Baptist Health’s Bolo Bash has grown from a seed, an idea to a premiere event with more than 500 attendees — each year getting bigger and better. Each year, the speakers, which include Paula Deen, Niecy Nash, host of “Clean House,” and the late Dixie Carter, have been informative and entertaining. This year is no different.

Blake Mycoskie, founder and chief shoe giver of TOMS Shoes, is this year’s speaker. The Baptist Health Foundation Board chose the 33-year-old business man because of his fresh approach to business and because the company’s One for One model falls in line with the foundation’s philanthropic mission, according to Amanda Smith, special events coordinator and fundraiser.

Mycoskie was visiting Argentina in 2006 when he came up with the idea for TOMS Shoes. “I was vacationing, learning how to play polo and practicing my Spanish, when I met some volunteers who were conducting a shoe drive. I learned about the need for shoes in the area and how children had to go miles, barefoot, to school and to fetch water. I had the idea to start a company that would give a pair of shoes to a child for every pair sold. I could have easily started a non-profit and rallied donors to support me every year, but what would happen if they chose to support another organization? With TOMS, I created a sustainable way of giving,” Mycoskie said. 

Initially, he thought to call the company “Shoes for Tomorrow Project” or “Tomorrow’s Shoes,” but had to shorten the name for the shoes’ tag, thus TOMS Shoes. The idea for reciprocity is a foundational principle for the company, and Mycoskie said initially people were doubtful of the concept. However, a born entrepreneur, he pressed forward. “Prior to TOMS, I started five businesses, ranging for an outdoor advertising company to a door-to-door laundry service. To be truthful, in the five businesses that I've started, I have had no background or experience in any of those areas. [However,] when I find something I'm passionate about, I see it all the way through,” he said.

To date, TOMS has given away more than 600,000 shoes to children around the world. The impact is nothing short of incredible; as Mycoskie pointed out, “walking is the primary mode of transportation in developing countries.” A lack of proper shoes is especially limiting.

“Children have to walk barefoot to get food, water and medical help. Having shoes enables them to walk further on unpaved roads. Shoes prevent cuts and sores from unsafe roads and contaminated soil. Not only are these injuries painful, they can be dangerous. One mother shared that her two children went to school every other day, because shoes were a requirement of attendance, and they had only one pair of shoes between them,” Mycoskie said. With TOMS, both children received their own pair, [which] enabled both of them to go to school and receive the education they rightfully deserve.

While he doesn’t remember the first recipient of a pair of TOMS Shoes, Mycoskie does recall his trip back to Argentina. He said he set out to return with 250 pairs of shoes … he actually had 10,000 pairs to distribute. It’s something he said he’d never forget. “There were three boys who had just received their TOMS shoes, and they led me to a field where they loved to play soccer. It was full of rocks and glass, yet they had played barefooted. Their first thought, when they had received their shoes, was that playing soccer would be easier and even give them speed! Experiencing that with the boys was one of my most fulfilling moments,” Mycoskie said. 

He meets many people — shoe recipients and shoe purchasers — who appreciate his company and the work TOMS Shoes does. “Just a couple of weeks ago, a man in a business suit ran after me in an airport and told me that his son heard me speak at his college. After the speaking engagement, his son came home and told him about TOMS and how inspired he felt. After hearing about TOMS, he decided to give TOMS gift packs to his entire office and spread the movement even more.”

With so many styles of TOMS Shoes, one may wonder, what is Mycoskie’s favorite pair? “It varies from season to season,” he said, “but I love wearing one of our newest silhouettes, the Cordones, which laces.”

After learning a bit about Mycoskie, who, when he’s at home, lives on a sailboat in Los Angeles, it’s easy to see why the Foundation chose him to speak at this year’s Bolo Bash.

This year, the luncheon’s 500 attendees enjoyed a custom menu designed by chefs Len Thompson and Herman Lee. Each of the tables was set with an organic theme, courtesy of Distinctive Designs by Tanarah. Attendees also bid on a silent auction with items, such as themed baskets and a Take Me Away Half-Day Spa by Ava Bella Spa, and live auction items such as a trip to New Orleans, which includes travel, hotel and dining accommodations.

The Baptist Health Foundation hopes to raise $155,500 to benefit the Little Rock Emergency Room. The department was built 30 years ago and was designed to accommodate 10,000 patients annually; last year, the ER saw 58,000 patients. The improvements include: revamping the entrance; enlarging the waiting and triage areas; and adding restrooms, a second family waiting room; and more. These improvements will allow Baptist Health to give patients and their families “all their best.”

Giving is a way of life for Mycoskie who said “ a very wise business man from Dallas, named Bob Dedman” once told him: “The more you give, the more you live.”