Gaill is an entrepreneur who’s background consists of art, graphics, computers, business, project management and network marketing. She spends a great deal of her time volunteering and giving back to the community. For Little People of America, she is the District 10 Assistant Director & WebMaster, Districts 8 & 10 Dwarfism Awareness Regional Coordinator, and the Arizona Phoenix and Tucson’s Chapter WebMaster. Gaill serves on the East Valley Youth Symphony’s Board of Directors and is the Director of Publishing & WebMaster. She also volunteers on the Christian Education Committee for Gilbert Presbyterian Church and is the Media Webmaster.
She and husband Bret are the average-height parents of Britney, a beautiful 15-year old little person. Gaill is a native Texan and attended Southwest Texas State University with a primary emphasis on commercial and fine arts. After spending the last 25 years in the Phoenix area, she considers herself a naturalized Arizonan. Gaill attended Glendale Community College and received an associate’s degree in Drafting Technology, continuing on to Arizona State University where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management.
In her “pre-Britney” days, Gaill was a project manager and sr. computer analyst who pioneered a state-of-the-art computer laboratory in the groundwater hydrology field. She developed geographic information systems to ensure accuracy of data, created computer models to analyze contaminant movement in groundwater systems, presented graphical and animated illustrations in support of expert testimony in depositions and hearings, and provided testimony regarding the computer methods utilized. Gaill also authored an extensive groundwater modeling user’s manual and provided in-depth training sessions for consultants and city officials in technical applications involving geographic information systems, statistical and geostatistical analyses, and groundwater modeling. She was going along making a good “living” but eventually realized something was missing that would make a good “life”.
So Gaill and her husband Bret decided to start a family and unexpectedly began an uphill battle. Infertility surgery and treatments, and a high-risk pregnancy taught them discipline, patience, and the real value of human life. They would no longer take for granted what most couples do – the ability to bear children… 8-1/2 months later Gaill was rushed in for an emergency c-section to save their baby, and the Blackburns learned the true meaning of divine intervention. Britney was small, but she sure was a fighter! Then, at 3-1/2 months they learned Britney had hydrocephalus, and 3 days later they learned she had achondroplasia (a form of dwarfism).
Britney’s birth difference just made Gaill love her all the more, and nothing in the world mattered but her health and well being. She quickly shifted her priorities over to “full-mom-mode” and put her career on hold. While staying at home with Britney, she researched everything she could get her hands on regarding dwarfism, and also ran the day-to-day operations of her husband’s handyman business “daddy’s HANDYMAN services” until he fell off a client’s 2-story roof in December of 2004, sustained his 2nd traumatic brain injury, and had to retire.
How you react to life’s challenges can make or break you – the Blackburns have chosen to not take life for granted, to appreciate each day to it’s fullest, and to strive to make a positive difference in the world. Gaill enjoys sharing her perspective on the power of positive thinking, having an attitude of gratitude, and the laws of attraction.
At Motivational Small Talk, Gaill’s strengths are utilized “behind the scenes” in research, speech development, power point presentations, marketing, video, and web design.
You can read Gaill’s articles at the following websites -
http://GailBlackburn.com/About-Gail/Articles/Realizing-in-1999/
http://GailBlackburn.com/About-Gail/Articles/Raising-in-2000/
