She Never Wanted the CEO Title — And That's Why She's One of the Best

[0:00]  I was on Medicaid and food stamps, something that most people don't look at me now and think that I went through. I had absolutely no idea what God had in store for me. I am a different type of leader than most, and I lead with a different perspective both in the boardroom, with my staff, and with the children that we serve, with innovation and everything else. But it's what fuels me to continue to change for the people that we serve and be ahead of that and know that we are part of their story, even if we're just a small part of their story. I had no idea that those hardships were going to turn into such a blessing and that my story was going to become so vocal to help so many other children and parents.

Welcome back to another episode here on the Heart and Hustle podcast. Jamie, we're going to start off with how you walked across the stage at graduation, six months pregnant at 23, a single mom, determined to finish. What was going through your mind in that moment? And what did that chapter even teach you about yourself?

[1:18]  My goodness, so many things. I mean, you know, I was fearful. Here I am finishing one phase of my life, finishing college and starting another one. Everybody, I think, is a little fearful when they become a parent for the first time. But here I am, 23 years old. I was excited that I was tenacious enough to be able to finish. I was not going to let my situation get the best of me and take a college graduation away from me. But I was eager to become a mom, be the best, and really very unsure of what was coming next. I had no idea what was in my path going forward.

[1:55]  I mean, you had a little motivator there because now you're a pretty good CEO. What is your role today?

[2:01]  Yeah. So, I am the president and CEO for Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida. We actually just hit 15,500 kids. We just released that stat. So, we cover 40 clubs across five counties.

[2:17]  I love that. So, everything that's happened in life, and I love this. I think the first time I met you, this was even more like we got to get the story out there. You're a CEO by 39. When you look back at that climb, what did it actually cost you? And was it worth it?

[2:34]  It was worth it. But I learned a lot of lessons along the way. That's what I will say. You know, my daughter was and still is my greatest motivator. So, my daughter is now 21 years old, and I have an 8-year-old son also that kind of keeps me young and motivated. But having a daughter and somebody looking at you at that young age when everybody else was still in college and finishing allowed me to transition into what comes next, being motivated, looking at her knowing that there was somebody that was depending on me that kept me with my future in front of me.

[3:06]  But without wanting to ever only choose careers, right? There's so many times I would say that women think they have to choose between personal or professional. And there are a lot of mistakes that I made along the way. There are times when I should have balanced it a little bit better, and it got off track. But I learned along the way that you don't actually have to choose, and you can have both. It's all about what you choose as most important. There are ways to be able to integrate your life. And I think a lot of us grew up thinking that it needed to be separate, that you had to completely separate your personal life from your professional life, and that just isn't realistic. So, there are ways to be able to integrate it so that you can do it all.

[3:59]  Do you? Well, you are. So, when you were pregnant, you were still having to bust your ass to go to work.

[4:06]  Yeah, I was working. I was taking finals. I graduated. I walked across the stage six months pregnant. So, here I am trying to work and earn an income and barely make above minimum wage at that point. When I had my daughter, I was on Medicaid and food stamps, something that most people don't look at me now and think that I went through. Those were really difficult times, but I had to figure out how to get it done and how to move to the next stage. So, I was able to put people in my corner and put situations in my corner that allowed me. I lived with my parents for a period of time raising my daughter when she was young, so she has an incredible relationship with my parents. But it allowed me to focus on more schooling and more education that I needed to do where I wanted to career path and still come home to a daughter that was being well cared for.

[4:49]  Yeah, I was going to ask that. Like, you definitely had to have a village, right? Those people that were really supporting you. So, your parents were the ones that were supporting you. Is that where you get the grit from?

[5:08]  I do. Yes. My parents gave that to me, you know, from day one. But I would also say you learn grit in having a child that depends on you at the age of 23 gives you the grit that you didn't even know you had or didn't even know that you needed. I lived with them for a short period of time, and then I moved out on my own. I was living paycheck to paycheck for a very long time. And in all honesty, I felt like I was just paying for daycare because child care was so expensive. You know what that's like with young ones. Child care can be so expensive. But it allowed me. I used to bring her into work on weekends when I had weekend events, and everybody would light up seeing this young little girl walk in. She learned that sometimes we had to go do things that weren't always exactly fun.

[5:54]  Yeah. And why Boys and Girls Club? Like, is this something that you grew up on or you just felt the need to pour into young kids? Why the Boys and Girls Club?

[6:04]  So, I spent my career prior to Boys and Girls Club in senior living. So, God always gave me a heart to care for vulnerable populations and to really serve others. But because I was a single mom early on in life, I really found my way and my path to always give back to kids. Kids have always been my personal passion. My house is filled with kids all the time, whether it was my daughter or my son. So, I always made a way to be able to support them, whether it be leaders at youth group or going into classrooms working with DCF. We used to support a hundred kids every single Christmas with my neighborhood. I would get my neighbors around supporting kids at Christmas, Thanksgiving meals for 100 families that we were collecting, always in a way to lift up single parents and children. So, when I was given the opportunity to marry my personal passion with my professional world, which I'll say most people don't get an opportunity to do, I jumped on it immediately and I haven't looked back once.

[7:08]  And how many years has it been now?

[7:10]  It's been almost three.

[7:11]  Wow.

[7:12]  It has been the most fulfilling thing that I have ever done. And I don't see a way that I won't ever be connected to Boys and Girls Club because it just speaks to my heart every single day. I have a personal relationship with all the kids that we serve.

[7:28]  I love it. And most people actually hear Boys and Girls Club and probably think like gym, swimming, similar to like the YMCA's. I think I told you I've never set foot or stepped foot in a Boys and Girls Club. Set the record straight though. What is Boys and Girls Club actually doing for the kids that people probably don't see?

[7:45]  Yeah. You know, I think a lot of times people think Boys and Girls Club and they think you serve poor kids. And our facilities and our clubs probably look like that. You know, they think of what used to be the swimming gym and things like that. And that is exactly not. Our clubs are state-of-the-art, beautiful 25 to 30,000 square foot facilities that support hundreds of kids on a daily basis. But we are the premier youth development organization. So, yes, we have these beautiful gyms where they can do physical education and they can get their wiggles out and they can play basketball and they can play football and learn all of the things. But we are focused on academic success with them, mentoring, character, leadership, building healthy lifestyles where we're actually feeding them hot meals because many of our children live in food insecure food deserts and they may not have pathways to food in their own homes. And so it's important to us if we expect our children to learn how to behave better and dive into what great future they need to have that we have to feed them as a part of that. But we have mental health components, and we have robotics labs and STEM art rooms, technology labs. I mean, these are all equipped inside of all of our clubs, and it's a wonderful opportunity. Most of the time when you walk into a Boys and Girls Club and a parent comes to pick up their child, the child is usually coming to the parent saying, "I don't want to go home yet." And that's how you know what you're doing is good.

[9:21]  Yeah. Yeah. Listen, I got to walk into one of these one of these days for sure. I know we were supposed to have this, but you know, time didn't permit. But this is crazy. 40 clubs, right? If I'm not mistaken, five counties, I think you mentioned 14,000 kids a year. What does that weight of responsibility actually feel like on a Tuesday morning when you're walking into the office?

[9:41]  It feels significant. I know that we have kids depending on us. We have to be able to perform. They need us to perform whether they're getting it in the school systems, and we are serving a completely different role than our school systems are serving. They look to us for the mentorship. They don't show up because of these beautiful buildings. These kids show up because of the mentors who believe in them and are pushing them to succeed even more. I talk about it every single day. Seventy-five percent of kids who have a stable mentor in their life are more likely to graduate high school on time and go and prepare for what comes next, whether it's certifications or college. That's a big statistic because that's what these kids are showing up for. So, we have to deliver from a funding perspective, from a programmatic perspective. We have to show up every day our best selves because we have so many kids depending on us.

[10:34]  You want more conversation like this one? You can find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcast, and wherever else you listen to your podcast. Just search Heart and Hustle and hit follow so you never miss an episode.

Funny you say that. I went back to my old high school, Edgewater, right? We talked about it to be a mentor, to be something that I wish I had because that is very, very important. I go back to the childhood of everything that was kind of going on in my life, and of course, there was anger, there was acting out, but there were educators, there were people that seen me for who I was and other things I was going through. So having that mentor to just pour back into you and say, "Hey, you got this," you know, because sometimes at that young age we don't realize what we got. We don't realize that we're talented, that we're smart, especially if we don't hear it.

I actually recently was speaking to a leader. He's what, 40 maybe 50 years old now. He says, "I've never really heard the words I love you." Right? So it's really hard to say that to somebody, you know, even in my own relationship. So it's those little things that we don't even realize are trauma to us as a young kid, right? But if you have somebody in your life actually saying that, he was taking a kid to therapy, and the kid would not talk. He had to say, "Hey, you know I love you, right?" And the kid's like, "Yeah." He's like, "Well, I would never put you in front of somebody that I wouldn't trust myself." It's okay to talk to that person. Like, that's what a mentor, that's what a good role model looks like, is being okay to say, "Hey, we can do this together." You know? So, I love that you...

[12:04]  You're exactly right. I mean, I say it all the time. Every single child deserves somebody who looks at them and says, "I see you. I believe in you. And you can do more." And oftentimes we try not to push, you know, or we think we shouldn't push the kids, but really our kids need to know that they can be pushed and that somebody believes in them so much. We actually have several examples of kids coming to our clubs non-verbal, just like you said, completely non-verbal based on some very traumatic situations. And our mentors met these kids exactly where they were at, not forcing them to talk, just helping them to sit back and watch and being side by side with them. And within two weeks, a non-verbal child who was in elementary school who had been non-verbal for two years started to speak.

[12:57]  And when the mom showed up, that child spoke to the mom, and she burst into tears because she hasn't heard her child's voice in two years. And that's why you do it, huh, Jamie? To hear those stories.

[13:09]  That's why you show up.

[13:11]  I mean, I have countless number of those stories. But that's why you show up because that child just needs somebody to be beside them and say, "It's okay where you're at right now. And I'm going to be here with you side by side." And nothing can take that away.

[13:27]  Yep. And what's even more interesting is that you got your kids also involved. They're living this mission. You got your daughter working there. I think your son's a member.

[13:37]  That's right. My husband gets voluntold to do the site work when we have new construction. So, my daughter has been working for us for, you know, three years. And my son has been a club member. And actually, when I first started in the role, my son was not old enough to join. He was so upset about it. He couldn't wait for a couple more months until he was old enough to be able to become a club member. And that was what made him that brought him joy significantly.

[14:07]  That's funny. What is the age range start to finish?

[14:12]  Um, so we do kindergarten through senior year. So, five all the way up to 18.

[14:18]  What does it mean personally to you that your own kids are kind of living inside the mission?

[14:23]  I mean, I think what it says is I believe in the mission so much that it's good for my own children that I want my own children to experience what we have in the clubs because we are transforming lives on a daily basis. What we do isn't just for everyone else. It's what every single child needs. We are in a situation right now where every child in the nation needs a Boys and Girls Club because of what we're doing to transform these lives. It isn't just certain demographics or certain populations or certain areas in communities that need a Boys and Girls Club. Every single child needs a Boys and Girls Club based on the fact that we focus truly on helping them to become a better version of themselves they never even thought possible. And so that is great for my own children. And I know that when I leave my son at the club and I go and I work and I see other clubs, he is incredibly well cared for. They are an extension of me, and I know they are pushing him to greater lengths that I can continue to support. It does take a village. I always say we're just happy to be part of the village. But my clubs are part of my village as my own children. I'm happy to have that as well.

[15:44]  I want to go backwards because the senior living to becoming CEO of the Boys and Girls Club. There must have been some things that surprised you going from one end of the spectrum to the other and some things that you also talked about lessons, a lot of lessons that you took from elderly to our youth. What are all those things that you could remember saying, "Hey, this is what it led me, you know, helped me with and this is where I'm at and how it's helped me"?

[16:10]  Yeah. So, I led about 150 senior living communities across the state of Florida and the Southeast through all of my different years, especially in the later years prior to transitioning to this role. And you'd be surprised, I say it all the time, you'd be surprised how many similarities there are because a senior living community with a vulnerable population has the exact same regulations that we have from a club perspective. So, one senior living community is similar to one club. I got to know all of the different counties and cities and states across the way that I was able to manage with a multi-site perspective. But the DCF regulations, abuse, neglect, highly emotional families, and caring for vulnerable populations, whether it be seniors at the tail end of their life or our young children as we're lifting them up, there are so many transitions that were so easy to be able to make in that pathway. What has been more fulfilling is being able to walk into a club and have that relationship with those children and have them throw their arms around you.

[17:22]  Have them talk to you about the dreams that maybe they don't have or didn't have. And then coming back to them a year or two later and asking what dreams they have now. My goodness, I live for those moments. I literally live for those moments because our children can't see beyond the world that has been created around them. Right? So if they don't often travel outside of four to six blocks around them, they can't dream beyond what potentially is in that area until they come into a club. We walk them into a club and we help to position professionals in front of them and give them all these opportunities with STEM and robotics and art to really be able to become creative. And they start to learn digital marketing and technology and so many things that are there. And then all of a sudden their eyes become opened to what the world can offer. And now they start to dream about what they have the potential to become. That moment, that's the moment that you know they're going to be incredibly successful and that Boys and Girls Club will always have a staple in their heart that they'll come back to volunteer. They'll come back to give back to the future generations because they know what it did to them.

[18:41]  A better question, is dreams possible?

[18:45]  Are dreams possible? Would you say you living your dream?

[18:49]  I am absolutely living my dream. I remember being much younger and just being in prayer one time and saying maybe there's going to be an opportunity for me to work with kids, and I would love it to be in a nonprofit. I had absolutely no idea what God had in store for me, but I tell everybody this: I get to live my dream every single day. I get to have my kids and be a part of the mission that I am so unbelievably passionate about. I get to train and be a part and be with children every single day. And we are a part of shaping tomorrow, right? And every generation that goes on continues to give back, and that's what changes the world. So every single time that I'm with people and the world is chaos, because that's what we have around us all the time. It's just chaos. I remind them that when you have a bad day, call me, and I will take you into the club and I will show you what's happening in the club with these brilliant young leaders, and you will walk out thinking the future is going to be just fine.

[19:56]  And I get that statement from people time and time again that they had no idea that they needed their cup filled in such a way that makes them feel better about the entire world.

Okay, this is getting good here because I just really want to talk. There's going to be people listening, especially I can imagine some of your young boys and girls, and we want to talk to those because they're in a time where things may not look bright, right? Someone may be writing your story, and I always say at some point you're going to have the chance to be able to write your story. You'll take that pencil and tell your story. And just like you, I had this mission of always wanting to give back before I ever even knew what a nonprofit was, you know, because of where I was in my life.

And having these dreams, you know, that's why I ask you because they truly are. You just have to have people that pour into you so you can see these dreams come to life. You got to start to chase passion and purpose and not paychecks, right? And because you love what you do, it probably doesn't even feel like work, you know? And to know that you're getting to help the next generation, like that is so rewarding. That's how you get your cup filled. So, I love that you're in the spaces of just one representation because how many women leaders, right, can say they ran a Boys and Girls Club?

How many of them actually? How many women were president of Boys and Girls Club in my organization? I'm the first.

Let's go. So, you know, you're breaking barriers right now. So, dreams are completely possible. You just have to, you know, I say surround yourself with the right people. Have a good mindset, believe in yourself, know your worth. More importantly, when did you realize who you were? Because a lot of times people still don't know who they are as a professional. You mentioned that. When was that moment that you knew, "Hey, this is who I am, and I'm being authentically me?"

[21:43]  When I became a mom for the first time.

[21:44]  Let's go.

[21:45]  I mean, you know, the moment that I became a mom and I had a child's eyes looking up at me, I knew my worth in that moment that I was being entrusted with this little human that needed me to develop them. And there's nothing like that, right? You know, and I would say that feeling I continued to carry with me even through work. I wanted to be the example to my daughter that women can have it all and you don't just have to pick. You can be a CEO. You can be a president. You can be a leader. You can be great with teams. You can have a seat in the boardroom. You can have a seat at whatever table you want, and you can still have the home life that you want. That is the motivation and what I carried with me non-stop.

And that's what always comes back to giving me my worth. I try really hard not to forget it. I lead with purpose, and oftentimes I have a different perspective in the way. I am a different type of leader than most, and I lead with a different perspective both in the boardroom with my staff and know that we are part of their story. Even if we're just a small part of their story, we have to be an impactful part of their story because we have so much purpose and opportunity while they're with us.

[23:28]  This all sounds good, and I want to even break it down a little further. While success happens, there's always that doubt in our minds. You were six months pregnant, walking across the stage, pregnant at an early age, right? What was your mindset at that moment? Because today is different, but what were you telling yourself that day?

[23:49]  When I was walking across the stage? I was telling myself, "Here we go." Because as soon as I close this chapter, I've got three more months before I'm opening probably the scariest chapter of my life. I had no idea what's coming next. And that's where I learned the grit and the tenacity to just keep going and to not let anything get the best of you, which is hard. It's hard even from an emotional standpoint. Often you get beaten down in life and you know people will say mean things to you, but you have to figure out how to keep going.

[24:36]  You mentioned that you're a different leader. What are some of the leaders that poured into you, and what did they pour into you that you still actually walk with today?

[25:04]  I had a leader one time tell me when I was a young leader at the time, and I had a mentor, and I said, "I'm so frustrated." And they said, "When you get frustrated, that is your clue you have to do something completely different." That has stuck with me for so long. And obviously, I was able to kind of talk through that and what did that look like? But it's challenged me. That one statement has challenged me my entire career to be able to recognize when the level of frustration sets in.

[25:41]  You got to do something different because you can't just sit there and be frustrated. You can't just sit there and accept the way that it is or complain about what's happening. You got to change the circumstances because when you take full ownership, and that's one of the other things I learned. You own what came before you, what's happening now, and what happens beyond you. And you think to yourself, "I don't own what happened before me." Yes, you do. When you step into a leadership role, you own it all, and you're responsible for it. And you can't deflect away from that. So, you have to figure out how to own it all and learn through it.

[26:28]  That's really good. I would actually say I didn't I guess I learned that again. It's just doing things because you want to do things that are better, right? But I remember going to dinner with my wife, and I was just talking about this job and not in a good way, by the way. And I realized at that moment if I'm going to sit here over dinner and complain like this, I got to do something about it. You just mentioned it, right? And I walked away from that job. And as scary as it was with a stay-at-home wife, mom as well, only income, as you mentioned, I had to own it. I had to realize that if I wanted something better, I had to either create that or go find it.

[27:49]  We talk about passion and purpose to do things that I love to where it doesn't feel like work every single day. Like when I get on these conversations, this does not feel like work, right? I love these or when I'm doing wrestling, that's what my main thing is that it doesn't feel like work to me because I just love what I do. So, I'm glad that you were able to find those leaders that were giving you those golden nuggets and take the golden nuggets because a lot of the times people get so caught up on the negative that you don't even see the positive that's happening right now, you know?

[28:10]  So, I like that, and so many times people lose opportunities because of what you're saying right now. I will also say some of the best mentors that I've ever had are people that report to me instead of that I report to.

[28:26]  Uh, and that's different, right? But if you create a space where people can give you open and honest feedback without any type of uncomfortableness, it's the best kind of feedback that you'll get, and you learn how to support people better and meet people where they're at. I've had some really tough feedback, and it wasn't always from a direct report, but maybe several layers down. I remember one time I was walking through a senior living community, and we had an employee survey, and it came out that I was unapproachable. I was floored, hurt to no end. I mean, I was in my feelings. It was really terrible.

[29:00]  And then I took a minute, probably within a week to get over it, and I went to the staff and I said, "Help me understand." And they said, "You walk the hallways emailing on your phone with your head down. You don't even acknowledge us." And I thought, "Oh my goodness, I didn't even know I was doing it." But I gave them the space where I actually wanted to hear what they had to say, and it was some of the best learning lessons that I've ever had. If you can create a space where other people can speak freely to you without retaliation, that's some of the best mentorship you'll ever get because people want to be led, and they want to have a good relationship with their leader, but if you're not doing something that they need, people often just shut down or they don't leave a job; they leave a leader, right?

[29:32]  Yeah. So create the space that everybody needs. And I've learned over my time to be a different leader for every individual that's on my team. I become who they need me to be in that moment.

[29:46]  You are hitting it right on the head. I ask you, what is it most other than your kids and other than this job? What are some accolades that you're really proud of that you were able to accomplish at such a young age?

[30:14]  I mean, I was the Orlando Business Journal, Women Who Mean Business. I recently learned that I am being recognized by Orlando Magazine as Woman of the Year this year.

[30:22]  That's congrats. Is that breaking news here? Like did we just...

[30:24]  It's coming out in a couple weeks.

[30:26]  So yes, that's um...

[30:27]  I mean, these are great things that are happening. What I will say though is I currently serve on Boys and Girls Clubs of America President's Advisory Council and National Growth Council. And I love that because I'm helping to be able to take some of our innovation and our own thoughts of what we're doing here locally and shape the nation for the movement going forward. So those are some really great things that I'm very proud of. But I will tell you this: more than anything, I was really incredibly proud and touched to be asked to be one of the speakers at National Day of Prayer because my faith is incredibly important to me, and that shows that I have been able to be incredibly vocal about my faith.

[31:08]  And having our kids that I have a relationship with go off to college and come back and want to have lunch with me and want to interact with me and give me all the updates. I mean, that's better than anything. That's better than any award that you can get because they want to tell you all the great stuff. And so when I get those texts, "Miss Jamie, I'm going to be in town for Christmas. Can you have lunch with me?" Absolutely, I can.

[31:37]  That is so cool. That is, I mean, rewarding in itself.

[31:41]  Absolutely.

[31:41]  Because I always say life is not about us. It is about the next generation.

[31:46]  And not just our kids, it's every single kid that we come across, right? Whether it's, I'm pretty sure for you, whether it's a Boys and Girls Club, whether it's your own nieces and nephews, whether it's a friend's child, like we are just so protective and we care and we love, and we're humans, right?

[32:05]  That's why I love that you're just kind of sharing these stories because people always share success, but I say where success is at, there was a lot of failure, right? And still there will be some failures. There's imposter syndrome. How many times have you walked around, Jamie? Now, you know, at this level, thinking to yourself, "What the hell am I doing here?"

[32:24]  Yeah. You know what I mean?

[32:25]  Yeah.

[32:25]  But you mentioned something that was correct: God's been with you this whole time.

[32:31]  That you know, God has really led you to this spot when you were probably in the unknown like, "What the hell am I doing here?"

[32:38]  Why? You know, you're questioning it, but then you're here, you're like, "Oh, thank you, God." Like, I see it. And when you look at that entire journey, and I've been every mentor that has stepped into my path, every moment that I've had, every interaction with DCF and serving all of those children in my past, it led me to this moment. It positioned me to be in my exact moment where I have children who look up at me when they hear my background and they hear my story. And I had a young girl and then separately her mom at a different time say, "You're just like me." I said, "Yeah, I am absolutely. And we can all change our trajectory and we can all change our path."

[33:24]  I used to be embarrassed about where I came from. I used to be embarrassed about all those hardships that I went through. And I had no idea that those hardships were going to turn into such a blessing and that my story was going to become so vocal to help so many other children and parents.

[33:44]  How important is it to share stories?

[33:47]  I mean, that's what draws us into relationships. It's not facts, it's relationships. It's not anything. I mean, you want to be in relationship because you want to be around people who motivate you, but also people who understand. When you share stories, you go through things. Everybody goes through something because there's someone else that's going to need you to help them through that in the future.

[34:08]  And I've been fortunate to be on the receiving end and the giving end of that where I can share those stories, and it helps somebody else to understand what it's like to be a single parent or be a young mother or with our kids and be food insecure or not be living paycheck to paycheck. These are things that have helped us to help other people, and that's what we're here for.

[34:36]  Yeah. Yeah. I love stories. I mean, that's what I do it. It's every time I share my story, someone else is willing to share their story. I'm like, "Thank God I shared the story."

[34:44]  It connects us, right?

[34:45]  Yeah. I always say one story, one person changes somebody's life.

[34:49]  As you mentioned those two women that say, "Wow, you're just like me." Right? You gave them hope. You allowed them to see that it's possible. I think that's just amazing that you lead with purpose in that position because you never were chasing a title. You were truly chasing a call in, you know.

[35:06]  In fact, I never wanted to be a CEO.

[35:10]  Um, I, in my own home about a year prior to this role, I had said to my husband at one point, "No, I don't ever want to be a CEO."

[35:21]  And he goes, "No, I think you will be." And I was like, "No, I don't really. I really love operations and I love everything else. No, I don't think so." And you know, I always say God laughed and goes, "Haha, I have something else coming for you. There's something coming down the pike." But I didn't chase the title. I chased what I was good at. And I always just wanted to use my talents to help other people.

[35:46]  And you're doing so. I mean, that's what it looks like when we talked about chasing passion. Like you just don't know what's on the other side. You're just going to be blessed all because you just followed the mission.

[35:57]  Yes.

[35:58]  Um, so I appreciate that. As we start to wrap up, what do you tell a young single mom right now who thinks she has to choose between family and her career? What do you tell that young woman?

[36:10]  I would say a few things. I would say pull people in that can help you and can guide you and don't listen to the noise of everybody else that's out there. I recently said this to somebody when they asked what I would tell my younger self, and I said I'd tell my younger self not to listen to the haters. So, I would say to a young single mom, don't listen to the haters, but pull people in that are going to support you and don't shy away. Don't feel like you have to just pick one side or the other because your children are incredibly important.

[36:58]  And if in my role where I'm always working and always on, and there's always somebody that wants me in five different sets of county governments, I can go and be classroom mom on a regular basis for my son's class.

[37:01]  If I can do it, anybody else can. But sometimes you just need to ask the questions and you need to look at how to make it all work because that's what will keep you forward-focused. Those small moments that fill your cup personally allow you to position yourself to move even faster professionally.

[37:21]  Such a good conversation for people that are actually in Central Florida listening right now. How do they get involved? Like, what does Boys and Girls Club actually need from the community right now?

[37:30]  Always, you know, we always need funding and volunteers. We have 200 volunteers, but when you're talking about almost 16,000 kids that we support, we constantly need corporate partners, individuals, volunteers that are willing to come in and be a mentor, that are willing to stand alongside of us and our children. We have lots of different ways to be able to do that. People that don't want to interact with kids but want to help the mission, people that do want to interact with kids. There's something for everybody that can fulfill the future generations. So, reach out, and we'd love to chat with you and we'd love to get involved.

[38:06]  And what is the website for those that are maybe listening or watching?

[38:10]  bgccf.org, which is boysgirlsclubcentralflorida.org.

[38:17]  Love it. Well, Jamie, I truly appreciate your time. This has been phenomenal. I got to come around to one of these Boys and Girls Clubs. Are they all the same, by the way? I forgot to ask that.

[38:24]  Oh, no, no, no. If you've been to one Boys and Girls Club, you've been to one Boys and Girls Club. They are all incredibly unique. They have similar types, but they all have their own personalities just like our own kids. Everybody has their own personality. Every club is very unique, and that's one of the things I love most.

[38:41]  I love it. That's definitely good to know. I am in Central Florida, so I need to start making my rounds.

[38:43]  Yeah, for sure.

[38:49]  Well, Jamie, thank you so much for your time. I know we'll do this again, and we'll definitely have to meet each other in person because we're that damn close that we need to.

[38:56]  This has been Jamie with the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida. We'll catch you guys in the next episode.