NO…A Word for Your Day By Jane Bishop
Trickum Middle School Holds Spring Car Show to Benefit Relay for Life “Cars for a Cause” By Tana Poncsak
Anyone who has been in Gwinnett County and has been a part of the Gwinnett County School District knows that the school system has supported Relay for Life for some time now, and that support continues in various ways. As for Trickum Middle School, their support took the form of a car show in April 2023. Cars for a Cause took place on April 29th to benefit Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society. The school’s core team members who coordinated the event included Sherri Brown, Regan Gritz, Shannon Terhune, and Yvonne Johnson. According to Brown, a special education math teacher at the school, there were about 70 to 80 cars that registered to show in the event with an estimated 300 to 400 people who attended. For this event alone, the middle school raised about $4,300, with the school being listed as one of the top teams on the Gwinnett Relay for Life website. Trickum Middle School enlisted the help of a seasoned car show planner and classic car specialist, Kelly Willoughby, of American Street Machines to help with the planning and execution of the show. Willoughby says the funds were raised through local businesses that sponsored the event, the small registration/entry fee for the cars in the show, raffles held, and food sold. Promotion was through ads and through social media, but Willoughby also pointed out that the location on Killian Hill Road with its great visibility didn’t hurt. “Spectators were free, so we encouraged families and everyone to come out,” Willoughby says. “We had a good turnout.” Continued on page 11
PAGE 8
What about this word “No”? It is a simple word, only two letters. Yet, saying “no” aloud is harder for some than saying, “I’ll be glad to.” Most of us said no quite well in the terrible twos phase. The adults in our lives at the time expected us to say no. As we grow older, the word no begins to drop out of our vocabulary as we use phrases to be agreeable, to keep the other person happy, to not offend, and certainly to not say no to an authority figure. We say yes when we are thinking no. Underneath it all, we believe that saying no can cost us in our adult lives, and it impacts our self-leadership. In that context, ponder these questions. 1. When you think about saying no, what are you aware of internally? 2. When you think about occasions that you have said no, what visual emerges? 3. When you consider saying no, what is the story you commonly tell yourself? There is power in saying no. You are empowered to be yourself when you say no as Dr. Henry Cloud has written in the book, Boundaries. Think about no as a tool that helps create boundaries and helps define what is me and what is not me. Before you can create healthy boundaries with other people, you must create boundaries with yourself. When you are clear about where you end and someone else begins, it allows you to oversee your life more effectively. Here are three actions to begin practicing immediately and experience the power of no: • choose your non-negotiables and guard them daily • develop key phrases that communicate no and practice, for example, “I am unavailable at that time” • grant yourself permission to say no Are you content with life managing you and just surviving, or would Continued on page 22
Become an Advertising Partner: Info@OurTown Gwinnett.com or 678-825-2049
