Navigating the Tides: An Inspiring Conversation with Entrepreneur, Dawn Daugherty

Transcript

Ernestine 0:00

Welcome to Bon Vivant Chic Life Well Lived the podcast. For anyone who wants to cut through today's noise and just listen for a few minutes to meaningful conversations on the human experience and the power of connectedness, I'm your host Ernestine Morgan, an advocate for kindness with a passion for showcasing human interest stories that matter. Today I'm delighted to sit down with Dawn Daugherty Dawn has been in the publishing industry for over 30 years, she's also very involved with the Clearwater for Youth and a very passionate fisherwoman. So let's get started. Dawn, thank you so much for sitting down with me today.

Dawn 0:40

Thanks for having me. I love being here.

Ernestine 0:42

Can you please share a little bit? About where you grew up and what life was like.

Dawn 0:47

I grew up here actually in Clearwater, Florida, born and raised. And you'll love this. I was born in Morton Plant.

Ernestine 0:53

You were?

Dawn 0:53

Yeah. You have a little affinity to Morton Plant, don't you? I do. As were my brother and sisters. So I'm third generation here, and life was simple. It was fun, it was filled with outdoors, it was filled with playing in the neighborhood. Lot of activities, just outdoor activities and, fishing I couldn't wait to get out of school, elementary, even middle school, and ride my bike to one of the ponds off Keene Road or go to Allen's Creek and just collect tadpoles and turtles Who

Ernestine 1:23

got you Into fishing?

Dawn 1:24

My dad is a native from here and he loved to fish, but my mom moved here when she was 16 from Indiana. They met at Clearwater High. She was really the angler. My dad was more of a cast net and spearfishing but my mom was the angler with the rod and reel, so she really had my interest peaked at a very young age about that. Tarpon fishing is my favorite. And I only started tarpon fishing about. 12, maybe 15 years ago. We fished down in Boca Grande during the season. There's a season for Tarpon, I really enjoy saltwater fishing in shore. I'm not a big offshore. I have this crazy fear that nobody would know about of deep. Dark water.

Ernestine 2:07

Don't you have a group of girlfriends that fish?

Dawn 2:09

Oh yeah. We all fish together, and they enjoy it. I don't think they fish as much as I do, but they enjoy it when we're all together, and if the truth were known, they might only enjoy it because we're all together. A perfect day with friends.

Ernestine 2:23

That's great. What are some of your fondest memories growing up here in Clearwater

Dawn 2:28

I think it was really just what a lovely small community it was, and being outdoors. There was no fear of. Walking down to a neighbor's house or being out past dark. Although as the sun was going down, we all had to be in for either dinner or getting ready for, our baths but I think it was mostly just neighborhood fun and games, an empty lot with a football game or a softball game going. Riding my bike, to the ponds. I think those are really my cherished memories from here. And family. My dad was a huge family man. He would go to work and when he got home, that was it. He was home through the week. There wasn't a lot. Other than a dining room table to share family stories. But on the weekends we were boating, we were arrowhead hunting. Which is an interesting little journey that we did for a very long time while Pinellas County, Pasco County, Citrus County were being built. There was a lot of artifacts. As US 19 was being built and really the Spring Hill area was being developed, the excavators would come in and churn up the ground. There were a lot of Indian tribes. That lived in this area back in the day and when the excavators would go in and start removing the trees and the land, that turns up the ground where you would find arrowheads and little pieces of pottery and tools that they use. That was something we did on the weekends, especially if there had been a lot of rain because it would wash the, dirt away and you could see more. But then. As I was probably about eight when we started going out in the boat more, and that became our weekends was boating.

Ernestine 4:03

That's terrific. Who had the biggest influence on you when you were young?

Dawn 4:07

I had quite a few people who I look back now and say we're mentors, and one was my mom. My mom was incredibly kind. Generous. She'd give you the shirt off her back, supported me through thick and thin. Even if I had a bad day at softball, she'd tell me how great I was. There were no limits to what I could do. She never said, you're a girl. Girls don't do that. Or You're not old enough. You're not big enough. You're not strong enough. It was, well, let's go see how we can do it. That to me was huge. And I realize now how much of an impact. She had on my life in that respect. And then I had a few teachers that were just incredible at Plum Elementary a librarian that gave me the gift of reading and loving to read. And I worked in the library. I'm dyslexic.

Ernestine 4:52

Oh,

Dawn 4:52

so can you imagine me with a Dewey decimal system trying to

Ernestine 4:56

right.

Dawn 4:56

Put library books away. I was a disaster. But she was kind enough that she knew how much I loved being in the library. She would allow me to do it, and I didn't know she went behind me. Reorganized books and, then Ms. Borum, she was a PE teacher. After she retired as a teacher, she started working for the parks and recreation of Clearwater, Pinellas County. And she really gave my love of sports and encouraged it and I blossomed in sports because of her.

Ernestine 5:24

What was your favorite?

Dawn 5:25

When I was growing up, softball was definitely my favorite.

Ernestine 5:27

Softball?

5:27

Yeah.

Dawn 5:27

Mm-hmm.

Ernestine 5:28

Yeah. Do you still play?

Dawn 5:29

I stopped playing many years ago. I think I slid as an adult and coed softball and had a nice strawberry all up and down my leg. I wasn't into that. And tendonitis and, everything else that settles in, but I haven't picked up a softball in forever.

Ernestine 5:43

How has dyslexia impacted your life as an adult?

Dawn 5:47

I think more as a child than an adult, because I think as a child you're still trying to figure it out and maneuver that. And also, I wasn't diagnosed until very late. I was in high school and I just always felt like I wasn't smart, quite frankly.

Ernestine 6:03

And it probably was back when people didn't really understand what it was

Dawn 6:08

It wasn't even a thing. You didn't hear about that. And I struggled in math. Reading was not, that difficult for me. It was really math and numbers and just trying to make sense of them, and I wrote them backwards and I should have known that when I was bowling, when I learned to bowl all my numbers. I would write backwards. And then I worked for a stock brokerage firm in high school, and I was an assistant and I would send out their, marketing materials. Well, can you imagine, I'm on a typewriter typing addresses and. The majority of them came back as undeliverable and that's when it really settled in. Like this is a problem. And of course I was fired from that and again, that built on my insecurities of I wasn't smart enough, but then through. Maturing and adulthood and really being in business, you realize that you just surround yourself with good people who can take care of the numbers. And my husband, bless his heart, he's so kind and always finds the bright side of things. He said to me when we met and I was explaining my situation because it comes out in life. And he said, Dawn. Do you know how hard it is to make the numbers? You can always find someone to count them. You're so good at making them just pay somebody to count them for you. Oh, that's great. So people like that who helped me get through it and realize that, it's a deficiency, but it doesn't define me and you just overcome it.

Ernestine 7:30

Mm-hmm. And your. Many years in publishing too. That's interesting that's the route,

Dawn 7:35

yeah.

Ernestine 7:36

Have a lot of numbers to deal with.

Dawn 7:38

Yeah. Numbers. Because I'm on the brokerage side of publishing, I don't sell ads. I just make numbers for publishers and so therefore, it was very number intensive, but I found a great. Accountant who then became a CPA who now he has his own firm of 28 people

Ernestine 7:56

Uhhuh,

Dawn 7:57

I hired him when he was 28 and we grew together and he became my CO. And CFO he and I just communicate so well and he learned how to communicate with me and vice versa, so that it just works. You just have to find. The right system that allows you to really get through it

Ernestine 8:14

It certainly hasn't stopped you.

Dawn 8:16

No.

Ernestine 8:16

From being successful, that's for sure. What was your very first job, and how do you think it shaped you?

Dawn 8:23

Well, my very first job was selling tangerines out of a red wagon. Up and down my street from the tangerine tree in our backyard. I always loved to sell. I always enjoyed talking with people, and I enjoyed the art of the deal. I just always wanted to figure it out so that early on, and then I would make crafts at Christmas time and sell them to all the neighbors, it became very apparent that I needed to be in marketing or sales of some sort. Not afraid to talk to anyone. And then my first real job was at Chief Charlie's, I was a hostess, so I got to talk to everybody that came in the door, and that was a lot of fun. And to this day, Ernestine, what's so special about it is one of the chefs. Is my husband's. Best friend.

Ernestine 9:03

Oh my goodness.

Dawn 9:04

And we would always banter and carry on. And to this day, I can go back to when I was 15 years old with him and we just, get the biggest kick outta life.

Ernestine 9:14

The Clearwater Historical Society has this whole section of the restaurants that

Dawn 9:19

were

Ernestine 9:19

here in Clearwater.

Dawn 9:20

Yes.

Ernestine 9:20

And I think there's something in there about

Dawn 9:22

that.

Ernestine 9:23

Oh, absolutely.

Dawn 9:23

Absolutely. It was definitely a gathering place.

Ernestine 9:26

You've built very successful businesses. What are some of the most rewarding moments while building these businesses?

Dawn 9:33

I've had a few and they're so extremely different. When I first got into and started my own publishing, company and building into that what was nice for me is I was able to invest in real estate, and real estate was extremely reasonable back in the day here. And a mentor of mine has said You need to get into, investment in real estate. I had a nice lifestyle, but I was not making, relatively speaking a lot of money. And then it was time for my son to go to college. The money that I had invested for him for college was in the tech, division. And the tech crashed and I wasn't in a 5 29. I had really off the advice of someone put it. More aggressively. So that I could build it quicker for him to go to college. So what it allowed me to do, and so this is one of those impacts, I was able to sell one of the houses that I had bought for investment and pay for his college education to get him halfway through anyway. That to me was one of those pivotal moments that I was so proud of myself for being able to do that through a business venture. Not just saving the money that I was making, but through a venture that I saw a return on. That was really,, exciting for me and very impactful. And then really, as I've gotten older and. Had a few businesses and run a few businesses. I think the biggest thing for me is mentoring people on what to look for in a business, how to run a business, how to look at a p and l, how to know when to cut expenses and. How to just understand the dynamics from beginning to end, especially of a grassroots company because you don't have that infrastructure unless you build it. And so it's been really nice for me for, the last about 10 years is really working. With people and sitting down and showing them a p and l and what that looks like. Mm-hmm. And what it means. And what your compass is on that p and l. That has probably, for me, been the biggest impact of something that you don't think about going in, because it's all about you. You're building a business for you and your family and your lifestyle, but it gives back tenfold.

Ernestine 11:35

I'm sure you've had many pivotal moments. Or decisions that changed the course of your life. If you look back. Are there any that really stand out to you today?

Dawn 11:44

Yeah,, I have two one is really meeting, dating and marrying my husband, my current husband. Cause I've had a couple. And I'm not ashamed of it. I'm a hopeless romantic and I just knew I'd get it right eventually. And I did. And he's the kindest, most understanding person. He has grounded me in ways that I never could have imagined. He's just fun. He's brought so much joy to my life I love waking up every day knowing that he's here with me. For me, I know it seems kind of silly because I'm not 20 and I just got married and that's such a big pivot. But it was a huge decision for me to get married again, and it just couldn't have worked out better for me. So better because he's in it with me.

Ernestine 12:23

That's terrific.

Dawn 12:24

And then the other one was, I had highly leveraged myself because I was continuing to buy real estate. I was flipping some homes at that point. The crash hit. I couldn't sell the homes that I'd flipped, and instead of doing one at a time, I had gotten more aggressive and I had three and four at a time. I got in a jam and it was the best lesson on so many levels, but the bank came to me and they called in my credit line and said, okay, no more. And not only no more, but you need to pay it back. And real estate wasn't moving. It was really a tough time for me, but what it made me do was just take a step back and dig so deep I negotiated everything. Everything. I went to the bank and said you don't want my house. Remember when everyone was short selling their house and walking away from mortgages? And it was a really ugly time. And I went to my bank and I said, you don't want my house. I know you don't want my house. You're not in the housing business, so let me figure out a way that I can work through this and I'll pay you every penny, but you gotta help me. Took a very large loan and gave it to me at zero interest.

Ernestine 13:30

Wow.

Dawn 13:31

And said, we believe in you and we're going to work with you on this. And obviously there were some other, caveats to it, but. I negotiated my car loan. I called the credit union I had at the time and said, I know you don't want my car. They extended my car loan out like 15 years. Which is unheard of, but they didn't want my car.

Ernestine 13:50

Yeah.

Dawn 13:50

So I just looked at everything around me, credit card companies. I looked at everything around me and said, let's negotiate. I can't walk away because I don't, I'm not that person. I owe you. I'm going to pay you. I just need to figure out a different way to pay you. And with that, I paid back every penny to everyone and the banker. He was so gracious and so grateful. We had a little celebratory thing on my very last payment to bring that big fat balance down to zero. And it taught me one, everything in life is negotiable. Everything, even when you think it's not, it is. And the other thing is it gave me so much integrity to just not walk away from something. when it got hard and to do without. Just do without and, make good on your promises.

Ernestine 14:41

That's terrific. What's a misconception that people may have about female entrepreneurs?

Dawn 14:47

I think there's a misconception that women like to prove that they can do the same or better than men in business I don't think that's it at all. I think it's just women wanting to run a business. I don't think we're putting ourselves up against a gender race. I think that we're doing it because we want to.

Ernestine 15:07

Mm-hmm.

Dawn 15:08

And we have the tools to, that's it. I wasn't raised. With a male and female difference saying you can't do this because you're a girl. So it's really hard for me when women play the girl card or the boys club card. It's out there. I'm very aware of it. I've gone up against it, but find a way around it. I'll tell you an example of one that I thought was there when I was in publishing before I went out on my own, I worked for, special data processing for 15 years for Bill Hood. Great mentor by the way. And our clients from New York were always coming down. They wanted to golf. They're in Florida. It's beautiful weather even in the winter I would meet them for lunch, I'd meet them for breakfast. I'd meet them at the 19th hole. And I finally said to Bill, I said, this is so unfair. Because I'm a girl, I don't get to go golfing with you, and he looked at me and he said, it's not because you're a girl. You don't golf. It was like a light bulb went on in my head. And of course, because I'm athletic, I think, well, of course I can golf. So I said to him, can I just go? And he says, no, no, it doesn't work that way. And no, you go take lessons. The company will pay for you to take lessons. You learn to play golf and you are more than welcome. And I thought, oh, well, I'm taking him up on that. And lo and behold, that's how I learned to golf. And guess what? I started hosting and he would come for lunch. He was so relieved he didn't have to go anymore. And so he would show up for lunch in the 19th hole. So that was one of those moments where I think sometimes we can get in our own head as women. And think that we're being blocked when in fact. We're blocking ourselves just by our thought process.

Ernestine 16:43

Good point. That's a great story too.

Dawn 16:46

I love it. Thanks for

Ernestine 16:47

sharing.

Dawn 16:47

I'm so glad I got to golf now I know how to golf and it's enriched my life

Ernestine 16:51

What lessons about family and relationships would you pass along to the younger generation?

Dawn 16:57

With the younger generation and just anyone in general, even though you were raised in the same family, if you have siblings or not. You're not raised by the same parents. So if you have a couple siblings and you're 2, 3, 4, even 10 years apart, you are not raised the same way. You're not the same person, and so I think sometimes you have to sit back as a family and you have to realize my experiences weren't what my brother and sisters were. Your parents might have gotten divorced, so you were raised differently, even economically, depending upon when you were born and if their business was struggling and then it made it, so I think sharing that with people is just give people grace because you don't know where they've been. You don't know what they've been through. It's just giving people grace.

Ernestine 17:41

What about, young people and their interest in, perhaps starting a business is there any advice you would share with them?

Dawn 17:48

Oh, yeah, I think out of the gate, the first thing is if you're doing this because you wanna take a hobby that you're enjoying and make money at it. Dig even deeper than you would if it's just something on a business perspective that you're looking at. And then the second thing really is know your numbers front and back before you start this business. Because starting a business can be such a money pit. And I think it's so important to know, first of all. Just what the infrastructure is going to cost you to build before you even open your door. Do you have the resources financially to do that? And then it's putting together your business plan. And when I say business plan, people start thinking about the SBA and this five year, business plan, it's really much more simple than that. It's really saying. How am I gonna get my sales and what do I think they're going to be, and what do I think my monthly expenses are going to be, and can I cover them? And oh, by the way, am I paying myself? Because if I'm not, then how are you going to live while you not only build the business, but take money out of your personal pocket to do it. And so I think that's the biggest thing. It's really look at. The foundation of that business before you start spending money and realizing that you're just digging a deeper hole for yourself.

Ernestine 18:57

Are there any life lessons that you've learned that you wish you knew earlier?

Dawn 19:02

Yeah, I think trust yourself. I really think it's just don't let other people define you. Especially with, dyslexia. And I didn't go to college because as much as my mom was the best supporter. She also probably made the mistake of telling me I wasn't smart enough to go to college. And that they didn't want to spend the money for me to go to college because of that, because I couldn't get through math and I had tutors. My mom and my brother and my sister being deficient in hearing and my dad being autistic. Yeah. my dad he self-identified as autistic, probably in his sixties. And we always knew he was just. Very, not cold, but Don't touch me. Very distant. We never were allowed to have people over to spend the night. Because he didn't want people in the house. And he would go in his bedroom after dinner. When autistic awareness really came out and they were doing programs and documentaries he looked at my mom and said, I think I'm autistic. And my mom was floored she called me and we talked about it and I said, you know, this makes so much sense.

Ernestine 20:03

Mm-hmm.

Dawn 20:04

And I like him so much better because of this. Because now there's a reason

Ernestine 20:08

you understand.

Dawn 20:09

Yes. It brought so much understanding to just his odd characteristics. Mm-hmm. And he did the best he could, but he was a very private guy. That just made all the sense in the world. I laugh and I said, well, no wonder why I'm just a hot mess. My mom couldn't hear. My dad was autistic. My brother and sister couldn't hear. Aw. I grew up thinking reading lips was normal, They really struggled in school because they couldn't hear. and, they didn't wear hearing aids my mom. Refused they strictly red lips. I thought until I was in middle school, I didn't know that you didn't have to be in the same room with someone to have a conversation.

Ernestine 20:44

Wow.

Dawn 20:44

Because you couldn't be in the bedroom and go, Hey mom, can you get my blah, blah, blah. Nobody was gonna come. But I didn't know that.

Ernestine 20:50

Mm-hmm.

Dawn 20:51

Literally until middle school

Ernestine 20:53

Amazing. That you have such a good attitude towards. Life, you've made something out of yourself in

Dawn 20:59

Yeah.

Ernestine 21:00

Complicated,

Dawn 21:01

Very complicated.

Ernestine 21:01

That's powerful.

Dawn 21:02

It is powerful. But with me, I overcame, just building people around me who could do numbers. That's the only way I got through business life. My sister is, a boat captain. She just retired from being a fishing captain over 30 years and now does boat tours, like nature tours, on a pontoon boat. My brother is an accomplished musician. He plays bluegrass. And he teaches music. Deaf teaches banjo guitars primary. Wow. But, but yeah, my family, they just found ways. We all found ways. My dad, we all found ways around our craziness but I think that to me is the biggest thing is don't let someone define you. You knock on every door and you dig so deep interpersonally and figure it out. It worked and, it's been a blessing for me because I have more compassion for people. And I can spot a person who doesn't hear a mile away. And so it allows me to really engage with them even more, because I know that they probably feel. Closed off.

Ernestine 22:01

Mm-hmm.

Dawn 22:01

And it's helped me to communicate in that environment and I think it's made me a better person and more intuitive by understanding some of the challenges and living with people who have challenges, including my own. So it's been a gift really. and now I look back and, it's kind of interesting for me is I'm 10 years apart from my brother and my sisters eight years apart. And I really feel like God had a plan. I was brought into this world to help my family through the aging process and through just literacy.

Ernestine 22:32

Mm-hmm.

Dawn 22:32

Because they're not the most literate, because you could get pushed through school then.

Ernestine 22:36

Mm-hmm.

Dawn 22:36

And they got pushed through. And so I really think it was just a blessing and that was my purpose, was to help my siblings and my mom get through life.

Ernestine 22:45

Wow. Special lady. Beautiful. You've done well.

Dawn 22:48

Thank you.

Ernestine 22:49

What do you think is the secret to a fulfilling and happy life?

Dawn 22:53

I think health. The older I get, the more aware I am that health is absolutely a golden ticket. For being happy and living a great life. And I think the other thing is just taking the time to sit back, whether it's a cup of coffee in the morning with no noise, or it's listening to a podcast that's uplifting, I think the secret is too slow. Down, and I'm learning that, and I'm sure my family who might listen to this podcast is going to laugh at the slow down part. But I really think it's just finding out who you are and what makes you happy. Because sometimes you're in such a routine and there's so much noise and you're used to your routine that when you really take a step back from it and do nothing for a minute or two. Three. I think that's when you can figure out, okay, what does make me happy? Is it working more? Some people wanna work more. Is it spending more time with my family? Is it not talking to my friends as much as I want to? And so therefore I need to because that brings me that happiness. Everybody's unique in what makes them happy

Ernestine 23:57

Yeah. And I know it's interesting because. Was a workaholic for a long time.

Dawn 24:04

Yes.

Ernestine 24:04

And you did a great job

Dawn 24:05

of that,

Ernestine 24:05

by the way, and trying to transition. So I've been retired, it'll be a year trying to learn how to be intentional, especially with. The people that you're around, not to be distracted or think about where else you have to be, it's taking some time. I'm a work in progress.

Dawn 24:22

Yeah. I sold a moving and storage business that kept me extremely busy for longer than I wanted it to. I sold it in May of 2025. That really was eyeopening to me how much time I wasn't spending being intentional. And even just passing my neighbors, I would put my head down and say, oh, I can't get into a conversation. I just need to put my head down and go, I need to get to work. And now I find myself going, oh, so I saw your daughter was here last week. Did you guys enjoy it? There's no way I would've entertained that conversation.

Ernestine 24:53

Yeah.

Dawn 24:54

Prior to May. And so I think you're right. There are little things that start happening that are just evolving. As you have more time and as you figure out who you are outside of. A desk with your name on it.

Ernestine 25:09

We both have to reimagine what the next 25 years of our lives are gonna

Dawn 25:13

Yes.

Ernestine 25:14

Look like. And you talk about health, I know personally that if I were to give any advice to young people, it would be, pay attention to it when you're young. Invest in it, and exercise. Eat well.'cause when you get into your sixties, a lot of damage has already

Dawn 25:32

been done.

Ernestine 25:33

Damage is done.

Dawn 25:34

I know,

Ernestine 25:35

right?

Dawn 25:36

Well, and even here in Florida skincare, yes. And I'm not talking about wrinkles, I'm talking about really taking care of your skin. And it's never too late. But let me tell you, if I knew. And my teens uhhuh, what I know now. Would I have put on more sunscreen? I don't know, but at least I would've known and been able to make that decision. There's a lot of damage here.

Ernestine 25:57

What would you say keeps you motivated? Today

Dawn 26:00

Still have the real estate holdings. But that is such a passive. I have someone manage that, and then I still have the magazine business, and I work at it about 10 hours a week. So I feel very liberated with time. What keeps me motivated is the personal health journey. That really keeps me motivated and even more so because I feel like I can be more intentional about myself now.

Ernestine 26:22

Mm-hmm.

Dawn 26:22

And really just spending time with my family and watching these grand babies.

Ernestine 26:27

Oh.

Dawn 26:28

Just grow and thrive and watching our children just become amazing adults sitting back and watching them go through some of the things we did and go, I would not be that age again for anything and just being really happy where I'm at. Yeah. And, looking at my next, 15 to 20 years keeps me very motivated with making sure that I'm on a path that I want to be on because that time goes by so quickly. What is it I wanna do? What are my priorities? In those next 15 to 20 years. That's probably what keeps me motivated is knowing that I'm on the back nine.

Ernestine 27:05

Mm-hmm.

Dawn 27:05

And I wanna make sure I'm doing the things that I want and need to be doing.

Ernestine 27:09

That's great. As you know, I've been involved in the philanthropic space for quite a number of years and that's actually how we connected Philanthropy means different things to different people. What does philanthropy mean to you?

Dawn 27:22

Yeah, that's a great question, but before I answer, I just wanna tell you how much you've done for our community. You kind of blow by it and go, yeah, yeah. I've been in philanthropy. The strength that you built in our community for. BayCare is really unmatched and unbelievable.

Ernestine 27:40

Thank you.

Dawn 27:40

Yeah, it's just amazing. I'm so proud to know you because of that.

Ernestine 27:46

You sweet. Thanks.

Dawn 27:46

So what does takes a

Ernestine 27:46

village?

Dawn 27:47

Literally it all. It does, it does. We've got a very giving community. We do, but you have to give them something they want to give to. And you did that.

Ernestine 27:55

Thank you.

Dawn 27:56

For me it just means taking care of your community. That's what. Philanthropy means to me is, being a third generation here, my community is extremely important to me, especially the youth of our community. And I just think it's an obligation to give time and treasure. And lessons and teach to our community. And so that's really what it means to me is just strengthening the community we live in.

Ernestine 28:22

Beautiful, and thank you for all that you've done. Clearwater for Youth is very close to your heart. You've been involved with them for quite a number of years.

Dawn 28:31

Oh gosh, yes. Well, I grew up in Clearwater for Youth. That was the youth sports here.

Ernestine 28:37

So you have a personal connection

Dawn 28:39

I do. I have a huge personal connection. And then as Pinellas County grew and youth sports grew, the city parks and recreation took over Clearwater for youth because there was no way that Clearwater for youth could exist the way it did. So they. Pivoted and they became a board of trustees. They started raising money for the youth in our community who are underserved and couldn't afford to pay the tuition to play football. You play football, it's$400. It's a lot of money. And those children are typically playing other sports too. And if they have siblings, then it's a lot of pressure on the parents. That was something that really intrigued me because I know how fulfilled I was as a child doing sports. And it was important to me that was an area that I wanted to focus on. So yeah, I've been on the board of trustees, maybe 20 years.

Ernestine 29:27

Wow.

Dawn 29:27

I know. It's a long time. And board members typically cycle off. We can't get our board members to cycle off. We just keep adding board members and, we've been able to build a really nice endowment. We've got a$6 million endowment. That's

Ernestine 29:42

fantastic.

Dawn 29:42

It's just great leadership there. It's fun, it's exhilarating. It gives me a lot of hope for our community.

Ernestine 29:50

That's wonderful. There's a lot of kids out there that are fortunate to have you as an advocate in this community,

Dawn 29:56

yeah. Thank you.

Ernestine 29:57

Thanks so much, Dawn for sitting down with me. This has been great to learn more about you and your passions, and appreciate you, taking the time to sit down with me.

Dawn 30:08

Well, I've enjoyed being here and I love that you're doing this and I'm glad that this is the next phase for you.

Ernestine 30:14

Thank you.

Dawn 30:15

You're welcome.

Ernestine 30:15

Thanks for listening to Bon Vivant Chic Life Well Lived. I hope you'll tune in for more meaningful stories on the human experience and share with family and friends. A special shout out to Will Cooper out of Nashville, Tennessee for creating this season's music. All the episodes are available wherever you listen to podcasts, including my website. bonvivantchic.com Till next time, remember, every day is a gift. Live it with kindness.