Shooting For The Stars Daughters At Lunch Told To Turn Stumbling Blocks Into Stepping Stones

“Somewhere in America a girl is born … and someone will give her a chance.”- from a poem recited by the Rev. Monica Boyd Corsaro at the “Shoot for the Stars” luncheon.

Some 280 girls and parents were told the importance of setting goals and overcoming barriers in life at a luncheon honoring the fifth annual Take Our Daughters To Work Day.

“Goals are aspirations,” said Tari Phillips of the Seattle Reign basketball team. “You want to set goals so you can drive forward, to step ahead in life.”

Phillips, the featured speaker at the luncheon, was born and raised in Winterborne, Fla., and played basketball through high school. She received a scholarship to the University of Georgia, and earned a place on several top amateur teams before setting a goal to play professionally.

But there were no professional basketball teams for women in the United States. So Phillips went overseas to play basketball in Spain, France, Turkey and Italy.

In 1996, Phillips returned to the U.S. to play for the American Basketball League and is now a forward and center for the Seattle Reign. She was voted the most valuable player in last season’s league All-Star game.

“If you’re going to set a goal for yourself, then do what you can do and do your best at it, and you will reach that goal,” Phillips told the girls at the luncheon.

She also advised them to turn life’s “stumbling blocks” into “stepping stones.”

Setting goals was indeed the theme of the “Shoot for the Stars” luncheon, to motivate those girls participating in Take Our Daughters to Work Day.

“Today is a day to celebrate who we are, and who we are yet to become,” said the Rev. Monica Boyd Corsaro. “We are the daughter of someone, and we are the parent of someone, and together we can make a difference.”

KXLY-TV’s Marianne Mishima, who served as mistress of ceremonies, said, “I think it’s important for us to reinforce in girls that they can achieve anything they want to achieve.”

The lunch, held at the Spokane Convention Center, was presented by the Girl Scouts Inland Empire Council.

“This is the first time the Girl Scouts have done anything like this,” said Lindy Cater, council executive director. “It was great, it was a lot of fun, and I’m pleased with the way it turned out.”

MEMO: Darcy Camden, 15, is a freshman at Lewis and Clark High School. Her father, Jim Camden, is a staff writer. Photographer Kathryn Kafentzis, 16, attends Hellgate High School in Missoula. Her father, John Kafentzis, is a page designer.