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Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one where they sprung up. – Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Leadership Lamar County Class of 2011-2012 believed in it.
I kept on thinking about this pearl of wisdom as I sat down to compile a letter of gratitude to all those who made it possible for our Leadership Lamar County Class of 2011-2012 to turn our annual fund raiser “ Stars of Today, Stars of Tomorrow “ into a huge success.
As our Journey began, the Leadership Lamar County Class of 2011-2012 worked diligently through out the year to raise an aggregate of $ 108,000 through various fundraising campaigns.
The fund raising experience kicked off with the T-Shirt sale arranged by Chad Johnston and the Golf Tourney arranged in April by Jeff Trower. This eventually led to our major fund raiser, Dancing with the Stars now popularly known as “ The Stars of Today, Stars of Tomorrow” which was arranged by our entire LLC class.
The purpose of all these fundraising campaigns by the LLC Class of 2011-2012 has been to raise $78,000 to renovate the Boys and Girls Club of the Red River Valley. After deducting expenditures incurred by arranging “The Stars of Today, Stars of Tomorrow” event the Leadership Class of 2011-2012 is confident to meet it’s goal.
The success of this event was not a fluke. Class members and volunteers from our community put in their best till the very last day. All our Class members and volunteers believed in that they were given a chance to prove their potentials and considered themselves fortunate to do so. The talent was there, right from the beginning. Our talented class members and volunteers brought in ideas owing to their diversified fields of professions and their unique willingness to make those ideas transpire into reality. It was pure teamwork, hard work and faith from the beginning till the end. Our Class members and volunteers from the community worked as a team, contributing their ideas, sweat and determination in the making of the grand event “Stars of today, Stars of Tomorrow”.
The credit of this foremost goes to our Leadership Lamar County Class President Clint Hildreth From North Lamar ISD and Shelli Snodgrass, LLC Class Event Coordinator from Snodgrass Financial Strategies. Clint provided the balance, the persuasion and the incentive to try even harder every step of the way. While, Shelli went all out to make all the difference. She held monthly meetings at her office with all the Committee Chairpersons thus providing direction to all by compiling valuable information for each Committee Chairperson that helped guide the committees keep their focus on their respective goals.
Then there were the Committee Chairpersons Jennifer Ray from Paris ISD, who worked closely with the dancers and the judges, Silent / Live Auctions were handled by Chad Johnston from Campbell Soup, Decorations were thought through by Reina Palma From Denney Architects, Catering and Alcohol Committee headed by the duo of Tom Carl from Campbell Soup and Brian Figley from Kimberley Clark arranged for the food and beverages. Courtney Todd from Hiring Partners Inc. handled tickets and Sponsorships, Panissa Dor from PRMC compiled the event book, Brittany Williams from Century 21 Harvey Properties made sure all the dancers had their costumes and props ready for the event and Greg Barber from Lamar County and District Attorneys provided help to clean up after the event. I appreciate and thank you all.
Our LLC Class knew we were in for something great when volunteers from our community pitched in with their time and money. We owe our utmost gratitude to all volunteers involved. Randy Nation, Dave Johnson, Jon McFadden and Kenny Daus for donation of their time on the night of the event on Saturday June 16th 2012. Lisa Jones for providing makeup, Blue Suitcase for performing during the cocktail/dinner hour, Merrill Dean & Chris Snodgrass for hanging the chandeliers, our 4 judges (Ty & Monica Treadway, Nancy Mabrey and Bruce Hood) for volunteering their time, Chad Wolfe for being the Auctioneer, Billy Collard for bringing Chandeliers over at his cost, Royal Cleaners for cleaning all the linens, Aramark for donation of napkins, Chris Snodgrass for allowing the LLC class to use his office for meetings, Creative Candy Designs for donating balloons, ribbons, high float, Matheson Tri-gas and donation of helium, the T-shirt shop for their donation of trophies, Krista Goethe, J.D. Davidson and Mel Parker from Paris News for providing continues coverage of the event through out the year and Bob Hashke for donation of his air time for the event on the radio.
A special thanks to Paris Regional Medical Center and Toyota Of Paris for being our Gold Sponsors, Paris Cardiology Center –Khalid Shafiq M.D. for being the Center of Attention Sponsor and for sponsoring all advertisements related to the event. Thank you to our Club Sponsors Hiring Partners Inc and Paris Chamber of Commerce. Other local Star Sponsors that we owe gratitude to are: Century 21 Harvey Properties, Kimberly Clark, Buffalo Joes, Lamar Vet Clinic, Kwick Kopy, Uptown Properties, Vital Beet, Bois D’ arc, Dr. Hashmi, Well Balance Center, Jazzercise of Paris, Home Place, Paris Extended Stay, the Wright Family and Snodgrass Financial Strategies.
Last but not least, my utmost gratitude to all those volunteers from our community that I missed to mention. Gratitude is not only a memory but also the homage of the heart and homage should be given where homage is due. The Lamar County Chamber of Commerce gave our Leadership Lamar County Class a chance to serve our Community. The LLC Class of 2011-2012 owes gratitude to Lamar County Chamber of Commerce for it. Through this journey, we have made friends, fondest memories and gained the experience of a lifetime in business entrepreneurial skills that promises a better future for each one of us in our class. Thank you once again Paris Community for giving us this unique opportunity to serve you and while doing so we have learned to become better community leaders.
Ayesha Shafiq
Publicity Chairperson Leadership Lamar County Class 2011-2012.
Director Paris Cardiology Center-Khalid Shafiq M.D.
Ayesha Shafiq, Director of Paris Cardiology Center. Wife of Khalid Shafiq M.D. and mother of their 2 children. Director of Paris Cardiology Center for 11 years. Masters in International Relations. Runs management with the help of 22 employees.
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