Patrick Willis Strategic Consulting

10/09/2026

🎯👏

09/29/2026

What a great few days with wonderful people!

Over ten years ago, Carol Weisman assembled a mastermind group of nonprofit consultants. This week, we finally got back together after COVID disrupted our routine.

It's hard to put into words how much I've learned from this group.

Carol Weisman is one of the most clever, quick-witted people I've ever met and still as sharp as ever.

Cris Wineinger has so much wisdom and is a master of taking something complicated and drilling down the the core.

Rachel Muir is one of the most passionate advocates of philanthropy I've ever met and the ultimate cheerleader for professional fundraisers.

Patrick Willis has done so much it's hard to highlight any one thing but there may not be a better person to lead a relationship mapping exercise.

Honorable mention to Michael Daigneault who wasn't there but deserves to be included for the vast governance knowledge he has brought to the table over the years.

Austin 2027!!

09/20/2026

A proud moment for the Patrick Willis Strategic Consulting family.

Patrick’s son, Jackson, a senior with the Tyler Legacy Red Raider Band, is featured here playing trombone during “House of the Rising Sun.”

Behind moments like this are hours of practice, discipline, teamwork and the confidence to step forward and perform when it counts.

Congratulations to Jackson and to the entire Tyler Legacy Red Raider Band on a terrific performance.

09/16/2026

Check out this great resource for non-profits provided by United Way of Smith County and The University of Texas at Tyler!

Fostering Excellence in East Texas Nonprofits In partnership with the University of Texas at Tyler, the United Way of Smith County offers East Texas nonprofit professionals the opportunity to learn from industry experts and sharpen their skills in areas such as: Management, Fundraising, Grant Writin...

09/11/2026

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09/08/2026

Monday Memories

This photo takes me back to March 2014, when Marilyn Abegg Glass and I were headed to San Antonio, Texas for the 51st Association of Fundraising Professionals International Conference on Fundraising. Traveling with us was our Vice President of Operations at the time, Kenny Sigler.

It is remarkable how quickly the years pass.

Looking at this picture brings back wonderful memories of that season of my professional life. AFP conferences were always about much more than simply attending sessions. They were opportunities to learn, reconnect with colleagues, exchange ideas, strengthen friendships, and return home with a renewed sense of purpose.

The work of fundraising is sometimes misunderstood as being primarily about asking for money. In reality, it is about relationships, trust, stewardship, ethics, and connecting people with opportunities to make a meaningful difference.

That is why AFP has been so important to the nonprofit community. It gives fundraising professionals a place to sharpen their craft, uphold professional standards, learn from one another, and be reminded that this work is part of something much larger than any one organization.

When I look at this photograph now, I remember the conference, the conversations, the laughter, the people we learned from, and the ideas we carried back home with us. But more than that, I remember how important those years were in shaping the way I continue to think about philanthropy and nonprofit leadership today.

I am grateful for Marilyn, Kenny, and for so many colleagues and friends who have been part of that journey.

Some professional experiences simply teach you something. Others become part of your story. This one certainly did both.

09/05/2026

Don’t miss this wonderful FREE community event! 🎶🎼🎵🏞️

Bring your family and friends and come enjoy a beautiful evening of music in the park. A terrific way to celebrate our community together!

08/31/2026

Scoop from TYLER TODAY Magazine's editor-in-chief, Jennifer Moore Gaston . . . The 93rd Annual Texas Rose Festival Association kicked off with a grand celebration in "Palm Royale" style at Willow Brook CC. David Dial, TRF President, welcomed the out-of-town guests who are participating in the 2026 "Celebrations through the Seasons" . . . thanked volunteers, TRF sponsors, committee chairs - Kearby Rosenlieb Dickeson & Paige Pickens Engel, Kick Off Party hosts including Patrick Willis Strategic Consulting & Regions Bank and many more individuals. Special thanks were given to TRF executive director, Liz Ballard. Rose Queen, Claire Malone, Princess, Brynn Ballard, and Duchess of the Rose Growers, Emmy Brewer, followed with remarks and heart-felt sentiments regarding their roles in the 2026 Texas Rose Festival.
Follow and for more rosy details!
Ticket sales for events begin on September 1, 2026 through the UT Tyler Cowan Center Box Office, 903-566-7424.

08/28/2026

From the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee to becoming a household name around the world, Dolly Parton never forgot where she came from or the people she could help along the way.

I especially appreciated this Australian news tribute to Dolly because it captured something greater than her extraordinary career. She was a trailblazer for women, a champion for childhood literacy, a remarkably astute businesswoman and an entertainer beloved equally by the most famous among us and the most ordinary. Through her Imagination Library alone, more than 300 million books have been placed into the hands of children around the world. (Reuters⁠)

There are tremendous lessons in Dolly Parton’s life about leadership: remain authentic, remember your roots, use success to lift others and never underestimate the power of kindness.

Dolly, the world will always love you.

Thank you for the music, the laughter and, perhaps most importantly, the life lessons in leadership and love.

08/18/2026

Monday Memories: Stonebriar Country Club

Sometimes the places we return to have a way of connecting the past with the work we are doing today.

Later this week, Patrick Willis Strategic Consulting returns to Stonebriar Country Club in Frisco, where Patrick Willis will facilitate a Seven Arenas of Infinite Possibilities Nonprofit Management Strategic Planning workshop.

The return to Stonebriar brings to mind a little movie trivia Patrick shared from the club two years ago.

In 2000, director Robert Altman released Dr. T & the Women, starring Richard Gere alongside an extraordinary cast that included Farrah Fawcett, Helen Hunt, Kate Hudson, Shelley Long, Laura Dern and Liv Tyler.

Gere played Dr. Sullivan Travis, a successful Dallas obstetrician gynecologist, and much of the movie was filmed around Dallas. NorthPark Center and the Dallas Arboretum made appearances, while the golf scenes were filmed at Stonebriar Country Club.

Stonebriar opened in 1988, when Frisco was a very different place. Around the time Dr. T & the Women was released, Frisco’s population was only about 33,000. Today, it is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic communities in North Texas.

That transformation provides a fitting backdrop for the strategic planning work Patrick will lead there this week.

Patrick’s Seven Arenas process examines a nonprofit organization through seven interconnected areas:

Governance. Vision and Leadership. Value Proposition. Systems. Staffing. Communication. Fundraising.

Strategic planning is about understanding where an organization has been, being candid about where it stands today, and intentionally determining where it needs to go next.

There is something particularly appropriate about doing that work in a place that has itself witnessed so much change over the past quarter century.

That is also one of the pleasures of a Monday Memory. Sometimes looking back provides just the perspective needed for looking forward.