Clermont City Council runner Ebo Entsuah shares his journey in working on Capitol Hill and his passion for making a difference in his local community. Council runner Entsuah knows that his town doesn’t need a cookie cutter role model, but rather one who is accessible and transparent.
Clermont City Council runner Ebo Entsuah shares his journey in working on Capitol Hill and his passion for making a difference in his local community. Council runner Entsuah knows that his town doesn’t need a cookie cutter role model, but rather one who is accessible and transparent.
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Speaker 2:welcome to this edition of a survivor's journey with rocky desteffano. The premise of the show is that everyone is leading something or someone, whether your parent leading family, a coach, leading a team or a team member leading a few. How about even being a CEO of an organization? We all are on the path of being a leader. Thus the program is titled a survivor's journey. Hey Larry, thanks so much for having us and for being with us here today and I hope that everyone listening will be able to walk this journey of leadership with us. Well, it's exciting because we're moving forward. We're creating these servers moments which come out on a Tuesday, which is coming out that yesterday. APPS. Yeah. And so you get a quick little sound bite of things that are help leaders. Yeah. And these are really meant for you to hear from different voices. You know, occasionally I'll, I'll do, um, but it'll also be Larry and other people within the community and it's just a quick starter for a Tuesday morning. Um, and we really want you to kind of get a, b, 12 shot, a little bit of a shot of energy on how to be a good leader. And so as you've explained, a service journey is a deep dive and I believe we have a very deep dive today because you have a guest here in the studio. Yes, we want to welcome Ebo and Sua who is a local citizen. Uh, just a great story, uh, coming from Ghana in Africa and immigrating to a Toronto and then America and coming up and living in our fine little city here now he's also running for a local city office.
Speaker 3:And thank you rocky. Thank you guys for having me out here. I'm super excited to do this. Don't really
Speaker 2:let me tell you, I'm pretty excited too because I see you check into chick filet sometimes. And so I know you're a fan and I'm at[inaudible]. Thank you. My daughter's college education. Thanks you.
Speaker 3:No problem. Those waffle visor grade, that's probably why. But um, but yeah, no, thank you guys so much for having me here. I'm a little bit about myself. I loved living in Claremont since 2002 and previously before that my family immigrated from Ghana, west Africa to Toronto and that's actually where I was born. Um, so, you know, they moved there and around 1992, 93 around there and um, I was born about a year later. So, um, my mom was a doctor doing her residency and my dad was doing his masters as well, so later on they kind of tried to see exactly what was going on and what would work best for them. Um, education and occupation wise. And they finally got a job. They both got jobs in Claremont, so that's kind of when we made the decision to drive down. Do they know where Claremont was it any. I know they had no idea. They were like central Orlando somewhere. It'll be great. And I had no idea where we live. Claremont had no idea what the Claremont was either Toronto to Claremont. So that's a big swing. Yup. I'd tell you, it was about a five day drive and I remember being miserable just about the whole way now. How were you? So I was about, at that time I was about nine, nine or so. So it was. So you have clear memories from Toronto? Yeah. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, and it's been a while since I've been back and I plan to go back eventually just to visit, but I miss it everyone every now and then. I remember he used the snow all the time. And now coming back to Florida, you're like, man this is todd. I was just trying to get my daughters to go to Toronto with me. So maybe you can come and be our tour guide. Yeah, no, definitely. Definitely man. It's, it's an awesome place. Definitely one of the premier places to visit in Canada. Um, but yeah, so, you know, we were here, moved here in 2002. Um, grew up, went to Cypress Ridge elementary for a bit that mineola elementary, then Claremont middle, and then East Ridge high school and then after that kind of graduated and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the next step, whether it was football, academics, et cetera. And it was actually funny because I was touring schools in Florida trying to figure out where I want them to go. And my oldest sister went to USF and my middle sister went to USF, so of course I grew up a gator and I was like, you know, I'm going to go to us. It's going to be great. I'm going to be amazing. Famous last words, right. Yeah. And I went ahead and tour it and I was like, I'm not a fan of this. I don't know if I could do it here. So you know, we're going through schools, Fiu, Fau, USF, um, you know, and eventually, you know, my dad was like, hey, why don't you check out Fsu? And I was like, I dunno about that seminars and it's not for me. And he's like, let's just go check it out. And I was like, all right, got to the campus and immediately fell in love, you knew. Exactly. You know, just from, you know, whether it was the brick buildings as the city, the culture, I was like, this is the place I wanted to be. August. I've got to try that. Yeah. Did you do football in high school? Yes. Yes I did. So, um, played under but O'hara great coach even better man. He taught me so many, so many things about life and leadership in the way the lead so played and played in high school and then once I kind of got to Fsu as on an academic scholarship and football was kind of in the back of my head for a bit. But just after being there, you know, talking to coaches, players that I knew from central Florida, you know, they're like, hey, you know, you really want to, you should try out. And I was like, you know what? Sure, why not? So that's when I walked on and made the football team and I played fullback and you know, did it for a couple of years. It was great. We won a championship, you know, went undefeated, you know, I, I know you guys all know, you know, 2013 against Auburn that last set grade and it was one of the best games I've ever watched. It was even better. Being there on that sideline is better because of the outcome. Yeah. Yeah, cause that halftime, it was looking a little rough, but, you know, we did an excellent job and everybody kind of just banded together and one of the things I learned was just, you know, it's a family, you know, and obviously it's not for everybody just because the high school level to the college level, there's a lot of changes whether it's in your regimen, whether it's in the way you practiced the way you play. So that's why I can understand a lot of people who go to college and play and then kind of either stop or they're like, this is what I want to do for sure. Because it definitely goes from a hobby to a job. Um, and it's not for everybody. So yeah.
Speaker 4:I have to ask you a question because I'm intrigued by this and I think it probably has something to do with your background. And we've shared personally, I'm a first generation American. My parents immigrated from Italy, so I understand growing up in that house with my parents who were really driven and were they helped me be driven too, for sure. So you had to earn your way onto the Florida state team then that could not have been easy. So. So talk about like, I mean how much of a change, because I know you were a great high school player and I'm sure that you had received probably some offers or interests. What was it like to make that jump from high school to college?
Speaker 3:It was definitely different because you know, even in high school I was all county, you know, first team, all county, et Cetera, et cetera. I'm like, all right, this is cool, you know, but then when you start recruiting and you kind of have expectations for yourself, it definitely can get a little discouraging when people are kind of like, I don't think you can go to the d one level. I don't know if you could play up there. You know what I mean? After you know, getting on the team, playing, starting, getting all these awards. That definitely is a discouraging, but at the same time you got to use it as fuel. Um, so I mean for me it was kind of, it was fun because you kind of prove the haters wrong, you know, I had a, I had a lot of people were like, Oh wow, you actually did that. And I was like, yeah, you know, it's a big deal. Yeah, exactly. You know, you did. Um, when you finally get up on there and you know, you have your jersey, you know, your face is on the website, you've got everything, you know, it definitely gives, gives me a little kick. So I mean, it definitely, I'd say it definitely lit a fire under me and it made me want to be better in everything I did. Sure. You know, and I think that kind of, I can attribute that to just the athlete mentality. You know, you'd ask anybody who play sports at a competitive level, you know, competition fuels, fuels you.
Speaker 4:Well yeah, it, it, it's it, you know, and I think it's even different team sports compared to individual sports, but there's something
Speaker 3:that makes you continue to push when it looks pretty bad or it looks like you're not going to let you know because I think, like you said, it becomes a job. It becomes, I'm sure you ever getting up early and staying late and you're studying a full course load in addition to studying a playbook that's probably several hundred pages long and the coaches don't have any editor, I'm sure. No slack for you. They want you to know the play when they call it. That's what I do appreciate over at Fsu too, because the way the coaching staff was, they really didn't care if you were a walk on or if you were a three time letterman scholarship player, you were expected to. No, no, no. It just in case somebody got hurt or somebody fell behind. So I think that definitely pushed us, at least us walk on's, uh, you know, we kind of had a chip on our shoulder. Yeah. And for some of us it definitely helped because I've got a friend right now, he's actually, he earned a mini camp, a tryout. Wow. In the NFL, you know, he was a walk on just like me battled the whole time, found a spot on special teams, got a scholarship in the Ed and you know, he's battling out right now. That's amazing. Yeah man. So, I mean it's, it's a grind, but you know, if you're focused and you know, you've kind of got your priorities in order, it's something that you can definitely take advantage of. So what was your major while you were at Florida state? Yeah, so that's a funny story. Um, like I said before, moms, uh, a family physician and one of my sisters is actually a nurse, so biology and medical, you know, it all runs in the family. So for the longest, even at East Ridge I was doing the CMA program and I was like, you know, I'm going to become a pharmacist, you know, biology is what I love. I got to Fsu and I was like, this is what I'm doing. And then about halfway through I was like, this is not what I'm doing. And then you're like, okay, what am I doing exactly, you know, after, after chemistry kicked my butt multiple times, I was kind of like, okay, let me reevaluate myself, take a step back and see. So for me, I'm, one of the things that I've always loved is international affairs and politics. I'm just seeing how on a social level and on an, on an economic level, how different countries work and how the politics behind it kind of fuel each country and feel the decisions they make. So for me it kind of was pretty easy to segway into the next part and that's why I kind of changed my major to international affairs, sociology and political science as well. So, I mean it was one of those things where this is what I wanted to do. I didn't know exactly in what capacity, but you know, it was most interesting to me and it was one of the things that I got and it came pretty easy to me. So, um, I wasn't sure what exactly I wanted the angle to be, but I knew I wanted to work in it in some capacity. Sure. Right. So now when you came upon graduation, what did. So what was the next step? So for the longest I was pretty dead set, being a foreign service officer and you know, just studying and taking the tests and trying to getting into that. So I was trying to figure out after graduation everybody else was going off to do their jobs and like try to figure out. So um, for the longest I was just trying to decide, um, and eventually started working at a law firm just to, you know, make some money and try to see exactly how everything was going to work out. And after about three months I was like, alright, you know what, I'm going to go to law school. Might not even practice law but just go get my jd. I'm great education, great learning. I mean really. Exactly. You know. So just doing that was the plan, took the Lsat, got into a school, went up to Washington DC in order to, you know, start and eventually right before I send the deposit and I was like, this isn't what I do, what I want to do. Unlike me, you didn't spend and waste a little bit of money because I took a couple of years to pay off some loans. I was like, man, this is, this is a big step. Let me take a step back. When we reevaluate and you know that there's nothing wrong with that. I try to tell a lot of the young kids nowadays who are dead set on doing stuff. It's like, hey, you can take a break. Absolutely. Look step back, look at what you're doing and kind of reevaluate, see if it's what's best for you. So I definitely did that and through doing that and through being in Washington DC, because at the time I was actually on a fellowship at a lobbying firm. So I was doing that for a bit, trying to figure out what exactly I want them to do. What was the next step? And through that lobbying firm, I met a lot of people from capital hill and that's kind of how I segwayed into my next, my next avenue I met, whether it was representatives, whether it was legislative staff, whether it was administrative staff, just kind of trying to get a rapport and seeing how they liked things and how kind of, what their work schedule is like and what they normally did. So for me, after speaking to enough people and trying to get a sense of how everything goes, I thought it was a no brainer to at least try to get on Capitol Hill for a little bit, get some experience, see how the legislative process works at the federal level and see if I can go ahead and, you know, find, find this as a career for the future. So, um, it's funny because even before I was with a congressman, Ron Desantis, I was actually an intern with congressmen our loss and for a bit, and you know, Al Lawson is, he's a great guy. He was the representative of Tallahassee. So, I mean, he already was pretty well known throughout Florida state, whether it was football, whether it was, you know, fam u, so that was kind of a no brainer. Um, you know, I was with him for about a couple months until I met the chief of staff over at, around onto stances office and it was a no brainer, you know, after speaking with him, meeting with the staff and looking at what the congressman's done and um, his pedigree, it was, it was a no brainer for me. So that's Kinda how got to Congressman Ron Desantis is office and eventually worked my way up to as a legislative aid.
Speaker 2:Well, okay, so now I'll talk about a typical day working with Ron, which I mean, is there a typical day? There is not a lot of people. A lot of people will be like, hey, you know, what goes on in Capitol Hill. It's like, it's every day's different, but they're working for us 24 hours a day. Yes, yes. I do think that there's long hours for sure. It definitely is. It definitely is.
Speaker 3:The congressman is, is he's amazing with that. He actually has nights where he's definitely sleeping in his office, you know, he's just got a bed or a bed but a, a couch and a blanket and he's, he'll be there till he has to go workout in the morning before boats or, or whatever's going on in the day. Um, so it, it honestly varies. A lot of the stuff I did was more research based and more constituent based, um, you know, whether it was constituents from the area who had issues with social security or disability or, you know, they may have a question about some of the congressman's policies or anything. I'm definitely dealt a lot with that. And then later on towards the end it was more legislative. Um, so for me, my, my biggest policy issues were transportation infrastructure, um, you know, I was extremely interested in immigration, foreign policy, um, and also space in technology as well. So I did that for, for some time. Um, and then once he announced that he was running for governor, I kind of had to take a look and see what exactly I wanted to do for myself. And like we said before, you know, I've been in Claremont since 2002, this is home and a part of me kind of now that I've seen what was going on at the federal level, I wanted to see more about what goes on at the local level and then kind of the impact it has on the people that you've grown up with, that you know, you've worked with, you've loved with and, and the people that actually have an impact.
Speaker 2:Sure. So how long total did you work at in Capitol Hill?
Speaker 3:So it was about a year, year and a half or so. Yeah, I'm sure it felt some days, like, a lot longer. It did, it definitely did. Um, you know, it definitely felt like five years off my life. But I enjoyed it and I definitely, I could see myself going back maybe in a different capacity, but I definitely couldn't see myself going back to Washington, DC's and amazing place.
Speaker 2:It's maybe my, probably my second favorite city in, in, in America. And you just got a vibe for sure. Uh, if you're a history nut, I mean it's there. Yeah,
Speaker 3:exactly, you know, and, and it's funny because a lot of times when people come to Washington DC, they only go about once in their life, you know, so, so be making sure whenever you go to get the most of your experience, whether it's at the White House, whether it's at the capital building, whether it's any, this myzone eons, it's incredibly important and I try to stress that to all forensic come back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's one of those cities where everybody knows the famous landmarks, but you know, you
Speaker 4:could be just walking down the street and happen upon, you know, an amazing a statue or something. It, it, it's, it's truly amazing that, that just the history of America is found in that city. So, um, so I'm interested in, I, and I'm a big believer in local politics or where real change happens. I know a lot happens in Capitol Hill. I know a lot happens and, and, and there's a lot of great things done, but I do feel like it starts here locally. So. But I also know it's difficult and I've watched many friends be skewered for. They're just, it's a tough road. You got to really have a passion for it. So what draws you to this? I mean, it's a tough, tough road.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah, definitely. For me, it's more so seeing the impact. I mean, even with my parents, they've, they've had a nonprofit for a little bit that does, um, ministry work in Africa and just being able to see how that has affected the people there. It's, it's definitely affected me. Um, you know, my mindset and everything, especially even here in Claremont, um, you know, with everything that goes on these days, you have people struggling. Yeah. People work in, it'd be nice to see them do well, you know, you may not have the same goals everybody, but you still want everybody to succeed and that's kind of why, you know, with local I'm public service has always been something that's hindered my health, my near to my heart. Um, you know, as you all know, my parents immigrated here. I immigrated here and about three years ago, three or so years ago, that's what we finally became naturalized citizens. So, you know, after, after, you know, taking that pledge and having that oath, it kind of, it put a fire in me to want to want to do more, you know, um, the public public services one of the most important and one of them to be most influential or sectors that you can get in touch with. Um, so for me it was kind of like, this is where I've grown and I would love to see it prosper even more and this is why I wanted to come back and actually give back to the community that's given so much to me and my family.
Speaker 4:So talk about what, what position are you running for and uh, when is the, is the actual election? Yeah,
Speaker 3:so I'm actually, I'm running for Claremont City Council seat five and the election is November six. We did have a primary before, but after some technicalities happened, um, it's just me and the incumbent and a that we have a general election in November six. So
Speaker 4:talk about, tell me a little bit about what, what excites you or, or what issues that you're very, very passionate. Yeah,
Speaker 3:so for me it's the, one of the big things is going to sound funny, but it's, it's definitely transportation and infrastructure. How roads, highways, waterways affect the city and kind of build on it. But it's funny though because when a lot of people talk about infrastructure, they only think about roads, highways and, and um, waterways. But actually there are two different types of infrastructure. There's hard and soft. Hard is more of the actual roads, highways, waterways, telecommunications, but soft has more to do with the culture, the, um, the uh, level of, uh, quality of life, you know, and, and things of the sort like that. So being able to actually build on both hard and soft is incredibly important for the city and will, you know, help economic output. Um, and for, for Claremont, we've done a great job and I'm hard and we've, we're starting to work on soft a little bit more with the whole new mantra of choice of champions in wellness way and everything like that. So it's good. But, um, at the same time, you don't want to get too narrow minded on, on various issues and you want to kind of be more inclusive with everybody. So for me, that's one of the big things, um, some of the other things would be public safety, making sure that our, um, our citizens and residents are feeling safe in their own homes because as we know with growth and with more people coming in, there's also going to be an increase of crime, you know, more good people come in, more bad people come in as well. And being able to work with Claremont police department, the firefighters and also our first responders would be an honor. And I'm, I'm definitely, definitely, we're ready to work with them and ready to kind of hit the ground running and making sure that we're firing on all cylinders and the people are, are wanting to actually put back into the community.
Speaker 4:I'm real happy to hear you talk about transportation. I think it's one of those things that it can be overlooked pretty quickly, but if it's done right, it's, it's an amazing, amazing aspect of the city. And I worked with a few nonprofits that try to transition people from maybe homelessness into living a responsible life. And the number one issue is transportation. Yeah. Because when you have a car and you've never struggled without our car, you think, oh, this is easy. Yeah, the roads are great. But then when you actually really realize, wait a minute, if you don't have a vehicle and you can't afford one, how do you get up? I mean, how do you work? I didn't get to school and to the doctors and you know, and all that stuff. So that I know that that's a tough issue. And uh, and I'm excited to hear you, you tackle that. I did want to get a little bit into, because our show is about leadership and we're really big into the idea that everybody is fed differently and everybody needs certain things and they need to be valued and feel valued. And you worked, worked or, or played sports. So. So you've been under a ton of different types of leadership and everything from, you know, I'm sure youth sports to high school to college then you've worked for in the political system, you've worked with attorneys, you've been alive. Well, you've worked with lobbyists, organization, um, talk about when leadership's been done right and when you have felt valued and then maybe sometimes where maybe you didn't feel valued and of course you don't need to use any names, don't, don't worry. Just curious about the process of how people do it right and how people do it wrong.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So, so one of the biggest things for me would be people focused the leadership and that's kind of why I've taken that, that phrase and use it as a slogan in our campaign, you know, when you have a leader who has the time and dedication to actually talk to the people they're leading and, and you know, the people under them and kind of get a sense of how they work and what works best for them and what, you know, what doesn't work for them. It's incredibly important. I mean, a lot of times people try to just be cookie cutter and use everything with everybody, but you can't do that, you know, as, as much as nice as it sounds. It doesn't work for everybody. You know, person a may be responding to a more hands on way while person b doesn't like it when you're a, you know, you're, I'm micromanaging them. So for me a good leader is somebody who was able to actually take into account the way everybody works, listen to them, see what works for them. If it doesn't work, change it up. You know, being able to be adaptable and accessible is incredibly important. And I think especially on the council, you know, it's one of the most important things, not necessarily just if you don't like an idea, just shutting it down and not hearing, listening and listening to them, but more so just being able to listen to everybody if the idea doesn't sound as good as it as you think or need some work. Definitely being able to sit back talking to the person being like, Hey, you know, this is what you want to do. I'm not sure if it's the right way, let's see if we can find a common solution. Try and all of my, all of the leaders that I've had in my life would have been the most impactful on me have been able to do that.
Speaker 4:Right. Well, and, and I think it's one of the things that you really offer, you know, people have asked me why, why I would support you in this race. And the biggest thing is I feel, I feel like you bring, adaptability is probably the proper term. You're able to see, hey, Claremont is not cookie cutter. You know, it's easy to think it is. It's easy to, you know, if you talked to people that have been here 40 years, she got one band, but if you talk to people that are brand new here and um, they have a completely different. And as you said, people like to be led different to get different, you know. So I, I love the perspective you bring that you're willing to listen and not just take, hey, this is what I think. So we're going to do what? Or, you know, the advice of one or two people now, but o'hare, I know that you played under him and you've mentioned that he's somebody who's really impacted you. What about him and his style? Really impressed. You
Speaker 3:did an excellent job in trying to teach us about more than football. Um, you know, whether it was public service, whether it was a community service and know he was always trying to impress on us. Just letting us know, hey look, there's more to football. It's about being a good person. It's about helping the person next to you, you know, if you see your teammate. It's funny because actually during my senior year, junior year we had a, a, we had a mantra kind of end. It had to do with geese, you know, if you know how geese fly in the and how, you know, everybody's kind of following each other. I'm just taking under each other's, uh, Aaron and footsteps. And basically when one geese gets tired, they exactly, they switch. And also the geese behind them, they started to honk. So, you know, by honking they kind of are encouraging the person to hey, you know, keep going, keep going, keep going. And for the longest our mantra was, you know, just honking like geese. So it's funny because, you know, you would hear you just see a bunch of a younger guy just running around just Hong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, um, and it, it pushed us just having, been able to have people behind us and actually encourage us and want us to keep going. It helps, you know, positive reinforcement helps. I know a lot of times, a lot of coaches will praise you when you do really well, but then if you're not, not so much, but, you know, definitely with coach, oh, he was able to kind of instill in us those values and even when we weren't doing so well, he'll be there to hype us up. He'll be there to, um, to help us up and Kinda just keep pushing us, you know. And that's what I really, really appreciate. Did you feel known by Coachella? Did you feel like you weren't just a commodity or a running back to put in and out because you felt like he really knew who you were? Yeah, no, definitely. I mean he took the time, I'd say with the, I'd say about 99 percent of it. He took the time to actually get down and get to know us. He knew our parents, um, you know, he knew our issues and sometimes even he even gave us rides to games, you know, so I mean it's the little things like that and obviously you can't do it with everybody because he says because some teams are just so large, but you know, for the most part he was able to actually be more than just a coach to us, you know, and him and the whole coaching staff over at each ridge, they did an excellent job with that. You know, coaches was there, coaching was there, you know, labeled, but they were more than that. They, they turned out to be mentors and father figures to some of us who didn't have them. Yeah. Okay. So anybody else that has particularly impressed you as far as, you know, our leadership style or maybe things she'd picked up about great leadership. Yeah, I mean there've been a couple. I mean obviously my father is one of them. He's done an excellent job with raising me and my family and everything that kind of worked out because I know there are a lot of times when it gets tough, you know, but being able to actually to keep pushing on and persevering, it's incredibly important and I think the values that he's instilled on my family and myself have helped me a great time, you know, in my, you know, whether it's, you know, emotional life, physical life, work life, you know, being able to balance all that and actually keep working. I admire him so much for it, you know. All right. So let's, let's talk about the opposite now. Have you ever worked in a position or worked with somebody that you felt like it was clear you were being used or you were being undervalued? Yeah, I mean definitely, and I don't think a lot of those times when that happens, I don't feel as though it's intentional, but that's kind of just the way the nature of the business so that when the nature of how things kind of get in a hurry, people, yeah, they exist,
Speaker 2:see the, you know, the end result and they just are driving straight straightforward. Exactly. You know, a lot of times, a lot of times people care more about the product than the actual process of it working and getting, being made. It's funny because a lot of people, uh, they talk about sausage, you know, everybody wants to eat the final product is, doesn't want to see how it's being made. So I mean it's, it definitely, it's unfortunate and it's the nature of the business, but you know, sometimes you kind of wish people could take a step back and be like, hey, you know, if you improve the actual process, the product is going to be even better as well. Well, and it's something that I've learned. It's been my greatest success and my greatest failure in the exact same breath is I know when I've led well and when I've cared and, and let people know they were valued and I also know when I've completely failed and Mr Myrick and, and understood that somebody just feels like a part of a machine but not really valued. And again, it's not, it's unintentional, but it happens and we know, we talk about with our leadership, we talk a lot about valuing results and relationships. Yep. And they're both important. You have to have results for any organization to sustain itself and stay in business, whether it's in politics or whether it's in any industry, but if you forget about those relationships, it just doesn't work. It falls apart. So yeah, everything just kind of, you know, you lose sight of what you are and what's, what you've intended this project to be. Yeah. Well I, I think it's very admirable. Anybody who wants to get into local politics and I do like, I've seen some of my best friends almost burned at the stake over, you know, an issue here or there. And I think it really gets down to differing opinions, you know, but it, it's refreshing to hear about you and to hear about your story and to understand why you want to be part of local politics. Yeah. It makes the most, it has the biggest impact and it's close to home. So, so to tell us how people can get to know you either social media presence or websites or anything at all that people maybe can find out more about what you're about sir. Of course. So I mean if you know, anybody would like to reach out to me or would like to see more about what I'm about. My website is www.vote. Vo t Ebo Ebo.com. And then my facebook. It is, it's just epo for Claremont or you could even just put it in Ebo and seward and it should pop up. Yeah. Luckily my name is pretty. It's not a combination. Yeah, exactly. So that should be fine. And also, you know, on my website and my phone number's on there. Um, everything's on there. If you guys need anything else, go ahead. You can just let me know I'm super available and, and you know, that's what we aim to be transparent as accessible as possible. Yeah. I have found you to be very open and willing to have discussions and willing to talk about any issue and that's, like I said, very, very refreshing and local politics. Um, I know that you are running as a Republican, but what I love about you is that I think you're kind of a new new type of Republican where you do understand, um, the Republican Party and Claremont as a whole. It just, it's different. I mean, you cannot categorize and say this is what it is anymore. It's, yeah, it's all over, all across the board. So, you know, I mean as, as the world kind of progresses and as things go on, you know, things change, um, you know, and it's incredibly important to be, like we've said before, it's incredibly important to be adaptable. Yeah. You know, especially with young kids these days, everything that's going on, you know, whether it's on TV, social media, the Internet, there's so many things that are coming into them and people are having conflicting views on everything. It's so much more global community. It's truly. I mean, you're not being an influence just by Claremont or Florida. You're being influenced by what's happening everywhere now and you're hearing what's happening in Africa and Europe and it just, it's crazy how much more knowledgeable and how much for a. They can put you on the, you know, know. Yeah, exactly. You know, and you know, I'm obviously, I'm not perfect, you know, there are times where I fault her, but being able to actually speak with people and talk with people, I think it's incredibly important and that's one of the reasons why at the federal level there's so much good luck because it's just, it's so polarizing. No one has the time or wants to kind of talk to the other side. And um, for me it definitely, I want to get things done. I'm not going into position for personal gain. There's not a lot of money into this position anyway. So for me it's because I want to get things done and I want to see results. Well, and my hope is, you know, I think it's great to start where you're at and I think the gridlock in Washington is probably a whole nother episode. I say we can talk a long time about that, but. But I, you know, I think what we need or are people like yourselves who are, you know, you're going to start here and you're going to cut your teeth and really figure it out and then hopefully be able to bring that change as you rise in your career in politics too. Yes sir.
Speaker 4:Alright. So we're gonna stop here and we're going to talk a little bit. We have a couple fun segment a and we're going to try to put you on the spot but not too badly. You can always say I refuse but no comment. Yeah, no. This segment is called this or that and we're going to kind of give you two different people or, or entertainment avenues. And we're gonna ask you kinda like what your, what your bent is. Alright. So the first one is going to be Elon musk or Richard Branson and if you don't know Richard Branson because I might be dating my man. I'm going to have to
Speaker 2:go with Elon Musk. He's, he's been, he's got a lot of stuff going on and sometimes I feel like his head is just everywhere. But he's got some great ideas. Yes he does. I'm just reading an article about his, um, with Mars and how, what he wants to do with the space industry. It's pretty shocking. Yeah, it's pretty cool to know. It is. I mean it'll be funny. It would be nice if trump would have them just, hey, you know, if you want to be are space for us, let me know. Okay. Now there's probably no more loaded turn than space for. So a steve jobs or bill gates and that's a good one. I would probably have to go with Steve Jobs and I, I think you have an apple device. So. Yes I do. Yeah. So thank you for this. Steve, is this iphone eight plus? Is Great. Well it only works when you put things into it, like, yeah, if your calendar's not working. I know. Comment an inside joke here, but. All right. Steven Spielberg or Walt Disney. Disney make some great movies. I'm not gonna lie. Yeah, I'd have to go with. I'll probably have to go. Steven Spielberg though. Do you have a favorite film that he's produced or need he disliked? I think I just like. Yeah. Yeah. I will tell you though, Walt Disney man asked my mom and my brother, my sisters and my mom and dad. They'll tell you. I used to watch lion king religiously every day. It was bad. Okay. Speaking about a movie star wars or Harry Potter. Why you got to do that? To manage, right? Yeah. You have to choose. It's funny because actually about a couple of months ago when I was back in DC, if my roommates, we literally had a Harry Potter marathon watched every single one, so I'm probably. That's a tough one man. It is tough. I'm probably going to have to go with Harry Potter on this one. I love star wars, but there's just something about the books and the movies that just kind of resonates. I mean, just the idea of having magic and being able to put spells pretty intriguing. Um, okay. So we're going to go and we have two more now that I have to ask this. I mentioned to you that I have three daughters and my house, so this is kind of a requirement, but it Broadway or rock and roll, man. I think my house leads one black man. I mean I love rock and roll. I really actually, I'm going to go rock and roll. I was thinking about broadly, I want to go with rock and roll. It's a safe bet for young guy. Numb and like Pearl Jam, allison chains. Those are, I love them. I love them. And it's funny because I'm old, I'm not older but younger and a lot of times I'll bring those up and people were like, Oh man, I didn't even know you knew about that. Yeah. I made my daughter's, you know, in fact we have a role in our house if they ever play a cover song for me, I'm like, you can't, you can't play that until you listen to the original. So we've talked about that, but. But my house is firmly, firmly Broadway. I know way too much. Okay. Last one is a Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan. Oh Man, I'm going to have to go with Reagan on that one. It is both. Had some really great things happening in terms. No, they definitely did. I'm going to have to go with Reagan on that one. True, true leadership. He had a way of a condominium and yeah. Even when, even if he wasn't, you know, maybe going in the right direction, man. He made you feel like he was. He could rouse you out with the speech and so forth, although was a great oratory. No, he definitely was. He had a way with words as well. Alright, so last thing we want to ask is, is there a life quote or a verse that you live by or maybe a leader that you look at and just greatly admire? So for me it probably has to be Frederick Douglass and, and this quote has always resonated with me because you know, even in the good times and the bad, you still have to look to the future and it's the one where he goes, you know, without struggle there is no progress. So I mean even to this day and age, no matter if anything kicks you down, you know, I still have to take it as a learning experience, you know, and, and, and that's one of the reasons I am running, you know, even if a lot of people are like, oh, you know, you're so young, you know, I don't know if you haven't enough experience. I'm like, look, I'm willing to get involved and put it, put it out there. You know, I want to make a change in my community. I want to bring a fresh face and this is how I'm going to do it. Yeah, yeah. I think a lot of people have a lot of experience, it's just the same experience over and over again is to get, you know, and I think you learn a lot from the struggle. So that's definitely a great quote. Definitely. So a apo we want to thank you again for being on our podcast and there's many ways to get to know him and he's given us some but definitely a search him out, search out of social media, find out what he stands for. And uh, we have an election here November, so get out and vote, get out and vote, go register. That's even more, I guess the more important a register ministered. We were out there yesterday over at red, white and boom. And we were getting out there, registering people, you know, handing out, handing out flyers, you know, will be door knocking. So if you see us out there, give us a shout and say hello. You know, it is so many countries that don't allow you to have a part in the process. Such a great liberty and I think I'm definitely take it up and you know, you can vote for evo here. That'd be lovely. So you know, I want to say thank you to Larry and I'm rocky, uh, and to my assistant Ronald as well as he sits over there on the corner. Tick, tick picture. But he's a, he's an important part of the team. Definitely rocky was fantastic. You know, here in the servers journey today, you know, it reminded me of when I was a football player too. I know we saw a and we're going to put this on the website. Larry doesn't know this, but I'm going to make them. There is a fascinating picture of Larry as running back in high school. Yes, I was running back. Yes. So if we're going to put that on the website, they don't know what I re I robbed a bank or something and I was running. Or you didn't look like you were nervous in the run. Bullshit picture. Hey, I scored a touchdown. So here you go. I want to thank everybody for joining us here on a service journey. Remembered, subscribe to the podcast and you'll hear all of what rocky wants to share with you to be good leaders, learning to lead by serving. And if you subscribe, you know you'll be getting a survivor's journey moment, which is the quick pick me up to help you start your day. If you like what you heard here, tell a friend and like us on facebook, like us, wherever. Oh, by the way, you know, the good thing would be is if someone gives us a review because maybe, maybe there's something we're missing, you know, and we, we, we love reviews. Please go to apple, itunes or Google play and, and absolutely give us a good review. Well that's the other thing is how many platforms we're now on this. It's incredible. We are evolving so there's no reason why you can't be with us. So tell your friends. Yeah. And so Larry, I want to thank you for being my loss to the ant man. You're, what would you repeat that? So Larry normally says, uh, so until next time I'm, you're ever faithful. Oh yes. Come faithful. Companion. Yes. Yeah. So you are my was to my aunt man. Got To kick it out. You're always on top of that social stuff. Hey guys, we are all on a journey and it's really how you serve in that role and that's why we share every week on here here on a service journey. I'm rocky Desta final. Thanks for joining us as together we learned to be better leaders.