Love Fort Wayne Podcast
The Love Fort Wayne podcast amplifies the stories of everyday people who are loving and leading in Northeast Indiana to spark imagination, root inspiration, and ignite transformation.
Love Fort Wayne Podcast
Nurturing Future Leaders: Amos Norman's Impact on Youth and Communities
What drives someone to dedicate their life to supporting youth and families in their community? Amos Norman, Executive Director of the Renaissance Point YMCA, shares his inspiring journey from his decade-long tenure with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Fort Wayne to his impactful initiatives at the YMCA. Learn about the transformative Midnight Basketball League, a unique program providing a safe space for young people and addressing health disparities through integrated health consultations.
Discover the art of guiding young people in leadership and character building as Amos dives into the importance of patience, understanding, and allowing kids to develop their identities. Through personal anecdotes, he opens up about his transparent relationship with his son, underscoring the value of humility, vulnerability, and balanced feedback. This episode is a heartfelt exploration of the enduring power of community, leadership, and the significant impact of nurturing our youth.
Welcome to season four of the Love Fort Wayne podcast. The Love Fort Wayne podcast amplifies the stories of everyday people who are loving and leading in Northeast Indiana to spark imagination, root inspiration and ignite transformation in our community and beyond. At Love Fort Wayne, we believe the pillars of a flourishing community are its leaders, pastors, schools, families and prayer. And in season four, we're excited to learn from and be encouraged by people who not only lead but love our city in these areas each day. Before we dive in, we want to say thank you to our partners at Remedy Live Dream On Studios Star Financial. Want to say thank you to our partners at Remedy Live Dream On Studios Star Financial, brotherhood, mutual and Shepherd Family Auto Group for making the podcast possible. Well, welcome back everybody to our October episode of the Love Fort Wayne podcast. We're excited because we've got another good friend with us.
Speaker 2:We always got good friends with us, mitch, we do.
Speaker 1:We do. Yes, I'm with Mitch Cruz and we are with our good pal, amos, norman Amos. How you doing? I'm doing well, man. Yeah, it's good to have you, brother. We're excited to speak with you today because you well man for our youth and the impact of families. We're excited to chat with you about all of those things. So again, thank you for being here, thank you yeah man, I'll pass the mic to you right away. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Speaker 1:Give us the formal introduction maybe a little bit about your family and where you're serving.
Speaker 2:Yeah so, as you said, amos Norman, I'm a executive director for the Renaissance Point YMCA, one of the branches of the YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne. I've been there for almost eight years now. Seems crazy Time flies. Prior to that I was the director of operations for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Fort Wayne for ten and a half years. So kind of staying in that uh social service kind of realm. Kids are my passion. Um spent a lot of time with the family man. Um beautiful wife, maria Norman. Man been been married for a very long time now.
Speaker 2:Uh, got a rockstar son man, elijah Norman man, 13 years old, eighth grader, at Memorial Park. Try to be really simple man, Just a real simple dude, yeah, I love that, that's true.
Speaker 3:In your roles to serve our community, you have really impacted families and youth especially. Can you talk about the significance of that and the importance of that, and why why it's so valuable to you?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So you know, I believe that, like just trying to impact families and impact our young people particularly, I mean, they're literally the fabric of our community. You know, without them being healthy and without them having the resources and things that they need, then the community is going to suffer, right? So everybody that you come in contact with, everybody that you cross paths with all of that stuff, everybody is significant and everybody is relevant. So it just makes sense to try to care for any and everybody that you can give them what they need so that they can be successful. I mean, to me it sounds so simple right Eyes, just moving, just do the thing.
Speaker 3:Does it wear you out at all encountering kids in the high energy and their brains aren't fully developed? Kids and the high energy and their brains aren't fully developed.
Speaker 2:You know, actually, man, I have great endurance for this work. That's a beautiful thing, yeah, I think that the times in which I do get tired a little bit, I can always look back on some kind of impact or something positive that is actually happening in that moment. That's the great part about it when you kind of dedicate your life to that type of work, there's always something good happening. Yeah, right, so um, I I don't get to really recognize being tired too much, man. It's always something good to celebrate, he's got time to work out, doesn't he?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:He's got the energy to work out.
Speaker 1:Hey, oh man you need to keep up with the kids your own and the kids in the community you got to get out there and get it moving, so I mean you've, uh, you know, you've, you've, you've had so many opportunities over the years, I would imagine, uh, to impact kids, like right where they are, you know, depending the season of, or the trend or, more importantly, the need of a young person. You've just been able to lean in some specific ways and I know one of the recent ways in these past couple of years has been with this Midnight Basketball League at the Renaissance Point Y. Can you talk about that outreach, that program in particular, but maybe some other ways that you've seen that are vitally important to meet kids in those spots, whatever those spots might be?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I think particularly talking about late night basketball. So that's a beautiful partnership between the YMCA, fort Wayne United, as well as Parkview Community Nursing, and when crime and homicide are statistically at their highest points, we're doing a safe haven basketball program with tons of opportunities wrapped around it, right? So it's so much more than basketball. So, before these young people actually hit the floor, they're able to have a consultation with the nurse and talk about healthy lifestyles and different things that they could do. We're tracking their blood pressures and things of that nature throughout the program, right?
Speaker 2:Um, understanding that this particular community that we're in in the southeast, we look at some of those health disparities and, um, we're not getting to the doctors like we need to, right? So what's the closest thing that I can do within my power to help provide an opportunity for something that we know the community needs? So we bring it there, right? I'm proud to say that we are seeing some trends, some upticks in health getting better, just from having that consultation, understanding blood pressure and what kinds of things affect blood pressure. What actually is happening to your body when you drink that Mountain Dew instead of the water.
Speaker 2:Just little simple things like that and just making them aware and then being able to take it a step further and get them plugged in with a health professional has been great. Then we've had some opportunities to be able to vet some different employers, to be able to come in and provide job opportunities as well as some health institutions health institutions, some education also to come in and talk about enrollment in school and what that looks like and talk about some of the misconceptions. Now, school is expensive. However, there are scholarships and different opportunities. So just showing them that it's not without the realm of possibilities for you to be able to pursue a higher education degree or something of some sort.
Speaker 3:How do you schedule all that in a night? Is that taking place in the same night? It?
Speaker 2:is, it is, it is. It's very well organized. So, like I said before, they even touch the floor, they're coming in and they're stopping and they're speaking with that nurse. They know the process, they know what's going on. But also I sit at the front as well as other individuals and we're greeting them and we're building relationship, Right. So the great thing about this program, too, is like I do it and I don't. I don't even have a whistle. It's about accountability. Wow, right, it's, and I hold them accountable for that. It's like look, young men, you need to have enough discipline that if we need you to come to the floor so we can talk or listen to a speaker that's going to pour into your life, you can give me three to five minutes to hear what's going on and listen to direction. With that program, too, there's two basketballs At the end of every game. They take my basketball and they put it in the center of the floor and we got a jump ball going up within 30 seconds. Again, it's all about accountability.
Speaker 1:Wow yeah, how many young people come to those.
Speaker 2:We had been having anywhere between Twenty three and twenty eight teams of five show up, that's a team Say that Twenty five teams of five Mitch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and those are. Those are just the individuals playing. There's other individuals that just come and kind of hang out and they're in the atmosphere, um, and it's just a good, safe place to be, yeah. Yeah, the great thing too is they're helping me with the messaging of it, right. Yeah, I just say listen and I'm honest. That's one thing about me. So it's like, look, southeast side, sometimes there's a little bit of a negative stigma, right, and there's some things that aren't necessarily true, and we are good people on this side of town and all we can do is redirect people towards facts when we do good work. And there's got to be a place where a collection of individuals from Southeast get together and just positive things are happening. So let's do that, so that that's the narrative, right, so they understand and they know, like, listen, we can't do violence, we can't do this anger. I think that we have a big time problem right now. I think, with young people. One of the things that they're missing is being able to regulate their emotions, right.
Speaker 2:So you can't leave here mad, you have to be able to regulate their emotions, right yeah, so you can't leave here mad. You have to be able to solve an issue or problem, and what better way to practice and hone in on those skills than basketball?
Speaker 3:That's a great neutralizer man Either you can hoop or you can't, you made it or you missed it. It is what it is, and the impurities rise to the top in that competition.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right, that's right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, how many games will a young man play in that evening when you have that many people?
Speaker 2:They could get five or six games.
Speaker 3:Really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then at the end we do a uh, they love this. Then we do an ncaa style tournament, oh so, we keep the records throughout the night and then we rank them, and then they play this game, man, and it's, it's great. So we have march madness, like on saturdays that is so cool.
Speaker 1:You know, mitch, you talk about like gyms of the city with people, outreaches and programs, ministries, like this is a gym of the city. You know? Yeah, it's a gym of the city. You think about? These are Saturday nights, right, yep or more, in a safe place, learning about health and wellness, about the second stages of their life, getting leadership principles from men and women from our community that just want to pour back into them, learning about order and process via basketball.
Speaker 1:And like this is a gem of the community. Because these are, this is 150, 200 through 200 people, young people that are out on the streets that parents can trust, that they're in a safe place, that they're with adults that love them and care about them. And so I'm saying it three times on purpose, jim of the city, because we need to talk about these types of positive things that are happening south, central, southeast part of our city, but our city as a whole, because when we have opportunities like this, amos, the whole city is lifted up when things like this are happening, so we appreciate it. Thank you, bro. I mean this is good. I hope, if you're listening and you're from here or you're not from here like you're inspired by that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, when I was growing up playing pickup like where a lot of people would come, not just like the game of that night that we started I recognize that if you didn't win you weren't on the court a lot, and so that's why I asked that question, and I've likened that illustration to the church, because I think God's idea of the church is that everybody plays.
Speaker 3:You're not supposed to be on the sideline, and I think what you're doing there giving them an opportunity to play and an opportunity to participate in growing in their lives is just powerful, and so it's just natural that you've become a leadership coach and consultant and you're an amazing communicator and teacher. I had the blessing of giving a talk at a Y gathering before you, and when you got up to talk, I started throwing rocks at my top.
Speaker 2:Oh man, you gotta be kidding me, stop it.
Speaker 3:Stop it.
Speaker 2:Can you?
Speaker 3:talk about your leadership development, coaching, consulting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I. So I do have a leadership consulting business called a Norman perspective, where I work with various leaders just, it doesn't matter where they're at in their particular leadership journey. Um, and I like to, I like to really hone in on that perspective piece. Right, giving individuals an opportunity to control the things that they control, that they can control, and navigate the things that they don't control.
Speaker 2:So much of how we let things affect us is based off of how we fill in the information that we don't have. Right, you get to choose if it's going to be positive or negative, and then let's delve into why you chose it to be what you chose it to be, right. Um, again, I try. I think there's beauty and simplicity, right? Yeah, um, and I think that you have to make a, a calculated decision or choice to be defeated, to be defeated, to wake up and want to be upset about a situation that you may be able to influence or may not, is really up to you sometimes. So I think that once you start to show people how much they can control, how much they can actually solve a problem on their own, and how to see it from different perspectives, and being able to understand another person's perspective sometimes is huge as well when you understand how they're getting there yeah it's, sometimes it's easier to digest, right?
Speaker 2:so that's where the perspective piece comes in. Yeah, um, and then, within that too, man, I'm I'm proud to tell you that I just recently two weeks ago finished my first ever Enormous Perspective Leadership Academy for youth. Whoa.
Speaker 3:So good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, middle and high schoolers. So at that age, what's so critical is we identify all of these young people that are like, it's like you could be a leader and we see all this leadership potential in this. And you talk to them and they've heard it and they have no idea what that means. Yeah, right. So helping them go through and figure out what their personal brand is, helping them figure out, like, what makes them tick, how to rationalize their emotions, how they show up, matters, you know, everything is relevant. So I was able to take 10 young people and I try to keep the classes about 10, right. Take 10 young people through this process of discovery for themselves and dissecting what it is to be a leader and what their leadership journey looks like was just awesome. It was. I've done a lot, but that's probably one of the best things I've ever done in my life, to be honest.
Speaker 3:That is really really cool. Guys and girls together. Guys and girls together yeah, wow. And how long is that? Girls together? Guys and girls together yeah, wow. And how long is that? Eight weeks academy?
Speaker 2:oh it is eight weeks, and when they meet, how long is each session? Yeah, uh, so we were doing an hour and a half, and then we had to bump it to two because the kids wanted more and the parents wanted more right it's so good, so I was like okay okay, amos, that is awesome.
Speaker 1:That is awesome, I appreciate that you know, I think about that portion, portion what you just shared, and, um, about a young person. Yeah, my, you're speaking this life over me. I don't know how to walk those steps to to see it through. It's so important and, in the journey as you lead those young people, I I want to know, like, what are some of the key leadership principles and character principles that you feel, from your perspective, our young people need? Or maybe another way is what do they lack? What should we as adults that should have a heart for the next generation? What should we see in them as leaders? Some of their leadership needs and character needs that we can pour back in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think the big thing is what we can do as more established humans a little patience, understand that they don't understand yet, right.
Speaker 2:So because we have so many experiences that we can draw from, we can make these decisions and they make sense to us.
Speaker 2:Some of these kids are being thrust into a leadership role within their peer groups based off of the fact that they're good at one thing Right. And then I want to make sure that we understand that the kids see that they're bigger than that one little thing Right, it's a blessing that you're, that you're gifted in something particular, right. But what does it look like to occupy the space that you're in and bring everybody up? I just think that right now we tell a kid, because of that, you know you can do this thing, they run with it, and then that kind of forms their identity, and when that thing doesn't go right, that kid struggles because we as adults have deeply rooted their identity into that thing, right. So it's about allowing them to go through and figure these things out on their own and understand that when you're good at something, it's a blessing or it's great that you've worked on that, but that's not what defines you, you and I have talked about this.
Speaker 3:Can you talk about how you do that with your son, that with your son on? So he's a great athlete, yes, uh. But you are um very clear about identity. Does not come in that sport or whatever it is at that time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I am so vulnerable with my son as far as just telling him who I am and what I've done and, um, even sitting him down like we're so close to where you know, if I have a lot of life happening you know life is lifey I'll sit down and I'll tell him hey, man, these are the kinds of things I worry about with you. It could be girls, it could be negative influences, just seeing bad things happen, right, and I'm like right now, man, I can't handle it, I can't handle what's going on Right, and I'm like, right now, man, I, I can't handle it, I can't handle what's going on right now, and I need your help. And I said, wow, I need to understand that you are understanding the things I'm trying to tell you. Um, I need to know that I'm doing a good job and if and if there's something I've ever asked you that you don't understand, come clean with me, because I just want to get it right, you know.
Speaker 2:So I just think that that humility and vulnerability is something that's huge in our relationship, and one of my favorite things is when we go for walks, and it's great to hear him, from a 13 year old standpoint, talk about life, you know, and just what he thinks is what he thinks is happening in the world. And then it's always great to hear his, his very complex 13 year old problems as well, right, and I got to remember like to him, without experience to draw on, these things are huge, yeah, right. So that's always a real humbling thing. But I just say transparency, man telling him what I'm expecting and where I'm at, I think that's been huge for us and I like that. He's a caring young man and he really is and it's authentic because that's how he's raised and that's all he knows. So I'm really proud of that.
Speaker 3:You know how most parents want to diagnose the game with their child after the game oh yeah, how do you handle that? I diagnose the game with my child.
Speaker 2:Absolutely right. You know we talk about. It's funny because he has two meetings after the games. But it's funny because he has two meetings after the games. He has that meeting where everybody grandma, friends, cousins, everybody comes. Oh, that was great, that was awesome. And he's thank you, thank you, I appreciate you. And he's like okay, dad, yeah, he got to come and see you. He's like, yeah, dad, what really was going on? Yeah, he said what could I have done better? Then I'm like, well, what did you do? Well, because I want to hear what he thinks.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know. So, just, we have that conversation. There's, unfortunately with with sports. It's one of those things where it's like, if you really do want to get better, then that's going to be rooted in truth too, right, it's all about the expectation, though. Right, I told him. I said, elijah, you're going to be a professional something way longer than you would be a professional basketball player if that was the thing. So I love this. This is a proud dad moment. He wants to be a stockbroker. Yeah, right, that's what he wants to be a stockbroker.
Speaker 1:Yeah right.
Speaker 2:That's what he wants to do, right? So we're just as intense on talking about being a stockbroker as we are basketball. So he has the flashcards, we talk about this, we do SWOT analysis on our walks, we do all these things and it sounds crazy, right, but it's like we could be talking about whatever show was on, or we could be talking about something tangible, and he enjoys it and I see his eyes light up. So it's like I needed that just as much as he needed that, I think, right. So it's like all the pressure for him to succeed in sports is not necessarily there for me as a parent, you know, because it's like, oh no, he's going to be, he's going to be fine, he's going to be fine. You know, let's give this thing energy too. So he has a bad game. Okay, you had a bad game, bro. That's fine, you know. So can you tell me where to invest this money, man?
Speaker 3:So good. I have four daughters, all college athletes, and I got better as it went on, but I actually have apologized for how I've conducted myself with them. I think my brother gave a sermon and I went and apologized each one of my daughters and all revolved around something that had to do with sports. But you said something that I think has been one of the most insightful things that I ever tried to apply, because I didn't always get it right. But that is asking them, asking them and let them speak. Almost always they say what I was thinking I needed to tell them, and that is powerful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so good. You said something that also triggered me positively I want to ask you about again, just because your heart for our young people in our communities for so many years. You said your son has that opportunity where he could say how did I really do, what could I have done better? And I just wanted to get your perspective on how do you feel like we, as the adults of this region and community, are creating spaces for our young people? To ask that question, Because I think we have so many young people that just need that space where there's a safe person, a teacher, a caregiver, a parent or loved one where they could just simply come up to and say how am I really doing that? I mean, that takes so much trust and safety. How do you think we're doing with all of the outreaches and the positive ministries that we have in our community? How can we?
Speaker 2:improve. Yeah, so I think that one of the things I think we suffer from. I think we like the idea of being that right, but as far as going from A to Z and actually accomplishing it is different. Right To start a conversation and ask an individual you know how are you doing or what's going on and you open up that suitcase and you start to unpack it and then you walk away. What's the next step? So, now that this young person has told you, are you going to find a way to be consistent in their life, to check on the thing? Right? So I think like it's intimidating to think that you have to be that person and do it all, but this is is why, like I like to consider myself as one of the most collaborative people in the entire city and I tend to stay that way Attach yourself to something bigger than you that can help you and then help them, help you, help them if it makes sense right, there's a lot.
Speaker 2:Nice tongue twister right.
Speaker 2:But, yeah, I think there's a lot of good conversation starters, right, but then taking a kid from start to finish on their journey is where I think we suffer as a community, because we have some brilliant individuals with a lot to share, but they only share that first piece of it Right, and and we know that some of our greatest relationships are are are friends and people that we spend a lot of time with. Right, it comes with comfortability, consistency, so we lack consistency. Opportunities are there Tons of great things happening, but not tons of time. You know how to give people time. Time is the most valuable commodity we have.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's beautiful. Any final words of thought for our listeners to all these things that we hit on Again, if they're local or if they're listening from somewhere else, in regards to impact in their community with young people and leading people?
Speaker 2:well, I would say that, no matter what your contribution is, give it.
Speaker 1:It's so simple and beautiful though.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Just you gotta move you know, Thinking about it and doing it are totally different, right? So one of the things that I share with our young people in the Leadership Academy and the leadership Academy is we are actions. Let's say you're whatever you want, but if you've never done the thing, you just like the idea of it. Right. Become your action right. That's who we are, that's what happens, so do the thing. That's good.
Speaker 1:That'll preach. Yeah, that goes back to Teddy Roosevelt thing about the man in the thing. That's good That'll preach.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that goes back to Teddy Roosevelt's thing about the man in the arena. Yep, that's right. That's on the wall of some college athletic room Yep, that's right.
Speaker 1:That's a good one. Talk about love and love. Talk about serve and serve. Talk about this thing. Take the steps to being it and acting it out. I love it. Amos, you blessed us. You sure did you did man. We were grateful for you.
Speaker 3:Mitch, another good one. It was a good one, fantastic, fantastic, fantastic, and you look so good.
Speaker 1:Look at that, the people that are listening, like I got to find the.
Speaker 2:YouTube Where's that thumbnail? I got to find the YouTube.
Speaker 1:Man, we hope that you guys enjoyed this past 30 minutes. Man, we sure did and we look forward to being with you at the next podcast episode. But, amos, again thank you for joining us and for those of you who are tuned in listening or watching, we're glad that you spent this 30 minutes with us. So we will talk to you at the next Love Fort Wayne podcast.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for joining us this month. We drop a new episode the first Monday of every month. Love Fort Wayne has some amazing episodes coming up. You don't want to miss a single one, so subscribe today, wherever you are listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please like, share and leave a review. We want to share your thoughts and comments with listeners on future episodes. Thanks again for joining us today. Join us next time, as we hear from leaders that don't just lead but love our city.
