A sparkling night has many shining stars

Thank you.

That's what I want to say as I sit here on the floor of a room somewhere down one of the back halls of the Show Me Center, still wearing the designer dress that I felt like the luckiest girl in the world to get to wear on Saturday night.

The Semoball Awards have been over for about 15 minutes now, and I just want to say 'thank you' to everyone who made it possible. And that starts with the athletes.

I'm never quite sure how to make a high school athlete understand what a privilege it is to be a part of their lives, and a part of their accomplishments, even for just a couple minutes at a time after games or events. Telling their stories is and always will be the best part of my job.

We did our best to highlight those stories at the Semoball Awards, and I look forward to the opportunity to do that year after year.

See the smiling faces, the selfies on social media, the looks on the faces of winners and the best athletes Southeast Missouri has to offer all dressed up and sharing moments together was the highlight of my night.

Thank you also to our sponsors. I've probably heard hundreds of people from all walks of life and areas of business say that during my life, but I never understood it before this experience.

It's as simples as this: Tonight would not have been possible without SoutheastHEALTH, Technomad, the Harry Blackwell family of dealerships, First Midwest Bank and all of the other businesses and individuals who supported this idea and event.

I promise that's true and no one asked me to say it. We wanted to put on a first-class night complete with a red carpet and the many photographers that always come with them, a big screen and lighting that drew oohs and ahhs, a wonderful dinner, and more -- including an ice sculpture, of course. The sponsors gave us the power to give those things to all of you.

Thank you to Kyle Maynard for his wonderful message. When he asked the audience, "What belief are you holding onto in your life that is a lie?" I had a "Wow" moment on a level I haven't experienced in a long time. His point, more narrowly, was that we tell ourselves things we can't do all the time -- like he told himself he couldn't win a wrestling match when he was young. And that was a lie. He could and he did.

I quickly made a mental list of the lies I tell myself when Maynard asked that, and I'm going to do my best to never tell them again.

Thank you to Lucas Presson, who envisioned this night long before I believed it would ever happen. He's not a name you see on semoball.com, but he's been in the office and behind the scenes from the beginning, turning his vision into what we all saw Saturday night.

Thank you to the rest of the staff who made this possible from designer Greg Dowdy to all of the Rust family to all of the sports editors, reporters, broadcasters, interns and clerks who helped select the finalists and so much more. It's not possible to name you all, but you know who you are.

Thank you to each and every one who is a lover of high school sports -- whether you were at the Semoball Awards on Saturday night or not.

Sports can sometimes be trivialized and they occasionally can be given too much gravity, but to those of us who understand them as tests of character and avenues for self-discovery and excellence -- despite the reality that sometimes we all lose -- the Semoball Awards were a night to remember and a night to appreciate all that sports give back to us.

I loved standing on stage and watching my dress sparkle in the lights, but I love sitting here on this floor, feeling the pressure of the deadline that's beating down on me every time I pause.

I like to think the finalists felt similarly Saturday night. I hoped they loved their chance to sparkle, and I hope they can't wait to get back on the floor -- or field or track or whatever -- and feel the pressure beating down on them.

I can't wait to watch and I can't wait to see the next group of finalists at next year at the Semoball Awards.

Rachel Crader is sports editor of the Southeast Missourian and semoball.com.