education

public service

Don’t get me wrong…I’m all for supporting small businesses, but it seems everyone these days wants to take a drive down the entrepreneurship parkway. To be honest, I’d much rather support small businesses than the big box retailers. Naturally though, I still have to take my weekly trip to Target. Yes, I’m one of those people. But I digress…

The problem I see with all this hype around owning your business is that it is causing a serious drought in other areas. For example, I have spent the majority of my career, albeit that’s only 10 years, working in government (public health specifically), higher education (medicine) and the non-profit world. Do a simple Google search for articles about the declining number of new physicians and teachers. For those in the medical field, the idea of being in serious debt due to medical school loans is quite daunting and can certainly persuade even the most head strong student to turn the other way. For educators, we all know why there is a decline. Their annual pay versus what they are required to do on a daily basis is often times definitely not fair, especially if you want to work in an urban setting. In government, those in the older generations are retiring at a rapid rate but aren’t being replaced by younger counterparts. Many still in their current roles then become responsible for multiple jobs while only being paid for one.

My point? We still need people to serve in these public service roles. I’m all for wanting to work for yourself and make your schedule, but the number of businesses to actually succeed in what can only be described as a sometime topsy-turvy economy versus those that go belly-up after only a year is quite lopsided. (Whew, yes, that was a super long sentence!) I won’t even get on my soapbox about the number of entrepreneurs who start businesses without a comprehensive marketing plan.

We need to be encouraging the next generation to pursue careers as bankers, doctors, lawyers, social workers, teachers and the list could go on.

Now, this blog isn’t meant to bash those who have been successful with their businesses. I know PLENTY. From chefs to event planners to make-up artists to mobile app designers to publicists to photographers and graphic artists. If you plan properly and research your business idea, you very well can make it quite profitable and thus giving you a much more flexible lifestyle.

The reality is you’re not going to get rich working in public service (unless of course you become a government doctor or a lawyer!), but the end reward is so much greater. Let’s try and preach this message to the fourth and fifth graders who idolize us and see the great things we are doing. You can still push the entrepreneurship message while also encouraging these young people to think about a career in public service.

Of course, this is only my humble opinion and just a few thoughts “From My Hart.”

His name was James Sawyers. He was born January 20, 1943. He was my dad.

No, technically he was not my biological father (that’s another story in and of itself….stay tuned to a later blog), but he stepped into the role with basically zero hesitation when he married my mother. I remember when he and mom would tell me the story of the day I first met him. Evidently I hid underneath the table which most two year olds do, right?!?! I mean I didn’t even know this guy!

Fast forwarding to my adolescent years, I played pretty much every sport imaginable, and my dad was essentially my personal coach. From basketball to soccer, he was always there to support me, cheer for me and yell at the opposing teams! LOL! No matter how busy he was, he always managed to be there. He knew it meant the world to me even though I would be embarrassed and mad when he cussed everyone out because the referees would call a foul on me. The nerve of them….Ha!

High school was definitely a difficult time. I was a teenager. Enough said. But no matter how strained our relationship had become, he beamed with pride when I graduated from North Central High School. Go Panthers!

Then came the time for me to leave for college and thus began the most tumultuous yet most memorable years.

I left college after only one semester. To make a long story short, I had a boyfriend back home and well you know how that story ended. I will never forget dad taking me aside to remind me just how important my college education is and even though I was not in school I still had to work a 40 hour a week job. When I realized just how much I did NOT like living back in my parents’ house at the age of 19, I remembered our talk and very quickly applied to get back into my beloved university. That was the best decision I have EVER made.

Because of my dad and the love of his career, I graduated in 2004 from Alabama A&M University with my B.A. in Communications. Because of my dad, I decided to dive into the world of public relations.

He communicated while he was in the U.S. Navy. He communicated with the media and public while working for multiple politicians. He communicated with at-risk youth as both an educator and community volunteer. He communicated for a living. Yet, his communication went silent on the morning of August 22, 2006.

2006 was by far the WORST year our family has ever experienced (more on that in a later blog). I remember it like it was just yesterday. On August 21st, dad called me and my brothers (all separately) just to tell us how much he loved us. He randomly made those phone calls so it really didn’t surprise any of us. Little did I know that would be the last time I would ever talk to him.

Dad loved me like his own. He held my hand and cried with me during my darkest hours. He was one of my biggest cheerleaders.

With all that being said, today I want to publicly scream to the heavens HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!! You are so greatly missed.

As always…..these have been just a few thoughts “From My Hart.”

From My Hart

Public Service Workers are ROCKSTARS!

Gone but Not Forgotten–Happy Birthday Dad!