Excerpt from On Eagle’s Wings “Eddie, this is Loyd Strickland.” Loyd Strickland, Loyd Strickland . . . Eddie’s mind raced; then he remembered — the man with Crystal Farms up in Gainesville. I wonder how he got my phone number, Eddie thought to himself before answering. “Yes sir, Mr. Strickland. How are you?” “Fine, fine,” he replied cordially. “Eddie, what are you doing right now?” “To tell you the truth, I’ve been praying.” “Well, listen here, you get off those knees of yours right now.” “What?” “I said get off of your knees. I’ve decided to give you $10,000 through my foundation and there’s another fella up here who’ll probably give you $5,000 more – that is, if you can find the time in your busy schedule to make it up here to talk to him. So get up and start moving, son. I believe you’ve got some work to do.” Opening THE DOOR TO A Dream Invest in what you know. This is one of many valuable pieces of advice Diane Magnus learned from her daddy, Loyd Strickland. Sitting in the Chestnut Mountain office where Strickland beckoned Eddie Staub in 1983 to provide him some of the first seed money for Eagle Ranch, Diane shared a few fond memories of her dad and the Ranch. Joined by her husband, Doug Magnus, President and CEO of Conditioned Air Systems, the couple also reflected on their ongoing support. What are some of your earliest memories of the Ranch? Diane: We’ve known Eddie since he arrived in Georgia. I remember feeling like Eddie was my new brother. I had a lot of those because dad was involved in YoungLife. But he was the latest and greatest at the time. I remember dad would say, “There’s something about that boy.” And they really had zero in common, except for a love for the Lord. Doug: I remember Eddie sitting in front of my office in his little blue car in 1983. He came in and said, ‘Doug we need you.’ And I said, ‘Eddie you don’t need me as bad as I need you.’ I was just getting into my business. We couldn’t do a lot to begin with, but over time we were able to do more. It’s been amazing to watch the Ranch grow and to watch our business grow. We’ve all just grown together in this community. invest in what you know Diane: Eddie asked my dad to open doors. He was ready to do the work; he just didn’t know who he needed to see. So Daddy introduced Eddie to people like Sonny Ellis. Sonny’s stamp of approval opened doors because he didn’t give it to everyone. One meeting led to the next and set things off. Loyd Strickland and Vince Dooley
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