Mariann Asbury, our January Random Acts of Trophy-ness winner, deserves a trophy for almost every reason we could imagine. It was hard to find a suitable name for her trophy, but we think we found it in this: A Heart as Big as the Ocean Award.
And it was a recent episode of ABC’s “The Middle” that inspired Katherine Kotaw, a previous Random Acts of Trophy-ness winner, to nominate Mariann.
Sue Heck, the inspiration for our #ShowUsYourSue award, is enjoying success at college. It seems that her indefatigable spirit, which never failed her despite humiliating defeats as a child, is finally being rewarded. She’s chosen a career that fits her personality, resides in a posh apartment paid for by her roommate’s father and feels so independent that she made through an entire episode without visiting or calling her parents.
Honoring a Sometimes Painful Past
But Sue hasn’t forgotten what it was like to be an outsider for most of her life. When, during the episode, her friend Brad suggested that their no-cut acapella group become more discerning to better their chances at winning a contest, Sue reminds him about the importance of inclusion, something they both sought but rarely achieved during high school.
When most members of the group bail at the last minute – fearing embarrassment – Sue and Brad brave the competition alone. Their performance is terrible but, in true #ShowUsYourSue fashion, the pair encourages the audience to mock them. Brad holds up the mike and tells the audience to jeer them on with “Boo” and Sue holds out the mike and asks them to chant “You suck!” The audience shouts “You suck. You suck. You suck. Boo!” as Brad and Sue gamely finish their song and dance. The audience applauds them at the end. They didn’t win the competition, but they won everyone’s hearts.
Heart that Stretches Across the Sea
And Mariann won ours. Mariann moved from Scandinavia to Oregon as a young woman. She married the “best husband in the universe,” and, after having a son of their own, they adopted four siblings whose mother could not care for them. Between rearing the children largely on her own (her husband is a long-distance truck driver) and launching a photography business, Bambino Zoom & Shootz Photography, she could have easily said “I’m too busy” when a childhood friend reached out to her about a woman in their community who needed help.
Like the fictional Sue, the real-life Mariann did not ignore her roots. As Katherine, whose life story became a Lifetime movie, “Run for Your Life,” tells it:
“Mariann reached out to me about a year ago seeking my advice about an abused woman who was battling the court system in Scandinavia to protect herself and her children from a man she had fled. She thought, giving my background, that I could help. And I did. For a while, I acted like Cyrano de Bergerac, providing behind-the-scenes advice that Mariann translated for the woman in Scandinavia.
A Song for an Unsung Hero
“Mariann gives me a lot of credit for the successful outcome (the woman won both a criminal and civil case and the father’s rights to his children were permanently severed). But she’s the unsung hero here.
“She not only helped this young woman and her young children fight a daunting legal battle, she also sent them care packages of food, bedding and clothing. More important, she stood up to community leaders on the woman’s behalf, which was a major challenge for Mariann. Because of trauma in her own childhood, Mariann was unaccustomed to standing up to male authority. But her concern and compassion for a mother and her children overrode her fears. She was literally tireless – counseling the woman and her family on Scandinavia time and taking care of her own on Oregon time, 9 hours behind.
“And she is so humble about her role. She put much of her life on the backburner in order to help a woman she barely knew. She listened to gruesome, heartbreaking details about domestic abuse without flinching or turning away. She acted in true #ShowUsYourSue spirit, and I’d love for Trophy Central to recognize her as someone whose heart is a big as the ocean and who put social media to social good. Actually to social greatness – the lives of an entire family changed for the better because of her selfless deeds.”
Nominate Your Candidate for a Random Act of Trophy-ness
We agree and are thrilled to add Mariann to our growing list of #ShowUsYourSue trophy winners. But we don’t want this important campaign to end here. Please send us your nominations for a Random Act of Trophy-ness in the comments section below, or on Facebook or Twitter using #ShowUsYourSue. Don’t forget to tell us why you think your nominee deserves a trophy!
