Today we’d like to introduce you to Randy Tates.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a husband and father of three girls. I am a hardworking caregiver for my family. I love music and the arts. I come from a musical family background and music is my passion. I play the bass guitar, I have my own band and I am a karaoke DJ on the side. I am a music and theater arts teacher. I use my gifts and talents to give back to my community.
Tate and SoundCheck is the name of my band. We do live entertainment. Tate and SoundCheck is the umbrella and main source that supports Rhandi’s Heart, our non profit organization that is 501(c)3. We also put on plays, live performances and Karaoke. We are known for the live band. The thing that I’m the most proud of is when we put a smile on someone’s face when we are giving back to the community. By people coming to support Tate and SoundCheck, Rhandi’s Heart will be able to continually help people. And that’s what this is all about, helping and fulfilling the needs of the people. What sets us apart? We love people, we are going to continue to help those in need and we are going to use whatever avenue or resource we have to make sure that needs are met.
Has it been a smooth road?
No, there has been quite a few challenges along the way. Trying to get our 501(c) 3 for starters and getting everything set up to move forward with our non profit organization, Rhandi’s Heart, is an example of a challenge we faced. We have been misled by people who knew first-hand how to start a nonprofit. I had to go back, redo and spend more money than what I wanted to spend to do the process correctly. Trusting other people’s information and not researching for myself was my first mistake with getting started. This was a lesson well-learned. Now, I find out what I need instead of trusting others. Finding funding has also been another challenge of ours, because I don’t know any grant writers. We came up with our own means of raising the money we needed by doing plays, karaoke, providing live music and my wife’s basket and arrangement business. I reached out to Walmart, Target, Kroger and Steve Harvey’s morning team at 105.7 and was able to feed over 50 families over the holiday season. That made us feel good that we were able to help families that were in need.
Since we got Rhandi’s Heart going it’s now a little bit better. We started looking at what God has blessed us with. We figured that we could bless the nonprofit through our businesses to help hurting people that need us. So Tashia, my lovely wife has a small business that helps put money back into our nonprofit. She has a basket business named Shia’s Touch and I have an entertainment company called Tate and SoundCheck. We put on plays, play live music at different venues and we do karaoke. All tips and proceed goes back into Rhandi’s Heart to help others.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Rhandi’s Heart story. Tell us more about the business.
My middle daughter, Rhandi, was born at 32 weeks with a small murmur and Bicuspid Aortic Valve. This form of heart disease occurs when two of the leaflets of the valve are fused together while the baby is in the womb. Her heart works twice as hard to push blood through the fused valve.
Because of how the blood flows through Rhandi’s heart, regurgitation occurs causing the blood to flow backward. She sees her cardiologist twice a year to monitor the condition of her heart and to make sure it has not enlarged.
When Rhandi was born, it was the toughest time in my life to cope with. Watching her in the NICU, being told when I could visit, and being told when I could touch her through the incubator was a nightmare.
My daughter truly is a miracle, blessing, and an angel in disguise. Despite her condition, she is always considerate of others when they are in need or feeling down. She loves coming up with creative ideas, drawings, and crafts to cheer people up. Rhandi has such a compassionate heart, mind, and soul. This is what gave us the idea to establish Rhandi’s Heart.
We can relate to other parents who may be going through similar situations and need some glimmer of hope in their lives. Our goal is to assist in any way we possibly can, to make life more bearable for those who may be facing trying and difficult times.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We see ourselves in the next 5 to 10 years doing bigger and better things on a global level. We plan on helping and fulfilling the needs of more people from coast to coast. We are planning to purchase a building that will be utilize to help feed, clothe and administer help by giving people over all health exams from a professional medical staff member. These are just a few ideas we are going to implement.
Contact Info:
- Address: 290 West Lake Park Rd Lewisville TX 75057
- Website: www.rhandisheart.org
- Phone: 9723022475
- Email: Tateandsoundchecktheband@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigtateent/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GQ.TATE
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GQ72
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/BigTateEnt
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