The Deegan Project

05/23/2026

05/23/2026

I remember very clearly riding passenger princess with Chris one afternoon not long after Deegan died. First Date by blink-182 came on, and I laughed. I cranked it, and started singing it at the top of my lungs, just like Deegan and I used to do together when he was here. I made it about two lines before it hit me. I turned it off, tears streaming down my face.

We had a couple of songs we sung that way every time they came on when we were in the car together…County Roads by John Denver, Everything She Ain’t by Hailey Whitters…the list goes on. Music was one of the things we both loved. One of our favorite pastimes: finding new songs we thought the other would love.

I’m not easily impressed by music, especially covers. I’m kind of a music snob. I was, however, impressed enough by a couple of weeks ago that I clicked on his live and stayed awhile. We chatted a bit during his live, both living not far from each other here in Michigan. I’ve since been fortunate enough to hear Ben play live, and meet both he and his father, Doron Eisenberg. They’re two of the kindest people I’ve met in a long time.

Ben and his father approached us recently about organizing a fundraiser for The Deegan Project. I can’t help but feel like Deegan would think Ben is pretty okay too, so on June 14th we’ll be celebrating what would’ve been Deegan’s 20th birthday at in Clarkston. We’ll start at 5p, and Ben will be there playing live from 5-8p. Oh, and the best part…Ben’s dad has partnered with Alex’s on his plan for a fundraiser…they will be donating 20% of their proceeds that night to The Deegan Project.

I mean, ya gotta have dinner that day anyhow, but we would love to see all of you there to check out a pretty talented 16yo kid, and to celebrate Deegan with us. As Deegan would say…show up, and show out. See ya there.

05/21/2026

05/20/2026

2026 Cars and Coffee…y’all have no idea what’s in store. Last Saturday of the month, May-September. Holly High School. 9a-12p. See ya there.

05/16/2026

Four months ago, we announced The Deegan Walton Memorial Scholarship. Applicants had to fit one of two categories: seeking a career in the mental healthcare field, or pursuing a trade. We were overwhelmed by the responses we got.

We narrowed it down to 3 finalists, and asked them to write an essay telling us how mental health has impacted their lives. That didn’t help us choose a winner, because all three essays were incredibly well written. We’re fairly confident they weren’t written by AI, because we could sense the emotion, hope, and perseverance in their words.

SOMEONE (it’s me, Lori, I’m someone) couldn’t make up her mind, because there were such clear pieces of Deegan shining through in two of them, so please join us in congratulating BOTH of our 2026 winners.

Aaryn Smith is a Holly High School grad who loves working with his hands. He works at ACE Hardware, and in his free time, he golfs, plays basketball, and volunteers at a basketball camp for kids. A friend of their family who is an electrician taught him how to wire an outlet, and this inspired his interest in the way things were powered. He will be pursing a career as an electrician this fall.

Evelin Spiece is also a Holly High School grad. For her 16th birthday, her dad bought her a 1983 K10 Squarebody. She says she didn’t know much about cars then, but she loved doing projects with her dad so she was excited when he told her that they’d be restoring it together. She learned a lot on that project, and developed a love for working on cars. She says that when she was choosing a career, she remembered her dad telling her that she should do what she loves, and she loves working on cars. She will be pursuing a career in collision repair.