Terre Thomas
Terre Thomas has been a member of the ALSAC/St. Jude Boards of Directors and Governors since 1980. During those years, she has participated fully in the decisions that have led to the hospital's current expansion.
Terre has been a spokesperson for the hospital before many groups across the nation. It is a role that comes to her quite naturally since she grew up learning about St. Jude at the family dinner table.
In 1991, after the death of her father, Danny Thomas, Terre was made a sister of Epsilon Sigma Alpha, St. Jude's largest third-party contributor. Terre assumed the role of her father as keynote speaker at the annual ESA convention. Terre has also been initiated as a full member in the Delta Delta Delta Fraternity, which has pledged millions of dollars to St. Jude. Tri Delta's contribution most recently was recognized in the naming of the patient care floor of the Chili's Care Center, which opened in 2007.
Although she grew up in California and has strong connections to Memphis and Nashville, she is truly at home all over America. Terre is an accomplished singer-songwriter. She made her professional debut at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, played Harrah's Club in Lake Tahoe, sang on The Tonight Show and made a series of television commercials. She sings frequently on behalf of St. Jude and appears across the nation for the Country Cares for St. Jude Kids® radiothons, a fundraising program started in 1989 by Randy Owen of the group Alabama.
Terre, along with her sister, Marlo, and brother, Tony, hosts the annual Runway for Life® Celebrity Fashion Show in Hollywood, which raises $1 million a year for St. Jude and attracts many of Hollywood’s brightest stars. In 2004, Marlo, Terre and Tony created Thanks and Giving®, a national campaign that encourages holiday shoppers to “Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not.” During the months of November and December, consumers are asked to help raise funds at participating retailers by adding a donation at check out or by purchasing specialty items to benefit St. Jude. Thanks and Giving has been featured on NBC’s Today show in multiple segments spotlighting patients, doctors, scientists and the ground-breaking research and treatment at St. Jude.