Groomsmen
Craig Derksen and Michael Piet are Ben's co-best men; they're his two best friends and he couldn't be happier that they've both agreed to stand with him on the big day. Lacy Hobgood and Ben have been friends for over 10 years now, and Ben is very excited that Lacy is going to be able to take time out of his incredibly busy schedule to take part in the wedding. More on each of these fine guys is below.
Craig Derksen
Craig was born in 1975 up north - far up north. Craig's from Winnipeg, Manitoba (that's Canada, for the geographically challenged). He and his lovely now-wife-then-girlfriend Kerri came down to Maryland in 1999 when Craig was accepted to the same philosophy graduate program that Ben was in. The three quickly became good friends and even lived together for nearly a year before Ben moved to Virginia to be closer to work (the two- hour commute was not as much fun as it was advertised to be).
Michael Piet
Mike was born in 1977 and immediately became a world-traveler; he and his parents have lived in more interesting places than most people ever dream of. Luckily for Ben, one of those places was Chapel Hill, NC, where Mike came in as a freshman during Ben's sophomore year. The two became buddies within a larger group of volleyball players and have remained friends over the nearly ten years since. Ben's very glad that Mike will be there to take part in one more of the biggest changes of direction a life can take.
Lacy Hobgood
Lacy was born in 1975 in North Carolina; he and Ben met originally in high school at the North Carolina School of Science and Math, and became friends while living in adjoining suites in college. Lacy's currently in residency at ChristianaCare in Delaware (for internal medicine and pediatrics, that over-achiever). He and his wife Ebea (another long-time friend) honored Ben by including him as a groomsman in their wedding; Ben's happy to be able to return the favor.