Memphis Downtowner March 2011 : Page 24
} Continued from page 22 MY 2 CENTS } As Girls Inc. celebrates its 65th anniversary, I want to … increase the number of after-school locations so we are accessible to a more diverse population and able to serve more girls. i also want to help build great brand awareness about the organization so that more people are involved in what we do and will want to support us monetarily, which would help bring about greater financial stability. measuring and analyzing results better is also critical to our future success. } My favorite way to interact with the girls … is to give them hugs. } I’m proudest of … the incredible difference we make in the lives of the girls we serve, and i feel privileged every day to hear their stories about how Girls inc. changed their lives. i’m also proud of the growth we’ve experienced over the past two years. we’ve gone from two after-school centers to six, which al-lowed us to serve an additional 225 girls. } As a child, I dreamed I would be … when i was a kid, it was before women’s lib, so i really just wanted to grow up, get married, and have someone take care of me. i had no career plans whatsoever. At that time, it just wasn’t the thing. } The biggest lesson Girls Inc. has taught me … is perseverance. } The baby doll in the baby carrier next to my desk … is part of our preventing Adolescent pregnancy program. the teens end the program with an over-night retreat called Baby, think it over. these baby dolls are computerized to simulate a real baby, so they cry, need to be fed, want to be held, need to be changed, etc. A computer printout tells us if any harm was done to the baby — shaking or hitting, for example. the girls are also given an economics scenario so that during the retreat, they learn the consequences of becoming pregnant, and they learn that babies are not only expensive, but they’re a lot of work! it’s very effective. } I have no … creative or artistic ability at all! } I’ll never forget … when i took over as executive director of the Greater memphis Area workforce development Agency in 2000. i had to go annually to nashville and make a presentation before the tennessee department of Labor. the first time i went, i was telling them about all the things the agency was going to accomplish. one of the panel members said, “i’m tired of hearing what memphis is going to do. i want to hear what you are doing .” i looked him straight in the face and said, “i promise you this: next year when i come back, i’ll be telling you what memphis has done.” And we did. } My biggest regret … is i wish i knew the names of all of the girls we serve. } In business, I am … an implementer. i’m not your strategic thinker. But if you give me a plan and tell me what needs to be done, i’m good at organizing and making the plan happen. } The biggest challenges facing young women today … peer pressure, media — including adult-themed music lyrics, television programs, movies, entertain-ers — sex is everywhere and it’s glamorized. when you’re young, you just don’t know that is not reality. } The biggest misperception people have about Girls Inc. … is that we only work with low-income, at-risk girls. our programs are for all girls. } What surprised me most about this job … are the incredible variety of programs and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities we offer our girls, such as traveling to new York and ringing the closing bell at nAsdAQ, traveling to washington, dc, and meeting speaker of the house nancy pelosi, and having their pho-tography exhibited at the memphis Brooks museum of Art, just to name a few. } The part of this job that requires the most stamina … fundraising. } From my mother, I got … it wasn’t her voice, unfortunately! } When I need to totally clear my mind, I … dance. i love to dance. Bop, east coast swing, and west coast swing saved my life. About a year after my husband passed away, a friend told me about the Bop club, a local dance organization that dances weekly on Friday nights. one night when the walls were closing in, i went. they welcomed me in, and i decided to take lessons. it truly saved my life. } In the face of adversity, I … pray. } I have never … done anything that is more rewarding than what i am doing right now. } One of my true loves today … is my husband, tom. we met at Alfred’s on Beale. Alfred’s has a 17-piece jazz orchestra that plays sunday evenings from 6 till 9. of course, i’ve loved big bands since i was a child, and i live downtown. i also knew a few of the band members, so i felt safe going. one night, tom walked in. i noticed him right away. the drummer happened to know both of us, so he made introductions. we got married in 2009 and had a ‘60s-themed wedding on the roof of the center for southern Folklore with a reception at Alfred’s where the memphis Jazz orchestra played. } My greatest extravagance … i’m really not an extravagant person. i just have no interest in material things. i’d rather give them away. } I get most discouraged when … things don’t go as fast as I want them to. And that happens a lot! } I’m not very good at … numbers. Yeah, i know i’ve got a degree in finance. what was i thinking? i actually took the test for my c.p.A. and passed three of four parts. what i did not pass was “practice,” which is the number crunching. } Most people don’t know that I … got married in the ninth grade and became a teenage mom. } One of the most valuable lessons I was taught … was from my grandfather: have a good work ethic. } The one characteristic about myself I wish I could change … i wish i was able to take things a little more in stride. i’m working on that! } I’m not easily … deterred. i am very strong-willed, and when i make up my mind to do something, i usually get it done. } One of the questions I’d like to ask God … oh, there are so many that we think we want to ask, but i don’t think we’re going to care when we get to heaven and understand it all at last. } Looking back now, I realize … that everything that happened to me, all the work i’ve done, and the relationships i built along the way have all prepared me to be where i am today — this is where i am supposed to be. it’s remarkable to me to see God’s hand in it. } My final 2 cents … trust God, and everything else — faith, obedience, perseverance — will fall into place. during a recent sermon, my pastor challenged everyone to pick an area in their lives that they wanted to change and then find one word to focus on in that area of change. we made the commitment to focus on that one word for a year. the word i chose was “trust.” if you trust God, everything else in the world falls in place. trust is the bottom line. READ THE ENTIRE “MY 2 CENTS” ON OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.MEMPHISDOWNTOWNER.COM 24 MEMPHIS DOWNTOWNER MARCH 2011 2011 MARCH memphisdowntowner.com
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