Dear SOAR! Applicants and all the rest of the world that supports SOAR!,
We’ve got a handful of things to share!
First, Brian and I are blown away. We have a total of 247 SOAR! Video Entries/Applications to review—and possibly a couple more that we are having trouble uploading. It is AMAZING!
The last couple days of the SOAR! deadline was totally unexpected. I’m sure you all know this, but we are simply overwhelmed. On Monday night, in those last five hours before the deadline, we had almost 100 new videos submitted. One HUNDRED! If you’ve been watching them as they upload, every single video is genuine and courageous. And we haven’t even finished approving and uploading all of them to the SOAR! website yet. Yes, there is still more to come today!
I know some of you are worried that your video was not approved b/c you still don’t see it. The team has been up until the wee hours several mornings in a row, and we have around 70 more videos to upload. So hang in there. Just so you know, the only reason your video would not be approved is if you were in some way inappropriate. The likelihood of this happening is so slim, but we felt that it was important to review each video, its purpose, and content before we went live with it. So far, everyone has been approved. So breathe easy if you were scared that your missing video was b/c your not approved. Most likely, we haven’t got it up yet.
So I have to be honest with you. Brian and I sat down and talked this through. And we…oh, this is so hard to say because I feel so bad…but we need more time. The panel of judges needs more time, and we need more time. With all the last minute entries, we don’t feel that we can be ready to announce the winners by January 1st. We need to push it out to Friday, January 8th.
We are committed to making time for the holiday with our sweet family. We are also overwhelmed b/c of how unbelievable the response was. But we especially don’t want to rush this important decision. Everyone has done such an AMAZING job with their SOAR! Applications, and we want to review every video without being crazy rushed.
In the midst of all this, you may have noticed a couple new features that were turned on this morning. If you click on the video, a couple things pop up. There is an assigned number to the video (please note: NOT the number in the upper left hand corner—ignore that number b/c it changes with every new video uploaded). There is also a thumbs up feature. And there is a voting and comment feature.
The SOAR! Scholarship is NOT a popularity contest by any means. Breathe easy on that one. We will not pick a winner based on how many votes are given to someone. But we’d like your help. We know that a number of these videos have really moved you, and we’d love to have you star and comment on your favorites.
Until December 31st, you will have the opportunity to vote for your favorite SOAR! videos. Vote for as many as you’d like. Ask all your friends and family to help vote too. We would love to know who you think should win and why.
Why do this? We’ve had a couple close friends talk through a handful of the videos with us, sharing their thoughts, and it’s so great to hear their input. Your input would be wonderful too. But again, it’s not a popularity contest so please don’t stress. Instead, this is an opportunity to let your favorite women know what a great job they did, and let us know. Think "ENCOURAGING” not “COMPETITION”.
Some fun news…
The SOAR! team is also working on a SOARORITY Forum. Yeah! One of the women on the SOAR! website came up with the, SOARORITY term, and even though I was never in a sorority, I love how catchy that is! And I’m sure you’d agree that we seriously need a bigger way to connect with each other. We secured the websites and hope to have a forum up and live! If you’d like to help with the SOARORITY! Forum, shoot me an email!
I also LOVE how some of you are talking about finding ways to meet! We totally need SOAR Sister Groups all over the country. One of the most powerful anchors to building your dream is to have sisters supporting you. If you got SOAR SISTER Groups going, I would totally come visit! We’ve also been sifting through the idea of a SOAR! Conference at some point. Ladies, I’m right there with you! Lots and lots of ideas are in motion!
But first things first. We’ve got a ton of videos to still upload. I have about 25 people coming for dinner Christmas Eve. My mom’s birthday is Christmas Day. And then we want to take some time to review every video and discuss with the judges. Thank you for understanding why we need to push the date back, I know it’s painful. I totally know. We’ve never done this before and are learning as we go. Your constant grace is appreciated.
And I have to say one more thing—I know this post is crazy long, but I HAVE TO SAY THIS! SOAR! Sisters you are all AMAZING! I know the next few days are crazy for all of us. But take the time to pat yourself on the back. Stand proud. Your courage to make a video and submit it is inspiring! Do you know what you did? You took your dream out of your head and spoke it into life! No matter what happens, your life is changed forever! And it’s because you did it! You made your dream worthy of having when you submitted your video.
It is a honor to be a part of your lives. Have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas.
All my love,
Me Ra
Any great parent understands the power of incentives, and since the SOAR! Scholarship is my baby…you bet I’m going to parent the heck out of it! 
). It was hilarious!
