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Stay Modern With Murray
Welcome to the Stay Modern with Murray Podcast, your go-to source for the latest trends and insider tips in the homebuilding industry. Each episode, we delve into the dynamic realms of design and construction, providing valuable insights that can elevate your understanding and approach to building and renovating homes.
But we don’t stop there! We go beyond mere construction topics to engage with influential figures such as business owners, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and community leaders. These conversations highlight the experiences and expertise of those who are making significant impacts in their respective fields. Here, you will discover not only innovative ideas and practices within homebuilding but also inspirational stories that showcase leadership and creativity in action.
Whether you're a homeowner, a potential builder, or simply interested in the housing industry, our podcast will offer a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. Join us as we explore the intersection of home construction and the vibrant discussions that can help shape the future of your projects. Tune in to enrich your understanding and spark new ideas in homebuilding, design, and business leadership!
Please tune in to hear from industry experts, non-profits, and local business leaders shaping our world. Visit our website at www.murraycustomhomes.com/podcast for more information and to catch the latest episodes. Subscribe today and stay modern with Murray!
Stay Modern With Murray
Chris Blum: Leading Heartland Cancer Foundation with Community and Care
Executive Director Chris Blum of the Heartland Cancer Foundation joins us for an intimate conversation about his journey from Omaha and Council Bluffs to leading a nonprofit dedicated to supporting cancer patients in Nebraska. Chris opens up about his unique upbringing and how it has shaped his perspective and approach to leadership. We explore the critical mission of the Heartland Cancer Foundation, which alleviates the financial burden of cancer patients by helping cover essential expenses like mortgage and utility bills. Highlighting the importance of keeping operations local, Chris shares insights into the vital role that volunteers play in sustaining the foundation's impactful work.
Transitioning from a fulfilling 25-year career with the Boy Scouts, Chris shares how his experiences in fundraising, leadership, and volunteer recruitment seamlessly translated into his current role. In a touching story from his Boy Scouts days, Chris recalls a summer camp where a staff member helped his son overcome a fear of swimming, underscoring the power of positive interactions and shared memories. This episode is a heartfelt reminder of how creating lasting, meaningful experiences can impact individuals and communities, inspiring us all to strive for a greater positive impact.
Networking and strategic planning are at the heart of the Heartland Cancer Foundation's success, as Chris explains how forming genuine connections transforms event attendees into long-term supporters. From the annual Mardi Gras Gala to partnerships with local organizations, Chris outlines the foundation's strategic approach to fundraising. As we wrap up, we discuss various ways to engage with the Heartland Cancer Foundation, including volunteering and workplace campaigns, emphasizing the importance of involving younger generations in meaningful activities. Join us as we celebrate the power of community and the difference each of us can make.
Welcome to another episode of Stay Modern with Murray, brought to you by Murray Custom Homes, where we build your dream home together. Now sit back, buckle up and enjoy the ride with your host, matt.
Speaker 2:Murray, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us on another episode of Stay Modern with Murray. I am your host today, matthew Taylor pinch, hitting for Matt Murray. Today, our special guest is Chris Blum, with the executive director of the Heartland Cancer Foundation. I'm also joined with Jonah Hamilton, our VP of sales. Chris, how we doing today, man Doing great. It's Friday. It's Friday, that's favorite, jonah. How's your week been, man? I feel like we haven't touched base all week.
Speaker 3:Good, we're going smooth over here. Things are still steady, and I think this is the time of year for us where people are using the winter to start thinking about ideas and stuff, so we're getting a lot of people reaching out, so it's good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, december already. Christmas is right around the corner. Is everybody ready for that?
Speaker 3:No, nope.
Speaker 2:Keep that snow away. Yeah, dude, we have been spoiled, though, if you really start thinking about it. I mean we had a pretty decent November. I remember Halloween getting canceled when I was a kid because there was so many feet of snow out and they had to cancel trick-or-treating when I was younger.
Speaker 2:So I think we've been kind of spoiled here. Chris man, just to kind of kick things off, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you're from, where you grew up, what was your family life like and kind of how you got to where you are today?
Speaker 4:Sure, Well, I was born in Omaha, South Omaha, so in some circles I'm an SOB. You can take that either way. If you're from South Omaha you know what that means, Lived there till about, I think, 1977, and we moved across the river to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and so that's where I kind of grew up. But my grandparents were still in South Omaha, so, Husker fan I grew up. We moved from the city to the country because we moved to a dirt road it was a gravel road and so went to Council Bluffs, Lewis Central, played golf, ran cross country, had a mom, dad, younger sister families. When I lived in Omaha it was come home in the streetlights, but we didn't have streetlights in Council Bluffs, so it was come home when the porch light comes on or come home when your friend's parents get tired of you at their house.
Speaker 2:I coach a lot of baseball man. We play a lot up in Council Bluffs and there's one Sonic that we always try to stay away from up there right across the river, so I'm well-versed on that side of things over there too. Yeah, man. Well, for all of our listeners who might not be familiar with the foundation, can you kind of break down what the purpose and the mission is and kind of what your role specifically is there?
Speaker 4:Sure Well, the Heartland Cancer Foundation is based here in Lincoln. It was started in 2008 by some doctors and administrators at Cancer Partners of Nebraska Back then I think they're I don't remember what the name of the clinic was I always mess it up, but it's Cancer Partners of Nebraska Now and the mission is to help cancer patients with their immediate financial needs so that they can focus on healing. So we provide grants to patients to cover their mortgage, their car payments, their utilities or their travel expenses to and from treatment, and those are bills that when you get a cancer diagnosis, the bank doesn't care. They're going to want their mortgage payment. They're going to want their car payment. So we're able to provide grants to patients to cover those bills while they're going through treatment Based right here in Lincoln, and we've given grants to patients in 39 counties in Nebraska, and so as long as you are a resident of Nebraska and you're eligible financially, you get a grant. We've never denied anybody a grant who's been eligible, so that's something we're pretty proud of. We've been able to fulfill the financial commitments and the requests.
Speaker 4:My role as the executive director. It varies from day to day. Most days, it's talking to folks like yourselves, to talk about our mission to help with awareness also help raise some money and help find volunteers. We are always promoting for our special events that we run because that's how we raise the money to fund the grants. So a lot of days there's some governance things in there. We just had a board meeting so we approved all those fun stuff like budgets and where we're going and strategic plans. You've got to pay the bills. Keep the lights on.
Speaker 3:Matt's got an annual recap for you guys that you you do take a look at that type of stuff.
Speaker 4:Yep, we've got a quarterly board meeting, so our board is all local. So all the decisions, all the decisions are made here locally, all the money is given out here locally. So that's the other thing we're pretty proud of and that's, I think, what sets us apart as well is. That's the other thing we're pretty proud of and that's, I think, what sets us apart as well is research and everything about cancer is important, but that money doesn't necessarily stay here, so we're excited that everything is handled locally. We've got a small staff there's myself and three others that run the whole show, that run the whole, the whole show. We have a volunteer guild of about 30 or 40, uh ladies who they plan 95% of our Mardi Gras gala, from the decorations to the menu, to, uh, the events and things that are going on, to securing all the raffle item or the silent auction items, the live auction items. So, uh, without them it would, it would be an impossible task, yeah.
Speaker 2:So you, you had hit something right when you first started talking about this second segment here. You know the bank doesn't care that you were diagnosed with cancer. I can't imagine. I mean it's a fulfilling job, right, Like everything that you do has a purpose. You're building towards something bigger than just yourself, and that's kind of Jonah and I talk a lot about this off topic outside of work, but what we're doing is helping people's dreams come true. Right, you are in a position that's almost thankless, right? I mean, that's kind of a roundabout way to put it You're helping people in the back side of things. They're never going to see you. I'm guessing face to face, If Jonah's diagnosed with cancer today, he's not going to know that Chris is the one that's kind of helping him. Go along those lines, I would imagine. Right, Sure, yes.
Speaker 4:Very, very true. Yes and no, I guess. So we do have. I have met some of our patients at some of the open houses and things and community booths that I've done over the last few years. I've had people come up to me and say you saved my life or this organization has saved my life. So that's an opportunity where I get to meet them.
Speaker 4:We actually have a few of our patients every year who are willing to share their story. They come and speak at our Mardi Gras and talk to our donors about the impact that, uh, that our grants have helped helped with them. Um so, yeah, there's, uh, I've got a wall in our office of thank you notes of of our patients who have sent us and their families who have sent us a thank you notes for, uh, for helping them. Um so, uh, but yeah, a lot of a lot of our patients they don't know who I am.
Speaker 4:They know who Rochelle Essay is, because they're dealing with her or their family are dealing with her getting the grants and she's the one that gives out all the money and sends them all the letters of hey, you got a grant, here's your money, and actually we actually help them. Also we pay the bills for them. So we give them the grant, uh, in theory, but we're not sending them a check. We're, uh, rochelle's, working with them like, okay, who's, who's your mortgage company, we'll pay. We'll pay your mortgage or your rent for you, um, for so, so many months, and that allows them to even put more focus on their medical portion of everything.
Speaker 4:Yes, I'd imagine yeah, because we we never want a patient to make the choice of do I pay for my medicine or my rent or my heat? So yeah, they don't necessarily know who I am and that's okay. But if they've gotten, if the patients have gotten help from the foundation or the families that have gotten help from us, they know who the foundation is, they'll know who the board members are, they'll know who Rochelle Essay is, before they know who I am.
Speaker 2:You talked about eligibility. Now I don't know how much you can get into it or what you can and can't say, but how does somebody go about getting eligible for this type of financial help?
Speaker 4:So you can go online to heartlandcancerfoundationorg and fill out an application. Most of our patients come through us, through the social workers and the nurse practitioners at the different clinics Cancer Partners of Nebraska, nebraska Hematology, oncology, bryan Health, chi. So the social workers and the nurse practitioners. They'll work with the patients. They're aware of us and if they know that the patient is going to need some financial help, they will submit the application.
Speaker 4:We take the federal poverty guidelines and we times those by three. We take the federal poverty guidelines and we times those by three and that determines the eligibility. We also, again, part of Rochelle's job and our board program committee is they look at all the applications that come in and our approval process is all of like two days, so it's a quick turnaround. But they're also again, because it's local, they can look at okay, well, this person's salary might be $65,000, but they've just got a cancer diagnosis and they're not able to work or they've got to work part-time, so that salary is going to be cut in half. So they look at that and determine the eligibility. Gosh, I can't imagine. We always try to work in favor of the patient.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm sure it's. Not every situation is black and white. It's probably a little bit of gray in there from time to time. Yes, there's always some gray.
Speaker 4:The nice thing is Rochelle and the program committee. We've got our guidelines and we've got our mission. So as long as we always lead with the mission that keeps us from well, we want to give this special grant or this special amount to do this. That, as long as it comes back to the mission, it fits within that mission.
Speaker 2:That usually helps make the decision for us um, that usually helps make the decision for us man. I it is. It is bananas to me to try to think about, like what my, my wife's Melissa, my daughter's Madison, my son's Grayson. To try to think about what life would be like First of all, you know, worst case scenario if I was no longer here. Secondarily, like if we were going through that, battling through something like that.
Speaker 2:Like the last thing you want to work or focus on is work and finances. Like you want to focus on your health, you want to focus on getting better. You want to focus on your family and I mean, who knows, you know this could be the last two weeks that you have with somebody and the last thing you want to have to worry about is, like how is my family going to survive after this because of my medical payments? Or not even talking about your salary, like your, your family's going to be stuck with those bills unless you have some sort of help. Like that, right, that's gotta be. And especially this time of year, like I'm sure you're, you're working with countless individuals who have to worry about that kind of stuff too.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we uh. We provide about 30 to 40 grants a month, Wow.
Speaker 3:That was going to be my next question. How often are you guys getting these applications?
Speaker 4:So we get applications every month and our grant cycle runs for a whole 12 months. So if they're awarded a grant in October, we pay that grant amount out over the 12 months. Our grant size currently is $750, and for most of our patients, uh, for rent, that that can be one to two to three months. Uh, we do know. I do know one patient, um, she was one that came up to me at one point, um, and talked to me uh, the, the $500 grant that we gave her at that time a couple of years ago paid for six months of her, of her rent, uh, where she was living. So, uh, that was huge for for her. So, um, uh, yeah, so we run, um, the grant cycle runs every month. They can, they can apply and uh, rochelle tracks all that, gives all the grants out.
Speaker 4:We've currently uh, through through November, we've helped 254 patients with $198,469., so, um, you know, and so you might be thinking, well, 254 times 750, that math doesn't add up. Well, we haven't paid all that money out yet. So we're, you know, we're um, obligated to to fulfill grants up to $750 per patient. So, um, up to $750 per patient. So, um, we're uh, yep, the need is always there and and uh, we're just. We've been fortunate and blessed through donors and a committed board and hard work that we've never had to say, ah, we can't, we don't have the money to fund this grant right now, so, uh, wait till next month. Yeah, what was your life like before this? What did you do before you were executive director? You know that they had first aid training and a lot of our manufacturing companies around Lincoln and Nebraska making sure that they were taking care of their workers. He's probably watching you guys on site at the job Guaranteed.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, we had several.
Speaker 4:I had several conversations with the roofing companies about are you sure you guys are tethered in?
Speaker 1:Tied off and tied off.
Speaker 4:Oh, yep, yep, and it was amazing. I would drive by different roofing companies and I'm looking up like no, you're not.
Speaker 2:Doesn't look right? Everybody but Murray Roofing.
Speaker 4:And then prior to that I spent a 25-year career with the Boy Scouts all over the country. I was kind of like Johnny Cash because I was everywhere South Dakota, minnesota, michigan, ohio, texas and then back here in Nebraska. So I was doing a lot of fundraising, executive leadership, board development, volunteer recruitment, so the skillset kind of just transferred pretty easily to the Heartland Cancer Foundation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, from what I'm hearing, everything that's led you to where you are now is the people business. I wouldn't even say you know that you are a safety guy. You are working for people. They might not have thought about it at that time but you were, you know, helping them stay alive. So, essentially in the people business, from working with the Boy Scouts and traveling and all that, is there a certain memory that kind of stands out. A certain trip, that kind of stands out something that you know, where you look back and you're like yeah, I did make a difference in you know so-and-so's life that day Putting you on the spot. Chris, that wasn't on the list.
Speaker 4:There are several of those. I know not anything specific other than, like I said, when folks have come up to me in this job and have said you've saved my life. When I was with the Boy Scouts I did a lot of summer camps for Cub Scouts and we traveled around South Dakota. We'd set up our little camp and kids would come and, uh, we'd have, you know, a thousand kids over the summer and I'd be in Marshall, minnesota, and some kid.
Speaker 1:Hey, mr Chris, you remember me no but yeah, buddy, how you doing Uh day camp.
Speaker 4:Uh and so, um, you know, those are the type of things that uh have kind of over the years and I'll probably think as I'm driving out of here today, like, oh, I should have shared that story. Yeah, there's a lot of those little things that come up. I know just my kids' experience as Cub Scouts.
Speaker 4:We were at summer camp the first time as a first grader and you got to take a swim test. And he's freaking out because he's like I can't swim in water over three feet, I can't do this. So I mean he's having a meltdown and he's going from kindergarten to first grade, never been at camp and I'm thinking he's going to be traumatized. Well, one of our staff members comes over and he taps on his shoulder and he says, hey, I've got a special test just for you. So he takes him over to the three foot and he's like I just need you to walk from one side of the other to the other in the three foot, you know back and forth. And so he's walking and he's like great, you passed, you got your white swim badge and which means you can't go anywhere but the three foot in the water, but you know he was.
Speaker 4:He was so excited and um. And then we later in the camp we were going to go on the canoe but he didn't have his red badge because he didn't know how to swim, so he couldn't technically go on the canoe. And so he's like well, dad, I got to learn how to swim, I got to become a better swimmer, so I get a swim, you know, a red swim badge next year. So just knowing that, that staff member who could have just let the kid flip out, no, took him aside. And that's just my kid, but I know that he's. That's just kind of the young men and young women that are in scouting and giving back.
Speaker 4:So, yeah, that summer camp trip cost me a lot of money in swim lessons for the next year and we went back and he got his red badge and we got in the canoe and so that was one story I remember and I joke that yeah, people joke that scouting is expensive. Yeah, it cost me a few hundred bucks in swim lessons to swim tactics and Rhonda. Swim School, just so he could go in the canoe.
Speaker 2:That's you know. Those are the type of things that your boy's going to remember forever too.
Speaker 3:I was just going to say that I remember going to summer camp and canoe is always one of the things that stuck out to me.
Speaker 2:I don't think they do those type of summer camp Like okay, so I'm looking back on like TV shows and movies and all that. Like okay, so I'm looking back on like TV shows and movies and all that, like where you go and you stay for weeks on end, you know, like do they still do that kind of stuff?
Speaker 4:Oh, I don't know, camp Kentucky, yeah, there are some camps Something like that. I don't think they spend more than a week, but I'm yeah. Yeah, most Boy Scout camps are still a week long. Camp Kentucky, through the YMCA, they've, I know that they've done. They've got, uh, horse camps and different, different theme camps for the week.
Speaker 2:So I'm a big. I'm a big component on making memories now that you can kind of relay to your children when, when you're an adult, right Like we talk a lot with previous people that have come in for podcasts, you know, like um, uh, survivors and people that have been through domestic violence and all that, and we talk about the vicious cycle. But on something like this, that's also the flip script. Right Like you can have these memories that you created with your son and then he can go on and your grandchildren someday, and then their grandchildren someday. Like there are positives and negatives of everything.
Speaker 2:And especially when you're talking about something as serious as cancer, like there are, there are people like you in this world that are going to make, make a difference in other people's lives for for generations and generations. And again, going behind the scenes, you know they might not know you as Chris, but they, they are going to remember that somebody helped save their life and and that's got to come with some great sense of of pride. And and you are doing it the right way too, by going and talking with people like Murray, custom homes, like I don't know how you and Jonah met. We can kind of get into that too, but without that conversation. You know you want to be here today. Everything kind of happens for a reason, and I'm a big component on on making people's life different down the road.
Speaker 2:I don't know, there are things that I can do in a day that is going to change somebody's life, but you are making such a massive difference, and not just the people that you meet, but the entire community of Lincoln, nebraska, the surrounding area. Hats off to you, man. I don't know how people would be able to survive without somebody like you in the role that you're in. Man, thank you, thank you for everybody. The amount of thank yous can't go a long enough way, so hats off to you. Um, with that being said, what is a day in the life of an executive director for the foundation look like? What? What, outside of doing podcasts and radio interviews, what? What does a day look like for you?
Speaker 4:Well, it's a. It's a lot like, um, probably a salesman or a customer service rep. So we're constantly talking with donors to either thank them for their gift, renew their gift. We're constantly talking to new folks about explaining, hey, what we're doing for the foundation, how they might be able to help, trying to create a partnership, a synergy, to create that relationship versus, hey, we got this event, can you just write me a check? Yeah, we've got some board members that usually I've got a call or two every day or every other day with a board member about they've got an idea of how we could grow the foundation. So we talk through that, through strategic planning.
Speaker 4:There's a lot of networking type events that I attend just to see and be seen and get that message, that name out there. A lot of times it's to follow up. Hey, I sent you an email. Oh, yeah, I owe you those volleyball tickets for the auction. I need to get that information to you. Um, the day it's uh, it's definitely not a behind the desk type job, but there are days where, okay, I'm, I'm writing this proposal, uh, for the grant or for, uh, for the donor needs a certain letter written a certain way, um, you know. So that's uh, a lot um, a lot of strategic planning. You know a lot of being focused, cause you can get um pulled in a lot of different directions. You know, as as every, in every business or every organization you've got, you know multiple customers calling you. You really got to focus, okay, what you know, what do I need to do?
Speaker 3:Yes, I could go do a B and C, but is it going to ultimately get me in the foundation, to our strategic plan and our goals? And that's where I think from Chris. You brought this up earlier, matthew, but Chris and I met through Center Sphere networking opportunities here in town, specifically at one of the golf tournaments there. We ended up playing together and everything. But I think what that kind of made the impact on me was that a lot of people, when they're making donations to foundations and things like that at least from my standpoint, and I think that a lot of other people probably feel this way they want to see what that organization is doing. They don't just want to give money over and never really see the impact of anything.
Speaker 3:So what I think is so cool about your role, chris, is that you get to kind of give the foundation a face. And that's why, when I met him through Center Sphere, we instantly connected that day that we played golf and every time I've seen Chris at another networking event, we walk right up to each other and just catch up like we are good friends. But it's that instant connection of oh yeah, chris is out there helping this foundation and he's helping so many people, and so for those donors and those people who are involved with the foundation. I think for you that's just such an important piece that you're you're showing people what their, their donations are doing. The events that you guys put on, I think, are very helpful with that and it really gives people a face to the foundation, I think.
Speaker 3:So that's kind of why I was instantly attracted to the work that you did and I mean, we all know somebody who's been affected by cancer one way or another, whether it's a friend or a family member or personally. You know somebody who actually has cancer themselves. So I think that was kind of that instant attraction to when we met through through some networking and things like that. But that's where, to me, your role is, uh, very, very vital for, uh, giving the foundation a face and and letting people see exactly what it is that they get to do, that you guys get to do with um patients and your events throughout the year and stuff. So that's that's kind of my my insight on that piece. Who's the better golfer?
Speaker 2:That day I think it was Jonah- it was a best ball tournament, so we both threw hole one and two. The only ones I can golf in are best ball tournaments. You have to be able to cipher through the BS. Let's be real, right, like I mean, when you're talking about federal funds, grants, money in general, there has to. Obviously, yes, there are huge, massive benefits to what you do. But who a part of your team? Is there a team behind the scenes that go through and case by case, because we talked about eligibility, now that can't just be like all right, my wage is here, so you're approved. Do you have to? Are there like interviews that you have to go through, or do you handle that? How does that go about?
Speaker 4:So most of our patients come through the nurse practitioners and the social workers at the clinics that they're working with, and so they'll do a lot of so. They would be our team where they kind of they know what our guidelines are, they know who should apply, who shouldn't apply, and then if they fit those and they send the application into Rochelle. Rochelle looks at them. If there is a question, she brings our program committee, which is made up of our board members. She'll bring them in and say here's the situation, yay or nay, yeah, uh, so, uh, everybody that really comes to us is pre, already, pre-qualified. Um, so that's. You know, one of the one of the days in my life is I, I go to I'll go to Brian or cancer partners and have a lunch and learn with the staff to say, okay, here's, here's the foundation, here's what we do. Uh, because they To say, okay, here's the foundation, here's what we do, because they've got new staff coming in all the time. They're ultimately your eyes, then they're our eyes, and so kind of the way it works is if they've got a question, they'll call me, or they'll call Rochelle ahead of time. Hey, I've got this patient or I've got this situation. Where can I do we also get.
Speaker 4:It goes back to that strategic plan and our mission. We get a lot of calls for hey, my, we need a ride. You know, can you help us with a ride? Can you help us with clothing? Or one of the questions we had a few years ago was wigs what do you do with for wigs? And so we actually have a resource page on our website that, hey, while we can't help you with that, here's somebody who might be able to. Yeah, so we've tried to put them in touch with the folks that can help them out. So, yeah, our team of folks is really folks at Cancer Partners, nho, nebraska Cancer Specialists, unmc, bryan, chi, you know, or the different clinics. They'll have our brochure. If they think a patient needs our help, they'll hand the brochure to the folks. Hey, have you looked into this?
Speaker 2:You're a brand ambassador in a sense?
Speaker 4:Yes, Uh, yep, uh and. And Jonah said the face of the organization, that's uh, uh. That's why I'm on the podcast. I've got a face for radio. I say the same thing, uh, but before I came to work for the foundation I'd never heard of them, uh and, and thankfully I had never um needed to use them, to use them or know anybody that needed to use them. And that's not saying that my predecessor just wasn't the face she was. I just I never saw her, but she was very well connected in the cancer partner world, the Bryan Health world. So I would say like 85% of our donors and our partners now are all from previous work. So it's broadening that base and the exposure to make folks aware of it. I mean because, like I said, I was here 10 years and I had never, until I applied for the job, I'd never heard of them.
Speaker 2:It couldn't have just been an IndeedSearchcom thing, like how did you land there? I mean you know, and I'm trying to recall that.
Speaker 4:I want to say it might have been posted on Association of Fundraising Professionals, a group I'm in because I was with the Nebraska Safety Council. I was kind of looking for the next thing A home yeah.
Speaker 4:And I'm sure that's how that popped up or it might have popped up on Indeed man. I don't even remember, but I read it and I remember it would just kind of click like, yeah, I can do this. Yeah. And then it's funny, as I got the job and I took over for Amy Green, I'm sitting with Amy and I'm like man, I know, I know her and I realized that I had, after talking to her and finding out that her husband was Nate Green, who's one of the doctors at Cancer Partners, I'm like your son's an Eagle Scout. She's like, yeah, I'll be dang. Oh my gosh, I signed his Eagle Scout application when I was the scout executive here. So, uh, so I'm like that's where I know, that's where I recognize the name. And then, as I start going down the donor list, several of the donors are connected to me.
Speaker 4:When I was with the Boy Scouts and, um, and so like Cornhusker Bank is is our bank at the foundation, they were a friend of mine at. You know, they were a supporter when I was at the? Uh, the Boy Scouts, um, you know, you know they were a supporter when I was at the? Uh, the boy Scouts, um. You know, brian health was a huge partner at the Nebraska safety council. So, uh, it's a small world. It was all interconnected and I started to realize, yeah, I know several of these, these people, I know several of the organizations, um, through my, through my other nonprofit work.
Speaker 2:So, man, that's uh what. It's the biggest, smallest town I've ever lived in Lincoln. I actually just heard that the other day. That's funny. So, true though, man, it really is Yep Centisphere. Uh, so you've you've had a lot of connections through Centisphere, man Center, center, fear center sphere Yep Um how long have you been a part of that networking group, chris, and and and?
Speaker 2:is there any advice that you would give to somebody that's looking to and networking in my realm isn't just getting some A put with B with Murray Custom Homes, it's also selfishly. I enjoy the getting to know different people. Again, going back to, we're in the people business, but what advice would you give a young professional who's trying to expand his horizons and meet new people?
Speaker 4:So I, I joined center sphere, I think in April of this year. Um, again, I was uh, I've been in chamber and other other networking groups throughout my career uh, service clubs, rotary. Um, I was actually kind of looking for, um, what's next? Cause I I can get very, I was getting very bogged down. Hey, I can go in the office, I can make my calls, I can do my emails, I can do my proposals, I can see the people, my current donors. I was getting kind of comfortable. So I'm like I need to do something that helps me broaden the exposure and that can be strategic. It helps me broaden the exposure and that can be strategic. So I actually had a couple of people that invited me to some center sphere meetings in Omaha.
Speaker 4:Oh, I didn't realize that this is kind of cool, but Omaha is not really our foundation market yet and we got chapters in Lincoln. So that's how I joined and I found a group that I just kind of clicked with, and you know. So the nice thing is it's about meeting and it's about developing a relationship versus hey, here's my business card, let's do business. I mean, there are those folks but they don't last really long. It's about you know who are you, you know what's your parent, what's your spouse's name, kid's names. You know we are you, you know what's your parent, what are your, what's your spouse's name, kids' names yeah, you know, we all got a life outside of work, and so that's the nice thing about Center Sphere is, I feel like I know sometimes I know more about the Center Sphere members in my chapter than I do my spouse and my kids. They're like what's your kid doing? I'm like I don't know what day is it. But you know, ask me about Ashley's daughter. Yeah, she's playing. One's playing volleyball, one plays basketball, you know, and so I would.
Speaker 4:I would just say, you know, for a young professional, you got to get out and get out of your comfort zone and and meet, meet folks, groups like Center Sphere or whatever networking group. You got to be strategic with your time because you could. You can go to a networking meeting every day of the week here in Lincoln. Or in the summertime, you can go to a golf tournament every day of the week. But how are you going to maximize that? Going to the golf tournament, are you going to follow up with the people you played with In the same tournament with the same people? That doesn't really help in my mind.
Speaker 4:Same thing with networking. You need to go with a purpose. Is your purpose to? I'm just going to grab a bunch of business cards. Well, okay, that might work for a little while, but if you don't know who you're grabbing the business card from or why you're grabbing the business card, it's probably not going to help you, because the savvy folks they're going to see right through it. Hey, he or she, they're just there to sell me something To get out of work for a couple hours, right, yeah?
Speaker 3:I always tell people personally, networking is one of those things where I would not expect anything within the first year of joining something new. I mean it's not about those weekly meetings or showing. It's about the behind the scene, the showing up regularly and building relationships with those people and ultimately earning trust. Building trust by giving them. I mean for you you mentioned earlier, chris, the connection piece for you maybe it's not something directly that the foundation does, but by being able to still provide them a link to something else. Maybe that you guys don't offer directly that right there puts trust in you guys, and I think that that's you know how networking really goes a long ways, I think, is in the long run. It's not something that you're going to see a return on investment within the first month of doing something like that, but ultimately the relationships are what is most important.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and it's for me. As I was visiting the different chapters, I found that, hey, I've got a lot of connections already. I was one of the chapters. We were at Home Federal Savings Bank and I'm like, well, yeah, the CEO played in my golf tournament. They've done a sponsorship at one of our golf tournaments.
Speaker 4:And I went to another meeting and found that Merle Collision where we were just at last night they'd been a supporter of our auction and so the Merle employee at the event, they didn't know anything about that. So the the Merle um employee at the at the event, they didn't know anything about that. So, again, it's making that connection. I found that, oh, yeah, we've, we've done business with people here, uh, the doorstep diner, right, we've, we've done business, uh, for the foundation. So it's about you know, uh, again putting that face and making that, that connection that oh, wow, okay, okay, my organization is helping out, oh, and this is Chris, this is how this is helping out. So, yeah, I'm kind of with you that first year, don't expect, but it's definitely with Center Sphere is, what I found is, if you do something in your chapter, they're going to show up.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I joined in April and we talked about a golf tournament and two of my two of my um uh folks in the chapter they did a whole sponsorship. I needed to fill a couple spots on the uh, on the foursome. So I reached out hey, you'll open, and uh, and they were able to play. So those are the type of things that um uh you, you find out through whatever group you're in. You know are they? Are they there for you as a person? Uh, first, you know, uh, or are they just there to help your business out? You know, cause I mean honestly not everybody's going to want to buy a home right away or, you know, be in a position to to have a, uh, a custom built home, yeah Right, but, uh, but they might know somebody, or you know they'll. You know, down the road, hey, I know I need something help with my house.
Speaker 4:Jonah's in that industry. I'll call Jonah. Hey, who do you know that? Can you know fix my plumbing or a water heater, or? And then, if you get that name, you call somebody. Oh, you know, jonah, over at Murray Home, said I should give you a call. Oh, yeah, hopefully they take your call. You know, right, right, right. So, but yeah, the networking, it's about making connections and definitely in Lincoln it's a small town. So I mean you know six degrees of separation, it's probably four or five here in Lincoln, you know meeting somebody and you can find a link to somebody.
Speaker 2:You get into it or you get out of it where you put into it. That was the first thing that Jonah was talking about when he started going to these networking groups is you know? Yeah, you're right, it's not going to all happen at once, and we were told that when we first started here two years ago, or whatever you know you're going to, it's going to take time, but these relationships are going to go far beyond just Murray custom homes and Murray roofing. Like, I see you online all the time where somebody is asking for this or that or this. That has nothing to do with Murray custom homes, but you do have those connections.
Speaker 3:You still have this Yep, I love those, those uh opportunities that come up. I the one that comes to my mind is uh, it's a Facebook group. I think it's save Lincoln local. I want to say it is, and it's just great to see all the people posting on there and all the relationships that people have with so many different people.
Speaker 2:We've talked about the golf tournaments I think we've hit that nail on the head quite a bit throughout this podcast but your organization hosts several different outings and gatherings throughout the year. Can you kind of elaborate on when, where and what we could possibly do, or anybody could do, to help those take place?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so our signature event is our Mardi Gras Gala. That happens every February or March, depending on when Mardi Gras happens. This year's event, coming up in 2025, is Saturday, February 8th. We're usually at the Cornhusker Hotel because that's one of two places in Lincoln right now that can hold 450 to 500 people. It's a great night. It's a Mardi Gras theme. This year is our. New Orleans in the Roaring Twenties is our theme. So we've got a silent auction, a live auction. Omaha Steaks is our filet mignon sponsor.
Speaker 4:Love it Events usually raises about $250,000 to $275,000. That's our largest fundraiser and it's just a fun event. We've got table sponsorships. We've got a bourbon street sponsorship. That's kind of one of our signature events. There is a bourbon poll, so for I think it's $75, you get your chance to walk away with one of 100 bottles of bourbon and I think this year we're doing some sort of uh, I think it's a beer pong. So they're they've got glasses with the numbers correlating to the bourbon and you kind of, uh, throw the ping pong ball into the glass and whatever number it lands in, that's the bourbon you walk home with.
Speaker 4:Very nice, um, and we've got you know. So our volunteers will donate bourbon, our board will donate bourbon. You know our friends at the Still and Hy-Vee. They'll help us with purchasing some hard-to-get bourbons, and I'm not a bourbon drinker so I have no idea what the different types are, but you know so that's kind of a fun.
Speaker 4:It's a fun night for your spouses to get all gussied up. Yeah, folks will come in costumes. You know Union Bank is one of our big sponsors Oncology Supply for that event, so table sponsorships are always good. We do a golf tournament in August it's going to be August 18th at Firethorn again this year and that's an event that always sells out, so that's one that's not hard to fill. Folks like to play Firethorn and because we've got such a track record a lot of times, it's renewing and making sure that date fits into everybody's schedule.
Speaker 4:We also do a couple educational symposiums for the doctors and the nurses in the oncology world and we sell sponsorships for that. So the pharmaceutical companies will provide a sponsorship to provide an educational table and be able to provide information on the newest medicines and things out there and available. We do one of those here in Lincoln in April and then we do one out in Grand Island in September and we actually partner with the Grace Cancer Foundation in Grand Island and the Nebraska Cancer Specialist Hope Foundation out of Omaha, because all three of us serve patients out there, and so we do one event, we bring in all the money and then we split it equally three ways. After all, the bills are paid. So we're in our second year doing that and that's pretty exciting because we're able to offer donors three foundations that you're going to support with one check. So those are the major events that we hold from a foundation side.
Speaker 4:But then we've got several groups that will hold fundraisers in October. For us, american Medical Imaging or Advanced Medical Imaging does a breast cancer walk. Orange Theory did a fundraiser for us. They call it Hell Week during October and everybody could work out and donate. And then they had one day where they did you wore pink while you worked out. Sandhills Global does a employee matching campaign for us. U-stop did the kick it back two cents per gallon in October.
Speaker 4:For us, st Mark's United Methodist Church they do a mission Sunday where we're the beneficiary. Super C is doing an event coming up next week where you go into any of the Super C stores and donate a dollar and Super C is going to match whatever raised over that week. That's great. So we've got a lot of groups like that. I'm probably missing one here AutoConnection. They did a Breaks for Breasts so they donated money based on every break job they did. In October, lincoln Police Department did a Pink patch sale fundraiser for us. So we've got a lot of those things that are great because all we have to do is support them through social media and word of mouth. My wife's like do you have to give to every one of these? We're going to go broke. It's just good job security dear. So yeah, so we've got a lot of those type of things.
Speaker 4:Then we do our annual giving, asking our donors to renew. But yeah, that's the other thing that attracted me to the foundation is we don't do a lot of events. While they're great, they're very staff, uh, time, time, heavily driven and and, uh, if you don't watch costs, uh, while you raise a bunch of money, the the net money isn't always great. So, um, uh, so we, like I said, we've got four events, uh that we, we directly handle. But, uh, our, our volunteer guild handles 95% of the work for Mardi Gras. So there, I just tell me what you need from me, and it's usually you need this, we need this bill paid, we need this picked up. Yeah, or I can't get this, I can't get this handled during my working hours. Can can you go ahead and take care of it? So, yeah, those are our events and they're always well attended, well done, they're a good time.
Speaker 4:And then, once the event's over, part of my job is how do I turn those attendees into volunteers and donors and partners? Because a lot of folks are coming on the company dime. They're not writing their personal check to come sit at the table, so we're wanting to get them to make a donation while they're there, you know, and figure out how the magic happens after that. How do we get somebody that's attending the golf tournament to chair the golf tournament or become a board member, you know? Or how do we, how do we make those connections? You know, my, you know, uh, having my board members and my volunteers introduce me to people in the room, you know.
Speaker 2:So I think that Mardi Gras thing sounds like a blast. I know it, I know it's for a great cause, but it sounds like a whole bunch of fun, you know.
Speaker 4:I love the roaring 20s. That's Uh it, it is always. It is always a good time. This will be my third one and it's amazing that we decorate the whole ballroom and it just transforms the ballroom and the lobby there at the Cornhusker. That's like, wow, this really looks like New Orleans. And yeah, some of the gals get all dressed up in costumes and masks, and yeah, so it's interesting to. Some of the gals get all dressed up in costumes and masks, and yeah, so it's. It's interesting to see what the Roaring Twenties are going to look like. I know one of the plans we're going to have like cardboard boxes and make an entrance like you're walking into a speakeasy, oh, yeah, and so which? I'm like, wasn't that the thirties, when we had the?
Speaker 1:prohibition. But all right, the twentiess, that'll work.
Speaker 4:So, yeah, it's a blast, it's a good time and I always look. Going back to the networking, I always look for seat fillers, because we're always going to have some sponsors that they're going to write the check and, for whatever reason, they're not going to be able to fill their 10 seats at the table. So I go through my Rolodex Rolodex that's probably dated me, sorry about that.
Speaker 4:I go through my contact list in my phone. Yeah, yeah, and who should I? Oh, hey, jonah, and I reach out. Jonah, you and your wife want to come to a Mardi Gras gala. This is the date, and so that's.
Speaker 3:I was just going to ask you that so. Are these events open to the public, or are most of the seats usually filled?
Speaker 4:specifically, so they're open to the public. We usually try selling out sponsorships first, and that's again through my experience. I'd rather have the sponsor money up front than the individual seats. So we'll work at selling sponsorships first and then we'll open up the individual seats. We also our individual seats kind of run, I would say, on the high end. But uh, um, you know, that's why we try to get folks to uh, find, find the company sponsor for the table and then, um, and then you can free up your cash for uh, for the individual donations and the fun stuff. So, uh, it is open to the public.
Speaker 4:Like I said, of the 50 tables we try to sell, probably 35 to 40 of them will be sponsored tables. That's great. We actually have a couple of our sponsor levels at the I think the $1,500 level, where one of the perks is that they provide two tickets to Mardi Gras for the cancer patients. Wow, awesome. And so we will. If we've got seats to fill, we will reach out to some patients, say, hey, would you be interested in coming and having a night out? And some of them will. And that's actually how a couple years ago we started to bring cancer patients to speak to present their testimonial and then they've really loved it. Because they bring their spouse, they'll bring a couple of their other family members. We do offer a guild for our guild members that are working for the event. We offer a special rate for them, and so we extend that rate to a couple of family members of the cancer patients who are willing to come or want to come and enjoy the evening.
Speaker 2:I'd like to get involved with that. So, whatever, we'll have Jonah reach out, set something up and we'll see what we can do. That sounds like a whole bunch of fun on a Saturday night, yeah yeah, absolutely, we're always looking for volunteers.
Speaker 4:Setting up isn't usually a problem. The Guild loves to do that, the the challenge we have is the cleanup. Uh, afterwards Nobody likes to uh, stick, stick around and clean up, but uh, uh, but we actually, um, we've got a, a donor who, um, a couple of years ago, was like, well, hey, I'd like to help. So he, he wrote us a check and he's like, why don't you find four groups and donate $250 to each group that comes and helps? So I said, yeah, we, we can do that.
Speaker 4:So, um, so if you've got a sports team or a service, a college, high school uh club, that, uh, that is interested, um, we've got one spot left, uh, and all they got to do is bring six people to volunteer a minimum of four hours, and that can be either the Friday or the Saturday, and we usually feed the volunteers some Valentino's pizza. Depending on the role that they're doing, they might attend the event, and some of the volunteers are helping sell our beads for our bead game or sell our luminaries. So, yeah, it's a good time and we'd love to have Murray Holmes involved. Have both of you guys involved, love to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you can put the Lincoln Rebels down for cleanup. We'll help you tear down. Lincoln Rebels baseball. That's my guys. What age I coached the eights this year? Okay, All right. I started with a group of young men when they were seven and eight.
Speaker 4:Okay, nice, seven years ago Nice.
Speaker 2:And so they're moving off to high school next year. So I started back over with my son. There you go, yeah, so it's a whole bunch. It's showing up on time, being early, running to your positions, respecting the game, respecting your teammates. I need to know that you're going to be held accountable for your job so I can do mine. It's bigger than baseball. Love it. Yes. How can people get involved? I know we talked about these events. Outside of signing up for the events and sponsorships, how can our listeners get involved and connect with the Heartland Cancer Foundation?
Speaker 4:So they can go to heartlandcancerfoundationorg. They can click on volunteer. So there's ways to help. You can volunteer through our volunteer guild. You can make a donation, personal donation. You can talk to your company about doing some sort of campaign or event for the Heartland Cancer Foundation. Uh, you can talk to your church, uh, about doing, uh, doing a campaign for us. If you're connected in a professional organization, a service club, and you need a program speaker, I'm happy to come in and speak and talk. You know 15, 20 minutes about what the Heartland Cancer Foundation does and is, and, um, you know, and you can always, you can always write a blank check. Happy to fill that out and I wouldn't have to hold Mardi Gras if somebody gives me that.
Speaker 4:Warren Buffett's listening, if you want to send me a check, warren. So there's heartlandcancerfoundationorg and we'd love to find ways that best match your talents and maximize your available time and that fits with our our strategic mission and uh so I'm going to put you on the spy here.
Speaker 2:This one's not on the list, but looking back on on everything that you know now, all the knowledge that you've gained, all the people that you've helped, all the all the kids that you've helped become better young men, um, what's a piece of advice that you would give young Chris just starting his professional journey? I should start writing these down.
Speaker 4:This one Keep your mouth shut.
Speaker 3:Me too me too.
Speaker 4:That usually got me in trouble. Probably trust your instincts. And I had a boss early on tell me that, and it was like every time I asked him for advice he would tell me trust your instincts. I'm like just give me an answer, right, trust your instincts. And the more I think about that, I even tell my son that when he's like, he'll say something like well, what do you think? What's your gut, tell you. And he's like dad, I'm skinny, I don't have a gut, what's your what's?
Speaker 4:your gut tell you and he's like dad, I'm skinny, I don't have a gut. What are your instincts? You know? You know, if, cause, if something doesn't feel right or something's fishy, you know, uh, uh, it's probably you're, you're probably right. So I would say, you know, trust your instincts and then probably just don't take yourself too serious.
Speaker 4:I uh, I look back and and all the things. You know that it was always about driving, getting the job done, hitting the goal and and and not celebrating the wins and, um, you know, and beating myself up too much. I think that's, uh, you know, don a lot of, uh, a lot of doctors and and medical professionals that they're in some serious. They, they've got to have some serious conversations every day and there's, I mean, they're dealing with life and death and but outside of the office, you know they're, they're fun, loving people, they're, you know, um, you wouldn't, you wouldn't understand you, you wouldn't know that they just had a, had a tough conversation, you know, or they lost a patient, you know. So, like you know, nothing I do is life or death, I mean. So I've tried to relax a little more, be a little not so focused, you know, and celebrate the wins, take time, I mean, like, early on, somebody would have said, hey, do a podcast. I'm like I don't have time. How is that? I would have been back to Jonah, how's that going to pay off? How's that going to make money for me? How you know, how's that going to make a donation? How you know? Um, you know, but now it's like you know that makes sense, cause who knows who's listening, you know, and I found, hey, lincoln rebels, there's a, there's a group that we get an opportunity to, uh, engage more folks. Um, you know, and and you might be thinking, well, I don't want a bunch of eight year olds helping Well, my, my son, and when he was in sixth grade, he came and one of his jobs was he ran.
Speaker 4:He read through the script while we went through the PowerPoint so that it matched up, you know, and he thought that was kind of cool, yeah, you know. Now, three years later, he's like can I get out of school early on Friday and help you out? Can I not go to school on Friday and help you out? You gladly say yes, yeah, no, I'm the stickler. I'm like, no, you got to go to school, go help after school. Yeah, so, but he's like, you know, and to me that's like, okay, so he, he gets it. That's why, you know, while he think it's fun, he also understands. Hey, you know, um, I'm not, uh, I'm pretty lucky to be able to do this.
Speaker 4:And then, uh, I think was it two years ago, one of our, one of our patients that were speaking um, was one of the parents, one of the moms, of one of the daughter. Her daughter is one we helped and she was about the same age as my son and he's like, wow, so dad, she had cancer. I'm like, yeah, it was pretty touch and go. So you're pretty lucky when you're griping about we don't have any snacks in the Right, no, sweetest goldfish, yeah, we don't have the right snacks. She was probably worried about how am I going to get to the hospital or, uh, will I see Christmas? So it kind of puts things in perspective. But, um, I think I just ran, uh ran the track off the trail, uh, the rails there, but uh, I do it every time.
Speaker 2:So, um, but yeah, no, we had, uh, we had my son and daughter go and help at the people's city of mission, uh last year and Turkey giveaway, we had them do that. We had them do uh, help stop the yep. The trick or treat on the trail in Hickman we had them out there for that. We had my son and daughter do um, help with, uh, santa stuff at last December with Murray custom homes and kind of stuff, stockings and give socks and give shirts and give underwear and then walk the people down to their car and it's again bigger than baseball, you know, bigger than me, and you are sitting here Like they'll remember those times for the decades and decades to come and hopefully they give back when they have an opportunity to. So it's big man, it's huge. Any final thoughts anybody wants to share before we kind of cut this thing loose here?
Speaker 4:Well, I appreciate you having me and and we, just we. I know, in just the short time I met Jonah that you know Murray Holmes does a lot for the, for the community, and and, uh, you, you guys and gals are always out there, um, you know, looking to help people. So, um, appreciate, appreciate that. This was, this was great. If there's other folks you're looking to have on, I can recommend a few folks.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Chris sent me a list of probably about 15, 20 people.
Speaker 4:Much more interesting than me.
Speaker 2:This is my favorite part man is this.
Speaker 3:We'll have you come back and co-host it. I'll step out of here.
Speaker 2:Remember everybody. You can go to heartlandfoundationorg and take Chris's advice. Don't take yourself too serious. Everyone thanks for tuning in this episode of Stay Modern with Murray. Stay tuned for more exciting episodes. Appreciate you pinch hitting Jonah and thank you, shannon, for all you do. Chris, enjoy the weekend, man.
Speaker 3:Thank you, man, thanks guys, all right, thank you.
Speaker 1:If you have questions or topics you'd like us to discuss, you can email them to info at murraycustomhomescom. If you liked this episode, be sure to subscribe to Stay Modern with Murray on Apple and Spotify, or check back on our website and social media regularly for the latest episodes.
