In October, our chapter hosted a cornhole tournament fundraiser, complete with hot dogs and linguiça sandwiches fresh off the grill. It was a well-attended and lively event, and what made it even more special was seeing guests and participants from other chapters come out to support us. My team—especially my sister, Rhonda Stephens—put a tremendous amount of time into the planning and details, which made the event such a success.
People often ask why I organize these events—and why Lambert and our team put so much effort into them. The truth is, I don’t do it for myself or even for the success of our chapter. I do it for our employees and their children. My hope is that they can benefit from the scholarship opportunities we work so hard to fund, giving them a chance to pursue higher education and brighter futures. In fact, this cause is especially close to my heart—my daughter was a recipient of this scholarship back in 1998, along with my granddaughter and an employee’s daughter. Being able to see the positive impact that the additional funds had on their college experience was amazing.
A huge thank-you to everyone who supported this event!
Looking ahead, we’ve decided to try something new—a pickleball tournament in February. Pickleball is certainly having its moment, and we’re excited to give it a whirl. Hopefully, it will be just as well-attended and enjoyable as our cornhole tournament was.
Moving on to our Fall Board Meeting in Reno, it was another shining example of the dedication and effort that go into CMSA events. This meeting is very important, as we make decisions for future CMSA convention venues and put a great deal of thought into selecting and planning the locations for these events. The meeting was well-attended, well-planned, and well-executed. Kudos to Steve and Gale for their hard work and thoughtful organization that made the event such a success.
We wrapped up with a memorable bourbon-tasting experience, where we not only sampled some fine bourbons but even created our own barrel! We brought it home—and now we’ll be turning it every 30 days. In about three months, we’ll have our finished product.