Ep. 5472: The Power of Words & The Need for Caution.

This is the full episode of The Morning Show with Preston Scott for Wednesday, October 15th.

Our guests today include:
- Erica Averion





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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:14):
A good morning by pass the hour six am in
the Eastern time zone, five in the Central Good Morning Friends,
how you doing? October fifteenth, Morning Show with Preston Scott.
He is Jose I am Preston, and today we have
Erica Arrian joining us in the third hour. She is

(00:36):
the executive director of the Florida Foundation for Correctional Excellence FFCEE.
It is gaining a lot of attention for the things
it is doing. Full disclosure, I have served on the
board of this organization. I am not serving at this time,

(00:59):
but yeah, we're going to talk about it. We're going
to talk about how it's spreading to other states and
the importance of helping men and women who will return
to society be successful. This is a practical, pragmatic, intentional

(01:24):
effort to do all things possible to create a path
for success. So we'll talk about that. But we always
begin with scripture. You know, this verse comes from John one,

(01:45):
and we're going to go in verses one, two, and three,
maybe go through four and five. This is a great
place to begin to kind of get your mind around
Jesus's role in the Old Testament. The Trinity has always

(02:11):
existed Jesus is present and his role is revealed in
the beginning in Genesis one, and John explains it. In
the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God,

(02:40):
and the Word was God. So immediately we had this
establishment of two people, the Word which was with God,
but yet the word was God. It's this idea of
you know, I've very crude way of describing the Trinity.

(03:03):
It's taking a cracker and breaking it into three pieces,
same cracker, just three pieces. And in this case, he
was he was in the beginning. Notice now it's personalized.
He who the word. He the Word was in the
beginning with God, and all things were made through him.

(03:24):
And while without him was nothing made. That was made
in him who the Word was life, and that life
was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it. That is why
Jesus said, I'm the Bread of life, and he was
talking about the Word of God. And that is why

(03:48):
the woman who was suffering from a bleeding condition pressed
through the crowd, grabbing hold of the hem of his garment,
which was his prayer shawl. And a prayer shawl is
created with a set of tassels and knots that add
up to the Torah. It is that it adds up

(04:10):
to all of the commandments of the Old Testament. That's
what's surrounding a prayer cloth. You don't know that. Just
read up a little bit on something called the talit.
And on the corners are what is called the seat
seat and those knots have very specific numeric value that
correspond to the Old Testament scriptures. This woman grabs hold

(04:32):
of what she thought was the Word of God. It
represented God's word to her. Jesus in this crowd of
people feels somebody grabbed that by faith. She's grabbing that.
I can't nothing's helping me. I'm reaching out to God's
word by faith. And he goes, WHOA who touched me?
The disciples are like, there's one hundred people around you, Lord,

(04:54):
what do you mean? No, no, no, no, no. Someone touched
me And to paraphrase, and reached by faith, believing in
the Word of God, and I felt power leave me.
She was healed immediately. This set of verses one through five,
this is the foundational understanding of how the trinities is

(05:18):
set up. In the beginning, was the Word and the
word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Who the word Jesus, And he's found in the Old
Testament as the Angel of the Lord. Ten past the hour,
It's the Morning Show with Preston Scott. It's the Morning

(05:40):
Show with Preston Scott. Inside the American Patriots Almanac, here
fifteenth of the month, eighteen sixty, Grace Bedell writes Abraham

(06:03):
Lincoln urging him to grow a beard. It is one
of the greatest little exchanges that virtually no one other
than listeners of this program and readers of the American
Patriots Almanak know anything about. This little girl writes, I'm
just I'm making a long story short. This little girl

(06:26):
writes a note saying that mister Lincoln would look better
if he grew a beard. He did, and it became
an iconic part of the features of a president. It's

(06:47):
hilarious the friendship that was established through this note, because
he wrote back, I love it. Eighteen seventy eight, Thomas
Edison incorporates the Edison Electric Light Company, the first electric
company to finance his work on the incandescent lamp. And

(07:08):
here we are killing him. Biden's killed incandescent lamps. We
need to open that back up because there's a place
for incandescent lamps, like in several light fixtures that I have.
I have some LEDs, but not everything has to be

(07:30):
LED now. They use more energy, okay, and I pay
for that. So what I love. Lucy starring Lucille Ball
premieres on TV on this date in nineteen fifty one.
Nineteen seventy six, in Houston, Democrat Walter Mondale and Republican
Bob Dole square off in the first televised debate between

(07:53):
vice presidential nominees. What a snoozefest that was. Walter Mondale
would not be welcome in Minnesota today, that is how.
And Walter was a liberal, classic liberal. Fritz Mondale, he

(08:13):
would not be welcome back in Minnesota. And in nineteen
eighty nine, Wayne Gretzky, while playing for the Los Angeles Kings,
breaks the National Hockey League record when he scores his
eighteen hundred and fifty first career point. An amazing, amazing
hockey player, the great one. There's still something doesn't sit

(08:35):
right with me playing for somebody other than the Edmonton Oilers.
I will always see Wayne Gretzky as an Edmonton oiler.
What else do we have here? Let's take a peek
at the national day. It is National Fossil Day. Hey,
it's a day that honors people my age. Sweetal Shawarma Day.

(09:05):
You know about shawarmas? Oh yeah, tell me? Yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
They're just a essentially meat stacked onto a stick, comes
beef from chicken.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
That's a shish kebab. Oh, well, I have my foods mix.
I guess, yeah it is. It is a Middle Eastern
rotisserie No, maybe not method of cooking meats such as
lamb chicken beef. Not only does shwarma bring mouthwatering flavor,

(09:37):
but it also can be a enjoyed in a variety
of ways. So it's a marinade of Mediterranean herbs and spices,
shwarm of chicken, slowly cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Spit
there you go. I call that a shish kebab. Okay,
fair enough, It's shwarma Day. Who am I to fight
with that? It's broad Day? Remember it was no Broaday

(10:01):
earlier that week. Now it's Broaday National cheese curd Day,
to said, So head off to Dave's Pizza or Culver's
near you. Hagfish Day that's a gnarly looking little thing.

(10:21):
And let's see National I Love Lucy Day. There you go,
and National Grouch Day certainly not talking about me. Sixteen
minutes past the hour, another kind of calendar. Plus did
you know next twenty two passed? Did you know US

(11:01):
has Hollywood but in the UK it's Pinewood. Pinewood Studios
have been the location for many British films and TV shows,
including the James Bond franchise. Thankfully we haven't been subjected
to the politically woke version of James Bond. Yet it

(11:21):
could happen. There was a rumor that they were going
to turn James Bond Double seven into a chick. That
is just so stupid. The best Bond ever is to
me easily, Daniel Craig, the latest one. I know, Sean Connery.

(11:44):
It is Sean Connery is considered thee because he's the
He's you know, he was the real Bond. As the
franchise got rolling, I want to say David Nivid might
have played Bond and won the very first movie, but
I'm sure, but it was Sean Connery. And then you
had all these other double sevens. She had Roger Moore

(12:07):
and that was just that was a debacle to me. Yeah,
Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig pulled it off the best.
He had that rough edge to him. It's brilliant. But
he was also very good in the movie Munich, about

(12:27):
the seventy two games in Munich, Germany, where the hostage
crisis took place with the Israeli team. He was part
of the Israeli assassination squad that slowly got retribution against
the terrorists that killed the Israeli Olympic team, most of

(12:49):
the Israeli Olympic team. And I don't know if you're
aware of that history, but that is an event that
did happen, and it's just part of the long legacy
of tragedy that Jews have endured. But on the calendar
this weekend is the Show and Shine Open car show

(13:12):
at the Tallahassee Moose Lodge. It's from nine to noon.
Rain or Shine, looks like it's going to be a
beautiful day. Fifteen bucks per vehicle and the proceeds to
honor Flight. All categories modifies, classics, trucks, motorcycles. So again
the car show, fifteen bucks and again good cause very

(13:33):
good cause. On the twenty first, which I believe is
Tuesday at the Elks Lodge. So we got the Moose
Lodge on Saturday with the car show, the Elks Lodge
with the Capitol Conservatives having a little dinner, and the
guest will be Priscilla West who has a new book,

(13:54):
The New Face of Woke Education. Priscilla involved Moms for
Liberty and challenging what's going on in our schools. That's
a good thing that's coming up Tuesday. And then also
coming up on the twenty sixth at the Tallasse autom
Museum Field, we have the Will Graham Crusade, the Good

(14:19):
News Tour with Will Graham. Billy Graham's grandson, Jeremy Camp's
going to be there, Christine Declario. That ought to be
a good one here in the good News. Good timing,
good timing. You've got the On the twenty eighth, you've
got a proof brewing event for the American Heart Association,

(14:42):
and so you can go there make a difference. And
then on the same day, the twenty eighth is the
annual Remembrance Dinner to support the Holocaust Education and Awareness
program at the Dunlap Champions Club. There's some events coming
up in town that you might want to be aware

(15:03):
of in the month of October. You have something you
want me to share, go ahead, I'll do the best
I can. Just send me an email. I'm not going
to interview you. I'm just it's not going to happen.
We just oh and I forgot And Jose is going

(15:26):
to be a guest judge at the Bulls and Booze
Chili kickoff cookoff. Sorry. It is a fundraiser and coordinated
with the City of Quincy and celebrity judges at Saint
Paul's Episcopal Church and the proceeds go to the Gadsden
County Charitable Ministries of the Episcopal Church Women. So doing

(15:50):
good things in the community and our very own Jose,
can you see will be a celebrity judge. This is true. Yeah.
What do you look for in a good chili? Oh? Spice?
Is it? Texture? That's a tough one.

Speaker 2 (16:06):
It's one of those things for me when I know
I know.

Speaker 1 (16:08):
Beans are no beans beans. Okay, I'll tell you what
the criteria I think ought to be. I think it's
a perfect mix of It cannot be running. It has
to be meaty, not too many beans. The beans to
meat to a sauce of the chili ratio has to

(16:30):
be perfect, and the spice level has to have a
little kick, but not cause you to put the spoon down.
If it causes you to put the spoon down, you're
defeating the purpose of having chili, which is to eat it.
If it's like, what's the point? So to me, that
makes a great chili. Plus, it has to go on rits,

(16:53):
not ritz, good grief, noe saltines. It has to go
on on a saltine cracker. Chile on a saltine cracker
is next level goodness. Twenty eight minutes past the hour.

Speaker 3 (17:04):
There you go.

Speaker 1 (17:06):
Now we've settled that. Get to the big stories.

Speaker 4 (17:08):
Next The Morning Show with Preston Scott on News Radio
one hundred point seven WFLA.

Speaker 1 (17:29):
Charlie kirk honnored yesterday across the country capital City of Florida,
Presidential Medal of Freedom given to his widow, Erica. That,
of course, is something we will remember. I think we
will feel the impact of Charlie's life until many of

(17:52):
us pass away and go see Jesus if the Lord
Terry's But big stories in the press box this morning
Pellet Court finds one of Patrick Taya Domiak's convictions violated
the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment. But the
bottom line is they found no problem with this conviction

(18:13):
and it is a travesty of justice. We'll see where
this goes. My hope is that the President of the
United States steps in and issues a full and complete pardon.
But if not, this needs to go to the United
States Supreme Court, and the ATF needs to be held
responsible for lying and manufacturing evidence. That is the egregious

(18:35):
part of this ruling by the Fourth Circuit. It wrote,
a jury found Domiak guilty of receiving and possessing an
unregistered firearm, possessing and transferring a machine gun, and three
counts of receiving and possessing an unregistered destructive device. All
of those things were manufactured by an ATF agent, all

(18:58):
of them. One of them were what he was convicted
of having when he had them. It took Jeffrey Bodell
to falsify evidence and mislead the jury with false testimony

(19:18):
and engineering. He literally transformed these items that can be
bought legally right now online, and that has been allowed
to stand so far. He has served nearly three years
in a federal prison. And it's one of the great
tragedies of justice that I've witnessed in my lifetime. Same subject,

(19:43):
miscarriages of justice, Ellen Greenberg, you don't know the name
twenty seven year old Philadelphia school teacher. For a second time.
The Philadelphia Medical Examiner's office has said she died of suicide.
You be the judge. She had twenty stab wounds, mostly

(20:08):
in her back. It is, it is incredible stab wounds
to her back, neck, and head. A knife found protruding
in her chest. In fact, one stab wound was in

(20:34):
the spinal column. The medical examiner says that was an
accident made during the autopsy. Twenty stab wounds, okay. And
then finally this is troubling Penella's County. In a story

(21:01):
from USA Today, apparently the Criminal Division of the State
Department of Financial Services here in Florida, which is that's
the CFO Blazon Golia's office paid a visit to a
home because a guy sent a postcard to Blazon Golie
is saying you lack values. That's all it said, you

(21:23):
lack values. And they did a threat assessment coming to
the man's house. That's silly. The guy is an anti Trump,
anti accountability. He doesn't believe in going to the cities
and the counties and finding out about the financial dealings

(21:45):
of any county for tax purposes. And you know what,
he's allowed to hold that opinion. He apparently bought a
bunch of blank postcards, hundreds from Amazon, and he mails
them out to elected officials all over the country, all
over the state, expressing his opinion. He wrote, you lack values,
signed his name and that was that. And then next

(22:08):
thing you know, they're at his door knocking. It's now
a threat or intimidation. No, stupid, yes, yes, we got
to be better than that. You don't do a threat
assessment over that you lack values. Okay, I mean Blaze

(22:30):
and Golie. You never saw the thing, but it's an
unnecessary step for anyone in the criminal division of underneath
the purview of the chief financial officer team. Even you
throw that away or if you feel the need, save
it for any future whatever. Forty two minutes past the hour,

(22:54):
those are your big stories in the press box.

Speaker 5 (22:58):
It's the Morning Show, Preston Scott under the heading that
didn't take long. You probably don't know the name Christopher Hone.

(23:24):
He is a British billionaire hedge fund manager and oh,
by the way, a financier of left wing groups in America.
Now we have we've noted Government Accountability Institute, the work
that Gai is doing, Seamus Brunner, Peter Schweitzer, of course,

(23:45):
the best selling author Seamous works with Peter and was
speaking to the President of the United States last week
with reporters that were sharing first hand accounts of Clantifa's actions.
And the effort is to determine how these people are
being funded. How is it that these protesters are able

(24:07):
to do what they're doing, seemingly being bussed from city
to city and state to state and being funded because
they don't have a real job. They wear masks, I say,
because well, they're Clantifa, and because they don't want mommy and.

Speaker 1 (24:21):
Daddy to see what they're doing. They're supposed to be
going to school or whatever the case might be, but
instead they're being financed by the left wing organizations that
Gai called a right ink. Well, there's another group that's
been on this as well, Americans for Public Trust. They
gave a report on the groups that receive funding from
the Children's Investment Fund Foundation. Now you listen to that,

(24:44):
what could be wrong with that? The Children's Investment Fund Foundation,
Hone is the founder and chair, and they push for
nothing less than the complete radicalization of the US political landscape.
And it's heavily funded by his sixty billion dollar hedge fund.

(25:06):
And so they have stopped giving Why. Well, it would
seem that the United States Congress is looking to take
action and political foreign funding of US nonprofits, and so
they have said that until this settles, they're not giving

(25:26):
any more money. Good, it's having a desired effect. Good.
Isn't it amazing what happens when you shine a little
bit of light? Now here's another thing that didn't take long.
James Comy, who has pled not guilty to the charges
of lying to Congress as well as other things, is
challenging the appointment of US Attorney Lindsay Halligan. You may

(25:48):
recall that the previous US attorney was fired and removed
from his post because he wouldn't prosecute James Comy as
well as others should James Adam Schiff. James is being
prosecuted now. But what needs to be remembered here is
two things. Number one, A grand jury indicted James Comy.

(26:12):
That means a group of people looked at the evidence
and said, yes, there's probable cause to indict him. Does
it mean he's guilty?

Speaker 2 (26:19):
No?

Speaker 1 (26:19):
I think we all know the real answer there. But
isn't it interesting They want this dismissed because they're going
to challenge the appointment of the attorney. They don't want
this case to be brought to trial. I'm just I'm
telling you now, they're going to do everything possible to
keep James tol Me from having to testify and then

(26:41):
to have the evidence revealed in public court. Forty seven
minutes past the hour. Didn't take long. Got some tax
changes coming for twenty twenty six. We'll tell you about
him next. Yes, he knows how to read. Well, actually,
his producer reads him. He doesn't know how to read.
Welcome to the Morning Show with Preston Scott. All right,

(27:06):
let me precede this segment by saying, we need to
abolish the tax system that our country operates under. And
I will argue until my dying days the need to
move to a fair tax and I'll illustrate the reasons

(27:29):
why in just mere moments with the changes that are
taking place the irs and you know, I guess this
is part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the OBBBA,
the old BBBA. The old BBBA, standard deduction claimed by

(27:53):
the majority of taxpayers who do not admi itemize their
returns will rise to sixteen thousand, one hundred dollars for
single taxpayers thirty two two hundred four married couples filing jointly.
The marginal tax brackets are as follows. The top tax

(28:18):
rate is thirty seven percent, applies to single tax payers
with incomes over six hundred and forty thousand, six hundred
dollars or married joint filers earning seven hundred and sixty
eight thousand, seven hundred. I just want to pause right there.
Nearly forty percent of what some people earn goes to

(28:42):
the government, the federal government. Now you can say, well,
but they're deducting, they get itemized deductions, and they're doing this,
that and the other. They shouldn't have to, we shouldn't
have to have a tax code that is thirty seven

(29:02):
percent or thirty five percent, or thirty two percent or
twenty four percent, twenty four percent for income over one
hundred and five thousand, seven hundred dollars for individuals. So
for anyone making just over one hundred and five thousand
dollars a quarter, roughly one quarter of their income is

(29:24):
off to the government. It is very easy for us
to get into this class warfare thing. Well, they can
afford it, says who this. This is confiscatory, It is immoral,

(29:48):
it is unjust. Ten percent for incomes of twelve thousand
or less, twelve percent for incomes twelve four hundred dollars
or more, twenty two percent for people earning fifty to

(30:11):
fifty thousand, four hundred dollars twenty two percent. Now this
is where we are, and there are these credits, and
there's all this other stuff. But that's just absurd. That's

(30:32):
why you look at see until you cause people to
stop and look at their paycheck and ask the question,
what would you do with all your money? And the
taxes for whatever is needed in government came from when
you go to the store. If you buy a little,

(30:58):
you pay a little. But everybody gets a prebate. That's
what the fair tax is. Everybody gets everybody from Bill
Gates to you and me. Our two is next on
the Morning Show with Preston Scott. Oh my, welcome to

(31:22):
the second hour of the Morning Show with Preston Scott. Friends, Ruminators,
how are you? It's Wednesday, and Hamas releasing a few
more bodies. They're doing a trickle. There's something wrong here.
They were supposed to release them all twenty eight. They're
doing four, then another couple and it's like no, no, no, no,

(31:46):
And then get this. Hamas is executing people in Gaza
that they think cooperated with Israel. What they're doing is
they're trying to assert control in the region. Again. They
are supposed to be disarmed, they are supposed to be done.

(32:10):
They are videotaping the executions. They're doing them in front
of everybody. This is this. I told you this was
going to be a problem. This is not going to
be an easy Oh there's that. So we will be
keeping an eye on that story. But it is a

(32:31):
big story to me that Hamas is busy executing people.
There are other factions in Gaza that have arms now,
so it will be interesting. It will be interesting when
the two hundred US troops make themselves visible known. Whatever
how this all works. Can you see an encounter Hamas

(32:58):
not putting down their weapons and being ordered to yeah,
we'll have to see all right. I wanted to take
a few minutes here. Came across something courtesy of the
lead Research Assistant CEO. Bad job candidates ask these red
flag questions in an interview. What to ask instead? So

(33:23):
what I thought would be interesting to do for a
few minutes here this morning is let's go through the
scenario of you're looking for a new job, you want
a new gig. How to handle that. I've talked frequently
about And this is really it's for anybody. For example,
there are people that you just you haven't looked for

(33:44):
a job in a while. You've had a really good job,
You've enjoyed it, but you've things have changed, they're contracting,
You've decided you want a new challenge. There could be
a whole bunch of reasons why you want a new
opportunity and you haven't done this in a while. Like
have you looked at your resume? Have you seen what
resumes are now? Do you know the differences? Do you

(34:07):
know that you fill out a you make a custom
resume for every job you're applying for. You don't just
hand out one. There are there are there are little things,
and it's you basically do a one sheet in this
day and age, and if they want more information, they can,
they can ask for it and you can provide that.
But you do a one sheet. It's brief, it's to

(34:28):
the point, and it's about that job that job. But
the interview process, if you haven't done it in a while,
you're rusty. And if you're a young person, sorry, but
you are crippled by the fact that you have I'm
holding up my smartphone. You have a smartphone, and it's
crippling you because you don't know how to interact with

(34:52):
people properly. There are exceptions, and those are the people
that are getting hired. The exception are the people that
make eye contact. The exceptions are the people that can
ask intelligent questions, that do a little research and do
a little digging before they go into that interview. But

(35:15):
in this article, they talk to a couple of CEOs
of a couple of companies, and they talk to an
employment expert on some dos and don'ts, and there's some
fascinating insight here that you can glean a couple of
key points. I'm not going to burden you with a
to do list what I am going to do is
I'm going to share with you. And this is great
if you've got a grandson or granddaughter that's looking for work,

(35:38):
if you have a younger brother, younger sister looking for work,
if you are looking for work, if you know of
somebody that needs to polish up their skills a little bit.
Don't go into an interview unprepared. And we're going to
tell you some of the things to avoid asking, when

(35:59):
to avoid asking, and some of the things to ask.
The things that gather or garner attention from a perspective
business owner or CEO. Ten past the hour, we're here
to help. So you want a new job.

Speaker 3 (36:15):
Huh oh, no rock song.

Speaker 1 (36:30):
Sorry, we're talking about you needing a new job, or
wanting a new job, interviewing for a new job, or
perhaps someone interviewing for a big first job. You've had
your entry level work. You're looking to get into something
a little bit more profitable. Dan Porter, founder and CEO

(36:54):
of a digital sports media company called Overtime, said he
can identify someone who is not the right fit for
his company. He has a go to question. He the
CEO always asks this, do you have any questions for me.

(37:17):
So just put yourself in that situation where the boss,
the owner of the company. The owner looks at you
and says, do you have any questions for me? He said,
The interviewees answer paints a picture of the type of
worker he's going to be he or she will be
as an employee. Bad employees ask me about a dental

(37:40):
plan or how I started overtime when there's like one
hundred podcasts on how I started overtime. Good people, good employees.
Perspective employees say I'm glad you ask, and they have
like twenty questions. They're ready, they prepped. Now, the interview

(38:02):
process is certainly a time to ask about benefits and
pay and so forth. But listen, now, wait till you're
offered a job. If they offer you that information, great,
But the CEO likely has no clue what the dental
plan is. He's the CEO. Depending on the size of

(38:27):
the company, you didn't have a clue. That's the hr person.
That's when you wait until if an offer is tendered,
then you can ask about those things. It's highly appropriate
to ask. Just know who you're talking to and wait

(38:48):
until an offer is made. If you make it all
about you, in that first interview, instead of asking about
the company. Look, you should be finding a way to
talk about whatever the market might be for that business competitors.
Hopefully you've done research into the company. You know, when

(39:12):
I have clients that I work with, I research them.
I find out what they do, how they do it,
and I try to ask myself how can I make
them better? If you're a prospective employee, you should be
going into that meeting knowing as much about that company

(39:35):
you're interviewing with as possible so that you can envision
yourself as an employee of it. And here's what these
are some of the ways I think I can bring
my skill set to help to be part of whatever
that team is to make the company better and stronger

(39:56):
and smarter. Candidates can also ask about the culture in
the company, for example, instead of how to manage your
support the work life balance, which is another way of saying, hey,

(40:17):
i'll work, but turn that around, what kind of person
should not work for this company? If they say, someone
who doesn't enjoy eighty hours a week, then that's probably
not going to be your gig. You know, a good

(40:41):
employer respects the value of family and time away and
and respects that it makes for a better employee. People
working sixty eighty hours a week get burned out of
their job and they learn to hate it.

Speaker 3 (41:05):
A lot of.

Speaker 1 (41:05):
Employers want character and intelligence over a lengthy resume, and
this is something that is going to maybe rub a
few of you wrong. But most employers they place more

(41:27):
value on personality, intelligence, problem solving, coping skills, management skills
of situations over an academic intelligence. You could have five degrees,
but if you can't talk to people, you're kind of

(41:48):
useless as an employee. If you can't relate to people,
if you're not a team player and you're always dropping
your intellect. Sorry, that's going to rub folks wrong. Guy
used an example. He said, when I ran a gaming company,
I used to ask only one question, what's your favorite
game and why? He said. If a person gave a

(42:12):
detailed answer about what makes that specific game better than
all others, I knew they would be great to work
at my company. You get the idea. If you want
to work for a great company, if you want to
improve your position, invest in yourself, invest in the time

(42:35):
to make yourself a commodity, and listen when you're in
the interview, use that time wisely. If you're with the
boss seventeen minutes past the hour, that out to get
you hired? I wrote out the rundown, kidding right like?

(43:14):
This isn't happening?

Speaker 3 (43:16):
Is it?

Speaker 1 (43:19):
Immigration and Customs Enforcement nabbed and illegal in Oklahoma? Who
was carrying a New York commercial driver's license wait for
it with no name given? How is it possible that

(43:48):
a state issued CDL lists no name? Turns out the
guy's name is and Mall and mall an mol times
two and Mall and Mall Indian National Routine Inspection at

(44:10):
a truck scale entered the country illegally in twenty twenty three,
released into the country by the Biden administration. DHS Assistant
Secretary Trisia McLaughlin. New York is not only failing to
check if applicants applying to drive eighteen wheelers or US citizens,

(44:32):
but even failing to obtain the full legal names of
individuals they are issuing commercial driver's licenses too. Let me
just ask you, how many do you think are on
the roads with us? They likely can't read the signs,

(44:55):
they can't speak the language, or speak it poorly, or
claim to it would seem that Indians are coming into
this country and using California and New York to obtain
CDLs to then drive the nation's highways and in dangerous hall. Now,

(45:23):
why would they go to New York and California. Huh
huh wow, Well that's a good one in it Why
those two states? There's no way like Illinois does it too?
Is there? Why we did it? No anyway? And then

(45:46):
the story of Latitia James just got real interesting. The
New York Attorney General New York as in State New
York Times is publishing a story they're trying to attack
the Justice to Apartment's indictment of her. She listed a
primary residence in Norfolk, Virginia to get better loan conditions

(46:11):
and in fact saved her about eighteen eighteen thousand dollars
and put some money in her pocket as well. Guess
who's living there. Her grand niece named Nikia Thompson. Nikia Thompson,
it turns out, is on probation and a fugitive from

(46:35):
the state of North Carolina. She is called an absconder,
which is a fugitive. An absconder is considered a fugitive
according to state attorneys Department of Corrections in North Carolina.
It would seem she was sentenced to probation for misdemeanor
convictions for assault, battery, trespassing, willfully avoided probation supervision and

(47:00):
has been basically hiding in Virginia. So the New York
Attorney General is hiding her grand niece from law enforcement.
Think about this for a second. Now, her name, Letitia James,
is on the mortgage and on the residence. She claims

(47:20):
her it's her full time residence, except it's not. Whether
she's giving it over or handing it over, it's not
her full time residence. Her niece is there. But because
her niece is living under her grand aunt, whatever that means,

(47:41):
she's now able to hide her identity while living there. Oh,
the plot gets thicker. Twenty seven minutes past the hour.
Come back with the big stories in the press box. Next,

(48:13):
Erica Avery in about a half hour, executive director of
Florida Foundation for Correctional Excellence. I'm gonna have a nice
long chat about what that looks like here in the
Sunshine State and some of the ways that businesses like yours, hello,

(48:33):
are getting involved in helping solve challenges. We'll get to
all of that, But first, big stories in the press box.
How does this happen? Why is it that a guy?
And look, we've got to get to a place where
it's okay to disagree, right, So this guy in Pinellas

(49:01):
County doesn't like Trump, doesn't like Republicans. By that I
mean apparently policies, and didn't like the fact that Blaze
and Golia, the new CFO is going around the country

(49:24):
or sorry, going around the state and checking on how
cities and counties are spending your tax dollars. As the CFO.
First of all, cities and counties get state tax dollars.
They have a right to look at the books. They
have a right to see what is being spent on what. Well,

(49:44):
this guy didn't like it, and so he sent a postcard,
as he does elected people all the time, blank postcards.
He writes a note, he signs his name, and all
he wrote in a black marker was you lack values.

(50:06):
Next thing, you know, members of the Criminal Division of
the state's Department of Financial Services, which Blazing Golia is
over as CFO, show up at his door, knocking at
the door. According to his wife, Hey, listen, don't worry

(50:26):
there's nothing wrong, It's okay. They say at the door
they want in. She said nope. She has every right
to say no. They were looking for her husband. Her husband,
James O'Gara writes these notes out. He sent it, he

(50:50):
signed it, and they're sending someone to do a threat assessment.
Oh please, Now, if you want to keep it and
you want to file it away in case it escalates, fine,
but what are you doing sending somebody to the house. Now.
I don't necessarily believe Blaze and Golia did it. I

(51:13):
don't think he knew anything about it. Why would he.
There's so much mail and correspondence that comes in. All
of that is weeded out. He is only going to
see that which is pertinent and matters to him as
the chief financial officer. It's not unlike the things that
I do for myself. I self screen emails. I get

(51:39):
a ton. I now get better than fifteen hundred emails
a week. I'm not reading all of them. It's not
gonna happen. And so if I think someone's a jerk boop,
I delete it. If someone has something to say that
I'm I mean, I'll read it. I'll read most anybody
that takes the time to write something if not personally attacking,

(52:01):
And if they're personally attacking, I might read that too
and then just put it in the file. Whatever. See you.
But I got a bunch of junk mail. I never
look at the reason why this is a big story
is Florida doesn't need to do this. Okay, so the

(52:24):
guy says you lack values. Whatever, big whoop. There are
other big stories. We talked about those in the previous hour.
We'll get to some more. Well maybe we won't. We're
gonna have a long conversation next hour with Erica. But
forty minutes past the hour, there you go. You're caught up.
Stay with us. We got more. Another thrilling edition of

(52:54):
No Way Jose is coming up in just a few minutes.
So many, there are so many things, you know. It's
so fun. Because Sundays I was prepping for the Monday show,
I had this thought enter my mind again, and I
sat back in my chair in my office and I

(53:15):
just said, I get to do this. I get to
look at hundreds of stories a week and zero in
on things that I think are worth being on your radar.

(53:37):
Sometimes it's I think you will be interested but honestly,
mostly it's I'm interested, and so I think because I'm interested,
you'll be interested. This story hit me a little differently
than I expected, just to apartment, said Ashley Tillis. It's

(54:05):
a dude not and it's a dude. Dude, he's not
a you know, listen now, an unpaid senior advisor to
the State Department, a contractor with the Office of Net
Assessment for the Department of Defense now the Department of War.

(54:29):
A subject matter expert in India and South Asian affairs
in his role at the Office of Net Assessment. Began
working for the State Department in two thousand and one
as an unpaid senior advisor. Interesting he held a top

(54:53):
secret clearance had access to sensitive information. During a search
of his home in Vienna, Virginia, they found more than
a thousand pages of documents marked top secret and secret.
On September twelfth, he had coworkers at a government facility

(55:14):
print multiple pages of classified documents for him. On September
twenty fifth, he allegedly printed US Air Force documents concerning
military aircraft capabilities. Now that's just recently, right, But back
in September of twenty twenty two, he met with Chinese
officials at a Virginia restaurant holding a Manila envelope. In April,

(55:39):
they were heard talking about Iranian Chinese relations and emerging technologies.
While dining at another restaurant. At a September second dinner,
he met with Chinese officials and received a gift bag.
And so it would appear that he's engaged in espionage. Now,

(56:07):
this brings up a couple of different thoughts that are
not necessarily connected. One an unpaid State Department advisor. Why

(56:28):
would you give somebody security clearances? And he's not an employee.
He began working for the State Department in two thousand
and one. Whether it's through the State Department or his

(56:49):
work with a Department of Defense as the office of
that assessment. You could argue, well, he's got security clearances there,
And I would then say for what he's a contractor.
But but all of that falls to the wayside with this.
You know why this stuff happens? I think because we

(57:12):
don't shoot traders. Now, I could be and and and
I understand that that sounds extreme too many And I'm
not talking about the William Snowden's of the world or
not the William Snowden, the the you know who I'm

(57:32):
talking ed Edward Snowden. William Snowden is a decorated you know,
Marine Corps leader who I love dearly, Edward Snowden. I'm
not talking about that where there's some ambiguity. You know
what what he was doing was outing the federal government
on things that the government shouldn't be doing. I'm I'm

(57:56):
in a weird spot with that case. But we're talking
here flat out espionage. You're talking to the Chinese and
you're giving out military secrets. That that's that's being a trader. Anyway,
he's uh, he's being charged with removing classified documents from

(58:26):
secure locations and meeting with the Chinese. We'll see where
this all leads. Forty eight minutes past the hour.

Speaker 3 (58:33):
We come back.

Speaker 1 (58:35):
No way oo, it is the Morning Show going to
be with you this morning. I impressed it. He is

(58:59):
Jose and just a few minutes from now, Erica Avarian
will be joining us. She is the executive director of
the Florida Foundation for Correctional Excellence. But first, it's time
listeners near and far, especially in Latin America, they're digging

(59:26):
themselves a little. No way, Jose, Well, good morning everybody.

Speaker 2 (59:35):
So I got my first s door here is you know,
it's with the season in October.

Speaker 1 (59:40):
Yeah. So we got a giant pumpkin one A championship.

Speaker 2 (59:45):
A gentleman named Brandon Dawson wins with a two forty
six pound pumpkin. What Yeah, that's a lot of PSLs
from SB you know what I'm saying, No way, Jose.
So two thousand and three hundred and forty six.

Speaker 1 (01:00:04):
Pounds, that is How did he move it without it breaking?

Speaker 2 (01:00:08):
I'm not sure, but amazingly, that's not the heaviest pumpkin
on record, on record, it's two thousand and seven hundred
and forty nine pounds.

Speaker 1 (01:00:18):
That's insane.

Speaker 2 (01:00:20):
That's that's a big pumpkin, a lot of pumpkin.

Speaker 1 (01:00:22):
You got to carve that bad boy with a chainsaw, yeah,
I would imagine. Okay. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:00:27):
And then so we have a cat survived a one
hundred mile drive.

Speaker 1 (01:00:35):
So this is animal stories. No way, Jose style, see
got it? Got it? Okay, Okay, we got a.

Speaker 2 (01:00:43):
Cat that survived at one hundred mile drive on the
on a highway at seventy miles per hour. The family,
you know, when they got to their destination. Clearly the
cat was inside the car.

Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
No, he was on top.

Speaker 2 (01:00:55):
What yeah, I'm sorry I forgot to mention that way, Jose.

Speaker 1 (01:00:59):
Yes, wait, he was on top.

Speaker 2 (01:01:00):
And when they got to the destination, they're like, hey,
Ray raised on our luggage up on the top of
the roof.

Speaker 1 (01:01:06):
Is that the name of the cat? That Ray raised?
The name of the cat?

Speaker 2 (01:01:09):
And you know he enjoyed it apparently.

Speaker 1 (01:01:11):
Okay, so they.

Speaker 2 (01:01:13):
Brought him back inside on the way home.

Speaker 1 (01:01:17):
Yeah, so he was on the roof, literally on the roof. Ye,
not in a luggage container.

Speaker 2 (01:01:24):
No, he was on the roof hanging out, And yeah,
he survived.

Speaker 1 (01:01:28):
They had to have a luggage rack of some kind
up there, right that he that he I'm assuming nestled
into or hung onto or something. That's insane. You bought
to believe it. But cats, I mean, that's the thing.
You know, Dogs don't find themselves in those spots. Cats,

(01:01:50):
it's another story. Dogs are a little smarter. He said that.
Send the hate mail on cats to him. Our number
three is what's next here on the Morning Show with
Preston Scott. Welcome Friends, Third Hour, Ruminators, Ladies and Gentlemen,

(01:02:15):
Boys and girls, males and females only. It is the
third hour Wednesday here on the Morning Show with Preston
Scott Show five four hundred and seventy two. But who's counting.
That's Jose over there in Studio one A. I'm here
in Studio one B, and I am joined by a friend,

(01:02:36):
a friend, a colleague, and someone that I worked with
for a couple of years with the Florida Foundation for
Correctional Excellence. She's the executive director, Erica Averian. Erica, Hi, Hi,
good Mornie.

Speaker 3 (01:02:48):
Are you.

Speaker 6 (01:02:48):
I'm well, I'm well, happy to be here.

Speaker 3 (01:02:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:02:51):
When you know, it was funny because I've had the
Secretary of Corrections on a few times. You know that
I've had. I've had Joe Winkler, the Assistant Secretary for
Community Corrections. We've talked about on this program quite a
bit in recent years, the correctional system and that it's
this kind of epiphany that's happened inside the industry where

(01:03:13):
they're coming to grips with the fact that it's not prisons.
Prisons is a function that they have to perform incarcerating
people that the criminal justice system says needs need to
be incarcerated, but Corrections really implies the real mission and
it's helping prepare men and women to be part of society.

(01:03:35):
Having said that, FFCEE the Florida Foundation for Correctional Excellence
before we get into what its role is and making
sure that people understand it clearly, how did you get
to this because this is a calling and I'd love
for people to get a little snapshot of your backstory.

Speaker 6 (01:03:53):
Sure, thank you so much, Preston. I appreciate that.

Speaker 7 (01:03:57):
So, Florida Foundation for Correctional Excellence in this converse for short,
well we'll reference it as FFSE quite a bit, was
really born back in twenty twenty. So we were created
to be the direct support organization for the Florida Department
of Corrections, the largest state agency here in Florida. And
how I personally gravitated to this work was I was

(01:04:17):
actually a volunteer with the Florida Department of Corrections and
at the time, under the leadership of Secretary Inch and
Deputy Secretary Dixon, now our amazing secretary, they saw something
in me as a contributor to the agency who was
seeing the organization as a correctional system, the Department of Corrections,

(01:04:38):
not the Department of Prisons and making prison a place
of transformation by bringing the outside world in and sort
of being an untraditional, kind of uncanny volunteer. And the
backside of that story of how to becoming a volunteer
is I started my career in child welfare with DCF
twenty five years ago this year, straight out of college.

(01:05:02):
And I was green and ambitious and woke up every
day excited to give everything I had to that job.
I was in my early twenties staying up until two
o'clock in the morning reading judicial reviews, sitting in the
back of courtrooms. I was writing along with case managers.
I wanted to understand sort of the why, not the

(01:05:23):
what has happened? Like what in the heck is wrong
with these people who have lost their child, but what
has happened in their lives to get them here to
this point to have lost their child? And I had
a colleague across the hall from me that had a
sign above her desk we worked in the substance abusewing

(01:05:44):
that said, help me remember for every client I see, by.

Speaker 6 (01:05:48):
A quick twist of fate could be me.

Speaker 7 (01:05:52):
And it always sort of pierced me, but not so
much until it became me so four years into that
where my dad caught a ten year sentence, and I
got a front row seat personally, not just professionally, and
I saw things that I couldn't unsee and heard things
I couldn't unhear. And my dad actually ended up being

(01:06:14):
an individual who made prison a place of transformation. He
took inside out dad, he took fatherhood. He had difficult conversations,
he worked to make amends. He actually got his ged
and studied for the very first time, was given the
opportunity to get an education in his fifties. He was
raised by his grandmother. He grew up just working with

(01:06:37):
his hands. I'm a daughter of a roofer. I mean,
my dad was buying a car for five thousand and
selling at the front yard for six sort of a
natural born hustler.

Speaker 6 (01:06:44):
That is not the only thing he was selling.

Speaker 7 (01:06:47):
And so I got a perspective to this world that
really shaped my viewpoint of how I wanted to serve
in social impact and social responsibility. And so that is
why I gravitated to the world of serving in corrections.

Speaker 1 (01:07:03):
Erica Verian my guest. She'll be with me for most
of the hour, and we're going to talk about the
work of FFCE. We're gonna also talk about the nexus
of where many of you listening might find yourself being
part of this effort. We'll explain all that and unpack
all that here on The Morning Show with Preston Scott.

Speaker 4 (01:07:25):
You mayor of Realville, dispensing information at the speed of sound.

Speaker 1 (01:07:30):
It's The Morning Show with Preston Scott, Erica Verian with
us FFCE, Florida Foundation for Correctional Excellence. It's a mouthful,
and that's why we're gonna just say FFCE. We were

(01:07:51):
just talking in the break. You know, friends, as you've
listened to me talk about this, I've gone through my
own personal evolution. I've got two brothers that were in
law enforcement, and so I saw the tough on crime
perspective of things and have always held that view. And
then I came across years ago the pragmatic view, the
practical view. And it's one of the very rare issues

(01:08:13):
in our culture today that Republicans and Democrats, both sides
of the aw can actually find a lot of ground
to work on together because men and women are getting out.
Erica quantify that statement for us a little bit in
terms of the numbers.

Speaker 7 (01:08:30):
Yeah, so here in Florida, we are releasing upwards of
around twenty five thousand plus individuals a year across the
state that have been incarcerated behind the fence. We also
are supervising on probation or parole one hundred and forty
five thousand plus, and then that number continues to rise.

(01:08:52):
When we look at the entire population of the people
in Florida who have a criminal record, we're looking at
around four million plus.

Speaker 6 (01:09:00):
So that is the.

Speaker 7 (01:09:00):
Footprint in its entirety of justice impacted individuals with a
criminal record, and in our system. Annually we are releasing
upwards of twenty five thousand people.

Speaker 1 (01:09:12):
And it doesn't necessarily mean that twenty five thousand are
coming off of probation are not going to need continued assistance,
right exactly. So, how does FFCE come into the picture here?
What was it that caused either the governor or the
secretary to come to the place of saying we need

(01:09:32):
some help.

Speaker 7 (01:09:33):
Sure, So, FFCE was created with a simple goal. It
was to turn the opportunity of that second chance, that
third chance, that chance that someone was pursuing into a
real pathway of readiness. Right, These individuals. Like you said,
both sides of the aisle, both sides of opinions. Whether

(01:09:54):
you like it or not, the data is clear, we
are releasing them and so at the end of the day,
they are coming back into our our communities. And so
we were created under the mission in the direction to
prepare those individuals as best we can with an actual
training and skill that we can place them into a job.

Speaker 3 (01:10:13):
Right.

Speaker 7 (01:10:13):
This makes our community safer, This restores families, This creates
economic mobility, and it really meets the need.

Speaker 6 (01:10:20):
Of our workforce.

Speaker 7 (01:10:21):
So we have leaders across the states in this country
who are really centered around evidence based training or they're
centered around mental health. You know, our governor back in
twenty twenty and still today is focused on you know,
workforce here in Florida, and we saw an opportunity at
Florida Department of Corrections to really take an untapped talent

(01:10:41):
force right, individuals who want to transform, who are being rehabilitated,
who want it, who need it. We're talking about individuals
who are on a pathway to betterment after their worst
day and their worst mistake. We're talking about people who
maybe they're not seeking their second chance, maybe they never
had a first chance, maybe the opportunity. They can't read,

(01:11:02):
they don't have that basic you know, when you know better,
you do better, right, And so we were created to
take that particular population and subset of people and really
prepare them with a strong opportunity to go back into
our communities in Florida meaningfully occupied with the job and
employment and a skill and trade that can be a

(01:11:24):
gainful pathway to really really transform their lives.

Speaker 1 (01:11:30):
Real short version answer to this question is this, I
view this right now as one of the best job
markets in years for returning citizens. Is that fair?

Speaker 6 (01:11:41):
Absolutely? Absolutely.

Speaker 7 (01:11:43):
I saw something on Instagram a couple of days ago
that said, you know, the wealthiest guy in your neighborhood's
not going to be the tech guy. It's going to
be the welder. It's going to be the plumber with
six trucks. It's going to be the handyman. It's going
to be the smallpliants repair, it's going to be the trades.
And that is what we are training these individuals in.

Speaker 1 (01:12:00):
You've got a lot more to talk about when we
come back. Erica and I are going to discuss what
are the obstacles, what are the big hindrances that maybe
some of you listening can play a role in helping
us solve. Next on the Morning Show with Preston.

Speaker 8 (01:12:14):
Scott UFLA at WFLA, fam dot com, on your phone
with the iHeartRadio app, and on hundreds of devices like Alexa,
Google Home, Xbox and Sonos and Iheart's radio station.

Speaker 1 (01:12:36):
If you're just joining us no matter where, no matter how,
whether it's on radio iHeartRadio around the world, around the country.

Speaker 3 (01:12:43):
Thanks.

Speaker 1 (01:12:44):
We're talking with Erica Averian. She is the executive director
of FFCE, the Florida Foundation for Correctional Excellence. We're talking
about corrections, and we're talking about in this segment some
of the real challenges. I was not aware until I
went through what's called a re entry simulation, how difficult

(01:13:05):
it can be, no matter how focused, no matter how
intentional you want to be at being out and making
your way and becoming successful, Erica, the hurdles can be
not just difficult, they can be defeating, overwhelming. When I

(01:13:25):
went through that simulation, I literally said, put me back
in jail, yep. And unfortunately, in one way, shape or form,
that's what a lot of these men and women end
up doing. Because the challenges are so great. Explain the
challenges and what is being done to address them.

Speaker 7 (01:13:43):
Yes, so one of my colleagues calls them constant fireballs, right,
the headwinds that come at you when you are releasing. So,
when you look at an individual who has been in
the care and custody of the Florida Department of Corrections
for really any length of time, we do have, you know,
short sentence individuals. But for the most part, we're talking
about state prisons. We're talking about lengthy sentences here. We're

(01:14:04):
talking about people who are, you know, going through a
transition of getting back out into a world that they
probably did not come from. Right, these for the majority
of the people, this is kind of pre COVID. We're
going to talk about kind of the landscape around workforce
technology as we've socially evolved in a culture just in
the past five years. Let's look at the landscape of technology.

(01:14:27):
We're talking about accessibility, transportation, infrastructure, the growth of our state.
Right just from a very high level, just think about
the basic needs. We're going to talk about transportation, We're
going to talk about housing, to talk about a job,
We're going to talk about ID readiness. I mean, these individuals,
for the most part, without the support of a family,

(01:14:48):
really leave with, you know, fifty dollars and a bus
ticket and a readiness plan that the amazing brave souls
at the Florida Department of Corrections work tiresly to create
as strong and best as they can. But it's best
day with everything firing on all cylinders, even if there's
the greatest referral and the tightest paperwork around ID readiness

(01:15:09):
and the DMV and Social Security and the clerker court
and the health department and career source and.

Speaker 1 (01:15:14):
Just think about that list she's going through right now, friends,
And that's what these men and women are dealing.

Speaker 7 (01:15:21):
With, Yes, from a bus ticket to ID readiness to
interviews with employers that are there and second chance friendly right,
I mean, this isn't just any job. This is somebody
who will hire someone with the criminal record. And so
these barriers start to stack up, even on its best day,
even with everything firing, even with the strongest plan, right,

(01:15:42):
these headwinds, these fireballs start to come and so we
work with the Florida Department of Corrections to prepare these
people the best that we can, and then they may
have supervision. They may be at a transitional house that
has a great solid foundation, maybe a faith based halfway house.
It may be a recovery house. It may have its
own set of rules, and then those rules have to

(01:16:04):
coincide with the rules of their supervision right their probation
and parole, and then that's another set of guardrails and structure.
And so they're navigating this re entry with a lot
of different things. And I think the best way that
I can kind of summarize this is we can talk
all day about what's coming at them and sort of
what we're doing to help them navigate it, with our

(01:16:25):
partnerships with community resources, with providers, with the referral network,
with our release officers, creating the strongest readiness plan with
all the credentials, with all the certificates, with all the referrals,
with all the things. Is that about five years ago,
I was at a facility visiting with the board members
of Florida Foundation for Correctional Excellence, and this brave student

(01:16:47):
in a carpentry class stood up and he thanked us
for coming, and he said, I appreciate you coming to
our neighborhood, in our community to see what we're doing
every day. I am not going to pretend that I
have anything meaningful to contribute to the conversation of why
you're here. I heard something about re entry and recidivism,
and I don't have the answers. This is my second
time here, he said, bet I'll tell you this. I

(01:17:08):
didn't need work boots, I had brand new ones. I
didn't need a bus ticket, I didn't need food, and
I didn't even need a job. I needed one person
I could call, he said. I was at the bus
stop after going to the DNB for the third time
with everything I thought I needed, and I lost my
cool and made a split second mistake that got me

(01:17:30):
back here. And I'll never forget that because when we
talk about what are the needs of these individuals, this
person said I needed one person I could call in
that moment, right, What is that one line? What is
that lifeline? Our So we're building systems around our faith communities,
our nonprofits. We're building that warmer handoff from pre release.

Speaker 1 (01:17:51):
To post release, trying to find that one person.

Speaker 6 (01:17:53):
Trying to find that one person.

Speaker 1 (01:17:56):
That each inmate knows where to go when they are
striking out. Yes, yeah, it tied in friends to a
discussion I had last month with Joe Winkler. You might
recall the mobile re Entry Unit. These are things that
FFCE is helping provide corrections to make it easier for

(01:18:19):
men and women to be successful. We're going to talk
more about all that next here in the Morning Show
with Preston Scott. I warned her Erica Variant is with

(01:18:44):
me Florida Foundation for Correctional Excellence. She is the executive director.
And as I told a buddy of mine, sal Newsoh,
he and I had lunch last week and I we
got to talking about FFCE and if there's if there's
a better person suited for this work and this job,
I don't know who that person could possibly be. Eric

(01:19:07):
is incredibly gifted. She's very very bright, intuitive and has
a heart. And I think that this job working in
this world and in this realm, I don't think it's
a job, it's a calling. Would you agree with that summary?

Speaker 6 (01:19:22):
Oh for sure?

Speaker 7 (01:19:23):
Maybe even a conviction, maybe even a nagging and gnawing
that won't let up right right.

Speaker 1 (01:19:28):
And you've explained a little bit why one of the
things that I've tried to do and maybe successfully in
some ways and maybe not so very successfully, and you
can help. I want this to transmit now to our listeners.
There are people out there right now that own businesses.
There are people that manage businesses. There are people that
just are you know, just folks that are out there

(01:19:50):
retired and they're curious as to this way of approaching
corrections that's a little bit different. What should people know
about what FFCE has done of relationships? Already you've linked
up with what we're doing.

Speaker 7 (01:20:04):
Sure, so, as I mentioned earlier, just to recap for
folks who just might be dialing in, our real goal
and mission is to bridge the gap between correctional excellence
and employment, so connecting skills that people are getting behind
the fence to actual real labor market needs and jobs.

Speaker 6 (01:20:22):
So I think what I want to.

Speaker 7 (01:20:23):
Start by sharing is that what people may not know,
which is that our compounds are turning into campuses for
the majority of our facilities, fifty plus facilities across the
entire state of Florida. If you walk on to one
of our yards and compounds from Centergate forward, you are
going to see everything from HVAC to carpentry, to electrical

(01:20:44):
to irrigation, to digital design to literacy to basic education
all the way up to almost one hundred plus different
crafts in career clusters and focuses that directly aligned with
a need in our workforce and our labor market. And
so what we've done is we've looked at labor markets

(01:21:04):
that are signaling the biggest need of vice. So we're
looking at construction, that.

Speaker 1 (01:21:08):
Perfect storm of jobs we talked about it.

Speaker 7 (01:21:10):
Yes, we're looking at manufacturing. And what we've tried to
do at ffcs to build relationships with the small MODERMN
pops all the way to the big employers that are
statewide in those sectors to create pipelines. I mean, this
is really sophisticated matchmaking here. We're looking at our assets.
We're unique because we're on both sides of the pipeline.
We have the talent that's skilled and trained. And so

(01:21:33):
what we've done is we built relationships with over one
hundred plus employer partners across the state in all four regions,
and we're bringing them in to understand that footprint of
education and really industry excellence. If you ask me, I mean,
you're looking at a facility that really rivals a technical
college R and if you look at a manufacturing and

(01:21:55):
logistics and supply chain course, and then a coding lab,
and then a heavy equipment opera lab. And so I'll
give just one example. A few years back, the labor
market here in Florida was signaling that they were hiring
women in the construction industry at unprecedented rates. I mean,
you look at sort of the interest of women wanting
to get into that field. I mean, we think that
they may want to learn the vocation or the credential

(01:22:19):
of cosmatology.

Speaker 6 (01:22:20):
But maybe that's.

Speaker 1 (01:22:20):
Okay, I watch HGTV and Magnolia, I know better.

Speaker 6 (01:22:24):
Right, okay.

Speaker 7 (01:22:25):
And so we had piloted a program and the population
and the students and learners had gravitated to it in
such a meaningful way. We saw potential and opportunity there.
And so we at FFC really looked at what would
it what would it unfold and be if we invested
in a heavy equipment operator program where we train these
women and every single one of them was work release eligible,

(01:22:48):
meaning before they are released from prison, they are out
in the community working for employers in that field, and
then continuing to supplement and compliment training. Right, that creates
an e and larger economic mobility around work force CDL
SO class B, class A. I mean, I'm proud to
say that every single one of those women in that

(01:23:08):
initial cohort have gone to work release and also continue
not just employment in the field, but also training that
is advancing them in real, livable wage careers.

Speaker 6 (01:23:19):
These are not just jobs.

Speaker 7 (01:23:21):
These are careers that are going to help them stay
on the pattory entry and not rectivate.

Speaker 1 (01:23:25):
And the beauty of all of this, friends, is that
every single one of these success stories becomes a walking
talking billboard to everybody else that if they can do it,
you can do it. And these relationships that they have
inside the walls, inside the fences, as Erica refers to,

(01:23:47):
they continue and they find out that yeah, this is working,
and it spreads. But how far does it spread? Does
it spread to your business? We're going to talk more
about that next.

Speaker 4 (01:24:03):
Good Morning, and welcome to the Morning Show with Preston Scott.

Speaker 1 (01:24:19):
Erica Varian with me final segment here as we're talking
about the Florida Foundation for Correctional Excellence, I know you're
all about networking, partnering, finding those mom and pop businesses
large and small that want to link arms, because we
were just talking in the break Erica having a job
waiting his everything. To these men and women, what should

(01:24:42):
a business owner, a manager, somebody that's you've peaued their
curiosity would what should they know?

Speaker 7 (01:24:49):
Well, they should know that they have an invitation for
me to come into our campuses and our compounds and
look at the sophisticated level of industry credential and training
that we are doing that meet the needs of their employment.
I mean, essentially, at the end of the day, what
we're doing at FCS, we're building these employment partner showcases.
These are not job fares, these are not tours, these

(01:25:11):
are not resource fairs. These are an invitation for business owners,
HR managers, recruiters, middle management, hiring managers to come and
see the talent that they may not know exist in
the level in which it exists. And so we're hosting
these all across the state. Our next one coming up
is going to be on November fifth at Jefferson CI

(01:25:32):
so here in Region one. We have one coming up
in December in South Florida at Everglades re Entry, and
they're going to be popping up all over the state.
So if you're interested in coming. Please visit our website
FL correctionalexcellence dot com and on the homepage it'll take
you right to the upcoming ones where you can RSVP
and all the clearance will be done very easily through

(01:25:53):
one form. So again that's flcorrectionalexcellence dot com. Or let's
say you can't make the date to come in and
see what I'm talking about, you can reach out to
us at any time, and what we do is we
essentially build a catered, surveyed, vetted list of job seekers
that would match the needs that you have as an employer.

(01:26:15):
And let's say you don't have a ton of needs
right now, but you have a project coming up, or
you're building a manufacturing facility and you know you're going
to need this many welters or this many specific people.
What we can do is we can look at the
landscape of our entire state, of all the individuals in
our care that are being trained, and we can even
work with their release plans or their supervision and see

(01:26:36):
if perhaps transferring a different release area based on an
actual livable wage job that would turn into a career.
And so we work with employers to really seek out
specific things they need they're like, Okay, here are no
goes for us. We can't have these individuals, or here
are the specific types of things we need.

Speaker 6 (01:26:55):
Right.

Speaker 7 (01:26:55):
We have a marine program that the shipyards need this
particular type of welder, right, And so we work with
people to try to cater specifically.

Speaker 6 (01:27:04):
To their needs.

Speaker 7 (01:27:06):
And we can even allow them to meet the candidates
pre release through virtual technology through secure Zoom.

Speaker 1 (01:27:14):
We had all that today.

Speaker 7 (01:27:15):
Yeah, so these employers can meet these candidates on a screen,
just like you and I get on teams in Zoom
every day.

Speaker 1 (01:27:21):
What's neat about this opportunity that for those of you
that are employers in businesses? She mentioned at the very
outset of this, there's one hundred some odd programs here
inside of the Department of Corrections where they are offering
training and skill development. And you talk about some of
these people, man, they've never been given the opportunity to

(01:27:43):
do something useful, and now they've acquired these skills, they've
made the decision to be different, and this is an
opportunity because they are coming out. I think that to
me is the bottom line here is these men and
women are coming out and we can either help them
be successful or we can hinder their success.

Speaker 7 (01:28:01):
Yes, absolutely, and I'd like to speak on that really quickly.
So I've been in this work for a really long
time and people are like, well, you're so pro re entry,
you know, what are your thoughts on the other side
of this? My thoughts are very clear. Behind every crime,
there is a victim period, there's no victimless crime. But
at the end of the day, the most dangerous person
we can release is someone who has nothing right, absolutely

(01:28:23):
no training, no skill, no preparation, no release plan. And
what do they they have? They have absolutely nothing, and
so they are even more dangerous if we don't do
this right.

Speaker 6 (01:28:33):
So if we are.

Speaker 7 (01:28:34):
Really serious about public safety, we're really serious about law
and order, then we have to be serious about this
part too. And so for me, I have found that
these folks become some of the most dedicated, loyal they
get a taste of success. Yeah, they don't want to
lose it. They're grateful, right, They're loyal, they're dedicated, and
they end up being actually some of the greatest employees
that our partners have.

Speaker 1 (01:28:54):
You ask some of the people that employ these men
and women, they will tell you exactly those words. Because
I've heard those words spoke. And let me also throw
a line out to those of you that are lobbyists.
You lobby for large organizations. You represent a lot of
big businesses or associations. Reach out because those are some
of the best links that that f FCE comes across. Yes,

(01:29:16):
you introduce us to the people that you lobby on,
behalf of because you might have a solution to your
labor problems. Sitting right here in front of me in
the microphone, Erica, thanks for all you're doing and what
you and Noel Noel Monasco is the associate director of
f f c E. You two are amazing. Thank you, Preston,
and thanks for the time today. Yeah, thank you Erica

(01:29:38):
Avarian f FCE. And again, if you want to learn
more of the website, I've got it pulled up. You
can pull it up real easily. It is fl Correctional
Excellence dot com. Fl Correctional Excellence dot com. Forty eight
past the hour. What I tell you, all right? I

(01:30:10):
told you that young lady has so much gain when
it comes to the calling that she is fulfilling. And
as a former board member of the Florida Foundation for
Correctional Excellence, the two most important things we did as

(01:30:36):
a board, and it preceded my presence on the board,
was the hiring of that young lady and the associate director, Noel.
The two of them together, they travel the state. They
are in every correction facility. They have a pipeline to

(01:30:56):
the Secretary of Corrections, Ricky Dixon, and they are passionate
about helping our communities be safer and helping these men
and women succeed. And I hope those of you listening
take her up on the invitation. Check out what they do,
reach out and see how you ready, you ready can

(01:31:17):
make a difference. Brought to you by Barono Heating and Air.
It's the Morning Show one on WFLA. Well, we started
the show with some scripture from the Book of John,
first chapter, verses one through five. Kind of a greatest
hits of God's word right there. Just a fundamental explanation

(01:31:43):
that helps you better grab hold of part of the
concept of the Trinity, the Father's Son and Holy Spirit
is found there in the very first few verses of
John chapter one. We of course had a nice lengthy
visit with Erica A. Varian, executive director of the FLOIDA
Foundation for Correction excellence, our big stories in the press box.
Why do we have law enforcement in any former capacity

(01:32:05):
visiting somebody who sent a postcard saying you lack values? Really,
it's silly. We also covered the story of Ellen Greenberg,

(01:32:26):
Philadelphia's medical examiner, that she killed herself with twenty different
stab wounds to her back, neck, head, and a knife
protruding from her chest. Okay, Appellate Court finds that Patrick
Tata Domiac's convictions, only one of them violated double jeopardy
clause of the Fifth Amendment. The problem is that all

(01:32:52):
of the convictions are faulty. We'll see where that goes.
And New York issued a CDL to somebody who didn't
even give him a name. How in the world does
that happen? And why does it happen in California New York?
I wonder tomorrow we got a busy show. Can't wait.
Y'all have a blessed day.