Goal met at Heather's Hope dinner

Words of encouragement abounded at the Christian Helping Hands/Heather’s Hope Housing dinner at the Duncan Golf and Tennis Club.

The Celebration of Hope was a fundraiser for the Comanche agencies as they sought $30,000 for a new roof for their new resources building on South 8th Street in Comanche.

The dinner featured three current or former members of Heather’s Hope Housing who told how God had used the agency to impact their lives. The keynote speaker was David Dennis, a former Comanche resident and current non-profit CEO of Eckerds Connect. Comanche native Randy Weeaks closed out the dinner.

By the time Weeaks had finished speaking, $20,000 had already been raised. Both Dennis and Weeaks pledged $10,000, leaving just $10,000.

Christian Helping Hands director Pam Dobbins said on Sunday that the goal was exceeded.

“It was amazing,” Dobbins said of the dinner. “There were 200 plus there. Everybody was encouraged. I thought the girls (who spoke) did well and we met our goal. We went over.”

Dobbins said she appreciated Dennis coming to speak at the dinner.

“It was a good night,” Dobbins said. “I loved seeing David again and having Randy Weeaks there. There were a lot of people from Comanche there, so that made me happy.”

During his speech, Dennis joked about cheating off Jeannie (Spradling) McGowen in junior high math class even though she probably didn’t know it. He also talked about Randy Weeaks’ mother getting he and Weeaks boxing gloves so they wouldn’t hurt each other when they were kids.

On a more serious note, Dennis talked about how hard it was to come back to Duncan because of the all the bad memories he has of living in Duncan with some of his worst personal tragedies and events occurring in the city.

“When Pam first emailed me and asked me to come, I struggled a bit, but I knew I was supposed to do it,” Dennis said.

He mentioned the events that included an embarrassing visit from his mother at the skating rink and her untimely death following a cigarette catching her bedding on fire.

His father had died when he was three. His mother was an alcoholic and couldn’t support the family. Child Protective Services came to get him and his sister when he was five.

“My memories of Duncan are the most traumatic memories of my life,” Dennis said. “So, Pam said we’re going to have this event we will be celebrating. I knew I needed to do it. I needed to (redeem my time here.) These ladies that spoke tonight won’t forget their memories, but they have been redeemed. They are buying their life back by all the things they are doing in the lives of other people. And that’s what God does for us. He buys us back.”

Dobbins said they will continue to have Celebration of Hope events in the future.