Emilee Prado
Just over one year ago, Randi Pund and her family moved to Southlake. Prior to the relocation, she worked with the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation in North Carolina. Seeing the immense value she brought to the foundation, retired NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon insisted that she keep working with the nonprofit from Texas. Randi happily obliged and has even started hosting foundation events right here in Southlake.
I GOT INVOLVED WITH… Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation at the end of 2016 and early 2017 after moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, from Seattle. I was at a women’s networking event and was introduced to someone at the foundation. She asked me to come in and meet the team a few weeks later, and the rest is history! I literally know nothing about NASCAR, which always makes Jeff and the team laugh at my expense – but I remind them all that they hired me for my nonprofit skills, not my NASCAR knowledge.
THE FOUNDATION IS LIKE… the kiddos that we serve – small but mighty! Our team consists of a handful of super motivated, energetic and passionate folks who truly care about finding less toxic treatments for children fighting cancer. Since it was founded in 1999, we have raised over $19 million dollars for pediatric cancer research. But we won’t stop there! Jeff is very involved and cares deeply about the mission, which is why he donates Corvettes for us to auction off every year and is always open to whatever event ideas we throw at him!
EVERY YEAR WE RUN OUR… ‘Corvette for a Cure’ program where we auction off one of Jeff’s personal Corvettes. Tickets are $100, and there are only 10,000 sold. For the last two years in a row we have sold out, which means we raised $1 million each year! It is truly incredible and we culminate the end of this super fun program with our ‘Corvette Celebration’ in Charlotte, where we fly in the winner and Jeff hands over the keys in front of hundreds of supporters and fans. Next up, we are hosting an epic event in Indianapolis on September 6 called ‘Drive ‘Fore’ the Kids.’ It will be held at Topgolf in Fishers, Indiana, during the weekend of the Brickyard Race and it’s seriously going to be incredible.
WE HAD OUR FIRST TEXAS EVENT… last November here in Southlake. ‘Lunch with a Legend’ was a beautiful experience at the Hilton in Southlake Town Square where Jeff and Jamie Little spoke. We auctioned off amazing prizes and we raised an unbelievable amount of money thanks to the super generous attendees. Jeff was super impressed by the generosity of the people who attended and definitely wants to hold another event in Texas soon!
MY BACKGROUND IS IN… social work. I got my master’s degree from University of Washington and worked as a therapist for inpatient teenagers for a long time. When I had my eight-year-old son, Hayden in 2010, I decided to stay home with him. I ended up working as a virtual personal stylist – fashion is a serious passion of mine! A friend was launching a startup called Keaton Row and asked me to join their team. It was so much fun to help style clients all over the country from the comfort of my couch! When we moved to Charlotte, I launched my own business ‘Retail Therapy with Randi’ and have kept my clients even though we moved again – this time to Texas. It is so fun for me to mix my therapy background with fashion. All I want is to help my clients look good and feel good because then we all do good!
I ALSO HAD THE PRIVILEGE… of working on a super fun project with the Seattle Seahawks back in 2013-2014. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll hired me to create a workshop for underprivileged high school students to come to the practice facility and learn how to ‘compete every day to be their best selves.’ It was such a dream job for me to host teenagers and introduce them to Russell Wilson and all the Seahawks. You could literally see the impact on each kid every single time we hosted groups.
WE HAVE LIVED IN SOUTHLAKE… for just over a year now and we love it! We moved for my husband’s job, and once we found Southlake, we knew it was perfect for us! We absolutely love living here. The schools are amazing for our son, the sports are so much fun (Hayden plays ice hockey and baseball) and the town square is so convenient. We are blown away constantly by the genuine kindness of the people. We couldn’t be happier or feel luckier to live here!
WE ARE A FAMILY OF… three. My husband Nate is an investment banker for Houlihan Lokey, specializing in the outdoor and tactical markets. He is the smartest guy that I know, and our 15 years together have truly been a privilege. We are the super lucky parents to Hayden, who has the best smile in the entire world and such a fun, outgoing personality. He has already moved three times and has handled it like a champ! And let’s not forget about our pug puppy, Mini-Lou. She is the most affectionate little pug and we just adore her!