Pittsburgh’s Next Act: A Region Prepares For The Next 75 Years

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Today’s episode is different. Rather than focusing on an individual’s “second act,” we’re going to look at a region of the United States that has emerged as the leading example of a “second act” or “turnaround” community. I’m talking about Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I traveled to Pittsburgh at the invitation of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, a group that has been focused on advancing the region’s future over the past 75 years. In fact, this podcast will debut later this month at an event in Pittsburgh called “Our Next 75 Summit.”

During my visit, I had the chance to sit down with more than a dozen leaders from the area. We talked about the past and difficult challenges the region has faced. But mostly we talked about the future of Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania – essentially what I’m calling the Pittsburgh’s next act.

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THEN: Homeless, Addicted & Convicted…NOW: Time’s “100 Most Influential People”

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For the past 15 years, Time magazine has selected it’s list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.” The 2019 issue includes Lady Gaga, Donald Trump, Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Mark Zuckerberg and Dwayne Johnson.

It also includes Desmond Meade, a name you’ve probably never heard before. In 2005, Desmond Meade had three strikes against him. He was homeless. He was a drug addict. And he was a convicted felon. Reaching the lowest point in his life, he was prepared to commit suicide by jumping in front of a moving train. But according to Meade, the train “never came that day.” And he opted to check himself into a rehabilitation facility instead.

He set a new path for himself earning an associates, bachelors and law degree. And then Desmond set his sights on the passage of Florida’s Amendment 4. Officially known as the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative, Amendment 4 was a ballot initiative to restore the voting rights of an estimated 1.5 million Floridians with felony convictions. Political pundits gave the initiative very little chance of ever getting on the ballot let alone passing with the required 60% approval by the electorate.

It took Desmond and his team at the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition nearly a decade. But on November 6, 2018, Amendment 4 passed with 65% of the vote.

According to Meade, “I tell people that on November 6th, on election night, the country got to see love winning the day. We had over 5.1 million votes, a million more than any candidate received. And those votes weren’t based on hate and fear, they were based on love, forgiveness, and redemption. Love actually won the day. Love destroyed that Jim Crow law.”

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Click here to read the Time magazine article about Desmond Meade, penned by Stacey Abrams, former Democratic Minority Leader for the Georgia House of Representatives.

The Proximity Principle: Ken Coleman’s Formula for Second Act Success

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Ken Coleman is a highly-successful ,broadcast personality and career coach who hosts a daily radio show, aptly called “The Ken Coleman Show.” Every day, he counsels thousands of listeners on how to best find their dream job. He also hosts the highly-successful EntreLeadership podcast which consistently ranks among the top five business podcasts on the iTunes charts.

Ken is a genuine “Second Act” success story himself. At the age of 34, Ken started to pursue a broadcast career despite zero background and training in the profession.

Nine years later, he has written a book that draws heavily on that personal experience as well as literally hundreds of telephone calls with his listeners. It’s titled “The Proximity Principle” and it is a strong guide for anyone exploring a second act. The simple formula described by him in his book and this episode:

The Right People + The Right Places = Opportunities

Special thanks to McKenzie Masters and Madison Crowder for the assistance in facilitating this interview. It was an honor to meet and interview Ken Coleman.

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A Midlife Shake-up: Stay-At-Home Mom Pursues A Year Of Public Service

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This episode is a bit different (and we love “different” here at Second Act Stories). Today, we’ll introduce you to Amy Yontef-McGrath. She lives in Montgomery County, Maryland and is the proud mother of three.

Amy found herself in a bit of a funk as she approached her 49th birthday. She loved her job as a stay-at-home mom. But as her children were getting older and starting to leave the nest, it was clear that she needed something new. As she put it, I needed to “shake-up my life.”

In a stroke of creative genius, she came up with “Follow Me To Fifty,” a year-long journey to complete 50 public service projects in advance of her 50th birthday. Amy joined a group of volunteers in kayaks to clean-up the Anacostia River. She helped a refugee family settle into their new home. She did a monthly-long stint as a food coordinator at the local food bank. She placed American flags on the graves of war veterans on Veterans Day. And along the way, she documented each of these projects in her “Follow Me To Fifty” blog.

Amy’s choice for the 50th project? She took a fifty mile walk along the Pacific Coast Highway in California. “I wanted to go somewhere I’d never gone before. Exploring new things was the theme of the whole year and I wanted the same for the walk.”

Amy Yontef-McGrath giving her “Volunteer of the Year” acceptance speech at Montgomery Serves Annual Awards Ceremony.

Last month Amy was selected as “Volunteer of the Year” by the Montgomery County Volunteer Center. In her acceptance speech, she asked the crowd to “Please keep following me. I’m not done yet.”

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No Kid Sleeps On The Floor In Our Town: A Christmas Project Sparks A Second Act

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I first learned about Luke Mickelson and Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a non-profit that he founded in 2012, via the CNN Heroes Program. I immediately thought to myself “I have to interview this man.” Then I found out he lives in Twin Falls, Idaho – a mere 2,369 miles from my home in New Jersey.

But as luck would have it, I was traveling to Salt Lake City for a business conference. So I rented a car and drove three hours across Idaho’s wide open spaces to the national headquarters of Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

So what is Sleep in Heavenly Peace? It’s an amazing non-profit with 150 chapters across the United States. In 2018, they built 4,144 bunk beds for children whose families can’t afford a bed for them. In 2019, they expect to build over 10,000 beds.  

On the wall behind Luke Mickelson’s desk, is a framed photo of the 2012 Facebook post that helped launch Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

Those might seem like a lot of beds but here’s a scary number. Sleep in Heavenly Peace estimates that 1.5 to 2.0 million kids in America sleep on the floor each night.

Here’s the story of how Luke and his wife Heidi founded “Sleep in Heavenly Peace.” Included in their journey was a decision for Luke to quit his full-time job in order to focus on the organization’s rapid growth.  

Luke and Heidi Mickelson stand in front of the map of Sleep In Heavenly Peace’s 150+ chapters across the United States.

Click here to learn more about and/or donate to Sleep in Heavenly Peace. It is an amazing organization doing amazing work across the United States (with plans to expand internationally in the year ahead).

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A Culinary Instructor’s Second Act Brings Fine Dining To A Soup Kitchen

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Warren Schueller (on the left in the purple t-shirt) worked for 28 years as a chemistry teacher in Staten Island, New York.

But at the age of 57 he began working with a group called Careers Through Culinary Arts (CCAP) and transitioned to being a culinary instructor. He trained a wide range of schools including the French Culinary Institute (New York City), Culinary Institute of America, Johnson and Wales and the New York Restaurant School and helped prepare New York City high school students for culinary careers. He retired in 2012.

But you’ll find him cooking every Tuesday at the St. Marks Center for Community Renewal in Keansburg, New Jersey. At this area “soup kitchen,” Warren and his team are producing upscale meals for 60+ hungry, “down on their luck” individuals each week.

Warren will turn 74 years old next month. And he hopes to keep cooking at St. Mark’s soup kitchen “forever.”

Earlier this year the St. Mark’s Center for Community Renewal embarked on a $50,000 campaign to renovate the kitchen. You can donate to the program by sending your check to Deacon Rose Broderick, St. Mark’s Center for Community Renewal, 247 Carr Avenue, Keansburg, NJ 07734.

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This week’s post has the added benefit of an accompanying video for the podcast by award-winning filmmaker Paul Kaplan.  

Finding New Life As A Hospice Chaplain

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Today’s episode focuses on someone I’ve known for a long time. Don Hessemer and I were part of a Saturday morning running group when I lived in Central New Jersey. He had a 38-year career as an environmental consultant in New York and New Jersey. But in 2018, Don decided it was time for a change.

So at the age of 61, a time when many people are counting the days to retirement, Don decided to switch careers and become a hospice chaplain. Everyday he works with patients and their families as they approach the end of life. 

When I read Don’s announcement about this new position on Facebook, I remember thinking to myself, “What an awful and difficult job.” But Don doesn’t think of it awful or difficult. And in some ways, he doesn’t even think of it as a job. It took him nearly 40 years but he feels that he has found his true calling.

Don’s path to his work as a hospice chaplain began shortly after his ordination as a deacon in the Catholic Church. “One of the priests in our parish would frequent the Center for Hope Hospice in Scotch Plains right here in town. And he would say mass maybe once a month. And he kind of introduced me to the whole hospice world. I mean, I really knew nothing about hospice. Hospice was a place where people went to die.”

Today, Don works 40 hours a week helping patients and families negotiate difficult, “end of life” challenges.

Don’s role as a deacon allowed him to officiate at his daughter Brittany’s wedding. He walked her down the aisle in a three-piece suit, made a “superman change” into his vestments in the sacristy and then conducted the ceremony.
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A Gambler Gets A Second Chance: The Fall And Rise Of Terence Gerchberg

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Terry is a compulsive gambler who hit “rock bottom” at the age of 30 when he lost nearly $1 million in a 36-hour period in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. But he got himself into rehab, shifted gears from gambling to running and got his life together. This Fall he will run his 16th consecutive New York City Marathon.

Terry’s love of running extends into his new position/career as Executive Director of the New York Chapter of Back On My Feet. As Terry describes it: “Back on My Feet combats homelessness through the power of running and community support to help our members get employed and housed. Our members run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5:30 to 6:30 in the morning. And if achieve a 90% attendance record in the first month, they get into our Next Steps program. That’s where the secret sauce is. That’s where we really can help overcome barriers to self-sufficiency.”

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Click here to learn more about Back On My Feet.

Exiting the Courtroom: A Trial Lawyer Finds Nature Photography

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Over the course of a 40+ year legal career, Richard Turner served as Governor Ronald Reagan’s personal attorney and then as a high-powered trial lawyer. But at the age of 60, he had a series of epiphanies during a month-long sabbatical wandering around the Western United States. And he eventually left the bar and became a nature photographer. And a pretty successful one at that.

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Interested in checking out Richard Turner’s photography? Click here to visit his website. And here’s the photo — taken at an Idaho campsite during a month-long sabbatical — that launched his career. The “Richard, this is terrible” feedback offered by a respected portrait photographer motivated him to learn how to take better photographs and ultimately launched his “second act” as a nature photographer.

The “little moose/big pond” photo that launched Richard Turner’s second act.

 

Not Just For Kicks: NFL Place Kicker Returns For Diploma 33 Years Later

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Kevin Butler had a dazzling football career that began at the University of Georgia. He then played for 13 seasons as a place kicker in the NFL from 1985-1998. In his rookie season, he was part of Chicago Bears that won Super Bowl XX.

But he always regretted not graduating from the university. And he told his three children, that he’d get his degree “when you are all done.” On May 5, 2018, some 33 years after leaving the University of Georgia, he finally made that happen.

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Special thanks to Andrea Clement Santiago for connecting me with Kevin Butler and making this episode possible.