Guest of Honor -Dan McKown

We've been talking for some time about lining up a guest speaker for our Saturday night dinner at the Rendezvous, but I wasn't quite comfortable with it being just a guest speaker. I really wanted someone more along the lines of a "Guest of Honor", someone who could perhaps say a few words after the dinner, but that wasn't the main reason for their attendance. Someone who, through their actions, in some way managed to make the world a better place for all of us. Someone who embodies the American spirit, the kind of a person who made America what it is today.

Once I had redefined it in this way, one name instantly came to mind. Brendan (Dan) McKown. Dan has agreed to be our Guest of Honor!

If the name rings a bell, but you just can't quite place it, Dan was the fellow who was shot five times while trying to stop the nut-case who was shooting up a mall in Tacoma, Washington. It's easy to second-guess the situation after the fact, particularly when you only have parts of the story, but the bottom line is that several people were shot, then Dan intervened, and was himself shot several times. Most importantly, no one else was injured after Dan intervened. Dan is now confined to a wheelchair.

Dan is a man of strong faith, and of many talents. He is a stand-up comedian and the founder of a comedy troupe. He has a book well underway. When the situation arose where he could have sought a safe place, or put himself at risk for the safety and protection of total strangers, he chose to take the risk. That makes Dan a hero in my book, and I'm pretty strict on definitions when it comes to something like this.

There is a good article in the Seattle P-I newspaper about Dan that you should read so you will know a little bit more about what sort of a guy Dan is. We need more people like Dan.

I will be posting more information and details as they arise.

Stay Tuned!