Zeigler Auto Group Rebekah Gregory as its latest celebrity presenter for its Zeigler University Guest Speaker Series. The acclaimed speaker, advocate, and Boston Marathon survivor kicked off the 2024 Speaker Series with her presentation titled: "Taking My Life Back," echoing the account from her book of the same name. Gregory shared the moving and inspirational speech last Friday at the Zeigler Honda Locker Room in Kalamazoo, Michigan. During her time with TEAM ZEIGLER she discussed her journey following her survival of the Boston Marathon bombing which led to the amputation of her leg. After the incident, Gregory went on to start Rebekah's Angels, a charity dedicated to helping families with trauma therapy. So far over 700 families have been supported by the organization. "The most beautiful parts of life come from the most broken places." Gregory's keynote address, recounted her extraordinary journey of courage and perseverance following the life-altering events of the Boston Marathon. Despite initially attending the marathon as a spectator, Gregory and her son found themselves just feet away from the bomb blast, an experience that forever changed her and her family's life. She recounted her path to recovery, which included a staggering 76 surgeries, speaking in detail on how this journey helped her find her purpose amidst adversity. She spoke about how her son gave her so much strength during this time despite being so young and having experienced an extraordinarily traumatic event himself. He helped shift her perspective in terms of what her amputation meant by being excited to have a "robot mom," which gave her so much courage in a time where so many people would break. After her surgery she made it her goal to run the Boston Marathon and started learning how to walk and run at the same time. During her time training to walk she encountered a man that came up to her after she parked in a disabled space. An interaction that anyone else would have taken to be saddening and infuriating, she saw it with so much gratitude because the man had identified her as having both legs. This was something she was conscious about as she was learning to walk, studying people's gait and stride to mimic it with her new leg which she affectionately called "Carmen Sandi-Lego." "Rebekah Gregory's story is a powerful testament to the spirit. Her message of resilience and living with intention deeply resonated with our team, inspiring us all to embrace obstacles as opportunities for growth."Aaron Zeigler, CEO & President, Zeigler Auto GroupGregory was eventually able to run the last 3.2 miles of the Marathon after training for mere months post-op and suffering an injury where her leg split open. The 3.2 miles stood for the amount of time it took her to not only walk but to be able to run again. When she passed the finish line, she fell to the ground and said to herself: "this is the day I take my life back."Another impactful moment came that same year, where she had to face one of the men responsible for the bombing in the courtroom. She was asked to write a victim's impact statement, she was asked to go last, after 26 people, because of how powerful her statement was. Her exact words were: "I was asked to give an impact statement today, and in order to do that I would have to be someone's victim, and I'm not yours; and I'm not your brother's."She also went on to say that although his act of hate stretched a couple hundred feet, the act of love seen in response stretched hundreds of thousands of miles; and that no one would remember them only what survivors have gone on to do despite the tragedy. She ended her state with "how's that for your victim statement!" In response, she was met with a soul-less, unfazed person, showing no remorse, looking back at her.This was the day she remembered what her nurse Sandy told her before her amputation: "on the other side of fear, YOU will be unstoppable." Leaving the courtroom she felt unstoppable, because if she could face down a bomber in court, there was nothing she couldn't do."Rebekah Gregory's story is a powerful testament to the human spirit," said Aaron Zeigler, CEO & President of Zeigler Auto Group. "Her message of resilience and living with intention deeply resonated with our team, inspiring us all to embrace obstacles as opportunities for growth.""On the other side of fear, YOU will be unstoppable."Rebekah Gregory was a very impactful speaker. We had amazing feedback from our team across the organization about how she was such a genuine and caring person.She has a real talent for sharing her story and taking the audience there with her and making them part of the journey! Her perspective, mindset and sense of humor make her so special! We were fortunate to have invested time with Rebekah!"Mike Van Ryn, VP of Talent Development, Zeigler Auto GroupGregory was also a guest this week on our upcoming Zeigler's Driving Vision Podcast with COO Sam D'Arc, ...
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