up our fives and then with our right we stuck our hands up with these two fingers extended. To me that looks like an Eleven. And it will be a way for us to always remember Garrett. For us to always remember the qualities that Garrett lived his life with. And while I don’t believe in coincidences, I believe a coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous, that all we have to do is extend our thumb out to get the sign language sign for love. So this is the challenge I’d like to issue today. That we put up both hands to the sky one with the five and one with the eleven. We put up the eleven to remember Garrett and what he meant to all of us. We put up the eleven to remind ourselves that we all should live our lives as elevens. We put up the eleven to remind ourselves who we are playing for. Then right before we put our hands down, we extend out our thumbs so as Garrett’s is looking down on us, he sees just how much we love him.
Edie Grace and DeWayne attended a very special Princess Ball last night at Believer’s Church. They rolled out the red carpet for a magical evening. All the Princesses were reminded that they are real Princesses of the Heavenly King. Dad’s were reminded about the important role they play as their daughters first earthly Prince. They ate, danced and even participated in a crowning. Each dad was given a crown and asked to tell their daughters how special they are to them, how much they love them and what they mean to them - as they crowned them.
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