Our Story

Our story is a story of nine friends who wanted to give back to their community in a meaningful way.

The story starts with Tracy, Trudy and Kathy.

Our story is amazing. Like all great adventures, The Birthday Party started as story of friends who came upon a simple but powerful idea that would allow them to impact others’ lives in a meaningful way. The idea was to provide birthday parties to children who were in situations where their special day may not celebrated. Many children miss out on celebrations because of things far beyond their control – homelessness, domestic violence, poverty, and abuse. Out of this community need, The Birthday Party was founded in August 2016. The immediate response we had from friends, donors, volunteers and clients was overwhelmingly positive and continues to this day. Everyone understands the importance of kids celebrating their birthdays and wants to be a part of that story. Our story grows constantly as we touch children’s lives in a very personal and meaningful way. We know we will never know the total impact we have, because like a stone thrown in a lake, the ripples will spread in ways we cannot imagine. But for us, seeing the smiles, hearing the shouts of joy and watching a kid celebrate their special day is more than enough. Our story is amazing.

Creating & Providing Birthday Parties for INNOCENT CHILDREN WHO ARE FACING CHALLENGING TIMES

Every child, especially those living without many of the necessities we take for granted – sleeping in the same bed every night, breakfast on the table, safety in the home – deserves to know that their birthday is special. They are important. Their growth matters. Through the customized celebration of children’s birthdays, The Birthday Party team fosters and creates moments of pure positivity for children and families; moments and memories that will be woven into the patchwork of their lives.

Our Board of Directors

It’s amazing what we can do when we come together.

Pat spent over 40 years working in the Child Welfare System and retired in July of 2019. She has continued to support families and children through a variety of volunteer opportunities to include United Ministries, Pace Center for Girls and Embrace Florida Kids. Pat also is a board member of Sunday’s Child and a member of Impact 100. She and her husband, Bill, attend Pensacola United Methodist Church where they are active members. Pat has two daughters, Alicia Musselwhite and Regina Scott and four (4) grandchildren, Abigail, Krace, William and Layla.

John Ham is a proud Pensacola native. He is the Owner/Director of Animal Tales, an exotic animal education conservation company. After traveling around the United States for several years working in zoos and museums, he returned to Pensacola to share his passion for animal education and expand Animal Tales. He met Kathy and Tracy while volunteering at another local nonprofit where they shared their idea for The Birthday Party Pensacola. Volunteering with The Birthday Party was a fantastic way to share animal experiences with children and brighten their birthdays. John later joined The Birthday Party board as Vice President in 2021 after being a volunteer since its inception.

Jennifer was born in Pensacola. She spent half her childhood in Georgia and her other half in North Carolina. She graduated high school from Needham B. Broughton High School. After high school she took a few years to really enjoy college and landed at East Carolina University where she earned her B.S. in Family and Community Services. After graduation Jennifer landed her first job at the Florida Department of Children and Families. She’s been faithfully employed there for the past 22 years. After starting out as a Foster Care and Protective Services Counselor she took a leap of faith and moved over to child abuse investigations. She has served in roles such as Child Protective Investigator and Supervisor, Critical Child Safety Practice Expert and her current role as a Senior Quality Review Specialist within the Office of Quality and Innovation. Jennifer has participated in focus groups and graduated from the Northwest Region Leadership program in 2020. She has served as a mentor as part of the Northwest Region Supervisor Mentor program. Jennifer is married to her wonderful wife, Tamala, and has a son, Nathan, both whom are the lights of her life. Jennifer has been a Birthday Party Board member since December 2020.

Kathy earned her BA in English and MA in Healthcare Education. After her retirement from 33 years in the healthcare industry, she turned her focus to community service. She is presently a member of Impact 100, Pensacola Women’s Alliance, and Sunday’s Child. Kathy also serves on the Board of PACE Center for Girls and on the Pastoral Council of St. Thomas More Catholic Church. She continues to mentor pre-K children for the ReadyKids reading pals program and supports her ‘foster’ child, Dulce in Guatemala. Kathy enjoys traveling, sports, spending time with family, friends, and her 3 four-legged dachshund ‘children’.

Miranda is a graduate of the University of West Florida where she earned her Bachelors in Marketing. After working at a nonprofit for more than 5 years, Miranda now works in the financial industry. Miranda enjoys volunteering, reading, and spending time with her husband and two dogs, Arya and Tarly.

Shaun worked as a Director of children’s programs at a local community mental heath center for 36 years. Recently she retired to pursue her love of travel, being with friends, and love of music (attending as many concerts as she can)….AND to become involved in causes close to her heart.

She has been on the board of TBP for 5 yrs and recently joined Sunday’s Child. Working to get her husky Jazz certified in Pet Therapy to visit children and seniors and bring a little joy when they are most in need.

Cindy Bradford, MSW, LCSW has worked as a clinical social worker in the local area for over 25 years. She has her masters degree from Florida State University, and is licensed to practice in the state of Florida. The first 10 years of her career was spent working within the public and private child welfare sector. While Cindy has gone on to help other populations, disadvantaged children have a special place in her heart, which is why she loves her role on the Birthday Party Board!

Barbara is a licensed Dental Hygienist. The last 15 years of her employment she worked in a Pediatric Dental office specializing in special needs children. While raising her two children in South Florida Barbara was involved in various organizations such as, Boys and Girls for many years!
Barbara enjoys playing tennis and traveling to South Florida to spend time with her two beautiful granddaughters.

Tracy Wise, Co-Founder and Past President. In 2010, Tracy retired from the corporate world and moved to Pensacola where she remodeled and flipped homes for three years. Prior to settling in the Florida Panhandle, she lived and worked in seven states and Australia in a variety of Human Resource positions. Tracy is a graduate of Iowa State University, having earned a B.S. in Management and a minor in Finance. Since moving to Pensacola, she has volunteered and been involved with many wonderful charitable organizations. She served on the board of Sunday’s Child, is a member of Impact 100, and has volunteered her time with several nonprofits including Manna, Pensacola Lighthouse, Big Brother/Big Sister and ECARE. In 2015, she was awarded the President’s Volunteer Bronze Service Award as a Point of Light. In addition to volunteering, Tracy loves to travel internationally as well as in the United States. She recently finished visiting all 50 states and plans to visit all the National Parks in the lower US states with only three remaining parks to cross off her list.

The impact of Hurricane Katrina on her New Orleans community led Diana to leave her career in Logistics to focus on rebuilding homes, the community and individual lives. Working with the St. Bernard Project in Chalmette, LA, she oversaw warehousing and distribution of materials to rebuild over 400 homes in a 2 year period. Working with Home Builders Institute, she administered a program focused on building work and life skills for disadvantaged youth. In 2021, she moved to the Pensacola area, and once again became actively involved in her community. She joined the Order of Sons & Daughters of Italy to actively raise funds for their Charitable funding projects and also joined The Birthday Party to support the joy of celebrating that special day that is unique to each deserving child.

Brittany holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Communication and Leadership along with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of West Florida. She spent the first decade of her career working for a local community behavioral health provider and now works to ensure equal-access communication to those who are deaf and hard of hearing. Brittany is a proud mom to her wonderful daughter and German Shepherd.

Trudy was born in California, raised in Michigan, then Alabama where she currently resides with her husband, Gerald King. While raising her three children Trudy ran a boarding stable where she taught horseback riding lessons, hosted clinics, and participated in horse shows. She later became an aerobics instructor and certified personal trainer. She pushed herself by competing in biathlons, triathlons, marathons, bodybuilding, and powerlifting. Her love of helping others kept her motivated in helping to train her clients toward better health and fitness for twenty-five years. Since her retirement, she has become more focused on community service. In the past, Trudy has served as a Board member for a local chapter of Habitat for Humanity and The Gulf Coast Arts Council. She volunteered for several years at Manna Food Pantry and Impact 100. She currently serves as a board member and Immediate Past President of The Birthday Party Pensacola, as well as serving as the President of Sunday’s Child. Trudy spends much of her free time making Pottery and donates much of her wares to local nonprofits. She looks forward to continuing her efforts to serve our local communities.

Shay Rosecrans grew up as a military brat and continued the family tradition of serving in the Navy. Orders brought her to Pensacola in 2001 and after leaving the Navy, she worked in the area for several years before retiring from the medical profession. She is married and has an adult daughter and three rescue dogs. When she isn’t walking her dogs or volunteering, Shay is planning to travel or fly somewhere fun.

Our Story

Our story is a story of nine friends who wanted to give back to their community in a meaningful way.

The story starts with Tracy, Trudy and Kathy.

Creating & Providing Birthday Parties for INNOCENT CHILDREN WHO ARE FACING CHALLENGING TIMES

Our Board of Directors

It’s amazing what we can do when we come together.

Pat Franklin

John Ham

Jennifer Krumbein

Kathy Decker

Miranda King

Shaun Dahle

Cindy Bradford

Barb Everhart

Tracy Wise

Diana Mancini

Brittany Taylor

Trudy King

Shay Rosecrans

The Birthday Party

The Birthday Party