Podcasts about Feed My Starving Children

Vanessa Moran with Feed My Starving Children sits in for Jim as he continues his vacation week. Today is National Agriculture Day, and Dan Brick joins John and Vanessa from Brickstead Dairy Farms. Established in 1848, Brickstead Dairy is a fifth-generation farm in Brown County. Since partnering with his father in the 1990s, Dan Brick has grown his dairy herd to about 1100 cows. We welcome Brickstead Farms as a new sponsor to the Midwest Farm Report on WGBW and WISS. Maino and the Mayor is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-9 am on WGBW in Green Bay and on WISS in Appleton/Oshkosh. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast lineup. Follow the show on Facebook and X to keep up with Maino and the Mayor! Guests: Vanessa Moran, Dan Brick

Beth Kowalski from the Neville Public Museum joins John and guest co-host Vanessa Moran to discuss the extended hours they've implemented for spring break. Her visit is another great reminder of this great resource in our community. From ever-changing displays to club meetings and more, we LOVE the Neville and Beth! Then, our guest host, Vanessa Moran, takes time to talk about the charity she works with, Feed My Starving Children. Her work with the organization is how we met her last year. Every year, millions of children die from preventable causes such as pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and undernutrition. Hunger is still causing nearly half of deaths in children under 5 years old. Vanessa says over 6000 children die every day from hunger. Just children, 18 and under. Click the link if you'd like to make a difference. Maino and the Mayor is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-9 am on WGBW in Green Bay and on WISS in Appleton/Oshkosh. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast lineup. Follow the show on Facebook and X to keep up with Maino and the Mayor! Guests: Vanessa Moran, Beth Kowalski

Bringing a vision for the world to our children can be a challenge! Abby Joy has awesome strategies for stepping up as a family to instill a passion and vision for cultures and people around the world. Join us as she shares the importance of World Schooling to our families! For more information on Feed My Starving Children: https://www.fmsc.org/ Give Your Child the World: https://a.co/d/hAag2Ld Operation World: https://operationworld.org/ Go Global: https://cultivatedlearning.org/go-global/ Gather ‘Round: https://gatherroundhomeschool.com/ World Watch News: https://worldwatch.news/

Guest: Andy Carr | Host Bob Moffitt interviews Andy Carr, Vice President of Development and Marketing for Feed My Starving Children, providing meals across the world.  "6,200 children will starve today from starvation. With nearly 8 billion people on this planet, there is enough for everybody. It's a matter of distribution, not a matter of supply."  Andy shares stories of over a million volunteers helping and praying. "We know these places, we have worked with these partners that have local people on the ground, and know that house needs food, that school needs food, that village needs food.... They know who the bad guys are, and know how to get around the government red tape... We go direct to the need." Andy continues, "99.8% of meals have reached their destination." Feed My Starving ChildrenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More conspiracy theory Thursday conversation, Dave Kelly is in for Open for Business from Kellys Automotive, suggestions for car winterization and more. Jason drops by - Feed My Starving Children group needs Saturday help for packing relief - www.rvmp.org

Today is Homeless Awareness Day, Mental Health Day, Eyesight Day and Angel Food Day. Jim and John also talk about a music hall of fame that Jim wants to build in Green Bay. (He's very specific about how he wants it to look and operate). John tells another embarrassing story of being lock out of his car. (These keep getting better and better). Then Vanessa Moran with Feed My Starving Children calls in to update us on their packing program that's been going on over the past few days. Maino & The Mayor and Nikki Z. from the show were there last night packing up ingredients. You can still donate and get involved! Maino and the Mayor is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-9 am on WGBW in Green Bay and on WISS in Appleton/Oshkosh. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook and X to keep up with Maino and the Mayor!

Vanessa Moran from Feed My Starving Children joins the guys to talk about a few events they have coming up this week, including a live concert & and walk/run. Then Nikki Z. joins the guys to talk about the T-Rats loss last night, but the conversation turns to great tv shows and movies. Maino and the Mayor is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-9 am on WGBW in Green Bay and on WISS in Appleton/Oshkosh. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook and X to keep up with Maino and the Mayor! Guests: Vanessa Moran, Nikki Zerjav

Our friend "Cheese Curd Nick" joins us along with Vanessa Moran from Feed My Starving Children. These individuals actually met on this show and created a partnership to create an event at the Broadway Farmers Market tomorrow night. All the tips from Nick's cheese curd stand tomorrow night will go to Feed My Starving Children. If you'd like more details about Feed My Starving Children, click HERE. Check out Nick's Facebook page HERE. Then we stay on feeding our community with Bob Hornacek, Assistant Executive Director of Paul's Pantry in Green Bay. Bob talks about his decision to leave media at WLUK-TV and take a job with the pantry. He also tells us about the type of people using the service. It's everyday people who have everyday struggles. Health concerns and bills, poor paying jobs, mental issues... We're so lucky to have individuals like these three in our community. Maino and the Mayor is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-9 am on WGBW in Green Bay and on WISS in Appleton/Oshkosh. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook and X to keep up with Maino and the Mayor! Guests: Nick Slupski, Vanessa Moran, Bob Hornacek

David Roberts is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Verra Mobility, a leading provider of smart mobility technology solutions. Verra Mobility provides hardware, software and services to a wide customer base including rental car companies, fleet management companies, cities, school districts and universities. The company's total revenue in 2023 was $817 million and has more than 1,500 employees around the world. Verra Mobility is headquartered in Mesa, Arizona.Before joining Verra Mobility in August 2014, David held several senior leadership roles with technology and finance companies. He was the President and Chief Executive Officer of BillingTree, a multi-channel electronic payment platform company serving insurance, utilities and healthcare customers. He was also a Managing Director at Bank of AmericaMerrill Lynch, leading the Equity Plan Services business.David's leadership philosophy is reflective and personal, focused on the principles of "servant leadership" and "unselfing yourself” as a leader, with humility and a focus on putting others first. He prioritizes promoting selfless leadership, adapting to change, and building empowered teams. This leadership philosophy is effective in delivering results and cultivating a winning culture. David values the well-being of his employees and the success of the organization over personal gains, fostering a culture of trust and loyalty. David encourages his direct reports to take initiative and ownership of their work. His leadership style can best be summarized with the acronym F.C.A. – maintaining a Focus on goals, championing Clarity in communication and responsibilities, and ensuring Accountability throughout the organization. David started his career in management consulting with a focus on innovation. He earned his MBA from the University of Chicago and his bachelor's degree from Baylor University in Texas.David has a passion for volunteer work for organizations that specialize in supporting children. He has served as an advisor for Feed My Starving Children for more than 10 years and is an active volunteer and fundraiser for JDRF, a leading organization dedicated to funding research for diabetes. David lives with his family in Scottsdale, Arizona, with his wife and four children. David is a thought leader who can explain emerging trends in transportation, smart cities and leadership in an engaging, understandable and vision-driven way, while still keeping things grounded and practical. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The hour starts off with more details on a Freedom Freefall event coming up in Pulaski. Andy Vanhandel sticks around and is joined by Chris Vincent. These events are focused on veterans, and if you'd like more details on these jumps that take place at few locations around the state, click HERE. Vanessa Moran from Feed My Starving Children calls in with an update on their fundraising event yesterday with the Green Bay Rockers. Then we're joined by Drew Neerdaels from Green Bay's Launch Film. Launch has been in business for 24 years. Jim and John ask what has made the business sustainable. Drew mentions the fact that the company has stayed "lean and scrappy". HERE are more details on his business. Maino and the Mayor is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-9 am on WGBW in Green Bay and on WISS in Oshkosh. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook and X to keep up with Maino and the Mayor! Guests: Andy VanHandel, Vanessa Moran, Chris Vincent, Drew Neerdaels

Vanessa Moran from Feed My Starving Children swings by again to remind us about the Green Bay Rockers game this Father's Day (Sunday) where a portion of ticket sales will help feed families around the world. Maino & The Mayor will be saving their aluminum cans to raise money to support this organization. Click HERE for more details. Then the Cheese Curd King of Green Bay, Nick Slupski, joins. He brings curds...and...BRATS! Nick is in to talk about some of the events he'll be at, including last night's Broadway Farmers Market. In the studio...Vanessa and Nick make a deal to work together to raise money for Feed My Starving Children. Magic happens right in our studio. Maino and the Mayor is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-9 am on WGBW in Green Bay and on WISS in Oshkosh. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook and X to keep up with Maino and the Mayor! Guests: Nick Slupski, Vanessa Moran

Vanessa Moran from Feed My Starving Children swings by again to remind us about the Green Bay Rockers game this Father's Day (Sunday) where a portion of ticket sales will help feed families around the world. Maino & The Mayor will be saving their aluminum cans to raise money to support this organization. Click HERE for more details. Then the Cheese Curd King of Green Bay, Nick Slupski, joins. He brings curds...and...BRATS! Nick is in to talk about some of the events he'll be at, including last night's Broadway Farmers Market. In the studio...Vanessa and Nick make a deal to work together to raise money for Feed My Starving Children. Magic happens right in our studio. Maino and the Mayor is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-9 am on WGBW in Green Bay and on WISS in Oshkosh. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook and X to keep up with Maino and the Mayor! Guests: Nick Slupski, Vanessa Moran

Vanessa Moran from Feed My Starving Children is in to talk about the organization and the number of children they feed around the world. They have a packing event in October, but coming up on Father's Day, the Green Bay Rockers are doing a special day with some of their proceeds going to Feed My Starving Children. If you'd like more information about the organization and how you can help, click HERE. Maino and the Mayor is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-9 am on WGBW in Green Bay and on WISS in Oshkosh. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook and X to keep up with Maino and the Mayor!

Amanda is a producer, film-maker, branding expert and sought-after public speaker, sharing her “Do Well By Doing Good” philosophy on stages around the country. She demonstrates how both companies and individuals can make a meaningful and positive difference in people's lives, while fostering their own success in the process. She believes that companies must not only identify their brand purpose, but put that purpose into action. Through her work, Amanda has defined what it looks like for brands to truly act “as publishers”creating movements through their content strategy. In her most recent demonstration of this,Amanda was the Chief Brand Officer of Deluxe where the brand challenge was to reach small businesses. The solution? She created, produced and hosted their Emmy-nominated series“Small Business Revolution,” which streamed on Hulu and was named among Inc. Magazine's top shows for entrepreneurs. Through this inspirational reality show, Amanda was able to prove the model of authentic content stretching a brand's spend by achieving 12x the reach through this series over traditional paid media. The program accumulated over 13 Billion impressions, 6,000+ earned media articles and 20 million content views (and counting). Not to mention - this work changed lives, families, small businesses and communities across the country.Amanda is a nationally renowned brand expert, Forbes contributor, and frequent on-camera personality for national news outlets and celebrity interviews, ranging from LL Cool J to Peyton Manning. She has appeared on CNBC's “Cleveland Hustles,” in addition to hosting the online “Small Talks” series that features successful entrepreneurs across the country.That's all while charting an acclaimed career that spans groundbreaking campaigns for brands like BMW, Reebok andSony, in addition to her role as an inspiring female executive at Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies, such as UnitedHealth Group, Allianz, General Mills, and Deluxe. Amanda's current and former board service includes the Children's CancerResearch Fund, Make-A-Wish, the Children's Theatre Company, the Ordway Performing Arts Center, Ad Council, ANA (Association of National Advertisers) and the Women's Business Development Center. She also passionately volunteers for causes such as Special Olympics, Feed My Starving Children, Habitat for Humanity and more. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband (who happens to be her best friend), her daughter (who is a small but mighty force of nature) and their puppy(who is, of course, adorable). Engage with Amanda: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandakbrinkman/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandakbrinkman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amandakbrinkman Website: https://amandakbrinkman.com/ Connect with Ginny: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ginnypriem/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginny-priem-8a87248/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ginnypriem Website: https://www.ginnypriem.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ginny-priem/message

Galatians: The Gospel of Grace = Free from the LawA Survey of the Bible For the bulletin in PDF form, click here.Context: Who, Where, When, and Why?Message SlidesGalatians Chart - WilsonReview of Galatians - John StottSummary of Galatians - Chuck SwindollLegalism, Liberty, and Liscence - Chuck Swindoll• Who composed Galatians?• Who was the original audience of Galatians?• When and where was Galatians written? • Why was Paul writing? Content: How and What?• How is Galatians organized? Introduction: Greeting and Background (1:1-9)Personal: Defense of Paul's Authority (1:10-2:21) • Thesis: My message comes from Christ. (1:10-12) • Defense: I am independent of others. (1:13-2:21) Main Idea: Justification Comes through Faith in Christ (2:15-21)Doctrinal: Defense of Justification by Faith (3:1-4:31) • Thesis: The Gospel is of faith not law. (3:1-5) • Defense: Scripture and Human Experience. (3:6-4:31) Practical: Defense of Christian Liberty (5:1-6:10) • Thesis: We are free in Christ. (5:1) • Application: Live in freedom. (5:2-6:10) Conclusion: Summary, Exhortation, and Benediction (6:11-18)• What is the message of Galatians? Conviction: So What?• Where does Galatians fit? - Galatians is the first letter that Paul writes and it is a passionate defense of the Gospel of Grace. - This is Paul's most intense letter. He uses many extreme emotional terms to communicate his significant concern. Yet this is a well-reasoned presentation of the Gospel of Grace. - Behind Romans, this is the most significant of all of Paul's books from establishing his theology of Grace.• What should we believe? - Salvation is by grace through faith in the finished and complete work of Christ. - Fighting for the truth of the gospel of grace is essential. - Sanctification comes as a response to already present grace and not as a result of effort to follow the rules. The Spirit plus grace transforms, while effort plus rules enslaves.• How should we behave? - Passionately defending the gospel of grace. - Consistently embracing the power of the Holy Spirit to transform us into the image of Christ. - “Keeping in Step with the Spirit” on a daily basis, knowing that the Holy Spirit always points us to Christ, His Gracious Gift and His Righteous Life.Next Steps • Fight boldly and relentlessly for the truth of the Gospel of Grace.• Keep in Step with the Spirit and refuse to be enslaved by a religion of rules.• Judge your spiritual growth by the fruit of the Spirit and not the efforts to be religious.This Week's Growth GuideGod's Word is both central and critical to your spiritual growth. We invite you to utilize the Growth Guide during the week to further your application of the Truth from the message.•. Monday - Galatians 1:1-9•. Tuesday - Galatians 2:15-20•. Wednesday - Galatians 3:1-5•. Thursday - Galatians 3:6-19•. Friday - Galatians 5:1-12•. Saturday - Galatians 5:13-26•. Sunday - Galatians 6:1-10Home ChurchOur Home Churches meet weekly to facilitate quicker relational depth, study the same passage taught Sunday to help apply Scripture in the context of community, and pray with one another. Home Church helps our body seek God's best for one another. Home Church Questions 1 What did you learn from Ken's presentation of Galatians that convicts you or challenges you?2. Jesus gave himself “to deliver us from this present evil age” (1:4 ESV). What are the dangers we face as Christians in our age and how can they threaten our faith?3 Paul understood his life as being set apart before he was born. What difference does it make to know that God set you apart for His purposes? As practical as you can make it, what does it mean for the righteous to live by faith (3:11)?5. Among the various fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23), which one do you find the hardest? Why?6 What danger do we face in our society resulting from “conceit” and “envy” (5:26)?7. What is your personal take-away from the book of Galatians? What steps can you take in response?FinancesWeekly Budget 32,692Giving For 03/31 21,813Giving For 04/07 48,529YTD Budget 1,340,385 Giving 1,440,465 OVER/(UNDER) 100,080 Mobile Pack | April 25 | 6-8 PMLet's join together, put on our hairnets, and make a Kingdom impact by packaging meals for children around the world. Tacos4Life is sponsoring a mobile pack with Feed My Starving Children to send food and the Gospel to children in need. Fellowship has blocked off 200 spots Thursday evening so we can serve together as a church body in this meaningful way. To reserve your spots, go to fellowshipconway.org/register.New to Fellowship?We are so glad that you chose to worship with our Fellowship Family this morning. If you are joining us for the first time or have been checking us out for a few weeks, we are excited you are here and would love to meet you. Please fill out the “Connect Card” and bring it to the Connection Center in the Atrium; we would love to say “hi” and give you a gift. Easter offering updateThank you so much for your generous giving to the Easter Offering to update the bathrooms and atrium, while making the space better for ministry. There is still time to give. Offering envelopes are at each basket by the doors, or you can give online at fellowshipconway.org/give. Fellowship on the Lawn | April 28 | 4:30 p.m.Bring your camp chairs, blankets, and tents to enjoy time in community with the entire Fellowship Family. The kids will be able to play on the playground and there will be two different inflatables, one for older elementary kids and one for the younger. There will be three food trucks: offering adult meals from $8-12 and kid meals from $5-7 complete with a main course, side, and drink, and Kona Ice. Invest in the Next GenerationWe are wrapping up the school year and preparing to head into summer. We are ending our three year journey through the Bible and we need you to help us do that. Our children are ready to learn about and worship Jesus. We have positions beginning in the nursery all the way up through fourth grade. Come be a part of laying that foundation of faith for our kids. Contact Heather today at hmckinney@fellowshipconway.org.Women's Summer StudyJoin us for “To the praise of His Glory,” a 6 week study of Ephesians led by Heather Harrison. The study starts June 4th, Tuesday nights from 6-8:00 p.m. here at Fellowship. For child care, text Shanna at 501-336-0332. Register at fellowshipconway.org/register. PrayerFellowship places a high value on prayer. After the message, members of our prayer team will be under “Hope” and “Love” for anyone who would like to be prayed for this morning. A team member will walk into the hall with you to pray with you. Thank you for letting us engage the Lord together in prayer.

2 Corinthians: Discipline of a ChurchA Survey of the Bible Message Slides2 Corinthians Chart - WilsonThe Message and Intent of 2 Corinthians - George Guthrie2 Corinthians: An Historical Narrative - George GuthriePaul and the Corinthians - Paul BarnettThe Importance of 2 Corinthians - Paul BarnettContext: Who, Where, When, and Why?• Who composed 2 Corinthians?• Who was the original audience of 2 Corinthians?• When and where was 2 Corinthians written? • Why was Paul writing? Content: How and What?• How is 2 Corinthians organized? Salutation: The God of All Comfort (1:1-7)Historical Background: The Integrity of Paul's Ministry (1:9-2:13)Main Idea: "We Speak before God with Sincerity!" (2:14-17)Apologetic: Explanation of Paul's Ministry (3:1-7:16) • Commended by Covenant Ministry (3:1-18) • Commended by Suffering in Ministry (4:1-5:10) • Commended by Ministry of Reconciliation (5:11-6:2) • Commended by Personal Ministry Faithfulness (6:3-7:16)Challenge: Exhortation to Give (8:1-9:15) • Generosity Encouraged by Examples (8:1-9) • Generosity Encouraged by Practical Advice (8:10-9:5) • Generosity Encouraged by the Rewards of Giving (9:6-15)Justification: Defense of Paul's Authority (10:1-13:4) • Apostolic Authority (10:1-18) • Apostolic Credentials (11:1-13:4)Conclusion: Summary, Exhortation, and Benediction (13:5-14)• What is the message of 2 Corinthians? Conviction: So What?• Where does 2 Corinthians fit? - 2 Corinthians is Paul's fifth communication with this troubled congregation after he planted the church and ministered in Corinth for a year and a half (Acts 18). - The book is full of personal detail and pastoral concern as Paul is defending his ministry from attacks after he has been stern with the church in a letter (7:8-9). - The book continues to repair their relationship which is now moving in the right direction.What should we believe? - Ministry is not about privilege but about service. - Living with generosity and integrity is critical to successful ministry. - Embrace The Paradox of the Cross—Suffering Leads to Glory (4-7) seen in the Example of Jesus (4:1-5:10) and Paul (5:11-7:16).How should we behave? - Serve well. Love others. Make sacrifices. Suffer with dignity. - Be a joyfully generous giver. Next Steps • Offer the comfort you have received from the Lord to someone else.• Live with humility and integrity recognizing that “we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (1 Corinthians 4:7)• We are all broken and struggling. Pray with someone today or this week about a personal need.This Week's Growth GuideGod's Word is both central and critical to your spiritual growth. We invite you to utilize the Growth Guide during the week to further your application of the Truth from the message.•. Monday - 2 Corinthians 1:1-11•. Tuesday - 2 Corinthians 2:12-17•. Wednesday - 2 Corinthians 4:1-12•. Thursday - 2 Corinthians 8:1-9•. Friday - 2 Corinthians 8:10-15•. Saturday - 2 Corinthians 10:1-6•. Sunday - 2 Corinthians 13:5-10Home Church Our Home Churches meet weekly to facilitate quicker relational depth, study the same passage taught Sunday to help apply Scripture in the context of community, and pray with one another. Home Church helps our body seek God's best for one another. Home Church Questions 1. What did you learn from Ken's presentation of 2 Corinthians that convicts you or challenges you?2. Paul refers to troubles (afflictions) nine times in his letter. All believers experience troubles, yet God is “the God of all comfort” (1:3, you might read 1:3-11). Can you name a time when you needed comfort, and through what means God provided comfort? Conversely, is there someone you are aware that needs your comfort?3. Paul spends much of the letter defending his integrity and sincerity, both in his decision-making and his apostolic ministry. He describes his life as being led in “triumphal procession,” spreading the “aroma of Christ” to the world (2:15-17). How does this description instruct us about our walk with Christ?4. Paul knew hardship more than we will ever experience (ref. 11:23-28, 32). Amazingly, he never lost heart because of his anticipation of the future (4:16-18). What circumstances in life might cause one to lose heart? How does one embrace and maintain an eternal perspective in those circumstances?5. How would you describe what changed in your life as a “new creation in Christ” (5:17)? How is being a new creation related to being an “ambassador for Christ” (5:18-20).6. Read 9:6-15. What stands out to you personally from these verses about your financial life? How does it relate to the concept of "storing up treasures in heaven" as mentioned in Matthew 6:20?7. What is your personal take-away from the book of 2 Corinthians? What steps can you take in response?FinancesWeekly Budget 32,692Giving For 03/24 26,037Giving For 03/31 21,813YTD Budget 1,307,692 Giving 1,391,936 OVER/(UNDER) 84,244 Mobile Pack | April 25 | 6-8 PMLet's join together, put on our hairnets, and make a Kingdom impact by packaging meals for children around the world. Tacos4Life is sponsoring a mobile pack with Feed My Starving Children to send food and the Gospel to children in need. Fellowship has blocked off 200 spots Thursday evening so we can serve together as a church body in this meaningful way. To reserve your spots, go to fellowshipconway.org/register.New to Fellowship?We are so glad that you chose to worship with our Fellowship Family this morning. If you are joining us for the first time or have been checking us out for a few weeks, we are excited you are here and would love to meet you. Please fill out the “Connect Card” and bring it to the Connection Center in the Atrium, we would love to say “hi” and give you a gift. Easter offering updateThank you so much for your generous giving to the Easter Offering to update the bathrooms and atrium, while making the space better for ministry. There is still time to give. Offering envelopes are at each basket by the doors, or you can give online at fellowshipconway.org/give. Men's Fellowship Breakfast | April 10 | 6:00 a.m.Men, join us for a great breakfast and fellowship on Wednesday, April 10, at 6:00 a.m. here in the Fellowship atrium. No sign-up is needed. Come with your Bible, ready to eat, fellowship with other men, and start your day off right through prayer and Biblical insight. Questions? Contact Michael at mharrison@fellowshipconway.org. Fellowship on the Lawn | April 28 | 4:30 p.m.Bring your camp chairs, blankets, and tents to enjoy time in community with the entire Fellowship Family. The kids will be able to play on the playground and there will be two different inflatables, one for older elementary kids and one for the younger. There will be three food trucks: offering adult meals from $8-12 and kid meals from $5-7 complete with a main course, side, and drink, and Kona Ice. Men's Muster - The Surrendered LIfeMen, mark your calendar for our retreat on April 19-21 at Shepherd of the Ozarks. The cost is $170 for adults, and $85 for ages 14-17. A $40 deposit due at registration. Registration deadline is April 8. Register at fellowshipconway.org/register. Fellowship Women's Ministry - Spring LuncheonWe are excited to invite you to celebrate the Goodness of God at our Spring Luncheon Saturday, April 13th from 12:00-2:00 in the Atrium. We'll have lunch and door prizes, hear from Fellowship women Lacy Knox and Cathy Lee, and enjoy celebrating His goodness together! Text Shanna at 501-336-0332 for free childcare.Downline PreviewAre you interested in deepening your understanding of God's Word and learning how to guide others through it? Join us for the Preview Night on Thursday, April 11, at 6:30 pm here at Fellowship Bible Church, where you'll get a chance to experience the Downline class session led by Renaut van der Riet, as he teaches from the book of Ephesians. You'll also have the opportunity to ask Downline staff and alumni questions. To RSVP for the Preview Night, visit downlineconway.com/preview or send an email to tara@downlineconway.com for more information.​

The Resurrection in 1 Corinthians“A Day of Hope: Past, Present, and Future”(1 Corinthians 15:1-58) For the bulletin in PDF form, click here.Message Slides1 Corinthians 15 - David GarlandThe resurrection of Jesus Christ - Darrell BockIntroduction: A Resurrection Reading The Priority of the Resurrection“The Center of the Gospel”(1 Corinthians 15:1-19) • No Resurrection - No Gospel (15:1-11) • No Resurrection - No Hope (15:12-19) The Pattern of the Resurrection“Like Christ Himself”(1 Corinthians 15:20–34)• Christ is the First Fruits of the Resurrection (15:20-28) • Bad Doctrinal Company Corrupts Good Morals (1:29-34) The Power of the Resurrection“The Perishable Puts on Imperishable”(1 Corinthians 15:35-58)• A Better Body Awaits Us (15:35-49) • Death will be Swallowed up in Victory (15:50-57)Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58 Next Steps • Be prepared to explain the importance of the resurrection and how it is central to the gospel. • Recognize that what you do in this life echoes in eternity.This Week's Growth GuideGod's Word is both central and critical to your spiritual growth. We invite you to utilize the Growth Guide during the week to further your application of the Truth from the message.•. Monday - 1 Corinthians 1:18-25•. Tuesday - 1 Corinthians 15:1-11• Wednesday - 1 Corinthians 15:13-28•. Thursday - 1 Corinthians 15:29-41•. Friday - 1 Corinthians 15:42-58 Home ChurchOur Home Churches meet weekly to facilitate quicker relational depth, study the same passage taught Sunday to help apply Scripture in the context of community, and pray with one another. Home Church helps our body seek God's best for one another. Home Church Questions • Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-58.• Discuss why the death and resurrection of Christ are both essential to the gospel.• In what way(s) do you look forward to having a resurrection body?• In what way(s) will we be like Christ?• What will life be like in the New Heaven and the New Earth with a resurrection body?• Why is verse 58 Paul's conclusion? How can each of us personally be “always abounding in the work of the Lord?”FinancesWeekly Budget 32,692Giving For 03/17 22,970Giving For 03/24 26,037YTD Budget 1,275,000 Giving 1,370,123 OVER/(UNDER) 95,123Easter OfferingThis morning's Easter Offering will allow us to finish the atrium remodel which we initially started funding with the Christmas Offering in 2022. Easter Offering envelopes can be found next to the offering baskets or at the Connection Center. You can also give online at fellowshipconway.org/give by selecting “Easter Offering” from the menu.​ New to Fellowship?We are so glad that you chose to worship with our Fellowship Family this morning. If you are joining us for the first time or have been checking us out for a few weeks, we are excited you are here and would love to meet you. Please fill out the “Connect Card” and bring it to the Connection Center in the Atrium, we would love to say “hi” and give you a gift. Fellowship 101We invite you to join us on Sunday, April 7, at 9:00 a.m. to learn more about Fellowship. This is a great opportunity to hear about our mission, values, and our ministries. During this time, you will meet some of our ministry leaders and get to ask questions. Register at fellowshipconway.org/register. Fellowship on the Lawn | April 28 | 4:30 p.m.Bring your camp chairs, blankets, and tents to enjoy time in community with the entire Fellowship Family. The kids will be able to play on the playground and there will be two different inflatables, one for older elementary kids and one for the younger. There will be three food trucks: offering adult meals from $8-12 and kid meals from $5-7 complete with a main course, side, and drink, and Kona Ice. Mobile Pack | April 25 | 6-8 PMLet's join together, put on our hairnets, and make a Kingdom impact by packaging meals for children around the world. Tacos4Life is sponsoring a mobile pack with Feed My Starving Children to send food and the Gospel to children in need. Fellowship has blocked off 200 spots Thursday evening so we can serve together as a church body in this meaningful way. To reserve your spots, go to fellowshipconway.org/register.Men's Muster - The Surrendered LifeMen, mark your calendar for our retreat on April 19-21 at Shepherd of the Ozarks. The cost is $170 for adults, and $85 for ages 14-17. A $40 deposit due at registration. Registration deadline is April 8. Register at fellowshipconway.org/register. Fellowship Women's Ministry - Spring LuncheonWe are excited to invite you to celebrate the Goodness of God at our Spring Luncheon Saturday, April 13th from 12:00-2:00 in the Atrium. We'll have lunch and door prizes, hear from Fellowship women Lacy Knox and Cathy Lee, and enjoy celebrating His goodness together! Text Shanna at 501-336-0332 for free childcare.

Our guest this week, Shawn Smith, is a 20-year veteran in the financial services industry. In 2015 he founded and still is the chairman and CEO of Dedicated Financial GBC. As he will tell us, he founded the company on a new and innovative model that is designed to do a much better job of connecting with those who are in financial trouble. While many people say they have a new and different widget or model, Shawn proves his worth and will show all of us his successes and he gladly discusses his leadership strategies. Shawn never went to college and took a career path somewhat different than that of his parents and grandparents. However, as you will see, he made life and career choices that built him and his life philosophy to where he is today. I found my time with Shawn not only informative, but I found his philosophy and thoughts worth listening to more than once. I hope you will agree. About the Guest: Shawn Smith is chairman and CEO of Dedicated Financial GBC. When Shawn founded the company in 2015, his vision was to create a new kind of commercial loan portfolio management company, combining both a new model of connecting on a personal level with those in financial trouble and a new corporate philanthropy model. Shawn created a model of philanthropy that leverages the resources of Dedicated Financial GBC to improve communities around the world, donating both money and time to help nonprofits achieve their missions. Shawn and his wife, Stephanie, have focused their personal philanthropy on children's health and well-being, education, hunger, and other social issues. Shawn believes that businesses have the greatest opportunity to change the world and Dedicated is taking steps to prove that. He has embraced a multi-stakeholder approach to leadership, serving all stakeholders including clients, team members, business partners, and communities-to make the world a better place. Shawn also inspires fellow business leaders to do the same by sponsoring client service trips to underdeveloped countries and ensuring that, at Dedicated Financial GBC, men and women are paid equally for comparable work. Shawn is a 20-year veteran of the financial services industry. Prior to launching Dedicated Financial GBC, he worked at various companies where team members were devalued and unappreciated, thus fueling his passion for justice and equality in business as well as in life. Ways to connect with Shawn: www.DedicatedGBC.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-r-smith-a2439241/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/6383546/admin/feed/posts/ https://www.facebook.com/dedicatedgbc www.Twitter/DedicatedGBC.com About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: **Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. **Michael Hingson ** 01:21 You are listening to unstoppable mindset, the podcast where inclusion diversity and the unexpected me love to say that Anyway, welcome to another episode today we get to chat with Shawn Smith. Shawn is the Co well is the founder of financial dedicated financial GBC. He's the CEO and he founded it back in 2015 going to be interested to hear about that and get thoughts about how the world has changed in the last eight years with finances and all that money is still money though. But anyway. We'll we'll worry about that right now. But Shawn, I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset. And I really appreciate you being here. **Shawn Smith ** 02:05 Thank you, Mike, I appreciate you having me on the podcast. Well, **Michael Hingson ** 02:10 I hope it will be fun. And I think we'll we'll see what we can accomplish and what we can learn. Tell me a little bit about you kind of the early Shawn's you know, back when you when you started as a person and all that sort of stuff. **Shawn Smith ** 02:24 Yeah, I would have what I think the world would typically consider be the exact opposite of your typical track to, you know, running a successful small business. So I grew up in the welfare system and high school educated, pretty rough upbringing. And really, it wasn't till I was 22 when I was able to get some good mentors in my life and kind of turn things in a more positive direction. And even that now has been basically a 20 year, you know, process of learning and growing from that. So I was raised, born and raised in Minnesota spent a little time in Southern California and Oregon, but mostly all in Minnesota, and currently married with four children. And yeah. **Michael Hingson ** 03:21 So Minnesota you like the snow. **Shawn Smith ** 03:24 I love the winter. I don't love how long it is in Minnesota. But I'm blessed to have to travel for business pretty regularly. So, you know, I get out enough to where it doesn't bug me so much. **Michael Hingson ** 03:36 Yeah, I hear you. We live in Victorville California. So we get a lot of a call. We're up at about 20 150 feet above sea level. So it gets cold in the winter. It's the high desert, but below all the mountains where the ski resorts are and so on. So we get all the cold but we don't get the snow. So I'm not sure where the fun is that and this past year with all the snow that everyone had here in California and in the wonderful skiing that it was. We had two inches of snow one Saturday afternoon so the kids didn't even get a snow day from school. **Shawn Smith ** 04:13 Yeah, I actually got trapped out in in a snowstorm in Park City, this last year in Park City, Utah, and spent three days trapped that Park City and snowboarding and waist deep powder. It was one of the most epic times I've ever if that was the most epic time I've ever read writing my snowboard and 30 years of riding a snowboard. So it was it was pretty amazing. It was it started right as I was driving over the past to get into Park City. And it literally stopped snowing right as we were driving to the airport. So it was a pretty incredible time. **Michael Hingson ** 04:47 Wow. So they did it just for you. **Shawn Smith ** 04:52 I'll take an hour right get it but it was it was truly amazing. It was one that me and my friends will never forget that's for sure. **Michael Hingson ** 04:59 So Did you go off to college along the way, **Shawn Smith ** 05:03 did not graduated high school from St. Louis Park High School and really was trying to find I was supposed to go to college either to be a mechanic or I was supposed to go into the Marines, that was kind of the two options that were in front of me out of high school. And my dad is a marine, my uncle is a Marine, and several family member members were Marines or army. And at the time, I just didn't feel led to do that. And I was really into cars. So I was gonna go to UTI to be an auto mechanic. And after interviewing auto mechanics, and understanding their lifestyle, what they did for work and how much they enjoyed it, or lack thereof, I decided I wanted to keep that as a hobby in my life versus, you know, career, which I thought was great advice to go interview people before you go in a direction, and make sure that their life has kind of bearing the fruit that you want to have. And so I ended up kind of trying a different jobs. And so I landed in some sales roles, because I had friends that were making more money doing that figured out, I was okay at that. And then at 22, I started really focusing on my own small business and built between 22 and 32, I built two separate marketing companies, both into the black. And then for various reasons, I ended up walking away from that went back into corporate America, into the financial services community, and ultimately found that to be toxic as well. And really think corporate America has broken here, at least in the United States, because I can only speak from that experience, I haven't worked in, you know, Europe, or Asia or anything like that. But kind of hit me across the head that the only way I was going to be able to do this was to do it differently was to be an owner. And so I've been asking this, you know, had people for the last five years asked me to start dedicated. And so if I said, All right, I'm open to it. And then one thing led to another and next thing, you know, dedicated was born. **Michael Hingson ** 07:13 Tell me a little bit more about your thoughts regarding the the corporate America system being broken? I think that's true. I don't know whether it's for the same reasons as you but what do you mean bias broken, meaning think about? **Shawn Smith ** 07:27 Well, the two big points I typically touch on that from from a high macro level is one, I think that corporations, you know, really do treat people as a number, and they put profit before people, and they put their own success before being significant to others. And what happens in that, then is that you have a jaded management structure, with maybe a couple of good eggs in there who are fighting a losing battle of doing the right thing over the bottom line and making money. And when the shareholders and the owners profit become more, more important, then people being able to do well, not just financially, but between benefits and flexibility and the way they're treated and etc. So there's a whole equation there that's kind of broken. And so I think, you know, that's been my focus is the chase, change what I'm chasing focus on being significant to my team, here and then to my clients into into local and global community and then putting people before profit, which means you're dedicated any business has to be profitable to remain in business, right? By the system of greed, here, at least again, in the United States. And you see this play out in so many things like the Wells Fargo stuff, where they're coming up with fake things, or, you know, you've got I my last company I worked for, I was a senior manager. And I remember being told I had to cut people's bonus checks, you know, three days before the end of the month in their commission positions. And meanwhile, they got the owner walking around in the new vehicles, he's driving to the new this, I'll study by this stuff, and it's like that people are so fried on that. That environment, and you know, it's leading to such a lack of purpose and purpose, a purpose driven life and our culture today, and I think that's leading to a lot of mental health issues and relationship issues and health issues. And when you spend this much time at work, you know, if it's not healthy, it's toxic. And I I believe that so that's, that's kind of my thoughts on that. **Michael Hingson ** 09:59 Well, and that's kind of really what I'm thinking as well. So it turns out, we align a lot. I had a chance some time ago to talk with someone, he was the owner of a company. And we were talking about compensation, and specifically, what salespeople at the company made, as opposed to what the president of the company may. And I made the observation that when really good salespeople who outperform, if you will, may very well make more than the president of a company on any given year. And that should be okay. And he absolutely disagreed with that he could not see how anyone should make more money than the president of the company. And I, it wasn't a large company, but I was, was amazed at that. Because you would want your salespeople to be incented. To sell. And if they happen to make more than you Why should that be a problem. But nevertheless, that was the attitude that he portrayed. Yeah, **Shawn Smith ** 11:05 you know, I definitely know individuals that would share his perspective. And again, I feel like those people are the same folks that are complaining how hard it is to recruit new members to their team to retain people have HR issues, and things like that. And, you know, I, every single one of our commission folks, and we have several different platforms within our verticals within dedicated that there's commissionable team members, and every one of those is uncapped. I've had team members make multiple six figures on our team that are high school educated, but they're hard working and doing a great job. And so I absolutely aligned with what you're saying. You know, I, and trust me that that has been discussed that on the on the director level and above. You know, when we get into compensation and someone feels well, how's that person making more than me? Well, you, you wanted to be in management, you wanted to serve others, but for our size company and where we're at and how well they're doing. I'm not going to rob from Peter to pay Paul, you're you're in a market range for your salary. I just happen to choose to do no cap commissions on these people. So when they knock it out of the park, right, they get paid for doing that. And so yeah, I'm aligned with you on that. **Michael Hingson ** 12:39 Well, the other side of that is that, when you have that kind of a situation where you'd have an uncapped commission, and somebody really just blows everything away. In the long run, it's going to be a lot better for the company overall. And I would think in the long run people in management, while they may not necessarily make as much on any given year, in the long run, they're going to be viewed as performing better because they help their teams perform better. And I think that's the other part about the the whole team approach. What we also often don't do is recognize team performance nearly as well as we should. I know, there have been companies where when a team really succeeded at doing something who gets the recognition, the head of the team, even though the work may very well have mostly been done by other people on the team. And the the person who was the director of the team really wasn't the one that brought the team together, but they're still the director and they get a lot of recognition. It's just we do things in a very backward way sometimes. Yeah, **Shawn Smith ** 13:53 I was 100% agree with you that that is consistently off, I think, again, through all of corporate America, and hence why our youth, right, that sub 40 Group especially, is just flat out tired of it and getting jaded towards corporations Corporation's. So you know, they're not wanting to put in the extra time or extra effort or lift an extra finger to help their neighbor or anything like that, because why when the corporation is setting such a poor example of caring about them, right, why should they care? And then I hear all this dedicated as not having a recruitment issue. We in an industry, our industry averages of 50 to 100% turnover rate. It's a very tough job. we've averaged 22% year over year now for eight years. Why? So we're have less than half of the lower side average for our industry. So we're not struggling with those things. Right. So you know, that's that just becomes a competitive advantage. I believe just like purpose driven businesses against other businesses in your space. So let the people who don't want to figure that out, continue to struggle, and hopefully more businesses will, will grow and continue to dominate the landscape that actually put their team members first. **Michael Hingson ** 15:16 How do we get corporate America to change some of those things? I guess maybe another way to put it would be, in your view, what? What are the key things that one needs to have for success? In whatever they do when? How do we then also want you to answer that deal with getting corporate America to address it? In the context **Shawn Smith ** 15:40 of that question, I think I would kind of go in a couple of different directions. But the first thing I'd say is, your question reminds me of there was a there's a story about a gentleman who went out and sat and decided I'm gonna change the world. So when I'm trying to change the world and got disenfranchised, because he couldn't change anything. So he said, Well, I'm going to change my country, and try to change his country to go and change. Okay, well, I'm going to change my state, try to change his state couldn't change anything, since I would change my city can change things, okay, I'm gonna change my family, at least couldn't change his family. So then he finally decided to change work on changing himself. And when he could change himself, then all sudden, he started to be able to influence his family for the better. And once he could influence his family, he learned how to influence the city and state and his country, eventually he changed the world. But so that starts with is changing yourself. People I think, especially in a corporation, a large corporation, stronger with leading from within is what am I going to be able to do here? And the question isn't what you can do there? It's a question is Who can you become there, because the better leader you become the more compassionate leader, the more effective leader, the more lovingly and they're more graceful leader, the more patient leader, the better servant leader you can become, the more your ability to influence John Maxwell says, leadership is influence nothing more, nothing less. So if you want to influence corporations, if you want to influence corporate, corporate America, your first focus, focus on yourself, and how that's played on and dedicated as I spent 20 years of doing things in my industry, radically different and personal growth, and leading with love and servant leadership. And what that's led to now is, literally two days ago, I got back from the Dominican taking a week to serve the poor down there. And one of the people on the team that I brought down there was actually the CEO of one of my competitors, who now donates on metric giving to Feed My Starving Children and has joined me down in some of the impoverished areas of around the capital of the Dominican to serve the poor down there. Well, how did that happen? It didn't start by me going to him first, it started in me and working on me. And my approach to changing corporate America is I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing. And I'm going to keep donating, I'm gonna keep doing metric giving, I'm going to keep increasing team member benefits, I'm going to keep shining that light. And I still believe that business is a competitive sport, right? So it has become our competitive advantage. Because when, when you're doing things in the right way, you're going to not only retain clients or retain team members, but you're going to attract the right clients, you're going to attract the right business, you're going to retain it much longer. So you're spending less of your time trying to refill that funnel, you're just adding to and that's why I dedicated on average has grown by over 50% year over year with some years in the 100 to 200% growth range. And that so that became a competitive advantage. So I think the first part of changing America's foes focuses on the leaders changing themselves to the point where they can start influencing those around them, because people see something in them and the way they lead in their team and, and what they do in their work product that they can respect and admire and want to duplicate. I that's that's my thoughts. Yeah. **Michael Hingson ** 19:22 I know that when I hired salespeople, and I learned this a little bit over time, but what I learned was that when I hired salespeople, the best thing that I could tell them is, I hired you, I hired you because I believe that you could do the job you sold me on the fact that you could do the job. So my job isn't to boss you around. Rather, you and I need to learn to work together to see how I can add value to you to make you more successful. In other words, how do we build a team together? In the end, the reality is, it was different with every single person based on what their talents were and what they A new and what they could do and what they wanted it when some people really got it, and we meld it well together in the synergy was wonderful. But the people who didn't get it and who weren't really willing to look beyond themselves to grow, didn't get it didn't succeed. **Shawn Smith ** 20:22 And the people that care more about the title over the ability to help others, I really, I think we have too much positional leadership and not enough servant leadership. And that's really deteriorating the teams within our corporations. That's when people aren't being taught that the stuff that I've been taught by Dementors I mean, I tell people all the time, the, the cornerstones of my success are God's plan in my life, great mentors, and a great work ethic and the ability to work on myself and become better, right? So, but we're not taught that we're not teaching them. We're not teaching them to be a servant leader, or to have mentorship that helps you with your blind spots, or significant work ethic or overcoming challenges, things like that, right? We're so you, unless you have a great mentor or family member or friend, you know, you start to listen to what the world tells you, which is, get a better title, get more pay, or whatever, and you'll be successful. And then people find themselves miserable in that position, and then thus make those around them miserable as well. **Michael Hingson ** 21:39 So you mentioned him, Where does God fit into all this? I mean, **Shawn Smith ** 21:43 that's the cornerstone of everything for me. I mean, I was someone who was very much a non believer my entire life, I really, quite frankly, to stained people of any form of religion, in particular, disdained Christians. So, I was definitely saw on the road to Damascus moment when I became one at 22. And, you know, someone who comes from that position of really feeling like they're such a loving God, why would he allow so much bad stuff to happen to me and those I love and things like that, to all sudden running a faith based company and having that be the cornerstone of my family and everything that I do. There's a lot of seeking, and I think finding comes to the seeker if, if your mind isn't open, and you're not willing to seek answers, you'll never find them. And if you're going into the information, with with a bias of looking for what you want to hear, to just affirm what you want to believe, you'll stay stuck in that way of thinking forever. And, you know, there was there was, it's a process, but ultimately, the foundational verse for my life is Ephesians 320, which I translate that versus it says, purpose, it's his plan, it says power working with me, and I'm gonna give him the credit for all of it and anything that I do. And in doing that, I've been able to make business decisions, I've been able to treat people with love, and grace, I've been able to give in a way that is very uncommon. And I think the world needs more uncommon men in leadership and uncommon women to to stand up and really serve and love others. In an in an uncommon way, in a world that's really challenging. So it's, he kind of fits into everything for me, there's nothing he doesn't fit in into for me, and there's anyone that knows me knows that I'm going to talk about, I'm gonna talk about him, and I'm gonna talk about helping those who are hurting. In every conversation I have no matter whether it's a barista at Starbucks, or the CEO at a conference or podcasts with you, Mike, I'm gonna be talking about the same time repeat the same drum everywhere I go. **Michael Hingson ** 24:01 And I absolutely endorse it. And I, I believe that, that doesn't really matter what religion and since because it's the same God. And we all if we go back and look at a lot of bases and basics from different religions, we see the same basic teachings. And again, it gets back to one of those things that we try to take ownership of something that we shouldn't. **Shawn Smith ** 24:28 Well, we also try to assert that we know for sure, something that none of us get to know until we get there. Right. And so, you know, I'm very passionate about what you're saying. I don't I have no idea whether there's several paths or one path. I just know a path that has worked has been an amazingly positive thing in my life. That has been the greatest gift anyone has ever given me up. And if you have a free gift that you can give away, I'm at least open to discussing when someone else is open minded enough to discuss it. And, you know, to, I was just talking to Dr. And had this conversation I brought several about an atheist, I brought two other people that believe they're agnostic. And I said, look at you look at Jesus, he let the murderer in heaven on the cross after living an entirely, you know a lot of his life in the wrong way. But he believed, scientists believe that we're not going to know till we get there, but I would rather one put my hope in something positive that there is a there that there is a heaven. And if I'm wrong, well, I was there's gonna be nothing anyway. So I'd rather live my life with hope one. And two, clearly, God has demonstrated that he is willing to expose you to the full truth, even if it's at the end, and allow you to make that decision where you want to be. So whether you're Buddhist or Muslim, or Christian or Jewish, I believe that when you when you get to a point when you're transitioning the full truth, which I kind of believe, in some ways, like, everybody's gonna kind of be wrong in some ways. And everybody's kind of guilty, right? In some ways, you know, I mean, who knows, right? But you get full truth and in that you can choose where to go. And that's where I choose to put my hope. And it really allows me to see the world in that way of which I have nothing but love for all people from any form of faith, or people don't like fate, but it gives me hope. It makes me feel loved. I feel like I have a real relationship with God. I feel like I try to glorify God that loves me and blesses me and my family and those around me and allows me to go and be a blessing to the world where there's some really challenging stuff. And that's like what I just came from last week in the Dr. So definitely, definitely a proponent of supporting people in any form of faith that they want. And that will be a positive thing for them, provided it's grounded in love and respect for others. **Michael Hingson ** 27:03 Just a couple of days ago, someone asked me, having known that I worked in the World Trade Center on September 11, and escaped with my guide dog was ill. They said, Well, do you feel guilty at all that you survived and other people didn't? Which goes back to the whole survivor's guilt thing? And my response was, No, I don't feel guilty. I don't know what the plan was, I don't know all the details of everyone who didn't survive. Did they get told don't go to the building that day? Did they not? Who knows? I know, for me, I never did feel that I got any message, not to go into work that day. We did have a thunderstorm that morning. And we usually have thunderstorms. That came right over our house at 1230 at night. And so I suppose one could say, well, that was an omen for you our message? Well, I didn't get the impression that it was. And frankly, I looked for those kinds of things. But But the bottom line is that I only know that I did survive. And the issue was and is what do I do with them. And I think that's the more important issue, which goes to what you're saying. The fact of the matter is that we all have some things we can control and a lot of things that we can't. And so I didn't have a lot of control over what was happening on September 11, a wife could have decided not to evacuate as soon. But I felt this is the time to start down the stairs and did and made it out. But the other part of it is, okay, so I made some choices, and then did survive. But, you know, ultimately, most of that day, I didn't have necessarily a lot of control over had no control over those airplanes sitting in the building, and any number of other things. And all I can do is worry about the things that I can worry about. And then I can actually have some control over. We spend so much time worrying about so many things that we don't necessarily have control of right. And you know, people are always going well. And you you mentioned that meeting we talked about you with Why does God let so many bad things happen? Now you if you look back on what did you learn from all those bad things? Maybe they weren't quite so bad, but also we maybe you'll learn better to listen. And you won't make those same kinds of judgments in the future. So it's all a question of where you go and how you deal with **Shawn Smith ** 29:48 it. I think. Yeah, maybe outside bias to how you look at stuff and that Yeah, sure. Mine is still crazy for me to have met another person who was there as my car Follow was there, as we discussed. So I think that's one thing where I think it'd be very interested, if you two did one together on your podcast from the standpoint of the timeframe and the two different perspectives and where you were at, I think that'd be really interesting to see, you know, between the two of you, but he's got to he has a wild story, just the same as you do. For that day, and, you know, just anyone in my age bracket remembers exactly where they were that day. And what's crazy about it is, I made the decision to not go into the Marines. And because of that, I literally would, I graduated in. So when did change 2000? So right, so I graduated out of high school, in June of 2008, after boot had just come out of boot basically, better my, you know, first year and a half a service in the Marines. When that happened, and I went through a little bit of a form of guilt and not serving my country, I had several friends who did and you know, in that in that fashion, and I decided to believe that God had a plan for me. And we'll go from there. Apologize if there's any background noise, we were wherever big tournament the office, I think they just celebrated the, the winner of the tournament. So what's, **Michael Hingson ** 31:26 what's the tournament? **Shawn Smith ** 31:27 Let's take a bags tournament, you're throwing the bags in the hole. We did a whole bracket tournament through the whole day, once a year and do some prizes, and everything. So I was out in the second round. So I was happy maybe the second or last year I was out in the first round. So I was like, hey, all these I made for the **Michael Hingson ** 31:50 second round, but improvement see next year, and next year will be better. **Shawn Smith ** 31:55 Or third round? Yeah. **Michael Hingson ** 31:58 I actually, maybe I missed it. But I didn't hear anything. So I think we're good. But, you know, I think that it all comes down to choices. So after September 11, and I'd love to meet your CFO, and it'd be fun to have a discussion. So if you want to set that up, I think it would be great for us to, to actually do something like that. But for me, I've always believed in it become clear since September 11. That, of course, we are the product of our choices, and I can trace my life back really far. And I can certainly trace how I got to the World Trade Center. And the things that that brought me there. And very frankly, I can say that I don't regret any of the choices I've made, some were tough. But I learned from them and was able to move on. And all of them eventually brought me to the World Trade Center. And after September 11. The very next day, actually my wife Karen, said, You know, you want to call Guide Dogs for the Blind, the the organization are always getting a guide on spring. And I said, Okay, why do you think I should? And she pointed out that there had been people from the school out here in California, who had visited us in the World Trade Center, and they're eventually going to remember that you were there. So I did call in among other people, I spoke with the director of public information. And Joanne Ritter, and she said, Gee, do you mind if I write a little story about you? And I wasn't really thinking, so I said, Sure. Go ahead. And then she said, you know, I'll bet it's gonna be pretty visible. What TV show do you want to be on first, and I wasn't anywhere near where she was in terms of this mindset. So I just, oh, Larry King Live. And two days later, on the 13th, I was invited to appear on Larry King Live the next day. And that led to a lot of visibility that led to a lot of people wanting to interview less about, it'll be about the World Trade Center. But a lot of people that started calling and saying, We want you to come and talk to us and tell us what we should learn about September 11, and so on. And there I was confronted with a choice. And in reality, it ended up not being a hard choice, because the company wasn't necessarily approaching what happened in the World Trade Center very well, they they were just taking the mindset and taking the position. You got to get back to selling you can't, you can't wait you got to get back to selling. People weren't buying. They were attending five, six and seven funerals a day. But the pressure from management was you got to get back to selling and that just didn't sit right. So as I tell people, I made the choice along the way to start selling life and philosophy rather than selling computer hardware. Because I also knew it would be a very rewarding thing to do. And then all the interviews with the media, as anybody in psychology will tell you, when you have an issue regarding yourself talking about it always helps answering all the questions that people have some of the most inane questions to the most sophisticated, thought provoking questions really helped me move on from September 11, which will spring move on, psychologically from you know what happened. I never did feel guilty. But still, you got to move on from something where your life was literally threatened, **Shawn Smith ** 35:31 forced you to process it and work through it. Right. **Michael Hingson ** 35:36 And so, again, it's all choices. And God was was for me, certainly a part of **Shawn Smith ** 35:44 that with you on that. Yeah, I felt so out of the back. And, you know, it felt like those steps were directed for sure. And at the time, they shouldn't feel that way sometimes, but I am with you, I don't, I don't regret it. And actually, the pain that I've been through and the trauma that had been through my life has become, in my opinion, my superpower. And it drives my love for others, my empathy, my compassion, and my desire to help those who are in challenging circumstances like I was when I was younger, so that without that, I don't know where I'd be without have that, right. So it's interesting when you become older and wiser in a place where you literally start being thankful for your pain. Sure, doesn't feel that way in the moment. But as you get past and high inside, you see the fruit that it ends up bearing in your life. That's weird. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. But I feel like I'd used it for the that which was meant to kill and destroy me use that for the good to help others. And sidenote, regret that little bit worse, **Michael Hingson ** 36:53 what you need to do is to have a conversation with God to see if you can get around three minutes to **Shawn Smith ** 36:59 get your own butt. **Michael Hingson ** 37:00 Get you to round three next year in the tournament. Yeah, how am I gonna have the serious discussions here? **Shawn Smith ** 37:07 I'm probably more likely to play him pray over my golf game getting better at me shaving off a few strokes than I am. begs tournament. **Michael Hingson ** 37:15 Well, there you go. Yeah, you gotta gotta do what works? Well, you know. But I, but I do think that a lot of it is all about choice. And a lot of self analysis. And, you know, going back to corporate America, when we talked about the whole issue of profit, and making money, and so on, I wonder how many people who are just so fixated on the amount of money they earn in selling, that the company just has to be the end, all from a profit standpoint. I wonder how many of those people really take time every day and think about what they're doing, think about their lives? Just go back then, to self examinations, and see what's really going on with them. You know, people are always saying, I want to be happier, and I'm not happy when and you know, the question always comes back down to what's happening, right. And I think that becomes an issue that we also don't deal with very well, and understanding what happiness really is. But when we were talking about this making money, and so on, I wonder how much self analysis and real introspection a lot of people do. **Shawn Smith ** 38:29 I think next to none, I think the world is teaching them to just continue to stay busy so that they're actually thinking about those things. And that's how I think time and prayer and meditation daily is in to really look at your life and what's going on in it and reflect on it and is critical. And instead we fill it with as much noise as possible drowns out that inner voice, let alone the voice of God in your life. So that's unfortunately with social media and, and just technology these days, especially it's, it's become really hard to get quiet and grow in that way. And that's a lost art for sure. Yeah, **Michael Hingson ** 39:15 we don't listen to ourselves. We don't listen to our heart. And that's a serious problem, because we don't learn that our instincts and our subconscious mind which is, which is really part of and talking with God can communicate so much to us. My favorite example of that is playing Trivial Pursuit. How often when you're playing Trivial Pursuit, do you get a question? And an answer immediately pops into your head and you go, No, that can't be the answer. And you think about it, and you give a different answer. But it turns out that the first initial thought it was the right answer. And it is just something we don't we don't listen to ourselves very well, not nearly as much collectively as we should do. Also making me realize I haven't played trivial pursuits haven't either. Expanded, grew up playing that game. And yeah, it's a fun game. I still love Trivial Pursuit. And I love watching Jeopardy, it's as close as I get to it. But still Trivial Pursuit is a fun game. **Shawn Smith ** 40:20 I kept trying to get I kept trying to sign my father in law. He's a very, very wise man and the key mentor in my life. And just the guy who knows every fun fact about everything. So I signed him up several times over the years trying to get him on Jeopardy, because I thought he crushed it. He never, never made it. But wicked smart guy is a professor at University of Minnesota for 40 years and had a law and finance degree from the EU and from Purdue. So that's a prime example. I didn't grow up with that, you know, my dad was a postal worker, and, and marine. And my stepmom was a postal worker, and my mother grew up on government assistance and child support. And so that was what I had mentored me on how to be successful in any area of my life, not just financially, but emotionally, mentally, spiritually relationally, right. And unfortunately, there was a big deficit in all those areas for the mentors I had growing up. So it really, really helpful and you change, who you're listening to, and who you surround yourself with, when it comes to taking advice. You **Michael Hingson ** 41:33 strike me as someone who values mentors and having mentors in your life very much, how do you find good mentors? And what kind of a difference to they make? Or do you think that they make them could make for other people in their lives? Outside **Shawn Smith ** 41:47 of God, I honestly believe that mentorship and who you surround yourself will be the number one reason for being successful in anything. I actually started a story recently where it was a couple of talking, and they were deciding whether they're going to get married. And they said say we get in a fight and you want and you want to invent the suit the man male asking the female, what you know, who are your three friends, you would call, she listed three friends. So who are you three friends and he listed three friends. He said, here's the difference. Your three friends, two of them are divorce one is single and living going to the club lifestyle. And that's where you're going to call for advice when your marriage isn't going right. All three of of the people I said I would call our people are, we've been married for over 15 years and show fruit in the tree when it comes to their marriage. And so, you know, what do you think is more likely to give you advice because in that situation, my friends are actually going to defend you to whereas in your friends are going to defend you and pay me to be the bad guy, right? So I think it's that way with mentorship is that you have to find the right mentors. And that takes a lot of work over a long period of time. Now I said that the most wealthiest man in the world was with Solomon and not because he had money and riches handed to me because he had wisdom, right. And someone who's in their 50s or 60s or 70s, who has fruit on the tree fruitful marriage relationships, fruitful career, fruitful finances is going to be able to give you much better advice and be a much more positive sounding board for your ideas than your friend who is not in any shape form way in the position of life you want to be at. And so you know how I my mentors are so key mentors, my father in law, that was lucky before that I had other business mentors that I went to, I had to seek them out a to see their time. Mentors are not going to chase you down for mentors chasing you down. That's probably because they have something to gain by working with you they have some angle right? But a true mentor does not. There's there's no benefit for them whether you succeed or fail, and they have fruit on the tree in the area in which you're asking advice for them or sounding your ideas to them. And another mentor minds a spiritual mentor is a grandmother who I went on my first trip to Haiti to serve the poor there a decade ago. And over the last 10 years I've cultivated a relationship where she's become like a bond to the introduction, one of the first people in this room have ever felt unconditional love. And that took years to cultivate that relationship. You know, I'm really big on therapy, dedicated pays for all co pays, any mental health co pays so that there's zero barrier to entry. So not only covers 75% of our medical dental vision, but we cover any codebase and we're trying To move the company to 100%, Mental, medical, dental and vision here, either this next cycle or the one after No, I think that would put a kink in that as we're doubling the size of the office again, so we got to factor that in as well. But yeah, so you know, hit that's like my head coach. Right. So now I've got a woman who is spiritually and relationally, with her husband. As an amazing coach there. I've got a great business coach, my father has also been married to my wife's mother for a long time, and it's a great coach there. I've got business coaching, I've got financial coaches, right. And so those were all called to be over the years, and I had to pursue those relationships, not think they're gonna come to me, and I never took them for granted, I held them with great respect. And I've never the other thing I see is when people get great mentorship, at some point, they reach a certain level of success, they also start to think they've made it. And that was easy. For me with my background, I think it's a little harder for some people, is to realize that I always put myself at last, I always put myself to realize I can always grow and become better than that. Man, I'm okay. I'm like a couple of things. The rest of it, I got a lot of work to do. And to think that my temporal worldly success is all on me is absolutely lunacy to me. Yeah, so surround yourself with great people, great friends. And I would go as far as to say is great family. You know, I attack toxic parts of my family that are not part of my life, and I love my family. And if that can ever change, I'm very open to mending that. But I I'm very, very cautious with who I allow in my inner circle and with my time, and are the people who are building me up and or tearing tearing me down? And are the people who are bearing the fruit in this world in their life that I'm looking for are the people who are doing the exact opposite. **Michael Hingson ** 47:13 Tell me a little about your company, how it got named the way it did and exactly what you all do. **Shawn Smith ** 47:22 So dedicated service, dedicated commercial recovery. So it was basically a commercial loan portfolio management company so that we would do collections repossessions, remarking we do that as a faith based company with a focus on treating people well both internally on our team and then externally, at some point, we decided to change the name to better reflect both an expanded scope of services in the in the commercial world, really commercial, any formal commercial, that commercial portfolio management, things like that, but also that we changed to being a general benefit corporation and the state of Minnesota that basically, that your mission statement on down in every charter within your organization is set up for the benefit of others, in essence, putting others before the corporation's success. And so we changed suggested dedicated financial GVC really to signify that we have an expanded offering as far as services go. So we do commercial loan portfolio management of working capital, FinTech, a lot of FinTech in the route in the commercial realm of, of revenue based finance. And we literally handle all the customer service and internal workout challenges. And then we transition that into a third party, commercial Collection model and then repossession remarketing nationwide legal services, and then we can prep portfolios for debt sale. So kind of cradle to grave servicing of that back end, again, with a focus on having an amazing culture within our team where people are put first and taken care of, and then really protecting our clients brand. And we've been able to do what no no one in our industry in the world has ever done. And I can say that with complete authority. We have over 1000 Extra over 11 105 Star Google reviews that are all from small business that we serve, that have given us a five star rating and we hold a five star rating overall average as well. And all of those are organic. All of those are ones that we've asked for from small business and serving them in such a way that they felt compelled enough to give us a five star review. And what the reward that is bad is that we continue to see larger and larger clients who care a lot more than anything about protecting their brand and the small businesses they've served that they're being treated right and no one out In our industry, they're all talking about how they're the hammer, they're going to do this, or they're going to do that and their work, you know, we work in a very dark industry. So we're really trying to bring some light to that and prove to the world that it can be done in a very positive way. **Michael Hingson ** 50:15 Do you get attacked and picked on from some of the other folks in the industry? **Shawn Smith ** 50:23 You know, I definitely think there's times when people try to slide some, some fake things in about us that get get deleted off the internet, because they're absolutely not true. And I think that, because we're a faith based company that that and we're not pushing that on anyone, you know, we have everyone under the sun, we're gonna dedicate it cannot be more proud of the folks on our team that are from the LGBTQ community, that are Muslim that are atheists, they are everyone has a seat at the table dedicated their love their care about their important, they're highly valued. And I would never tolerate anything less than that. But I would say that the other angle that people take are dedicated is that we're too soft on small businesses that have borrowed funds that are having a problem repaying back. Because a lot of the funding sources in the world and the people running that take it as a personal frontman, someone doesn't pay them back. And they want to crush that person, that business owner or something like that. I just had this conversation about three weeks ago with an owner of a funding company, I said, Hey, do you want to be rich? Or do you want to be right? Because yes, the person took out the money. Yes, they do owe you, but they're in a challenging circumstance, they're willing to work with us and do the right thing. Simply going and moving it to legal and suing them is only make you feel better. And the likelihood of you making any additional money is lower. In fact, you're gonna have to give me more money for doing that. Right. So I think sometimes that's another shot that you all were there a faith based company, there are two soft on people, we're going to be the hammer, we're going to be aggressive. And anyone in my industry that's holding that they're aggressive. First of all, those days are long gone. Second of all, you should care much more about being effective than aggressive because effective gets your money back and treats people and a human in a good humane way. Aggressive, just makes you a jerk makes people block your number and not deal with you anyways. So you know, it's an outdated, antiquated practice. So, you know, we take a little bit of heat for different things, but the proof is in the pudding. We're the we're the largest in our space. And we've done that. And in eight years, we have a 41 year old owner, with with, you know, I mean, with no college education, but a heart for helping people in Hartford doing business the right way. And I look at God's bless the business that way. You know, and I have competitors that we've flown past because of that, right? So clearly, we're doing something right. And we're doing it in a way that feels good about the way we've succeeded. So yeah, it's that how that answers that question. It does. **Michael Hingson ** 53:21 I, a lot of thoughts come when I'm listening to your talks about all this. I remember years ago, I had a business that we were going through a really tough time. And we had put a lot of things in credit card bills in one day, I get a call from this guy at a bank. And he said, you know, you're way past due, I called you last week, and I said, we're working on it, we're gonna get it, but we're working on it. And then he comes out with this thing. He said, You know, you really ought to be sensitive to those handicap people who really have a problem and you need our services, rather than just being a guy that sits down there. And it's just talking your money and not paying us back when you can. And I just laughed at him. And I said, Why don't you come down here and sit with me and my guide dog? And then tell me that same story. You know, it's just crazy. People. **Shawn Smith ** 54:10 Crazy. And I think the industry needs to be regulated more. I think it's absolutely atrocious. I actually would go as far to say that it's evil, the way I mean, it's just using a small business owner as an example. This really extends that role. But I want you and you know this when when you're in a small business, and you're struggling financially, that bleeds into every other aspect of your life. Yep. into your marriage. It bleeds into your interaction with your kids your energy level, maybe how much you're giving to your church or to nonprofits or except for right and bleeds into every Sunday. And you're down and you're struggling and you're fighting to call somebody up and basically start kicking them while they're down threatening them being overly aggressive. is evil to me. Thank you You would never do that if you came across someone on a side issue or just tripped and fell and broken their arm, hopefully be the Good Samaritan that would help them out to help them get to the ambulance or get help or call 911. Right. And yet, we have an entire industry that is allowed to just call people up and berate them and talk down to them and treat them as they are somehow less than us because they're going through a tough patch. I absolutely despise the way the industry is allowed to treat people. People often say, you know, we pay for Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University for anyone on our team that would like it was a stepping stone when I was younger. I'm a big advocate, but Dave Ramsey hates any form of collector talks very doubt about the industry do it. Well, how have you do that and why this guy vehemently hates everything that you do. So now he didn't really hates my industry, and what they do not need, because if he knew, and he knew the way to do it, he would he would hold us up as someone who's the industry shining alive. And I've actually I've messaged him several times on their show trying to get on their show to kind of be a contrarian for our industry, and also be willing to completely agree with them. So yeah, it's it's unfortunate, and it's sad. The beautiful thing, and that Michael is that AI is going to change everything you're gonna watch. Over the next five years, I wouldn't even say 10, I was over the next five years 80% of consumer collections is gone and done by AI. And over the next 10 years, it'll be all but gone except for, you know, your handfuls of specialty reps for a very specialized situation. But it's on the horizon. And that will, that will eliminate a lot of that over aggressive, unfortunate human behavior. And it will be part of it will be technology a part of the vehicle, the industry will be reading what it's selling for the last 50 years, 60 years, seven years. So that's, **Michael Hingson ** 57:06 I do hope it will make make for improvements. That certainly is part of what needs to happen. How do you mix God with business in a way that you can still deal with people who may have different beliefs than you? **Shawn Smith ** 57:21 So I love that. I love that question. Because I believe that is being done so poorly in the world today. And you see the Chick Fil A's and hobby lobbies and these companies that hear that God has blessed them with a big business. And then you hear like the founder of Hobby Lobby saying that the number one thing that he learned is to never compromise. And like we live in a world with an extremely diverse way of thinking and believing a while I don't believe in compromising on my values. I know that 100% of my team, not one of us are going to agree on every single issue. So how can I? How can I run a business where there isn't a seat at the table for everyone? Right? And that everyone that the firt and here's why I'll just speak for a Christian standpoint is the hardest part about being a Christian, quite frankly, is other Christians in my opinion. Here you have it, and God grew up massive group of people that follow of faith as a system of faith in which when their Savior was asked what is the most important thing, he said, to love God with all your heart and to love others, you know, really simple message. And yet, I would go out on a limb and say eight out of 10 Christians that I know when I look at their life and I look at their interactions, I look at the way they do business or look at the way they go corporate America, whatever. And I would look for that being one of the most evident things in their life. I can't tell you that's what I would see. Right? I may see a hard worker, I may see someone who cares about being a good dad, they see someone as you know, very respectable career are nice things are great travel. But when people know me and around me, I want them to know that first and foremost, I love God with every square inch of me and I love them the same. And that's and that's when you have a foundation of that, that kind of love. And that's the most important thing not pushing a religion on anyone not pushing a belief system on anyone. Because not everyone can get down with, you know, God or Jesus or Mohammed or whatever it is right. But every face that kind of your point earlier in our conversation, it has a strong rooting in love for others. And when you create a corporation where that and you truly equip People before profit, then everyone's welcome at the table, then a diverse group. When you talk about these things we talk about all the time I talk to my team all the time, we do a monthly Scrum. And I just say, Listen, we all know we don't agree on everything. Right? But the one thing we can all agree is that we want to feel like we're loved. We're cared about were important. We're respected. We're treated with respect. So that's the foundation of dedicated the foundation isn't Christianity, the foundation is the actual doing of Christianity without having to stuff the actual title down folks through us. Right. And it just it works. I mean, I'm, is it perfect? No, you're from a Christian perspective, we're all broken in some way, right? People are people, we all come in with our baggage and our challenges, and, and we all have to go through this human experiences, then. And often they're extremely hard. That's why as a corporation, I love to lean into those things that truly put people first and you I think that it's more about less talking and more doing of what you profess to do your faith. And living that out in a in a in a corporate way, by actually exemplifying the values that you allegedly hold so dear in the book that you read? Yeah, **Michael Hingson ** 1:01:31 the proof is really in the pudding of what you do, not what you say. I think it was Tolstoy who once said that the biggest problem with Christianity is that most people don't practice it. Most Christians don't practice it, which is so very true. **Shawn Smith ** 1:01:46 Yeah, I mean, I was I was watching a debate between two well known media figures, and they were talking about how when this person had created a converted for Christianity being a Muslim and how, when they went to a Muslim country, they actually felt God and they felt a presence there. Where is it? When they're in America, they did and the other person? Well, I don't think America is really a Christian nation anymore. And I hate to say it, but when you look at who's running the country, and you look at what the media is propping up and who Hollywood's propping up and who we're being told you to make role models for our kids these days. It sure makes a strong case. And that's why again, it comes back to if we're going to change your world. It starts with us. It starts with less talking and more daily and loving others, especially when you disagree with them, especially when you know and I'll say one other thing in regards to your question is that I tell people look, is what you're doing bearing fruit in your life because anyone can profess that their way of doing things is great. Or this way you should be doing or this is the way it should be great. Show me the fruit. Surely strong relationships show me hope and faith show me joy show me peace. Contentment, right, show me strong finances right? If it's not bearing fruit, then I would challenge that maybe you got a little bit of insanity go on where we're doing the same thing over and over again expecting someday it's going to provide a different result. Right? And maybe you should check the fruit. A lot of wisdom that's not taught these days. **Michael Hingson ** 1:03:31 Definitely. So what are your plans for the future? That's an interesting question. **Shawn Smith ** 1:03:36 Because we all want to make plans right? We all want to have goals and things we want to accomplish and I find so much that we're always to be tackle What's your five year plan? You know, and what are the what are the next five moves you're gonna do? And there's like a million Instagram, Facebook, they know all this stuff out there. And meanwhile, it's such again, coming back to as a Christian, you know, be told don't worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will have its own troubles Don't worry about yesterday, because yesterday is already gone, right? My plans for the future are really to continue to stay focused on what God wants you to do in my life. Right now. What I'm trying to do is hone in my focus on dedicated and both the company that we're building, the AI that we're building, the team that we're building, and the amount of giving that we're doing, and simplify my life. I heard the best quote just out on this trip was down the Dr. Were in every person that you interact with. Make it a goal imagine that they have written on their forehead. Make me feel important. And I don't know what you've met like, I love it when someone makes me feel like I'm actually important to them like a matter. Sure. And what a life to live where you can live in a way where every person you came in contact with. You made them feel loved and important. Then like they mattered. And that's my plans for the future is Continue to weave that into business, continue to weave that into actually building an AI that takes all the data from dedicated, and how we interact with people and how we treat people and puts it into a computer that actually leads with empathy and sympathy for people who are going through challenges. And watch my kids go off to coach baseball games and see, you know, gymnastic meets, then we'll go to golf matches, and to go and serve locally, you know, and nationally, and globally to those that are hurting, those are in need. And just to live to shine my light, and whatever I do, and whatever God chooses to deal with that, I'm gonna let him figure that out, you know, I am honored, they asked me to be on the podcast, I didn't see the salad I did, you know, and it's just like, I'm on the board of a college even though a D two college, even though I've never went to college, it at the end of my four year term will be honored with being given an honorary degree, right, I didn't seek any of it out, that came to me. Not because I want that, or that was a goal. I mean, it wasn't even on my radar to be a goal or something I want, you know, right. So, you know, I want to create the best for my kids, I want to create the best for my team and dedicated and I want to glorify God doing it, but I, you know, I feel led to move in this direction, and allow God to kind of fill in what happens next, and to be thankful to have joy in the sun and to have joy in the rain. And that's, that's really brought me a l

The conversation this week is with David Epsindola. David is an entrepreneur, futurist, keynote speaker,  award-winning author, consultant, and advisor to businesses, nonprofits, and academia. He founded Brainyus, a company that applies the principles of transformative purpose, lifelong learning, And servant leadership to guide human AI transformation. David has been featured in the U S and international media, ranging from Fox News to TV Global. He is the award-winning author of Soulful You in the Future of Artificial Intelligence and the Exponential Era and an advisory board member of the Technological Leadership Institute at the University of Minnesota. David continues to get back through his work with Feed My Starving Children and other nonprofits.If you are interested in learning about how AI is being applied across multiple industries, be sure to join us at a future AppliedAI Monthly meetup and help support us so we can make future Emerging Technologies North non-profit events!Emerging Technologies NorthAppliedAI MeetupResources and Topics Mentioned in this EpisodeBrainyusDavidEspindola.comFeed My Starving ChildrenThe Exponential Era: Strategies to Stay Ahead of the Curve in an Era of Chaotic Changes and Disruptive Forces by David Espindola, Michael W. WrightOODA loopSoulful: You in the Future of Artificial Intelligence by David EspindolaTechnological Leadership InstituteMIT Sloan AI Online CourseEnjoy!Your host,Justin Grammens

Amy Okeson shares all the info & how many more volunteers are needed to help.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Coffee Club from Tuesday December 12th, 2023.  Guests include Amy Okeson with Feed My Starving Children https://fargopack.org/?gclid=CjwKCAiApuCrBhAuEiwA8VJ6Jv4fkFke19jY_WumHxh... and Tony Gehrig

Can you believe that, in 2023, we are fast approaching one billion people in our world who do not have enough food to eat? There are so many in our world who are facing critical food shortages and the results are devastating. Approximately 850 million people worldwide are estimated to be undernourished, and higher food prices threaten to increase it by another 100 million. That means nearly 1 in 8 people in the world today is hungry or starving. According to data from the United Nations, some 25,000 people die each day from hunger and related causes, including more than 10,000 children. While no one can fully solve this problem alone, at Lakeshore Community Church we are working to do our part to combat this hunger epidemic. In this series, we'll learn what God says about how we can help some people move from hunger to hope. We'll also have an opportunity for everyone to practically do something to help people move from hunger to hope by being a part of the Feed My Starving Children food packing event, and financially supporting it through Making Waves 2024.

This morning, Pete and Jeremiah are on the show to give us an update on our local news! Hamden and Wellston both had Christmas events, and Mark Carlisle is here to tell us about the success of Feed My Starving Children!

Can you believe that, in 2023, we are fast approaching one billion people in our world who do not have enough food to eat? There are so many in our world who are facing critical food shortages and the results are devastating. Approximately 850 million people worldwide are estimated to be undernourished, and higher food prices threaten to increase it by another 100 million. That means nearly 1 in 8 people in the world today is hungry or starving. According to data from the United Nations, some 25,000 people die each day from hunger and related causes, including more than 10,000 children. While no one can fully solve this problem alone, at Lakeshore Community Church we are working to do our part to combat this hunger epidemic. In this series, we'll learn what God says about how we can help some people move from hunger to hope. We'll also have an opportunity for everyone to practically do something to help people move from hunger to hope by being a part of the Feed My Starving Children food packing event, and financially supporting it through Making Waves 2024.

We're celebrating the goodness of God through the Let's Give It All Away offering, Feed My Starving Children week, and stories of Kingdom impact through our local, regional, and global partners!

Mark Carlisle from Feed My Starving Children is joining us this morning to discuss the upcoming humanitarian food-packing event at Christ Church of Jackson. Known as Jackson County Cares, the local project is part of an international effort to provide food boxes to malnourished children worldwide. Volunteers at Christ Church will assemble mobile food packs with rice, vitamins, minerals, soy, and vegetables on October 20th and 21st. Tune in to Main Street TV to learn more and get involved!

What happens when you fuse famous YouTuber Mr. Beast and national hunger organization Feed My Starving Children? Definitely not Kim Petras' latest album, "Feed the Beast". But that's what we're reviewing this week with returning guest of the pod, Dago Blanco. Will Kim's first album, post-Unholy hysteria further propel her into pop stardom or Unholy be her "Call Me Maybe"? You'll have to tune in to get our thoughts. @dagoblanco @boporfloppodcast @theehren @therealestsimon

“I am super excited for Feed My Starving Children this year. I think it's ironic that I started volunteering with that in the middle of struggling with anorexia. Since then I've been part of it every year. One year, our slogan on the t-shirt was ‘Hope Starts With Food.' It just hit me- that's my […]

Guest: Clint Palmer | Julian Gibb interviews Clint Palmer, Development Manager, Feed My Starving Children. Clint tells how Feed My Starving Children is making a difference in providing food to starving children around the world. He shares 3 ways we can make a difference in feeding starving children. fmsc.org.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: A Manifesto, published by sophiathephirst on February 7, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum. I started writing my EAG Bay Area application tonight (as any chronic procrastinator does), and instead ended up whipping up my backstory and a public declaration of my life's mission. I moved to Berkeley in July of 2022 without knowing what EA was. I moved to California alone at 18 because I needed to find a community that both shared a similar fervor for their work, and had values that aligned with mine. Rolling back a couple of months, to May of my senior year of high school, I knew my time was coming to an end. I had so few days left to leave a tangible impact on a community I loved so dearly. I had grown a deep-rooted seed of love in my heart for my senior class, as well as the underclassmen I had mentored in sports, and academic tutoring. I was brought up in a Christian household with core values of love, kindness, and responsibility. As I grew up, I tied these three values together, so by the time I was a senior in high school, the class president, and well-liked by my peers and administrators, I knew I needed to make a difference. I used the skills and ideas that I possessed to make my high school a better place for my peers, in return for the community and friendships they provided. But this love, and drive to make the community better extended beyond my peers. I had grown up doing service projects, packing meals with Feed My Starving Children, helping the homeless during the George Floyd murder and riots near my home, and helping people who needed it. I grew up with two polar opposite perspectives from my parents. I had been instilled with the values of love and kindness from my mother, who would always go out of her way to make those around her comfortable and content. On the other side, my father, an observant, methodical engineer, taught me to think about why things worked the way they did. I ended up with a blend of these traits, which led me to sit in a hotel room one night in West Yellowstone, staying up until 2 am, reading about effective charities to which I could donate my money. I was raised to work hard and earn my own money from a young age. I started caddying at the local country club at the age of 12, and by the age of 16, I had earned over $10,000 the previous summer. A little over a year before Yellowstone, I had decided that I would start donating a portion of my money. I had always tithed as a child, and at 15, my friend's brother had recently become a quadriplegic, and I felt compelled to give $500 of my own money to help pay for rehab services. At 15, I realized that there were two intuitive components to altruism, one of which I had been missing at the church. 1) I would donate my resources to causes that I felt passionate about, as I believed there was an emotional element that I needed to acknowledge which is hard coded into humans, that we as humans should help those around us, to preserve the lives of others, and further our collective existence. 2) I wanted to give to causes that I knew my money would go to good use for. I started to question how my money had been used at church, and where my money was going when I donated to charitable causes such as WorldVision, and the Salvation Army. I needed transparency. I needed to know that the time and energy I had put into earning my funds, was saving lives equally if not, better than I could if I used my time to save lives directly. Flash forward to July of 2022, I sat in the Berkeley WeWork astounded that I had just talked to someone who shared the same passion that I had to make the world a better place, because of their love for humanity, as well as their desire to use their time effectively, and ask questions about why people did the things they did and acted the way they do. I soon stumble...

Ellen Velez, partner FlipFort, is a serial entrepreneur, classically trained chef and published journalist. Her passion for entrepreneurship can be traced back to 2005 when she started a successful catering company in the NYC metro area and grew the sales to upwards of a quarter-million dollars. In February 2015, she sold it to her resident chef and moved to Cleveland where she started another small catering company and also continues to teach cooking classes. These experiences have helped her to learn all areas of business ownership such as sales, marketing, finances and management. She has a Bachelor's degree in Journalism/Mass Communication from St. Bonaventure University and a AOS degree from The Culinary Institute of America where she received the Leadership Award upon graduation. Outside of work, Ellen resides in Shaker Heights, OH where she's raising her two young boys with her husband. Sarah Filipovitz, Partner, FlipFort, has over 18 years of experience in consulting, fundraising and education. Sarah has a true commitment to improving the lives of others and especially children. Sarah started as a middle school and high school reading specialist working her way into district trainer in specific reading programs. Her professional career as a reading specialist has allowed her to currently consult with school districts on identifying and implementing specific reading programs to meet their needs. She is also an educational advocate for parents of at risk children seeking educational testing and special ed programs. Sarah currently works with nonprofits and established charities of all sizes. She is an active participant in the Feed My Starving Children's charity organization and board member at University Hospitals, Ride the Rainbow foundation and has led fundraising events for the Akron City School District. She has a Bachelor's degree in Education with a minor in Spanish from St. Bonaventure University and a M.Ed in reading and literacy from Boston College. Sarah continues educating herself through ongoing Harvard's Teacher as Scholars program. Sarah resides in Hudson, OH and enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters. For more information, check out their website at www.flipfort.com and their cause at www.chair-ity.org. Use code WAMFF22 for 15% off your online order until Dec 31, 2022. Please click the button to subscribe so you don't miss any episodes and leave a review if your favorite podcast app has that ability. Thank you! Visit http://drlaurabrayton.com/podcasts/ for show notes and available downloads. © 2022 Dr. Laura Brayton

Austin Samuelson is the Co-Founder at Tacos 4 Life Grill, and while their food is something everyone talks about, it's their commitment to the Meal 4 Meal program that is the true difference-maker at Tacos 4 Life. They care about providing the best food and service to provide the most meals for starving children so for every taco, quesadilla, salad, or rice bowl purchased, the restaurant donates 24 cents to Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit organization committed to ending childhood starvation. Since opening the first Tacos 4 Life location in June 2014, the restaurants have raised 25,900,000 meals as a brand.   On The Wow Factor this week, Austin talks about why he and his wife felt called by God to become entrepreneurs and donate to Feed My Starving Children and why they chose restaurants despite knowing nothing about the hospitality business. He shares some of the challenges his team has ridden out to first get off the ground with their restaurant, become profitable, then expand, and how he has listened for God's guidance at every turn. We also discuss how a company's mission and vision shapes who they bring into their team.   “God always shows up just in time.” - Austin Samuelson   “God gives you gifts and strengths that you didn't know that you had.” - Austin Samuelson   “We believe we can help in starvation, and we're doing that by selling one taco at a time.” - Austin Samuelson    This Week on The Wow Factor: The horrifying statistic about child starvation that made Austin and his wife decide to do something to make a difference How their initial business, Pitza 42, morphed into Tacos 4 Life How Austin and his wife found a way to communicate despite the challenges in their life Why they chose tacos How Austin has scaled the business since 2014 How they find good people to buy into their purpose and add to their team The importance of being clear on your company's values What's next for Tacos 4 Life and some of the states they're expanding into How Tacos 4 Life weathered the pandemic financially and practically How they manage to donate 24 cents per taco purchased to Feed My Starving Children to ensure that needy children have at least one meal a day How to learn more about becoming a Tacos 4 Life franchisee   Austin Samuelson's Word of Wisdom: My WOW comes from Proverbs 3:5-6, which says, Trust God from the bottom of your heart, stop trying to figure everything out on your own.” You don't need to solve all the problems on your own, listen to Him, trust in Him, and you won't go wrong.   Connect with Austin Samuelson: Tacos 4 Life Website Tacos 4 Life on Instagram Tacos 4 Life on Facebook Tacos 4 Life on Twitter Feed My Starving Children Website   Connect with The WOW Factor: The WOW Factor Website Connect with Brad Formsma via email Brad Formsma on LinkedIn Brad Formsma on Instagram Brad Formsma on Facebook Brad Formsma on Twitter

NY Fashion WeekCEO & Founder, La Beauté Fatale ( The Fatal Beauty)Nevena Tomic is doing things her way when it comes to making a mark in the beauty industry.  As the Founder & CEO of La Beaute Fatale, a cosmetics brand she launched in March 2018, Tomic is committed to providing high-end beauty products made with only top-quality ingredients and minus harmful chemicals.  The end result…everlasting youthfulness.   Tomic has worked in the fashion & beauty space for over ten years at corporate companies such as Walgreens, Sears, and Claire's.  She was a buyer for some of the largest cosmetic brands including L'Oreal, Maybelline, Revlon, Neutrogena, CoverGIrl, Almay and many more.   While continuously choosing and sampling makeup items for the store display, Tomic began to learn about the types of ingredients used in makeup.  It is through this role where gained the knowledge and product intelligence to envision a better future for makeup, where products complement the natural health of a woman's skin. Tomic moved from the sidelines of the beauty biz, to front and center where she could have a say in what ingredients were being put into specific cosmetics. She launched La Beaute Fatale, which translates to “The Fatal Beauty,” a notion that every woman carries an inner beauty that is powerful, strong, and destructive.  Within, the first two years, the company sold over 1.3M units making them a top emerging brand in the market. Tomic graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago followed by a Master of Business Administration from Argosy University. Additional retail and CPG companies she has worked for include PepsiCo, Australian Gold, Publix, CVS, andMcDonalds. Tomic also has extensive experience working in the modeling industry including as a runway coach, talent scout for modeling schools and booker for FORD Models Chicago women's division. Also, a makeup artist for Estee Lauder, ColorScience and MAC, Tomic knows advanced techniques in contouring and applying professional makeup.She once competed in the Miss Illinois USA pageant and won best interview.  Tomic enjoys giving back to her community and supports Feed My Starving Children, American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society. When she isn't busy working, you can find her spending time with her two children and husband in their new home in Florida.    Buy these amazing NY Fashion Week Beauty Star favs and use code QUEENDOM to receive 20% off all of Nev's products HERE!Follow here:FacebookInstagram   Support the show

Not every first restaurant succeeds. Many of us have opened concepts with the best of ideas and intentions only to see the dream fade. But those who see a more powerful future vision and keep going may rise to extraordinary heights. In this episode of the Restaurant Rockstars Podcast, I speak with Austin Samuelson of Tacos 4 Life. Austin and his wife started their first concept by trying to make a healthier pizza. It wasn't the success they hoped for, but that did not deter them from realizing a much bigger mission. As 25 million children die from starvation worldwide each year, the Samuelson's are making a huge difference one meal at a time. The pair crowdfunded their next concept from about 350 people, with a truly one-for-one model—for every taco, salad, quesadilla, rice bowl, or nachos sold, 24 cents is donated to Feed My Starving Children, which is the equivalent of one meal. Since opening, Tacos 4 Life restaurants have collectively donated more than 19 million meals. When you buy a meal, you feed a child in need. Listen on as Austin shares: - The Tacos 4 Life start-up story and how they grew to 21 locations - Branding and ambiance as a competitive advantage - Catering as a profitable brand extension - Their unique way of staffing, onboarding, and training during the labor crisis - Marketing that works And of course, how great food and service give back to the world at large. Don't miss this episode, then Rock Your Restaurant! Roger Thank you to our Sponsors: SRV - Unlock Staff Potential and Maximize Sales. SRV teaches your team to profitably sell and accurately create the food and drinks at your restaurant. Learn More: https://srvnow.com/ Davo – Automate Your Sales Tax. Why not Try Davo FREE for 30 days: https://www.davosalestax.com/ Popmenu - For a limited time only, popmenu is offering our listeners $100 off your first month plus an unchanging lifetime rate. FREE Demo: https://www.popmenu.com/rockstars Smithfield Culinary – Inspiring head-turning menu creativity. Visit us for culinary trends and chef-created recipes: https://smithfieldculinary.com/

There is a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine as milliions of refugees flee and many of those left behind are the most impoverished citizens and the elderly, who have no means of escaping. On Thursday's Mornings with Eric and Brigitte, Ed Raine, President/CEO of Food For the Poor joins us to talk about the volunteers needed on Sat. July 23 for Food For the Poor's "Join the Pack Day for Ukraine!" This will be a huge opportunity for anyone wanting to help come pack rice casserole meals, and then their partner, Feed My Starving Children, will see that these meals get to those most in need. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While traveling together in Ukraine, Wayne Shepherd talks with Mark Crea, the Executive DIrector and CEO of Feed My Starving Children about the story of his life and the mission of the organization. 

Andy Carr was the epitome of the self-made man. From a young age, he knew what he wanted and he worked hard to get it. His work paid off as he quickly moved up the corporate ladder. But the pressures of the life he had built began to close in on him, and he found himself in a hospital with his life hanging in the balance. For the first time, Andy thought to ask God what He wanted for his life. Today Andy is the Vice President for Development and Marketing at Feed My Starving Children, an organization that has provided more than 3 billion meals to hungry people all over the world.

Carmen unpacks even more evidence for the obsession with the self and stresses the importance of remembering the root purpose of marriage. Andy Carr, VP of Development and Marketing at Feed My Starving Children, shares about FMSC's response to the Ukraine crisis and the approach of a sincere invitation.

Carmen unpacks even more evidence for the obsession with the self and stresses the importance of remembering the root purpose of marriage. Andy Carr, VP of Development and Marketing at Feed My Starving Children, shares about FMSC's response to the Ukraine crisis and the approach of a sincere invitation.

In our first episode of 2022 we sat down with Andy Carr, Vice President of Development and Marketing at Feed My Starving Children. Feed My Starving Children is a Christian international hunger relief organization that will provide 370 million meals to people in need across the globe this year. That’s more than 1 million meals per day. In our conversation with Andy, we covered many topics, including: The philanthropic power of an engaging volunteer experience. Crafting easily shareable messages. Why talking about the “big” problem actually keeps people from acting, and how you can boil the big problem down to a single key point. How to use a low-cost, tangible entry point to introduce supporters to your organization in a meaningful way. The value of creating blended live/virtual fundraising events. Andy is a dynamic, engaging speaker who is leading monumental growth at Feed My Starving Children. Take a listen — we’re sure you’ll find value in this conversation!

There is so much value in good communication and teamwork. Join us as we discuss laying the groundwork for growing a strong family team! It's not too late to donate to Feed My Starving Children. If you're interested, here is the link: https://give.fmsc.org/team/378071 Thank you all for your love and support! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lifewiththechapins/support

In this episode we're breaking down the 5 love languages and discussing ways we can show love in meaningful ways. As mentioned in the episode, this is the link to donate to Feed My Starving Children in Marc's honor: https://give.fmsc.org/team/378071 Thank you in advance for your thoughts, prayers and donations this week! Link for the 5 Love Languages Quiz: https://www.5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/love-language --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lifewiththechapins/support

Andy Carr is VP of Development and Marketing at Feed My Starving Children. https://www.fmsc.org4:00 - How many children die from starvation and malnutrition causes every day. 7:52 - Who were you when you were on the other side of the bridge and how did you get to where you are and find meaning? Purpose rather than paychecks. 12:02 - What was the day you decided to do something different? Bananas in Ecuador15:05 - What was the attitude of the kids? Hope starts with food. Putting more value on time and relationship. 17:39 - Was there somebody that touched you with their attitude or spirit? Parents sometimes have to make a horrific choice. 22:53 - What are the logistics of Feed My Starving Children? Putting together a specially formulated meal with nutrition. General Mills. Empowering the people. 26:14 - What missionary or NGO (non-government organization) executive has affected you the most and what was their attitude?  Inspired every single day. Sport Disciple in Haiti. Soccer. A captain of industry. 30:52 - https://www.fmsc.org/ to donate. $88 feeds a kid every day for an entire year. Charity Navigator has been rated in top 80 charities in the United States.  35:50 - Local packing parties. Being efficient and affective. Pack and provide. Packing with machines. Activating peoples hearts.41:24 - Knowledge Through The Decades. What is the attitude lesson of a newborn baby? Life is precious and not to be taken for granted. 43:29 - What is the attitude lesson at the age of 10? It's all about your attitude. The Pyramid of Success book by John R. Wooden.  Foundation in understanding.45:08 - What is the attitude lesson at the age of 20. Meeting his wife. Became I guy who saw the world as possibility. 47:16 - What is the attitude lesson at the age of 30. Be aware of how you conduct and carry yourself. 49:37 - What is the attitude lesson at the age of 40. Taking advantage of opportunities. Having influence. You have tools that you can put into place today to do what I say I'm going to do.  The scoreboard of life. 52:10 - What is the attitude lesson at the age of 50. Satan lulls us to sleep in our abundance. Experiencing joy was an elixir that I could never get enough of. Find what gives you joy and grab onto it and run after it and trust it. 57:14 - Show close with a message of hope. Don't mistake activity for achievement. What is it you're really achieving. What can I do to help somebody else? 1:00:19 - Closing prayer. _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Role Models help us determine the sort of person we would like to be when we grow up (some of us - like yours truly never do grow up, but that's a different story).  We need someone to look up to that inspires to live a life that matters.  Some of us, even at a young age, determine for ourselves that we want to just prove to ourselves and others that we deserve to be "counted".  Well if you want a role model and someone that will help you to be a better leader, this podcast is for you.  My guest Marietta Reuter is the sort of leader that everyone wants in their life.  She demonstrates daily what it is to be a caring, compassionate and servant oriented leader every day as the President of a growing enterprise (and Accomplished Grandma - as you can see from her picture).  Marietta has been a friend and colleague of mine for several years and she is a walking, talking exemplar of why there should be no such things as "glass ceilings" or any other sorts of discriminations against women and their abilities in the workplace.  As a member of the Sauk Prairie community for her entire life, she has stood for the highest principles in leadership and inspires those around her to do their very best.  In March of 1995 she founded Tools of Marketing, Inc. a successful woman-owned promotional products and fulfillment company.  Having grown up on a farm in the small town of Roxbury, WI, Marietta knew what hard work was and continues to work hard in the business and in the community. She is the 9th of 11 children and had more responsibilities than most kids. In between her chores, she was always trying to keep up with her 6 older brothers. Her philosophy was, anything they could do she could do.  One of Marietta's main goals when she started her business, was to be there when her kids got off the bus after school. She wanted to have a career but also felt it was important to be involved in her kid's lives and didn't want to fail as a mom.  Volunteering and giving time to others is very important to Marietta and her staff. Throughout the year they take time to volunteer at agencies like 6:8; the local food pantry; and send the entire staff to spend an afternoon packing food at the “Feed My Starving Children” food pack event.  They also use their graphic design talents to create flyers/brochures/logos for nonprofit organizations and events.  As if that's not enough, three staff members also volunteer for Friends of Sauk Prairie Parks and Recreation. Marietta has served on the S.P. Area Chamber of Commerce ambassador committee for 20 years and served on their board several times as well as being their Chamber President a few years ago. She is on the Rec Commission, Food Pantry Board, and volunteers to assist with food distribution.  She was a girl scout leader for her three daughters as they grew up and has been actively involved in her church helping with fish fry's and other events as well as chairing their annual festival for the past 5 years.  As you can tell, she is a true "Pillar" of community support and did not fail at being a mother.Thanks for listening. Please check out our website at www.forsauk.com to hear great conversations on topics that need to be talked about. In these times of intense polarization we all need to find time to expand our Frame of Reference.

Looking for a role model?  Someone that not only will inspire you to be a better leader, but demonstrates daily what it is to be a caring, compassionate and servant oriented President of a growing enterprise (and Accomplished Grandma - as you can see from her picture)?  Look no further.  Marietta Reuter has been a friend and colleague of mine for several years and she is a walking, talking exemplar of why there should be no such things as "glass ceilings" or any other sorts of discriminations against women and their abilities in the workplace.  As a member of the Sauk Prairie community for her entire life, she has stood for the highest principles in leadership and inspires those around her to do their very best.  In March of 1995 she founded Tools of Marketing, Inc. a successful woman-owned promotional products and fulfillment company.  Having grown up on a farm in the small town of Roxbury, WI, Marietta knew what hard work was and continues to work hard in the business and in the community. She is the 9th of 11 children and had more responsibilities than most kids. In between her chores, she was always trying to keep up with her 6 older brothers. Her philosophy was, anything they could do she could do.  One of Marietta's main goals when she started her business, was to be there when her kids got off the bus after school. She wanted to have a career but also felt it was important to be involved in her kid's lives and didn't want to fail as a mom.  Volunteering and giving time to others is very important to Marietta and her staff. Throughout the year they take time to volunteer at agencies like 6:8; the local food pantry; and send the entire staff to spend an afternoon packing food at the “Feed My Starving Children” food pack event.  They also use their graphic design talents to create flyers/brochures/logos for nonprofit organizations and events.  As if that's not enough, three staff members also volunteer for Friends of Sauk Prairie Parks and Recreation. Marietta has served on the S.P. Area Chamber of Commerce ambassador committee for 20 years and served on their board several times as well as being their Chamber President a few years ago. She is on the Rec Commission, Food Pantry Board, and volunteers to assist with food distribution.  She was a girl scout leader for her three daughters as they grew up and has been actively involved in her church helping with fish fry's and other events as well as chairing their annual festival for the past 5 years.  As you can tell, she is a true "Pillar" of community support and did not fail at being a mother.After helping another company to branch into the promotional products industry, Marietta decided it was time to go out on her own. On March 11, 1995, she opened Tools of Marketing and ran it out of an 8' x 8' bedroom of their 900 square foot home.    In 2000, Marietta and her husband Marc built their dream home to include 1,100 sq. ft. of office space above the garages, and 1,200 sq. ft. of warehouse space in their basement for the growing business.  In April 2018, Marietta and her growing staff,  moved into a newly constructed 10,000 sq. ft. building which allows for more fulfillment programs and additional staff as needed.  It will continue to be a family and women owned business, as it has recently added Amanda (niece) and her daughters Mariah, and Martina as generation two.Thanks for listening. Please check out our website at www.forsauk.com to hear great conversations on topics that need to be talked about. In these times of intense polarization we all need to find time to expand our Frame of Reference.

In this week's episode, we talk with the Development Advisor for Feed My Starving Children, Kenzie MacKillop! FMSC works to help volunteers turn hunger into hope with their own two hands. Their mission is to eliminate starvation in children throughout the world. You can find  them on social media, @feedmystarvingchildren and on their website, https://www.fmsc.org

American students are on the hook for approximately $1.6 trillion in student loans and the topic of loan cancellation has been front page news recently. On today's episode we examine the rising cost of higher education, who would benefit most from loan forgiveness, and whether or not the Federal Government should even be in the student loan business in the first place. Thank you again for all of our faithful listeners across the globe! Donate to Feed My Starving Children: https://www.fmsc.org/ Resources: http://www.crfb.org/blogs/canceling-student-loan-debt-poor-economic-stimulushttps://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2020/11/20/canceling_student_debt_is_not_progressive_110509.htmlhttps://www.wsj.com/articles/should-we-forgive-all-federal-student-loan-debt-11590525387Jordan Peterson Lecture on Responsibility: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDDCnMgPnlYSupport the show (http://patreon.com/livewirepolitics)

Part 2. Lead by Marcus and Keisha Rembert. Marcus leads The Rembert-Blount Property Group Team with the Keller Williams Infinity offices in Naperville and Plainfield, IL. With a professional background in Project Management, Marcus transitioned from the corporate world to Real Estate over 7 years ago and has since been recognized as a Chicago Magazine Rising Star, Keller Williams Top Producer and member of the Agent Leadership Council. Marcus lives by the motto "Leave a place better than you found it '' and with that in mind serves on the board of the Edward Hospital Patient Advisory Council and the Keller Williams Social Equity Task Force. Marcus also volunteers his time to a few local organizations, including Feed My Starving Children and the Joliet Daybreak Shelter. Keisha's passion for equity, social justice, and youth literature coalesce in her membership and work on NCTE's Committee Against Racism and Bias, as an advisory board member of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, a board member and Senior Policy Fellow with Teach Plus, and as a Master History Teacher with Gilder Lehrman as well as educator at National Louis University. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/messyempire/message

Join us as we embark on a conversation aimed at shining a light on racial inequality and systemic racism. Lead by Marcus and Keisha Rembert. Marcus leads The Rembert-Blount Property Group Team with the Keller Williams Infinity offices in Naperville and Plainfield, IL. With a professional background in Project Management, Marcus transitioned from the corporate world to Real Estate over 7 years ago and has since been recognized as a Chicago Magazine Rising Star, Keller Williams Top Producer and member of the Agent Leadership Council. Marcus lives by the motto "Leave a place better than you found it '' and with that in mind serves on the board of the Edward Hospital Patient Advisory Council and the Keller Williams Social Equity Task Force. Marcus also volunteers his time to a few local organizations, including Feed My Starving Children and the Joliet Daybreak Shelter. Keisha's passion for equity, social justice, and youth literature coalesce in her membership and work on NCTE's Committee Against Racism and Bias, as an advisory board member of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, a board member and Senior Policy Fellow with Teach Plus, and as a Master History Teacher with Gilder Lehrman as well as educator at National Louis University. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/messyempire/message