We began in 2013, at the Tough Enough to Wear Pink Rodeo during the Mountain Valley Stampede in Heber Valley. That night, Bob McPhie rode into the arena holding a guitar — not just any guitar, but a pink one. I assumed we were in for a song. Instead, as the night wound down, the announcer revealed he'd be auctioning off that guitar to raise money for local families facing cancer — money that would stay right here in our community, covering the small expenses that add up fast.

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My husband, sitting behind me, nudged me as the bidding climbed. "Aren't you going to bid?" I didn't have a thousand dollars, I told him. He just looked at me — the kind of look that sees straight into you — and said, "In memory of your mom." She'd passed away from bone cancer just the week before. My hand went up, and before I knew it, the guitar was mine.