I'm so sorry I won't be able to join family and friends for the April 1 gathering, but I wanted to share just a few words about my good friend, Craig, who I will miss dearly, as I know everyone will.  I had the good fortune of meeting Craig during some years in which he made a huge impact on our community in Montgomery County, Md., as he headed Comcast operations for the region. I was director of communications for Montgomery College and it seemed that wherever I went, Craig turned up and in pretty short order, he seemed to know as many people in Montgomery County as I did -- and I am a lifelong resident and spent my entire career here. 

When I applied in 2005 to be selected as a participant in the Leadership Montgomery program, I was thrilled to find out that Craig would be one of my classmates. He almost missed out on that important opening session as he was feeling under the weather and left the director a message that he would not be able to make it.  Participation in the retreat was critical and considered mandatory for program participants. That was way before Covid-19, so I wasn't having any of it. I immediately called him on his cell and essentially told him: "Buck up, buttercup" and that our amazing cohort of leaders doesn't know it yet, but they NEED Craig Snedeker as part of the class and you'd better get your ass in the car and make the trip up to Rocky Gap, Md. for the retreat. He did and I'm so thankful that he did, because he went from being a business acquaintance to a great and valued friend, from that time forward.

Craig was not my roommate for the opening retreat, but we made sure we would be matched up for our next overnight outing to Annapolis, Md. It was then that I found that my buddy in the neighboring bed was... a wicked SNORER. Needless to say, Craig slept like a baby that night and was a powerhouse networker and advocate the next morning in all of our meetings with state legislators and others, and I was... exhausted. So a few months later, it comes time for our closing retreat and as our friendship grew, Craig wanted assurance that we'd "buddy up" again for that two-day event,. I didn't want to hurt my buddy's feelings, so I said... absolutely -- sure. And then for the first time in my life, I went out and bought a pack of ear plugs -- maybe one of the best investments I have ever made for keeping a friendship.  It also made me appreciate much more the fact that my wife does not snore, except on rare occasions when she has had a really exhausting day!

Looking back to that Leadership Montgomery experience, I will never forget how every class before us used to declare themselves the BEST class. One of our classmates, who we chose to be our speaker at the graduation event, was and is the pastor of a large African American church in our  community. As he ended his remarks, he declared that apparently there were many "best" classes, but we were going to go down as "The Blessed Class of 2006," because of the people within. He was right and I was certainly blessed to have built such a strong friendship with Craig as a result of that experience (and to have survived it, despite the snoring!). RIP, brother (as Craig always called me).

One final note that is not part of the story: How blessed was Craig to have the love and incredible support of Amy and such a loving set of family members and friends... and especially his beautiful, smart and kind daughters, of whom he was so incredibly proud.