A salute to 'Salute' finalists

The Center for Nonprofit Management has announced finalists for its 2009 Salute to Excellence Awards -- the "Academy Awards" for the nonprofit world of Middle Tennessee -- and I shamelessly want to offer this shout out to two of the nominees.

It's with great pleasure I share that Brentwood resident Andrea Overby, right, and my wonderful (even if Nashville-based) sister-in-law Linda Leathers, have both been nominated for their work with The Next Door.

I don't believe any of the other nominees or organizations are from Brentwood, but if you know otherwise, please let me know so I can toot their horns as well.

Learn more about Andrea, Linda and The Next Door at http://tinyurl.com/BWlinda.

Time out for romance

What's the word on BrentWord? I know, no new postings for a few days. But I have a good reason. On Saturday, my most-awesome sister-in-law, Linda Leathers, became a first-time bride just days after her 43rd birthday. She and Gary Tullock tied the knot at First Baptist Nashville.
Who would have thought a former Southern Baptist singles minister would find herself where she is today and meet her soulmate in meetings discussing prisons and such?
You see, Linda is executive director of The Next Door (www.thenextdoor.org), one of the nation's most successful faith-based initiatives. The non-profit organization provides a full-spectrum of services to women coming out of incarceration, including housing, medical and emotional support, job services, and so much more.
Gary is director of field services for the state's board of probation and parole.
Obviously the man upstairs knew exactly what he was doing throwing these two in the path of each other.
In lieu of wedding presents, Linda and Gary asked for donations to The Next Door. With 300-plus on hand for the nuptials, there's no telling how much money was raised. That's just another reason this wedding was so special.
As always, there were plenty of Brentwood connections, even though Linda and Gary call Nashville home.
Let's see, hairstylist and makeup artist extraordinaire Robyn Gilliam Rowell (a new bride herself) made Linda and her maid of honor Candace the most beautiful women in Nashville yesterday. Andrea Overby, longtime Next Door supporter and board member, read scripture. Son Thomas sang "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and "The Lord's Prayer" (and brought his grandmother and mother of the bride Marge to tears before Linda even walked down the aisle); Mary Weary and her Menu Maker catering received well-deserved kudos for the reception, and the cake by The Flour Shop was devoured. Really. Except for crumbs, only the top part saved for the bride and groom's first anniversary was left standing.
So as you can imagine, the family's had its hands full the past few days with all the wedding "stuff" going on. But now the wedding is over. Tomorrow is another day, and there will be lots of new Brentwood news to share. So check in and check it out. And if you have some news I may not know about, drop me an email at BrentWord@comcast.net.

Random thoughts because I can...

If news occurred in Brentwood on Thursday, I'm blissfully unaware.

Started my day oversleeping and almost missing a date with former City Commission candidate Devin McClendon at The Perch where he taught me to Twitter. I called at 7:40 a.m. to tell him I'd hit the alarm for "five more minutes" that had turned into 90. He asked me: "Well, are you the kind of person who can throw on sweat pants and a hat and come out in public?"
What does he take me for? A Real Housewife of Brentwood who can't go out unless she's dressed to the nines and fully made up? Listen folks: There's a reason there isn't a photo on this blog yet.
Anyway, that's how and where my day started. So you can soon start following me on twitter at BrentWord.

***

Next it was off to Cool Springs for the second of four "incubator" sessions through Ladies Who Launch, an amazing networking group for women entrepreneurs. I learned about LWL through Celeste Raines after joining the Brentwood Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce.

The incubator sounded like a great opportunity to help hone the business plan I'm working on with my friend and new business partner Kelly Gilfillan (www.outsidetheBrentwoodBubble.com).

The two-hour session was an incredible opportunity, learning more about a handful of women who are doing, and want to continue doing, amazing things. As an example, if you don't have plans at 6 p.m. Sunday, May 17th, mark your calendars for "Heart for the Arts." That's all I can share right now, but keep the date open. You'll be glad you did. I'll share details as soon as I know them.

***

Next stop was an attorney's office to talk about how to structure our business. Small world attorneys' offices, even outside the Brentwood Bubble in Belle Meade. Turns out the practice has a young, almost attorney Matt Johnson working with them who is a Lipscomb Elementary, Brentwood Middle and Brentwood High grad. Matt, who sits for the bar this summer, has also worked in the Brentwood Planning Department. Who knew? That young man obviously has a future, after his tutelage with the city.

***

And then, treading on Kelly's blog territory a bit, I attended the fifth anniversary celebration for The Next Door (thenextdoor.org), an incredible nonprofit that has made me believe in miracles.

My sister-in-law, Linda Leathers, was one of several "Wild Praying Women" at First Baptist Nashville who a little over five years ago independently saw a building the church owned in downtown Nashville and said to herself, "God wants us to do something there." One woman mentioned her thoughts to another who said, "I've been thinking the same thing" who mentioned her thoughts to another and so it went.

From there, The Next Door was born.

In a nutshell, The Next Door helps restore women coming out of incarceration into whole, contributing members of society, often for the first time in their lives. The recidivism rate for Next Door graduates returning to prison is 15 percent. Nationally, that number is closer to 75 percent. The program was honored by the White House several times during the Bush Administration and held up as a national example of successful faith-based initiatives.

Andrea Conte, our state's First Lady, gave the welcoming remarks. Another Andrea, Andrea Overby of Brentwood, one of The Next Door's fiercest supporters and founding board members, introduced Conte.

The celebration at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena was amazing. And left me in awe.

***

Finally got home at 8 p.m., just in time for Grey's Anatomy. Tissues, everyone?

What a day for a laid-off worker who calls Brentwood home.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Peace.