Sandy Parker
“Texas Fun Lady!”
Sandy Parker has organized events ranging from festivals to conferences, radio listener events to art exhibits, regional tourism efforts to bus and VIP tours.
Probably best known in the tourism industry for the regional tourism promotion “Win a Trip to a Place You Never Wanted to Go!” with Ron Chapman from KLUV and Southwest Airlines, she is an “idea generator.”
Sandy produced events and tours to attract bus tour operators and tourists to Levelland and Lubbock as a Receptive Operator. She could be seen “introducing Peggy Sue” on her bus tours to give her patrons a thrill en route to the Buddy Holly Center. She stopped bus traffic with “the law on horseback” thrilling German visitors. And visitors from London loved to be escorted by “classic oldies cars” with police escorts.
Sandy expanded her work to be a Destination Marketing Organization with partnership among 15 cities and Chambers of Commerce as founder and operator of The Llano Estacado Tourism Society, an alliance that successfully won annual economic development grant from Market Lubbock Inc.
She collaborated with Texas Highways on producing a music tour and CD called Under The Texas Sky with West Texas musicians. And she created a humorous bus tour “Turning Right on Indiana Avenue” when Bobby Knight became Texas Tech’s Basketball Coach.
She’s been around tourism and hospitality for many years and formerly held these roles:
President, Levelland Area Chamber of Commerce
Founder, Texas Music Kitchen Tour Company
Director, Llano Estacado Tourism Society
Speaker/Teacher for Texas Tech University RHIM Program
Produced numerous events (attendance 6 to 30,000)
Hay House Author of LUMI FINDS HER LIGHT Children’s book
Speaker and Trainer (for groups 6 to 600 … and even one time, 5,000!)
Introduction Leader for Landmark Worldwide and Team Leader for others
Speaking
Women’s Council of Realtors, Austin
MOPS Annual Conference
TOPS Annual Conference
Texas Tech Parents Association /Parents Weekend
Main Street Program / Texas Historical Commission – Bright Spot in Tourism
LISD/Art Teachers – Waking up the Creative Spirit
Levelland Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet, Levelland, TX
Karl May Symposium / Bad Segeberg, Germany – Presentation on behalf of State of Texas
Smart Talk
Frost Bank Community Luncheon
Speaker/Teacher for Texas Tech University RHIM Program
Women Who Mean Business Conferences – Major Texas cities
Regional Destination Marketing: Llano Estacado Tourism Society
Levelland Chamber of Commerce Banquet Speaker
Speaker/Teacher for Texas Tech University RHIM Program – every semester
Plainview Downtown Association, Plainview, TX
Friday Night Arts Trail – What the Bleep?
Women’s Retreat – Open Your Mind with Zentangles
Women’s Walk to Emmaus – Lay Director and Speaker
Event Producer/Organizer
Body Love: Underwater Photo Shoot
She Rocks – Austin
Early Settlers Day Major Fundraiser / City Event (30,000 attendance)
Spirit of the Cowboy Event/Music Tour
Southwest Airlines / Special Events – Winery Tour
KLUV Radio (Dallas) Weekend Winner Trip and Host with Miss Texas / Lubbock, TX
Karl Maye Spiele Germany Outreach for State of Texas
Buddy Holly Annual Birthday Party
Radio Personality
Stars 104.3 Morning Show “Fun Lady” with Lew Dee and Diana
Cowboy Symposium of the Air with Tommy Alsup/nationally syndicated radio
ChickTalk on Fox Talk 950 / co-host
Certification
altMBA with Seth Godin
Introduction Leader Landmark Worldwide
Certified Hospitality Trainer through Texas A&M Program
Sage University Coaching Academy
Author
Hay House book “LUMI FINDS HER LIGHT”
A children’s book used to teach adults about lightening up to live!
Speaker Bio
For more than 20 years, Sandy Parker has been shining her light into audiences in such a way they open their hearts and are able to receive more, accept more, do more and want more. She has spoken to groups of 6 to 5,000 inspiring 300,000 in 3 countries in such diverse groups as governor’s conferences, Chamber of Commerce banquets, school district and university training, and events for companies like Southwest Airlines and Southern Living. She also loved being the FUN LADY on Stars 104.3 on the morning show with Lew Dee and Diana and was co-host on ChickTalk, a talk radio show for women. She was also a Communication teacher for women in crisis and an active support at a Family Shelter for young mothers. She currently serves on a committee to raise money for Hospice Austin.
While working with women, Parker was inspired to write “Lumi Finds Her Light: An Inspiring Story about Being YOU!” It is a coming-of-light story about Lumi the lightning bug, who bumbles her way into her natural brilliance published by Balboa division of Hay House.
A Chance to Work with Legends
Cowboy Symposium of the Air
One my greatest opportunities was being a side-kick on a syndicated radio program Cowboy Symposium of the Air with Tommy Allsup and Larry Scott recorded at the Wagon Wheel Ranch in Snyder, Texas.
Tommy Allsup worked with entertainers such as Buddy Holly, including playing lead guitar on “It’s So Easy!” and “Lonesome Tears”, as well as playing with Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. Allsup was touring with Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson when he serendipitously lost a fateful coin toss with Valens for a seat on the plane that crashed, killing Valens, Holly, Richardson, and pilot Roger Peterson on February 3, 1959. Investigators initially thought that Allsup had died in the crash due to the fact that he had given Holly his wallet so that Holly could use Allsup’s ID to claim a mailed letter on his behalf.
Allsup also worked with Ronnie Smith, Roy Orbison, and producer Willie Nelson and produced Bob Wills’ 24 Great Hits by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. In the mid-1970s Allsup served as the producer for a pair of Asleep at the Wheel albums for which he received 2 nominations and won 1 Grammy.
In 1979, he started a club named Tommy’s Heads Up Saloon in Fort Worth. The club was named for Allsup’s coin toss with Valens 20 years beforehand.
The last surviving member of Buddy Holly’s “touring” Crickets for the 1959 Winter Dance Party, Allsup died on January 11, 2017, at 85 years old.
Larry Scott, Deejay of the Year from the Country Music Association, Disc Jockey of the Year from the Academy of Country Music and an inductee to the Texas Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
