Thank you for visiting our sister site! Texoma Giving Partners is the funds and endowment department of Texoma Health Foundation and is dedicated to the establishment, management and success of philanthropic partners in our community.
Thank you for visiting our sister site! Reba’s Ranch House is a hospitality house owned and operated by the Texoma Health Foundation created through the love and support of Reba McEntire and countless donors.
Oct 31, 2024
By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer
Aside from their vibrant colors and elegant petal shape, tulips embrace two meanings shared by the Texoma Health Foundation and Reba’s Ranch House: perfect love; hope.
This symbolism lives inside the Julia and Herman Ringler Reception Room of the Texoma Health Foundation (THF). Custom wallpaper created from a tulip photograph taken by Julia adorns one wall.
Herman, the first board chairman of THF, is known for his unwavering dedication to the foundation, his deep love for his community, and most of all, his charming and engaging personality.
“Herman knows everyone, and everyone knows Herman because he has a gift of making you feel seen and cared for,” says Michelle Lemming, THF CEO. “The Welcoming Area of the foundation named after the Ringlers is so perfect as we all strive to be like Herman in how we greet friends and strangers alike.”
The stunning tulips display when you walk into the room is more than a fabulous backdrop for group photos. It’s a symbol of the perfect love and hope shared by people like Julia and Herman who work behind the scenes to scatter seeds of hope to all who encounter the Texoma Health Foundation and Reba’s Ranch House.
These days, Julia is known for capturing photos and memories at THF and ranch house events as she’s done from the first year of the foundation. She’s also known for planting tulips in her front yard and inviting the community to come by and take photos.
When asked to share her favorite photo to use as wallpaper in the reception room, her choice from hundreds of subjects in her arsenal of artwork wasn’t a surprise. Her photo of tulips now graces the room as a reminder of the perfect love shared through THF, Reba’s Ranch House, and partner organizations.
The legacy of tulips at the ranch house began with the original building, where people would also stop to take photographs among tulips in bloom at the entrance - just like Julia does for the community today.
The legacy continued at the new ranch house when Susan Hooper entered Michelle Lemming’s office in the foundation’s early days. Susan had received support through the THF cancer fund and arrived there that day with a mission.
“She sat at my desk and said, ‘I just want you to know that I’m ready to pay it forward and I’m not ever going to leave.’ And she didn’t,” says Michelle. “Every single day, Susan Hooper woke up thinking about that fund and how to build it to help other people who went through what she went through.”
As a former florist, Susan planted tulips around the ranch house and THF office, and scattered seeds of hope through her tireless fundraising efforts. Those efforts included selling tulip bulbs with notes of encouragement slipped into the bags.
After Susan’s passing, seeing tulips pop up around the ranch house in the springtime reminds people like Nicole Thornhill of Susan’s open heart and perfect love.
“To this day, I think how beautiful it was, that somebody who was going through so much pain would still want to make the world a beautiful place,” says Nicole, the Texoma Giving Partners director.
Tulips are an enduring symbol of the legacy of the open hearts who scatter those seeds of hope and express perfect love to people when they need it most.
Next time you pass through the Ringler Reception Room at THF, be sure to capture a sweet moment in front of this beautiful backdrop that is a reminder of those serving our community with open hearts and perfect love.
May it bring joy and hope into your heart.
