Category: Celebration Nation

  • GLORIA COMBS

    This Indiana native loves celebrating national days! As a certified life coach and alumna of IUPUI with degrees in Social Work and Philanthropy, Gloria Combs also thrives on serving her community. She holds memberships with various philanthropic organizations in Central and Southern Indiana. She is also a plus-size fashion enthusiast and an adult learner advocate. 

    Learning & Volunteerism

    In 2016, Gloria combined her passions and founded her own organization. She is the CEO of A.L.E.R.T., which signifies adult learners, educated, restored, and transformed.  A.L.E.R.T became her platform when she was introduced to the pageant world that year. This organization supports the advancement of non-traditional adult learners. The mission is to connect adult students to community resources that make educational opportunities more attainable through financial literacy, mentoring, and volunteerism. Today, not only has Gloria helped in assisting hundreds of students earn their high school diploma as a life coach, but she has also assisted non-traditional students in securing over $800,000 in scholarships.

    Many organizations recognize Gloria for her work and volunteerism. The United Way recently named her one of their 100 heroes. Gloria was also awarded the Lifetime Presidential Volunteer Service Award for 4000 hours of service.

    Pageantry

    Her experiences led her to be crowned as the overall high point winner, American Beauties Plus Elite 2019-2020. Gloria currently holds the title of American Beauties Plus Royal Majesty Elite, 2021. During her appearance opportunities, she includes National Day Calendar celebrations. As an Ambassador, Gloria serves the larger community, too. She offers coaching and mentoring to women survivors of domestic violence. In addition, Gloria is a mother, daughter, and new wife. In her spare time, she loves traveling, all things pageantry, volunteering, and spending time with her family. And of course, Celebrating Every Day!

    Some of her favorite holidays include National Lipstick Day, National Pageant Day, National Big Wig Day, and World Kindness Day.

    Follow Gloria as she Celebrates Every Day!

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  • PATRICK BYRNES

    Patrick Byrnes – better known as Reachpat on Twitch – grew up in Massachusetts and moved to New York after graduating college with a degree in Chemical Engineering. While he works full-time as an engineer at a local manufacturing company, Patrick also maintains a full-time presence streaming games almost every night and hanging out with his community.

    Outside of work, Patrick keeps his life adventurous and loves to try new things. Some of his favorite activities include ziplining, playing laser tag, and hiking with his dog – Patrick even rappelled down a 21-story building for charity! He also participates in charity campaigns all the time and raised over $2,000 between September 2020 and May 2021.

    CELEBRATE EVERY DAY

    Patrick discovered National Day Calendar back in high school when his mom bought him a holiday calendar for Christmas. Since then, he’s been spreading the word about all the fun holidays that come up with his friends and coworkers; they even have parties whenever there’s something food-related!Patrick Byrnes 2

    As his building’s self-proclaimed “Assistant Chief Morale Officer,” Patrick knows that it is important to show everyone that we appreciate all the work they do and have fun at work – what better way to do that than to #CelebrateEveryDay? He currently maintains a whiteboard in his office that he updates with upcoming holidays every week.

    Patrick also posts about a new holiday every day on Twitter and Discord. It is a great way to interact with people that he doesn’t always get a chance to work with! Throughout his whole life, Patrick has always loved to spread kindness and positivity to everyone he meets. He has built his social media platforms on those principles, too. Patrick is so glad to share some holiday cheer every day! On his Twitch channel, he also shares that positivity and kindness by keeping a family-friendly community and playing games with anyone who wants to come by!

    PATRICK’S FAVORITES

    Tigers are some of his favorite animals so Patrick themed his channel around them. Naturally, his favorite holidays include World Tiger Day (7/29), World Kindness Day (11/13), and Apple Pie Day (5/13).

    Follow Patrick on:

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  • TREY GARBERS

    Trey Garbers is a self-proclaimed entertainer with an innate ability to find an audience wherever he may be. At a young age in Branson, Missouri, he was discovered by his own family and quickly became Branson’s youngest magician (probably), specializing in close-up magic. His magic career was unfortunately cut short by puberty. So he moved on to telling jokes at the local Fudgery—a habit that became so incessant they eventually hired him and paid him for it. 

    THE BIG APPLE

    After college, Trey took his wealth of experience in the entertainment industry to the streets of NYC, where he was bound to “make it big.” He did, indeed, manage a giant theme restaurant in Manhattan for several years before realizing he’d failed at becoming an actor. He didn’t return home without any success, though. His credits include “party extra” in an episode of Gossip Girl and meeting Bill Hader and John Mulaney at a Chipotle. 

    IT and The Bolt Podcast

    Trey returned to his family in Texas. After several attempts at finding a new career that would allow him to both earn a decent paycheck and achieve low-level fame, he landed his dream gig as the IT Manager for a small school district in the DFW area. He is also a founder and host of The Bolt Podcast. At Christmastime, Trey stars annually as Santa Claus at several classroom venues. 

    Celebrity and Celebrate Every Day!

    In late 2019, as his local celebrity status was beginning to skyrocket, Trey graciously decided to give the people what they wanted: a year-long Instagram campaign dedicated to celebrating every day. A brilliant effort met with destiny. As the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, a captive audience, starved for entertainment found their elixir. Trey finally found his niche—mass desperation. While admittedly some celebrations were more successful than others, Trey hopes you will still follow him @treygarbers. See him try new foods, give a few show-stopping performances, and #CelebrateEveryDay. You can also view his entire 2020 experience at YouTube, too!

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  • ANGELA WICKMAN

    MEET ANGELA WICKMAN

    “The suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.” ~ Oscar Wilde

    According to Angela Wickman, “Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory has to be my all-time favorite movie. I think I am forever opening chocolate bars hoping to find a golden ticket!” She is a 33 years young, proud, single mama of her son Kade-Cole.  Mother and son do everything together, and that is Angela’s favorite!  Professionally, she is a business office manager at a senior living community, and Angela loves her job. The residents are very near and dear to her heart. She has been working there for several years, and they are a big part of her life.

    Angela is also going to school for Business Management. She hopes to complete her degree in the next few years; Wish her luck! She also helps her son with his homework, and it’s only going to get tougher!

    Don’t mind Angela’s sarcastic sense of humor. It’s her go-to in uncomfortable situations.

    Great Outdoors

    Angela enjoys being outside! She and her son go camping, fishing, and hiking. Together they checked out a few new trails the summer of 2020, and they are excited to check some more trails off the list this year! Angela recently began kickboxing classes, and so far, I love it. Some days she hurts all over, but in a good way, everyone says.

    This Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan says there is no off-season.

    “I like to tell people when they ask about my passion, and my reply is usually – How else do you live your life?” ~Angela Wickman

    Some of Angela’s other passions are Llamas and Pirates. Her elementary school mascot was a pirate, and she’s been pretty much obsessed ever since. It should be no surprise that her most favorite day to celebrate is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. And in a solid second place is National Chocolate Cake Day. She genuinely enjoys having something fun to Celebrate Every Day!

    Follow Angela on social media.

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  • KELLY SHORT

    KELLY SHORT

    Kelly Short Blogger & Small Business Owner

    In her spare time, Kelly Short is a blogger and a small business owner of The Short Shop on Etsy. Her blog, Navigating Joyful Challenges, pairs two of her loves: traveling and cooking. As a mom of two small children with food allergies, one of her favorite things to blog about is recreating theme park recipes that are allergy-friendly. By doing this, she hopes to empower her kids and other kids with food allergies. Having food allergies doesn’t stop us from having delicious food and having fun!

    When she’s not cooking, Kelly is a big tourist! She loves to travel and dreams of taking her kids to all 50 states. This Celebration Ambassador also enjoys visiting fun places around her home in California. You can bet when there is a theme park or museum nearby, Kelly will be first in line for a visit. She loves visiting different places and especially seeing them through her kids’ eyes. Kelly is currently dreaming of a vacation next year for an, ahem, milestone birthday.

    Celebrating Every Day

    With her trusty National Day Calendar, Kelly looks forward to seeing what National Days are each day. Not only her, but her 7-year-old son really enjoys checking the calendar each day! Kelly and her family love to #CelebrateEveryDay by doing activities or watching videos relating to the National Day. Kelly even plans meals sometimes according to what the national day is. She looks forward to all of the national state days so she can dream of each place she’d like to visit someday. Other favorite days include:

    • April 19th – National Garlic Day
    • March 4th – Marching Music Day
    • February 9th – National Pizza Day
    • December 4th – National Sock Day
    • September 13th – National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day

    Kelly is so thrilled to be a National Day Calendar Celebration Ambassador and share the excitement of these fun National Days with all of you. Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and her blog, Navigating Joyful Challenges.

    There are over 1,500 national days. Don’t miss a single one. Celebrate Every Day® with National Day Calendar®!

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  • GIA REYNOLDS

    MEET GIA REYNOLDS

    This Grand Rapids, Michigan girl loves entertaining and all things party-related and fun! But don’t let that fool you. Gia Reynolds also has been working in the banking industry for over 20 years and absolutely loves it.

    Though, her real passion is creating and hosting fabulous dinner parties decked out with delicious and elegant meals and desserts. Gia looks forward to brainstorming party ideas for special events, and that’s why she is the owner and smiling face behind The Houseshoe Hostess Blog.

    “I live by the principle that people may not remember what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel…or what you cooked!”
    ~ Gia Reynolds

    Finding the Celebrate Every Day

    Before a back injury, Gia used to cater to large groups of people. While she was recovering, she laid in bed, worried she would lose her passion. However, every day ideas for recipes kept coming to her. She knew what she was going to cook when she recovered and made a promise to Celebrate Every Day! Before she knew it, Gia had several party ideas and recipes formulated. The Houseshoe Hostess was born.
    “I love making everyone I come in contact with feel happy and loved.” ~Gia Reynolds
    Gia says she has been an unofficial National Day Calendar Ambassador for years. She faithfully posted about national days all the time. So much so, people have started asking her questions about them. That’s definitely an ambassador quality!
    Gia also points out that when her kids were younger, she worked a lot, and she often felt guilty about it. She promised herself it would be different with her grandchildren. She brings them fun every chance she gets.

    Fun Friday

    Another element she added to her workweek at the bank is known as “Fun Friday.” People are often eager for the weekend or feel the week is dragging. Gia created different party themes every week for the summer to get customers excited, and it worked like a charm. Customers who saw each other every week but never talked suddenly connected and struck up conversations. They laughed and chatted while waiting in line! A positive and welcome change came into the bank lobby.

    Most of the time, all it takes is one happy person to change the room’s energy, and Gia brings that energy.

    That’s exactly what drew Gia to the National Day Calendar. Even though Gia is one of those happy people who change the energy in a room, Gia says, “National Day Calendar is a happy person who changes the energy.”

    Follow Gia on her social media handles.

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  • NORA KASSEBAUM

    My name is Nora Kassebaum, and I am a middle school teacher from Long Island, New York! I love all things science and learning new things. I am one of 6 kids, and my big loving family of 4 older brothers and a younger sister is very supportive. People know me as the pink, croc, and fishing queen. Growing up, I always loved adventure and outdoor activities. My favorite hobbies are camping, fishing, hiking, dancing, singing, playing board games, going to zoos and aquariums. I also love all things Disney, especially Tinkerbell. So, it should come as no surprise that I am also a Disney movie fiend. I also love any movie with a positive, happy ending. My style includes bright-colored clothing and lots of pink and sparkles!

    Joining the Celebrate Every Day Movement

    Along with matching clothes and fun outfits, celebrating national days makes me so happy. I love when I eat or do something and the holiday just happens to fall on that day. It is hardly going out of my way to Celebrate Every Day, either – like getting ice cream on National Ice Cream Day! Celebrating the National Days is such a fun hobby! It makes me happy when I can make other people excited or happy about something. Celebrating national days and spreading the word is the perfect way to do this, too! I am so excited to be a part of the team, and I hope to spread positivity to as many people as possible.

    Nora In the Classroom

    Every day I look forward to the National Days, reviewing apps, calendars, and my notes, making preparations for the celebrations ahead. In school, I was always one to show my school spirit and radiate positivity onto others! I am very dedicated to what I do, and I have been president of clubs and Honor Societies, creating fundraisers and volunteering opportunities to help people, spread joy and love. I love being involved in different things because it makes life more enjoyable!

    Favorite national days: Pink Day, Donut Day, World Chocolate Day

    Follow Nora on Instagram @nationaldayqueen Instagram Icon

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  • MEGHAN TECKENBROCK

    New Beginnings

    Meghan believes every day is a new beginning. She lights the way for people who otherwise feel stuck in the dark, as she once did. Meghan loves to inspire others by sharing her story. Originally from New York, Meghan found herself in North Carolina where she fell in love with the country. She enjoyed the peace that came with the slower pace of living and eventually the music.

    Though she prefers the slower pace, Meghan is known for always being on the go. She celebrates every day by starting each day with a grateful heart and trying new things. Meghan enjoys hiking where she can fully immerse herself in nature and dabble in her love of photography. She’s been taking pictures for as long as she can remember and is known as the photographer of her family. Photography has helped her appreciate the beauty around her and she aspires to use her artistry to help others see the good in the world and in themselves.

    Leadership & Hope

    Meghan recently graduated with her Associate of Arts Degree with honors from Coastal Carolina Community College where she held various leadership roles and participated in many community service opportunities. Volunteerism is very important to her and one of the things she hopes to do for the rest of her life. After graduating in 2020, Meghan transferred to the University of North Carolina-Wilmington where she hopes to earn her bachelor’s degree. Not only did Meghan transfer schools during a pandemic, but she has also been using this time to transform her lifestyle. Her weight loss journey has even inspired others to make healthier choices as well.

    Celebrating Every Day

    Meghan is excited to be part of an Ambassador team that shares in the mission to Celebrate Every Day! She hopes to use this opportunity to further inspire others to keep moving forward, especially during unprecedented times.

    Follow Meghan on her journey as she celebrates the National Days!

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  • ARIELLE JAGOW

    Arielle Jagow

    ARIELLE JAGOW

    Book Lover Turned Blogger

    Arielle is an avid book lover turned book blogger. She believes in the importance of a good book, a hot bath, and a large glass of wine. This book lover lives in Southern California with her husband and their adorable cat Ares, equal parts feisty and cuddly. They often joke that Ares is like a sour patch kid; first, he’s sour, then he’s sweet.

    By day Arielle works in employee health and benefits at a large company. Her employer consistently makes the Best Places to Work in her local county’s Business Journal. She spends her evenings and weekends reading, blogging, and enjoying life.

    Reading: A Lifetime Love Affair

    A love of reading is one of the best gifts you can bestow upon yourself. And it stems from learning to read at a young age. One of Arielle’s favorite memories as a child was planning which books she would buy during the Scholastic reading fairs at school.

    Growing up in a family who loved reading, paired with Arielle’s love of a good story, eventually led to a beautiful life-long love affair with books. Gifts and treats usually included books. Arielle spent birthday money on – can you take a guess – even more books! Finding a comfy chair and settling in for the afternoon to get lost in a new world crafted by a talented author is a favorite pastime for Arielle and remains to be one of her favorite activities.

    Living Life With Joy is a bookish blog where Arielle shares her love of reading through book lists, reviews, and recommen

    dations. Her greatest passion in life is to ‘find joy in living each day to the fullest.’ It is another reason why she is absolutely thrilled to be a National Day Calendar® Ambassador!

    Find Arielle with her nose in a book, a glass of wine, and a smile. Follow Arielle for booklists and recommendations on her Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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  • Dr. Silagh White

    SILAGH WHITE

    Silagh (pronounced SHEE-la) lives in Bethlehem, PA with her husband and twin teens. As a doctor, she does not have access to a prescription pad; she is not that kind of a doctor. But she can fix your bassoon reed in an emergency! Silagh also enjoys spending quality time with her kids and husband.

    Cooking Up Inspiration

    Silagh’s love of cooking started in the 90s, reconnecting with memories of her Auntie Bernice’s fabulous dinners. Her aunt was a fan of Julia Child and often celebrated Beethoven’s birthday with dinners that included Beef Wellington and Baked Alaska. The table was a door balanced on sawhorses, and none of the plates or silverware matched. Who cares when the food is the celebration? For Silagh’s wedding (and her sisters’ weddings), Bernice baked 20 different cheesecakes along with a celebration cake. If the recipe called for a chocolate cookie crust, she’d bake the cookies for the crust, too. She also baked bread every day. Silagh is still trying to master her bread crust.

    Let the Music Inspire

    Silagh is a huge advocate for the arts in the Lehigh Valley. She can be regularly seen in the Bethlehem concert venues, galleries and theatres. She is the administrator of the Bel Canto Youth Chorus of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem and facilitates programs and events with the Ice House Tonight series. Silagh is also one of the hosts of the Lehigh Valley Arts Salon on WDIY 88.1 FM Public Radio and serves on the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission and the Bethlehem Board for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. She is a proud bassoonist. Silagh performs in orchestras and in Jakopa’s Punch, the house rock band for Touchstone Theatre. She enjoys cooking, spending quality time with her kids and husband, and thinking about exercise outside of swimming at the YMCA.

    Cultural Inspiration

    Silagh’s mother is also a creative inspiration. Darleen introduced Silagh to exploring many cultures through culinary adventures inspired by her Life-Long Learners group and her monthly book club. Silagh’s husband is from a large Italian-Irish (and a bit of French, English and German, but Silagh just calls it “Irish DNA”) family, much like her own. It is her family’s history that inspires her to keep discovering, learning, and sharing. The National Day Calendar is a wonderful way to learn about our own shared cultures and to have fun with family and friends, while also supporting local businesses where she can.

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There are over 1,500 national days. Don’t miss a single one. Celebrate Every Day with National Day Calendar!

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