Episode 215: Be a River, Not a Reservoir - The Secret to Generational Leadership with Robbie Slocumb

“Stop fighting with the kids and start fighting for the kids.”

That single sentence from a mentor redirected Robbie Slocumb’s life decades ago. Today, as the CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Georgia, it serves as the north star for his leadership. In this episode of The Uncommon Leader Podcast, host John Gallagher sits down with Robbie to discuss his 30-year journey of youth advocacy and the mechanics of Generational Leadership.

Robbie has proven that the most valuable commodity a leader possesses isn't a budget—it's time. We explore how he scaled a $300k local operation into a $3.3M regional powerhouse by prioritizing trust-based partnerships and a "River Mentality" of pouring knowledge back into his team.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• The Advocacy Mindset: Shifting from "fighting with" to "fighting for" your team, your community, and the next generation.
• Mentorship in the Digital Age: Why technology raises the stakes for presence, and why real relationships can never be replaced by AI or a screen.
• The 10X Growth Roadmap: How Robbie used strategic partnerships and radical trust to fuel a decade of scaling.
• Succession & Failure: Why true leaders must give their team the "right to fail" to help them grow and eventually outlast their tenure.
• The "Billboard" Message: Robbie’s simple, two-word philosophy for a successful life and career.

Key Takeaways for Leaders:

Mentorship is about listening well and asking better questions. It’s the art of talking with people instead of at them.

• Slow Down to Speed Up: Why you must bring people with you and give them real opportunities to lead.
• The Alan Story: A powerful moment involving a broken microphone, 500 people, and a "Youth of the Year" who found his voice—proving that consistent investment changes lives.
• Time vs. Money: A challenge to those wondering if their presence matters more than their checkbook.
• Legacy Defined: How faith, family, and a love for others create a foundation that keeps leaders grounded.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 Robbie Slocumb 👇

➡️ LinkedIn (primary): https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbie-slocumb-85aa6521b/
➡️ Website: https://bgcgmw.org/get-involved/

If this episode challenged you, share it with a friend who needs a push to mentor, and leave a review mentioning one person who “fought for you” when it counted!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:55

Hey Uncommon

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Leaders, welcome back. This is the Uncommon Leader Podcast. I'm your host, John Gallagher. Today's guest, a man who spent nearly three decades. Sorry, I'm going to reveal his age already right here, three decades. You know, he's been doing like since he's six years old, proving that when you invest in the next generation, ultimately you don't just change a life, but you can change a community and all and change the world. He's Robbie Slocum, the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club, serving a massive six county region in Georgia, and he's grown his organization 10X over the past few years, leading through strategic partnerships and building a legacy of thousands of club members. Beyond the numbers, he's a man of deep faith, the teacher in his church, and the father to three sons who's passionate about the vital role that leaders play at work, at home, and in our communities. We've had some great conversation even before we hit the record button here. A really quick, and I know it's going to be a great conversation today. We're going to talk about the power of mentorship, uh, the state of the youth in today's world, and how leaders ultimately can build a legacy that lasts for generations. So, Robbie Slocum, welcome to the Uncommon Leader Podcast. Great to have you on the show. How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_00 2:00

That's good, John. Glad to be a part of this and glad to be able to share with others and uh hopefully we can learn from each other as well.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

I think it's gonna be a great conversation. I'm so grateful for the introduction that Corey Carlson made to us recently to have you on as a guest, and I've listened into some of those things. I'm pretty jazzed up about it.

The Mentor Phrase That Stuck

SPEAKER_01 2:16

But all my first-time guests ultimately get the same first question. And I ask you to tell me a story from your childhood that still impacts who you are today as a person or as a leader.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

You know, I I look at to my heritage in my in my family. I had a grandmother who poured into me and parents who poured into me, uh, a big part of that. Uh coaches, but I think one of the big people that I had a mentor, his name was Kevin Bingham, uh, with Boys and Girls Clubs. And he basically looked at me one day and said, you know, hey, you can either you gotta stop fighting for the with the kids and you got to start fighting for the kids. And that statement's been stuck with me, and I've shared it with others about, you know, we've got to fight for our kids. Uh, not just my own kids, but I've got to fight for those kids because I become their voice. Uh, and that's something that's stuck with me for a long time, just that impact of somebody pouring into me. Uh, and then that's what I do every day, uh, trying to pour into our kids, uh, try to pour into our staff, pour into our communities of what we're doing with boys and girls clubs. And I don't always see the impact on that day, but it's been cool. Yeah, said the three decades, and I was like, wow, that is three decades. But you know, over uh, you know, 30 some odd years, I've been with boys and girls clubs, uh, the impact, and it's cool when we have kids who are now teachers, who are now, you know, principals, who are now, you know, their coaches, uh, they're in business, they're nurses, they're things like that. That's really cool to see the impact that what we've done has made a big impact on their life. So I mean, that that's that's how it's all been a part of my life. It started with people pouring into me at a young age from parents and grandparents, and and I try to pass it on to others.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

Yeah, you talk about that, that generational thing right off the bat, right? So now, you know, you are kind of the third generation of that mentorship, even inside of your family. And 30 years of, you know, that's generations of of kids coming up through boys and girls clubs. How did you get involved with Boys and Girls Club at the start that many years ago?

From $4.15 Job To CEO

SPEAKER_01 4:04

And what's kept you there so long? Because look, not many leaders, ultimately, especially in leadership roles that you are as a CEO, stay with organizations that long. Whether it's uh working for an organization like Boys and Girls Club or whether it's a Fortune 100 company that they work for.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

That's true. You know, I got uh I got pulled into this by my sixth grade teacher who asked me to come work at an after-school program for the big salary of $4.15. She said, Hey, I want you to be a recreation coordinator. And I was like, and do what? She goes, play play games and sports with kids. And I was like, Count me in. That's an easy job. I could do that. Little did I know it would be, you know, a long career of working with kids, uh, getting involved with boys and girls clubs. I've been fortunate enough to work in clubs in in Texas and in Georgia, and then working with club uh leaders in the southwest region as well, in the southeast region. And it's been neat to see that along the way. I'm now seeing kids who, when I first got to North Georgia in 2007, I'm now seeing them. I've got their kids in our boys and girls clubs. So you talk about generational opportunities. We are now really making an impact on in kids who we've had their parents. And so that's really, you know, another step of an I know one of the ladies who enrolled her kids, she goes, reason why my kid is here is I trust you. And that made big impact on me because it's like, hey, we didn't, we're not just a filler for somebody watching my kid in the afternoon, but I am trusted to watch over and you know, give those opportunities for your kid as well.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

Rob, it's so impactful what you're doing. Again, back now you're back to the generational again. You're you're talking about that second generation that kids coming through your programs inside of Georgia. When you think about that mentorship and the impact that you have on youth, you've been in that 30 years. What are some of the biggest changes in today's youth that may especially the problems and challenges that they face that require members mentorship that you maybe didn't face 30 years ago with what was going on? What are some of the big challenges?

Tech Pressure And The Need For Real Relationships

SPEAKER_00 6:01

You know, kids are facing different things these days. The technology is a beast. And the things that they're influenced by from the social media aspect to the gaming world to the whole ball of wax. But it's interesting. One of the things that we do that what we've done with boys and girls clubs, and just as adults, what we poured into these kids is relationship stuff and true relationship, it cannot be replaced with AI. Relationship can't be replaced with a phone, can't be replaced with, you know, a computer. True relationship is spending time with somebody, quality time, not looking through them, but looking at them, not just talking with them, not talking at them, but talking with them. And that's some of the key things that I and that have been really transcended over the time is how do we build those relationships? And that goes with staff, that goes with our donors, that goes with our board, that goes with our community. It's those relationships where you spend time. You know, the most valuable commodity that we have as uh uh, you know, humans is time. And our time is very valuable. And when we're given that time to spend with the person and sharing with them and pouring into them and asking them how they're doing and what can we do to help them, that's really what I've seen over the years is it continues to be that cornerstone of what we're doing is relationships. Now we're always going to have these issues of, you know, from you know, things that are going on in the world from a pandemic to social issues out in the community to other things. But the key cornerstone is is relationships. And how do we help people, you know, us getting to know each other, talking, finding common ground, and working through those and building those relationships. That's that's the key. Everything else will go around and everything, there's things that pop up here and there, there, but it's the key part of relationships. That's where we try to keep our focus.

SPEAKER_01 7:45

Love that a relationship building. And I to hear that you don't just talk at them, right? You talk with them. And it's conversation, especially with children or young adults, is treating them like an adult so that you can have a conversation with them and make them feel much better about themselves. When you think about that role as a mentor, realizing that probably I would I would imagine, I don't know a lot about boys and girls clubs, but I would imagine they end up with you because they may not have that figure in their life that makes an

Why Mentors Matter For Everyone

SPEAKER_01 8:13

impact for you. So what it why are mentors so critically important? Not just for kind of the youth, although it's very important, but even you know, you talked about your staff. You got thousands of staff that you have to mentor as well. What what is so important that?

SPEAKER_00 8:25

You know, I think it's it's just like a coach. You know, it's somebody who can be that ear when you need this somebody to talk to. And that's really shown up a lot over the years with what we what we do is just mentoring is helping people, giving people somebody else to talk to. I mean, I look at it this way, you know, they say an expert is somebody who's 30 minutes out of town. And so, you know, their parents might say this to them, but when somebody else comes along and says, you know what, that's not a bad idea. That could that's a really good idea. Or there's, you know, hey, I I need some advice. And it's interesting, as I've been older, I still have mentors. I still have men who I call on and say, hey, I've got an idea. This is what I'm thinking about. Talk me through it. And then they ask me those key questions. Where did you come from? What did it come, where did it start with? What are you thinking? That's the key part of it. It's, you know, it's building those relationships with people. It's understanding where people are, and we meet people where they're at. You know, we have a lot of kids who come to the boys and girls club who they're broken, the family's broken. And so we're here to say, let's help you put some of this back together. And you don't realize how many kids over my career have called their boys and girls club their home away from home. Because that gives them a safe space where they can go. And they remember that staff person who poured into them. They remember that time where they took that field trip. And it's really cool because I've done this for a while, and it's cool when I have kids who were young kids, and now they're my staff. And the reason why they're back here working for us and being involved with us is they want to pour into this next generation.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

And that's really there's so much, there's so much in that, Robbie, that you just kind of brought out. I mean, I'm smiling. I just went to a men's group Bible study this morning, and that one of the stories that were in John and talking about how you know Jesus called Philip and Nathaniel. And ultimately, when when Philip chatted with Nathaniel, and Philip told him he's like, Yeah, this guy from Nazareth, you know, he's the Messiah, he's the one. And Philip says, Well, how can anything good come out of Nazareth? That statement you made about you know, experts are 30 minutes out of town, that's so true in terms of right inside their own home, they'll hear the same advice. But when they can hear it from someone else that's a little bit outside, it may just land a little differently. Sometimes that's okay, but sometimes it is difficult to be a prophet in your own country. There's no doubt about it in terms of making this stuff happen. I love that. The other thing you said was mentors ask really good questions. You know, you talked about those mentors asking you questions. You get a chance to ask them questions, and when they're doing it really good, they're asking you questions back. Okay. So that was the other another thing we talked about in our group is not to be a good head. You should do this, you should do that. When you think about, we talked about this a little before we hit recording, mentoring and succession planning, even inside of organizations.

Mentoring Through Opportunity And Failure

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Where do you see the differences and where do you see those lining up with regards to that space right there? How we're getting leaders ready to take the next step or kids ready to take the next step in life?

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Well, one thing we've got to do is I get I tell people we've got to slow the roll. But we get so busy with trying to reach, reach, reach the next level that sometimes if you reach too far and you reach too high, you reach beyond those people who are behind you. And a lot of it is we've got to, you know, what we're trying to do is give some opportunities where people can lead out. If we're always going, going, going, going, but we're not looking and saying, hey, who can I bring with me? Then it's just me leading the way. But I've got to bring people alongside with me. So, you know, one of these days I might not be here, but they will. And that's really where you strengthen an organization is when you bring people alongside with you. And that organizational chart is not, you know, the high peak and everybody else below. It's, hey, it's all of us moving forward together. And I tell our staff all the time, you know, the ship rises with the tide. When we're all doing well, then things get better, opportunities happen, and you know, and then they don't just let look at one person for that knowledge, but they're looking for a group of people for that knowledge. And that's really where I think the strength of an organization gets is you have more people who are given the input and the outputs and things like that than just one person. Because when you rely on that one person, you're putting all your eggs in one basket. What happens? And I think what we we're doing here is we're trying to build that, you know, that base, investing in people, giving time, helping them see different things, giving them opportunities. And I think that's the thing we forget sometimes is you've got to give people opportunities. You gotta give them opportunities to lead out. You gotta give them opportunities to fail, but we've got to give them those opportunities where they can grow, be better people. You know, I look at so many times where God's put me in situations where I'm like, I don't feel like I'm ready, but he's like, okay, we're gonna try this. I remember, you know, many years ago, I told somebody I'd never be a CEO of a boys and girls club, would never do it. And here I've been in the role for quite some time. And so, but God's given me that grace, He's given me the abilities, He's put people on my path to help guide me, direct me, give me some and challenge me. And so those are the type of the things we've got to look at as we're building our organizations, as we're building our teams, as we're mentoring other people is hey, if I don't know that there's an opportunity, why should I strive for anything? And so looking at those opportunities and getting people out of their comfort zone. Uh that's that's also a challenge sometimes is saying, hey, I think you can do it and encourage people and talking truth into people and encouraging them and saying, hey, let's take that step, let's let's put you in a different position, let's help you lead out in this area. And give them those options, give them that situation where, hey, they surprise themselves and they build that confidence and then they grow. So many times we've seen that with our kids where we put them in a situation where, like our youth of the year program, where we put them out and speak in front of a group of people, and they're like, I didn't think I could do it, but you did really good. And it builds that confidence. I mean, that's a look at those things as really helping us as we continue to grow.

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SPEAKER_01 14:10

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Alan’s Five Minutes On Stage

SPEAKER_01 14:43

What's a story of mentoring, Robbie, that's uh really memorable to you, you're proud of? It could be either as a staff member that you mentored and developed or a a a young child in in the then youth club that yeah, boys and girls club that you mentored along.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

Yeah, we've got this young guy. His name was Alan. He was our youth of the year, and it was really cool because Alan was just a normal kid. I mean, just he was just a great kid. But when I first met him, his dad had lost his wife and they lost their mom, and there were three kids there, and he was the oldest. And I was like, okay, Alan, we're gonna work with you. Lo and behold, a few years later, Alan becomes our youth of the year. We get a phone call from Taco Bell, a company that we work with and partner with. They said, Hey, we're having a regional meeting. Can you bring your youth of the year to come speak it out? I said, sure. And I looked at Alan, I said, Alan, they're asking you to come speak. What do you think? He goes, I've never spoken in front of people. I said, Well, well, you want to give us a shot? He said, sure. We get there, there's 500 people there. And he gets up, they said, Well, do you want a handheld mic or a lava lear mic? And he's like, I have no idea what you're talking about. He's they said, Well, you want one wrap around your ear? And he goes, Oh, yeah, that's what the singers have. Yeah, they're gonna be able to get it. So he decided got him up on stage and the mic didn't work. And he stood there for a second, and then he saw the other mic grabbed it and started talking. And for five minutes, he had everybody on the edge of their seats. That when he walked out of that off off that stage, people were handing him Taco Bell gift cards as he walked down the aisle, just with how much they care about him. And and it's just and what's cool about that is a few years later I get a phone call from him and he says, Hey, Mr. Robbie, I'm going to college. Do I still have money in my youth of the year account? I said, You sure do. And so we worked it out. And now he graduated from college, got him a certification, has a job, has an apartment. That's that's success. You know, and when we get those kids to be somebody who they didn't think they could be, giving them opportunity to be successful, and then let them go and let them live life. And so, and what's great about that is we kill still keep in contact with him and his brother and sister, and they look back on their op their experiences at the Boys and Girls Club as hey, y'all were there when nobody else was there. And that's you know, that's where there's they consider me part of their family. I got graduation cards from them, and and you know, it's like that's that's what we do. And a lot of times we forget that people are people, and sometimes people just want to be heard, sometimes people want to just get opportunities, some people just want to sit down and talk and be listened to. And that's you know, I guess that's a really big part of what mentoring is, is giving of yourself. Jesus was the best mentor. He gave of himself every day and he poured, and he poured into his disciples and said, Hey, this is what I need you to do. And so I look at those opportunities as that's what we're doing as mentors, is we're pouring into people because I'm not going to see the fruits today, but I will see the fruits in the future.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

So

Time Beats Money In Volunteering

SPEAKER_01 17:35

Well, and you've got your staff in terms of paid employees, and that you know it's part of their journey. Obviously, you being the CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs, but I'm quite sure that you rely on volunteers to play a role inside of this space as well. And talk to that busy leader for me. You know, I can hear it, don't get me wrong, because I was in essence, quote, one of them, so to speak, that said, I just don't have the time to do this. Can I can I just write you a check and have an impact there? Talk to them about the fruit uh that they can bear by also giving of their time as well, not just of their treasure.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

You know what? It's it's a great time just to give people uh just give people time to spend time and talk to them. You know, I'm not a clinical psychologist or whatever, but I believe in a way I look at ADHD and things like that is that's a kid who's starving for attention. So all I want to do is somebody to talk to. And then I tell somebody, they're like, well, we want to come do a volunteer project. I said, you know, the biggest project I would need done is come play basketball with this kid. Or come walk around the track with them and let them talk to you. It doesn't take a lot of time, but it will make the impact. I'm standing here today on the foot on the shoulders of a lot of people invested in me. But there was one guy who will never know the impact he made on me because he came to my elementary school class every day when I was in first grade, Friday at 2 o'clock, and helped me learn how to read. He came every Friday. His name was Michael J. Moore. And he came and poured into my heart and poured and talked to it with me and helped me learn how to read. And now I enjoy reading. But it was 30 minutes on a Friday that he came and gave me. And I look at that as if you got 30 minutes, spend time with the kid. And a lot of it, you know, as a parent and as a father, you know, it's poured into my kids. If I can, you know, give them time. We get so busy during the days and say, oh, I missed the ball game, or oh, I missed this, or I missed this field trip opportunity. You never get those opportunities back. So make the most of your time. Enjoy what you do, invest in others and help people see. There's things can happen. You just gotta, you know, trust God and believe and and it let people pour into you.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

So appreciative of that. And I and I understand. I mean, folks, Robbie just defined ultimately what I talk about as the greatest story ever told. To be able to remember Michael J. Moore, middle initial and all, all going all the way back to first grade, someone who made a positive impact on your life. And to your point, they never know it, but you'd be writing their name. That's the type of impact uh as leaders, as human beings, uh, again, as men of faith, as Christians, that we should be looking to have. We may never know that those individuals wrote our name or talked our name on a podcast about the impact that that they had on you as an individual. And there it is. People remember that. People won't remember what you said, they won't remember what you did, they'll remember how you made them feel. And that's the piece, you know, that's my Angelo, at least it's attributed to her in terms of that quote. But you know, that Michael J. Moore made an impact on you that you still remember his name some decades later in terms of understanding that who made a difference in your life. You also mentioned the power of playing that role, not just you know, serving outside of our homes, but inside of our homes as well. You've got three sons, and you know, that that's a big part of making sure let's start there. Let's start with our own families when we can and making sure we're investing the time with them that they need to have. You pour

Keeping The Tank Full As A Leader

SPEAKER_01 20:52

into a lot of folks, Robbie. You talked a little bit about other mentors who pour into you at certain points, but how do you keep your own tank full so you continue to pour into your family and community, develop yourself as a leader? What are some of those practices? You may have mentioned that you look you're a reader now, but what are the what are the ways that you keep yourself sharp?

SPEAKER_00 21:09

You know, one of the ways is, you know, I I hand a lot to Corey Carls when we're in a group called Rise, which is a gr bunch of men who every Monday, 12 o'clock, we pour into each other and just learn from each other. And that's really where I think men sometimes they get in their own little silos and they don't want to, you know, oh man, I don't know if I could do this or because we think we can do it by ourselves. I can't do it by myself. And so leaning on other men's groups, I've got a you know, a mentor of mine who we meet on a regular basis and we talk and we pray, and he's like my second dad. When my dad passed away, he filled that role and he's been been the uh man who fills that part of my heart and my my and my opportunities there. Uh then I've got, you know, good friends uh who we, you know, I've got a CEO who uh is in Cleveland, Tennessee. He and I call call almost every day. And we just guess, hey, what's on your radar? What's going on? What you what you know what's your hard what's gonna be hard today? What do you think is gonna be the easy route? And that's really, you know, those are the type of things that if we don't keep have people pouring into us, you know, we get our our base gets empty. And I'll tell you, if it wasn't for a group of CEOs that I had during COVID where we were calling every day, hey, how are you doing this? What did you do? What, you know, how do you hand on this? Would never made it. And I'm, you know, that's just opportunities, you know, the people who who invest in me and have given me, you know, some opportunities there and and I've learned a lot. You know, I tell people sometimes I'm a borrow of knowledge because I don't have it all, but I'm willing to, you know, read a book, listen to a good podcast, which is always good. I'm always getting nuggets, just writing down things. And so then it's funny because a lot of times I'll end up sharing what I've heard with somebody else. And so looking at those opportunities that, you know, I I try to help myself outgrow and learn is is huge. And then I look, you know, and a big thing is I try to pour into my kids. Um, I love them, I want them to learn. And then I guess one of the biggest ones is my wife. She, you know, she challenges me to be better each day. She encourages me, she helps me through things, helps me think differently. She's an accountant, she's got some different numbers of skills. And so she goes, Did you think this? Have you thought about this? Have you thought about that? And so having those people around you and living in a world of humility. I don't know everything, but I'm willing to learn. I'm willing to learn from others and also continue to grow. When I stop growing, it's like a plant. When a plant stops growing, it's dying. So we gotta continue to continue to grow and learn.

SPEAKER_01 23:31

Love that. Robbie, that's so cool. The the term that came to my mind as you talked about pouring back into others, your family and others, and and talking about sharing what you're learning was to be a river, not just a reservoir. But don't hold all that in, but let it flow and keep sharing it with others so that they can grow as well. Robbie,

Legacy: God First Then Family

SPEAKER_01 23:48

there's gonna come a day looking in the future that you're not a CEO of Boys and Girls Club. Maybe you maybe you continue to rise, but at some point uh in the journey, you may choose to retire and uh hand the reins to someone else in some way, shape, or form. What do you want your legacy to be? What do you want people to say about you when they're writing that down, much like the Michael J. Moore who made an impact on you as a first creator?

SPEAKER_00 24:09

Yeah, it's interesting. Uh, because that's been a discussion I heard on a podcast a few weeks ago that was talking about this, and I was like, okay, I love my job. I love what I do, but I don't want when I pass away, the first thing coming out of my kids' lives and my wife's kids' mouths and my wife's mouth is he loved boys and girls clips first. I want them the first thing that comes out of their mouth is hey, he loved God first, he loved his family second, and he loved everybody else. And that's, you know, when I look at the legacy of what we've done here, it's not about me, but it's about the people around us and with us that have invested in a lot of kids in North Georgia and in the in the country. And that's a big part of a of our legacy. It's not my legacy is not in me, but my legacy is in my past and the future of those kids. I look at like my I told you my parents and my grandparents who they poured into me. And it's funny, there's that whole section in the Bible that says so-and-so begot so-and-so, begot so-and-so, begot so. I want to be one of those names that I begot so-and-so, that's so-and-so, and that I'm looked at as somebody who, hey, they poured into people. They loved God, they showed his they showed his light, they showed his grace, they showed his mercy, that that I helped others become better. And that's, you know, I guess that's what I want to leave with people. It's not about the money, it's not about the titles, it's not about the, you know, whatever we have, but it's about the time that I've been able to spend with people and invest in others so that they can be better people.

SPEAKER_01 25:33

Love it. Give me a chance to add a few more of those to your list, Robbie. This has been a great conversation. I can't believe how fast time is going. How

How To Connect And Get Involved

SPEAKER_01 25:40

um how can folks get in touch with you to learn more about you and frankly learn more about Boys and Girls Girls Club of America as well?

SPEAKER_00 25:46

Yeah, I'm on LinkedIn. They can find me on LinkedIn as well. They can uh get on other social media platforms and Facebook. We are Boys and Girls Clubs of North Georgia, and we serve you know six counties in North Georgia, and it's been crazy because when I got here in 2007, we were a $300,000 budget, and now we're $3.3, $3.4 million.

SPEAKER_01 26:05

10X.

SPEAKER_00 26:06

And we're we're serving more kids. So if people want to get involved, get involved with your local boys and girls clubs. There's a lot of kids out there who are just needing somebody. And if you can't help with your time, get on involved with the board, get involved with the committee, get involved with an event that you want to help out. But let's start pouring back into our communities because that's where the strength of our society, that's where strength of our our states, our communities are strong, and that's where people are striving. And people are thriving in that area. They've got to learn to, hey, let's be more about our communities. Invest in others, help people get better. Love that.

SPEAKER_01 26:42

So cool. Robbie, I'm gonna give you the last word here. It's the same uh last question I finished all my guests with.

Billboard Message: Invest In Others

SPEAKER_01 26:48

But I'm gonna give you a billboard. You put it anywhere you want to. What's the message you're gonna put it on that billboard and why do you put it on there?

SPEAKER_00 26:54

Invest in others. And I put that because when you invest in others, you're it's becoming selfless. When I invest in others, I'm helping somebody. You know, somebody told me it's all about giving a hand up instead of a handout. Uh helping them out of the hole instead of just saying, hey, here's here's some money to stay in the hole. Uh it's encouraging somebody when they've had the bad day. It's recognizing the name tag on somebody at a restaurant, the waitress who's waiting your table or casting you out at a grocery store. It's when you invest in others, guarantee you you'll get tenfold back of what you give. And that's really, you know, that's the opportunities that we have to be better people is an investment and help other people get better.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

Love that. Robbie, I've I've loved our conversation. I wish you the best. And and whatever it is, let's just talk about inside of Georgia, but let's let's assume that you're going to be uh making an impact in your community more than just uh as a CEO of Boys and Girls for the Brack. I can see that. I can feel that that's what you want to do. And I appreciate you investing in others, specifically the listeners of the Uncommon Leader podcast.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

Hey, thanks so much, man. It's been great to be a part of this and uh tell us everybody, you know, get involved somewhere and help somebody else.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

Sounds great. You well, brother.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 28:05

Hey,

Final Takeaways And Share Challenge

SPEAKER_01 28:06

Uncommon Leaders, that was a great episode. Really enjoyed that. Got to really think about some of the things that I talk about. Regularly the greatest story ever told. Ultimately, individuals who have impacted your life, that you end up writing their name on your list, or even more impactful is when someone else, because you invest in them, writes your name on their list. That's the greatest story ever told. I enjoyed the conversation with Robbie Stockton. I hope he did it well. Look, stir this with someone else who needs to hear it. Get invested, stir for others. Doesn't have to be Borton Girls Club to find a space for you or you can mentor others to make a difference.