Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to community viewpoints, and Shawnie, you're feeling blessed and
highly favored on this Sunday morning.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
We are empowering our community.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
We are empowering people who are making history Black history
in our community. So today I have the honor of
speaking to President TMO Kevin Waters. He is the first
to be named in the city of Jacksonville, the first
African American to own a professional basketball league right here
(00:28):
in Jacksonville.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Good morning, Kevin, how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Good morning? Thanks for having me, Shann Kevin.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I know that they know you.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
You've been on TV, you have been doing your thing
in the community with your community basketball drives. But I
want the community to know Kevin, So if you would
just touch on a little bit about you, because I
know there's a plethora of things, so I allow you
to allow the community to get to know you.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Thank you so much, Shannie. First, thank you for having me. First,
and FOREMO select for the community. No, I'm a god
for you in person. I want to push him first
my endeavors. Other been blessed to be here in Jacksonville
for over since the early two thousands. I graduated from
EBA Waters University. Now I started my coaching career at
(01:12):
EVA Waters as an assistant coach. I went on to
be a head coaching general manager with the Jacksonville Giants.
We won three national championships during my six year tenure there.
Really enjoyed the city, Really loved this city. I have
a spiritual connection with it. It's my pleasure and it's
(01:33):
a wonderful opportunity that I have to be able to
lead to bring a professional basketball team here to the
city of Jacksonville. And I take a lot of pride
in being, you know, the first minority owner of the
professional team here. But there's a lot of pride, there's
a lot of responsibility that comes with that. My basketball academy,
(01:57):
Kevin watersh Basketball Academy, has been going on for over
eight years now. It's the opportunity where I give back
to inner city kids. I do basketball camps and clinics,
and what we do in Shawnee is more than just basketball.
I bring people from all walks of life into the
basketball camp. I'm making like a block party, fool to
(02:17):
sponsored or we get some bags to the kids. We
just have to give the T shirts and we have
a wonderful time with them. And now I expose them
to all walks of life. So you know, that's a
little bit of a rundown of things I've been doing
here in the city of Jacksonville.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Community Shawnee speaking to Kevin Waters, the president and CEO
of the team that we'll be playing in our city,
Jacks ninety five Ors, and Kevin, I know that with
this responsibility bringing this to our city, you had to
make some changes in pivot. Black History Month is all
about that. Black History is all about that. Talk to
(02:56):
us and those that are listening about how you had
to change to develop yourself to become this great leader
and the first African American to bring this to the city.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
As you brought that up solely because I do have
a testimony. In two thousand and five, I was coaching
as an assistant coach in Kentucky and I was told
as an assistant coach that they thought, you know, coaching
wasn't me, that I needed to maybe concentrate on another wall,
you know, another endeavor, and that really inspired me more
(03:31):
to work harder on my craft when I was told that.
So what I did was just I just kind of
kept working hard to become who you know, as far
as a basketball coach. Now, as I started working as
a basketball coach and I started winning championships, I started
realizing that, you know, there's more to basketball than dribbling
the basketball and shooting the basketball. And I was learning
(03:55):
more about the business side of basketball and was really
intrigued by an opportunity. So when I had a short,
you know, stint with the Jacksonville Giants as the general manager,
head coach, I was really you know, introduced in the
community involvement, you know, the business side of things, working
within a budget. So I took that experience and you know,
(04:19):
I put it in play as far as me now
will being the owner of the Jacksonville ninety Fourers, you know,
so something that I look forward to. It's a twelve
month process. It's not just during the basketball season. So
you know, my job can tell Hollways just keep going.
So it's a great opportunity, Shannie.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
And you bring opportunity to the city because the day
of the game you have people working. But I also
know that you are looking for people to support you
and volunteer. Are you looking for people to come out
and just help the organization as volunteers on the games
that you have planned in the city.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
You know, in modern league sports. You know, because we're
building up our budget, you have the you rely on
a lot of volunteers, and the volunteers have something that
you know, they have to see the vision and want
to be a part of this legacy that we're building
for the city of Jacksonville. And you know, the people
that I have on staff, they are doing a wonderful
(05:15):
job at doing that. I'm so proud of of, you know,
getting through year one, which is a major accomplishment. So
year two is something that we're looking forward to. But
we're always looking for help as far as ticket sales.
You can go to w w W jackson ninety fivers
tickets dot com to purchase tickets to come out to
the game. You know, any support that we can give.
(05:37):
Will love to come to your school and talk to
the kids. So you know, it's all about giving back
to the community.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Undy Shawnee speaking to Kevin Waters. He is the president
and the first to be named in the city of Jacksonville,
the first African American to own a professional basketball team
right here in Jacksonville. Now with being the first African American,
you are also going to be playing at Jacksonville's first
(06:03):
urban university now e WU. That just goes hand in hand.
So talk about the experience of last year and what
the community can experience this year.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
We played our games last year and Jacksonville University, they
welcomed us and we was great. You know, we learned
to have that opportunity. This year, we're playing our games
at ever Waters University. And I am extremely excited about
this opportunity because you know, I had graduated from ever
Waters and I also was an assistant coach there. So
(06:36):
I have you know, friends that are on campus there
that's working in the administration. And I just look forward
to giving back to that zero non zip code because
it meant so much to me in my stint here
in Jacksonville community.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You know that basketball is in the city. We have
entertainment for you. Talk to us about the first game
and how the city and the community can support you
and come out and watch the games and the game
of basketball.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
It was very important that I wanted to establish some
type of relationship within the city. Like I said, So
what I did in this exhibition game was we decided
to play against the Jacksonville Naval Base. Those guys have
won national championships, so it's gonna be a great level
of competition that's gonna be displayed on February twenty first,
(07:30):
and ever Waters at seven point thirty. We're looking for
people to come out and support its. It's gonna be
great entertainment, high level of basketball. We're gonna have making
it our game day experience. It's gonna be a lot
of fun with the food trucks and things. That's gonna
be DJs and just a whole lot of fun for
the entire family.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Creating entertainment and an opportunity to get out and enjoy
your city. Shawnee speaking to Kevin Waters. He is the
owner of the Jacksonville ninety five, second year in the city.
You can always check out the information on what they're
doing on our website just click that community calendar page. Kevin,
(08:07):
I'm sure that the season is going to be very entertaining,
and it looks like you have a plethora of players
as well as teams that you're going to be playing.
Talk to us about the excitement throughout the season and
some of the team's arrivals that we have to expect
this season.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Yeah, last year, the ninety five us were fortunately we
won our division, our regular season division as South Atlantic champions,
and we had a lot of great competition in our
own division, which include the Raleigh Fire Verbs who beat
us in the playoffs and went on to Dover be
(08:47):
very successful in the TBL playoffs. They made it to
the final four. This year, we have a new team
from Tampa that will be involved in our division, and
Savannah always give us a tough run as well, so
you know, we have some great competition in our league.
Last year, we were fortunately enough to have two players
(09:08):
to move on to get to receive G League opportunities,
which is a league that's right up on the NBA.
For those guys are making good money, man, so we're
very proud of them getting that opportunity as well.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Community Shawnie speaking to Kevin Waters, owner of the Jacksonville
ninety five Ers. Kevin, how can the community check out
the team, check out the schedule, what's the website and
how they can get those tickets so that we can
check you out and your team at e WU.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Thank you for asking, Shelby. Yes, you can follow us
at www Dot Jacks ninety fives tickets dot com. That's www.
Jacks ninety five ers tickets dot Com. On social media,
on Instagram and Facebook is Jacks ninety.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Fibers, Kevin.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
I know that creating this milestone, creating this black history,
what does black history mean to you other than yourself
making moves and creating a staple figure in this city.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
I'm glad you ask me that, Shanny, because you know,
here lately, I've had an opportunity to reflect back on
the values that my grandfather instilled in me as a kid,
and watching him grow up and him being considered a
leader with his community in Virginia. It's something that I
(10:33):
take pride in. It's something that I realized that a
long time ago that through basketball, I'm able to do
with things that I want to do in life. That's
helped young men, young black African American man, excuse me,
move on in life and do it be great in
their communities. So, you know, I take a lot of
pride in this. I take a lot of pride and being,
(10:55):
you know, acknowledge as the first black professional owner in
the city of Jacksonville as far as sports is concerned.
So they just come with a lot of pride and
you know, part fell and I just give all praises
to God.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
We understand that you know being and doing is two things,
but bringing something to our city and creating another avenue
of entertainment, another avenue where your community can get out
and be entertained. So thank you so much for your drive.
Thank you so much for your time today, and do
not stop what you're doing. We appreciate you. I appreciate you,
(11:35):
and I'm sure the community and EWU is going to
appreciate the excitement of basketball this season.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
So thank you, Thank you so Muchny, and we're.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Back with community viewpoints to Shawnee feeling blessed and highly favored.
On this Sunday morning, I am pouring into our community
and how we can empower each other, empower ourselves and
brand ourselves as Black History Month, you know that we've
come a far away so right now we are overcoming obstacles.
(12:07):
So today I thought to bring in A D.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Davis.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
He's here to talk to us about moving forward, pivoting
and change.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Ad How are you?
Speaker 4 (12:18):
I'm doing great? How are you?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
You know?
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Blessed that I get to meet people and talk to
people when I go and represent iHeart I meet amazing
people who are doing amazing things. So if you would
tell us a little something about yourself.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Ad Davis, Well, I am what I like to call
a com I am a multi hyphen gifted individual that
just doesn't do one thing. I do a narrative thing.
So you know, I think that like the model for
myself and how I branded myself is the proper punctuation
(12:59):
gives you the right to be more. And I think
a lot of times people meet people and they kind
of keep them and they freeze them how they met them,
so they put a period there. So if I met
you the same way, you know, you know, you know
you were traveling, guy was traveling, we were at an
event together and we got a chance to meet each other.
Then you know, we we just don't keep each other
into a box of how I met you. We're open
(13:23):
to the other giftings and the other talents and the
other abilities. And so for me, I've just embraced all
of those things I've been Okay, We're just wrapping my
mind and wrapping my heart around all the things that
I believe I've been put on this earth to do.
And so I'm a multi hyphen the individual So I
call myself a comma. You know, I'm more than just
one thing.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
I Mandy Shawnee speaking to A. D.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Davis wanting to just share his message on how he
has had to pivot in the world we're living in
right now black history. We have to learn how to move,
grow and pivot. So, ad, if you would talk to
us about how you started where you are now, and
then I want to ask you a few more questions
(14:06):
as to where you're located for.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
Sure, for sure? Well you know, for me, how I started.
I started by you know, I was a pastor for
ten years, pastor of church, love, people, still love, people,
still love God, all of those amazing things. But then
I also allow myself to embrace my talents and abilities
(14:28):
to step into the entertainment space. So I am an actor,
I am a director. I'm working on the documentary right
now where we took one hundred seventh and eighth grade
boys to Paris, London and Madrid, and then also we
took sixty boys to Africa to Cape Town and Johannesburg.
So now then also embracing photography and just allowing myself
(14:55):
to be at a place to where I embrace all
the different things. And I think that majority of the
African American culture, we've had to be a multiple things.
When we look back to even Sammy Davis, Junior, Red Fox,
all of these all of these multi gifted individuals. They
(15:16):
could sing, they could dance, they could act, And that's
our culture. That's who we are, is that we are
here to embrace and to add so much flavor to
this world, add so much gifting and talent to this world.
And so I've just kind of embraced that for myself,
We're just you know, I'm more than one thing, and
I'm okay with being more than one thing. And so
(15:39):
I think that that's been my journey from even you know,
pastoring to UH to moving to LA and I know
we'll talk about that, but you know, UH and now
in an entertainment space, and I still travel and still
preach and still UH do leadership training and trainings and
so forth and so on for business and companies and churches.
(16:00):
That I've just wrapped my mind around the fact that
I'm more than just one thing, and also remembering that
things are for boxes and not people. So I'm allowing
myself to be out of the box and to see
myself as more than one thing.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Community Shawnee speaking to A. D. Davis here on this weekend.
I wanted to share the message of love when I
met ad I did not meet him at the event
because there was so many people there and we were
in so many different rooms, but just meeting in the
airport and then sitting Adie, why is it important to
(16:36):
embrace change as well as that common Well, I.
Speaker 4 (16:40):
Think it's so important to embrace change because change is
almost like the only you know, constant thing that we have.
Change is going to happen whether we want to or not.
We're seeing right now where AI is, you know, taking
over and computers are taken over, and everybody's kind of
fighting against it. But it's the adapt the ability to
(17:00):
change that we have to embody because if we continue
to embody that, that uh, that adaptability, then we cannot
be removed. You know. It's one of those things where
we we have to lean into it, learn as much
as we can, do as much as we can, to
apply as much pressure as we possibly can. And I
think that for us, especially African American culture, we're we're
(17:25):
we're leading in so many areas and we're still you know,
we're still called to do so much more, and so
ass change happens, I think we should lean into it. And
I think that we should embrace change every single day
because it's you know, it's happening regardless. I remember when
you know, the Internet was being introduced and uh AOL
(17:46):
and all of that stuff was being introduced. And now
look at us.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
We can't.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
We can't survive a day without using the internet, you know.
And so I think that the faster we embrace change
is the faster that we can stay at the leading
and at the forefront of what the culture demands. And
because we are we do have our hand in our
posts on the culture. We are the culture as African Americans.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
And ad, what does black history mean to you?
Speaker 4 (18:13):
To me, black history means legacy, It means excellence, it
means culture, it means you know, it means leading in
every facet of life. When I think about, you know,
my own black history by talking to my grandmother. My
(18:33):
grandmother was born in nineteen twenty nine. She's passed on,
but she was born in nineteen twenty nine, and I
remember talking to my grandmother about the scars in her
hands and she told me how she picked cotton and
the things that she had to endure and had to embrace.
And one of the things that from the question you
just asked me, one of the things that I watch
(18:55):
that as my grandmother talked to me about all the
things that she endured, and my grandfather talked about all
the things that he endured, a common thread was that
they were adaptable to change, and they fought for change,
and they did not get stuck in how people saw them,
but they got stuck in how they saw themselves. And
I think that that is the important piece to Black
(19:17):
history and to our culture, is how do we see
ourselves beyond what's been said about us, beyond people that
love to take from our culture but don't want to
be in our culture, Because everybody loved to be black
until it's time to be black. So understanding and embracing
that change is what my grandmother did for me. It's legacy.
(19:39):
And my grandfather told me something a long time ago.
He told me, real legacy is what you do that
outlast your breath. And so the reason why every time
I'm interviewed or talked to, or whatever the case is,
I talk about my grandmother, I talk about my grandfather
because their legacy is inside of me and that's Black history.
And I'm going to continue to say those things and
(20:01):
share those things because it outlashed their breast community.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Shawnie speaking to A. D.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Davis here with us today, just share with us the
reason why we should add commas and embrace change.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Adie.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I know that you also deal with branding and why
is it important for us to brand ourselves?
Speaker 4 (20:19):
Well, here's the reality. I mean, we we're branding ourselves,
whether we realize it or we don't. You know, I
tell people this all the time. I tell my clients.
It's like when they come to me and they're like, hey, hey,
I'm really trying to brand myself and now I want
you to help me brand myself. I need a photo shoot,
I need you know, a website, I need this, I
need this. And I'm like, okay, well understand this. You
(20:40):
are you've branded yourself from the very first time you
started coming to class or you you know, we're in
middle school or in high school. And what I mean
by that is we all have those friends that we
know if the event starts at seven, we got to
tell some friends that start at six because we know
that they're going to be late. They've branded themselves that
(21:02):
they're going to be late. We also know those friends
that we have that we got to tell them, hey,
don't dress up too much, because you're gonna do they
gonna do a whole lot. They've branded themselves to be that.
So now it's a matter of we are constantly branding ourselves.
But what we want to do is that we want
to be more intentional about how we brand ourselves, how
we show up to the world. And I think that
(21:22):
that's why it's important for us to lean into branding,
because the branding is what we want the world to
see and the aspects of us that we want the
world to see. And so we need to emphasize and
overemphasize excellence within our own personal brands. And so it's
very important for us to lean into that and to
be intentional about the brands that we put on our
social media. We're always you know, venting and cussing on
(21:46):
social media. We've branded ourselves and that's that's who we are,
and that's what we're you know, that's what we're about.
But on the flip side, where you know, we're we're
leading with education, we're leading with you know, our heart,
and we're leading with how we show in the world.
I think that's how we branded ourselves as well. But
I think that we have to be more intentional, but
intentional about how we show up in the world as
(22:08):
it pertains to our brand.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Shawnee speaking to Ad Davis on Community Viewpoints Today Community
wanting to share why we need to embrace change, pivot,
but also how we should brand ourselves. I understand that
you know with where you are, you're in La with
the La fires. I know that you did not live
in those areas, but you were displaced because you were
(22:31):
around those areas. Talk to us about you know, that
feeling and what you had to do to pivot and change.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
Yeah, it was a definitely a difficult time for our
particular area. The fires were literally ten miles south of me,
and you know, when I went out in the backyard,
all you saw was a big, big cloud of smoke,
and then our phone started just going crazy telling us
(23:00):
to evacuate.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
And so we had to pivot, We had to change.
We had to immediately, you know, grab the things that
matter most. And I think for me, I realized how
how much or how many things I have that don't
really that doesn't matter to me, or that don't matter
to me. I realized that, you know, I grabbed a
few clothes, but mainly I grabbed a picture that was
(23:24):
painted of myself, my dad, my grandfather, and my stepfather.
I grabbed that and I put that in my truck,
and I grabbed a few clothes, and I had to
leave my home. And because our power was out because
with the fires what they were doing, because you know,
we have gas that runs, and so they wanted to
cut the power out as the fire got closer to
(23:46):
minimize explosions and things of that nature. So it was
a you know, it was a scary time. My neighbor
I went to my neighbors how, she's an elderly lady.
I went to her house to make sure that she
was okay and that she knew to evacuate, and my
text her son because I'm in communication with her son, uh,
and let him know that, hey, your mom is good,
we're evacuating and things of that nature. And so we
(24:09):
I made sure she was, you know, out of the way,
and then you know, then I stayed somewhere temporarily for
a couple of days. But at the end, you know,
thank God that you know, the fire did not reach
my home. They got an under they got it under control,
for it reached reached my home. But it was a
scary time. And we're watching l A build back up.
(24:31):
We're watching the community galvanize around uh, those areas and
those neighborhoods that were that have been impacted by the fire.
And even as a photographer, I'm offering UH with some
more photography friends, we're launching a thing called New Memories
that I started that we're going to offer free photo
(24:52):
shoots for the families that lost all of their memories
and so we're going to do this for the remainder
of the year so that they can have new pictures
come Christmas time to put into and put inside of
their new homes with their families. So just trying to
do as much as we possibly can. We've been volunteering,
we've been donating, but just to watch the community galvanized
around LA and to support LA has been an amazing
(25:15):
thing to see.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
And you know, just talking to you, I hear the
passion and community. You know, we have to understand around
the world, things are happening and people are pivoting and changing.
So that's why I wanted ad Davis to join us
today and just talk to us about branding but also
pivoting and embracing change. So thank you so much for
joining me. I know that there's so much more to you.
(25:39):
Please tell the community how they could reach out to
you if they want to talk about branding, if they
just want to connect with a person that's on the
next page and level of life.
Speaker 4 (25:50):
For sure, they can reach out to me on social
media Adrian Davis now, that's Adrian Davis now in ow
And then also they can and that's Asian Navid is
now on all social media platforms. But then they also
can go to my website www dot the Coma Commas
(26:11):
with the s dot agency www dot the commas dot Agency,
and they can find me there and so they can
set up a consultation. They can tend to DM so
we can start up a conversation. But I would love
to help an aid in any possible way I can.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
And I'm ad Where are you from.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
I'm originally from Chattanovi, Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
A d Why did you leave pastoring?
Speaker 4 (26:35):
I mean what I experienced I passed it for ten
years and one of the things I would always tell
my church is that I'm not going to die in
this pool pit. There are other things that I want
to do in life outside of pastoring. I feel like
I'm called to that. I feel like I'm called to
serve people. And also we have to understand that even
pastoring can be for a season. The calling to preach
(26:55):
for God and the calling to serve God, and the
calling to live for God. I believe it is a lifetime.
But how God chooses to uh to to navigate your
life to use you may be different, you know, and
we have to be open to that. And you know,
we started our church from from from nothing. We reached
over two thousand members. It was a great, great, great church.
(27:19):
It still is a great church that is going that
you know, that is still going. So we were able
to build something that is still living. But also at
the same time I experienced over eight months, I lost
my stepfather, and I lost my father, and then I
lost my oldest brother. All passed away, different causes for
each and every one of them. But I was at
(27:41):
a point where I needed to take some time for
me and explore the other things and the other good
things I never left God, but I did step from
the bull pit so that I could make sure that
I was good. And I think that a lot of
times we don't do what's necessary for ourselves for the
sake of everybody else. And then we were the church
and the ground. And then, you know, look back at
(28:02):
it and say, man, I should have let it go
a long time ago. I was in the right head
space or whatever the case is. But we allow our
pride to keep us in the seat that God is
trying to remove us from. So I had to be
obedient to that point.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Thank you so much Ad Davis for joining us on
community viewpoints. Community be sure to pivot and change, but
embrace that change. Black History Months, understand your history is
your a legacy.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
Have a blessed day and be a blessing
Welcome to community viewpoints, and Shawnie, you're feeling blessed and
highly favored on this Sunday morning.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
We are empowering our community.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
We are empowering people who are making history Black history
in our community. So today I have the honor of
speaking to President TMO Kevin Waters. He is the first
to be named in the city of Jacksonville, the first
African American to own a professional basketball league right here
(00:28):
in Jacksonville.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Good morning, Kevin, how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Good morning? Thanks for having me, Shann Kevin.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I know that they know you.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
You've been on TV, you have been doing your thing
in the community with your community basketball drives. But I
want the community to know Kevin, So if you would
just touch on a little bit about you, because I
know there's a plethora of things, so I allow you
to allow the community to get to know you.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Thank you so much, Shannie. First, thank you for having me. First,
and FOREMO select for the community. No, I'm a god
for you in person. I want to push him first
my endeavors. Other been blessed to be here in Jacksonville
for over since the early two thousands. I graduated from
EBA Waters University. Now I started my coaching career at
(01:12):
EVA Waters as an assistant coach. I went on to
be a head coaching general manager with the Jacksonville Giants.
We won three national championships during my six year tenure there.
Really enjoyed the city, Really loved this city. I have
a spiritual connection with it. It's my pleasure and it's
(01:33):
a wonderful opportunity that I have to be able to
lead to bring a professional basketball team here to the
city of Jacksonville. And I take a lot of pride
in being, you know, the first minority owner of the
professional team here. But there's a lot of pride, there's
a lot of responsibility that comes with that. My basketball academy,
(01:57):
Kevin watersh Basketball Academy, has been going on for over
eight years now. It's the opportunity where I give back
to inner city kids. I do basketball camps and clinics,
and what we do in Shawnee is more than just basketball.
I bring people from all walks of life into the
basketball camp. I'm making like a block party, fool to
(02:17):
sponsored or we get some bags to the kids. We
just have to give the T shirts and we have
a wonderful time with them. And now I expose them
to all walks of life. So you know, that's a
little bit of a rundown of things I've been doing
here in the city of Jacksonville.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Community Shawnee speaking to Kevin Waters, the president and CEO
of the team that we'll be playing in our city,
Jacks ninety five Ors, and Kevin, I know that with
this responsibility bringing this to our city, you had to
make some changes in pivot. Black History Month is all
about that. Black History is all about that. Talk to
(02:56):
us and those that are listening about how you had
to change to develop yourself to become this great leader
and the first African American to bring this to the city.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
As you brought that up solely because I do have
a testimony. In two thousand and five, I was coaching
as an assistant coach in Kentucky and I was told
as an assistant coach that they thought, you know, coaching
wasn't me, that I needed to maybe concentrate on another wall,
you know, another endeavor, and that really inspired me more
(03:31):
to work harder on my craft when I was told that.
So what I did was just I just kind of
kept working hard to become who you know, as far
as a basketball coach. Now, as I started working as
a basketball coach and I started winning championships, I started
realizing that, you know, there's more to basketball than dribbling
the basketball and shooting the basketball. And I was learning
(03:55):
more about the business side of basketball and was really
intrigued by an opportunity. So when I had a short,
you know, stint with the Jacksonville Giants as the general manager,
head coach, I was really you know, introduced in the
community involvement, you know, the business side of things, working
within a budget. So I took that experience and you know,
(04:19):
I put it in play as far as me now
will being the owner of the Jacksonville ninety Fourers, you know,
so something that I look forward to. It's a twelve
month process. It's not just during the basketball season. So
you know, my job can tell Hollways just keep going.
So it's a great opportunity, Shannie.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
And you bring opportunity to the city because the day
of the game you have people working. But I also
know that you are looking for people to support you
and volunteer. Are you looking for people to come out
and just help the organization as volunteers on the games
that you have planned in the city.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
You know, in modern league sports. You know, because we're
building up our budget, you have the you rely on
a lot of volunteers, and the volunteers have something that
you know, they have to see the vision and want
to be a part of this legacy that we're building
for the city of Jacksonville. And you know, the people
that I have on staff, they are doing a wonderful
(05:15):
job at doing that. I'm so proud of of, you know,
getting through year one, which is a major accomplishment. So
year two is something that we're looking forward to. But
we're always looking for help as far as ticket sales.
You can go to w w W jackson ninety fivers
tickets dot com to purchase tickets to come out to
the game. You know, any support that we can give.
(05:37):
Will love to come to your school and talk to
the kids. So you know, it's all about giving back
to the community.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Undy Shawnee speaking to Kevin Waters. He is the president
and the first to be named in the city of Jacksonville,
the first African American to own a professional basketball team
right here in Jacksonville. Now with being the first African American,
you are also going to be playing at Jacksonville's first
(06:03):
urban university now e WU. That just goes hand in hand.
So talk about the experience of last year and what
the community can experience this year.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
We played our games last year and Jacksonville University, they
welcomed us and we was great. You know, we learned
to have that opportunity. This year, we're playing our games
at ever Waters University. And I am extremely excited about
this opportunity because you know, I had graduated from ever
Waters and I also was an assistant coach there. So
(06:36):
I have you know, friends that are on campus there
that's working in the administration. And I just look forward
to giving back to that zero non zip code because
it meant so much to me in my stint here
in Jacksonville community.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You know that basketball is in the city. We have
entertainment for you. Talk to us about the first game
and how the city and the community can support you
and come out and watch the games and the game
of basketball.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
It was very important that I wanted to establish some
type of relationship within the city. Like I said, So
what I did in this exhibition game was we decided
to play against the Jacksonville Naval Base. Those guys have
won national championships, so it's gonna be a great level
of competition that's gonna be displayed on February twenty first,
(07:30):
and ever Waters at seven point thirty. We're looking for
people to come out and support its. It's gonna be
great entertainment, high level of basketball. We're gonna have making
it our game day experience. It's gonna be a lot
of fun with the food trucks and things. That's gonna
be DJs and just a whole lot of fun for
the entire family.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Creating entertainment and an opportunity to get out and enjoy
your city. Shawnee speaking to Kevin Waters. He is the
owner of the Jacksonville ninety five, second year in the city.
You can always check out the information on what they're
doing on our website just click that community calendar page. Kevin,
(08:07):
I'm sure that the season is going to be very entertaining,
and it looks like you have a plethora of players
as well as teams that you're going to be playing.
Talk to us about the excitement throughout the season and
some of the team's arrivals that we have to expect
this season.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Yeah, last year, the ninety five us were fortunately we
won our division, our regular season division as South Atlantic champions,
and we had a lot of great competition in our
own division, which include the Raleigh Fire Verbs who beat
us in the playoffs and went on to Dover be
(08:47):
very successful in the TBL playoffs. They made it to
the final four. This year, we have a new team
from Tampa that will be involved in our division, and
Savannah always give us a tough run as well, so
you know, we have some great competition in our league.
Last year, we were fortunately enough to have two players
(09:08):
to move on to get to receive G League opportunities,
which is a league that's right up on the NBA.
For those guys are making good money, man, so we're
very proud of them getting that opportunity as well.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Community Shawnie speaking to Kevin Waters, owner of the Jacksonville
ninety five Ers. Kevin, how can the community check out
the team, check out the schedule, what's the website and
how they can get those tickets so that we can
check you out and your team at e WU.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Thank you for asking, Shelby. Yes, you can follow us
at www Dot Jacks ninety fives tickets dot com. That's www.
Jacks ninety five ers tickets dot Com. On social media,
on Instagram and Facebook is Jacks ninety.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Fibers, Kevin.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
I know that creating this milestone, creating this black history,
what does black history mean to you other than yourself
making moves and creating a staple figure in this city.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
I'm glad you ask me that, Shanny, because you know,
here lately, I've had an opportunity to reflect back on
the values that my grandfather instilled in me as a kid,
and watching him grow up and him being considered a
leader with his community in Virginia. It's something that I
(10:33):
take pride in. It's something that I realized that a
long time ago that through basketball, I'm able to do
with things that I want to do in life. That's
helped young men, young black African American man, excuse me,
move on in life and do it be great in
their communities. So, you know, I take a lot of
pride in this. I take a lot of pride and being,
(10:55):
you know, acknowledge as the first black professional owner in
the city of Jacksonville as far as sports is concerned.
So they just come with a lot of pride and
you know, part fell and I just give all praises
to God.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
We understand that you know being and doing is two things,
but bringing something to our city and creating another avenue
of entertainment, another avenue where your community can get out
and be entertained. So thank you so much for your drive.
Thank you so much for your time today, and do
not stop what you're doing. We appreciate you. I appreciate you,
(11:35):
and I'm sure the community and EWU is going to
appreciate the excitement of basketball this season.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
So thank you, Thank you so Muchny, and we're.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Back with community viewpoints to Shawnee feeling blessed and highly favored.
On this Sunday morning, I am pouring into our community
and how we can empower each other, empower ourselves and
brand ourselves as Black History Month, you know that we've
come a far away so right now we are overcoming obstacles.
(12:07):
So today I thought to bring in A D.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Davis.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
He's here to talk to us about moving forward, pivoting
and change.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Ad How are you?
Speaker 4 (12:18):
I'm doing great? How are you?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
You know?
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Blessed that I get to meet people and talk to
people when I go and represent iHeart I meet amazing
people who are doing amazing things. So if you would
tell us a little something about yourself.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Ad Davis, Well, I am what I like to call
a com I am a multi hyphen gifted individual that
just doesn't do one thing. I do a narrative thing.
So you know, I think that like the model for
myself and how I branded myself is the proper punctuation
(12:59):
gives you the right to be more. And I think
a lot of times people meet people and they kind
of keep them and they freeze them how they met them,
so they put a period there. So if I met
you the same way, you know, you know, you know
you were traveling, guy was traveling, we were at an
event together and we got a chance to meet each other.
Then you know, we we just don't keep each other
into a box of how I met you. We're open
(13:23):
to the other giftings and the other talents and the
other abilities. And so for me, I've just embraced all
of those things I've been Okay, We're just wrapping my
mind and wrapping my heart around all the things that
I believe I've been put on this earth to do.
And so I'm a multi hyphen the individual So I
call myself a comma. You know, I'm more than just
one thing.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
I Mandy Shawnee speaking to A. D.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Davis wanting to just share his message on how he
has had to pivot in the world we're living in
right now black history. We have to learn how to move,
grow and pivot. So, ad, if you would talk to
us about how you started where you are now, and
then I want to ask you a few more questions
(14:06):
as to where you're located for.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
Sure, for sure? Well you know, for me, how I started.
I started by you know, I was a pastor for
ten years, pastor of church, love, people, still love, people,
still love God, all of those amazing things. But then
I also allow myself to embrace my talents and abilities
(14:28):
to step into the entertainment space. So I am an actor,
I am a director. I'm working on the documentary right
now where we took one hundred seventh and eighth grade
boys to Paris, London and Madrid, and then also we
took sixty boys to Africa to Cape Town and Johannesburg.
So now then also embracing photography and just allowing myself
(14:55):
to be at a place to where I embrace all
the different things. And I think that majority of the
African American culture, we've had to be a multiple things.
When we look back to even Sammy Davis, Junior, Red Fox,
all of these all of these multi gifted individuals. They
(15:16):
could sing, they could dance, they could act, And that's
our culture. That's who we are, is that we are
here to embrace and to add so much flavor to
this world, add so much gifting and talent to this world.
And so I've just kind of embraced that for myself,
We're just you know, I'm more than one thing, and
I'm okay with being more than one thing. And so
(15:39):
I think that that's been my journey from even you know,
pastoring to UH to moving to LA and I know
we'll talk about that, but you know, UH and now
in an entertainment space, and I still travel and still
preach and still UH do leadership training and trainings and
so forth and so on for business and companies and churches.
(16:00):
That I've just wrapped my mind around the fact that
I'm more than just one thing, and also remembering that
things are for boxes and not people. So I'm allowing
myself to be out of the box and to see
myself as more than one thing.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Community Shawnee speaking to A. D. Davis here on this weekend.
I wanted to share the message of love when I
met ad I did not meet him at the event
because there was so many people there and we were
in so many different rooms, but just meeting in the
airport and then sitting Adie, why is it important to
(16:36):
embrace change as well as that common Well, I.
Speaker 4 (16:40):
Think it's so important to embrace change because change is
almost like the only you know, constant thing that we have.
Change is going to happen whether we want to or not.
We're seeing right now where AI is, you know, taking
over and computers are taken over, and everybody's kind of
fighting against it. But it's the adapt the ability to
(17:00):
change that we have to embody because if we continue
to embody that, that uh, that adaptability, then we cannot
be removed. You know. It's one of those things where
we we have to lean into it, learn as much
as we can, do as much as we can, to
apply as much pressure as we possibly can. And I
think that for us, especially African American culture, we're we're
(17:25):
we're leading in so many areas and we're still you know,
we're still called to do so much more, and so
ass change happens, I think we should lean into it. And
I think that we should embrace change every single day
because it's you know, it's happening regardless. I remember when
you know, the Internet was being introduced and uh AOL
(17:46):
and all of that stuff was being introduced. And now
look at us.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
We can't.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
We can't survive a day without using the internet, you know.
And so I think that the faster we embrace change
is the faster that we can stay at the leading
and at the forefront of what the culture demands. And
because we are we do have our hand in our
posts on the culture. We are the culture as African Americans.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
And ad, what does black history mean to you?
Speaker 4 (18:13):
To me, black history means legacy, It means excellence, it
means culture, it means you know, it means leading in
every facet of life. When I think about, you know,
my own black history by talking to my grandmother. My
(18:33):
grandmother was born in nineteen twenty nine. She's passed on,
but she was born in nineteen twenty nine, and I
remember talking to my grandmother about the scars in her
hands and she told me how she picked cotton and
the things that she had to endure and had to embrace.
And one of the things that from the question you
just asked me, one of the things that I watch
(18:55):
that as my grandmother talked to me about all the
things that she endured, and my grandfather talked about all
the things that he endured, a common thread was that
they were adaptable to change, and they fought for change,
and they did not get stuck in how people saw them,
but they got stuck in how they saw themselves. And
I think that that is the important piece to Black
(19:17):
history and to our culture, is how do we see
ourselves beyond what's been said about us, beyond people that
love to take from our culture but don't want to
be in our culture, Because everybody loved to be black
until it's time to be black. So understanding and embracing
that change is what my grandmother did for me. It's legacy.
(19:39):
And my grandfather told me something a long time ago.
He told me, real legacy is what you do that
outlast your breath. And so the reason why every time
I'm interviewed or talked to, or whatever the case is,
I talk about my grandmother, I talk about my grandfather
because their legacy is inside of me and that's Black history.
And I'm going to continue to say those things and
(20:01):
share those things because it outlashed their breast community.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Shawnie speaking to A. D.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Davis here with us today, just share with us the
reason why we should add commas and embrace change.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Adie.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I know that you also deal with branding and why
is it important for us to brand ourselves?
Speaker 4 (20:19):
Well, here's the reality. I mean, we we're branding ourselves,
whether we realize it or we don't. You know, I
tell people this all the time. I tell my clients.
It's like when they come to me and they're like, hey, hey,
I'm really trying to brand myself and now I want
you to help me brand myself. I need a photo shoot,
I need you know, a website, I need this, I
need this. And I'm like, okay, well understand this. You
(20:40):
are you've branded yourself from the very first time you
started coming to class or you you know, we're in
middle school or in high school. And what I mean
by that is we all have those friends that we
know if the event starts at seven, we got to
tell some friends that start at six because we know
that they're going to be late. They've branded themselves that
(21:02):
they're going to be late. We also know those friends
that we have that we got to tell them, hey,
don't dress up too much, because you're gonna do they
gonna do a whole lot. They've branded themselves to be that.
So now it's a matter of we are constantly branding ourselves.
But what we want to do is that we want
to be more intentional about how we brand ourselves, how
we show up to the world. And I think that
(21:22):
that's why it's important for us to lean into branding,
because the branding is what we want the world to
see and the aspects of us that we want the
world to see. And so we need to emphasize and
overemphasize excellence within our own personal brands. And so it's
very important for us to lean into that and to
be intentional about the brands that we put on our
social media. We're always you know, venting and cussing on
(21:46):
social media. We've branded ourselves and that's that's who we are,
and that's what we're you know, that's what we're about.
But on the flip side, where you know, we're we're
leading with education, we're leading with you know, our heart,
and we're leading with how we show in the world.
I think that's how we branded ourselves as well. But
I think that we have to be more intentional, but
intentional about how we show up in the world as
(22:08):
it pertains to our brand.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Shawnee speaking to Ad Davis on Community Viewpoints Today Community
wanting to share why we need to embrace change, pivot,
but also how we should brand ourselves. I understand that
you know with where you are, you're in La with
the La fires. I know that you did not live
in those areas, but you were displaced because you were
(22:31):
around those areas. Talk to us about you know, that
feeling and what you had to do to pivot and change.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
Yeah, it was a definitely a difficult time for our
particular area. The fires were literally ten miles south of me,
and you know, when I went out in the backyard,
all you saw was a big, big cloud of smoke,
and then our phone started just going crazy telling us
(23:00):
to evacuate.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
And so we had to pivot, We had to change.
We had to immediately, you know, grab the things that
matter most. And I think for me, I realized how
how much or how many things I have that don't
really that doesn't matter to me, or that don't matter
to me. I realized that, you know, I grabbed a
few clothes, but mainly I grabbed a picture that was
(23:24):
painted of myself, my dad, my grandfather, and my stepfather.
I grabbed that and I put that in my truck,
and I grabbed a few clothes, and I had to
leave my home. And because our power was out because
with the fires what they were doing, because you know,
we have gas that runs, and so they wanted to
cut the power out as the fire got closer to
(23:46):
minimize explosions and things of that nature. So it was
a you know, it was a scary time. My neighbor
I went to my neighbors how, she's an elderly lady.
I went to her house to make sure that she
was okay and that she knew to evacuate, and my
text her son because I'm in communication with her son, uh,
and let him know that, hey, your mom is good,
we're evacuating and things of that nature. And so we
(24:09):
I made sure she was, you know, out of the way,
and then you know, then I stayed somewhere temporarily for
a couple of days. But at the end, you know,
thank God that you know, the fire did not reach
my home. They got an under they got it under control,
for it reached reached my home. But it was a
scary time. And we're watching l A build back up.
(24:31):
We're watching the community galvanize around uh, those areas and
those neighborhoods that were that have been impacted by the fire.
And even as a photographer, I'm offering UH with some
more photography friends, we're launching a thing called New Memories
that I started that we're going to offer free photo
(24:52):
shoots for the families that lost all of their memories
and so we're going to do this for the remainder
of the year so that they can have new pictures
come Christmas time to put into and put inside of
their new homes with their families. So just trying to
do as much as we possibly can. We've been volunteering,
we've been donating, but just to watch the community galvanized
around LA and to support LA has been an amazing
(25:15):
thing to see.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
And you know, just talking to you, I hear the
passion and community. You know, we have to understand around
the world, things are happening and people are pivoting and changing.
So that's why I wanted ad Davis to join us
today and just talk to us about branding but also
pivoting and embracing change. So thank you so much for
joining me. I know that there's so much more to you.
(25:39):
Please tell the community how they could reach out to
you if they want to talk about branding, if they
just want to connect with a person that's on the
next page and level of life.
Speaker 4 (25:50):
For sure, they can reach out to me on social
media Adrian Davis now, that's Adrian Davis now in ow
And then also they can and that's Asian Navid is
now on all social media platforms. But then they also
can go to my website www dot the Coma Commas
(26:11):
with the s dot agency www dot the commas dot Agency,
and they can find me there and so they can
set up a consultation. They can tend to DM so
we can start up a conversation. But I would love
to help an aid in any possible way I can.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
And I'm ad Where are you from.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
I'm originally from Chattanovi, Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
A d Why did you leave pastoring?
Speaker 4 (26:35):
I mean what I experienced I passed it for ten
years and one of the things I would always tell
my church is that I'm not going to die in
this pool pit. There are other things that I want
to do in life outside of pastoring. I feel like
I'm called to that. I feel like I'm called to
serve people. And also we have to understand that even
pastoring can be for a season. The calling to preach
(26:55):
for God and the calling to serve God, and the
calling to live for God. I believe it is a lifetime.
But how God chooses to uh to to navigate your
life to use you may be different, you know, and
we have to be open to that. And you know,
we started our church from from from nothing. We reached
over two thousand members. It was a great, great, great church.
(27:19):
It still is a great church that is going that
you know, that is still going. So we were able
to build something that is still living. But also at
the same time I experienced over eight months, I lost
my stepfather, and I lost my father, and then I
lost my oldest brother. All passed away, different causes for
each and every one of them. But I was at
(27:41):
a point where I needed to take some time for
me and explore the other things and the other good
things I never left God, but I did step from
the bull pit so that I could make sure that
I was good. And I think that a lot of
times we don't do what's necessary for ourselves for the
sake of everybody else. And then we were the church
and the ground. And then, you know, look back at
(28:02):
it and say, man, I should have let it go
a long time ago. I was in the right head
space or whatever the case is. But we allow our
pride to keep us in the seat that God is
trying to remove us from. So I had to be
obedient to that point.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Thank you so much Ad Davis for joining us on
community viewpoints. Community be sure to pivot and change, but
embrace that change. Black History Months, understand your history is
your a legacy.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
Have a blessed day and be a blessing
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