- This month on The Spark, our theme is "The Power of Connection".

We'll learn about an organization connecting veterans and military members to career opportunities, a nonprofit serving to connect leaders to leaders, leaders to information, and leaders to the community, and an organization connecting lives and promoting the power of becoming an organ and tissue donor.

We'll also share a special moment from our Spark Awards 2024.

- From Higginbotham's founding in 1948, our insurance agency has been built on the values of customer service, leading with integrity and supporting our community.

We believe in promoting the positives, encouraging engagement and leading by example to power the good.

Higginbotham insurance and financial services is honored to be the presenting sponsor of The Spark.

- (male announcer) Additional funding for The Spark is provided by United Way of the Mid-South, EcOp, the Memphis Zoo, My Town Movers, My Town Roofing, and by First Tee Tennessee-Memphis.

- Have you ever been excited by a new idea, inspired by watching someone lead by example?

When we talk about creating change, we start by sharing the stories of everyday heroes who are making a difference in their own way, so we can learn and do the same.

I'm Jeremy Park, and this is The Spark.

They're an organization connecting veterans and military members to career opportunities.

We're here with Erica Shaw, a US Marine Corps veteran and Tennessee and Kentucky Regional Manager with NextOp Veterans.

And first, let's start, thank you for your service.

Second, talk about your service in the transition, which will lead us into all the amazing things you do with NextOp Veterans.

- Well, thank you so much for having me, and thank you for that thank you for my service.

It's truly appreciated.

As far as my service, I spent 11 and a half years in the United States Marine Corps.

I tell people I left Memphis, went off, joined the circus from 1996 to 2008.

During that time, it was phenomenal.

I tell people, military service is all the things.

It's wonderful and tragic and terrible and beautiful at the same time.

I wouldn't trade it for anything, though.

As far as my transition, it was a tough one.

And a lot of our veterans go through this, but I went through it at a time where the transition assistance program for the military services, I'm not gonna say it was non-existent, but it's nothing like it is now.

If you go back and you look at that time, we spent two days in a room, and I can speak for the Marine Corps, we spent two days in a room where we learned how to write a resume.

We learned how to search for jobs and it was like, okay, go.

And we get out into this world that we don't know and doesn't know us, and we're just like, okay, so what now?

And the sad part of that is that, that's where you found a lot of veteran homelessness, veteran suicide, veteran incarceration, veteran unemployment, mental health issues.

Because again, you are putting people into a world that they don't know and doesn't know them.

So that transition is a tough one, and it's even tougher when you don't have the tools to do it well.

And so that is where I think it's wonderful that the military services have now recognized that, and everyone now has a very beefed up, transition assistance program, but it still needs to be taken a step further, and that's where organizations like NextOp come in.

- So go ahead and talk about NextOp Veterans because one of the unique things is you work on both sides.

So you work with the veterans and the military members to enhance their resume and job skills and one-on-one mentoring, but then you also work with companies.

And so talk about both sides of the equation.

- We do.

So NextOp Veterans is based out of Houston, Texas.

We have been around for 10 years, 501[c][3] nonprofit.

And we do, we work on both sides.

Our main goal is to recruit, develop, and place post-9/11 enlisted veterans.

And we work with that specific group for reasons that, you know, we don't have time to get into, now.

We work with them to help make sure they have realistic expectations, transitioning from military service to civilian life.

What does your resume look like?

Let's get that together.

What does your LinkedIn profile look like?

We all know a professional social media presence is extremely important.

So we talk to 'em about that.

We talk to 'em about interviewing, we talk to them about how they talk.

The way military people talk can be a little different, moving into the civilian world, so we talk to them about that.

Small things that a lot of people may not think about, veterans have to look at.

So we can go into the workforce, whole people ready to work.

And so that development piece is huge for us.

And we do that face-to-face, one-on-one, and we help them, again, get to where they wanna be.

This is not about just putting a veteran in a job, but about putting them in a meaningful career they can grow in, a company that they can grow with.

And we also work on the company side of things, which is more so where I come into place.

We work with companies, number one, to partner with them so we can fill their open positions with our veterans, but we also work with companies to help them with their veteran recruitment.

When we have companies that say, "Yes, I wanna hire veterans," no one is gonna say no to hiring a veteran, but what does that look like, you know?

What does that mean?

Companies will say, "We are veteran friendly."

One of the questions I'd like to ask is, "DO you know when the Marine Corps birthday is?"

They're like, "I don't know."

I'm like, well, when you have veterans in your workspace, celebrating the different branches, their birthdays is an important thing.

And I'm not saying coddle or baby veterans.

What I am saying is just like, you would recognize anyone else, let's make sure we recognize them in your workspace.

There's more to being veteran friendly than just saying, we have veterans on our roles.

You know, we wanna make sure that they understand, your job descriptions could deter a whole lot of veterans from applying.

If you say we have to have this number of years of experience, well if that veteran could do that job with their eyes closed, but they don't feel they meet that criteria, they are not going to apply.

So we work with companies on things like that.

- Talk about how the community can help, including some events that you all host and partnerships that you have.

So that kind of plays into this, but how can the community help NextOp Veterans?

- So NextOp Veterans, like I said, is a 501[c][3] nonprofit.

So we do take private donations, we take corporate donations.

We also partner with companies that say, "Hey, I want you to help me, "help my company be more veteran friendly.

I wanna help fill my open positions."

So we partner and we have a tiered partner support system, a level that that we can, you know, assist them in getting in where they want to be.

We also have partnerships.

We are very excited that we have partnership with Project Management Institute Memphis Chapter, PMI, Memphis, to work with them to help our veterans get upskilled.

We are also in the process of completing our partnership with Southwest Tennessee Community College.

And we are absolutely excited to talk to veterans that are pursuing their education.

We wanna create education to career pipelines for them.

And the event that we just wrapped up in April, we are very, very excited about.

We partnered with the Greater Memphis Chamber.

It's called the Memphis Blue Carpet Fly In.

We brought in 23 veterans, some local, but moreso transitioning service members and veterans from across the nation.

Showed them Memphis, let them meet with high level decision makers and various companies to get them work.

What we are looking to do is bring new talent to this area, bring new money to this area, and help these companies fill their open positions with veterans.

- We'll wrap up with where we can go to learn more and get involved with NextOp Veterans.

- Absolutely.

So you can go to www nextopvets.org.

If you are a veteran and you need our assistance, you can go in there and click looking for a career.

If you are a company and you're looking for assistance, you can say, I'm an employer, and you will fill out information, and we will reach out to you.

If you are looking to donate, again, you can go to that same website and click, I want to donate, and donate to us.

We are so grateful for everyone that has supported us in that way.

- Well, Erica Shaw, thank you again for your service and thank you for all you and your amazing team at NextOp Veterans do to power the good.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Thank you for having me.

[upbeat music] - They're an organization connecting leaders to leaders, leaders to information, and leaders to community.

We're here with Dr. Bobby White, President and CEO of Leadership Memphis and Volunteer Memphis, and you know firsthand, the power of Leadership Memphis as an alum of the executive program.

So give us a little bit of that experience and talk about becoming president and CEO of Leadership Memphis.

- Man, first of all, I just wanna say as always, it's just great to be in your presence and share with you guys.

Just love your show.

But Leadership Memphis has really helped to shape my career.

I'd say when I was selected back in 2014, which was, you know, over a decade ago, I was just starting my journey as the founder and CEO of Frayser Community Schools.

And there was just, being in a space with those type of executives where I had been in my own small pocket of expertise, if you will, like the K-12 spectrum of professionalism.

And to be with all of those folks that were experts at FedEx and IP and all of these multimillion dollar corporations in our city and nationally was just something that just not only provided me with avenues to connect and network, but like it built my confidence.

Like, I belong.

I'm supposed to be in this space because my expertise adds value.

And it just was super helpful.

Had no idea that, you know, over a decade later, I would end up being in a space where I would actually lead the organization.

And it was time for me to take the reputation, social capital expertise that I had gained throughout those years and take it and impact the city in a different way.

I had been impacting the city by serving, you know, students in the highest crime, highest poverty areas, in schools.

But to take all of what I had learned and to impact the city in another way, but just as impactful, if not more.

And this opportunity came and I jumped on it, and now I have the opportunity to lead the best organization ever in our city.

- Talk about what you do with Leadership Memphis and Volunteer Memphis, because over 4,000 alum at this point fully integrated into the community, leading by example, and making a difference.

So talk about what you do at Leadership Memphis and Volunteer Memphis.

- We are the civic education agency, arm extraordinaire, if you will.

Our programs, Fast Track and Executive programs, we train folks in civic education.

Our Fast Track program is for emerging leaders and our Executive program are for our C-suite professionals, right?

And we train them on how to take the civic education and take it to the community, to their jobs to impact the city in a way that they wouldn't be able to if they didn't have that body of knowledge.

And our classes are going to be involving government, city planning, education, economics, health and wellness, arts and culture and a number of others.

And they're trained on these things as it relates to how it can impact our city.

Volunteer Memphis is essentially our activation piece where we're able to, because we got all of the volunteer opportunities throughout the city.

You don't have to be a part of Leadership Memphis in order to take advantage of these volunteer opportunities.

However, what we're able to do is take the folks that we train, identify what they're passionate about, and connect them to these volunteer opportunities to afford them to be able to impact the city at a super high level with something that they are compassionate and committed to, that's gonna help the city out.

- How can the community help Leadership Memphis and Volunteer Memphis?

- Our program tuition only covers half the operating and expense costs.

So what the first thing the city can do is donate.

We welcome your donations.

Sponsorships and philanthropy and our donor base are what helped us to survive, and we're so appreciative of all of those dollars that we receive.

So that's the first thing, to donate.

Second thing is to volunteer, right?

You know, we talk about Volunteer Memphis as being the arm of our organization that activates everything.

So volunteer.

Thirdly, nominating a leader to be a part of our EP program or our Fast Track program.

We have cohorts every year, two Fast Track cohorts per year and one EP cohort per year, nominating those leaders.

The fourth thing, attending all of our events.

I don't know if most people know that we have these signature events and we have four of them every year.

We have our Leadership Awards Luncheon, of which we just had on March 7th.

We have our VMAs, which are Volunteer Memphis Awards, and that's gonna be in June.

And then we have our multicultural breakfast and our annual holiday party.

We want all of you guys to come and celebrate with us as we celebrate the people who are doing the work that we're talking about is going to impact the city.

- So where do we go to learn more and connect in with Leadership Memphis and Volunteer Memphis?

- Leadershipmemphis.org and volunteermemphis.org.

- That makes it easy.

Well, Dr. White, thank you for all you and your amazing team do to power the good.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Thank you, sir.

[upbeat music] - The Spark Awards annually recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the community.

The 2024 Individual Adult Award went to Susan Ewing.

[gentle music] - Hello, my name is Susan Ewing and I am the owner and Chief Navigator of Ewing Marketing Partners.

So my business, I've actually been in the advertising industry for over 25 years, and almost 10 years ago, I went out on my own and started my own marketing communications firm.

And we focus on small to mid-size businesses who really don't have their own marketing person.

And so I can come in and be their fractional CMO and help manage all their marketing efforts.

So I was born and raised here in Memphis, and moved to Collierville about 12 years ago and really, you know, wanted to get involved in the community.

So first thing I did was I joined the Chamber.

Of course, it helps for your business.

Then I got involved in other things and ended up doing the Collierville Balloon Festival.

And through that, because it was connected to the Rotary, I met so many people within the Rotary and they said, "Why don't you get involved?"

And so then I got involved in the Rotary, then I got involved in the tourism committee for the town, served that term for two years.

And then I got involved in the Parks and Rec.

I'm a runner, so I wanted to get involved, and we have some amazing parks in Collierville.

So I wanted to really be able to help support that.

And I like to get involved and do things, and so I really, you know, hands on and just, you know, whatever committee's out there, I'm helping out volunteering.

And it's just amazing what we're doing in the town of Collierville and the impact we're having.

The Collierville Balloon Festival, I mean, it was started as an idea and the Collierville Rotary Club embraced that and really got involved.

So the first year, you know, happened.

We actually raised $40,000 and gave that back to Rotary and Collierville Education Foundation.

So in the past two years we raised $150,000 for that event.

And that went back to education and the whole Mid-South community.

Even though it's Collierville Balloon Festival, we wanted the whole Mid-South community and even outside of our market.

So it helped from a tourism standpoint, big benefit for the town, something for the whole family, something for children and adults with disabilities.

So it ended up being a win-win.

And then we raised money and it went to education.

Being involved in all these different organizations and programs have really brought together, a very diverse group of people.

And so it helps you from collaborating with others, you learn from others.

I've always said, you know, we just kind of bring the smartest people together and you can make things happen.

So it's been great to really get other people involved, and I learn from them.

I mean, there's things that other people are doing, I'm like, that's a great idea, and then I can use it.

So it's really feeding off one another in the community and bringing us all together with our gifts and our talents to be able to make an impact.

[gentle music continues] - They're an organization connecting lives and promoting the power of being an organ and tissue donor.

We're here with Artavius Veasey, Digital Communications Coordinator with Mid-South Transplant Foundation.

And let's start out, you know, the power of an organ donation, a transplant firsthand.

Let's start with your personal story.

- Yes.

First of all, thank you guys so much for having me.

Like I said, my name is Artavius Veasey, and I'm the digital communications coordinator for Mid-South Transplant Foundation.

But for my story, I was a preemie, so I was born at 26 weeks and I was diagnosed with kidney disease at the age of three.

And I went through dialysis for 15 months and got my transplant at 15 years old from my father.

He was my living donor.

And also as far as my dad being my living donor, I'm also a donor family.

So my younger brother, Reginald Smith, he passed in a car accident in 2018, and he was an organ donor and he was able to save and enhance the lives of up to 67 people.

So it's an amazing story.

An organ tissue donation is all within my life.

And also my mother, she's also a kidney transplant recipient.

This year for her would be 27 years post-transplant.

And this July will be 20 years for me.

So it's a blessing.

And what better place to work, other than Mid-South Transplant Foundation.

I tell people, it's a dream job for me.

So I love it, every chance I get.

- Go ahead and dive into Mid-South Transplant Foundation in terms of the mission and what you all do in the community.

- Yes, so for nearly 50 years, Mid- South Transplant Foundation has helped facilitate the organ and tissue donation process, and promote awareness of organ donation through public and professional education.

So the biggest thing is just to get the awareness out there and to let people know that organ and tissue donation does save lives.

- When you look at April, this is an important month for raising awareness.

It also leads into some of the big things that you all are doing with the Yes You Should campaign.

So talk about the campaign, talk about the month of April.

- Yes, so as far as April, April is Donate Life Month where all month, we're talking and spreading awareness about the importance of organ and tissue donation.

And when it comes to the Yes You Should campaign, I was super, super excited to not only help put together the campaign, but also be one of the features in the campaign.

And the whole purpose of the campaign is literally to just start the conversation, and to mainly push towards the African-American community to register.

Because when it comes to the numbers, when it comes to African American donors, it's very low.

So like I tell people, or as we do at Mid-South Transplant Foundation, one organ donor can save the lives of eight people, eight organs, and two people with their sight, and up to 75 people with their tissue.

So it is very important that the community knows the importance of it and to get out and register to be an organ and tissue donor, to help save many more lives.

- For you and your family and, you know, talking to other families and individuals, what are some things that you want them to know?

Obviously the power, the importance, the lifesaving piece of this, but talk about some of the other things that you want them to be thinking about and the power of kind of putting yourself in the shoes of somebody else.

- Yes.

So having firsthand experience of the power of donation, I think it's important for the African American community to know that organ donation does save lives.

And for us, as the black community, we can be hardheaded at times.

And I think it's a very powerful campaign with being in black and white, and having about 11 influencers within the city of Memphis to come together and show that this is important and for us to come together as a community to get together and register, because it does affect our community.

And what better way to do it than to just spread awareness and to spread the news that, you too, and yes you should, register to be an organ and tissue donor.

- Talk about some of the other ways the community can help.

- Yeah, so for those who are either recipients of organ and tissue donation or they're donor families, or just families who know someone who went through dialysis or who went through any type of thing, when it comes to organ and tissue donation, educate yourself.

Educate yourself first.

Because a lot of times, specifically for the black community, we find it hard to believe certain things because it's a lot of misconceptions that's out there.

So the best thing that you can do for yourself is educate yourself, first.

But go to reliable sources.

I would say go to our website, midsouthtransplant.org, or go to Donate Life Tennessee, or Donate Life America to get those official facts so you can know that you're reading official stats and all of that stuff.

And when you get that, share the message.

Go out to your community, tell your family members your decision because one thing when it comes to us before our time comes when we have to pass, what we pass on, we want to make sure we leave those organs here to be able to help someone else and to leave a legacy here, 'cause when we're done, we're done here.

But our organs and things and tissues, they can stay here to be a blessing and help someone else.

So you definitely want to encourage and share it with your family to let 'em know that you wanna be a registered donor.

And also just tell everybody you can, the importance of organ and tissue donation, because it does save lives.

- Mention again, you never can say it enough in the world of media.

So mention again, the website, social media.

Where do we go to learn more about the Yes You Should campaign and about Mid-South Transplant Foundation?

- Yes, so for Yes You should, you can go to, yesyoushouldmidsouth.org, and for our website, midsouthtransplant.org.

And you can find us on social media, on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter or X, under Mid-South Transplant Foundation.

You can just search data in the search bar and we will come up and you will get all of the good and exclusive stuff that we have going on at the organization and the things that we're doing in the community.

- Well Artavius, thank you for all you and your amazing team do to power the good.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Thank you so much.

[upbeat music] - As we saw in this month's episode, opportunities in life and career come from the power of connection, the relationships we create and build with others in our community.

The power of connection also is what drives the action to help others to get involved and help make a difference in our communities, and even save lives.

Here in the Mid-South, we're fortunate to have organizations, like NextOp Veterans, working one-on-one with enlisted service members and veterans to help translate military training and experiences into valued qualifications in the business community, and working with and supporting companies to develop and mobilize their veteran hiring and retention strategies.

Then Leadership Memphis and Volunteer Memphis are developing community change agents, connecting them with others who have a passion to serve and empowering them with information and opportunities to make a difference.

And Mid-South Transplant Foundation is an example of how the power of connection can improve and save lives through organ and tissue donation as they promote Yes You Should to increase the number of registered donors.

Opportunities for yourself, for others, and our community, start with the power of connection.

So where can you help power the good and become a spark?

To learn more about each of the guests, to watch past episodes and to share your stories of others leading by example, visit wkno.org and click on the link for The Spark.

We look forward to seeing you next month.

We hope that you'll continues joining with us to create a spark for the Mid-South.

- From Higginbotham's founding in 1948, our insurance agency has been built on the values of customer service, leading with integrity and supporting our community.

We believe in promoting positives, encouraging engagement, and leading by example to power the good.

Higginbotham Insurance and Financial Services is honored to be the presenting sponsor of The Spark.

[upbeat music] [acoustic guitar chords]