To Joe’s family,

I met Joe as a young child in the 70’s & 80's.  Joe was our insurance “guy”, but to me he was so much more.  Joe was a mentor, a leader, a coach, and a friend.  To this day I remember his encouragement to be the best I could be, to believe in myself, and to dream big.  Joe shared many baseball and life stories with me and with his inspiration, I practiced day after day with the desired success to get better.  His examples of baseball wisdom, career tidbits, and his simple way of teaching me to see the bigger picture, helped shape not just the ball player in me, but the very core of who I was and who I have become today.  He taught to think out of the box with honor, integrity, passion, and vision, all with the story teller appeal and laugh that only Joe Galli could bring. 

All these years later, I still think of Joe from time to time, and it warms my heart to think of him because of the example and foundation he set.  I became a sports coach for my children and installed the philosophies that Joe taught me to others, to give them that edge, and hopefully make a lifelong impact.  I am honored to have known Joe and thankful for him taking the time to be a little part of my life.  It meant more than he will ever know, so I wanted to take this moment to share with his family to echo what I would imagine you all probably already know about him.  Yet I found out after my Dad’s passing, how much of a positive impact he had on so many people that I was not aware of, so I believe it’s nice to share this type of genuine emotion.

After reading his obituary, I did not realize the depths of singer songwriter within him (I knew of his daughter’s musicianship), which funny as it is, has also been a huge part of my life as well.  In fact, I will take the time to share a portion of the lyrics to a song I wrote in the mid 90s called “Break Free”.  The reason I share this is Joe Galli was one of the main “Men who came not every day” in the song's verse, and what a Vision he did make!  Peace and Love to Joe and the Galli family and may you continue to shine the goodness and stories of this great man’s legacy.  Thank you Joe.

BREAK FREE

Cody came into this world, Just like any other man

He trudged on through the fields and snow, Spent time in a country land

Dreamed he was a super hero, and would come to save the day

Competing in the daylight, and wishing he could stay

In a place of ambiance, where cynics shuffled through

Family started breaking up, second site was something new

By men who came not every day, for a Vision they would make

Teaching through experience, learning to give and take

He knew, he had to….

Break Free, Break Free, don’t just go through the motion

Break Free, Break Free, Head out to the ocean

Break Free, Break Free, Get yourself One Notion

Break Free, Break Free, Time is now, to go in motion.

Sincerely,

Dave LeVardi