The skies and faces were sunny Saturday for the annual Pilot Point Gift Tour.
A special guest, Kari Bailey, was next to Mindi Storey-Johnson as she greeted the 200 ticketholders for the event.
Storey-Johnson began the tour to honor Sue “Goggie” Wilson Stafford’s legacy and memory in 2017, and Bailey, Stafford’s daughter, said she knew her mom would be proud of the good works accomplished through the gift tour.
“She was all about helping people and helping people learn how to help people, so this is exactly what she would have loved,” she said.
She also mentioned a similar effort in Collinsville in honor of her mother.
The tickets purchased through the gift tour go toward helping children experience a full holiday.
“We have 12 children that we are buying an entire Christmas for this year,” Storey-Johnson said. “And six of them are middle school [to] high school age. … Those are the kiddos that oftentimes don’t get on an angel tree.”
The presents are based on the lists of the children.
Having 200 tickets will likely be the most they sell.
“If you’re going to keep growing, you’ve just got to grow well,” Storey-Johnson said, who grew up in Frisco before it grew. “Some people are opposed to it, but we like to keep it as much as the way we can and go with it.”
Her daughters, Ronnie Johnson and Elli Johnson, were again there to help the gift tour have a smooth start.
“It just goes to show how many people really care about the community and just giving back to the kids who maybe don’t get to experience Christmas like the rest of us,” Ronnie said.
Dennards has provided the first spot for the event for almost every year.
“Kids getting all the presents and getting what they want, that’s the biggest thing; that’s my favorite, and Mindi does such a great job on doing what they want,” Dennards Marketing Manager and Buyer Laura Evans said.
Andie Clark was part of a group of friends participating.
“I love that—A—that it’s put on and just being a part of this community,” she said. “It just shows who Pilot Point is and what they’re about in supporting those within the community. The comradery, all these smiles that you see, all the people that you get to visit with. Obviously the shopping’s wonderful as well.”
In total there were 11 gift tour stops, including Dennards, for the 2024 event, which was dedicated to Tina Parrent, “a longtime participant and supporter of the Pilot Point Gift Tour.”
The 10 other businesses were D&L Farm and Home; Rooted In; Coyotes Salon, Spa and Boutique; Elevated Grounds; Cottonwood Café; Purple Door Day Spa; Pilot Point Coffee House; Southern Junkiez Boutique and Salon; Notoriously Yours Boutique; and Martin General Store.
Sonic, Western Son and Nick’s Italian also donated to the tour.
Stephanie LaRue, the D&L nursery manager, said the store enjoys participating in the Gift Tour each year because it helps with a good cause while bringing new customers in and that “it’s just growing” annually.
“We like doing it because it’s fun to see all the new faces,” LaRue said. “Honestly, a lot of people don’t even know that we sell all of this pet stuff and things like that.”
Cindy Pennau was strolling D&L’s aisles with family members from multiple generations.
“We’ve been doing it for a lot of years, and it seems like our group grows and grows,” she said. “It’s a really special time because we get to all have a time to be together, which normally we wouldn’t. It makes us take time to stop working and celebrate Christmas together.”
She also loves the chance to support the local businesses that help the community consistently.
“They’re always there for the sports teams and for all the local schools,” Pennau said.
