I started July in my happy place: Nassau, Bahamas. Fifteen of us joined the annual summer vacation for family and friends. It was great to have Kenny back in action, as it was two years ago when he became ill on the same trip. The hotel staff welcomed him back like he was the prodigal son.
Immediately upon our return from the Bahamas, we celebrated our dear friend Yvette’s 50th birthday with a backyard hibachi party. The partying continued as we decompressed with our O | Dallas (Oprah event) host committee. It always feels so good to hang out with the sisterhood, as we truly need each other. A bonus this time was having our son, Ken Anthony, serve as host photographer. He has skills, manners, cuteness, and personality. Our Marshalling Resources interns, Sydney and Charlie, were also incredible hosts. I’m so proud of these college students and will miss them when they return to school.
The sisterhood theme continued to prevail throughout the month as I visited with Jenny Boucek following her NBA Finals run. I love this sister. She was not at all fazed by the fact that she is the first woman to coach in the NBA Finals. Jenny is about God, family, purpose, and pouring into others. I made a new sister friend who bid on a Catholic Charities auction item, which in this case was a one-hour fireside chat with me. Let’s just say that we talked for over two hours.
Later on, my college best friend came for a visit after suffering the tragic loss of a friend. Neither one of us watches much television; however, Shirley got us hooked on Grey’s Anatomy and young/old/mother/daughter/auntie bonding. Our son, Rickey, visited for a few days and observed us as we were watching TV. It’s a new experience for everyone to see me taking the time to enjoy a TV show. I told these people a long time ago that I was going to watch TV and movies when I retired. So, I finally did it. Thank you, Shonda Rhimes!
My corporate and nonprofit board activities, consulting projects, and speaking engagements took up a fair amount of hours in July. I had an extraordinary time with the Cencora team and thousands of pharmacists at the 2025 ThoughtSpot conference in Las Vegas. We went ALL IN! Days later, I enjoyed being the emcee for the National Down Syndrome Congress celebration banquet in Dallas, and I am grateful to Debbie Antonelli for the connection. I met some AMAZING people and left the event enormously inspired. Two days earlier, I left the DCEO Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Awards dinner equally inspired and in awe of so many wonderful people who are touching a vast number of lives and making such a huge difference in our communities. I was thrilled that Dallas CASA won the nonprofit-of-the year award. As a board member, I was smiling from ear to ear as our CEO, Kathleen LaValle, accepted the award with heartfelt remarks.
On the health front, Kenny made it through the monthly chemo treatment. His results continue to show “no” evidence of cancer. 🙌🏾 I had to have a CT scan following some lab work from my semi-annual physical, and thankfully, everything came back normal. 🙏🏾 One of Kenny’s sisters had a health crisis that required hospitalization. We took a quick trip to Fresno, CA so we could pray for her and read Psalm 91, my go-to scripture during challenging times.
Drum roll, please🥁: Ron Rivera, Cal alum, and former NFL coach, took the time to join a Texas Cal Alumni call. I love his energy, philosophy, and optimism. Another drum roll, please🥁: enter Texas State Representative James Talarico. If you know a little bit about him and a lot about me, you can very well imagine that we had a glorious time during our first visit. Many thanks to Erin Finegold White for allowing the spirit to connect us.
Moving ahead, I’m looking forward to finally putting pen to paper, as I plan to get started on my next book in August. My recent call with writer Beth Jusino was fun and productive, and we’re both happy that we’re back together. Stay tuned!
So, July 2025 is in the books. It was busy, enjoyable, and productive, and it brought forth even more opportunities. Did I mention that I am now co-chairing the search for a new President and CEO of the Dallas Regional Chamber? My dear friend, Dale Petroskey, will be stepping down at the end of the year. I’m honored to be a part of the team that is being trusted to find a new leader who will build on Dale’s incredible legacy and take us to new heights.
August will be far from the lazy days of summer. Hopefully, I will be able to stop and rest on Sunday, August 10, National Lazy Day. In the meantime, there’s a lot of good stuff to get done by Labor Day.
July 2025 Insight: Relationships matter. Nurture old ones. Make new friends.