“It isn’t enough to talk about peace; one must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it, one must work at it.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
TOASTS
IT WAS A PROPOSAL
Tiffany Foster couldn’t refuse – a proposal of marriage that her boyfriend, Jadrick Morrison, had meticulously planned for weeks.
Morrison is quite proud that he pulled it all off without a hitch, and, more importantly, he said, “She said ‘yes.’ “
The couple hadn’t dated very long when they both realized they had found “the one,” said Morrison, 21, an electrical worker.
“We met last April at my sister’s church. I knew pretty soon that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, and I knew she felt the same way. We had talked a little bit about getting married one day, but she had no idea that I was going to propose so soon,” he said.
Morrison knew the perfect moment to propose would be at a women’s conference where Foster was featured as a teacher, speaker and singer.
“The conference was for girls in junior high school, high school and college. The conference was called ‘His Proposal,’ and it was about teaching the girls what to do with their lives while waiting on the right man to come along.”
The conference was held at Woodland Park Baptist Church. At the end of the conference, Foster was scheduled to speak and close the event with a couple of songs, Morrison said.
“She told the group, about 90 girls, to stay pure until they found their true mate. She gave her testimony telling the girls that she had experienced up and down relationships, but that she had finally found someone, and though they were not engaged, she knew ‘he’ was the one,” Morrison said. “Then she sang. After the song, I walked up to her on stage.”
Foster was clearly confused, Morrison said.
“She asked me if something was wrong,” he said. “I looked at her and said, ‘I could stand up here all night and look into your gorgeous eyes and talk about what an amazing woman you are. You taught the girls today about what to do while they’re waiting on the right man. God wanted me to tell you today that you don’t have to wait anymore.’ Then, I got on one knee and asked her to marry me. She was crying the entire time.”
“I had no idea that he was going to propose,” Foster said. “I was very much involved with the conference and was really confused as to why he was even at the conference, much less on the stage.”
Foster, 26, a household manager and personal assistant, said that though they had talked about the possibility of getting married, she had her doubts.
“The conference was all about letting the girls know that no matter how old you are, you can still wait for the right man to come into your life and that they don’t need to engage in bad relationships,” she said. “At the end of my speech, I sang a song. It was during the song that Jadrick came out on the stage. I was in shock, and he said, ‘Be quiet. Just listen. I have something to say. Then he said some of the sweetest things ever. I started bawling.”
Turns out, nearly half the girls in the audience knew the proposal was going to take place.
“Nobody told me, which is huge,” Foster said. “There was so much applause during the proposal that he had to pause. It was very exciting.”
The couple plan to marry next spring.
HEARD ON THE TOWN
The Star Twirlers, a local chapter of the Red Hat Society, met recently to plan their upcoming adventure: attending square dance classes, said the group’s leader, a.k.a. “queen mother” Shirley Bryson.
“Square dancing has been proven good for the soul and the mind,” Bryson said.
The group of nine, formed in 2008, meets monthly for lunch at local restaurants, as well as attends dance classes. Most recently they met at Olive Garden for lunch, and later that evening, along with their husbands, attended square dance classes at Allemande Hall.
“The most important thing of the Red Hats is laughing, which we do an awfully lot of,” she said. “It is fun.”
EAR TO THE GROUND
The Museum Center at 5ive Points’ 12th Annual Gala will be held on Sept. 24, said museum director Lisa Simpson Lutts, in a news release. The event will honor Bess Mayfield Neil, who has contributed generously to the museum’s endowment fund, the release noted.
“Thanks to her foresight and generosity, the museum continues to grow and thrive,” Lutts said.
The gala, which includes an auction, is the largest annual fundraiser for the private, not-for-profit museum that interprets the history and culture of Cleveland, Bradley County, and the Ocoee Region.
“It is very fitting that we honor Mrs. Neil this year as she has contributed so much to the stability of the Museum Center at Five Points,” Lutts said. “We will also honor her contribution to the history of saddlebreds and horse breeding in Bradley Country through an exhibit that will open that evening.”
A highlight of the auction will be a cruise on a yacht to the Bahamas, Lutts said.
The Gala committee includes Jo Benjamin, Margot Everhart, Ken Cagle, Jeanette Fetter, Sissy Figlestahler, Christy Griffith, Anne Neil, Judy Pickle and Lisa Simpson Lutts.
Tickets cost $150 per person which includes a gourmet dinner catered by Alshabibi Catering and dancing with the band Sahara until midnight. For further information, call 423-339-5745. Reservations will be accepted through Sept. 17.
E-mail Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com. Submitted photographs will not be returned.