Guest Leonard Adams

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/book-of-dad-radio-show--2296658/support.

Episode Transcript

(00:15):
Hey, welcome to the book.At that radio show, I'm doctor Robert
Benson. It's always before we getstarted, we want to say thank you
to Jehovah, thank you for son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for our
family's thinking, for work, andour ability to do the things we're able
to do. Book at that radioshow, and I'm hanging out with Eddie
as ge what's up, Eddie?What's up? Brother? How you feel
I'm doing great? Man? Noquips for me today, to no nicknames?

(00:37):
What's up? I'm being nice today? No, Hey, it was
just Father's Day, so I'm givingyour respect and June tenth so we all
want to respect thing. You know. Hey, let's jump right in.
Man. We got a great,great guest today. Let's talk about Atlanta.
Atlanta is an oasis in the south. It's an oasis in the state

(00:58):
of Georgia. It's metropolitan in themiddle of a royal state, rural state,
if you will. But one areain particular, Atlanta is thriving.
And it's because of people like ourguests today. And I'm not going to
steal any thunder. I'm just goingto jump right in and say hello to
mister Southeast Atlanta, mister Lenard Adams, Leonard, how are you to save
your name? I'm doing fine there, doctor Benson, how are you?

(01:21):
How's going there? Growth? Great? Sir, well, Leonard Man.
We got a lot of stuff wewant to get to. But you are
such a well renowned and well knownguy, and you're a go getter,
and you've done so many things inthe area. The things that your champions
of is a racing blight in thecity of Atlanta, making sure affordable housing
is available. You're an HBC,you graduate, you're a veteran of the

(01:45):
military. I mean, the listjust goes on and on. But I'm
not going to steal your thunder.Talk to us about you, mister Adams,
and why we even care that you'resuch a great guy. Oh wow?
Just to talk about myself, youknow, just being a humble person,
you know, I'd like to startoff with basically, I found my
purpose early in life as a youngtwenty something year old person, being an

(02:10):
entrepreneur coming out of Detroit, Michiganand shovelin snow as a youngster of paper
routes as a youngster really didn't showme or tell me that cutting grass as
a youngster didn't say, you're anentrepreneur. But if I look back over
my life, I've really been anentrepreneur basically my whole life. I've always

(02:32):
tried to create a way for myself, and nothing against persons that you work
at facilities that someone else has createdthat way, because the world needs people
to start companies and those to workat these companies. But when I say
I found my purpose early on,I knew coming out of college in nineteen

(02:53):
ninety three that I had something thatI cared about. And what I cared
about was the way that black communitieslooked in every city and a state that
I went to, they were basicallythe same, almost identical. You know.
It was you could drop a personat an MLK and basically in any
city or state in the US,and that was going to be the underserved

(03:16):
part of town. And you know, I just I just didn't know what
to do. But I knew drugsworks an issue in our community. I
knew that homelessness was an issue inour community. So I decided to basically
spend the rest of my life providinghousing for most vulnerable populations. Outside of

(03:40):
that, man, I you know, I'm a father over a young two
year old son. Was dedicated this. Yeah, the dedicated to my businesses
for so long that you know,some of the things that traditionally you will
think of of wife and family andchildren. I didn't think of those things
as I was trying to drive changeand transform community. But later on in

(04:05):
life it came my way. Iwas able to marry in have a son.
And you talked about Knoxville College anda graduate of alumnus of Knoxville College
served on the border trustees for KnoxvilleCollege, and all of a sudden,
I found myself in a position totake over as the interim president and now

(04:28):
the thirty first president of Historical BlackCollege and University. So I'm very prideful
where I've come and where I amtoday. Still got a lot of work
to do, and that's that's andthat's the that's my calling. Just keep
striving and that's what I'm going todo. You know. The thing is
very interesting about what you said aboutthe HPCU inspect We've had numerous guests on

(04:51):
here and a lot of them HPCUgraduates, and they bring that flavor,
if you will, or being ableto enter act with people who they don't
know, and is that something that'sspecific to HPU attendees, because a lot
of us that I know of,we don't just thrive there. We start
there, talk about how that HBCUexperience has allowed you to catapult into other

(05:15):
things and the ability to deal withother people. One hundred percent correct there,
doctor Vincent. I really don't thinkI'll be who I am today if
it was not for my experience inmy time at an HBCU, a small
college in the heels of East Tennesseecalled Knoxville College. Knoxville College accepted me

(05:38):
as who I was at that time, wrapped his hands around me. The
difference that I think I saw fromHBCUs and p wis which I got my
Masters from a predominantly white institution.That's the PWI that I reflect on.
The faculty and the staff and thethe landscapers. These guys were like hunties

(06:03):
and uncles, and an HBCU itwas you know, you know, get
your but the class. I mean, they talk to you just like you
know you I saw you at theparty last night, So get up and
get your but the class. Soso it was that it was the ability
to become a grown adult in afamily that said you can do anything.

(06:31):
It also said be respectful, havemanners, look a person in the eye,
and don't be afraid, you know, don't be afraid to go out
there and basically fail honestly, youknow. And that's what that's what I
took as a as an entrepreneur.In the title I have social entrepreneur,
that's because later on in life Istarted to trend businesses towards really have an

(06:59):
impact versus it's just a financial game. So but I was an entrepreneur in
the beginning, and entrepreneurs is atough role to be on. It is
basically trial by fire, learning asyou go. So you have to be
able to get out there with thesharks, you know, fall into deep
end, you know, get bit, get out and try it all over

(07:24):
again. And I pride myself withthat because I was able to practice some
of these things. At Knoxville College, I was. I had a business
called GQU Promotions. I'm not sureif you knew that. Uh yeah,
now, I was the even thoughI'm a memorable Omega sci fire and we
threw a lot of parties, butour parties were young and basically dance till

(07:50):
you sweat, your sweat, yourhair out type parts. Right. As
a sophomore, doctor Vincent I waspulled off to Desert Storm, and when
I came back, I had adifferent approach about college, even though I
was just going into my junior year. I was immediately focused on completing school

(08:16):
and understood that life was a littlebit shorter than what I had initially thought
it was because there could have beenThere are some people that I know that
didn't come back from Desert Storm,right, So, you know, I
was just thinking a little bit different, and I talked about the business of
GQ promotions. At that time,I had visited a party in Atlanta and

(08:39):
everybody was in suits and dresses andit was called First Fridays, and it
was basically grown up a type ofparty. And I felt like, now
this is the this is what we'remissing. You know, I'm tired of
this. I'm soaking wet by timethe end of the party and stepping around
they all right long. And Istarted to basically throw my own parties in

(09:03):
Knoxville, Tennessee with a partner ofmine named Ronald Hayhood, and we were
known for throwing basically the grown upparties in a small rural town, both
of us being from Detroit, Michigan, we've brought a lot of flavor you
use that word earlier, that wasdifferent than what the rules Tennessee had seen
in their past. So if anyway, I just say that because Knoxville allowed

(09:26):
me to experience that and fail atthat, which we did, if he
gave me a springboard or a safetynet to say it's okay, dust yourself
off and try it again, absolutelywell, And you know what they're saying,
that song goes. If it doesn'tkill you, it makes you stronger.
Apparently it did just that major stronger. But this is the book.

(09:48):
At that radio show, and I'mdoctor Robert Benson hanging out with my main
man, Eddie g and we're talkingto the great Leonard Adams of the southwest
portion of Atlanta, and we're gonnafinish picking his brain when we come right
back. See why. Listeners fromover one hundred and fifty countries around the
world follow the Book of Dad radioshow. Join Doctor Robert Benson and Eddieg
as they chat with special guests whoshare their stories and information that will change

(10:11):
your life. Watch and listen onlife and Spirit online dot Com or subscribe
to the Book of Dad Radio Showon Apple, podcast, Spotify, my
Heart Radio, or wherever you getyour podcast. Brought to you by the
NASCA Network. Hey, welcome backto the Book of Dad Radio Show with

(10:37):
Doctor Robert Benson and me Edieg andour good friend Leonard Adams. Who is
I mean an entrepreneur who is notabout self but about the community. And
I wanted to ask you, Leonard, how you got started really providing housing
for the less fortunate as well asanyone who won at home ownership, because

(11:01):
we all know that one of thegoals in life is to own a home.
Part of your success is having aplace a roof over your head,
because that leads into so many otherthings to provide for your family and give
you a mindset to be able toconcentrate on success. So tell us how

(11:24):
you got started on that journey andwhat directed you to this path. Thank
you there, ed Ag. Thequestion is a question I get asked multiple
times. You know, how didI get here? What's the success look
like? Why why do you dothis? And I'll tell you, honestly,

(11:45):
I what's calling myself getting into thereal estate industry, being a landlord
and basically collecting rent. But thepopulation that I actually house in my rooming
houses, which is a house thatmultiple for individuals that are unrelated living and
they paid rent by the week,And that's basically the description of a rooming

(12:07):
house that I was running. Allof them had a substance addiction or mental
illness based really a substance addiction,and was basically living on the verge of
being homeless, coming out of shelters, living in these short term housing situations,
and basically working a job that couldget them enough money for that day

(12:30):
to pay for their rent for eitherthat day or for that week. And
as as I listen to the individualsand went through the ups and downs of
them not paying their rent or payingtheir rent, I just really felt that
my calling would be if I couldhelp these individuals maintain their employment, get

(12:58):
off for these drugs, they willstay housed and we can offer what I
would consider services to them. Soin two thousand and one I started Quest
Community Development Corporation as the founder.Real estate has been the tool that we
use to transform lives. It isnot the front runner for what we are

(13:22):
here for. We don't believe anaffordable place to live only is a rubric
for success for an individual that havechallenges. It's the support services that we
offer to build the individual. Basically, I'm saying to take a homeless person
off the street and give them thetaj mahal, but if you don't work

(13:46):
with them, they're not going tomaintain the tash mahal in a sense for
lack of better words. And yousee this all the time where you see
people living up under the bridge.It's not because of a just felt that
was the best housing facility for them. Something's going on that has them under
there and we work to address that. So over the last twenty two years,

(14:11):
going from one employee up to nowfifty one employees, going from a
budget of thirty thousand dollars a yearto over six million dollars in an annual
budget, investing one hundred and fortymillion dollars in affordable housing over the next
three years in five hundred apartment unitson the West Side of Atlanta. We
have just really grown and have trendedupward to provide affordable, supportive housing for

(14:39):
Atlanta US most vulnerable. We prideourselves in being one of the only developers
particularly minority led developer that is concentratingon those who have lower income levels.
The real estate game is very,very sensitive when it comes to money.
It was basically designed for the highestand best type of tenant who can pay

(15:03):
the most and give you the leastproblems. But where are the people that
don't make that much supposed to live? Right? Where are some of the
challenge people? Are they supposed tobe homeless just because they have a few
challenges going on or disabilities going on. Who's going to develop for them?
And that's why Quest Community Development Corporationis a nonprofit because we want to have

(15:26):
impacting people lives while doing good.So my model is still the old addict
of saying do good by doing wellor do well by doing good. However
you want to say it basically makeyour money. But you got to understand
you need to give that absolutely.You know, that's an excellent point.

(15:46):
And you mentioned an element of thepopulation who you serve. And because you
know we're talking about you know,properties that have been blighted, you know,
development of people who are poor.You also have to deal with a
very very huge element surrounding crime.And when you're dealing with crime, you
have to bring in the police,if you will. Now there's a constant,

(16:06):
an ongoing tension, if you will, between people of that typical demographic
in the police. How has thatimpacted your development efforts and maintaining your communities
and has it at all been adeterrent, so to speak, or an
obstacle if you will, Yes,we've had some of gold. Just to

(16:30):
be honest there, doctor Benson.The blue and black community, particularly the
challenge black community in blue, havea very sensitive relationship. What we try
to do. We were instrumental insupporting of the City of Atlanta's initiative around

(16:51):
educating and training police officers in themental health arena, where when you get
a call of somebody outside naked,you know, with a gun screaming,
then you know, don't come inwith your guns blazing, you know,
send those individuals that are getting readyto understand what they're seeing and be able

(17:12):
to address it. And far toolong it was just forced. You know,
no one said, well, watchthe gentleman or this woman outside but
naked saying that they're a veteran andfeeling like grenades are being thrown at them.
You know, it's just we justhadn't had a place of being able
to show that other caring side.So there are some some some efforts being

(17:37):
made there, but we still havethat old, you know, wild wild
West mentality as well. At timesyou come in your training, you know,
as I said, I was inthe army in this way, and
I can only see that police officersare trained a certain way and when they
come to situation, that training kicksin. And I'm not sure if those

(18:00):
scenarios, all of those scenarios areexamples on their training grounds. You know,
I don't don't know if they hada person there naked with no guns,
nothing that in their hand saying Iwant to kill myself, you know.
So that's that's just honestly to say, I didn't want to say.

(18:21):
We are looking to give officers aunit in our facilities, our apartment communities
as a police unit, to kindof build that bridge that on one end,
he or she is your neighbor.On another end, we're getting three
police car outside in the parking lot, you know, so we get some

(18:42):
security. We are moving over thenext six projects that we have that our
apartment communities, we are looking atoffering an officer house. Absolutely, Hey,
so when we come back, Well, one of the things I wanted
to say is I think you're geniussped to Adams. Leonard, is that
you're able to bring together a numberof people from a number of different classes

(19:04):
and demographics. So we're talking aboutthe high end of the people with money,
and frankly, it requires money todo what you're doing. So when
we come back, we're going toask you talk a little bit more about
that. How you're able to reallyget people with money to work for people
who don't have it. And atthe same time they're doing this, they're
really not getting anything in return exceptfor the satisfaction of knowing they're actually doing

(19:26):
just that. But when we willbe right back to this, doctor Robert
Benson, I'm talking to mister LeonardAdams, and where Eddig hanging out with
us as well. Book at thatradio show and we'll be right back.
You have something special, you havegreatness in you. Hello, I'm less
Brown, missus, Mamie Brown tobaby boy, I want you to spread
the word to your family members andfriends to listen to less Brown Greatness Radio

(19:49):
dot com. Absolutely, and letme share with you why we're going to
be focusing on positive things, becausewhatever you focus on the longest, they
come the strongest. And now morethan ever, when the suicide rate has
increased over thirty three percent, whenthe suicide rate of young children between five

(20:11):
and eleven has doubled, people feelinghopeless and stressed out and powerless. We
need programming that can bring out thegreatness in them, and that's what we
will be focused on. When youlisten, it will be an experience that
will transform your life. Less BrownGreatness Radio dot Com. That's my story

(20:32):
and I'm sticking to it. Hey, and we're right back look at that
radio shore. I'm doctor Robert Bensontalking to mister Leonard Adams, mister Southwest
Atlanta, as I call him,the guy who runs that oasis at Leonard
Georgia. But when we left off, we were kind of talking about how
the genius of mister Adams is thathe's able to get people to come together

(20:56):
for the common good. I mean, it takes a village to raise a
child. We say that, butit actually takes a village to run a
village and to keep a village going. And we get different villages that come
together and do that. It takesa special level of orchestration genius, if
you will to do that in theway of getting people to fund and the
way to getting people to show upfor events. And I've been to a

(21:17):
couple of events that mister Adams hasdone just that at it's masterful. But
I want to ask him if youwill, mister Adams, talk about some
of those people and some of thoseorganizations you're able to get to come in
and do just that, contribute theirpiece their verse, if you will to
run in these communities that we're talkingabout. Thank you to the doctor vincent

(21:40):
Im. I mean, I wantto first start with saying the Book of
Dad radio show, it's every piecethat makes us who we are, make
me who I am, So thankyou and ag for having me on today.
Absolutely, how rubric is government,corporation, philanthropy and individuals and then

(22:03):
our own equity as an organization.So we believe that government has a responsibility
to invest or support vulnerable populations intheir city or their state. So that's
that for the government, and Ithink they get that, and that's where

(22:25):
you see the city or the housingauthorities or the state putting money into fields
of their city or state or county. Then you have corporations, which we
have really been trying to get corporationsto understand. When you see the lady
working at the front desk or theman working at the front desk that is

(22:48):
the reception or the administrative assistant,and they're driving in to work forty five
minutes to an hour, that's notreally all because they just chose to live
an hour away from where they work. There are sometimes some underlying factors that
the affordability rate around where large corporationsare housed. Here in downtown Atlanta,

(23:15):
if we're speaking about Atlanta, youcan't afford to live at a person that's
making eighty a family afford making eightyninety grand a year is considered low income
in the city of Atlanta. Soyou have to move out to the suburbs
or even what they're calling now theexert, which is the suburbs of the
of the suburbs, wing in,you know, hour hour and a half

(23:41):
to come into the city. Thenyou have a philanthropy. Now, philanthropy
has always gotten me, they felt. You know, these are either large
corporational wealthy individuals that have said Ineed to give some of my money back.
It's just different things that they have, their pillars that they sport,
and it's about getting them to understandif you're not in their will house either

(24:06):
leaving them alone, which my processis, if you don't support housing,
if you don't support services, ifyou don't support low income people or underserved
communities. Let's just say you're aboutglobal warming. I'm not calling you to
try to convince you that you're herein Atlanta. You need to support quests

(24:27):
CDC the last for not least individuals. We couldn't make it without individuals giving
up their time, talents and treasures. And then lastly, we put our
money up. As an organization,we put skin in the game to show
our funders that we believe in ourmodel and they should too. So,

(24:48):
just to say, some of oursponsors in our capital stack, it would
be the State of Georgia Department ofCommunity Affairs, City of Atlanta puts in
County Home Depot Foundation, the HomeDepot Company going into the philanthropic group.
Then we would move into individuals thatare from the neighborhood or not of the

(25:12):
neighborhood. We also have other CDFIs, which stands for a Community development financial
institutions like neighbor works and enterprise communitypartners and low income investment funds that give
money or invest money into what wedo. I'd like to end on the
word investment. We pride ourselves inthe grants that we use, which is

(25:37):
money that we don't have to payback. But to really have the scalability,
you have to. If anyone's listening, that's saying, you know,
I really want to get into thisnonprofit space. I really want to do
housing or anything anything about impact.You're going to eventually turn into a business,
no more mom and pop, andyou're going to get invests made where

(26:00):
you're going to owe some debt tosomebody or some organization. And that's why
you said you open up was sovital that it takes money to make this
money go because you have to makea profit to be able to pay those
individuals back. And there are someindividuals that want a social impact back to

(26:22):
them a way of doing good,which is the basically ending on the triple
bottom line. Triple bottom line isthe finance, which most people stop right
there. I want to make moneyin whatever business that I am. Then
the environment is kind of rolled inthere as the second line under finance.
But then there's a third line inthe world of business ad men or business

(26:48):
management or PhD in a business,it's called social and that's the piece that
I'm thinking. Sometimes we forget orwe do that later on after we make
big dollars to impact the social peace. And I really would believe that hope
that entrepreneurs, as soon as theystart their business, they're able to say,

(27:11):
I want to impact the sociable pieceof my business and my community from
day one versus after you make itbig, because you've can hire a person
from your local community and have impactthere. Well, you know, Leonard,
I really respect what you're doing,and we had the book a Dad.
When we meet people like you,we're excited. We're always trying to

(27:36):
find out ways that we can helpcontribute and help in the community. One
thing that we respect respect about youis your entire mantra is about educating people
on housing, on business, onlife right and one of the things that

(27:57):
when you start a business, there'ssome famous quotes that would say if you
do something to help others, thenit'll come back to you and you will
be successful. And that's how lifeis. And when you deal with people
like yourself, who have a mission, who think about others, success will

(28:18):
always come and that's what's happened withyou so far. So we just wanted
to say congratulations on the work you'vedone and the things you've done for others
and the success that you've had becauseyou do things for others. Adig,
I thank you for that. Iknow, Doctor Vincent want to say a
few words, but if anybody's listening, don't chase the money. It's it's

(28:41):
not the money, it's it's thework that you're doing serving others. The
money will come. If you serveenough people, the money will come,
you know. I tell you,man, I am extremely proud of you
because I've known you a very verylong term and the thing that I would
what I would call you as agalvanizer and an orchestra and I think you
do great and unbelievable things. Andthere's just enough time and one to show

(29:04):
for us to get everything that you'vedone out of there out of you.
So we just want to say thatyou have an open invitation to come back
to the Book of Dad radio showand along those lines, there is no
quote for the day is simply thisjust follow the example of great people and
that's who we talk to. Agreat people with great topics. This has
been the book of Dad radio show. I'm doctor Robert Benson. Thank you,

(29:26):
mister Adams, and I see youaround about. Mister and mister Groves,
thank you too. Book at thatradio show and we'll talk to you
next time. Salute