What If Community Starts With Your Next Yes?

What if a faithful life looks less like headlines and more like steady, everyday choices? We sit down with Owensboro native Gordon Wilkerson—financial advisor, church pianist, mentor, and community servant—to explore how grace, discipline, and generosity can quietly transform a city. From stories of chamber breakfasts that still pack a room to a performing arts center born from one person’s legacy, Gordon shows how a culture of initiative makes Owensboro feel like home.

We dive into practical money wisdom without the jargon: why short-term money and long-term money should never be treated the same, how to build habits before chasing returns, and what really happens when finances collide with grief, loss, and life’s hardest pivots. Gordon dismantles the “stock jockey” myth and replaces it with relationship-driven planning that starts with listening. He even shares a pre-internet rescue mission from his newspaper days—a reminder that owning your mistakes and solving the problem builds trust that lasts.

Faith is the thread that ties it all together. Gordon describes moving from a checklist view of religion to a grace-centered walk where Jesus’ work comes first, not ours. That shift reshaped how he serves, how he sets boundaries, and how he measures legacy: loved Christ, a good friend, faithful. Along the way, we talk mentoring cross country runners, modern hymns that lift the heart, smoking ribs for friends, and why saying no can be the most loving thing you do for your community.

If you’re hungry for a story that blends real-world financial advice, approachable theology, and local heartbeat, this one’s for you. Hit play, share it with a neighbor, and tell us: what’s one small yes you can make this week that invests in people over portfolios? Subscribe, leave a review, and help more folks find these Owensboro stories.

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Transcript

Setting The Stage: Meet Gordon

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You know, Christianity was more about what Jesus did for me than what I can do for him.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

That's Gordon Wilkerson, lifelong Owensboro native, financial advisor, musician, community servant. In this conversation, we talk about faith that's real, service that's lived out, and what it looks like to invest in people, not just portfolios. This is all things Owensboro. I'm Brad Winter, and this is a story worth listening to. Hey guys, welcome back to All Things Owensboro. We're so glad you joined us this week. And if you've been listening for a while, congrats. You are now officially called the Blue Bridge Crew. Um, I like that name. It's something I didn't need to give with you, and we got shirts coming soon, so be on the lookout for that. But before we get your shirts, uh, we're going to talk to Gordon Wilkerson. Gordon is a man that's known more and more around Owensboro than I realize. Every year I know him, the more I know that he's connected around the community, and that's been really cool. And he's been serving across countless boards in the past. He's a part of a lot of community groups, and so he's also a financial advisor at Baird, and then he's also a talented pianist. He will tell you he's not, but he is. And then he's also a man of faith who knows how to balance service, music, and meaning, and all that in between. So, guys, let's welcome Gordon Bookson. Gordon, thank you for coming on today.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Yeah, man. Thank you for having me today. It's a pleasure.

Owensboro’s Culture Of Initiative

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Yeah, I'm looking forward to our conversation. I think it's gonna be fun. And we've got 270 seconds of fame coming up. But first, you know, you're born and raised in Owensboro. I am. And so for you, like what makes Owensboro Owensboro?

Goodfellows, Arts, And Civic Roots

SPEAKER_00 1:40

You know, I think, you know, every community has its its own culture. And as I'm reflecting on, you know, the last several years and my career and everything, I see a lot of folks in Owensboro are willing to step up and make a difference uh and say, how can we change our community? How can we make it better? How can we improve? And you know, there's always room for improvement, yeah no matter how good you get. And one of the things that comes to mind, I think initially is the story that Kirk Kirkpatrick tells about the rooster booster breakfast starting back in the 70s, and he was like, you know, inflation was high and the economy was bad. And he's like, man, we needed some good news. And you know, and so and so uh And now it's 50 years later, you know. And then 50 years later, you know, I think you know, if they so the rooster booster had just started and they were meeting at the Ponderosa Steakhouse, which which is no longer in business, but if you know where Wendy Hollow is now, Westing Park Plaza, that was Ponderosa. And and so Kirk introduced the good news phone at that time, and I think and and the group grew and then it moved to Great Gates Restaurant and and various locations and was at the executive inn for years, and now it's you know it meets monthly at the executive inn, or not executive in at the convention center. What used to be the executive end, that's right, the convention center, and and people that visited and speakers, they're like, wow, you get three 300 people together every month for your chamber meeting. I'm like, no community every anywhere hardly does that. So I mean, you know, so I mean it's like that's just like uh we kind of take that for granted, but it's it's something I think uh it speaks to the people that want to get out and network and build their business and and they're not waiting for somebody else to do it for them. You know, people are are doing that and they're rubbing shoulders with other business people. So I think that type of thing, and you can find other examples of that too, with you know, the I mean the River Park Center now for you know younger generations, it's all it hasn't always been here, you know. It was another thing that people got together and initiated, and and Cannon Hall is named after a woman that left a sizable portion of her estate to build that performing arts center. So, you know, they don't people don't know why it's called Cannon Hall. Well, it's after a lady by the name of Queen Cannon, and she she found value in the arts, and so she said, I want to make a difference. And so the Goodfellows Club, which is a board I've been part of now again for a couple of years and served on several years ago, it was an organization founded by a late newspaper editor, Lawrence W. Hager Sr. And his granddaughters, Sally still serves on the board too. And so it's grown. And you know, what started as a as a Christmas party back one Christmas Eve has grown into an organization that provides clothing to uh to hundreds of school children every year and emergency dental care, and and so, and we have you know dozens of people in the schools involved in it, lots of volunteers, and we're gearing up now for our what we call our roll call, which is our annual fundraising campaign that will kick off on Thanksgiving Day.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

So that's really cool. And and so we'll we'll have those in the the episode notes, we'll have links for all that. Uh when you get this episode be past Thanksgiving. But the good thing is when you hear about this, gear up for Thanksgiving because that's when they'll do it every year. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

And and you can give to Goodfellows year round. I mean, we can you can give online at Goodfellows Club of Owensboro.com and Hey, quick pause.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

I'm Brad Winter, host of All Things Owensboro Podcast. If you're looking for a church that feels like home, we'd love to invite you to First Baptist Church Owensboro. We gather Sundays at 10 30 a.m. right next to the Blue Bridge. Infos in the show notes, and if you reach out, my family will gladly sit with you. Yeah, that's really neat. I didn't know that. That was tied in together. All right. Well, you know, Owens Rolls definitely shaped you, or you shaped Owensboro. I'm not sure which came first, but you know, you Owen's Roll didn't shape you just professionally. You know, you didn't you gave you made reference to the Chamber of Commerce and how you're involved there and good fellows and whatnot, but but how has Owen's role shaped you personally?

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Well, I mean, I think you you you can look back even I could look back even to my childhood and you know where I went to school. I I kind of, you know, there's a there's a lot of you know discussion anymore about education in schools and and things that that happen in school. And I always like to kind of jokingly say if kids went to school where I did, they would think they were in jail. Oh yeah. And that was Blessed Mother Grade School, which is on uh 23rd Street, the building's still there, but it's it's been transformed into I think the Cat Once More Catholic School's four and five center. So when I was there, it was grades one through eight. Okay. And and so just you know, being part of a private school system and the discipline was very strict, and we wore uniforms. And I remember my mom telling me right before I started school, she said she was glad that they quit prescribing or dictating what type of socks you had to wear. Can you imagine going to school now? And they said, Gordon, you have to wear a certain type of socks, but but we had uniforms we wore, and and so you know, just life is different. And so the you know, very disciplined, very structured environment. About half of the teachers were Ursulin sisters, and the principal was an Ursuline sister too.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

So anyhow.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

That's really cool.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

Different day and time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. And so, you know, you've been with Baird Financial for a couple years, and so I know you've been to other places as well. You've kind of worn a lot of hats throughout the years, but what do you really like about being a financial wealth advisor?

Mentoring, Cross Country, And Camaraderie

SPEAKER_00 7:28

I think you can make a difference in people's lives in ways that maybe you never thought about. Obviously, we want to grow a person's assets and help them plan for retirement or financial child's education and other financial goals, but you know, there's there's hard times in life that sometimes intersect with our finances, you know, the death of a loved one or you know, separation from a longtime spouse, things of that nature can really cause grief in a person's life. And and so, you know, a lot of times we're talking about financial matters surrounding those things, and I'm passing the Kleenex box across the desk because someone is just, you know, grieving over a specific situation that enters in with their finances. And and so we're not we're not just involved in the financial matters, but a lot of times these other other things that come up that you have to take into consideration and and how you know it re it intersects with the person's goals in life.

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Yeah, so you really get to know them on a personal level too. It's not just uh I mean you could make a business, I don't know how long how long that would last, but yeah, you know, at the end of the day it comes down to having a personal relationship, which is really neat. That's cool. It's just something you don't think about. I don't think when you think of financial wealth advisor, you don't think, oh, but there has to be a relationship. But let's switch gears a little bit. You know, you've been a part of many community groups and you seem to know everyone. We go to get lunch, and I feel like the lowest count I've had is like maybe five people say hey to you. And so, but now uh you do know a lot of people uh but what drives that commitment in you for community service to like give back to be part of those groups? Like, why does Gordon Wilkerson do that?

Serving Through Seasons And Systems

SPEAKER_00 9:10

You know, I think giving, you know, just from a a biblical worldview, I see this, and we see, you know, that Christ gave his life for us. He gave his life for the for the world. I mean, John 3 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that if we believe in him, we have everlasting life. So the ultimate, the ultimate joy is giving, you know, and we can read all through scripture how God finds joy in his people and Christ finds joy in saving us from our sins. And so uh from the biblical worldview, I think sometimes we don't see there's so much joy in giving, whether that's giving your time or your finances or having someone in your home for a meal. Those are those are special things, and I think the more we can fill our lives with those things, the more just the more joy and happiness we will have and and and bring others into that realm of joy and happiness.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

This episode is brought to you by Good Fellows of Owensboro, a local organization that's been serving our community for over a century, from providing clothing and emergency dental care to helping kids and families in real need. Goodfellows is proof that generosity still is right here in Owensboro. Learn more and support their mission at goodfellowsclub of Owensboro.com. Yeah, and not to like pinpoint or call a single, you know, not to put one nonprofit over the other or community group, but what's been more like what's been the most fun community group you've been a part of? Or like I guess what's been a couple of name a couple of fun experiences through community groups. I know that that wasn't on the list. Okay, and name a couple of what? Like just fun experience, like what's been some of your more like fun experiences or maybe even like life-changing experiences with some of these groups that you're a part of?

Faith Journey: Grace Over Good Works

SPEAKER_00 11:14

You know, I I will go back to that's a good question, Brad. So I will go back to a time I was a mentor with Mentor Kids Kentucky. Okay, and there was a young man that I had mentored, and he was part of a part of a cross-country team at a local high school. And and so every Saturday there was a cross-country meet. And so some of them were in Owensboro. I remember driving to Bowling Green, okay, driving to Lexington a couple times at Kentucky Horse Park for like the the championship uh race and and things like that, Louisville. So those that was a lot of fun, and his coaches were friends of mine, Matt and Mark Rowe at the time. And and so there was just a lot of camaraderie there and seeing him interact with the other boys, and he enjoyed that. And a lot of times he would, he would, he'd have to get up early and ride the bus, you know, to the race or to the meets rather with the team, and then he'd ride home with me and fall asleep in the car, you know, that type of thing. So that was but that was uh I really that's it was a great memory, and I had photography as a hobby too, a big part of my life, and I'd shoot pictures at these events and post them on Facebook. And anyhow, so that was just that was really a good time and enjoyable. And I've never been somebody that personally participated in sports, but I'll say I think cross country is one of the the most unique sports that maybe a lot of people don't know about. It's just uh it's a great outdoor sport, and there's just a lot of team building and camaraderie and that. So it was great times.

Counting The Cost And Following Christ

SPEAKER_01 12:50

That's cool. Listen to you, mentor kids. That's how we originally met was mentored kids. That's right, that's right. I remember that. It was at the banquet, wasn't it? It was at the banquet, it was, yeah. So we got the pleasure of serving there. I don't think together, I don't think we synced up together, but I served right after you left and uh got tired of it. No, I'm just kidding. Uh but uh but we love mentor kids, and they've been on a previous episode. So if you're listening, go look up my interview with Burley Sullivan. It's a good interview. You won't be so you won't be disappointed. So Gordon, you do a lot of service, and we kind of just talked about that a little bit, but uh when you when you thought, when you sit back and think like this is why I do it, and I know you talked a little bit about John 3.16 because Christ serves, like he made the ultimate sacrifice, but like can you add to that? Like what what are some of the reasons why you serve and relentlessly serve?

Balance, Boundaries, And Saying No

SPEAKER_00 13:34

Well, I think you know, reasons I serve would be, you know, God has given me gifts and uh things I enjoy to do. And I know there's other I know there's other there's just ways, again, that you that you can that you can bless people. And I'm not this might be a what this is a small thing. I don't know that you would call this community service, but okay. I've uh I've gotten where I enjoy smoking meat. And so the like in the last year I've I've added ribs to my to what I'll enjoy with meats I enjoy smoking, and so I've given racks of ribs to people and you know, people that you know that you wouldn't think would enjoy ribs. And I'm gonna point out like kids, you always think kids like hot dogs and hamburgers and things like that. And I've got a family at my church I'm friends with, and they're little boys. When are you gonna come over and bring ribs again? Those ribs are really good, you know, and and you just you don't think about a nine or ten-year-old boy, you know, really enjoying smoked ribs, but it's like they, you know, they ask about them more often. So, you know, you can, you know, things like that get associated with somebody and then you're like, I really enjoy that. I want to, I want to fix them another rack of ribs or something. But uh, you know, you can take that into community, like with the goodfellows board. I was on that board years ago for six years and enjoyed it. And and there's a lot of newspaper employees or former newspaper employees that serve on that board, and that's been part of my career too. And so that was my association with it. But a couple of years ago, I was talking with uh Kathy Strobel, she's one of the board members, and she just mentioned they were looking for new board members. And I said, Well, I'm interested if you're if you want, you know, I enjoyed that before, and I said, I'm not serving on any boards right now. So, anyhow, I was able to to join the board again in 2024. So you know, that just it's just an enjoyable time. It's a great, you know, Christmas tradition, some of the things that the Goodfellows Board does with the Christmas party and and you know, again, finding or fulfilling the needs of kids, you know, in schools. Uh we provide clothing and emergency dental care, and and it's interesting how we do that too. You know, we're not taking them uh secondhand clothing. We take the kids on shopping trips and in groups. And that's something that's changed a little bit since I was on the board before. They used to take the kids individually, and now we we like carve out three-hour periods of time and take groups of kids uh shopping. And so that's something I haven't, and now they're involving board members with that. So I'm gonna have my first shopping trip, I think, on no December 4th at Walmart from 3 to 6 p.m. And so we'll go and and work with the family resource workers and help the kids shop and find what they need and and everything. So so anyhow, that's I'm looking forward to that. So again, it's another way that kind of going back to your first question, you know, what makes a ones for what it is, you know, the Goodfellas Club is trying to continually make itself better and and serve the community in uh, you know, in new ways and find how you know what we need to do to change and and continue.

SPEAKER_01 16:48

So yeah, and I I told I said this before on a podcast, but man, the amount of nonprofits we have in the city for the size of the city is is really impressive. And the fact that like we as a community love to get back is really cool. And so, you know, that's what switch gears back to the Baird and the financial wealth advisory deal. But you know, there's always gonna be a funny or crazy story now, granted, and there's might be some details you have to leave out or change, and that's fine. But like without naming names and getting into specifics, what's been the funniest or craziest story you've experienced in your career at Baird, or just in general? I know you've worn a lot of different hats.

Habits That Keep A Life Grounded

SPEAKER_00 17:22

So, like Well, I I think the craziest story would not be from my time as a financial advisor. I think it would be from my time at the newspaper. Okay. So, but and so when when I worked at the newspaper, a big part of the time there, I was in advertising sales, and I handled the Bacon's account. So anybody that's lived in Owensboro any length of time will remember Bacon's Department Store from the from the Townsquare Mall. And uh Bacon's was our largest account, and they would keep you busy, but especially through Christmas, they would keep you busy. And so I had taken a few days off, and another sales rep was taking care of the Bacon's account. Now you have to remember this is before the days of the internet, this is before the days of all the electronic communication we have now. And so everything came, you know, we we didn't email files back and forth from Bacon's or anything of that nature. We we actually physically went to the store and picked up the ads, and and Bacon's had a pretty sophisticated way of producing the advertising artwork, and it came out of their Louisville office. And so, and so some ads had come in while I was taking a few days off. I think it was right after Christmas, it was right around Christmas season, anyhow. And I came back and and so anytime an ad was published in the newspaper, the it was once we were through with it, we call those dead ads. Okay. And if an ad hasn't been published, it was a live ad. So I went back, I went to my desk and I had a big stack of ads, and I went through them really quickly. I thought they were all dead ads, but they weren't. There was a stack of Bacon's ads in there, and I threw everything in the trash. Oh no. Because we were done with it. I just I just got rid of it. And so I threw about a three or four thousand dollar advertising order in the trash. Oh, and I got a call at home on a Friday night, and it's like, well, we're looking for these ads for the Bacon account. And I said, Oh, call Bernie. She took care of that while I was out, and then anyhow, then we called Bernie. Bernie said she left them on your desk, and I'm like, oh man, I threw everything in my desk on the in the dumpster two days ago. There's no way it's still there. And so I thought, man, how am I gonna solve this problem? And so I called, I called my ad director and told him what I did. I called the bacon's manager and told him what I did. And I said, I said, we need to how can we get these ads replaced? Because it was Friday night and they were gonna run in Sunday's newspaper.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Yeah.

Legacy, Stewardship, And Eternity

SPEAKER_00 19:54

And so I thought I got to solve this problem. And so the truck coming from Louisville had already left. They couldn't put another set of ads, but we called the advertising manager, and she said, Well, I can go in and print another set tomorrow, but I don't have any way to get them to Windsor. So that was Saturday morning. So I got up on Saturday morning and drove to Louisville. Now now she, you know, this day they could have probably emailed them or uploaded them to a website or something. But so anyhow, I got up and drove to Louisville and picked up the ads, and I still remember I needed to get back pretty quick. I grabbed something to eat at a fast food restaurant and headed back, and everything was fine. But that was just that's a funny thing, but it made me feel good too, because it's like, all right, I created the problem, but I'm like, I gotta solve this, you know. And so, anyhow, and then uh even after that, my manager said, Turn in your mileage. We don't we we want to pay you for your mileage. And I thought that was nice that they paid, you know, you know, because they didn't have to do that. They didn't know, yeah. But but Bacons was happy, and I think they were, you know, they didn't want to they didn't want to miss, and it would have just anyhow, it was a it was a memorable thing. So that as far as crazy stories, that's one of the craziest things.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Okay, yeah, no, that is, especially uh you still kept your job after that.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

I kept my job. They they let me keep my job.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

There you go. Well, you know, switching gears a little bit. We talked earlier how you're a talented pianist, and I know you used it a lot in church settings, but I know you probably used it in other places as well. And so how do you use that gift today as a piano player?

SPEAKER_00 21:29

Primarily in church worship services still. Play piano a couple of times a month for Walnut Memorial Baptist Church where I attend and I'm a member, and then at other times I may go sub in some other churches in the community. I've got a couple of churches that smaller churches that we'll call when their pianist is out of town on vacation or something. So I'll do but that that's primarily what I do. So, gotcha.

Rapid Fire: Owensboro Favorites

SPEAKER_01 21:55

Well, no, you talked a lot, you just talked about how you do a lot primarily through uh serving at your church. And so I know you've gotten to see a lot of sides of Christianity from the Catholic from the Catholic side to the Baptist side and kind of everything in between. And so uh walk us through that journey. Like, how did you end up where you're at spiritually today? Looking for a place to get active, connect with others, and have fun as a family? Then come check out the rec at FBC Owensboro. From open gym and a weight room to upward sports and community events, there's something for everyone. Memberships are super affordable, just$2 a day,$10 a month, or$60 a year. And get this, families, you only pay$120 max for the entire family for the whole year. And if you're a senior, college student, or one of our city heroes, like a teacher, first responder, or healthcare worker, you get a discount too. The wreck is more than a gym, it's a place to belong.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

I think initially, and I'll kind of go back to Blessed Mother Grade School. You know, growing up, I mean, we we were taught who Jesus was. We were taught about the Trinity and and a lot of orthodox truths that you would find in Scripture, but I never I never realized that you know Christianity was more about what Jesus did for me than what I can do for him. So many times, you know, in our culture, we weren't we've talked about a lot of good things in the community, but all these good things I'm talking about don't earn me any brownie points with God. I mean we see in, but you know, we think, you know, are you a good person? Do you go to church? And and going to church does not make you a good person. And so I've learned that slowly over the years. There was there's a quote that I like from a man actually that recently passed away. He's a theologian and missionary, pastor, author, Bodie Bacham. Oh, yeah. Uh, but he he just died several weeks ago earlier this year. And he he said Jesus didn't come to make bad people good, he came to make dead people live. And that's not a message I ever heard in church growing up. And frankly, in a lot of even other evangelical churches I've attended as clearly, I think, as scripture presents it. But when we look at that, you know, so when I go back to I want to answer your question, how did that come about for me? Just years of reading scripture and being in Bible studies and you know, the growth as a Christian just takes it takes a lot of different paths. And it's, you know, kind of to borrow from my current career in the stock market, there's ups and downs. You know, the the Christian life is not, you know, you might turn on the TV and somebody will say, Jesus has a wonderful plan for your life. Well, I will tell you, he does not. Jesus says that you take up your cross and follow him. And what does what does that cross mean? It means the death of your flesh. It means Gordon dying to himself and putting Christ first. And so that's not always easy. It's never easy because the flesh is we're still living in a fleshly body, even though the Spirit of God comes into our lives when we repent and follow Christ. You know, that Spirit of God is there to convict you of your sin. And I guess when I look back on the last several decades of my life as a Christian, I would look at you, Brad, and I would say, today I see myself as more sinful than I was 40 years ago. Now, I'm going to qualify that by God's grace. I don't, I don't want to say I am more sinful, but because I've read more scripture and there's more of the light of Christ that's come into my life through a lot of good Christian friends and pastors I've had. I see more sin in my heart and I see, I see how wicked our hearts can be and my desperate need for Christ every day.

SPEAKER_01 25:57

You know. Yeah, no, that's good, and that's good. I just I was just enjoying listening to that. I mean, you you have faith, you have business, you have community. Like I said earlier, you're you're a man that wears many different hats, uh, which tends to point you in a lot of different directions. And so how do you how do you balance all that?

Music, Mentors, And Worship Influences

Money Myths And Real Advice

SPEAKER_00 26:20

I want to say I want to say first from a business standpoint, I have been very blessed. I've never had any employer from my very first job at Baskin Robbins when I was a kid, now through Baird and all the ones in between, Windsor Health, the Messenger Inquirer, and some other smaller organizations. Never felt like any employer asked me to compromise my values or integrity. And I know that's maybe not always the case with some, but I've always felt like that if I work for someone, you know, if if my manager comes down today and says, Gordon, empty the trash, you know, she's probably not gonna do that, but you know, something that's not quote unquoting my job, then I should do that because that's you know, that's I work for Baird. And if they ask me to do something and I can do it, and I should do that, you know, and so I think the Lord's helped me with that and seeing that's that's part of being a Christian, you do what you're asked to do, even if it's quote unquote outside your job description. So I would say that's one thing. One thing I've struggled with is is saying yes too much. And I think we learn, you know, saying yes is kind of like yeah, eating at the Moonlight Buffet. We keep going and we find like, why did I put all this food on my plate? You know, I'm just gonna have to throw it away. And you know, you can't take food home from a buffet, it has to be thrown away. So, and I found myself doing that in my life sometimes. It's like, yeah, I really want to do that because I don't want to hurt Brad's feelings. But I'm like, if if I don't say no to some things, then I'm really not serving the commitments and people and organizations that I've already said yes to. Yeah. You know, and so I've had to learn that sometimes the hard way. So I think a balanced, you know, balanced life with those types of things, you know, and and it's it's still a challenge, you know. There's still scheduling challenges, there's things you want to do. I I heard on um I used to listen to the Focus on the Family show, and this is one of those memorable things I never will forget. I don't remember which guest Dr. Dobson had on, but you know, sometimes you we want to have it all at one time, whether that's you know, our time or our money or fill in the blank. And I remember the guest saying it's like you can have it all. You just can't have it all at one time. There's seasons you just may not be able to do everything you want to do. You may not be able to buy everything you want to buy. You know, like a season in my life was when my parents were older and you know, before they passed away. There was just, you know, I was grateful that I had a flexible job at the hospital at that time to to take care of them and see to them and a brother and sister that, you know, would jump in and help and and everything worked out. The Lord really helped us during that time, but there were, you know, there were things I couldn't do. I was taking vacation time to take care of mom and dad sometimes. And that's just it's what you do when you love your parents or a family member. And yeah, and so it just, you know, it's still a good time of life. You know, the psalmist tells us this is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Yeah, and so sometimes we rejoice on days that you go to see mom and she's got Alzheimer's, and she said, I knew you'd be here, but she can't call your name. Yeah, yeah. You know, you still rejoice in that because the day's good and that's what God's given you for that season.

Risk, Work Ethic, And Simple Joys

SPEAKER_01 29:51

That's really cool. And I think that's a good point, you know. I think as someone like me who likes to do it as much as he can, there's a capacity that we all have. Yeah. And I think I've I've even learned that over the last really year of just saying, Hey, like, you know, for example, Apollo, I've had a text coach be like, hey, I it's not that I didn't want to come out this week, but I I had parent teacher conferences and cheer practice. My wife's a teacher, you know, it's just it was hard for people who were not showing up for work, and I had to cover shifts. And yeah, but again, I think when we learn because a lot of us tend to be people pleasers, but when we learn the that that our capacity is only so much, I think that's really helpful in life. And so, you know, you go you talk about earlier before we got on, you talked about me putting in your calm and wise presence and how that was complete opposite. But you know, you do have you I would say you're you're pretty wise. I've known you for a couple years now. Uh you're pretty calm. You know everybody, but you're pretty calm. And so, what are some habits, some principles or routines that help you stay grounded and connected?

SPEAKER_00 30:49

Okay, I'll I'll share some things and I'll I'll preface it by saying I don't do any of this perfectly.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

Okay.

Final Takeaway: Start With Scripture

SPEAKER_00 30:54

I don't either. I'm also I'm about to lose weight. I don't know. So I vacillate between uh various disciplines, but you know, I think one thing as a Christian, you you pray every day, you read God's word, you feed yourself. You know, if you're if you're serving in a church, you attend it regularly. I had a pastor years ago, like he's in this community, uh Jameis Edwards, and he he was an awesome pastor. I really enjoy the season of having him as a pastor, but he used to say, if you love Jesus, you love his bride. You know, so you go and you spend time with the body of Christ, Christ's bride. I always remember that. So you make time for your your your faith family, make time for your friends, you know, try to take care of myself, try to eat healthy, but man, it's hard, you know, especially when you work in an office environment and you know, there's always a pizza or a birthday cake or something. Or somebody wants to get lunch, or somebody wants to get lunch. I mean, it's just, you know, it's so it's a continual and uh, you know, exercise, working out, you know, it's just uh, you know, try to balance all those things. And I'll take seasons like where I'm doing one more than the other. And, you know, we mentioned piano earlier and and you know, you know, make it make sure I keep my chops up, so to speak. You know, you still gotta, I don't care how long you've played, you still gotta keep playing if you wanna if you want to keep those skills. And so so I try to balance all those things routinely. And you know, if you were to walk at my house right now, you'd say, we're we I didn't know we had a tornado in town, but but I try to keep that picked up in. You know, so so it's just it's just life, you know. But I try those are aspects I try to to keep in balance. I hate grocery shopping, I love eating, but I hate grocery shopping, and so you know, all of those types of things. So I don't know if that helps me.

Closing: Share, Review, Stay Local

SPEAKER_01 32:55

All right, well, I'm gonna combine 11 and 12 together just because they're pretty much the same question. But you know, I like to ask this to every single question that comes or sorry, I like to ask every single person that comes on here the same this question, and that is you know, the dash on your tombstone. It's a morbid question, but I think it's a good question to to look back on to reflect, no matter whether you're 12 or you're you're 92. I think it's good to reflect on. And so when it's all said and done, Gordon Wilkinson, you know, rest in peace. You know, but when it's all said and done, like what what do you hope people and on seriously, like what do you hope people in Owensboro say about you, think about your name? When they say here, hey, you remember Gordon Wilkerson, like what do you hope that they they think of? What legacy do you want to leave behind?

SPEAKER_00 33:33

Yeah, just I mean just some very concise, simple things that come to mind. Loved Christ, a good friend, faithful, faithful in what God had given him.

SPEAKER_01 33:48

So that's really cool. Yeah, it's short and simple, which is simple, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:52

So and it kind of reminds me of I don't remember where I heard this who talked about Christian giving, but you know, we always say, you can't take it with you, you can't take it with you, you know. I'll say no, but you can send it on ahead. You can send it on a head. So uh I think that's uh a beautiful thing with uh you know what what we're taught in scripture with our time and our resources is to is to uh you know make the most of what what we're given that's gonna matter for eternity.

SPEAKER_01 34:22

Yeah, no, I I I get it. You know, everything here is just temporary, so it is, but it's still good to leave, you know, an example for Christ for sure. Um and so we're gonna transfer into our transfer, that's a weird name. Uh but we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna go into our new our next segment. 270 seconds of fame. So 270 270 comes from the area of coat of western Kentucky. Uh I don't time this, so it may not be four minutes like it's supposed to. Um, but these are just kind of fun laid back questions, quick thinking. Are you ready, Gordon? I'm sitting on ready. All right, all right. So if you could describe Owensboro in one word, what would that one word be? Um consistent. Consistent, okay. What's your go-to local restaurant in Owensboro?

SPEAKER_00 35:01

My go-to local restaurant. Gosh. Um say anything Mexican, probably. Mexican, okay.

SPEAKER_01 35:08

Well, you introduced me to Colby's deli and I that's one of my go-tos for sure. Yeah, that is a definite go-to as well, yeah. All right, so if you had a choice, barbecue or burgoo? Barbecue. Okay, all right.

SPEAKER_00 35:17

I was raised on barbecue.

SPEAKER_01 35:19

Would you do mutton or barbecue?

SPEAKER_00 35:21

Um mutton primarily, that's what I was raised on. I like pork too, but mutton.

SPEAKER_01 35:26

Okay, yeah. Yeah, mutton's been a popular answer for sure. Um, that's something we're known for here in Owensboro. I didn't have it until I came here to Owensboro. Uh, what's one thing only a true Owensboro native would understand?

SPEAKER_00 35:37

How to pronounce Frederica Street. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we had to learn that pretty quick when we got here.

SPEAKER_01 35:42

Uh in fact, while I was coming here, my my the search media that was bringing me on said, yeah now it's Frederica, it's not Frederica. That's right. It's not nothing else. It's it's Frederick. So now you don't even put the R on the end.

SPEAKER_00 35:53

So I will share with you a lot of the firms I've worked for have been on Frederica Street. Okay. And so I've had to give out the address many times. And so I have just learned if you're talking with somebody uh out of town and especially up north, it's Frederica. And if you say Frederica, they will know how to spell it.

SPEAKER_01 36:13

That is true. Yeah, Google Maps is Frederica, so maybe they're from Illinois. Um, all right, so we have lots of local events and festivals. Uh, which one's your favorite local event or festival to attend?

SPEAKER_00 36:23

My favorite local event or festival. Oh gosh. Um I guess I'm an old commercial. I'm not even thinking of one. Um you're good. Are you a romp guy? No, I'm not a romp guy. I've been out there. It's a great, it's a great, you know, Owensboro event. So um, I don't know. I guess I have to take a pass on that.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

Okay, that's fine. Uh, what's your what what's your you know, you're growing up here, what's your favorite memory growing up here in Owensboro?

SPEAKER_00 36:50

Uh my favorite memory, I would, I would say the neighborhood that I grew up in. All right, and in neighborhood, which neighborhood did you grow up in? I grew up uh on Sunrise Drive. Okay. Uh, which is it's a sh it's it's not in a subdivision, it's like two blocks long. It's over on the it's between Beach Road and off of 27th Street between Beach Road and um New Hartford Road. Okay. But just you know, just a lot of lifelong friendships made there. That's really cool. Um, who's been the biggest influence on your life? The biggest influence on my life, gosh. Uh, you know, and you know, and I don't I don't want to say this just because they were my parents, but I think, you know, by the time I the older I've gotten, and even since my parents have been dead, just to see the ways they've shaped me, you know, you know, values and things they taught me, and just I still remember things my dad said, you know, if I would complain about work, he would say, Well, didn't you tell him you wanted the job when they offered it to you? So I think that's helped my work. That's helped my yeah, that's helped my work back. You know, I mean, there was no mercy with him when he when it came to work, you worked. Yeah. So, you know. That's funny. All right. Uh, are you a morning person or night owl? I'm definitely a morning person, and maybe that's why I said pass on the festivals because I always tell around brain dead by about seven, eight o'clock at night. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:13

No, I get you. I've been I've been older. I'm getting the more seven and eight feels late for me. Yeah. Uh, what's a favorite hymn or worship song that you like to play on piano?

SPEAKER_00 38:20

Favorite hymn or worship song. Um, I'm gonna say just uh generally anything from Keith and Kristen Getty. Uh there's one that uh Pastor Brian really recently introduced. I've really enjoyed. Uh it's called Christus Victor, you know, Christ the Victor in our lives. It's a modern-day worship hymn, but um it's it's just a beautiful song that talks about the what Christ has done for us and the beauty of the gospel.

SPEAKER_01 38:49

Yeah, off the chat. I don't know if I've heard that one yet. Uh, what's the first song you've ever learned to play on piano?

SPEAKER_00 38:55

The first song I learned to play on the piano, probably Mary Had a Little Lamb. Yeah, I mean that. So do you want like the first real song? Sure, let's do the first real song. I'm gonna say Scott Joplin's entertainer. Okay. You know, some people call it the sting, you know, because it was from the theme from the movie The Sting, but I've I can't remember a time when I couldn't sit down and play that. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 39:17

Better than Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Lean On Me. That's good. I could play Lean On Me on piano. Um, if you could duet with any musician, living or gone, who would it be? If I could what? If you could do it with any musician, duet living or gone.

SPEAKER_00 39:31

Who would it be? Or gone. Oh gosh. Um so many good ones. All right, well, name like two or three. All right, well, I'll say on the classical side, it would definitely be Bach. Okay. You know, I mean, he just is a mastermind of piano and organ and orchestra and just so many great pieces that we still hear, you know. So that would be, and then if we if we jump over into the 20th or 21st century, then I would I would go back to um I think I would I I said the Geddies for the song, but I think I would say uh Bob Coughlin with Sovereign Grace Music. Oh yeah. And I think they're based out of Louisville now, but uh Bob Coughlin's really shaped a lot of my piano playing uh from a worship standpoint. He's a he he loves Christ, he's he's a pastor, uh he's a he's a phenomenal musician. So I would say Bob Coughlin.

SPEAKER_01 40:26

Okay. I mean if you hey if you do that with Beethoven, you may be able to sneak in there and you know, jump on, he would never know you're there. Uh no, just kidding. Uh what's one piece of financial advice you wish everyone would take to heart?

SPEAKER_00 40:37

Um I think you just um learn to be disciplined in um in your savings and and learn the difference between short-term money and long-term money. Okay. Uh there's, you know, short-term money is uh, you know, I've got a car payment this month, or I've, you know, maybe I'm gonna buy a house in a couple of years. Uh long-term money is, you know, look down the line and say, hey, in 40 or 50 years I want to retire, or in 15 or 20 years I want to send my child to college. And the way we handle those funds is much different. And I know we don't have time to get into that now, but yeah, uh go find a financial advisor that you trust. Okay. And and learn the difference between short and long-term money. Okay, gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 41:22

So this isn't on here, but a quick, quick answer. Uh and I had so I've had two guys on here that had deal with financial or economics or some sort, and they both think that there should be financial literacy taught in schools. Are you are you a yay or nay on that?

SPEAKER_00 41:36

I would say a yay on that. Okay. I'm just curious. I mean, the more the more we can we can embed that in young folks, I think that's I think that would be great.

SPEAKER_01 41:45

Yeah, no, I get it. All right, so what is uh what is something people misunderstand about weath wealth advisors?

SPEAKER_00 41:52

I think that we sit around and trade stocks all day.

SPEAKER_01 41:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 41:55

Uh I think that's that's kind of from the old way of like stockbroker, and I'm technically licensed as a broker, okay, but I don't practice as a broker. I'm a financial advisor. And as my partner, Greg Longtyne uh says, we're not stock jockeys. You know, we're uh we want to understand your situation. We want, you know, it's kind of like if you ask me right now, Brad, for a stock tip, that would be like asking your doctor for a medicine tip. Hey doc, what medicine should I be taking? Well, you may not even need any medicine. Why would you want to just say, you know, you may not even need uh tell me about your situation and we'll see if you even need to be in the stock market. I mean, you may or may not. I can make a good argument for it. I'm not scared of the stock market, but if we go back to that short and long-term money example, uh, if you tell me you're gonna spend that money in the next six months, I'm not gonna tell you to put it in the stock market. Yeah, yeah. So, anyhow, that makes sense. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:51

All right. Well, uh, what's a life motto or quote you try to live by?

SPEAKER_00 42:58

A life motto or quote I try to live by. Um There's one by, I don't know that I'd say I tried to live by, but if I had to do anything over when I was younger, I would take more risk. And Mark Twain has one, you know, Samuel Clemens, he's got one about uh, you know, 20 years from now, you won't regret the things that you did, or you'll regret what you didn't do. Okay. And so I can, you know, like one example, I didn't spend any time in military service. Um I think that was, you know, an opportunity lost. And so, you know, we can all look back on our lives and say this and things. But I think that quote I think says a whole lot, you know, you know, we we want to take reasonable risk. We don't want to do foolish things, but but I think uh I think taking risk is healthy.

SPEAKER_01 43:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:57

And uh I think we should we shouldn't be afraid. Afraid of a lot of risks. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 44:04

I like it. Coffee order. What are you getting?

SPEAKER_00 44:07

Coffee order. Black is the ace of spades.

SPEAKER_01 44:11

Alright, do you have a go-to place in Elemental you like for coffee?

SPEAKER_00 44:15

I like uh I really like Nico's in Weston Park Plaza, but uh there's some other good ones too. There's you know Libertalia coffee. I actually buy my ground coffee there. Okay, yeah, we've had Chris on in the past. Yeah, he's a great guy. That's not like that. Great harvest. So those are all great places.

SPEAKER_01 44:32

Yeah, well, you've already you might have already mentioned this earlier in our interview. Uh so if you did, just we can just pass on it. But what's one board or community project that is especially close to your heart? I know you mentioned mentor kids earlier. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:46

Um, you know, for now I'm gonna say goodfellas. I mean, that's what I'm doing, and uh it's the sustainability of it too, you know, um more than a hundred years in existence, and again, having you know a board of about 20 people that um we have great we had a board meeting a couple days ago. I mean, people attend a lot of times I've been to board meetings in different groups over the years, and you can't hardly even get a quorum there. I mean, we don't have trouble getting uh, you know, um all hands on deck, and people want to dive in, you don't have to beg people to do things, and that's you know, I really enjoy that.

SPEAKER_01 45:21

Yeah, when other people motivate around you, it helps that helps bring the team together better.

SPEAKER_00 45:26

And I can say things about uh the church I attend, like too. There's there's a lot of uh camaraderie there and people that really enjoy being together and they're focused on gospel missions.

SPEAKER_01 45:38

Yeah, no, that's awesome. All right, so if you could have dinner with three Owens Pro Legends, past or prison, who would you pick?

SPEAKER_00 45:45

Dinner with three or you let's just say two.

SPEAKER_01 45:47

That three's a lot, I feel like. Yeah. Three Owens Pro Legends or two Owens Pro Legends.

SPEAKER_00 45:52

Um I'm gonna say one would be Waiteman Taylor. He and I worked at the hospital together years ago, and he uh I still still remember things he taught me and said, and he's been he passed away, I think, five or six years ago. Okay. So uh he would be one um and I'm trying to think of another, maybe somebody who's who's still who's still alive, uh, but once real legend.

SPEAKER_01 46:24

Oh, is it Birdie Bunch? No. The the Oh Florence Henderson.

SPEAKER_00 46:29

That's right, yeah, she was here. That's right. Yeah. I know there's another person.

SPEAKER_01 46:33

Yeah, I know there's another person that I think was one on TV around the 40s or 50s that's from here too, but I can't remember. And you have Johnny Depp, Nikki Hayden, the Waldrip brothers.

SPEAKER_00 46:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:43

There's some people.

SPEAKER_00 46:44

There are some. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:45

I mean, I don't know. I honestly couldn't know if I give you an answer outside of Johnny Depp.

SPEAKER_00 46:49

Yeah, that's right. Those are and I'm I'm actually, I know of all those. I'm just not thinking of them. It's not something I thought of.

SPEAKER_01 46:54

I thought that'd be a very eclectic dinner. So trying to get Johnny Depp on, but you know, it's been really hard. Uh maybe one day. Um, you know, going back to the last, so this is the last question for 270 seconds of the fame, and that is what's one lesson your faith has taught you lately?

SPEAKER_00 47:09

One lesson my faith has taught me lately. Um I think to realize that uh frustrations, whether they're large or small, uh, particularly if they're things that I would describe as my preferences. Um, you know, that the Lord's taught me. It's like, um, I mean, we all have preferences. We go out to dinner tonight. I might get a we might both get the same steak, but if we do, we're gonna probably cook different ways. And so there's so many different preferences uh uh in life, and it's like to, you know, I don't always get my way. And that's that's a way of learning to be more like Christ because uh I mean, what did Christ pray? He said, if there's any father, if if this cup, meaning his impending death, could pass from me, or if there's any other way to save mankind, could you do it that way? You know, he knew what was coming. And um, you know, that's those are just you know giving up my preferences. Uh, we're so used to um, you know, the American dream and having what we want. We've talked about some of the questions like that you asked about uh, you know, where's your go-to coffee place? You know, I'm a coffee snob, you know, but uh, you know, picky about food, picky about what I wear, and so forth, and all the rest. And and so sometimes what when we get in these groups, you know, do I love Brad more than I love myself? Hey Brad, where do you want to eat lunch? Or hey Brad, uh, what music, what, what station do you want on in the car? You know, just even little things like that. Yeah. It's like uh showing uh giving uh giving deference to my friends, so and family.

SPEAKER_01 49:03

Oh, that's good. All right, well, that wraps up 270 seconds of fame. Uh, you did a great job, so good job on that. Um, but let's I got one question I always ask everybody this one question. I never script it because I mean unless you listen to the podcast, you don't know it's coming, and that's that's what I love about it. And that is if there is one thing you like if the audience were like if they were you know, a lot of people put their headphones in, they're cleaning, they're listening, whatever the case may be, um you're like, hey, if you didn't get anything else out of this episode, like this is the one thing, like this is your drop the mic moment, uh you know, leave something that's challenging, encouraging, inspirational, what would you want to leave the audience?

SPEAKER_00 49:36

I'd say there is there is great joy and truth in reading scripture. And so if if you're not reading scripture, uh I would encourage you to read it, whether that's one chapter a day or one verse a day, just start.

SPEAKER_01 49:56

That's awesome. Well, Gordon, thanks for coming on today. It's been awesome. Uh we've had laughs, we've had some some wisdom being dropped. Thanks for sharing your time. You're a busy man. But it's it's clear that Owensboro isn't just where you live, it's who you are. And I and I think uh we we a lot of times we walk through Owensboro and we just think, let's we're just ready to leave this town, or you know, they need to do this or that. But honestly, I think I feel like the more I get to talk to people from Owensboro, the more uh Owensboro kind of intertwines itself into people. Um and it's really cool to see that when we talk, when we have conversations, and so so yeah, so thanks for coming on today, Gordon. If you're listening to this, uh share this with a friend, share this with somebody that uh maybe needs to hear somebody that's been in Owensboro for a while and to see how he's gotten connected, or maybe you need to listen to a part of the financial advisor. Maybe you know you think the 270 seconds is a lot of fun, which is probably my favorite part of the whole podcast. But go ahead and share it with somebody, leave us a review. Uh thanks for showing up today and listening to us, and look forward to this hearing from you next week. See ya, Owensboro. Thanks for tuning in to all things Owensboro, where we celebrate the stories, people, and places that make our city special. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who loves this town as much as you do. Until next time, Owensboro, keep loving local, supporting one another, and making Owensboro a place we're all proud to call home.