Stacked Keys Podcast
The idea to talk to women who are out there living and making a difference is where the Stacked Keys Podcast was born. There are women who make a difference, but never make a wave while paddling through life. Immediately I can think of a dozen or more who impacted me, but I want more. I want to talk to those I don't know and I want to share with an audience that might need the inspiration to find their own beat. This podcast is to feature women who are impressive in the work world-- or in raising a family -- or who have hobbies that can make us all be encouraged. Want to hear what makes these women passionate and get up in the morning or what they wish they had known earlier in life? Grab your keys and STOMP to your own drum.
Stacked Keys Podcast
Episode 200 -- Toni Bruner -- A Path to Personal and Professional Fulfillment
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Discover the inspiring journey of Toni Bruner, Executive Director of Legacy Partners in Environmental Education, as she shares her passion for Alabama's natural beauty and the power of experiential learning. Toni takes us behind the scenes of her dynamic role, leading thrilling caving expeditions for educators while juggling grant writing and office commitments. Her personal evolution from a work introduction to a caving enthusiast shines through, illustrating how hobbies can enrich both professional and personal lives.
We navigate the transformative impact of mentors and friendships in shaping life's path, reflecting on Toni's own moments of self-discovery and change. Her story unfolds with a pivotal decision to pursue higher education later in life, leading to profound insights into the importance of surrounding oneself with positive influences. Toni’s reflections offer a masterclass in intentional living, detailing how embracing simplicity and cherishing family have shifted her perspectives on dreams and strength.
Join us as we explore the essence of vulnerability and support networks in balancing life’s demands. Toni's experiences highlight the importance of stepping back, letting others lead, and the rejuvenating power of educational workshops for teachers. Celebrate the joy of individuality and the pursuit of personal dreams, finding strength in community and the simple pleasures of life. Whether it's embracing life's rhythms or finding peace in nature, this episode encourages everyone to stomp proudly to their own beat.
Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff
Women in Work and Education
Speaker 1I'm walking all alone down my yellow brick road and I stomp to the beat of my own drum. I got my pockets full of dreams and they're busting at the seams going boom, boom, boom.
Speaker 2Welcome to Stacked Keys Podcast. I'm your host, amy Stackhouse. This is a podcast to feature women who are impressive in the work world or in raising a family, or who have hobbies that make us all feel encouraged. Want to hear what makes these women passionate to get up in the morning, or what maybe they wish they'd known a little bit earlier in their lives.
Speaker 1Grab your keys and stomp to my own drum. Whatever you do, it ain't nothing on me, cause I'm doing my thing and I hold the key to all my wants and all my dreams, like an old song, everything will be all right.
Speaker 2Today we have Tony Bruner with us, so excited. I have been in different places with you at different times and you had presentations, and so I cannot wait for the audience to get to know you. Welcome, toni.
Speaker 3Hi, thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here today.
Speaker 2Oh, it is great to have you. I know you are one busy lady, so let's get right to it and tell us how people know you, both professionally, and they know Toni personally.
Speaker 3Yeah, I love this question. Professionally, I am the Executive Director of Legacy Partners in Environmental Education here in Alabama and I also am very blessed to serve on numerous leadership roles through other organizations throughout the state and I guess, professionally or privately, I am a daughter, I am a friend, I am an auntie, which is probably one of my favorite roles. I think that's it, and hopefully just someone that people feel they can come and speak to in their time of need.
Speaker 2You are definitely somebody that is quite personable and in your job you have various roles within that legacy partners organization, so tell me a little bit about what a typical day might look like for you, if there is such.
Speaker 3Yeah, that's loaded, so it varies widely. So with Legacy we are a very small group at the moment, or a small staff. As the director, I'm hoping to get to the point where I am just over. That's a lie. I'm not hoping to get to the point where I'm just overseeing things, because I actually love being out in the middle of it. But I of course see the day to day operations in the office. But we also lead expeditions and so those change up throughout the year. I could be leading a caving expedition for Alabama educators one day and be a couple hundred feet under the ground. Or I could be in front of a computer writing a grant, hoping to get the funds to lead those teachers underground. Or I could be at something amazing like the Alabama Wildlife Festival we just had here in Wetumpka, so we're setting up a display and telling about all the amazing things that we do here. So, yeah, it varies. Or I could be in a classroom with 400 students doing a live animal program.
Speaker 2Oh my goodness. So is there anything you won't do? Caves are probably one of my. I can walk in one, but if I have to crawl in one, I'm not going to do that. I'm definitely not going to swim in one.
Speaker 3I'm not big on wet caves I will admit that and as far as things I won't do, I do have a very healthy respect for water. I had an accident as a young child and so I swim, I kayak, I do all those things, but putting my head underwater, when I do that I'm very much aware of who's near me and just very cautious of that one very much aware of who's near me and just very cautious of that one.
Speaker 2Yeah, so who goes?
Speaker 3caving with you, yeah, so I do it as a hobby. It is something that I love. So I've been a caver now for about 18 years. I was very blessed in the sense that it was introduced to me originally through Legacy. So I'm on my second year with Legacy, or my second go with Legacy, I should say. I spent 13 years, started out as their office assistant and then spent about 13 years as their education coordinator, left for a while, came back as the director.
Speaker 3But when we were doing the first 13 years, I went on a cave expedition. We were taking Alabama educators and that first time I just I got underground and I was like, oh my gosh, this is absolutely fascinating. It just it immediately grabbed me and I loved it and I've been doing it ever since. But as far as, like the expedition we just led, that was for Alabama educators. So part of our job is to share all the amazing biodiversity that Alabama has and to do that with Alabama educators so that they can keep their continuing education credits up. They get certification hours for these, but the idea is to actually get them outdoor to see what they have in their own backyard and be able to take that knowledge back into the classrooms with them.
Speaker 2Oh, wow, wow. Now, legacy Partners is that. Do you find those in other states as well, or is it just a one state?
Speaker 3Yeah, so this specific organization. We are non-profit. We were one of the first specialty CAR tags outside of Auburn and Alabama, so our funds come through the Protect your Environment CAR tag. Most states do have something like. We've got the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. They do things, and there are other great organizations throughout the state. I work with Alabama's Environmental Education Association, that's EEA, so there are a lot of different organizations that do similar work. I don't know of another one specifically that is funded through a CARTAGS just for education throughout other states, I should say. But I'm sure there very possibly are some.
Speaker 2Yeah, this is a good time. If the listeners are interested in being a part of that, how do they become involved? How do they? If they support it through a car tag or through other methods, how do they do that?
Speaker 3Yeah, so you can do it a number of different ways. You can go directly to the revenue office, online or in person, and when you purchase your car tag, all specialty car tags are $50 more than the normal cost of a car tag. That's across the board. One of the great things with Legacies is that ours are tax deductible. They're also free to personalize. So you pay that extra $50, you can personalize it for free, end up with a beautiful car tag. But the most important thing is, out of that $50, $47.98 actually comes back to our organization. All of those funds go into providing the different resources we have. So they can do that. That's one way they can support us. They can also go online to our website and join as a member. We've got different membership levels and then, of course, we work with surprisingly organizations. We work very closely with the Department of Education to provide all those materials. So, yeah, different partnerships. People partner with us all the time and so they can do that lots of different ways.
Speaker 2Wow, that's great, and the fact that much comes back to you guys is pretty phenomenal.
Speaker 3Yeah, we use those funds for a lot of different things. We of course, do the educator expeditions, and those change up yearly as to where we're going to be located and what the topic may be. But we also do internships for students. We also do internships for students. We send them out during the summer to work at different post organizations or post locations where they get six to eight weeks of on-job training and we pay them to do that. We've got free resources. So we've got 13 different posters, all Alabama-specific, like the Birds of Alabama, fishes of Alabama, and so on, as well as many other resources, and we do grants for schools and nonprofits. So, yeah, the resources go on and on.
Speaker 2They do, which kind of leads me to think. Your day goes on and on.
Speaker 3It does, it does, and I'm very, I have been very blessed. They say, do what you love and you never work a day in your life. There is certainly some honesty to that. There are days that I'm pooped, like during the caving expedition we had a couple of really late nights. They were going to bed at around nine and I'm up refilling coolers and getting everything repacked and ready for the next day.
Speaker 2Yeah, but then you also have the overarching responsibility of the budget, the finance, the grants, that all of that is so detail-oriented. How do you find balance within your workday?
Speaker 3It really does vary. I have lots of lists and I actually have a whiteboard sitting there that I mark things off as I go my office assistant and my education coordinator. My education coordinator, penny she's wonderful. She's been with me almost a year now and having her and Kyla, our office assistant, who also cares for our live animals, having those two individuals, have made a huge difference, being able to rely on them. And that's just the day-to-day thing. If a life event or something happens, it's been a blessing to know that they're there and that I can count on them. And we have a wonderful board of directors. So, being a nonprofit organization, I am ran by a board. So there's currently 13 board members and they are located throughout the state of Alabama. But I will say I did recently have a situation with a family situation and I had to be out of the office unexpectedly for nine days, the office unexpectedly for nine days, and I was so thankful that I had board members and my office staff that stepped up and were able to help take care of those things.
Speaker 2So it's a big juggling act, it is because you're not planned out by what's going to happen tomorrow. You're planned out by what's going to happen in 12 months.
Speaker 3Right. So we actually just had our large board meeting this past week and we went ahead and started talking about hey guys. So we've got committees our marketing committee, our programs committee and education committee and we go ahead and start that conversation of we know what we did this year, we know what worked, we know what maybe we need to work on in the future and change up. And so we really do. We come together at that one big meeting to discuss that and we're going ahead and starting to look at that December budget so that we're not going to be hit with it all at once. And then our committees get together throughout the year separately and discuss and go through all those things as well.
Speaker 2Wow, tony, are you doing what you thought you'd be doing when you were coming out of your college days?
Speaker 3So, to be honest, no, ma'am, this is my. I call it my second life, my. My route here was somewhat different than most. I actually quit school when I was 15. I became emancipated and took power control or power of attorney, I should say over my parents control or power of attorney, I should say over my parents. My family here in Wetumpka owned a salon and I started working there as the shampoo assistant when I started, when I was 13, on the weekends and in the evenings. But when I turned 15, I went to work full time there and I became a licensed nail tech esthetician and was on my route to being a massage therapist and was on my route to being a massage therapist and I did that for 13 years and I really did enjoy it.
Life Changing Mentors and Friendships
Speaker 3I loved my clientele, they were great and I'm very personable, so that was something I really enjoyed. However, I knew there was something missing. And growing up, my father was head of construction at Fort Toulouse, jackson Park, and I used to spend all my summers out there with him. We loved nature and just being outdoors, and I guess I was about 29 when I realized there was something missing and I wasn't sure exactly what it was. But I didn't want to just be. I felt stuck.
Speaker 3I guess I should say I enjoyed what I was doing, but it wasn't a love, a deep passion, and so one night I just, I think I sat there and just thought what are you doing, what are you doing with your life? And I had this moment of remembering fishing with my father and seeing a snake sitting on the banks and I was like, oh my gosh, look, it's a. I don't even remember what I called it other than a rattlesnake. And my father said, no, ma'am, it's not, that's a water snake, they are not venomous, they're not going to hurt you. Blah, blah, blah. Anyways, it was. This big moment of that was when I was most happy, I was super excited, so I decided then that I was going to make a change. So I went and enrolled in school and I started college right before my 30th birthday and I had to work three jobs for almost nine years to make it happen and thankfully I walked away with my degree and completely changed my life changed my life.
Speaker 2Wow, that is incredible. You had some pretty strong power.
Speaker 3You were doing mindset before mindset became trendy to talk about. I was very lucky. I had some amazing role models and I like to call them my mentors, my women mentors, because of some of the things that I was dealing with just on a personal level, I didn't know where to go and there were times that I truly felt lost and overwhelmed. But I had a couple people that I know I could pick up the phone and I could call them, particularly to women who were not hugely older, but probably 15, 20 years older, that I saw as successful, bright women and they just they took me under their wing and any questions I had, they were right there to do their best to help guide me. And I also was very blessed in the sense that I had two best friends that I've had my and well, one of've literally not ever not known For 48 years. She's been there. The other one moved here when we were around 11. The three of us have leaned on each other very, very much throughout our adult and our childhood.
Speaker 2Wow, that can really be important as you're going through, whether you're close locally or just close in your pathways, but to have somebody they say what is it? The five people you surround yourself with are the ones that influence you the most, so would you be a believer in that?
Speaker 3I would heavily, and I will say, throughout the years, especially getting started so young in life, I was not always influenced by some of the best role models, and I did, especially in my early 20s. I had a couple periods of life where I was for lack of a better term. I was angry. I was angry at the world, I was angry at God, I was angry at everybody. How could my life turn out the way it was? And I was going the wrong way, and thankfully I went.
Finding Strength and Life Lessons
Speaker 3I got up one morning and went to the bathroom and I looked in the mirror and what I saw was not a person I wanted to be. I was on the road. I was on a really bad road and, thank goodness, whatever that little voice is said, this is not you and this is not what you want. And I think that was my first shift of deciding to step back and I had to say goodbye to some people that I thought were friends and thankfully I realized later that was not just okay, it was needed, it was very much needed. There are seasons in life where we go through different things and I think people are brought into our lives for different reasons and sometimes they're taken out for reasons so yeah, yeah, yeah, as you are progressing through life, career, and what is it that you look forward to?
Speaker 3Oh, that has changed so much throughout the years. I am now, I just turned 48 and I am back living in Wetumpka, which was never, truthfully, my plan. But I think I just look forward to the calm and the point in my life where I feel like I've succeeded, like I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to do and I don't have that angst of what's the next thing and keeping up with just the nonstop. I'm thankful because I've got a busy life and I do enjoy that. But there are days that I do feel overwhelmed and I feel like, oh gosh, when am I going to get off this hamster wheel? But I think I'm getting there and I believe I've been put where I'm supposed to be.
Speaker 3So, even though I never thought I was going to be back here in Wetumpka, I'm here and I love this city. I've always loved this city and being able to be here and provide and help take care of my mother and my aunt and my family is the biggest thing. And, honestly, I've always loved travel. I have traveled extensively. I've been very thankful to do that. But just in the last year I've met someone who's come back into my life, let's just say and so now I have a partner and I'm very thankful for that, and we're. Normally the weekends are let's get up and go and see exactly how far away I can go and what I can do. Now there's something to be said for waking up on a Saturday morning and being able to go. Hey, you want to go to the thrift store down the road or something, and having that. So yeah, that's changed a lot.
Speaker 2Yeah. So it may sound small in the scheme of all of it, but it's part of your whole framework. It sounds like, yeah, absolutely so. If I were to ask you what you thought the difference between wishing and realizing your dreams, would you say that there's a difference and if so, what that might be. So, wishing versus realizing? Oh, be so wishing versus realizing.
Speaker 3Oh man, wishing versus realizing. I always wished I was going to be this big, huge, bright star that was going to bring everybody to Alabama to see how amazing and wonderful it was. And I don't know. But I think it's changed throughout my time, because now I realize that it doesn't have to be that huge and that grandiose. I may just hit that one person, but that one person may go on to touch countless lives, and so what I thought was going to have to be something big and huge doesn't necessarily have to be. I think it changes as we get older and as things in our lives change.
Speaker 2Yeah, you get to look back and see some things, things that you didn't know how they were going to come to fruition or what they would happen. So you have a little bit of hindsight that you can put to that. So your definition of strong? I'm sitting here thinking well, I think your picture's in the dictionary beside the word strong, because that's quite a lot. What's your definition of strong, toni?
Speaker 3Yeah, Wow, that's a difficult one. I don't think it has to be that boisterous outgoing strength that we usually look at or think of. So my mother is the sweetest lady you'll ever meet. She has had some huge punches in her life. She's been knocked down. She's got a little bit of a learning disability so she's a little bit slower sometimes getting it. Once she does, she's got it. But my mother lost her mother and brother fairly young and my father has passed away Recently. My sister passed away.
Speaker 3She has dealt with so much and she sees herself as this weak little timid lady. And I wish she could see what I see, because I see this extremely strong woman who has had so many things thrown her way and where so many people would just crumble. She hasn't and she doesn't see that. And to me, I think strong is different for everyone. So, yeah, she's always telling me how amazing I am and how I do all these things, and I go and I don't ask for permission or I don't think about what someone thinks of me in this, which is not true, but she sees those things and I look at her and I go wow, the fact that you're still sitting here, speaking, just breathing day to day after the things you've gone through. You're strong. You're the definition of strong lady. That's what I want to say.
Speaker 2So, yeah, Wow, and that you've come full circle in relationship, and sometimes that's hard. You have to have a certain amount of humbleness to be in relationship with family and with all the changes and things that go on. So would you say that a lot of your life lessons really came from the life that you've lived.
Speaker 3Absolutely, absolutely. I've had people say, if you could wish it away, would you have wished that you hadn't gone through those things, that you graduated high school and you went to prom and you did all those things that everybody else did. And there have certainly been events that I wish had not happened, but if I truly think about them, I wouldn't be the person I am without those things happening. They were hard, they were tough, some of them were horrific, but at the same time, all of those things made me who I am today and I think they made me appreciate some of the struggles that other people go through. And when I see and hear these things, sometimes it gives me a little bit of insight and understanding. So I always think back of this one situation. There's a place, the Family Sunshine Center.
Speaker 3So, it is for abused women and children. And many years ago I said during my early 20s that I had an angry period in life. My father was bipolar and he also suffered from post-polio. So the latter part of his life he got where he couldn't walk, but up until then they would try to balance out his medicine for the bipolar as well as the situation with his legs, and sometimes those would interact and it would cause a manic state or other things. So there was a period where my dad had gotten sick and he acted out. He wrecked a vehicle, he did all these things. He didn't know who he was at the time when he was doing these things, but when it happened he was on his way to get my mother and afterwards, anyways, I was very angry because in my mind, even though he I thought he should know better this shouldn't have happened.
Speaker 3Early 20s, angry, we went almost two years without speaking, two years for my dad, for someone who I was very close to. But I was doing child care at the Family Sunshine Center so that the ladies could go to have group therapy, and there was this one little boy who always came in and I thought I was angry. This boy, he was always fighting the other kids. He would curse, he would fight, it was just constant. And one day he hit this little boy and there was this situation. I stepped him outside and I said what is wrong with you? And I remember just like getting really seriously upset why are you always so angry? And I knew the situation. I knew his father was bipolar and he was an alcoholic and his mother, of course, had his issues. But anyway, this child looked right at me and he said my daddy doesn't love me. He could care less if I died tomorrow.
Speaker 3And all of a sudden it hit me. How tragic was that. But even more, what hit me was the fact that, wow, this light bulb moment, that wow, this light bulb moment. As mad as I was at my father and for everything that had taken place, I knew my father loved me. I knew deep in my soul that he loved me, my mother and my sister, and he would do anything for us. His situation was a mental illness that he could not fix. And that was a moment where, all of a sudden, I realized, wow, you've been mad at this man and you've been allowing this to destroy a relationship with him, and it doesn't have to be. So I had to come to a little self-realization there, and I don't know if that answered your question at all, but it hit me and that was what made me think of.
Speaker 2Don't know if that answered your question at all, but it hit me and that was what made me think of yeah, that's powerful. It goes back to relationships can have such an impact on everything. You take everything added together and that one interaction can be a pivot moment.
Speaker 3It was I, immediately, when I left that night, I picked up the phone. I called my dad and I said I'm on my way, and thank God I did, because we got to spend the next eight years him being there, me loving him and being able to, yeah, spend time with him.
Speaker 2Be a part. We talked when you first introduced yourself. There were a lot of points that led toward leadership, so I want to ask you what's your idea of a good leader?
Speaker 3A listener and I'm still learning that. I'm still learning that. I think strong is a good word, but I think the best thing is being able to listen and not just hear it but truly listen. I mentioned earlier my education coordinator, so I was in that role for 13 years and me stepping back and trying to now be the director.
The Importance of Vulnerability and Help
Speaker 3That's a whole different world in the same business and I've got a really good, a good coworker slash employee, who I think is going to be great. But sometimes I have to remind myself when she's talking to me because I know that I know some things and I can explain it to her to help her. But sometimes I have to step back and just listen to her because, just because the way I did it, I thought work doesn't mean it's the only way it can be done. It can be done, and in some cases better, and she's taught me that, but I do. I think in order to be a good listener or a good leader, you've got to learn to listen to those that are around you and actually take in what they're asking for and what their needs are and be open to working with them on those.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's interesting that you say that, because listening is a skill that can be learned, but it is one that I think we struggle with across the board. That I think we struggle with across the board, I think, from children not listening to coworkers, not listening to us, not listening to our partners. It just listening is so key to life. There are a lot of elements in life. Is there something?
Speaker 3that you think you'll always need help with Probably just slowing down and being present. I think because of the nature of my job and just me wanting to go and being so outgoing, sometimes it's very hard for me to slow down and just step back and know that someone else, it's okay for someone else to take over to do these things and that they can do just as good of a job, if not in some cases, better but I have to be willing to step back and let them have that opportunity.
Speaker 2Is there a subject that just makes your brain hurt, or a work situation, or just something that you're just like? Yeah, that is on my lower to-do list.
Speaker 3I hate math.
Speaker 2I'll be honest I hate math.
Speaker 3I was terrible at it in school. When I went back to and did start college, we had a. At that time I was a runner and thankfully the math professor was a runner. I was, as I said, working several jobs and trying to keep things going and for him I didn't have the money for a tutor. So he was a free tutor through the university and he was only supposed to meet with you, I think, every two weeks.
Speaker 3But he could see me struggling and he would say, hey, if someone meet with you, I think, every two weeks. But he could see me struggling and he would say, hey, if someone cancels, I'll give you a call. And thank God for Mr Richardson, he would call me in when he had that last minute cancellation and I'd run in and he would help me through it. But he helped me learn that I was number dyslexic and I had no idea I had to take the test and everything. And he said I have said 67 and you've written 76 down every time and just like math, I despise it, it is not my thing. And I've said I don't know how in the world I have not bankrupt my mother or myself or one of us handling our accounts for all these years.
Speaker 2Yeah, I hate it, but sometimes, seeing it gets it. I know that the creative mind and the mathematical mind are not the same and in my personal opinion, I choose creative every other time because you can find somebody to help you on the math. The creative that's more of a struggle yes, our accountant's a blessing.
Speaker 3She's wonderful. I call her quite often to help me go through the budgets and spreadsheets, for her advice and help yeah, tony, your day is so full.
Speaker 2How do you prioritize your days? How do you sit down and come up with a schedule?
Speaker 3we actually sat down recently, we had a board retreat and we created a just an entire annual work calendar. So that's been very helpful because of the fact that we do have the internships and the grants and all these different things that come due at different times and the workshops. I use that annual calendar very heavily and also, like I said, I have my list because now with my mother and aunt, I know every single Wednesday I'm going to go over there and refill their medicines for the week. I know certain things. So list, that's the only way I can do it.
Speaker 3And relying on others, I've got a cousin, adam, and his wife, mary Lee, who live close and they have been so wonderful to step up and help. And now that my partner, he's been amazing with the ladies and just being able to walk next door when I am out leading our Mountains to the Gulf workshop or one of our other workshops or just attending. Next week I'll be in Pittsburgh, pennsylvania, for the National Environmental Educators Association Conference and while I'm gone that week, normally I don't know what I'd do. I would either have to change careers or something. But the fact that I've got him here, knowing I can rely on him to help them if they need something. And with Mary Lee and Adam, that's made a big difference. And, like I said, the ladies, my best friends. It takes a tribe. I've never been married, I've never had kids, but somehow I've collected all this and it's just yeah, they've been wonderful having that help.
Speaker 2I like how you said that you've collected. Yeah, it's a choice. It's a choice to be out there and to let people in. Do you find sometimes that you're more vulnerable than you want to be because you're also out there, being one incredibly strong woman in the work world of making all these things happen? Whether it's board directed or not, you've got to make it happen. So there's a. Do you find yourself in a vulnerable feeling sometimes?
Speaker 3Yeah, I do, and I think I've had to learn you can only allow yourself or you can only be as good as you allow yourself to be, and sometimes that means when I'm being vulnerable and I feel like I'm getting overwhelmed or there's too much, I have to step back and I have to know when that's coming and how to do that. I actually have a counselor. I was, I've started seeing a counselor after my sister's passing and I've gone. I actually have a counselor. I was, I've started seeing a counselor after my sister's passing and I've gone. I'll go and I'll see him and I'll realize okay, right now I'm just really things are touchy.
Speaker 3Maybe it's that vulnerable, or maybe it's just I'm on a on a different plane of where things are getting to me, and I had to come to the realization that I can't be my best self if I don't take care of me, and I can't take care of those others and help them if I don't. So knowing that I can only be as good as I allow myself to be by taking care of myself is probably one of the biggest things. We all have problems. I had this conversation with someone not too long ago. We all think our problems are the worst and it's always so big in our minds. But just because your problems are no different than anyone else's, problems are simply yours, and understanding that and knowing how to step back and ask for help is huge, and that's been my. I think I'm very vulnerable when it comes to that, but I've learned that there is nothing wrong with knowing you need help. It's the wrong is not knowing how to accept it.
Speaker 2Do you find that and you may not want to go down this road, which is fine, but in the mental illness and in getting even just counseling, that doesn't fall into a mental illness capacity but there's so much stigma or has been in the past. Maybe COVID changed that a little bit, but do you find that irritating?
Speaker 3The stigma that's on that.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah. Or do you see that? You may not even see that.
Speaker 3I will say maybe, like you said, with COVID, it's becoming so much more of a norm. Now people have telechecks and all these things and I think I'm assuming or I do feel like it was COVID that changed a lot of that. I think it was already starting, but now there's almost a point where it's become a clicky thing. It's oh, I'm going to go see my counselor today. I've got my appointment with them today, so I think that part's getting better. When it's coming to just you realizing you may be overwhelmed and needing some help Mental illness I think we have a huge, huge problem that we need to really look at and spend and investigate National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
Speaker 3They're always needing help but they're also a very big resource. But I work in downtown Montgomery I'm sorry, downtown Montgomery is off the Eastern Bypass, on Carmichael, and it's sad. It is very sad. We all know that there are people that you know are homeless or on drugs or this or that we see and that's what everybody associates. But there are a lot of people on those corners that simply have a mental illness and they need help. And it's very sad because a lot of all of our mental health institutions have closed down and some of these people don't know where to go or how to get that help. And it's very hard to get people with mental illness help. My father lived in the home with us and just getting them the resources and the help they need is huge and it's not easy.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's not easy and it's expensive, it's yes, all of those things, all of those things come together. So I don't know, it's just, it's been things, all of those things come together. So I don't know, it's just. It's been interesting to me because, you're right, it is almost trendy to have a counselor or a therapist, but I'm thankful.
Speaker 2Yeah, but it can. But it can be so much deeper than that, and I want people, when they're listening, to realize that that help is available. And maybe that's where the first thing you need to do is look at the people you surround yourself with who are willing to help. You find help, that's right or tell you the truth. Do you find that the friends that you have are truth tellers?
Speaker 3Yes, and some of my friends have changed throughout time and we have our periods where me and this one's always we see each other once a week or we talk every day, and then we'll go through periods where it's the other and I think, with them. Of course, things have changed because they have had families, they've had kids, and now this one's kids are completely graduated and going on to get married, or this one's in the stage where their kids are in college. We've leaned on each other throughout the years in different aspects, according on what we're going through and what's needed. But, yeah, friends change and your relationships and just everything you're needing at different times.
Speaker 3But the first time I had to see a counselor, I did not. I was not about it at all. I was very unhappy and it was when I was becoming emancipated At 15, they don't just let you do that. You have to show them that you're competent and you're able to take care of yourself and why you need to be on your own or take on those responsibilities. And I did, but I was not happy about having to see a counselor and speaking to them at all.
Speaker 3Now I'm 48 and I'm in a different space in my life and in my head and I am so thankful for that counselor and sometimes it's just me going in there and just letting it all out what's going on this week and other days it's just sitting there and telling him the calm of what's been going on or those type things.
Speaker 2So it changes it's funny that you say that, because sometimes it's wait, I'm paying to dump on you. I don't want to dump on my friend because I feel like all I do is when I talk to him as dump and then it's, but you're getting paid for it. Can you change the thought, tony? Can you tell when thought, toni? Can you tell when you need an adventure? Can you tell when you need to step away and just go?
Speaker 3Yes, yes, absolutely. I get anxious, I start getting the, just the, I've got to move, I've got to go, I've got to do something. And thankfully usually there's just always another adventure around the way. I tell people all the time one of my loves and one of the reasons I travel extensively but in Alabama we have so much and that is why I love what I do so much is because Alabama gets the bad rap. We always hear about football, we always hear about civil rights and all the things that took place there, but what people don't seem to realize is that they live in one of the most biodiverse states in the nation. We rank fourth in total biodiversity and number one in aquatics.
Speaker 3And if this week is getting antsy for me, I can get in my car and within two and a half hours I can be at a beach. Or within three hours I can be up at the foothills of the Appalachian. Hours, I can be up at the foothills of the Appalachian. There is so much in this state that we have that we take for granted. So, yes, I do, I know when it ventures, when I need it, I know it. And if I don't have time to plan it out, do something huge. I know that it's right in my own backyard and that's why I just I love being here.
Speaker 2Yeah, you can tell that you do. I just I love being here. Yeah, you can tell that you do. And you talked, you said earlier, about one of the programs that y'all have is the mountain to the gulf mountains to the gulf?
Speaker 3yes, crazy mountains to the gulf is amazing. So that is the largest workshop expedition that we host and we do it every other year because it is such a huge undertaking just planning as well as financial. But on that expedition we take 20 educators and we have five of the leading scientists in Alabama that come and join us.
Educational Workshops and Finding Purpose
Speaker 3We start at Camp McDowell in Vue, alabama, up north, and then we travel the entire state, staying at a different location every single night. So when we cover the biodiversity of Alabama, we're talking about the aquatics. We're not just telling them they're number one in freshwater aquatics, we're getting them into the waterways so that they can seine, so that they can pull up some of those animals and actually look at them and explore. We're looking at the geology. Alabama has such a huge range of geological diversity that it's just overwhelming. In between that, our climate, our rainfall, all of those things make our state phenomenal. So when we can share that and we're traveling all the way from Camp McDowell to DeSoto State Park, to Cheehaw, we come through Wetumpka. So we change our routes a little bit each year or each every other year, but we'll be in Wetumpka and we kayak the Coosa River. We talk about the Wetumpka Impact Crater, we work our way basically all the way down to Dolphin Island Sea Lab where we spend the last two days taking them out into the Gulf and they get to do some trolling there and pull up critters. It's just phenomenal. These educators walk away with the resources they need to take back into their classrooms to be able to share that knowledge with their students. They walk away with all the continuing education hours and credits they need for, I think, a two or three year period I'd have to look into that, but I believe it's 55 hours they get. So it's just phenomenal.
Speaker 3And as much as I love teaching students and being with students, one thing I've always said, and I learned years back, was that if I can reach that one educator, that one teacher, especially that teacher that's been sitting behind a desk for 15 years and is on the cusp of a little burnout they're trying to, they're continuing to do their job, but they're just pooped and they're there If I can get that educator on that bus, oh my gosh.
Speaker 3When they step away eight days later, they're rejuvenated. They're exhausted, but they're exhausted in a great way. They are rejuvenated. They've learned the flora, the fauna, the everything you can think about, and they are so excited to take that back into their classroom. That one teacher, the amount, the hundreds of students they're going to reach in their lifetime, that's work I will never be able to do. So that's the thing that I really love I think that's what that keeps me going is if I can get that teacher excited if I can just build that little spark. They're going to shoot that spark out to hundreds of students and just keep it burning so bright.
Speaker 2That's phenomenal, that sounds exciting. So is it a real competitive thing to get the teacher?
Speaker 3I'm sorry.
Speaker 2So is it a real competitive thing to get the teacher? Is it a very competitive thing?
Speaker 3It's competitive in the sense that we put this one up and whomever signs up. So we do take kindergarten through 12th grade. Those are our first. We have to offer it to those educators first and then if a slot's not open, we do open it up. We do also work with non-formal educators. We've had professors from universities come and we've had we have a lot of naturalists. We work, like I said, really heavily with the state parts that will come. We have been asked to offer the workshop more often and to others. But, like I said, besides just the amount of detail, of planning that goes into, it's very expensive and, as we all know, things are getting more and more expensive and our goal is to offer these workshops as low cost as possible for educators. So yeah, it's one of those. The moment it goes up, it's first come, first serve and it's normally booked with a hefty waiting list.
Speaker 2Yeah, I can imagine. I can imagine because the one thing about teachers is they talk. So when they come across something that's great, they do like to share it, so I can't think of any better mouthpieces for the organization. So we've talked about so many things, but I have one question that I do want to ask you, and that is do you you have so many decisions to make and so many things that you have your hand in, to both lead and direct and influence Do you find that you listen with your head or your heart?
Speaker 3So I would say I guess it's weird to say both, but for many years I listened with my head because I had to take care of my parents or help helping with my parents. I should say, but especially when it comes to my mom and my family, it's total heart. I can be, she can, she knows exactly what to say or do to get me to, whether it's to go shopping or whether it's just to hang out or what, yeah both. But with my family, whether it's to go shopping or whether it's just to hang out or what, yeah it both. But with my family. It's definitely hard like to say ahead, but I think it.
Speaker 2I think that's changed also as I've gotten older yeah, tony, we've talked about a lot of different things. Is there anything that we haven't mentioned that you want to make sure that you do talk about?
Speaker 3Just making sure that you allow yourself to I hear it all the time give yourself grace. Giving yourself grace, allowing yourself to be the best person you can be by taking care of yourself, is the biggest thing. And other than that, if you do live in, if you don't live in Alabama, let me redirect that. If you don't live in Alabama, come see Alabama and see it for all those things that people never think about it, for I just, I love our state so much and I think it's just such a blessing to have it here.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, if you do live in Alabama, get out of the door and get out there and see, because there with every season there's something and and that it doesn't have anything huge.
Speaker 3You can just literally walk down the river or just take a little hike. We got 21 state parks in Alabama. There is something you can do that's easily accessible for anyone that's good, tony.
Speaker 2What would you tell younger Tony was coming?
Speaker 3um, that's good, toni. What would you tell younger Toni was coming? I would tell her there's a lot of hard coming, but there's a lot of good, so much good. We right now are in a phase in our lives where we have a two and a half year old and a three year old. I call them my nieces. There were four of us grandchildren on this side my two male cousins and my sister.
Speaker 3Nor I ever got married and had kids, but we've got this two and a half year old and this three year old and worth all the heartache and the hard that I have dealt with throughout my life, just having them Wow, it's amazing. I never, ever, thought something would be so wonderful. But when we are with those kiddos and they were just here last night and little Wyatt Weaver, she will sit down and I think she's going to be our nature girl. She started this thing where she'll look at something really deeply and she'll go I've got a problem, but then she'll go. I've got an idea. I've got a problem, but then you go. I've got an idea, and that just blows my mind. It makes me so proud and so happy and hopefully the other ones are going to be coming up from Panama City before too much longer. We'll get them back to Alabama, but but the hard times will let up and they will let up to some beautiful, amazing ones. So just stay strong and keep going. Beautiful, amazing ones. So just stay strong and keep going Very good.
Speaker 2How do people get in touch with you, Toni?
Speaker 3If you want to go to Legacy Partners in Environmental Education, all you got to do is click the staff button and you'll see me right there. Otherwise I am on Facebook and there again that's just Toni Bruner. I've got Instagram and all them, but to be honest, I do well to post on Facebook. I've always said I'm not a tech person. Thankfully Blue is, but I can blow up an electronic, I can take you hiking, caving or canoeing, but I cannot do the tech part. But yeah, you can find me on Facebook or through Legacy, for sure, Find me on Facebook or through Legacy, for sure.
Speaker 2Okay, that's fantastic, and I think that the world's going to shift a little bit and people are going to be going more your route than the technology route, because they're all getting fed up with it. I have one more question. If you have 24 hours and you have a superpower, you can use it personally or professionally. What superpower would you choose? What would you do with it and why would that be your choice?
Speaker 3Well, if you had asked me this two days ago, I would have wanted stretchy arms and legs for those caving and crawling. But if I really think about it, I think it would be the ability to heal, especially mental illness, or to at least give some yeah to heal, to give them peace of mind. So if I could, just I think I would go somewhere where I knew that was prevalent and these people needed it and I would just touch as many people as I possibly could and just give them peace of mind and take that away. Yeah.
Speaker 2Very good, tony. Thank you, it's been awesome.
Speaker 3Thank you, I enjoyed it very much and I'm sure I will see you again. And we don't care, I'm sure I will see you again in my time here soon.
Speaker 2Definitely Find Stacked Keys Podcast on Spotify, soundcloud and iTunes or anywhere you get your favorite podcast listen. You'll laugh out loud, you'll cry a little, you'll find yourself encouraged. Join us for casual conversation that leads itself, based on where we take it from family to philosophy, to work to meal prep, to beautifully surviving life, to meal prep, to beautifully surviving life. And hey, if I could ask a big favor of you, go to iTunes and give us a five rating. The more people who rate us, the more we get this podcast out there. Thanks, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1I'm gonna go out and say it real proud. Nobody's gonna step on my cloud cause I stomp, stomp to the beat of my big drum. I got a big drum. Whatever you do, it ain't nothing on me, cause I'm doing my thing and I got the key to all my wants and all my dreams. Yeah, cause I stomp to my own drum, stomp to my own song Stomp. Hey, gonna put on my boots and Outro Music. I've got my pockets full of dreams, yeah, and they've been passing out the same thing. Wow, wow, wow.