Lillie Brown is unsung no more
by Debbie Little
One word rarely used to describe Lillie Brown is speechless, but that’s exactly what she was when she found out that she was chosen to receive the 2025 LeeAnne Pooler Unsung Hero Award.
In fact, when she got the voicemail from Michael Carter, president of the U.S. Harness Writers Association (USHWA), she thought it was a scam.
“I was like, I don’t know who this is, and he doesn’t know me, so, you know, I just deleted it,” Brown said. “I had no idea.”
According to Brown, in that deleted voicemail, Carter did not say why he was calling, just that he wanted her to call him back.
It was David Reid, president of Preferred Equine, for whom Brown has worked since 1999, that convinced her she needed to call Carter back.
Brown said Reid did not prepare her for the news she would receive from Carter.
“Michael Carter said, ‘Well, you have been chosen as the Unsung Hero.’ I was like, ‘Excuse me?’
“It’s a rare occasion that I am speechless, but I was totally speechless. I didn’t even know I had been nominated or anything. And it just came as a complete shock. So, I said, ‘Why?’ and he started laughing.”
Brown said that Carter read her part of the submission letter nominating her for Unsung Hero.
“Honest to God, it filled my heart with joy, just to know that I was really thought of in that manner; that people really appreciate what I do,” Brown said. “And it still gives me goosebumps to even think about it, because I’ve been doing this for so long, and it just never entered my mind about being an Unsung Hero. I’m still in awe, I really am.”
After working for 12 years in the publicity department at The Meadowlands (from 1987-99), Brown joined Reid and his partner, Geoff Stein, at Preferred Equine.
Although Reid had nothing to do with nominating Brown for Unsung Hero, he said he can understand why the three USHWA chapters that nominated her chose to do so, especially since Brown was a finalist for the Unsung Hero Award in 2024 that deservingly went to the United States Trotting Association’s (USTA) Anne Chunko.
“I’ve dealt with Anne at the USTA for a long, long time, and she was a worthy winner,” Reid said. “Obviously, our history with Lillie has been for a long time as well. I’ve seen what she’s done not only for customers of Preferred Equine, but I saw her do it at The Meadowlands in the publicity department before she transitioned over to Geoff and myself at Preferred.
“She does a lot of things behind the scenes that people probably don’t even realize she does, that helped Preferred Equine be successful. So, I’m a little biased, because with Anne at the USTA and Lillie at Preferred Equine, I’ve had a firsthand look at their contribution to the industry that does go unrecognized and thus the Unsung Hero Award.”
Brownstepped down from her full-time gig at Preferred Equine — where she became affectionately known in the industry as “Sales Office Lillie” — in 2018 during her second bout with cancer, but to this day, she remains an important part of the team.
“She’s got a lovely soul, she’s got a beautiful personality, very caring individual, very family oriented, and very committed to her work when she’s with us,” Reid said of Brown. “She’s been a blessing to have in our life… and she’s still an integral part of the Preferred family, for sure.”
Reid is not the only one in the industry who feels blessed to be associated with Brown.
“She is a beautiful lady, always smiling and gives me a big hug every time she sees me with a Perrier in her hand,” said owner Ken Jacobs, who has known Brown for 25 years. “I can’t wait to see her at all the yearling sales. She is special.”
Bob “Hollywood” Heyden was already working at The Meadowlands when Brown joined the staff.
“I’ve known her since 1987,” Heyden said. “She’s a very good person, principled, a no-nonsense type… I’m so happy she transitioned from The Meadowlands to Preferred. Her people skills and comfort level in the industry was put to good use working with David Reid and Geoff Stein.”
Brown said she will do her best to keep it together when accepting her award, but when it comes to talking about Reid and Stein, that might be difficult.
As with other Dan Patch honorees, Brown has been asked to keep her speech to 90 seconds, which shouldn’t be a problem she said because she’s planning to be a team player since Reid will also be honored that night for being elected to the Hall of Fame in Goshen, NY.
“I will be cutting mine shorter so Dave will have that little extra time that he needs,” Brown said, adding with a laugh, “I’ll just slide right out, and the rest of this time is the Dave Reid moment.
“I don’t want to get emotional, because I will cry when I start talking about Dave and Geoff, and our relationships, so I’m just going to limit it.
“I’m just so thrilled and amazed that I am actually going to be there as an honoree. I would have been honored for the nomination even without winning just to know that people were thinking of me… a thing like this, it really touches my heart.”
Reid, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 5, joining Stein, who went in as an Immortal in 2021, said it’s more special for him to be recognized at the Dan Patch Awards that are also honoring Brown.
“There are plenty of nominees, I’m sure that are in her category, but I’m thrilled to see she’s being recognized,” Reid said. “And it’s not about me, it’s about her, but going into the Hall of Fame, and Geoff, going in as an Immortal of the Hall of Fame, and representing so many Hall of Fame people with Preferred Equine, is a testament to Lillie Brown, who’s been part of our organization — and there have been other people that have contributed as well — but she was a very, very big part of Preferred Equine’s success over a long amount of years. And a lot of the credit has to go to her for sure.”
