In June '18 I fell thru the ceiling at IVB

It was one of those days where @Big_Jerm200 & I were cleaning, Its also the day my perspective changed/respect gain for @ZachHomol & our team

If you don't know me, I can be a bull in a china shop, unaware of how hard I can make things

The day started off normal, Jerm and I asked Zach what needed to be done around the gym after our daily duties were done

We could all tell Zach was under a lot of pressure and stress that day- he had a lot going on

As we were cleaning the loft, I was standing on 3" of wall..

that separated the gym and our storage room- to the right the gym to the left the drop ceiling to the SR

I was moving things around (throwing) as homol walked passed and said "D, be careful, be easy w/ it"

Jerm was handing me some boxes, 1 shifted my weight and next thing..

I knew I was standin in the SR and the ceiling had caved in, the lights were off- some sparks flew and no one knew what had happened

Zach came in with the rest of the team shocked and pissed off

Told us we had 30 min to get it cleaned up or else (Not exactly but to that extent)

When we got it cleaned up, I knew I had to get it fixed. I don't think Ive ever seen Zach that mad. Jerm, @Jay_Azeltine & @CGarwoodPhoto all knew shit hit the fan and allowed me to go to lowes to get the shit to fix it

By that time Rich was on his way in to make sure this wasnt

a $5000 mistake. I remember calling Chey and telling her I might have to move back to Jersey b/c it was that bad

Charlie, Jerm, Jay, and I worked the next 6 hours to put the ceiling and lights back in as rich was able to fix the electric.

When the day was done,

Zach had pulled me aside- Looked me in the eyes and told me

"D, Im sorry for reacting the way I did before. I have a lot of shit going on today- any other day we would have laughed it off, this was just a bad day for it to happen. And I recognize I could of handled it better"

I've rarely have had grown men recognize faults and apologize for it.

I already had a lot of respect for Zach, but that was the day I knew Id follow him into hell at any time if he needed me to

It takes a lot self-awareness to recognize your faults, in his pos idk if I would of

That day it proved to me that the type of men I decided to surround myself with were/are great men.

Not many would have your back after 8mo of knowing you in a heated situation. Most would let you get eaten alive- I'm forever thankful for them

I knew that day that I had...

Made the Right choice to pick up and leave everything I knew to move to a place I knew nobody/nothing

I left my brothers from the Corps and found a group of men who were loyal, respected, and selfless- something I thought I lost forever.

The day I fell thru the ceiling is now..

Something we laugh about often

A day that changed my life for the better

The team Zach has built by just being the leader he is-speaks volumes on his character and the type of man he is. Team IVB is something extremely special, something I will be grateful for, for an eternity