Hilary McDurmont, Zane Williams, Jr. and Daniel Lathrop

Intro: 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: Good, fabulous Friday. It’s another fabulous Friday. And we’ve got three more fabulous guests. So it’s been one of those weeks where I’ve been mostly home all week trying to get over my sinus issues. So I know there’s a lot of stuff going around. So if you’re out there listening, I hope you’re feeling better if you’re sick and if you’re not well, I hope it’s a great Friday for you. If this is your first time listening to Charitable Georgia, This is all about positive things happening in the community. And again, like I said, we’ve got three fabulous guests that’s going to share their stories and what they’re doing in the community. So my first guest this morning is Mr. Zane Williams Jr. Zane, thanks for coming this morning.

Zane Williams Jr.: Thank you for having me. I appreciate you having me.

Brian Pruett: So we have a mutual friend and Angelo, and we sat down and talked last week a little bit about your story. And up until recently you had your own business and it was a sneaker business in town Center Mall. Yes, sir. But we’ll get into that in just a second. But share a little bit of your background because it kind of leads into some changes for you. And I just think it’s kind of a great story of pursuing dreams. And then kind of refocusing as well. So don’t mind share your story.

Zane Williams Jr.: Um, so pretty much I was born here, not born here, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but I pretty much grew up here, so I would say I’m from here. Um. Raised in a two parent, not two parent home, but parents split up. And so I got through high school. Got into things that I shouldn’t have gotten into. Got into snorting, drinking, smoking stuff like stuff I shouldn’t have been in. Stuff I wasn’t raised up on. Just not focused. Went to college. Had to come home because I lost my hope. Scholarship. Had a 2.9. You know, you have to keep a 3.0 to stay. But I came home from school and I didn’t really know what direction I wanted to go in my life. And so I kind of just started selling stuff from thrift store. And it started with the store, started with clothing, and then it started building with shoes. And my dad kind of saw what I had my drive to want something for myself. And so it got to the point where he saw he saw what I was doing and he kind of would put. His supporting me, put his money into me, and it got to the point where I could open a store. Business was in my name. I did all the I had some help from my grandmother to do the paperwork to get the business started and stuff like that.

Zane Williams Jr.: And so I started the business during Covid. 2021, and I wound up moving into the mall, opened opened a store on Black Friday in the mall, did very well in the mall. And that leads us to Angelo and me, me, me and him meeting. And it was like when I met him, I was in a point in my life where I. Had lost a friend over my lust and. I was hurt by it because that wasn’t who I was. And I was so tired of myself because I was still in a lifestyle of drinking and smoking and being out late and being a night owl, being places I’m not supposed to be, places I normally wouldn’t be. And so I was just tired of myself. I was tired of living the lifestyle that I was living. And I know that God felt my heart and. To the to the point where he sent me. Angelo. So I could. Be forgiven of all of my sins and to for me to really live a life that is pleasing to God. And while all this is going on, I’m realizing things about my family and how their love wasn’t really. Their love was shown in a way where. It wasn’t love, but it was to them, it was love. So I’m realizing things about my family and. And. Um, pretty much my dad was my dad was controlling the money side of the business, and I was just the face and.

Zane Williams Jr.: As as as to say this, to say this as humble as possible. I brought people to the business with my camaraderie and my genuineness and and people came for me. When people come to your business, they’re not coming for just the product. They’re coming for you because of what you have to bring with along with that product. So. I got to a point where I started to realize more and more that I’m just being used. Six Figure Business. And I’m not really seeing what I should see. And, you know, you have to keep putting back into a business as it goes. But it got to a point where I had to stand for God and and and do the right thing, even when the business things in the business weren’t being done in the right way. I was almost 50 grand in debt and in sales taxes because I don’t have control of anything when it comes to where money goes, where money is spent. I’m just getting a paycheck every week like I’m an employee, but my face is on the business and my name is on the business and I’m pretty much not getting. What I need from I got what I needed from the experience, but it got to a point where I just had enough and I pretty much walked out and.

Zane Williams Jr.: Um, I walked out of the business. Me and my dad got into an argument, and I walked out and. He said he said he said to me, Why don’t you go live with the Brad Pitt delicious guy. And that was pretty much him kicking me out of the house. And so I went to his house, which I was staying with him at the at the time. And I got all my stuff and I called Angelo and I just told him I just got kicked out and he took me in and. It’s been a blessing to me and it’s just been showing me how to live. How I sport how I’m supposed to be live and not to take anything away from my father because he did show me a lot. He showed me how to be a man. And in that time in my life, I. I rejected a lot. A lot of the times I don’t know why, but there was a rebelliousness in my spirit. And maybe maybe it was because of my parents not staying together. I wanted my parents to be together. You know, parents divorce. You kind of are confused at that time. You know, they remarry and they do. They do what they do. And it’s like you have two sets of parents. One that’s not really it’s not really how it’s supposed to be.

Zane Williams Jr.: Right. So. Time goes on. The business is still on my name and I get to the point where I have to pass this business off because. God can’t bless me in the way that he wants. If I’m still attached to something that is not of him. So I sold this business which I know was worth more than $1, but I sold it to one, sold it for $1 to my father. Just to. Cleanse myself from. Everything that I have been through with just being. A puppet, pretty much just being talked to any kind of way. Sometimes just. Verbal abuse. Whether he may see it that way or not, just things that you say, how you say it matters. I would like to say that I’m in a better place now that I’ve found God and I don’t. I know God, but I still have work to do in learning who God is and how he operates. But God took all of my desires to smoke, drink, took away my lustful desires. I was really big into porn at one point and masturbation and. And just. And just doing things in a routine and in a cycle that I was just tired of being in. And so that’s that’s really. I guess a good backstory for you pretty much gave it to you all at once. Right.

Brian Pruett: So, you know, it’s pretty sad. I know there’s a lot of family dynamics that even I know sitting around this table that is very, very not healthy at the moment. I you know, I got some family dynamics going on. That’s well, I’ll put it this way. A lot of times your friends become your family. And you found that out with Angelo and Miracle and their family. And so I’m curious, when you started your business, you were how old?

Zane Williams Jr.: How old? Oh, 21.

Brian Pruett: So really young to start your really your own business. And I’ve also heard and I’ve actually experienced where you don’t really want to start a business with family members or best friends. No, sir. You know, and that that kind of can lead to some things that that aren’t good so you don’t.

Zane Williams Jr.: Get the same respect.

Brian Pruett: Right. Right. And you take advantage of. Exactly. And a lot of times you’re the one doing all the work. So. So I’m curious. You it was a sneaker store. You said went into sneakers. Yes, sir. Just out of curiosity, why was it the sneakers that kind of caught your attention?

Zane Williams Jr.: They always had my attention. And. As a kid, my mom would always buy me shoes and stuff like that. So I was always into the Jordans and Nike’s. The I was always into it. So once I got to a point where I had money to buy a lot of the inventory. I was already familiar with shoe names. When shoes came out where I could get them. Who I can get them from at the lowest price. It was kind of. It led me having that interest as a young man led to me already. Having interest in it. So I knew about it so I could sell it.

Brian Pruett: So. You said you were 21. How old are you now?

Zane Williams Jr.: 23. I’ll be 24in September.

Brian Pruett: All right. So about three years ago is when you started the business and obviously doing real well. And the focus, I think, became a lot on the money, especially at that age. I’m sure it was like, man, you’ve seen a lot of green and the things like, oh, you know, I’m doing good, doing good, doing good. So here’s where the story I think of refocus comes in for you because obviously you’re still young, 24, but you’ve decided to step away. And like you said, you only sold it for $1, which to me is is amazing in itself because like you said, you could have got a lot more money on it. And and again, the money aspect of it. But you’re refocusing and trying to work on yourself. You’re going back to school, right? Sports management. Ksu Yes, sir. Good program, by the way. I graduated second degree with that. So what are your aspirations when you once you get done with that, what do you want to do?

Zane Williams Jr.: My aspirations. Honestly, to be truthful, to be 100% honest with you, wherever, wherever God wants me to be. I used to be so selfish and what I wanted, it was always about me and how I could maneuver my life to make everything easy for me. And I’m. I’m. I’m at a point in my life where I don’t want to do that anymore because. Sometimes God doesn’t to say sometimes a lot of the times God doesn’t want what we want for ourselves. So it’s not about me anymore at this point.

Brian Pruett: And God can use you wherever you are. I mean, if you look at the Bible, all the stories in the Bible, I mean, the guys that he gals he used were very I mean, he had murderers, rapists, people that he used, and he met them where they were. So so if somebody is listening and they’re younger, around your age and thinking about, man, I really want to do my own business at some point, give them some advice on what to do about starting a business.

Zane Williams Jr.: Do your research, know what you need. Make sure you have some people if you’re going to have people helping you. Make sure they make sure you make sure you write some type of contract before you start. Because that’s where I messed up. I didn’t have a contract. I just jumped into business and was hoping for the best. You can’t hope for the best. You got to have a paper trail for yourself or you’re setting yourself up to fail.

Brian Pruett: Okay, Great advice. So you’ve recently started networking with Angel. You’ve been coming to some events. Why is it do you think it’s important to get out there and network and then be part of the community?

Zane Williams Jr.: So people can know who you are. So people can. Figure out how we can all pretty much come together and. Maybe just not just fellowship, but learn from each other. There’s a lot to be learned from having met you guys yet, really. But sitting here with me. But I’m going to learn something today. And that’s what it’s about learning, because we can never stop learning.

Brian Pruett: Well, and you’re also willing to to give back in ways you’ve come to. Some of the fundraising events that I’ve done. You’ve done some trivia events and you’ve come to our locker room chat. So I appreciate you supporting those.

Zane Williams Jr.: I appreciate you putting those events on and you.

Brian Pruett: I don’t know. It just seems like you’re wanting to to make a difference, which is awesome because I think a lot of people in your age group these days. Don’t think about that. So anyway, thank you for sharing part of your story and. Well, let me ask you this. So is this part of the networking part? Actually, it’s been, what, a couple of months that you’ve been out networking? Yep. Do you have anything positive you can share since from doing the networking?

Zane Williams Jr.: I would say. Hearing, hearing from from God and just making sure that the people that you are meeting that you use them. And you let them use you. And it’s not it can’t be a one sided affair because. Like I said, we all can learn something from one another, but at the same time, we kind of have to give something to get something.

Brian Pruett: I wish more people would learn that because a lot of people come to networking and it’s about them or it should be me. How can I help you? Eventually they’ll help will come back. It’ll come back to you, but.

Zane Williams Jr.: It’ll come back around. You just got to. You got to have something for someone. And if you don’t have it at the time, that’s cool. But that’s where you go out and you learn from other people. You meet other people, you have new experiences with people and come with.

Brian Pruett: It, like with an open mind, like you’re talking about with learning. Because it is you learn every single day from somebody. Stone says he learns every time we do the show.

Stone Payton: Hey, I really do, man. I love doing this show. I don’t have to do any hosting, so I get to just sit back and listen and absorb it. Occasionally, Brian will let me ask a question, but I learned something every Friday morning, so your words could not be truer. Man. Right on. Right on target.

Brian Pruett: All right, Zane, So again, thank you for sharing your a little bit of your story. Don’t go anywhere because we’re not really done yet. But I’m now moving over to Daniel Lathrop from 1041 Canine. Daniel, thanks for being here this morning.

Daniel Lathrop: Hey, thanks for having me, Brian.

Brian Pruett: So, Daniel, you’re a veteran army, correct? Yes, sir. So thank you for your service. But I think you have a really cool job because if I could do this, I would do it all day long as well. But you get to play with dogs all day long, right?

Daniel Lathrop: Something like.

Brian Pruett: That. Yeah. Right. So first of all, share a little bit of your experience, if you don’t mind. Share about your your service and then we’ll talk about 1041 Canine.

Daniel Lathrop: Sure. Yeah. So I’m kind of back up a little bit. So when I was younger, I kind of grew up training, working dogs or being around working dogs. My my father was a accelerant detection canine handler and trainer with the fire department he retired from. And my mother trained guide dogs for blind people. So I grew up all around these dogs, you know, learning behaviors and how how the dog works and stuff like that. I remember when I was real little, probably third grade, I, I saw the movie Iron Will or whatever, and I was hooked. I was like, I’m doing I’m going to work with dogs for my life. That’s my job. Great movie, movies like that. And so fast forward a little bit. I got into high school, you know, did the JROTC and everything and decided that’s what I wanted to go to the Army. And I enlisted in 2004 and I got out in July of 2009. I went in with the with the hopes of being a lifer. My overall goal was to be a special operations canine handler. I mean, that was just wild to me, seeing those guys out there and, you know, working the front lines with explosive dogs. And, you know, that just really spoke to me. And and just the difference that made I’ve seen the difference that they made those those canine handlers when I was in the infantry and I deployed to Baghdad in 2005 to 2006. So sometimes we would get a lot of the handlers that would come out on patrols and missions with us.

Daniel Lathrop: And I mean, just the lives they save, that was just phenomenal. So that’s just kind of that just kept burning in me and burning in me to do that. Unfortunately, I left Iraq with a medical discharge, so had to make new career plans. Let’s see. Yeah, just kind of in and out of school, just kind of trying to refigure my life. Now I’m a civilian, and it was very tough, you know, going from wanting to, you know, this brotherhood to all of a sudden it’s like you’re you’re done, you’re out. So that was quite a hard adjustment. Struggled with a lot of things as well. And then, yeah, just life happened. I mean, I was married at the time to my first wife and we got a divorce. And then after that I just went downhill in and out of bad relationships and just heartbreak after heartbreaks, you know, putting myself through crazy situations. And then God pulled me back, you know, and he’s like, you need to get your stuff together. You know, you’re wasting your life. And the way I was, I was living was not honoring, you know, my brothers who fell and I was not honoring at all. And that stuff kind of really weighed on me. So I got back in the church, got back with, you know, close with God again, met my wife. We’ve been married for about my second wife. We’ve been married for about four years now. We just moved up here from Florida two years ago. We always vacationed in Jasper and fell in love with the area, and she’s a certified vet technician.

Daniel Lathrop: So that’s how we met was actually I took my dog in for an exam, and the rest is history. There you go. But yeah, we moved up here. She. She’s working at a neurological a canine or an animal neurology clinic. And my business has been going for almost a year now. So it’s been. It’s been great. I have my own personal working dog. He’s a narcotics detection canine. His name is Noel. He’s a four year old shepherd. We also do tracking and trailing. So we’ll get out there and find some people too. And that’s my passion, is just training these working dogs, especially with drug detection, with fentanyl being as as the epidemic that’s going on. And that’s one thing I told myself when I got out of the military or before I got out was I want to make a difference. Like, I don’t care what I want to make a difference in this world. And so I feel like God’s been He blessed me with this gift to work with dogs and just the passion that I have with these dogs and the connection I make is just it’s phenomenal. And when I train them on their, you know, to find drugs and then I get them with like a handler or something, or pet dogs doing obedience with their owners, seeing that connection that that bond that the dog and their owner make. Like it’s a it’s rewarding every time. But that’s that’s kind of how I got into the dog training and it’s just been it’s been great.

Brian Pruett: So I’m curious about the name. Where did 1041 come from?

Daniel Lathrop: So I’m not law enforcement, but you know. 1041 it’s part of the police ten code. And when I was coming up with the name, which I’m sure everybody can relate to how hard that was, I was watching some old training videos of working my dog Noble, and I came across his very first video of when I imprinted him on cocaine. I was his first odor I imprinted on and there’s a subtitle that I put in the video. Noble’s first step in his career or something. So I was like, How could I incorporate that? So I looked it up, just, I don’t know, just came on to me to look up police ten codes and 1041 means beginning tour of duty. So when I get puppies to come in for drug training or any type of detection work, I am the first step of their training career or of their career. So I was like, you know, it came up and I went with it and that’s awesome.

Brian Pruett: So do you work with any of the current law enforcement training their dogs?

Daniel Lathrop: Not yet, no. I’m still working on getting my working dog program going. Okay.

Brian Pruett: So you shared a couple of stories I’d like for you to share. One thing we were talking about you just started working with some dogs, training them on PTSD, but share how that came about because it’s kind of cool. Sure.

Daniel Lathrop: Yeah. So as I said, I was wounded and I was yeah, I was wounded in combat. And the difference a dog can make with somebody going through through those struggles, not just for the veteran, but also for the family and the breeder I’m looking at. They have dogs that are washed out that didn’t make the cut to do work. So I want to get those guys and get them going for like veterans or first responders who are dealing with PTSD. I would like to say I’m probably still here because of a dog, because all those dark times I went through, I always had a dog with me and. Wait. You know, the way they look at you, they don’t judge you. They’re there. They don’t ridicule you. They don’t make fun of you. It’s just 100% wholehearted love. And I just see the difference that that’s made in my life. And I want other veterans to experience that. So I want to take my God given gifts and give back to my veteran community as well.

Brian Pruett: We’ll share about the two dogs. You just because you just started with 2 or 1 I know of. But how how that came about with those two.

Daniel Lathrop: The two rescue ones? Yeah. So my wife, she found two part of being married to a vet. Tech is animals Come home. Yeah. Before I met my wife, it was just me and my pet shepherd. And then she brought in her two dogs and two cats and then a foster cat. So now we got three cats. Four dogs, including my working dog. Now these two puppies. And I got a board and train client at the house now. So we’re it’s busy, but yeah, so she, she found these two dogs mixes and I mean they just were, they were just dropped off. And so when she brought them home I noticed they had a heck of a nose on them. So I just went to Cabela’s, got the deer scent blood kit and now they’re tracking deer like they they enjoy it. So there you go. And I’m like, Hey, thanks for whoever dropped these dogs off.

Stone Payton: So can I text you when I’ve got one down and pay you a fee to come out with one?

Daniel Lathrop: Oh, no, no, I’ll train it, but not. All right.

Brian Pruett: Also share the story because it’s kind of funny. But. But you had a dog that actually had a party, right? So I found some. Drugs.

Daniel Lathrop: My working dog. Yeah, yeah yeah. He’s he’s. Yeah, he’s, he’s. He’s working trying to get him some more work. So.

Brian Pruett: Yeah. So be careful if you throw a party and want want something found and you invite Daniel over because you may have some unexpected surprises. So walk us through what’s the day look like for you? How do you first of all, how is it that you know where to start with the dog and then in which direction you’re going to train them.

Daniel Lathrop: As far as like, let’s say, narcotics detection or. Well, we’ll.

Brian Pruett: Go to that and then we’ll also do obedience.

Daniel Lathrop: Okay. So so for the narcotics detection, first of all, we select the puppy. They we actually have a sheet of what we’re looking for. We’re looking for the dog with a high. I want a dog that has a high prey. Drive high, retrieve, drive like my shepherd Noble that he would chase a tennis ball into oncoming traffic without even thinking about it. I mean, he has so ball driven and that’s what what I look for. So we take that usually with detection, we start about a year old. So we’ll get them in young, get their obedience, go and get them trained and then we’ll start them. We’ll start imprinting them at a year old on on the odors.

Brian Pruett: How about a for obedience? What does it look like when you’re trying to do an obedience training.

Daniel Lathrop: For obedience that’s on the dog? That is 100% how dogs all learn at different paces or different rates just like us. And it depends on, you know, I get a dog that comes in with severe codependency issues and stuff like that can can make the training longer.

Brian Pruett: So are there certain breeds you find that are easier to work with and are there breeds that you won’t work with?

Daniel Lathrop: So I like the big dogs. I don’t like zoos, I don’t like Dotson’s little. Those are toys. Those aren’t dogs. Heel nippers. Yeah, I like the Malfoys and the shepherds in the labs. Those are my my preferred.

Brian Pruett: So I’ll give you give you a funny story of a Dotson. I had a good friend who lived over here at the time and we met because I was back getting my sports management degree and I was older than all the students that I was even older than some of the professors. So I hung out with the professors and we became good friends with one of them, and he asked me to come over to meet his dog, Stitch, who was a Dotson, and he wanted me to come over and and pet sit for a while while they were gone. So I get over there and I open the door and he’s like, you know, Here, put your hand down. The first thing he does is take a chunk out of my finger. And then we go sit down in the living room, and the next thing you know, he’s up in my lap trying to, you know, ask forgiveness and all that. Sure. You know, and then so I do this several, several times now. And then I go over and and I pitch it for him. And anyway, there’s one day that I think Stitch really thought that Jason and Jessica were leaving and not coming back. And he was tired of them leaving. And so I was trying to feed him and he was up underneath the bed, their bed in their room, and I couldn’t get him out from underneath the bed. And so I reached in and all of a sudden he starts snarling. Now, those of you who know me, I’m not tall, but I’m a big guy. Imagine this in your head. I’m being chased around the bedroom by this Dotson. Kind of hit my knee heals. It’s just a funny, funny thing. So it’s.

Daniel Lathrop: True. Those little ones, they’re more vicious than the big dogs. The little man syndrome. Big man syndrome. I’ve been bit by more little dogs than right.

Brian Pruett: All right. So I’m curious to like you said, you started your own business. Give some advice for starting a business.

Daniel Lathrop: Some one thing I’ve learned, perseverance, especially as a dog trainer, that that carried over into my business is don’t give up. It took me years and years to get to where I’m at now, not only as a dog handler, but as a trainer. You know, I never went to like any formal canine school or anything, but I always had the knowledge from what I’ve learned growing up. So a lot of people wouldn’t give me the time of the day for like internships. I had one up here that I did for a year when we moved up. That’s where I got Noble and and I would try to get volunteer with like search and rescue. I would ask like law enforcement and, hey, can I help? Is there anything I can do? And just nobody would give the time of day and just kind of So I took that and I’m like, I’m not going to be like that. You know, I want to mentor people. If you’re interested in dogs, I will help you get to where you want. So that’s why I say perseverance is if you have a dream, don’t don’t have a fallback plan like that’s setting yourself up for failure already. Move forward. Keep fighting. If you got to take detours, take detours, But overall, you got to achieve that goal.

Brian Pruett: Good. So you actually share with me, too, that you’re trying to get more involved with some of these local animal nonprofits and helping them with their with their dogs. Have you had any success with that yet?

Daniel Lathrop: Sure. I’ve reached out to some shelters. I’ve have yet to hear back from them because I’m more than happy to volunteer my time, come in for like a day and work with shelter dogs if they get adopted out. I would even help them like give a free lesson or two just to help the success of that dog being being adopted because people go and adopt the dog and they think it’s supposed to be perfect the day they get home. It takes months for the dog to adjust and then they’re within two weeks they’re back in the shelter. Right? So, I mean, if you all know of any shelters or anything that, you know, would like something like that, I’m more than happy to volunteer my time and and to come and help out. So.

Brian Pruett: All right. We’ll share your contact information here in just a minute. So but I got a couple other questions for you. So you you like you mentioned earlier, you want to give back, you want to be part of things. So you and I met networking at the Connections originally and you have been coming to some other things. And you’ve also you recently donated a certificate for a fundraiser that I’m doing. You came a couple of weeks ago to trivia, which turned out was a surprise birthday for me. Stone I didn’t realize it, but they were throwing a surprise, which our friend Bob Brooks almost ruined. He texted me just as I start trivia and says, Sorry, I can’t be at your surprise birthday party. And I’m like, What are you talking about?

Daniel Lathrop: Oh, goodness.

Brian Pruett: That’s another story. But anyway, thanks, Bob. Um, anyway, so why is it important for you to be part of the community?

Daniel Lathrop: Like I said, I just want to make a difference. I want to do everything I can just. Just to help people. Just. Just for the good of man. I mean, we’ve got. There’s too much evil out there. There’s too much fight. Just all this. Just hatred out there. And if I can do a little something to bring a little bit of light into someone’s life or into the community or something, I’m all for it. I will do whatever I can to to help to be there.

Brian Pruett: Awesome. So, all right, so if somebody is listening and Well, actually, let me ask this first. Since you’ve been networking, you got any positive stories you can share about networking?

Daniel Lathrop: Yeah, networking has been great. It has built my confidence, especially with standing up in front of people and, you know, doing like a 30 minute or 32nd brief. You know who you are, what you do and all that. So it’s definitely has boosted my confidence in speaking and just being around good people who want to help you succeed and help you grow your business. And that’s what I love about it. It is like a family. Everybody wants to help each other succeed. Passing business. Cards and given ideas of, of of clients and recommendations and referrals and you know, a lot of a lot of good mentors, too.

Brian Pruett: So it’s funny because I don’t know if you noticed this, but I noticed when I’m around you and we’re networking and people, they hear what you do and then all of a sudden it’s like, Oh, can I get your information? Can you, can I Let me ask you this about my dog. Can you do this?

Daniel Lathrop: I got to carry extra business cards because I get chased down when I’m leaving and because, I mean, there’s times where I want to come talk to you and stuff, and then I just get, like, the.

Brian Pruett: Right. No, that’s cool. All right. So if somebody is listening and wants to talk to you about your services, how can they do that?

Daniel Lathrop: We you can check us out on Facebook. 1041 k9.com that’s 1041. And then the letter K and number nine. Same thing. Go online 1041 k9.com and that list everything we do tells more more in depth about our company who we are and services we offer.

Brian Pruett: So if you guys are interested in seeing what he does a little bit. So November 16th we are holding a expo over at the community center for veteran first responder owned businesses and he’s going to be doing a K9 demonstration while we’re there. So make sure you come out and check that out as well. So, Zane, I didn’t ask you this. If somebody is listening and wants to talk to you about possibly coming, maybe they’ve got something you can do for as an internship or things like that. Is there a way anybody can get a hold of you?

Zane Williams Jr.: I don’t want to get my phone number out.

Brian Pruett: Do you have an email address?

Zane Williams Jr.: Yeah, you can reach me at Zane. Zane0913 at gmail.com. That is the the best way to reach me.

Brian Pruett: Okay. So if anybody is listening in sports management has anything coming up for this young man, reach out to him. He’s a he’s a great guy. So. All right, Daniel, thanks for sharing a little bit of your story. And we’re going to move over to Ms. Hillary McDermott. And we normally start with Ladies First, but she’s got such a powerful story. I wanted to finish up with her. So Hillary, thank you for being here this morning.

Hilary McDurmont: Thanks for having.

Brian Pruett: Me. So you have recently kind of switched jobs. You’re now with Ace Handyman out of Acworth, correct? Yes. And Alicia Tedesco, who is a great, great person. So we’ll talk about how you maybe got that here in just a second. But you’ve got a great story. But you are you’ve done a lot of things. Your real estate agent, you’re a great singer and you do have a passion for helping others. But you’re also a story of overcoming perseverance, not giving up. And if you don’t mind, I’m going to I’m going to do a little disclaimer claimer for this, though, because if somebody is listening and going through a hard time, I don’t know. There could be some triggers here or not. But it’s a powerful, powerful story that I think needs to be shared. So yeah, just go ahead and share your story, if you don’t mind.

Hilary McDurmont: I will. Yes. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Let me back up. I’m going to start with. Okay. I’m from Pascagoula, Mississippi, right on the Gulf Coast. And I was born and raised there. I grew up as an only child and I spent a lot of time by myself outside. I did have a lot of cousins, though, and I always loved going over to my grandma’s house and spending time with my cousins because to me that was like my only way to have like that brother or sister type of relationship. So I was really close with my cousins. And then fast forward. I also grew up in a music store, so that’s where I got my love for music. My grandpa owned a music store in our hometown called Chappies Music, so I would spend a lot of time there as well with my dad. Then when the store closed, they opened up a guitar center in Mobile, and that’s actually where I met my my husband and. And my ex-husband. I’ve been married twice. But so anyway, that’s how I ended up here in Atlanta. So I was married before. That’s my the the father of my first child. We were we lived in Mobile and then we divorced. And then I reconnected with my current husband and moved here to Atlanta. We I moved to Roswell and we stayed in Roswell for about ten years. And then we moved to Woodstock in 2020. Throughout that time, let’s see, I started see my first job. Oh, I I’ve had a lot of experience with customer service, working retail, you know, waiting tables.

Hilary McDurmont: I never really wanted a career when I was growing up. I always knew that I was just going to be a stay at home mom, you know, coming up in a in a small town, there’s not a lot to do there. You either wait tables or you work at the oil refinery or you work at the shipyard. That’s just, you know, that’s just the lifestyle there. But then you move to Atlanta, you know, a big city. You’ve got so many opportunities, right? So I come here and I’m like, Oh, what can I do? We had another child. We have now we have two kids. I still didn’t know what I wanted to do. Um, and I was also kind of struggling with my spirituality. I wanted to have a relationship with God, but I also wanted to do all the things right because I’m in a big city, small town girl. Um, yeah. So I’m just, you know, I’m young, young mom in a big town, confused. And I just. I mean, you’re going to have to, like, keep me on track because I got you. My. My story is such a whirlwind that sometimes I have trouble keeping it all straight. So anyway, let’s see. I’m in Atlanta. I have all these jobs. Okay. Where am I? Woodstock. Let’s get to Woodstock. Okay, So by the time I get to Woodstock, I am driving a school bus for Fulton County, and then I’m pursuing my real estate, my real estate license. Let’s see. I am also because I’m trying to do all the things I’m having a hard time balancing my life.

Hilary McDurmont: My marriage is not doing so well and I’m not handling it properly. I do. I make very poor choices. And throughout my life I have always struggled with depression. Growing up as an only child, being alone, not feeling like I belonged anywhere. I. Would go through these bouts of feeling like I was worthless. Feeling like I didn’t matter. Feeling like no one would care what I felt or thought. And I would keep those things to myself a lot. I’m. And I didn’t do the things that I knew I should. I didn’t throw those things on God. You know, I didn’t. And I would try. I would even pray. But for some reason, I would never feel. The relief or the comfort that I knew. I knew that. I should feel it. But for some reason I just wouldn’t feel the connection. And. I still struggled, so. I would turn to other things for comfort. Bad things. And I’m going to be honest, I, I did I did cheat on my husband. And it was bad. And I regret it every day. And I kept that secret for years. And let me tell you, lies are the heaviest burden to carry because they just eat away at you. It’s like poison sitting in your stomach. Because of those lies, I tried to even kill myself. And that was July 16th, 2020. I drove my car off of 575 into a ravine. But amazingly, I walked away without a scratch. I don’t know how. I don’t know why.

Brian Pruett: All you do as God. He still has a plan for you.

Hilary McDurmont: Yeah. Yeah. Because. It’s. The circumstances around that, you know, 110 miles an hour, no seat belt into a tree. The car was totaled. Glass everywhere. I don’t know, like the logically, there was no reason for me to walk away with no scratch.

Brian Pruett: So I’m going to say this. I think God puts us through things so we can help other people. And he allows certain things to happen. And you walked away because you can help somebody. You’re helping somebody right now by sharing this.

Hilary McDurmont: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And the weeks that I spent in the hospital afterwards to get the needed mental help, the nurses would tell me, you know, there’s a reason that you’re here. And I at that time I was angry and I was like, because I sat in that car and I said, Great, I failed again. You know, I failed at everything. And I’m glad I failed. So I actually counted last night, I. I’ve been alive 1135 days since that car accident. Wow. I’ve been blessed that many days. So.

Brian Pruett: And it’s just it’s amazing what God does. And we don’t know why he does certain things or allow certain things. But in 2020 was a hard year for everybody anyway. It was, you know, so. Well, just keep going because you’re obviously you’re still going through some things, but it’s it’s you’re turning a corner.

Hilary McDurmont: It is. Yes. And and even though like that was that was a rock bottom point for me. It’s still I still didn’t make the needed changes. I made changes. It was a it was a starting point. And I. Another starting point for me was actually just recently because. Because even though I. That was a waking actually, that was my wake up call. I would call that my wake up call. And it got me on the trajectory trajectory to make changes in my life. So I was still lying. You know, I had all these lies that I that I was in my life. And then. I would say about a month and a half ago, I decided to come clean and I told the truth to everyone. And I lost a lot of friends. I lost my husband. But that’s okay, you know? My broker told me all change is good, right? Even if it’s painful at first. All change is good because. It will eventually turn out good in the end. What? What woke me up to tell finally. Tell the truth was my daughter. We were hanging out at the pool and she said, Mommy, are you going to get in the pool? I said, Yeah, I’m going to get in in a minute.

Hilary McDurmont: And she goes, okay, are you really going to get in? Or are you just saying that because sometimes you say you’re going to do something and you don’t actually do it? And I just was shocked. I said, What? She goes, I’m sorry. Don’t be mad. I’m like, No, honey, I’m not mad at you. I was like, Thank you for telling me the truth. Because sometimes, sometimes the truth is painful to hear, but we need to hear it. And I sat there and I thought about it that night. And for the first time in three years, I prayed and I apologized and I asked for forgiveness. And at that moment, I decided to start making things right. And it’s been hard because for years I wanted to come clean. I was terrified to do it because of the consequences that I knew were going to happen. But when I prayed and I asked for forgiveness, I asked Jehovah God to help me. To to be with me and give me the strength and the courage to come to do what was right. And he did. And he’s been blessing me ever since.

Brian Pruett: Well, I think, first of all, you talk about losing friends and stuff and unfortunately, you see who your real friends are.

Hilary McDurmont: That is true.

Brian Pruett: You know, maybe they’re the friends that you don’t need to have. Exactly right. And I’m going to bring this up right now because I think we talk all the time, Stone about the power of networking on this show on certain things. And when you and I were talking about when I originally asked you to come on and we were going to have some other folks and anyway, I still wanted you to come on and you were sharing with me. You were struggling, you were looking for a job, and you told me what you were kind of looking for. Anyway, long story short, you came to an network connection, and I invited you to. And you were telling people you’re looking for a job. And it was so cool to look over in that room of people trying to give you some leads.

Hilary McDurmont: Absolutely.

Brian Pruett: And it’s, you know, things. And so not to pat myself on the back, but you should.

Hilary McDurmont: It was you.

Speaker7: Thank you.

Brian Pruett: I introduced you to Alicia Tedesco. So and you guys hit it off. And now here you are.

Hilary McDurmont: So, yes, it’s been fantastic. I’m so excited about this opportunity. Sure.

Brian Pruett: About the opportunity and which you can watch what you know so far.

Hilary McDurmont: Okay, so I’m the new sales rep in charge of business development at Ace Ace Handyman Services in Acworth.

Speaker7: Now, if you need something done. Yes, yes. If you need anything done.

Hilary McDurmont: Around the house or even a commercial business, we can handle that. You know, anything big or small, We do everything you and your honey can’t, won’t or should not do.

Speaker7: Which for me is.

Brian Pruett: Quite a bit of everything because I break everything. So. No, but that’s just. That’s. You know, I won’t have to ask you the story because we just shared it. That’s the power of networking. And I think that’s, as Bob Brooks calls. It’s family.

Speaker7: Yes. A family.

Brian Pruett: You know, so but again, I just thought it was so cool that you shared about some other things you were looking for. And everybody’s like when they’re getting out their phones, they’re sending you information, you know? So I just thought that was really cool to watch. All right. So. You obviously just shared a very powerful story, but you also do with your singing. Now, first of all, I have to say this, too. I just saw a video where you sang a Whitney Houston song. Oh, yeah. Which was pretty amazing. Have you seen that?

Stone Payton: This lady is incredibly talented and I’ve seen her sing at several events. And if we do the block party I’ve got scheduled. She’s my first call once.

Brian Pruett: I’ve got to possibly holiday party that I’m going to ask you to come sing for. So. But. So why is it important for you to be out of the community other than the fact that it’s been helpful for you? But why is it harder for you, important for you to be part of the community?

Hilary McDurmont: You know, I. It’s in the Bible, right? Giving. There’s more happiness in giving than receiving. And you can’t give it to anybody if you’re stuck at the house, you know? So you have to be out there. You have to put yourself out there and give give of yourself.

Brian Pruett: And it goes back to helping others and, you know, and and listening and that because you were at a point where you didn’t know what to do. You had very little money. Right. And it wasn’t a selfish ask. You were just asking for, you know, if you hear of anything, let me know. Or that’s different as somebody come in and like I did when I first started networking and handing everybody a business card, Hey, what can I sell you? What can I sell you? What can I sell you? You know? So it is a difference. So I just like for you, for those somebody who is listening, who is possibly going through a dark time, can you give them some advice? What to do?

Hilary McDurmont: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. And it’s it’s so hard to ask for help when you’re down in that position. But just know this, that there are people out there who love you even if they don’t know you and they want you here. So just just let don’t be afraid to let people know that what you’re going through because you’re not alone. And I feel like there’s not enough there’s not enough talk about mental health and mental awareness and suicide like people. It’s almost like a stigma. So actually, I wear these earrings. So in my accident, I have these be earrings. If people know me, I wear bees. Bees are my thing.

Brian Pruett: We need to come work for me.

Speaker7: Then what’s going on?

Hilary McDurmont: So in my accident, the airbag actually ripped off the bees on my left side. The. The. The bees on my earrings on the left side. So I replaced the bees with a semi colon, which is a sign. It’s a suicide awareness sign. And the semi colon is represented. When an author could have chosen to end their sentence, but they chose not to. So that’s why the semicolon is used.

Brian Pruett: That’s a great trivia question. I need to learn that again. So so if somebody does need some help, the suicide hotline is nine, eight, eight, just in case anybody needs that. We had a couple of weeks ago on Matt Payne, who was part of the Outer Circle Foundation, who works with the first responders and veterans on PTSD and suicide prevention, too. So there’s there are organizations out there locally that can help as well. So make sure you do reach out to somebody if you need that help.

Hilary McDurmont: So also, the Georgia crisis line is 1-800-715-4225. Awesome.

Brian Pruett: Thanks for sharing that. All right. So you you were in real estate for a while, too. So obviously you had your own business at some point as well. What advice would you give you on somebody? Want to start a business as well?

Speaker7: Oh.

Hilary McDurmont: Do your own research. And like like you said. Get everything in paperwork if you choose to go into business with somebody. Paper trails.

Zane Williams Jr.: Please, please, please, please, please. Please.

Speaker7: Please, please.

Hilary McDurmont: Get advice, you know, Not like when you go networking, talk to other business owners, get, you know, talk to them and see how they run their business and gather as much information as possible to see what you want to implement in your own business and what you don’t want to implement in your own business.

Brian Pruett: I’m going to add. Find a mentor if you can. And also, don’t be afraid to fail forward. Yes, failing is not failing if you don’t if you learn from it and move on.

Zane Williams Jr.: So pride not don’t have any pride.

Brian Pruett: Maxwell has a great book on fail forward so that’s what it’s called. Fail forward. Read it. So um. All right. So. I don’t know where to go from that. But no, I thank you for sharing that story because, again, I know you’re a little hesitant on some stuff, but I just think it was so powerful that people needed to hear and you don’t know who listening that might needed to hear that. So, um. Well, I’m going to do this. Normally I like to do a little more, but I think that’s a great thing to to kind of wrap this up on. But before we do, I always like to have each of you share a positive quote, a word, some nugget doesn’t have to be. You can make it up whatever you want to do, something for somebody to live today and the rest of 20, 23 and beyond with. So, Zane, what you got for.

Zane Williams Jr.: Anybody out there listening that is truly and purely in their heart? Um. If you truly and purely in your heart, want God. Pray for. Pray. Pray about it. And make sure that it’s it’s true in your heart that you want to change your life and. If you want to get to heaven, you can’t get there if you don’t get baptized in the name of Jesus. So if John three and three says if you are not born of the water and you are not born of the spirit, then you are in, no man will enter into the kingdom of heaven. So yeah, that is what I have to say.

Daniel Lathrop: Daniel I think one of my biggest quotes is excuse me. What I like to tell people is don’t go through it. Grow through it. Don’t let don’t let things defy you. Because I’ve been there. I let the VA. I let the army define me. Oh, you’re not going to be able to do this again. You can’t do that. And then I prove them wrong and do it. So yeah, so that’s probably one of my go to’s. Awesome.

Hilary McDurmont: Hillary actually have this one on my Facebook cover page. It says, You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.

Brian Pruett: Wow. Awesome. Again, that’s why I love this show, Stone Me too. I mean, so the other thing is a lost art these days is the. Thank you. Just a simple thank you, Suzanne. Thank you for coming and sharing your story and being an example of being willing to reinvent yourself and refocus. Daniel, thank you for what you’re doing for the the pups and all the people and their animals and your service as well. And Hillary, thank you for sharing your story and just being an inspiration. So everybody out there listening, remember, let’s be positive. Let’s be charitable.