2nd Annual A Phi A Open Golf Tournament

The brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, Omicron Sigma Lambda (OSL) chapter from Murfreesboro, Tennessee are gearing up to host the "2nd Annual A PHI A Open Golf Tournament", which is scheduled for Saturday, June 28th, 2014 at the Windtree Golf Club, 810 Nonaville Road, in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. 

This annual event is designed to create a day of excitement centered around the game of golf, while purposefully generating capital funds to support the OSL Foundation's scholastic initiatives. Through the financial support of the participants and other donors, the organization is able to provide scholarship funds to deserving students attending high schools in the Middle Tennessee area, who are pursuing higher education. In 2013, over $10,000 was raised and awarded in the form of collegiate scholarships to students graduating from Murfreesboro high schools and to one student enrolling as a freshman at Middle Tennessee State University.

This year's much anticipated event will include a Youth Golf Clinic, 4-Person Scramble tournament, Hole in One competition, Longest Drive competition, Closest to the Pin competition, Putting competition, Silent Auction, a complimentary meal, an enjoyable post-event mixer, and a number of other great prizes and amenities.

 

This golf event will also offer a great opportunity to market your product or business to a diverse group of individuals. There are a number of sponsorship packages available to suit any budget; however, a specially customized package can be created to meet the unique needs of your business. 
 

Package Sponsorship Levels:

Title Sponsor  - $5,000.00

Platinum Level - $1,000.00

Gold Level - $750.00

Individual Sponsorship Options:

Hydration Station - $500.00

Longest Drive - $500.00

Individual Hole Sponsor - $100.00

Refreshment Cart - $500.00

Closest to Pin - $500.00

Hole in One Sponsor - $500.00

Driving Range - $500.00

The primary goal in the sponsorship offerings is to ensure a quality event, where you can effectively market your business, product or service to potential consumers, while at the same time, supporting a noble cause.

This tournament will include approximately 144 golfers, 36 teams and several volunteers and youth. In addition, with the afternoon golf event, the OSL members will host a golf clinic for youth in the community. Through a partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters, members of the Men of Distinction Mentoring Program, an organization sponsored by the Omicron Sigma Lambda chapter at Oakland High School, and other youth agencies will be invited to participate and learn the basic fundamentals of the game. 

The event will culminate with a reception and awards banquet for all participants. Consider this your invitation to join the brothers of the Omicron Sigma Lambda chapter for a day of fun, fellowship, and funding, and if you are unable to attend, your donations are welcomed and appreciated. For more information on this event, please contact one of the individuals below.

Maurice Danner, Sponsor Chairman, 
(615)364-5935 
Maurice.Danner@comcast.net

Warren D. Isenhour, Tournament Chairman
(615) 394-7407
dub1906@yahoo.com 

 Photo Credit: All Images taken by Photography by Sean Ponder

www.PhotographybySeanPonder.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please visit www.aphiaopen.com to find out more information about this great event and how you can get involved for a worthwhile cause. You can find out more about us and our style of photography on our website at www.PhotographybySeanPonder.com. Like us on FaceBook and follow us on InstaGram and Pinterest!

Here's to living life with purpose and passion!


Angela
The Creative Director

www.PhotographybySeanPonder.com
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Mountain Moving Faith... Our Son's Story

"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20)

When you have children, you just want to wrap them up in a bubble and protect them from the dangers and uncertainties of life, illness and even the effects of their own wrong decisions... but in the end, all you can do is introduce them to Jesus (this is a MUST by the way), teach them right from wrong, cover them in prayer and trust God to do the rest. Sometimes things are just out of our control, and it is then that we realize we have to operate in mountain moving faith. Here is our son's story.

Our son, Sean, was born on September 24, 1999. I can remember like it was yesterday, when he was only a few weeks old, I was led to Mark 9:24 which reads in part, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" There was movement in my spirit, and at that moment, I knew our first born son would be a constant reminder that we must hold fast to our faith, no matter the circumstances. Verse 23 says, "Everything is possible for one who believes" and finally in verse 25, Jesus speaks to the impure spirit and says, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." Bookmark those last two verses. They will be relevant to our story soon. 

Sean has overcome so much in his 14 years... severe colic in his infancy, inability to sleep through the night until he was four years old, and an ADHD diagnosis (which he overcame); but the greatest test he would face by this age would be when we received the call that he had cancer. I will never forget it as long as I live. It was Friday, December 13, 2013. I was home on bed rest, just having had major surgery four days earlier, when the surgeon who removed a mass from the ball of our son's right hand index finger back in October, called to tell me that after receiving lab results from several facilities around the country (including Johns Hopkins), what I assumed was simply a cyst turned out to be malignant. It was cancer. Everything from that point was a blurr. My eyes immediately began to fill with tears, and I could barely wait to get off the phone with the surgeon before the tears became screaming sobs. I have never cried out to my God in such a desperate way in my life, but I felt so helpless. How could this mass that seemed to appear out of nowhere in July be cancer? How could this have happened? Was it something we didn't do? This can't be real! My mother, who was there caring for me in my recovery, came racing around the corner and all I could do was scream, "Sean has cancer!"

As soon as my mother began to scream, the fear that was beginning to overtake me left. I hopped out of bed (as if I had not had surgery), and ran to the kitchen to grab my oil. I became angry. There was a spirit of infirmity that had invaded our home and attacked our son and I was not having it. This illness had to go! I cried out and commanded the spirit of infirmity (our mountain) to leave our son. He had a purpose in God's plan, and nothing and no one was going to hinder him. I anointed everything my son could possibly touch when he got home and prayed that it would be like a healing stream! I knew God would get the glory from his testimony and in that knowledge, I found great comfort. After some time I settled down, called my husband to tell him the news, and began to pray for the strength to tell Sean and his little brother later that night. I repeated over and over again... "Lord, we trust YOU. We know YOU will heal our son. Our faith WILL NOT waver." This is a statement I would continue to speak aloud, with confidence, throughout his experience.
 
We have always been straightforward with our kids. We have made every attempt to be as honest as possible with them (after all, we were the parents who never taught Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy). We're realists, and we wanted to make sure our sons were the same. However, this was a moment of honesty I didn't want to face. We gathered around the dinner table, like we always do, and I broke the news. Stefan, who turned 9 one week prior, immediately burst into tears, while Sean sat staring... speechless. He didn't show a lot of emotion, which concerned me, but later that night, after his brother was asleep, he came to me and sobbed in my arms. It was heartbreaking. I told him that we would pray and have faith that God would heal him. I began to pray the scriptures over him and I told him God honors His word above His own name. This illness was nailed to the cross. He would be healed and we could not waver in our belief that he would. I anointed his head, we prayed and I sent him to bed. We soon mobilized prayer warriors across the nation to go before the thrown on his behalf. This was one battle we would not fight alone, but we would surely get the victory!

Our first visit to see the surgeon and oncologist left us with an option we were not anticipating. They felt the best recourse, if his fingertip was the origin of the cancer, would be to remove the tip down to the first digit, resulting in a negative scope. Mind you, this was his right hand (dominant) they were talking about. The thought was devastating. As parents, we first had to research, ask questions, and seek out a second opinion, and at the same time be very aware of the timeline. Sean underwent numerous tests and scans, but they could not specifically identify the type of soft-tissue sarcoma he had. What they discovered was that he had no other cancer growths in his body (Thank you, Jesus!). Since they were unable to attach it to any other family of sarcomas, because it was so rare, they had to create a name for it until further research was done. It was referred to as an unclassified epithelioid round cell neoplasm. 

They would have to continue running tests to find out more about it, but what they could confirm was that it was very aggressive and every oncologist we spoke with expressed their concern for what could happen if it spread. The surgeon and the entire Department of Oncology group at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, suggested the same treatment plan; he would have to have the fingertip removed in order to save him from possible life-threatening spread. Test after test was run to make sure there was no other cancer in his body and they all came back clear. They could not believe it was discovered while it was still very small and still at the source. These types of cancers are usually not discovered until they are either much larger and require removal of the entire finger, or after they have already spread. We were so grateful and we knew the power of prayer was hard at work!

His father recalls talks with Sean, where Sean would ask, "Dad, why me?" He explained that sometimes life seems unfair, but no matter what happens, we need to learn from life's trials and remain strong in the process. He never wanted Sean to see him worry, but remain strong in spirit and full of faith, so Sean could be the same. Attitude and perspective are everything. Sean's surgery was Wednesday, February 26, 2014. The entire time he remained brave and very mature in how he handled his circumstances. He has continued to impress many, including his doctors, with his positive attitude. We have continued to live our lives as usual, the entire time, refusing to waver in our faith; and as a result, he did not develop fear of any kind. He accepted what needed to happen and he was ready to be rid of the disease so he could get back to life and basketball. It is one thing to SAY you walk by faith, and not by sight, but it is something TOTALLY different when you actually have to WALK it out. He watched us, and through our faith, he knew God had everything all under control. His faith grew from this experience.

Sean is now getting back to his old self, with full use of his finger though some modifications. He never missed a beat and went through it all while still playing basketball for his middle school. He refuses to allow this situation to discourage him. It happened and he has accepted that his shorter finger is a part of who he is now. He has been healed of this disease on THIS side of heaven, with no chemotherapy or radiation treatments necessary, only semi-annual scans until he is well into college. He has a reason to be excited about life and we, as his parents, have a reason to rejoice! His story had to be told. It happened so quickly, all over the course of seven months, that it's almost hard to believe... BUT GOD! He has returned to AAU basketball and is looking forward to heading to high school in the fall. For those of you who prayed, THANKS will NEVER be enough, but please know that you are appreciated more than you will ever know. May you be blessed beyond your greatest imaginations, in health and in every area of your lives!

Victorious Cancer Survivor!

"Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm." I Chronicles 16:22

Thank you so much for visiting our blog. I know this post was long, but we really felt the need to tell our son's story in as much detail as possible. This is our heart and our prayer is that it encourages someone, that no matter what you are going through, your faith can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Trust God in all things and pray without ceasing... No, pray His WORD without ceasing. It works and we are living witnesses, when your faith is activated, there is NO room for fear. Our son is cancer FREE and has a testimony! What an awesome God we serve! Visit us on the web at www.PhotographybySeanPonder.com. Like us on FaceBook and follow us on InstaGram and Pinterest!

May you each be blessed with God's most divine blessings!

In Him,

Angela
The Creative Director

www.PhotographybySeanPonder.com
www.Behance.net/photosbyseanponder
www.Facebook.com/PhotographybySeanPonder
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The Dynamic Duo - The TEAM at Photography by Sean Ponder

Like we always do at this time... The Dynamic Duo is BACK!

Since this is the first blog of 2014, allow us to extend our warmest, "HAPPY NEW YEAR" regards to all of our readers! We are glad to be back after the holidays and other life circumstances brought us to a bit of a stand still. However, like anything else, we have to always proceed in faith that we are exactly where God wants us to be, doing what He wants us to do and being the example He wants us to be. I must say that building this photography business has brought us face-to-face with a wealth of challenges, but at the same time, it has awarded us a lot of great opportunities and a chance to meet and network with some really outstanding people, and for that we are truly grateful.

Well, after a brief hiatus and putting everything on hold, we FINALLY decided to delve into our long awaited promo shoot for The TEAM. Kind of corny, but I like to refer to what I have always known the acronym for T.E.A.M. to be... Together Everyone Achieves More, as something to live by while we continue to work on our dreams. We love having something that we can build TOGETHER. This business is our passion and we are enjoying every minute of the journey. We are learning and growing TOGETHER, and although we may not always agree, the lessons learned are well worth the late nights and occasional stress we experience.

For our photo shoots, I decided to give the stylist in me room to step forward and be more prominent. While I allowed Sean to simply be who he is (he usually doesn't budge when it comes to comfort), I decided to experiment with plenty of color and a totally new look! It was a lot of fun, and in the end, I think all of the looks worked for me. What do you think?

The TEAM at Photography by Sean Ponder

The Photographer & Lead Visionary

The Creative Director & Stylist

  

On Saturday, March 8, 2014, we will celebrate seventeen years of marriage. Those kinds of numbers really help to put things into perspective. We have two phenomenal sons (ages 14 and 9) whom we would go to the ends of the earth for, a great life, and a business we could literally see building and growing into an empire. As long as ideas keep flowing, we will continue to keep moving in the direction we are led... TOGETHER (#TeamPonder). If we could offer anyone advice when it comes to starting your own business, it would be to never give up on your dreams. Put less faith in yourself and every ounce into God and the vision He has given you, and then put in the work required to be successful. He will give you everything you need to get started, but it is all up to you to make the first move. Let's start the process of making our own dreams come true in 2014. Wishing you the best!

Thank you so much for visiting our blog. You can find out more about us and our style of photography on our website at www.PhotographybySeanPonder.com. Like us on FaceBook and follow us on InstaGram and Pinterest!

As always, be blessed!

Angela
The Creative Director

www.PhotographybySeanPonder.com
www.Behance.net/photosbyseanponder
www.Facebook.com/PhotographybySeanPonder
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Happy Holidays from The Ponders!

This year has been an absolute whirlwind for our family! Our photography business kicked up SEVERAL notches (special THANKS to all of our clients and phenomenal models!). We published our first blog in the spring of this year, and since then, it has received over 3,000 views globally, in addition to a lot of great feedback! We developed a blue print for the second half of the year for our business, assigned tasks, and executed it exactly as planned. This blueprint also helped in mapping out plans for 2014. We rolled out our official logo, launched our website and online portfolio, and we raised the bar on our own creative offerings, in an effort to stretch us beyond what we "thought" we wanted to do; to help us determine our specific niche and really make some things happen as we go forward into the New Year.

On the home front, we witnessed both of our sons become champions this year! Our son, Sean played on a championship middle school basketball team earlier in the year, and they landed the title of Rutherford County Middle School Champions! Our son, Stefan played on a championship youth football team just this fall, where they were awarded two titles, Mid-State Youth Football League Champions and "Battle in Rocky Top" National Champions. We keep them busy, they keep us running, and they have constant goals that they are in pursuit of at all times.

This year did not come without its own set of challenges and circumstances, that tested both our faith and our ability to remain strong under pressure. Through life-changing infirmities plaguing our household in 2013, we continue to forge our way TOGETHER. We wouldn't have it any other way. 

About a month ago, we set out to take some fall family photos to create Christmas cards. It took two separate days of shooting, but we ended up with some images we really liked. This is US... the Ponder family. We are a hardworking, praying, loving family who have a great time together. We manage a growing business we are very proud of and we support every endeavor of our children, and we always will.
 

The Team at Photography by Sean Ponder is totally focused, armed with goals, and prepared to charge into the New Year at full throttle! We have some AMAZING shoots scheduled that are going to knock your socks off! In addition, by mid-year, we will introduce Mr. ADONIS 2014! Don't go ANYWHERE... The Team at Photography by Sean Ponder is just getting started!

As we wrap up this eventful year, we plan to simply relax and enjoy our family and friends for the remainder of this holiday season. We pray that you and your families have a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year!

See you in 2014!

Angela

The Creative Director

www.PhotographybySeanPonder.com
www.Behance.net/photosbyseanponder
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The Making of Champions!

This blog post is a little bit of a change from the norm, as the Team at Photography by Sean Ponder wanted to spotlight an outstanding local youth program, and in particular, a group of amazing young athletes, who achieved a perfect season record and who deserve to be recognized for their success. The LaVergne Wolverines Youth Football & Cheer program, located in LaVergne, Tennessee, recently celebrated the accomplishments of their CCC team for securing TWO championships, one of which is nationally recognized, within the 2013 season! 

In July 2013, in the city of LaVergne, a team was formed in the CCC division that would change the way people view the performance of small town athletes. Head coach, Adrian “AP” Parker, Sr. along with a host of assistant coaches, was determined to bring out the best in each player on his team mentally and physically. Coach Parker states, “Every now and then you just get a special group of kids. This was one of those groups and they lived up to the hype.” Everyone involved, the coaches, the players and the parents, made a commitment and devoted time and energy to building a strong team. The players put in a lot of hard work throughout the season, and in the end, every ounce of it paid off. 

Following an undefeated regular season and play-off record, the young athletes in the CCC division went on to win the Mid-State Youth Football League championship game against the Una Bears from Antioch, TN on November 9. Two weeks later, On November 24th, the young men did it again when they clinched the national championship division title against the Powerhouse Athletics from Charlotte, North Carolina, during the “Battle in Rocky Top” National Championships in Knoxville, TN. This annual competition draws some of the best teams from all over the United States to travel and compete. 
 

Congratulations to the LaVergne Wolverines CCC team and coaches on the two championship titles and the 17-0 season record! You deserve it! Looking forward to seeing what is in store for next season!
 

If you are interested in the LaVergne Wolverines Youth Football or Cheerleading program, visit their website at www.lavergneyouthfootball.org for more information.

Thank you so much for visiting our blog! Keep up with the Team at Photography by Sean Ponder by visiting our website at www.PhotographybySeanPonder.com or on FaceBook at Facebook.com/PhotographybySeanPonder. You can also follow us on InstaGram at Photography by Sean Ponder!

Until next time, be blessed!

Angela

The Creative Director

Visit us on the web!

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