Hometown: Decatur
Family: I married the love of my life four years ago. I also have an amazing mom, dad, brothers, nephew, step-family and close friends.
Occupation: Owner of C. Deadrick Development, Events Plus and Shop On Main.
Education: Dennis Elementary, Woodrow Wilson Junior High, MacArthur High School and Delta Delta Delta sorority at Millikin University, Class of 1977.
My “I’d rather be …” bumper sticker would read, “I’d rather be at the beach.” I find the ocean calming and inspirational … and I always come home recharged with new ideas!
Hobbies/interests: I’m lucky that my work involves so much of what I love to do. So most of my spare time is spent designing colorful window displays at Shop On Main or working on creative, new community activities and projects for Events Plus.
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My first job: Working at Dr. Robert Canham’s office with my grandmother where I was responsible for daily reconciliations of patient accounts. He was an exceptional surgeon and my first experience with breast cancer patients. My second job was working retail for Mr. Greenberg at a little boutique, Oaks Apparel, in Downtown Decatur. He helped me understand the behind the scenes efforts of a small business and the retail climate.
Why I do what I do: I do what I do because this community is where I choose to make my home, and I believe that everyone should take a personal responsibility for giving back – whether that be time, talent or treasure.
Personal approaches to challenges: Evaluate all of the options and work hard. Really hard!
Community involvement: I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve on so many boards in this community that I can’t name them all. Currently, I sit on the Decatur Park District Board of Commissioners, which is a huge time commitment. It is the most rewarding and frustrating volunteer experience I have ever had.
How did you originally get involved with the tournament? I have been involved since 1986, the second year of the tournament, because of my connection with Millikin Bank, who was the tournament sponsor at the time.
Why have you remained involved all these years? I believe it is not only a great community event, but also an event that helps women achieve a goal in a nontraditional career path.
Decatur is the longest running tournament on the LPGA Symetra Tour? What is the secret behind this success? The Decatur Forsyth Classic (fondly known as Futures) is the longest running tournament on the LPGA Symetra Tour and the fourth longest in all of women’s professional golf. The secret to its success is a combination of sponsors that understand the economic impact and contribution to the quality of life of our residents, volunteers that absolutely love the tournament and a tour that works hard to bring professional golf to local communities.
What is the biggest challenge when it comes to putting on the event? Securing the funding and helping community members understand that this is MORE than a golf outing.
How vital are the volunteers? Volunteers are the backbone of the event and there is no way it could not be done without their hard work and dedication. Whether they are housing players, serving meals or working the course, it takes an entire community to have a successful event of this size and scope.
What does an event like this mean for the community? This event has an economic impact to the community of approximately $500,000. I liken it to a small business entity. One hundred, fortyfour girls from all over the world, their caddies, families, close friends and tour staff visit our community for an entire week. While here, they purchase gas, stay in our hotels, eat out and shop at the mall. Additionally, hundreds of citizens volunteer and hundreds more attend to watch the pros at work.
What is you most memorable tournament moment? My most memorable memory was very personal – seeing my 90-yearold grandfather holding the Quiet Paddle at one of our early tournaments. He so loved golf.
