‘Live like Liv would’

Kindness.

It’s the one word that comes up, over and over, as people talk about Olivia Flores.

“Her motto was ‘treat people with kindness.’ It was how she perceived life,” said Nikki Krenzelok. “She was just such a bright, shining star. She impacted everybody in such different ways.”

If the turnout at the “Fly High Olivia” benefit last weekend was any indication, Krenzelok was absolutely right.

The event, featuring a pasta dinner and silent auction, drew hundreds of people: family, friends – and strangers.

Flores, 18, died May 19 of injuries she received when the car she was riding in was broadsided by a Minnesota State Patrol officer as he sped through a busy intersection near Apache Mall in Rochester.

A cheerleading captain, she was just three weeks away from graduating from Owatonna High School.

Krenzelok has been friends with the Flores family for about 10 years.

After the tragedy, she needed a way to channel the helplessness she felt.

“I started brainstorming about (a benefit) within a week of the accident,” Krenzelok said, “because I knew I wanted to do something; I just didn’t know what.”

She landed on the idea as a way to “show the family how much Olivia will be missed, how much she meant to us. We wanted to cushion the initial blow of everything – and to create scholarships in Olivia’s name.”

Specifically, Krenzelok said, “it was very important to the family that her legacy lives on,” so it was only natural to choose cheerleading and Young Life, which both played a major role in Flores’s life.

Addyson Krenzelok, a rising junior at OHS, was a close friend and cheered with Flores.

Since the crash, she has formed new relationships with people she hadn’t spoken with before – as a tribute to how Flores lived.

“I’d really like to keep her positive energy around,” Addyson said, “making sure to bring other people up instead of bringing them down.”

In addition to the Krenzeloks, the crew that organized the benefit included Flores’s other two best friends – and their mothers, as well as cheer coaches.

“We literally put together the best team,” Nikki Krenzelok said. “They’ve been amazing.”

Donations, she added, were “unbelievable. We didn’t even have room for everything” that came in for the silent auction. That night, someone handed her $1,000. Younger cheerleaders volunteered to serve and clear tables.

All the food – and the room at the Owatonna Eagles – was donated.

“Just … lots of people coming together,” Krenzelok said. “I don’t even know how to describe it. This just makes my heart happy.”

Flores would have been happy, too, said Sophie Garza, Olivia’s cousin.

“She’d be very proud of this; she’d be very proud of her community,” Garza said. “And it’s about her, so she would’ve loved it. She loved being the center of attention.”

Jordan Otte, who grew up with Flores, agreed.

“She’d think it was crazy, that this was all for her,” Otte said. “It says a lot about her – that she was caring, she was kind, no matter who you were. She was always willing to be there for you.”

It was all about returning the favor, said Krenzelok.

“Our main goal wasn’t about money,” she said. “It was more just about showing the family support and love and giving back to them. They provided us with this amazing young girl, who we all loved so much, and it’s just our turn to give back to them.”

The huge turnout was what she expected – sort of.

“Honestly, I thought we’d have a big response, because it’s a big family,” Krenzelok said, “but I wasn’t expecting the community to come together the way they did. We’re so grateful to these people.

“It just shows that small-town communities show up,” she continued. “It makes us proud to be from Owatonna, because Owatonna has shown up.”