June 13, 2024 • 27 mins
Join us on "The Voices of Legacy" as we delve into the inspiring journey of Ohio State Representative Attorney Josh Williams. From experiencing homelessness to overcoming adversity, Josh's story exemplifies the power of perseverance and hope. Despite dropping out of high school and battling a debilitating back injury, Josh refused to be defined by his circumstances, earning his GED and ultimately graduating from law school at the University of Toledo. Now, as a dedicated educator at Adrian College and a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Josh continues to inspire others to overcome obstacles and reach their fullest potential.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:24):
Welcome to the voices of legacy, where we celebrate individuals
who display resilience and determination and inspiring us all. Hopefully
today we honor and introduce to some as we say
in churchdom, and present to others our own Ohio State
Representative and local attorney, Josh Williams, whose remarkable journey from
(00:50):
homelessness in adversity becoming an attorney, exemplifies the power of
perseverance and hope. Despite facing significant challenges, including dropping out
of high school and sustaining debilitating a back injury, Josh refused,
and I can say this by my own experience, refuse
(01:12):
to let the circumstances define him. Instead, he transformed his mindset,
shifting from asking why me, which we all do. I
think we've all said why me? Oh God help me,
to declaring why not me? With unwavering determination, he obtained
his ged and embarked on a journey of education and
(01:32):
self discovery that led him to the opportunity that we
as Ohio citizens have presented to him in electing him
as our state representative. At the age of thirty five,
Josh achieve a significant milestone by graduating from law school
at the University of Toledo A College of Law. His
commitment to education extends beyond his own pursuits, as he
(01:57):
now shares his knowledge and passion and his dedication for
being an educator even at Adrian College, teaching constitutional law,
criminal law, and criminal procedure. Josh's dedication to serving his
community is evident and is exemplified in his current service
(02:18):
for the state of Ohio and the community that he
still practices law. If I'm not mistaken, we welcome today
none other after all of that stuff been our own.
Josh Williams. Good afternoon, brother, Josh, How are you good afternoon?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
I'm good. I'm glad to be here. I appreciate the
invitation to come and speak with you today.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Thank you for being here. We truly thank you for
showing up in the place to answer some questions. We
will promise not to get the room smoking and dim
the lights, but we want to talk to you today
about your experience. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
So I'm born and raised here in Toledo, Ohio. I'll
give you that the elevator's speech of my background, which
is my dad was sixty eight when I was born.
My mom was just twenty six. My dad died when
I was five years old. He was an older man,
so he died at the age of seventy four in
nineteen ninety. He was the reverend. Yeah whoever our roots
in the church. So I was raised, along with my
(03:19):
two older siblings by a single mother. Eventually I got
to the point of being a senior high school. I
was an honor student, but I was eighteen and out
on my own, and I dropped out of high school
and I became homeless. I slept on park benches and
friends couches for six seven months until I kind of
got back on my feet. Eventually I met my first
(03:40):
wife while she was pregnant with my son, Matthew. I
felt thirty feet at work. I was working as a
railroad subcontractor and destroyed my spine. So by the time
I was twenty three, I was fully disabled, and from
twenty three to twenty nine I laid in bed. I
underwent I think it was around forty two procedures on
my spine, five major back surgeries on my spine. I
(04:02):
have meddled in my spine permanently, and eventually I recovered well.
I recovered enough by twenty nine to where I wanted
to get myself out of that bed. And we started
to fight with the state of Ohio for over a
year because as an injured worker, if you just enroll
in college, you will be cut off your disability because
you didn't have their permission. So for a year we
(04:24):
fought to get the permission. Eventually they conceded and I
started college at the age of thirty.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
So you had to ask permission to improve yourself from
that situation.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Correct, they were more makes sense. They were more content
with offer me a settlement and saying you should just
be content in living in poverty and being in pain
the rest of your life and taking these pain pills.
And I had a different agenda, So you know, I
fought to get out of that bed and to get
myself into college. And I started at the University of
(04:53):
Toledo at the age of thirty and at the age
of thirty five, I graduated from law school with three degrees.
I graduated from undergrad magna cum laude. I earned a
full scholarship to UT Law. I graduated law school early,
so in a little over five and a half years,
I gained three degrees, including my Jeers doctorate and I
got sworn in and started practicing.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Oh wow, wow, so your circumstances didn't really disable you.
It sounds like it motivated you.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
It did, and it motivated me later to go into
public office. I had some opportunities that were available to
me that weren't available to my peers next door who
weren't disabled. So by being an injured worker and being disabled,
you know, I had non government organizations NGOs available to me,
such as Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities. They were the
(05:44):
organization that paid for my first two years of college education.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
In my books, they.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Were the ones that kind of gave me the encouragement
to be able to try even if I failed. A
program that worked, A program that worked, and what Workers
Comp did. Workers Comp said, we will agree not to
cut off your check for two years while you try
to see if you can dig yourself out of this
six year disability and get back into the workforce. And
I made a successful transition.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Wow, so how long did it take you?
Speaker 2 (06:12):
The recovery period was pretty long. I'm still disabled to
this day, I still have injuries. I'm still considered forty
seven percent disabled. But eventually, you know, in five and
a half years. I got two degrees and associates and
applied science and paralgal studies, that bachelors and science and
parallegal studies, and eventually I got my juris doctorate with
a concentration in criminal law.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
So we should say doctor Josh.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Yeah as lawyer, as we normally don't take that term,
but yes, I do have a doctor.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yes, doctor j Awesome, awesome, awesome self. I guess that
led you not only to success, but also to, as
they say, reach back and make yourself available to the
place that you came from.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
I thought it was God's intention for me to become
a lawyer. Like there was a lot of things that happened,
and there's a thousand layers that I could tell you,
but I don't want to occupy too much time. That
guided me to become a criminal defense attorney, and I
thought that that was God's plan for me. So then
I had already worked in a law firm since twenty sixteen.
By the time I graduated, I'm working in the same
(07:12):
law firm I previously was a criminal defendant and a
criminal defense client, and I'm at the peak of you know,
what I think should be my happiness I'm getting ready
to get remarried.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Hold on, wait a minute, So you were actually a
defendant for the very same law firm that now your partner.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Yeah. Oh, I'm an associate associate.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Okay, So yeah, my's like TV movie stuff.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
So in my sophomore year of college, I was coaching
in the city and a league called the Stars of
the Egue South Leader Area Recreational Society. I was a
youth football coaching program director, but I also served as
the secretary of our executive board.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
And we had a young.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Lady that got suspended from our league for a year
for violining our anti bullying policies, and me, as a secretary,
I had to write her letter of suspension, and she
went and started a competing league to us, and we
found out she was dating one of our coaches and
was taking equipment out of a locker.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
So my board ordered me, as as a secretary, to
go and get my name put on the locker, take
the equipment that remained inventory, and let them know what
was stolen so we could try to sue her go
after her criminally. So I did that in broad daylight.
I went and got my name put on the locker.
I went with my ten year old son. We removed
all the equipment. I inventoried. I did everything I was
(08:28):
told to do. Somehow she convinced them to put her
name on the locker three days later and went in
FI out of police report saying I stole three days earlier.
So for a year I had to fight two felonies.
I was a baseball coach that started high school at
the time, coaching JV. I lost that job because of
these pending felonies, and I had to fight for my name.
(08:51):
And eventually, once I got indicted, and once it went
to common police court, I was able to produce evidence
that showed one my name was on the locker, to
her name didn't go on until three days later. So
when I went in, I was the only person's name
on a locker. I can't steal from myself. And the
case was dismissed and eventually sealed. And then long story short,
(09:12):
the judge that was in charge of that case, Myronduhart,
became one of my law school professors. I took his
class and trial practice. I took top honors in that
class what we call booking and law school, and he
swore me in as a practicing attorney, So I still
work in the same law firm that I walked through
the door as a criminal a defendant. I still work
with my boss and mentor, Stephn Groth, who was my
(09:33):
attorney back then, and he essentially gave me an internship
based off of the work that I did on my
own case showing how dedicated I was and how kind
of creative I was towards defense. So I started as
an intern there, I worked myself into a paralegal role
and undergraduate, I eventually became a law clerk when I
(09:53):
hit law school, and then now I'm a practicing attorney
in our criminal defense division.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
So adversity seems to be urine space no matter what.
That's pretty awesome. I've experienced some some well experiences in
the courtroom myself, and I can attest to it can
be very frustrating when you know that you're justified in
your position, but you have to go through the process
and it forces I'm not trying to be an attorney,
(10:18):
but it forced me to really read some case loman.
My attorney's okay, but I want this dude to make
this happen, And I was fighting for a custody of
my son, and I think you've had some some similar circumstances,
so I can definitely relate to that. That that is amazing,
and it's I think it's inspiring. You know, don't let
adversity stop you, let it inspire you. It's like medication
(10:40):
or the impetus to move forward in life. So in
all that what led you to politics.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
So you know, when I started practicing, I was four
months away from my wedding to my beautiful wife, and
I felt so empty being a criminal defense attorney.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
I was.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
I I had this idea I was going to go
and fix this criminal justice system, being a criminal defense
attorney and fighting for those that are innocent like myself.
And I got into assystem that was just so messed up,
so corrupt, so evil that I felt like I was
profiting off of other people's pain. And it made me
feel empty on the inside. And I used to pray
to God about it. I'm like, this couldn't have been
(11:20):
your purpose for me. It couldn't have been. And I
remember about four months before our wedding and we had
a beautiful wedding, four hundred and fifty guests. You know,
an expensive wedding. I went to my wife and I said,
I don't want to be a lawyer anymore.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
You can't see his eyebrows just raising when he said
it expensive. But it was nice.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
It was a beautiful wedding, but expensive.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
And I went and told my wife I don't want
to be a lawyer anymore, and she no one certain
terms told me, and I remember this, suck it up, buttercup,
And you know, she told me, hey, this is what
you went to school for.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
People pay you for your experience, blah blah blah.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
And I said, okay, man, I sucked it up and
we got married, and the feeling just kept being there.
I had already had that feeling. That's why I became
a professor. I thought that was going to fill that void.
And then it still more. I could just tell that
that wasn't what he had intended for me, Like maybe
that's what he wanted me.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
To do, but it wasn't all that he had. It
wasn't the complete assignment that he had over my life.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
So I used to look back on all those obstacles
I overcame. You know, why did I have to have
a single mother? Why my dad have to die of
cancer when I was young? Why did I have to
be impoverished? Why do I have to have dead roaches
surgically removed from my ears? Why do I have to
drop out of high school and sleep on park benches?
Why did I have to fall at twenty one and
destroy my spine? Why did I have to go through
a divorce after fifteen years of a relationship in thirteen
(12:38):
year marriage?
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Why? Why? God? Why me?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
And something just shifted in my mind and it's like,
maybe these obstacles that I see as insurmountable, maybe those
were just challenges to get me prepared for the assignment
that God had for me that would take dedication, determination, right, resiliency,
and I don't care attitude when I get opposition to
(13:04):
my positions.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
I just started praying about it.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Okay, if this isn't the assignment, you know, just like
digging myself out of that bed, I made a promise
to you that if you gave me the opportunity, I
will work my butt off to get out of this bed.
If you give me the opportunity to go down whatever
path you have for me, I'll see it and I'll
pursue it. And almost instantaneously I have people coming out
of Woolwork's like, hey, we heard you're considering running for office,
(13:27):
and I'm like, you're a liar. I'm not even a
party affiliate at that point. I'm an independent. I never
voted in the primary intentionally, but people had heard about
my conservative views. I've been a member of the Federalist
Society when I was in college. I was very vocal
when I was in law school about my conservative views,
and I guess it started to catch on in the city.
(13:47):
So people were coming up saying, hey, we heard you'd
be a great candidate. And I thought about it and
I prayed about it. And when I went to my
wife this time four months after our marriage, and I'm like, hey,
there's a deadline coming up, there's this open seat.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Maybe I should go into politics.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
And she said absolutely, Really, she said, it's not every
day that people that look like us get this opportunity,
especially as a Republican.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Yeah, if you.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Are going to get the support of your party, you
have my support. So I made a trip to Columbus,
and before I even declared my candidacy, I went and
met with the Ohio Republican Party about potentially running. And
by the time I drove back to Toledo from Columbus.
Word was already spread in my county that I was
the candidate for District forty one.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Wow, So did you think you're going to win? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Because I felt like it was God. I wouldn't have
ran if I didn't think it was God's assignment for me.
And everything He's done for me, that's been an assignment
that came from him.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Because you know, you, Michelle, you've pretty much made history. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
It was fifty years since we had a black Republican
in the House of Representatives, in over thirty years for
the Senate, and that was unfortunate. You know that for
half a century we had no representation in rooms where
decisions were being made that affected our community.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
And now I.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Get so much pushback, not from people that look like me.
I get a little bit, but a lot of pushback.
I get us from white liberals who almost believe like
they own me, like you know, they own my struggle
and what I've overcome, and that I should have brought
that message to their party.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Or what you are supposed to do or what you
are supposed to think. I received the same things as
you know, we relate on that level was when I
first met you, I think was it at Diyamay meeting.
It was a meeting, uh, and I was shocked and amazing.
I can't go into too much detail. And what the
candidate that you were running against said about you and
your absence? Yeah, and I called you the media. I
(15:44):
was like, man, I have to find this guy's telephone number.
Stuff like that is I agree with you. It's very
motivational to make change in a way that's not common
because really true change, effective change, in my opinion, is
never common. You never find your blessing and comfortable place.
So you're inspired me just hearing your story. So what's
(16:06):
your vision moving forward in your position?
Speaker 2 (16:08):
So, I mean, I've been very active so far in
a couple of different areas. One is criminal justice reform.
You'll see a ton of bills that come out of
my office on criminal justice. And when I say criminal
justice reform, it's got this negative connotation of like letting
criminals walk free. That's not what I mean. I mean
literally reforming our system when it comes to sentencing of
(16:29):
certain criminals and when it comes to relieving sentences of others.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
So I'll give you an example.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
You know, we introduced a bill when it comes to
human trafficking called the Human Trafficking Prevention Act. Myself and
representative of Nick Santucci when I became Vice Chair of
Criminal Justice in the House. I also serve on the
Sentencing Commission through the Ohio Supreme Court. I've also been
assigned to the Beil Reform Commission. I think is a
vice chair of Criminal Justice, it's my responsibility to look
(16:55):
at every statue. And I'm looking at these statutes, some
that I've faced as a criminal defense attorney and some
that i haven't.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
And I saw him.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Wow, a person could abduct the child with the intention
to have sex to that child against their will, and
you can prove that and they face a potential three
year sentence in Ohio. Wow, I said, that's crazy that
a man that not only can try, but actually succeed
in abducting a child and you can prove they had
(17:24):
this evil intent and they face a potential three years. No,
they should face life in prison. We're getting a predator
off the street. So we introduced a Human Trafficking Prevention Act,
which takes increases penalties for kidnapping, abduction, and engage in
the human trafficking to potential life sentences in the state
(17:44):
of Ohio. That at the same time, I'm trying to
do other things like make it easier for you to
remove felony convictions off of your record for first time offenders, right,
trying to make those automatic instead of you having to
realize your eligible pay a lawyer like myself to go
represent you and get your record sealed. At the same time,
(18:05):
I'm trying to reorient our criminal justice system towards three
three groups of offenders. One we just talked about sex offenders.
That's a major one. Two is our violent offenders, right,
and three is our repeat offenders. So we have a
bill that we're introducing on Tuesday, we'll have a press
conference in Columbus, and it's called the Repeat Offender Act.
(18:26):
What it's targeting is individuals that are felons that continuously
get caught with firearms. The revolving door goodness. So you know,
ninety percent of our violent crimes are perpetrated by individuals
that are in illegal possession of firearms. They are not
legally allowed to possess firearms because they already have convictions
(18:48):
that bar them. But yet when they we catch them
before they do a new crime, they only face up
to three years in prison, and the first time they
only get around a nine to twelve month sentence if
they get yell at allow. The second time they still
only face up to three years, the third time still
only up to three years, the twelve times still only
(19:08):
up to three years.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
This is probably why there isn't a healthy respect for
the law. I know you probably already know that. We're
very involved through our ministry in inspiring a healthy communication
between the community and our law enforcement. We have a
coffee with cops again and we try to inspire people. Come,
let's treat each other like human beings, so that we
(19:31):
can respect authority and authority can respect us, because at
the end of the day, they work for us, just
like you do. You are a representative of the state.
We have to get that respect back. But if we're
letting felons out over and over again, they don't respect anything.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Yeah, yeah, and especially when those are the people perpetrating
crimes in our community, When our children are dying because
of gang violence inside of our community, and those individuals
are being put over with guns and they're barely facing anything.
They get arrested that night they get out there same night,
they're back in the neighborhood the next day with another firearm.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
And you're empowering them, Yeah, and commit crimes.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
So instead, you know, groups want to you know, villainize
legal gun owners like myself and say the reason is
because all these guns are available. Guns are always going
to be available in this country because we have a
second Amendment. What needs to happen is when we have
violent criminals in possession of it, or you use a
gun in the commission of a violent offense, you need
to start putting these people behind bars for decades at
(20:28):
a time, especially these repeat offenders. So I mean, I
looked at some of the statutes using a fully automatic
weapon in the state of Ohio six years, six years,
for a fully automatic modified weapon using a suppress from
the commission of a crime six years, Wow, six years,
and I'm like, no, that should be ten fifteen, similar
to what the Feds have. So we have a bill
(20:49):
that's being introduced that is gonna, in our belief, help
when it comes to gun violence. At the same time,
it gives an automatic ceiling of felony fours and fives.
After a certain period of time, you're eligible for five
years to file for your record to get sealed, but
after five years it should automatically come off right. And
there's some other provisions, and so that's one of my
(21:11):
big goals is reshaping our criminal justice system. The next
goal is workforce development. And I kind of have a
unique perspective because I watched how things worked with me.
So one thing was it was the threat of you
taking away my disability check. That would have kept me
out of college. It would have kept me in poverty,
(21:32):
it would have kept me in that bed, and it
would have made it where I didn't go out and
try to find a job because the threat of you
taking away my assistance. Instead, what happened was they gave
me two years to go out and get an education
and come back and make as much money. That's one
example of workers come too is social Security. I received
Social Security disability at the same time. Social Security has
(21:53):
a transitional program that we don't have in the state
of Ohio. When it comes to our social net system,
which is when I decide to try to get out
there and work, there's a nine month period consecutive months
or eleven months, and a thirty six month window where
I can make as much money as I can and
I don't lose my check. It's guided towards me building
(22:17):
up a nest egg so I can prove to the
government that I can sustain myself. And if I get
off the system, even if I had a bad month,
even if I get laid off, I have a nest
egg of nine months of income that I should have
built up into a savings right for myself. And it
made that transition, and I was successful when I made
that transition off of the system.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
I've never been backed.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
So you're saying that does exist or.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
That exists on Social Security disability, but not in Ohio.
So we have a bill myself and the Minority assisted
leader Gerals we introduced a hand up, which is a
pilot program that says, hey, if you're on our public assistance,
we're gonna we're gonna give you this window of six
to nine months where you can continue getting your benefits
(23:03):
so long as you try to go out there and
get gainful employment, get yourself off the system. Because we
don't I'll use flat numbers. We don't want a limit
that says if you make under one thousand dollars a month,
you can get government assistance. But if you make one
thousand and one dollars, you lose seventeen hundred dollars of
government assistance. I'm pretty sure if you're a thoughtful person,
(23:24):
you're gonna say, I'm a guarantee I'm gonna make under.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
A thousand dollars. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Well that's what people do, because if I make a
thousand and one, I'm losing seventeen hundred. Instead, I can
make nine hundred and ninety nine and keep my seventeen hundred.
And we're making people make these economic decisions. And then
you say, well, why are people staying in poverty because
you've incentivize them to remain in poverty.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
That's true. Well, man, we've talked about a lot, and
we're rolling up on the end of our program. But
I have to ask the question other than are you
still teaching?
Speaker 3 (23:56):
I still teach perfect perfect, I still practice too. Legislation good,
good good?
Speaker 1 (24:01):
How do you balance all of that?
Speaker 2 (24:02):
So?
Speaker 1 (24:02):
I know I'm supposed to be closing, But how do
you balance all of that?
Speaker 2 (24:05):
I pray to God every day that my body holds up.
I laid in bed for six consecutive years. I lost
my entire twenties. So I'm making up for lost time.
I got a lot to do in bringing people to
his kingdom, giving him glory in every room that I
walk into, and trying to complete this assignment that he's
given me. I don't know if it's a two year
assignment in the legislature. I don't know if it's four six,
(24:26):
eight twenty. Maybe it's in a different role. I don't know. Else,
I'm gonna keep praying. I'm gonna keep praying about.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
It, Governor Josh, who knows, you never know? You never know.
But nevertheless, to the big question of the hour. As
we wrap up this time together, and I appreciate you
coming and sharing so much with us, what do you
think your legacy is? Right now? Right now?
Speaker 2 (24:51):
It's my legacy is the ability to overcome adversity, to
reject this victimhood mentality that is plaguing our youth, yes,
and instead take on individual autonomy and individual responsibility, claim
ownership of your own life, your own success, and work
your butt off to overcome. And part of my legacy
(25:15):
is I'm going to fight tooth and nail to put programs, policies, procedures, rules,
statutes in place that can help you overcome. So long
as you are a motivated Ohio on a motivated Ohio wing,
there's going to be a way for you to dig
yourself out on your own.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
No matter your skin tone, affiliation doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
We want you to reach your God given potential instead
of the other way, because I've seen it where government
gets in the way and suppresses your potential to keep
you in poverty, keep you relying on them so you
keep voting for him in office.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Yeah, I was going to say, there's got to be
a reason for there's always if somebody's benefiting. Well, you've
answered both questions. What would you like your legacy to be?
Would be the next question? And that sounds like a
pretty healthy, well menu of legacy that you have before you,
not behind you, and just looking at you. And we're
going to share some pictures for those that are all on.
(26:09):
He's a married man. He's a married man, but you
don't look much more than twenty now.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
Well, I'm getting ready to celebrate my fortieth I know.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
But we thank God for you, we truly do, and
your mission and your commitment to what you do. I
think that there's another story there someplace, maybe a movie,
hopefully not lifetime, but a movie in the works, or
book or something of that nature for you. We thank
you for being with us today of state represented. What
do we call you State Representative?
Speaker 2 (26:41):
I go by Josh. I know that you can call
me Representative Josh Williams.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
There we go, Representative Josh, the honorable Representative of Josh
Williams in the building today here on the Voices of Legacy.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
Thank you very much, Thank you for having me. It
was an honor.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Thank you for listening to the Voices of the Legacy.
This is your friend, Pastor Carl Mitchell, the third, your
hosts of this program. We want you to go to
WGTE dot org slash legacy to like, share, subscribe, and
hear all of our past podcast and our future podcast.
Be a friend and join with us in the Voices
(27:30):
of Legacy where you're writing your own legacy every day
that you live. Have a blessing. WGTE voices around us.
Wgt supported in part by the American Rescue Plan Act
(27:52):
funds allocated by the City of Toledo and the Lucas
County Commissioners and administered by the Arts Commission
Welcome to the voices of legacy, where we celebrate individuals
who display resilience and determination and inspiring us all. Hopefully
today we honor and introduce to some as we say
in churchdom, and present to others our own Ohio State
Representative and local attorney, Josh Williams, whose remarkable journey from
(00:50):
homelessness in adversity becoming an attorney, exemplifies the power of
perseverance and hope. Despite facing significant challenges, including dropping out
of high school and sustaining debilitating a back injury, Josh refused,
and I can say this by my own experience, refuse
(01:12):
to let the circumstances define him. Instead, he transformed his mindset,
shifting from asking why me, which we all do. I
think we've all said why me? Oh God help me,
to declaring why not me? With unwavering determination, he obtained
his ged and embarked on a journey of education and
(01:32):
self discovery that led him to the opportunity that we
as Ohio citizens have presented to him in electing him
as our state representative. At the age of thirty five,
Josh achieve a significant milestone by graduating from law school
at the University of Toledo A College of Law. His
commitment to education extends beyond his own pursuits, as he
(01:57):
now shares his knowledge and passion and his dedication for
being an educator even at Adrian College, teaching constitutional law,
criminal law, and criminal procedure. Josh's dedication to serving his
community is evident and is exemplified in his current service
(02:18):
for the state of Ohio and the community that he
still practices law. If I'm not mistaken, we welcome today
none other after all of that stuff been our own.
Josh Williams. Good afternoon, brother, Josh, How are you good afternoon?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
I'm good. I'm glad to be here. I appreciate the
invitation to come and speak with you today.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Thank you for being here. We truly thank you for
showing up in the place to answer some questions. We
will promise not to get the room smoking and dim
the lights, but we want to talk to you today
about your experience. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
So I'm born and raised here in Toledo, Ohio. I'll
give you that the elevator's speech of my background, which
is my dad was sixty eight when I was born.
My mom was just twenty six. My dad died when
I was five years old. He was an older man,
so he died at the age of seventy four in
nineteen ninety. He was the reverend. Yeah whoever our roots
in the church. So I was raised, along with my
(03:19):
two older siblings by a single mother. Eventually I got
to the point of being a senior high school. I
was an honor student, but I was eighteen and out
on my own, and I dropped out of high school
and I became homeless. I slept on park benches and
friends couches for six seven months until I kind of
got back on my feet. Eventually I met my first
(03:40):
wife while she was pregnant with my son, Matthew. I
felt thirty feet at work. I was working as a
railroad subcontractor and destroyed my spine. So by the time
I was twenty three, I was fully disabled, and from
twenty three to twenty nine I laid in bed. I
underwent I think it was around forty two procedures on
my spine, five major back surgeries on my spine. I
(04:02):
have meddled in my spine permanently, and eventually I recovered well.
I recovered enough by twenty nine to where I wanted
to get myself out of that bed. And we started
to fight with the state of Ohio for over a
year because as an injured worker, if you just enroll
in college, you will be cut off your disability because
you didn't have their permission. So for a year we
(04:24):
fought to get the permission. Eventually they conceded and I
started college at the age of thirty.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
So you had to ask permission to improve yourself from
that situation.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Correct, they were more makes sense. They were more content
with offer me a settlement and saying you should just
be content in living in poverty and being in pain
the rest of your life and taking these pain pills.
And I had a different agenda, So you know, I
fought to get out of that bed and to get
myself into college. And I started at the University of
(04:53):
Toledo at the age of thirty and at the age
of thirty five, I graduated from law school with three degrees.
I graduated from undergrad magna cum laude. I earned a
full scholarship to UT Law. I graduated law school early,
so in a little over five and a half years,
I gained three degrees, including my Jeers doctorate and I
got sworn in and started practicing.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Oh wow, wow, so your circumstances didn't really disable you.
It sounds like it motivated you.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
It did, and it motivated me later to go into
public office. I had some opportunities that were available to
me that weren't available to my peers next door who
weren't disabled. So by being an injured worker and being disabled,
you know, I had non government organizations NGOs available to me,
such as Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities. They were the
(05:44):
organization that paid for my first two years of college education.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
In my books, they.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Were the ones that kind of gave me the encouragement
to be able to try even if I failed. A
program that worked, A program that worked, and what Workers
Comp did. Workers Comp said, we will agree not to
cut off your check for two years while you try
to see if you can dig yourself out of this
six year disability and get back into the workforce. And
I made a successful transition.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Wow, so how long did it take you?
Speaker 2 (06:12):
The recovery period was pretty long. I'm still disabled to
this day, I still have injuries. I'm still considered forty
seven percent disabled. But eventually, you know, in five and
a half years. I got two degrees and associates and
applied science and paralgal studies, that bachelors and science and
parallegal studies, and eventually I got my juris doctorate with
a concentration in criminal law.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
So we should say doctor Josh.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Yeah as lawyer, as we normally don't take that term,
but yes, I do have a doctor.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yes, doctor j Awesome, awesome, awesome self. I guess that
led you not only to success, but also to, as
they say, reach back and make yourself available to the
place that you came from.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
I thought it was God's intention for me to become
a lawyer. Like there was a lot of things that happened,
and there's a thousand layers that I could tell you,
but I don't want to occupy too much time. That
guided me to become a criminal defense attorney, and I
thought that that was God's plan for me. So then
I had already worked in a law firm since twenty sixteen.
By the time I graduated, I'm working in the same
(07:12):
law firm I previously was a criminal defendant and a
criminal defense client, and I'm at the peak of you know,
what I think should be my happiness I'm getting ready
to get remarried.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Hold on, wait a minute, So you were actually a
defendant for the very same law firm that now your partner.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Yeah. Oh, I'm an associate associate.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Okay, So yeah, my's like TV movie stuff.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
So in my sophomore year of college, I was coaching
in the city and a league called the Stars of
the Egue South Leader Area Recreational Society. I was a
youth football coaching program director, but I also served as
the secretary of our executive board.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
And we had a young.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Lady that got suspended from our league for a year
for violining our anti bullying policies, and me, as a secretary,
I had to write her letter of suspension, and she
went and started a competing league to us, and we
found out she was dating one of our coaches and
was taking equipment out of a locker.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
So my board ordered me, as as a secretary, to
go and get my name put on the locker, take
the equipment that remained inventory, and let them know what
was stolen so we could try to sue her go
after her criminally. So I did that in broad daylight.
I went and got my name put on the locker.
I went with my ten year old son. We removed
all the equipment. I inventoried. I did everything I was
(08:28):
told to do. Somehow she convinced them to put her
name on the locker three days later and went in
FI out of police report saying I stole three days earlier.
So for a year I had to fight two felonies.
I was a baseball coach that started high school at
the time, coaching JV. I lost that job because of
these pending felonies, and I had to fight for my name.
(08:51):
And eventually, once I got indicted, and once it went
to common police court, I was able to produce evidence
that showed one my name was on the locker, to
her name didn't go on until three days later. So
when I went in, I was the only person's name
on a locker. I can't steal from myself. And the
case was dismissed and eventually sealed. And then long story short,
(09:12):
the judge that was in charge of that case, Myronduhart,
became one of my law school professors. I took his
class and trial practice. I took top honors in that
class what we call booking and law school, and he
swore me in as a practicing attorney, So I still
work in the same law firm that I walked through
the door as a criminal a defendant. I still work
with my boss and mentor, Stephn Groth, who was my
(09:33):
attorney back then, and he essentially gave me an internship
based off of the work that I did on my
own case showing how dedicated I was and how kind
of creative I was towards defense. So I started as
an intern there, I worked myself into a paralegal role
and undergraduate, I eventually became a law clerk when I
(09:53):
hit law school, and then now I'm a practicing attorney
in our criminal defense division.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
So adversity seems to be urine space no matter what.
That's pretty awesome. I've experienced some some well experiences in
the courtroom myself, and I can attest to it can
be very frustrating when you know that you're justified in
your position, but you have to go through the process
and it forces I'm not trying to be an attorney,
(10:18):
but it forced me to really read some case loman.
My attorney's okay, but I want this dude to make
this happen, And I was fighting for a custody of
my son, and I think you've had some some similar circumstances,
so I can definitely relate to that. That that is amazing,
and it's I think it's inspiring. You know, don't let
adversity stop you, let it inspire you. It's like medication
(10:40):
or the impetus to move forward in life. So in
all that what led you to politics.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
So you know, when I started practicing, I was four
months away from my wedding to my beautiful wife, and
I felt so empty being a criminal defense attorney.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
I was.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
I I had this idea I was going to go
and fix this criminal justice system, being a criminal defense
attorney and fighting for those that are innocent like myself.
And I got into assystem that was just so messed up,
so corrupt, so evil that I felt like I was
profiting off of other people's pain. And it made me
feel empty on the inside. And I used to pray
to God about it. I'm like, this couldn't have been
(11:20):
your purpose for me. It couldn't have been. And I
remember about four months before our wedding and we had
a beautiful wedding, four hundred and fifty guests. You know,
an expensive wedding. I went to my wife and I said,
I don't want to be a lawyer anymore.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
You can't see his eyebrows just raising when he said
it expensive. But it was nice.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
It was a beautiful wedding, but expensive.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
And I went and told my wife I don't want
to be a lawyer anymore, and she no one certain
terms told me, and I remember this, suck it up, buttercup,
And you know, she told me, hey, this is what
you went to school for.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
People pay you for your experience, blah blah blah.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
And I said, okay, man, I sucked it up and
we got married, and the feeling just kept being there.
I had already had that feeling. That's why I became
a professor. I thought that was going to fill that void.
And then it still more. I could just tell that
that wasn't what he had intended for me, Like maybe
that's what he wanted me.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
To do, but it wasn't all that he had. It
wasn't the complete assignment that he had over my life.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
So I used to look back on all those obstacles
I overcame. You know, why did I have to have
a single mother? Why my dad have to die of
cancer when I was young? Why did I have to
be impoverished? Why do I have to have dead roaches
surgically removed from my ears? Why do I have to
drop out of high school and sleep on park benches?
Why did I have to fall at twenty one and
destroy my spine? Why did I have to go through
a divorce after fifteen years of a relationship in thirteen
(12:38):
year marriage?
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Why? Why? God? Why me?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
And something just shifted in my mind and it's like,
maybe these obstacles that I see as insurmountable, maybe those
were just challenges to get me prepared for the assignment
that God had for me that would take dedication, determination, right, resiliency,
and I don't care attitude when I get opposition to
(13:04):
my positions.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
I just started praying about it.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Okay, if this isn't the assignment, you know, just like
digging myself out of that bed, I made a promise
to you that if you gave me the opportunity, I
will work my butt off to get out of this bed.
If you give me the opportunity to go down whatever
path you have for me, I'll see it and I'll
pursue it. And almost instantaneously I have people coming out
of Woolwork's like, hey, we heard you're considering running for office,
(13:27):
and I'm like, you're a liar. I'm not even a
party affiliate at that point. I'm an independent. I never
voted in the primary intentionally, but people had heard about
my conservative views. I've been a member of the Federalist
Society when I was in college. I was very vocal
when I was in law school about my conservative views,
and I guess it started to catch on in the city.
(13:47):
So people were coming up saying, hey, we heard you'd
be a great candidate. And I thought about it and
I prayed about it. And when I went to my
wife this time four months after our marriage, and I'm like, hey,
there's a deadline coming up, there's this open seat.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Maybe I should go into politics.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
And she said absolutely, Really, she said, it's not every
day that people that look like us get this opportunity,
especially as a Republican.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Yeah, if you.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Are going to get the support of your party, you
have my support. So I made a trip to Columbus,
and before I even declared my candidacy, I went and
met with the Ohio Republican Party about potentially running. And
by the time I drove back to Toledo from Columbus.
Word was already spread in my county that I was
the candidate for District forty one.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Wow, So did you think you're going to win? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Because I felt like it was God. I wouldn't have
ran if I didn't think it was God's assignment for me.
And everything He's done for me, that's been an assignment
that came from him.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Because you know, you, Michelle, you've pretty much made history. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
It was fifty years since we had a black Republican
in the House of Representatives, in over thirty years for
the Senate, and that was unfortunate. You know that for
half a century we had no representation in rooms where
decisions were being made that affected our community.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
And now I.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Get so much pushback, not from people that look like me.
I get a little bit, but a lot of pushback.
I get us from white liberals who almost believe like
they own me, like you know, they own my struggle
and what I've overcome, and that I should have brought
that message to their party.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Or what you are supposed to do or what you
are supposed to think. I received the same things as
you know, we relate on that level was when I
first met you, I think was it at Diyamay meeting.
It was a meeting, uh, and I was shocked and amazing.
I can't go into too much detail. And what the
candidate that you were running against said about you and
your absence? Yeah, and I called you the media. I
(15:44):
was like, man, I have to find this guy's telephone number.
Stuff like that is I agree with you. It's very
motivational to make change in a way that's not common
because really true change, effective change, in my opinion, is
never common. You never find your blessing and comfortable place.
So you're inspired me just hearing your story. So what's
(16:06):
your vision moving forward in your position?
Speaker 2 (16:08):
So, I mean, I've been very active so far in
a couple of different areas. One is criminal justice reform.
You'll see a ton of bills that come out of
my office on criminal justice. And when I say criminal
justice reform, it's got this negative connotation of like letting
criminals walk free. That's not what I mean. I mean
literally reforming our system when it comes to sentencing of
(16:29):
certain criminals and when it comes to relieving sentences of others.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
So I'll give you an example.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
You know, we introduced a bill when it comes to
human trafficking called the Human Trafficking Prevention Act. Myself and
representative of Nick Santucci when I became Vice Chair of
Criminal Justice in the House. I also serve on the
Sentencing Commission through the Ohio Supreme Court. I've also been
assigned to the Beil Reform Commission. I think is a
vice chair of Criminal Justice, it's my responsibility to look
(16:55):
at every statue. And I'm looking at these statutes, some
that I've faced as a criminal defense attorney and some
that i haven't.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
And I saw him.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Wow, a person could abduct the child with the intention
to have sex to that child against their will, and
you can prove that and they face a potential three
year sentence in Ohio. Wow, I said, that's crazy that
a man that not only can try, but actually succeed
in abducting a child and you can prove they had
(17:24):
this evil intent and they face a potential three years. No,
they should face life in prison. We're getting a predator
off the street. So we introduced a Human Trafficking Prevention Act,
which takes increases penalties for kidnapping, abduction, and engage in
the human trafficking to potential life sentences in the state
(17:44):
of Ohio. That at the same time, I'm trying to
do other things like make it easier for you to
remove felony convictions off of your record for first time offenders, right,
trying to make those automatic instead of you having to
realize your eligible pay a lawyer like myself to go
represent you and get your record sealed. At the same time,
(18:05):
I'm trying to reorient our criminal justice system towards three
three groups of offenders. One we just talked about sex offenders.
That's a major one. Two is our violent offenders, right,
and three is our repeat offenders. So we have a
bill that we're introducing on Tuesday, we'll have a press
conference in Columbus, and it's called the Repeat Offender Act.
(18:26):
What it's targeting is individuals that are felons that continuously
get caught with firearms. The revolving door goodness. So you know,
ninety percent of our violent crimes are perpetrated by individuals
that are in illegal possession of firearms. They are not
legally allowed to possess firearms because they already have convictions
(18:48):
that bar them. But yet when they we catch them
before they do a new crime, they only face up
to three years in prison, and the first time they
only get around a nine to twelve month sentence if
they get yell at allow. The second time they still
only face up to three years, the third time still
only up to three years, the twelve times still only
(19:08):
up to three years.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
This is probably why there isn't a healthy respect for
the law. I know you probably already know that. We're
very involved through our ministry in inspiring a healthy communication
between the community and our law enforcement. We have a
coffee with cops again and we try to inspire people. Come,
let's treat each other like human beings, so that we
(19:31):
can respect authority and authority can respect us, because at
the end of the day, they work for us, just
like you do. You are a representative of the state.
We have to get that respect back. But if we're
letting felons out over and over again, they don't respect anything.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Yeah, yeah, and especially when those are the people perpetrating
crimes in our community, When our children are dying because
of gang violence inside of our community, and those individuals
are being put over with guns and they're barely facing anything.
They get arrested that night they get out there same night,
they're back in the neighborhood the next day with another firearm.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
And you're empowering them, Yeah, and commit crimes.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
So instead, you know, groups want to you know, villainize
legal gun owners like myself and say the reason is
because all these guns are available. Guns are always going
to be available in this country because we have a
second Amendment. What needs to happen is when we have
violent criminals in possession of it, or you use a
gun in the commission of a violent offense, you need
to start putting these people behind bars for decades at
(20:28):
a time, especially these repeat offenders. So I mean, I
looked at some of the statutes using a fully automatic
weapon in the state of Ohio six years, six years,
for a fully automatic modified weapon using a suppress from
the commission of a crime six years, Wow, six years,
and I'm like, no, that should be ten fifteen, similar
to what the Feds have. So we have a bill
(20:49):
that's being introduced that is gonna, in our belief, help
when it comes to gun violence. At the same time,
it gives an automatic ceiling of felony fours and fives.
After a certain period of time, you're eligible for five
years to file for your record to get sealed, but
after five years it should automatically come off right. And
there's some other provisions, and so that's one of my
(21:11):
big goals is reshaping our criminal justice system. The next
goal is workforce development. And I kind of have a
unique perspective because I watched how things worked with me.
So one thing was it was the threat of you
taking away my disability check. That would have kept me
out of college. It would have kept me in poverty,
(21:32):
it would have kept me in that bed, and it
would have made it where I didn't go out and
try to find a job because the threat of you
taking away my assistance. Instead, what happened was they gave
me two years to go out and get an education
and come back and make as much money. That's one
example of workers come too is social Security. I received
Social Security disability at the same time. Social Security has
(21:53):
a transitional program that we don't have in the state
of Ohio. When it comes to our social net system,
which is when I decide to try to get out
there and work, there's a nine month period consecutive months
or eleven months, and a thirty six month window where
I can make as much money as I can and
I don't lose my check. It's guided towards me building
(22:17):
up a nest egg so I can prove to the
government that I can sustain myself. And if I get
off the system, even if I had a bad month,
even if I get laid off, I have a nest
egg of nine months of income that I should have
built up into a savings right for myself. And it
made that transition, and I was successful when I made
that transition off of the system.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
I've never been backed.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
So you're saying that does exist or.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
That exists on Social Security disability, but not in Ohio.
So we have a bill myself and the Minority assisted
leader Gerals we introduced a hand up, which is a
pilot program that says, hey, if you're on our public assistance,
we're gonna we're gonna give you this window of six
to nine months where you can continue getting your benefits
(23:03):
so long as you try to go out there and
get gainful employment, get yourself off the system. Because we
don't I'll use flat numbers. We don't want a limit
that says if you make under one thousand dollars a month,
you can get government assistance. But if you make one
thousand and one dollars, you lose seventeen hundred dollars of
government assistance. I'm pretty sure if you're a thoughtful person,
(23:24):
you're gonna say, I'm a guarantee I'm gonna make under.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
A thousand dollars. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Well that's what people do, because if I make a
thousand and one, I'm losing seventeen hundred. Instead, I can
make nine hundred and ninety nine and keep my seventeen hundred.
And we're making people make these economic decisions. And then
you say, well, why are people staying in poverty because
you've incentivize them to remain in poverty.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
That's true. Well, man, we've talked about a lot, and
we're rolling up on the end of our program. But
I have to ask the question other than are you
still teaching?
Speaker 3 (23:56):
I still teach perfect perfect, I still practice too. Legislation good,
good good?
Speaker 1 (24:01):
How do you balance all of that?
Speaker 2 (24:02):
So?
Speaker 1 (24:02):
I know I'm supposed to be closing, But how do
you balance all of that?
Speaker 2 (24:05):
I pray to God every day that my body holds up.
I laid in bed for six consecutive years. I lost
my entire twenties. So I'm making up for lost time.
I got a lot to do in bringing people to
his kingdom, giving him glory in every room that I
walk into, and trying to complete this assignment that he's
given me. I don't know if it's a two year
assignment in the legislature. I don't know if it's four six,
(24:26):
eight twenty. Maybe it's in a different role. I don't know. Else,
I'm gonna keep praying. I'm gonna keep praying about.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
It, Governor Josh, who knows, you never know? You never know.
But nevertheless, to the big question of the hour. As
we wrap up this time together, and I appreciate you
coming and sharing so much with us, what do you
think your legacy is? Right now? Right now?
Speaker 2 (24:51):
It's my legacy is the ability to overcome adversity, to
reject this victimhood mentality that is plaguing our youth, yes,
and instead take on individual autonomy and individual responsibility, claim
ownership of your own life, your own success, and work
your butt off to overcome. And part of my legacy
(25:15):
is I'm going to fight tooth and nail to put programs, policies, procedures, rules,
statutes in place that can help you overcome. So long
as you are a motivated Ohio on a motivated Ohio wing,
there's going to be a way for you to dig
yourself out on your own.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
No matter your skin tone, affiliation doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
We want you to reach your God given potential instead
of the other way, because I've seen it where government
gets in the way and suppresses your potential to keep
you in poverty, keep you relying on them so you
keep voting for him in office.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Yeah, I was going to say, there's got to be
a reason for there's always if somebody's benefiting. Well, you've
answered both questions. What would you like your legacy to be?
Would be the next question? And that sounds like a
pretty healthy, well menu of legacy that you have before you,
not behind you, and just looking at you. And we're
going to share some pictures for those that are all on.
(26:09):
He's a married man. He's a married man, but you
don't look much more than twenty now.
Speaker 3 (26:16):
Well, I'm getting ready to celebrate my fortieth I know.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
But we thank God for you, we truly do, and
your mission and your commitment to what you do. I
think that there's another story there someplace, maybe a movie,
hopefully not lifetime, but a movie in the works, or
book or something of that nature for you. We thank
you for being with us today of state represented. What
do we call you State Representative?
Speaker 2 (26:41):
I go by Josh. I know that you can call
me Representative Josh Williams.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
There we go, Representative Josh, the honorable Representative of Josh
Williams in the building today here on the Voices of Legacy.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
Thank you very much, Thank you for having me. It
was an honor.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Thank you for listening to the Voices of the Legacy.
This is your friend, Pastor Carl Mitchell, the third, your
hosts of this program. We want you to go to
WGTE dot org slash legacy to like, share, subscribe, and
hear all of our past podcast and our future podcast.
Be a friend and join with us in the Voices
(27:30):
of Legacy where you're writing your own legacy every day
that you live. Have a blessing. WGTE voices around us.
Wgt supported in part by the American Rescue Plan Act
(27:52):
funds allocated by the City of Toledo and the Lucas
County Commissioners and administered by the Arts Commission
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