For many of you reading this post you know what today is already.

One year ago today a friend, father, visionary, profound human being, and founder of BME Shannon Larratt passed away. Writing this one year later the idea of Shannon’s passing hasn’t fully set in for me or many of the people who were lucky enough to know him. It is hard not to say what has already been said about a man that changed so many lives. Many people, myself included, never got the opportunity to have a personal relationship with Shannon for one reason or another, however he was someone who impacted my life more than he could have ever known.  All over my social media today it is apparent how profoundly loved and appreciated he is.

I will keep this post short and sweet as it is a tough day for many folks. I will however make a motion to spend today thinking about how Shannon and BME have impacted your life. Whether it be directly or indirectly, where would you be without Shannon or BME? Today should be a day of appreciation and memories, I encourage all of you who read this in passing to share in the comments a bit about the effect he had on you. 

We have all probably read and re-read Shannon’s final post on his Zentastic blog, I leave you with a very small excerpt.

“As much as these last years have been the most difficult I can imagine, and there are still many deeds to be done, please know that I have had a wonderful adventure and enjoyed it immensely on the whole.”

While that isn’t the most striking part of his entire entry, the words “There are still many deeds to be done.” strike me as particularly important. What Shannon started didn’t leave with him. We are all still here continuing his fantastic legacy and building off the foundation he has given us. I never in a million years thought I would have the opportunity to carry the torch for ModBlog and carry the legacy of BME onwards. I am eternally grateful and  I wholeheartedly say thank you Shannon, and thank you to everyone who continues to make BME what it is today.