• Features

Denice Hazlett is blown away as numerous friends and family nominate her

• Dave Mast
• December 25, 2017
• 689

If the world had as many quality friends and family members who cared about them as deeply as those who care for Denice Hazlett, the world would be a much better place.

Through an outpouring of love for their mother and friend, a number of people wrote letters on Denice Hazlett’s behalf for the TAG Charities Win a Car for Christmas campaign, and those heartfelt letters of love and devotion proved to be more than enough to compel the TAG committee to present her with one of the two Chevy Cruze automobiles that were given away in the organization’s 10th year of giving.

For Denice Hazlett, whose daughters Jaynie and Taylor both nominated her, it was a shocking and humbling nomination, and she said she will do her very best to make sure she serves others as much as humanly possible with the presentation of the new car she received on Monday, Dec. 18 at Chuck Nicholson Auto Superstore in Millersburg.

Her grateful heart began first and foremost to those who rallied around her. “This honor is not because of me or my worthiness because I’m truly not worthy, but because of the amazing goodness of the most important people in my life, my incredible friends and daughters. I have a more awesome support system than I deserve,” she said.

The Art of Giving Charities committee chair Lee Ann Miller said Denice Hazlett had received more letters of support than any recipient before. The outpouring of love and support for her was simply overwhelming for the committee. However, it wasn’t the number of letters on her behalf, but the content that made her an easy choice.

“We received seven letters nominating her, and after reading through three or four of them, we truly started to understand where her heart is and what kind of an incredibly giving person Denice is,” Miller said. “It was as if God was directing us to her, and then we started calling references, and it became apparent that she needed to be one of our recipients.”

Both Denice Hazlett and her husband Toby are the type of people who think little of themselves when other people’s needs crop up. Denice Hazlett often will do photo sessions for people at no cost when she knows they can’t afford to pay. Toby Hazlett also does a number of different jobs for people without accepting payment, and together they have worked at some odd jobs that have allowed them to barter for their three current automobiles, none of which are very reliable. The Hazletts rotate through their three vehicles, trying to keep one of them operational.

However, Denice Hazlett said she and her husband were overwhelmed and blessed beyond belief when they were told they had won.

“It was a shock,” she said. “The first thing that came to my mind was that there were so many people out there who were more worthy of this than we were. But then they let us read some of the nomination letters, and we were blown away. My two daughters wrote some amazing things, and Missy Herrera’s words were so touching. We just feel so incredibly blessed to have family and friends that care so deeply about us. That alone makes this worth it.”

However, the new Chevy Cruze also is a big part of the story. With vehicles that are extremely unreliable, the Hazletts never knew where or when they might get stranded. Thus Denice Hazlett would have to rely on families coming to her so she could do photo sessions for them at her studio, Sprouted Acorn Photography.

With the new car, she now feels she has the ability to go out into the homes of families who she knows can’t afford to pay for gas and who they themselves have troubles finding transportation. Her plan is to now go to them, instead of having them come to her.

“This allows me to serve others in a whole new way,” Denice Hazlett said. “Both Toby and I believe that we are all called to be servants and to give to those in need. Being able to tell people’s stories through my writing or to do a photo session for them is one way I can do that. To be blessed in this way allows us to continue to try to bless as many people as we can.”

Herrera said nominating her friend was easy, and when the contest came around this year, Denice Hazlett was the first person, the only person, she thought about nominating.

“She just has such an amazingly giving heart,” Herrera said of her friend. “She is just this kind and giving person who never thinks about herself, and it is unbelievable to be around someone who has a heart that is so giving and caring about other people.”

Miller said once she got to know Denice Hazlett better through the interview process, she realized why her friends and family were so passionate about the love and support they showed for her.

“I don’t think you could find someone more hospitable and committed to serving others than Denice,” Miller said. “We truly felt that this year God was facilitating a way to show that his promise goes above and beyond what we can imagine.”

Coincidentally, going above and beyond to serve is something that Denice Hazlett has made a commitment to throughout her life, and she and her husband will now have even more opportunities to continue impacting the lives of those around them in positive and meaningful ways.