BOZEMAN — Tens of thousands of people filled an Arizona stadium to honor the late conservative activist, Charlie Kirk. One person in attendance Sunday was Chase Sick, a born and raised Montanan and a man that has had a personal connection to Kirk.
Pictured: Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University before shooting
Sick worked for Turning Point USA in the past and recalled his first interaction with Kirk, picking him up at the Bozeman airport on a snowy day in his old Ford pick-up.
“Charlie was just so charismatic, you just instantly felt like he connected with you, and it sounds cliché, but I knew that he was going to change the world for the better,” Sick said, “And it’s very tragic how things have gone, but I think it’s important that we uphold his legacy.”
RELATED — Erika Kirk says her husband Charlie Kirk's mission "will not end" with his death
Sick was honored in 2017 as the Turning Point USA Field Director of the year, which Chase credits to all the traveling they did in the state.
“Charlie – oh man, he loved Montana! This was one of, if not his favorite, state. He just really prized the freedoms we have here,” Chase said.
On September 10th, when Chase received the news that Charlie had been shot, he was working and in and out of cell service, and remembers texting his friend.
“I reached out to a friend and said ’He’s going to pull through this, he’s going to forgive whoever did this and he’s going to go on to be president’ because that’s how I always thought of Charlie,” Sick said, “ Then when I found out he was gone, I was just in utter despair the rest of the day and it was just a really hard day, and a hard week.”
WATCH: Ex Turning Point member speaks on Charlie Kirk and his legacy
Sick stopped working for Turning Point USA in 2019 but says he kept in touch with Kirk. The last text exchange that the two had, Sick says, showcases a huge part of Charlie’s legacy.
“I congratulated Charlie on speaking his mind to President Trump about the situation in Iran and he said, ‘Thank you, blessed are the peacemakers.’” Sick said.
Chase said that for him, to honor Charlie’s legacy involved going out and having those hard conversations with people that you may disagree with.
“We need to, like Charlie did, flesh out why you believe what you believe and have that conversation out of love and respect for that human being.” Sick said, “And that’s how we will heal as a nation and that’s how we will remember the legacy of Charlie Kirk.”
RELATED —
Campus tours to continue following Charlie Kirk's death
Montana Republican leaders share grief at shooting death of Charlie Kirk
