Beau Slocumb Memorial 100

The Gresham Family and Gresham Motorsports Park is going to be honoring Beau's life with the running of the "Beau Slocumb Memorial 100" during World Crown weekend, Novemeber 11th - 13th in Jefferson, GA. This was always one of Beau's favorite race weekends! We are so thankful to the Greshams for choosing to remember him this way.

The race that will honor Beau will be held on Saturday night, November 12th. If you are in the Macon area and would like to go, discounted tickets will be available at Chuck Thompson's State Farm on Forsyth Rd.

Check out the press release here

Check out the weekend schedule here

Hope to see you there!

~Maggie

Local Church Connection

Grab a copy of the September/October "Local Church Connection" if you see a copy around Macon! They are available at many establishements in Macon from El Sombrero and Head Over Heels to Walthall Oil Co. gas stations. Our good friend Chuck Thompson wrote a great article about Beau that is in the current issue!

This is what it looks like so please grab one if you see one!




Click here for more info on the Local Church Connection: http://localchurchconnection.com/index.php

So many people have been honoring Beau in so many ways here lately! The truck race over Labor Day Weekend was awesome and we are so appreciative of the Turner and Newman families for that tribute! Also, the Annual Project Giving 5K/10K honored Beau's memory in a special way last Saturday night! We are so blessed to have such great friends that continue to honor Beau's life in incredible ways!

I will post pictures from both of these events as soon as I can get them on my computer!

~Maggie

Ryan Newman & Turner Motorsports to Honor Beau at AMS

Newman's ride for the Camping World Truck Series Race at AMS Labor Day Weekend

Beau's signature paint scheme...

Ryan and Beau in Victory Lane after Ryan won the truck race in Atlanta back in 2008

Ryan Newman to Honor Georgia Native Beau Slocumb with Special Truck Series Paint Scheme at AMS

Monday, August 15, 2011

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran Ryan Newman will be behind the wheel of a special edition NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ride at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday, Sept. 2.
Newman will pilot the Turner Motorsports No. 08 Brandt/Realtree Chevrolet for 200 miles under the lights at AMS. Both Newman and Turner Motorsports will honor the life of former employee and family friend Beau Slocumb, who passed away from cancer in the spring. Newman's truck will feature the number and paint scheme driven by Slocumb during his driving career. All money received by Turner Motorsports from the event will be donated to Slocumb's widow to assist with medical expenses.
Slocumb, a Macon, Ga. native, began his racing career at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Legends series before graduating up to the late model ranks. In total, Slocumb earned 131 feature wins in Legends and late model competition. Slocumb then moved on to ARCA competition, making four starts in 2009.
Newman and his family are longtime friends of the Slocumb family and feel honored to be paying tribute to their close friends.
"I look forward to driving the race that my good friend Beau Slocumb always dreamed of," said Newman. "This is his ride; I just wish he were here to drive it. This is for his family and for the dream he always wished would come true. Beau ran a camo car and it will be great to honor him with a Realtree paint scheme and the Chevy Truck. Thank you Turner Motorsports, Team Realtree, Brandt, and Chevrolet for giving us this opportunity."
"I think it's fittingly appropriate that Ryan run a tribute paint scheme to Beau here at Atlanta Motor Speedway because this is where they met," said track President and General Manager Ed Clark. "They met on pit road and bonded into great friends after that. Many of Beau's wins came here at AMS and I'm sure it will mean a lot to all of his friends and family in the area for Ryan to remember him this way, running this paint scheme in the truck race."
Newman has three career Camping World Truck Series starts, earning one win, three top-five and three top-10 finishes. The win took place here at AMS in October 2008. Holding true to his "Rocketman" nickname, Newman also holds the title of most poles at the speedway, with seven poles in Sprint Cup competition and another in Nationwide series action.NASCAR night racing returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway this Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-4. Tickets for the AdvoCare 500 start at $39 and $19 for students. Children 12 and under admitted free for the Great Clips 300 and the Atlanta 200 with an adult ticket. For more information, call the Atlanta Motor Speedway Ticket Office at (877) 9-AMS-TIX, (770) 946-4211 or visit http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/.

**original article found here on AMS Website

http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/media/news/594956.html

Ryan Newman honors Beau in Victory Lane interview!

Our friend Ryan Newman won the Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire a few weekends ago and he dedicated his win to Beau. It was such a great race and we were so proud that Ryan won, but his comments in victory lane and the post-race press conference will stay with us forever! Some of you may not have seen these videos so I am posting them below. This link is to the victory lane interview on NASCAR.com and the video below it is from the press conference. Comments about Beau are at the 8:00 minute mark in the press conference video.

http://www.nascar.com/video/post-race/victory-lane/110717/cup-lou-high-winner/index.html

Slideshow

What, then, shall we say?

Romans 8:29

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

It's been exactly one month since Beau left us. It still doesn't seem real. I don't imagine it ever really will.

That being said, I believe that God is exactly who He says He is, and for that very reason I believe that He will carry us through this tragedy that was the end of Beau's physical life....but the beginning of a lifetime spent in heaven. Beau is no longer in pain or short of breath. But we are. We miss him so much that it physically hurts, but we can take a small amount of comfort in the fact that he is seeing and doing things that we can only dream about and given the choice, he would not come back to us. Our Sunday School teacher used to tell us nearly every week that "God never promised us an easy life. He just promised not to leave us or forsake us." My family is clinging to this promise now just as we have over the past two years.

Speaking of the last two years, we would not have made it through without the incredible friends and family we have been blessed with. Words can't express our gratitude and there are too many special people to name here but you know who you are. I've found that when horrible, unexplainable things happen (and we've had more than our fair share), it helps me to think of things that I can be thankful for in spite of all the bad. For Beau, I am thankful that he got the chance to do what he loved and the chance to be really good at it. Beau had dreams and he got to live out many of them...lots of people never get that chance even if they live 100 years. He was surrounded by people that loved him and believed in him and these people gave him the opportunity to race at many different levels. He even got to do two days of testing at Daytona before he got sick...he never got the chance to run his race there, but he did travel around that 2.5 mile track at nearly 200 mph and I can honestly say I have never seen him as happy as he was that day!

Another thing I can be thankful for is our Christian upbringing and that fact that Beau knew and accepted Jesus at an early age. I Thessalonians 4:13 tells us not to mourn as those who have no hope because we know that we will see Beau again some day. I literally can't imagine what it would be like to not have that hope at a time like this.

I can also be thankful for Jessica being in Beau's life. The things that they went through together and the way that she took care of him was pure evidence of God being totally in control of their relationship. I don't believe she could have done it any other way. I've never seen anything like the devotion that they had towards one another and I'm grateful that they got to experience that.

In the weeks and months ahead, our family and especially Jessica will have to adjust to a new life...we don't have a choice in the matter. We do, however, have a choice in how we respond to what has happened. We can be bitter and cynical and complain about bad things happening to good people. Or we can choose to praise God for giving Beau a great life and letting us be a part of it. That's what I choose to do. I hope you all will do the same.

I'd like to ask everyone to do something if you feel comfortable with it. Leave a comment below and tell us something about Beau and his life that you are thankful for. It helps me to think of those things. Hopefully it will help you, too.

12/26/84 - 4/8/11

With a heavy heart I am writing to let you all know that Beau has gone to be with Jesus.

A visitation will be held Sunday, April 10, 2011 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Northway Church in Macon, GA. The memorial service for Beau will be held Monday, April 11, 2011 at 3:00 p.m., also at Northway Church.

Northway Church

5915 Zebulon Rd.

Macon, GA 31210

http://mapq.st/i2cned

I'm sorry for the short, informal post but words are hard to find at the moment. Thank you all so much for how you have loved and supported Beau and our family...especially over the past two years.

~Maggie

Prayers appreciated...

It's been quite a while since I've updated everyone on Beau's condition. A lot has happened since the last post where I told everyone that his cancer had spread. Over the past few weeks, Beau's health has taken a turn for the worse. His lungs are covered with tumors and he's been fighting to breathe. From a purely medical standpoint, Beau should not even be here.

Last Monday, March 21st, Beau came home to Macon and saw the doctor who removed the original tumor from his lung two years ago. Scans were done and Dr. Brown told Beau that his cancer had progressed even more since he was scanned a month ago. From the look of Beau's lungs, Dr. Brown said it was possible that he only had days left. That same Monday night, a group of people from our church came out and prayed over Beau for healing and strength. Ever since then, Beau has gotten a little bit better and stayed pretty stable.

In my last post, I mentioned that we were trying to get Beau in with a particular doctor in New York. Initially, he turned Beau down based on his medical records and history because he did not believe he could help. With the help of some special friends, Beau was finally able to get an appointment with Dr. Gonzalez and was miraculously strong enough to make the trip up there on the March 29th. Beau, Jessica and I flew up to New York on the Newman's plane and with the help of Preston and Ted (the pilots) we were able to get Beau to and from his appointments. This was no easy task when you consider we were traveling with a wheelchair, about 10 small oxygen tanks, an oxygen machine and Beau who gets worn out pretty quickly right now. We could not have made it without Preston and Ted...thank God for them!

Dr. Gonzalez was impressed with Beau's determination and even more impressed with his test results. He said that a lot of Beau's numbers and levels were much better than many of his first-time patients. If Beau can stick to the program, Gonzalez believes that he can help him. This program consists of a strict organic diet and a pile of supplements and enzymes in pill form that Beau will have to take daily. There are also a lot of detox regimens that he will have to do. Please pray for Beau to have the strength to keep up with the program and for it to work like it's supposed to!!

Thanks so much to Ryan and Krissie Newman for making the trip possible...and thanks Preston and Ted for lugging us all over New York City. It couldn't have been done without y'all.

Dr. Gonzalez said that as Christians we can look at Beau's situation and know that whatever happens, this is only the beginning...and he's right. Thank you all for making this journey with Beau. You have no idea what all of your prayers, kind messages and visits have meant to Beau, Jessica and our family. Please continue to pray for Beau and Jessica as he begins Dr. Gonzalez's plan. I will update here when I have something new to report.

~Maggie

We're tired of speed bumps already...

Friends and Family,

Beau learned today that the "infection" in his shoulder was actually more cancer. I'm not sure exactly where it was or how much of it there was but Dr. Frankle was able to cut much of it out during Beau's surgery, which should help with the pain.

For the past few months, Beau has been undergoing alternative treatments for cancer up in NC and he is going to continue on that route. The fact of the matter is that chemo just doesn't work on Beau's type of cancer. It didn't work the first time and he hasn't been given any indication...even by M.D. Anderson... that it could do more than give him extra time...but not a cure. That being said, Beau is currently trying to get an appointment with a doctor in New York who is doing incredible things with cancer patients and alternative medicine. Jessica has spoken to a woman with synovial sarcoma who is under this doctor's care and was very encouraged by what she had to say about her response to the treatments.

For the time being, the doctors in Tampa recommended that Beau receive palliative care to manage the pain caused by the tumor and the surgery. He's being fitted with a pain pump and hopefully when the pain from the surgery wears off, he will be able to wean himself off of the pump. He should be getting out of the hospital today.

As most of you would expect, this setback hasn't seemed to slow Beau down! He will be staying in Florida through next weekend and going to some of the Speedweeks events in Daytona including the Daytona 500.

Please pray for strength for Beau as he faces this ordeal head-on...and pray for Jessica as she faces it with him.

Thank you Randy, Anne and Jason Tidwell for giving Beau and Jessica a place to stay in Daytona. Thank you David Prim for EVERYTHING you have done for Beau...there are no words. Thank you to our amazing friends and family for supporting Beau through this. He needs the prayers and support now more than ever.

~Maggie

2nd Surgery Updates

Beau went in for surgery in Tampa on Monday to fix what the doctor thought was a misalignment that was causing swelling and pain in his shoulder. When the doctor got in there, he discovered a good bit of infection. He cleaned it up as much as possible, replaced some parts and closed Beau back up to begin fighting the infection. Beau will be on some strong IV antibiotics for a while but they can be administered at home so he won't have to remain in the hospital for that. He's doing really well so far. He's been up and walking around every few hours and Buster says he's in good spirits.

Beau could get out of the hospital as early as tomorrow and he will be staying down in Florida for a couple of weeks. Thanks to Jason, Randy and Anne Tidwell, he's going to be able to stay in Daytona between doctors visits and get his antibiotics at their house without having to go in to the hospital. He will have to go to Tampa sometime next week to have his stitches removed and then again at the 6-week mark for a follow-up appointment.

I had mentioned in an earlier email that he would have to have surgery again to totally fix his shoulder but that isn't necessarily true. They will wait until he has healed up and been through some rehab to decide if they are satisfied with his mobility. Another surgery might not be necessary so that is a good thing. Sometimes things get lost in text message translation so I'm sorry for the confusion about all that :)

Thanks for all of the prayers and support that have been directed at Beau, Jessica and our family throughout this whole ordeal. We have the greatest family and friends that anyone could ask for and are so grateful for each of you.

I will update more when I hear anything new!

~Maggie