BJ Laughter Explains Why Identity Matters More Than Winning

Sports can build confidence, but it can also crush a kid’s sense of worth when the scoreboard becomes their identity. We sit down with BJ Laughter, an area representative for Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in Henderson, Polk, and Rutherford counties, to talk about what students are really carrying and how faith-based mentorship shows up inside real schools in Western North Carolina.

BJ shares what FCA looks like on the ground: 86 active huddles across his three-county area, many led by students, where kids gather for devotionals, prayer, and real conversations about integrity, sportsmanship, and pressure. We also hear BJ’s path from a long career in education and school leadership to becoming a fully support-raised “missionary” in his own hometown, plus how FCA helps communities process grief when tragedy hits a team or a campus.

We also break down a big local fundraiser: a donated 1997 Harley Davidson Springer being raffled with 300 tickets at $100 each, benefiting Southwest North Carolina FCA, Donnie Jones’s special needs sports program, and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office STAR Camp. If you want to follow along, look up Southwest North Carolina FCA on Facebook or Instagram, or connect with BJ at bjlaughter.com. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves youth sports, and leave a review so more Western North Carolina listeners can find the show.

Transcript

Welcome And Local Market Pulse

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Hello, friends. Thank you so much for being here. This is the George Real Estate Group Podcast, which is a production of our live weekly radio shows hosted on multiple radio stations here in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The George Real Estate Group serves Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina, and it is a privilege to share positive news about our local real estate market and community. Thanks so much for subscribing. And of course, if you have any real estate questions or if we can help you in any way, be sure to reach out. Visit us at George Real Estate Group Radio.com for more information. Good morning and welcome to the George Real Estate Group Live Radio Broadcast here on WHKP every Thursday morning. Bring you positive news about your local real estate marketing community. We're so grateful to be here with you. Here we are. It's almost the middle of April. Masters Thursday. That's going on. Got through the final four and the March Madness and all the fun sporting events this time of year. And this time of year, real estate's so busy. And we we even start out the year very busy. And we're so grateful for our clients, our agents, our staff. And again, if we can help you with any of your real estate needs, of course, give us a call, 828-393-0134. If you're tuning in for the first time ever, the George Real Estate Group, we are in Flat Rock. We serve all of Western North Carolina and the upstate. We've had the privilege of helping over 1,600 families throughout the years. And we've been doing this radio program since 2011. And just again, 2011, when the market was at its worst, you know, we wanted to bring some positive news about what was going on in the market. We've continued that that story and sharing about what's going on in the community, not just real estate-wise, but also what's going on in the community with different organizations and nonprofits. And uh, you know, and it's a privilege to sponsor the Hometown Hero Series every Friday morning at 8 45. But of course, uh, and we'll just give a quick snapshot on the real estate. Before we jump into the conversation, before I introduce you our special guest this morning, uh the market is still moving. Henderson County, we're still averaging some hundred and thirty single-family homes a month selling. Inventory levels are low this time of year. Again, it's really the market's the market. The interest rates are the interest rates, economy's the economy. Life happens, therefore real estate happens. So if you're curious what your home is worth, curious what the market's doing, curious how we can help you and give clarity and information, you can give us a call 828-393-0134. 828-393-0134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com. We have a number of open houses this weekend, so be sure to check out our Facebook. We have a number of open houses that we're promoting that are, and you're going to see more today. We just put up a few this morning. So again, if we can help you in any way or curious about the market, or curious about a career in real estate, uh give it give us a call. This morning, and by the way, last Friday, we had Donnie Jones here with us with uh special needs baseball program, and he was sharing with us about an incredible fundraiser going on that's not only going to support the special needs base, the special needs sports program, but also uh FCA and also the Henderson County Sheriff Star program. I was so grateful to have with us this morning BJ Lauder uh with FCA. And and BJ, good morning. Thank you for being here this morning.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Good morning, glad to be here.

SPEAKER_02 3:30

For those who may not be familiar with FCA, what is it and what's the mission behind it?

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Uh fellowship of Christian athletes, and it's our desire to see see every coach, athlete, and student come into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. And we use sports athletics as our lane of ministry.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

Incredible. What what does FCA look like? How does that look like here, specifically in Western North Carolina?

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Well, just in the three counties that I'm in charge of, uh Polk, Henderson, and Rutford, we have 86 active huddles. That means 86 different groups of kids that meet, and most of those are with a student leader leading those huddles, and and we use huddle term because that's a sports term for football. You huddle up. And they share devotionals with each other, pray with each other, share life with each other. Character, sportsmanship, integrity, tenacity, all those things that parents want their kids to have.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

And what a you're uh creating and fostering this environment for those conversations, for relationships.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Absolutely. Giving them a safe space. Being a former principal, school administrator, I'm very familiar with the law, and we make sure that we do everything exactly by the book, and the kids flourish in that environment. They're starving for that.

Coaching Roots And Education Journey

SPEAKER_02 4:47

Yeah, the connection and and and the spiritual guidance and information, which again, it's it's amazing that FCA is in our our schools. You brought up your a little bit of your uh background. Let's share with our listeners that may or may not know your story, but I mean you've been uh heavily involved in our Henderson County school system, but but let's back up even further. Where what got you into education before you even again we'll get to back to FCA, but I want to go back. What what brought you into education?

SPEAKER_00 5:18

Well, I was talking to Tippi Creswell before we came on the show, and and he played junior high basketball from my father, who was a longtime coach in the Hendersonville City School system, and that was my hero, and my dad made me want to be a teacher and a coach because I saw the impact he was having and how he got to do things every single day, and I wanted to be that. I wanted to be my dad.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

It's remarkable. How long did your dad uh serve our community?

SPEAKER_00 5:44

34 years. And you know, a big story about my dad when they first integrated the schools, uh Joe Hunt sent my dad to the Ninth Avenue School the first year they integrated. So my dad coached most of the fully integrated first teams in Henderson County history.

SPEAKER_02 5:59

Remarkable. That's amazing. He was part of that.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

He really was, and I really feel like my dad was one of the big bridges that brought this county and this community together through the integration process.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

That's amazing. Did your career overlap at any point with your father's career?

SPEAKER_00 6:16

No, I actually my dad retired the year that I graduated and came into education. So my first year, I actually taught a half day at Bruce Drysdale as a PE teacher, half day at Hendersonville High School. So I kind of replaced my dad.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

That's amazing. And so your dad retired, and then you you stepped into full time. What and then your time was spent in a number of different schools here locally.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

Well, just it I was at Hendersonville High School for uh a majority of my career, a quarter of a century. Came out. I was an assistant football coach, coached junior high basketball track for for six years, and um in 1997 I was named the head football coach at Hinnersville High School. So I just coached football and was the head coach for 17 years at Hentersville High School and went into administration, got was athletic director assistant principal at Hensville High School for two years, and then they came and asked me to take on the challenge at Bruce Drysdale, and that ended up being the most fulfilling part of my educational journey.

SPEAKER_02 7:18

Incredible, incredible. And and then you finished up your your your your professional career at Bruce Drysdale.

SPEAKER_00 7:25

I did, and that's where I went to elementary school. My dad was the first ever PE teacher at Bruce Drysdale, so to go back there and be a part of the the turnaround process at that school was just amazing.

From Retirement To FCA Missionary

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Remarkable. And to finish your again to retire from Bruce Drysdale, it's incredible. Did you have when did you realize that you wanted to or you felt called into ministry? When did you realize you decided to do FCA?

SPEAKER_00 7:50

Well, that that's a long story. It's amazing how God works. I I felt called to get an administration degree back in 2007. I finished that in 2009, and I just sat on that. I was like, God, just let me know. And the the assistant principal, Bobby Wilkins, came to me. Hey, we'd like for you to maybe be the athletic director, assistant principal. So I did that, and I was content to stay there until my daughter graduated. She was at high at the high school with me at the time. And they came and asked me to be the principal at Bruce Drysdale. I prayed about that, thought about it for a long time, talked to my family, and just decided to make that move. Um, and and I did that until I retired. And and my plan was I got offered the linebacker's job at Mars Hill University when I retired to be the linebacker coach there, where I played my alma mater, and I went over there, uh visited, and I just didn't feel like that's what God wanted me to do. And that's about the time that FCA had the big Dabo Sweeney event, and our area director at the time, Steve McNamara, asked me if I would do a plug for FCA at that event. And when it was over, he's like, Have you ever thought about what you're gonna do in your retirement career? We think you'd be a great FCA rep, and that's how that got started.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

That's amazing. And it and by the way, a lot of people don't realize it's a completely supported role. You you're like a missionary.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

I am a missionary. Um you are. I mean Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Right, right here, you have to and Steve, when he came to me, said, Hey, oh, by the way, you have to raise your own support.

SPEAKER_03 9:19

Right.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

And I I at first I was like, Man, I was too proud. I don't I don't want to ask people. I but when I started looking at the vision and mission of FCA and and started sitting down with people and and telling them what I was gonna do, and it just started accelerating, and the amount of friendships that got rekindled, meeting with them, the amount of new friends that I have, and I'm sitting here with you. What a great friendship we developed through that process with your kids going to Bruce Drysdale, and now you're on my ministry team.

SPEAKER_02 9:49

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

And just there's so many stories like that, and the people they don't want anything in return to support me. It's amazing. They just want to see lives changed.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

You know what? I gotta go back to something you said, and and again, maybe you had that moment of uh doubt of how am I gonna or again, it's very humbling. You had to put yourself out there, you had to ask for support, but when you put it in the context of what you're doing, it's that those things seem small in in context of like the work you're doing and the work that's being done. And again, how could you not like there's this compelling story? You're like, I I have to tell people about the work we're doing. And again, when you tell the story, and I'm so grateful you're here this morning for awareness, but letting people know it it's again, whatever fear you might have had in asking somebody for support, when you when you talk about what's going on, it's like okay, that it puts things into perspective.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

Oh, absolutely. And I you know, I tell people what's one soul of a youth worth?

SPEAKER_03 10:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

And the return on investment, you know, a lot of people think, well, just what better way to spend your money than investing in the eternity of the youth of this county? Because whether people want to believe it or not, every head will bow, every head will bow, every knee will touch the ground in front of their creator, whether you whether they believe in it or not.

SPEAKER_02 11:06

Right.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

And we want to make sure that our youth and our anybody we come in contact with is on the right side of that equation.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

Yeah, for sure. I heard it put this way. Um uh people have to decide, everybody has to ask themselves, are you a physical being having a spiritual experience? Are you a spiritual being having a physical experience? And I would lean towards we're spiritual beings that again that we're eternal. There is this what does eternity look like?

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Absolutely, and it's for real. And you know, I I heard it said best uh for the Christian, uh earth is as close to hell as we're ever gonna get, and for the non-Christian, earth is as close to heaven as they're ever gonna get.

SPEAKER_03 11:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

And we want to make sure that kids understand that and that they can make a decision, not just kids, adults, coaches, everybody, yeah, that one day whatever you decide here will determine your eternity.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

Yeah, absolutely. And and the thing that I I we are all shocked every once in a while, in in a in a very sobering way, when we hear these stories of our youth that uh a kid was in a car accident, and like these really, I mean, like heavy, unfortunate tragedies that happen in our community, and I know you've had them with your FCA kids.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Dealt with it just this week. Coach uh Chuck Bratu, that was the head basketball coach at North Henderson last year, strong, solid force at North Henderson, he passed away on Good Friday.

SPEAKER_02 12:29

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

So we've been helping those those students and those former athletes and that staff process that this week. So we've spent a lot of time at North Henderson and just keep that community in your prayers.

SPEAKER_02 12:39

Yeah. Again, yeah, and it's and it's having real raw, honest conversations about life and death.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

It's amazing. You uh you guys you said 86 huddles.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

86 huddles that just that I am in charge of. Um, and we cover nine counties, so it's up in the hundreds. We we we estimated that over over five thousand student athletes in southwest North Carolina are impacted every day in some way by Fellowship of Christian athletes.

Harley Davidson Raffle Details

SPEAKER_02 13:06

That's amazing. Uh, back to the point of this being uh support-driven ministry. There's a really big fundraiser going on right now, right? I mean, you're raising funds year-round, but like uh can we talk about the raffle going on?

SPEAKER_00 13:19

Yes, absolutely. Um we had someone that wanted to remain anonymous uh approach me, one of my supporters in Fellowship of Christian athletes, and he said, Listen, I feel like God wants me to give this motorcycle to you guys. And he's an avid motorcycle collector, um, what just a solid man in our community, great businessman. And it's a 1997 Harley Davidson Springer. It's got less than 9,000 miles on it. It's a head turner. This bike is clean as a pen, it's got just amazing detail on it. And he said, you know what, I could sell it and give you guys the money, but I want to try to max out what we can make off of it, so let's try to raffle it. So we're going to the proceeds, we'll go to Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Donnie Jones is who is helping us run the raffle because he's done the Corvette every year. So a portion of the money goes to special needs. And then the sheriff's department. It's Star Camp. And that bike is sitting outside of the sheriff's office right now. It says win this bike. You can go in there, buy a ticket. They're selling pretty quickly. We're going to try to cap. It's 300 tickets. So you get$100 a ticket, you have one in 300 chance to win this bike. And if you don't like motorcycles, you win and sell it.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

Yeah, or give it away.

SPEAKER_00 14:29

Yeah, give it away, take the cash, re-raffle.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

Actually, yeah, give it back and let it be re-raffled.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Yes, absolutely. But I mean, if you've got$100 and you want to support some amazing things, that's a way to do it.

SPEAKER_02 14:41

Absolutely. And have a little fun too.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

Yeah, absolutely. So you can buy those at the sheriff's office. They sell them right in the front door. Go to Jones Detail right there on 25, or you can Venmo through me. I do the Venmo part of it. The youngest one does the technology piece. And um you can look at it. It's on Facebook, the Sheriff's Office, Southwest North Carolina FCA, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Twitter. You can see uh my phone number's on there. If you would like to purchase a ticket Venmo, I can just snap a picture of your ticket and text it to them.

SPEAKER_03 15:13

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

But we've sold about a third of the tickets so far. So we've got a little bit of time. We got a little time, absolutely, as the weather gets warmer.

SPEAKER_02 15:20

That's right. That's amazing. What a great uh again, uh a lot of fun. What a generous offer from your donor.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

He understands just what these these ministries do for young people. Yeah. And there's not a better investment in the world than than young people.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

Absolutely. And it and it's it's it's built it's investing in the future in the lives of our what's the what do you think the biggest challenge is for our student athletes, student athletes right now?

SPEAKER_00 15:48

J just what what they identify with, uh all they do all day long is look at everybody's highlight reels on a phone. Right. And it's easy to start playing the compare game and feeling like that you don't qualify as worthy enough. Yeah. So we we really try to come in and say, hey, don't let your identity be in sports, don't let your identity be in what you read on a on a phone. Let your identity be in the your creator, let your identity be with God. And and we talk to a lot of these kids, you know, you're playing for an audience of one. So what what does your sportsmanship need to look like if you're playing in front of God? What does your what does your effort need to look like when you're playing in front of God? What what does your integrity mean like? Absolutely. So you're you're going to play the game and you're going to compete like nobody's going to outwork you or out hustle you or out prepare you. But at the end, I'm going to shake your hand and tell you good game because iron sharpens iron. Yeah. As one man sharpens another.

SPEAKER_02 16:41

There there's such a there's such a connection between uh obviously faith and and character, but the platform of sports. I mean, it really creates an opportunity for relationships and to have those conversations. I mean, there's so many correlations between how we show up in one way of our life, is also how we're gonna show up in other ways, right? How we how you show up and play the game, how you show up, how you're gonna show up at work or in life or your family. I mean, there it matters how we show up. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

Sports is the closest simulation that we can put kids into real life.

SPEAKER_03 17:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

Because you're going to have ups and downs. You're going to have bad things happen to you, you're going to have good things happen to you. And it's all about how you respond. Yeah. How do you process that? And that's what I love about sports.

SPEAKER_02 17:26

Yeah, it's incredible. And um how how about parents? I mean, like, how uh can families be intentional? Uh uh, you know, I mean, how how how does that correspond? Again, you guys are there to support the kids and the families. I mean, like, it's it's integral. And I know a lot of kids don't have the family support system. I mean, it's a challenging time.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

We just encourage parents to just support your kid. Don't don't pressure them to perform at some unrealistic level. Not everybody's gonna play in college. Uh, you know, I was talking the other day to some basketball players, and I really like to play other sports, but I'm just gonna play basketball, for instance. And I'm like, you realize in Henderson County, since integration, we've had one full scholarship Division I men's basketball player.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

One.

SPEAKER_00 18:15

One, Trent Strickland that played at East Henderson. Wow. Unless I'm wrong, somebody can we might have had a walk-on or something, but that's the only one I can think of. So the odds of getting a big mega deal in basketball or football or any other sport like that are just God given tapped ability that's just unbelievable. Right.

SPEAKER_02 18:36

And not taking it I mean, that we do take it seriously, but but again, it the likelihood is it's not gonna be your your uh career or absolutely not.

SPEAKER_00 18:45

So you gotta be careful to not put your identity in that. You we see so many kids that play club sports and sports their whole high school career, and then when that's over, they don't know what to do.

SPEAKER_03 18:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

So we really try to say, hey man, that's great. You're a you're a you're a volleyball player, basketball player, but that's what you do, that's not what you are.

SPEAKER_03 19:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

And just try to really get kids to understand that their identity is not wrapped up in their performance.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

Well, and and I think every human being ha has that challenge. What whether you're kidding, but if you can get to the kids early, I mean we see it all the time. I mean, we see it as adults, right? You know, what you're comparing yourself to the Joneses, or what car are you driving, or what neighborhood do you live in, or or what's your what's your uh job? I mean, right? Like, I mean, I think everybody has to decide to themselves, you know, what where do I put my identity in?

SPEAKER_00 19:36

That's right, because all that stuff you just named, buildings are going to rot and fall down, cars are gonna rust out. The newest car you can think of in 30 years will be at Charlie Scrapyard.

SPEAKER_03 19:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:47

Plug Charlie Walker and and they're a FCA supporter, and they're going to have those cars crushed.

SPEAKER_02 19:54

I I heard it said I mean none of us could can none of us can name the richest person from 300 years ago. I mean, like, I mean, none of us can take it with us anyways. Again, it's these bigger perspectives and and uh and reminders. And again, you're getting this this message to the kids early. That's right. Um, because it it's it's challenging. Uh, you know, as as life happens, people grow up. I mean, you you get into the routine, but it's it's the reminders of again, we can't take anything with us.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

No, if you're when you're on your deathbed one day, you're not gonna say, Let me see a few more pictures of that car I had. Right. Hey, bring me my house, bring some pictures of my house. Uh, I'd really like to see that trophy I won. You don't want that. No. And that's not what it's about, and it's not bad to have those things, but you have to understand where's your identity?

SPEAKER_03 20:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

One day, and one day, one day your decision is gonna impact your eternity. Yeah. And the scary thing is by not deciding to be a Christ follower, eventually decision will be made for you.

SPEAKER_02 20:53

Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

Yeah. And that's a that's a scary, sobering thought.

Relationships That Matter Most

SPEAKER_02 20:56

Yeah. And that's again, you're you're having these conversations every day with kids. That's right. With kids, it's incredible. BJ, I'm so grateful you're here sharing your story, sharing the work you're doing, and our listeners can can can participate, they can give, they can participate in the raffle, they can be supportive. I love the fact that you said majority of these huddles are run by student-led. I mean, like you're empowering the students. Um, uh when you were talking about End of Our Life, it reminded me of book uh the book, a woman named Bonnie uh where she actually spent a lot of her career taking care of patients at the end of their lives and documenting what they said mattered most. And I have to just mention this. She documented it's the top five regrets of the dying. Um, yeah, I wish I hadn't worked so hard, right? Like, I mean, like the kids grow up, the relationships, the moments that never come back, the you know, don't miss your kid's birthday. Um, I wish I'd lived had the courage to live a life true to myself, not to the life others expected of me. Um, that was the most common uh again, people that identity piece. That's right. It's an identity. Um, I wish I had the courage to express my feelings, people that don't speak up. Uh I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. Um, and I wish I'd let myself be happier. Again, it's just this you know, and and here's the thing. Both you and I are in actually the people relationship. I I I I mean you're you're working in the spiritual world. I'm we're working in the physical world helping people with houses, but but it comes down to relationships and and and and and and help and again, life is happening, you know, whether it's the kids walking through sports and you know, figuring things out and and these real honest conversations that we're having with people. And we happen to be talking to people about houses. That's right. And it and it's just houses. I hate to like I mean I okay, I if I'm gonna be really honest, and again, okay. If do I care if I see another house? No, but no what matters to me is then the relationships, the helping people. That's right. You know, we it happens to be houses that we're helping people with, but it's it ultimately is helping people navigate through life, and then again, you guys are helping on the on the spirituals, which is even more important.

SPEAKER_00 23:07

Absolutely. But what you're talking about is Maslow's hierarchy. No one wants to no one wants to learn anything or hear about Jesus Christ if they don't have food, shelter, well that's clothing, and and and somebody that cares about it. Absolutely. Yeah. So what you're doing is giving people, helping them meet their goals, getting a place to live and to grow and to nurture those families.

SPEAKER_03 23:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:27

And that's a necessary piece of what we do.

SPEAKER_02 23:30

Right. And that's where a lot of our nonprofits, like our friends at the storehouse, they're meeting people physically.

SPEAKER_00 23:35

Oh, land's amazing, yes.

SPEAKER_02 23:37

And and what they're doing, and by the way, they just had their big grand opening this week with their new location and on Spartanburg Highway. And so, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 23:44

Support them all you can.

SPEAKER_02 23:46

It's incredible. So again, these are just I love these conversations. This is just real life, and and I think a lot of us can be in these routines of life, right? I mean, and until unfortunately, I mean, someone passes, like the the coach at North Henderson, yes. I mean, just it's it's a it can shake you and remind you how fragile we are, and and none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 24:09

No, we're not. No, no one's guaranteed tomorrow. And and and it's real simple. We had a sin debt that we cannot pay, and it it had to be paid somehow, and Jesus Christ did that for us. We just celebrated uh his death, burial, and resurrection on Easter Sunday.

SPEAKER_02 24:25

But we we celebrate Easter actually every Sunday.

SPEAKER_00 24:27

We we celebrate it every Sunday. Every day. But he he paid us in debt we could never pay. I tell young people Michael Jordan made$415 million last year just off the jump man symbol. That can't pay for one lie.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 24:39

And if something isn't done to pay for our sin, then we're we're doomed. And right and you so I I just hope that people listening to this call understand that if they have questions, reach out to somebody, ask about it. Yeah, absolutely. We care about your eternity.

SPEAKER_02 24:54

I that amen. Again, it's a it's a much bigger uh this is much bigger than any any of us or any I mean we all have our challenges in life, but again, you put things in the perspective of eternity.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_02 25:08

And uh And you're doing that every single day. FCA is again through the school system, able to encourage kids, have have eternal conversations with kids. You're you're doing it every single day.

SPEAKER_00 25:19

Absolutely. Engaging, equipping, empowering young people to lead.

SPEAKER_02 25:23

That's amazing. Uh and and you're in your uh I don't know what your official title is, but you're over the three counties here, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:29

I'm an area representative. Area representative. For for Polk, Henderson Polk and Rutherford counties.

SPEAKER_02 25:34

I know you're burning up the the road on uh about twelve hundred miles a month.

SPEAKER_00 25:38

Okay, you're yeah, absolutely.

How To Follow And Support FCA

SPEAKER_02 25:40

That's amazing. What's the best way for listeners to to stay in touch to get hold of you? Are you on is there uh you know, is there a Facebook for FCA or is it what's the best way to follow what you're doing?

SPEAKER_00 25:50

So if you if you want to follow FCA on social media, just look up Southwest North Carolina FCA on any platform except TikTok. We're not on TikTok. We do Threads, X, Instagram, um, and Facebook. Uh-huh. Most adults like the Facebook. Most youth look at the Instagram. Right. And if you would like to support me, you'd like to have a sit-down uh conversation with me on how you could support my ministry, just go to bjlauder.com. Okay. I'm on website.

SPEAKER_02 26:17

And you've written a book, if I remember right.

SPEAKER_00 26:19

Written four. Four! Yeah, absolutely. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 26:22

Are the books on there too?

SPEAKER_00 26:24

Uh yes, there's links for that, but that you can find those on Amazon. Just type in BJ Lauder. Okay. We have the Athletes Challenge, the Athletes Challenge 2, A Heart for Athletes, and then the the book I wrote on school leadership, Worst to First, that talks about the transformation of Bruce Drysdale Elementary.

SPEAKER_02 26:38

That's amazing. Again, uh it's amazing your uh your personal journey and how you're uniquely equipped to to the role that you're in now with with FCA. It's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

Absolutely. But uh I appreciate uh what you do. Uh I know my wife has a blast working uh with George Real Estate Group.

SPEAKER_02 26:59

We are so thankful for your wife, Amy.

SPEAKER_00 27:00

She's and I'll plug them the Amy team. If you're looking to buy or sell, the Amy team will not be outworked or out hustled. I can promise you that.

SPEAKER_02 27:08

That is the truth. They're they get after it. They are they and they have fun.

SPEAKER_00 27:12

They have fun and they do, they're honest as a day as long. Yeah. And they'll tell you the truth. And they do a great job. I'm proud of my wife.

SPEAKER_02 27:19

We've had Amy uh on the on the show. We've been trying to get Amy, her, her partner Amy.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

Yeah, Amy Hathaway, yeah, yes.

SPEAKER_02 27:26

Uh to join us. So maybe this will be a little bit of an on-air challenge. What to get the Amy's uh here on the radio?

SPEAKER_00 27:33

Yes, absolutely. They do a great job. You get two for the price of one. Who else can say that?

SPEAKER_02 27:38

That's true, and they're amazing. And they and the incredible, incredible results they've they continue to have as they've been building and growing their business and serving their community and serving their clients.

SPEAKER_00 27:48

Well, they're not looking to hustle you, they're not looking to get over on you, man. They're gonna do what's best for you. Shoot straight. That's exactly right, and that's rare these days.

SPEAKER_02 27:55

It is true. They're amazing, and we're so grateful to be in partnership with the Amy team. Uh, you can follow them and see them on our Instagram and Facebook, and and they're they got an open house. Uh they have an open house uh this summer, uh excuse me, this Sunday at Brightwater, and that's gonna uh be this weekend. You can see that on our our Facebook and Instagram. Uh, but um great again, it's all relationships. It really is. It's it truly is it whether it's the uh you know the real estate business or uh you know uh being in ministry, again, it's it's just relationships. So I'd encourage you if you want to get a raffle ticket, uh drive by the sheriff's office and go look at that that buy.

SPEAKER_00 28:32

It's amazing. It's a head turner, man. It's a showstock.

SPEAKER_02 28:35

I I would think what a wild story it would be if uh uh someone won it and then re-raffled it again.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

Donnie had that happen with a Corvette two years ago. The woman won it and she gave it right back. For another raffle, gave it right back to Donnie.

SPEAKER_02 28:49

That is that is remarkable. Absolutely. And that could happen again.

SPEAKER_00 28:52

Yes, it could.

SPEAKER_02 28:53

And again, it's all again for three amazing organizations FCA, Henderson County Share Sheriff Office uh Star Camp, which by the way, we're sponsoring uh they have their 5k race coming up, I think, on the 25th of April, and there's some details coming up on that. Absolutely, and then also again, Donnie Jones with uh the special needs uh sports and basically.

SPEAKER_00 29:13

Donnie's a saint, man.

SPEAKER_02 29:14

They think they had their first uh uh game. I think it was this past Saturday. Uh and I think uh Sheriff Griffiths threw the first pitch. Yeah, I think so. And uh, and then I heard uh I think Matthew sung the national anthem from Three Chop. I mean, it was uh I it was it was quite quite the event. I heard it was amazing. So again, BJ, thank you for for being here this morning.

SPEAKER_00 29:35

Had a blast, appreciate you guys.

Closing Thanks And Real Estate CTA

SPEAKER_02 29:37

Always grateful, and again, sharing incredible things going on in our community and grateful to have BJ Lauder here with FCA uh here uh in Henderson County, and again, thankful for the work he's doing with our kids and our youth and and the work that's being done. It's important. So if you get a chance, follow them, uh support them, buy a raffle ticket. And again, our community is what it is because of the amazing people serving your community. That's why, again, we love sponsoring the Hometown Heroes series. Actually, Amy's gonna be here tomorrow morning. Your wife is nominated, Henderson County Educator Jan King.

SPEAKER_00 30:08

Oh, Dr. King is just the cream of the crop.

SPEAKER_02 30:12

She's gonna be here tomorrow morning at 8 45, our hometown hero tomorrow, tomorrow morning, 30-plus year career.

SPEAKER_00 30:18

Uh 2010 North Carolina Principal of the Year. Remarkable. She wrote the forward for my educational book. Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 30:26

Well, that's so we're so grateful to have you.

SPEAKER_00 30:27

Love Dr. Jan King.

SPEAKER_02 30:29

Dr. Jan King tomorrow morning at 8.45. So tune in tomorrow morning. And again, if you have other people you know in this community that you'd like to nominate an unsung hero, somebody making a difference, uh, we sponsor the Hometown Hero Series every Friday morning.

SPEAKER_00 30:41

I'll nominate Tippi Cresswell.

SPEAKER_02 30:42

Hey, I'll take it.

unknown 30:43

That's all right.

SPEAKER_02 30:44

I love that. Well, we're very grateful. Well, thank you so much for tuning in this Thursday morning. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day, rest of the week. Enjoy watching uh the Masters this weekend. That's that's going on. Uh, I have to say, congratulations to Michigan. They won that championship game. Tippi and I might think. So that's amazing. So go wolf go wolf rings. Have a great day. Have a great week. We'll see you tomorrow morning. Maybe the house feels a little too big these days. The stairs, a little steeper, the pace of life, a little too fast. But what if your next move wasn't about letting go? It was about making space for peace, for freedom, for what matters most. At the George Real Estate Group, we understand that real estate isn't just about the house. It's about transitions, timing, and trust. We've helped thousands of families in Western North Carolina make smart, thoughtful moves closer to nature, closer to family, closer to home. So when you're ready to right-size, simplify, or start fresh, we'll be here. The George Real Estate Group. Local, trusted, proven. Call us today, 828-393-0134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com because your next chapter deserves to feel just right.

SPEAKER_01 32:18

Thank you for listening to the George Real Estate Group Podcast. Tune in next time for more industry news, updates, and real estate tips. You can reach Greg, the George Real Estate Group, at 828 393 0134 or at realestatebygreg.com.