- This month on The SPARK, our theme is "Creating Movement".

We'll learn more about a private, independent, and faith-based school for children and adults with disabilities with a sweet empowerment program, a new podcast from a well-known Memphian inspiring listeners to help create a movement locally and nationally, and a company offering practical solutions for those navigating a residential transition.

We'll also share a special moment from our Spark Awards 2022.

- From our very beginnings in 1954, Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance 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 of the good.

Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance is honored to be a 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 Meritan.

- 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 a private, independent, faith-based school for children and adults with disabilities with a sweet empowerment program.

And we'll talk all about that, but we're honored to be with Jo Gilbert, Executive Director of Madonna Learning Center.

And let's start, give us some of the basics, the background for Madonna Learning Center.

- Thank you Jeremy.

So Madonna Learning Center started in 1969 by a man's dream who wanted more for his son than what was offered, Bob Winfield.

And he reached out and Sister Mary Mark came and started the school with two of her sister friends.

And the school existed in the Berclair area until '96 when we moved to Germantown.

And then about 10, 8 years ago, we did a complete renovation and expansion.

And now we have a beautiful facility.

We have grown from 24 students in the first class to now 97 students.

We continue to serve students with down syndrome, autism, rare genetic disorders, cerebral palsy.

And we also have traumatic brain injury.

So we start at age four and we go to now over 40 years of age.

We offer all the arts, we have a chapel service, we have all the academics, and then we have a wonderful student garden so our students are learning how to grow, and then they use that in some of the meals that they prepare that I'll tell you about in the adult program.

The school is all geared around our children's needs.

So each child has an individualized plan and we start where they are at the beginning of the school year and we move them forward with that plan.

And we structure everything that we do.

We give them the confidence, they're the ones standing up and doing the leadership of the school.

They're giving the presentations, they are running the different office jobs, and they just absolutely love that.

- Go ahead and dive in deeper on your adult program.

- They graduate about 18, nineteen years of age and they go into what we have an adult program, and in our adult program we have life-centered education where they're doing job exploration, they're doing shopping, meal planning, they're making their lunches every single day, they're learning small meal preparation, and they are going through the beginning stages of job interviews.

And so we bring in the community to help with that process.

And then once they go through that two-year curriculum, they go into work-based learning where they work side by side with job coaches.

And they actually are in the community working side by side at various different places.

So they get experience on their resume working, and what they thought they might like, they find out that they don't like once they get in there and get that experience.

And then we also go through a mock interview and they get to videotape themselves and then decide what did I do wrong, what do I need to improve on?

But from the very beginning, we work even in our youngest age group all the way through on shaking hands and giving great eye contact and appropriate behavior and things that we would need to be included in the community.

And so that's our biggest focus.

Now we also have an adult program.

So that program is a four-year program, the LCE and work-based learning.

And then they graduate from that program and we have something, and it's now tagged the Monarch Venture Program, which they are MVPs, which we love that.

And that is our production group.

That is the group that is actually going to Bluff City Toffee, which that is a business that we recently bought.

And then they also do production of art and of Monarch meals and dips, which they sell those.

- Give us a little bit more detail on Bluff City Toffee.

- Well sure.

In November, we kept looking for what more can we do?

Our kids were making the meals, they were making the dips, but we thought there's gotta be something more that we can do that's in the community.

And so this business became available for us to purchase, and Stephanie Upshaw, who owned the business before, had a great clientele of businesses that were wanting to send out corporate gifts.

So we jumped into that and it was immediately all hands on deck.

Everybody got on board to find out more about running this business and how to make the toffee because we didn't know how to even make the toffee.

And then the kids just really have had a blast working it.

They just vie to be the one to get over there to the toffee shop and work.

They go to the retail shops and they drop off the toffee, they check in, do they need more toffee?

They go to the pop-up markets and they are the ones that ring people up with their credit cards.

They know how to run all of it.

So it's been a great experience and we're hoping to grow it and get in a bigger space if we can.

- Talk about the growth, the personal and professional growth for the students at Madonna Learning Center.

- Oh, I'd love to.

So when they come into us at such a very little age, we immediately start with that this is our expectation and you give us that and we will grow with you.

And not everybody is the same.

I can't tell you every student that comes into our program has all these skills.

We work on where those skills are and try to progress them through.

Oftentimes we get parents that say, "Oh my goodness, "my child has learned so much just in one week being there, "their confidence is so much higher, they're with friends that they really have fun with."

Oftentimes our parents are saying, "This is the first time my child's ever been invited to a birthday party," or ever had a birthday party where friends could come and do sleepovers or just a basic little birthday party or a swim party.

And it breaks your heart when they're 15 and they've never been to a birthday party before.

But this is one of the things that Madonna does give our families is this sense of joy that their children are feeling when they're here and that they are valued for who they are.

And then just being able to be with their friends and boast about the things that they're accomplishing, which may not be their typical peers or what they're accomplishing.

And so sometimes they really need a friend here that says "Yay, you were able to do this."

What we might think is very small, but to them it's magnified.

And we just give them that confidence each year as they are here on something different that they're able to do.

All the things that we try to do here is to give them the encouragement and the skills so they can go out and be as independent in the community without somebody holding their hand and having to stand by their side.

So as they progress through our classes and they get to the adult program are plans that they are able to be less supervised, maybe less hands-on help.

- We'll wrap up with where we can go to learn more about Bluff City Toffee and Madonna Learning Center.

- Well, you can go to our website.

We love volunteers, so there's lots of volunteer opportunities and lots of ways to give.

So go to our website at www.madonna-learning.org and you can find all the information on there.

Or just give us a call on the phone.

We'd love to talk to you and give you a tour.

We love to tour the school.

- Well Jo, thank you for all you and your amazing team do.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Thank you very much.

We love being here.

[upbeat music] - He is Memphian, he's a change maker, he's the founder of Classic American Hardwoods, the author of the bestseller "Against the Grain", subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary Undefeated, and now he's a podcast host with An Army of Normal Folks.

We're here with our good friend, Bill Courtney, and let's dive in.

How do you conceptualize all of these amazing storylines and how I just introduced you, but give us a little bit, when you talk about you being a Memphian and a change maker, give us a little background on what led you to launch this podcast.

- I did an interview about a year ago, and the producer of the podcast is Iron Light Labs out of Chicago.

The distributor is iHeartRadio.

But I did an interview and I said in the interview there's neighborhoods all over big cities in our country, Memphis and every other city where as you drive by, it's where you don't want your car to break down.

And as you pass by that area, you sigh of relief.

But as you look over the edge of the viaduct or down the street, you think to yourself, "You know, somebody ought to do something about that one day."

I suggest we kick that rear view mirror about 15 degrees to the left and maybe look at ourselves and say "Maybe I could do something about that one day."

And I think the government has proven woefully inadequate.

We have decades-long problems that are generational now.

I think fancy people talking big words on our national media and our social media isn't fixing anything.

Rather, I just think it's gonna take an army of normal folks, just normal people like you and me seeing areas of need in our corners of the world an d filling those areas of need with our passion and our abilities.

I said it on an interview and the guy called me back about a year later and said, "I've never forgot about your answer.

"I think we should start a podcast and maybe a movement centered around that idea of an army of normal folks."

And I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Okay, we'll try."

And so here we are.

- Talk about the process of the podcast, what you hope to accomplish with the podcast.

- The whole idea is we find stories, well, we, the producers from Chicago find all these stories of just average, normal folks that you're never gonna hear about in the national news media that have done extraordinary things.

And every week we tell these stories and the idea is for them obviously to be entertaining, redemptive, inspirational.

But as we grow these stories and we grow a listenership, we create this army of normal folks gathering around the idea of us, regardless of how we look, how we vote, how we worship, just celebrating our common humanity, doing something good for our common man.

And each of our guests share their personal information.

So if you hear an episode about a certain thing that you think, "Hey, I could do that," well you have a template of how it's done in the podcast itself and you can reach out to that very person who is offering their help to say, "If you want to do what I've done in your neighborhood, call me."

- How have you been inspired already by some of the guests that you've interviewed?

- We do not have enough time, but I mean, John Ponder was a guy who spent 24 years in jail who now has the most successful reentry program in the United States for returning citizens, returning felons in Las Vegas.

A guy named Arshay Cooper.

He was on the first all-black rowing team in the United States and now has started 300 black rowing teams across the country.

They are all kinds of people from all walks of life who vote differently, worship differently, and think differently, but they're all thread by this common bound of, I have reached out to help those less fortunate in my communities.

And I think in this world of division we're dealing with, this is a thing that despite all of these compartments and differences we're being put into, we can all celebrate this one thing together and find common ground.

- You've spoken at our cityCURRENT Signature Speaker Series events and you've always talked about being a turkey person and that lesson, and it stuck with me ever since you've said it because I think it really goes to a point when you talk about serving in the community, being committed.

And so give us a little bit of an illustration around what a turkey person is, but why that's so important to community service.

- A very short version is a turkey person is somebody who shows up on Thanksgiving or Christmas and gives less advantaged people gifts and hams and turkeys and they take them because they don't have any, but then you leave and they never see you again.

And it makes them wonder if you really care about them or you're doing that to make yourself feel good or to look good in front of your contemporaries and your section of society.

It's not, listen, if you serve in a soup kitchen or give away turkeys on Thanksgiving, it's a beautiful thing.

It's not that that's a bad thing, it's what is your motive and are you going to be consistent?

And if we're ever going to fix the things that ail us, we have to be motivated not by our own selfish interest, but by the simple edification of another human being who's less fortunate.

And we gotta be consistent, because when you dive into these areas, you're gonna get hit in the nose, you're gonna have your feelings hurt, but you can't let that let you turn home.

You just gotta keep being consistent and going back and building relationships and doing it for the right reasons.

And when that happens, lives can change.

- So the last question is the easy one.

Where do we go to learn more, to listen and follow An Army of Normal Folks?

- Go to normalfolks.us, subscribe, download it into your library and click it and listen, they're in 30 to 45 minute increments.

There's stuff you can listen to when you're on the treadmill or your drive to work.

Go to coachbillcourtney.com, find out more about it.

You know, like us, share us on social, and help us get the word out.

We have amazingly been as high as number 10 in the country on the Apple Podcast chart, which is ridiculous being only two and a half months.

And it's not about me, it's about the amazing stories and the people.

Help us grow it because the more we grow it, the more people, the more listeners, the more active in it.

But most importantly, maybe the more impact we can have.

- Well Coach Bill Courtney, you're a change maker indeed.

Love and appreciate everything you're doing.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Thank you as always my friend.

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

The 2022 Education Educator Award went to Dr. Nia Zalamea.

[soft music] - My name is Nia Zalamea.

I am a General Surgeon and Assistant Professor here at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

I have the honor and privilege of working here in the Department of Surgery as the Director of the Global Surgery Institute and in the Office of Student Affairs at the College of Medicine as an Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.

At the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, I have the opportunity to work with learners, and this has been an incredible gift to me, both personally and professionally.

We always say that our students keep us on our toes, but they are absolutely not only our future, but our presence.

That is one of my favorite parts of my job is to work with learners who are either interested in international work, in surgery, or just in medicine in general.

I am the proud daughter of a retired nurse anesthetist and a retired RN, my mom and dad who immigrated here in Memphis in the early '70s when there was yet another nursing shortage.

We understood very clearly and very early on what we had and how rich really we were in resources compared to our brothers and sisters overseas.

That interest translated into the founding of an organization called Memphis Mission of Mercy, which we thought initially was going to be a one-time event where we provided free surgery to 25 people in a small town in rural Philippines.

Almost 24 years later, we continue to deliver care on an annual or biannual basis.

I had an opportunity to bring my personal passion and professional passion in working with the underserved in surgery together with my job and first shared those experiences with our learners, students, and residents so that they can participate in our work overseas.

Through that process, as we've grown, we've become something called the Global Surgery Institute, and it's a group of people who are interested and work with the underserved regardless of whether they are found here in Memphis versus overseas in a different part of the world with a different language.

When we began this work, my dad very clearly told me, he said, "If we help one person, our goal is accomplished."

The reality is that every person matters, whether they're here in Memphis, whether they're in the Philippines, whether they're in Zambia, whether they're in Ukraine, and that's how we view it.

So if we have an opportunity to make a difference in one person's life, then it's worth it and we do it.

And that's the blessing and the opportunity that we're faced with every time we do this work.

[gentle music] - They're a company offering practical solutions for those going through a residential transition.

We're here with the Founder and Relocation Specialist with Annestasis, our good friend Stacey Saed.

Stacey, let's start out, what does Annestasis mean?

- Hey Jeremy, I'm so glad to be with you guys.

And what a great question because it's a bizarre word.

It's a Greek word actually that means to be reborn or resurrection, and Stacey is a nickname for it.

So that's why I chose the name.

- So when you talk about what you do, relocation specialist, but you really help transform spaces and make it easy for individuals going through a move.

So talk about what you do.

- Absolutely.

What we try to do is we consider ourselves relocation specialists.

So we try to be there in all the ways, some of the ways, the needed ways for people who are transitioning from one space to the next.

The reason we like to use the word annestasis is because it truly is a rebirth, although the process not so easy and not so enjoyable.

So we try to create a peaceful atmosphere by helping people declutter, helping people make choices about what they're taking to the new space, especially when downsizing, we can pack them up, absolutely, our magic happens when we unpack and we help people get situated and settled into their new home.

So I tell people we like to decorate, but we're really about replication.

We're trying to make their new home look as comfortable and as well appointed as the home they came from and familiar.

- Talk about the experience and some of the testimonials, especially for those who are transitioning and having to make tough decisions on what to keep and what not to keep, sentimental value.

Talk about some of those kind of testimonials that you're working through with your clients.

- Absolutely.

What's coming to mind for me, Jeremy, is a couple that is in a three-part process to move.

So they're coming from a very large space, I can't remember the square footage, but just imagine four or five bedrooms, a very well-appointed, beautiful space and they're moving into what would be considered probably half, maybe a third of the size.

And it's so fantastic when the choices are between good and bad, but they're not, they're between fantastic and fantastic and you're trying to figure out what is the best thing to do.

So we took that particular client and said, "Let's divide this up into a three-part process.

The first part is declutter."

So we went throughout the entire home as a team with the couple, they sat in chairs, and one item at a time, one piece of art at a time, one piece of clothing at a time.

And we helped them make decisions of what it was they liked and didn't like.

And then at the end of that process, we took everything we needed to to charity, they left everything that's gonna either be auctioned or estate saled.

And we just took a pause right there.

And that was one that we were able to help very specifically.

Sometimes it happens all at once.

We're deciding as we pack, we are getting there, and then we're unpacking.

But for that particular situation and everyone is different, we chose to make it a three specific part process.

So the next leg of the journey will be to pack and it involves the moving.

- And carry that into the collaborative approach because you work with a lot of other businesses and specialists, and so talk about your approach.

- Well absolutely.

What I try to be is that one point of contact or that one-stop shop, but obviously we don't do everything.

So it's very important that who we collaborate with is a super quality company.

We collaborate with moving te ams that can handle sometimes an interstate move, sometimes around the block, but is very high quality, very high service.

And we've also got a new collaboration, Jeremy, going on to take the project even further to a concierge level.

So we are partnering with Future Lifestyle Management, who is a concierge company to fill every need that they have once they get into their new space, what I wanna be as a resource for that.

So junk removal is a big thing.

Connecting them with the right estate sale people, sometimes real estate people.

It is a multi-tiered process on anyone's move, whether it's a one bedroom apartment or whether it's a very large home.

It takes a lot of vendors to get everything together.

And what I try to do is be one point of contact so they don't have to search on who to talk to about this or that.

And it takes the stress level down, I hope a little bit by doing that.

- I know it's hard to narrow it down into one or two tips, but give us the first couple that pop into your head, for those going through a move, what are some recommendations?

- The first thing Jeremy and I mentioned at someone today is take it slowly.

If you try to get it all done in a month, it's exhausting work.

So what I recommend to people is if you know it's coming around the bend, five months from now, six months from now, take a day or two each week, set an appointment just like going to the doctor, whatever, ten to twelve, ten to one, invite a friend over and do it just for that block of time and then cut it off.

I also recommend a day of rest in between that because the decision-making process is so arduous, people underestimate and they think they should do the whole house at once.

That's probably one of my key recommendations.

Take it slowly, take it one thing at a time, and also invite people in on the process.

So whether you hire us professionally and we're standing next to you or whether you've just got a good girlfriend, guyfriend, that can just sit and offer you some perspective about it.

The cherry picking process is fun because really it is all about picking what is it that I love the best.

But unfortunately in the background are your mother's voices, your grandmother's voices, the I shoulds, the I gottas, all those voices start to come into the room when you're thinking about what to keep.

But it's really about what is it that brings you joy, and that's a lot of fun.

- Well where do we go to learn more and connect in with Annestasis?

- Jeremy, I'm so glad you asked.

We are online at annestasis.com and we are on almost all of the social media channels.

So any anywhere you can log in, we're there.

- Well Stacey, thank you for all you do.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- My pleasure.

Great to see you.

[upbeat music] - It's inspiring when we can see how others are creating movement by using their gifts to better our community.

Madonna Learning Center has an unwavering dedication to education and empowerment.

They're showing us that movements begin with the knowledge and the belief that every individual has the ability to succeed.

And they're creating movement with Bluff City Toffee by empowering adults with special needs through vocational opportunities and real-life job experiences so they can accomplish goals that were once dreams.

Bill Courtney's An Army of Normal Folks Podcast is a testament to the power of collective action, reminding us that change doesn't require superpowers, it starts with everyday people coming together, sharing their stories, and creating ripples that turn into waves.

And Annestasis is creating movement by fostering creativity, collaboration, and compassion to help people transitioning through a move, providing peace of mind while honoring personal style to help them thrive.

Creating movement can create positive change.

It only takes a spark to light a fire that can change the world.

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 and we hope that you'll continue joining with us to create a spark for the Mid-South.

- From our very beginnings in 1954, Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance 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.

Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance is honored to be a presenting sponsor of The SPARK.

[upbeat music] [acoustic guitar chords]