- Good evening. Welcome to Smart Girls. We are so happy that you are here with us tonight. You can stay
- in the lines. Please get drinks. Please get ice cream. We're happy that you're here. For those of you
- that don't know me, my name's Leslie Absher. I'm the CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Bloomington.
- What's today? 25th? I've been in this job for eight months and 25 days, so very exciting.
- Thank you, thank you. I love being at the Boys and Girls Club. This is my 11th year here. It's really
- exciting to watch how this organization has grown. This building did not exist when I started 11 years
- ago. So you're sitting in a building that we built for this neighborhood to continue to grow the services
- that we provide in this community. So we're excited to have you here at the Stephen Conney Ferguson
- Crestmont Club tonight. To be part of what I love, this event, we had a boys event, a boys to men event
- for a lot of years. And over the years, women came to me and said, hey,
- Where's the women's event? And I said, that's a really good question. We're going to get a women's event
- going. And we've had this women's event going ever since. So really excited to be here with all of you
- and to see how this event too has grown. And it's exciting to see what we're going to do tonight for
- the kids in our community. So thank you for being here. Thank you for being part of what we're going
- to do for girls in our community. It means so much to me and it means so much to the kids that we are
- going to support with the funds that we raised tonight. So empowering young women in our community is
- the work of us all.
- Each and every one of us has a part to play in making sure that kids feel safe, that they feel loved,
- that they feel nurtured, that they feel cared for. You may be raising one of those young women. You
- may be working alongside some of those young women who are in high school or interns from college with you.
- coaching some of those young women. Those of you that volunteer coach women's sports, you may be volunteering
- at their schools, you may be spending time engaging with them, but in lots of ways, you are investing
- in the lives of young people, and thank you for doing that every single day. We need each and every
- one of us to do that. We do that at Boys and Girls Club, but we know that that's happening all over
- this community, so thank you for doing that. It's meaningful and important work. Women need to be confident.
- They need to be smart. They need to be driven. They need to feel like they can do what it is that they
- want to do, and we love
- to be able to empower and encourage those girls. You heard in that video, just having somebody to listen.
- Having somebody to talk to is really important. And that's part of what we bring at Boys and Girls Club
- with our programming. And you'll hear a little bit more about that as we go through the night. But thank
- you so much for being part of what we're about to do tonight. Every kid deserves an opportunity to grow,
- to thrive, to be mentored, and to be cared for. And that's happening every single day here at the club.
- So really exciting news. The Boys and Girls Club is serving more kids every single day than ever before.
- We've been around for 70 years as of next year. And we are hitting all time highs every single day.
- So we are serving almost 700 kids in this community every single day. Cool. Really great. And every
- day I get calls from staff saying, hey, we have 10 more kids that showed up today. What do we do, right?
- Where do we put them? And we need more chairs and we need more staff. And it does take buildings and it takes
- people, and it takes supplies, and it takes money to do what it is that we do. And we don't charge families,
- we charge $20 a year. That's it. $20 a year. Yeah. Yeah, but actually, that's because of all of you,
- right? You all make it possible for us to charge $20 a year, right? We
- survive on community donations. That is how we do it. 77% of all of our donations comes from this community.
- And it's not people, as you think, which we love this too, but it's not people writing ginormous checks.
- We'll take your ginormous check, don't get me wrong. But it's mostly people saying, yeah, I can do $50
- a month. Yeah, I can do that. I can do $100 today. I can. And that is how we get it done.
- We get it done by everyone in our community anting in and saying, I believe in kids, and I believe in
- giving them a great future, and that is how we serve the kids that we serve in this community, and that's
- how we're able to do what we do. So it's really about each and every one of you being part of what we're
- doing and saying yes. So being here today is really helping us to do that, because you know it doesn't
- cost us $20 a year to serve those kids. It costs us about $750 a year, and we make up that difference
- through community donations. So thank you for being part of this, and thank you for thinking about what
- you're going to do that's meaningful
- for kids tonight because that is why we're here. We're here to be inspired. We're here to remember the
- power and importance that we all have in mentoring the next generation. And we're here to do something
- special for our kids at the Boys and Girls Club. So a couple of logistics before we get into our program.
- We want to thank our sponsors for the evening. You know that there's ice cream back there and coffee
- and Cardinal spirits and food. There's bathrooms out that back door, those two brown doors out there.
- And there will be a really exciting raffle at the end of the night. So lots of good things to
- win at the end of the night. So you have your tickets. They're stapled to your bid numbers.
- So keep those. You have to be present to win our raffle items. But raffle items are going to be great.
- So we'll draw those at the end of the night. So keep those with you. A few groups I want to recognize.
- If you are a member of the board of directors, or you are an ambassador from the board of directors,
- a past board of directors member, or an auxiliary member, will you stand for me to be recognized tonight?
- Thank you so much. These are the leaders in our community that say yes to the great work that we do.
- They do a lot of work behind the scenes. Our board is a hard working board. They roll up their sleeves.
- They do the work that needs to be done for kids. Our auxiliary is the same. They're here every Friday
- serving meals right in that kitchen to all of our kids on Fridays. And then they take hot meals home
- for the weekend so that they have food over the weekend. They come in and they volunteer and they do
- things that need to be done. So these are wonderful people that have said, yes, if you are interested
- in being part of those groups, I would love to talk to you about that. We always need good leadership
- and good people. So come chat with me if that's something you might be interested in in the future too.
- But thank you so much to those groups, the board, and the auxiliary, and the past board members. We
- wouldn't be here today without you. We also have a lot of sponsors to thank tonight. So how many of
- you enjoyed the food? Finney Group? Yes, let's give it up for Finney Group. So Finney Group donated
- all of that food, all of it, every single piece.
- It's a big donation, and we really appreciate it so that more dollars can go into the work for kids,
- right? We're not spending it to feed all of you. Finney Group is covering that cost for us,
- so what a great, gracious donation. We're so appreciative for them for doing that. The alcohol was provided,
- also donated, by Cardinal Spirits, by Finney Group, and Oliver Winery, and so thank you to them and
- our bartender, Joy Shaw, back there.
- Coffee was donated by Verona Coffee, and the ice cream was donated by Brewsters, so round of applause
- for them as well. The photography tonight was donated by Sherry Dupree and Everson Exuberance, so thank
- you to them for getting some good photos of us tonight.
- And then Go Express Travel, hopefully shuttled some of you over here so you didn't have to worry about
- walking or finding parking. Again, free of charge, they provide that shuttle service to us, so thank
- you to Go Express Travel. The lovely flowers on your table are Three Blondes Flower Co. We love them,
- they're a new flower company in town. Kelsey grew up here in Bloomington, and now she's got this beautiful
- business, and so we're excited to have her support us, and she donated all these lovely flowers, so
- we are thankful for them. You can take the flowers home,
- but we would love to reuse the vases because we're, you know, we're thrifty here at the Boys and Girls
- Club. So you're welcome to take the flowers at the end of the night, but if you could leave us the vases,
- we'll reuse them for next year. That would be great. But we love three blondes, so thanks to Kelsey
- for donating those flowers tonight.
- I wanna say a few thank yous for our volunteers. The Bloomington Fire Department comes and sets up all
- these tables and chairs in about like two minutes flat. So we really appreciate them because it would
- take us a lot of time to do that. So thank you for them.
- We also have really awesome young people helping us, surprise, surprise, volunteering for us. So the
- Bloomington High School North Athletic Board, the Bloomington High School South Honor Society, the Chi
- Pi Fraternity, the Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity, and a bunch of other individuals have helped
- us to do all the setup, and they'll help us with teardown as well. So round of applause for those volunteers.
- Nature's Way provided these beautiful plants on this stage, so we're looking very tropical tonight,
- which we love. It's gonna be good for our photos, so thank you for them for that.
- Yeah, and we love mentioning, too, Marquis Rental and Staging and Master Rental. These are people that
- donate and contribute to us in ways that help us to keep our event costs down really low. So again,
- every dollar that is made tonight and is donated actually goes straight to kids in programs. And so
- we really appreciate that. So round of applause to everyone who has helped us to donate tonight.
- All right, then onto our table sponsors. So our gold sponsors, and you can hold your applause until
- I get to the end of my list, but our gold sponsors tonight include Comprehensive Financial Consultants.
- This is David Hayes as a board member. He was a club kid. If you ever want to hear a good story, David
- will tell you a good story about the trouble he got into as a club kid. But he's been a club supporter
- ever since, so thank you to David and CFCI. Service Master, Restoration and Cleaning. Thank you to Dusty
- Bean and Sheena. That group is great. They really believe in the power of kids. Dusty really gets it.
- He really understands what we're doing
- here and he really loves anting in for that so thank you guys for that we so appreciate it. Choice Realty
- Laurie Todd is a board member has been a longtime club supporter probably before my time Laurie's been
- involved in supporting the club so such an advocate for kids and very few people roll up their sleeves
- the way Laurie does so I just really appreciate you Laurie and thanks to Choice Realty. Again Marquis
- rental and staging we love Zach and the crew over there they're making us sound good and look good so
- that's wonderful. Baird also we want to thank Jeff Main, Dan Matthews, Alice Zollman and the whole crew over
- there for helping us provide support for the clubs. They've been long-time supporters as well, and they
- really believe in what we're doing for kids, so thank you to them. Master rental, as I mentioned, Darren
- Lavin was a past board member. He won the community anchor award at the Chambers event a couple of weeks
- ago, so he really is a community anchor. Darren does all the rentals for us at no charge, really a big
- gift, and so again, we thank him for that. It's wonderful to have him as part of the club family.
- Cassidy Electric, we want to thank. They're a division of Houston now. We thank the Cassidy family,
- Randy and Mike and Kelly Houston. Mae Cassidy was one of my all-time favorite speakers at this event.
- I don't know if I should say that. They're all very good. But Mae was really wonderful. She was one
- of our panelists the very first year we had this event. She was one of the people that poked me about
- why I didn't have a women's event. So I just really appreciate Mae and the legacy that she has left
- as a strong woman in this community. And I'd love to continue to have your guys' support at this event.
- It means a lot to us.
- companies. Thank you so much to DG and to Laurie Thomas. The Elmore companies is in its third generation
- of owning and operating that business and they have been supporting Boys and Girls Clubs ever since.
- So really long time supporters of the Boys and Girls Club and their family has been connected to us
- for a long time. So we're very thankful for all of our gold sponsors. Can we get a round of applause
- for all of them? All right, on to our silver sponsors. We want to thank Go Express Travel.
- Brewster's Ice Cream, Sterling Real Estate, German American Bank, Ryan Prahl, IU Health, Rogers Group
- and Rogers Group Investments, Verona Coffee, Three Blondes For All Company, Meineke of Ellitsville,
- and Garnish Catering. Please give a round of applause for all of our silver sponsors. And finally, thank
- you to our bronze sponsors, Spring Hill Sweets, JC Bank,
- Shine Insurance, Duke Energy, Susan Yaeli Interiors and Homes, Bilcy Brown Associates, IU School of
- Nursing, Brian Thompson F.T. Tucker Realtors in Bloomington, the Wyman Group, the Engraving and Stamp
- Center, and Spring Point Architects. So round of applause for our bronze sponsors.
- Because we get so much of what we have here to run this event donated, again, all of the sponsorship
- dollars goes right into the work that we're doing with our kids. So we love to have those sponsorships.
- It really makes a huge difference and a huge impact for the kids that we're serving. All right.
- We're done with our thank yous for the beginning part of the evening, and now we're gonna get into the
- exciting part of our program. There's a couple really wonderful women that are here with us tonight
- that we are gonna hear from, and I'm excited to be able to introduce one of them to you. I wanna introduce
- Sherry Dunbar-Cruzan, so I'm gonna read a little bit about Sherry, who really probably needs no introduction
- in this room, but we're gonna give her her accolades anyway, because we love Sherry. Sherry, if you
- don't know, was born in Fontana, California, but she grew up a hometown girl in Ellitsville, Indiana,
- where she played both volleyball
- Surprise, surprise, you should all know this about Sherry. And basketball. She attended Ball State on
- a full athletic scholarship where she received her bachelor's degree and then earned her master's at
- the University of San Francisco.
- Sheri has 25 years of Division I coaching experience, including as assistant volleyball coach at University
- of San Francisco and the University of Tennessee as a head coach at the College of Charleston in South
- Carolina and, of course, here at our very own Indiana University, where she took IU's first and only
- NCAA Sweet 16 appearance during her 11 seasons at the helm. Yay!
- She chaired the NCAA Division I All-American Committee for three years and has been inducted into both
- the College of Charleston Hall of Fame and the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame. Sherry also received
- the May Cassidy Lifetime Achievement Award through the Bloomington Chamber in 2024.
- The most important thing about Sherry is not all of those things, but it's that she is someone who gives
- back to her community to make sure that not only her sports teams win, but that everybody gets a chance
- to win at life. She gives so much of herself to help our great community. She's the past president and
- current board member for New Hope
- for Families and the current president for Big Brothers Big Sisters Board of Directors. Both of those
- organizations are doing great work to invest in the future of our kids in this community and we're so
- thankful that they're partners with us in serving those kids in meeting needs. Most importantly, I think
- Sherry would say, that she's a big sister to Sammy who's now 18 years old. Sherry's been a mentor to
- Sammy for the past seven years through Big Brothers Big Sisters. When it comes to mentorship,
- Sherry gets it. She loves it.
- And in 2018, Sherry took her leadership and coaching skills to the private sector, and she's now the
- training and development manager at TASSIS, as well as the company's community relations liaison.
- Sherry's no stranger to the club, or to this event, actually. She's a long-time supporter to the Ellesville
- Big Hearts campaign with her and her husband, Mark, and they believe in the power of developing young
- people to reach their full potential. Sherry actually moderated the panel discussion that May was in
- at our very first Smart Girls Strong Women event, and now she's back with us to help emcee the night
- tonight. So please join me in giving a warm welcome to Sherry Dunbar-Cruzan.
- going up. Hello Bloomington! I mean my tables just loving the Brewsters and social cantina and they
- waiting in line for the drink so it was it's all good. So Leslie I really appreciate you inviting me
- to this year's events as Leslie mentioned I was here when May Cassidy, Lori McRobbie and
- and Joni Kreen were on the panel. And I don't know how many of you are here, but that is a group of
- strong, strong women with immense knowledge and experience. I have no doubt you are gonna be blown away
- by Vera Jones' talk tonight as well. And I know you're already anxious to hear Vera speak, but there's
- a live microphone right in front of me, and I'm never shy about taking that as an open invitation to
- say a few words.
- So I'll just take a minute and talk about a topic with which I am passionate about, as Leslie said,
- mentorship. You're about to hear from not one, but two former coaches tonight. So you all better lock
- in, right, Vera? I saw lines down there. We're not afraid to have them run sprints, are we? In our business,
- that's called motivation. Maybe not good motivation, but motivation. Okay, mentorship is a lot like
- your car's GPS. We're going to start there.
- You don't really notice it when everything's going smoothly, but the second you take a wrong turn, suddenly
- it's yelling, recalculating, recalculating. The big difference between mentorship and GPS is that good
- mentors don't make you feel bad about missing the exit. They just help you find a smarter way to get
- back on track. Here's the thing about mentorship.
- It's not about having all the answers. It's about asking the right questions. It's about shining a flashlight
- just a little ahead on the path so another person can see where to step with more confidence. Great
- mentors don't create more followers. They create leaders. And those leaders, having learned by example,
- will one day mentor others. That's a cycle.
- Mentorship isn't sitting back while someone else does the heavy lifting. It's showing up with curiosity,
- humility, and yes, sometimes a strong cup of coffee. Because showing up can be the most important thing
- of all. To effectively show up, be intentional. Most important, be consistent and be engaged.
- It's crucial not to underestimate the impact of mentorship, of showing up in someone else's life, especially
- a young person's life. Coaching for 25 years gave me a front seat to mentorship, and I truly loved that
- part of the job. Mentorship, of course, occurs off the court just as much as it does on. A key difference
- is that outside the coach-player setting, a more proactive effort has to be made to connect
- mentors and mentees. With a quarter century of coaching in my rear view mirror, I've been fortunate
- to be able to transition what I learned on the court into the private sector. Two years ago, we started
- a program at our company, Tossus, called Mentoring Pathways.
- It's been a great blessing to watch the growth in our employees. I'd be happy to talk with anyone that
- would like to start a program at their workplace. It doesn't have to be a daunting task. It just takes
- someone believing it's a worthwhile investment. You just never know where mentorship is gonna lead.
- You hope to make a difference in someone's life. That's a good day at the office. But sometimes the
- reward is much greater. Sometimes you see a scrawny little kid
- become a huge success in their profession and in their life. I had the distinct honor of coaching many
- great players and people. One of them is still the only first-team All-American in IU volleyball history,
- and I'm so excited she's here tonight. Ashley Benson, give them a wave.
- Mark and I were fortunate to attend Ashley's pinning ceremony just a few weeks ago to see her earn her
- badge. I get emotional about this. Her badge is a full-time professional Monroe Fire Protection District
- firefighter. That's amazing.
- Ashley told me she saw me standing in the back while she was getting pinned and almost cried. That's
- the feeling you work for in mentorship. Now Ashley is a, now she's not only a professional firefighter,
- she's also a mother to a beautiful five-year-old, Daisy, who's her mini-me. Now she's the one who's
- a role model, showing her daughter what it means to give back to a community, to be a working mom, to
- live out a dream, and to love.
- There's no better example of successful cycle of mentorship. Muhammad Ali once said, service to others
- is the rent we pay for our room here on earth. True service means going beyond the checklist, showing
- up with intention, generosity, and that extra spark that can make a real difference. Simon Sinek always
- gives such good insights. If you don't know who he is, in the words of Kurt Signetti, Google him.
- He said, true service really begins where obligation ends, in that space where intention, care, and
- action align. So whether you're a mentor, a mentee, or someone still pretending you don't need either,
- remember this, mentorship is simply borrowed wisdom. I'll say it again, mentorship is simply borrowed
- wisdom. Someone lends you
- their hindsight so you can trade it in for foresight. So let's keep learning from each other, laughing
- with each other, and most importantly, pulling each other up. Thanks so much for letting me make use
- of this live microphone. Okay, on to the main event.
- When Leslie and Darcy sent me my bio for review, I asked them to remove one line. It read, Dunbar was
- on the 1986 Regional Basketball Championship team at Edgewood, averaging 15 points and seven rebounds
- per game. Maybe that's not bad for a high schooler, but who needs to hear those stats when you have
- to introduce a woman who helped lead her team to two Big East Championships and two NCAA tournament
- bids? And while she was at it,
- Vera was also named the Big East Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year and was later inducted into
- the Syracuse University Orange Plus Hall of Fame. Go Orange. Most of you no doubt remember former IU
- women's basketball coach Felicia LaGette-Jack. Felicia is a very good friend of mine and more importantly
- of Vera's, which meant I was able to ask Felicia for a little bit of input on my introduction.
- When I asked her to share a memory of Vera, Felicia laughed at that laugh of hers and said, well, I
- will say a few stories were about injuries. I don't really know what those were about, but she said,
- well, she sprained her ankle prior to the Big East Championship game, couldn't play, and then re-injured
- it again in the celebratory huddle. Without playing, mind you. But then she said, and this is where
- she really got into it, Vera goes deep into the soul of a person.
- It wasn't unusual to be ready to get on the road and see Vera over in a corner talking with a total
- stranger trying to help them. She has big shoulders that enable her to carry the burden of other people's
- stories. Sound like a true mentor to you? Sure does to me. So let's take a moment to see a short video
- that gives you a bit more insight about our honored guest.
- A standout on the court and in the classroom, Vera Jones was the 1988 Big East Scholar Athlete of the
- Year. Before that, Jones helped lead the Orange to the 1985 Big East Tournament Championship and their
- first two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1985 and 1988. Everything that's going up is going in. Two
- points for Vera Jones. Jones completed her basketball career as one of the most prolific three-point
- shooters in school history.
- Vera scored 1113 career points, which still ranks 20th on the Orange women's basketball scoring list.
- Jones was inducted into the Syracuse University Orange Plus Hall of Fame in 2002. Vera transitioned
- from student athlete to coach. On the sidelines, she coached at Dayton, Indiana, and Florida Atlantic.
- Through every step of her professional life, Jones has used her Newhouse degrees in broadcast journalism
- and television, radio, and film.
- Her resume includes more than a decade of experience as a radio personality. In 1994, she was honored
- as the South Carolina Broadcasters Association Personality of the Year, and she has also acted with
- the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company and performed stand-up comedy. An accomplished author, she
- has written several books, including Play Through the Foul, which empowers young people to fight through
- adversity with the power of faith, vision, unity, perseverance, and purpose.
- Jones is active in many civic organizations, including the Celebrity Hoops for Hope charity basketball
- game in Kansas, the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired,
- the Florida Association of School Administrators, and has served on the school improvement committee
- of the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. In the fall of 2017,
- Jones moderated the Syracuse University Coming Back Together Minority Sports Panel and was a guest panelist
- at the ESPNW event for Syracuse's female student athletes. Today, Jones is a professional development
- coach through Vera's Voice Works, an organization she founded to coach, empower, and energize individuals
- and organizations to overcome their fouls to achieve success. She is also an author, an award-winning
- television and radio broadcaster for the Big Ten Network, and a successful motivational speaker. Vera Jones.
- letter winner of distinction. Okay, because she earned it, I'm going to read a few more of her accolades.
- So our keynote speaker tonight is an inspiring, funny, and relatable motivational speaker, author, coach,
- and award-winning TV and radio broadcasting veteran. Vera Jones is most widely known for her basketball
- analyst work with ESPN,
- Fox Sports, MSG, WNBA, and the Big Ten Network. She has coached Division I college basketball, including
- here at IU, performed on the stage as an actress with the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company, and
- even entertained inebriated hecklers as a stand-up comedian.
- An MTI certified mediator and trainer in conflict resolution, Vera earned her master's degree from Syracuse
- University's prestigious Newhouse School of Communications. As president of Vera's VoiceWorks, founder
- of the Perseverance Speakers Academy and the University of North Florida professor of public speaking,
- she uses her communication gifts to inspire,
- educate and develop others through various training forums. She is particularly fond of empowering girls
- and women to whistle their way to significance and success. Get ready for a proud Boys and Girls Club
- of America Alumni Hall of Famer from sunny Jacksonville, Florida, Vera Jones.
- Check, check, check. Mic check, mic check, mic check, mic check. Yes, yes, I'm there. I forgot my clicker.
- I'm literally emotional. I don't even know where, I don't know, it could have been like hot flashes.
- I'm not really sure what happened, but I just got emotional. Anytime I'm asked to speak, obviously I'm
- thrilled, I'm honored, but there's something special about the Boys and Girls Club.
- When I was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Alumni Hall of Fame two years ago, first of all, I didn't
- even understand why. I was like, are you sure you got the right person? Clearly they hadn't talked to
- my roommate in college. But to be able to come back to Bloomington where I had a beautiful, beautiful
- stay for only a year, it's just touching. So thank you so much for thinking enough of me
- to help you represent tonight, which I feel is a very big night. And it's simple, it's just so simple.
- Smart girls, strong women. Smart girls, strong women. So to even be in the neighborhood of conversation
- for those powerful words, it gives me great honor.
- So I want to take you on a little journey, if I may. I want to share my story. That's the only way I
- know how to do it. This is going to be not a speech. It's going to be what I call an experience, because
- I have a background in theater, and I feel you should experience it, all right? So we're gonna go on
- a little empowerment journey about smart girls and strong women. And I titled this one, Girls Don't
- Whistle. There's a question mark at the end of that.
- I want to invite you to four stories that are going to help you beware of biases, improvise to impair
- the imposter, holistically heal, and to engage with empathy. And the reason I came up with these is
- I started thinking about smart girls and strong women. And if I were to throw together the ingredients,
- what would I include? And those four things are important.
- So here's the little journey. Even before we start, I do teach public speaking. I am a public speaker.
- Number one rule is know your audience. So let me see who's sitting in here, all right? Let's get a little
- poll going, and we're gonna do it the old-fashioned way by a show of hands. How would you rate your
- level of self-awareness, right? Would you say A, you're extremely self-aware? Any takers? Okay.
- Good. What about B, usually self-aware? That's usually the big one in the room, yeah. C, sometimes
- self-aware? That's very honest, actually. D, I rarely think about my self-awareness. No takers there.
- Okay, how about E, I'm extremely self-unaware I'm in a walking coma. Any takers there? Couple of you,
- couple of you. Get them coffee, paramedics, whatever. Got a couple of walking comas in here.
- The reason I ask is because, to me, self-awareness is everything. It's everything, especially when you're
- talking about smart girls and strong women. So here's a quick test. Let's see how aware you really are.
- Here's this for the math heads. I want you to assume aces are worth 11, quickly double the value of
- each card, and add them up. Ready, go. Soon as you get it, stand up. I got a prize for you. Soon as
- you get it, what's the right answer? What you got? Sit down.
- What you got? 39? What you got? Yes! We got a winner right here. Keep hers. He's right up in front.
- We'll remember. Give her a round of applause. What's your name? It's 50. It's 50. All right. I knew
- there were some math heads. I love doing this because it takes the pressure off of me and finds somebody
- else. Everybody else has a sweat bullet. It's not me up here on stage, right? So here's the thing. If
- I were to say to you, okay, let's take a look at those cards again.
- Anybody notice this? Anybody notice anything a little different here? I'm assuming everybody's seen
- a deck of cards before. Ever seen black hearts? Ever? Ever. Right there in plain sight, the cards were
- there. And yet, anybody that's ever seen a deck of cards would go, that's just odd. Why is the four
- black? It should be red.
- What we just witnessed is called something or something called inattentional blindness bias, which refers
- to a psychological lack of attention. Basically, it causes us to miss things that are right there in
- plain sight. The danger of this is if we don't see something, we automatically assume that it did not
- happen, wasn't there. Police officers run into this all the time when they come to the scene of the crime.
- Oh my goodness, and then she was screaming and some guy hauled her off in a white van. And you go to
- the next person. It wasn't a white van. I saw a guy with a blue Corolla and he was arguing with his
- wife. Right? And police officers like this is never, this case is never going to get solved. If we don't
- see something, we automatically assume it did not happen.
- We don't see what we aren't looking for. Had I told you, take a look at those cards before you add them
- up, someone would have stood up right away and said, yeah, yeah, yeah, the four of hearts is black,
- it should be red. The biggest danger is when we don't see what we're not looking for pertains to our
- own negativity, our own biases, and our blind spots. I do a lot of work in and out of corporate and
- government,
- tons of people who I coach. And one of the biggest things that I have to help them do is just tap into
- their own self-awareness for the better and for the worse. You may not know this, but there are over
- 180 cognitive biases that affect our data processing, our critical thinking, and the way we perceive
- reality. And every day we feel like we know it. I know it all.
- Inattentional blindness bias is very, very frustrating for many of us, okay? But there's an opportunity
- there. Right when I started, I'd say 85, 90% of the room said that they were aware. The reality is,
- the studies show only 90%. 90% will say that they are aware, but only 10 to 15 really are.
- If we're not aware of ourselves, how much are we aware of others, our culture, and how often do we pay
- attention to the limitations that others have set upon us? Many of us are living an entire life based
- on what someone said when we were in the second grade that we could or could not do. So my first story
- resonates with this whole thought process.
- See, at the age of about seven, it's where the girls don't whistle comes from, I wanna let you know
- my dad was everything. My father was an engineer, he was the smartest man I had ever met. I love my
- dad and I don't want you to think anything bad about my dad, but I gotta tell you a story about my dad.
- So I'm going around the house, I'm seven years old, and I found out that I had this amazing talent,
- this was long before
- you know, any of the American Idol type shows, but I couldn't wait to share my talent. And my talent
- sounded like this. Anybody know it? You know it? You're showing your aides. You're showing your aides
- if you know it.
- hot stuff. At seven years of age, I could whistle the theme song to the Andy Griffith Show. I was so
- amazed at me, and I could not control it every chance I got it. I was whistling that thing over and
- over and over again. Well, my dad, I guess, didn't like the Andy Griffith Show. I'm not sure what happened
- to him. But out of the blue, nicest man you ever met.
- But on this day, one day, he snaps and says, shut up all that noise. Well, I was a reporter long before
- I was a reporter. And I was like, why daddy? Why? Why? He said, you're making all that noise. And plus,
- girls don't whistle. And I don't know why, but it felt like a dagger had just went through my heart.
- Because I didn't understand.
- Here was the smartest man I had ever met, the man I love more than anything and anybody, telling me
- that I couldn't do something that I clearly was doing. And I was quite talented. The whole theme song?
- Seriously? So I stopped whistling, at least in his presence. But when I talk about self-awareness, I
- was learning even then that I was a rebel. I whistled every chance I got.
- And by the time I was nine, I told my mama to get me a flute because it was the best thing or closest
- thing to a whistle. And I played in a marching band. And I was like, you may not like whistling, but
- I have to practice. Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo. It was pretty funny. I did that to annoy my dad.
- Girls don't whistle? What did he mean? Well, let's go back for a second. My dad was born in 1928.
- And back in 1920s, there were a lot of things that girls and women just weren't supposed to do. Heck,
- we weren't even allowed to vote for a while. It's only been 50 years that women could have their own
- bank account in their own name, get their own credit card without a male signature, had to get a brother
- or a husband or somebody, had to do it. So he came up in a time that there were very traditional roles
- of what a woman was supposed to do.
- But this was the 1970s. I wanted to whistle. That was reserved for men whistling at women. Women weren't
- supposed to whistle. What I was experiencing then, and I know now, but I didn't know it then, was something
- called implicit bias. Implicit bias basically is attitudes or stereotypes or stigmas that affect our
- understanding
- and decisions in a very unconscious manner, right? Like it's activated involuntarily. It's not something
- that he meant to do. It was just something that he believed for whatever reason without intention. Question,
- how did you learn about bias of any kind? Did you challenge that bias or did you just go ahead and believe
- that somebody said way back when somehow,
- Are you aware of the impact of your self-perception of stereotypes, again, that were placed on you a
- long time ago? Stigma, prejudice, limitations, all stimulated by something someone else said. So I went
- on to become a rebel. Not only were girls not allowed to whistle, they weren't supposed to play sports.
- I was very grateful for Title IX back in the 70s that allowed that fairness and equity in schools.
- Girls don't play sports. That's what my mom told me. I was learning then that the purpose of pursuing
- my passion was to one day to put passion back into my purpose. Basketball took me to that full scholarship
- to Syracuse University. There I am back in the 80s with a bad hair day. Clearly some things never change.
- It took me some places, taught me many things.
- Basketball allowed me to be a coach, as you heard before, even right here at Indiana University. That's
- where I was learning how to strategize and give back and really just be a part of something bigger than
- myself, how to be a mentor. That felt good to me. And I was even learning communication. The communication
- expertise, basketball gave me an opportunity to run my mouth for over 30 years as a sports broadcaster
- at ESPN and the Big Ten Network.
- and various radio stations across the country and so much more. I cannot imagine what I would do if
- I didn't learn how to play through the fouls that basketball taught me, the parallels of fouls that
- happen on the court as well as off. Life comes full of fouls. And not being able to do something I was
- good at because someone else said that I couldn't because of a stereotype or stigma would have been
- too much to bear.
- I'm not sure where I would have been without a basketball in my hand, without a whistle in my spirit.
- The second story I want to share with you extends beyond college. I was still trying to find myself
- and I decided that I wanted to become a radio broadcaster. But I wasn't any radio broadcaster. I started
- out doing rock and pop and then I got a job doing love songs.
- B105.9. And you could never just say, hi, I'm playing all of your favorite songs. Coming up, Air Supply
- will do something from Journey, and I've got that favorite from Anita Baker. Love songs. There was always
- like the breath. Love songs. I love doing that. Well, one night I was out doing love songs, and the
- competitor
- from across the way, I guess, became a fan. I'm on at seven o'clock at night, he becomes a fan, and
- suddenly he says, hey, you know, we want you to come and work for us across town. We're gonna put you
- on in the morning show, pay you big bucks, and you're gonna do this thing. We want you to take us to
- number one in the market. And I said, this all sounds good. Sign me up, when do I get the job? He left
- one little thing out. Well, first he told me, he said,
- Vera doesn't work, though. What's your middle name? I was like, oh, Roberta. My mom and dad had a bad
- sense of humor. My name's Vera Roberta Jones. He was like, Roberta, Roberta. Bobby, Bobby, that's it.
- We're going to call you Bobby. Bobby Jones. That's a good radio name. I was like, all right, cool.
- I was like, but why would you change my name? He said, because we're a country radio station.
- Let it sink in, sweetie.
- 98.9% of black people don't listen to country music. But I got this job, and I was going to be a morning
- show host at Gator 107.9, and every morning at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, I'd wake up and I'd put
- on this voice right here at Gator 107.9, woo-wee! Sweet old boot scoot buggy! Bobby Jones did country radio!
- Tell me, I can whistle. I can figure out how to be a country radio DJ. I can do it. Well, Bobby Jones
- went on. This story is about improvising to impair the imposter. So many of us grow up with this imposter
- syndrome that we can't be something else again because someone else said that we weren't good enough.
- And I probably wasn't good enough, but I was more than willing to try.
- Because I knew from a long time ago, I just love to improvise. Some people say, fake it till you make
- it. I just believe in improvising. We all have that gift and talent. We don't tap into that part or
- those parts of our brains often enough. Sometimes the solution to your problem is just learning to create
- from what you already have to develop something else in the future. I went on.
- One of the biggest awards I ever received was the South Carolina Broadcasters Association Personality
- of the Year for the state of South Carolina. Biggest award I ever received. Thank you. Thank you. Little
- Shania Twain. I boot scoot boogied all the way down that aisle. Again, just improvise. I was grateful,
- so very, very grateful that I had heard a motivational speaker and one heck of a basketball coach, Pat
- summit. She passed away in 2016 but not before she left the legacy on the court and off. Pat came to
- Syracuse University when I was in college. It was the first time I heard a quote unquote motivational
- speech. Always said I want to do something like that one day. Ta-da! And one day Pat basically told
- this story when she was working at a camp. She said there was a little traveling circus that used to
- go around.
- and you all may have heard this story, but there was a little traveling circus that used to go all around
- the country. And in this traveling circus, they had the lions and tigers and bears, oh my, and they
- also had these ginormous elephants.
- And so a little girl goes with her grandfather, and she goes and says, Grandpa, wow, look at this elephant,
- or this beast, this animal. She had never seen an elephant before. And Grandpa goes on to tell her all
- about the elephant. Yeah, and it's strong, and it weighs 4,000 pounds, and blah, blah, blah, blah. But
- she noticed something very interesting. There was just a little tiny rope around the elephant's leg.
- And she said, Grandpa,
- How do they get that big elephant just to stay in place and just walk in those circles and just walk
- around? And it doesn't run off. It's so big and strong and powerful. And he said, well, you see that
- little rope around the leg? She said, that's all it is. He could break that rope anytime. Said, yeah,
- but the problem is is when the elephant was just a little baby, they put a great big strong
- jaws of life type chain around its leg. And every time the elephant would try to walk farther than they
- wanted it to, that pain, it would feel the pain of the clasp of the jaws of that, of that thing, basically
- keeping it from moving. She was like, wow. And we know that elephants have great memories.
- And so even after elephant got bigger and bigger and bigger, because they had tied it into this huge
- cinder block that would just cause it pain every time it tried to move. But as it got older, it could
- have still just ripped it right apart. But the memory of the pain that was caused kept it from charging
- forward. I often think about those elephant chains in our lives and how many of us move through life
- not becoming what we want to become because of the elephant chains. And at that moment, I needed some
- money and I wanted to become a country radio DJ, so I let them elephant chains go. Imposter syndrome
- is real, especially for women. There's a KPMG study that says 75% of female executives across all industries
- have experienced imposter syndrome.
- Imposter syndrome, 52 out of 500, Fortune 500 chief executives are women, but they study, or they struggle
- with imposter syndrome. Many of us have to overcome this imposter syndrome. And what's interesting is
- it's there in 25 to 30% of high achievers. Many of us have perfectionist tendencies, so we don't do
- as well because we're too afraid to try because we might fail.
- Imposter syndrome in young girls is very, very real. That is why improvisation is your number one choice.
- Just think about another creative way to conquer it. Girls tend to be very creative. They like art and
- music. Do we continue to encourage them to do those things that might stimulate ways to improvise? The
- third story
- takes a turn. As I got older, I did. I achieved great heights. I lived my dream of ever getting into
- national television, sitting alongside my idol Robin Roberts, who's now with Good Morning America. Everything
- I had ever achieved and wanted to do, and then slowly things started falling apart. While I was here
- at Indiana University, I'd only been here a year as an assistant coach when I got the call that my mother
- had died suddenly of a heart attack. My father was turning 80 that year and I knew I had to get home
- and I had to take care of him. Suddenly my career came to a crashing halt. I had also just gone through
- a very painful divorce. I took a job that I didn't want to take but I needed to take. I was a single
- mom taking care of a son and trying to take care of my father. I was going through a lot at a very difficult time.
- One day, still trying to stay in shape, which is a joke in and of itself, I was out doing what I want
- to call the jog, but it wasn't. It was kind of like this high booty fast walk like this. But I wanted
- to call it a jog, but yeah, I was getting older. And I was outside one day and then in the Florida heat
- and all of a sudden I heard this, it felt like I could hear my heart beating through my chest. I mean,
- I could hear it.
- And then I got, like, this hot feeling that was going all the way up my arm and down my leg,
- and it's just my... the whole left side of my body was just... I've never experienced anything like
- it before, especially in my neck. And then, suddenly, I couldn't breathe, and I started sweating profusely.
- I was outside jogging with a very bad boyfriend who ended up rushing me to a hospital, and I realized
- that I had not done my due diligence to holistically heal
- a lot of broken hearted fouls that had taken place in my life. In 2014, I was rushed to that hospital.
- They thought I was having a heart attack. I was 47 years of age. My mother had died suddenly from a
- heart attack. I never thought that it would happen to me because I was an athlete and I was in shape
- and I could conquer anything. But it did happen to me.
- And so that you're clear on who you're dealing with, there are, I did check this statistic, there are
- one and two billion people will ever take a selfie in the midst of having a heart attack. So I wanted
- you to just know who you're dealing with. Turns out after four, I was like a bad episode of House, after
- four different
- specialists came in and I lay in a hospital for a week and they ran stents at my leg and did all of
- these tests, I didn't have a heart attack at all. I had something called stress-induced tachycardia.
- I had become so stressed trying to achieve heights and high levels and deal with so much stress in my
- life that my heart began to pump fast all the time. It kind of stayed at about 100 to 120 beats a minute
- even when it was supposed to be at rest. Stress
- Nothing else. The doctor told me to go home. Once they finally figured out what was causing it, he brought
- me in the office and he said, I want you to go home. I don't ever want you to step foot in my office
- again. You have the arteries of a 14-year-old. What you need to do is stop stressing, and every night
- I want you to have a glass of red wine. So if the people from Oliver Winery are still here, then can
- help me with my health issues, that would be great.
- Right? You literally did. Go home and have a glass of red wine every night. Take a chill pill.
- Stop it. Sometimes we do too much, and I want to ask you, especially the women in here, have you taken
- the time to check on your own mental wellness? Because stress is a huge foul. These are the different
- images. You got to be careful because you'll pass it on to your children, right?
- We stress over so much, and women report experiencing stress at a higher rate than men. Some studies
- show up to 50% more. Why? Because men stress us out, that's why. Pay attention. Sorry guys, sorry guys.
- We love you, we love you, but you stress us out, you stress us out. And teen girls report persistent
- sadness or hopelessness.
- 57% of the time. That is scary. 57% of the time. We have a mental health crisis. In the United States, 54.7%
- of individuals with a clinical-level mental health problem do not seek help. That means even right here
- today, half of the people in here who should be taking a chill pill are not.
- So I just want you to keep that in mind because it's very personal to me. Are you aware of your stress?
- Are you staying balanced? Extremely important, especially for our young girls. So if you want smart
- girls, strong women, that mental health piece has to be factored in. And the last story is probably
- the biggest one that I leave people with, and it's basically called Leadership 6S.
- I encourage you to engage with empathy. Empathy is now the branding that people use to call me, they
- call me the empathy coach. I talk a lot about empathy, I live a life of empathy. Because when my son
- was 12 years of age, my son who was here with me in Bloomington, some of the people had an opportunity
- to meet him, he was just a little seven year old then.
- At the age of 12, he was outside playing football with the neighborhood kids, and he came in screaming
- and yelling and crying, mom, mom, help me, help me. And I said, what's wrong? What's wrong? He said,
- mom, something's wrong with my eyes. And I had heard him complaining many, many times about headaches
- and blurred vision. But this time, it was different. I was getting ready to go off to the Big Ten Network.
- I knew that I had to be away, and that motherly instinct said, this time get them into the doctor before
- you go away. It was a Sunday. On a Thursday, I had to be in Chicago. On Monday morning, I got them in.
- I took them to the doctor, and I explained that my son was complaining about the headaches. He was playing
- football with neighborhood kids, and all of a sudden, he just blacked out. He just passed out, and Mom, help me.
- something's wrong with my eyes, and he started screaming, and I don't know, I just think it's something.
- And she says, this sounds a lot like migraines. I said, no, I know a lot of people with migraines. I
- don't think it's migraines. And I said, plus, he actually said that he was playing football, and Noah
- went to throw the pass, and when he went to catch it, he blacked out. He totally blacked out, and he
- flipped over an electrical box.
- And I said, what is that? I mean, for him to totally black out, I don't think that's a migraine.
- She said, a lot of people get migraines so badly that they do black out. And I said, look, I watch House
- and Grey's Anatomy. And I'm trying to tell you, that ain't no migraine. It's not a migraine. I said,
- plus he's stuck on about 4 foot 10. We have height in our family. I just don't, something's wrong. So
- she checks his chart, and she looked at it, and she said, yeah.
- Your son hasn't grown in the last year. At the age of 12, you're supposed to be sprouting out, sprouting
- up. So they fast forward. On Wednesday, give him an MRI. An hour and a half after that MRI, I found
- out that my son had a very large brain tumor called a cranial pharyngeoma. It took the very breath out
- of my chest.
- I stood in front of a neurosurgeon as they said he was in danger. They had to get him into emergency
- surgery. They said there was a good chance that my son would die. They would do everything they could
- to save his life. But even if they saved his life, there was a really good chance that my son would
- be blind and they would do everything they could to protect his sight. No matter what, if he lived,
- he would have to live on steroids and a lot of artificial things to keep him alive every day.
- My son went into surgery and I was realizing that even then that empathy was supposed to be the way
- that I live and guide my son. Empathy is not babysitting. Empathy was going to have to be the way that
- I had to figure out how to get into his shoes to guide him so that he could make it through life.
- My son went through that surgery. He came out of that surgery with a brain tumor. They were able to
- get the brain tumor, but he did indeed lose his sight. The hardest thing for my son was not that he
- dealt with blindness or a lot of physical ailments. For me, it was the emotional part.
- that suddenly a typically happy-go-lucky kid that suddenly now was gaining a lot of weight, he was blind,
- he was hearing impaired, he had all of these issues that he would go to school and get bullied and picked
- on because he was different. For no other reason, same kid, different circumstances. And I realize now
- that his elephant chains were starting to show up. The craniofaryngeoma did indeed disappear.
- But the elephant chains were huge. And now I had to figure out what I was supposed to do to help Drew.
- And I was learning that empathy was the way. They brought in Tibbs, that was the seeing eye dog, who
- told me things had just gotten rough. And they had. They had gotten really rough.
- because I had to get that honorary PhD in empathy that comes from parenting in order to understand a
- lot about bullies and naysayers, a lot about the limitations that we put on ourselves called self-doubt,
- a lot about those elephant chains. Empathy became the way that I learned to become compassionate and
- innovative. I learned to be better and not bitter.
- I learned to be stronger and not stranger, wiser and not weaker. Every single day, Sherry talked about
- mentorship. We live in a world where we're supposed to bring our A game. Supposed to bring the A game,
- but how do you bring your A game when every day we're dealing with life's conflict tests with Ds? Divorce,
- death, disease, disability,
- displacement, depression, all of these D's, and we cover it up with drugs and alcohol. Our young people
- need to see us overcome this. But it's difficult to overcome it when you do not have the compassion
- and support of others to help you do that. And that is why I say one of the greatest things that we
- have going for us is empathy. So I wrote me a book about it after 10 years of researching.
- I decided empathy was what I wanted to know all about, and I wanted to help motivate the 80 to 85% who
- have no idea what motivates them, especially in the time of adversity. As an emotionally intelligent
- quick fact, I want you to know this. Neither men or women have proven to be more emotionally intelligent
- overall, so don't believe the hype. However, men do outperform women in the EQ skills of assertiveness
- and confidence,
- Women, however, outperform men in the emotional intelligence skills of empathy and interpersonal
- relationships. Why is that important? Because of smart girls and strong women. Even the men in this
- room, if you had a good mom, will realize that everything you learned about compassion and caring and
- reaching out and helping others, so much of it came from a strong mom.
- a smart mom, or maybe it was a sister, or maybe it was another mentor or an auntie in your life. Because
- for women, empathy is our superpower. And for so many years, one of the stigmas we've been told is that
- we're too soft. You're too soft. You're too emotional. And maybe to some degree, at some levels, perhaps.
- But I would argue that compassion, what is called soft,
- That ability to dig deep and feel within your own heart so that you could care about someone else to
- guide them through their troubles, that's a superpower. And men, you have it too. And the girls and
- women in your life need more of it. There's nothing wrong with a world that becomes a little
- more compassionate. I'm gonna vote yes every single time.
- So here are your final to-dos. I am a coach, as Sherri said. Got to make you go do something. Here's
- what I'd love you to do. I want you to find that little girl. Talk to her. And it may even be the little
- girl ladies that's inside of you. When's the last time you tapped into that? She's still there. She
- still has big dreams.
- silly things she wants to do and try and create and start a business and sing, whistle. She still has
- things she wants to do. Talk to her. Ask her about those dreams. Tell her she is a beautiful, capable,
- improvising and strong elephant. Help her holistically heal. Tap into the things that may have got her
- a little off balance with her wellness.
- whether it's the one inside of you or a young woman that you're trying to help. Empathically encourage
- her. And after you do that, reach out and encourage a few more. Because to me, that's what the world
- needs more of. And also remind her that it's perfectly okay for her to whistle. Thank you very much
- for having me. Thank you.
- Thank you. Thank you so much. Wasn't Vera amazing? Yeah, one more little round of applause for Vera.
- So as a Boys and Girls Club Hall of Famers, got her little jacket on with her Boys and Girls Club Hall
- of Fame patch on it.
- We saw Vera speak at a conference a couple of years ago and at the end of the conference and we heard
- her mention IU and Jeff looked at me and I looked at Jeff and we said, we're gonna beeline back to that
- table and get her to Bloomington. So I am so thankful that you're here. I'm thankful that you spoke
- to us today. So inspiring, such good reminders for all of us about where we need to focus, right? I
- heard this really good quote the other day about time and people say, you know, I don't have enough
- time. They said, replace that with I'm not prioritizing. I don't have enough time for my health.
- If you replaced it with, I'm not prioritizing my health, how does that sit with you? If it doesn't sit
- with you, then you should make the time for it, right? I don't have enough time to spend more time with
- my children. Oh, I'm not prioritizing spending more time with my children, right? I love that because
- it helps us to refocus on what is important to us, where we all have the same amount of time, actually,
- in any given day, and we get to choose to use it in a way that impacts other people.
- We get to use it in a way that brings empathy, that brings support, that brings life, and it brings
- truth. And thank you for that reminder, Vera. That was very special. I really appreciate it. This night
- is full of all kinds of women, like Sherry and Vera, sitting in this room, making an impact on people.
- And I want to tell you about one more. And I'm really excited to bring other people up to talk about
- some inspiring women tonight so that we'll really be full of inspiration for all the beautiful things
- happening in our community.
- woman that I knew who was one of my favorite strong women was named Ann St. John. How many of you knew
- Ann St. John? Wait about me. Yeah, Ann St. John was a wonderful, let's get a round of applause for Ann
- St. John. We love Ann St. John. I met Ann 10 years ago and she taught me one of the most valuable lessons
- in my life. She was a strong female leader in this community.
- She was a bold supporter of the Boys and Girls Club. She would tell anybody who asked her that. She
- loved the girls that attended this program in this club. And when I first met Anne, I was struggling
- to find my voice, maybe that imposter syndrome a little bit, right? Struggling to find my place, struggling
- to find my style as a new professional. Who was I going to be? And I had coffee with Anne and I said,
- I really just need to figure out how I can be more like Jeff.
- made this crazy face at me. And I'll never forget that face of Anne St. John's in my mind. And she goes,
- you absolutely do not need to figure out how to be more like Jeff. The world has a Jeff Baldwin. The
- world needs a Leslie Absher. And I said, okay, Anne, okay, I hear you. Yes, yes. And I asked
- and some questions about who should I be and how should I be and what should it look like. And her answer
- always was, it should look like me. And she kept asking me questions instead, which we heard from Vera
- as well. And we heard from Sherry that the best way to mentor somebody is to help them reflect and ask
- their questions of themselves. And she told me that no one else can be me. And that if I don't bring
- my whole self to this world, then I am robbing the world
- of what I can bring. That each and every one of you bring something totally different and unique. You
- are placed in this world to play your part, to bring your gifts and to bring your talents and to bring
- your abilities. And when you try to show up like somebody else, the world is missing out on you. And
- I'll never forget that. And from that moment forward, I decided right or wrong, whether people like
- it or not, this is me. And I have to bring me.
- to the table. And I've shared that story a lot with girls at the club, with teens in the circle who
- are struggling with their own identity and trying to emulate or be like somebody else, because we all
- struggle with that a little bit, don't we? And really reminding people to just be themselves. And Anne
- really is the reason that I carry that message with me in my life. Anne was definitely a strong woman.
- She modeled that for me.
- She was a panelist in 2018 and she shared her story about being a female entrepreneur and a business
- owner. And she also shared her personal battle with cancer at that event. It was moving and
- it was inspirational. And Anne was a part of the club family and she was a joy to so many in this community.
- 2019, Anne did pass away from cancer. And it was a great loss to all of us who knew Anne. She was the
- epitome of a strong woman. And in 2021, the club gave its first female award
- at this Smart Girls Strong Women event. And we decided that we would give an award to a staff member
- who has been a mentor to help young girls be themselves, to support them, to encourage them to be who
- they are. And we decided we wanted to continue this award every single year and who better to name it
- after than Anne St. John. Many people know Anne as the founder of St. John Associates. She was tenacious
- and friendly and a joy to all who knew her, but our next guest knew her
- as sister. So please welcome Jane St. John to present the Anne St. John Award. Thank you, Leslie.
- Thank you, Sherry. And thank you, Vera. It's a privilege to be here. I have been working with a physical
- therapist on my shoulders.
- Last week as I left her office, after 40 minutes of moving and manipulation, she said to me, shoulders
- back, chest out, what I'm saying is, Jane, be as tall as you really are. As I was driving home, I thought,
- I'm tall enough. With some heels, I'm even taller. But I knew what she meant, and I bet you do too.
- With a bit of effort, some days more than others, we can all be as tall as we really are. My sister,
- Ann St. John, was that rare person who was as tall as she really was. And even more, she was a person
- who made people in her orbit as tall as they really are. That is how Ann St. John stood out.
- And you know when someone is talking about posture, and we all start to shift in our chairs in the ways
- that improve our posture? Stretch our backs, adjust our feet, move our shoulders? Ann made us shift
- in our seats all the time. And it's not something that happens once. We have to correct our posture
- almost every time we think of it. How did that show up with Ann?
- What did she do that helped us check our posture? She was on time for appointments. She worked out four
- days a week. She made every Valentine's Day at her company a day of philanthropic giving, and employees
- got to choose local nonprofits to receive donations. In helping to create the habitat for humanity women
- build, she wanted it a requirement not just to show up to work,
- but to raise money, too, in order to get the privilege to work. She put time restraints on her requests.
- We need 100 coats, 100 coats for kids, and right now, thank you very much. The question wasn't just
- how much can we comfortably give, but what is the need and how can we all get there combining our efforts?
- She had the answer to that question.
- and she was happy to share it with you and tell you your part. You've been voluntold to do something,
- and St. John was the original Volonteller. And the ways that she gave made us squirm, sit up,
- and give more. As we get together here every year and enjoy this dinner, it's an opportunity for us
- to ask ourselves,
- Are we being as tall as we really are? I mean, we're tall enough, aren't we? We're serving hundreds
- of boys and girls, as we've heard, and we are sitting in this beautiful space, right? So I put this
- question specifically related to this club, our club, to Leslie Absher. Are we being as tall as we can
- be? And here's what I learned.
- The total capacity of all locations combined in this club is about 870 children per day. The highest
- day of attendance we've had is 706 children. So this means that with enough funding, we could serve
- as many as 160 more boys and girls. With $120,000 per year,
- we could cover the capacity to serve up to 160 more children. Am I asking us to raise $120,000
- more tonight? Why not? At the very least, I challenge you to see what tweaks you can make in your giving
- posture. And please, in the spirit of Anne, be as tall as you really are.
- The purpose of the Anne St. John Strong Woman Award is to recognize someone within the Boys and Girls
- Club community who has engaged in posture that has resulted in exemplary service to the club. This year's
- Anne St. John Strong Woman Award goes to Latonya Benson.
- to you about how Latonya has earned this award. Latonya was nominated by seven different members of
- the staff at the Boys and Girls Club who recognized her as a strong woman. They said the following about
- her, Latonya is not just a leader, she's a mentor, a visionary, and a consistent, excuse me, constant
- source of strength and love in her club community.
- Latonya serves as the unit director of the Steve and Connie Ferguson Cresmont Club, where we are, a
- space where hundreds of children walk through the doors each week knowing they will be delighted in,
- seen, heard, and valued. That culture exists because Latonya fiercely protects it. One of her nominators
- said, to the family she serves, she's not just Miss Latonya, she's Auntie. She's cousin.
- She's the person who shows up when others don't and who always expects more because she believes deeply
- in the potential of every child. Latonya sets high expectations for her members and she holds them to
- those expectations with consistency and delivers that message with love and grace. She believes in their
- leadership, their strength, and their worth even when they don't believe it themselves. She is not afraid
- to challenge them, to push them,
- or to call them into greatness. But her leadership doesn't stop with the kids. Latonya invests in her
- staff in the same way. She knows when to step in and when to step back, always encouraging others to
- grow into their leadership, to try new things, and to build programs that bring out the best in our
- youth. As one nominator put it, she's the kind of leader who builds other leaders.
- What makes Latonya truly extraordinary is her ability to lead with both strength and compassion. She
- models what it means to be a smart, strong woman in every decision she makes, and she holds space for
- others to rise alongside her. She's constantly seeking new partnerships, new ideas, new ways to make
- the club experience better, not because someone told her to, but because she believes our kids deserve
- the very best, and she's going to give them nothing less.
- One of her colleagues said it best, Latonya does not expect behavior, attitudes or standards from anyone,
- members, staff or families that she does not personally embody every single day. That's leadership,
- that's integrity, that's heart. Latonya lives and breathes the mission of the Boys and Girls Club to
- serve the children who need us most to reach their full potential
- and to ensure that where you come from does not determine where you go. Her presence changes lives quietly,
- consistently, powerfully, and tonight we are so proud to recognize her as the winner of the Anne St.
- John Strong Women Award.
- Thank you, Latonya, for your leadership, your heart, and the legacy you're building one child at a time.
- Please join me after all of that awesomeness in celebrating one of the brightest lights in our organization,
- Ms. Latonya Benson.
- We love Latonya here at the club and we have so many wonderful female staff and male staff as well that
- are really influencing and caring for our kids. It's just really a joy to have people that dedicate
- their whole lives to serving youth and we are so thankful for Latonya and who she is. She's a wonderful
- staff member and certainly deserving of this award. Thank you, Jane, for being here on your birthday.
- I know she didn't want me to mention anything, but we love you, Jane. Thank you, Jane.
- We're so happy to be able to honor Anne in this way every year and to have her family with us is very
- meaningful, so thank you so much. We're thankful to be able to honor her legacy this way. We love being
- able to recognize these strong women and we love to be able to honor the mentors that are serving in
- our club, but we also want to tell you about what's happening.
- when those mentors stand up and say yes. So we're really excited to tell you a little bit more about
- the programs that are being funded by this evening tonight. So we have 33 years ago in 1992, the Boys
- and Girls Club started serving girls, which is great. It went from the Boys Club of Bloomington to the
- Boys and Girls Clubs of Bloomington. So very excited to be serving girls. And right now, girls represent
- about 48% of all of our membership. So about half of our members are girls in our buildings every single
- day. And so we are continuing to grow, as Jane mentioned, and we are able to
- serve more kids in our buildings. And one of the ways that we decide to serve kids is not only in our
- buildings, but we go to where they are and we meet them where they're at. One of the programs that you're
- going to hear about now that is funded by this event tonight is a girls circle program.
- The Girls Circle program was our solution, in a way, to serve teenagers who maybe don't feel like coming
- to a Boys and Girls Club after school, because that's where all the little kids are. We have really
- awesome teen spaces in our clubs. And actually, we are seeing 30 teens in this club and about 60 teens
- in Ellitsville and about 30 or 40 teens at Lincoln Street. So we do have teens in our building every
- single day. But we wanted to reach teens in a different way, in a way that we could meet them where
- they were at. So we started going into the high schools and asking the principals in the high schools.
- the superintendents if we could meet during the day during like a study hall or off period and start
- serving girls in mentorship roles at the schools. And we are.
- Today we have circles in six different schools, six different high schools in Monroe County. And we've
- got girls in every single one of those circles every week of the year. And we have mentors going into
- our buildings and talking to those girls and sharing with them. And the impact that it's having
- is tremendous. And so I want to invite one of those mentors up to the stage. Dani actually won our Be
- Great Award this year because she has been such a superb volunteer for us. And so I want her to share
- a little bit about
- experience with the program, but most importantly, the impact that it's having on kids, because that's
- really why we're all here tonight. So would you please welcome Dani to share a little bit more. Hi.
- So yeah, so I'm a teacher at North High School, and I help facilitate the circle program at North with
- Riley and Jade.
- And we meet every week for about 40 minutes. And I facilitate getting the kids in there, like working
- with counselors and teachers to see who might be a good fit for the program. And so I think I'll just
- tell you a little bit about how we get started every week. We start by having one of the girls who's
- been there for a little bit talk about our four agreements.
- The first agreement is confidentiality. And so they remind the girls that whatever's said in the circle
- stays in the circle. And then they talk about no judgment, so that the girls feel safe. And then after
- that, they talk about no advice. And this reminds me of what you were talking about, because we want
- them to know that they have the wisdom within themselves.
- So as they process through and tell their story about how they're feeling and things are going on, then
- they can just maybe come up with their own solutions. And it also gives them the chance to speak so
- that no one's saying, well, you should do this and you should do that because we want them to know that
- they have the chance or they have the wisdom within themselves. And the last thing is respect. And so
- that's when the older girls are able to say things that they think
- show respect in that circle. So like sitting up or not over talking, talking over anyone, that sort
- of thing. So after we go over the four agreements, then the girls, we pass a rock around and they say
- how they're feeling. And more often than not, it's, again, what you were talking about, the stress that
- people experience. So the girls say they're feeling overwhelmed, they're feeling tired, unmotivated,
- angry at a friend, sad about something. And we allow them to elaborate on it, or they can just say that
- they're feeling that way. And then we do our activity, and there's all sorts of things we do. But at
- the end of it, we go through again, and everyone says how they're feeling at the end. And more often
- than not, they're feeling calm, they're feeling energized, they're feeling connected.
- happy and so it just really shows Riley and Jade and me how important these circles are because we also
- feel the same way sometimes we go into those circles feeling stressed and needing to slow down and that
- gives us a chance to slow down and connect with people so yeah I'm really glad we have it at North High
- School and I hope it continues that's what I want to say
- Thanks, Danny. We appreciate the story. Once being as tall as we can be, we're finding new ways to reach
- kids, right? We don't necessarily need to reach them in our buildings all the time. We want to find
- ways to reach kids as
- many kids as we possibly can. And we've got somewhere between 60 and 70 girls in those circles across
- the community that wouldn't be coming into our Boys and Girls Clubs, but they're actively receiving
- Boys and Girls Club programming and mentoring because we were thinking differently about how to do it
- and figuring out how we can meet kids where they're at and give them what they need. And that is funded
- through this event tonight. So we're able to continue to grow that. And we have more kids on wait lists
- for those circles. We would love to get more circles going. And if you want to be a mentor, I'll have
- to make a plug for that as well. If you'd like to be a part of those circles, it's a big time
- commitment, but it's very rewarding. I'm sure that the people in the circles would say they're getting
- a lot out of it as well. But if you're interested in that, I'm sure Danny would talk to you about it,
- and I would certainly be happy to talk to you about it as well. But that's really what we're here to
- do. We're here to meet kids where they're at.
- We're here to encourage them. We're here to listen to them. We're here to empower them. We're here to
- remind them that they're smart girls and that they can be strong women. And we're here to give them
- the tools that they need to have the wisdom within themselves to do that, to be able to move through
- life knowing that they are capable. And so we're really excited about what we're going to do tonight.
- So I hope you are ready for the most exciting part of the night, although we loved our speakers and
- our inspiration. My favorite part is raising money, of course. So we are very excited to move into this
- part of the evening.
- We've got some really neat packages tonight, and then we've got an opportunity for you to just donate
- as well. And so we're thankful for you being part of this part of the evening as well. And one of the
- things that we're going to do is I am not a professional auctioneer, so you do not want me running this
- part of the show. So we're going to bring somebody up who actually is a professional auctioneer. And
- so I'll introduce Paul Wyman. He's the owner of Wyman Group. He's a realtor in the Evansville community,
- but is connected really well in Bloomington as well. He's consistently one of the top realtors in the
- region, has had lots
- professional roles including president of the Indiana Association of Realtors. He's been honored as
- a Realtor of the Year and he's an accomplished auctioneer. So not only is he done real estate auctions
- but he's also helped raise you know hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Boys and Girls Club. So
- he's been here over the last few years donating his time, donating his services to help us to do this
- part of the evening. So we're so thankful that he is a proud Boys and Girls Club supporter. He's an
- Air Force veteran. He served in Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and he's an honor
- honored Airman of the Year and finished his military experience at Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana.
- He's also been awarded to the key to the city of Kokomo by the mayor, and he won the state's highest
- honor from Governor Eric Holcomb, the Sagamore of the Wabash. Pretty remarkable guy. And we're very
- thankful to have him with us tonight. Again, he's graciously donating his services. Please welcome Paul
- to the stage. Bloomington, Bloomington. I got no mic. There we go. Bloomington, Indiana. Yes.
- In Kokomo, we have so many Purdue fans up there. It's like ridiculous. It is so nice to come back home
- here to Bloomington and be with you guys for the evening. Can I get a little more juice on the mic?
- Is that possible? All right. First off, let's give Leslie and her whole team a big hand. Can we do that?
- Give me a hug you. Wow. What a program tonight. So listen.
- There was this pastor and he got before his congregation on a Sunday morning and he said, listen, I
- have some really great news and I have some really kind of bad news. Which would you like first? And
- the elderly woman sitting in the front row, she said, oh, pastor, please tell us the good news. He said,
- well, you're not going to believe this. We have enough money to build our new church.
- And the congregation went crazy. They were cheering. This is like, what a wonderful moment. As she looked
- at the past, she said, well, what could possibly be the bad news? He said, well, the money's still in
- your pocket. All right, that's an auctioneer joke, folks. That's an auctioneer joke. All right.
- So listen, it is an honor to be here in all my travels and doing auctioneering. One of my favorite parts
- of being an auctioneer is the opportunity to do charity auctions. And I will just tell you, of the charity
- auctions we do, the Boys and Girls Club ranks right up there at the top. It doesn't matter what Boys
- and Girls Club door that I walk through, when I cross that threshold, there are two things for me. It's
- all about inspiration.
- The first is the staff. I've never met a staff person at a boys and girls club that isn't just top notch.
- When their alarm clock goes off in the morning, their heart and soul is about pouring into the hearts
- and souls of kids in our community often who need it the most. What an honor and noble privilege that
- is. Give our staff here a big hand if you would.
- And truthfully, the second part of the inspiration anytime I cross the threshold is the kids. These
- kids are not giving up, they're showing up. And they're showing up to a place where they're getting
- love, they're getting hope, and sometimes these walls, this place,
- is the only place they get that love and that hope and that nurturing. And so by you all being here
- tonight, it makes this opportunity not only incredible, but real and ongoing and sustainable. So it's
- a thrill for me to be here with you all in Bloomington again. It's an honor. Thank you for having me.
- And listen, folks, we're gonna raise some money tonight to make sure this program keeps going. How about
- it? Make some noise for that, huh?
- I do have one piece of good news, and then maybe we'll do a little warm up or something here, but I
- have one piece of good news. Many generous folks in this room tonight, you can pay all at once tonight
- when you're done, or Leslie and her team have said, let's let them pledge. So if you want to make monthly
- payments, we can make monthly payments, so bid even higher tonight on the monthly payment program, right?
- Absolutely.
- We'll do it. You want to give us money? We will help you do that. So if you want to make monthly payments,
- we'd be happy to set that up. Yep. You ready to jump in this? Let's go. You ready to go? Yeah. All right,
- folks, we've got some awesome, awesome opportunities for you tonight. The first one is the Sip Saver and Shop.
- It's the Bloomington Experience. Let's start with the bidding with our first amazing package.
- Here we go. What is in this? You're going to start your day with a spectacular walking tour of Oliver
- Winery here, Indiana's not only largest, but oldest winery. It's going to be followed by a guided tasting
- in their original tasting room for eight people. That in and of itself is a $400 value.
- After that, you're going to head downtown and enjoy some of Jankos, Littles, and Grebs' famous spicy
- meatballs, head to Verona Park to caffeinate with delicious Verona coffee, get a 30-minute massage from
- Balanced Massage, or an IV infusion from Unveiled Health. You can shop for unique finds at Mirth Market,
- and if you're feeling creative, grab some friends and book a private floral arrangement class at Three
- Blondes Flower Company.
- Get up early and do it all or spread out the fun. It doesn't matter, but this is going to be a fun day
- in Bloomington, Indiana. Hey there, say there, what are you getting there now? Somebody give me 300.
- Anybody got a three, a little bit of 300? I'm going to give a three, now a four. Anybody got a 400?
- I got four, now five, a little bit of five, a little bit of $500. I'm at 500, now 600. I'm going to
- give a six, a little bit of six. Anybody got six? I got six in the back, now 700.
- Oh, I thought we had it that fast. $700. I'm at $700. I'm at $700. I'm at $700. I'm at $700.
- I'm at $700. I'm at $700. I'm at $700. I'm at $700. I'm at $700. I'm at $700.
- I'm looking for 725. Anybody want to go a quarter one time? 725. Looking for seven and a quarter. I'm
- at 700 in the back. I'm going once. It's 700.
- There's seven and a quarter, now half, now half and a half and a half, now 75, 775. Oh come on, you
- started this up again, you gotta keep going now. 775, let's get this thing to eight, 775 one time, a
- little bit of 75. 775, yeah, but I'm gonna do 800 one time. I got 800 now half, eight now half and a
- half, a little bit of half one time. Way to get her to 800 though, thank you very much. I'm gonna do
- 800, looking for eight and a quarter, anybody wanna go 25 more? I'm at 800, I'm going once, I'm going twice,
- Sold $800 to bidder number 402. Folks, that is a great start to the evening right there. Thank you very
- much. All right, our next item. This is the ultimate lake day experience.
- You and nine of your friends, 10 people, ladies and gentlemen, get a fun and relaxation day on the water.
- The winning bidder of this Ultimate Lake Day package will get to enjoy eight hours of swimming, boating,
- and making memories on Lake Monroe.
- you get a 24-foot pontoon boat, which includes all the fuel you'll need for the day, comes stocked with
- premium beverages provided by Cardinal Spirits, and all the essential boat day tumblers, everything
- you're gonna need, towels, floats, accessories, whatever we need for a day out of the office, a day
- on the lake, you and nine of your friends, 10 people, Spirits by Cardinal, here we go, somebody give
- me 500 for a day on the lake. I got 500 now, six.
- Anybody come back in at 800, look over 800, 750, 725.
- Oh, your whole group wants to go. They're looking at you. Come on, let's go. Seven and a quarter. Now
- what time? They want to go to Lake. Seven and a quarter. I'm at 700. Now a quarter. Anybody else want
- to come in for a quarter? 725 one time. That'll be a 72. 725. I'm at 700. You notice how everybody's
- nodding at you, but they're not raising their bid paddles. Have you ever noticed that when you're getting
- all the pressure and everybody's looking at you, you're like, raise your paddle one time, right? Seven
- and a quarter. I'm at 700 going once.
- I'm at 700 going twice. This is your chance right here. Oh, seven and a quarter in the back, a new bidder.
- I'm going to bid a quarter and a half, quarter and a half, one time 750, now $800. Yeah, but nobody
- wait one time, anybody like 800, 800, 775.
- There it is, 800 now. You haven't had any way one time, little bit of 800 on time. 800, your whole group's
- in for eight all day. 800 now, 825, little bit of quarter one time, little bit of 25. 825, I'm at 800.
- Boy, it's a magic number tonight, 800 around here. I'm gonna put 800 going once. I'm at 800 going twice.
- Looking for eight in the quarter, I got it now. Half, I'm gonna have, it's gonna be the new secret tonight.
- 850, I got 850 now, nine to nine to nine, 100, 900, anybody gonna go to 900?
- 900. 875. I'm going to bid 850 over here. Look over 875 one time. 875. 850. 875 going once. I'm going
- twice at 850. Last chance. Sold it right here. 850 to bidder number 541. You guys are going to have
- some fun. There's no doubt about that.
- I think the IU football team is going to have a lake day, is what I think just happened over there.
- Thank you, guys. All righty. The family holiday experience. I know that some of you are already dreaming
- about trimming trees, baking cookies, and caroling. If that's you, get ready to bid.
- Christmas is going to be here before we know it. This family holiday package is everything you'll need
- to make 2025 one of the most fun and memorable holiday seasons ever. You'll receive a gift certificate
- to Abel's Nursery. You get to pick out the perfect tree. You get hot chocolate from the hot chocolate
- bar and all kinds of goods and cookies and custom cooking class for six to ten people. So not only are
- you getting some goodies,
- custom cooking class up to 10 people. How fun that's gonna be? And that's gonna be in the brand new
- business in Bloomington at In the Kitchen. Also included in this bundle are four tickets to A Christmas
- Story, the musical at the Waldron Auditorium, a show touted as charming triumph to imagination by the
- Associated Press, and two tickets to see the renowned acapella group Straight No Chaser at the IU Auditorium
- on December 11th.
- So, let us know, let us know. Folks, you're going to see shows, you're going to have music, you're going
- to have cooking classes, you're going to have food, you're going to get a Christmas tree, and you're
- getting hot chocolate. Somebody give me $1,000. Anybody want to go $1,000 one time? A little bit of $1,000.
- 800, that's the magic. Now there's $800. I'm gonna bet 800, I'm gonna bet eight and I'll have eight
- and I'll have eight and I'll have eight and I'll have eight and I'll have eight and I'll have eight
- and I'll have eight and I'll have eight and I'll have eight and I'll have eight
- $1,200. I'm going to bet 12 one time, a little bit 12 one time. Anybody go 12? $1,200. Got it. Now 13.
- I'm going to bet $1,300. 13. Anybody go to 13? We'll throw in some extra hot chocolate. $1,300.
- We got 13 now. $14. $1,400. 14. Anybody go to 14 one time? How about $1,350? Will you do that? $1,350.
- That sounds reasonable.
- There's 1350, now 14. Anybody going to 14 a little bit? 14 one time, looking for $1400. 1350, that's
- where we're at, looking for 14. I'm going once at 1350. I'm going twice at 1350. Last chance, 1400.
- I'm going to be at 14 now, 1450. Ah, dude, they're cheering for you now, 1400.
- And they could cheer for you, too. Oh, don't look at him. Look at me. Look up here at me. $1,450. $1,450,
- one time. Oh, you have him on the ropes. I am telling you that right now. $1,450. Yes! Now $1,500. A
- little bit $1,500. One time. A little bit of $1,500. I'm at $1,450. $1,500. One time. There it is!
- One time! Now $1,550. $1,550. Now, what were you at? $1,550. $1,600.
- One time, 1,600, 1,550, 1,600. I'm going once here at 1,550. I'm going twice. Sold right here, $1,550.
- The bidder number, 539. Fantastic. All right, folks. IU men's basketball experience. All right.
- You're going to get the experience, the electricity of our upcoming season. New coach, some new players
- is absolutely going to be awesome. It's going to be Hoosier Game Day in Assembly Hall. If this is on
- your bucket list, this is the one you want to do here. You're going to get an opportunity to not only
- go to the game, it's Saturday, December 20th against Chicago State. But here's what the package includes.
- You get premium seats.
- parking passes, and an official Hoosier basketball signed by our new coach, DeVries. He's making this
- an elevated game day experience. The only question is, who's going to go to this game? Folks, this is
- an awesome, awesome opportunity. Who wants to go see how you play some basketball this year? Somebody
- give me $500. Anybody going to $500?
- $500. Here's $500, now $600. Anybody that lives six, a little bit six one time, anybody that has $600,
- I'm at $500, now $600. $500, now $600. $550, somebody give me $550. I got $550, now $600, a little bit
- six one time, anybody that has $600, she's excited. There's $600, now half. $600, now half,
- a little bit half, one time, $650. $650, one time. Yeah, $650.
- 700, I got six, I have 700, now a half. 700, now a half, a little bit a half, a little bit a half,
- one time, 750. I'm at 700, looking for a half, a little bit a half, one time, 750. I'll take seven and
- a quarter if you come back in. I'm at 700, there's seven and a quarter, now a half. Seven and a half,
- a little bit a half, one time, 750.
- She said, please. $750, $800. Everybody wait one time. Everybody going to go $800. $800 one time. Come
- back in. The water's warm. $800. That's the magic number tonight. It could be yours. $800. Anybody going
- to wait one time? Looking for $800. I'm at $750. I'll do $775. There it is. Now $800. You got her at
- $800. She's on the ropes. She's hugging you.
- I'm going to let you work him for a minute, because you're doing a great job right now. I'm going to
- give you all day to do that right there. $800 one time. $800, yeah, but everybody wait one time. $800.
- Here, this will work. Going once at $775. Going twice at $775. Looking for $800 one time. Don't let her die.
- $800! I'm going to give him an eight and a quarter. I told you. Oh, she's hugging him. Holy cow. Eight
- and a quarter. Eight and a quarter. I'm going once at $800. I'm going twice at $800. Anybody this side
- of the room? Sold right here, $800! What's your bidder number there, sir? What's your bidder number? $541.
- Those are Latanya's children, by the way. We love Latanya's kiddos here. Whoo! All right. And what timing
- is this? An IU football experience. This next package will surely bring you to your feet and cheer.
- I know we have a room full of IU football fans here tonight, so let's talk about what we got. This package
- includes four prime tickets,
- to the October 25th IU home football game against UCLA. That's going to be an awesome game. You also
- get a private tour for up to 10 people of Memorial Stadium and Simon Scott Assembly Hall. You get pregame
- access on the field to watch the players warm up, a special welcome on the video board graphics at the game,
- and an autographed Coach Signetti football. What an experience. You're going to the game, you're touring
- the stadium, you're on the field pregame, you're on the big screen, and you get Coach's SIG. This is
- Coach SIG's autograph. This is unbelievable. Somebody give me $2,000 for this experience. $2,000. Anybody
- got a $2,000? $2,000. $1,500. Somebody give me $1,500. We're 3-0.
- Alright, how about a thousand? Somebody give me a thousand dollars. How about five hundred? Alright,
- I'm getting in this deal. What's my better number right there, Vera? What's my better number?
- $412 is in. $500. I'm coming back. There we go. Now $600. Now $700. Anybody go to $700? I'm going to
- bid $700 one time. I'm going to bid $600. Now $700. Now $800. Yeah, but anybody wait one time? Anybody
- go to $800? I'm at $700. Now $800. Where are we? Oh, in the back there. $800. Now $900. Nine to nine
- to nine. One time bid to nine. Now $1000. I got $1000 in the back. Now $1100. I'm going to bid $1100
- one time. Anybody go to $1100? I'm at $1000. I'm $1100. Looking for $1100. Four tickets. Tour in the stadium.
- on the field, $1,100, all it costs right now, $1,100, I'm at $1,000, looking for $1,100 one time, anybody
- go to $1,100? Going once at $1,100, going, there's, all right, $1,200 now, 13, I got 13 now, 14,
- 13 now, 14, a little bit of 14 one time, anybody go to $1,400? 14, $1,400.
- I got 13, now 14. And a little bit 14 one time, a little bit 14, give me 1,400 one time, 1,350. I'll
- do it for 1,350. There it is now, 1,400. I got 14, now half. 14, now half, a little bit half one time,
- a little bit half one time on the 1,450. I'm going once at 1,400, come back in at 1,450. I'm going twice
- at 1,400. Last chance, ladies and gentlemen, deal of the century.
- Sold $1,400, 506, better 506. All right, here's your women's sports experience. We've come to our final
- package of the evening. What better way to close out this auction supporting smart girls and strong
- women with an amazing women's sports experience.
- Four lucky individuals will have the chance to be a part of the action and watch IU women's basketball
- team take on Western Carolina on Sunday, December 21st from courtside seats. You'll have parking passes,
- exclusive behind the scenes access during a pregame tour, and get a take home and official Hoosier basketball
- signed by Coach Morin. Volleyball fans,
- You'll also not just go in the basketball game, but you don't want to miss this opportunity because
- you're getting eight tickets to the IU women's volleyball game.
- You'll receive the VIP treatment with an exclusive meet-and-greet tour with Coach Steve Aird and the
- whole team. And this will make the experience one that is truly over the top. The winning bidder will
- receive a signed ball from Coach Aird. So you're going to see volleyball. You're going to see women's
- basketball. You're getting behind-the-scenes tours. You're getting autographs. And this is smart girls
- and strong women packaged, ladies and gentlemen. Somebody give me $500. Anybody going to go $500? Looking
- for five at a time?
- got 500 now six little bit six one time six hundred dollars I'm gonna be five now six anybody gonna
- go six one time six hundred now seven hundred now eight hundred dollars that quick right back at you
- look over eight hundred dollars anybody gonna wait yeah but anybody wait one time I'm at seven hundred
- over here look over eight hundred dollars all of you could just chip in together and go not like you
- don't have access to the volleyball stuff like I get all that I get that
- What have I got with you, sir? I'm at $700. Looking for $800. $800 one time. You have anybody wait one
- time, anybody go to $800. I'm at $700 now. A little over eight one time. Anybody go to $800.
- There's $800 now. Nine to nine to nine hundred one time. Little bit of nine. Anybody go to $900.
- Got it. Now $1,000. I'm going to bet $1,000 one time. Worth every penny of it. Looking for $1,000. I'll
- take $950.
- Done! 950 now, $1,000. Looking for $1,000 one time. Learned about $1,000. I got it right there. $1,100.
- Anybody want to go $1,100? Looking for $1,100 one time. $1,100. I'm at $1,000. I got $1,000 going once.
- I got $1,000 going twice. Last chance. All in. Sold right here to bidder number 539 for $1,000. Congratulations.
- Wow. Thank you so much. He's donating that back to the girls club. 100%. Wow. Very generous.
- That'll be fun. I got to figure out how to go on that field trip. Right? Right?
- All right, you want to talk a little bit about funding aid? Yeah, so the last thing we're going to do
- tonight is give you a chance to just do what we've been talking about all night, right? Say, what is
- it that I can do to help support a girl in this community? So we're going to give everybody a chance
- to do that. We're going to start at the top levels, and we're going to move our way all the way down
- so that everybody can ante in and say, yes. We did some math, and we've got three more months left of
- the year. And I know this is a big ask, but if everybody in this room did $100 a month for the rest
- of the year, we'd exceed our goal and then some.
- So we would love to see what we can do tonight. I know some of you will do more than that and some of
- you will do less than that and that's okay, but I'm excited. I really think that this room is going
- to do something special tonight. So this is really why we're here. We're here to say yes and be part
- of this community's club. And so this will go directly to kids and programs, things that you heard about
- tonight and so much more. It's a fully tax deductible gift. And so we, we've got a goal of $60,000 in
- this fund to need. And so we always have one question to ask Paul. We do have one question.
- Anybody want to do the $60,000 and we can all go home tonight? We can all go home early if somebody
- just raises their hand for $60,000 right now. We ask it every time. At some point, somebody's going
- to do it. One of these years, somebody's going to raise their hand. You don't get it if you don't ask,
- so it's hard to ask. But I will say this. With Vera's awesome talk tonight, Vera, thank you. Give her
- a hand one more time, please.
- She just could not have painted a better picture for us tonight. And so when we think about this Fund
- the Need and we think about Vera's message, and everybody that has crossed this stage tonight and has
- either spoken or received an award, I'm hoping it filled your heart. And if it filled your heart to
- say, I need and want to participate tonight, this is your moment.
- All right. And so we're going to start out where our goal tonight is to fund 80 kids, right?
- That's our goal. Last year we did 76. So the goal tonight is 80. And maybe we'll just smash that with
- something really special here tonight. And so we're going to start out and we're going to start out
- with 12 kids.
- at $9,000. And actually, hang on, actually we have an anonymous gift of $9,000 right off the top. So
- we're starting out with already sponsoring 12 kids. Somebody in this room already sponsoring 12 kids
- right out of the box. Wow. Anybody like to match the $9,000 tonight? Is it on your heart to match the
- $9,000 generous gift that we have? Okay.
- Oh my goodness sir, raise that card for me. Give a round of applause, thank you so much. 548, better
- number 548. Anybody else to match the 9000? That's two of them ladies and gentlemen, that's absolutely
- incredible, absolutely wonderful.
- Alright, let's go to the next level. Ten kids at $7,500. Do we have anybody that wants to do the $7,500
- and take care of ten kids? And remember, you can pay this monthly, you can pledge it and pay it over
- a period of time. Anybody for ten kids at $7,500?
- Okay, let's move to Five Kids for $3,750. Anybody have it on their heart to take care of Five Kids?
- Right over here, bidder number 369. Thank you, sir, 369. That's awesome, thank you. Anybody else for
- Five Kids?
- Okay, let's do four kids at the $3,000 level. Anybody at $3,000? $3,000. All right, how about... Four
- kids to come to the club. Hang on, we're going to just milk this a little bit. Oh, milk it. You go,
- Leslie, you go. Four kids to come to the club. It costs us $750 to get a kid into this building, to
- feed them a snack every single day.
- We transport them from school to the club on the buses so the families don't have to worry about where
- their kids are going. And we're open until seven o'clock at night, every single day. So the kids are
- not home by themselves, kids are not having to fend for themselves, kids are not having to feed themselves.
- For kids, you can pay it over the course of 12 months if you need to, make a pledge to commit to sponsor
- for kids tonight, $3,000.
- Okay, we got one. There we go. Bidder number 454. 454. Thank you so much. Thank you. Anybody else? It's
- awesome. Okay, let's go to three kids for $22.50. Raise your bidder card if it's on your heart for $22.50.
- Three kids.
- another talk for that level? Sure, yeah I can share more with you about the club. Boys and Girls Club
- every single day is providing chess club, we're providing tutoring, we're providing skateboarding, we're
- providing Lego League robotics, we take kids on field trips to the Wonder Lab, to the library,
- to the park, all kinds of things that together this community is supporting.
- when you say yes to sponsoring kids. Anybody willing to do three kids tonight? What's that dollar amount
- again? 2250. 2250. Again, you can pledge that amount tonight. 2250 for three kids. Right here. We got
- one right here. We got one right here. Hold them up. Hold them up. Hold them up. Hold them up. Bidder
- number 354. 354. Thank you.
- Bidder number 503. Thank you, Kyle. 503. Thanks. And bidder number 419. Thanks. 419. Thank you so much.
- 419. Anybody else? Fantastic. Thank you all very much. Let's go to $1,500. Take care of two kids this
- year. $1,500. Raise your paddle. Awesome, awesome. Here we go. Thank you so much. Round of applause
- for these people, guys. Hold them up until I call your number. Hold them up.
- Bidder number 497, 497, thank you. Bidder number 535, 535, thank you. Bidder number 461, 461,
- thank you. Bidder number 536, 536, thank you. Bidder number 441, 441, thank you so much. Vera, we're
- gonna give you a number.
- Bidder number awesome. Vera Jones. For $1,500, Vera. Thank you, Vera. Bidder number 386. Thank you.
- Bidder number 435. Thank you so much. Anybody else at the $1,500 level? All right.
- Thank you. That was a very generous round there. One kid at $750. Who's in for one kid for $750?
- Here we go. A round of applause for these people. That's wonderful. Thank you so much, everybody.
- Bidder number 411. Thank you. Bidder number 496. Thank you. Bidder number 430. Thank you. Bidder number
- 397. Thank you.
- Bidder number 395, 395, thank you. Thank you. Bidder number 368, 368, thank you. Thank you so much,
- thank you. Bidder 432, 432, thank you very much.
- Anybody else? Here we go. Bidder number 367. 367. Thank you. Here we go. Bidder 533. 533. Thank you
- very much. Thank you. Right over here. Bidder 352. 352. Thank you. Anybody else at the one kid level?
- 750. Let's do a round of applause for all of you. That was awesome. Thank you so much.
- Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome. All right, we've got a few levels left because we know there's many
- of you that want to donate and contribute tonight. How about $250 if you'd like to donate $250 to help
- support the program. Here we go, hold them up. Round of applause for these people. Thank you so much.
- Keep them high.
- Bidder number 361, thank you. Bidder 353, thank you. Bidder number 501, thank you. Bidder 463,
- thank you. Bidder 428, thank you.
- Thank you. Bidder 383, 383, thank you. Bidder 425, 425, thank you. Bidder 400, 400, thank you. Bidder
- number 570, 570, thank you. Bidder number 540, 540, thank you. Bidder number 436, 436, thank you.
- Bidder 394, 394, thank you. Bidder 399, 399, thank you.
- 387, 387, thank you. 552, 552, thank you.
- Bitter 451, Bitter 451, thank you. Bitter 444, triple four right there, thank you. Bitter 495, 495,
- thank you. Bitter 542, 542, thank you. Bitter 544, 544, thank you. Bitter 369, 369, thank you.
- Bitter 534, 534, thank you.
- 409, 409. Thank you. Anybody else? 250. Absolutely awesome. What a round. Give yourselves a big hand
- right there. Wow. That's great.
- All right, last two chances. Who would like to do $100 toward the great programs here? Raise them up
- high. Here we go. Round of applause for these folks. Thank you so much. All day long, baby.
- All day long. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much. Here we go. 4, 2, 3. 423. Thank you.
- 396, 396 thank you. Thank you so much. 390, 390 thank you. Thank you. 427, 427 thank you. Thank you.
- 449, 449 thank you. Thank you. 420, 420 thank you. Thank you. 362, 362 thank you. Thank you so much.
- 345, 345 thank you. Thank you Laura.
- 437, 437, thank you. 389, 389, thank you. 375, 375, thank you. 403, 403, thank you. 545, 545,
- thank you. 494, 494, thank you. 546, 546, thank you. 498, thank you.
- 429, 429, thank you very much. Bidder 410, 410, thank you very much. Bidder 431, 431, thank you.
- Bidder 384, 384, thank you. 378, 378, thank you. And bidder 541, 541. Anybody else at the $100 level?
- Awesome. Thank you so much, everybody. What a round. Give yourselves a hand.
- And our last round, last chance to throw some money right at all this awesome programming. If you'd
- like to donate $50 tonight, raise your paddle up and make a $50 donation. Here we go. Round of applause
- for these folks. Thank you so much, everybody. Bidder 361, 361. Awesome. Bidder 438, 438. Awesome, thank
- you so much. Bidder 550, 550. Thank you. And bidder 393, 393.
- And bidder 543, 543. Anybody else at the 50? Right over here, 541. Bidder 541. Anybody else? Folks,
- that was unbelievable the entire round. Give yourselves a huge, huge hand. Thousands of dollars. Thank
- you all. God bless you all for what you're doing tonight. Thank you.
- I don't know which mic they want me to use, but thank you so much. That was really awesome. Give yourselves
- one more round of applause. Good job, everybody. Good work, good work.
- All right, I know they are totaling up our numbers, but I want to tell you how to check out tonight.
- So we told you that you can pay this evening, but you also do not have to pay this evening. So on your
- tables, at the center of your table, turned upside down are what we call our express checkout forms.
- So if you fill out that express checkout form, put your bid number on there and tell us how it is that
- you would like to pay. You can drop it in the box on the table back there that says express checkout.
- Brandi, wave at us. She's waving at you in the corner back there. And then you can leave for the night.
- You don't have to stand out in a checkout line. So you can just drop it right
- in that basket. If you want to stand in the line and pay, we will also take your money this evening,
- but you do not need to do that. You can drop those off in Express Checkout and we will let you be on
- your way this evening. The last thing I want to mention is just a quick thank you again to our guests
- tonight. Sherry Dunbar-Cruzan, round of applause. Thank you so much. And Vera Jones, one more time for
- Vera Jones too tonight.
- So the last thing we're going to do, just to give them some more time to total the totals, is our raffle.
- So everybody pull out your raffle tickets. You have to be present to win. We've got some really awesome
- raffle stuff tonight. So the first raffle item, if you win it, you need to wave at us, and one of our
- staff over here will deliver that item to you.
- is we have a collection of five autographed books from our fabulous keynote speaker, Vera Jones. And
- the lucky winner will also receive a t-shirt, a jacket, and pens all wrapped up and ready to go in a
- signature tote bag. So you'll be able to remember this evening and Vera for as long as you have those
- items. And the books are good. We bought a bunch of books and we shared them with our staff and we read
- them in a staff meeting. It's good stuff, guys. These books are great. So the winner will
- get to have five of those autographed books. I don't think I wanna draw this out. Sherry, you wanna
- come help me draw this out? This way, if you don't win, you can blame Sherry and not me. You know, I'm
- just kidding. All right. Okay, oh, we got more. All right, Vera Jones, let's see. Winner is
- Eight, six, five, two, three, five. Eight, six, five, two, three, five. Who is the winner? Stand up
- and wave at us. Okay, going once, going twice. We're gonna draw again. Eight, six, five, three, five,
- five. Hey, we got a winner in the back. Stand up and wave at us. Good job. All right.
- All right, our next is a gift card and coffee from Verona Coffee House. So thank you for Verona and
- Hillary Elliott for providing the coffee and the raffle item. So, Verona coffee. Everybody loves Verona
- coffee. Gift card and a bag of coffee goes to 865358. 865358. Hey, Kalia! Awesome! He does deserve it.
- He spent a lot of money tonight, so that's good.
- All right, now we've got a really cool item. Aero Styler, courtesy of Jennifer Bales at the Verona Beauty
- Bar. So at Aero Styler, maybe we can model the Aero Styler, but it's pretty cool. And you'll be walking
- away with this super cool versatile styling tool. Or give it to somebody who has hair to style.
- All right, 865-349. 865-349. I hope it's Mike Hayes.
- No, it's not? Okay, we'll draw again. 865223. Hey, we got a winner! Awesome! Sorry, Mike, you'll have
- to buy your own aerostyler at some point later. All right, also from Verona Beauty Bar, we have a haircare
- set with professional shampoo, conditioner, and detangler from Katie Lademan. So thank you again, and
- the winner is... 865240.
- 865-240. All right, awesome! Wave at us! Yay! All right, now we have a gift basket from Oliver, which
- has three bottles of wine, a corkscrew and a stopper, coasters, crackers, sweet and spicy pineapple
- habanero dip, which just sounds awesome. Yeah, there you go. Darcy Casey modeling the Oliver basket.
- Let's see who's winning the Oliver basket tonight.
- It is 865-107. Hey, there we go, 865-107. Okay, two more raffle items, two tickets to see Disney's Moana,
- live to film concert at IU Auditorium. This event will feature the full length film and live performances,
- so let's see who's gonna win that. Cool, that'll be fun. 865-284.
- Moana tickets, no? No, let's try again, all right. Eight, six, five, two, nine, one. Eight, six, five,
- two, nine, one. You gotta be quick, two, nine, one. No, no, keep it rolling. Eight, six, five, two,
- five, eight. Two, five, eight, we got a winner, awesome, we got a winner.
- All right, our last raffle ticket before we announce our total and celebrate. Two tickets to see the
- Blue Man Group. Very cool. Really cool. Performance Act and Musical Group. If you don't know the Blue
- Man Group, you should look it up. Blends Music, Comedy, Interactive Art, all without speaking. They're
- coming to IU Auditorium February 4th and 5th, and this will get you tickets. Let's see who the lucky
- winner is of our final raffle prize. Yeah, how do we get invited to this, Sheri? Okay, eight, six, five,
- two, nine, six,
- 8, 6, 2, 9, 6, going once. Oh, we got a winner. Awesome. Congratulations. Thanks, Sheri. Oh, we can
- just give it to you. Awesome. All right, so thanks, Sheri. Appreciate that. All right, we got a total.
- Awesome. OK.
- Our goal was $60,000 and we raised $60,200 tonight. Yes! Yay! Isn't it awesome what a bunch of us can
- do together?
- Yes, isn't it awesome? Thank you so much for being here tonight. Thank you for celebrating with us.
- Thank you for giving. We appreciate you all, and have a really safe night. Thank you so much.