With three weeks to go before our 55th Anniversary Homecoming and our Mansion 5K Run on August 30, I have now raised over $42,000.00 in sponsorships. As you may know, I am trying to personally raise $55,000.00 in this effort. Do you think I can do it?

I have been overwhelmed with the great response from our friends and supporters in backing me in this fund-raiser. I know it was a crazy idea to do this, but the sponsorships are continuing to come in from unlikely sources and the excitement is building. It’s been truly amazing. My BlackBerry alerts me anytime someone goes online to make a pledge or a donation, or when I receive an incoming email from someone letting me know that they want to give. With each donation, the thermometer on our special Web site adjusts automatically to show the new total amount. I have been told that when I reach my goal of $55,000, the top of the thermometer is supposed to do something crazy, like blow it’s top or something really exciting. I can’t wait to see that happen. To follow my progress, you can go to http://www.mansionevents.org/stephenjudd.

I went to Trails &Treads yesterday and bought some new running shoes. My old ones were getting warn out (too many miles – ha ha). In order to determine what kind of shoe I needed, they watched me take a few steps back and forth and then told me that I was a pronator. I was somewhat shocked. “A pronator?” I asked. “No one has ever told that that before.” 

I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. Is pronation good or bad? If I pronate when I walk, is there something wrong with me? Will I ever get over it? Do I need physical therapy? Is it hereditary? What percentage of people are pronators? All kinds of notions started racing through my mind (pardon the pun). Perhaps the most serious question that came to me was this. If I’m a pronator and I haven’t been wearing the right kind of shoes, could this have been a contributing factor to my struggle with plantar fasciitis in my left foot?

Jake, the young man who was working with me, seemed to know what he was talking about, so I listened carefully. He said that a pronator simply turns his feet inward as he walks and that I needed a shoe that had a little extra support on the inside of the sole. He even looked at the bottom of my old tennis shoes and observed how that the tread under the toes and ball of my feet was wearing more on the inside than the outside. It was starting to make sense.

And wouldn’t you know it…they just happened to have in stock the perfect shoe for pronators like me, the Asics Kayano , in a size 9 1/2. And, it was bargain priced for only $130. I told the clerk, “Asics is really proud of that shoe, aren’t they!”  I suppose that I may need to raise a little extra money just to cover the cost of my new equipment. As they say, you have to spend a little to make a lot.

Burton Gaar, our Director of Corporate Relations and Special Projects, is doing a fantastic job in organizing and promoting the 5K event. This guy is super talented and has many wonderful connections. He’s not just an idea person, he gets it done! He began working with us on various media and music projects about five years ago, on a part time basis, but now has come on board full-time and has taken us to a brand new level with our media exposure and fund-raising capabilities.

We call it “fund-raising,” but really it’s all about “friend-raising.” I learned a long time ago that people don’t give to needs as much as they give to people. Years ago when I was working in the Youth Division in St. Louis and promoting Sheaves for Christ, a national fund-raising program, we would urge our district youth presidents that the most important thing for them to do was build relationships. I remember telling them during our strategic planning sessions, “Pastors do not give to SFC because of the need; they give to SFC because they like you!” It’s all about relationship building, and Burton Gaar is really into that.

Corporate sponsors are coming on board with us in supporting the Mansion 5K. BancorpSouth—which operates in seven states and is headquartered in Tupelo—has agreed to be our lead sponsor and is contributing a significant amount to the cause. Other area businesses are following their lead. We have an excellent rapport with the local community and are very thankful for the favor the Lord has given us with business and governmental leaders. 

Aubrey Patterson is the President and CEO of BancorpSouth, and a fine gentleman. Let me share with you how I first came to meet him. Some time ago, I was leaving 1-Hour Martinizing [I don’t know why they call it that because you can never get your clothes in a hour.] and recognized Mr. Patterson walking into the cleaners carrying an armload of clothes. We nodded politely to one another. I knew who he was.

I proceeded to get in my vehicle and tried to turn on the ignition…but something was wrong. Okay, this wasn’t my vehicle. It was an SUV and looked somewhat similar, but it wasn’t mine. I quickly opened the door and started to crawl out, only to see Mr. Patterson approaching his vehicle (the one I was in) with a big smile on his face. I felt so foolish. This could go down as one of my most embarrassing moments. We did become acquainted that day. I introduced myself as President of the Mansion, and he said, “Steve, I know who you are. You all are doing a great work with those children. That was my introduction to Mr. Patterson.

When Burton Gaar and I met with Aubrey Patterson last week in his office, he greeted us warmly and we laughed about the circumstances surrounding our first introduction to one another. After some chit chat and a little friendly conversation, he said, “Before we talk about the business that brought you here, let me share with you an experience that my wife and I had a few nights ago at Red Lobster.” He continued, “We were sitting in a booth enjoying our meal and at the same time observing a group of children eating at a large round table nearby.”
 
When Mr. Patterson said that, I must admit that initially my heart sank for fear of what was coming next. I was sort of waiting for “the other shoe to drop.” Where was he going with this? I was thinking that he must be talking about children from the Mansion. Was this going to be a positive testimony or not? I was getting nervous.

As he continued with his story, my mind was quickly put to ease as he commented that he and his wife were extremely impressed with the way these children conducted themselves with good manners and wholesome conversation. He said, “You know, you just don’t see that much anymore. After the group left, I asked our server if she knew anything about the children that had been sitting next to us and she confirmed what my wife and I were thinking, that these well-behaved kids were from the Children’s Mansion.” He mentioned to us that they had noticed a nice couple sitting close by the group and figured that they were there with the group. Mr. Patterson wanted us to know how wonderfully the children had represented us in that public venue and what a tremendous impression it had made on them.

As it turned out, the seven or eight children were enjoying a special night-out in recognition for their making the A-Team for that month. Let me explain. We have developed a merit system that evaluates the residents each month in regard to their involvement in three areas: the dorm, the school, and the church. The houseparents, teachers and youth workers score the children and then they are placed on level A, B, C, D, or F, depending on their overall score. Of course, there are certain privileges, or lack thereof, associated with each level. This is a great tool for behavioral modification and has served our program very well in motivating the children to do their best. When I told Erma about the Pattersons’ experience at Red Lobster, she said, “I’m glad it was the A-Team and not some of the other children.” We both laughed.

A lot is happening in preparation for the big weekend coming up. Yesterday, Burton Gaar and I were interviewed at KTVA, our local TV station, for a special program to be aired tonight at 5:00 p.m. I was a little nervous, having no idea what questions we were going to be asked, but I think it went pretty good.  Once the cameras started rolling, that was it. Uncut. Unedited. No revisions. No “Take 2” or “Take 3.” Just raw footage.

The 30-minute “Focus” program, hosted by Terry Smith, is all about TCMM—the history, how it began, our mission, where the money comes from, how many children we serve, our 55th Anniversary Homecoming, the 5K Run—stuff like that. I believe that we will be able to upload the TV show to the media player of our Web site soon in order that anyone can watch it.

Needless to say, we’re excited about the upcoming Homecoming events. We’re hearing of more and more who are planning to attend. It’s going to be a great celebration and a grand reunion of former residents, staff members, and Mansion supporters. We hope you’ll join us!

I’m traveling today to Portland, Oregon and will be preaching in the morning at Christian World Center in Salem for my long-time friend, Jim Dillon. As I write this, I’m eating lunch in the Minneapolis airport and watching the people walk by. I’m wondering to myself how many people there are who are going through life as pronators, and don’t know it.