10 GoodLifeFamilyMag.com SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2017 GoodLifeFamilyMag.com SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2017 11 JOIN OUR FAMILY! GoodLifeFamily has opportunities for tenured account executives and student writers. For more information, emailTricia@goodlifefamilymag.com. Contributors - Sheryl THE GOOD PEOPLE at goodLIFEfamily PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sheryl Lilly Pidgeon Sheryl@goodlifefamilymag.com Direct: 214.476.8131 EDITORIAL TEAM TriciaWhite ManagingEditor Tricia@goodlifefamilymag.com Direct: 214.725.1981 Elle Parks FashionEditor Elle@goodlifefamilymag.com Rick Seaney TravelEditor Rick.Seaney@farecompare.com COPY EDITORS Audra Glidewell Tracy Graivier Bell Senior Copy Editors Logan Blakely Copy Editor WRITERS Rebecca Baker Lisa Beach Karyn Brodsky Kristin Cicciarelli Joyce Logan Dawn Bluemel Oldfield Lindsey Pidgeon Deb Silverthorn AliciaWanek ADVERTISING TEAM Amy Lendl Advertising Manager Advertising@goodlifefamilymag.com Melinda Bogoslavsky AdvertisingAccountExecutive Melinda@goodlifefamilymag.com Direct: 214.603.9478 Shane Brennan AdvertisingAccountExecutive SHANEPBRENN@gmail.com Direct: 214.264.0975 Lizabeth DeBoe AdvertisingAccountExecutive Lizabeth@goodlifefamilymag.com Direct: 214.727.9986 Mendy Lea AdvertisingConsultant Mendy@goodlifefamilymag.com Direct: 214.228.5052 Beverly Parkhurst Moss AdvertisingAccountExecutive Beverly@goodlifefamilymag.com Direct: 214.226.6541 CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jennifer Melton jennifer@goodlifefamilymag.com PRODUCTION TEAM Savannah Peer DigitalContentandSocialMediaManager SavannahPeer@goodlifefamilymag.com Jaxie Pidgeon MarketingAssistant Bill Brock Videographer Bill@whiterockfilms.com GOOD LIFE FAMILY 3308 PRESTON ROAD, STE 350 PMB #113 PLANO, TX 75093 GoodLifeFamilyMag.com LIVE. LAUGH. LEARN. (HUDDLE!) REPEAT. Colin Smith Estate Law Expert Colin Smith obtained a computer science degree from the University of Texas and worked as a software consultant for ten years before returning to the classroom onnightsandweekends,earninghislaw degree from SMU in 2010. Colin finds that helping families plan for the future is most rewarding and focuses his legal ca- reer on estate and business planning, especially living trusts. ColinisamemberoftheStateBarofTexas,DallasBarAssocia- tion, and the DallasTrial Lawyers Association. In his free time, he enjoys golfing with his children, leading a Cub Scout den, attendingUniversityofTexasfootballandTexasRangergames, andwoodworking. Rebecca Baker TheJimUtleyFoundation Dr. Dean Beckloff PediatricTherapist Dr. Kwabena Blankson AdolescentMedicinePhysician Nishima Chudasama ProgramDirector,NestFoundation Dr. Sandy Gluckman FunctionalBehavior&HealthSpecialist Vanita Halliburton FounderandPresident, TheGrantHalliburtonFoundation Donald Hooton, Jr. EducationPrograms TheTaylorHootonFoundation Anne Hudson DisabilityHiringSpecialist,LaunchAbility Dr. Cary A. Israel PresidentEmeritusofCollinCollege William McLaughlin PISDHumanResourcesDirector Whitney Rosenbalm RichlandCollege&CollegiateHighSchool Charmaine Solomon Co-Founder, MyPossibilities Libby Spears Filmmaker,ChildAdvocate Dr. Susan Sugerman AdolescentMedicinePhysician KellyWaterman AdvocateforKidswithSpecialNeeds Dean Beckloff, PhD Family Counseling Specialist Dr. Beckloff maintains an active coun- seling practice in Dallas, specializing in treatment for children’s issues and fam- ilies going through divorce. Dr. Beckloff has extensive experience, including teaching, working as a school counselor, providing teacher training, and working at the Center for Play Therapy at the University of NorthTexas. He is also active in his community, working with child-focused community groups; his desire is to see kids and families thrive despite the stressors of life. ABOUT US There are two things parents hope to give their children: roots and wings. But it’s often hard to know if the decisions we’re making are the right ones, especially when the world is changing so quickly. GoodLifeFamily is a resource for parents with kids tweens to twenties. Extensive and insightful content addresses the daily joys and struggles of finding a balance between kids and parents while keeping ourselves sane in the process. You’ll meet inspiring women and men who have stared down life’s challenges, survived, and now are willing to share their journey with you. GoodLifeFamilyis committed to making a difference in the lives of our families, friends and communities as the go-to source. We’re living, we’re learning, and most important, we’re laughing.We hope you will too. CONTACT US SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE: GoodLifeFamilyMag.com/subscribe ADVERTISE: Advertising@goodlifefamilymag.com SUBMIT EDITORIAL IDEAS: Tricia@goodlifefamilymag.com ShashinShah FinancialStrategist,WealthManager Shashin has over 22 years of experience in wealth and investment management. He joined SFMG in 2016 after success- fully building SGS Wealth Management. Shashin has been quoted by leading financial publications including Money, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, Dallas Morn- ing News and USAToday. He has also appeared on NBC Nightly News. He has been named to D Magazine’s Best Planners list consecutively since 2006. Shashin has earned numerous awards including FPA Chairman’s Award for dedication to the profession. In 2012, Shashin was a nominee for the FPA’s high- est honor – The Heart of Financial Planning Award. Shashin is a three-time board member for the Dallas FortWorth Financial Planning Association and a subject matter expert for the In- vestment Manager Consultants Association. He, his wife Mary, and his three boys reside in Dallas. goodPOINT Game of Life Rick Seaney Financial/Investment Strategist Internationally known travel and airfare expert Rick Seaney, CEO and co-founder of FareCompare, is the media’s go-to resource for airline industry news. Rick’s mission is clear: “I want to help consumers find the best flight deals available every time they shop”and he loves to share his insider information. Besides his advice blog on FareCompare, Rick began writing a weekly column forABCNewsbackin2008whichcontinuestothisday; he is also USA Today’s Airfare Expert columnist as well as a regular contributor to Fox News and is frequently quotedinthepagesoftheNewYorkTimes,WallSt.Journal, HuffingtonPostandmore. Jeff Anderson Partner, ONDA JeffreyO.Andersonisapartnerinthe Family Law firm of Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson, LLP, with of- fices in Dallas and Frisco. He has de- voted his legal career to Family Law litigationandthebettermentofthefieldofFamilyLaw as a whole. He is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Dr. Melanie Ross Mills As a certified and licensed Temperament Therapist, Dr. Melanie Ross Mills is gifted at instigating purposeful dialogue and honestself-reflectionontopicsoffriend- ship,parenting,andmarriageduringher one-on-one sessions and through her Life Bonds™ Book Series. She was recently honored with the Women of Excellence Award, and she has been seen or quot- edintelevisionprogramsandotherpublicationsnationwide, including serving as a FOX News Radio Relationship Expert. She received her degree in Applied Learning and Develop- ment from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Mills resides in Dallas with her husband Michael and teenage son. 2017 EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD TierneyMcClellanThompson,PhD Educational Diagnostician Tierney McClellanThompson has worked with students with specific learning disabilities and ADHD for 20 years. She earned her undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University and her Masters and Ph.D. from the University of NorthTexas. Since then she has been teaching, tutoring,andevaluatingstudentsfromages3to25.Herpas- sion is helping students learn how to learn and empowering them to reach their true potential. Natalie Croitoru College Intern, Grant Halliburton Foundation Natalie Croitoru is a student at Rice Uni- versity and a summer intern at Grant Halliburton Foundation, a Dallas non- profit committed to teen and young adult mental health and suicide prevention. Natalie is a psychology research assistant studying stereotypicality and team training. She is alsoapeercoachfortheRiceDoerrInstituteforNewLeaders, where she is pursuing her International Coaching Federation credential. Natalie is a psychology and history double major with a business minor. goodPEOPLE There are many lessons we can learn from sports. In college, as a journalism major, I found myself in a class with half the UT football team where we studied sports and journalism. My professor often referenced Vince Lombardi, and I fell head over heels for his wise words and philosophy. Coach Lombardi was one tough cookie. He practiced what he preached - courage, commitment and character - and he taught us invaluable life lessons that are still as valid today as when he said them over 50 years ago. In many ways being a mom is like being a coach. My most important team is my family. We huddle over family dinners, most often at home, making it a priority to sit down together, talk about our day and plot our strategies for the rest of the week. Understanding the value of teamwork and commitment was Lombardi’s legacy. If you work together you will win, he’d say, “whether it be against complex football defenses or the problems of modern society.” Work together. Find compromise. Look for and focus on each others’ strengths. If we have a game plan and make the plays as a team, we have a heck of a better chance to get into the end zone. Lombardi described discipline as “character in action” where mental toughness trumps physical agility every time. My 19-year-old son Bryce is the most disciplined person I know, and he has worked hard to achieve excellence in his sport. While we will be missing this member of our home team this fall, we’re excited that Bryce is starting his freshman year at Trinity University where he earned a Presidential Scholarship as well as a coveted place on their golf team. Discipline itself does not always deliver the winning score, but the qualities of relentless sacrifice, commitment and self-motivation sure do make you a contender in the game of life. Our children will cross many milestones. First jobs, true love, marriage, children of their own. They will face heartbreaking disappointments and incredible joys. At each of these moments, we have a chance to be their coach and their cheerleader, to offer our thoughts, our wisdom and our love. My commitment to my family extends to my amazing friends, my expansive community, my Good Life Family team, and to you, our faithful readers. You are my first round draft pick. In this exciting issue of GLF, I hope you will be inspired, enlightened and moved to take action in pursuit of your own personal game plan for the good life. “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” - Vince Lombardi Elle Parks Photographer and Stylist Elle Parks is a commercial photogra- pher/stylist and designer based in Dal- las. Her work has appeared in national and local publications including Vogue, Texas Monthly and D Magazine. Her background is in the fashion industry, with her experience in places like New York and Milan, it allows her to design each shoot as unique as her clients. Andrea Katz Avid Reader After 20 years in commercial real estate sales, Andrea Peskind Katz founded Gre- atthoughts.com due to her love of read- ing. She is always looking for the next great read and the next great beach.  In 2016, Andrea formed the Great Thoughts’ Great Readers Book Salon on Facebook, now home to over 3,000 readers and authors, where she hosts a monthly book club and au- thor chats.  To join the book salon, go to www.facebook.com/ groups/greatthoughtsgreatreaders. LisaRodenbaugh PlanoChildren’sTheatreVolunteer Lisa has over 30 years of experience in science and business and is passionate about helping children find their voice on stage.  She has been a marketing/PR volunteer at Plano Children’sTheatre/NTPA for 8 years and is Chair of their Acting Company for Excellence (ACE) program.  She holds a B.S. from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the University of Houston. In 2015, Lisa was named to the‘Top Ten Women in Collin County’for her work with the PCT