Last week, we shared Part I of the two-part interview with Yvonne Crum, our November Woman of the Month. You can read Part I here.
Today we’ve got the second part for you, and let me warn you, it’s got some powerful content. Yvonne is bursting at the seams with incredible stories and fascinating tales, but it’s in the quiet moments of introspection, the brief pauses when the strength of her emotions overcomes her, where her wisdom and intellect come through the strongest.
Please enjoy Part II of Courtney’s interview with Yvonne.
This month, we’re honored to introduce Yvonne Crum as our November Woman of the Month!
Yvonne is affectionately known as the fundraising queen around Dallas because she’s been involved with countless organizations, helping to plan, organize, and execute wildly successful fundraising events for many of our local nonprofits. We first really got to know each other when she asked me to be a Fashion Star for her Fashion Stars for a Cause event benefiting the Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas.
I wanted to get involved and help others because of my own experiences as a survivor of suicide, and Yvonne’s passion for the cause was immediately infectious. One thing that stands out to me with Yvonne is that she is so supportive of every person she meets. When someone she knows is celebrating a success, she’s always the first to share the news and celebrate right along with them. That includes Model Behaviors. From day one, she’s been right there leaving comments, sharing our posts, and sending us so much love and encouragement.
Yvonne has led one of the most fascinating and inspiring lives, so I’m beyond thrilled to share Courtney’s two-part interview with this incredible woman. Read part one below and come back next week for part two!
I want to start off by saying that witnessing Toni, Dan, and the Frights of the Round Table bring this event together has truly been remarkable. What initially struck me as so special, was their steadfast dedication to making this a very Frisco-centric event. Since Friscovania is in honor of Kelly Whaley, and Kelly loved helping people with all of her heart, the Frights of the Round Table were dedicated to creating an event that would give back something truly valuable to Frisco and to the surrounding region.
In turn, so many local businesses, organizations, and individuals have generously come together in order to create this unique event. It truly is a community effort.
That’s why it made perfect sense to ask Mayor Maher Maso and Cindy Maso to be our Honorary Host and Hostess of Friscovania. We couldn’t think of two people more suited to this task. Everyone was so excited when we got the news that they’d be our hosts, so today we’re flipping it around to find out what convinced the two of them to join in on this spooktacular fun.
In talking to them, their love for the community and their excitement for this event came shining through, and we’re more pumped than ever for October 22nd to get here.
Enjoy my interview with our Honorary Host and Hostess, the Count and Countess of Friscovania, Mayor Maher Maso and Cindy Maso.
You may have noticed that Model Behaviors is a-flutter with all things Friscovania, so naturally when we were thinking of who we could ask to be Woman of the Month, we hoped it would be someone involved with the event. Fortunately, we not only got someone who’s involved with Friscovania but she’s also a big part of City House!
All the proceeds from Friscovania will go to this amazing nonprofit whose mission is to provide emergency shelter and transitional residential services to at-risk youth who are in need due to abuse, neglect, or homelessness. I’m so grateful that we have this opportunity to talk to Chey Reynolds, Director of Marketing and Development for City House, about moving from the corporate world to nonprofit work, planning events like Friscovania, and tons of incredible life stories.
Chey is the type of woman who moves and speaks with great energy and intention. I get the feeling that every decision she makes has been weighed both logically and intuitively within her mind and heart before she acts on them. She shared a story that demonstrates this perfectly. When she was young, she lived in Europe and was involved with the fashion world there. She believed her path in life was set and that she’d never want to leave the fashion world. She came back to the States to visit, fully intending to return to her life in Europe, but instead, she fell in love, got married, and stayed in the US, completely turning her life on its head. She bravely followed her gut, and instead of staying on the path she’d set out for herself, she welcomed the new adventure with open arms.
Please enjoy Courtney’s interview with our October Woman of the Month, Chey Reynolds!
In a couple of weeks, Darlington and I will walk together in the ESTEEM Fashion Show to help benefit The Elisa Project. It’s the first time we’ve ever walked the runway together, and I’m so excited to share this experience with my baby girl. I’ve always loved walking the runway, but to be able to be a part of something so wonderful and share it with Darlington will make it that much more special. As a mother, I’ve realized a strength in myself that I’ve never seen before and a love so profound that it’s beyond words and can only be described in actions. I recently read about a mother jumping in Lake Powell after her two year old fell in. She kept his head above water, though she didn’t have the strength to keep them both afloat. He survived but she did not, and it struck me because as mothers, most of us would give our life for our children.
This is the type of love I could feel and see when my friend Melissa Rountree talked about being a mother. I was pregnant at the time, but I remember vividly our conversation about daughters and our need to be shining examples for them. We both lost sisters, something that will bond us for life. And we have both used our losses to inspire and cultivate a sense of sisterhood in our professions and way of life. So when Melissa asked us to help raise awareness about The Eliza Project and join the runway show, I didn’t hesitate to be a part of this. Spearheading this year’s fashion show, along with my dear friend and Friscovania’s Frights of the Round Table member, Rhonda Sargent Chambers, I’m honored to be in the company of such multifaceted, multipassionate women whom I admire so greatly.
Be sure to check out the bottom of this post for more info about the ESTEEM Fashion Show and about The Elisa Project. But for now, I’d like to extend a warm thank-you to Melissa for her heartfelt interview with Courtney.
