Hello Gorgeous! founders write first book

Hello Gorgeous! founders write first book

Video: Hello Gorgeous! Helps Cancer Patients

Thank you Modern Salon~~
Tommy Vance Productions
Expressions Salon and Day Spa
and Maurices for Making Dina's Day so Special!

Video: Hello Gorgeous! Helps Cancer Patients

Elizabeth Arden has her Red Door.......

I have always said Elizabeth Arden has her Red Door and I have my Red Chair, now I have 2 Red Chairs. On our visit to Minerva the entire team was able to come and tour the Mobile Day Spa. I had no idea what was going on. Justin and another young man came out to the Mobile Day Spa with a box. The said "We decided this would look better in here." They brought in a brand new Red Shampoo Chair!! They took it right out of the box, assembled it and put it in it's place. It looks awesome!!! What a difference that made. I would smile and then I would cry( a happy cry of course.) The Mobile Day Spa looks even more like the palace we wanted it to be for these amazing women that we have the opportunity to serve. Thank you Minerva for Blessing us!!!!

The Rolling BillBoard Part 2

So tonight we are sitting at dinner and Mike's phone rings. He answers it "Hello Gorgeous! this is Mike how can I help you?" The man on the other end of the phone starts to tell Mike his story. He told us that he saw the bus as we passed through Nashville, TN and he wrote the phone number down. He was calling us from his wife's hospital room, she had just had a portion of her liver removed due to a cancerous tumor. He went on to explain that he is in the Military and that they have a 2 month old child. The reason for his call is that his wife is an esthitician and that when they get through this hump in their life that they would like to help us with Hello Gorgeous!. Mike told him to keep us in the loop and to contact us when they were ready and by then hopefully we would have an affiliate in their area. These people are absolutely amazing and I wouldn't miss this journey for the world. May God Bless this couple and their family!

Touching lives with our big rolling billboard

We stopped at a truck stop just south of Nashville for a quick potty break. On this leg of the journey Mike and I were re-capping the trip and asking each other if we had done enough. Were we impacting people, have we touched enough people. I got out of the Mobile Day Spa and a young man, about mid twenties said " Maam I'm about ready to leave if you guys want to back up a little bit further." I said " that would be great I will let my husband know." He then said "Hey I think what ya'll are doing is great. My aunt had breast cancer and if you don't mind I'd like to give you a hug." I said "I would love that." We hugged and both parted with tears in our eyes.


You know what we are impacting people, just not fast enough. I believe that a ton of people have seen this rolling billboard we are driving and they are touched, in some way they are touched!

Putting faces with names

We had the esteem pleasure of stopping by Minerva Beauty in Duluth, Georgia on our way back to Indiana. Minerva donated the manicure table, shampoo bowl and shampoo chair to the Mobile Day Spa. We were so excited to share with them what they helped to create. When we arrived we were greeted with a very warm welcome. They even had Chick -fil- a catered in for lunch. We were lucky enough to take a tour of their facility and see how things work (which is my favorite). We spent 3 hours with these wonderful group of people and we are so honored to have them in our circle of support!

If you are need of salon equipment check them out at www.minervabeauty.com

My husband never ceases to amaze me

8 months ago when we found out that we had been invited to the Premiere Show and that it was in Orlando, we started saving our change so that we could purchase tickets to the Magic Kingdom for a day while we were there. Yesterday was that day. What a reward after saving for all that time and arriving at the most magical place on earth. We had a great day and short waits on many of the attractions. One of Mike's favorite is a moving theatre called The Carousel of Progress. As most of you know Mike is a liver patient for 15 years and has his challenges with his health and has come very close to loosing his life a few times. If you ask Mike if he is having a good day he will say to you "everyday is a good day!"

While on this attraction, there was a young boy that arrived after us. I would venture to say that he was 9 or 10 in an electric wheelchair and had a machine that was helping him breathe. The young man was with his parents and a person that I assumed was his caregiver. The little boy was not in good shape. Mike leaned over to me and said "See I am the luckiest guy walking!"

Mike wears a red "Live with Passion" bracelet on his left hand and a watch and a yellow "Livestrong" bracelet on his right hand. After the show Mike removed his

"Livestrong" bracelet and walked over and talked to this young boys father then I watched as the young boy make his hand into a fist and Mike placed his "Livestrong" bracelet on his wrist. Mike explained to this young boy that he is a 15 year liver patient and that he needs to keep fighting! The young man smiled and nodded.

I always say that my husband is the most amazing man and he proves it everyday. He is a man of integrity and passion and I love him more today than yesterday!

A Traveler after our own heart!

So we were unloading the bus today after the show and getting ready for our talks this week and next. There was a luggage cart in the hotel lobby that was filled to the brim with "stuff". This young woman saw our shirts and the bus and said "what do you guys do?" We told her about Hello Gorgeous! about our vision to help woman with cancer. She told us the she was a hairdresser from Boise, Idaho and her name is Kimberly and that she is taking a 6 week tour and taking all of the classes and education that she can. She explained that education doesn't come to Boise, so she had to go looking for it! She had attended the Premiere show but did not see us. She was off to Charleston, NC and making her way to New York City. We gave her a tour of the Mobile Day Spa and a Hello Gorgeous! T-Shirt and a big hug and said our goodbyes.
So many of us won't take time out of our day to learn something new and I had the pleasure of meeting someone that was committing 6 weeks on the road to learn everything she could about something that she loves.
My Hat is off to you Kimberly!

Victory!

What a great job EVERYONE did to make the Premiere Show in Orlando a Huge success! We have the greatest group of team members that gave of their time away from their families and businesses to come and volunteer for
Hello Gorgeous!


Our Hats off to all of you for a Job Very WEll Done!!

A Dream come true!!

The Premiere Show in Orlando is one of THE largest hair shows in the United States.
14 years ago I attended a Matrix conference at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando and I have always wanted to return to attend the Premiere show, never ,ever thinking that we would be able to be a vendor at this show. On Wednesday June 1st, 2011 we drove the bus inside the convention center and parked it on the show floor and were honored to be one of the 2300 vendors at this hair show. The attendance was amazing, as was the outpouring of support from the attendees. We spoke with salon owners, stylists, beauty school owners and students. We talked with people, that without attending this show we would have never met.

A Glimmer of the Future

At the end of May, Sandy's Hair Design held their 2nd fundraiser. It was a Spring Fashion Show and luncheon. Sandy and her team worked very hard and the event was a huge success.
I was fortunate enough to MC the event. Dressbarn provided all of the clothes, Papa Murphy's donated the garlic bread, Max and Erma's donated the soup and Sandy made all of the salads and desserts. The venue, Newton Center, was donated by Hoosier Tire.
All of the models for the event were Gorgeous! Women that Sandy and her team had done make-overs on. I only knew a couple of the women, the rest I had never met, but yet they had been touched by our program. Wow, what a feeling!!
My big dream is to walk into a room filled with people that I have brought together. The trainers that trained the salons owners and their staff and the Gorgeous! women that these salons have performed make-overs on and no one will know me. Sandy gave me a small glimpse of what that big picture will look like.

Thank you, Sandy for always giving 110%

She is a Rock Star!

Jade was nominated by 2 of her co-workers. She is a wife, daughter and the proud mother of 2. She was also diagnosed with Stage 4 liver and colon cancer. We decided that Jade would make a great candidate for our Saint Patrick's Day Tent Party at TGIFriday's on Ireland Rd in South Bend, Indiana. Jade's mom was taking her to dinner ( so she thought) I received a text message describing what Jade was wearing (one of the challenges in making sure that you surprise the right person.)
The Mobile Day Spa was parked outside in the parking lot. Given the description that I was texted, I spotted Jade and her mom as they arrived, only to my surprise she was walking across the parking lot and right toward the Mobile Day Spa. I mouthed to the girls "this is her!"
The volunteers talked her into buying an event shirt and answered all of the questions that she asked. Jade told me that she worked for Monaco Coach and that she had talked to either Mike or I about the donation from Monaco of a vehicle. Jade then asked " are you doing a make-over tonight?" We fibbed and told her no, that this was a fundraiser for Hello Gorgeous! and we were just here to support TGIFriday's. Jade then told me that she loved what we did and that she was a cancer survivor. I told her congratulations and we said our goodbyes and I walked into the Mobile Day Spa and told the girls "That is our make-over!" That had never happened before.

We gave her a few minutes to get settled in the restaurant. We gathered the chocolate, the flowers and her certificate and marched inside TGIFriday's to tell Jade that we had lied. We were doing a make-over and it is on her!

We had a great night! Sandy's Hair Design was the make-over team, and they pampered Jade with a pedicure, manicure, a facial, a new wig and a new outfit from Dressbarn. We revealed Jade on the stage with Shock Roxy in front of 500+ people! What a great night!!!

Jade is now cancer free and an inspiration to all of us!! She really is a Rock Star!!

What a Wonderful surprise for Hello Gorgeous!

Thank you Integrity Payment Systems!

Integrity Payment Systems is the premier payment processor and direct settlement institution for credit card transactions. I met Gayle from Integrity at the ABS Show in Chicago in March of 2011. She toured the Mobile Day Spa and "GOT" our mission. Integrity has given us their support in so many ways.

Gayle introduced me to Janel and the staff at Studio 21 in Gurnee, Illinois, which is now a certified Hello Gorgeous! Affiliate. When we arrived at Studio 21 to certify the staff, Gayle presented Hello Gorgeous! with a check from Integrity. I was completely shocked and humbled!

Thank you Integrity Payment systems for your support of Hello Gorgeous!

The Greatest Kid in the World!

We have THE Greatest child in the world! He is so patient with us and puts up with so much from us never saying a word, I almost forget that he is only 8. We drove for 18+ hours in the bus to get to Florida. Never a complaint, never a whine. We woke him up at 5:00 am to get on the road on Memorial Day never a sore word, he just got up. We arrived in Florida on Tuesday and went to the grocery store to pick up some staples, water, fruit and veggies.

Mike and I were wearing our Hello Gorgeous! shirts(of course) and the check out girl says "those are so cute what is Hello Gorgeous!?" Our son, before we could ever say a word went into his spiel.
"Hello Gorgeous! is a non-profit that my parents founded and we provide complimentary make-overs to women with cancer. We do a manicure, pedicure, make-up and we even give her a wig." Mike steps in and says " Bet you didn't know you were going to get all that?" Seth says "she just wants to feel normal, so we make her feel normal again."

We couldn't be more proud of him. What an amazing life lesson he is learning, compassion for others.

We have THE Greatest kid and we couldn't love him anymore!

Mom and Daughter get to do something fun together for a change!

This is a story that needs to be told.


Heather and her mom had a pretty close relationship and then it got a little closer.
In June of 2010 Heather was diagnosed with breast cancer and in
July 2010 her mom Sharon was diagnosed with breast cancer. Heather told us that she and her mom were able to take many of their treatments together. We recieved a nomination for Heather and when we found out that they both were battling the same disease we decided to perform the 1st double make-over in the Mobile Day Spa. Heather's cousin was able to get her to the Century Center for a Girls Night Out event. Sharon was told that Heather was getting a make-over to get her there. To their surprise they were both recieving make-overs that night. The BeeHive salon came as our make-over team and Maurice's donated all of the clothes. We had arranged for Heather's and Sharon's family and friends to arrive at the Century Center approximately 3 hours after the start of the make-over for the big reveal. ( This too was a big surprise to both girls.)


When the makeover was complete the crowd of over 100 people let out a great big "HELLO GORGEOUS!" and Heather and her mom walked out onto the stage, both with smiles from ear to ear.


Heather told me that she and her mom had been through some pretty nasty stuff together and that it was great to go through something positive together.

Welcome Bangs Salon and Spa, South Bend, Indiana

What a fantastic group of women. These girls sat through a 3 hour certification on a beautiful, sunny, Sunday afternoon to be trained to preform the Hello Gorgeous! Experiences. They were there, like the other affiliates in our family, because they wanted to be. Thank you for your dedication and your devotion to these amazing women that we have the opportunity to serve. Welcome to the Hello Gorgeous! Family!!!

Welcome Chateau Bijou Salon and Spa in Noblesville, Indiana

I am so honored to have such a amazing group of individuals as a part of our
Hello Gorgeous! Family. Their love and passion for our project will be wonderful for the women who suffer from this horrible disease in Noblesville, Indiana. Thank you girls and Doug for your partnership with the Hello Gorgeous! Family!!

Welcome Expressions in Warsaw, Indiana

Warsaw has a special place in my heart. Last year we did a visit on an amazing woman named Tracy Yeager. She was the first visit that we did outside of the South Bend, Mishawaka area.

I am so glad that we now will be offering the Hello Gorgeous! Experience on a regular basis in Warsaw by partnering with Expressions Salon and Day Spa. What a wonderful addition to the Hello Gorgeous!Family!!

The Best Mother-in-Law Ever! In Loving Memory of Dr. Jeanine Becker R.N., M.A., Ph.D

This week 14 years ago Mike's mom left us. It is so hard to believe that it has been that long. I think about all that has happened in that time and think"where did it go?" My mother-in-law was the best. Classy, loving, caring and the best laugh ever. My mother-in-law was making a difference. She was the Regional Director for the Motherhood and Childcare Development at Memorial Hospital, she achieved all her college studies after the age of 40, she was an Adjunct Professor at Notre Dame teaching empowerment to young nursing students, she was a professional grant writer and she was working on a study about SIDS and about the affect of lead poisoning on children. In December of 1996 Jeanine was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, a Glioblastoma. The doctors performed surgery on Christmas Eve that year and told us she had 6 months to live, she survived 4 1/2 months and passed away April of the following year. I have always said that when I die God and I are going to lunch because I have alot of questions that I need to have answered. My mother-in-Law was all about education and, in the end, the cancer took her mind. I don't get it. I remember this story very fondly. When Mike and I first started dating his mom was asking him questions about me. She wanted to know where I went to school. Mike told her that I went to beauty school and her response was that "she is not right for you, you need someone that is college educated." Well that summer I was invited to go on the family vacation to Minnesota. While at the lake with them I offer to do her hair for her. I told her that it was silly to pay someone when I was happy to do it for nothing. Now Jeanine had gone to the same hairdresser for quite some time and they were roller setting her hair, which I always felt aged her. So when I did her hair I used a blow dryer and curling iron. She looked 10 years younger. I did her hair twice more that week. At that time she announced that she would like a standing 4:30 appointment every Friday and that she was going to write a note to her soon-to-be "former" hairdresser and let her know that there was now a hairdresser in the family. I then knew that I would be "ok" for Mike. I was known as the "Hair Wizard" Jeanine would have loved Hello Gorgeous! She would have been at every event and had every item of her clothing embroidered with the Hello Gorgeous! logo. She would have been all about this project. Jeanine's PhD dissertation was on "Empowerment". She had always talked about traveling in a Prevost and lecturing on this subject. And in some ways I feel like Mike and I have taken up her torch and are moving it forward, in her honor. Miss you Mom.

The Salon Affiliate Program

Our home is our office. We live, eat and breathe Hello Gorgeous! because we love it! Looking around our living room I laughed thinking that Martha Stewart Living would never do a story on my house unless it was in the "Don't" section. We took these pictures so we always remember how we started. I don't ever want to forget how we started this project. The dining room table filled with file folders and right next to the table and toy box filled with our sons toys. As I was thinking of that I came to realize that I have never really explained the salon affiliate program that we developed to help more women, so I thought I would take this time to do so. Last summer when Mike and I were on tour meeting these amazing women, we realized that there are just too many women for us to help on our own, so we developed the Hello Gorgeous! Salon Affiliate Program. We decided to instill the profession that I have loved for 25 years and create a training program that teaches them how to create the Hello Gorgeous! experience in their own salon. We look for upscale, professional, commission based salons and invite them to become a part of our program. Once they accept we provide them with everything that they need to perform 12 Hello Gorgeous! Experiences in a year and the training that they need to carry off the level of service that we envision. We also teach them the precautions that need to be taken on a women with a compromised immune system. This program allows us to reach so many more woman and we share the feeling that we feel when this amazing transformation takes place in these inspirational women. We have had the opportunity to perform the Hello Gorgeous! Experiences in the salon before the Mobile Day Spa existed. We have performed them in the Mobile Day Spa. We have had make-over teams perform the make-overs in the Mobile Day Spa and We have performed the make-overs in the Affiliate Salons and we have noticed that the outcome is the same. That transformation inside and out is exactly the same. As of right now we have 10 affiliates from South Bend to Indianapolis and 2 pending applications from Minnesota and Maryland. I am very excited to watch this program unfold and blossom. I will continue to update as we reach new cities and new states.

A Tribute to 2 Women

Last summer we took a 6 week tour to introduce our concept to the state of Indiana. On that journey we met some of the most amazing and inspirational women of my life. Each of them different stories, different cancers but the same strengths. Kathy (top picture) battled breast cancer that had traveled to her brain, Phyllis (lower picture) battled Mesothelioma. I am so honored to have met both of these amazing women and am so glad that I had the opportunity to spend the time with them that I did, to hear the stories of their families and the stories of their lives . I got to see the courage and the strength that each of these women had and the fight with-in them to battle this horrible disease. Each of these women lost their battle this past month. I am a better person for having the opportunity to meet these strong women. Heaven is a much better place to have 2 wonderful angels like you. May you have the peace you both deserve.

First Gorgeous! Experience at Creative Edge Salon and Spa Mishawaka, Indiana.

Creative Edge Salon has graciously accepted our invitation to be the 1st Hello Gorgeous! Affiliate in Mishawaka and we are very proud to have them as apart of the Hello Gorgeous! Family. On March 19th, 2011 Creative Edge performed their first Hello Gorgeous! Experience in their salon.

Anita arrived at Creative Edge in Mishawaka not knowing why she was there. The team at Creative Edge was anxiously waiting for her to arrive. When Anita walked in the door she walked onto a red carpet and was greeted with candy , flowers and a big Hello Gorgeous!

Anita was treated to a manicure, a pedicure, a facial, a new wig, a new outfit and her make-up applied. When she was all done we had one more surprise for her, we had a party planned at Applebee's in her honor. There we more than 35 people waiting to see Anita's new look.

Anita was nominated by her brother, who lives in Arkansas. He came to Indiana for her special day. Anita also has 2 very special daughters who spent her day with her which made it that much more special for her!

Thank you Creative Edge Team for making Anita feel like a queen!!!

http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?ID=537938

Thank you Fix Salon and Spa, DressBarn, McCarthy's Resturaunt and Camille's Flowers for you compassion and generosity!! The First Make-over for Fix Salon and Spa in Elkhart, In. http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?ID=537938

Fix Salon and Spa

We are honored to have Fix Salon and Spa as part of our
Hello Gorgeous! Family. Fix is an Aveda Concept Salon located in Downtown Elkhart, Indiana. Fix salon and Spa is an upbeat and energetic full service salon. Julene and her staff will take great care of our Gorgeous! women!!

Welcome Aboard!

Creative Edge Salon and Spa

This week we welcomed another salon to our Hello Gorgeous! Family. Creative Edge Salon and Spa is now a Certified Affiliate Salon. What a wonderful group of women with very large hearts and spirits. We look forward to a very long standing relationship with them!! Welcome Creative Edge!!

"Help me Help Others"

On February 7th I recieved and e-mail titled "Help me help others" I was intrigued and opened the e-mail only to find one of the most couragous women I have ever met.

Danielle wrote me to tell me her story. She explained in the e-mail that she was a 32 year old stay at home mom to a wonderful son named Dylan. She told me that 8 days after Dylan was born she was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of cervical cancer called Limited Small Cell Neuro Endocrine Carcinoma. This cell is typically found in lung cancer patients but hers was found in her cervix . Danielle had 12 rounds of chemo and a Hysterctomy berfore Dylan was 13 weeks old.

Dylan will be 3 in April and Danielle is CANCER FREE!! She was given our website address by a friend but had actually seen the bus on Highway 37 last year when we were on tour in Noblesville. After reading this e-mail from this amazing woman I contacted her and told her that I needed to meet her in person, if nothing else just to give her a hug. Last week on our trip to Noblesville we did meet and we shared a very tearful hug and sat and chatted for nearly 3 hours. What an inpirtational woman, someone who wants to take what they have been through and what they have learned from her experience to help others. We told her that we would help her in any way that we knew how. I am honored to know Danielle and I am a better person for knowing her.

Valentin's Day 2011

As most of you know our mission is to provide complimentary make-overs to all women battling all cancers. That is our 1st love. Our second love is to help children. For the last 3 years we have gone to the pediatric floor at Memorial Hospital to give the children in the hospital a Valentine's Day Party. We take cookies to decorate with all the fixxins', we paint nails and toes, we even apply temporary tattoos and this year we even did some face painting. What a joy to put a smiles on these little faces.
A great big thank you to all of our volunteers that came and helped us this year!! You are the best!!

Bowling for Beauty!

On February 19th,2011 we hosted the 2nd annual Bowling for Beauty Party at
Chippewa Bowling Lanes in South Bend, Indiana. We had a great turnout! This was a family friendly event with a tropical theme. We held a 40 item silent auction and a "best costume" contest.
We had a few surprises, A Thousands Words Photography brought their photo booth, Papa Murphy's brought the Pizza Guy and Zumba Kelly Thrall brought her crew for a Flash Mob of Zumba! It was a great event! We packed the entire Bowling Alley with great people and great Music by Custom Sounds Mobile DJ. We can not wait until next year!!

Welcome Rain Salon and Spa, Noblesville, Indiana

On Tuesday February 22, 2011 we certified Rain Salon and Spa in Noblesville, Indiana. What a wonderful group of women. We met Rain Salon and Spa last summer when we were on our tour. They helped us with Gorgeous! Visit that we did at Hamilton Town Center. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. They are now eligible to perform Gorgeous! Visits in their salon. We are very excited to have them on our team and now have the ability to offer these services in the quaint city of Noblesville. Congratulations Rain! Welcome to the Hello Gorgeous! Family!