Letter 1 - Why She is the very FIRST letter!
Hello Bregdan Woman!
Today is the first day of the Relaunch of I Am A Bregdan Woman – complete with audio files for every letter. I struggled with who to start with. There are endless amazing women in the world, but only one woman that will forever hold the place of the woman I have loved and admired most.
I first laid eyes on Beth Tielke when I was at a conference for a company I had become involved with about twenty-five years ago, when I was in my early forties.
She was walking down a hallway, surrounded by a crowd of people. Her silvery curls framed a face that glowed with life and love. Her laughter rose into the air like tinkling bells. She radiated energy with every breath. I was totally mesmerized.
I was instantly drawn to her but never had a chance to meet her. She was surrounded the entire weekend by her entourage of admirers. I was a nobody.
One year later, I was at another conference. I was no longer a newbie. This time I was there as a speaker and seminar leader. I walked into a breakfast that first morning to speak, saw the woman I had wanted to meet the year before, and plopped down next to her.
“Hi, I’m Ginny.”
“Oh, honey, I know exactly who you are,” she responded.
She was the same. The same sparkling eyes. The same glowing face. The same loving spirit. I was just as mesmerized as I’d been the year before.
A remarkable relationship began. Little did I know how much she would change my life when she adopted me as her “daughter” – a title I was honored to be given.
Beth Tielke quickly became a role-model and mentor to me, redefining my meaning of the word success.
Beth worked hard for many years on her family’s dairy farm on the Nebraska plains, battling cold and heat alongside her husband, Bill. She raised her 7 children. Aware there wasn’t enough money to send her children to college, she left the farm and plunged into the business world she knew nothing about – owning a store, several restaurants, and a sandwich business – learning as she went. Some of the businesses are still running; only now her children and grandchildren operate them.
And, yes, all her children went to college.
When she reached retirement age, Beth had earned the right to sit back and enjoy life. Did she? Well, she enjoyed life immensely, but she certainly didn’t sit back. This dynamo of a woman traded in her brick-and-mortar businesses for 3 different home-based businesses. Her phone rang continuously, and her home was full of friends, clients, and family – that is when she wasn’t roaming all over Nebraska spreading love to as many people as she could!
All these things were wonderful, but they weren’t what made Beth Tielke such an amazing person to me. To understand that you have to know about Share Our Dream – an organization she started.
Beth was only happy when she was giving – when she was making a difference in someone’s life.
She understood that in order for a gift to make a difference it didn’t have to be large – it just had to be given from the heart, to the right person, in the right way.
These words are so powerful, they deserve to be repeated…
She understood that in order for a gift to make a difference it didn’t have to be large – it just had to be given from the heart, to the right person, in the right way.
Share Our Dream was about spreading a little bit of sunshine to as many people as she could in her town of O’Neill, Nebraska. Population? About 3500.
Share Our Dream was about allowing other people to give small gifts – all they were able to – so they could know the joy of giving.
It was about an elderly woman who just lost her husband crying with joy when she received a Share Our Dream card with a certificate for a piece of pie from a local restaurant.
It was about a little boy who realized someone cared when he got a certificate for a free ice cream cone from the local ice cream parlor.
It was about local businesses giving coupons for a cookie a week for Beth to give away to someone who needed a little drop of sunshine.
It was about a local florist donating one arrangement a month to bring joy to someone’s life.
It was about a local resident with very little money who committed to providing a coupon for one ice cream cone a week – making a difference with what little she had.
It was about helping a 14-year-old pianist pay to have his first CD cut, then using a portion of the proceeds to give more gifts.
The stories go on and on…. From the day Beth started Share Our Dream (paying for most of the costs from her own pocket) over 1600 people benefited in some way.
Think about that! 1600 people…
It was about neighbors and friends feeling special and helping others feel special.
It was about people knowing they were SEEN.
It was about teaching all of us how to live – how to be truly successful.
It’s realizing success is not about what we have, it’s more about what we can give.
Can I repeat that? It’s realizing success is not about what we have, it’s more about what we can give.
It’s about realizing that while we may not be able to “Outgive the Universe,” it certainly is fun to try.
Here’s the thing, though. This amazing Bregdan Woman wasn’t done!
When Beth was 79, I helped her start another organization - Nebraska Troop Support.
I could never say no to Beth – even if I had wanted to. She would look at you with those loving and wise blue eyes, and you would do whatever she wanted.
No matter who you were!
For five years, this indomitable woman sent care packages to many thousands of our troops in Iraq & Afghanistan. She brightened the days of hundreds of veterans in hospitals, and those at home who simply appreciated knowing someone remembered.
People all over Nebraska donated things for her to send – because she asked. Her home resembled a warehouse, but she turned nothing away – knowing someone would feel a touch of love when they received a package.
It was because of her passion that people stepped up to be a part of Nebraska Troop Support. One elderly woman knitted over 1000 pairs of warm slippers that went into the boxes. Hotel chains donated toiletry items. Musicians donated CD’s. People donated hundreds of Beanie Babies and other small gifts for the military to give to the local children. And individuals bought as much as they could to add to the boxes.
Beth had help, but she was the powerhouse behind her organization. She spent hundreds of hours at local fairs and events, accepting donations for mailing costs. She gave up almost every room in her house to store the donations because she didn’t want to diminish the impact by using any of the money for a storage facility. Every week, she packed boxes with those who came to help.
Beth died at age 84 – taking a big piece of my heart with her. I miss her every single day.
At her last family gathering, there were 80+ children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
This Bregdan Woman left a powerful legacy – not only for her family, but for the tens of thousands of others she touched along the way.
One of my goals in life is to be like Beth Tielke as I age – continually giving in every way I can.
All of us have the ability to make a difference – no matter how much money we do, or do NOT, have. Giving comes from the heart. All it takes is creativity and sensitivity to those around you.
It takes SEEING each person you encounter.
You’ll discover as I send you stories about amazing Bregdan Women that I like to ask questions. So, here are my questions today.
Will you do something today? In honor of Beth?
Who will you truly see today? What will you do to make them feel seen?
A Bregdan Woman is compassionate. I can’t think of a better person than Beth Tielke to demonstrate that.
Find someone who needs a ray of sunshine and do something for them. Remember, it doesn’t have to be big – it just needs to come from the heart. Giving, to me, is the best indicator that you understand being a Bregdan Woman.
What will you do today to be a Bregdan Woman?
What will you do today to impact history??
Thank you for joining me in being a part of the woven braid of life.
I’m on this journey with you…
Ginny
