Meet Lori Todd

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Todd.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Lori. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Wow, that is a HUGE question. I think the greatest joy in my professional life is that every day I get to do something that I love and something that I am passionate about. Today I am the National Sales Director for CC Dancewear by Cheerleading Company. It’s been the greatest blessing as that this career change from teaching and coaching/directing has allowed me to spend more time with my family. But professionally, it has allowed me to throw myself into the dance world and provide customers, who I also consider “my people,” with products and customer service that I believe are top-notch.

How did I get here? Well, that is the best part. I have danced my entire life. I started as a tiny dancer in ballet class and studied classical ballet until I was 14. I then chose the drill team as my path, since of course, TEXAS and Friday Night Lights! Then I went to the University of North Texas where I danced on the dance team there for two years and served as captain my final year. While at UNT, I taught camps for the dance division of the National Cheerleaders Association (NDA). I also decided in college that I wanted to study journalism and concentrate my focus in public relations.

I continued working in the dance world by judging competitions all over the country and drill team tryouts in the Metroplex. Although I never wanted dance to be my “career,” I knew it was a part of who I was. After graduation, I worked for a female-owned public relations firm in Irving and danced for the Dallas Mavericks Dancers for two seasons. COMPLETELY living my dream!! Longer story short, I then received a call that a drill team director was needed at my high school alma mater and that was all they needed to say before I became a high school teacher and drill team director for what I believed to be the best high school in Texas. I was there one year when I also became the coach of the SMU Pom Squad.

I think what I learned was it was more about who you know than what you know because I had NO CLUE how I was going to do all of this and you know what? I figured it out and had a wonderful 12 years as a teacher at Hillcrest and nine years as the coach of the THREE-TIME national champion Pom Squad (very proud of that). In this time is when I realized that being around young people and trying to instill in them good values and life lessons were one of my callings. I loved being around them, their energy and I really loved helping them navigate life as young adults and although my time as a teacher ended because of the growth of my family, I didn’t want to stop helping adolescents. That is when I started speaking at dance camps in the summer and going to teams throughout the year to motivate them and work on team building and character building.

As much as I help them, they really help me. I leave each session or camp setting with such a full bucket. It just gives me the joy to share my story and tell them some life pitfalls that I had that may help them, and I truly enjoy helping them to be better humans and the best teammates that they can be. I am soooo thankful to work for a fabulous company that allows me to go to these schools and camps to speak and work with these teams and also they allow me to continue to travel and judge competitions all over the country.

The one thing I also love to teach in my workshops is the power of networking and who you know and how you never burn a bridge and always give back because you just never know. It turns out that I met the owners of my current company while at SMU, and because of that relationship, it gave me a headstart in my process with them because they knew who I was. It’s a beautiful life and I am so thankful to be able to continue to use my business skills and journalism degree while working in the field of dance.

Has it been a smooth road?
Oh, it definitely has NOT been smooth. With all great things, come challenges. I had to teach special education my first three years as a teacher. I didn’t even want to be a teacher and here I was back in school to get my teaching certificate in SPED! It was a huge challenge, but being a special education teacher for three years gave me so many gifts and I still firmly believe that every regular ed teacher should have to teach self-contained SPED students for one year.

I had to learn how to time manage on a different level. After three years, I became the journalism teacher which was amazing! However, I also had to advise the school newspaper and yearbook and I was the drill team director and SMU Pom Squad coach. That sentence alone was a challenge but when your work is your passion, it doesn’t seem like work. Yes, I was exhausted. I was tired on different levels and relationships in my life suffered, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. And last, it was very difficult to step away from teaching and coaching/directing. I loved every second of it. I still get little twinges of “what ifs,” but I know I am right where I am supposed to be, doing what I am doing and I look back on those high school teaching and collegiate coaching memories with such love.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am the National Sales Director for CC Dancewear by Cheerleading Company and was brought in five years ago to develop and strengthen the brand. I feel like it’s my baby since I was there for the conception and have really fed it’s growth with an amazing team of people. I think what sets us apart is our customer service and the fact that we DO care. We will make things right and we will treat people with respect and care. I always tell my customers that my job is to make theirs easier. That is what I needed when I was a high school director and I had a fabulous dancewear rep who took amazing care of me. That is what I want us to be for our customers in cheer and dance and I think we do a great job of it.

In my personal life with talking to young people and trying to motivate or inspire them, I just want them to know I get it. I have been there, and that they are cared for. I always want them to remember that what they do today, can affect tomorrow so please be smart. Think through the consequences. Don’t grow up too fast, and never be a quitter, even when it gets really hard.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Are you kidding? Dallas is the best city there ever was. I was born in Detroit, MI but my parents got me to Dallas as soon as they could so after 38 years, I am a TRUE TEXAN!!!

Contact Info:

• Address: 11350 Hillguard Road
  Dallas, Texas 75243
• Website: Cheerleading Company/CC Dancewear
• Email: ltodd@ccdancewear.com
• Instagram: ccdancewear
• Facebook: ccdancewear
• Twitter: ccdancewear

Image Credit:
My first photo of me alone was done by Meghan Huslig Photography

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