Texoma Talk Blog

Children’s Museum to Hold Annual Silent Auction & Market

BJ Kirkpatrick News 04/08/201707/23/2025

Children's Museum to hold Silent Auction — The SRSC ballroom came alive at the 2015 Silent Auction & Market, benefiting the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum. More than 275 attendees bid for the 300-plus auction items. (Credit: Wyman Williams)

More than 300 Items Were Available for Bid Last Year!

The Board of Directors of the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum is pleased to announce the third annual Silent Auction & Market, to be held Monday, April 24, 2017 in the Sam Rayburn Student Center on the campus of Texas A&M University-Commerce. The bidding will begin at 6:00 pm and close at 8:00 pm.

Guests at the auction will find all kinds of items for bidding, while enjoying a fun and festive evening out with friends and neighbors. Items will include floral arrangements, furniture, home accents, original paintings and artwork, collector’s items, holiday décor, and jewelry as well as unique experience packages, and much, much more. At the 2015 event, more than 300 items were available for bid.

In addition, an assortment of baked goods and other culinary delights will be available for purchase at the Market. Checks, cash and credit cards will all be accepted.

“Our most ambitious fundraiser to date, the Silent Auction & Market generates monies that directly impact the children of our region by supporting one of our community’s greatest treasures. In 2016, more than 30,000 people, from all over Texas and beyond, visited the Museum,” said Board President Donna Tavener.

Tickets are available now for just a $5 donation and can be purchased at the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum, Commerce Chamber of Commerce, from any board member or at the door. Children are welcome, and those 12 years old or younger will be admitted free of charge. Refreshments will be served.

Raffle tickets are also on sale for $5.00 each or 5 for $20.00. This year’s prizes are sponsored by Alliance Bank, Cypress Bank, Guaranty Bank & Trust and Inwood National Bank and consist of a $500 Visa Gift Card, $300 Visa Gift Card and $200 Visa Gift Card.

All proceeds from the event will benefit the Museum and will directly impact the lives of its young visitors. Each day at the Museum, hands-on, creative play inspires our youth to discover their place in the world in which they live. Because of the generosity of our community, even more innovative experiences to foster curiosity and ingenuity can be provided.

Call 903.886.6055 for more information, or if you would like to donate an item for the auction

National Healthcare Decisions Day Events Hosted by Home Hospice

BJ Kirkpatrick Community Events 04/04/201707/23/2025

Home Hospice of Grayson, Cooke & Fannin Counties, along with other national, state and community organizations, are leading a massive effort to highlight the importance of advance healthcare decision-making—an effort that has culminated in the formal designation of April 16 as National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD). As a participating organization, Home Hospice of Grayson, Cooke & Fannin Counties is providing information and tools for the public to talk about their wishes with family, friends and healthcare providers, and execute written advance directives (healthcare power of attorney and living will) in accordance with Texas state laws. You can get more information about these resources and events by contacting Nancy Jackson at 903-868-9315 or by visiting www.nationalhealthcaredecisionsday.org.

Home Hospice of Grayson, Cooke & Fannin Counties is holding two Town Hall Forums. On April 18, from 2:00 pm to 3:30pm. A town Hall forum will be at Covenant Presbyterian Church at 322 W. Pecan Street in Sherman. On April 20, from 2:00pm to 3:30pm, a Town Hall Forum will be held at the Bonham Public Library at 305 E. 5^th Street in Bonham.

Speakers will include local attorneys, doctors, social workers and other pre-planning specialist. This will give you the opportunity to ask questions and gain knowledge that can help with your healthcare decisions. Free information about advance care planning and advance directive forms plus other resources will be available during the forum.

“As a result of National Healthcare Decisions Day, many more people in our community can be expected to have thoughtful conversations about their healthcare decisions and complete reliable advance directives to make their wishes known,” said Nancy Jackson, Home Hospice Director of Community Development. “Fewer families and healthcare providers will have to struggle with making difficult healthcare decisions in the absence of guidance from the patient, and healthcare providers and facilities will be better equipped to address advance healthcare planning issues before a crisis and be better able to honor patient wishes when the time comes to do so.”

Home Hospice of Grayson, Cooke and Fannin Counties is a 501(c)(3) local community-based organization founded in 1982 and serving our communities for 35 years. As the oldest and most trusted local hospice organization, our mission is to provide the best care and support enhancing the Quality of Life of our patients and their families. To learn about other community outreach programs offered by Home Hospice, please visit www.homehospice.org or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/homehospiceofgrayson. For more information about National Healthcare Decision Day, please visit www.nhdd.org.

Honorees Announced for 2017 ATHENA Awards

BJ Kirkpatrick Austin College, News 04/02/201707/23/2025

Austin College | Sherman Texas | April 2, 2017

Austin College and its Texoma Women Get Connected program will award two exemplary leaders from the Texoma region with the prestigious ATHENA Leadership Award® and the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award at a noon luncheon on Wednesday, May 3, 2017.

The event will be held in Mabee Hall of Wright Campus Center at Austin College. The luncheon follows a morning Board Leadership Symposium co-sponsored by United Way of Grayson County and the Austin College Center for Community & Regional Development. Tickets to the ATHENA Awards luncheon are $25 each, while the morning symposium is free and open to the public. Registration for both events is available on the Austin College website at https://www.picatic.com/athena2017, or by calling 903-813-2041. Deadline to register is April 30.

At the luncheon, three finalists will be recognized as honorees for the ATHENA Award distinction and two for the Young Professional Award, with the recipients of each award being announced at the luncheon’s conclusion. Local honorees may represent either the profit or not-for-profit sector and must work and reside in Fannin, Cooke, or Grayson counties.

Honorees for this year’s ATHENA Award are Michelle Castle, branch manager of Guild Mortgage Company; Janis Fletcher, certified court clerk II with the Sherman Police Department; and Leigh Ann Sims, commercial loan officer at Legend Bank.

For the Young Professional Award, two outstanding young leaders will be recognized: Trish Bridges, director of critical care services at WNJ Regional Medical Center, and Mikayla Stocks, volunteer coordinator/case worker/grant writer for Grayson County Shelter.

Keynote speaker for the luncheon is Kourtny Garrett, president and CEO of Downtown Dallas Inc. Her career spans 15 years in the development of livable communities and building public-private partnerships. She also leads the Downtown Dallas 360 plan and DDI’s education agenda. A graduate of Austin College, Ms. Garrett holds a master’s degree in urban affairs from the University of Texas at Arlington.

The ATHENA Leadership Award® is presented to individuals who have attained and embody the highest level of professional excellence in their business or profession, devote time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community, and actively assist women in realizing their full leadership potential.

ATHENA Young Professional Leadership nominees are emerging women leaders who demonstrate excellence, creativity, and initiative in their business or profession; provide valuable service to improve the quality of life for others in their community; and clearly serve as role models for young women both personally and professionally.

The ATHENA Leadership Award Program is administered by ATHENA International, a non-profit women’s leadership organization, along with licensed host organizations and sponsors. Over 6,000 awards have been presented in the U.S. and around the world since the program’s inception in 1982. Recent recipients include Condoleezza Rice, Billie Jean King, Pat Summit, and Gabby Giffords.

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 40 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of approximately 1,275 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.