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As a country, people of color have just one month of recognition that was not offered to them, but taken as an opportunity. An opportunity to reflect on the struggles, the trials, and the tribulations beset on a group of people who were forced to this place by oppressing colonizers looking to build a land based on morals and values. Those oppressors would somehow call it “the land of the free.” My ancestors would agree, as I hope my son never has to. But if this is free, then I wish to change the definition. Just over 500 years later, …

Leaders Making History: Shawn Jordan, Regional Vice President of Operations   “You don’t decide to be a leader; your team decides who they’re going to follow.” Shawn Jordan started with the Company in 2001, “back when we walked around with candles and wrote on tablets; not the kind we have today,” he joked, giving insight to how far along the Company had come since its humble beginnings. Through growth and determination, Mr. Jordan proved himself by successfully running a location and growing into the one of the first African American multi-unit leaders within the Company. “I got a phone call from …

Leaders Making History: Tiffany Leonard, District Director of Operations  Tiffany Leonard started her career with the Company in 2003 and has paved the way for emerging leaders by becoming a mentor and sharing her story of success. “I started as a Manager- in-Training in Alabama. What was most impactful for my career was understanding how to grow a well-balanced business from the leaders before me.”  Leonard seeks inspiration from her ancestors, her compassionate and hard-working parents, and the mentors who have guided her in her career. Through it all, the biggest leadership lesson she teaches is one of service. “As …

Having just passed my sixth year with TMX Finance® Family of Companies, and recently going through one of the biggest transitions I have personally experienced in my professional career, I felt it necessary to put it into writing.  Here are my words of thanks and encouragement. Through my time with this company there have been many ups and downs, all of which have made me a better employee and a more understanding person.  In the beginning, I was hesitant to work for a company where my wife already worked.  I did not want our work life to interfere with our …

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to  favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; and it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” —Frederick Douglass What Black History means to me is reflecting on …

As a person of color, this month has significant value to me. Not only is it a month set aside to celebrate the accomplishments of so many who share my race and have come before me, but it is also a time to reflect on my life. Growing up in a small town, with the high standards of being the son of a pastor and being the first of my parents’ children to attend college, I’ve had the opportunity to see great examples of real life heroes, who know the real meaning of love, hard work, and success. My parents …

Hello to all that will view my thoughts on what black history means to me and my life experiences. The mere fact that I am an African American man writing a blog sharing what it means to me states that there has been obvious progress. Early Life Experiences As a young boy, I grew up in a small town in Arkansas, 15 miles from the Mississippi state line and 10 miles from the Louisiana state line. There were some instances, but very few, of blatantly racist interactions. So, how does one grow up in a state considered to be so …

Opportunities come to those who work hard and create those open windows. As a minority, the chances of facing adversity in your life is highly likely, but your response and having the strength and ability to overcome the adversity pushes you to your full potential. In my own experiences, adversity started in childhood. I was raised by a strong single mother who worked hard to support my older brother, my younger brother, and myself. With no father figure influence in my life, I gravitated toward sports where a lot of my skills were self-taught, but I developed a strong competitive …

As we celebrate Black History, I often find myself being inspired by those who preceded me. Especially the activists involved within our Black History culture. Their sacrifices and great deeds paved the way for people like me and so many others. Black History, for me, represents a culture of people of all color and races uniting as one working towards greatness and equality together. It is a culture of overcoming and coming together, which fuels me to be a better person on a daily basis. When I find myself in conflict with family, work, or life in general, I reflect …

I’ve always been a high-strung, type-A individual…great for the physical sense of wellness, if not so much mental. Rural Virginia living lent itself to hiking trails, bicycling to sleepovers and generally being outside of the house, and out my mothers’ hair. I participated in cheerleading, flag corps, and the marching band drumline from 6th grade to graduation. University club league sports kept me busy through the higher education years, but were usually 70% socializing, and 30% actual physical exertion. I was an accomplished distance runner in Tampa for the next seven years, amassing well over 30 medals ranging from first …