family business

By Josh Gregory

I haven’t run track since junior high, but I’m still fascinated by relay races. It’s no wonder. As a teenager, I spent many hours at track practice with a coach that was obsessed with the art of “passing the baton.” While other coaches pressed us to improve our speeds and cut our times, Mr. Cunningham focused on teaching us a single lesson: “I don’t care if you’re the fastest runner out there, just don’t mess up the handoff! If you do, you’re done. There are no second chances.” Maybe his words stuck with me because I wasn’t the fastest kid on the track; at least if I could do a great job at passing the baton to the next guy, we had a better chance at winning the race.