The Craft of Community Restoration with Roxie Deer

Discover the heartbeat of Richmond as Roxie Deer, Executive Director of Richmond Neighborhood Restoration, shares the indelible mark her hometown has left on her soul. Our conversation unveils a tapestry of resilience, from Roxie's multi-generational upbringing to the harrowing loss of her mother, revealing the profound strength and commitment that had her plant roots firmly in Richmond soil. The community's embrace during her darkest hours has fueled Roxie's passion for restoration—not just of the beautiful historic homes she helps bring back to life, but of the very fabric of our neighborhood.

Step into the past with a modern twist as we explore the intricate dance of preserving heritage while infusing contemporary comforts into Wayne County’s historic homes. Roxie and I delve into the rejuvenating effects these homes have on our community, and how the sweat equity of volunteers breathes new life into the region. We roam through Richmond's hidden treasures, from serene parks to the tantalizing local culinary scene, illustrating the vibrant life that awaits both new and long-standing residents. It's a story of pride, of history, and of a future written by those who cherish their roots.

Venture with us into the blueprint of downtown Richmond's renaissance, fueled by an awe-inspiring grant that promises to reshape the city's core. Roxie paints a picture of bustling streets lined with niche shops and cozy cafes, a beacon for education and economic prosperity. We also recognize the guiding stars of our journey, the mentors who have shaped the leaders of tomorrow, and the initiatives that foster their growth. And amid this narrative of renewal, we shine a light on the Deer Family Fund, a poignant tribute to Roxie's mother and a lifeline for women fighting breast cancer. Join us for a powerful testament to the spirit of giving back, as we celebrate the threads that weave the rich tapestry of Richmond's community.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

And welcome back to another episode of Our Community. I'm your host, alfredo Diamond. As always, please take a moment to click that like and subscribe button to help us keep this going. If you think real estate, think Diamond Class Care. I'm here with a special guest here today, roxy Deere, with Richmond Neighborhood Restoration Executive Director. Welcome, roxy.

Speaker 2: 0:28

Thanks for having me, Al. I'm excited to be here. I love the clips on Instagram and TikTok that I'm seeing, so I'm really excited to be in this chair today.

Speaker 1: 0:34

Oh, that's so awesome. What's going on with you?

Speaker 2: 0:37

It's been a busy season. You know we're heading into the holidays and it's just chaotic and crazy and fun and we're having just a blast with everything that we're working on.

Speaker 1: 0:46

That's great. That's great, Roxy, we've crossed paths. I've gotten a chance to see you and meet and connect with you here, but I don't really know you like that on that personal level yet. I just want to get to know a little bit more about you, where you're from and how you get to where you are.

Speaker 2: 1:00

Yeah, I was born and raised here in Richmond Kind of a unique upbringing. I was raised in a multi-generational household. It was my mom and her parents that raised me. I was very close to my grandparents growing up and moved away for a few years to go to college, moved up to Worcester Ohio, which is something I'm very proud of. I love that community.

Speaker 2: 1:23

Then, when I graduated, really had every opportunity in the world to go anywhere and landed back at Richmond with an internship at communities and schools and spent six months with them doing some great work and really spending some time understanding the needs of our community there. In that time some family things unfolded and I had to make a decision is this my town? Is this where I'm going to be? It ended up being the best decision I ever made was to stick around here and worked for a few years at the Excel Center Richmond and met a great group of friends there. After that, moved to IUE for a few years where I worked and earned my masters and then landed at the chamber where I met you and spent five years there in different roles doing lots of work in our community. Then recently, in the last year, moved to Richmond Neighborhood Restoration.

Speaker 1: 2:23

Okay, we're going to come back to that. What ultimately was? I know you had the internship, but what ultimately was the deciding factor that, hey, I want to choose. To come back to Richmond.

Speaker 2: 2:33

This is something I've talked about a lot. Anytime I speak in a public event, I could go anywhere. I really had no strings attached to this community and yet this community kept supporting me, no matter what I did. I lost my mom to breast cancer in 2017 and it was the worst moment of my life. I was never not surrounded with love and care and a community that wanted me here and they wanted me to be successful here.

Speaker 2: 3:06

I kept saying no, I'm not staying here. There's too many memories. Every time I walked into a restaurant or I walked into a bar, I had a memory of my mom or a memory of my grandparents and I kept saying I can't stay here, I can't stay here. I think one day it just hit me If I don't stay here, who else is going to stay here? They don't have those experiences. I want this community to succeed and I need to do that. It took three years for me to feel comfortable saying that out loud. Once I did, I went okay, this is my home and if I'm going to make it my home, I have to invest in it and I have to put, roll up my sleeves and get the work done.

Speaker 1: 3:43

That's so fascinating. We all have adversity and challenges and things like that, but I really there may be, there's someone out there that maybe gone through similar experiences. What is it in you that makes you dig deep and say, hey, I got to keep pushing, I got to get refocused and work to get through this and handle it.

Speaker 2: 4:04

Yeah, the grief after losing parents, after losing grandparents, after, I mean, I was kind of rock bottom and it was the people around me, the people I put close, and also just my own. I worked really hard on my mental health and I'm still working. That's something every day that I have to wake up and choose to battle and fight, and there are good days, there are bad days, there are great days and there are horrible days. Looking at it, that it's. This community has given me a reason to continue to push forward, and so I get really excited and really passionate and I I like could like scream and shout like this is the community for me, because it gave me a space to grow.

Speaker 2: 4:44

When I think, if I had gone to Indianapolis or Chicago, where all of my college friends are at, and these big cities, I would have been swallowed up and spit out, and that didn't happen. Here. There's always someone checking in, there's always someone showing you that they care and they love, there's always someone to grab lunch with. Even if I don't have anybody to grab lunch with and I need to get out of my house, I can walk into the downtown deli and see 15 people that I know and that would do anything for me.

Speaker 1: 5:11

Yeah, I love that aspect too. Just you know, think about, you know, bigger cities and living there and one. I don't think I would like the idea like 40 minutes to get across town and work in traffic and then you're. It's probably gonna be forever for you to see that same person again. I like walking to a place like I know I'm going to see such and such on Thursdays at two o'clock I like that feeling.

Speaker 2: 5:33

Yeah, I love to walk into any of our local places and you know the owner, they know you, they have a relationship with you and they want to talk to you just as much as you want to talk to them. And but they also understand, like they have the respect for you, that, like everything's not always perfect and we get it and we still love and accept you.

Speaker 1: 5:53

Yeah, so Richmond neighborhood restoration Tell me about that. What is that?

Speaker 2: 5:57

Yeah. So, um, I like I said I started this job a year ago and I had, when I started the job, even in the interview process I said I'm not your girl. Like I don't do power tools, I'm not going to be replumbing a bathroom for you, Like this is not my thing, I'm not sure that you want me. And I continue to like kind of have this self doubt about this job. And once I got into the role and dealt with some imposter syndrome the first few months and then realized this role, this organization is truly making a change in that community and so R and R at its core is purchasing historic buildings or gaining access and ownership of historic buildings and then remodeling them. I don't like the term flip. That sounds like a very quick solution.

Speaker 1: 6:48

It's very detailed.

Speaker 2: 6:49

We're doing very detailed work. We're adding, we're securing the building to make sure it's safe first of all, and then we're keeping historic elements of those properties but modernizing them for the current people that are moving in, for young families to move in, for professional families to move in, and like the house that we have on 23rd street right now on East Main, right across from the park, it's gorgeous. That house in 1996 was named the ugliest home in Wayne County. Wow, nothing had been done to it since 96 and it was the ugliest home. Then we walked in and we were. We found boxes from floor to ceiling. On every floor it was stacked full of junk. There were holes in the ceiling, the staircases were in bad shape. I mean, it was, it was garbage. I mean it was condemned, it was not ready to be lived in.

Speaker 2: 7:39

But it had set on our major thoroughfare in our community for years and we were able to quickly secure the building and make it safe. And now we're adding it. We're bringing back the hardwood floors, the original hardwood floors. We were able to save those. We're able to work with groups like Indiana landmarks and organizations like that to secure pieces of the home. But also we're putting in a brand new, beautiful kitchen. This kitchen is like dream worthy, and we're making the main bedroom something with a huge closet, because that's needed now. Big bathrooms those things that people really love when they buy a house. And instead of that house being torn down now, it's going to have a family move into it. They will send their kids to our local school systems. They will have jobs in our community or at least, if they're working remote, maybe that money's coming into our community that they will then spend at our businesses.

Speaker 1: 8:32

Wow, who do you find that? Cause I've I've experienced two or three of the properties and I like the term restore, I think, versus flip. I think you guys are retake, detailed and restoring those properties. So I'm going to get into like how does that all happen? But who do you find Cause? I feel like people that relocate here, like from California. I know there was one from Indianapolis, maybe they came back Like what are your thoughts on that? Like who?

Speaker 2: 8:55

Yeah, this is something unique about R&R. We have sold five properties so far. All five properties have brought someone into the Wayne County community. It's not been enough of current Wayne County family moving in. So we are attracting people to our homes and it's every time we announce a new home, almost instantly we start getting requests for women's house be available. And what it is is. These families live in Indianapolis. They want a historic old home but they're not going to pay 5 million for a home Right. They see our home, newly restored, doesn't need a lot of work.

Speaker 2: 9:28

Post us lower property taxes lower property taxes and so we're able to sell it for less than a hundred or less than half a million. Yeah, and they're getting this beautiful home. They're able to commute if they do need to commute and they're able to. It's a safe community, we great school systems, all of these things, and that is an attraction to moving to Wayne County.

Speaker 1: 9:51

Yeah, and so where? So where? Well, let me come back to that. So how does the process work? Because you know volunteers, right, it's pretty unique operation.

Speaker 2: 10:01

Yeah, I think this is. There aren't a lot of organizations like R&R. There are larger organizations in bigger communities, but they're hiring a lot of the workout. We do hire workout. We have contractors working. We work with almost every contractor in town. Like I said, I'm not your plumbing girl. Like you don't want me doing electrical work, you don't want me running wires or pipes or any of that in your house. You just don't. I don't do it at my own house and I don't want volunteers doing that either. So we hire that workout. But as far as painting and installation and things like that, we have an incredible volunteer core group that they show up on Saturday mornings and they work. These are the worker bees of our community and most. I think every single one of my volunteers are involved in multiple organizations and but they've secured Saturday mornings for R&R. They're doing. They're so awesome. I love to hang out with them.

Speaker 1: 10:56

So plug, plug you here. So so, if someone wanted to volunteer to help you or maybe donate a property, oh yeah, we'll take a property. Where? Where do they, where can they contact you at, and where's your office?

Speaker 2: 11:08

Yeah, so we don't have an office space. I say my office is my dining room table. So right now, if you wanted to contact us, you can reach me on my cell phone, which is 317-760-3822. You can also reach me via info at rnrincorg.

Speaker 1: 11:27

There you go. Okay, Roxy, I definitely consider you a mover and shaker in the community.

Speaker 2: 11:31

Thank you.

Speaker 1: 11:32

And I love what you're doing here. So you've been around for a while and so I've got this segment that I call Roe City Hot and Ready, cold and Steady Okay. Okay, have a little fun here, have a little fun, all right. So I'm basically I'm going to, you know, shout out some categories or some sites or amenity, and just you tell me what is your favorite, one or one that comes to mind. Okay, and why? Okay.

Speaker 2: 11:54

So I'm nervous.

Speaker 1: 11:56

Uh-oh, what if I have?

Speaker 2: 11:57

multiple answers.

Speaker 1: 11:58

That's cool. Hey, we have some interesting topics come up in the past, so okay, let's, let's go for it. What's your favorite park?

Speaker 2: 12:05

Oh, a dog park. I yeah, the dog park is probably one of my favorites. I do love Glenn Miller. I feel like that's the community's space. We do a lot of fun things in that space, and Elstrow Park obviously is great. I love to have the meltdown down there.

Speaker 1: 12:21

So Okay, Someone think about moving to Richmond and they're they're looking at going on a plan on the first date. Oh what would the ideal first date look like?

Speaker 2: 12:30

Oh, it depends on the season. Um, if it's fall time, you need to be at Hayes Arboretum or Cope Environmental Center or take a hike. Um, if it's wintertime, meltdown weekend there's always so many fun things to do. Um, in the summer, a farmer's market, um, all the festivals that we have, um, there's. If you want to go on a really nice date restaurant, we've got Corjol Cork, we've got gallows, Um, and then there's, of course, there's always the theater, which has great plays and fun things like that. Um, so, coffee at Roscoe's and Lulu's Tacos, all of them.

Speaker 1: 13:03

Yeah, so you've hit some of the highlights. So favorite place with tacos you kind of brought up Lulu's Tacos absolutely, and then close.

Speaker 2: 13:09

Second is Albronco.

Speaker 1: 13:10

Yeah, okay, all right Now. You mentioned IU East earlier. Are you partial to IU East? Do you think about the local colleges here, erlum Ivy, tech and IU East? Which one comes to you comes to mind, and why?

Speaker 2: 13:21

So I actually have a really interesting story. So when I moved to Worcester, ohio and it was at the College of Worcester, my roommate had a twin brother and when she was moving in I found out that he was going to Erlum, and so we actually um, erlum is close to my heart, worcester and Erlum actually competed in college and um, we would come home for the Erlum versus Worcester games and then when Erlum was there, my parents would always come up. So I have to say Erlum is near and dear to my heart. But I did work at IU East and the Red Wolves are awesome.

Speaker 1: 13:52

Awesome, okay. So, roxy, with local business in mind, education, employment, development where would you like to see our community within the next five years?

Speaker 2: 14:02

Oh, that's a big question right now.

Speaker 1: 14:04

Yeah, my transition here Just boom.

Speaker 2: 14:06

So, um, obviously we received this grant from Erlum College. I don't know if we've talked about, if you've talked about that on the grant or on the podcast at all.

Speaker 1: 14:14

Here and there, but not too in depth.

Speaker 2: 14:16

Yeah, so we just found out that our community was blessed with the opportunity to receive a grant for $25 million for downtown Richmond, mr Lilly Grant.

Speaker 1: 14:25

Yeah, this is the Lilly Grant.

Speaker 2: 14:27

Um, alongside of that comes about 75 million additional dollars of investment. That will happen. Um, the corridors are, I think, from fifth to 13th street and we have to stay like within the A streets. Um, but in we have to spend that money in five years. So this is a timely question.

Speaker 2: 14:47

Um, I think our investment in downtown Richmond, this Lilly Grant, the work that's happening, we're going to see a new downtown and for you and I said this yesterday in another meeting that I was in for years when people said downtown Richmond it was, it felt like gray, it felt sad, it felt depressing, and that's not the feeling you want for a community you love. And we put a lot of focus into the depot district and we've seen the success there. So for me, this new money, this new energy, the projects that R&R is doing downtown, the apartment buildings and the investors, like the corner cafe in the Leland downtown, deli, smiley's, the hair salons, the bakeries, the BSN building with the Demik Eastmans, the Weedows building, that's the energy we need. Imagine in five years when you walk downtown it's well lit, there are people hanging out, there's bistro tables on the sidewalk, people are sitting out, they're walking their dogs, they've got ice cream, they've got a cold brew. You know they're doing their thing. That's like I get excited about that.

Speaker 1: 15:58

I get like jazzed about it. Yeah, yeah. So how does all that work? So you've got this grant, funds, like who's eligible? How do you do you have to apply? Is it already kind of delegated to certain businesses? Do you have any idea how that works?

Speaker 2: 16:13

Yeah, so the grant committee has been working on this pretty in depth for about a year now and the money has already been kind of allocated in the grant. You can't submit a grant without detail upon detail upon detail, and the Erlum team is. I will let them answer those specific questions. But the money has been allotted to certain community partners to do some great things and you can check out their revitalized Richmond website. That's the title of this project and Richmond Neighborhood Restoration is a partner and we are receiving funds from that. Our funds will be set to do historic building renovation. Just, I don't know if you have seen, but we did do the secret ingredient building the former secret ingredient. That building was gifted to us. We did pay a small fee for that but it's part of the place program. So we remodeled the second and third floors, put in some really gorgeous apartments the windows and the space.

Speaker 2: 17:10

I mean, there's nothing like it in Richmond right now. And we were able to do those apartments and now the city will work to fill it with an entrepreneur in the storefront space, and so we, our plan, is, with this money, to do at least five more of those projects.

Speaker 1: 17:23

Wow, that's incredible yeah we're excited.

Speaker 2: 17:25

It's great news.

Speaker 1: 17:26

It's not even things happening right here in Richmond and downtown.

Speaker 2: 17:29

There's a lot happening.

Speaker 1: 17:30

Yeah, absolutely. So I could tell a passionate you are about our community and seeing things get to your expectations and so we can get back to those like not like the good old days, but the new good old days, something that we always heard about the Rose Parade and the Rose Festival and that's great.

Speaker 2: 17:49

Let's make a new thing that we're known for. Let's be the downtown people from all over the Midwest want to travel to. Let's be. Let's have the coolest steakhouse in Wayne County. Let's have. Not even in Wayne County.

Speaker 1: 18:03

Let's beat St Elmo's, let's go Like I'm ready to go, yeah, yeah, I love that. So speaking to like restaurants, like that. So you know, you think about the past and things, businesses that have gone, and you hear like rumors like oh, this might be coming in here to Richmond and going in there. What's one business that's currently not here that you would love to either see come back or open up here?

Speaker 2: 18:25

Well, the white girl in me wants to say target. I need target, right. But if we could bring back an old school toy store, if we could bring back, you know, just like the classic downtown stores, I'd love to see more boutiques open. I'd love to see just places a dog store, Like I know that sounds goofy, but like if I could buy my dog's clothes and not have to support the box stores, I would be so excited about that.

Speaker 1: 18:53

By local period. Yeah, yeah, so do you remember beaches?

Speaker 2: 18:58

1000%. Yeah, the birthday castle every year.

Speaker 1: 19:01

Okay, right, right Okay. Yeah, we need a beaches back, so can you, can you share, even in your current role or maybe with the chamber I know you're so involved over the years Can you share a memorable experience that you've had that sticks out to you?

Speaker 2: 19:15

There's a lot of them. I have been to so many businesses and I have had the opportunity to sit down with most of their owners. There have been times where I have been so moved by their story why they opened their store, or I have seen them solve a need in our community that we didn't even know was. I didn't even know was a need. Just recently, when the downtown deli opened with Kathy Hillard, I was sitting with Ed De La Paz at the first table in there and we just popped in to have lunch Like we saw each other and said, hey, let's go grab lunch, and him and I were talking a million miles an hour like Ed and I do. We were sharing things about meltdown and the Earl and Grand. You know what's happening on Main Street. We have trick or treat coming up Like all of these things were kind of happening and we were talking about all of them, just rapid fire, sharing information.

Speaker 2: 20:07

And the couple sitting next to us neither one of us recognized but as other people, as other people walked in. Every single person stopped at our table and started talking to us about whatever the project was they were working on. We saw Dr Jettmore poppin. We saw Kathy Hillard. We saw Doug Macias. There were, I mean, just everyone, that is anybody like that small town feeling. You always see everybody. But everyone stopped by and was talking about something they were excited about.

Speaker 2: 20:34

And as that couple sitting next to us got up to leave, they stopped at our table and they said what do you two do for a living? And we both kind of looked at each other and we're like I was like I run a nonprofit and it goes, I am a photographer. And they said, oh, you two know a lot about this community. And then I kind of chuckled and we're like, well, we just we both volunteer a lot of our time. And they said we learned a lot and we're bright. We were just driving through and we saw the deli and we just popped in. This town has a lot going on. And I said, yeah, you should come back. You know we always have a festival, we always have some kind of activity going on. There's something to do every weekend.

Speaker 2: 21:10

And they said how big is this community? And we told them how big and they were like, wow, I mean they were shocked that Richmond had that many things happening and they just happened over here. They popped, they searched deli on there they were on 70, driving to Pennsylvania, and popped into downtown deli and loved it and heard about all these great things that were happening, and I think that was it kind of left like a warm spot in my heart, because oftentimes and I think you've experienced this too we as a community can get really down on ourselves and we don't feel like we're doing enough. And those of us who are the advocates in the community feel like, oh my gosh, are we ever going to move the needle? And here we saw somebody say what, like how are you managing all this? This community is not that big and you're doing all of these things and you're doing them really well.

Speaker 1: 22:01

That's going to segue into a question I was going to say for later, but you walked into this tough. So if you can give our community a letter, grade A through F, okay, not a number, I'll make the mistake I did. Okay, a through F. What grade would you give our community, and why?

Speaker 2: 22:19

That's a tough one, because I want to say A plus, but then you don't have a lot of room for growth. But we're not an F, we're not an FDC, we're definitely like a B plus right now. But ask me in five years or ask me in six months. I bet I say we're an A, that's what I'm saying, yeah.

Speaker 2: 22:36

We. There's room for growth, there's a lot of room for growth and but what is great about this place is that we let people grow. And what I talked about at the very beginning this town let me fall in my face and but they picked me up and they got me back and then we put people in positions where they can make a change and we put the right people and we support them. I think over the last two years we've had like 15 new executive directors move up and they're most of them are young professionals and I you know Alicia Painter at Boys and Girls Club, myself Ty Muldoon, I mean we Keon Jackson at the housing authority lots of new faces running things and there are lots of support for us in those roles and we're able to call somebody and say, hey, I have a problem, I need to fix it, and people gather around us and do it.

Speaker 1: 23:32

If you had one person that you could collaborate with, who would it be and why?

Speaker 2: 23:37

From this community, yeah, or anywhere.

Speaker 1: 23:40

This community.

Speaker 2: 23:42

Oh, I would want to find somebody new with a big idea. I don't know who that is. I would want to find somebody who is really passionate but doesn't know what to do. Hasn't with the flame yet. Right their, their flames not burning yet. We do have to be careful in that growth phase that we don't burn people out, and so something that I'm really cautious about is, when we find a new person and I think many people will tell you this we put them on everything because we appreciate their energy. I want to find the person who hasn't found their place yet and give them the resources to get whatever they're passionate about done. I do want to start working more with Carl Reinhart, I think, Carl is doing.

Speaker 2: 24:27

Carl is doing fantastic work, and that man has the heart of an angel Like. He just wants to make things better, and so I want to support him in whatever way I can.

Speaker 1: 24:37

It's a great guy. Great guy. What would you say to someone out there? So you said you'd like to see some new energy out there. What would you say to someone out there that is there? They're sitting back thinking, man, I just want to jump right in and volunteer and help out. I just don't know where to start. I don't know where to go or who to talk to. What would you say to that person out there?

Speaker 2: 24:55

Call me, call you. I just tell somebody what you're passionate about. I had someone recently. They said I'm really passionate about people with disabilities. I want to support them somehow. And it was easy as calling abilities and saying here's this person. It's easy as saying have you checked out these opportunities? And they were able to find a connection. They didn't even know abilities existed. They just went in and grabbed a cup of coffee and then they fell in love with the place.

Speaker 2: 25:26

So make, if you are sitting at your home or if you're in bed watching TikTok and you see this and you're like that's me. That's what I want to do. I want to make a difference, but I just don't know where to start. Reach out, just ask, and that's the hardest thing to do is ask for help, right, but we will connect you, we will get you in. There's a lot of young professionals in this community that they've never been told they're a leader or that they have leadership ability, and just giving them the opportunity to lead something or to even be a part of a conversation yeah, we have to give experiences to people who never have experiences.

Speaker 1: 26:03

That for me starting out my career, that was one of the most discouraging things. Like we always had this in my family, we worked hard, worked your way up and that was kind of like the strategy there, but just getting that when. When is my time coming? When am I going to get this experience that's own? So yeah, so I can share my ideas. So yeah, that's a challenge.

Speaker 2: 26:21

I think that's something I'm really proud of is that I too, my grandparents were. It was not a handout family. You did not.

Speaker 2: 26:28

I remember I had to come home with like A's on my report card. If I wanted a new jacket, like you, had to work for it. And we had a rule growing up in my family If you don't have a job, you better be volunteering. And so I, in the summertime, I worked three days a week because that's all I could put in my schedule, because I had banned a student council and all the other things I was doing. And my parents said three days of work is fine, but you need to be giving back too. And so that was kind of instilled into me. And but that was.

Speaker 2: 26:59

I was 14, 15, 16 years old and there are people who their parents didn't have those connections, who couldn't connect those dots to them, and so now I see it as my responsibility to help people realize that they can make a change and they can make a difference, and inviting people to the table. Come with me to this meeting, come, and it's great, because then not another thing is being added to my plate which helps me focus on what I really love, but I'm also connecting people to things that they love and helping them make connections, which then helps them grow their roots here.

Speaker 1: 27:31

Is a Roxy. Is there anyone on your staff, your team, out there? Your path, your, your road to where you are now that you want to give a shout out to today?

Speaker 2: 27:41

There's quite a few. The first person I have to say and she's no longer with us is Chris LaPresti. If you ever had met Chris, she was the. When I met her, she was at communities and schools as the site coordinator at the high school and she's the one who got the internship for me to come back. Chris taught me what it meant to be a servant leader and she you know when you're a feisty teenager and you don't want to listen to your parents. Chris made me listen and she was tough but she loved hard and there are days where I'm like I'm not doing her justice, like we got to get up and get to work. So that's the first person. I've actually dedicated research that I've done in my master's program to her and the lessons that she's taught me or taught me at the time, and that's a pretty big one for me In my current role.

Speaker 2: 28:40

Dr Dave Jepmore has been a huge mentor to me. I never imagined that him and I would have anything in common. He is fantastic and brilliant and someone who, when he sees a problem, he doesn't just like talk about it. He's going to find the solution and he's going to bring people along to find the solution. Ginger Gray has been fantastic. She has taught me so much about the visual aspects of R&R like what goes with the colors and the things like that, but also just how to be present in your community and how to be a woman leader and use your voice to make change. And you don't have to be the loudest person at the table, but you have to be the most well thought out. And so she has taught me grace and community. I just watch her in all because of how she carries herself in the community, and that's really important. There have been other great mentors as well Mary Jo Clark, alison Zidle Just a lot of really strong women that have paved the way for me.

Speaker 1: 29:46

Yeah, I got one more question for Roxy. But just real quick, just take a minute to remember to hit that like and subscribe button for us and share our content. Roxy, you mentioned some wonderful names there that have supported you and people that are mentors, people that provide you balance. So I know you don't do anything by yourself, but I know you've probably got some projects coming up that you've probably worked very hard on. What do you got going on coming up here in the next month or so that you're working on?

Speaker 2: 30:12

Yeah, there's quite a few things. I am one. R&r is finishing up our project on 23rd Street. That's a big project that we're ready to debut to the community and we'll be announcing our next project.

Speaker 2: 30:25

We will be moving into the historic Star Neighborhood, so that's a big thing. Professionally, on the personal side, I have started a fund called the Dear Family Fund that raises money for women that are dealing with health care issues. That fund specifically helps women with breast cancer in our community. If they can't get to chemo, we provide transportation. If they don't have childcare, can we provide vouchers, things like that. So there's going to be some new projects coming out in 2024 from that that I'm very excited about.

Speaker 2: 31:03

It's something that, because I lost my mom to breast cancer, I saw the struggle and I saw she didn't have to think about am I going to be able to pay my light bill this month? She didn't have to worry about that. But then we're sitting in the room where everyone's getting chemo and there's a woman who's struggling because she can't get childcare. My mom was like we need to solve this, we need to fix this. So that's me carrying out her legacy. There's going to be some big things coming from that organization this year, so I'm really excited about that. Also, just working with a lot of nonprofits in the community to figure out their strengths and their weaknesses and how we can support them. We have the Meltdown Festival coming up, which is one of my favorites, and some new things with that this year. We're going to see Melty all around town here soon, so maybe he'll come on the podcast.

Speaker 1: 31:51

Oh, there you go, roxie. You've got a lot of stuff going on and it's been a pleasure having you here. I look forward to continuing to see your growth and your role and staying in touch with you, so I really appreciate you being here today.

Speaker 2: 32:03

Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1: 32:04

It's been awesome. Just remember to like that like and subscribe button for more local content. Thank you and see you in the next episode.