by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Two parents who transformed their heartbreaking grief into something positive were honored as “Citizens of the Year” by the Sartell Chamber of Commerce at its honors banquet Nov. 17 at Blackberry Ridge Golf Course and Event Center.
(For more honorees, see related stories.)
Randy and Tami Kruzel lost their precious 18-year-old daughter BriAnna on Sept. 28, 2013. With no previous warnings, the teen just collapsed while walking into her bedroom that day. The terribly untimely death was determined as “natural causes.”
It was unthinkable to all of BriAnna’s friends and to her parents that such a loving, lively and giving girl could suddenly be gone. BriAnna loved to volunteer. She was a fervent member of the Girl Scouts and she was a mentor to a young girl as a member of the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization for which she won an award as Big Sister of the Year in 2013, not long before she died. She liked to help raise funds for the Sartell-St. Stephen Community Education Foundation. In honor of her tireless volunteerism and positive attitude, she was a recipient of the Youth Appreciation Award given by the St. Cloud Optimists Club. She also enjoyed volunteering for church tasks and as a member of the Lone Eagle Auto Club.
BriAnna’s parents and others were determined to keep her spirit alive. They formed a website or foundation entitled “What Would Bri Do?” at www.wwbdinc.org to inspire others to give and to volunteer, just as BriAnna had done.
In the past three years, the foundation, WWBD, has funded two annual scholarships of $500 each, as well as raising money for other good causes – a sound system for the Girl Scouts, fabric for Big Brothers Big Sisters to make scarves for disabled veterans, providing cochlear implants for two girls and much more. Tami Kruzel is the president of the foundation, and Randy is its vice president.
The goal of WWBD is a simple but inspiring one: “We honor the memory of BriAnna by striving to always be kind, helpful and compassionate. We lend an ear to a person who needs it, help out our community in any way we can or simply offer a reassuring smile to brighten someone’s day. We try to love others without judgment and remember to be a force of positivity in the world.”
One project of the WWBD, in conjunction with the City of Sartell, is the plans for an “Angel of Hope” monument in south Sartell, which will be located at the edge of Lake Francis near the soon-to-be-built Sartell Community Center. The large statue of an angel with wings spread will become a living memorial, with names of deceased children, where mourning parents and others can find a measure of solace and hope.
The Angel of Hope project began with a book called The Christmas Box, written by Richard Paul Evans. The first angel statue, inspired by that book, was placed in Salt Lake City in 1994. Since then, similar angel monuments have been installed in cities throughout the nation. Each year, at 7 p.m. Dec. 6, a candlelight vigil is held by the statues, and each participant is encouraged to bring a white flower to leave at the base of the angel.
The WWBD has been raising money for the Angel of Hope monument in Sartell. They – and city officials – hope to have the monument ready to install next spring or summer.
Tami and Randy Kruzel are the Sartell Citizens of the Year.
BriAnna Kruzel died suddenly and tragically at the tender age of 18 of natural causes. Her parents, Randy and Tami Kruzel, founded a foundation and a series of good works in her name.
