Steven Schumacher with Cartersville Bartow CVB, Rebecca Reeves with Cartersville Outreach and Tabitha Baynard with Georgia Diversified

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 Pruett.

Brian Pruett: [00:00:45] Good, fabulous Friday morning. It’s another fabulous Friday. And I’ve got three more fabulous guests, so I’ve got to share the great news first. Annette and I, that and I that’s my wife if you don’t know, are proud grandparents this morning of quintuplets. Wow. Black Molly’s. I’ve never had this happen. I bought some fish to replace ones that passed away. And yesterday morning, we had a surprise. One of them gave birth to five babies. Okay, now, so I’ve been having fun. I called my mother in law and said, Guess what? You’re a great grandmother. And she bet had a heart attack. So anyway, if your first time listening to Charitable Georgia, this is all about positivity in the community and we’ve got three fabulous folks doing that in specifically the Bartow County area. So we’re going to start off this morning with Steven Schumacher from the, well, you just changed the name.

Steven Schumacher: [00:01:32] Well you know we wanted to make it a little more seamless.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:34] Because it’s it’s a lot. It was a mouthful. So just tell us what it is.

Steven Schumacher: [00:01:37] Only in Cartersville, Bartow Tourism.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:39] There you go.

Steven Schumacher: [00:01:39] We’re in charge of selling and marketing. All fun things of tourism in the county and in the city of Cartersville.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:45] And there’s a lot going on in that area.

Steven Schumacher: [00:01:47] More than you’d think. And that’s what I’m here to do.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:49] Yeah, there you go. So first of all, I just want to give you some love. And thanks. You jumped aboard and became one of our deluxe sponsors for our monthly trivia show that we do in the area at Saint Angelo’s rotating the charities in Bartow County. So I appreciate you coming aboard and and being a part of that. So if you don’t mind, please share your a little bit of your story, your background, and then we’ll talk about the the tourism.

Steven Schumacher: [00:02:08] Sure. You’re hearing a non Southerner. As you can tell, I grew up in New England, in Connecticut, moved down here in 2013 with my girlfriend at the time, now wife. And she was pursued a job in Buckhead. And we did the city life for a while, grew up in suburban Connecticut, and we said, we’re never going to leave the city. City is so cool. And then we had to buy a house and we’re like, Well, we can’t afford to live here in Brookhaven. So we popped out to Smyrna in 2017. I was always in the tourism and hotel industry working for a hotel first and then discover Dunwoody, which is what I do now on the sales side of things, but in the perimeter market, and then had two kids and wanted a bigger house and said, we can’t afford this inside the perimeter area either. So we went all the way up to little Woodstock, which is not little anymore. I remember coming up here thinking, Oh, this is going to be quiet. There’s nobody up here. And the traffic’s just as crazy on 92. Moved in here about a year ago to Woodstock and then went out into Cartersville as the president and CEO of the tourism industry up there. And so we in charge of marketing the whole area up there, as well as the the excuse me, the Clarence Brown Conference Center, which is the conference center up there that we manage, and a little spot called Pine Acres Retreat and George Washington Carver Park that the county manages it and kind of owns it. But we bring in new groups and all that, and it’s a new facility that we’re trying to get off the ground and renovate and have some cool spots up there too. So it’s a lot, but it’s really fun. And I’m not looking back. I was just telling you, Brian, I was at the Braves game last night and it was an incredible game watching the Mets go down and have the Braves win. So it’s George is a really fun spot. And I’m really, really enjoying being here.

Brian Pruett: [00:03:39] Even though you’re a Patriots fan grew up.

Steven Schumacher: [00:03:41] Yeah. So patriots for football. So that does not endear me with the locals. We all remember 28 to 3. I do very well. I celebrate every March 28th, but also more the New York side for baseball. So the Yankees actually come here in August. I already bought all three games. Going to go, It’s going to be weird. I’ve only rocked, you know, a Braves hat and a shirt casually for every game since Truist open. So it’ll be weird wearing Yankees stuff for three days and going to enemy territory.

Brian Pruett: [00:04:05] Hopefully you don’t happen. So I’m a big Reds fan because I’m from Ohio. So the last time they came and I went and I had my red uniform on, somebody had one of those foam fingers and they kept hitting me on the head with the foam finger. And it could be worse. It could be worse, definitely. The tomahawk actually got me one time as well. So so it’s there’s like we said, there’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of great museums there. Sure. About some of the museums in the area.

Steven Schumacher: [00:04:29] Sure. We are home to we call ourselves Georgia’s Museum City. So people know the big three. There’s actually four of them. So there’s the Bartow History Museum, which is in I think it was the old courthouse, right over the big flyover bridge right downtown there. And right behind that is the Booth Western Art Museum. That was kind of the first founded museum of the three big ones, that is actually Smithsonian affiliated. Seth Hopkins is the executive director. They’re a great team. It’s 120,000ft², two floors, huge, huge museum. If you’re not into the West or even Art, you’d be surprised how interesting that museum is. Their tagline is See America’s Story. And it truly is, because history after revolution, after kind of war of 1812, everything shifted out west. And there’s so much US history out there. And then you move over to the Tellus Science Museum, which used to be a mineral and gem facility, very small, and it was grown into this this amazing museum. Most people know Cartersville for that museum because their kids have gone on a field trip there. They specialize in paleontology. Astronomy and geology are the three kind of main sciences there.

Steven Schumacher: [00:05:30] Beautiful spot, dinosaur bones. And then the newest museum, which opened up about a year and a half ago, only is the Savoy Automobile Museum stunning museum. What’s neat about this museum is they rotate cars in and out almost every. Month because there’s five exhibit halls. One of them is the main hall that has the kind of the main collection, but each of the four will rotate out different cars every time. So they just moved out. It was called Local Legends, I think it was, and locally owned, and it was all people in the areas. They’re cool cars, random vehicles from a Ford Bronco to a GT, all these neat cars. They just brought in a truck exhibit called Hall Hall of Fame. And so it’s all these trucks from the last 80 years. So what’s great about getting a membership there or visiting it is you can go there in January and then go back in June. And it’s a completely different car collection, which makes it a very unique car museum in the in the United States compared to the other museums that exist.

Brian Pruett: [00:06:25] The other cool thing, there’s two things I like about that museum, too, is they have a little theater in there. Oh yeah. You know, it can be rented out for some events and all that. But the other thing that I think is really cool is can you share the story about the car that’s in the parking lot? Yes.

Steven Schumacher: [00:06:38] So there’s a Savoy car that’s beat up and rusted and there’s a tree growing through the where the engine used to be and it’s out front and you’re like, Why is this here? This is supposed to be a high end museum, but you go and you find out that when they cleared all the land, I can’t remember how many acres is probably like 25 acres where they cleared out for this museum. And it sits on a huge footprint because and they just had a very successful their first car show called The Connection. 200 cars came in parked in the big grassy area there, and they’re having another one on November 11th. The connection, it’s called on a Saturday. But when they were clearing the land, this random car was just in the middle of the woods, no one else. And we all know old car city in Cartersville to kind of like that. But in this wooded area. And they looked at it and did some analysis and saw that it was a Plymouth Savoy and they said, we haven’t picked a name yet for this. Now, I’m sure if it was a Mercedes or a BMW, they wouldn’t call it the Mercedes Automobile Museum because you’d think it’s only Mercedes. But Savoy is a very unknown car and that’s how it got its namesake just like that. And they moved the car to be right on display in front to say, this is the namesake here, and you can actually see the car and touch it. The the one that was in the woods right there.

Brian Pruett: [00:07:40] Yeah. When I when I saw it, I first thought there might have been a partnership with the old car City Museum because that’s the kind of cars you see out there. But that’s really cool. I didn’t know about the name until you just said that, so that’s awesome. Did you know.

Steven Schumacher: [00:07:49] Of a Plymouth Savoy? I never. I did not. It was in the 60s or 70s when it came out. I never heard of it.

Brian Pruett: [00:07:54] Stone You ever heard of it before?

Stone Payton: [00:07:56] I have not heard of. Isn’t there like some fancy hotel named the Savoy?

Brian Pruett: [00:08:01] No. Well, just the museum is the only one I know of.

Steven Schumacher: [00:08:02] There is. Savoy is out there. It’s. I’ve Googled before and there’s other things that come up, but we’re trying to. We’re using our algorithms, push that to the top. So when you type in Savoy, it’s. There’s this car museum in Cartersville.

Stone Payton: [00:08:13] No, you’re doing a great job. And I just wrote it down on my notepad. I’m going.

Steven Schumacher: [00:08:16] Okay.

Brian Pruett: [00:08:16] Yeah. So I got a question because you and I have sat down and talked and had a great conversation and that’s when we decided we’re going to partner to do some things. And. And you were sharing you guys are technically a non profit but not your typical as a non profit as you would think these next two ladies that will talk to you later but can you share the difference of what.

Steven Schumacher: [00:08:33] Sure I almost feel like it’s a I don’t want to say fraudulent nonprofit because when you hear nonprofit, you think charitable and all of that. And we’re not doing any sort of charity, but we’re considered a 500 and 1C6, which our funding comes from the lodging tax. So if you’ve ever stayed at any hotel in the country and you’re like, Oh, I got a 119 rate, great, And then it’s like percentage, percentage, percentage. And there’s all these city fees, you know, lodging fees, and there’s like a tourism fee. We have a pretty standard fee, you know, not too high, not too low up in Cartersville, where a portion of that lodging tax comes to us and it gets funneled through the city and the county. So the hotels that are in Emerson, Adairsville, Cartersville and then unincorporated Bartow County, all those taxes come through us and we have a way to track it, to do budgets. And then the law states that we need to bring it in and then spend it on marketing and sales efforts to promote the destination. And that’s my job. So it’s it’s good. I mean, we have goals and metrics and things like that, but it’s nice to not be beholden to a corporation to say you have to do these certain things with marketing and sales goals, but we also listen to our partners. So in the museums or the hotels, people downtown Cartersville, the tours say, Hey, would you mind if we looked into doing this magazine spread for more? Sure. And so we’ll we throw money at it and help design it. And then that promotes the destination to get more visitors.

Brian Pruett: [00:09:47] Awesome. So we mentioned the old card city that’s technically in White, Georgia, which is part of Bartow County.

Steven Schumacher: [00:09:52] So there’s or as the locals say, whites.

Brian Pruett: [00:09:53] Yes, there you go. There you go. So there’s what? Bartow County is not that big, but there are, what, four, five cities Incorporated.

Steven Schumacher: [00:10:00] Yeah. And Euharlee as well. They don’t have a hotel. They are opening up a camping ground area that will have lodging tax to it, but we work with them and their team. Katie Gobi is their kind of community development person there and we work with them and the Euharlee covered bridge as well as far as tourist attractions go.

Brian Pruett: [00:10:15] So I was just thinking, you know, in these cities. So Emerson, you’ve got Lake Point. Oh yeah. All that big sports complex to go there, right? We just mentioned the old card city. You Harley’s got the cool covered bridge. What other areas? That’s not in downtown Cartersville. Can you maybe talk about the people that may not know can go and do see?

Steven Schumacher: [00:10:31] Well, the main one is up in the way. Northwest corner is a Barnsley resort, formerly known as Barnsley Garden. That history. I could talk for 20 minutes. You should even maybe have them in one day about how that evolved into what it is today. Long story short. Is at one point, I think in the 90s there was a Bavarian prince who was going to come over and he did. He bought the land, he was going to level everything and turn it into like a timber field and take all the trees down and sell it. And a local historian, forgive me, I can’t remember his name. He recently passed away. Unfortunately, he was older. He convinced him. He came up to him and said, You need to preserve this. There’s ruins here from the family that used to live here. And there are grounds and some just incredible. I think it’s on 3000 acres that you could preserve and turn this into something pretty cool. And now we have the inn, we have the cottages and rental homes there, the facilities for weddings. They have clay shooting a 18 bay clay shooting course, 18 hole golf course, horseback riding. And so Barnsley stands alone and they’re considered unincorporated. Bartow So they’re one of our biggest revenue drivers because, you know, these standard Marriotts and Spring Hills, they get solid rates in Cartersville. But you can imagine a five bedroom cottage up at Barnsley what that runs. So the tax on that comes into us. So we work with them very, very closely. They partner with Garden and Gun on a big event every fall promoting through that and it’s a huge draw for them in the fall season. So yeah, right now they’re really busy in the summer with families coming in and they’re sold out almost every night for the whole summer. Wow.

Brian Pruett: [00:11:56] Well, you talked about the Clarence Brown Center. That’s where you guys are based, right? Correct. Yep. What can you share about the Clarence Brown Center and everything that goes on there?

Steven Schumacher: [00:12:03] Yep. Named after the commissioner and the mid 2000, early 20 tens, Clarence Brown was their idea was to bring in a conference center for the community. I think it was kind of a ho hum. What a nice little spot for locals. But the team that was brought in there that I was able to inherit in my first nine months have been rock stars. Penny Davis is the general manager there and they went from proms, quinceaneras, parties, local community events to now they’re booking Georgia Power, Toyo Tire, Anheuser-Busch, a lot of the big corporations up there and even some coming in from northwest Atlanta that want to get out of the city, get out of all the crazy craziness and get out there. And we cannot keep up. It’s it’s in a good way. We’ve we’ve increased our rental prices because we see that we’re not just a little facility anymore. So it has a 14,000 square foot ballroom, big ceilings, 6 or 7 breakouts, board room, lots of parking. There’s a Courtyard Marriott that was built a couple years ago right there. We’re looking into maybe expanding and doing another hotel on property. So it’s growing very fast and it’s right across from Georgia Highlands College, which is a newer college. Everyone knows Georgia Highlands, but the newer campus there, and they have a new president, Mike Hobbs. So he and I have worked together a lot and with workforce development and our chamber to get people to apply for some of the new jobs that are coming in. And it’s a it’s a nice spot. It’s exit 290 off of 75, that Route 20 that connects over here to Woodstock. And it’s it’s it’s busy and it’s very fun.

Brian Pruett: [00:13:25] And you also have that pretty cool new kind of food truck beer garden just down from you guys as well. That’s right. A lot of stuff going on with that area.

Steven Schumacher: [00:13:31] Too, right off the exit there. They have the food truck and park. And that’s a busy, hot spot for everybody, which is nice because there’s a lot of chains right off the highway there with Waffle House. So to have a food truck that has local vendors there is a pretty cool thing.

Brian Pruett: [00:13:44] So are there opportunities for businesses, local businesses to be involved with the tourism? And if so, how can they do that? Sure.

Steven Schumacher: [00:13:52] So the chamber usually drives most of that, but we’re very well connected. And Cindy, who runs the chamber, is on our board. But really it’s about connecting with the Downtown Development Authority. Lily Reed runs the DDA down there and we’re very close. We come downtown all the time and work with the partners and we’re about to launch a new website at the end of the year. It’s a huge investment that we’re bringing in with a company that does a lot of we’re called dmoz destination marketing organizations. They do that. They use Brookhaven, I think uses them. It’s a bunch of other ones, Roswell. So a lot of the local areas do use this company. So we’re excited to launch that. And with that allows our partners easier access to post their own content and things through us on the website to help promote it. And then we’ll drive that traffic to them downtown. But we’re always downtown. I’m shopping and dining there constantly and some of them are very, very actively engaged. There’s a shop there called It’s About Time Boutique. Dan is the you know, Dan is the owner there. And he also opened the Tis the Season store as well, which is Christmas Eve. But they also put at the front every holiday. So right now they have a lot of patriotic stuff for the 4th of July coming up. So he’s very involved. And it’s nice to see a community that’s continuing to get more and more engaged as the buildings start to fill up. I’ve been told Cartersville ten years ago was nothing what it is today downtown. And it’s because of the DDA and the city and people investing in it. So it’s been I’m lucky I got to join as it’s been exploding. I wasn’t there for the down times, but I thank my predecessor, Ellen Archer, for setting me up for success. And now we’re, you know, speeding ahead.

Brian Pruett: [00:15:21] Well, and Lake Point’s been a heavy hitter for that as well. I’m bringing in a lot of some of the the big time sports. I know they’re there at Lake Point and their Saint Angelo’s. I’ve heard like Shaq’s been in there several times. Lebron, A-Rod, you know, it’s kind of cool. And of course, Bartow County is home to some of the big, big time players. Of course, Trevor Lawrence, Ronnie Brown. Let’s see. Robert Keith Anderson. There was a Falcon player too. Vic Beasley.

Steven Schumacher: [00:15:49] Yeah. Beasley That’s.

Brian Pruett: [00:15:49] Right.

Steven Schumacher: [00:15:50] He gives a street named after him. Yes. In the community. Yeah.

Brian Pruett: [00:15:52] He actually is trying to build something kind of like Lake Point from, I understand, Up in the air as well. So yeah keep it in.

Steven Schumacher: [00:15:57] Bartow fine.

Brian Pruett: [00:15:58] By me. Right.

Steven Schumacher: [00:16:00] Well, Lake Point too, we did some studies and they bought some data software and have found that last year they thought that the traffic was like 1.5 to 1.8 million inches 2022 based on their numbers. And they ran some some some data with this company called Placer. And, you know, it’s a good company. Sometimes they can not fabricate. But there’s a way to the numbers can be kind of suspect. So you do a big range. But even the range on the bottom end was way more than that. You’re talking 2.4 to 2.7 million visitors came through Lake Point, which we think about Emerson, Georgia and Bartow County, that many people and knowing that those numbers are quite true based on their ticket traffic on the low end at 2.4 million, that is unbelievable economic impact to the hotels that are there, which is why they’re about to they already broke ground and are building a Westin. You’ve probably seen it across the street. It’s called the Westin Elements. So it’s a limited service hotel, but it’s going to have a rooftop bar, kind of like a Miami vibe to it. Really cool there. And so there’s a lot of growth and development there now that the Rimrock team that now manages Lake Point and Mark O’Bryant, who is on our board, he’s their president and CEO, is really started to control and manage that property very successfully. And the Harlem Globetrotters tip off there. They do their training in the fall and then tip in December with a game and then tour the country. So it’s on the map now and people know about it. And with the PBR baseball and the Rise basketball league they have is just it’s nonstop busy there. It’s incredible.

Brian Pruett: [00:17:25] And you got the wakeboard and the beach volleyball, all kinds of tournaments.

Steven Schumacher: [00:17:28] Wake Park that opened this summer. And they have you can go casually wakeboarding. They have tournaments. We helped close the Amateur national championships there in October in 23 and 25. So that’ll be really neat. That brings about 800 room nights to the community. That’s a new event and so we’ll be working with them on that. And then they have the big inflatable that you can have your kids go on or you, I want to do it and you just climb up top and slide down and jump in the water. And, you know, it’s a fun time out there.

Brian Pruett: [00:17:53] Awesome. Robert Lopez, who was trying to think of he also played at Cartersville High School. There’s been others, but another one, Cletus T Judd, if you’re familiar with him, he’s he’s from that area as well. So just a lot of a lot of cool history from from the Bartow County area. So other than the reason of being your job. Sure. Why is it important for you to be part of the community?

Steven Schumacher: [00:18:12] They are. I’ve learned that Bartow is very proud of who they are, where they come from and where they’re going. Commissioner Taylor and Pete Olson, the at the county level really have truly invested in it. And I know a lot of people say, oh, there’s too many buildings, too many, what do they call it? Like the big warehouses being built. But they’re moving. People are moving in. They’re not really sitting empty. People want to come up here, invest in the community. I think they’ve they’ve kind of leveled off on the build out there. But the investment that the county has brought in and then the city of Cartersville has and then the other smaller communities around like Emerson and Adairsville, have really shown investment. And now we got to start building some houses because I think people are going to want to move to this community and be a part of it. One of the big sticking points with some of the people I talked to is like, Oh, you don’t live in Bartow. I’m like, No, I don’t even say Woodstock. I say, I’m just next door in Cherokee County because I live in East Woodstock, which is a little further.

Steven Schumacher: [00:19:02] But I just, you know, I’m being present, being there, shopping, dining, you know, repping the shirts. I have a yellow shirt on right now. And when I fall in love with something or really go at something like Die Hard with your sports teams, I went all in. And so that’s they call me the logo guy because I’m always wearing our logo stuff everywhere and just proud to be a part of it. You know, Farmers Market started every Saturday morning and Regina’s out there who runs that, and I make sure to go at least every three weeks. And even though it’s a 35 minute drive on a Saturday and I drive by the Woodstock Farmers Market, I’m going to Cartersville. And I think it’s you know, I love my Woodstock team, but I think ours is a little better. But come on out to Cartersville and check or maybe, you know, what do both do to ours in Cartersville? To ours in Woodstock. I love Kyle and the tourism team here in Woodstock, too. But yeah, being present and being part of the community is super important to the people and the connections that they all have.

Brian Pruett: [00:19:50] So you’ve shared a little bit of some things coming up, but what can you share some events or other opportunities you have coming up that people can go check out?

Steven Schumacher: [00:19:57] Sure. One thing I would keep your eye on is if you’ve ever heard of glamping, which I know a lot of people have, which is luxury camping. We are investing. Can’t announce it yet, but we’re really looking into a potential glamping site at Pine Acres Retreat, where we are at up there with a private company that might be investing up there. So that’ll bring a new element up to Pine Acres, which will be a neat way to do that. Winding waters is the the the campsite that’s coming in. It’s luxury camping or luxury RV camping kind of thing, right on the Etowah River, right before you come into the city center off of 41. And that’s supposed to open this fall. So they’re going to have, I think, 50 pull up RV sites with plug ins, but then ten cabins and some glamping sites with a community pool and slides and it’s right on the river. So that’s opening up this fall. And then just keep keep going with the. Farmers market in the summer. There’s a lot of local events and the way I skate around that, Brian, is I say you can go to visit Cartersville, ga.org and click on our website and check it out. And about six months from now that website will change. Same address to visit and everything. But we’re excited to have a lot of events going on in the community this summer. Awesome.

Brian Pruett: [00:21:01] I was getting ready to ask you to share that, so thanks for sharing the website. So I learned something a couple of weeks ago that just kind of blows my mind because Bartow County is not that big.

Steven Schumacher: [00:21:08] You know, I mean, like people wise or size wise?

Brian Pruett: [00:21:11] Both, yeah.

Steven Schumacher: [00:21:12] Compared to like Fulton and DeKalb.

Brian Pruett: [00:21:13] Oh, yeah, even Cherokee Cobb. And I’m assuming this includes churches as well. But I learned two weeks ago there are 400 nonprofits in that county.

Steven Schumacher: [00:21:22] Really.

Brian Pruett: [00:21:24] Alone.

Steven Schumacher: [00:21:25] It doesn’t surprise me with how people invest in the community. And you talk to the Drowned Valley guys and how much money they give back to to the community. And almost every single person has an initiative, which is why when I started there, I drew in our budget a line item for local events and sponsorships, which is how I was able to work with you to put some funding into that when it makes sense and when it helps give back and also can promote tourism. You have a trivia night. You have people sing at Lakepoint, Hey everybody, let’s sell out and get everybody. And you’ve sold out almost every one, right?

Brian Pruett: [00:21:52] So far? Yeah, we’re averaging about 60 to 70 people. That’s incredible. Yeah. And the nice thing about that part is too, is you’re helping a different nonprofit every month. Yes, that’s right. So it’s not just somebody else getting love you, too. You guys will be on next year’s list, so don’t worry. You’re getting there. Um, so. Well, since I know you have to leave early, so I appreciate you coming this morning. Thank you. Of course, I normally ask this question at the end for all three of you, but I’ll go ahead and ask you while you’re here. Thank you. Share something positive. That’s a nugget or a quote or something for people that are listening to Live today and beyond with.

Steven Schumacher: [00:22:25] Wow, you should have sent that to me earlier. I could have really sat and say the question again. I’ll meditate on it.

Brian Pruett: [00:22:32] So just share either a quote, a positive nugget, a word, something that’s positive that people can take today and live the rest of 2023 and beyond with.

Steven Schumacher: [00:22:41] I don’t know that I can attribute it to anybody, but for me, it’s and it’s lately it’s been with my kids and it’s live in the moment you see you go down the Instagram rabbit hole of reels and people will post those sentimental videos with those classic, you know, the to infinity and beyond and that piano plays. And I’ve even made a real with my kid about that kids about that and so many times you say you know not not letting time slip away and I started to make these decisions personally where you look at your kids doing something. I remember I was cleaning upstairs and I heard them running around to a song that they like. And it was before bath time, and I could have kept cleaning, but at some point that running around is going to turn into homework, which is going to turn into high school, which turns into college. Now I’m old and you’ll never get that back again until you have grandkids. And I made that decision to put it down, go downstairs and start playing for ten more minutes. And it wasn’t anything other than knowing that that’s a moment in time you’re not going to get back. So living for the moment with the things that mean a lot to you, I would say, is something that I would take away.

Brian Pruett: [00:23:40] Awesome. So that gives you guys some think about it because at the end of the show, we’ll be asking you to.

Steven Schumacher: [00:23:44] Frantically.

Brian Pruett: [00:23:44] Googling. Yes. Yes. So, Steven, again, I appreciate you. And I always talk about the lost art of thank you’s these days. So thank you again for coming and supporting and being a part of the trivia nights, helping a lot of people. And then I appreciate you taking your time to come out this morning. I know you’ve got to leave and take care of some business. So again, just thanks for coming. Yeah.

Steven Schumacher: [00:24:02] And I don’t know if this is okay for you. I encourage anyone who maybe wants to be on the show to reach out to Brian. This studio is really cool and this building is neat. I was just telling him earlier, I drive, I’ve driven by this building the last two weeks to drop my daughter at a gymnastics camp right around the corner and didn’t know it was here. It’s a cool co-working space. The studio is really neat and you’re doing great things and I say, keep it up because there’s very few people out there like you, so we appreciate that.

Brian Pruett: [00:24:25] Well, before you take off, one more thing, just share, share again the website so people.

Steven Schumacher: [00:24:29] Can go visit Cartersville, GA. Org And we’re on Instagram and Facebook. We put a lot out on there as well and we’re continuing to grow and we we love that. Everyone supports what we’re doing and appreciate it.

Brian Pruett: [00:24:39] Awesome. Steven, thank you very much. Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your day and have a good meeting. All right. We are now moving over to Miss Tabitha Baynard, Right. That’s how you say your last name.

Tabitha Baynard: [00:24:48] Yes.

Brian Pruett: [00:24:48] Awesome. I got it right. Stone, you are with Georgia Diversified. And if you don’t mind, just share a little bit of your story and then we’ll talk about Georgia Diversified.

Tabitha Baynard: [00:24:59] Well, I have been there since 2014. I was thought that I was being hired on as just some weekend help when they needed somebody extra to help and didn’t know I was applying for a supervisor position. At the time, I was working for the school system, driving a school bus and working for my father. But once I got hired on, I felt like I was at home. And to be able to do a job that you love. And feel like you belong there means a lot. The people that are clients that work there, they mean they’re not just my employees or clients. They’re they’re my family. Because I spend more time with them than I do my own family. So it’s it’s rewarding.

Brian Pruett: [00:25:57] So we’ll get to what you guys do in just a second. But are you originally from the Bartow County area?

Tabitha Baynard: [00:26:02] I’m originally from Acworth. I moved to Ohio when I was in the sixth grade. I come back down here in 1996 and worked for my dad for about 16 years and worked for the school system for eight. And then I’ve been here for almost ten.

Brian Pruett: [00:26:22] What part of Ohio did you go to?

Tabitha Baynard: [00:26:24] Waverly and Portsmouth. Okay.

Brian Pruett: [00:26:26] I’m from the Dayton area. Okay, so go Bucks, go Bengals, go Reds. Just got to get that in there. Um, all right. So Georgia Diversified actually didn’t used to be called that, correct?

Tabitha Baynard: [00:26:37] It started out being called Georgia Diversified. And then for some reason, I don’t know why they changed it to the Good Shepherd Foundation. Okay. And then when the last executive director come on, he decided he wanted to change it back to its original name and to be able to bring different things in there to be diversified.

Brian Pruett: [00:26:58] Okay. So share about what you guys do. What’s your mission and what you do?

Tabitha Baynard: [00:27:02] Um, we are a sheltered workshop for special needs adults. They come and we have different contracts with different companies. We have contracts with America, which is a sponge company, Coats and Clark, which is a thread company sulky of America, which is another thread company, left all. And our newest one is called their name is Concilium, which is in White, Georgia. They are a. They build BMW bumpers.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:39] Oh, wow.

Tabitha Baynard: [00:27:40] So and we just do packing for them. All the different companies that we work for, we just package. We don’t produce nothing. We just package their product.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:51] So do you guys work with individuals just in Bartow County? As far as your your folks or can be from anywhere? It can be from anywhere.

Tabitha Baynard: [00:28:00] Okay. We’ve had I know we had one that used to live in Kennesaw and his brother would bring him up here twice a week. Three times a week.

Brian Pruett: [00:28:09] So. So is it a typical can you share about maybe what a typical day for for them might look like?

Tabitha Baynard: [00:28:15] They would come in. We they work from 8 to 3. They come in. They work. They. I don’t know. I’m sorry. My mind went blank. That’s all right. The one thing I can say about them is. They want to be there to work because it gives them purpose. They feel like they’re there A. That they have meaning. Because without us, they couldn’t go out into the community and get a job at a regular place and feel comfortable. Um, they’re. Everybody’s on the same. Playing field and nobody judges nobody. And and they all, for the most part, get along. You know, they come in and they work and they work hard. The one thing that. That they they get paid piece rate. So depending on their skill set, their work ethic, their their abilities depends on how much they’re going to make. That’s our our. Biggest downfall. Maybe because some people look at us as a sweat shop and it’s not that we’re a sweat shop. We’re far from it. Most of the people that work there get a Social Security check or a disability check, and so they’re only allowed to make up to a certain amount of money. We are trying. Well, we’re in the process of at least making it minimum wage because the federal government is trying to shut places like us down. But they they enjoy working there. They want to be there. I worked in several different places in my life. And, you know, most people don’t enjoy going to work. I enjoy going to work. I feel like I belong there. I feel like I have a purpose there. And they feel the same way.

Brian Pruett: [00:30:27] Is there I’m sure there you have a lot of stories that you could share, but is there one particular story of of an individual maybe that you could share? That’s you know, I mean, like I said, everybody’s probably got a cool story, but is there one you can share one of your one of your guests or clients?

Tabitha Baynard: [00:30:44] There’s one. He is. When I first started working there. He used to bring a list to work of people that he was going to make mad that day. Just to get underneath their skin. He was going to make them mad. And to get in trouble. But he has come a long way. He’s probably one of my favorites now. But they all have. They all have their own story. Yes. But he this particular client, he he’s had a rough life. He is a product of fetal alcohol syndrome. And to see what that does to somebody and how how they have have to live, it is very sad. We’ve had several in there like that. We have we’ve had people that have Down syndrome, some have, some have mental issues, some have. It just depends as long as it’s a disability that is documented by a doctor, then then they are capable of getting a job there. We have one guy that he had a brain injury and. He’s like a robot. Once you get him started on something, he cannot do what I can do. And that’s a lot. So they all they all they all have their stories and and they all mean the world to me.

Brian Pruett: [00:32:19] Well, I think it’s awesome. There’s a place like for you that exists like you guys, because you’re right. I mean, there are people. They need to feel like they’re important and they matter. When I sat down with Butch Emerson, who was your former executive director, he shared with me one of the biggest things is people. You guys have been around for how long?

Tabitha Baynard: [00:32:38] Since the late 70s. Early 80s. All right.

Brian Pruett: [00:32:41] So he was telling me that still a lot of people don’t even know you guys still exist. Correct. So other than getting the word out there and getting people known about you guys, what other needs does Georgia Diversified have?

Tabitha Baynard: [00:32:55] What needs do we have? We’re always looking for volunteers. If you want to volunteer your time to come and help, you’re more than welcome to. And we get a good many volunteers. We also service the people that have community service. They come there and do do their community service. The mental health court system that has just recently taken off. We get all their community service people that I guess all of them have to do community service sometime or another, and they come to us for their community service.

Brian Pruett: [00:33:33] So are there other than the volunteering, is there a way for businesses or other people way to get involved to help you guys.

Tabitha Baynard: [00:33:40] If they want to donate? They could go on our website, which is Georgia diversified industries dot net and and donate.

Brian Pruett: [00:33:50] Okay, so other than the reason of enjoying your work and feeling like your family there, what why is it important for you to be part of the community?

Tabitha Baynard: [00:33:57] Um, just to get us out there. Just. So everybody does know who we are and that we are here to help people that have special needs feel welcome and feel like they have a purpose in life.

Brian Pruett: [00:34:15] Do you guys have any upcoming events or anything that you can share?

Tabitha Baynard: [00:34:18] We always have A5K in January. We are planning on doing another fundraiser this fall. I think they’re going to they’re talking about doing a skeet shoot, I think is what it is. But they’re working on different fundraisers.

Brian Pruett: [00:34:36] Okay. Well, and as I was telling, I was talking with Butch and I just shared with you on my monthly trivia. I am switching up different nonprofits next year. So you guys are already on the list for next year. And I’ll get with you when when your month is coming up for that. So don’t go anywhere. We’re not done. But I appreciate you coming and sharing your story. We’re going to move over now to Ms. Rebecca Reeves. Rebecca, thanks for being here this morning.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:34:55] Thanks for having me.

Brian Pruett: [00:34:56] So you’re with the Cartersville Outreach Women’s Outreach Center, correct? Yes. And it’s fairly new.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:35:03] Yes. Well, we are not open just yet.

Brian Pruett: [00:35:05] Yeah. So okay. So it’s still very new.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:35:07] Very, very new.

Brian Pruett: [00:35:09] But you have a tremendous story. I mean, I’ve just heard from people who’s heard your story. Um, do you mind sharing your story? Not at.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:35:17] All. So I just a little bit about me. I was in addiction for a very long time. I was a young mom. I don’t ever see myself that way anymore. But because I’ve been completely restored and all that has been let go of. But now I was I was in addiction bad, you know, it was either death or life for me. And I had to make a decision. It was either, you know, dying suicide or going to get help. And just one day out of the blue, I called my pastor, Pastor David, at Cartersville Outreach Ministries, and he came and got me and took me to his mom’s house and they took me out to rehab or I don’t even like to call it rehab. It’s a it was a discipleship program. So the Lord kind of got me, you know, he was like, ha ha ha, you know, I’m going to get you out here. I’m going to teach you about me. And so I was just lost, man. I was lost. Absolutely lost. It was, you know, he they they just took me under their wing until they then they found a place out in north Northport, Alabama, called Genesis Mission Bible Training Center because there was nothing around Bartow County.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:36:16] There was 30 day rehabs. There’s detox programs. There’s all these, which are great. But that’s not what would have saved my life. I didn’t it didn’t take me 30 days to get to become an addict. You know, it took me 13 years, so I needed something different. I needed something away from what I knew. I mean, I had to leave my son and not even tell him bye. Because if I did tell him bye, I wouldn’t have left. You know, I have a wonderful family that has never given up on me. So, you know, addiction is no respecter of person. I didn’t grow up in an abusive home. I didn’t grow up in a mean alcoholic dad, drug addict, mom, dad. I didn’t grow up in that. I grew up in a church family. And so I went off this wrong path and the devil just kind of kept leading me down that way and took a hold of me about killed me. So drugs are no respecter of person. It doesn’t matter who you are.

Brian Pruett: [00:37:04] You know, an addiction can be of anything. So it doesn’t matter if even it’s not drugs or it can be alcohol and pornography, whatever, cigarets or anything. But yeah, I just think it’s amazing that I know we had Kevin Harris on a few weeks ago and Kevin Harris is you guys are working with women. Kevin is trying to do what you guys are doing and building something for men. So I think it’s awesome that, you know, we also have the arena there and other places in that county that are trying to work because I’ve got a friend who, when I was growing up, he’s a year behind me, but he he had a problem with with alcohol and he really kind of missed his girls growing up because of his DUIs and things of that nature. And so I know he was in and out of rehab and Kevin shared about his story. And I do think that, you know, you see these advertisements for rehab and TV and it’s all about these glamorous places. And that’s not what it should be. I mean, yeah, it should be comfortable for for people to go, but it should be about the person, not about the money and all that. So share a little bit about you guys and what’s your mission is and what you’re hoping to do.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:38:07] Okay, So we are Cartersville Outreach Women’s Center. I do want to start off that that we we don’t charge the girls to come in at all. You know, we’re going to start with the girls center. And then I think this is I know this is going to be the first of many, you know, I mean, they’re popping up out at, you know, so many people are on the same mission to to get these centers open. But we won’t charge the girls they need to. If if I had to pay money to get sober, I would have never been sober. I would have never been able to do it because I was in debt. Like I think 4000, $5,000 and you know what I mean? I didn’t drug or any kind of addicts didn’t have money. I just didn’t have money. So they can come in and solely focus on their recovery, you know, not worry about having to pay to get in. You know, they come in and they just, you know, they breathe really, you know, they. So our mission is to get these women to be able to live a sober life in society and have a conversation. Again, like when I was in addiction, I it was my drug or my addiction and myself, and that was it. I didn’t care what was around me. So, I mean, everything stopped. Like I didn’t really I needed I had to be taught how to pay bills again. I had to be taught how to cook again. I had to be taught how to be a mom again.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:39:18] I had to be taught all these things because my brain stopped when I started doing that, you know? And a lot of these girls, they don’t know how to do it for some of them haven’t even been taught. Some have been taught and lost it. You know, we had to bring it back, you know, and how to be a mom, you know, and just live. A sober life because it’s very hard when you are used to something every single day. Like it’s hard to get into a hole. Know, it’s hard to it’s hard to do something different because that’s what you’re so used to. So we have to train their minds, renew their minds to be able to do that. So we’re going to teach them life skills, cooking skills, gardening skills. Just, you know, have the UGA extension is going to actually partnered with us and they’re going to do classes, you know, cooking classes, gardening classes, you know, financial classes and stuff like that. So we have so many people on board already be like, All right, you know, I support you 100%. You know, so and also restoration and families. You know, I know when I was in mine, my mom, she’s like she never gave up on me, but she did not know what to do. And she didn’t understand that because she’s never been through that. So a lot of people that haven’t been through that, they, you know, they’re like, I just don’t understand. Why can’t you just do it? Why can’t I don’t know, Mom. I don’t know. You know? But she never stopped praying.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:40:28] She said one time, really, like, just stuck in my mind. She was like, I had a dream about you. About being in the obituary, like, you know, And I was like, Oh, wow. Oh, wow, Something’s wrong, you know? So that’s when I really started. I mean, it was hard. It took me about a year really to truly say, okay, I’m done, you know? But it got close to death for me to even decide that. And that’s sad. It is. But it’s real. You know, there’s a lot of people aren’t making it now with the new stuff coming out and just, you know, so. Um, so yeah, so it’s, it’s, you know, the restoration of families like my mom and yeah, I was gone for 18 months, but the, my family was at peace. My son was at peace. I have the best relationship with him now, you know, like every my brother and everybody was okay now because I was safe in a transitional center that they knew I wasn’t on drugs. They knew I wasn’t on the streets. They knew I wasn’t going to commit suicide. They knew all of these things so that the peace that they had gave me peace, you know, it was just it’s just a beautiful thing. It is a beautiful thing. So our mission is is to, you know, to help restore families and and build bridges that have been burned and to to, you know, to live a sober life. And, you know, and it’s like I and put Jesus first. And you know.

Brian Pruett: [00:41:41] So if somebody you guys aren’t you said you’re not open yet and you’re going to have a facility but if somebody is struggling with right now, are there ways for you guys to help? Can they reach out for you now?

Rebecca Reeves: [00:41:51] Absolutely. Like my number, the phone number is all over the Facebook page as Cartersville Outreach Women’s Center. You can go on there and it tells you all about us. And my phone number is on there. The business phone is on there. I have people that call just for prayer sometimes, you know, that are crying, don’t know what to do, call in the middle of the night, you know, And just because they don’t know what to do and they and they feel drawn because like they’re struggling the same thing that this center is going to open and accept in. Right. And they just feel drawn to do that. You know, I’ll pray with anybody. It doesn’t matter. I mean, if you’re if you’re struggling or, you know, going to go ahead and fill out an application to get started. If you’re, you know, a lot of families, anybody that you come in contact with knows somebody that’s struggling with addiction, whether it be your sister, your cousin, your brother, your aunt, you know, it doesn’t matter. Anybody that you and a lot of people are ashamed because they feel alone. They feel like, how did I let my life get like this? But you got to understand it. You know, you got to focus on you. You know, if you need help, you need help. And don’t be ashamed of that because you’re misery. The Lord has has put my misery and he’s turned it into my ministry. Awesome. That amazing. Yeah, it’s awesome. So, yeah.

Brian Pruett: [00:42:59] Is there opportunities for businesses, individuals to get involved with you guys and if so, how can they do that?

Rebecca Reeves: [00:43:04] Yeah, absolutely. So, um. I mean, I don’t know if you want to jump on board. Jump on board. You know what I mean? Like, I mean, anybody can be involved. You can call us and we can see how you can be involved. You know what I mean? Donations, Of course, every single business needs money to run, right? You know, So if you want to come out and do a project day with your business, you know, to when we get the place, you know, come do a yard day or come, come, do you know, make bracelets or cross necklaces, you know something? Just go love on these women because that’s all they need. You know, they need love and they need to let them they need to know that they are not alone. And they need to know that they they are worth something, that they are a person, too, you know, because all these lies and lies and lies, you get told over and over and over again throughout your your whole your time of of addiction. Right. It that’s who you become because that’s who you believe because you hear it so many times, you know. So they don’t feel like that they can be loved or you know what I mean? So anything that you can think of, whatever the Lord puts on your heart, you know, to to be able to come give and give back to community and just be a partner with us because and just and watch watch us watch the success rate, you know, and tell people about us, you know, I mean, however you want to be involved, we will accept, you know, you choose.

Brian Pruett: [00:44:25] Right? So you shared the Facebook page. And if people are, you know, you guys are getting close to being open so people can how can people follow you other than the Facebook page, share your website, share the business phone number so people can follow you and know when you guys open. Yeah.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:44:39] So Facebook, you can always call me, you can get involved and we are having like. Well, I will I will always put it on Facebook. You know, I’ll put everything on Facebook on the website. And, you know, I mean, come because I see the ribbon cutting, you know what I mean? I see the ribbons falling. I see the scissors in hands and I see the celebration. You know, I see it. I have the vision, you know, and we have the faith. So, I mean, I don’t know.

Brian Pruett: [00:45:07] Share the website, please.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:45:08] Share the website. Yes, sir. It’s Cartersville Outreach Women’s center.org.

Brian Pruett: [00:45:17] Awesome. Can you share the business number? Yes.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:45:19] The business number is (770) 878-7601.

Brian Pruett: [00:45:24] Awesome. And I noticed on Facebook you guys are doing a couple of fundraisers now. You got a raffle going on. You got something else coming up. Share about those.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:45:30] Okay. So we did we just did the I want to tell you about the yard sale that we just did. We got entered in the Dixie Highway yard sale. I didn’t even know that thing existed. But it’s amazing. Like there’s so many people out there. I think that’s what, like a 90 mile yard sale or something like that. I don’t know. Anyway, so creative tag. We were out there right in in the front, so we had an amazing spot. And then, you know, somebody didn’t show up beside us. So, you know, so we got to use their spot because we asked for donations and people I mean, you know, the people that want to be involved with something like this, like I had so many donations just start flooding. Flooding. I mean, we had so much we were just blessed with so much and we didn’t have to pay a dime. So that’s how people helped just all over the community. It didn’t have to be with an organization, didn’t have to be with a business. They just, you know, cleaned out their closet and said, Here you go. You know, that was a blessing for sure. So we raised about $1,500 in two days, so that was great. So right now we’re doing a raffle, a raffle drawing. So first prize is going to be a six day five. I think it’s five day stay at Big Canoe Resort. It’s a gated community in Jasper and it’s paid for. Everything’s paid for. You just go and enjoy a week of your choice. So if you win, when you win, you will. We’ll give you the contact information. You all can get a date set in stone.

Brian Pruett: [00:46:42] That’s yours right there. Right Your.

Stone Payton: [00:46:44] Alley. I’m on it, baby.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:46:47] So the second night is the for Rome Braves tickets and a parking pass. And then the third one is the Savoy Automobile Museum. They’ve given us four general admission tickets, so that’s amazing. So that’s how people have have, you know, helped us as well and been a part of this, been a part of the center as well. They’ve given their given their their time and how much your.

Brian Pruett: [00:47:09] Tickets.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:47:10] $60 a piece for civil waste or it’s a $60 value for the for. I’m not going to math.

Brian Pruett: [00:47:21] Do you have some? I also there was another event. Was there a second event come other than the art thing you just did, was there something else that was coming up?

Rebecca Reeves: [00:47:27] Oh, yes. To donate with Texas Roadhouse on June 12th, wear purple, wear the color purple if you want to. I mean, you don’t have to. It’d just be really cool. You know, like everybody wear the color purple because our colors purple. But it’s with Texas Roadhouse, I think it’s from 4 to 6.

Brian Pruett: [00:47:47] And they’re they’re donating a percentage back every sale back to you guys. So there’s food and alcohol right there. Another thing for you to stone and purple. That’s right. And who doesn’t like purple, Right.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:47:56] So the ladies, it’d be me and the director, Deanna. I’m the facility office manager. And then we have two in house moms because these girls, you know, they need some attendance 24 over seven, which is fine structure. And that’s another thing. It’s a very structured facility, you know, So we have two in house moms, and then we’re going to have a meal meal provider, a meal planner that plans the meals because that’s going to, you know, be very much needed as well. But anyways, we’re going to be seating y’all so you can come see the faces of Cartersville Outreach Women’s Center. There you go.

Brian Pruett: [00:48:28] Yes. All right. So if somebody’s listening and either know, like you said, somebody always knows somebody’s going through an addiction. But if they either themselves or knowing somebody going through addiction, can you just maybe give them a little bit of advice? Yeah. You know, other than try to reach out to you guys, I’m sure that’s a big step. But give some advice to somebody that might be listening.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:48:49] So the best advice I can give you, because I’ve experienced this, I went through it. It was the the hardest part was taking that step. The hardest part was taking that step. I felt alone. I felt ashamed. All those things come upon you. But it is the best decision that you will ever make in your whole entire life. I used to wake up miserable, not wanting to live. Now I wake up with joy and peace and extremely excited to live every single day. And I’m grateful and I’m thankful. You got to take that step, you know, And, you know, just and and parents that are struggling with children encourage them, encourage them, encourage them, encourage them, you know, and pray for them. I mean, really, because you can’t change anybody. You’ve got to want to change yourself. And I went like I cried out to the Lord and, you know, okay, you know, when you go to the restaurants, okay, and you have the animals and the big claw thing, you pay a dollar to get it and you might get one. You might not, right? You know what I’m talking about. Okay. So anyway, many.

Brian Pruett: [00:49:45] Of quarters in those.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:49:46] Me too. So like we a lot of people, I’m sure this is going to relate to a lot of people. Okay. So you’re stuck. Like you’re stuck. You’re like, you know, there’s something better in life. You know, it’s out there, but how do I get there? And then you’re like, oh, I’ll just I’ll just continue to do what I’m doing, you know, whatever. Anyways, so God’s the claw and he you cry out to the Lord and he’ll pick you up in a snatch, right? And he’ll set you all the way in Northport, Alabama, or all the way in Cartersville Outreach Women’s Center and sit you down for a little while and let you relearn life. You know, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. Fear will stop your destination. Fear will completely stop you. It almost did me, you know. But I mean. So don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. There is people out there just like you, struggling with these same exact addiction thing. Mental depression, anxiety. All of it doesn’t even have to be drugs. It’s anything, anything that you’re addicted to or anything that’s keeping you in misery or anything that’s keeping you bound. Anything. You know, you’re not alone. There’s people out there doing the same exact thing you are. And so, you know, reach out, reach out. Don’t be afraid to reach out, you know? And we understand how bad that step is, how like, anxious that step is. And oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. So we are you know, we’re outreach. We’re Cartersville Outreach Women’s Center. So we know how hard that is to take that step of faith. So we reach out to you. You know, don’t be afraid to send me a text message. You know what I mean? That’s all. Hey, you know, so you know what I mean. It doesn’t have to be anything. Hey, I’m struggling with addiction. I’m doing this. I’m doing this. I’m a hey, you know, take that step of faith. No, don’t be scared. Fear will stop you. Well, it’s.

Brian Pruett: [00:51:21] Almost like too it sounds like you, you know, like God and Jesus, they meet you where you are. Absolutely. You do the same thing with the women, which I think is awesome. Yes. I don’t. I’m coming back to you, Tabitha, I wanted to ask you another question. If somebody’s listening and either has somebody they know of with the special needs and stuff like that, can you give some advice to them of what they might be able to to do that they may not know of, of where to go, where to turn, what to do?

Tabitha Baynard: [00:51:45] Um, they can.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:51:47] Call.

Tabitha Baynard: [00:51:48] Us. We’re not the only facility like this in Bartow County. There’s another one. Um, but just. Come. Come see what we do. I mean, if they just want a tour and the facilities just to see if they would like it, if they would fit in, they’re more than welcome to. Okay.

Brian Pruett: [00:52:10] All right. So, Rebecca, I’m coming back to you for a second. So other than the reason of wanting to help those in addiction, why is it important for you to be part of the community? Because since I’ve seen you at the after hours of the of the chamber, now I see you everywhere. Yeah.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:52:24] Which is.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:52:25] Cool. And I love it. The Cartersville, the Cartersville Business Club on Wednesday mornings is it’s so positive. Like I just I love, I get up in the morning, like, excited to go and I’m like, yeah, you know, you see a lot of cool faces, a lot of different companies. And you know, they talk about just being part of the community, like they really, truly get down to the okay, so what stopped you from I think this was last week, what stopped you from starting your business sooner? You know, a lot of people was like, you know, fear of failure, right? I mean, everybody’s scared to fail, but people get down to the real nitty gritty, like, well, I mean, if you fail, then you lose everything. You start back over. You know what I mean? Like, it is what it is. You tried. So being out with the community, it’s just it’s amazing because I know in the community, deep, deep down in every single person, they’re hurting somebody. You know, somebody is hurting and and you might. So if this is available and hurting for somebody, hurting for themselves, hurting for their friend, their sister, their mother, and if this is available, they can be like, man, that’s going to touch their heartstring. It really is because, oh, my gosh, that’s where my daughter can go. She’s about, you know, dying on this, on this. And, you know, I need her to go here, you know, So and it just touches people in the community because it’s a lot. It’s everywhere, especially in Bartow County. They need it in every county in the world. But, you know, Bartow County is where it start. You know, God’s doing a big move in Bartow County. And I just feel it. And it’s a it’s amazing. But yeah, the community because I know deep down, even if they don’t want to speak about it, I know some somebody out there needs it, you know, more than just one too.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:53:56] Yeah.

Brian Pruett: [00:53:56] So you mentioned the Cardinal Business Club. I got to get Tabitha out there because it’s awesome.

Tabitha Baynard: [00:54:00] It’s fun. When I talked to Butch this morning, he was telling me that I needed to start going. He was telling me I needed to start going to that. Yes.

Brian Pruett: [00:54:08] Yeah. So it’s awesome. So I helped start that, just so you guys know. So it’s not about me.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:54:13] That’s why he sits in the big King chair.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:54:17] You know, It’s pretty awesome.

Brian Pruett: [00:54:18] We got a great you know, the cool thing, too, is it’s not just people from Bartow County. There are several people who come to that who aren’t from Bartow County, right? Yeah. Which is Doc, Woodstock, Acworth, Kennesaw, Rome. Yeah. You know, we got some people from Dalton used to come down, so it’s just pretty cool. All right. So as we get ready to wrap this up, I’m going to ask you the same thing I asked Stephen. Share one thing, one positive either word or quote nugget, something for people to listen to and live today and beyond with. So, Tabitha, I’m going to let you start. You had you had since Stephen left to think about it.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:54:54] So, um.

Tabitha Baynard: [00:54:55] I tell the guys all the time that it’s it’s this it’s the will, not the skill that you need to focus on.

Brian Pruett: [00:55:05] Awesome. All right, Rebecca, what you got?

Rebecca Reeves: [00:55:07] So when he said this, I was like, I’m not going to Google. I’m just going to what? The first thing that popped to my head, you know? So Lord needs everybody here is you’re not alone. You’re not alone. Don’t feel like that you are alone. And then the scripture that I’m going to say is. John 836 It says, So if the son sets you free, you are truly free. You know it’s time to be free. There’s a there. He has got a plan and a purpose for every single person on this earth. Let his plan prevail in your life, aren’t you? I was so tired of running for the devil. You know, living in misery. Let him turn your misery into your ministry.

Brian Pruett: [00:55:42] Which is awesome, because I’ve done the same thing. I’ve tried to make my own plan. And boy, does it not work.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:55:47] It’s pointless because you’re like. You struggle, you struggle, you struggle. You’re like, Why am I fighting myself? Because you’re trying to do it in your own strength. First of all, you’ve got to let the Lord lead your steps. And it’s amazing when you completely surrender to God, when you completely let him have your life and take control, man, it’s just a peaceful easy.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:56:05] It’s a daily.

Brian Pruett: [00:56:05] Process, though. It’s a daily process. Learning how to give up and and all that stuff every day.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:56:10] I still work on it, so I’m not perfect by any means. And I pray that nobody thinks that I am because every day I have to repent for something. Okay.

Brian Pruett: [00:56:17] There was only one perfect person on this earth and he’s not. He’s still looking on us. But he’s not here.

Rebecca Reeves: [00:56:22] Jesus, Jesus.

Brian Pruett: [00:56:23] That’s right. All right. So I also like to say this. I’ve been doing this the last couple of weeks. The simple thank you is a lost art. So, Tabitha, thank you for what you do for for your individuals there. And Rebecca, thank you for what you guys are doing in the community and for the ladies. Stone again, thank you for this. Thank you for being my producer because I’ve always told you and Sharon, if I had to do that board, we’d be in trouble. So everybody out there listening, let’s remember, let’s be positive. Let’s be charitable.