"You are bending your wrist and moving your head; you need a steady wrist and head when you play golf," is what he said when he was teaching me how to play golf. "You need to look at the surface, the discoloring, the cut, the holes... You must check every piece; there are no shortcuts in sorting," is what he said when he was teaching me scrap. A natural-born teacher with such generosity. Best friend, mentor, business partner, anyone could ever ask for.

Kevin Demedici passed away on September 21, 2025, after dealing with mental health issues for five years. He did not just throw in the towel for those who don't know him. He battled like a champ for five years. Day in, day out, he went to battle. He did not just teach me how to golf or the scrap industry. He taught me how to battle, how to be tedious, how to take care of customers, vendors, and every piece of metal. I learned it from Kevin. He gave me a career. He paid me a salary while I was worthless to our company, just so I was taken care of. He made me touch the metal to learn it, not talk about it over the phone, looking at a picture of it on a computer screen, but touch it. It breaks my heart to write this obituary, as it was only a few days ago when we were together. I saw the brilliant light in him again, just as I had when we met in my early 20s.

When he decided to start our business, I knew nothing about the scrap business. His first words were, "We will be 50/50 partners, you will learn so quickly, I promise this will be an amazing run." I was puzzled by how generous he was as he was putting all he had in it, and I was just his student. Years passed, and he told me about his childhood. I was puzzled even more to see this incredible human being coming from years and years of a tremendously dark past. What a pure, kind smile for a past as sad and scarred as his.

We had more meals, family vacations, boys' trips, business trips, poker games, long drives, long conversations, and drinks than I could think of. We had our firstborns a week apart, where I was at the hospital when Carter was born, and he was with me when my son was born.

He touched so many of us. I know some people will struggle sleeping for a while, thinking about what they could have done differently to help Kevin. I know I will.

I will do everything in my power to help his family as much as possible financially, as they need it more than anyone could imagine. His late wife Audrey, cannot work as she is sick, and Carter and Zoe need our help.

Please help me give the children a life worth living by donating.