Patrick Weatherly has been involved with Magic Moments for the past three years as a junior board member. He first heard about Magic Moments through his job at ServisFirst Bank. ServisFirst is a long time sponsor of Magic Moments and Patrick was introduced to the organization through our annual Sporting Clay Shoot at Selwood Farms, where he got to shoot clays with his coworkers and also learn more about the Magic Moments mission.
What drew Weatherly into Magic Moments was witnessing his first reveal. He said he was hooked and knew then that Magic Moments was worth putting his time and energy into.
The fundraiser that Weatherly looks forward to the most is the annual Junior Board Masters Tournament Party. According to Weatherly, it is the “best time of the year to be outside raising money.”
His favorite magic moment story to share was when he helped a child pick out toys and electronics at a shopping spree at BestBuy. The magic moment recipient he was helping knew exactly what he wanted and Weatherly enjoyed being a part of the moment.
Weatherly said that if he were to receive his very own magic moment it would be to fly with the Blue Angels.
Davy Autry, a senior capital project engineer at International Paper, and a long time member of our River Region Council, has a very personal connection to Magic Moments. His son, Caleb, received a Magic Moment almost 20 years ago. For the past 15 years, he’s been involved with the organization as a Magic Maker.
“I spent many hours in Children’s Hospital watching other children, as well as, my own. I often wondered how I could make a difference in their lives,” Davy said. “My son received his magic moment and then we got involved with Family Camp. I saw that Magic Moments made a difference for my son and our whole family. I saw the smiles on other children’s faces. I realized that this was a way that I could make a difference.”
“My favorite Magic Moments story has always been to share about our own experience. My son chose to go to Disney World. Of course, this is really a trip to all the theme parks in Orlando. So many times we had to leave our daughter behind to seek help for my son, but when we left for this trip, she got to go too. We stayed at Give Kids the World, which could be a vacation by itself. My son received a button to wear to all the theme parks that allowed us to go to the front of the line. The theme park characters all knew about the button. All they had to do was see it and they would go out of their way to make sure this was a special trip.”
“I have had the opportunity to be involved with several Magic Moments fundraisers. My favorite is one that was just completed. I agreed to be the Magic Maker for a young girl. Knowing that Magic Moments had to cancel its fundraisers in 2020 due to COVID-19, I thought about raising the money for this wish. I approached a group of young engineers that I work with and asked them if they would consider holding a fundraiser and shared with them about Magic Moments and told them about my son’s wish, who happens to now be one of the young engineers. They were very eager to get involved. They reached out to the many contractors and vendors that we deal with and asked for prize donations. After the prizes were secured, they sold raffle tickets for a chance to win the prizes. The fundraiser was successful with more than enough funds being raised to grant Cay’Reese’s magic moment.”
Jane Huston Crommelin joined the Board of Directors at Magic Moments two years ago. When she isn’t working with the organization to support Alabama’s most deserving children, she serves as a realtor at Ray & Poynor Properties. Crommelin was attracted to the mission of Magic Moments because of a personal relationship with founders Shelley and Angela Clark. Crommelin also uses her work with Magic Moments to honor the memory of her own child who passed away, Sally Wade Crommelin.
We truly learned how dedicated Jane Huston is to Magic Moments this past fall. She ordered 100 or so “You’ve Been Boo’d” signs to surprise her real estate clients and support Magic Moments. What Jane Huston didn’t realize was that it was up to her to deliver each sign! She put in the work — quite literally — to help spread awareness of the Magic Moments mission throughout the Over the Mountain community.
If Jane Huston had her own magic moment, it would be a couples’ trip to a luxurious beach resort.
Katie Bass started her journey with Magic Moments as an intern in college. These days, Katie is a long-time supporter of the organization and has been on the junior board for two years.
Her love for helping others and seeing the patients’ happy faces when their magic moment has been granted is what drew Katie to the organization. You will always see her at the TumTum Tree Foundation’s annual wine auction benefitting Magic Moments — it is her favorite (and signature!) fundraiser!
On the other hand, Bass’ favorite magic moment story to share is telling a high schooler he would be going to New York City with his family. Homewood student David didn’t get to travel with the Homewood High School band in late 2018 due to this treatment schedule.
The whole Homewood High School marching band joined Katie and the rest of the junior board as they shared the news with David and were cheering him on.
Katie says, “It was a very exciting and emotional surprise.” Katie’s magic moment would be a classic choice — she’d wish to meet all of the princesses at Disney World!
We are grateful for young professionals like Katie who give their time and energy to our junior board!
Nim Frazer is a long time Magic Moments supporter and a member of our River Region Council. By trade, he works in industrial real estate, but he and his family still find time to support Magic Moments in many different ways.
“It’s a charity that is dear to my heart, incredibly rewarding, and very touching to support,” he said. “The Capitol Clay Shoot in Montgomery is one of my favorite Magic Moments events because of the raffle drawings and the ability to come together with friends to support a great charity. The skeet shoot adds a little bit of friendly competition.”
Frazer said that his daughter, Mary Blan, has had the privilege of serving as a Magic Maker multiple times.
“The joy the kids and their families experience from these opportunities is so rewarding for a Magic Maker,” he said. If Frazer had his own magic moment, he’d wish to hang out with Nick Saban for an afternoon.
Thank you to Nim, Mary Blan, and the whole Frazer family for your support of Magic Moments!
“Magic Moments can’t seem to get rid of us!” is Kelly Morrison’s favorite joke. She joined the board five years ago after her husband, Ron Morrison, rolled off as board chair. Kelly is retired from wealth management and is spending her retirement years giving back to the community. Magic Moments is one of her favorite philanthropies because of the tangible joy it brings to children’s lives. The fundraiser Kelly looks forward to the most is BHM 26.2 because of the awareness it brings to the community who might otherwise never have heard of Magic Moments. Kelly is also an avid runner and participates in the marathon each year.
Morrison’s favorite aspect of Magic Moments is Beyond the Moment. “BTM is such an amazing way to see these families grow and heal throughout the years. Magic Moments is able to be a part of the children and families lives long term — not just during their ‘trip’ or ‘moment.’” Recently, Kelly and Ron served as Magic Makers for a teenager who wanted to go on an outdoor shopping spree. Her husband and the teenager had similar outdoor hobbies, so he was able to help them pick out some fun items during the shopping spree. It was a perfect fit!
If Kelly had a magic moment, she said that she wants to meet professional golfer, Fred Couples.
Life was pretty normal for 17-year-old Jonathon Hall. He loves video games, Alabama football, and being outdoors. However, in August 2018, Jonathan was a passenger in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down.
Jonathon’s mother describes him as a kind kid who motivates others. He spent over a month in the hospital, learning what his new reality would look like. Around this time, his social worker referred him to Magic Moments, looking for an opportunity to lift his spirits.
Jonathon wanted to go shopping for accessible electronics to help aid in his recovery of learning how to re-use his hands and arms with limited mobility. However, Jonathon is also a die-hard Alabama and an opportunity to meet his idol, Trent Richardson was a close second choice.
Magic Moments decided that Jonathon shouldn’t have to choose. He met his Magic Maker at Best Buy early on a Friday morning in December and began to peruse the store. He pointed out several video games he was interested in and his older brother tagged along to help him select the electronics that were most suitable to his needs. It was at that moment that Trent Richardson made his entrance.
“The highlight of the shopping spree was to see my son’s face light up when he met Trent Richardson,” Jonathon’s mother said. His smile was apparent for everyone to see as Jonathon and Trent spent the morning shopping and bro-ing it up, playing video games and talking trash. At lunch afterwards, Jonathon and his brother swapped tales of hanging out with the football great while making plans to enjoy Jonathon’s spoils later that afternoon.
“This shopping spree was a real blessing to us. After something so tragic, to see my son smile and enjoy himself really touched my heart,” his mother said.
Early in 2023, we received an application from 17-year-old Fredrick, along with a very eloquent letter sharing his story with us. Fredrick was a senior in high school when he got into a bad car accident, causing his car to catch on fire while he was still in it. Fredrick suffered 3rd and 4th degree burns, along with a TBI and several other life-threatening injuries.
In Fredrick’s letter, he expressed what receiving a magic moment would mean to him. He told us, “I want to go on a trip with my family. It’s somewhere different and it’s not home. That will take our minds off everything that’s surrounding my life. Hopefully on the trip I can make magic moments and happy memories with my mom, dad and brother because they are my biggest supporters and are beside me all of the time.”
When our board members saw this heartbreaking letter, they immediately wanted to do something extra special for Freddy’s reveal, but the surprise worked out even better than expected. We arranged for a limo to be parked outside Freddy’s home before he left for physical therapy. When Freddy asked about the car, the driver played along by telling Freddy that he was “off the clock” but didn’t mind taking him to physical therapy. Instead, they drove to where there was a red carpet leading to the door. After walking down the red carpet, surrounded by supporters cheering him on, Freddy learned that he would spend his 19th birthday with his family in Hollywood, California.
13-year-old Trenton suffered a debilitating brain bleed last December. Trenton and his three biological siblings are four of Erica and Joseph’s 19 adopted children and five biological children. The family has recently opened a children’s home in conjunction with Big Oak Ranch. These wonderful parents have made it their mission to give as many children as they can a stable, loving family, and Magic Moments is thrilled to be part of it. Trenton will soon travel with his whole family in their bus to Give Kids the World Village at Disney World, which has provided accommodation and tickets for all 26 people. They will be the largest family Give Kids the World has ever hosted!
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