By JODI RALL
In the Bubble columnist

“Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, and the other gold, A circle is round, it has no end. That's how long, I will be your friend.” -- an exerpt from the poem “Make New Friends.”

This is a story of golden friendships. Michelle and Brad Hoover know that to have a friend, you must be a friend. This is the 7th year they will honor the life of their son Liam who passed away in September of 2005 from cancer. What began as the Hoover Run for Hope a few short months after his death has grown into the Hoover Hope Foundation. In the past six years it has raised over $200,000  of dollars for St. Jude’s in Memphis and Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

To understand the importance of friendships, the courage and the love of the Hoover family, we need to go back in time.

First about Brad…

Back in her junior year of high school in Paris, Tenn., Linda Hughes met Brad Hoover. They were great friends and both went to UT Martin. Brad would continue on with medical school and Linda would become a physical therapist.  Life would bring Brad, his wife Michelle and their children to Brentwood. Linda and her husband Chance Hughes were already in Brentwood raising their two sons. A friendship between the two families was made stronger.

“Since I have known Brad from the time we were impressionable and worry free 17 year olds, it has been inspiring to me this journey he and Michelle have been on with their family,” shared Hughes. “I count it an extreme blessing to call them my friends. They have made such an impact on those around them by simply living out their faith daily, even when things seem impossible.”

Now Michelle…

Robin O’Shields and her husband Bill moved here from Atlanta, Ga. in 1999 with a 4 and 6 year old in tow. Not knowing a soul, she and the children were lonely in a new town; until a neighbor told her about an art camp in her Highland Park neighborhood.

It was that day that Michelle Hoover and Robin O’Shields forged a friendship that would last through the best and worst of times. Their sons Liam and Chadwick also became the best of friends.

“Friendships blossomed between our families and Michelle became my dear friend. Liam was a huge influence on my son Chadwick and helped make him who he is today,” Robin shared.

The importance of strong friendships is something that Robin cannot impress enough, “You can’t be a good friend unless someone was a good friend to you. Friendships take time but they are worth everything you put into them.”

Five years later…

In July 2004, the Hoover’s world would be changed forever. Liam’s battle would last 14 months and at his parent’s side were the friends who loved him and his family.

The grace in how the Hoovers grieved was a blessing to all around them. A witness and testament to their love for Liam and a knowledge that the suffering was over, he was at home with his heavenly Father. During those first early months of grief, friends never left the Hoovers side.

“Their walk alongside Liam and the way they openly shared their journey with others, though raw and painful, truly has been inspiring to me and has caused me to examine my own relationship with Christ,” Linda Hughes shared.

The first Hoover Run for Hope…

A short time after Liam passed, Amy Rankin, who was then guidance counselor at Kenrose Elementary, approached the Hoovers about having a ‘small run’ to train for the St. Jude race. In a fog, “gray, fuzzy, achy” is how Robin describes this time. Michelle asked Robin what she thought about holding the run.

“We forged ahead and it gave us something to do during this intense mourning,” Robin recalled.

What now takes a year to plan, took eight weeks that first year. Thinking this would be a small run turned into friends, neighbors, church members and strangers all coming together to celebrate Liam and “give Hope to the future.” That first race over 600 runners participated and over $20,000 was raised.  The event became “a life of its own.”

And now in 2011…

On Nov. 5th you can join in this year’s Hoover Run for Hope.  And guess what? You will see many of the same volunteers from that first race seven years ago, who continue to volunteer each year out of love for the Hoovers. It all speaks volumes about the Hoover family and the friendships they have held golden all these years.

This year marks a special time as a new event is being added. The “Hoover Ride for Hope” on Oct. 8th   is a bike ride starting at Page High School. An avid rider himself Brad is excited about this new addition and with so many local riders in the area, it is sure to be another top notch event.

For more information about the Hoover for Hope Foundation, please visit www.hooverhope.org

As you have read this my ‘hope’ is that you will be inspired to reach out and be a friend. It is not always easy and life is tough, thank goodness a good friend can be with you on the journey.

Jodi Rall is a special events coordinator and publicist who lives with her husband, four children, two dogs and various other pets in Brentwood. She has been known to play tennis. Contact her at jodi@brentwoodhomepage.com. Follow her "Jodi in the Bubble" blog by Clicking here.