Editorial
Front Page - Friday, March 5, 2010
Keller Williams and Make-A-Wish sending girl to Disney
David Laprad
Summer Cobb, a 3-year-old girl with kidney cancer, digs through a bag of presents after learning she and her family are going to Disney World. Also pictured: Clinton Cobb, Summer’s father; Make-A-Wish intern Annie Persinger; volunteer wish granter and Keller Williams agent C’Na Raines; and Jennifer Cobb, Summer’s mother. The girl with her back to the camera is Summer’s sister.
- David Laprad
Since 2005, the agents of the Keller Williams office in East Brainerd have helped people to achieve the dream of owning a home. Now they’re getting into the wish granting business.
There are differences between making dreams come true and granting wishes. The “clients” to whom the agents grant wishes are much younger than their typical customers, for example, and they don’t receive a paycheck when a deal is closed. Instead, the agents get to enjoy a smile on the face of a child.
Judging by the tears dropping down the cheeks of several agents at the latest “closing,” that’s more than enough compensation.
The smile that got all those tear ducts working came courtesy of Summer Cobb, a 3-year-old Chattanooga girl with kidney cancer. Working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of East Tennessee, the agents at the office raised enough money to grant Summer’s wish of going to Disney World.
Keller Williams had gone all out to give Summer the red carpet treatment – literally. When she and her parents, Clinton and Jennifer Cobb, entered the building on Premier Drive on Feb. 18, a red paper carpet led them to where dozens of friends, relatives and agents waited, surrounded by decorations and food.
As Summer entered the room, she took a moment to soak in her surroundings, realized all of the pink everywhere meant the party was for her and then broke into a full-blown grin.
Summer then listened, her right arm wrapped tightly around her teddy bear, as Make-A-Wish intern Annie Persinger presented her with a notebook containing everything she and her family would need during their trip. After a shy, “Thank you,” Summer dug into the first of several gift bags packed with presents.
The presentation was the culmination of work that began in November 2009, when volunteer wish granter and Keller Williams agent C’Na Raines, along with Persinger, went to meet Summer for the first time. During their visit, Summer told them she wanted to go to Disney World.
“Summer is a delightful and happy little girl who quickly steals the hearts of everyone she meets,” Raines said during an interview after the wish party.
Summer also gave Raines an autographed copy of a poster from the recent TC Thompson’s Radiothon for Children’s Cancer featuring her now famous smile. According to Summer’s mother, that was the first time Summer had written her name. Raines, who “treasured that poster as a priceless masterpiece,” had someone frame it and then gave it to the Jennifer at the wish party.
Finding a time when the Cobbs would be able to travel to Disney World was a challenge, as not only did the family have to wait until Summer had completed chemotherapy, they had to make sure the father was well enough to travel, too, as he also has kidney cancer. Once their physicians gave the all clear, Keller Williams agents from East Brainerd and the downtown and Hixson market centers kicked into high gear, as they had only three days to put together the wish party.
The turnout was impressive. “It’s so refreshing to see folks take time out of their day to show love and support for a child,” Raines said. “These businesspeople seem to live by the adage that it’s not always about the money, but what you do with the money, that’s important.”
The Keller Williams office in East Brainerd became involved with Make-A-Wish in 2008 after its agents made a commitment to raise enough money to fund a wish for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of East Tennessee. The agents participated in the Walk for Wishes fundraiser at the Tennessee Riverpark in Nov. 2008, raising over $7,000 to grant a 4-year-old boy his wish to have lunch with Shamu.
“Seeing these remarkable children receive their one true wish has been deeply inspiring,” Raines, who’s also battling cancer, said. “Serving the higher purpose of business through charitable giving has become the heart of the Keller Williams culture.”
Summer and her parents departed for Disney World on Feb. 27. Speaking with the Hamilton County Herald by phone before leaving, Clinton said they’d have something to celebrate: Summer’s first scan following the completion of her treatment came back clear. Although she has three more scans to complete, if she remains in remission for one year, she’ll be “pretty well good to go,” her father said.
Until that day, her father plans to teach her how to play tee ball. And the agents at Keller Williams in East Brainerd will be waiting for the good report.
|
|