Benchmark Happenings
Brought to you by, Jonathan Tipton & Steve Reed of Benchmark Home Loans, Benchmark Happenings is a podcast that is a biweekly discussion about living in and moving to Northeast Tennessee along with the local real estate market. Join your host Christine Reed as she interviews Jonathan & Steve, local business owners, sought-after industry experts, Veterans, Realtors, Benchmark clients, and more.
Benchmark Happenings focuses on discussing all things related to mortgages and Northeast Tennessee. Placing the spotlight on all the reasons you would want to live in and move to Northeast Tennessee, Benchmark Happenings highlights upcoming events, local businesses, things to do, and other aspects related to Northeast Tennessee. We will also be answering mortgage questions from buyers, sellers, and real estate agents as well as discussing everything going on in our local real estate market.
To help you to navigate the home buying and mortgage process, Jonathan & Steve are currently licensed in Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia, contact us today at 423-491-5405 or visit www.tiptonreedteam.com.
Benchmark Home Loans | NMLS # 2143
4138 Bristol Highway
Johnson City, TN 37601
Jonathan Tipton
Senior Mortgage Planner
NMLS # 1188088
jonathan.tipton@benchmark.us
Steve Reed
Branch Manager
NMLS # 173024
steve.reed@benchmark.us
Benchmark Happenings
Chasing Dreams and Wellness: Karen Hubbs on Transforming East Tennessee's Fitness Community
Join us as we sit down with the inspiring Karen Hubs from Goose Chase, a visionary who is turning a wild idea into a transformative movement for the fitness community in East Tennessee. Discover how Karen, inspired by the metaphor of a 'wild goose chase' from Mark Batterson's "The Circle Maker," left a 15-year career at the Chamber of Commerce to create her own path in the world of health and wellness. Learn how she spearheaded Fit Fest, a vibrant festival encouraging everyone to find joy in physical activity, from pickleball to taekwondo, and the overwhelming success of her community walking program. As we gear up for the next Fit Fest at the Memorial Park Community Center, Karen shares insights on how this initiative is reshaping East Tennessee’s approach to health, aiming to lift the state from its historical health rankings.
Karen’s journey isn't just about fitness; it’s a story of passion, faith, and entrepreneurship. She takes us behind the scenes of Goose Chase, revealing the deeply personal experiences that spurred her collaborations with Make-A-Wish and Ronald McDonald House. We explore her latest venture, Run 423, a local clothing brand celebrating the legacy of the area’s original area code, and the creative ways she’s expanding into new markets. Karen’s story is a testament to the power of stepping outside comfort zones, revisiting childhood interests, and aligning with one’s true calling. Whether you're looking to be inspired by Karen’s entrepreneurial spirit or eager to find your own path to wellness, this episode promises insights and stories that resonate deeply with anyone ready to pursue their passions.
To help you to navigate the home buying and mortgage process, Jonathan & Steve are currently licensed in Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia, contact us today at 423-491-5405 or visit www.jonathanandsteve.com.
This is Benchmark Happenings and on the way, we'll have scuttons about mores and we'll interview people in the real estate industry. It's what we do. This is Benchmark Happenings brought to you by Benchmark Home Loans and now your host.
Speaker 3:Christine Reed. Well, welcome back everybody to another episode of Benchmark Happenings podcast. So today, the star of our show is Karen Hubs with Goose Chase. So, karen, thank you for being here.
Speaker 2:Thank you, and I love the intro. Oh, thank you, you have the best podcast.
Speaker 3:Thank you, thank you for having me. Well, I'll tell you what. Jonathan put a lot of hard work in this studio. So it's it. Yeah, we do, and I love it. I love doing this. So it's just a lot of fun and just getting to know people and meet people and, you know, just really sharing with the region all the great things about East Tennessee, right.
Speaker 2:And we have a lot of great things about East Tennessee. We do, we live in the most beautiful area in the world.
Speaker 3:I think so, and you've traveled quite a bit, I have. You've not, you and you've traveled quite a bit. I have you know you've not been a one and done kind of gal. But, karen, I know we were on. It was probably back in 2023.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:We were talking about your organization, goose Chase, and I really think you've got a lot of cool things coming up, thank you. So tell us, man, what's been happening with Goose Chase. I know you're kind of thinking about a lot of different things. You are definitely an entrepreneur, thank you.
Speaker 2:I know that's a blessing or a curse sometimes, but no, I love it, I truly love it. I love being creative and seeing what we can do differently and how we can expand our business and just share with our community. But last year we created a festival called the Fit Fest Fest and we had an ETSU mini down. We're going to have it again this year. We're just trying to finalize the dates. Last year we did it in January. I think it was the first weekend in January.
Speaker 1:It was so cold.
Speaker 2:We're like we can't do that again.
Speaker 3:So we're going to warmer weather, yeah, so what do you do in the fit fest?
Speaker 2:um, basically, uh, you know, I do, I do races mainly I do 5k half marathons, do some obstacle course races, mile races, but not everybody runs. We have a bunch of walkers. Um, you know, I'm more of a walker than a runner myself, me too, but I'm right there with you and I you know when I got involved with this. Um, of course, I've been involved for a long time, but when the turkey trot started, the state of Tennessee was ranked 48th most unhealthy state in the United States.
Speaker 3:My goodness.
Speaker 2:And there's a group of women Jane Myron, which is the mayor at the time, jenny Brock, which is former mayor of Johnson City, now she's a commissioner but the two of them, plus a bunch of other ladies and gentlemen of our area, got together and were like, like we got to do something different and so that really sort of started this whole process and the whole journey I've been on. Wow, and I was like, what can we do to help our community get get more fit exercise? Um, and so obviously we started the john c turkey trot from then, from there, and obviously it's grown. Well, you know 5 000 people that come to this event. But also in that journey we've been on, we just want to get people active and Turkey Trot's one event a year and obviously we have a bunch of events a year.
Speaker 2:Sure, we're doing the goose chase, but we started the Fit Fest and so our goal for the Fit Fest is just for people to find their fit. It might not be running, it might not be walking, it might be taekwondo. It not be running, it might not be walking, it might be taekwondo, it might be golf, it might be basketball, softball, volleyball, pickleball, which is hugely popular, yeah, now that's the sport that just is growing by leaps and bounds and we just wanted.
Speaker 2:We wanted to have a festival. We brought all those activities together and let people just come and try and find their own fit.
Speaker 1:So find their fit and um.
Speaker 2:This year we're going to move it to the Memorial Park Community Center is where we're. That's who we're talking to now.
Speaker 2:We're just waiting to finalize the dates, but with that we're going to have access to their pickleball courts, their aquatic center, their the Doughboys Stadium. We'll have a bunch of activities out in the field, and so it's going to be a great event. It's probably going to be in June is the dates we're looking at. Okay, but anyway, from FitFest we started a walking program and Commissioner Jenny Brock actually she's like Karen this is what we need to do, and so we're really good friends, she and I, and we play off each other's ideas a lot, and so I said, okay, I'll put it together. So I put together this walking challenge and I didn't know what to expect. I'll be honest with you, and we announced it at that Fit Fest last year and I put together like 50 packets of just some information. I put together it was really just grassroots level, kind of marketing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it wasn't my finest moment but I put it together and those were gone in one day and I was like, oh my gosh, we're onto something you know. And so from that we put together a Facebook group, because it's the Tri-C's Walking Challenge Facebook group. It's open to anybody, you don't have to be accepted, Just go on there and be a follower. And then we also started some walking challenges and so last year we did a 20, walked 20,000 or 2,024 miles in six months, not just you, but with you and some friends.
Speaker 2:It was like a tribe and then we gave out some prizes and then we did a fall challenge leading into the Turkey Trot and then this year from that, we had so much success with it. I'm just one person, so I'm like, how am I going to do this? And so we created an ambassador program and so we had walking groups all over the Tri-Cities. We had about three or four in Johnson City. We had Bristol, Kingsport, Jonesboro, so all over, and then people just get together and walk and people's lives have been changed. I'm telling you.
Speaker 3:Is there certain places that they walk, or how does that?
Speaker 2:This year we've just actually last night we had our photo shoot with our ambassadors, and so this year we have a walking group that's going to be in Abingdon, we have Bristol, we have Kingsport, we have Gray at Crossroads Christian Church. There's about four groups. In John City we're going to do the MedTech Corridor, etsu, the VA Tweets of Trail Founders Park, and so we'll have a website and we're going to do some posters and some marketing material and that sort of thing. And you can just scan that QR code, go to our website.
Speaker 2:You can see where they're all going to be listed and we have 13 amazing ambassadors that's going to be leading those, and so these are just people like me and you that just get together. They love to walk, they're going to be there to encourage you like a coach, and it's just, it's totally free, just come and walk, wow. So last night when we met, we did photos and all the things you'll see on our website. But I said go around the room, let's go around the circle and share a little bit about yourself, your journey, make it brief, because it was cold last night and so they'd go around and it was the most amazing experience and entrepreneurship is hard.
Speaker 3:You know you're in sales.
Speaker 2:It is, yes, oh, amazing experience. And you know entrepreneurship is hard, you know you're in sales and uh oh yeah, it's a roller coaster. It really is.
Speaker 2:You have your highs and your lows, but last, night was a high and so they were going to that that room and I'm not room, we're outside, but they're going around the circle and they were all saying, well, I've lost 50 pounds, or I've lost 100 pounds, I've lost 70 pounds, I lost 40 pounds. And the common denominator kudos to every one of them because they changed their lifestyle, they changed their habits. But they all used the goose chase as part of that journey and they were talking about how many races they've done and they didn't even like to walk, they didn't like to run, and they did one of the goose chase races and they had such a fun experience. It changed their lives. They met people. They go walking and I've met people.
Speaker 1:They go walk in and that's honoring Gosh.
Speaker 2:I was like oh my gosh, I'll start crying. I was like this is emotional, you know, because you think in entrepreneurship world, you question yourself.
Speaker 3:You do. The biggest battlefield is between your ears. We talked about that yesterday. It really is. It is between your ears, yeah.
Speaker 2:It really is. It is between your ears, yeah.
Speaker 1:Just get it.
Speaker 2:Always stay on your mindset and stay positive and do little mantras to yourself or put post notes around your house saying I can do this, Because some days you don't think you can do it.
Speaker 3:Well, I'll tell you what I grew up listening to Zig Ziglar. I know I'm dating myself out there, so most people probably don't even know who he is. I do out there, so most people probably don't even know who he is. I mean, just just, I still use a lot of the things that he said and he said you know, I don't know about you, but he says I need to be motivated every day.
Speaker 3:You know I need to talk positive words to myself, have those positive affirmations, and for me it's my, it's my prayer time and my devotion time, reading the Word of God and just being infused with just that absolute truth and just, you know, it gets me going. And we have to do that with ourselves. And, like we talked yesterday, purpose, you know, don't lose your purpose in life right.
Speaker 2:Well, we all have this one life. We just got to use it to the best of our abilities and make the most out of it and the crazy thing is, I think as individuals we don't realize what God has designed us to do. And God is amazing he created all this in seven days. So he's amazing, he can do anything and he's put that into us.
Speaker 2:We can truly do anything we put our minds to. It's just mindset. You just got to do it, it is. I was at the Chamber of Commerce John C Chamber of Commerce for 15 years I created the Bluegrass Half Marathon, Fell in love with that event and I just felt I was reading this book called the Circle.
Speaker 2:Maker by Mark Patterson, and it's the whole premise is pray big prayers and dream big dreams. You know, I thought I was doing that for sure and so I felt I felt like I needed to leave and start my own business. Really did, and I don't know if you know this story. Do you know how I got the goose chase?
Speaker 3:So I was going to ask you if you could talk about that again, because I remember the name goose chase and how you got there. But I think it's such a cool story, so share that with us.
Speaker 2:Well, I didn't know who Mark Batterson was at the time, you know, and I went to Grace Fellowship Church and I go there and they were having Mark Batterson there as a speaker and I thought who is this guy? And I was a part of another group and we were having to move around our schedule because this guy was coming in. I thought who is this guy?
Speaker 2:Anyway, a group of my friends said hey, we're tired of hearing you talk about starting your own business, so we have this book we want to read with you, called the Circle Maker. And so there's four of us and we all had different prayer requests and everything and all of our prayer requests, each individual person, the prayer, prayer requests were honored by god and fulfilled and that sort of thing.
Speaker 3:Isn't that amazing how that works yeah yeah, when we partner with other people like-minded and grow, we grow together and those things come to fruition. It's just amazing.
Speaker 2:But anyway, I didn't mean to oh no, it's fine, and so he had his accompaniments to that book. It was uh. I did a 40-day prayer challenge with my friends. And I don't remember what day it was. I can't remember what the topic was, but I was reading this devotion and I felt like my heart was about to beat out of my chest and I knew that was the day I was supposed to go in there and give my two-week notice. Actually, I did like a month of notice.
Speaker 2:We were doing a national championship event and I knew that was my last time doing that one no-transcript and I couldn't sit. Still, you know, it's like your heart's beating out of your chest, you're uncomfortable and I kept on saying God, if you just give me this sign, if you just give me this sign. And every time I said the sign, the sign came up. You know, happened Even when. What is his name? Whom Shall? I Fear? It's a song.
Speaker 3:Oh, I can't remember the name of the artist that sings that, but I know what you're talking about, yeah, so anyway, I know I'm digressing, but anyway that song came on and anyway, I finally took the leap of faith and it was the scariest thing I've ever done.
Speaker 2:But in that book, circle Maker, there was a section and it was a term that Celtic Christians used for the Holy Spirit. I'm not even going to try to pronounce it because you know I can rarely speak Southern, so I'm not even going to try to pronounce it because I can rarely speak Southern, so I'm not even going to try to pronounce it. But anyway, when you translate it it means wild goose, and the author of the book, mark Madison, said how fitting is it? When you're trying to follow the Holy Spirit's lead, or God's lead, it's like you're on a wild goose chase. You never know who you're going to meet, where you're going to go, what you're going to do. It'll be anything but boring. I thought that is my life.
Speaker 2:I mean, look here I'm talking to you, I'm on your podcast. How cool is this? That is so cool and it's just by taking a leap of faith. And so I saw that I thought that is me. And so me and some friends tossed the idea around for a name and it came up with the Goose Chase walk of faith. And I've done some incredible things by just taking that leap of faith. And of course, I'm involved with the John C Turkey Trot, biggest event of the Tri-Cities, you know, 5,000 people for a race. We have three half marathons. I've done obstacle course race. I've worked with some amazing organizations like Make-A-Wish and Ronald McDonald House, ymca, I mean just, you know, up and and at them. I mean so many incredible organizations and if I would have stayed at my comfort zone and not taken that leap of faith, I would not have experienced probably any of this.
Speaker 3:That's right and you know I think about when you say that I think you got out of the boat yeah, you got out of the boat, and that's what we, you know God calls us.
Speaker 3:He didn't give us the spirit of fear or timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline as believers in Christ. So you got out of the boat and so I mean, God just continues to open up a world to you and continues to put those ideas in your mind and to take to fruition. So what are some of the things that? What's some things coming up here that you're going to be doing?
Speaker 2:Well, we're currently doing our like I mentioned earlier, our walking challenge. We're going to try to do something monthly, so every month we'll have a different theme. Our walking groups all over the Tri-C's are completely free, so just come and walk. But if you do want to be a part of the challenge, you know there's always some type of fun activity involved. This month is February, so it's love to move, it's open to runners and to walkers, and so basically, we are just helping you with your goals. So once you sign up, we'll send you a text message saying hey, what's your goals? 30, 60, 90, 45 miles, whatever it is for the 28 days. And then we have taken those candy conversational hearts and we've written on different miles to meet that goal. So if you do your whole box, you'll meet the goal that you send us, and we'll send that in the mail or we have some local pickups and then, of course, each registration. You know you get a t-shirt, sweatshirt, whatever you choose. Next month we're looking at doing March Madness, because I love March Madness basketball tournaments.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you and me both love it.
Speaker 2:So our goal is if we can get enough people to do this, is we're going to put people in a bracket, and so each week, whoever has the most mileage goes to the next round until we get to the final two.
Speaker 2:That's a great idea, I love that, and then we'll probably do that as a team, and then we'll have an individual as well, and of course we have the Shamrock Shuffle, which is a 5K. It's well and um, and of course we have the shamrock shuffle, which is a 5k. So it's a live event. You can do it virtual. And what a virtual means, just in case you don't you might not know this, sure?
Speaker 3:no, I think it's good to tell the virtual really came to existence.
Speaker 2:It's probably an existence before covid, but it really was prominent during covid so basically a virtual means. You can do the the event, but you don't come for your own home or neighborhood. If you're traveling, sometimes people want the shirt and the medal but they can't be there for the events. They'll do a virtual option. They just do it on their own, send us the results from what they've done and then we'll get the packet to them. And we've had people from Canada do our events.
Speaker 2:We've had people from how cool, we had a gentleman in Italy do one of our races on the beach of Italy. We've had people do it from the Grand Canyon to DC and you know it's funny talking about dreams and goals. I've always wanted to take my event or my business worldwide. Yes, you know, most of our races are just here in the Tri-C's market. We do have one in Oxford.
Speaker 2:We've done some stuff in Chattanooga and been asked to go other places, but really stuff in Chattanooga and been asked to go other places, but really we're mainly here. And then one day, two years ago, we were part of the Christmas parade here in John City and the theme was I mean, three years ago, christmas around the world. How am I going to do this with a running event, do a float? And I started looking at all the flags of all the places that people have done our races. I mean we had almost a dozen countries, states and countries.
Speaker 3:It was amazing. That's wonderful.
Speaker 2:So it really, if you think outside the box.
Speaker 3:God will take you places you didn't even know and that's the way that you talk about. You want to take Goose Chase around the world with these events where people can join virtually and as that expands, you know what events where people can join virtually and as that expands, you know what. You will be around the world with Goose Chase with a running event. So the Shamrock Shuffle, is that a run or walk?
Speaker 2:It is a run or a walk and actually since we started our walking challenges, our walking participation has increased. It's for the Ron McDonald House.
Speaker 2:And so when there are major fundraisers. It will be at King Commons Park in Johnson City. It's a 5K but you can walk, you can run, you can bring your children in strollers, you can bring your dogs, but it'll be a lot of fun. We have the Appalachian Irish dancers that will be there. In the past we've had bagpipes there. Josh Smith it was formerly on JHL, he's normally our emcee Alex Williams, meteorologist, will be there as well. So it's a lot of fun, it's a great time and people love it and it's really our first event of the year to kick off the year, and it continues to grow. I mean, it's close to 800 people that do this race which for our tri-season market is really good.
Speaker 3:It is. So what's the date for the Shamrock Shuffle? March the 15th.
Speaker 2:March 15th. It's a Saturday right around St Patrick's.
Speaker 3:Day yes, yes, okay, that is awesome. So what else is coming up?
Speaker 2:Well, we get through that and then not through that, but we'll have that event and then in April we'll have our first half marathon. So we have three half marathons for the year. Our first one is Music and Miles. It's in Elizabethton and then we have Bluegrass Half Marathon, Johnson City, and then the Haunted Half in Kingsport. Together it creates our trifecta. And so we have about 100 athletes in this town that do all three of those races.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, athletes in this town that do all three of those races and then if they complete the trifecta, they get, you know, additional medals and t-shirts and all the things. And we do it on a graduated scale. So first year might be a t-shirt, second year be like long sleeve, and so now we're getting to year five and I'm like, what am I going to do? Last year we did this really cool windbreaker. So each year is something different, so I'm really trying to think something really clever. And then so it's April 26th in Elizabethton and we are doing some adjustments with our course because of the flooding from the hurricane that we had in our area.
Speaker 2:And then, of course, may the 4th is for all those Star Wars fans out there. It's a time to dress as Chewbacca or Princess Leia or whatever character you want to do, and we have about a dozen characters through the George Lucas ordained club. He is really picky, which is fine because he has an amazing brand, but he has certain groups all over the United States that he endorses and this is from that endorsed group and it's a local, regional group but they'll dress and they spend thousands of dollars on these costumes. I mean, they look like the real deal. Wow. And we've had Darth Vader, we have R2-D2. It's really cool.
Speaker 3:And if you're a Star Wars fanatic, you don't want to miss that one and I love.
Speaker 2:May the 4th Be With you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah and, and it's a 4K, so it's a little bit shorter but we have a lot of fun and I feel like I really create more of a party environment than a race. Well, and that's what I mean just being together and with other people and being out there, meeting new people and just having conversations. And that's what life is all about, right, it's all about relationships.
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 3:And that's what you're doing. It's all about relationships, absolutely, and that's what you're doing. You're creating unity with your brand of goose chase with people who just want to be with other people, and social, and I think to me that's just so much of what life is.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, we need each other. We do. We're not designed to be lone islands, we all need each other. That is, we're not designed to be lone islands, we all need each other.
Speaker 3:That is so true. That is so true. So what are some things that you would like to eventually accomplish? Karen, I know you're kind of thinking you're at a crossroads here and I really want to do more with Goose Chase, so anything you want to share with us, well, my mind doesn't shut off.
Speaker 2:So I'm always thinking During 2020, you know, everything was shutting down, and when you're in the vet business, that is terrifying. Yes and so in survival mode, basically, that's when we started doing our virtual races and we had virtual races almost all year at that point. Obviously, they weren't the size of the circuitry like some other races we had, but I mean they helped us sustain our business. We also created some clothing brands or logos. I should say it wasn't really a brand, but Run 423, which actually I'm wearing right now and it was very popular. We have tanks and T-shirts and that sort of thing, and so currently what I'm working on actually, since you've asked, I'm currently updating his websites and trying to really invest and learn about social media and how we get that brand out.
Speaker 2:So Run 423 is what we did for our area. Of course, 423 is our area code. Of course, we now have another area code. I might come up with another brand on that. We have another area code. Yeah, they just launched it, like a couple months ago. It's 901, I think You're kidding. Yeah, they ran out of numbers for 423.
Speaker 3:For the 423.
Speaker 2:So they had to add another one. I think it's 901. I'm not for sure, wow, but anyway so. And then we start, we're starting to do some walking apparel, and so you'll start seeing that come up. And then also, when I was doing the run for two, three, I thought, well, there's all these area goes, all of the United States in the world, and so we're looking at trying to brand some running apparel to fit other markets.
Speaker 2:And so you know, hopefully in the next few months you'll be able to get a website and you might have something that says run Dallas or run San Francisco, or you know run Knoxville, we do have run Knoxville already but we do have races in Knoxville. But the running community is a great community all over the United States and the world. And you know, just I love being creative, so I've really gotten into that. And then also my ultimate goal is to take the s'mores run nationwide.
Speaker 1:So you never know, it's not right, close to the horizon.
Speaker 2:But it's on the horizon, there, right, right and you know, obviously we need sponsors and that sort of thing and volunteers and it really takes a village to put these races on.
Speaker 3:I can't imagine. I know it's a tremendous amount of work that you put into all these events.
Speaker 2:I love it, I do love it and I have a great team. It's definitely it's me day to day, but at event day, you know, I have a team of about 12, 15 people that come and put this on and they're a great team. I can't ask for. I'm truly blessed.
Speaker 3:Well, you know, the key to success is, you know, I see so many people that don't have a passion for what they do and I've been very blessed on this podcast of meeting amazing people like you, and most everybody has been an entrepreneur. But you're right, you can see the passion and you have the passion, and most people that I've interviewed are so passionate about what they do and that's where that's, that's God put that in us. You know, you know that passion to, to accomplish, to, to build things, do things, nurture, take care of things. I mean that's just you know, we've all been desired for something.
Speaker 2:Yes, I don't know if I should say this, but it's sad when people don't discover what they're designed to do. Gosh, we can go on a tangent. You might get me talking here. They get on this tangent of doing a nine-to-five job, which there's nothing wrong with that there's a need there but sometimes they get so caught up into that they don't follow their passions their desires, their wish list or whatever.
Speaker 2:When I was before I took that leap of faith, someone told me that I think I might have read this in the book that a nine-to-five job sometimes is like an IV drip you always got paid. You had your insurance, your retirement, all the things set in place. And so that comfort of being satisfied. That way you wouldn't take that leap of faith. Right, right, and I mean look at all the things entrepreneurs have done. That's right. I feel like we keep America strong.
Speaker 3:We do keep America strong and we run America. And you know what it takes all different kinds and all different walks. And some hey that 9 to 5 is a dream.
Speaker 3:Yes, absolutely Love it love it, love it, love it. And I think it's just like you said God designed each of us so uniquely. Our DNA is so different and we're all different, but we're the same in so many ways. But then you know, when you tap into those things, that you know what are your passions, what, what, what motivates you, what, what gets you excited, what helps you wake up in the morning. You know those are things that maybe you need to investigate. In those things you know if you want to make a change. But I love how you, when you started this business, you had a group of friends around you and you all had prayers and you were doing a book study together and, man, look what happened from that. You know. So we need each other.
Speaker 2:Oh gosh, yes.
Speaker 3:And we need good friends in our lives and people who will encourage us and help motivate us, and sometimes it takes somebody that can see something in us that we don't see in ourselves.
Speaker 2:It's true, exactly, and my group of friends saw that. They were tired of hearing me talk about it.
Speaker 1:I was reading all these books on Tom's shoes and giving water, and all the things and they were like we're tired of hearing me talk about it. I was reading all these books on Tom's Shoes and Giving Water and all the things.
Speaker 2:And they were like we're tired of hearing you talk about it, we want you to do something. So go through this book with us and through the prayer and encouragement, I did take that leap of faith. That's awesome. But there's a gentleman I think his name is Dan Miller out of Nashville. I read one of his books one time and he said what did you like to do as a child? Like what? What? Your passion, your just love of life? When did that really spark as a child? And that's probably what you were designed to do, cause when you're a child, you're childlike, you don't know anything.
Speaker 2:You don't know the stress of the world and all the things, and so he was basically saying, as we start growing in age and schooling, and all the things. Our mind will change because our influences our family life, whatever it may be, and we lose what our passion was Like when we were a child. That's when you can really see your passion. Yes, and so if you're trying to figure out what you want to do, just think about what you did as a kid and what you loved, because that was probably in your purest state.
Speaker 3:I love that. That's great. I'm so glad you shared that with us today. That's perfect, good, thank you. So, karen, let's talk about how people can your website finding you, your social media, so will you just share that with our audience before we wrap up?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Our website is thegoosechaseorg. Go there. You can go to our event schedule and all of our events are listed. Also, if you go to our event tab, you can actually see the specific events. All of our social media we have Instagram, we have YouTube, we have a Flickr account, and the Flickr account really is our hidden gem. It has photos from all of our races and so you can go there and see all those. And then, of course, facebook. We have a great following.
Speaker 2:We work with Candid Marketing and she does some phenomenal videos that are fun and trendy, and we get to act a little bit crazy sometimes. So we are very fortunate to have her on board. But go to our social media. You can direct message us, but we're always looking for volunteers and, of course, if you're a small business or a business in our area, we'd love to have you as a partner and we'd love to talk to you further about that.
Speaker 1:But thank you so much for having me about that, but thank you so much for having me. This has been Benchmark Happenings, brought to you by Jonathan Tipton and Steve Reed from Benchmark Home Loans. Jonathan and Steve are residential mortgage lenders. They do home loans in Northeast Tennessee and they're not only licensed in Tennessee but Florida, georgia, south Carolina and Virginia. We hope you've enjoyed the show. If you did make sure to like rate and review. Our passion is Northeast Tennessee, so if you have questions about mortgages, call us at 423-491-5405. And the website is wwwjonathanandstevecom. Thanks for being with us and we'll see you next time on Benchmark Happenings.
