Tuesday, January 27, 2009

January Volunteer of the Month

Blog readers, I'm afraid I've been negligent of my blogging duties. I kept thinking I had time to get our monthly Volunteer of the Month post up because, you know, it was just the beginning of the month. But then, I realized my time has gone by so quickly and I've found myself at the end of the month already! If 2009 goes by as quickly as January did, we're in for a fast year!
Our January Volunteers of the Month deserved more time and recognition on this site, that's for sure. Amy Hegi and Shay Sides co-chaired a new campaign for donor giving, Heart of a Hero, last year. This donor campaign was to encourage individual giving to donate a gift of $500 or more. The program raised $71,000. In November, we hosted a cocktail party for recognition and thank you to the donors of the program, including our special guest speaker Linda Armstrong Kelly, mother of Lance Armstrong and motivational speaker/author. Shay and Amy significantly helped Heroes for Children achieve fundraising success in 2008 and we're very grateful for their time and effort.

If you are interested in the Heart of a Hero program for 2009, please contact Michelle Peacock at mpeacock@heroesforchildren.org

Time for our fun answers from our January Volunteers of the Month!


Shay Sides with her family



Amy Hegi with her family

Name, Occupation:

Shay:

Shay Sides
Wife and Mom
Escrow Assistant/Marketing – Republic Title


Amy:

Amy Hegi
Wife and Mom
Chauffeur, personal assistant, waitress, maid, short order cook, CFO, CEO…

How did you get involved with HFC?

Shay:
I work with Andrew Scott at Republic Title so I followed sweet Allie’s life and soon met Jenny and Larissa. My initial involvement with HFC was chairing Underwriting for the first Heroes and Handbags brunch.


Amy: I attended one of the first HFC meetings at Cameron Smith's house (HFC board member) and was hooked. I had to be involved! I have had a passion for this organization since I was introduced to Jenny and Larissa.

Do you have any kids and/or pets?


Shay:

Jack – 10
Mary Claire – 8
Shelby – 3
2 fish


Amy:

Kate – 8 years
Mary Allison – 5 years
Lila Grace – 6 moths
Baker – puppy


From looking at you, no one would guess that…..

Shay:

I would love to be a doctor!


Amy:

My husband and I just spent our 20th Christmas together.

Favorite place to eat:

Shay:

The Porch


Amy:

Café Pacific

What’s on your book shelf?

Shay:

The Power of a Praying Parent and Wife
The Mitford Series


Amy:
The Bible, Healthy Sleep Habits (it’s not working!), Twilight

What’s in your iPod/CD changer?
Shay:

All Country


Amy:

a little bit of everything… Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Neil Diamond, Beyonce, Elton John, Cold Play, George Strait, Caedmon’s Call, Jon Abel, Highschool Musical…

Who’s your hero?

Shay:
My grandmother, Gene Evans, who is the unsung hero of our family. She is a faithful servant of the Lord, a wonderful wife, raised 3 amazing sons and is a precious grandmother – a true role model for me.

Amy:

My grandmother, Rosemary Long. She was a woman before her time! She gave 100% to everything she did and made you feel like the most important and loved person in the world. She made everyone feel that way. She knew what it meant to love and serve God above all others. She was one of the first women in Texas to get her masters degree and devoted over 50 years of her life to teaching 3rd grade. She was an absolutely amazing woman!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

New HFC Team Member

Hello everyone!
Just wanted to introduce myself as the newest team member at HFC. I am very excited to be part of this wonderful organization and look forward to raising more money for pediatric cancer families in Texas.

A little bit about me...
  • Native Texan - born in Dallas, but moved around a bit as a child. Moved back to Dallas after graduating Mississippi State University (and a brief stint in Memphis)
  • Worked in corporate America for 7 years before jumping ship for non-profit.
  • Started at The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, then served as the Executive Director for Wipe Out Kids' Cancer for 6 years.
  • Married with four kids and living in McKinney, TX
  • Coach my 3-year-old's soccer team
  • and before kids (BK), I used to do triathlons and marathons. Now I do snotty-noses and break up fights. :)

Thanks for being involved with Heroes for Children. I look forward to meeting everyone!

Michelle Peacock, Director of Development