Happy Harry Fest 19

Harry Fest 19 was a fun time on Saturday.  Food, drinks, rides, live music, a poker run, and a silent auction...it had something for everyone.  Matt, a.k.a. the President of the Harry Stout Foundation, has been logging some long hours for the past couple of months.  The goal of Harry Fest is to raise money while celebrating Harry's life.  For those of you who don't know about Harry, he was a classmate of Keaton's who passed away suddenly at the age of 12.  Matt (and Harry's Dad, Joe Stout) coached Harry in basketball.  It was a tragic loss here...but Joe found a positive way to celebrate Harry's life and keep Harry's compassion alive.  When Harry was in elementary school, he asked if he could buy a pair of shoes for an underprivileged classmate.  Harry then put the shoes in the student's locker anonymously.  WOW!  That just shows what an awesome kid Harry was.  So, this led Joe to form a non-profit organization that helps kids around the area.  Harry's Foundation donates shoes to the 'First Day Shoes' program in Kalamazoo...a group that gives new shoes to underprivileged students for their first day of school.  They offer senior scholarships to students in Plainwell and Otsego  (Harry went to Plainwell and Joe attended Otsego).  They give money to area school band programs...Joe is a drummer and music was such an important part of Harry's life.  It's just an all-around feel-good organization that lives by Harry's code:  Eat, drink, and be Harry!