Blog

?Snowball Express brings together children of the Fallen right before Christmas to have fun, be together, and just heal. The organization provides an opportunity for children to be with others "like them ", to be "normal " because they often are the only ones in their schools and communities who have lost a parent at war, they just feel different. A feeling Samantha Ponder understands all too well, being the daughter of one of our nation's Fallen.

 

?After years of teaching special education and serving as a JOBS coordinator, which involved a "school to work " transition classroom for young adults with special needs, Brenda Hauk felt led to open a Christian-based job training center for adults who live with developmental disabilities. She visited several facilities, established relationships with mentors, and in 1999, BrightStone opened with 4 students, a volunteer staff of two, and donated space in a local church.

 

?There are few in Williamson County who haven't been impacted by Jimmy Gentry in one way or another. Whether it's been through a simple visit to his family farm to pick pumpkins, in the classroom, on the football field, or by listening to him speak about his experience serving our country in World War II, Gentry's story is an extraordinary one.

 

One week before his first birthday, on Christmas Day 2002, Lu Sipos' son Gabe was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma. He learned how to walk and talk while enduring 30 days of 9 months of Chemotherapy treatments and numerous surgeries. Like many parents, Lu found herself feeling lost during this time, unsure of what her role on her son's medical team looked like. That is until she created the first Chemo Duck.

 

Peggy Smith or Ms. Peggy, as she is affectionately called by Club members, is also known as the PBJ lady. Ms. Peggy has been known to not only drop everything to make a child in need a hot meal, she spends up to 5 days a week at the Club preparing and serving snack. She has made it her mission to educate the general public about the challenges faced by the many children that may go hungry during the summer, on the weekends, or simply after the school day has ended.

 

In 2010, Mary Mader and Carole Horlacher became volunteers for Williamson County Animal Services in Franklin. Seeing a need to help the shelter staff, they set up a desk at the front door and implemented a meet and greet strategy for all potential adopters. Mary and Carole know the right questions to ask and daily they help "match " adopters and pets. This process helps insure a good, lasting adoption. They also help with off-site events, coming early and staying late, setting up, keeping up with adoption contracts and other paperwork.

 

Jerry and Sharon Clement founded Take the Reins, a local equine assisted therapeutic riding ministry for children and youth with physical, emotional, intellectual, and medical challenges in 2011. Born from their passion for horses and interest in working with children, what started as a program with only 3 riders and has grown into a 501(c)3 Corporation serving over 25 riders, 40+ volunteers, and PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) Certified Instructors.

 

For GraceWorks, Williamson County's largest food bank, the needs of local individuals and families is never ending. Over the years, local grocery store manager Joe Zarcone has been an indispensable tool in helping GraceWorks fulfill these needs for thousands of locals. Working behind the scenes to respond to needs within the community from GraceWorks and numerous other non-profits, Joe has not only utilized his position as store manager to meet those needs whenever possible, he has often worked hands on to help fulfill these needs personally.

 

Now in her 90's, it is easy to see why when asked about Franklin local, Inge Smith, locals use terms like mentor, treasure and inspiring. Born in Germany, Inge Meyring Smith moved to the States with her parents at the age of 15 to escape the Nazi regime. After marrying Paul Smith, a GI and native of West Tennessee, she moved from New York City to Franklin, Tennessee, where she raised a family, completed multiple degrees at Vanderbilt University and opened numerous schools, including Smith Preschool which has been in business for over 65 years..

 

Autumn Bennett was the light of her parents lives. At the age of one she was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. "She was given a life expectancy of 15 years", said Autumn's Father, Gary. "We were determined to make every year we had with her as great as possible. She loved God, dancing, Disney World, her family and Rusty Wallace. We find comfort in knowing that she breathes and dances with Angels in Heaven." Out of the tragedy of losing their daughter, Gary Bennett and his wife Sharon have remained committed to finding a cure for and…