Doug Belisle with Good Neighbor, Monica Whitfield with Family Savings Credit Union and Shannon Boatfield with American National

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta. It’s time for Charitable Georgia. Brought to you by B’s Charitable Pursuits and Resources. We put the fun in fund raising. For more information, go to B’s Charitable Pursuits. Dot com. That’s B’s Charitable Pursuits dot com. Now here’s your host, Brian Pruitt.

Brian Pruett: [00:00:45] Good, fabulous Friday morning. It’s another fabulous Friday and it’s Stone’s favorite holiday, Cinco de Mayo.

Stone Payton: [00:00:52] It is the best day of the year.

Brian Pruett: [00:00:53] Yes. Well, and welcome back. We didn’t have a show last week. We had some guest problems and guess not a problem. But anyway, we couldn’t be here. And Stone, you just got back from from Spain. So welcome back.

Stone Payton: [00:01:06] Well, thanks for having me, man. I tell you, I gained a little bit of weight, but it was worth the price. We had so much fun. I really do think travel like that broadens you. It gives you a different perspective. And I think all over the world, people are people. I mean, I saw a teenager being snarky with his mom. I saw toddlers enjoying each other. Folks, it’s if you get a chance, just, you know, go out and do and don’t wait till you’re old like me. Go ahead and start doing it before you can afford it. It was great.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:32] But you can’t run with the bulls here. You can do it over there. Did you do that?

Stone Payton: [00:01:35] I did not. Nor did I go to a bullfight. But it’s I don’t know, just getting to experience different cultures. It’s a it’s a great deal of fun. And it’s like this, man, it beats the heck out of working. Right?

Brian Pruett: [00:01:44] Right. Well, we’re glad you’re back safely. And I’m glad you’re here to doing this because as I told Sharon, we’d be in real trouble if I had to run the board. I couldn’t do that. So. Well, we got, like I said, three more fabulous guests this morning. And we’re going to start off with Mister Doug Belisle from the Good Neighbor Homeless Shelter. Doug, thanks for being here this morning.

Doug Belisle: [00:02:00] Brian, It’s so good to be here.

Brian Pruett: [00:02:01] So you and I met when you came and visited the Carville Business Club and you have a strong background with helping for helping people and nonprofits, because when I met, you were still with the Bartow Collaborative and getting ready to take over the good Neighbor homeless shelter. But if you don’t mind sharing your story with us and how you got involved doing what you’re doing,

Doug Belisle: [00:02:21] Sure. Well, I’ve always I’ve always been kind of, I guess, a people person. But we got to Georgia in 2007, moved was part of a church I was I’m my degrees in ministry and theology and doctrine. And so I didn’t know anything about nonprofit other than the church. And so in 2015, I stepped out of my role at at the church and stepped into a new role with Bartow Collaborative, which is a nonprofit agency within Bartow County, that that really just seeks to create collaboration among nonprofits and social services and schools and business to to really benefit our families and our children and make our community stronger. And I really felt like at home in that it was it was ministry, but it was community ministry. And so learning how to partner with everybody. And it just made sense. When you think about collaboration, it just makes sense that not everybody’s got the answer, that it takes all of us working together, and if we work together, we can accomplish a whole lot more than than if we work in silos. And I begin to see where communities really easily silo. And so jumping into that just was was really helpful. I got to know a lot of the the business community, a lot of the nonprofit community, a lot of our our school system programs just to see how those function independently, but how each of those independent organizations and systems really desire to improve families and and make life better for for everyone.

Doug Belisle: [00:04:01] But there’s not usually a lot of collaboration that exists because we just get busy doing the things that we do. And it’s easy for me to look straight ahead and not look around to see who’s who’s walking beside me. And so when we were able to get people to the table, it sounds really boring to say that our main ingredient for making collaboration happen was a meeting that we had Friday morning. But it’s, you know, hey, once a month we’re going to meet and have this meeting. Well, what happens at the meeting? Well, we collaborate and we learn about each other and we build relationships and wow, that sounds really boring, but it’s really effective to be able to do that. And then just in August, stepped into the role at at the homeless shelter and have been able to use a lot of the networking and relationships that that were built not only through ministry, but then also through the collaborative. I was there for seven years and that really helped with building relationships and and and helping with our population that experiences homelessness.

Brian Pruett: [00:05:09] Well, I like what you talk about the collaboration part because our friend Bob Brooks and Ben Hanks, we all they all preach collaboration over competition. And it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in. You know, Shannon, we’ll talk to you in a few minutes. But, you know, when you know, there’s several people in the insurance, several people financial and but not everybody does the same thing. So I just like the fact that we all can collaborate because you’re right, we’re all here to do the same thing there to help people. So share a little bit about the good neighbor homeless shelter, the vision, the mission and what you guys do.

Doug Belisle: [00:05:37] Sure. So good neighbor, homeless shelter exists to help families and individuals who are. Experiencing homelessness to to really get on a path to stability. And part of that is remembering that success for everyone may look different than the way that I expect or that I see success. And so we help people find their path and their their means to get to what they what they determine is successful. We operate two emergency shelters, one for women and families and another one for men. We’ve got a street outreach program. We have a transitional housing program, which which helps families not only to escape homelessness, but also to provide a way to increase their income potential. So that’s for families that that have one or both parents that are going to school. We’ve got a lot of single parents in that program that that struggle to make it. And a lot of times the way out or the way up is through education. And so they’re able to stay in a transitional house for two years and go to school and work and increase their income potential. And we provide case management and wraparound services for all of our clients and all three programs to really help walk alongside folks to to get to the place where they want to be.

Brian Pruett: [00:07:01] How long has the shelter been around?

Doug Belisle: [00:07:04] We opened our doors in February of 1996 during an ice storm in Cartersville and took in our first guest that February. I want to say it was February 6th.

Brian Pruett: [00:07:17] Wow. So that that’s a good question. Can can people volunteer or businesses get involved and help you guys at the shelter? And if so, how can they do that?

Doug Belisle: [00:07:27] Man, there’s a there’s a ton of ways and we couldn’t do it without our community support. We we have a great community that really comes alongside of the families and individuals that we have that that are staying at the shelter. So there’s a lot of ways. We’ve got ways for businesses, of course, to give financially and provide sponsorship. But above and beyond that, we’ve got community partners and local businesses that come and help us do work around our shelters or around transitional housing. We take donations of clothes and furniture and items that would be necessary as people move out. So when when people graduate the program, they they move into their own spot. And a lot of times they need all those items like dishes and silverware and furniture and pictures to put on their wall, things to make their place a home. So we take donations of all those items. Our community actually provides dinner at both of our emergency shelters most of the nights of the week. We have community partners that bring in dinner. And so that’s a that’s an easy and great way to help is for folks to get involved and and bring dinner to one of our shelters so that so that we can have a home cooked meal.

Brian Pruett: [00:08:38] It’s kind of cool. I mean, you guys do a lot within the community. There’s several folks that do different fundraisers for you guys throughout the year. And I know February was really busy for you guys fundraising wise. You know, I hosted a trivia night for you guys, but that’s your month that you do your Dancing with the Stars. Share about that, that event.

Doug Belisle: [00:08:59] Sure. So 11 years ago, somebody had the bright idea. They they stole, I’m sure, from another community. That’s kind of how it works, is we you borrow ideas from other people and other other spots and you go, oh, I think I could do that. But the the shelter and our school system homelessness programs partnered up and decided to do a Dances with the Stars event. And so for the for the past 11 years, on the first Friday or first Saturday in March, we do Cartersville Dances with the Stars and we get professionals who are in our community to work with local celebrities, community members that dance and and do so to raise money for the shelter and for our homelessness programs in the school system. We we serve a lot of the same families and a lot of the same people. And we’ve over the years raised almost $3 Million in the last 11 years to help homelessness initiatives in the school system and also to help our families that experience homelessness in the community.

Brian Pruett: [00:10:01] Several I guess a few months ago we had one of your board members, Tim Abbott, on the show, talking about his adoption story, but he shared about his night in the box that he does for you guys too. So can you share a little bit about that for those who maybe don’t know? Absolutely.

Doug Belisle: [00:10:13] Well, Tim was Tim actually got introduced to the shelter because he was one of our celebrity dancers a few years ago. And so as part of kind of what he wanted to do to help raise funds, but also to raise awareness is to to to do this night in the box activity. And it was one that he. He sat down and and with several of us in the community, it was like, I want to do something that raises awareness, but also that has this fundraising aspect. And I have a friend that I played football with growing up in Colorado, and he does the same kind of work, and he has organized what he calls nine in a box. And I said, Tim, I think you I think what you’re talking about sounds like nine in a box. And so he he he just jumped right in. And he is he has done night in a box for the last several years just to help raise awareness. It’s not a huge fundraiser, but it it helps raise awareness for the issues that that many of our families and individuals that are experiencing homelessness, you know, that they go through, that life has led them down a path and they’ve made certain choices due to circumstances and crises that that they’ve been through, that that caused them to be unsheltered.

Doug Belisle: [00:11:25] And while that’s it’s one thing to say, wow, that sounds incredibly hard and it’s another thing to spend a night in a box and realize how hard that is and realize, wow, if I had to do that for more than just one night, it sure opens up my understanding about what people go through and and how hard and difficult and and really, I think uncovers the why behind a lot of our questions about why don’t folks just you know it’s really easy to armchair armchair quarterback homelessness and say well if folks would just and then fill in the blank. And what I think we’ve learned both through Night in the Box and through just our work with people at the shelter, is that it’s so much more complicated, complicated than that. It’s so complex, the issues and the situations that people go through. So it’s it’s pretty incredible.

Brian Pruett: [00:12:21] What I think is incredible, too, is is you’ve got a full community around you and all ages. Because I think I saw a few months ago there was a little boy who brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for your staff members. Right. Share that.

Doug Belisle: [00:12:33] It’s so cool. Some of the ideas that people have to to get involved and to help people. And I love living in a community where people look for creative ways to help and to reach out and to to show love and and and so, yeah, we we had a little boy that that raised money and and I think sold baked goods and candy bars and stuff like that and then used his money to to come in and, and feed our staff. We’ve had folks for for high school projects and for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and things like that come in and build things or put put stuff in at the shelter. It’s really cool to see the creative ways that people find of reaching out and doing their part. And that means a lot. Sometimes that’s better than you know, than getting a big donation is just seeing that, that, you know, someone’s heart is in it. And donations are, you know, they have their place. We couldn’t survive without those. But but the personal connection aspect of I see you and I respect you as a person and you have dignity. And I want to show you that that I care. That goes that goes so far with our guests and with our staff. It’s hard.

Brian Pruett: [00:13:48] Work. Well, I like the aspect, too, that he you know, you guys are focusing on your guests and he was wanting to make sure that the staff was was respected and taken care of. So that was really cool. I love it. How old was he?

Doug Belisle: [00:14:02] I want to say he was 9 or 10.

Brian Pruett: [00:14:04] Wow. That’s awesome. That’s awesome. That’s the other thing I like about it, you guys is you guys celebrate when your your guests. Fine. I, I saw a post just the other day of a young lady who’s now getting her place and moving her family in. And, you know, you see us, you celebrate those wins and you and you you respect the folks that our guests you call them guests, you know, And I just I think that’s pretty awesome because, I mean, there are people there are humans. And we’ll come back to you in just a second. But we’re going to move over to one of your former guests, Miss Monica Whitfield, who is with Family Savings Credit Union. And so I’d like for you to share your story because you’ve been through the situation. You were a guest of theirs and now you’re you’re on your own. You got your you got a great job and all that. So please share your story.

Monica Whitfield: [00:14:50] Absolutely. In 2016, I was assistant branch manager of a bank in Acworth and very unexpectedly lost my job. And as a single mom, you don’t have a ton of savings. But what I did have was quickly depleted. And so I had to leave my apartment and moved in with a church family from my church for a little bit. But then around late 2017, 2018 is when I was able to finally start looking for a place for the two of us. And at that point I had gone back to school to finish my degree, and a friend of mine from church mentioned the Good Neighbor Transitional Housing program. I knew what the good neighbor homeless shelter was. I had heard of them. I knew where they were. I had no idea that they. Offered transitional housing. So I started asking around. I went to the shelter and asked questions, and that led me to filling out the application. And in 2018, we my son and I moved in to one of the transitional housing units there in Cartersville. And it was fantastic for me to be able to work and go to school and have a place of our own. But you just don’t you don’t know at what point in your life something like that is going to be necessary. You don’t expect those things to happen. But for good neighbor to be there was just amazing.

Brian Pruett: [00:16:08] So as I mentioned, you’re now with Family Savings Credit Union. Can you share about what they do and the mission behind what they’re because they’re different than the bank, correct?

Monica Whitfield: [00:16:17] They are, yes. A family savings. And I love that the word family is in the title because we are we’re a family. You know, We’re just good people helping good people. And we don’t call them customers. We have members. You know, these are our family members. They come in looking for the person that they want to come in, that they want to help or they want to be helped by. They’re not coming in. They don’t feel like a number. They don’t feel like just another account if something goes wrong financially for them or even sometimes personally, the first people they want to talk to is their banker, is that person in their branch. And that’s why I make it a very, very good point. When I’m out doing community events, I like to take someone from the branch with me because I don’t want them going into the branch looking for my face because I don’t work there. But they’re looking for the people. Like I saw you at the Fall Festival. We talked a little bit about mortgage. I want to sit down and talk to you. You know, I saw you in the Christmas parade. I want to talk to you. So I like to take a local face with me, depending on what area I’m at, because we do have six branches in Georgia. But it’s just a very community minded and it’s just a family. It is a family there and I’ve loved it. I’ve been there since July of last year, but I absolutely adore it.

Brian Pruett: [00:17:28] So you were we’re talking about family and you have a son that’s going to be in a play by his play because I know you’re excited about that.

Monica Whitfield: [00:17:34] I am a little shameless, mom. Plug at the Grand Theater in Cartersville, Georgia, opening tonight. And also a show tomorrow night is Winnie the Pooh Junior. And my son, Jackson Whitfield will be playing the role of Tigger. And he is very excited. Some parts of his costume are not coming in until actually this afternoon. And he almost had a Baptist fit over it because it was delayed in the mail. Like, it’s not my fault. I’m sorry. But he is very, very excited. It does. Open tickets are still available for tonight and tomorrow night show and they are being offered on DVD or thumb thumb drives also. How old is he? He is 11. Going on 28. Yeah. There you go. Yeah, that’s right.

Brian Pruett: [00:18:15] That’s awesome. So I’d like to ask you a question, if you could share. If somebody is listening that’s either going through what you went through or know somebody that’s going through what you’re doing or been through, can you share with them just, you know, something that’s a ray of hope. You know what to do, because I’m sure there’s a lot of people who may not even know where to start looking, right?

Monica Whitfield: [00:18:37] I would encourage them to ask questions, but you have to humble yourself first. That is a very, very big part of it. I before I had my son, I was on my own for a long time. I left. I left high school, went straight to college, left college in zero five. And it was just me and I had a schedule. I had a routine. And when you have a child, it humbles you. You have to now have a village. You have to accept help. You have to humble yourself and allow others to bless you, even if you’ve been on your own for so long and doing things by yourself. And I mentioned this in a meeting with Doug before because a lot of people have trouble understanding why when they’re giving handouts to homeless people or offering things or offering services, I’ll give you a ride, I’ll give you a job, I’ll give you help you with a house. And sometimes the homeless person or the unsheltered person may not respond right away. And I explained to them that if you’ve heard a season of no’s, it’s really hard to trust. A Yes. It’s not personal. It’s not that they don’t want your help, but it’s very hard to break that, that I can do it by myself mentality. I’ve had to do it. I’ve survived on the know. I know how to get through that. So you’re. Yes. Kind of scares me a little bit because I don’t know how long you’re going to say yes. And I don’t know when you’re going to get your. Yes. Might turn into a no. So it’s not personal when they don’t immediately accept the help. But that’s why I try to teach people that are in these situations humble yourself. You have to accept the help. Whether the help is for three days, three months or three years. It’s it’s an offer. It’s help. It’s something that you need. And if you say yes to that help, there’ll be help right after that. But don’t be shy. Ask questions because you’re not the only one going through that experience.

Brian Pruett: [00:20:26] I think you talk about accepting the help because I had a friend, my wife and I, we hang out with my best friend’s family a lot. Time. They’re like family with us. And so my best friend’s wife. Decided to pay for our meal. One time we were out and I’m like, Why? Why are you doing that? And she and then she got mad at me. She goes, You’re taking away my joy of blessing you. So I just think that’s cool that you shared that. So, um, you are very involved in the community. You’re an ambassador for the chamber. You do your network all the time. Why is it important for you to be part of the community?

Monica Whitfield: [00:20:58] It became apparent to me when I first moved here how big the sense of community was in Bartow County and Cartersville, not growing up military. That wasn’t my norm at all. I’m in a community for a little bit. My dad gets his papers, we’re gone. Some of those people who were my best friends, I never saw them again. So I didn’t have that sense of plugging in growing up. But when I moved to Cartersville and quickly realized that it was very important to me when I got to a place that I could give back, that I absolutely would. And so a lot of the organizations that I am either, you know, giving money to, that we are sponsoring through my job are organizations that have directly affected my life and have helped my life. Good neighbor included Bartow Family Resources. I’m very big on making sure that anyone that was in my situation and had these people help them can also know once you get in that position that you can help back and you can give back. You have to do that because now you’re in the position to bless others the way that they have blessed you. And that is very important to me. And it’s also very important that I teach my son that because he’s growing up in a sense of community that I never had, and I love that for him. But I also need to stress the point of you need to turn around and give back to this village that basically helped raise you. So it’s very important that he understands that that’s true.

Brian Pruett: [00:22:20] It does take a village. Come back to you in just a second, Doug. I got a couple of questions for you. While she was talking, I wanted to ask you a couple of things. Well, three things. First of all, I think especially some people have a stereotype for some homeless folks. And when people out there on the exit ramps with the signs, things of that nature, what can you talk about and share that may debunk that stereotype Or, you know, because a lot of people there are people out there take advantage of systems. But just can you share something that might take away that stereotype?

Doug Belisle: [00:22:51] I think what’s been helpful for me is just to remember that everyone has a story, right? And that’s not just for the person who’s holding the sign at the intersection. That’s the person that you sit across from at work or that you I mean, every person that you meet has got a story. And I know people that take like I know business, people that take advantage of situations and circumstances and I used to see that and get mad and think, Oh, I can’t believe that they, you know, and everybody’s heard the story about the, you know, the person that’s holding the need help sign. And then they go get in their Cadillac and drive off to their, you know, to their big fancy house. I don’t think I’ve met anyone like that, but it it always helps me to remember that. There’s a story that got them to that place. And as as I’ve been, as I’ve been blessed to kind of hear people’s stories, it has softened my heart to to people in general, because it I don’t know that that the type of resilience that it takes to get to a point where you’re standing on a on a corner asking for help like that, that takes some serious hustle. That takes a lot of guts. You’ve got to get through a lot of no’s and live down some stigma to be able to to do that. And are there people that take advantage? Sure. In every walk of life. And it also socioeconomic levels, there are people that do that. But the thing that I remember is everyone’s story is different. And and finding out what led a person to any place in life is is helpful for us to be able to understand and relate to to where they are and why they do what they do.

Brian Pruett: [00:24:38] Because we’re all just one, one, one minute, one second away from you never know what’s happening. So if. Somebody. This is kind of not part of it. But if somebody is thinking about starting a nonprofit and you being in this world for a while now and working with some other things, what advice would you give them?

Doug Belisle: [00:24:57] Slow down. There are a lot of there are a lot of of opportunities and there are a lot of people that get an idea and they go, Oh, I’m going to start a nonprofit. And. And I think the first question that you should always ask yourself is who else is doing what I want to do? Like, look around and get involved before you jump into a space and act like a leader. Like go follow and walk alongside some people that are doing the things that you’re doing. When, when, when I was doing a lot of collaboration work in my previous role, I had the opportunity to sit down with a lot of people that would go, Hey, I’m going to start a nonprofit that is for mentoring kids. And I’m like, Great. What other programs are you familiar with in the county that are already doing that? Well, I don’t know anybody that’s doing that. Oh, well, let me introduce you to some people that are doing that and then find out how you can partner with them, because I promise you, starting a nonprofit is a pain in the butt. There’s it’s not as fun as it sounds. The legal aspects, the tax aspects, the, you know, the things that that are involved are complicated. And so find somebody that’s already doing that and partner with them.

Doug Belisle: [00:26:24] And then if there’s a gap that you see somewhere, then fill it in. You know, then then walk down that road. But I think some people think, oh, I’m going to start a nonprofit and that will be my my day job. And it it it takes a long time to get to where you’re at a point where that becomes kind of a position or a role that can pay a salary. That is the hardest part of like the hardest fundraising that that any of us in nonprofit do is raising your your salary like people want to give to the mission they want to give to. They don’t want to give to pay you. And so that’s that’s really difficult. So anyone that comes to me to say, hey, I’ve got a great idea, I’m going to start this nonprofit. I say, Hey, tell me about that. And then let’s walk through that really slowly, because I guarantee there are some things that probably you haven’t thought of or that there are some areas that are already touching that issue that you haven’t thought about or don’t know yet. So go learn from some people that are doing it. And then if you see a gap and shoot into that gap. But but slow down.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:36] That’s some great advice because there are a lot of people out there who think they can fix the world and fix everything and they want to jump in and help people. They got good hearts, but that’s some great advice. So thank you. So other than what your ministry and working with the shelter and all that, why is it important for you to be part of the community?

Doug Belisle: [00:27:53] You know, I still I tell people this that are from there’s still a lot of like native Bartow Countians that are born and raised and haven’t ever, you know, moved. You know, they’ve never left. And they they don’t realize what a treasure chest that they’re sitting on. I’ve never lived in a community like Bartow County. There’s just something different about the sense of community that exists. And and it’s this is going to sound super corny. It’s it’s like a Hallmark movie is what it feels like. It feels like you’re living in a Hallmark movie where you walk into the grocery store and you’re like, Hey, Bob, how’s it going? How are the kids? You know? And you watch that and you go, that’s so stupid. But that’s what it’s like to live in our community. There’s relationships and there’s there’s people and and there’s a desire for, I think overall for everyone to succeed together and that I’m looking around me to, to, to kind of pull people up or pull fellow humans in the same direction. And that’s that’s kind of crazy. That doesn’t happen in every community. The partnerships and the collaboration that exists in some of these small town communities and some of these more rural places that are quickly becoming urban.

Doug Belisle: [00:29:20] I hope that that’s as we grow, that that’s something that we never lose. Because the truth is in all of our situations is that we need each other. We were we were not made to be. Alone. And so when we and I think we’ve we saw that even with the pandemic, I mean, when we were all confined to our houses and afraid and and by ourselves, that was no good for our mental health. That was no good. I mean, we’re we’re made to live in community. And so even even businesses that that work towards relational community do better. They retain their employees more. They have higher success rates with not only their employees, but also with their their customers. If you can develop relationships and you get good at the people part of it business wise, you’re going to succeed. So there’s a lot of truth in community and benefits in all aspects of society that we just we don’t function very well alone.

Brian Pruett: [00:30:24] I like your description of the Hallmark movie because it’s true because I don’t live in Bartow County. I live in the Kennesaw Acworth line. And there used to be a stereotype of Bartow County, the good old boy network. And that’s changed. I mean, there’s still a little pockets of it, but it’s changed. And it’s so true because I see it every Wednesday at the Cartersville Business Club. There are several folks who come to that who aren’t even part of Bartow County, but they love the community aspect of it. And then I see it every third Wednesday night when I’m doing the trivia and I’ve rotated the the charities man, the people that come in, we’ve averaged 60 to 70 folks every month and they’re having a good time. I host a trivia for years for for team trivia at metros around restaurants in metro Atlanta. And yeah, we had, you know, 20, 30 people, but nothing like this. And I realized that, yeah, there it’s it’s a fundraiser but you can tell it’s more than that. People come in, they laugh, they have a good time. And it doesn’t help. It doesn’t hurt to that there’s some awesome food involved in wings. So so but I appreciate you doing that. So if somebody wants to get a hold of you for wanting to find out how they can involve with the shelter or if they know somebody who needs the services, how can they do that?

Doug Belisle: [00:31:30] So the best way is to give us a call. Our number is (770) 607-0610. Our website is under construction. So we’re we’re we’re not quite up to par in our website, but please visit us on on Facebook at Good neighbor homeless shelter and and you can get involved there’s a ton of ways but our website once we once we get it fully functional it’s going to be the place that that will drive people to. So even now, if you want to contact us through our website, there’s ways to do that.

Brian Pruett: [00:32:05] Awesome. Well, don’t go anywhere because we’re not quite done with you. But Monica, I’m gonna come back to you for for a couple of minutes. We talked a little bit about the credit union. Can you share the difference between the credit union and the bank?

Monica Whitfield: [00:32:15] Yes, specifically with my background, I have ten years of banking history in my previous employment. And it’s the difference is like night and day. Honestly, it’s not just the the people that work there, but it’s the sense of community, the products that are offered, how people invest in your life and how they keep up with it. But it’s just a totally different and I’m not saying that every bank treats their customers like a number, but I have been inside both branches and it’s just completely different. Specifically at family savings. You know, a lot going on right now with people worried about their money in the bank and being insured. And I can just give a little, you know, shameless plug for family savings. Your money is insured up to $1 million with family savings. So it’s a lot different. There’s a lot more products that are beneficial, that are community based, that are family based, that are specifically based for that family’s need that some banks just can’t do. You know, we don’t have shareholders or our members. That’s our family. We love them and we we listen to them. We’re in tune to what’s happening in their lives and what needs that they have. And it’s just completely different than what banks are able to offer. So I know.

Brian Pruett: [00:33:27] When I’m traveling and I’m getting frustrated because I can’t find an ATM in my bank. You know, there’s always those charges for using ATMs. If somebody is part of family savings or any other credit union and they travel, how does that look when you’re traveling and you need some get some money?

Monica Whitfield: [00:33:41] Absolutely. We have what’s called shared branching. So you can use different branches and different ATM locations. I myself because like I said, we have six branches in Georgia, but sometimes I’m out traveling and I realize I need to go to the ATM. I got to get my nails done. I got to tip these people in cash because they’ve earned it. And I love doing that and I need to go to the ATM, but I don’t want to go all the way back to the family savings and then have to come back to the nail salon. So there’s actually an app I just realized it’s called Epic. I believe it’s called Co Share, but you can pull up different ATMs that you can use absolutely free and it goes by your location. A lot of them are Publix, 7-Eleven, things like that. They don’t charge if you’re a family savings member because they understand you may not be near a family savings, but you need access to your money. And so there’s no fees for that. And you can just use the ATM and get your money when you need it.

Brian Pruett: [00:34:32] Awesome. That’s good to know because that didn’t used to be that way. All right. If somebody listening wants to get a hold of you and talk about the credit union services, how can they do that?

Monica Whitfield: [00:34:40] I always direct them to the website, which is family savings, C-u Credit union family savings. Q.com Because again, reaching out to me, I’m just going to connect you to your local branch. I can talk to you. You know, I’d be happy to talk to you if you want to, but I’m going to give you a face that when you go into your branch. So I’m going to ask you where you live, what branch you’re closest to. But if you go on the website, it gives you a breakdown because we do have five branches in Alabama, six branches in Georgia. So you can look at each branch as contact information depending on your address to see which one is closest to you so they can feel.

Brian Pruett: [00:35:13] Like Norman Shears. Yes, there you go. All right. Well, again, we’re not quite done with you yet either, but we’re going to move over to Mr. Shannon Boatfield with American National. So, Shannon, thanks for being here this morning.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:35:24] Great to be with you, Brian.

Brian Pruett: [00:35:25] So you’re no stranger to the to the nonprofit world either. You used to be a big part of fellowship of Christian athletes. You’re also a ministry background, big sports background. So tell your story, if you don’t mind.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:35:38] All right. Thank you. Yeah, it’s great to be with with this incredible group that’s in this room, too. So thank you for that privilege. I’m a local kid and Marietta High School and went to high school in Marietta, rather. Lasseter High School. Go Trojans. For anyone listening but yeah sports background and I think the one consistent thread throughout my life was is identity. So much of my early childhood and early life was solely centered on who am I on an athletic field. I played everything in high school and, you know, was fortunate enough to excel in sports. And so that was my identity. Everything was wrapped up in that. And so I had the opportunity to play in college and continue to playing on at higher levels. And it just it continued to further, I guess, cement my identity in in sports. But when sports was over and for every athlete who’s ever played, the day comes when somebody says you’re not good enough to do this. Whether it’s because a college doesn’t call or because the draft doesn’t come your way or a free agency doesn’t happen, there’s a day when you’re basically told you’re not good enough to do this. And when that day came for me, I didn’t know who I was. And my entire life had been wrapped up in sports. And when that was over, like, what’s next? And so it just began, began this kind of journey for me. I started out in college thinking, I’m going to major in accounting and I’m just going to do that because that was the highest salary coming out of college was accountants. I thought that would be great. And I spent one class in college in accounting. I’m like, There’s no way in the world I don’t get to engage with people. I don’t get to interact with people. I’m just stuck at a computer crunching numbers all day. There’s no way.

Brian Pruett: [00:37:24] Different than stats than D-crunch.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:37:26] Yeah, it was totally different. And and so I changed majors a couple of times, again, trying to figure out my identity, what does that look like? And ultimately, I landed on political science, which I love. The two things were never supposed to talk about, right? Religion and politics. Those are the two things that I will talk about with you all day long, especially if we have different points of view. I love those conversations and there’s a long history of political backgrounds in our family. And so I just it just naturally gravitated there history, politics and those sorts of things. So finished with my degree in political science and got involved in the political world at this time. I was now living in Montgomery, Alabama, and so I got involved in the political scene there working Just as for a nonprofit association that represented all the engineering firms in the state of Alabama and just kind of one relationship, one connection led to this, led to that. And ultimately, so I did legislative work for the better part of a decade in the state of Alabama. And all the while, I’m having everything the world says you’re supposed to want, right? You know, making good money and relationships and the big beautiful home and etcetera. But but there was just an emptiness. And again, that identity I was struggling with.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:38:47] Is this all there is to it because I’m successful? I thought on what the world says you’re supposed to want. And I began to I reached out to a friend and I know some of the ones in this room would know. Well, David Franklin. David is I’ve known since I was about 14 years old. He was the associate pastor at the church I grew up in. And I remember having a conversation with him about, you know, is this all there is? Like what? How do I know what God has really called me to do? And he asked me a question. He said, Well, if you had to work for 40 hours a week but you weren’t going to get paid for a year, what would you do? And I kind of sat and chuckled. I said, Man, I would hang out with athletes and coaches all day and talk about Jesus. And he kind of we laughed together and he said, Well, we got to figure out what that looks like for you. And that began kind of a central prayer life for me was God, what’s the next step? And within about a year and a half, probably 18 months later, I get a phone call from some guy in Dalton, Georgia, that I didn’t know. And he says, Hey, we’re hiring for an area director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and we’d love to talk with you.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:39:54] And I was familiar with FCA. Again, having been an athlete, I was involved in FCA in high school. When I was in college, I had the privilege to speak at FCA camps around the country and I was like, Yeah, I love FCA, but I didn’t realize people got like paid to do that. And kind of to Doug’s point earlier too, it’s like, you know, these people like raise money to just talk about Jesus and hang out with athletes all day. And I just thought that was amazing. So we began a series of conversations that led me to Cartersville, Georgia, a town that I had no familiarity with. Even though I grew up in Marietta, I was kind of an East Cobb snob. We would affectionately call ourselves like we didn’t think anything existed outside of East Cobb, Georgia. And and so here I am in Cartersville and so would get married. A couple of years later, my wife and I started our family, my wife Monique, and we have two sons, Christian and Caleb. They are nine and seven. And like Monica said, they’re kind of going, he’s nine, going on about 23. And if you ever meet him, he’s five foot six. So he looks like he’s already about 15 years old.

Brian Pruett: [00:40:59] But he’s he’s you’re tall yourself. So I was joking with Stone when you and Doug walked in. We felt very small. You can’t see it, But these guys are very. You’re six nine, right? Yes. And how tall are you, Doug? Six. Four. Right. So, yeah. Anyway, sorry. Go ahead. All good.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:41:14] And so, yeah, so I had the privilege to just pour, we say to and through coaches with FCA and so to minister to our community and and I echo a lot of what Doug said about that sense of community. There’s a sense of collaboration. And I know we talk about that at Cartersville Business Club, the the collaboration over competition. And so I saw that in the nonprofit world, we are so blessed in our community to have a lot of if there’s a passion that you have, there is an area where you can you can walk in that passion and purpose. And through the nonprofits in Cartersville and specifically Bartow County and and so that was just a wonderful experience getting to meet so many amazing people, learn so much in that and again, helped affirm my identity and that my identity was really in Christ. And I rewind to a conversation with a teammate in college who who knew that I was a Christian. But I didn’t always walk that out there. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we would say, for those of us that love the Lord, we would say, Man, I there’s probably an area of our life that we’re kind of like, God, I’m not going to let go of this. And for me and I so I had that. I was like, I’ve never done certain things. I’ve never experienced certain things and would love to sit here and say, it’s because I just loved Jesus so much and that the truth is it was I was an athlete and I didn’t want something to mess that up.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:42:36] So I stayed away from a lot of those vices. But there were others where I was like, God, I’m not ready to let go of that. I need that in my life. And and so I had a teammate who called me to the carpet on that and he said, listen. And basically just challenged me. He told me a story about Alexander the Great who Alexander the Great looked at one of his subordinates who had been breaking the rules. And he looked at him and he said, Tell me your name. And the soldier looked back at him and said, It’s Alexander. And he said, change your name or change your behavior. And I had a teammate who said, listen, quit telling people you’re a Christian but then living like you’re not. And and that really he had earned the right, I think, to speak into my life. Like, you know, that’s, again, the value of relationship. If some stranger says that to you, you might hold up, man, we’re about to fight. Like, who are you to say that to me? But he had really earned the right to speak into my life, and I took a lot out of that.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:43:31] And I’m still thankful for that man. We are still in each other’s lives to this day. And and and he’s gotten to meet my sons and and he’s he’s in the Hall of Fame at our university. And my son, we were having lunch and my sons were like talking to him because they just thought that was the greatest thing ever, you know, because I’m just a peon. I’m just dad, right? And so they’re talking to him and he’s trying to say like, Hey, your dad was really good and your dad was this, this and this. And my nine year old especially was looking at me. He’s like looking me up and down like, I can take you, old man. You know, he’s looking at me like I’m nothing. And but my youngest comes in and saves the day. And Caleb says, Daddy, he might be in the Hall of Fame, but you’re the goat. And I’m like, That’s. That’s my guy. Thank you, kid. So, so love being a father. That’s a great title that I get to wear now. And through that time with FCA, I got to also get into my passion again for coaching, and that ultimately led to also being able to teach. And so I spent some some years in the education system teaching as both an athletic director and teacher and coach at the middle school and high school levels and but frankly quickly realized education was not the place that I needed to be.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:44:40] And I love talking about Jesus too much. And I just I didn’t like some of the handcuffs that existed, frankly, in that in that world. And so we kind of began to look out for like, what’s next? And and I think God specifically opened the door for where I am now. I’ve gotten to take my love for financial literacy and take that into what I do now. So I’m working with an insurance agency, but we do so much more. And I like, I think, like what Monica was saying about family savings, like we aren’t your typical insurance company. We don’t do things the way that everybody else does. We don’t we don’t protect our clients the same way that everybody does. We we we don’t have A11 approach fits all. We want to look at your individual situation and find out what’s the right coverage for you. It might not be the right coverage for Doug, but it’s perfect for Monica. But Stone needs something totally different, and that’s kind of how we approach our clients. And so I love just that, the personal side of that again, so relationship driven. And I would argue and say that everything that I do, I try to do through that relationship perspective and through that relationship piece. And so I love what I get to do now in helping people protect the things that matter to them.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:45:59] You know, we don’t hesitate to think about protecting our little golden eggs, you know, our homes, our autos, things like that. But I’m really interested in protecting the golden goose that laid them. And so your income and protecting your income. That’s what I love to do. So within our agency, I actually do the financial services side. So that could be something like life insurance, for example, is a great vehicle, but also helping do retirement planning, retirement products, financial planning and even I love it. I had a family recently just sitting across from me who she’s like, We have $54 in the bank, like we can’t afford to do anything. And I got so excited about the opportunity to be able to serve that that type of client when the very next morning I’ve got a guy that’s got more money than he knows what to do with. And so again, he’s we’re helping put him in a better place too. I love the uniqueness of that and the variety of that every single day. So again, all of that rooted in what is my purpose. And I know God put me on this earth to serve other people. And and so every aspect and every professional role and volunteer wise, everything is about how do I serve my community?

Brian Pruett: [00:47:14] Well, you and I’ve talked about this before. I think it’s you don’t have to be a preacher to minister, right? You’re doing that with your job. Doug. You’re doing it. Monica. You’re doing it. And the story you shared about your teammate. I had a similar kind of story that I grew up 77 is still part of the church. And and for a while after my dad passed away, I worked for a garage in downtown Kennesaw. And you and I, Shannon talked about people who have to profess about being a Christian instead of just living it. Right. Right. And I and I was doing the same thing, you know, talking about going to church and all that. And and so Sabbath is sundown Friday, sundown Saturday, the Sabbath that we follow. And and the garage stayed open till 7:00. Well you know, in the winter it closes or it gets darker early. And they were fine with me leaving early. And so one day my boss comes to me and says, you have to stay. Till the end of closing. But he goes, No, but you talk about being a Christian, but the words that come out of your mouth is totally different. So to your point. Right? I mean, it’s just and that’s very humbling, too, when somebody says that to you. Um. Oh, before we get to what I want you to share that you shared the other day that I think is extremely powerful. Why, other than the reasons you just shared, why is it important for you to be part of the community?

Shannon Boatfield: [00:48:38] Because there are so many more people smarter than me. And I want to I want to learn from them. I, I think there was a time in my life when that was threatening. When you’re around better people that are smarter and more talented and more gifted, you’re like, I don’t want to be around them. I want to feel good about myself. And again, why? Why do I feel that way? Because I don’t know my identity. I don’t I don’t understand how to walk in the purpose of what God put me here for. And so and as God has helped me mature with that, I have learned and again, that’s a that’s an everyday thing. I pray that I’m not the man. I’m thankful that I’m not the man I was yesterday. But I’m also excited for the man that God is helping me become still. And and so that’s what community means to me when we take the individual talents of people like Doug and people like Monica and people like you who have hearts for community and who have a heart for these different sectors. And then we put all those talents together. Amazing things come out of that.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:49:34] I’m really involved in Rotary Club, for example, in Bartow County, and our motto is Service above self. And you take all these men and women in that room who are, you know, some who’s who’s in our community, who put their individual talents and giftedness together to make an impact and enlarge the footprint of ministry in our community. And you don’t have to have a vocational job that to be a minister. I think if God has if you if you know who Jesus is, you know that we’re called to be his hands and feet here on Earth. And so how do we walk that out? And the the number one thing I think we must do is just simply love people. And God calls us to love people. And if we love people, well, that will do more to bring about a sense of community. So that’s kind of what it is for me, is just that I know that there are gifts and talents that Monica has, that Doug has, that that will complement mine. In areas where I’m weak, they will be strong and and and that’s what what I love about our community.

Brian Pruett: [00:50:32] Awesome. Well, you you shared something last week at the Cartersville Business Club which I think we all talked about, is a lost art anymore. And it’s written communication. Yeah, right. And if you don’t mind just sharing what you shared because, I mean, Stone, you just heard some powerful stories, right? But what he’s getting ready to share is extremely, extremely powerful. So please share what you shared there.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:50:56] Well, so we do we talk about the power of the written word. There’s incredible power in it. And I just basically asked everybody, when’s the last time you wrote a letter, like an actual letter with a pen and a piece of paper, not a, you know, finely worded email or anything like that, but an actual letter. And then and then think about think about your letter story. Everybody’s got a letter writing story. And, you know, and I made some references as a student of history. I loved hearing and learning about how John Adams, when he was apart from his wife Abigail, every single day that they were apart during his his during their marriage, he would write her a love letter and she did the same. And so it was a constant source of communication. Can you imagine the gift that his children, grandchildren and so on. And we can still see some of those letters today. You can read the words of this incredible man of of American history and the the impact that he had. But you see his love for his wife and it’s on the written word. And I can just imagine receiving that and reading that. I think about even when we’re in school, we’re all of the age where you wrote the notes to each other, right? You’re sitting in class trying not to get caught, but you’re writing that cute girl, that cute guy.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:52:09] You’re writing them a note that tells them how amazing they are. And your life will never be the same without them. And then we hand them to you. And I’ll guarantee you, there’s somebody listening today who’s still got that box of letters somewhere in their attic. You mean, First of all, if you’re married, you need to go throw that away. But. But everybody’s got it. And we think about that. Your high school yearbook, you can read those notes from a high school yearbook and immediately be transformed to senior year. And that one big moment, that prom, that that significant stick out memory, everybody’s got them. And, you know, we could go on and on with examples of letter writing people who’ve been in war who would write letters back home and just the impact that those have had. My family still has letters of that sort that were written by men in my family who were in a wartime writing back home to their sweethearts. And then for me personally, what really drove this home was finding a handwritten note from my great grandmother. Her name was Virginia, but we called her Gin Gin, and she was about four foot ten, like just the tiniest, sweetest woman. But she was she’s literally the closest to God you could have on earth.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:53:19] She was that woman who epitomized all those all those kind of stereotypes that we might imagine. She she had them all was just an amazing woman. And in an old Bible of hers, we found a letter that she had written, and it was basically a prayer. And she had written this prayer about me. And about family members and specifically asking God. It was basically her prayer for us, Right? God, would you protect him? God, would you do this? God? Would you use him in this way? God, would you help him to understand his purpose? Would you help him to live in according to your will? Would you help him to be a godly man, a godly husband, a godly father, and to do it in that particular order? And and out of that came what I do with my sons now, which is a Hey, buddy, what is your vision? What’s your vision? We do it as part of our bedtime every night and they know my job. My calling is to be a godly man, a godly husband and a godly father in that order, because God is a God of order. And so out of that came this incredible. For me. I have this physical thing that I see that sweet woman’s handwriting in where she thought enough of me to take time to write. And. And so in this day and age, you know, I just appealed to people that technology makes everything so much more efficient, but at the cost of intimacy.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:54:45] And we are more connected because of technology than we’ve ever been in the history of the world. But I would argue we’re more disconnected from the people who literally live next door. And so the power of the written word, what we could do and how we could impact people if we would just take a moment to speak life into them through that written word. And I just think it has the power to be transformational in people’s lives. In my classroom, I guess I would close with this on that. Brian, We in my classroom when I was teaching, we used to do something called Speak Life, and it was something we would do every Friday and where the students would have to write a note to somebody else in the class. And they specifically had to say, I think you’re amazing because or I saw you do this and I was so impressed or I’m so impressed. You are so kind and you’re so this, you’re so that and they’d have to give the notes to me, of course, so I could read them, make sure they were appropriate. But then as kids would leave the class that day, I’d go, Hey, Brian, here’s your letters today.

Shannon Boatfield: [00:55:46] Hey, Monica, here’s a couple of letters that were written for you today. Hey, Doug, look what you got today, buddy. And I could just see literally the the the change in body language body posture as they would read something where some kid in the class that maybe didn’t even know would would say to them, You’re amazing. And I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it, I’ve experienced it, and I’ve also seen it in the lives of other people. So the written word is just transformational. And I encourage people to be intentional, to take a moment and write some notes, write some letters and and put your thoughts. You know, when you when you have to write something, literally write something, it makes everything slow down. And you’re so much more intentional about every word because I don’t know about you guys, but I can run my mouth and say something I don’t need to say that can come out the wrong way or it might come out. Maybe I just shouldn’t have even said it. It didn’t make it through the filter machine well enough, you know. But when you have to sit there and write it, it takes some of those things off the table. And so anyway, I think there’s great power in the written word and I want to encourage us to be better at that.

Brian Pruett: [00:56:55] Yes, that was also you also challenged us to go go and write one for that week. So I actually did two for. That’s awesome. So we have a young man in our group that he and his wife suffered a loss and so we did a card for him. And and then I wrote a note to Charlie Darian, who owns Charlie’s Angels Movers, who sponsoring my trivia events and just thanking her for everything she does in the community. So I think it’s right. And then Dr. Tyra Wingo, who’s part of our group, I’ve gotten two cards since I’ve started this business in the mail, you know, just affirming what I’m doing. And then Kelly Nagel sent me the same kind of thing. So you’re right. It is. Of course, you got to have good handwriting, and I don’t. So if you get something from me, you’ll need a couple of glasses or whatever to read that. So need a translator? Yes. Yes. And you also have to take big breaths because I don’t use commas either, so just forewarn you. But anyway, so no, I think another lost art is thank yous even just to say thank you. And before we wrap this up, I have one more question for you, but I’m going to take a second to say thank you, first of all, to Stone, because you’ve provided me a platform to share these positive stories.

Stone Payton: [00:58:06] So it’s my pleasure, ma’am.

Brian Pruett: [00:58:09] And then thank you to Doug because. People like you to step up to help people, you know? Monica sharing your story, that takes courage. And then Shannon, the same thing. So thank you guys for coming. All right. Before we wrap this up, I always like to ask us questions, so and we’ll start back with you, Doug. I like to end this with a positive quote, a word or just some nugget for people listening today to live today and the rest of 2023 and beyond with. Go ahead, Doug. What you got?

Doug Belisle: [00:58:40] Oh, wow. A word of wisdom that would have been helpful to come with. I think I think I’ll go back to to something that I said earlier, and that’s everyone has a story. And if we can remember that like that, that that has become so powerful in my life. Right. Because it’s really easy to get mad at the person that just cuts you off. You know, or is driving so incredibly slow in front of you or is, you know. Whatever the whatever the circumstance is to the person that messed up your order at Taco Bell. Right. I said no tomatoes. And there are tomatoes on this. Right. And so I can choose to I can choose to get angry about those situations and I can choose to become a maniac, angry person, which is an easy choice to make, right? Because if I’m not thinking about other people, then you have inconvenienced me and life becomes all about me. But when I realize when I started realizing that everyone has a story, I start thinking about that driver in front of me that that cut me off. And what’s what’s happening in their world that’s causing them to do that? Or what is the, you know, what is going on with the person that’s that’s working at Taco Bell that inadvertently put tomatoes when I said no tomatoes or didn’t put tomatoes when I asked for tomatoes.

Doug Belisle: [01:00:10] And I can choose to get upset about that or I can choose to go, I wonder what is going on in their world. I wonder what their story is. And once I start thinking about that, I find that it puts things in perspective, right? Like I think about my story and go, Oh, wow. Well, if their story is anything like mine, then maybe they’re just having a bad day. Or maybe this happened, or maybe they spilled their coffee and, you know, and they’re just having a rough day. Man, I’ve had a rough day. I know what that’s like, and it helps to like that makes me a better person. My blood pressure doesn’t become so high. I’m able to to to live with understanding. And that’s that’s been, that’s, I’d say lately one of the most powerful concepts that has hit me and changed the way that I that I walk through life is everybody’s got a story.

Brian Pruett: [01:01:08] Awesome.

Monica Whitfield: [01:01:08] Monica I’ve actually got to I say this to my son all the time and I actually just shared it in a quiet Reflections Facebook group group that I’m in and it’s every day try to show someone a little more grace than they showed you. And it kind of connects with what Doug was saying is because you don’t know what they’re going through, you don’t know why they were just rude to you. But if you just exhibit the grace that you wanted to be to get from them in return, it’s so much easier. And then another one that I say to my son all the time is yesterday is gone. Today needs to be intentional because tomorrow is not promised.

Brian Pruett: [01:01:48] Wow. Shannon. Wow.

Shannon Boatfield: [01:01:49] That’s good. Created things have purpose. As somebody who’s struggled with identity for a large part of their life. There’s power in that understanding and getting to the place where we realize, man, God created me and if he created me, I have a purpose. And there’s somebody listening today that I think just needs to hear that. And I think if we lived our lives with such intentionality, we’d make a big difference. And so one of my favorite scripture is from Ephesians, when Paul writes and challenges, hey, today, just walk worthy of the calling on your life. Whatever it is you do, whether we work at a bank or a credit union or we run a nonprofit, we’re in the insurance world, whatever it is we do, run a radio station. Walk worthy of the calling that God’s put on your life today. And and I think that’s going to make us all a better better for it.

Brian Pruett: [01:02:42] Wow. So, Doug, Monica, Shannon, thanks again for coming and sharing your stories. Everybody listening. Let’s remember, let’s be positive. Let’s be charitable.