Blog Posts
Honor Thy Mother this Mother’s Day
The celebration of Mother’s Day is an opportunity to reflect on one of life’s most amazing gifts, the gift of motherhood. Some columns I write do not pertain to everyone in the reading audience, but not this one. First and foremost, what a blessing it is for each of...
Early spring: Get a jump on East Texas Giving Day this year!
As the azaleas in my yard attest, spring came a little early this year. There are still beautiful flowers and trees in abundance around town (as my allergies faithfully remind me), but the brief annual burst of azaleas was just slightly ahead of the festivities that...
Examine Why You Give
As the Trump administration and the 115th Congress begin implementing executive and legislative reforms that their constituents sent them to Washington to enact, the one thing that is certain in the coming days is change. As the recent recipient of a notification that...
Transfer values, not just valuables, to future generations
The February, the East Texas Estate Planning Council meeting drew the largest crowd of professionals in several years, and featured a topic of interest to many individuals in our community. In fact, I would suggest the topic is a serious concern to many families, and...
Donor-Advised funds become No. 1 US charity
One of the headlines in the Oct. 27 issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy was “Fidelity Overtakes United Way as New Charity Champion.” The article was reporting on the Chronicle’s annual ranking of the Top 400 charities in the United States, based on contributions...
Scholarships Honor Lives Well Lived
Velma Lemons’ teaching career spanned 39 years, including 30 years in Tyler ISD. Along the way, she and her husband raised four children in Tyler. In addition to serving in the PTA and teaching Sunday School at their church, Velma served in the Girl Scouts and Boy...