Gals Graze

(Andrea Ball, Kay Rawlins and Dean Lofton)

Everything I know about Andrea Ball came from her writing in the Austin American-Statesman, and the 50 minutes we spent together at lunch Thursday – oh yes, and her hilarious blog, Real Estate Rumble, where she says she is “a nobody with a husband, two kids and three dogs, and has absolutely no business doing a real estate blog.” Only a skilled writer can make non-profit news anything less than a cure for insomnia. And as the writer for the Charity Chat blog, Andrea’s that gal, and now I see why. Yeah she smart, but it’s more than that, and I think it’s her exceptional honesty that at first seemed almost radical, “When I got your email inviting me to lunch, I thought, ‘who the heck is this person,’” then intensely interesting, “the Statesman got so many press releases from non-profits they had to do something with them, so they landed on my desk and Charity Chat was born,” to inspiring, “one of my babies was born so premature it wasn’t cute or sweet, it was just scary looking.” What you get from Andrea is what she is, and I really like what she is. Kay Rawlins spent 10 years in commercial banking in the UK, then completed her degrees in both childcare and education and business management and owned and ran two successful children's nurseries while also tutoring college students in childcare. Since moving to Austin in 2004, Kay has been involved in many fundraising events for various non-profit organizations, and currently serves on the board of the Center for Child Protection, which is where I met her. Kay and I were pulled together by some mysterious energy force and feel deeply in like, or at least I fell in like and she is gracious. Anyway, she and her husband own the Austin Aztex professional soccer team, where she manages a bunch of young, muscular, and as Kay explains, “extremely polite” men. Is it hot in here or is it just me? Dean Lofton is a new friend about whom I know little, but have staked a Very Smart Gals claim on nevertheless. Actually, you don’t have to know too much about Dean to be impressed. She’s a publicist, a writing instructor (gulp), and married to a Jazz musician, Jeff Lofton. You must check him out at Ruth’s Chris, Thursday nights – tell Bill Andrews [owner] I sent you. As you can see in the photo, she’s also a gorgeous red headed vamp! Dean does a writing workshop called “Writing Your Life As A Woman” she describes as “A class taught in the style of journal writing workshop - guides women to write their stories and discover their voice - gentle encouragement in a non-academic, creative environment - no writing experience necessary." Sounds like wonderful therapy, and it’s got to be fun with Dean the class leader. Go to her link and read the “Contract For Writing Your Life As A Woman©” You’ll see what I mean. 

What a great bunch of Very Smart Gals!