Talkin' Tennessee with Yvonnca
Talkin' Tennessee with Yvonnca
Leading with Purpose ft. Dr. Degrafinreid II
What does it take to remain grounded in your values while becoming an impactful leader? Dr. Alfred Degrafinreid, President and CEO of Leadership Tennessee, shares the profound lessons that shaped his leadership journey—beginning with sweating on Mississippi Delta rooftops alongside his grandfather.
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Speaker 3:Welcome back to Talkin' Tennessee. It's part two of the interview with Dr Alfred DeGraffenreid. Welcome back to Talkin' Tennessee. How do you stay grounded with your values while advancing your professional across a diverse industry?
Speaker 4:Well, you know it's so interesting. You ask that question because I think about my upbringing a lot and you know I didn't miss any meals, but it was a struggle quite a bit, but one of the best experiences. I didn't think it was a great experience at the time my grandfather owned a roofing company, so I would go on roof houses with him on the weekends and over the summer and you got to wake up at like four o'clock in the morning. You know he'd be all over the Mississippi Delta and I started out picking up the debris after they take the pitchforks and take the shingles off, and my job early as a small kid was to go and pick up all the debris and throw it on the back. Then I eventually made it to, you know, carrying shingles up the ladder and driving nails. Um. So one thing that I loved about that experience. I'll tell you what I loved about it and I'll tell you what I didn't like about it.
Speaker 4:Okay, I love the fact that he would pay me a hundred dollars every single time so so if you're like seven, eight years old, picking up shingles, and you go out for a few hours, here's a hundred dollars and he's going to buy you breakfast, and he's going to buy you lunch and he's going to give you a hundred dollars. So he did that. What I didn't like is I get home and he run, my sister would be around and he'd say come over here, little baby girl, here's a hundred dollars for you too.
Speaker 3:And I've never appreciated it, even if my sister's listening right now, because you didn't understand it. I'm like you know what You're like. I had to pick up shingles.
Speaker 4:Yes, yeah and you're getting the same $100. But now that I'm older, I got to spend time with them and I got to learn that he said son, I don't want you to be a roofer. He said, son, I don't want you to be a roofer, I want you to know how to do it in case you can't find a job and you need something. He said, but this is hard work. We talked about how hot it was in Memphis by 11 o'clock. It's already 110 degrees on the roof.
Speaker 2:It's hot outside yes.
Speaker 4:And if you've got to put tar up there, you're trying to fill a hole or something to fix a roof, it's that's hard work and I got to experience hard work at an early age like that and I knew I'd never want to be a roofer right uh, but I like to see the amount of money he would get paid. He would carry so much he taught me work, ethic, man, he and you know. And one thing I'm most proud of my grandfather, for he was very colorful.
Speaker 4:I won't give you many, details about his background, but I saw him transition from having a full black staff to Latinx community and one thing he told me was he said, son, I'm going to pay them the same price, the rate that I pay my other employees. He said I can't understand what they're saying. He always thought they would talk about it. I'm like, granddaddy, they're not talking about you.
Speaker 3:My mother used to say the same thing. He said they're talking about me. They're talking about me. Why are they talking about me?
Speaker 4:I said granddaddy, they're not talking about you but he said it's important for me to pay them the same fair rate because I would want somebody to pay me the same fair rate. I want my grandson to get a fair rate, you know. So like I got to see that early and I really like it was just good bonding.
Speaker 3:Like I think, another thing, your grandfather between you and your sister, not nothing against her, but I'm just telling you, me and my brother my brother would get away with with murder. Okay, my mother now that's a figure of speech, y'all, uh, but let me just go and clarify that part. Okay, he would get away with so much stuff, but my mother was so hard on me and it would bother me at times I wouldn't like how's he getting away with all this? But you're making me do all of this, and it took me to get older to see. My mother saw what was in me and so she challenged that part of me. And I think your grandfather saw what was in you and it was like, if I can teach him work ethic, if I can teach him a plan B for whatever size you know, I don't want him to be a roofer, but you know, here's a trade that you could do if nothing else works out. I think he saw something in you that you didn't see in yourself at the time. And, thinking back to that, think about it. You're now showing other people work ethic. You're showing other people how to be a leader. You're showing other people how to have a voice and have an opinion and believe in something and stand on it.
Speaker 3:You know we had a conversation off camera. I was just trying to get to know Alfred and what stuck out to me is you want people to be considered. You want people to be considered and you don't care what race it is, you want everybody to be considered, absolutely. You know, and that's what I took from our off the camera conversation and being in leadership, tennessee and being over that, I know that you have all walks of life in your class. What could you say that your biggest thing that you want them to take away after that 10 months, if they could pick one thing that you taught not your team teaching them what's the one thing that you'd want that class to get from you? And that may be a hard question.
Speaker 4:Well, I don't think it's necessarily a hard question, because it's a lot of examples that I could share.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 4:But I want people to walk away from their program year understanding that the system is perfectly designed to produce what it produces. So there aren't easy solutions to anything Like. I don't think that we'll ever solve poverty. I don't think we'll ever get rid of homelessness. And when I chime in and I'm not a negative person, but I think that the way the system is created, there will always be people who don't have a lot and it's going to always be people who have a lot. So how do we?
Speaker 4:I feel like we're going to be judged 50 years from now by how we treat the people who are homeless, how we treat people who are mentally ill, how we treat people who are incarcerated. I feel like they're going to say how come someone didn't step up and say that this is wrong? But the time is going to tell with that, because you just you never know. And I was thinking of one. I call them Floydisms because my grandfather's name is Floyd. But he would always say if you do good, good will follow you, and that's probably the best advice that I've ever received, because he never missed an opportunity to say that. And when people go through this program, I want them to see all the good that's happening, but also understand that bad. And I'm not saying people are bad, I'm saying there are certain things that are occurring, that are bad things that we can improve and make our state a better place.
Speaker 4:I'm a Rotarian, I'm a proud Rotarian, I said today at Closing Retreat. I said look what Rotary stands for. Service Above Self is exactly what I'm looking for in people to go through our program. Like everybody who goes through Leadership Tennessee should want to improve our state. If you don't want to improve our state, then I don't want you to be a part of our membership, because Don't take up a seat. Don't take up a seat I tell people this about you.
Speaker 3:Know you've probably heard multiple people say I want a seat, don't take up. I tell people this about you know you've probably heard multiple people say I want a seat at the table, I want a seat at the table. I heard one guy say I want to own the table and I'm like so, owning the table you? That means that it's only your opinion. Okay, seat at the table. If you're not, if you're, if you take up a seat at a table but you are not giving anything in that seat, you're a taker. You've got to be able. If you get a seat at the table, it is our duty to work together with everybody at that table to try your best for the greater good. Now, I'm not saying that's easy. It's not easy because personalities are there, people come from different walks of life and people get stuck in the way they believe things to be. I can give leadership Knoxville this.
Speaker 3:I went through that program and there was even things that I felt like I knew it to be this way. But being in that class and hearing other people's perspective on the same subject, it opened my eyes to things, alfred. It changed my thought on things that's in my community, and it even showed me about a lot of things in Knoxville I didn't even know existed and I live here, you know. So that was a good thing. My takeaway was I learned more about Knoxville and surrounding counties. I learned that I may believe something to be this way, but listen to other people's perspective on something. It might teach you something you know, and it doesn't mean that you're wrong. It may just you wasn't exposed to know it to be any different, you know.
Speaker 4:So I think that Exposure is key.
Speaker 3:It is and you have to want to be exposed because some people it's like I'm good where I'm at. How can you be good? Because if you still on Earth, you got work to do you. If you're still on Earth, you know God is expecting you to do some things and so you have to do for your community and you're going all across the state. So what can you say? How do you approach? Bringing together leaders from across rural and urban Tennessee to create solutions is my question.
Speaker 4:Well, you bring them to the table and you can't assume that they know everything. You know and that's one thing that I've had to deal with in my career, like I've worked with a lot of elected officials, like I've told you, I've worked with some very wealthy people before, and just because you're an elected official doesn't mean you're the smartest person in the room.
Speaker 4:Just because you have a billion dollars doesn't mean you're the smartest person in the room. That's why you have those support systems around you. Like I never want to be in a group of people where I'm the smartest person. I don't either.
Speaker 1:Because if I'm the smartest person?
Speaker 4:I don't either, because if I'm the smartest person, then that means I'm not learning anything.
Speaker 3:Nothing.
Speaker 4:And so, to answer your question, we may have a person who works in agriculture. I loved a session that we had before recently, I guess around this time last year. There was a guy who came in and was talking about AI, but he was talking about AI in terms of agribusiness and how they're using technology to plant seeds so they can flourish a lot better than just throwing it down there.
Speaker 4:And I'm sitting there like man, this is crazy. You're using this technology. I drive by corn stalks, drive by, you know you might see soybean, they're growing soybean or something you know what like in Memphis you see cotton a lot. But if you know that they're using technology to yield more like, why not use technology to help you have more, so like?
Speaker 3:But I think people get scared, especially like the AI thing. I think a lot of people get scared of the unknown Right and, let's be honest, none of us like change, because change can feel uncomfortable at times, but you can't grow if you don't have any change that comes. You're going to be stagnant. That's where you all want to be protected. We all want security and that's what sometimes we get scared of is if this change comes, am I going to still feel protected and feel secure? Secure, but I think that surrounding yourself with people, like-minded people, that are trying to do great change for all, I think that's the key to it. Do you agree with that?
Speaker 4:Oh, I absolutely agree with it. I mean, I don't know if you saw me light up a second ago. I'm like a change management guru. I do a lot of teaching on change management.
Speaker 3:And the reason why I do.
Speaker 4:It is because the jobs I've had, I've had to respond to change. And the reason why, if I've been successful, is because I'm adaptable. I know how to adapt to change. When you're stuck in one area and that's all you know, then that's going to be a sad thing. Like one of my other mentors I have a few of them he always says there's a difference between 20 years experience and one year experience times 20.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 4:So like I want people to catch that Say it one more time. There's a difference between 20 years of work experience and one year of experience times 20. So if you're doing the exact same thing in year one for 20 times, you hadn't grown.
Speaker 2:That's not 20 years experience.
Speaker 4:So, like when I think about bringing I'm going to come back to the question when I think about bringing people into the same room and to share how they feel about certain things, because I talked briefly about politics earlier, but let me explain a little better.
Speaker 3:Go ahead.
Speaker 4:Education is not political, but the way we do education is highly political.
Speaker 3:Say that one more time. Education is not political.
Speaker 4:It should not be political because we're talking about how we educate our students. It should not be political because we're talking about how we educate our students. It should not be political, but how we do education is political because there are different standpoints on how you know how it's applied. So we could take any subject, like when you bring politics into something, it can make it worse. You know, and I used to be a political junkie I still dibble and dabble and follow what's going on, but I can't get caught up in. You know what's going on with the media, right?
Speaker 4:you're only here hearing one side of the story sometimes you are and and that's one thing that kind of that's why I teach.
Speaker 4:When I particularly love talking to high school students, um, because they going to make a decision, like juniors and seniors. They're going to make a decision a couple of years is going to impact the rest of their lives. So I like to talk to them and say come on, let's think about what you really want to do and how you want to do it. Do you like? Because there's this big argument right now about whether it's a return on investment to go to college. And when I'm talking to students, they're like well, I don't know if I'm going to go to college. Well, guess what? College isn't for everybody.
Speaker 3:It's not.
Speaker 4:And you know I don't want to force college down somebody's throat, but I say if I were a betting man, I bet I'm going to get an education, because I can show you the data If you have a four year degree, you're going to make this much more money than someone who has a high school diploma and every time you get another degree. But the misnomer is this because the smartest people like I think I'm a smart guy, but I have way more common sense than I have book sense and sometimes people have all the book sense and like wow, that person is smart, but they can't do simple tasks.
Speaker 4:So I feel like I have a better approach to things because I come at it from where I'm strong. I'm very good on having a common sense approach to things because I feel like I have my pulse, my finger on the pulse, and I can kind of think well, this is not going to work, I can't see that working out. I'm very logical. I try to think things through to this logical conclusion. Some people will just think through to the halfway point and give up. No, I want to think all the way through to the end, I think common sense.
Speaker 3:Honestly, I would rather have a common sense than book sense, because I feel like with book sense and you can say I'm wrong, we can agree or disagree, but I feel like book sense. If you study a book long enough, okay, you're going to gain knowledge from that book. But common sense, either you got it or you don't, and common sense can get you through some things. You spoke about people being smart. There's a lot of people that have every degree there is, but that's not what got them where they needed to be. I think opportunity. You can be less than smart, but if you are put in a room with opportunity, you can do anything with the right opportunity.
Speaker 4:Oh, yeah, you know what I'm saying, absolutely.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know what I'm saying. It doesn't mean just oh well, you've got to be this smart because there are so many millionaires, billionaires. Whatever you want to say is If you talk to them. I think President Barack Obama said it best. He was like don't go in a room of people that you think is all smart and think that you're dumb. He said because a lot of times you can go in that room and you're the smartest one in there, but because you're just using your common sense on different topics and you help the people that you thought was smart, you help them solve some of the biggest problems. I agree with that.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean, because that's what teams are made of. Like you got to have people who think differently from you. If you around people who think identical to you, you're not going to grow, you're not going to reach your full potential. And you know it's hard to explain that to kids because it's, you know, kids in middle school and you know it's silly. But you have to figure out a way to understand that what you do now will impact things later. Like I didn't have social media when I was growing up. Social media came out when I was a college student, you know, and you had to be in college to get on Facebook. But I'm so grateful because all of us had fun in college, right? Yes, you know so I wouldn't want my college career, you know, with people cell phones watching. You know people make mistakes all the time and do things that they're not proud of. I'm glad we didn't have that piece.
Speaker 3:I'm glad we didn't either, because there have been a lot of things exposed that we wouldn't want to be exposed, you know. So that that's I agree with you there. When it comes to young people, what would you tell young people of today of becoming a leader? What would you say if you were in a room of young people? What advice would you give them about becoming a leader? Because a lot of times when you're young let's be honest, when you're young, that's not something you really want to be, because you don't know the value of being a leader. Do you agree?
Speaker 4:I would say that I always call myself the accidental leader, uh-huh. I always call myself the accidental leader. I had good grades in school, so my peers in high school voted me to be class president. I'm thinking in my head? Why do you want me to be class president? Just because?
Speaker 1:I do my homework.
Speaker 4:But what happened was I was placed in a lot of situations where I had to lead and because of that it helped me become a better leader. And, like, I did a program in Memphis called Bridge Builders which was transformational and it's very similar to Leadership Tennessee. But they pick five to seven students from every high school, starting in 10th grade At least at that time that's how they did it. I think they've expanded but they pick five people from public and private high schools and then they take them through a monthly. They have to go to meetings every month. Then you have a week long.
Speaker 4:We did a week at the University of Memphis they I had a roommate who was the first Jewish person I'd ever met. We got a chance to talk about our faith, you know, and our values, and all that chance to talk about our faith, you know, and our values and all that. And then the next year we went to Ole Miss for a week. But, like, I knew so many people across the city of Memphis who were my age and that was one of those ethereal experiences where we were only put together to break down stereotypes. That was the whole premise back then. We got to break down stereotypes because at the time, and maybe even today, there may have been some racial tensions in Memphis. So that experience opened up my eyes more than anything up until that point, because I got to see, wow, those kids in this private school they're reading things that's not on our summer reading list. And even if it is a summer reading list, I might or might not read it, you know.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 4:But I was smart enough to be able to catch on and pay attention. But I would tell the kids to answer your question read, read, read. If you see someone who you think is a leader, or somebody who's doing something positive, figure out their story. Find out their why. How did they become who they are? Something happened in their life where they got to the end of the road and it was a fork in the road. They could either go to the left or the right, and they chose which direction to go. In a row, they could either go to the left or the right and they chose which direction to go. Why'd they choose that? That's why I read a lot of nonfiction and biographies and memoirs, because I want to know man, this person's a great leader. What happened in their life?
Speaker 3:How did it get them there? What made them become what they are today?
Speaker 4:Yes.
Speaker 3:And, I think, this generation. I will say this I speak a lot out in the community and I hear a lot of young people say well, your, your generation is so hard on us. Your generation speaks down to us. You know, what would you say to young people? Of giving them the fight to keep going? Because what I speak is we all had to find our way. You see us now, you see my generation now, but we had to find our way, just like you, you're going to find your way, and I always try to speak life in young people and let them understand. Is you know what? We didn't have it all figured out. We did not know. We had to make some mistakes, just like they're making mistakes and they're going to figure it out, just like we had to figure it out. But I tried to speak life in them instead of tearing them down. What would you say to people of today? What should they be saying to young people?
Speaker 4:First you got to do something like I talked to I'm. I was spoken to a few Jack and Jill groups and I'm friends with their parents and they they call me and say man, I don't know how are you able to resonate with my kids? They don't really like that Because nobody wants to listen to their parents.
Speaker 3:That's the truth.
Speaker 4:So that's number one. But if they come in and I'm going to keep it raw with them I'm going to tell them things that and you could say the exact same thing their parents say, but they're going to take it from you before they'll take it from their parents, but we did the same thing.
Speaker 4:We did the same thing. We did. It kind of blows my mind that I didn't know. It kills your perception. I say this to my mom a lot. I was like you know, and we talk every day. My mom and I talk every day. That's awesome. And I always say to her, like all my cousins always loved Aunt Trish, you know, Aunt Pat, you know Aunt Pat, you know they call her different things, Aunt Patricia, and I was like, but man, you were tough on us.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 4:I said but now, like you actually are pretty cool, yeah, and she was like it took you this long to realize that?
Speaker 3:Yes, you know, but like Like you had to grow up and become an adult, right, you know?
Speaker 4:Because I grew up in an era where you're not friends with your parents.
Speaker 3:I'm not your friend.
Speaker 4:That's kind of how it's different between saying we don't want to talk to you. That's different. I didn't grow up in a household where they were fighting for my.
Speaker 3:No, our roles were established. Very much so. You're the child, they're the parent.
Speaker 4:You do as I say, not as you please. Exactly that's what I heard, and I raise my kids that way.
Speaker 3:I mean I raise my kids. I do believe a kid does have an opinion. In a respectful way they can say you know what their opinion of something is. But I do think you, a lot of people, need to establish the role they are and then do I think you can be friends with your kids. I think when they become an adult and they become responsible, then there's where you can like with me and Adrian.
Speaker 3:Me and Adrian is a real estate team, okay, and Adrian, when she first came to work for me, she doesn't work for me now. We're partners now. But when she first came on the team she worked for me and I said to Adrienne we have to go from mother and daughter to now I'm your employer and you got to take, you know, be able to allow me to delegate to you, you know. But at the same time I had to realize is, you know, once we cut off and all that kind of stuff, we can have a friendship as long as we both respect it. Now, three years in, because Adrian was my assistant at the time Three years in, adrian said I want to be a partner. What does that look like, mom? I don't want to be your assistant anymore. And at first I'm like what do you mean? You don't want to be my assistant, cause it felt like you were happy though.
Speaker 3:Yes, I was happy, but it felt like you know what do you mean? But then that shift, it took God to show me she's outgrown that position. You should be happy, you should, you know, and, and she can share the responsibility, and so I think that a lot of times people don't get that. Is that okay? There's a time and a place for everything. And.
Speaker 3:I think young people need to understand that, because some out here say some of the craziest things to their parents and I'm like what? Because you know we wouldn't have got away with that.
Speaker 4:No, there's no way I didn't have that. Nor would I even fix my lips to say it was the respect it was kind of like my dad would always say. He'd say, boy, when you finally come to, you're going to be looking at me from the ground.
Speaker 3:So that's kind of how he would talk, and you know that I brought you in this world.
Speaker 4:I'll take you out. Yes, they world. Yes, they really said that a minute Okay, but but let me, let me answer this question because I want to make sure that, because this is so important, the kids, like I try to relate with with kids my ministry are black males. I want to make sure that they see like I love what the hundred black men in middle Tennessee is is doing.
Speaker 4:I'm a member of the organization and we have 100 kings and we take them through, starting in the fifth grade through 12th grade and we have some collegiate scholars as well, but I love how they get to see all of these incredible leaders who are at the top of their game every single month and get to spend time with them, and leaders that look like them yes, and that's important, I think, to my viewers I would say this, and I say this all the time it's no takeaway from you.
Speaker 3:When a black person says I want to be the example, Like he just said, basically it's a call on his life. He wants to mentor black males. That doesn't mean that he doesn't care for the opposite rates of males. It's just saying his calling and his area expertise. He's chosen to go down this road. But it doesn't take from anyone else, because I think I can resonate with you. You get what I'm saying. Yeah, and our sons and daughters.
Speaker 3:You know I don't know if you know this I have a black child and I adopted a white child. It was an employee of mine's sister and I adopted my son and it's wonderful and I show my black child you know there is a lot of good in our race. I show my white child there's a lot of good in his race, but there's bad in both. But I will say is that more black men need to see, more men like you? They need to see you can make it. You know, I've had this conversation with my son. I said there will never be a day that you walk out of this house, that you have to worry about not coming back in. I said but your sister is a different situation and I think when the world realizes it's different.
Speaker 3:As a black man, you know, my husband is a real estate appraiser. He's had guns pulled on him. All kinds of different things has happened to David throughout his career as a black man, you know. So I look up to you saying my calling is is to show some black men they can make it. So my question is how? How do you reach them?
Speaker 4:Well, I think like the hundred black men is one of those good things that you can. They're already there and I mentioned those students that I mentor at the school. Kind of the reason why I love to do that is because you know a lot of the kids, and I'm not saying it's the whole thing, but a lot of kids who go through the 100 Kings program.
Speaker 4:they come from two-parent households. They're parents. Some of them have terminal degrees. A lot of those students are going to be just fine when I go to this zip code it's not the same. I think that we can do all. It's like a both-and. It's kind of like having multiple kids you love your kids the same, but you gotta love them differently, and it's okay.
Speaker 3:it's okay, I'm so glad you just said that you can love your kids differently, and that doesn't mean you love one more than the other. It's just the loves are different right and it's okay and you know what.
Speaker 4:You know what you need and, like I know, I was treated differently than my siblings in a lot of ways, simply because I just I could do the work, but I didn't. I didn't want to really have to study, I could just go in and, naturally, do pretty well on tests.
Speaker 1:That's my son.
Speaker 4:And when I was, I was so like you can't come home with a B when I know you're capable of making A's Like so we would go through and look at. From the time I can remember, look at report cards. My dad said hey, you proved to me that you can make an A in this class. You can't come in with a C.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I was raised the same way, so like those are.
Speaker 4:those are things that we have to do. And see, I like to talk to students about things that they normally wouldn't talk about. So, like it's not uncommon for you to go in somewhere and this little kid asks you how much money you make. Yeah, you know, and I tell them hourly rate. They don't know how to calculate it.
Speaker 3:You know, because I know how to calculate it because I'm in the HR department.
Speaker 4:I know how to like multiply the number times the hourly rate and they give you your annual pay. But like I really think that it's so important for kids to just see positivity, because you just never know. They have to I always go in with a positive mindset when I get there because, you know, even if I'm having a bad day, no one would ever know I'm having a bad day because I don't carry things into other situations.
Speaker 3:And I try not to have bad days and you got to make sure your mood is not you projecting negative, being pessimistic. I truly believe my parents told me that if you go in things positive, most likely it's going to come out positive. And just because you may be having a bad day, because we all have, okay, but why project that on someone else? Because that could be the very day that you're projecting that. It could really truly make some damage of what you, how, you projected on someone else, and so we gotta have the emotional intelligence to know the difference, and a lot of people lack that.
Speaker 4:We talked about common sense and book sense, but then the other one is the emotional intelligence to know the difference.
Speaker 3:Like you don't have to say everything that comes to your mind, you know you understand why he's the CEO of leadership, because he is telling you, as a leader, that you don't have to literally tell everything you feel and bring that on someone and you've got to pick your battles.
Speaker 4:Or tell people what you don't know, like. That's another part that you can get from just understanding. Like I grew up in 3127 in Fraser in Memphis, in a rough area, but like I understood politics, like I learned politics a long time ago in high school. And how I learned politics in high school was because I met the previous police chief, years at least when I was in school. I can't remember his name, but I met him in Memphis. He asked me what high school I went to and I told him he said we developed our gang task force off of your high school. He said y'all had every gang and you had these neighborhood cliques inside the school. You never knew what was going to happen.
Speaker 4:I walked through male detectives every single day, right, every single day, male detectives at school. But because I would help people with their homework, no matter who they were affiliated with and and I was I would go out of my way to try to teach concepts. A lot of guys were like hey, he's safe, don't, don't bother him. You know, and safe, don't bother him. And I even went back years later and one of my guys he's a barber and he said man, he said we always knew you were going to be somebody. We always knew you were different than us. I said I grew up in the same area, but we knew that you had a higher trajectory than we had.
Speaker 3:You know why? Because you speak with passion. I ain't even known you this long, but you speak with passion and and what you believe and you really care about Tennessee.
Speaker 4:And I also know this too.
Speaker 3:I knew that my parents, they didn't play well, you had a mother that was a teacher, so I know she didn't play. And if somebody said, hey, that was a teacher, so I know she didn't play Right, and if somebody said, hey, we're going to go do this.
Speaker 4:I said, oh no, I'm out Because you knew, I already knew. So I mean, but like you know a lot of the things, and this is probably for the next iteration of this whenever we do it.
Speaker 3:Yes, but a lot of things happened inside the household. It did inside the household.
Speaker 4:It did and if you Spoke on it. If you have, I guess my point I'm trying to make is when you have parents that are paying attention to what you have going on and you can't talk to them, how you're raised will leave from outside that house and follow you everywhere you go. I agree, like I knew it was certain things I wasn't going to do and if I did do it.
Speaker 4:I was going to suffer consequences, and I try not to do it Because your parents was an example for you Exactly, but I try not to do that with our kids. We try to make sure that you know it's okay to express your feelings, like we couldn't do that growing up.
Speaker 3:No, like so. But I want to make sure you remember when I was talking about the opinion thing and I had to. You know me and David had to talk this over in our marriage. Is that David was brought up like me and you that?
Speaker 4:whatever they said, control and command.
Speaker 3:Okay, and so I had to get David to understand. Is you know what? Yes, we're the parents. Yes, we make the last call, but it's okay for a kid to have an opinion if they're speaking in a respectful way. I don't think it's anything wrong with a kid saying you know, hey, mom, can you just think about this?
Speaker 3:But when we were growing up you couldn't do that you know, whatever they said went and it was like okay, but how am I going to express if you never allow me to express? So you've got all these young people that are out here. We want them to express and we want them to do all these great things, but if their parents never allow them to express, we as mentors, we as leaders, have to be the one to teach them that their opinion matters, their feelings matter, and they have to say and they can't speak just happiness all the time. You have to be able to speak about what you're going through and I think, in what you do for a living and what you do in your community, you're given a voice. You know you're given a voice to so many people that the parents never gave. So I would say to you is hats off to you for that. Keep going at that. What would you say? Tennessee needs more than anything. We're almost about to wrap this up, so now these are some next couple questions.
Speaker 4:Yes, well, I'll say one thing that I've noticed just from having these conversations across the state with top leaders education permeates everything. So if you talk about economic development, education is attached to it, because if you want to have economic development, people have to have places to send their kids to school.
Speaker 3:Correct.
Speaker 4:I mean we talk about the prison system. If people aren't reading on grade level, then they're illiterate, then that's kind of a direct pipeline to prison. So like we can talk about any bad thing or any topic, education always permeates it and if we get that right, I think, our state is doing a better job with education than it was 50 years ago.
Speaker 3:I agree.
Speaker 4:So, but I think that that's something that we can't take our eye off the ball. I also kind of think that I mean because you're asking about some of the challenges, right, right, I would, I would say just the amount of people who are moving here, you know, yeah, I mean, which is a beautiful thing. You know, I mean, which is a beautiful thing. I was with, I heard the governor speak recently and he and he made a comment that I didn't know.
Speaker 4:But, this is apropos of the work that you do. He said that every hour Tennessee is losing 10 acres of farmland to development, and that's a threat to what Tennessee is known for. We can't just let everybody come in here, move and we build, because then we're going to lose one of our most natural assets.
Speaker 3:Tennessee, for one, is about families. Tennessee is about homeownership Okay, but right now there's been so many different big developers or big hedge funds that come in and buy up property and is making it be more rentals than home ownership. And Tennessee, this is a state that we teach home ownership For a first-time home buyer. I will tell you, it's kind of difficult right now for a first-time home buyer because you know the price points in our communities. You know people are making more money in areas, in some areas more than they've ever made, but it's the cost of living is still high.
Speaker 3:You know a one-bedroom in Knoxville I don't know about Nashville, where you live, but one bedroom here is the average of $2,000 a month. You know that's a lot. Think about when we started, when we got our apartments. You know that's a lot. And tack on it if you have children. You know food is expensive, gas is expensive, just everything. I think Tennessee as a whole I will say this compared to other states, we're still At a lower price than other states, but we still are expensive as well. So I think that that's the biggest thing that we need help with is the homeless and people being able to have a roof over their head. Do you agree with that?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think those are certainly some issues that impacts a lot of people. I mean, I know the pathway to reaching an American dream often is tied to being able to have equity in your home.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 4:And when people if we have a population of too many people who are renters, they're not able to ever fully reach their potential.
Speaker 3:And you're seeing more and more renters and that's the sad part. But I just pray that we have more home ownership in Tennessee. Tennessee is a great state and that's why people are moving here, but I just I love the family part of Tennessee, that we are the volunteer state. We love our community and we want to build up our community. So my next question is what is some of the most exciting or impactful statewide initiatives currently underway through Leadership Nostle?
Speaker 4:if you can answer that, question Well, so for Leadership Tennessee we are going to. Actually, we have a new date for our signature. One of our signature eventsers is the honoree. We had to push the date back to August, but it's August 28th.
Speaker 4:We're honoring her for all she's done throughout the state and what the Ayers Foundation does to help create more in the rural communities and educate people from rural areas. This is such a great organization, but she's also a great person and a big supporter of Leadership Tennessee. But she's been honored, dolly Parton. Just to give you a background on it, dolly Parton was the inaugural recipient of the Dolly Parton Excellence Leadership Award in 2018. That was a five-year celebration and then once we after that, knoxville's two of Knoxville's finest Governor, bill and First Lady Chrissy Haslam, received the award in 2021. And now Mrs Ayers is going to receive the award this August.
Speaker 2:That's amazing.
Speaker 4:So, Dolly Parton, recipient of the first award. She gave the award to the Haslam's and this time the Haslam's will give it to Mrs Ayers.
Speaker 1:So I'm not sure if she's going to make it in a 10 this time.
Speaker 4:Dolly was at the last one. I don't know if she's going to be at this one, but certainly hope that she will be there. But it's going to be a great event in Franklin, Tennessee. We're going to be outside of Nashville in. Franklin at the Franklin Factory and more information.
Speaker 3:August 28th.
Speaker 4:More information will be on our website, and it's not just for.
Speaker 3:Leadership Tennessee alums.
Speaker 4:either it's for, we'll open it up. We want to first sell to as many alums as possible before we open it up.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 4:There'll be, non-Leadership Tennessee alumni there as well.
Speaker 3:I would love to come. I would love to come, so I hope they open it up for others to come outside the alumni.
Speaker 4:Certainly, I'll let you know.
Speaker 3:Yes, most definitely. So what is the next? What in the future? You say the next thing that you want Leadership Tennessee to be known as.
Speaker 4:Well, the beautiful part of running an organization like this is Leadership Tennessee. Although we're new we're founded in 2013.
Speaker 4:Yes although we're new we're found in 2013 yes, it has a huge reputation across the nation. That and that goes um to my predecessor, who did an excellent job leading it for the first several years before I got here, and I think our team has done a good job of keeping us on that upper trajectory. Um, we're we're regarded as is one of the top statewide community leadership programs and we're also a community with others. So I'm on the board for the Association for Leadership Programs, which is the national board. Leadership Knoxville is a part of it as well, but we get together with a bunch of other community leadership programs across the nation and we talk about what's going on, and that's really an insightful conference because you get to hear from people who lead organizations similar to Leadership Knoxville and Leadership Tennessee, but all across the nation, and you get to learn and you get.
Speaker 3:inspired.
Speaker 4:You get inspired by it and I mean, like some would say, like I would imagine that people would look at the role that I have and say you know, I bet you get tired of hearing the same thing. I'm like well, actually we don't hear the same thing. I mean, some things you're going to get every single time.
Speaker 3:Correct.
Speaker 4:But I mean, I think about, like, when we come here to Knoxville, big Jim Haslam is just, oh my God, he is one of the most remarkable people I've ever met in my life. Yes, he is one of the most remarkable people I've ever met in my life, and when he can come and talk to our members about his life and all the things he's done and how much he loves programs like ours, he loves Leadership, knoxville, that's his baby, but he really cares about these programs.
Speaker 1:I heard from Senator.
Speaker 4:Alexander last night said he thinks that these programs are so important to the overall fabric of our state and the region. It helps us think about issues and not just think about it. But if you know if things could be solved, we have the right people in the room from public, private and nonprofit sectors who can actually move the needle in the direction we want to move it Like that's the. That's the most beautiful part about running an organization like this or even being associated with it. It's like you get all these smart people in the room who care about the state and say we want to do some things. I imagine we'll probably host a gubernatorial debate. We've done that before in the past. We partnered with the Tennessean and, I guess, usa Today to do those and we're certainly going because we're not about. You're probably thinking, well, that's political. No, it's not political. These are people who are running and we want to make sure our membership and those across the state who we're associated with have the opportunity to hear from the person who's going to be the next governor.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 4:And to see it because it's important and that's really up my alley anyway, because I love the political side of it.
Speaker 3:I was going to say your political background, but those are things that I think that we do very well.
Speaker 4:I think to be critical of leadership tendency and I can't be too critical of it, but I'll just say I wish we had a little more rural representation. I know we get to go to some rural areas and we're working on that. We're going through our strategic plan we already had it and we're trying to fulfill what's in there for our metrics. I really want us to look at the state seal. You know what two words on there? Do you know? I don't want to put you on the spot.
Speaker 4:The state seal I'll call you in rather than call you out but it says agriculture and commerce. Those are the two things that are on there yes so if we're not focused on the things that make us such a great state, particularly the agriculture piece and the people in the rural areas tend to do a little more farming than the urban areas right?
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 4:So those are things we can get a little stronger in, and we're trying our hardest to make sure that we have a more diverse population of our membership and I'm not saying diverse in a way that that's probably a bad way to say now diverse in terms of you know location, you know diverse in industry. Yes, Because we can't have 30 teachers right.
Speaker 4:You know going through a program and we're going to talk about everything that's going on. It's probably a good thing for teachers to have their own leadership program or something they can do, but this was designed to bring different people who would never get together into a room so they can talk about issues, because we make assumptions.
Speaker 4:And I'll never forget my first meeting with Big Jim Haslam. He said, alfred, you have one of the most important jobs in the state and and I was like I didn't expect that. But what he said was today we live in a society where people retreat to their corners and they point and say I don't like ivanka, but I don't know her either, but I don't like her yes and I.
Speaker 4:It's something about our own life, but we're going to bring you together. Put you at a table and then focus on some issues that improves our state. That's beauty, and get to know people.
Speaker 3:Who they are, instead of judging them across the room when you really don't know them, don't know anything about them. I think that's the biggest thing like with leadership and also me going through the program is they put 61 people in a room and you know, you would think I would have known quite a bit of the people in my class before. I only knew three people in that class when I started and it was a good thing I'll never forget.
Speaker 4:But you probably sold them all their houses, though. You just didn't know them. You know, yeah, there you go, there you go.
Speaker 3:Yes, but I'm like I said to Tammy, I'll never forget the first day she said to me. She was like you probably know that a lot of these people are here. I was like Tammy, no, I don't. And she goes. Is that a bad thing? I was like no, it's a good thing. I said because I want to meet new people and I want to be a great leader and you've got to get in a room with people that has done more than you've done in your life and listen, you know?
Speaker 3:And when you're talking about Jim Haslam, he spoke our very first class OK, him and his wife both were there and both of them, you know, shared. And what my takeaway from him was this man is 95 years old and he is still wanting to be a leader and wanting to make a difference, wanting to be a leader and wanting to make a difference. How can I ever stop being a leader when someone that has done as much as this man has done he could say I want to retire and I just want to. You know, just be me for a moment. No, not Jim Haslam, because he stood there. I mean, he spoke there and said you know what Keep doing, keep working, keep trying to make your community better, and so I took away that. Like I got more to do, I've got more to do. If a 95-year-old person is saying they're still working, who am I to say not to work?
Speaker 4:So I want to thank you for coming. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3:And sitting down and have a conversation. The door is open always to you, you know. I would love to bring you back on one of our panel discussions because I think that you have a lot to offer and I think people want to hear.
Speaker 4:you know what is Alfred doing now, so thank you for coming, thank you so much, and this has been great to be here and to just really think about some things that we do, and I just want to express my gratitude for you inviting me here today, thank you.
Speaker 3:Thank you Most definitely and, like I said, the door is always open. Tune in every Friday to Talk in Tennessee.
Speaker 1:Bye guys, salsrealestatecom. See our videos on yavanka's youtube channel or find us on facebook under yavanka landis and twitter at yavanka landis, and don't forget to tell a friend about us. Until next time. Yavanka signing off.