Legacy of Leaders with Gary Chartrand of The Chartrand Basis

On Legacy of Leaders, our hosts Brian Sexton and Mike White welcome excellent leaders to this uplifting and attention-grabbing present, full of sensible recommendation, private experiences, and suggestions for enterprise leaders and aspiring leaders. This week, Brian and Mike sit down with Gary Chartrand of The Chartrand Basis.

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MW: Welcome again to Legacy Leaders on Every day Information Community. I’m Mike white and becoming a member of me at the moment is 2 superb folks. The primary superb particular person Brian Sexton. We’ve by no means referred to as The Superb earlier than. So that you’ve made it a tremendous day for me already. Properly, I respect it. And the second one who is extra superb than you and I mixed, Gary Sharp, Trent Bell, all the time a pleasure.

So, at the moment we’re simply speaking about philanthropy. And, I used to be on the zoo with my household this weekend, and we’re taking a look at tigers, and swiftly, I noticed shark leap and the quick time period basis mission home. I used to be speaking them on the seashore, they usually had been citing shark skilled basis.

Irrespective of the place we go in Jacksonville, the distinction you’ve made within the lives of so many is unimaginable. And that’s sort of taking a look at you’ve been doing this a very long time and you’re persevering with to offer again to the group. So, wished to speak to you about one of the best or the best affect you suppose you’ve, had on a company.

Like, what was necessary to you about getting concerned in that group? 

GC: Properly, I’d must say schooling generally would in all probability be the one space that we’ve actually centered onerous on during the last 20 years. I keep in mind, after I was working years in the past, you understand, studying the paper and, studying the paper about 22 f colleges in Jacksonville, F colleges 22. 

And so my spouse and I sat down and stated, hey, we’re going to begin this basis. You understand, there’s plenty of nice causes, however nothing extra necessary than educating our youngsters. And so we jumped in with each toes and began the muse particularly on schooling. And, I acquired very concerned in it. In truth, Governor Rick Scott, pointed me to the state Board of Schooling.

So I sat on that board from 2010 to 2018 making an attempt to guarantee that we had the proper coverage, working with legislators, to make schooling higher for our youngsters. And you bought concerned closely within the KIPP colleges, right? Sure. Proper. Precisely. In truth, we had been making an attempt to recruit them. I keep in mind flying as much as New York to fulfill the CEO of KIPP with, John Baker and John Payton, who was our mayor on the time, and Corrine Brown, who was our congresswoman, and, sort of simply begging them to return to Jacksonville.

They didn’t need to come to Florida as a result of the per pupil allocation in Florida is fairly low. They usually might go to new Jersey and New York and, you understand, get like 10,000 extra per child. And so we had, persuade them that we might make it work. And so John Baker and I went round city and raised $9 million. 

We acquired the, the, the monitor, the, canine monitor, donated their facility to us so {that a} 4 story, 90,000 sq. foot constructing, off of McDuff. And we had raised the cash and retrofitted it and made it a college. 

BS: So Mike alluded to all of the locations the place he sees your title. And there are lots of, many others. 

And clearly, I do know your actually, with the J fund and a lot of different issues, how do you determine from a philanthropic perspective the place to place your time and your cash? Yeah, I imply, how is it you could unfold out and be efficient with so many locations? 

GC: Yeah. So we’ve actually tried to focus in on is how can we make folks’s lives higher. 

And so schooling is definitely one which, is high of the checklist. Proper. How do you make, you understand, particularly at the moment. You understand, you’ll be able to’t when you don’t end highschool, you’re going to have a tough time, creating a great life for your self in order that that’s. And well being care, you understand, we’ve been very concerned through the years with Saint Vincent’s Hospital and, donated cash to create a coronary heart middle over there.

So, we actually attempt to it’s actually religion based mostly for us. It’s like, how how can we assist with the property that now we have that we’ve been blessed? Then how can we assist make folks’s lives higher and past {dollars} and organizations?

BS: We’ve been speaking about soccer, proper. But it surely’s about folks. Certain. Soccer is about folks. Philanthropy is about folks.

In tv is about folks. Yeah. How do you’re taking the duty, the accountability of discovering your substitute, discovering somebody that may do what you do while you’re not doing it. 

GC: In order that’s a great query. And so it’s a household basis. So it’s my spouse and I, however my spouse and I’ve been married for 48 years. Nancy.

And, she’s put up with me for that lengthy. It’s a great, good factor. And, now we have two youngsters, and they also’re very concerned within the basis. And sooner or later we’ll get the grandchildren concerned in as nicely. And hopefully that’ll go alongside to each our youngsters and our grandchildren. They’re sort of younger proper now, however after they get a bit of bit older we’ll try this. 

MW: What had been the largest hurdles? It’s as you convey folks collectively, like with KIPP college. Yeah, you elevate the cash. What different hurdles had been there that you just needed to actually both navigate past or transfer out of the best way? 

GC: Properly, I’d have to say the academics union. I suppose, you understand, the academics union is within the PA, within the public colleges, and though KIPP is a public college, all constitution colleges are public colleges, so we don’t embrace the union.

So we don’t ask our academics to affix the be a part of a union. So, the extra alternative that, we created round city, I suppose the extra, you understand, the academics union would, wouldn’t be in favor of that. That they had a, you understand, they like public colleges, you understand, have had a monopoly for years. And these monopolies aren’t good for the patron.

Everyone knows that, each in enterprise and I might say additionally in schooling. And also you’re transferring you’re again on the Civic Council. Yeah. What’s the primary initiative that you’re going to deal with with that? Yeah, truly I’ve been on the Civic Council for like 20 years. And the Civic Council, by the best way, is CEO is on the town. 

There’s about 85 members, I suppose, that come collectively and attempt to create a enterprise voice, if you’ll, for a few of the largest points on the town that, which might be on the market. So, yeah, proper now, we simply went by way of a strategic planning course of and we’re taking a look at, downtown is a giant challenge for us, you understand, how can we develop downtown the proper approach? 

I’m on the truly on a a committee referred to as the put together committee, which is how can we guarantee that we get our youngsters prepared for, you understand, the twenty first century abilities. Digital literacy is a giant take care of us as nicely, particularly within the underserved group. You understand, they might have a pc in school, however after they get house they may not have a pc.

And, you understand, the children which might be within the wealthier neighborhoods, they’ve acquired the most recent and best pc. So, you understand, they get to do their analysis on on the pc at house at evening. And those who don’t have computer systems of their home are at a drawback. So one of many issues that we I’ve been concerned with is began a nonprofit referred to as the Stem hub to attempt to train twenty first century abilities to children. 

And we did run a, marketing campaign to, go to the enterprise group. Most companies will lease their computer systems for 3 years and, and switch them into, you understand, actually get a lot for them. And we ask them to donate them to us. We discovered a agency audit, Max, that’s truly on our board that helps clear them up. And, we’ve given out, a bit of over 2000 computer systems to children that don’t have computer systems. 

In order that’s a that was a pleasant initiative for us and all that. Max does a lot nice stuff, particularly with the Stem, the hub program and, some actually neat Lego competitions. Yeah.

MW:  I need a fast replace on you’ve a pair ardour tasks. Certainly one of them is a documentary. This. So, replace us on what’s occurring with that venture. 

GC: Yeah. So, in 2010, 15 years in the past, Nancy and I, my spouse and I went. She’s Portuguese. Her heritage is Polish. And we went to Poland and on a visit with truly two monks which might be right here on the town, Father Remick and Father Andy Laskowski. Brothers. Yep. The brothers and, went over there with them and, was in Warsaw and it was raining that day.

So we had been going to take a strolling tour of Warsaw and we couldn’t try this as a result of it’s pouring. And we met a woman in entrance of the church, Saint Stanislaus, Costco’s church. And she or he invited us in to go to the museum within the basement. And, there was a museum about father pet Yoshiko, who was a younger priest, 34 years outdated, that was talking out, very vehemently towards communism.

And that is, you understand, after, World Warfare two and the Yeltsin convention, you understand, we principally handed Poland over to the Soviet Union. Poland is 95% Catholic. That didn’t actually go over too nicely. And so there was a number of resistance there. And he sort of led a nonviolent resistance to say, you understand, we deserve our freedom.

We shouldn’t be, dictated by communism. And in order that’s I made a documentary about this priest who ended up giving his life, the, they didn’t like the truth that he was talking out so vehemently towards communism. And, like, a number of conditions, again then, they simply they captured him and beat him to demise and threw him within the river.

MW: Now take again then. What number of years in the past was this?

GC: Properly, so he. October nineteenth, 1984 is when he was murdered. I gained’t overlook that date. Yeah, yeah, it’s a great story. And also you advised it nicely. Thanks, thanks. After which, very brave man. Yeah. Very courageous. He knew he was going to get killed.

MW: You’re additionally engaged on a collection on the consequences of communism.

GC: Appropriate. 

MW: So, the place do you hope that to go to, like, while you do that with the collection goes to go, to teach college students, youngsters. What’s one of the best?

GC: Properly, I feel there’s a pair methods. Definitely the streaming companies we we’ve been involved with and need to, you understand, they’re all the time in search of good content material.

Yeah. You understand, whether or not or not it’s Hulu or Netflix or what have you ever. So we’ll go down that path. It’ll be a 5 episode documentary on it’s referred to as the, The Miracle of Freedom. So and we’ll see. However I additionally need to carve out, if you’ll, kind of like a 50 minute or 1 hour, displaying in order that we might go into the colleges and present children what communism actually is about, as a result of I’m undecided that our youngsters actually perceive how evil it’s.

Yeah. You understand, it doesn’t work. Has by no means labored. And, I need to guarantee that our youngsters perceive that.

MW: So, Brian, how do you wrap this complete section up? 

BS: Properly, hear, the factor that I love essentially the most about Gary is that he doesn’t stand nonetheless, proper? I imply, while you’ve been as profitable as you’ve, you may simply justify a trip, proper? 

However you have a look at essentially the most profitable folks they usually’re all the time reaching into totally different areas, making an attempt to unfold affect on a optimistic message. This communism venture is a giant venture.

GC: Yeah.

BS: It’s a extremely large venture. So my sense is, is that the present known as Legacy of Leaders. And what you’re actually doing is displaying the subsequent technology of leaders what it takes to be a pacesetter. 

And that is one of the best instance of a pacesetter I can consider in Jacksonville. 

MW: I second that Gary. They’re all the time a pleasure. Thanks a lot once more. Thanks Brian. At all times good to see you. Hey, to search out out extra about all of those tasks and extra go to us at Every day Information community.com. We’ll see you subsequent time on Legacy of Leaders. 

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