What if you could be part of a community that values impactful achievements and celebrates its heroes? Join us for an illuminating conversation with some incredible guests who have recently received a prestigious presidential award from AmeriCorps, thanks to an unexpected nomination by DeMarco Plays. We'll also explore the vibrant local theater scene, featuring Raphael Raglands' successful stage play, "Motown in the Living Room." Our discussion extends to significant community milestones, like the advocacy and fundraising efforts that led to the commissioning of a historic statue of Vail Phillips, marking a new era in representation at the state capitol.
Ever wondered what it takes to organize a major community event that could potentially create jobs and attract nationwide attention? We dive deep into the intricate challenges and meticulous planning behind the upcoming white party, celebrating 25 years of the Boys and Girls Clubs. Get invaluable insights from key individuals such as Latonya Jackson and Jamal Boyd, along with support from Governor Evers. We'll discuss the motivations behind supporting the Boys and Girls Club, viewing it as a life ministry rather than just a job, and how individuals and businesses can contribute through sponsorships, volunteering, and donations.
Let's tackle some hard-hitting issues, like the disparity between investment in education and incarceration in Wisconsin, and explore innovative solutions such as a public workforce high school with unionized teachers. Our guest also shares their upcoming sabbatical plans, emphasizing the necessity of personal growth and family time after years of transformative work in youth development. We wrap up with words of wisdom for the youth, stressing the importance of perseverance, learning from failures, and surrounding oneself with inspiring individuals. Discover how diverse connections and self-reliance are key to achieving success, all while offering a heartfelt wish for continued progress and inspiration.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
How's life been treating you?
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I can't complain man.
Really really I cannot complain.
Everything has been going very,very well for me.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Okay, good stuff.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
And things have been going well for you too.
I see Trying man trying tryingTell us about this presidential
award or recognition.
What is it?
What's going on with that?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I'm not too sure about it.
So this brother out ofIndianapolis recommended me and
a couple of our donors for apresidential award through
AmeriCorps.
I had no idea that he wasnominating us, so he informed us
last week that we won thisnational president award through
AmeriCorps.
Demarco Plays Antoine Taylor isthe CEO of that organization.
(00:41):
He's been working with us forabout a decade.
Demarco yeah, DeMarco on ourwhite party events.
So he worked with celebritiesall over the country.
He does stage plays and hebooked a lot of the talent for
our events in Madison.
It was my understanding that henominated us and myself, Corey
Marino, Diane Baldwin and JohnMcKenzie, I think, got the award
(01:02):
together before I worked herein Madison.
That's serious yeah no doubt, nodoubt.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
So what does that entail?
Does that you guys got to go tothe White House, or they come
here?
What happens?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
No, it's not a White House event, it's just.
I'm not sure, I don't have allthe details yet.
I just know it's AmeriCorps,and a national organization
bestowed an award on you likethis, so I'm excited about
learning more.
But we heard about it throughDeMarco Plays and his
organization and honored that wewere even considered.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
That's amazing and you know, speaking of plays, I
actually went to a play thisweekend in Stoughton.
It was called Motown, in theLiving Room, oh wow, with
Raphael Raglands.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Oh, that's my man.
It was hilarious, was it?
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Oh man, it was a really really good play.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, he sent me an invite.
I happened to be out of statethis weekend.
I just got back last night, butI didn't know he was doing
stage.
So he's doing stage plays, orwas it a movie?
It was stage play, oh wow.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
It was really really good, Did he?
Speaker 1 (02:03):
get a good turnout.
Yeah, that's good stuff.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
When I was there it was almost sold out.
Wow, wow, I think he did twoweekends in a row, wow, and now
he's going to the Bartell nextOkay, and then he's like you
know, he's going around makingthe videos for my son.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
He have done probably a half a dozen videos for boys
and girls clubs over the yearsand he also did a movie.
We did a two hour, two and ahalf hour movie called the club
about 10 years ago and it's thefirst time I think in the
(02:40):
history of the overture centerwhere there was like 3,000 kids
that filled up that theater fromhis playing.
He did a great job working withus and that's a great man yeah,
he always speaks very highly ofyou.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
We actually interviewed him and he told us
the story, like how he connectedwith you and how you guys sold
out the Overture Center.
I was like wow, he was like manyou know, since then me and him
been, you know, been tight.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
You know, he's been grinding for a long time, For a
long time.
So really really great, greatguy.
Man wish him nothing butcontinued success.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Absolutely so.
Tell us about this white part.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Man, it's going to be history in the making.
It in the making.
It's funny.
On my Facebook page today I hadbeen advocating for a statue of
Phil Phillips and it was just athought in my head.
After the George Floyd, youknow, protest, it was a group of
young people that was downtown,you know, demonstrating and
made me aware there was a lackof representation at the state
capitol.
So four years ago this month, Iwrote a letter to the governor
(03:42):
and to the state executive boardrequesting that there be
representation at the statecapitol and because of that, in
three weeks we will have thefirst sculpture of an
African-American woman on stategrounds anywhere in the United
States.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
That's major man.
It's major, that's major man.
So we decided that and you'llthank you, man, thank you, thank
you.
So it I'm going to give it upfor that man, thank you, man,
thank you, thank you, that'smajor.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
So it took us four years to get it done.
We've raised over $600,000 tohave a statue commissioned by a
guy named Ratcliffe Bailey who,during the making of the statue,
passed away.
So we'll be honoring him aswell.
And then we're going to honor25.
This is the 25th yearanniversary for Boys and Girls
Clubs and we'll be honoring 25trailblazers who have helped to
(04:28):
set the foundation for the workthat we do at Boys and Girls
Clubs, like Jacqueline Hunt, herson, julian Hunt, from John and
Joellen McKenzie to Dwayne andTia Malone, and I can go on and
on and on of alumni memberswho've gone through our club and
now work in Hollywood or arenow developers and medical
(04:49):
professionals.
And so, now that I've been here15 years, I've seen kids grow
up and make something of theirlives.
So our white party is going tobe a celebration of our 25 years
, is going to make history withthe unveiling of Vail Phillips,
and we're going to raise $600and hopefully $50,000 to support
(05:10):
young people in this communitythrough programs that we run in
our schools and our after-schoolprograms.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So what can people expect at this event?
Take me through the day.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
So before the unveiling, we're going to have a
and this is invitation only thepeople that helped us raise the
600 plus thousand for thestatue from the Milwaukee Bucks
to foundations in Milwaukee, tofoundations here in Madison.
We're going to have a closedVIP event where we're going to
honor those donors in theassembly chambers where the
(05:43):
governor gives his state address.
From there the unveiling is, Ithink, from 5 to 6.
That's going to be open to thepublic so anybody can show up at
that time and we're going tohave about 15 speakers, from the
governor to myself, to ValPhillips' sons and other
dignitaries.
And right at the end we'regoing to have a drape around the
(06:06):
statue.
We're going to hit a button andthen the statue will be
unveiled outside.
From there everybody will walkinto the state capitol.
We have the entire building toourselves.
When you walk in you're going tosee lights, a DJ, a live band.
There's a band called theFunkadelics from Chicago.
It's 13, 14 of them.
You're going to see a DJ, alive band.
There's a band called theFunkadelics from Chicago.
It's 13, 14 of them.
(06:28):
You're going to see a DJ.
Dj Shorty is going to be DJingoutside.
Shorty Entertainment.
He'll be outside he just foundout on Friday.
Then we're going to have aprincipal inside, another DJ,
kyrie Brooks.
Oh yeah, dj Kyrie, yeah, djKyrie.
(06:49):
So he'll be inside DJing.
And then we're going to havewine and food something you've
probably never seen inside thestate capitol.
And then we got a bunch ofcelebrities coming from, you
know, laurence Tate, to Leon whoplayed in the Temptations, to
James who was on GeneralHospital, and about a half a
(07:12):
dozen other.
You know celebrities that willbe at this event where people
will be able to mix and mingleand take pictures with them.
We're hoping that people willbe being all white that's a
requirement and you'll just seea sea of people in white
honoring Val Phillips, honoringour 25 trailblazers and also
raising money for kids.
(07:32):
We're going to have good food,good wine, great entertainment
and have a bunch of fun.
I heard you're going to beinvolved in the white party
interviewing people.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I didn't say that I was going to go bring it up.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
I appreciate you taking on that assignment One of
the things you asked whatpeople are going to expect.
We're going to have about adozen photographers that are
going to feel like you'rewalking into the red carpet with
paparazzis there.
Wow, we're really going overthe top.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
So is there any special surprises that you have
this year, or are you keepingthat under your hat?
Speaker 1 (08:08):
We always have surprises.
Just know, when you come to ourevents, it's going to always be
a surprise, it's going toalways be an experience and
that's why this event was namedthe number one A-lister event
last year by Madison Magazine,because we recognize talent
locally, regionally andnationally around kids in our
(08:31):
community.
You'll see every race, everygender, people from different
socioeconomic classes comingtogether to support young people
in this community.
You know, for those who havenot bought a ticket, don't wait
till the last minute on thisevent, for the most part always
sell out, but you can expect tohave a great time, meet a lot of
great people, see a lot ofpeople dancing and then you'll
(08:54):
be a part of history because ofwhat we're doing around Val
Phillips.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Absolutely, you know.
Which leads me to my nextquestion what role does
community partners and sponsorsplay?
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You know it wouldn't happen without them.
You know so, boys and GirlsClubs.
We don't have the muscle, thefinancial muscle, to put on
these kinds of events.
So you know we have to dependon our community partners who
sponsor the event, donors, whocommunity members that purchase
tickets to offset the cost, tonot only put this event on but
(09:29):
to raise money for our kids.
So it is impossible to do thiswithout some community support.
And you know we're just themagicians who help pull off the
vision and execute on it.
But it takes the will of thecommunity to support a project
like this.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
So what are some of the biggest challenges in
organizing an event like this,and is there any spotty that's
special, that you want to kindof give a shout out to?
That helped you, because I knowyou can't do it all by yourself
.
You can't.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Yeah.
So you know, when you do anevent like this, you always got
to worry about you knowlogistical things Right.
So shout out to you knowLatonya Jackson she's our event
consultant, who started her ownnonprofit and we convinced her
to come on board to manage thisproject.
Jamal Boyd, from Cincinnati,who has come on on a short-term
(10:21):
basis to help organize thisevent.
A shout-out to Governor Evers,who supported the erection of
the statue from day one,including the executive
residency board.
But when you put on an eventlike this, it takes about three
to four months to plan, becauseyou have to get the licenses,
you have to get a liquor license, you have to hire security, you
(10:43):
have to plan every littledetail, you have to send out
invitations, you have to bookall the entertainment, you got
to make sure that the decor isdone right, because you want it
to be a special day or a specialevening for all the guests that
arrive.
So just shout out to my board,to our leadership team, to
latonya jackson and her staffand to all our donors who helped
(11:07):
to support this event so whatparticularly motivates you to
lead and support the Boys andGirls Club, particularly through
events like this?
To me it's a ministry.
It's part of my life.
I grew up in a Boys and GirlsClub.
I grew up in poverty.
For me it's waking up everysingle day to make a difference.
You know the minute your feethit the ground.
(11:28):
Every morning, you know, Ithink about how I can utilize my
life to change somebody else'slife, and that sometimes by just
making connections and being abridge builder to connect
resources to young people andfamilies in need.
So I don't really consider myassignment at Boys and Girls to
(11:49):
be a job.
It's a ministry that I thinkGod has led me to and I enjoy
doing it.
I've been doing it now for 15years in Madison and for 25
years across the country in avariety of different settings.
After the white party, I'mgoing on a sabbatical.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah, I was going to get to that but you jumped, so
let's get into it.
Going on a sabbatical yeah, Iwas going to get to that but you
jumped, so let's get into it.
What are your long-term goalsfor the white party and its
impact on the Boys and GirlsClub?
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Yeah, I would love to see you look at some of these
other cities like Louisville,cincinnati, miami, chicago, even
Milwaukee right, you haveSummerfest there.
In Cincinnati you have themusic festival.
Those are large economicengines for the city and you
(12:45):
know music and entertainment isfruitful for the soul.
So I'm hoping that it grows tothe point where we can bring
tens of thousands of people fromacross the country that will
utilize our hotels, that willraise money not just for Boys
and Girls Clubs but forcharities throughout.
You know Dane County Similar towhat you see with Broadfest,
right, but really celebratingthe art of different races and
(13:08):
cultures, where you know you mayhave something around country
hip hop and all these differentmusical themes, where you're
also bringing entertainment andcelebrities from around the
country to our city and you knowit's interesting.
You come to our event and Icould feel that we could do what
(13:29):
Milwaukee or Chicago orCincinnati is doing.
I'm hoping our white partycould turn into a weekend event
where I look at what Juju isdoing with his block party.
I would love to see somehowthose events merge and it
becomes a celebrity.
In Indianapolis they have theBlack Expo and they have these
(13:50):
workshops on Saturday morning.
I participated one year intheir celebrity basketball
tournament and I wasn't acelebrity but they asked me to
play.
I remember saying, man, howcool this is.
It was like 15,000 peoplewatching these celebrities play
basketball.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
They're in a whole league now.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's like, why can't we do thatand have somebody like Ice Cube
bring his three-on-three Right?
So I think you know it mighttake a decade to get there, but
I could see us doing that here.
You know in Madison and whathappens when you do that you
create jobs because, let's say,a venue like that, bring in $10,
$15 million to the city, youcan create another 100 full and
(14:33):
part-time jobs of peopleplanning spending a whole year.
You know planning somethinglike that and they do it in
other cities and then youattract people.
The hotel industry will benefitfrom it, then your vendors will
benefit from it, and we justdon't have those kind of
cultural events here in Madison.
It's getting better, but it'snot at a place that I think we
(14:55):
should be, and I'm hoping thewhite party could become that.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
So how can individuals and businesses get
involved in supporting the whiteparty?
Speaker 1 (15:02):
and the Boys and Girls Club.
Yeah, go towwwbgcdcwhitepartycom and we
have a whole sponsorship packageon there.
If you want to be a sponsor,contact me.
I'm active on LinkedIn.
I'm active on Facebook.
You can email me.
At Boys and Girls Clubs, we'realways looking for people to
(15:23):
give of their time, their talentand their treasure, and all
three of those things fuel ourwork at Boys and Girls Clubs.
Some people like to give money.
That's great, but we alsorespect time and talent, because
you cannot be a successfulnonprofit if you don't have an
army of volunteers, if you don'thave an army of volunteers that
(15:43):
are talented and you'recapitalizing off their
intellectual capacity.
They help you think how you canbe of service to young people
and families and those who arethe most need in our community,
and so that's how people can getinvolved Time, talent, treasure
.
Contact us.
Let us know how you want to getinvolved.
(16:04):
Right now, we want people topurchase tickets.
We're looking for sponsors towrap this up.
Right now, we've raised$595,000 of a $625,000 goal, so
we always want to exceed.
To me, when we meet our goal,we failed our kids.
I don't like meeting our goal.
(16:25):
I like to exceed our goal, andsometimes people think, when you
work for a nonprofit that youhave to be fragile and we're
thankful.
But we always got to raise thebar raise the bar for our kids,
raise the bar around ourfundraising activities, raise
the bar around how we operate.
I've always tried to set highexpectations for our
(16:48):
organization, so I'm optimisticthat we will exceed our $625,000
goal.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Are there any new initiatives or projects in the
pipeline that you're excited toshare?
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Yeah, In about two weeks, this community is going
to hear about our involvement ina public school that we want to
build with the McKinseyFoundation.
John and Jo Ellen are long-termsupporters of Boys and Girls
Clubs and they want to build ahigh school around workforce,
teaching kids how to becomeentrepreneurs, how to start
(17:24):
their own businesses, how tobecome plumbers, carpenters,
healthcare workers engineers andthere's not a high school like
that that exists right now.
So we're starting those publicconversations in a few weeks and
I don't want to go too into thedetails, but it's coming.
Like Deion Sanders said lastyear, we're coming, this school
(17:46):
it's coming and it's going toget done.
I believe we've hired the rightpeople to make this happen and
we're really excited about whatthe possibilities are.
But we want to engage thecommunity.
We want to get feedback fromthem on that.
The other thing I'm excitedabout we're rethinking.
You know we did an analysis ofall the different things we do
at Boys and Girls.
(18:06):
I didn't realize we do aspecial event every single month
, from our Youth of the Year,the College Son of the Year, to
College Sonnet Day, to GolfOuting, to our Shamrock Shuffle,
to the White Party, to the BikeRide Moving Group.
It's so many different thingsthat we do to coach for kids.
So our team was like, wow, wedo something every single month.
(18:27):
So we're rethinking you knowthe number of events that we do
next year and whether or not weshould partner with other
organizations or support anotherorganization around.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
You know our growth and so so so you guys kind of
like scale back a little bit orjust kind of put it on.
Put it on somebody else likelet them take the lead.
You guys supported from yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
So I don't ever believe in scaling back, but
just rethinking, right.
I think scaling back sometimescan get you in trouble, and so I
told my team like we won'tscale back, but we'll rethink
how we do business.
And rethinking might be likejust what you shared, it might
be partnering with somebody, itmight be sponsoring with
somebody and leveraging otherresources so we can be more
(19:07):
effective.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Well, that sounds great and I was thinking about
that.
Would I be interested in goingto a school like that?
That was the first thing Ithought, you know, because
there's so many kids thatregular school is just not for
them.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
It's not.
It's not.
I mean, in this country we knowonly about 51% of working age
adults have college degrees,right, you know.
And so there's other.
You look at the, that's almosthalf of America Right.
So every kid won't graduatefrom high school.
Then you have a lot of kidsthat do graduate and don't have
a path forward.
So we believe that there shouldbe a dedicated high school in
(19:42):
Madison that's tied tointroducing kids directly into
careers, right, not?
Speaker 2 (19:48):
only that, because there's generational plumbers.
There's generational plumbersthere's generational, exactly,
exactly people like hey, man, mydad is a plumber and I want to
get into the business.
Well, you could be going to highschool exactly doing it now and
you know my son wants to be acontent creator, so he's always
watching and he's always, youknow, doing little things.
(20:09):
So to let me know he'sinterested and he wants to do it
, he likes to edit his littlevideos on my phone and stuff
like that.
So I'm like man in Sun Prairie.
This is Sun Prairie MediaCenter has a program for kids to
you know, teach them andeverything, and I teach them too
.
So I was thinking about thatlike man.
That'd be really cool for anolder kid to get that type of
(20:30):
experience.
Absolutely you know plumbingand carpentry and things like
that and they can make so muchmoney coming out of high school.
It'd be crazy and that wouldchange the entire community.
No doubt, when you have youngadults with that type of
disposable income, they're notgoing to save it, they're going
(20:51):
to put it back into thecommunity.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Exactly they're buying groceries.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Taxes, yeah, taxes Like that actually helps the
entire community.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
I mean, they become taxpayers and not, you know,
liability to the tax system,right?
And so it's a like.
I was meeting with Rene Mo fromUnited Way the other day Shout
out to Rene, yeah, good peopleand great organization.
And we were talking about likewe don't, as a country, value
education and you can see itwith how we invest in young
(21:25):
people In Wisconsin.
She was sharing with me that wespent almost $300,000 to
incarcerate a young person$300,000.
But we spend about $16,000,$17,000 to educate a child.
So there's somethingfundamentally wrong with that
equation and so we have tocreate opportunity equations for
(21:48):
kids to offset the balance ofthat.
And sometimes you got toleverage public and private
funding.
And so I just want to be clearas we start this process we want
to do this with MMSD.
We want to work closely withJoe Gothard and the school board
.
We also want to work with MikeJones and MTI and we want this
(22:11):
to be a public workforce highschool using unionized teachers.
But we may have to negotiatewith them a project labor
agreement because this schoolhas to look very, very different
.
My understanding, less than0.5% of MMSD students
participate in apprenticeshipprograms and workforce programs.
(22:34):
There's an elementary andmiddle charter school, but we
want to be the high school andwe have a reputation and a long
history with MMSD.
We invest about $2 million ayear in our kids at MMSD, so I
believe we're their largestpublic-private partner and we
want to continue it.
(22:55):
But we want to expand to helpthe district create additional
pathways for our kids.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
That's a lot.
Just even have that thoughtprocess to try to put the pieces
together, to even try to makethat happen.
You know, realistically.
How far are you out seeing thatactually?
Speaker 1 (23:12):
About four years.
You think it would take aboutfour years?
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
So tell us about this sabbatical.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah, you know, sometimes you know you got to
recharge man.
You know you grind every dayfor 15 years.
You take a church and turn itinto a boys and girls club.
You take a house and flip itinto a boys and girls club.
You take a facility like thisthat was the corporate
headquarters of a pharmaceuticalcompany and you flip it to a
(23:38):
workforce center for youngpeople.
You create dozens of jobs,meaningful, family-sustaining
jobs.
You build up the assets of anorganization and that takes
years and that takes time awayfrom your family.
So I'm fortunate that my boardfor years they've been saying,
man, you should take asabbatical.
So I'm going to go to Africa.
(23:59):
I'm going to go a couple ofplaces, some with my family,
some on my own, and I've neverbeen out of the country by
myself.
I've actually never beenanywhere by myself, and so I'm
looking forward to taking about45 days off.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
So when you say by yourself, what do you mean?
Speaker 1 (24:17):
So I've never stayed, I've never went on a trip by
myself, without my kids orwithout my family.
So I'm going to Africa bymyself, just you and your wife.
No, just me, just you.
Me and my wife are going totake a trip that we're planning
together with our kids, and thenone without our kids, and then
(24:39):
I'm just doing one by myself.
I always wanted to exploreAfrica, so I think I'm going to
Liberia.
There's a non-profit that I'massociated with there and I
think I'll be doing somethingwith them.
So I gotta work out the detailsyou know around that, and
sometimes you just gotta getaway and so even on your
vacation, you're still gonna beworking but working for a
different cause.
Yeah, I won't be sitting on thebeach, that's just not me.
I won't be chilling, so you'resaying like about 45 days.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
So how long do you give yourself before you start
checking emails?
Speaker 1 (25:06):
So that's something that my board and my colleagues
have asked me not to do, becauseevery time I've taken vacation,
I'm always still plugged in.
So what I committed to doing ischecking in once a week for
about 30 minutes.
I'm going to try my best to dothat.
I'm going to actually take myemails off myself on my
assistant.
She'll be able to, you know,read them and respond.
(25:28):
So we'll have a plan.
You know around that I'mleaving three people in charge
of the organization, you know,while I'm out and we'll see how
it goes.
But that's, that's the plan.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
That's the plan.
Yeah, Before we get out of here, is there any words of wisdom
or any lessons that you you'velearned that you would want to
share with?
Speaker 1 (25:49):
the youth.
Yeah, just man, don't give up.
Every winner had to try overagain.
I think I just posted that thismorning.
Right, success comes by failingsometimes.
And just surround yourselfaround people who are better
than you.
Iron sharpens, iron Birds of afeather, of a feather flock
together, right, and there's awhole bunch of different sayings
(26:10):
.
But if you surround yourselfaround people who are doing
unproductive things, you'regoing to become an unproductive
person.
If you are surrounding yourselfaround people who are doing
amazing things, it is morelikely you're going to be
amazing.
So I've always I would say lastfour or five years I've been
(26:33):
trying to surround myself arounda variety, and I think I shared
this with you in the lastpodcast.
I've always tried to surroundmyself around a variety, and I
think I shared this with you inthe last podcast.
I've always tried to surroundmyself around a variety of
different people People who haveGEDs up to people who have LLCs
, to people who are worthmillions.
But I also have friends who areconvicted felons and friends
who own real estate and friendswho are in highly compensated
(26:58):
positions.
But each one of them, I learnfrom all of them and each one of
them gives me a balancedapproach to life.
So my advice to young people bewilling to be coachable, be
willing to learn.
Surround yourself around adiverse group of people and go
(27:22):
get it.
Nobody's going to give youanything.
I had a family member who wrotea message the other day to our
family.
I love her.
She went out and got a collegedegree but she felt like our
family didn't like fully supporther in that process and I
respect her opinion.
But at the same time, once youbecome grown, nobody's going to
(27:44):
give you anything Nobody.
You might get lucky here andthere, but for the most part,
when you become an adult,nobody's going to pay your rent.
Nobody's going to pay your carnote Nobody's going to.
Nobody's going to pay your carnote Nobody's going to.
Now they might do it once ortwice, but nobody's going to
just give you anything.
You got to go out and get itand so that's my advice Go out,
(28:08):
hustle, grind, stay focused,write out your plans, continue
to be a lifelong learner andyou'll look up and be like man.
This is what I've made of mylife and that would be my advice
.
So I appreciate you giving me aplatform to talk about this
(28:28):
important work.
I appreciate the connectionthat you have to Madison 365 and
even in your own growth anddevelopment, and happy to be
connected with you in this wayand wish you nothing but success
as you grow your podcast.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Thank you.
How's life been treating you?
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I can't complain man.
Really really I cannot complain.
Everything has been going very,very well for me.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Okay, good stuff.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
And things have been going well for you too.
I see Trying man trying tryingTell us about this presidential
award or recognition.
What is it?
What's going on with that?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I'm not too sure about it.
So this brother out ofIndianapolis recommended me and
a couple of our donors for apresidential award through
AmeriCorps.
I had no idea that he wasnominating us, so he informed us
last week that we won thisnational president award through
AmeriCorps.
Demarco Plays Antoine Taylor isthe CEO of that organization.
(00:41):
He's been working with us forabout a decade.
Demarco yeah, DeMarco on ourwhite party events.
So he worked with celebritiesall over the country.
He does stage plays and hebooked a lot of the talent for
our events in Madison.
It was my understanding that henominated us and myself, Corey
Marino, Diane Baldwin and JohnMcKenzie, I think, got the award
(01:02):
together before I worked herein Madison.
That's serious yeah no doubt, nodoubt.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
So what does that entail?
Does that you guys got to go tothe White House, or they come
here?
What happens?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
No, it's not a White House event, it's just.
I'm not sure, I don't have allthe details yet.
I just know it's AmeriCorps,and a national organization
bestowed an award on you likethis, so I'm excited about
learning more.
But we heard about it throughDeMarco Plays and his
organization and honored that wewere even considered.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
That's amazing and you know, speaking of plays, I
actually went to a play thisweekend in Stoughton.
It was called Motown, in theLiving Room, oh wow, with
Raphael Raglands.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Oh, that's my man.
It was hilarious, was it?
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Oh man, it was a really really good play.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, he sent me an invite.
I happened to be out of statethis weekend.
I just got back last night, butI didn't know he was doing
stage.
So he's doing stage plays, orwas it a movie?
It was stage play, oh wow.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
It was really really good, Did he?
Speaker 1 (02:03):
get a good turnout.
Yeah, that's good stuff.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
When I was there it was almost sold out.
Wow, wow, I think he did twoweekends in a row, wow, and now
he's going to the Bartell nextOkay, and then he's like you
know, he's going around makingthe videos for my son.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
He have done probably a half a dozen videos for boys
and girls clubs over the yearsand he also did a movie.
We did a two hour, two and ahalf hour movie called the club
about 10 years ago and it's thefirst time I think in the
(02:40):
history of the overture centerwhere there was like 3,000 kids
that filled up that theater fromhis playing.
He did a great job working withus and that's a great man yeah,
he always speaks very highly ofyou.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
We actually interviewed him and he told us
the story, like how he connectedwith you and how you guys sold
out the Overture Center.
I was like wow, he was like manyou know, since then me and him
been, you know, been tight.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
You know, he's been grinding for a long time, For a
long time.
So really really great, greatguy.
Man wish him nothing butcontinued success.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Absolutely so.
Tell us about this white part.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Man, it's going to be history in the making.
It in the making.
It's funny.
On my Facebook page today I hadbeen advocating for a statue of
Phil Phillips and it was just athought in my head.
After the George Floyd, youknow, protest, it was a group of
young people that was downtown,you know, demonstrating and
made me aware there was a lackof representation at the state
capitol.
So four years ago this month, Iwrote a letter to the governor
(03:42):
and to the state executive boardrequesting that there be
representation at the statecapitol and because of that, in
three weeks we will have thefirst sculpture of an
African-American woman on stategrounds anywhere in the United
States.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
That's major man.
It's major, that's major man.
So we decided that and you'llthank you, man, thank you, thank
you.
So it I'm going to give it upfor that man, thank you, man,
thank you, thank you, that'smajor.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
So it took us four years to get it done.
We've raised over $600,000 tohave a statue commissioned by a
guy named Ratcliffe Bailey who,during the making of the statue,
passed away.
So we'll be honoring him aswell.
And then we're going to honor25.
This is the 25th yearanniversary for Boys and Girls
Clubs and we'll be honoring 25trailblazers who have helped to
(04:28):
set the foundation for the workthat we do at Boys and Girls
Clubs, like Jacqueline Hunt, herson, julian Hunt, from John and
Joellen McKenzie to Dwayne andTia Malone, and I can go on and
on and on of alumni memberswho've gone through our club and
now work in Hollywood or arenow developers and medical
(04:49):
professionals.
And so, now that I've been here15 years, I've seen kids grow
up and make something of theirlives.
So our white party is going tobe a celebration of our 25 years
, is going to make history withthe unveiling of Vail Phillips,
and we're going to raise $600and hopefully $50,000 to support
(05:10):
young people in this communitythrough programs that we run in
our schools and our after-schoolprograms.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So what can people expect at this event?
Take me through the day.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
So before the unveiling, we're going to have a
and this is invitation only thepeople that helped us raise the
600 plus thousand for thestatue from the Milwaukee Bucks
to foundations in Milwaukee, tofoundations here in Madison.
We're going to have a closedVIP event where we're going to
honor those donors in theassembly chambers where the
(05:43):
governor gives his state address.
From there the unveiling is, Ithink, from 5 to 6.
That's going to be open to thepublic so anybody can show up at
that time and we're going tohave about 15 speakers, from the
governor to myself, to ValPhillips' sons and other
dignitaries.
And right at the end we'regoing to have a drape around the
(06:06):
statue.
We're going to hit a button andthen the statue will be
unveiled outside.
From there everybody will walkinto the state capitol.
We have the entire building toourselves.
When you walk in you're going tosee lights, a DJ, a live band.
There's a band called theFunkadelics from Chicago.
It's 13, 14 of them.
You're going to see a DJ, alive band.
There's a band called theFunkadelics from Chicago.
It's 13, 14 of them.
(06:28):
You're going to see a DJ.
Dj Shorty is going to be DJingoutside.
Shorty Entertainment.
He'll be outside he just foundout on Friday.
Then we're going to have aprincipal inside, another DJ,
kyrie Brooks.
Oh yeah, dj Kyrie, yeah, djKyrie.
(06:49):
So he'll be inside DJing.
And then we're going to havewine and food something you've
probably never seen inside thestate capitol.
And then we got a bunch ofcelebrities coming from, you
know, laurence Tate, to Leon whoplayed in the Temptations, to
James who was on GeneralHospital, and about a half a
(07:12):
dozen other.
You know celebrities that willbe at this event where people
will be able to mix and mingleand take pictures with them.
We're hoping that people willbe being all white that's a
requirement and you'll just seea sea of people in white
honoring Val Phillips, honoringour 25 trailblazers and also
raising money for kids.
(07:32):
We're going to have good food,good wine, great entertainment
and have a bunch of fun.
I heard you're going to beinvolved in the white party
interviewing people.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
I didn't say that I was going to go bring it up.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
I appreciate you taking on that assignment One of
the things you asked whatpeople are going to expect.
We're going to have about adozen photographers that are
going to feel like you'rewalking into the red carpet with
paparazzis there.
Wow, we're really going overthe top.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
So is there any special surprises that you have
this year, or are you keepingthat under your hat?
Speaker 1 (08:08):
We always have surprises.
Just know, when you come to ourevents, it's going to always be
a surprise, it's going toalways be an experience and
that's why this event was namedthe number one A-lister event
last year by Madison Magazine,because we recognize talent
locally, regionally andnationally around kids in our
(08:31):
community.
You'll see every race, everygender, people from different
socioeconomic classes comingtogether to support young people
in this community.
You know, for those who havenot bought a ticket, don't wait
till the last minute on thisevent, for the most part always
sell out, but you can expect tohave a great time, meet a lot of
great people, see a lot ofpeople dancing and then you'll
(08:54):
be a part of history because ofwhat we're doing around Val
Phillips.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Absolutely, you know.
Which leads me to my nextquestion what role does
community partners and sponsorsplay?
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You know it wouldn't happen without them.
You know so, boys and GirlsClubs.
We don't have the muscle, thefinancial muscle, to put on
these kinds of events.
So you know we have to dependon our community partners who
sponsor the event, donors, whocommunity members that purchase
tickets to offset the cost, tonot only put this event on but
(09:29):
to raise money for our kids.
So it is impossible to do thiswithout some community support.
And you know we're just themagicians who help pull off the
vision and execute on it.
But it takes the will of thecommunity to support a project
like this.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
So what are some of the biggest challenges in
organizing an event like this,and is there any spotty that's
special, that you want to kindof give a shout out to?
That helped you, because I knowyou can't do it all by yourself
.
You can't.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Yeah.
So you know, when you do anevent like this, you always got
to worry about you knowlogistical things Right.
So shout out to you knowLatonya Jackson she's our event
consultant, who started her ownnonprofit and we convinced her
to come on board to manage thisproject.
Jamal Boyd, from Cincinnati,who has come on on a short-term
(10:21):
basis to help organize thisevent.
A shout-out to Governor Evers,who supported the erection of
the statue from day one,including the executive
residency board.
But when you put on an eventlike this, it takes about three
to four months to plan, becauseyou have to get the licenses,
you have to get a liquor license, you have to hire security, you
(10:43):
have to plan every littledetail, you have to send out
invitations, you have to bookall the entertainment, you got
to make sure that the decor isdone right, because you want it
to be a special day or a specialevening for all the guests that
arrive.
So just shout out to my board,to our leadership team, to
latonya jackson and her staffand to all our donors who helped
(11:07):
to support this event so whatparticularly motivates you to
lead and support the Boys andGirls Club, particularly through
events like this?
To me it's a ministry.
It's part of my life.
I grew up in a Boys and GirlsClub.
I grew up in poverty.
For me it's waking up everysingle day to make a difference.
You know the minute your feethit the ground.
(11:28):
Every morning, you know, Ithink about how I can utilize my
life to change somebody else'slife, and that sometimes by just
making connections and being abridge builder to connect
resources to young people andfamilies in need.
So I don't really consider myassignment at Boys and Girls to
(11:49):
be a job.
It's a ministry that I thinkGod has led me to and I enjoy
doing it.
I've been doing it now for 15years in Madison and for 25
years across the country in avariety of different settings.
After the white party, I'mgoing on a sabbatical.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah, I was going to get to that but you jumped, so
let's get into it.
Going on a sabbatical yeah, Iwas going to get to that but you
jumped, so let's get into it.
What are your long-term goalsfor the white party and its
impact on the Boys and GirlsClub?
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Yeah, I would love to see you look at some of these
other cities like Louisville,cincinnati, miami, chicago, even
Milwaukee right, you haveSummerfest there.
In Cincinnati you have themusic festival.
Those are large economicengines for the city and you
(12:45):
know music and entertainment isfruitful for the soul.
So I'm hoping that it grows tothe point where we can bring
tens of thousands of people fromacross the country that will
utilize our hotels, that willraise money not just for Boys
and Girls Clubs but forcharities throughout.
You know Dane County Similar towhat you see with Broadfest,
right, but really celebratingthe art of different races and
(13:08):
cultures, where you know you mayhave something around country
hip hop and all these differentmusical themes, where you're
also bringing entertainment andcelebrities from around the
country to our city and you knowit's interesting.
You come to our event and Icould feel that we could do what
(13:29):
Milwaukee or Chicago orCincinnati is doing.
I'm hoping our white partycould turn into a weekend event
where I look at what Juju isdoing with his block party.
I would love to see somehowthose events merge and it
becomes a celebrity.
In Indianapolis they have theBlack Expo and they have these
(13:50):
workshops on Saturday morning.
I participated one year intheir celebrity basketball
tournament and I wasn't acelebrity but they asked me to
play.
I remember saying, man, howcool this is.
It was like 15,000 peoplewatching these celebrities play
basketball.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
They're in a whole league now.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's like, why can't we do thatand have somebody like Ice Cube
bring his three-on-three Right?
So I think you know it mighttake a decade to get there, but
I could see us doing that here.
You know in Madison and whathappens when you do that you
create jobs because, let's say,a venue like that, bring in $10,
$15 million to the city, youcan create another 100 full and
(14:33):
part-time jobs of peopleplanning spending a whole year.
You know planning somethinglike that and they do it in
other cities and then youattract people.
The hotel industry will benefitfrom it, then your vendors will
benefit from it, and we justdon't have those kind of
cultural events here in Madison.
It's getting better, but it'snot at a place that I think we
(14:55):
should be, and I'm hoping thewhite party could become that.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
So how can individuals and businesses get
involved in supporting the whiteparty?
Speaker 1 (15:02):
and the Boys and Girls Club.
Yeah, go towwwbgcdcwhitepartycom and we
have a whole sponsorship packageon there.
If you want to be a sponsor,contact me.
I'm active on LinkedIn.
I'm active on Facebook.
You can email me.
At Boys and Girls Clubs, we'realways looking for people to
(15:23):
give of their time, their talentand their treasure, and all
three of those things fuel ourwork at Boys and Girls Clubs.
Some people like to give money.
That's great, but we alsorespect time and talent, because
you cannot be a successfulnonprofit if you don't have an
army of volunteers, if you don'thave an army of volunteers that
(15:43):
are talented and you'recapitalizing off their
intellectual capacity.
They help you think how you canbe of service to young people
and families and those who arethe most need in our community,
and so that's how people can getinvolved Time, talent, treasure
.
Contact us.
Let us know how you want to getinvolved.
(16:04):
Right now, we want people topurchase tickets.
We're looking for sponsors towrap this up.
Right now, we've raised$595,000 of a $625,000 goal, so
we always want to exceed.
To me, when we meet our goal,we failed our kids.
I don't like meeting our goal.
(16:25):
I like to exceed our goal, andsometimes people think, when you
work for a nonprofit that youhave to be fragile and we're
thankful.
But we always got to raise thebar raise the bar for our kids,
raise the bar around ourfundraising activities, raise
the bar around how we operate.
I've always tried to set highexpectations for our
(16:48):
organization, so I'm optimisticthat we will exceed our $625,000
goal.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Are there any new initiatives or projects in the
pipeline that you're excited toshare?
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Yeah, In about two weeks, this community is going
to hear about our involvement ina public school that we want to
build with the McKinseyFoundation.
John and Jo Ellen are long-termsupporters of Boys and Girls
Clubs and they want to build ahigh school around workforce,
teaching kids how to becomeentrepreneurs, how to start
(17:24):
their own businesses, how tobecome plumbers, carpenters,
healthcare workers engineers andthere's not a high school like
that that exists right now.
So we're starting those publicconversations in a few weeks and
I don't want to go too into thedetails, but it's coming.
Like Deion Sanders said lastyear, we're coming, this school
(17:46):
it's coming and it's going toget done.
I believe we've hired the rightpeople to make this happen and
we're really excited about whatthe possibilities are.
But we want to engage thecommunity.
We want to get feedback fromthem on that.
The other thing I'm excitedabout we're rethinking.
You know we did an analysis ofall the different things we do
at Boys and Girls.
(18:06):
I didn't realize we do aspecial event every single month
, from our Youth of the Year,the College Son of the Year, to
College Sonnet Day, to GolfOuting, to our Shamrock Shuffle,
to the White Party, to the BikeRide Moving Group.
It's so many different thingsthat we do to coach for kids.
So our team was like, wow, wedo something every single month.
(18:27):
So we're rethinking you knowthe number of events that we do
next year and whether or not weshould partner with other
organizations or support anotherorganization around.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
You know our growth and so so so you guys kind of
like scale back a little bit orjust kind of put it on.
Put it on somebody else likelet them take the lead.
You guys supported from yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
So I don't ever believe in scaling back, but
just rethinking, right.
I think scaling back sometimescan get you in trouble, and so I
told my team like we won'tscale back, but we'll rethink
how we do business.
And rethinking might be likejust what you shared, it might
be partnering with somebody, itmight be sponsoring with
somebody and leveraging otherresources so we can be more
(19:07):
effective.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Well, that sounds great and I was thinking about
that.
Would I be interested in goingto a school like that?
That was the first thing Ithought, you know, because
there's so many kids thatregular school is just not for
them.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
It's not.
It's not.
I mean, in this country we knowonly about 51% of working age
adults have college degrees,right, you know.
And so there's other.
You look at the, that's almosthalf of America Right.
So every kid won't graduatefrom high school.
Then you have a lot of kidsthat do graduate and don't have
a path forward.
So we believe that there shouldbe a dedicated high school in
(19:42):
Madison that's tied tointroducing kids directly into
careers, right, not?
Speaker 2 (19:48):
only that, because there's generational plumbers.
There's generational plumbersthere's generational, exactly,
exactly people like hey, man, mydad is a plumber and I want to
get into the business.
Well, you could be going to highschool exactly doing it now and
you know my son wants to be acontent creator, so he's always
watching and he's always, youknow, doing little things.
(20:09):
So to let me know he'sinterested and he wants to do it
, he likes to edit his littlevideos on my phone and stuff
like that.
So I'm like man in Sun Prairie.
This is Sun Prairie MediaCenter has a program for kids to
you know, teach them andeverything, and I teach them too
.
So I was thinking about thatlike man.
That'd be really cool for anolder kid to get that type of
(20:30):
experience.
Absolutely you know plumbingand carpentry and things like
that and they can make so muchmoney coming out of high school.
It'd be crazy and that wouldchange the entire community.
No doubt, when you have youngadults with that type of
disposable income, they're notgoing to save it, they're going
(20:51):
to put it back into thecommunity.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Exactly they're buying groceries.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Taxes, yeah, taxes Like that actually helps the
entire community.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
I mean, they become taxpayers and not, you know,
liability to the tax system,right?
And so it's a like.
I was meeting with Rene Mo fromUnited Way the other day Shout
out to Rene, yeah, good peopleand great organization.
And we were talking about likewe don't, as a country, value
education and you can see itwith how we invest in young
(21:25):
people In Wisconsin.
She was sharing with me that wespent almost $300,000 to
incarcerate a young person$300,000.
But we spend about $16,000,$17,000 to educate a child.
So there's somethingfundamentally wrong with that
equation and so we have tocreate opportunity equations for
(21:48):
kids to offset the balance ofthat.
And sometimes you got toleverage public and private
funding.
And so I just want to be clearas we start this process we want
to do this with MMSD.
We want to work closely withJoe Gothard and the school board
.
We also want to work with MikeJones and MTI and we want this
(22:11):
to be a public workforce highschool using unionized teachers.
But we may have to negotiatewith them a project labor
agreement because this schoolhas to look very, very different
.
My understanding, less than0.5% of MMSD students
participate in apprenticeshipprograms and workforce programs.
(22:34):
There's an elementary andmiddle charter school, but we
want to be the high school andwe have a reputation and a long
history with MMSD.
We invest about $2 million ayear in our kids at MMSD, so I
believe we're their largestpublic-private partner and we
want to continue it.
(22:55):
But we want to expand to helpthe district create additional
pathways for our kids.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
That's a lot.
Just even have that thoughtprocess to try to put the pieces
together, to even try to makethat happen.
You know, realistically.
How far are you out seeing thatactually?
Speaker 1 (23:12):
About four years.
You think it would take aboutfour years?
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
So tell us about this sabbatical.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah, you know, sometimes you know you got to
recharge man.
You know you grind every dayfor 15 years.
You take a church and turn itinto a boys and girls club.
You take a house and flip itinto a boys and girls club.
You take a facility like thisthat was the corporate
headquarters of a pharmaceuticalcompany and you flip it to a
(23:38):
workforce center for youngpeople.
You create dozens of jobs,meaningful, family-sustaining
jobs.
You build up the assets of anorganization and that takes
years and that takes time awayfrom your family.
So I'm fortunate that my boardfor years they've been saying,
man, you should take asabbatical.
So I'm going to go to Africa.
(23:59):
I'm going to go a couple ofplaces, some with my family,
some on my own, and I've neverbeen out of the country by
myself.
I've actually never beenanywhere by myself, and so I'm
looking forward to taking about45 days off.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
So when you say by yourself, what do you mean?
Speaker 1 (24:17):
So I've never stayed, I've never went on a trip by
myself, without my kids orwithout my family.
So I'm going to Africa bymyself, just you and your wife.
No, just me, just you.
Me and my wife are going totake a trip that we're planning
together with our kids, and thenone without our kids, and then
(24:39):
I'm just doing one by myself.
I always wanted to exploreAfrica, so I think I'm going to
Liberia.
There's a non-profit that I'massociated with there and I
think I'll be doing somethingwith them.
So I gotta work out the detailsyou know around that, and
sometimes you just gotta getaway and so even on your
vacation, you're still gonna beworking but working for a
different cause.
Yeah, I won't be sitting on thebeach, that's just not me.
I won't be chilling, so you'resaying like about 45 days.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
So how long do you give yourself before you start
checking emails?
Speaker 1 (25:06):
So that's something that my board and my colleagues
have asked me not to do, becauseevery time I've taken vacation,
I'm always still plugged in.
So what I committed to doing ischecking in once a week for
about 30 minutes.
I'm going to try my best to dothat.
I'm going to actually take myemails off myself on my
assistant.
She'll be able to, you know,read them and respond.
(25:28):
So we'll have a plan.
You know around that I'mleaving three people in charge
of the organization, you know,while I'm out and we'll see how
it goes.
But that's, that's the plan.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
That's the plan.
Yeah, Before we get out of here, is there any words of wisdom
or any lessons that you you'velearned that you would want to
share with?
Speaker 1 (25:49):
the youth.
Yeah, just man, don't give up.
Every winner had to try overagain.
I think I just posted that thismorning.
Right, success comes by failingsometimes.
And just surround yourselfaround people who are better
than you.
Iron sharpens, iron Birds of afeather, of a feather flock
together, right, and there's awhole bunch of different sayings
(26:10):
.
But if you surround yourselfaround people who are doing
unproductive things, you'regoing to become an unproductive
person.
If you are surrounding yourselfaround people who are doing
amazing things, it is morelikely you're going to be
amazing.
So I've always I would say lastfour or five years I've been
(26:33):
trying to surround myself arounda variety, and I think I shared
this with you in the lastpodcast.
I've always tried to surroundmyself around a variety, and I
think I shared this with you inthe last podcast.
I've always tried to surroundmyself around a variety of
different people People who haveGEDs up to people who have LLCs
, to people who are worthmillions.
But I also have friends who areconvicted felons and friends
who own real estate and friendswho are in highly compensated
(26:58):
positions.
But each one of them, I learnfrom all of them and each one of
them gives me a balancedapproach to life.
So my advice to young people bewilling to be coachable, be
willing to learn.
Surround yourself around adiverse group of people and go
(27:22):
get it.
Nobody's going to give youanything.
I had a family member who wrotea message the other day to our
family.
I love her.
She went out and got a collegedegree but she felt like our
family didn't like fully supporther in that process and I
respect her opinion.
But at the same time, once youbecome grown, nobody's going to
(27:44):
give you anything Nobody.
You might get lucky here andthere, but for the most part,
when you become an adult,nobody's going to pay your rent.
Nobody's going to pay your carnote Nobody's going to.
Nobody's going to pay your carnote Nobody's going to.
Now they might do it once ortwice, but nobody's going to
just give you anything.
You got to go out and get itand so that's my advice Go out,
(28:08):
hustle, grind, stay focused,write out your plans, continue
to be a lifelong learner andyou'll look up and be like man.
This is what I've made of mylife and that would be my advice
.
So I appreciate you giving me aplatform to talk about this
(28:28):
important work.
I appreciate the connectionthat you have to Madison 365 and
even in your own growth anddevelopment, and happy to be
connected with you in this wayand wish you nothing but success
as you grow your podcast.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Thank you.
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