Sunday evening I got a great reminder that every day has special value. My job allowed me to see something I'll never forget.

Rick Hendrick's Marrow Donor Program invited me to MC their annual gala dinner. The invitation was more than enough, but in typical Hendrick fashion, everyone went out of their way to welcome me and my girlfriend. Much of the night was simply a testament to the Hendricks and their remarkable spirit of generosity and compassion. Rick proudly told the group that they had raised over $1 million dollars for the Marrow Program and the Levine Children's Hospital.

Then we introduced two of the families that have been helped by the programs that Rick and his wife support. One little girl named Rylan suffers from a rare blood disorder. We quietly watched her video with her parents fighting tears as they spoke about the uncertainty of life with a sometimes debilitating disease. (Only 70 or 80 children in America have the disorder.) When the video finished, Rylan and her mom walked to the microphone. Rylan is taller and much healthier than she was on the screen, and her "Hi!" over the speaker brought down the house.

Next up, little Isaac. He is alive because the Hendrick Marrow program found a donor when he couldn't live without one. Isaac's video showed a little boy with a badly swollen head, trying to fight through treatments that made him as sick as his health problems. Isaac and his family walked to the podium and told his story. How they had to travel to Ohio for treatments that will now be available in Charlotte once Levine Children's Hospital opens later this year. How every day was its own miracle. How they fought every minute never knowing what the future held. How 7 year old Isaac asked his father if they could find a way to get Christmas presents for all of the other kids in the hospital. (The miracle of the internet delivered hundreds of presents, enough for the hospital and a few other shelters.)

Then we introduced a man named Dan. He stood up from his table and walked toward the podium. Dan is the man who saved Isaac's life. On Sunday, he met Isaac and his family for the first time. Dan kneeled to greet Isaac and 300 people fell silent. The only sounds were Dan's soothing words and Isaac's quiet sobs. Isaac was every bit the young boy his parents hoped he would be. Outgoing and energetic, but at this moment he was overwhelmed. The meeting everyone had prepared him for was simply too much to compute. His mother softly rubbed his back and the man who saved his life hugged him again and again. Every person in the room cried as one. The gift that Rick Hendrick had talked about kneeled before us all.

After several moments Dan talked at the podium and explained that he was riding back from a motorcycle trip to Sturgis when the first phone call came. That patient died before he could help. A few weeks later he was in San Diego planning a ride to Alaska when the next call came. This one he answered and the life he saved is little Isaac.

My job introduced me to Rick Hendrick and a few of the hundreds, thousands? of people he has helped. With everything Rick and his family have been through, their spirit remains. I left humbled and inspired, and I will never forget the greatest front row seat that my job ever gave me.