Soul Patroller Tays-it-Forward to Taylor Hicks

So many times since the inception of Taylor’s Angels, I have found myself amazed at the generosity of the Soul Patrol. I don’t know why, since it is that very generosity that Taylor’s Angels is founded on; but I guess in this day and age where it is so easy to be inundated with negativity, the positive and heartfelt actions of someone make my world come to a stop and make me think about the goodness in the world. It’s also these actions that make me proud to be a Soul Patroller. Another such one of those moments happened this weekend in Dallas.

A couple of weeks ago, Taylor’s Angels received an email from a wonderful lady by the name of Jonnelle (“judyjs” on The Official Soul Patrol). She explained that she needed some help tweaking her plans to present Taylor Hicks with a gift at the Dallas Meet and Greet, for which she’d won a pass. In a moment of what was probably sheer desperation for her, she contacted us. Our minor role is nothing compared to what she did.

When Jonnelle was reading Taylor’s book Heart Full of Soul, she kept going back and going back to page 159 where Taylor mentions that he would love to have the voucher for the plane trip he used to get to the Las Vegas American Idol auditions. Everyone reading this probably knows the paragraph that I’m talking about. We all read it. And that’s just the point. We READ it. Jonnelle took it upon herself to contact the airline and actually find the voucher.

To her surprise, the airline still had a copy of it. That’s when the wheels really started turning. To make a long story and a lot of planning and phone calls short, Jonnelle assisted in presenting that very voucher to Taylor Hicks himself this past Friday in Dallas. Her entire recap can be read here HttP://www.theofficialsoulpatrol.com/forum/index.php?topic=26763.0

I wanted all of you to know about Jonnelle not just because what I think she did for Taylor was fabulous, but because what she did really shows her character and what a great person she is.



How many of us go about our day THINKING of doing something good for someone? I know I do all the time, but more often than not, that’s as far as I get with the project. Just thinking “oh, that’d be nice”. I do sometimes take it one step further and actually pick up a gift for someone, but I have the darndest time actually getting that gift delivered. I have a couple at the house right now that need to go in the mail. Jonnelle actually DID something about it.

Who is Jonnelle? She’s not a corporate executive or the mayor of some city, big or small. No, she doesn’t have that kind of pull. She’s a normal average person like most of us. But she wasn’t afraid to put her thoughts into action by starting with one small phone call. She wasn’t afraid to be told “no, this can’t happen”. In fact, when she came to a standstill in her plans, she still didn’t stop. She reached out to others for help, not knowing if her goal of actually getting the voucher to Taylor would ever materialize, Jonnelle wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. She didn’t give up, she didn’t give in, and she certainly didn’t take “no” for an answer.

It was this gift to Taylor that was Jonnelle’s way of thanking him for all of the wonderful music he has brought into her life. Like so many of us, Taylor’s music has had a profound impact on her life. She has Tayed-it-Forward to the man, himself.

Will you be able to put your kind thoughts into action? Will you be able to make that phone call that can change someone’s life for forever. The next time I’m in a situation where I find myself thinking “Oh, that would be nice”, I hope I stop and think about what Jonnelle did. I hope I stop and realize that all it takes is one person—no matter who they are—to make someone’s dream come true.

Thank you Jonnelle for inspiring me. You have made your mark on my life for years to come.

By Leslie Mozingo
(Lmo4taylor1)


Tags: Taylor Hicks, American Idol, Soul Patrol, Taylor's Angels