The 7th annual Happy Smackah 5k is the morning of May 13th. As part of our yearly sponsorship of this event, we are proud to support Braden Stevenson as the 2017 Happy Smackah. Braden is sophomore at Longmont High School. Last winter, Braden broke his leg, and during the procedure to repair his femur, Braden's surgeon noticed that his bone did not look right. He was diagnosed late in 2016 with osteosarcoma, a malignant bone cancer, and will lose his leg. But like a true Happy Smackah, he faces his challenges with gusto and determination. He to have part of his leg removed, and he is going to be fitted with a prosthetic, and, according to the Happy Smackah site, "he jokes about making some Ninja moves with his newly rotated leg."
What's "Happy Smackah," you ask? Well it's a tribute to Dan Cribby, the inspiration for this event. Cribby is a local St. Vrain Valley School District educator and one of his expressions is known as the happy smackah, and there's a guiding set of principles that guide a smackah through life:
- Lives with a positive attitude
- Lives a no nonsense, no excuses life
- Takes joy in life’s little treasures
Yet, throughout his tribulations, Braden remains unfazed, and he's recovering from his chemotherapy and his surgery, which is why he makes for a great recipient of this year's Happy Smackah. We printed up two different stickers as this year's sponsor. A die cut sticker with their logo and a sticker sheet with their logo in a custom shape die cut peel-off, and then two smaller circle stickers with the logo. We see that over 700 people have signed up for this year's event, and we value all of the participants who will be getting outdoors here in Longmont, Colorado, at Lake McIntosh. Find the Smackah crew on Facebook and Twitter.
Dan Cribby, born and raised in Maine, has many expressions, and one of his favorites is “Happy Smackah” (It’s probably spelled smacker). The Happy Smackah originated as a fundraising event for Dan, a St. Vrain Valley educator who became seriously ill and required amputation of his arm and shoulder and extensive skin grafting. He was at University Hospital in Denver for over three months. Dan is back at work full time, and is fully recovered. The term Happy Smackah is his favored expression to describe his favorite people. The term originates with happy “smacker”, but when a native Mainer says it, the r sound is dropped. It’s meant to describe someone who is simply…happy. Dan has lived his life finding joy anywhere and everywhere, and when the community brought together the fun run, his friends thought of the perfect name: Happy Smackah Fun Run.