Ep. 52 - How Love Serving Autism Is Changing Lives Through Tennis

Finding the right place for a child with autism to feel included isn't always easy. That's exactly why Lisa Pugliese-LaCroix, Founder and Executive Director of Love Serving Autism, and Mara Friedman, Coach and Therapist Outreach Coordinator, have dedicated their work to creating welcoming sports programs where every athlete has the opportunity to grow.

Michael Nathanson sits down with Lisa and Mara to talk about how Love Serving Autism has expanded across the country through tennis, pickleball, and padel while helping participants build communication skills, confidence, friendships, and independence. They share how speech therapy and adaptive coaching work together on the court, why evidence-based programming matters, and the life-changing impact these programs have on children, adults, and their families.

The conversation also explores the organization's 10-year journey, the importance of trained coaches and volunteers, upcoming expansion, fundraising efforts, and why access to inclusive sports has never been more important. Along the way, they share stories about family, favorite restaurants, music, tennis, and the passion that continues to drive their mission forward.

If you'd like to support Love Serving Autism, learn about volunteer opportunities, attend the annual gala, or help expand inclusive programming, this conversation is a great place to start.

Contact Michael Nathanson:
Email: Michael@soldbythebros.com
Website: https://soldbythebros.com/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome back to Food, Family, and Philanthropy, the podcast where we shine a light on the incredible people and organizations making a real difference in our communities. You know, one of the things I love most about this show is discovering organizations that solve problems most of us never even think about. We all know that sports have the power to build confidence, create friendships, and improve physical and mental health. But for many families, raising a child with autism, finding a place where their child child truly feels included and understood can be incredibly difficult. That's exactly why today's conversation is so important. Our first guest is Lisa Puglis-Lacroix, the visionary founder and executive director of Love Serving and Autism. What began with a simple belief that every individual deserves the opportunity to experience the joy, confidence, and connection that sports can provide has grown into an organization changing lives through the games of tennis, pickleball, and Padel. Under Lisa's leadership, Love Serving Autism has expanded its reach across the country, creating inclusive programs where individuals with autism can develop not only athletic skills, but communication, social confidence, and lifelong friendships. Joining Lisa is Mara Friedman, Love Serving Autism's coach and therapist outreach coordinator. Mara plays a vital role in building relationships with coaches, therapists, and families, helping ensure that every participant receives the support they need to thrive both on and off the court. Her passion for inclusion and her commitment to empowering individuals with autism make her an invaluable part of the organization's mission. Today we're going to talk about how one sport is opening doors, changing perceptions, strengthening families, and proving that with the right support, everyone deserves the chance to play, grow, and belong. So grab your favorite snack, settle in, and get ready to be inspired. Please help me welcome Lisa and Mara from Love Serving Autism. Welcome.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

My pleasure. Thank you for being here. How was the the intro? Is it good? Did I hit some good stuff?

SPEAKER_03 2:08

You nailed it. Nailed it. Good.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

I'm really glad to hear we connect. Do you remember how we connected? We were talking about it before the show, me and me and Mara. But do you remember?

SPEAKER_02 2:17

Mildly, briefly. I actually had to look back.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

I'm like, wait, how did we connect? Philip with rare blue moon marketing introduced us. And I'm so glad.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

So glad. So glad.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Thank you so much for being here. So we talked, we actually booked this like months ago. So we had a nice conversation months ago, but I'm old, I can't remember everything. So we're going to go over all the stuff again today.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

You and me both. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

So we're going to jump into obviously what you do is very important, right? We're not going to talk about that yet. We want the world to get to know a little bit about you first. So we're going to talk about one of my favorite things on the planet, which is food.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Are you foodies? I know you're athletes, but athletes can eat too.

SPEAKER_02 2:57

A little bit. A little bit. A little bit.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Doesn't sound promising, but we will see. Okay, so, and I'll ask each of you. So, Lisa, I'll ask you first. Do you have a favorite local restaurant?

SPEAKER_02 3:10

Oh boy. Favorite local restaurant. Oh my goodness. I have a few. But this sounds kind of I like Capitol Grill.

SPEAKER_00 3:21

Nothing wrong with Capitol Grill.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

That's one of my favorites. I my husband likes to take me there on celebratory, you know, events. And uh I also like the meat market, um, which is in uh Boca on Palm Beach, I believe. Yeah. But that's one of my favorites also.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Excellent. Do you ever do New York Prime?

SPEAKER_02 3:39

I haven't been.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Really? No. So I I love steak. I always have, I mean, I love almost everything, but New York Prime is my favorite steakhouse. I love Capitol Grill. I think Meat Market is really good. Abe and Lewis is good. There's good ones around. For me, New York Prime's just got that vibe too. Like you go in on a Friday night, it's packed. Okay. They have a guy like playing the keyboard and singing by the bar, and it's just like energy and fun. Try it sometime.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

And although it's a steakhouse, and I've talked about this before on the show, the chilled crab, if you like that, is delicious. They make the sauces on the side, and you want to like drink it like you're like licking the bowl, finishing off the sauce. It is so good. So my wife and I will go there on a date night. We'll she'll get a drink. Sometimes I'm not a big drinker. Sometimes I'll get a drink, sometimes I'll get a ginger ale, which is like my favorite drink. And uh we'll we'll get the chilled crab and then we'll split a steak and we'll just have the best time, right? So wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 4:35

Try it. Tell your hobby. My husband is a foodie. His dad uh was a chef. Um so Kyle is just knows so much about restaurants and culinary. So I usually go along with what he That's cool. What wherever he invites me. I like that.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

Don't have to make the decisions. That's the toughest part. That's awesome. How about you, Mare?

SPEAKER_03 4:55

Um God, that's a tough one. I do love the meat market. Um, I do like to drink, so I like their drinks there. Yeah, I like their specialty cocktails. Okay. And I really don't eat meat on a too often. Right. Um, but when I do go there, I get the petite filet.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

I was just gonna ask what your cut was.

SPEAKER_03 5:20

Well done.

unknown 5:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

Yes, I know I'm always questioned by the waiter. So are you sure? Well done.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

Do they butterfly it for you?

SPEAKER_03 5:27

They do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

I don't want to- So it doesn't take an hour to cook?

SPEAKER_03 5:29

No. I don't want any blood. Yeah. I don't want any any pink, any red. That's okay. But what I love the most is the sides.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:38

Oh, yes. Oh yeah. Oh yes. Totally get that. Give me some some cream spinach, maybe onion rings, Brussels sprouts are my favorite. I love Brussels. Vegetable.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Very nice. Yeah. Awesome. I love it. So, right. So you talked about places you like and things like if you're having a day and you're like, man, I need X to eat. Is there it doesn't have to be for meat market or capital grill. Is there like a God? I gotta have this dish. I gotta something. Is there something that sticks out to you? It's food is emotion.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

Crumble cookie. Really?

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Yeah, crumble? Oh god, my wife's not gonna. My wife is so anti-crumble cookie.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Why?

SPEAKER_00 6:14

And I don't disagree. I feel like they undercook their cookies a lot. Yes. And I I hate that part.

SPEAKER_02 6:19

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 6:20

I do like a lot of the flavors. Did you ever try the oh my gosh, the uh Dubai chocolate?

SPEAKER_02 6:24

Yes, I have.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

That is in my so my older son does vlogging for the crumble stuff, and he we get crumble and we all try it and we all rate it. And uh that one was by far the best that we had the best.

SPEAKER_02 6:39

I did have one after an event recently, and Kyle bought it for me as a present, and it was in the refrigerator, and he said, You gotta taste this. I said, What is this? And it was Dubai chocolate.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:50

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Absolutely ridiculous. Have you ever tried it?

SPEAKER_03 6:54

I've had crumble cookies. I have not had the Dubai chocolate. Okay. By far the best.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

And I'm not anti-crumble. I do agree that they don't cook them enough all the time. But I do like a lot of their cookies. Although I try not to eat it too often. How about yourself, Mara? Is there something?

SPEAKER_03 7:08

You know what? I yeah, you're gonna laugh, but I happen to love Pura Vita.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 7:14

And I have a sweet tooth, but I have to have uh like frozen yogurt every single night. So I love getting the asaebles from Pura Vita. They now have a uh a falafel rat that I love because I love Middle Eastern food.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

So very cool. Yeah, okay. Yeah, so that's sweet tooth. I gotta tell you, I've been having a snack lately that is I am just in love with, and I can't stop eating it. I just cut up a banana, I put some fresh blueberries, just a little bit of cinnamon and a little bit of honey, and it is like the best snack I am so happy and satisfied after. I've actually been having it for like a snack and for breakfast. Oh wow. I absolutely love it.

SPEAKER_03 7:55

Have you tried an apple, baked apple? Slice up an apple, um, put it in the microwave for about 60 seconds, take it out, sprinkle cinnamon on it, maybe a little granola.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

That sounds delicious.

SPEAKER_03 8:08

Like apple crisp.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

I've got kids, by the way. I don't have time for that.

SPEAKER_03 8:12

All right, well, it takes about one minute. Yeah. That's what I said.

SPEAKER_00 8:15

I don't have time for that.

SPEAKER_03 8:16

Sounds just joking.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

No, that sounds absolutely delicious, actually. Uh I'm sure you travel, right? Especially Love Serving Autism is now all over. So do you have like a favorite out-of-town restaurant?

SPEAKER_02 8:26

Well, I don't Mayor and I haven't really gone anywhere out of town together. Other than New York US Open. So maybe we'll have to look into this year.

SPEAKER_03 8:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Going out to dinner at one of the restaurants. Um, yeah, I mean, honestly, there's my husband did take me to a very well-known restaurant called Alinea. It's in Chicago. Okay. Have you heard? It's like a Michelin Star. It's a little heard of it. Um, molecular gastronomy is the type of food, and everything is about presentation. And Grant Atkins is the chef, and it's very well known if you get a chance to look at it. Awesome. I've never been to Chicago. He flew me there just to take me there. It's a great thing. Chicago is wonderful. I'll get great city. Okay, my wife's been.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

I have not been yet.

SPEAKER_03 9:03

Just don't go in the winter.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

No, got it. Listen, I'm from Massachusetts. I ain't doing that again.

SPEAKER_03 9:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

I took my kids to see snow a couple years ago. I'm good. Yeah. Like you kids want to go, you can go by yourself. I'm good. Uh, I think that's awesome. Listen, when I when I travel and I travel for conferences or for fun or whatever it is, I uh I do a few things. Number one, I always find a local pizza spot because I love pizza and I just want to try whatever it is, hole in the wall pizza they got there. And then I always look for a restaurant I've never tried before. I don't go, I try not to go to chains when I'm out when I'm out of the area. And uh I just I love food. I love to try different things. So I always find that fun. And like honestly, when I go, now it's like a staple. Like when I go to certain cities, I'm like, I have to go to this restaurant, I have to go to this restaurant, I don't care what's going on. I love food.

SPEAKER_02 9:46

And we went to Iceland too, my husband and I. Just a side note, and the food there is phenomenal. It's very like clean and pure and just wonderful. Like we want to go again next year.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

That's how I felt in Europe. Yes. The the food is just so clean.

SPEAKER_02 9:58

Like did you have puffins when you were there? Yes, we did. You did. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

The only puffin I know is an animal.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

That's what it is. That's what it is.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Really? They're like penguin y kind of thing. Really? Interesting. Is it what is it? Is it like chicken? Like what does it taste like?

SPEAKER_03 10:12

It's it's a little meat from what I remember, because I was in Iceland also about I don't know, seven years ago. Yeah, it's a little meaty, almost like duck. Right, I think.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Okay.

unknown 10:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

And I tried it. I tried just about anything.

SPEAKER_03 10:26

They're cute though. So, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

I get it. Puffin, interesting. I did not know that was a thing. Very cool. See, we learned something today, folks. Or I did anyway. How about sports? Like, obviously, you're into tennis, pickleball, and pedell. Are you into other sports? Do you like, you know, the the majors base basketball, baseball, football, hockey?

SPEAKER_03 10:50

I have to be honest, I don't I love to watch tennis on TV and I get very inspired. And, you know, I watch an event. So now Wimbledon just started yesterday. So, you know, I'm watching the pros and you know, all eyes are on Serena now because she's back and forth. I I want to get I want to get out there. I'm like, all right, I want to try this and I want to try that shot. And it sometimes it works, usually it doesn't. But um yeah, I really I I don't love I don't love any uh watching any other sport. I like playing sports. Right.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

So that's okay, by the way. There's no wrong answers here. Unless you're a Yankees fan. Other than that, there's no wrong answers.

SPEAKER_02 11:32

Yeah, I do like the um Olympics is my favorite time of the year because I I love watching um college sports more than pro basketball, pro football, pro all that. Like I I just love college sports, college stories. Um when I when I was at Duke, my freshman year was all about basketball. Yeah, I and I transferred to UF. It's a long story, but my son's gonna go to UF in the fall.

SPEAKER_00 11:52

Yay.

SPEAKER_02 11:53

Um but Duke was all about basketball and meeting him at Coach Sheshewski and cool team. He's the legend, yeah, the most legendary.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

I won't ask you who was playing when you were there. I don't want to put you in that position.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:06

I it growing up, I'm from Massachusetts, but I always loved watching Duke because I just felt Shoshevsky was such a great coach. And like he just kept the team like they were always calm and played right. I just I loved watching them and I've played basketball. I still play, I'm actually playing tonight. I can't wait. I can't wait. I uh I've been playing since I'm four years old. Okay, and I love it. And uh I love college sports too, although I believe that the NIL, all the stuff going on, has absolutely ruined college sports as well. So uh I still go, I just don't love it as much because there's no loyalty, it's all gone, just like the pros. There's no loyalty, it's just money, it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_02 12:42

So and and the agreed and the World Cup um soccer, my brother did play collegiate soccer, so his so we're flying into New Jersey in two weeks for his 50th World Cup. It's a 50th birthday party for my brother, but also it's the World Cup finals. So we're gonna have a big party for my brother. That's really cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

So what team are you rooting for? Well, you never know. I don't know. I have two. I married a Brazilian woman, so I have to root for Brazil or I won't live. All right. And of course, I'm pulling for the US. I think it's fun. I you know, it's the older I get, like I feel like I'm busier and I don't have time. Yeah. I I do like soccer. I just very rarely watch it. I don't have time. I get I'm busy.

SPEAKER_02 13:21

You're busy. I'm busy.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

It's all good though. But okay, so tennis, Olympics, college sports, I like it. I like it. Very cool. So here's a a question that I added recently, which I was just I was actually during a podcast. I'm like, oh my god, I gotta why haven't I asked this before? And I'm excited to ask it, so I'll let you answer separately. Don't look so nervous, it's not bad.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

Is it is it music?

SPEAKER_00 13:41

Yes. Oh, what is your favorite band of all time? And do you have a favorite song when you're feeling down or feeling good?

SPEAKER_03 13:49

Oh my. I'm okay. All right.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

This tells a lot about someone, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 13:53

No, I'm hysterical because last night I went to karaoke. Oh, I love karaoke. Where I live, and I actually sang a song. Awesome. I did. I have the video. What was it?

SPEAKER_00 14:03

What did you sing?

SPEAKER_03 14:04

I sang I Will Survive by Gloria.

SPEAKER_00 14:07

Go ahead, give the I'm just joking.

SPEAKER_03 14:10

It's a one and done.

SPEAKER_00 14:11

So, what's your favorite band of all time?

SPEAKER_03 14:14

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Um gives you time to think, Lisa.

SPEAKER_03 14:17

So I will say that I sang that song because it was it was symbolic and it had a lot of meaning to me. Um favorite band. I mean, I love Billy Joel.

SPEAKER_00 14:32

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 14:33

Um I love Barry Manilo. I'm a fanaloe. Yes, I'm proud. I'm proud of it.

SPEAKER_00 14:39

That's okay.

SPEAKER_03 14:40

Um favorite band. I'm a I love yacht rock, so I like that.

SPEAKER_00 14:48

Yacht rock? I don't even know what that means. Yacht rock.

SPEAKER_03 14:51

Yacht rock, yes.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Please explain. What is yacht rock?

SPEAKER_03 14:55

It's a genre of music. Um, songs and artists from the like 70s and 80s. I think technically it started in California, and I learned all this because there's a documentary on Netflix about yacht rock. Um Steely Dan, um Michael McDonald, the Eagles, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross. Those are all like yacht rock artists. And I'm a big Peloton rider. 1200 rides. Wow. And uh one of my favorite um Peloton instructors, Jen Sherman, does these yacht rock rides in the summer. And you know, she says, All right, everyone, you know, get your get your cocktail, what's in your cup? Meanwhile, it's water, but um, okay, the ship's leaving. Interesting. And it's and it's all these songs, and I I love it. I just got excited, I'd like to move the mic. So I love yacht rock, and there's a fabulous band, uh, Yacht Rock Review, and they tour and they dress up in their uh yacht rock um gear. They wear the hats, and the people, the the guests at the concert, the concert goers wear um shirts and they wear like captain's hats. So I actually went last year with someone who I was dating who will rename, who will remain nameless because you broke my heart. Anyway, I got us both yacht rock t-shirts, matching shirts, and we had matching captain's hats, and it's yeah, it's great. Wow, and they are coming to uh Wellington uh middle of July. I will be there. Yacht rock.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

That's that's really good. Yeah, it's great. I was just thinking, honey, my wife, Lydia. Yeah, how about a yacht rock party at the house? Have friends come over, dress, have fun with that. We kind of do like theme parties every now and then, it's fun.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

Okay. Oh, I like that.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

And you can good music, dress up. Yeah, that's kind of cool. I like it. I'll give you credit just so you know.

SPEAKER_03 17:07

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 17:08

Um Sarah, you got it.

SPEAKER_03 17:10

I'd like an invite. Yes, no problem. No problem. Yep, I'll just do it.

SPEAKER_00 17:13

There'll be plenty of drinks.

SPEAKER_03 17:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

I said, I don't drink a lot. It's just not my thing. It just slows me down. I get headaches, and I'm too busy to worry about having headaches and stuff. And every time we have a party, I'm like, all right, we're gonna get rid. Finally, the alcohol's all gonna be gone. And we always end up with more at the end. I tell people, do not bring any alcohol to my home. We have it.

SPEAKER_03 17:33

Because people bring, yeah, because people want to contribute.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:38

I never go to a house empty-handed. Yeah. So if I'm going to a party and I say, What can I bring? Yeah. And they say nothing.

SPEAKER_00 17:46

I like pizza. So if you come to my house, just bring me a slice of pizza. Okay. I'm good with that. Okay, Lizzie, you've had enough time to think now.

SPEAKER_02 17:51

Oh, that's tough to beat the yacht rot. Okay. Uh, I would I would definitely say 80s because I like I like um 80s and and also also kind of like techno. It's kind of funny. Depends on my mood. I know you're laughing, right? Techno. But back in the day when I was younger, I used to go out more and dance at clubs, believe it or not. Um, and I love techno music. So I love like upbeat music, I love 80s music, I love, but I also like nice music like Sting, you know, like um U2.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:19

Um, I like female artists, Madonna. That's great. The go-go's are good too. I love the go-go's. Awesome. Yeah, and like, you know that song Take on Me. Uh-huh. Okay, that's a great song. All those songs. Like that's just one of the best videos ever. That's it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:36

Right. Do you listen to 80s on eight? Of course. That's my favorite station, of course. Yeah, yes.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

Yeah, that's awesome. I love it. Look, like I said, music I think tells a lot about people, uh, right, because I wouldn't look at you and think you like techno. No, but I love it.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

No one would.

SPEAKER_00 18:49

I love that, right? And for me, it's very, it's a very, I mean, I know it's for a lot of people, but it's very an emotional thing. So it's kind of like how I'm feeling. Like sometimes when I'm just having a crappy day and I'm just like, I feel like the world's against me, I'll put on Alanis Morissette, jagged little pill and like cry in the shower. Or like, okay, I feel better now. I'm good, right? Like it's that emotion. I love that.

SPEAKER_03 19:09

But I'll tell you something else about tennis. So I used to do a lot of cardio tennis classes and it's it's all about the music. Right, right. So um, you know, fast upbeat songs like Michael Cembello, Maniac, you know, flashdance. Um, you know, the more like the the better the music, the better I would seem to play. Yeah. Like people get into it. For sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

When I was younger, um, I have to tell you this guy's story. When I was about a teenager and I used to play in um tournaments, I would have headphones on and I would put 80s music on in between the changeovers. Oh, yeah. And I remember playing in a qualifier. This is back when the Virginia Slims tournament was actually the Virginia Slims tournament. And both my mom used to smoke those when I was a kid.

SPEAKER_00 19:55

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 19:56

And I had my headphones on and I was playing, you know, as a qualifier for the pro tournament. I was playing a girl who and one of the um someone questioned, is she getting coached? That was back when you couldn't, that was back when you weren't allowed to get coached for playing. And I'm like, I'm not being coached. This is my 80s music.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

I love my music. Yeah, that was like because it kept me like focused and keep guessing.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Even when I'm like playing basketball, I love when there's music going on in the background. I just love it. Like I feel like I walk different, like exactly. Oh, yeah. So tied to emotion, right? It's it's beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 20:29

I love when my friend, when I'm playing just in a you know, a social game, tennis, and someone brings a little speaker. Okay. Love it. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 20:37

Awesome. Okay. I love that. Okay. Very cool. So we've talked about food, we talked a little bit about sports, talked about music, which is cool. Let's talk about a little bit about family. So you mentioned your husband. Yes. Right? So you're married. How long have you been married for?

SPEAKER_02 20:49

Six years.

SPEAKER_00 20:50

Six years. By the way, that's a test too to see if you know, because he may listen to this. Yes. So six years married, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 20:56

We got married the week of the pandemic.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 20:58

Oh, wow. Yes. We were married at the Dory Beach Courthouse because everything was shutting down.

SPEAKER_00 21:03

Yeah. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 21:04

We never had an official wedding, which is why we may renew our vows next year in Iceland and invite family because we didn't have an official wedding. Right. That's cool.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

We bring me back some puffin.

SPEAKER_02 21:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Probably not allowed to. Probably not allowed to bring that back, right? But uh, do you have any kids?

unknown 21:18

No.

SPEAKER_02 21:18

Wait, three dogs.

SPEAKER_00 21:19

Three dogs. Oh, that's awesome. I love dogs. My wife's about to make us get another one. Oh, wow. I'm not ready.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

But dogs are the best.

SPEAKER_03 21:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

I do love dogs. Uh and how about yourself? I I know you said you've got your heart broken, so I'm guessing not married at the moment.

SPEAKER_03 21:33

No, I am I am divorced.

SPEAKER_00 21:35

Congratulations.

SPEAKER_03 21:36

Um, happily divorced. Yeah. And I have two kids. Awesome. My son Zachary is 23 and a half. Graduated from University of Miami.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

Don't you stop halves when you're like seven years old? So he's 23 and a half.

SPEAKER_03 21:50

23 and a half.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Trying to sound older when you're young, right? Right.

SPEAKER_03 21:54

And my daughter Rachel is 22. She just graduated from University of Miami last month. Congrats. And she is starting her Psy D program at Nova Southeastern. Her what? Her she's she will be getting her doctorate in psychology.

SPEAKER_00 22:12

Wow. Oh, Psy D. Okay, sorry. What's I'm trying to yeah? Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 22:17

Very, very proud of her.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

Very cool. And so your son is he's did he stay local?

SPEAKER_03 22:21

He does. Yep. He um is working in commercial real estate down in the Fort Lauderdale area.

SPEAKER_00 22:28

That's really cool. Very cool.

SPEAKER_03 22:29

And then I have a dog who's really my love. Yeah. I have a uh long haired Dachswah, Ollie. Oh, certified therapy dogs. They're all certified therapy dogs, all of ours. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:39

So they can go with us to tennis for love serving autism. I love it. And the kids love him. Yeah, of course. Yeah. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 22:46

I put on his little vest. He's certified through Alliance of Therapy Dogs, which is a therapy dog organization. And when I put on his vest and his therapy dog leash, I say, Ollie, you're ready to see the kids? And he gets so excited. And he knows. He knows that he is there to, he's not performing a service because that's a service dog, but his the his goal, the goal of a therapy dog is to motivate our kids and young adults to participate and to just provide unconditional love. I love that. So first hit the ball, then pet Ollie.

SPEAKER_00 23:27

That's cool. Yeah, and it's great.

SPEAKER_03 23:28

And Lisa's Lisa's dogs are also delicious. They are. They're all meat.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

I love dogs. I always say I get along with dogs and children better than anybody. Adults I could care less about. Dogs and kids are the world. Like that is the absolute best. I love that. I love that.

SPEAKER_03 23:44

How many children do you have?

SPEAKER_00 23:44

Two that I know of. Oh, two of. Two of. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 23:47

So there may be one floating around the universe. No judgment.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

I'm just joking. I have two kids. Okay. An 18-year-old who I said is going to be going to the University of Florida and just a couple months. I don't know if I'm ready for it. And then I have my 13-year-old going into eighth grade, and uh Michael's my older one, Michael Jr., and then Jacob. And they're awesome. They're such cool kids. They really are. I'm very fortunate. They uh they're good kids. We have a good time. No girls. No girls. Uh unfortunately, I I it just didn't happen. And I I would have been a great girl dad. Yeah. But uh it's okay. It's okay. It's okay. So to make up for it, I actually coach girls basketball. I don't have a daughter, but I coach girls basketball. I uh I love it, I love giving back. So I am actually I'm the so I'm the chairman of the board of the YMCA in Boca Ratone. Very passionate about my YMCA. And I've played basketball forever. And when my younger son started playing when he was about four or five years old, I started coaching because I've a long history. I know basketball inside and out. And so that was eight plus years ago. I've been coaching, they do four seasons a year. I coach every season every for the last eight plus years. And about three years ago, uh, like one of the girls' coaches didn't show up and they asked me to fill in. And I went, I'm like, oh my gosh, they listen, they're nice, like they're not knuckleheads. But listen, I love coaching the most they're knuckleheads, they're all like little teenagers, they're all knuckleheads. I I love them. But the girl's like, listen, it's so different. I fell in love with it, so I still do it. It's been three years. I don't have a daughter, but I still do it. I absolutely love it. It's uh it's a lot of fun. Yeah, for sure. So now we're gonna we're gonna get into more of the real reason why we're here today, which is to talk about love serving autism. But before we get in, I want to note something I found on the website, which I think is really cool. Your five core values. I hope you know what they are, but I'm gonna talk about what they are.

SPEAKER_02 25:34

And I think it's compassion, inclusion, and okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:36

Yeah, so right. Number one is compassion, number two is inclusion, number three is growth, number four is collaboration, and number five is joy and passion. And I read this and it made me so happy because this is what life's about being compassionate, including everyone, no matter skill level, whatever they're at, growth. Be a little better today than you were yesterday. Keep going, keep going. Collaboration, right? Working with others is so important. Nobody does it alone. Nobody. And it's so important to surround yourself with great people. And then joy and passion. I mean, that's what it's about, right? So I absolutely love this. Awesome. Whoever whether it was you thought of it, whoever thought of it, whatever it is.

SPEAKER_02 26:19

It's a team effort, but perfectly. Well, Lisa does not like to take credit. Well, it well, well, anyway, it was it was yes, but at the end of the day, I wanted it to reflect what I believe in and then what I feel like our our team embod, you know, what they embody like every day, like what we see on court, what we see off court.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:41

And I recognize that there are other companies. I think I had seen that like a couple years ago on someone's website of like, oh, they really emphasize their core values, and that would be something that we should highlight.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:51

So, you know, that's that's how it kind of evolved.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

I love it. I think I think it's great. Like I said, you hit the nail right on the head. Those like those are perfect. Absolutely perfect. Great job. So I want to talk a little bit about what you do, right? We'll get into love serving autism. But Lisa, right? You're the founder. You run this bad boy. What do you do? What do you do? You wake up and this is what Lisa does. Other than everything.

SPEAKER_02 27:14

Well, it's it's changed over the years. Uh we're at our birth, our 10-year anniversary is actually August 3rd. Oh, wow. I don't know if I told you that or not. So we're celebrating 10 years. Uh, but yes, day one of love serving autism for me is much different now than it is now 10 years later. I hope so. Yeah, I would hope so. And it kind of had to be. Growth. What was it hoping? Yes. Growth.

SPEAKER_01 27:32

Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 27:33

So I I but I had to push myself out of that because I I was stubborn. I am stubborn. So but thankfully MARA arrived and some other amazing individuals who stepped in to help. Um, but yeah, I mean, now my initially it was just on court developing programs, running programs. I was the only coach uh in South Florida. And um, I got to the point where I'm like, wow, you know, how am I gonna teach at three locations at one time? We can't really do that. That's a skill. Who am I gonna train to kind of take this on and and and commit to our curriculum and our lesson plan and who really believes in this? So first it was a trust for me to trust others enough to like manage it and take that.

SPEAKER_00 28:14

I get that.

SPEAKER_02 28:15

And and delegation is a tough word, you know. So um, but when I met Mara and she stepped in, what it was only, it seems like 10 years ago, but it was only three years, it was only in 2023, right? Yeah that you stepped in um to help with multiple programs across across Florida and and also therapist outreach coordinator. So then I kind of like stepped back a bit and now I'm focusing. My day-to-day is more focusing, it kind of jumps around. Like I just had a Zoom uh right before I got here with our program coordinators on Florida programs and out-of-state programs, making sure that you know everything is aligned and this everything is running the way we should be running it. We have our weekly programs meeting, I have grants meetings, I have we just found out some good news yesterday, which I haven't told you. So yeah. So we did so Governor DeSantis did sign our um our Florida programs grant for the this year. Okay. Awesome. Congratulations. So that means we are fully supported for the next year um for programs in Florida.

SPEAKER_00 29:17

It's so cool. Which is how great does that feel?

SPEAKER_02 29:19

It's it's it was like uh at least it's been stressed to the max lately. It's it I have been because it's something that you really your heart and soul is in this and you believe in it, but it's not always our decision to make that final yes. Which is tough. So thank you to the governor for his belief and our lobbyists who believe in our mission um to support these individuals and these families. So I'm excited to tell you that. I found that I found that yesterday. Congratulations. So so now, you know, just like tracking grants, managing that side, uh what else? Uh the gala. We have a big event coming up. We're gonna talk about that in just a minute. Don't get into that. Those are some. Don't don't don't mess up my script here. Okay, but I love it. But my roles are really just to kind of oversee most of it and then but I'm not as much now on court day to day as I used to be, but um, but I'm always here if as needed. And Mayor is Mayor stepped in to help how many programs, like eight, nine, ten. I'm not sure how many you run in a lot of programs now.

SPEAKER_00 30:11

That's great. Now, before we get to you, Mara, one question I didn't ask, which I guess I should have, is why? Why did you start this?

SPEAKER_02 30:18

Oh, wow. Well, I looked out the window, I'll tell you, I was at the Palmage School for Autism as a speech therapist in a classroom, and I had left my my tennis, tennis was like my career, but then I just really wanted an identity shift and I also had an injury, and I'm like, I just wanted a change in my life. And I was in my 20s, and um, you know, at University of Florida, all you know, it's expected that you graduate and you you play professional. That was just kind of like the route of a lot of the players, and so you know, but it wasn't it wasn't really something that I felt purposeful. Like I enjoyed playing. It sounds weird, but I enjoy playing tennis, yeah, but I didn't find it was like my purpose in life. It was something like, how do I, who is truly me, you know? Right. And I think this is. So I left tennis, started becoming, I became a speech and language therapist, went back to grad school, and then looked out the window one day at a school and said, Wow, these children are in PE, but or after school, but there's really nothing. They're just kind of walking around, playing with each other. We need some structured sports and activities. And so I talked to the executive director and Livin Eisenberg, and I said, Could we start an afterschool tennis program? Um, and she said, sure.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

And this was at the Palm Beach School for Autism.

SPEAKER_02 31:30

Correct. In Lake Worth after school, and I was working there. So we took the same children who I worked with in the classroom. We had about 40, by the way. It was a big program. Wow. 40 in one class. Well, no, we rotated because it was too many kids. Yeah. But the parents were so excited about tennis for our kids. So that's how it all started. I wanted to connect the dots between speech and tennis and feel like I'm giving back to what I grew up in, you know, the sport. And and I recognize that these children are so gifted in so many ways, but why not give them an opportunity?

SPEAKER_01 31:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:59

You know, so that's in a roundabout way how it started. And really cool. I'd love to hear the whys, right? There's there's a nonprofit in California who I did help out with tennis before I started this, but they didn't really utilize the um therap therapy side, we'll we'll talk about. So um I thought, well, I want to kind of do something with tennis, but I want to focus on the on the what we do, speech therapy and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 32:24

Which I think brings us to Merrill. Yes. What do you do every day? Yes, other than a lot of stuff.

SPEAKER_03 32:29

So my background is also in speech pathology, and I got my master's in 1997 and worked in speech. I worked in um hospitals, I worked in schools, I worked in early interventions, so the little ones, um, private practice, and then I moved down to Florida from New Jersey in 2020.

SPEAKER_00 32:53

Oh, I was gonna say Indiana, but I was close, trying to figure out the accent. I'm joking. I'm joking.

SPEAKER_03 32:57

Oh, Indiana, that one. Oh, you're joking.

SPEAKER_00 33:00

Okay. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 33:01

Um and yep, I hear that.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

You people are you people are easy to spot.

SPEAKER_03 33:06

Very much. So I was working in an outpatient clinic, and I really was not happy, and I was just a little burnt out. So our field as a whole now involves so much paperwork and um so much time required outside of the clinic setting where we're not getting compensated. And it was just it was taking too much out of me. And the clinic where I had worked partnered with Love Serving Autism to provide therapists. And I was working at uh one or two LSA programs. I was hoping to be at more, but LSA is what for the people, love serving autism. Thank you. I just want to make sure LSA. Okay. And I when I started with um Love Serving Autism, I I knew I loved it from the beginning. And I was constantly asking Lisa, you know, can I can you get me into another program? Is there another class? And you know, we gradually expanded.

SPEAKER_02 34:15

And Mayor's a tennis player, by the way. She played in college. I don't know if you said that. And I'm a and I'm a tennis player. Yeah, yes, I did. That's a whole background.

SPEAKER_03 34:21

I um I played at Lafayette College. Yeah. I was actually, which is a very teeny tiny uh Division I school in Pennsylvania. And I was actually a walk-on freshman year, which was so cool. Yeah, yeah. Because I I really was not um uh a D1 player, and but I made it as a walk-on, which was great. And I played, you know, just freshman year, but I still play competitively now um in the you know, women's tennis of South Florida, which is a whole other story. Um and so to be able to combine my career as an SLP, a speech language pathologist, with my tennis background is it's anyone who knows me just says, Mara, this job was made for you. And I love it. I love it. I love going to work. Um I may have some tough days. Um you never saw the bite mark. Yeah, that's that little five-year-old bit me a couple of weeks ago. Um, it didn't matter. I went to wash it off, cleaned it up, got back out on the court. That's just the nature of what we do. Um and I I love putting my skills to work on the tennis court. And again, when you talk about our core values, our goal is to help our participants, our athletes, uh, improve their communication skills, their motor coordination skills, their social skills. And we do that through sport.

SPEAKER_00 35:59

I love it. I absolutely love it. And so you you talked about therapy too. So there's therapy involved with this. How does that work?

SPEAKER_03 36:07

Well, all of our children, our participants um on court receive are are given a goal. A goal is created for each of our kids. So, you know, for anybody out there who has, you know, a child with special needs, they have a treatment plan in school. It's called an IEP or an individualized education plan where they have all their goals laid out. So on the tennis court, we create a goal for each participant. And it may be um Jimmy will follow one-step directions or Jane will uh remain on court without eloping. Um Connor will um O'Connor will utilize um a calm down strategy, you know, when becoming dysregulated. And we measure their progress from week to week and we chart the progress. So our classes are they're evidence-based. Um and that's what when Lisa goes up to Tallahassee and you know speaks to the you know, goes to the Capitol and you know, speaks to our um, you know, the senators and the, you know, and the House, um, she presents that data and she shows the progress that our children, our participants have made in those areas of development, communication, motor coordination, social skills and life skills, and and life skills behavior. And there's also just a lot that you can't that you can't measure. Right. Um and yeah, yeah, absolutely. We, you know, when you speak to the parents, you know, we have all these testimonials that their children are are different, uh they're just they're different human beings after having gone through our program.

SPEAKER_00 38:03

Absolutely. I can totally see that. And uh I've coached a couple of special needs kids in at the YMCA and to watch them like how they react when they hit a shot, like it it's just it's life-changing. And I and I I absolutely love it. I think I think it's absolutely wonderful. And I love what you're doing. I love the whole sports aspect because it's just a different way to do it. Right, people are different when they're on a court, right?

SPEAKER_03 38:30

Very much, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

Myself included, right? I mean, I'm a different person when I'm on a court, it's very different, and it's different emotions and different feelings, and I wanted teaches a lot.

SPEAKER_02 38:39

It does, and I wanted to say, which which you know, we know there's different there's different levels of tennis. For instance, there's red ball, orange, green, and yellow ball. So for those who don't know, so they start with beginner level red ball, it's just a little bit slower paced. Um, the ball is easier to hit, it's like errorless learning. Yeah, and what's the beauty of it is we see children and adults who may be non-speaking who can hit a tennis ball.

SPEAKER_01 39:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:05

And to the point where some could eventually advance to a yellow ball, you know. So it's like just because they might have autism, um, it doesn't mean that they're intellectually disabled. It just means that they might not be able to speak, but they can express themselves through sports, right? And so it's beautiful to see Mare. Mirror and I've seen some of those players who are like, wow, you can hit the tennis ball. You know, you might not have great social skills, but you can hit a tennis ball or a pickleball, or you know, so it's neat to see that.

SPEAKER_00 39:35

That's really cool. Yeah, I absolutely love it. I can't wait to check some of it out. It's it's it's really cool. So before we're talking about a little bit more, we're gonna move to a great segment here, which I love. This is called the Book of Awesome. Okay. So you're each gonna get a chance. Uh, you're gonna open up to a random page. All right, you're gonna read the bold print at the top.

SPEAKER_02 39:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:55

And I'm hoping that it's gonna spark some sort of thought, good feeling, memory, whatever it may be. And uh you can talk about it for a moment. So this book has an amazing way of picking the one that actually works and fits for you. However, there are some weird ones in here. So if you get one of those weird ones, feel free to take them all again and and take another one. But it's a really cool book. So who's going first? You look scared, so you go first.

SPEAKER_02 40:19

Oh, thanks. Do you want me to go first, Mayor?

SPEAKER_00 40:21

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 40:21

Okay. And this is this as it pertains to my life or the organization.

SPEAKER_00 40:25

Whatever. Whatever comes to you.

SPEAKER_02 40:27

Whatever comes to me.

unknown 40:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:29

Okay. Mine says when the vending machine gives you two things instead of one. Wow.

unknown 40:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 40:39

Again, if you don't like it, you can pick another one. I know I've been there for sure.

SPEAKER_00 40:42

It's like you won the lottery, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 40:44

Kind of. Depends on if you like the two items.

SPEAKER_00 40:46

Well, if you're getting one, the second one you probably should like.

SPEAKER_02 40:50

Yeah, so that's what I'm saying. I think it teaches this is pertinent to my life and to love serving autism because we have, you know, we have days where we like yesterday where we get a good call from the lobbyist and we get this amazing news. And then we have other days where, hey, we weren't successful with the grant. And that was probably like a snack I wouldn't like. Yeah. But how do you handle that? How do you handle running a business and knowing that, you know, you you're there are good days and they're tough days, and knowing that, you know what, just because that that door shut or that, you know, you have to just get on with it and and persevere. And that's part of what we do.

SPEAKER_00 41:25

Yeah. Listen, one of one of my favorite quotes ever is I either win or I learn, right? So you don't lose. Right. It's you got the grant or you didn't, and why didn't we get it? What do we do to get it next time? I win or I learn. And I think that's an absolute wonderful way to go. So I think you did great. So thank you.

SPEAKER_03 41:42

Mara, Mara, your turn.

SPEAKER_00 41:44

No pressure.

SPEAKER_03 41:45

No pressure. I hope I can read it. I don't have my readers.

unknown 41:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 41:50

All right. Oh, when you didn't play the lottery and your numbers didn't come up. When you didn't play the lottery's I'm gonna turn the page because I feel like there was a typo in there. Yeah, it should be. Finding a mixtape given to you by an old boyfriend or girlfriend. Oh boy, really? Um all right, let's see. So, you know what, this actually resonates with me a lot. First of all, I happen to love mixtapes. Um and so I'm this this happens a lot. I tend to look, I'm a a big believer in um looking forward. And you can't look back, you only have to look ahead. So almost with the grant. Well, all right, maybe we didn't get the grant, but you know what? I have, you know, I think that there's something coming down the, you know, coming down the pike that will more than make up for it. Exactly. Um and you know, often I I had been in a a bad place for a while where I was constantly looking at past what I called failures or you know, things that happened in the past, and it was hard to get past that. But thanks to a really great therapist who I have and just changes in my life and really working, you know, meeting Lisa, and we didn't even talk about how I met Lisa, but meeting Lisa in 2020, so probably two weeks before she got married, and moving down to Florida, and now having this amazing opportunity has really allowed me. To mainly look, look ahead and you know, really focus on the positives. And focusing on the positives brings me to my job with Love Serving Autism, where one, so we talk about five different character traits, or we every at each one of our classes, we select a character development trait. And one of those is effort. And we are always emphasizing to our athletes, I want you to give it a hundred percent effort. I want you to try your best. And if you miss a ball, it doesn't matter. We're gonna try again. And I love that with you know my you know, my personal life, if I if something happens that maybe if I I don't like to say the word fail, but if you know something goes, doesn't go the way planned, you know what, tomorrow's another day, and I'm just gonna go out there and I'm gonna try and be the best person that I can, yeah, despite the challenges. And that's with a lot of our our athletes. They have challenges, but that's right, they we encourage them to, you know, make the most of what's in and keep going.

SPEAKER_00 45:13

Listen, it's the same when I'm coaching basketball. Like these kids, they'll miss a couple of shots and get upset. And I'm like, do you realize the best players in the world miss half of their shots or more? Why are you getting upset? You're doing great. If you miss half, you're an NBA superstar. Like you're doing great. Just keep going. And you know, just try and keep them going, right? Because the mind is very strong, positive or negative. You just gotta try and keep it going positive. So I love that. Now, so now we can get back and talk about. So, first off, I'm sure you always need money, right? So people get them some money. Money helps. Is there volunteer opportunities with your organization?

SPEAKER_02 45:52

Plenty.

SPEAKER_00 45:52

What can people do? I mean, I'm sure they can go to the website.

SPEAKER_02 45:54

Right.

SPEAKER_00 45:55

I mean, I did see it. There was a place for volunteer, but yeah, just for that. Okay. Right. So people can volunteer. What kind of stuff can they do?

SPEAKER_02 46:01

So um, I'll just speak about this briefly. If if there's an interest in volunteering, say, say you're a high school student and you want to get community service hours, or say you're an adult who is interested in volunteering, um, if you go to our website, loveservingautism.org, and you click on volunteers, um, there is a quick 30-minute certification course that you take to learn about our mission.

SPEAKER_01 46:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:21

And then you follow, you complete the course, and then we do a background screening. And then you are uh paired with the location. So say you're in Delry Beach, if you want to volunteer for Delry Beach or you want to go to one of Mayor's Boca programs or camps. We have camps, we have another camp coming up in July in Palm Beach Gardens.

SPEAKER_00 46:38

Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 46:38

It's tennis and pickleball. So volunteer opportunities are always around. Um, we also have the um therapists. If you're a therapist, um, speech occupational physical behavioral therapists, we have opportunities for some of that work and for coaches. So we have certifications online now that uh it's training courses that they can take. We launched them about a year ago, right? And um, we have hundreds of coaches that are going through it right now just to get trained and certified in inclusive and adaptive coaching. Um, and what was the second question you had asked me about the volunteer in the philanthropy side or money, right? Yeah, I mean, that's the gala, pretty much.

SPEAKER_00 47:19

Let's talk about the gala.

SPEAKER_02 47:20

Oh, yeah. So so that's that's Friday, Friday, November 20th in Samboka, Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club. And um the theme this year is called the fifth set support for the long game, meaning in tennis, five sets is like a marathon match for the men. So we we're we're in it for the long game for the organization and also for our families. So we want to support them for the longevity of a child starting with autism at three or whatever, and then going all the way through their adulthood. So um, our website also uh shares information about our gala. There's tickets available, table sponsorships. Uh, Merritt is a legacy ambassador, so there are 15 non-manated every year to raise awareness and funds for LSA. So she's one of them.

SPEAKER_00 48:05

That's awesome. I think it's great in the gala, right? There'll be food and fun and oh yeah, it'll be like an item hour. Option items are you gonna play like a yacht music, maybe? Or I'm not sure about that. I'm just joking.

SPEAKER_02 48:19

Uh we may. We may you just don't know. We do have a DJ, but I don't know about the yacht music. But yacht rock. Yacht yacht yacht rock. Yacht rock. I couldn't think of round rock.

SPEAKER_00 48:28

The term straight. Yes. No, I think it's great. And the gala's a great way to raise money, awareness, just bring people together because, you know, not that it's good or bad, but sometimes to get people to do stuff, you have to give stuff, right? So if you give them a fun night and you benefit too, that's a win-win, right? So we call a win-win. So uh I'll definitely share that information as well, see if we can get get you some more ticket sales, sponsorships. I saw there's plenty available there to help. And, you know, it's just it's helping these these kids be able to live lives and and get out and play sports like other kids do and just be able to do it and enjoy it. And I think it's absolutely awesome. So as we start to wrap up, is there is there anything else you want to share?

SPEAKER_02 49:13

There is a um, we are growing our board of directors. So if you are interested in serving on our board, you can reach out to to me, um, Lisa at loveservingautism.org. Um, and that's usually like a two-year term uh serving on our board. So if that's something you're interested in, please reach out.

SPEAKER_00 49:29

I think it's great. And uh, and like I said, what you're doing is great. It's so needed in the community, it helps. And I've got some people that I think I could probably introduce you to, maybe do some more collaboration, which is one of your one of your values.

SPEAKER_03 49:44

And I just had one other thing to say about um, you know, why a lot of people are probably thinking, you know, why love serving autism? If, you know, if they're deciding on where to donate money to, why love serving autism? So the incidence of autism has skyrocketed, and it is now one in 40, 31, 31. Had been one in 40. It's one in one in 31 children is diagnosed with autism, and autism is a spectrum. So we have some who are um higher functioning, um, and we have some who are lower functioning. And regardless of their level, there's a need for services. And we provide we provide access to participating in a tennis class or a pickleball class or a Paddell class that many other um organization, many other uh, you know, sports clubs, you know, tennis clubs cannot provide because um, you know, the coaches really need to know how to work with, they need to know about autism and they need to know how to modify a task on court because that's really what it's all about. It's modifying the task um and you know, differentiating for all of our kids. And the parents are so grateful that we're out there and that our kids can that their kids can you know participate in something with their sibling. Yeah. And it's fun, it's cool, I love it. And it really like we we do make a difference.

SPEAKER_00 51:27

Yes, absolutely. A positive difference.

SPEAKER_03 51:28

A positive difference, of course. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:31

So I mean, man, we we talked about a lot of cool stuff today. I learned some food stuff, which I didn't know before. Uh, I think it's great, but what you're doing, like I said, is phenomenal, so needed in the community, and I'm thankful that you're doing it. And please don't stop, keep going, and we'll support, we'll get it out there, we'll get some more eyes, ears, and the goal is volunteers, money, participation, all that stuff. So we'll do our best to help you with that for sure. My pleasure. And for everyone at home, uh, please make sure to download, subscribe, share this with a friend, just share it with someone who you'd be like, hey, this is interesting. You might want to hear about it. Somebody who's been affected by autism, have them listen because this may open up a whole new world for them. So, again, share, subscribe, like. And I just want to say for everybody watching and listening at home, thank you so much again for watching another episode of Food, Family, and Philanthropy.