The "Giving” of Thanks!

This is the time of year

that our hearts feel a bit

fuller and we are looking

for ways to show apprecia-

tion and thanks to not only

those we love but to

strangers we've never met.

Nostalgia and tradition

seem to be at the forefront

of everything we do.

What does "Thanksgiving"

mean to you? I encourage

you to take this time to

reflect on the years past

and think about your fa-

vorite Thanksgiving sea-

son. What made it spe-

cial? Was it being close to

a family member that may

no longer be here with us?

Was is a need that you

were able to fill for some-

one or was it a childhood

memory that takes you

back to a moment in time

that makes your heart

smile.

For me it was about

8 years ago during

the hurricane Katrina

disaster. My heart

like many of yours

was breaking for the

people of New Or-

leans. As a family we

were looking for an

opportunity to do

something but felt so

very helpless. Our

church announced

there would be op-

portunities to help

folks that were up-

rooted and relocated

from the storm.

At the time Mark and

I were a host home

for a small life group

at our church. Each

week we'd gather

together to breath

life into on another.

This particular year

during the Thanksgiv-

ing holiday we de-

cided as a group to

adopt one of the

families that had lost

everything through

Katrina and help

them all through the

Thanksgiving and

Christmas season.

At first though I imag-

ined that would just

mean giving of finan-

cial resources. I was

so wrong. We were

challenged by the

church to do some-

thing different and

not only give of our

money but also our

time, our heart and

our love.

(Continued on page

2)

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 5 Week 46

The “Giving” of Thanks! By: Cathy Lee

Keeping You Under Our Wings (Upcoming Events)

Our Ugly Sweater Christmas

Luncheon will be on Mon-

day, December 16th, 2013

from 11:00am-2:00pm. By

now you should have re-

ceived your electronic invi-

tation.

Be sure to respond and

send in your RSVP asap.

T h e R e n a i s s a n c e R e g i o n

The Renaissance Region

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

A Peak from the Beak 1

Keeping You Under Our 1

Cover Story Continued 3

New Accounts 3

Countable Contest 3

Associate Rankings 3

District Rankings 4

Can We Do It? 4

Happenings around

the Region 5

T h u r s d a y , N o v e m b e r 2 1 t h , 2 0 1 3

VO L UME 1 ISSUE 5 WEE K 46

At this point I was feeling way outside my comfort zone but with the amazing support of the other group member

and of course the sweet giving man I am married to, I agreed this would be a great experience.

I cannot begin to tell you how this family who we were supposed to be helping touched my life and forever

changed my heart.

Kenneth and Catherine and their two children have lost everything during this massive storm. They lost their

home, their possessions, their friends and even other family members but they had not lost their spirit.

He was a trumpet player in a jazz band and she was a wheelchair bound stay at home mom with two beautiful

small children. Though the adversity they were facing was more than I could imagine their spirit shined so bright.

With Parkinson's disease in full force her smile could light up a room and his willingness to break out into song at

the drop of the hat made for a magical experience for us.

Our family was blessed to host them for Thanksgiving as well as other times in our home that season. I will never

forget being in the restaurant on Thanksgiving Day. The entire room was filled with families who had lost every-

thing, mostly strangers to one another and people like us who were in awe of them

Piercing the silence at the end of the meal Kenneth drew his trumpet and began playing "When the Saints Come

Marching In".

In that moment hope, love, pride and so many other emotions surrounded that room full of New Orleans natives.

He taught us that no matter what storms shall come or what storms shall pass, that the spirit in our hearts can

break though the darkness and shine so bright. It was a moment I will never forget.

Soon that holiday season was come and gone. Kenneth, Catherine and their children moved back to family in

New Orleans.

Life for us went back to normal but the memories of that time will never fade.

There were so many lessons taught and learned through that experience but the main thing I learned was love

can conquer anything.

We all love our family but showing love to a complete stranger and doing something outside your comfort zone

can forever change your heart.

In the beginning of our journey with them that year I thought we would be the ones giving the blessing but as it

turned out they were the ones who blessed us.

Whether or not you host a family, volunteer somewhere, give of financial resources, be a little kinder to a stranger

or some charitable contribution, I hope you find a way to create a beautiful memory this Thanksgiving season.

As we close out this week I want you to know that I am thankful for each of you. I am thankful for the new relation-

ships we are building and the special team we are creating. I am thankful for this company without whom I would

have never had the opportunity to meet any of you. I am most thankful for my family who continues to support me

following my dreams even though it has taken me geographically away from them.

Mark Lee, I know you are reading this and yes sir....I am very thankful for you!

Next week is a short week so make the most of it Monday-Wednesday then enjoy your families the rest of the

week.

If you are traveling like us, please be safe and have so much fun. We will be combining week 47 and 48 newslet-

ter so there will not be one next week.

I appreciate you all!

Cathy

PAGE 2

Continued Story of the Week

Peace Keepers

Opened by Amber Montgomery

Stacks 3 inc dba stacks

Opened by Ralph Whitehurst

Stephanie Brinson fnp llc

Opened by Missy Rhodes

Mamas Touch Home Care llc

Larry Groves

Top 3 New Associate AP

1. Kevin Kaspar

2. Cassandra Anderson

3. Aaron Fogle

Top 3 Veteran AP

1. Amber Montgomery

2. Steve Cooper

3. Donna Corey

PAGE 3

Countable Club (Countable Drive to State Convention)

New Releases: Accounts Opened This Week

Associate Rankings for the Week

Larry Groves

Michael Touchon

Michael Oliver

Jerry Andrews

Will you be countable

next week?

Who was COUNTABLE

in Week 46?

Steve Cooper

Danny Lee

Don Hilke

Amber Montgomery

Donna Corey

THE R EN AISSAN C E R EGI O N

VO L UME 1 ISSUE 5 WEE K 46

District of the Week: Missy Rhodes with

116% MPI

“I get up and am out the door everyday

this quarter by 7:30 a.m. and I do not fin-

ish until at least 7 p.m. At Aflac it is all

about what you put in it is what you get

out of it. I have found this to be true all

51/2 years. I also could not thank my

Team enough. We are a close group and

we all work hard to support each other. I

try to stay close to the

engaged Veterans and

surely talk with my New

Associates daily. If we

continue to stick to-

gether, you will see us

at the top all the time!

Thanks Team…”

-Missy Rhodes

be successful.

Can We Do It??

Of Course WE

Can!!

Our goal is

$1,500,001. So

far we have

$823,472. We

need $676,529

to hit our target.

If we complete

$135,305 per

week for the next

5 weeks we will

PAGE 4

District Rankings for the Week

Can We Do It? Yes We Can!!!!

Our Mission Statement:

We will grow our organization by helping

each other achieve our goals, dreams and de-

sires. We will have a positive influence on

our customers, our community and one an-

other by always doing the right thing. We

will conduct our business the “Aflac” way…

We are in pursuit of service first, sales second

and excellence always… We are The Raleigh

Region… “Ignite”. Set yourself on fire!

16 North Boylan Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27603

2nd Floor

Aflac

The Show Car Hits the Streets of Raleigh

FYI: We are working on our

Newsletter for the week of

Christmas. We would love to

publish some of your favorite

memories and pictures. If you

would like to share with us

please email any items to Scher-

ria raleigh.region@gmail.com

Happenings Around The Region

Phone: 984-232-0180

Fax: 800-385-4726

Email: raleigh.region@gmail.com

“IGNITE’… SET YOURSELF ON FIRE… 2013!”

Published by: Scherria Hairston