Breaking Barriers: Dr. Avice Reid's Journey in Leadership & Service

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Check us out to hear the latest on life in the
volunteer state.
Yvonca and her guests discusseverything from life, love and
business with a Tennessee flair.
It's a Tennessee thing, alwaysrelatable, always relevant and
always a good time.
This is Talkin' Tennessee, andnow your host, yvonca.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
This episode is brought to you by the Landis
team, your go-to real estatefamily in East Tennessee.
If you are looking to buy orsell, we are the ones you should
call.
Give us a call at 865-660-1186or check out our website at
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Speaker 3 (00:49):
Welcome back to Talk in Tennessee with Yvonca, and I
am your host and I am here withsuch inspiration.
This woman is a person that Ineed to know more.
It's Dr Avis Reed.
Welcome to Talkin' Tennessee.
How are you?
I?

Speaker 4 (01:09):
am fine.
Thank you so much for theopportunity.
I don't really like talkingabout myself, but you've
convinced me to do so.
Yes, so let's see where it goes.

Speaker 3 (01:20):
So let's tell our viewers exactly your title.
What is your title right now?

Speaker 4 (01:27):
The interim and I emphasize interim.
I am the interim president andCEO of the Knoxville Area Urban
League.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
Now, that is a mouthful, but you'll understand
why when we get into thisconversation.
Thank you so much for coming,and I just want to talk about
who is the woman.

Speaker 4 (01:50):
Who is Avis Reed, that's a good question how long
do we have?
No, seriously, I like to thinkthat I am number one, a child of
God.
Yes, I think that that driveseverything that I do.
I am someone who is, first ofall, a native Knoxvillian, and I

(02:16):
say that a lot because I wantthis city to be so inviting that
people who aren't from herewant to rush and be a part of
here.
I want people who drive by tostop and say, oh, why am I going
anywhere else?
And so I strive to makeKnoxville an inviting city, a

(02:43):
place where people want to be.
I'm a native Knoxvillian.
As I said earlier, when Igraduated from college, I had
offers other places, but Iwanted to stay here, and so it's
important to me that it's awholesome place, that it's a

(03:04):
place where people can thrive,where people can enjoy all the
amenities that everyone else canhave.
I don't want it to be a placefor the haves and the have-nots
and people looking through afence hole trying to say, boy, I
wish I could have a part ofthat.
So that's who I am.
I love my family.
I'm a family person.

(03:26):
I have four wonderful, awesomegrandchildren.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
Unfortunately, they don't live here.

Speaker 4 (03:33):
Oh my gosh.
Unfortunately, they don't livehere, and part of the reason
they don't live here is becauseI have two daughters, okay, and
they both did not see Knoxvilleas an inviting place for young
adults, and so they moved toother cities.
My oldest daughter moved toNashville, okay, because she saw

(03:57):
that more inviting, moreinclusive.
My youngest daughter moved tothe Atlanta area in
Lawrenceville, georgia, becauseof that.
So that's another reason whyI'm driven to make Knoxville a
welcoming place.
I don't want people who werefortunate enough to be born here
to not see Knoxville as theplace to continue to live here

(04:21):
to continue to live here.

Speaker 3 (04:22):
I think that you, of what I've heard off camera and
on camera, you are dedicated tothis community.
You're dedicated to build upthis community, you're open to
have the conversation withpeople about what Knoxville is,
what you see of Knoxville, andyou're willing to tell people to

(04:45):
do the work.
You know we live in a world nowthat everybody thinks it's
success is overnight and theythink light's camera action, and
so I'm of the belief hard workwill pay off.
I do feel like that.
You have to have a relationshipwith God and let him guide your

(05:09):
steps.
Would you agree with that?

Speaker 4 (05:11):
Wholeheartedly.
I wouldn't do anything withoutGod's guidance.
I did in my younger days and Imade some mistakes.
Yes, he laughed at us while wewere making them, so I'm glad
he's forgiving and doesn't holdany of those against me.
But, as you were saying, it isimportant to have relationships.

(05:36):
Yes, I'm fortunate that I'vebeen able to work in many
different areas as a volunteer.
Yes, because being a volunteerthe time commitment works, the
way your time works.
Yes, and so because of that, Igot to have up close and

(05:58):
personal relationships with alot of people, a lot of
nonprofits, to see what theirniche is, how they can make a
difference in the community.
And it's also it's sort of likea bridge from one to the other.
Yes, because once you work inone area and see what they have,
then that sort of propels youto another area.

(06:18):
Yes, ma'am, and it also propelsyou to be able to help people
as you come through life and seethe issues they have.
You can make those referrals,say, come on with me, you don't
have to stay where you are.
I know an organization that canhelp you address whatever the
issue is that's awesome and soyou know I have worked in I

(06:39):
don't even know how manynon-profits.
Yes, I can't, I don't, I don'tknow.
People ask me how many boys areyou on?
I said I don't know.
She said I don't know.

Speaker 3 (06:45):
People ask me how many boys are you on?
I say I don't know.
She said I don't know.
I just show up, that's right, Idon't know I just show up.
I live by my calendar.
Yes, and that's acommunity-involved leader.
But I do think in leadershipyou have to.
People ask my family all thetime how do y'all do so much?

(07:11):
And I'm like, we just don'tthink about it.
We just do it Because I thinkyou slow your brain down by
thinking about everything youneed to do.
You just need to do it.
And when I was researching youand I asked around in the
community, you know, because Ialways ask you know who would
y'all like to hear next?
You know whose story iscompelling to you.
You know I mentioned your nameand I said I don't know
everything she's done, but I'verespect to her from afar.

(07:32):
So what do you?
What is your opinion?
And not one person not oneperson said that you're a bad
pick for the podcast.
Every one of them said Yvonca,you pick for the podcast.
Every one of them said Yvonca,you're on the right track.
Yvonca, you need to get her.
And shout out to Tammy Whitebecause Tammy stayed on me
because she was like Yvonca, herstory is amazing and she needs

(07:54):
your platform needs her.
That's exactly what she said.
Your platform needs her, poorTammy.
But I agree because you've doneso much in your life, not just
in business but in yourcommunity service and everything
.
She worked at TVA.
Let's talk about TVA.
So you started at TVA.

(08:16):
How many years were you at TVAand what was your position and
what did you end out at?

Speaker 4 (08:21):
if you don't mind me asking, Well, no, I was at TVA
for 34 years 34 years.
And the interesting thing is, Iwent to Knoxville College I'm a
graduate of Knoxville Collegeand while I was at Knoxville
College, tva came over to thecollege and said they wanted a
co-op student.
They wanted a co-op student andback in those days you actually

(08:44):
left school for a term andworked full time in the
corporation.
You didn't do both, so thatmeant that I would physically
leave college and go toChattanooga because it was in.
Chattanooga and work full time,40 hours a week in the corporate
world and then returned thenext quarter to school.

(09:07):
And so they were doing that.
The interesting thing is TVAhad done its homework.
They were working at HBCUs.
They wanted to increase thepool of African Americans who
were actually in applicationdevelopment because they were
creating computer applications.
They had done the homework theywanted.

(09:27):
Because TVA is in the sevenstate areas, they went to all
the HBCUs in the seven stateareas.
Fort Valley State had the bestscore.
They had all these scores ofwhat they were looking for in
schools.
You know the test results, thenumber of graduates, what they

(09:47):
were doing post-graduation, allof this.
Tva had done all this researchand Fort Valley scored the
highest of all of the HBCUs inthe seven-state area.
Knoxville College scored second.
Okay.
So, they had gone to Fort Valleyand gotten a couple of— my
grandfather graduated fromKnoxville College.

Speaker 3 (10:04):
Oh awesome, it's so great to hear this story.

Speaker 4 (10:06):
Yes, so they went to Fort Valley and got a couple of
co-op students and then theyneeded another one.
So they came to KnoxvilleCollege and several of us
applied.
I was selected, didn't knowwhat I was doing.
It was just like you arewalking away from the known to
go to the unknown.
But it opened up all kinds ofdoors for me.

(10:28):
I was extremely nervous.
I had never been away from home.
So here I'm, going down toChattanooga, don't know where
I'm going to live, what I'mgoing to do, don't know anybody,
I'm just going to go to work.
The thing about it is whatreally propelled me to do that
is the summers between highschool and college freshman, the

(10:49):
summer between freshman andsophomore.
I worked for the city ofKnoxville as a playground leader
.
Really, I was a playgroundleader.
I had the key to the toy boxand so I would show up every day
to the playground and get thetoys out and make sure.

Speaker 3 (11:05):
Unlock it, lock it back up, lock it back up.

Speaker 4 (11:07):
Make sure all the toys stay, that's right Make
sure all the children were safe,and so when they came and asked
us to apply for this job as aco-op student, it included a
summer job and I would maketwice as much as I had made on
the playground.
Okay, so I was like, okay, eventhough this is taking a risk, I
won't have to go sit out in thesun anymore on the playground, I

(11:29):
can be inside and get paidtwice as much.
So that was my drive to takethe job.
But I learned so much aboutwriting computer programs and
how that worked.
And so even when I would goback to college because I
alternated doing that, I wasactually able to teach one of
the classes for my grade Fortranprogramming, because I had

(11:53):
learned Fortran programming atwork.
So when I had to sign up forthe class it was like, okay,
we're going to let you teach theclass.
The teacher was in the class,obviously Right, but to monitor
see how it goes.
And so I ended up getting thatA because of what I had learned
on in the job and translated itto the classroom and able to

(12:14):
teach my others you know, myfellow students how to write for
four term programs.
So anyway, I ended up doing thatworking at TVA.
And so at TVA, when I came backas a graduate, I was hired as a
mathematician.
Yes, because I was a math major, by the way, I was hired as a

(12:37):
mathematician.
I was a programmer analyst,program development.
I ended up supervising a groupof IT developers.
I was a project managercertified, got the credentials
to be a project manager, so Ihad lots of different hats at
TVA.

(12:57):
But then Out of your 34 yearsyes, and it was great.
I thought why would anybodywork anywhere else when you have
?

Speaker 3 (13:06):
TVA.
Let me ask you this Building upyour career at TVA back in the
times that you started, tell mewas there a pushback.
Being a black woman, oh my gosh.
Yes, okay, no, there were timesmy gosh, yes, okay.

Speaker 4 (13:27):
There were times.
Yes, ma'am.
First of all, I worked outafter post-graduation when I
worked at TVA.
I worked at TVA and Norris atthe engineering lab.
That in itself was different.
I was the only black female outto the engineering lab and
there was.
Itself was different.
I was the only black female outto the engineering lab and

(13:47):
there was one black male, andthere was.
If you know anything about thecity of Norris, especially back
in the 70s, no black peoplelived in Norris.

Speaker 3 (14:01):
Not many do now.

Speaker 4 (14:02):
Yeah, and they had one real restaurant in town, and
so we would go down there forlunch.
Yeah, and they had one realrestaurant in town, and so we
would go down there for lunch,et cetera.
And I'll never forget one day Iwalked in there and somebody
just looked over and said wheredo you live?
It was just like surely youcan't live in.
North we get ready to tear upthe city if you live here.
So it was very welcoming duringthe day, but it was clear that

(14:27):
you needed to leave as soon asyou left your employment at TVA
and get out of the city.
But anyway, I ended up workingin Norris and then I went
downtown to work.
But there were severalinstances where I had to fight
for promotion.
I had to speak on it.

(14:49):
Yes, I had to.
Actually one day, you know,went and actually went to file
an EEO complaint and I had alleverything lined up.
I had one supervisor.
I know you had all yourdocuments.
Yes, I did, but you know, thething about it is, I had one
supervisor who kept saying youneeded to do this and we would
outline what I needed to do togo to the next level.

Speaker 3 (15:10):
And you do.

Speaker 4 (15:11):
And we would do that.
And then it was like, well,let's add one more thing and you
need to do this, and that's theone that I went to say we don't
have to file a complaintbecause the measurement keeps
moving, Because the measurementkeeps moving.
But, you know, I say look atGod over time, because what
happened is, you know, I gotother positions, he got other
positions, we reorganized, andso I was, as I said, I

(15:35):
supervised a group ofapplication developers.
He was among the people that Isupervised, really, and so when
he retired because he was olderthan me, he retired before I did
.
When he retired, I was hissupervisor's supervisor, really,
so I went to his retirementparty.

(15:56):
I went to his retirement party.

Speaker 3 (15:58):
Oh, I hope you enjoy your retirement.
Are you hearing this?
She said, basically the personthat was trying to hold her back
, god stepped in and before lotof times when you are in a
situation that it doesn't feellike you are being treated fair,

(16:31):
one thing about God that Goddoes not discriminate and God
will step in on your behalf andgive you favor and so.
But you had to do the work andlook what you did.
You you did in the 70s.
That's not the easiest thing,okay, so while you were at TVA,

(16:51):
is that where you got the lovefor nonprofits?
Is that where you started?

Speaker 4 (16:55):
My first, I'll never forget my first time serving on
any nonprofit was FranceCrittenton Agency.
It was the first one andsomeone else who worked at TVA
had served on that board andwhen his term was up he asked me
if I would represent TVA onthis board.
And I was like, what is a boardand what did they do?
And so you know, of course, Iwent on to learn to serve.

(17:20):
You know from that, I was onthe United Way Allocation
Committee, chaired one of thosecommittees, and it just seemed
natural, as things progressed toYWCA and you just name it, you
were drawn to it.
I was drawn to it and you wouldlearn about one and then serve
on another one.
And it's funny because I made acareer change by leaving the

(17:45):
city and going to the policeadvisory review committee
chairing that, but when I was inleadership not still Back up,
back up.

Speaker 3 (17:53):
Yeah, when I was in Now, what did you do?
You went to go work.
Where?

Speaker 4 (17:58):
Oh well, what I said was one of the volunteer
positions that I had at TVA whenI was working at TVA.

Speaker 3 (18:06):
One of the places I volunteered for was the
Knoxville City of KnoxvillePolice Advisory and Review
Committee now keep in mind, shewas in a career that basically,
you earned that career and youwere doing fine, but you still
felt like you wanted to do foryour city.
You wanted to do for your city,right, you wanted to do for
your community.

(18:28):
Keep going.

Speaker 4 (18:29):
Yeah.
So see, the thing about it is,I was volunteering in that
capacity because it wasimportant.
I mean, here we have issueswith the police and the
community, and there was, youknow, let's be real, it was not
good relationships.
You know, when the PoliceAdvisory Review Committee was

(18:50):
formed it was after four men,three of whom were black, in a
seven-month period were killed,either being pursued by a police
officer or in custody of anot-so a police officer or in
custody of a Knoxville policeofficer, and those kind of
conditions raise communities.
You know the community was inoutrage and so Mayor Victor S

(19:15):
was the mayor at the time and heformed this committee to
provide that oversight, whichmeans you review all cases of
discrimination or any complaintsagainst the police department.
And so that was one of myvolunteer opportunities.
But how that came about was whenI went through Leadership
Knoxville.

(19:36):
I went through at TVA.
My roommate and I don't know ifyou've ever been through
Leadership Knoxville the firsttime you gather you are thrown
in with a roommate situationwith somebody you don't know,
and you wonder why in the worldam I going to be with this
person?
But my roommate ended up beingRobin Askew.

Speaker 3 (19:54):
Okay.
So let me ask you this Backthen was it like now?
You can't, when you first getthere, you could not tell your
title or you couldn't say yourlast name.

Speaker 4 (20:03):
No, Because ours, we couldn't for the first, yeah,
the first day and a half.
You're just the first name, soimagine that you go you go on a
trip with people you don't know.

Speaker 3 (20:15):
All you know is their first name.
You don't have enough time toeven look up to try to find out
who the person is right, andthen she was thrown into that
yeah, so that so.

Speaker 4 (20:24):
So robinkew ended up being my roommate and again, I
didn't know her, never seen herat all, but we spent the night
talking.
Yes, that was the thing youfound out that there is more in
common than there's not alike.

Speaker 3 (20:41):
And I think a lot of people need to hear that that's
not a light, and I think a lotof people need to hear that.
A lot of people need tounderstand if you just humble
yourself and not go intosituations defensive, a lot of
times you may disagree on somethings, but you're going to
agree on a lot of things, butyou have to open your heart up
to even let that come in.

Speaker 4 (21:02):
Let that come in.
I mean here this woman I'venever seen before, don't know
who she is and why she's here,and she had the same concerns
about me, but we talked.

Speaker 3 (21:13):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (21:13):
And we talked and you share who you are and it's
amazing that by doing that, youlearn I have a lot in common
with this person.
Yes, by doing that, you learn Ihave a lot in common with this
person.

Speaker 3 (21:24):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (21:25):
And even those things that we didn't have in common.
It was an opportunity to learnabout something I didn't know
anything about, so you win-win,you find out.
Okay, here are things we canlaugh and share about because
they're common.
I don't know about this worldbut this is your world.

Speaker 3 (21:41):
So let's what I can say that with Leadership
Knoxville is when I, the firstday that I went in that room, it
was like there were a fewpeople thought that I would know
more people.
I only knew three people and wehave 61 people in the room.
And is it intimidating?
I'm not going to lie, it wasintimidating, but, yeah, it was

(22:04):
challenging me to get to knowpeople that I didn't know,
didn't look like me, you know,didn't have the same backgrounds
, did not have the same journeyas me.
But I had to open my heart upto learn, you know, and let
people see me, see who I am, andI allow them to see me to see

(22:25):
them and I allow them to see.
I mean to see them and I think,in your position being at TVA at
such a young age, you know, Iguarantee you, you felt the days
of God.
Why did you put me here?
Oh, yeah, Many times.

Speaker 4 (22:39):
Many times, but you know what I was saying, though,
about Robin is she was involvedwith the Police Advising Review
Committee and told Victor Ashthat I was someone who should be
on the committee, so that's howthose relationships started.
So I ended up volunteering onthat committee, because the
person who I met as my roommatein leadership Knoxville years

(23:01):
later I mean it wasn't even.
I mean it was several- yearslater you know, probably 20
years later, that the connectionwas made, but you never know
how one connection is going tolead to another and at what
point were relationships youcame up.
Oh yeah, that would be a goodperson based on that.

Speaker 3 (23:20):
So let's talk about that.
I think we're in a world nowthat people do not realize that
everybody can eat.
We're in a world now thatpeople do not realize that
everybody can eat Everybody.
You know, I think that there'stwo types of people.

(23:42):
There's people that realize,okay, we can all eat, we can all
help each other, whatever goalsthat each other have, to get
there.
And then there's another set ofpeople that believe, you know,
that they're the only one toshine, or they're the only one.
Their insecurities will notallow them to help someone else
achieve their goals.
And I think you are truly aleader.

(24:07):
And I think you are truly aleader and you have shown
throughout your career,throughout your work in the
community, that you wanteverybody to find their place
and find their way in thecommunity, to build up the
community.
Can you speak on that?
Sure?

Speaker 4 (24:25):
The community is better when all of us bring to
the table what we have.
We all have been given skills,we all have been given abilities
, and sometimes we need thosetweets.
And that's when the UrbanLeague comes in, because
sometimes you may need moreeducation, you may need more

(24:46):
training, and so we at the UrbanLeague can help people do that.
Sometimes you have the trainingand the skills, but you need
the opportunity so to be able toopen up doors and marry, so to
speak, people who have positionswith people who can do the work
.

Speaker 3 (25:04):
Yes, but you just need that interest and sometimes
people just need to know thatthere is somebody that believes
in them and that they can.
They may not be there right now, but if you give them the tools
or you give them the supportyou know that type thing or you

(25:24):
can do it that it pushes them tobring out their talents.
I think a lot of times thatpeople are scared to show their
talents because, for whatevertrauma or whatever they went
through, that they thought thatthey weren't good enough.
They're scared to show theirtalents because they think it's
going to be looked as you'refailing, you're not worthy, that

(25:47):
type thing.
And I think that's one thingabout the Urban League that
y'all build up those people tosay, ok, you can do this and
we're willing to allow you toshow your talent, do you?

Speaker 4 (25:59):
agree with that.
That's exactly right.
Walk through these doors.
They walk through because theywant something that's going to
make them feel better, that'sgoing to make them be able to
help, support their families andsupport them, and so it's a
variety of what they need.

(26:20):
Like I said, they may needskills, they may need training,
but they also need confidence.
Because it's amazing and I mean, I myself lack confidence.
You know I was not.
You know I was thrown into somepositions sometimes where it
was like I don't know what to do.
Why am I here?
But to have somebody beside youwho number one, say you can.

Speaker 3 (26:45):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (26:45):
And number two, to say don't worry if you mess up,
because I'm right here with you,and so Because they may not
have heard that at home.

Speaker 3 (26:53):
And that's what people don't get.
You know, if you don't hear,you know, especially at a young
age, that you can do this, thattype thing.
And let me say this for theparents Parents.

Speaker 4 (27:12):
Sometimes you know whatever they've been taught.
You know they can't teach youalways something that they don't
even know.

Speaker 3 (27:13):
You can't teach what you don't know, what you don't
know, and so you have to get outin the community and find
mentors and coaches anddifferent organizations that
really will build you up.
And I think that you, at ayoung age, got into a position
at TVA that you knew you had todo more.
It was like more I have to givebecause God blessed me with

(27:36):
this great job.
You know I can't just let it beall about me.
Am I wrong about that?

Speaker 4 (27:42):
No, that is so true because I looked at it, is I
have opportunities that my peersdidn't have.
Yes, I had opportunities thatmy parents didn't have.

Speaker 3 (27:52):
I agree.

Speaker 4 (27:53):
And so I have to walk in a way that lets everyone
know you were a good hire.
Yes, it was good to take thechance on you Because, like I
said, when I went to Norristhere was one black male there
and I was the first black femalethere, so everyone was looking

(28:13):
like why are you?

Speaker 3 (28:14):
here.
Why are you there?
Yeah, why are you here?

Speaker 4 (28:16):
What are you bringing to the table?
So I had to really go in andshow that I'm bringing value to
the table, that I can developthese applications as well as
the next person, if not better.

Speaker 3 (28:29):
And I can build up people in the organization in
the job that will serve whateverthey need served at in their
job performance.
A lot of times people don'trealize is, even if you have a
talent and you're so good at itin a job you know, you still

(28:49):
need to have somebody, yoursupervisor or somebody that will
every so often tell you thankyou so much for what you've done
.
Of course you know, thank youso much for building up this
department.
Thank you for showing up towork on time.
You know and I think we're in aworld that a lot of people do
not get to hear- well done.

Speaker 4 (29:09):
That is so important because the reality is we all
take a job because we need apaycheck.

Speaker 3 (29:16):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (29:16):
But the paycheck is not the reason you stay on the
job, correct?
You stay on the job because,number one, you feel like you're
making a difference.

Speaker 3 (29:28):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (29:28):
And you feel like your difference is appreciated.
So one of the things that Istrive always as a manager is to
catch people doing somethingright and let them know that
they're doing it right.

Speaker 3 (29:40):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (29:41):
Because that to me for me personally it got me
excited about showing up to workevery day, and I want everybody
that I work with to be excitedabout showing up every day.
So it is important that youtell people you're doing well at
this Correct, because you'reright.
A lot of times we don't hear itand a lot of times it's sort of

(30:02):
like you hear the complaintsbut you don't hear well done.

Speaker 3 (30:06):
You don't hear.
You know, thank you for being apart of this.
You made it better or you'vehelped.
You know a lot of employers.
I try my best with all thebusinesses we have.
I try my best to make sure thatmy employees know that I'll get
my hands dirty just likethey're getting theirs dirty.
I am a team member, just likethey are.

(30:27):
They don't work for me, theywork with me, and I always want
them to feel like okay, I'mgiving them an experience that
they can't get anywhere else.
And I think that's the biggestthing is that employers need to
understand.
Everybody needs to feel worthy.
They feel worthy.
They need to feel that worthy.

Speaker 4 (30:47):
They feel worthy.
They need to feel that.
I promise you, in situationswhere I know I was wanted and
was glad to be there, there wasno amount of time that I could
give.

Speaker 3 (30:56):
If we had to be there around the clock Because you
knew you were worthy and youknew that they respected your
craft.

Speaker 4 (31:06):
I mean there were times we would work around the
clock because it was like wehave to get this done.
We need to get this done.

Speaker 3 (31:11):
The deadlines the deadlines.

Speaker 4 (31:13):
And you didn't mind doing it because you knew that
it was appreciated.

Speaker 3 (31:17):
So let's shift it a little bit about women.
Okay, what would you tell ayoung woman that is trying to
come up or maybe on their comeup is trying to come up or maybe
on their come up but it feelslike it's never going to come,

(31:39):
what would you tell?

Speaker 4 (31:40):
a young woman in these days and times.
First of all, I think it'simportant to have patience,
because we are living in aninstant society.
I mean, if we push a button andsomething doesn't happen right,
then it's like throw it away.

Speaker 3 (31:56):
I agree.

Speaker 4 (31:56):
So, number one, I would say have patience.
Number two, I would say knowwho you are and know what you
bring to the table.
And number three, do not beashamed to boast what you're
bringing to the table, because alot of times and I was that way

(32:18):
, I'm afraid well, I don't wantto say what they should know.
No, people don't always knowwhat you think they know.
So don't be ashamed, don't bebashful to say I can do this.
Yes, I see a need over here andno one is doing it.
Would you like for me to do it?

Speaker 3 (32:37):
Because nobody can speak for you better than you.

Speaker 4 (32:40):
No one can speak for you better than you.
And don't give people anopportunity to say, oh, I didn't
know she could do that.

Speaker 3 (32:48):
That's a good point, that's a real good point.
And I think another thing is nomatter what, don't compare
yourself to anybody.
Don't feel like you don't knowwhat dues that they had to pay
to get where they're at and theydon't know yours.
And when you start comparingyourself, that's where I think

(33:08):
insecurities come, because youfeel like you're less than.
But if you focus I've been onthis journey for the last three
years God has told me to focuson me, improving me spiritually,
everything, everything about me.
And the one thing I had tolearn was because I've always

(33:29):
been a giver, okay, and so I hadto learn.
There's times that you have togive to yourself, you have to
pour into you and you can't pourinto anybody else.
And it's okay because I feltlike that and society makes you
feel this way is that if you arefocused on you, that's being

(33:49):
selfish.
But if you take it back to theBible and where God said, put
him first, then yourself, that'swhat God intended for you to do
anyway, because you can't beall you can be for your
community, your job, familywhatever if you're lacking.

Speaker 4 (34:06):
That's exactly right, and I've stretched myself.
I've been there, I'm going tobe honest with you, I've
stretched myself, where I hadyoung daughters, I was a wife, I
was a worker, I was a volunteerhere and there, and it can
drive you crazy.
It can.
So you have to put some balanceand I learned earlier about

(34:29):
prioritizing everything.
I sit down with a piece ofpaper, one a pencil, and wrote
down everything that I was doing, and sit down and said what's

(34:51):
really important.

Speaker 3 (34:52):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (34:53):
Were, if I died today , would I be concerned that it
didn't happen.

Speaker 3 (34:58):
Exactly.

Speaker 4 (34:59):
And what?

Speaker 3 (35:00):
is true happiness.
I think people will sit and say, oh, I'm happy.
But then you say, well, whatmakes you happy?
They can't tell you they can'tdescribe it and you should be
able to describe what happinesslooks like for you.
But I think a lot of people getso caught up into what society
tells you happiness is.
I tell my daughter all the timeand viewers, adrian is in the

(35:24):
room and I wanted you to speakon this is that I think you know
young women nowadays, societysays you're supposed to go get
married and go have kids and andall that.
And I said, adrian, take yourtime.

Speaker 4 (35:39):
Right, take your time , cause this the thing about it
is you need to be a whole personbefore you try to blend with
another.
Hopefully whole person, correctBecause a lot of times you're
so quick to say, oh, I need todo this and do this and do that,
and you haven't even definedwho you are.

(35:59):
And that evolves.

Speaker 3 (36:01):
And then when you get in marriage, you know that no
matter how much you're in love,okay both sides brings baggage
in some kind of way, and youhave to deal with that and you
have to realize okay, then when,when society says you need to
have kids, so you go out hereand you go get married, and okay

(36:22):
, cause society told me I wassupposed to get married and I'm
supposed to go have kids.
But if you haven't, preparedyourself and you don't know who
you are, and you have notstopped that fulfillment will
not be there.

Speaker 4 (36:34):
It will not be there.
And then you end up with asituation where you're not happy
, yes, your spouse is not happy,the children are not happy, and
no one wants to be in thatsituation.
No, I don't want to say thatthere will never be hiccups in
any kind of relationship.

(36:55):
Yes, but if you are comfortablewith who you are and your
spouse is comfortable with whohe is, it's a totally different
thing, and when you got God inthe center of all of it, then it
works out.

Speaker 3 (37:08):
There are so many marriages out here that I would
say that and I can say this.
I've been married before andwhen I got married, I got
married.
You know what I'm saying.
I had a wedding.
I never thought about growingold with him.
I never thought about sittingon the porch laughing older.

(37:29):
I never thought about that.
That was my sign, but I didn'ttake that sign Is that you know
marriage.
When you get married, you haveno clue what you're signing on
for.
But you know when you're young.

Speaker 4 (37:43):
You look at the life that you're living day to day
and it's exciting.
You go in places, you do things, you know that's what young
people do, right.
But you have to realize one dayyou're not going to be young
one day the only person going tobe in the room with you is just
me exactly, and you got to makesure that you're right.
But you gotta make sure thatperson's somebody that you're

(38:04):
okay being in the room with yeahwhen there's nobody else but
you, when you're out to dinnerand it's just the two of you at
the table yeah it's not a wholeroom full of people, everybody
laughing and talking and can youhave a conversation and be
enjoyed and fulfilled in that?

Speaker 3 (38:19):
And I think a lot of times that young women nowadays
and that's where I wanted tospeak on it, because you know
you're married I mean you've gotkids and grandkids and you had
a career and I know there wasthings that you had to sacrifice
to have all of that and you hadsome days of God.

(38:39):
What am I doing?
You know that type of thing.
What would you say to womenabout getting a balance?

Speaker 4 (38:47):
It's impossible to be successful without balance.
True, I mean, because withoutbalance you're tilting one way
or the other and when you'retilting, something is not
getting fed Something is fallingoff.
And so what I did personally andI think is important if you are

(39:07):
that whole person that you wantto be, you are who you are.
You have a spouse, you havechildren trying to get them
through school and fed.
Every day, you're working.
You know all of that.
I think it's important to havegirlfriends, I agree, who are
similar to you.
You don't want a bunch ofgirlfriends who can't identify

(39:28):
with what you're going through.
But girlfriends I had to learnthat.
Yes, because sometimes you knowyou're trying to get your
family together, your careertogether, you forget that
sometimes you need to step awayand breathe and just be you, and
just be you To breathe.
And so one of the things thathelped for me was to have that

(39:52):
little circle, small circle.
Not big, small circle ofgirlfriends who know you, who
have similar situations.
Take a weekend and just hangout.
It could be, you know, going toa hotel room and going out to
dinner and laughing and talkingand getting re-energized and
realize I'm not the only onedealing with this, yes, and then

(40:16):
you can go back and deal withit, because you need to be you,
but you need to be you in anenvironment that's wholesome.

Speaker 3 (40:24):
I agree.
I think a lot of times you know, because people will say, oh,
you and David have a greatmarriage.
And I tell people we do have agreat marriage, but we do have
days that we don't like eachother.
We do have days that it's likehe's getting on my nerves and
I'm getting on his nerves.
You know what I'm saying and Ithink that if more people would

(40:46):
just be honest, especiallypeople that's been married a
long time, y'all need to speakup and you don't have to tell
your business.
But you need to speak up andyou don't have to tell your
business, but you need to speakup and say you know what.
You're not going to like eachother every day, you're not
going to get along every day andyou're not going to agree every
day, but you have to.
I believe you have to beequally yoked.

Speaker 4 (41:07):
You have to be equally yoked and you have to
love and respect each other.

Speaker 3 (41:11):
You do, because that's the thing Respect to me
is better than love.

Speaker 4 (41:16):
It is, it is.
Respect is better than love.

Speaker 3 (41:19):
It is.

Speaker 4 (41:20):
And if you respect the person, then, number one,
you're going to trust what theysay and do Correct.
And that's so important becausesometimes you don't agree with
what they're saying and doing.

Speaker 3 (41:32):
Correct.

Speaker 4 (41:33):
But if you trust them , then you can say I don't agree
with what they're saying anddoing, Correct.
But if you trust them, then youcan say I don't understand,
it's not what I would do, butI'm okay with it if that's what
you want to do.

Speaker 3 (41:42):
I'll tell you this.
You know my company Turner Knox.
We wanted to get a box truckand I wanted it now and my
husband kept saying your mom isgoing to come and we're a
praying family.
Me and David pray every nighttogether and that is sacred to
me and David, because you can'thave a household running if the

(42:06):
husband and wife is not praying.
That's just my opinion.
But, david, you have to trust,and the reason why I'm bringing
this up is what you're sayingabout respect and trust.
David kept saying to me Yvonne,it'll come, we're praying, we're
praying and I'm like, okay, god, I want it right now, whatever,
when I tell you, the husband Ihave was so patient with it, and

(42:31):
the days I would go to Adrianto get Adrian, I'm like Adrian,
don't we do that?
And Adrian would be like Mom,it's going to come, it's going
to come.
Because I thought that she wouldsay what I was wanting to hear
at that time.
But Adrian was like Mom, it'sgoing to come.
And literally it came.
God, I literally put a post onmy social media that I was

(42:53):
looking for one.
A lady that I've known for 20some years, that I trust
wholeheartedly, reached out tome and said Yvonne, I saw that
you were looking for a box truckand I'm about to sell mine.
Yvonne, let's make a deal.
But if I wouldn't have listenedto my husband and just stayed
still, you know I could havemade a bad mistake in going and

(43:17):
getting in debt.
This just happened and thattype of thing.
So I agree with you when yousay you've got to trust the
person that you're married to oryou're in a relationship with
and you've got to respect them.
And you know, I thought lovewould.
When I got married, I thoughtlove would conquer all.

Speaker 4 (43:35):
Love does not conquer all Too many people have been
divorced and still love eachother Exactly.

Speaker 3 (43:40):
And so it's like I learned, like in the last 10
years I learned respect is somuch greater than love.
Love will come, but respect ifyou respect somebody and trust
them, you can build anything.
So I would say to all women outthere you know, take your time,
take your time and understand.

(44:01):
If you're in the career part ofit that even takes time.
You're not going to be the bosstoday, but if you keep working.
But if you keep working, maybelater on you will be the boss
and you keep going.
And she is prime example ofbeing a boss.
So let's talk about the phonecall of Will you become an

(44:30):
interim?

Speaker 4 (44:31):
CEO.
Yeah, that was a phone call.

Speaker 3 (44:32):
Yes, let's talk about it.

Speaker 4 (44:34):
Unbelievable, because I had retired once before and
went back to work, so I was notever thinking about going back
to work again Now.

Speaker 3 (44:45):
Keep in mind she has the kids, the grandkids, and she
does all the things in thecommunity volunteering, and she
got the phone call that therewas a position that needed to be
filled and it was a call that Ithink you're perfect for.
She is the interim CEO of theKnoxville Area Urban League and

(45:08):
when she got that call it wasshoes that needed to be filled
and conquered till the next onecomes in.
But I know that you probablywere like what Me come out of
retirement.
Take us back to that and yourthoughts that day.

Speaker 4 (45:29):
Well, my first thought, of course, was no,
because I'm retired and I'veworked my.
I mean, I've worked a long time, yes, ma'am, when you consider,
I started working when Ifinished high school and, you
know, worked forever.
I was like I will never workfull-time anywhere and it's just
never right.

(45:51):
So my first thought was no, and.
But then I thought about theorganization.
Ok, most organizations thatknow would have stayed no, but
the Urban League is so importantto this community.
I myself benefited from theUrban League years ago when I
was starting out, trying to finda position to use my skills in

(46:14):
Knoxville.

Speaker 3 (46:16):
Let me ask you this and then we can go back to that.
Please tell us what does theUrban League do?
Tell my viewers, for the onesthat don't know what the
Knoxville Area Urban League does.
I know it's a lot of stuff, butif you can shorten it, what is
the mission?

Speaker 4 (46:35):
Yeah, to shorten what we do, the Urban League
basically removes barriers forpeople who are disadvantaged to
be able to realize the thingsthat all Americans should be
able to do, which is have ahouse to live in, a job to take
care of them and their family,equal access to anything that

(46:59):
the community offers, and so weat the Urban League believe that
everyone should have thosethings if they want them, and so
we do have programs that help.
if someone, for instance, wantsa house but their credit scores
are not good, well, we work withthem, we have classes on
finances and how to build it up,to change that.

Speaker 3 (47:24):
Let me say this viewers, a lot of people you
know with your parents.
I can say I come from aneducated family, but I can
literally say I wasn't taughtcredit.
You know, yes, my grandfatheralways said pay on time.
He always told me don't have alot of debt.

(47:46):
I heard my dad say it, thattype thing.
But I had two different parents.
I had one parent that loved tospend.
That was my mother.
Okay, rest in peace.
I love my mother.
Somebody say something abouther, we have a problem.
But my mother was a spender.
My father was very frugal andhe did not believe in having

(48:07):
credit cards.
Okay, he did not believe.
He said if you don't have themoney right then to pay for
whatever you want, then thatmeans no, okay.

Speaker 4 (48:18):
And both of those messages are not the clear
message Exactly.
They're extreme.

Speaker 3 (48:24):
Okay, they're both extreme, and what I had to learn
is that, okay, you've got tohave credit.
Okay, but you don't need to gohaywire with your credit either.
But you don't need to gohaywire with your credit either
and you don't need to managecredit and you don't need to
live off credit and you don'tneed to live off credit.

Speaker 4 (48:42):
Credit is good because it allows you to take
advantage of things that youcouldn't without it, but it
shouldn't drive you.
You should always be the driverand unfortunately, that's what
we find A lot of people who havelet the credit drive them, the
credit scores are lowered.
Drive them crazy, they're notable to, you know, take care of

(49:04):
the obligations they've alreadygotten.
So how can they ever get clearto start new obligations like
housing and those kind?

Speaker 3 (49:11):
of things and the hard part, like these days and
times, housing is a big deal.

Speaker 4 (49:15):
It is a big deal.

Speaker 3 (49:16):
You know, because it's so expensive.

Speaker 4 (49:19):
Housing is expensive.
Plus, it's the one thing inAmerica that has created
generational wealth.
Correct If homeownership allowsyou to build so that the next
generation has something and youcan that you can hand down as
my grandfather says and so bynot participating in that and

(49:43):
becoming a permanent renter,then you never get over that
hump.
That one day I will be able toNumber one.
If you live long enough, youcan stop paying your mortgage,
Correct?
You pay it off and.

Speaker 3 (49:57):
I think some people they get insecure about.
You know well my mom, my dad,you know I've had clients like
this.
That has never, like nobody intheir family has ever, owned a
home.
So why should I want to own ahome?
Nobody else did and grandmadidn't do it and this or
whatever.
But just because yourgrandmother or your mother or
your father, whoever, did nothave it, that does not mean that

(50:20):
you cannot achievehomeownership.

Speaker 4 (50:25):
I mean, when you look at this country back, you know
when the GI Bill, you know yougo back that far.
When the GI Bill, you go backthat far.
Soldiers came home fromfighting the war and they could
get low-cost loans to get a home, to buy a home, and then their
children after that inheritedmore.

(50:46):
And it continues.

Speaker 3 (50:48):
Renting should be temporary, not forever.

Speaker 4 (50:51):
Yes, I think renting is awesome and we help people
with renting.
We help people here at theUrban League, we help people get
into housing, we help peoplewith down payments to first
month rent, so renting is anoption and we do help people do
that you have to start somewhere, but that should not be your

(51:13):
end all, especially for youngpeople.
Yes, you know older people atthis point, we want them
comfortable.

Speaker 3 (51:20):
Correct.

Speaker 4 (51:21):
And so we help.
You know people get into stablehousing.
Because that's so important toget into a place that is clean,
that is free from crime, youknow that you don't have to
worry about illicit things goingon outside of your door.
You know you're an older person.
You shouldn't have to live likethat.

Speaker 3 (51:40):
Right.

Speaker 4 (51:41):
So we try to help with.
You know deposits on rentalplaces and things to help people
get in a comfortable, safeenvironment, but when you're
young and just starting off inyour career, housing should be a
primary.
It should.
It should be Before you startfilling your closet full of
clothes that's going to wear outthe next day or be out of style

(52:03):
the next week.

Speaker 3 (52:04):
Yes, A home.
My grandfather used to saythat's the one thing.
As long as you pay yourmortgage and your taxes, nobody
can take it away from you.
And so, but it comes withsacrifice, and she's right,
clothes and shoes will go out ofstyle, but your home, a roof
over your head, brings asecurity that is unmatched.

(52:29):
Right.
And so at the Urban League,y'all teach people how to gain
generational wealth, how even injobs, how to, I know.
Y'all teach people how to fillout applications and the resume
and all that kind of stuff.
But those are really importantthings to know, because

(52:51):
everybody is not taught that athome.
And so the Urban League teachesa lot of things that you didn't
learn at home.
Right, you know?
Do you agree with that?

Speaker 4 (52:59):
But there are skills that are needed to be successful
in this world.

Speaker 3 (53:03):
I agree.

Speaker 4 (53:04):
So we teach them.
We even have entrepreneurclasses for people who have a
great idea and the communitycould benefit from the great
idea, yes, but they need abusiness plan to make it work.
They may need financial backing, all of those kind of things.
So we teach classes and we havecommunity and how to connect

(53:27):
right.
We have corporations that helpteach the classes, so it's not
all us, and that's another thingthat the urban league does
depend on, and that iscorporations lending their
assets anytime to make us helpif you ever need us, we will
come teach a class, mostdefinitely because somebody had

(53:48):
to pave the way.

Speaker 1 (53:49):
I said to you today.

Speaker 3 (53:51):
I thank you for paving the way because I had to
see somebody that looked like me.
I had to see that you knowshe's been in corporate America,
she's been a nonprofit, she'sdone all these things and when
she got the call she acceptedthe call.
You know very easily and notsaying that it would have been a
bad thing, but very easy.
When you got the call you couldhave said you know what I'm

(54:13):
done, let someone else do it.
But you still saw a need andyou filled it.
And let's talk about that need.

Speaker 4 (54:22):
Well, again, it was funny when you said that a
couple of people called me andwas like I can't believe you're
going back to work, but it's theUrban League.

Speaker 3 (54:32):
And they said that makes sense.
Yes.

Speaker 4 (54:36):
That is the one organization that you could
utilize your skills.
She's still paving the way forpeople you can utilize your
skills.
And then it was an interimposition, so I knew that I only
had a few months to come in seewhat was necessary to stabilize
the organization, if it neededthat, to make sure that the

(54:58):
community understood we're stillhere, we're still providing
services and we still need yoursupport and you wanted the Urban
League to be that connect andnot.

Speaker 3 (55:10):
You didn't want what happened to be a shadow over the
Urban League.

Speaker 4 (55:15):
The Urban League is the doors are still open, we're
still providing services, we'restill needed in the community.
That's the thing and that's whyI said yes, because the Urban
League, after you, said yes, didyou hang up the phone and say
what did I just say?
No, it was so funny.

(55:37):
I did for a second, but Ididn't have much time because I
had to go to work.
So I didn't have a lot of timeto reflect on it, although I
must admit that first day it wasa long drive home.

Speaker 3 (55:48):
I was so exhausted Because you hadn't done it in a
long time.

Speaker 4 (55:52):
I was exhausted.
I was driving home saying whathave I done?

Speaker 3 (55:56):
dear Lord.

Speaker 4 (55:56):
She was like I could have stayed at home.
I could have stayed at home.
I put all this energy becauseit was a lot of energy that
first day and I promise you, Ithought for a minute maybe I
don't want to do this, but Isaid no, dear God, god, I prayed
and you said you're gonna bewith me.

Speaker 3 (56:15):
So he's been with me the whole time.

Speaker 4 (56:18):
You know they're.
They're like I said I'm not inthe best physical health, but
through god's grace and mercyI'm able to put one foot in
front of the other.
I come in each day with theintention of making this the
best organization, so whomevercomes in after me just has to
hit the ground running.

Speaker 3 (56:39):
They don't have to build up anything.

Speaker 4 (56:41):
That's what I'm trying to do.

Speaker 3 (56:42):
So you being the interim, so what all do you do
as an interim?

Speaker 4 (56:49):
Everything she said everything.
No, seriously, I'm taking thisjob as though it's mine.
Okay, I still meet withexternal corporations to try to,
you know, get them involved inthe Urban League.

Speaker 1 (57:04):
Manage the staff yeah manage the staff.

Speaker 4 (57:07):
Make sure that they have the skills that are needed
for the position.
Make sure that we have funding,because funding is so important
.
Okay, I mean, I'm constantlylooking at the budget.
Ask the staff, I'm like, whenthey want to spend something
what line of them does that fallunder?
Because it's important thatwe're good stewards of the funds

(57:28):
.
We're asking the community topour into us through grants and
donations, and right now we arestarting our annual membership
drive.
Okay, as you well know,february, the 20th 2025, was to
be our annual meeting luncheon,and that was the day we got snow

(57:52):
.

Speaker 3 (57:52):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (57:52):
And so we had to scurry around real quick and
figure out how can we do this.
And so we gathered at theconvention center on February,
the 19th, at 4 o'clock andpresented and recorded the
program that we had planned topresent and had it aired on the
20th.

(58:12):
We notified everybody the snowwas coming.
We can't have it, but we wantyou to know what the Urban
League is doing.

Speaker 3 (58:20):
So you want people to become members of the Urban
League and tell us more aboutyou know.
What does the Urban League needBesides membership?
Do they need volunteers?
What do y'all need from thecommunity to make Urban League
need Besides membership do?

Speaker 4 (58:40):
they need volunteers.
What do y'all need from thecommunity to make Urban League
grow?
Well, we do need the funding,which is why we're asking people
this time to go to our website,which is D-T-H-E.
Call K-A-U-L dot org.
Say it one more time, please.
The call dot org.
Say it one more time, please.
The call dot org that's D-T-H-E, k-a-u-l, which stands for the
Knoxville Area Urban League.

(59:01):
Yes, dot org.
And seriously.
Go to the website and where itsays you can become a member.
Seriously, look at the optionsyou know we have for individuals
.
You can be a member of theUrban League for just $25 a year
, so it's not a major investmentfor an individual.

Speaker 3 (59:22):
You spend more than $25 when you go to Chophouse?
Tell me about it, let's beclear.

Speaker 4 (59:27):
So just $25.
And what that says is webelieve in what you're doing.
Now you can give more and wehope people give more, but you
can be a member for $25.

Speaker 3 (59:43):
And you'll be a part of something you know you have
to think about.
You know I tell people careersare great, but you got to do
more than that.
Careers are great, but you gotto do more than that.
To me, when it comes to God,God is going to ask our works.
God's going to want to knowthat we made a difference.

(01:00:06):
That's my opinion.
And so, sitting on the couch,doing nothing for your community
and I'm not throwing off onpeople sitting on the couch,
because I sit on the couchsometimes too- but I'm just
saying, and I can't wait to getback on my couch, yes, I can't
wait to get back on again.
But I'm saying but you earnedthat right to be on that couch.

(01:00:26):
And I'm saying to youngerpeople you know, pay your dues,
build up your community.
If you see there's things thatyour community is lacking, be
the person that says, hey, letme introduce this to my
community.
You know, start you a business,start.
You know, go do some things atyour community.

(01:00:47):
And everything cannot be aboutmoney.
You know money's going to cometo us.
You know if you work hard, it'sgoing to come.
You know, if you love the Lordand you know that type of thing.
But when you get that money,give back to different
organizations that you believein, and Urban League is one of
those organizations that youneed to believe in and invest in

(01:01:10):
.

Speaker 4 (01:01:10):
Invest in, because when you invest in organizations
like the Urban League, you'reinvesting in your community, and
we all know that a communitythat's well invested provides
the environment so that everyonecan succeed.

Speaker 3 (01:01:25):
Everyone can succeed and see corporations.

Speaker 4 (01:01:28):
You can become a corporate member of the Urban
League for only $3,500 a yearand that includes a table at the
annual luncheon for 10 people,the annual gala, the big gala
that we have in October.
Yes, and you remember when Itook a turn and Knox was there
for the past two years.

Speaker 1 (01:01:50):
And.

Speaker 3 (01:01:50):
I thank God for y'all because you know, y'all made
sure to bring us back andeverybody loved the 360 and
that's where I first met you.
It was a day, and hear me whenI tell you, when I met her, her
staff was there and everything,but she was in there working
just as much like I didn't evenknow you, and it took one of

(01:02:12):
your employees, was like that'sour CEO, and I was like, huh,
yeah, she greeted me with asmile.
You thanked me.
I remember you walking up andsaid, yeah, I did such a
professional job, you know,thank you, thank you.
And I was like, oh wow, you werejust so humble that day, you

(01:02:42):
know, and I didn't even know whoyou were at the time.
You know because I never sawyou before.
But I just have to say is youwant to come behind an
organization that someone willsmile at you and be kind to you,
and I will tell you thisinterim CEO is that person.
So I have to ask this questionbecause everybody's going to say
, yvonne, why didn't you ask thequestion?
So I know you won't be the CEOforever.

Speaker 4 (01:03:03):
No.

Speaker 3 (01:03:03):
What's the plan for the new CEO?

Speaker 4 (01:03:06):
Well, the board will make that decision and the board
has contracted with a searchfirm and that search firm has
worked with several other urbanleagues, so it's very familiar
with the needs of an urbanleague ceo.
Okay, they have actuallyreceived applications and are

(01:03:29):
going through them and doinginterviews.
So within a couple of months II should be the former interim
CEO.

Speaker 3 (01:03:36):
Yes, and she will be able to go back to her couch and
enjoy retirement there you goyou know.
So she's telling you that getexcited, there's going to be a
new CEO.
Come and get in this positionand hit the ground running that
type thing.
And get in this position andhit the ground running that type
thing.
So what do you teach yourgrandchildren about building up

(01:04:00):
their community?

Speaker 4 (01:04:01):
Well, first of all, it's funny my daughters I have
two daughters, okay, and theysaw me being involved when they
were little, and it's so funny.
My oldest daughter is a replicaof me.

Speaker 1 (01:04:16):
She's in.

Speaker 4 (01:04:17):
Chattanooga and she's on every board and doing
everything.
Her husband says well, you know, I married a little Abbess
Because she is involved.
Yes, and my younger daughter isas well outside of Atlanta, and
so my grandchildren see whatthey saw.
If you are making a differencein the community and involved,

(01:04:42):
then they will too, because Iremember it was so funny when I
was at TVA.

Speaker 3 (01:04:46):
Daughters have to see their mothers.

Speaker 4 (01:04:49):
When I was at TVA, one of the things they asked me
to do was they formed.
Tva was responsible for forminga partnership.
It was a black achiever, so theway it was set up they had
adults were called adult blackachievers.

Speaker 3 (01:05:06):
Okay.

Speaker 4 (01:05:06):
And then they worked with middle school young people
and they were young blackachievers and so it was more or
less like mentoring and we wouldmeet once a month and, you know
, had different activities andstuff.
So when they asked me to dothat if I would be one of the
black achievers, I said yesunder the condition that my
daughter could be one of theblack achievers.
I said yes under the conditionthat my daughter could be one of

(01:05:27):
the young achievers, and sothose kind of things.
You know I brought her alongbecause, again, it was like she
could benefit from the program.
She wasn't proud with me becausethat didn't make sense for her
to be proud with me.
But she learned so much throughthe program and so any kind of
time that you can still give tothe community, but then try to

(01:05:47):
tie your family and build yourfamily up at the same time, are
y'all hearing?

Speaker 3 (01:05:52):
what she's saying.
Because, adrienne, I'll saythis, I'm so glad you brought
that up because Adrienne cameinto our real estate business at
20 years old and of course itwas intimidating because your
clients are going to be wayolder than you and that type
thing.
But she felt like she was inthe shadow of me and her dad and

(01:06:14):
I said at first I felt bad forher because they would introduce
her Like people would say, oh,that's your mom, because they
wouldn't even say her name and Iwould correct them.
I said she has a name.
But then it got to a point thatthey stopped doing it.
But Adrian started gettingcomfortable in my shadow and I
was like no, she's.
Like well, people have me inyour shadow.
I said no, you have yourself inmy shadow.

(01:06:37):
I said, step out.
You know that type thing and Ithink it's great to give your
children a stepping stone andteach them.
Okay, here you go, because whywould we go and sacrifice and do
all that if we couldn't handthat down as well?
So I think that is a big thing.
Is don't for anybody that's outthere that may have a family

(01:06:58):
business or may have, you know,parents that are in great fields
that their parents can open upa door.
Don't look at it like you're ina shadow Excel from what
they've taught you.

Speaker 1 (01:07:10):
Take that opportunity .

Speaker 3 (01:07:12):
Take that opportunity , because why would your parents
do what they've done, you know,for you to say, oh well, I just
want to do it all on my own Ifyou don't have to take that
opportunity and go.

Speaker 4 (01:07:25):
And really and truly, that's how so many great
businesses have survived becauseof the generation being passed
on.
And think about the luxury whenyou were young, trying to
figure out what you're going todo in life and starting from
zero.
You are starting with nothing.

Speaker 3 (01:07:43):
Yes, Me and David are first-generation entrepreneurs.
Like all my family wereeducators.
My husband's side of the familywere educators and my
grandfather, he, wanted me to bea teacher.
So bad, but that wasn't thecalling for me and I didn't know
that I was going to be anentrepreneur for almost 27 years

(01:08:03):
.
But it was like I had to followmy path, you know, and be OK
with it.
You know, because at first Idid feel like, OK, I was letting
my grandfather down or let myyou know, my family down, that
type thing.
But I realized that God's pathis God's path.
God's path and I'm so thankfulyes, so thankful because God's

(01:08:24):
path is always's path, god'spath, and I'm so thankful, yes,
so thankful, because God's pathis always the right path to go.
So, as we end this, what wouldyou tell the community?
What does this community need?

Speaker 4 (01:08:36):
This community needs more appreciation, appreciation
for the fact that we live in aplace that is, first of all,
beautiful.
It is, I mean, this area.
When you look at what Godcreated the mountains, the
rivers, the greenery it's abeautiful place.

Speaker 3 (01:08:59):
It really is, and you get so much in East Tennessee.

Speaker 4 (01:09:03):
Yes, so first of all appreciate that.
Second of all, appreciate whatyou can bring to the community,
because sometimes we think, oh,I'm not so on the big name and
the big title and the bigwhatever Everybody can
contribute to our success.
So don't be intimidated.

(01:09:24):
Whatever you have to contribute, use it.
Find a venue that will allowyou to excel, whether it's
another non-profit, whether it'sstarting your own non-profit,
whether it's starting your ownfor-profit.
Yes, you know, I think that weneed to be more inviting.
And then, second of all, I Ithink that we need to be more

(01:09:46):
inviting.
And then, second of all, I justthink that those who have
opportunities should be lookingfor those who don't and bring
them alone, go into a cocoon atthe end of the day because
they've got theirs, and sit outand look out the window at those

(01:10:07):
who don't have and wonderwhat's wrong with them.
What's wrong with them is youhaven't opened up and given them
an opportunity.

Speaker 3 (01:10:15):
And you got to realize.
You know the thing.
You know they say give someonetheir flowers before it's too
late.
Tell people that paved the wayfor you.
Humble yourself enough to sayif you know somebody that's
paved the way and they've helpedyou, tell them thank you.

(01:10:37):
You know you have to stop andsay thank you for paving the way
, thank you for putting time inme Right, thank you for you know
, mentoring me, whatever thattype thing, because God is
listening and he's wanting youto be thankful for everything he
gives, because he sends thosepeople as a vessel of him.
You know.

(01:10:57):
So that type thing I do thinkthat this community, more people
, need to say to Dr Reed thankyou for paving the way for me
and thank you for being thatexample that I can be proud of.

Speaker 4 (01:11:12):
Well, thank you for saying that.
I never really thought thatanybody was, you know, was
paying attention, watching.
I'm doing what I think God'scalled me to do.
I'm doing what I think God'scalled me to do and I'm just
sort of speechless that someoneis noticing someone.
It matters.

Speaker 3 (01:11:30):
God told me a certain part of why it was time to
bring you on, and I told you offcamera that three different
times your name has up and itwas not time.
Now I know why.
He wanted me to give you yourflowers and he wanted me to tell

(01:11:51):
you that you paved the way forso many Thank you.

Speaker 4 (01:11:59):
I don't know what to say.

Speaker 3 (01:12:00):
She's speechless, she's speechless, but you don't
have what to say she'sspeechless.
She's speechless, but you don'thave to say anything.
Just know that a lot of peoplewatch you and a lot of people
are growing because of you andyour life is not in vain,
because you work to make sureit's not in vain.

Speaker 4 (01:12:18):
Well, I thank you for saying that and you know I go
back to my grandmother when Iwas a little girl.
She was the world to me andunfortunately she died when I
was 16 years old and I was justdevastated.
But I promised her that I wouldmake her proud.
I didn't know how that wouldhappen, I didn't know what I was

(01:12:41):
going to do, but she's been aguiding star for me Because I
say, am I doing what I was goingto do?
but she's been a guiding starfor me, because I say am I doing
what you wanted me to do?
And she was a community person,she was a loving person.
No one came in contact with herthat didn't have something
positive to say.
So I thank you for saying that,because it reminds me that I

(01:13:04):
didn't let her down, I guess.

Speaker 3 (01:13:05):
You didn't let her down and know this is that there
are so many people that maybenot thought about.
Let me tell her thank you.
And so let me be the one tospeak up for everybody is thank
you for building this community,thank you for um not tarnishing

(01:13:26):
the dream.
You, you're, you're living outthe dream and you're living it
unapologetic, so thank you, so,so, so, tune in this Friday,
because we have Dr Reed on Talkin Tennessee.
Bye, guys, because we have DrReed on Talkin' Tennessee.

Speaker 1 (01:13:46):
Bye guys.
Thanks for listening to Talkin'Tennessee with Yvonca.
Watch out for our weeklyepisodes from the First Family
of Real Estate and check us outon the web
wwwyvoncasalesrealestatecom.
See our videos on Yvonca'sYouTube channel or find us on
Facebook under.
Yvonca Landis and Twitter atYvonca Landis.

(01:14:08):
And don't forget to tell afriend about us.
Until next time.
Yvonca signing off.

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