A Fitting Memorial for a Reader and a Leader

August 5, 2022 | By: Doug Cowan, CSL President & CEO

Living in Independence my whole life, I’m fond of all things Harry S. Truman, especially his quotes. President Truman once said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”

My sister-in-law, Becca Alexander, was a voracious reader; something she did her whole life. She lost a heroic, four-year battle to cancer on December 27, 2021, at the age of 40. Immediately, her network of family, friends, and colleagues asked her husband, Andy, what they could do to honor her memory. Andy, who is my wife, Katie’s, brother, asked me if CSL would set up a memorial fund for Becca for a to-be-determined purpose. Fifty-six gifts poured in for her memorial, and more than $7,000 was donated.

Andy and Becca, along with their two boys, have been long-time supporters of CSL, and, this Spring, it was decided that Becca’s memorial fund would purchase books for our Independence Back to School Fair. Inside of more than 1,600 books is a sticker with Becca’s picture, and it reminds the reader that the book was gifted to them in loving memory of her. The books were carefully purchased through our national book partner, First Book. The books are diverse in their topics, and the main characters are diverse in their race, ethnicity, and life experience. The goal was to make sure that all readers had a character or topic that they felt spoke to them and represented them, and Becca was a constant advocate for looking at the world through a lens of diversity and inclusion.

From our first days of life, reading shapes our future. Most of us are lucky enough to sit on a loving adult’s lap and get lost in the wonder of books. I remember the joy it was to come home from the library with stacks of books, or the fresh, crisp smell of a brand new book that was all your own.

Becca was a reader and a leader. While the loss of her life is devastating, it brings me joy that, in her memory, hundreds of kids will find themselves enamored with a new book. For many of these kids, they might not have ever owned their own book, and this will be something just for them; something they will choose and treasure. The books will be gifted to students this Saturday, August 6, at our Independence Back to School Fair. At the Fair, students will receive new backpacks filled with supplies, new tennis shoes, Bombas socks, and these special books in Becca’s memory. Furthermore, we have many community partners staging our Fair, which will provide great resources and entertainment for kids heading back to school. Our hope is to help families get ready and excited for the new school year, and later this month, CSL will host our back to school events at our Blue Springs, Grain Valley, and Oak Grove offices. Furthermore, we host an event for Spanish-speaking families, hosted by CSL’s Spanish-speaking staff and other community partners.

I’d like to thank the hundreds of donors that made our Back to School Fairs possible, and I’d like to give a special thanks to those who made gifts in Becca’s memory so that a piece of her could travel home with 1,600 local kids. I’d like to think that this gesture will have her grinning from ear to ear, as new readers and leaders are nurtured.