Page 251 - From the Outhouse 4 -21

251 | P A T R I C I A R A E M E R R I T T W H A T L E Y

On Thursday, the second day of the grant approval process, the defending session was held, and applicants were called
individually to approach the panelists. We were asked to define our purpose and tell how we would use the funds. We were

seated in an auditorium; the panelists were seated on the stage. When I was called, I walked up to face the panelists from the

floor and they asked, “Where is your matching letter?” I wasn’t aware that I needed such a letter! They explained that the letter
was needed to show the community’s involvement in my program. My Grant Manager for the day asked if I could secure a

letter before the session ended; I told him I would try.

I needed to make an immediate call to Sanford, and someone from the audience directed me to a phone in an upstairs office. I

called the Seminole County Office that had promised to give us a $10,000 grant. Dr. Medley, the very person I needed to speak

to, answered the phone. I told him what was needed, and he replied, “Give me the fax number and I will send the letter in five
minutes.” I was so excited that I ran into the auditorium shouting, “I got it! I got it!” My Grant Manager told me to be quiet,

sit down, and wait my turn. Embarrassing, for sure!

On Friday, the third day of the process, it was announced that only a certain amount of funds would be released to the fifty-

six grant applicants. I waited and waited for our name to be called, then I heard the announcer say, “We have two more grants
to award.” When he called 55, I felt that our chance of being a grant recipient was probably none. Next, he called 56 and to my

surprise, it was for the Little Red School House/Primary School of Sanford, Florida! I was cool, not wanting to embarrass
myself again, but with all my being I was ecstatic. My heart whispered, “BUT GOD!”

At the end of the session, I smiled and thanked the judges for their support. As I drove home, I kept thinking, “When God is
in your plans, they always work.” Pay no attention to the nay-sayers. Many doubted we would receive a grant the first time we

applied. I never saw my angel (the lady I felt was drinking too much) again, but she ordered my steps as God directed hers. I