Table Sponsors 13 and 14!

With GTD's table sponsorships and attendance unexpectedly doubling for our annual fund raiser banquet this year, I quickly fell behind on posting these thank you posts to our generous and kind table sponsors, so this week I plan to finally get caught up!  Please forgive me for taking so long.

Thank you so much to the G.A.P. (Graduates and Professionals) small group of First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks for your table sponsorship and for your presence at the banquet.  We loved seeing you and appreciate your support. Mark Routman, Melissa Routman, Tara Yopp, Todd Baker-Rooney, Tom Livingstone Jr., Jenna Maura, Luigi Santoro and Rachael Cannaday

A special thanks to Bob and Kathy Powell for your sponsorship at GTD's Annual Banquet and for your love and support of this ministry.  You and your family have been a special blessing to us!

THE THANK YOU BRIGADE CONTINUES

Just before the Thanksgiving holiday begins we were able to mail out 20 gift packages and about 50 thank you notes this morning to some of our awesome supporters. It's so appropriate that we celebrate Thanksgiving this week as we have so much to be thankful for :). Now on to a 5 day family vacation in Orlando. We will pick back up on our mailout on Monday. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone :)

THANK YOU MAILOUT!

WE ARE SO THANKFUL TO HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE TO THANK!! This is a portion of the thank you notes & donation gift packages that we've been working on for the past 5 days. It takes a village to raise up a ministry, and we want to thank each and everyone of "our villagers" so much. God bless you all!

(PS: I've got to say that I'm so proud of how hard Laurie has worked on the actual banquet and now the thank you mailout. Absolutely impressive!)

Table Sponosor #12

GTD wants to thank Eric Branson and family for their table sponsorship at our annual fundraising event this past week! Your contribution helped make a big impact. Thank you!

Thank You Notes...

WE HAVE SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR!! No better way to spend an evening (or two!) than expressing our thankfulness to our supporters. We love you guys!!

RECORD BREAKING FUNDS RAISED!!

It is with a humble heart overflowing with thanksgiving that I have the honor to announce that God rocked our world with a record setting amount of funds raised from our Annual Banquet to the tune of $50,000!!!!! ($22k thru one-time donations and $28k pledged over the next year). We are blown away! Touched! But Mostly Speechless! Words seem so inadequate to accurately express the joy, love, and appreciation that we feel right now. All I can truly say is Praise Jesus!! This will go a long way to impacting lives and improving our programs as we enter our 20th year of ministry. Five years ago The Great Recession crippled our ministry. We've always made huge sacrifices in order to operate GTD, but the last 5 years have been grueling. But just like our name implies, we've NEVER GIVEN UP fighting, scratching, and clawing our way through our bleakest years to get back to a place of stability. This won't quite get us to that place of stability, but it will bring it within reach. We believe that God is opening a new season of opportunity for GTD. A season in which struggle is no longer the main theme of our existence. A season in which we can spend less time treading water and more time ministering to the needs of the next generation. We're not quite there yet, but by all indications we are one God-sized step closer. And the great news is that we still have 6 more weeks remaining in our fundraising season to add to the total so that we can hit the ground running in our 20th year. We want to profoundly thank everyone who believed in us, supported us, and saw the value in this ministry and the impact that God has been making through GTD over the past 19 years. We thank God for each and everyone of you. You share in this harvest time because you sacrificed during the planting & tilling time. From the bottom of our hearts THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! We are already back to work preparing for a God-awesome 2016. And we couldn't be happier! Again, thank you to everyone who made our Annual Banquet such a great success - the speakers, the attendees, the table sponsors, the venue, the caterers, the donors, the volunteers, the GTD staff - thank you, thank you, thank you!


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Back To Work!

Cleaning up from the banquet!!

What A Night!!

We had an OUTSTANDING night last night with over 200 of the most thoughtful, loving, and generous people on the planet as we celebrated 19 years of ministry. The representation for Jesus and the level of encouragement was second to none. We are touched and blown away if anyone would ever spend one minute or invest one dollar in our lives or the life of this ministry. We are humbled, thankful, and unworthy of the gracious words that were spoken on behalf of us & GTD. We are full of gratitude for the amazing volunteers, the wonderful attendees, the phenomenal speakers, and the magnanimous donors that made last night a God-awesome cherished event that will never be forgotten. There are some nights that you just don't want to end. Last night was one of those nights. Thank you to everyone who helped make it so special! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much! We will announce the final results of the total amount raised later today. Stay tuned...

MATCHING GIFT CHALLENGE!!

HUGE NEWS!!!! We have 2 generous donors who have thrown down a Matching Gift Challenge for TODAY!!

One of them will match dollar-for-dollar every one-time donation to GTD up to $6000!!

The second will match dollar-for-dollar every dollar pledged per month to GTD up to $500 for the next 12 months ($500 x 12 mths = $6000)!!

That means that every dollar you donate becomes 2 dollars... $10 becomes $20... $50 becomes $100... $1000 becomes $2000... $6000 becomes $12,000!!!

If you pledge $25/mth to GTD for the next 12 months they will also pledge $25/mth for the next 12 months. Your $25 monthly pledge becomes $50 monthly pledges. If you pledge $100 they will match it and pledge $100... all the way up to $500 cumulatively.

THAT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! THIS CHALLENGE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO EQUAL $24,000 IN TOTAL DONATIONS TODAY!!!

This offer is for TODAY and will end tonight shortly after our Annual Banquet concludes. We need your help in order to meet this challenge. Will you consider making a one-time donation or monthly pledge to GTD (or both!) today??? This is a great way to double your impact in a ministry that God is using to impact lives!

To make a one-time donation and/or a monthly pledge to GTD click on the links below (or email us or message me the amount you are mailing in or pledging).

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!

One-Time Donations click here  |  Monthly Pledges click here  |  Email OR Contact Us here

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!


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One Brick At A Time!!

Rebuilding The Walls of GTD continues on!! Our work continues on as we prepare for the next 20 years of ministry. We are looking forward to sharing all the updates, developments, and future vision with our awesome attendees at GTD's Annual Banquet tomorrow night!!

PREPARING FOR RECORD ATTENDANCE!!

With 1 day remaining until our biggest event of the year (our Annual Banquet) we have over 215 RSVPs (and counting). That's a new record!!! We are elated, thrilled, humbled, floored, blown away... In fact, we keep running out of adjectives to describe our profound affection for anyone & everyone who would take time out of their busy schedule on a weeknight and get all dressed up to come be a part of our special night. We thank God for each of you and we give God all the glory as we know He is the source. God is up to somethings BIG! It's an exciting time yo be a part of GTD! #THRiVE

Table Sponsor #11

Thank you so much to our friends Lindsay McCormick and Dennis Mccormick for their partnership in ministry over the years.  The two of you have been such a great blessing and we appreciate your involvement with GTD. We love you guys!

Banquet Speakers Unveiled

BANQUET GUEST SPEAKERS! We are so honored to have the following phenomenal people speaking on behalf of GTD this Tuesday night:

Pathways' Pastor - Dustin LaChance​
Landry Academy Administrator - Jen Brown Henriksen​
Pathways' Pastor & Dynamic Duo - Jeff​ & Charlene Iskra​
and 12-Year-Old GTD Jr Adventure Volunteer - Garrett Kline

Our profound thanks to these wonderful people for sharing how God used GTD to impact their lives and the lives of their groups. We can't wait!

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Don't miss out on all the fun & inspiration! Only 13 seats remain!! We have 8 free tickets available through a very generous table sponsor.

RSVP here  |  Banquet Details here

Table Sponsor #10

Thank you to our long time friends and Ministry Supporters JC and Janessa Jannarone​ for their Table Sponsorship.  To know you both were part of the early years of GTD and still have such a love and belief towards this ministry touches our hearts!  Thank you for your friendship and support.  We love you guys!

Casual Friday?

Office shenanigans with our cheap T-shirt torso displays!

We Feel Your Love

To our dear friends and ministry supporters, we can't even put into words how blessed we are feeling these last few days.  We've run out of adjectives to describe our gratefulness for your generosity and support leading into the banquet.  We are jaw dropped with each table sponsorship, every person who R.S.V.P.s and signs up as a Monthly Ministry Partner or makes a one time donation!  We feel your love and are so thankful for your belief in this ministry.  Thank you...and we still have 4 more days to go! 

Chasing 200!

200! 200! 200! We've come close, but we have never broken into the 200 level of attendees at our Annual Banquet. With only 4 days remaining we are within 30 RSVPs of breaking our attendance record and crossing over into the land of 200's. The momentum is there. Everyday another cluster of people sign up to come. It has been all God! Our "Save The Dates" were emailed out only 18 days ago. We didn't mail out invitations and opted just to email and Facebook our invites. But the response has been overwhelming in every positive sense of the word. There are times in life when you can clearly see the hand of God strongly supporting you. This is one of those times. So we want to let you know that we have a few seats left at our Annual Banquet and we would love for you to be there. It's always a fun, delicious, and inspiring night! Click on the link below for details and to RSVP. We have another 16 free tickets provided for by our wonderful table sponsors! Come be a part of something God sized!

"For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." - 2 Chronicles 16:9

Banquet Link: 

http://gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/annual-banquet.html?m=1

Table Sponsor #7

The Kiwanis Club of Pinellas Park has sponsored a table for GTD's Annual Banquet!  We are so honored to have an organization like them to help make our banquet a great success!  Thank you for your commitment to making this world and community a better place....one child at a time! http://pinellasparkkiwanis.org/

A Team Effort

This made my day today when I stopped by the Wilt's home to drop off my dress for the banquet to have it taken in.  Bill and Sharon are two of GTD's Ministry Partners who have been part of the ministry longer than I have!  Bill really loved seeing the GTD truck we drive and so I suggested he jump on in and get a feel for it!  They both just loved it!  He sat in the seat, kicked the tires, looked under the hood and checked out all it's bells and whistles.  To me, it was so cool to share it with them and the story on how the truck was donated to our ministry after both of our vehicles had broken down about 5 years ago.  Can you imagine, a truck....picked out and donated to your ministry???  Seriously, how blessed were we to have received such a priceless gift considering we are a mobile ministry and without a vehicle there would be no GTD!  This truck is one of our most important pieces of equipment needed to run the ministry and we are so grateful to the incredible couple who saw a need and had it met.  We are beyond humbled to receive such a gift.  Thank you to the Wilts for allowing me to share the story of this blessing with you today and for your great enthusiasm.  Also, thank you to our amazing friends who have helped make the last 5 years of ministry possible by donating the truck!  This ministry truly is a team effort with those who have partnered with us through the years!

Check Out Our New Stuff!

GTD Infusion Bottles, Water Bottles, Coffee Mugs, Wristbands, Reusable Bags... Our participants, supporters, and ministry partners have been asking for these things for a long time. Now we've got them!

Come to the GTD Annual Banquet and see how you can get your hands on some of these!

Seats are quickly filling up! Reserve your spot today!

Banquet link: 

http://gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/annual-banquet.html?m=1

Table Sponsor #3 & 4

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you PHP (People Helping of Pinellas Park) for your double table sponsorship for GTD's Annual Fundraiser Banquet. We appreciate all that you do to serve the community and your continued support of GTD.

Father & Son Retreat Pictures Uploaded

With a Pastor this fun, you know the church has to be awesome!! Check out all the pictures from our Father & Son Retreat last weekend with Tampa Covenant Church​. Click here to see all the pictures.

Happy Veterans Day!

Happy Veterans Day to my Dad, Jerry Garner, who faithfully served his country in the Air Force for 20 years. He was stationed all over the world from the North Pole to the South Pole including stints in TX, SC, GA, Greenland, New Zealand, FL, Vietnam, MS, and Iran. He served overseas in one war as well as participated in a variety of operations, including one code named: "Operation Deep Freeze". During his time in the military he met 2 Presidents, served as an Enlisted Aide to several Generals and received a Bronze Star, the Commendation Medal, and numerous awards. He is a hero to me and the definition of a good soldier. To my Dad and all Veterans who have answered the call of duty and willingly disrupted their lives to serve and sacrifice for the common good of our country, we salute you! God bless you all =)


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Hard At Work

Hard at work getting ready for our biggest & most important event each year - The Annual GTD Banquet!! 1 week to go! It's going to be a GREAT banquet!

Table Sponsor #8

Thank you to Dana & Martha Ward, owners of Real Estate Closing Solutions for being a major donor & table sponsor for GTD's Annual Fundraiser Banquet this year!  From the bottom of our hearts, we deeply appreciate your strong support and belief in what we do. Your kindness, encouragement and generosity year after year has made a significant impact in our ministry.  Thank you so much for investing in GTD!

Table Sponsor #2

Thank you to our #2 Table Sponsor who wishes to remain anonymous!  This is a person who has blessed GTD in many ways year after year and who has participated in some really great events with us like Swamp Thang and our Costa Rica Missions project!  We are so grateful for your friendship and heart for this ministry!  Thank you very much!

Ministry is a Team Sport!

I'm so thankful for these hard working volunteers that helped make this past weekend's Father / Son Retreat so great!

Table Sponsor #3 & 4

Thank you to Ann & Jerry Garner for sponsoring 2 tables for GTD's Annual Fundraiser Banquet!  Margaret Ann​ and Jerry are Doug's parents who are two of GTD's biggest supporters.  For all they do and continue to do to support us and this ministry the words thank you do not seem to be enough and yet all we can do is say THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts, we love you both!  ///  If you'd like to sponsor a table for our 2015 Annual Fundraiser Banquet or would like to make a donation to GTD to help support the work we do, you can do so on the GTD BULLHORN BANQUET LINK.

Going Up!

Awesome time at the Father / Son Retreat with Tampa Covenant Church!!! LOVE THESE GUYS!!!

Table Sponsor #1

Thank you to the Henriksen Family for being our first Table Sponsor of 2015!   We are so thankful for your friendship and partnership in ministry.  Just think, this time last year, we didn't even know one another, but God had a beautiful plan to bring us together for bigger things!  We love you guys!

Retreat Bound!!

GTD is hosting a Father / Son Retreat in Hudson for the awesomely great Tampa Covenant Church. Thanks for the prayer support gang :)

Howdy Ya'll

This is our version of staff country western dress day at GTD 😉

Devouring The Word

BEST BREAKFAST EVER!! God's Word nourishes the mind, body, heart, and soul. Have a delicious morning friends :)

#THRiVE

Father/Son Retreat This Weekend

We're so excited about our Father/Son Retreat with Tampa Covenant Church this weekend!! I love seeing dads intentionally pouring the love of God into their sons! Pray for a powerful impact =)

Move Your Mountains!

Men of small attempts live forgettable lives. 

Pursue such big endeavors that require the very presence of God in order to succeed.

Move your mountains! 

#THRiVE

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True Humility

True humility is the realization that we can't do anything apart from Jesus. The created are dependent upon The Creator. It's somewhat like a corded lamp that can't shine apart from being plugged into a power source. The lamp can exist apart from the power source, but it can't shine or ever reach the potential it was designed for. When we embrace the reality of our need for God and our actual dependence upon God then everything changes. It drives every decision we make. And it especially drives our prayer life. Prayer is the cord on the lamp, but humility is what moves the cord to plug into the power source. When we realize our dependency upon our Creator then we realize our need to plug into Him. At that point we start transforming from survivors to thrivers! Our lights begin to shine brighter & brighter. And we begin to live out our designed potential. It's a beautiful thing! We were designed to bear much fruit. We were designed to flourish. We were designed to thrive! But it all starts with humility. #THRiVE

NEW GTD T-SHIRTS?!?!

YOU'VE BEEN ASKING FOR THEM FOR A LONG TIME, NOW WE'RE GETTING THEM! Here's a glimpse of one of the new GTD T-Shirts that are in the works for our upcoming Annual Banquet.

They reflect the newer locations we are travelling to as well as our brand new THRiVE campaign that kicks off at our Annual Banquet on Nov 17th!!

GTD continues to grow each year! (Praise Jesus!) We've got a lot of exciting news, swag, and events to unveil Tuesday night Nov 17th at the Largo Cultural Center. PLAN TO JOIN US FOR AN AMAZING NIGHT!

Click here for details.

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