In Honor of Payton Rose Freeze: Payton’s Project

By Cathy Strittmater Payton’s Project is a non-profit organization begun by residents of Dominion Valley after Payton Rose Freeze ended her life Feb. 10, 2016, at the age of 17. The mission of Payton’s Project is to promote mental health wellness, anti-bullying, kindness and concussion awareness. Payton was a lovely young lady, a Dominion Valley resident, who exhibited these traits and this non-profit was created to honor her. Although COVID put some public and faceto-face endeavors on hold, we did manage to host numerous events throughout the pandemic. In 2020 and 2021 we paid for the first 20 cars lined up at several drive-in movie venues throughout Northern Virginia. Our goal was to bring awareness to the metropolitan area and to also spread kindness. At the Haymarket Chick-Fil-A, we donated meals to those who came to the restaurant on Payton’s birthday. Again, we aimed to spread kindness, awareness, and to pay-it-forward. To date, the organization has given away $48,000 in scholarships to high school seniors and those already in their post-secondary education to be used for their post-secondary education expenses, regardless of their grades. Rather, the scholarships are based on the merit, kindness and ability of the individual to persevere. This scholarship is on-going. Since 2017, a softball tournament is held every October in Payton’s honor with young ladies, age 10 to 18, in Prince William County. The event is co-hosted by the Shamrock’s girls softball team. Every year for the past four years we have taken part in Gainesville/Haymarket Rotary fundraiser to bring awareness about our mission and to support other non-profits in the Haymarket/Gainesville area. To date, we have funded six wellness rooms in Prince William County middle schools to assist in mental wellness for our children. Our goal is to have all middle schools in the county be used before, during and after school. We have helped fund, collect data, and institute a program called Payton’s Peers, a12-week modular program written by Dr. Jenny Mischel to help children who are suffering or have suffered from bullying. These children meet in small groups after school. The program is designed to help with self-esteem, develop strategies to overcome bullying, and give children tools to take charge of their own mental well-being. For the last three years, we have been a mainstay at the International Bullying Prevention Conference and the World Anti-Bully Forum, sharing our data and mission with other like-minded organizations. GOING FORWARD Our main focus for the next several years is to advocate and give grants to middle schools who want to institute wellness rooms in their schools. This will be expanded to high schools and elementary schools in the future. We were recently approved by Prince William County Public Schools and Emory University to be part of a study for the effectiveness of these wellness rooms. We are most excited about this study! We will continue and broaden our $1,000 scholarships to young people who exemplify kindness/inclusiveness in their daily walk or who have overcome being bullied and rose above it. This scholarship is solely based upon their character and behavior. Grades, athleticism, nor any other talent matters – their BEHAVIOR is the criteria. The scholarship is valid for any post-secondary education including universities, colleges, community colleges, and trade schools. We will continue to institute Payton’s Peers in local middle schools and high schools, as well as continue to spread awareness of the value in kindness, inclusiveness, and mental well-being. For more information visit paytonsproject.org or Freeze Bullying for Payton on Facebook. For volunteer information, contact Brent Freeze at bfreeze@ paytonsproject.org. We stand ready to bring mental wellness to our schools and communities. Won’t you join us?

Living Life to the Fullest: The Marsh Family

By Marianne Weaver | Photos by The Little Photo Shop From diving for sand dollars in the Gulf of Mexico and fishing at Bald Head Island to jet skiing with dolphins and shrimping off the coast of the Outer Banks, the Marsh family – Jason and Leah, Kylie, 16, Hunter, 14, and Bryce, 9 – don’t do anything halfway. “Our family has a lot of adrenaline junkies, so we try to keep things exciting,” said Leah. Four out of five Marshes have logged long hours on the lacrosse fields (football fields, and rivers). Kylie played lacrosse from third through eighth grade, before taking a break to try Grizzly football. “She was the only girl on their team,” said Leah. “Then she found Battlefield crew and fell in love with that sport. Hunter played Brigade Lacrosse from third through seventh grade. He was a goalie for Brigade and Go Big Lacrosse for more than five years. During that time, he played travel and regularly played against kids two to three years older than him. This year, he is trying out for Battlefield’s crew and lacrosse teams.

“He took a year off and found he loved playing the guitar,” said Leah. He and Bryce will be playing travel lacrosse at Go Big Lacrosse this spring. Bryce, she noted, would play every sport if allowed. But, she said, his favorites are tackle football and lacrosse. Jason was the commissioner of Brigade Lacrosse for the last eight years. He recently stepped down, due to health issues, but said he hopes to be back soon. “Jason has poured his heart and soul into this organization,” said Leah. “He taught the kids life lessons, not just lacrosse skills: Winning is fun, but you have to do it the right way. Being a good sport and learning the fundamentals were his goals. He has stayed up numerous nights stringing sticks. The kids always come first. He wants to make sure they understand and enjoy the sport.” He also coaches for the Gainesville Grizzly football program and Go Big Lacrosse. AT HOME IN HAYMARKET In 2004, Jason and Leah, government contracting co-workers, had one date before both were deployed to the Middle East. He was in Bahrain and Leah was in Doha. “I got into a bad accident and shattered both my wrists,” said Leah. “Since he was in a country close to me, he flew over and helped me get back to the States, and we have been together ever since.”

They’ve shared many memorable dates: Walking on the Grand Canyon skywalk, exploring a rainforest with natural waterfalls in Jamaica, deep sea fishing in Alaska, and trying their luck at a casino in Amsterdam, just to name a few. They hosted a rehearsal dinner at Blude Ridge Seafood (still a family favorite) and were married Friday, July 8, 2005, at the Bristow Manor. “It rained the morning of our wedding, but cleared right before we got married,” said Leah. “We were blessed to have so many friends and family there.” After trying out Leesburg, Ashburn, Manassas and Aldie, the family has set down roots in Gate Mills. “We’ve lived here for five years,” she said. “We love that we’re within walking distance of a park, restaurants and the high schools. It’s fun to walk over and see the football/ lacrosse games in the fall.” Jason attended West Virginia University, where he played lacrosse. He is now the director of consulting services at CGI Federal. Leah earned a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from Wayland Baptist University. She was an Air Force air traffic controller before changing her career path to intelligence officer. “As an IA, I briefed F-15 pilots, commanders and high ranking officials at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska,” she said. “After that, I started working for General Dynamics as an imagery analyst.” That’s the job that sent her to Doha. After her injury, her career path changed completely. “I decided to become a newborn photographer and opened my own business – LeahMarshPotography.com,” she said. “I absolutely love taking pictures of newborns.” Kylie and Hunter attend Battlefield High School, where both are members of the National Honors Society. Bryce attends a local elementary school and recently received the captain’s award (all As and Bs) the first quarter and the admiral’s award (straight As) the second quarter. All of the kids are involved with Park Valley Church youth groups and summer camps. Although the Marsh family is in constant motion, Leah said they place a priority on family time. “We make it a point to take summer vacations with the kids every year,” she said. “If we’re lucky enough to have some down time, we watch a movie and have pizza every Friday night. We go hiking in the Shenandoah mountains every fall when the leaves turn.”

Do you know a family that has an interesting story to share? Let us know! Send an email to dwykowski@bestversionmedia.com.