SEARCY, Ark. — Harding University dedicated an annual service Tuesday in honor of Botham Jean, following the guilty verdict of Amber Guyger.
“We lost somebody, and to lose somebody like Botham who was like a team leader for us was a really a hard challenge," Chuck Hicks said.
Botham was a part of The Good News Singers at Harding University. Tuesday the acapella group sang in his honor on the exact same stage he used to sing on.
"You could tell when he was singing, he was giving us part of his soul," Hicks said.
Chick Hicks is the director of The Good News Singers. he grew to know Botham like family when joined the group in 2014.
"I will never tire of talking about Botham. He was a friend. He wasn't just a student, he wasn't just a singer," Hicks said.
He said Botham's death last September does not get any easier, but Tuesday's guilty verdict against Amber Guyger brings some closure for the family.
“I wish it hadn’t taken a year to settle the issue but now that they have settled in, I think myself I might feel a little closure, too," he said.
Hicks said Jean was the type of person who was looking to be the best he could be.
"He would ask me, how do you grow up to be a good man? How do you grow up to be a father? How do you get to be a good husband?" Hicks said.
He said Tuesday was a difficult day for both sides of the aisle.
"Neither side won in this case," Hicks said.
But he hopes the Jean family has finally found some peace because it is what Botham would have wanted.
“How may hearts is Botham Jean in right now? Millions.” Hicks said.
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