First Tuesdays

Every first Tuesday of the month, an event featuring guest speakers like legendary songwriter Dallas Frazier, artist Lionel Cartwright, TV personalities Tom Randles, Rudy Kalis and Megan Alexander, sports broadcaster Hope Hines, esteemed football coach Les Steckel and cartoonist Guy Gilchrist is hosted at the Creative Workshop Recording Studio. GIFT has also hosted concerts, songwriter nights, golf tournaments and various other events to raise awareness for the cause and raise money.

History of the gathering

With only word of mouth and personal invites to bring folks to the lunch time gatherings, the attendance remained really small until Johnny Christopher, a songwriter and guitarist suggested that First Tuesday would attract more of their friends if the group featured a guest speaker or singer each month. With the help of various gifted performers, ministers and motivational speakers volunteering to be part of the program, the monthly events eventually took off and the group moved into the tracking room at the studio and the attendees grew to 30-40 folks. Many would bring home cooked dishes and other baked goods providing a free lunch to all who attended.