Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to LuAnn Daniel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

LuAnn, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

There have been many defining moments throughout my career but the one that completely changed my path as I saw it, was the moment I acted on the inspiration of my dear friend, Susan Hicks. She died from breast cancer before having lived a full life. I never saw myself where I am today. My career in Diagnostic Imaging was long and rewarding. It wasn’t like I didn’t like my job and was looking for a change, I enjoyed my career, but after Susan passed away, something in me changed. Something I never saw coming happened. I was sitting in my office one day and had an aha moment or divine intervention, or a combination of the two. What I needed to do was so clear to me, that I took the first step forward and never looked back. I knew in my heart I had to do something that would save and change lives.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I was born and raised in North Texas and that is where you will still find me. I worked at a hospital as a radiology aid between my junior and senior year. Until then, my plan was to be a speech pathologist, but working that Summer made me decide to go into the Radiology field. I worked in the Radiology field for over thirty years, working my way up the ranks to being a Diagnostic Imaging Director. My Radiology background and losing a friend to breast cancer collided in 2010 and Women Rock was born at that moment. I can’t say I knew what I was doing, but I had no doubts it was the right thing to do. Women Rock is a breast cancer awareness nonprofit that provides programs that encompass the gamut from breast cancer early detection education. providing assistance for breast imaging, providing financial support to those fighting breast cancer, and Survivor support as they learn to love life again after cancer.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start?

My friend Susan passed away from breast cancer October 13, 2010. Soon thereafter, I submitted to the State of Texas the application for a nonprofit, Women Rock. We received our 501c3 designation in September 2011. I really stepped out mindlessly just knowing that this was something that I had to do! I never stopped to question if I knew how to do it. I had a small savings account of $1200. I took that money and bought wholesale merchandise and had a sale around Christmas that raised $5000. That was my seed money. I paid for the first few mammograms out of my pocket. I am thankful for the two women that approached me in early 2011 to have a 5k event. I need to give Kathy Bradley and Jess Rush Norman a shout out. I couldn’t have pulled it off without their help! We raised $8500 and the rest as they say is history. That money got us through the fall of 2011. This year, we have our 12th annual Susan Hicks Memorial event. In October we had our first annual Bras for a Cause Gala and raised $45,000, thanks in part to a very nice businessman, Eugene Knies. Of that $45,000, $26,000 was from Eugene! He was a huge supporter and became a great friend. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2016, but not before teaching me many life lessons. Women Rock was truly on our way! I continued to work in the field of Radiology full time, transitioning to part time position in 2012. We continued to grow and expand our geographic footprint. In 2017 I had to make a decision- keep my radiology job and hire someone to run Women Rock, or go all in and work for Women Rock full time. It was not a hard decision to make. I went all in!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Growing a grassroots nonprofit from nothing not only takes a lot of work, it also takes a lot of money. Women Rock started out being a family project-my whole family helped in so many ways! My Mother was our biggest fan! She did anything and everything to help Women Rock, until she passed away in 2016. If I hadn’t had my family behind my dream, it would probably still just be an idea. We have a lot of fundraisers throughout the year. A few large ones and several small ones. We work hard to be able to provide our communities the support they need. Early in 2020 it felt like watching the Covid Pandemic from the sidelines cheering on a team that had no chance at winning. Our 5k that year had about 50 participants. An event that had grown to over 600 was almost non-existent. That was the moment it sunk in that it was going to be a very difficult year. And it was. Overall fundraising revenue was down close to $100,000. I had a sinking feeling in my gut for months. But, God is bigger. Toward the end of 2020 and early in 2021, we had unexpected donations of $90,000. I felt like we had been saved! We have so many angels here on earth and great community support that we are so thankful for! It isn’t always easy, but it is always worth it!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.womenrockinc.org
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/womenrockinc
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/womenrockinc

Image Credits
none all photes are mine.