2019 Highlight: Blake Emcees the Annual Unsung Heroes Teacher Appreciation Breakfast

On November 21st, I was honored to represent Envision Dallas as the emcee at an extra special event—the Carrollton Farmers Branch ISD Educational Foundation’s Unsung Heroes Teacher Breakfast. This opportunity came through a great friend of mine, Donna Wald. About 250 people from 40 schools attended this amazing annual celebration of our local educators. Each year, the principals from these schools nominate teachers for the Unsung Hero Award.

I am rarely in the room with so many leaders. Some of the special guests were Dr. John Chapman, Superintendent of Schools for CFBISD, the School Board Trustees, the Educational Foundation Board of Directors, top representatives from Brookhaven College, and representatives from the Farmers Branch Chamber, Metrocrest Chamber, and Irving-Las Colinas Chamber.

City and state representatives included Farmers Branch Mayor Robert Dye and Fire Chief Steve Parker. From the City of Carrollton Steve Babik, Glen Blancet, Frances Cruz, Mike Hennefer, John Sutter, Young Sung, Fire Chief Gregg Salmi, and Estes, McClure & Associates, Inc. were in attendance.

Sponsorships helped fund Educational Foundation programs, grants, and scholarships. Sponsors included Citibank, DART, The Law offices of Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott, Sam Packs 5 Star Ford, and LPA Design Studios.

Jeff Moore, Executive Director of the CFB Educational Foundation, said, “Thanks to the generous support, the Educational Foundation has awarded over $1.9 million in grants and scholarships since the Foundation’s inception in 1997. We look forward to a continued community partnership as we work together to create educational opportunities that enrich the lives of our teachers and students.”

During breakfast, two special Hometown Heroes were Spotlighted. The first were Alex Sagcal and Trey Russell of Sam Packs 5 Star Ford, who are very invested in public education and service to the Carrollton Farmers Branch community. I introduced the Title Sponsors for the 2019 Unsung Heroes breakfast: Estes, McClure & Associates. Stacy Jones came to the stage to share about the company and their support of public education.

I brought on stage Hometown Hero Carolyn Benavidas of Joe’s Pizza on Beltline and The Benavidas Family Charity. She shared how they support the Carrollton Farmers Branch community.

Coincidentally, the keynote speaker has the same last name as me! Dean Lindsay is the author of the award-winning book How to Achieve Big PHAT Goals. Dean is also an award-winning songwriter, a marathon runner, a founding member of the Texas Shakespeare Festival, and an alumnus of Up With People, the legendary international organization that bridges cultural barriers and creates global understanding through service and a rocking musical show. Dean was cast as one of the ‘Bad Guys’ in the Warner Brothers’ blockbuster TWISTER. He even served as on-set acting coach to Grammy Award-winner LeAnn Rimes.

After I thanked Dean for his inspiring message, they granted me an excellent opportunity to speak about Envision Dallas’s mission of employment and education for people with visual impairment. I offered to visit with students and teachers at the 40 CFBISD schools represented. “We enjoyed Blake Lindsay sharing with us about life and Envision Dallas,” said Jeff Moore. “He related to our educators.”

Last but not least, I invited to the stage Marilyn Lynch, a member of the Educational Foundation Board of Directors and the Associate Vice President of Development at Brookhaven College. She presented the 40 Unsung Hero nominees from the CFBISD faculty and employees. They were all nominated by their Principals for outstanding work above and beyond their expected duties to enrich the lives of their students and colleagues. Each nominee was presented a valuable gift bag.

I loved being able to join people with such dedication and service to a section of the 11-county community Envision Dallas serves. I’ll never forget the CFB Educational Foundation inviting me to emcee such a special occasion!