2018 was a great year for the Lutzie 43 Foundation, complete with lots of big milestones.

We started 2018 off by surpassing our first 43 Day Campaign’s fundraising goal, raising over $48,000!

Next, Mike was invited to speak for a second time at the Under Armour All-America game, allowing some of top high school football players in the country to hear Mike speak about Philip and his legacy on and off the field. We had some awesome moments at this event, including handing out bracelets and 43 Lessons to Legacy curriculums to the players.

60 second Lutzie 43 at 2018 Under Armour All America Game from Lutzie 43 Foundation on Vimeo.

In April of 2018, the foundation hosted our first Auburn Weekend. This was a great time for fellowship and remembrance of Philip’s time at Auburn. The weekend included a 5K, Adapted PE Field Day and a flag football tournament.

Lutzie 43’s Auburn Weekend from Lutzie 43 Foundation on Vimeo.

After Auburn Weekend, the foundation hosted our annual Golf Invitational. This weekend is always exciting for the foundation, we host our annual board meeting, play rounds of golf with some of the foundation’s supporters and host a dinner where the foundation announces the PFL Scholarship winners. This year, we doubled the amount of PFL Scholarships awarded, providing ten students with a scholarship to continue their education.

Every August, we host our Lutzie 43 Road Race in Marietta, GA. The 2018 race broke our past records — with over 700 on-site runners, over 300 virtual runners! The Road Race is a special event for the foundation, as it was one of the first events the foundation hosted shortly after Philip’s passing.

2018 Jim Ellis Kia Lutzie 43 Road Race from Lutzie 43 Foundation on Vimeo.

After the Road Race, the foundation focused on launching our new 43 Key Seconds safe driving initiative. We launched our new website, refined our mission statement and shifted our main focus to support our 43 Key Seconds initiative to create the first nationally-recognized symbol for safe driving.

43 Key Seconds from Lutzie 43 Foundation on Vimeo.

We closed 2018 right where we started, with our 43 Day Campaign. Thanks to your generous support, we were able to beat our fundraising goal of raising $43,000 in 43 days by over $10,000!

As we look ahead to the rest of this year, we ask ourselves: how can we make an even bigger impact in 2019? Thanks to the unwavering support of each and every one of you, we will be able to touch more lives with our message. We have some big things in the works, so stay tuned on social media and, as always, feel free to reach out to anyone on the Lutzie 43 team!