I would say for people that are in a transition, your job is to get in front of people and just have a conversation. Welcome back to the Art of Connecting podcast. This is your host, Haydynn Fike, back with another episode for you guys. Today. I am so excited to have Ms. Kim White on the show with us. It's crazy. It's like deja vu. I can use Miss Deja vu. I wish I could say this was the first time that I had started recording an episode and it didn't record. But this is probably about the sixth time this time. That's what we just had a small test run that right? It was good. Okay. We got to, we got to iron out what we were gonna say. So Kim Sso tell you, I've got probably about 20, 25% of my listeners are here in Chattanooga. And the rest are all over the world. And so if you don't mind, if you could just introduce yourself again real fast Yeah. For our listeners. Absolutely. So, Kim White, I grew up here in Chattanooga. I went to UTC many, many, many years ago and left right after college. Ended up I, I called, I did a southern tour with the telecommunications. Industry. And I did that for 16 years. Lived in Atlanta Birmingham, Fort Myers and moved back here in 2003 trying to figure out what was next in my life. And Haydynn, I love the name of your podcast, the Art of Connecting, because that's really, that's really. M my dots. It's, they're very hard to connect, but it's really my career has been because of those connections. Yeah. So ended up running a real estate development organization for the then mayor of Chattanooga. Went to work at one time for a downtown arena development company, river City Company. Did that for 11 years, ran for mayor and now I am back to where I started at UTC. I've been there for four years. I've done, I've done the full circle. Wow. It's, it's such an incredible story to hear. I want to go all the way back. I want to hear, how did you decide art? Because I, for the longest time, did not appreciate art. I would go into museums because we went on these big, you know, these field trips and I was like, why am I here looking at this stuff on a wall? Like, I'm so bored. And now as I mature and as I get older, I really appreciate the thought that goes into even this, we were talking about this table, right? Like if you're listening to audio only, we have probably like a, a 1200 pound concrete table in front of us right now at the office that I work at. And this is a piece of art, right? Yes. And our wall, we have Genesis, the gray kid, we have a piece of his art Yes. Right there. And I'm good friends with Genesis and as I started to learn about art, it just, I love it. So tell me how, how you decided art. And what that was like going to school to learn about the arts. Well, I will say I credit so much of my career with having a liberal arts background, and it really is all about creativity and how you express that. So early in my career I used that and doing logos and really traditional art, but later on it was downtown redevelopment. The way you look at a city, I mean, the way you the way you look at problems. I mean, being very creative. But I ended up in art because I was on the four year plan in school and I was, I started off in communications and it was difficult for me to graduate in four years at the very end with communications. So I made that switch. So there's not some great, I'm a great artist or anything like that. I do appreciate art, but I, I just think it's a general liberal, liberal arts background that has, god, I've been so instrumental in so many of the things that I've done. Wow. It's so incredible to hear people that have been successful, and I'm sure you've had this experience in your life too, and you've met a lot of successful people and you got to walk right into Brickyard and you already knew one of our limited partners in the Yes. In the, in the fund here. A lot of times the people that I know that have had success have the most interesting backgrounds from the very beginning. Yes. You know, people who have dropped out of high school or dropped out of college. Cam talked about how when he started bellhops, you know, I have Cam on the show, third largest moving company in the country. When he started that moving company, he started it because he couldn't get a job and it was 2008 in the recession and he was like a bank teller and he thought he was gonna go and be in finance and go run the world. Yes. So it's so fascinating to hear. All of these people that have done incredible things such as yourself that start out in these humble beginnings, you know, switching to a major because it, the communications was too hard, right? Like, that's awesome. Well, I think it is making the most of every opportunity and everywhere you are and every opportunity leads to another. So, so even if you think maybe this, this job or whatever I'm doing is not gonna work out. You don't know one, the people you're gonna meet, you know, opportunities, you're gonna be connected to. And I can look, I mean, I know those dots connected for me in my career because doors opened and doors closed. And sometimes the best things happen when a door close. That's exactly right. And so I think it is taking a long range view of like, this is a long journey and. It's just the next stage of every That's right. Yes. I, I always say like, so my favorite prayer is for God to open the doors that need to be open and slam, shut the doors that need to be closed. Yes. Yes. That's my favorite prayer to pray. Yes. And God has slammed some doors shut in my life, and for the longest time I, you know, didn't pray that, but it happened, right? Yes. And then when I started praying for it, it was like, oh, well this is a prayer answered, you know? Yes. And, like the closed doors in my life have been the, the biggest blessings. Yes. I don't know if that's been the case for you as well with Without a doubt. I mean, without a doubt. Things that I just knew this is the path I was supposed to be on. I think it's really helped me be more trusting in, I mean, there is an overall plan. Mm. And it may not be on our time, it may not be exactly the way that we think. But it does work out. I mean, I, I, when I ran for mayor in 2020 you know, I left the job. I loved, I knew in my heart it was time to leave that job. And I had been encouraged for years to run for office and I did it. And people ask at that point, like, if you don't win, what are you gonna do? And I said, I'm not gonna worry about that. Right. It will, it will work out. I mean, it, it will work out. And I look back four years later. A little over four years later, and it was one of the best blessings. Mm-hmm. Because I ended up in a place that I love making a difference, a tangible difference that I can see every day. Yeah. And so it's like, don't have any regrets. Give it your best and things that are supposed to work out they do. And things that don't. If you've given it, your all, just, just move on. Yeah. And I, I've talked about, so, so in my show. A lot of my story is I worked at one of the big insurance companies in town and I had like, the best job you could get right outta college is gonna be making really good money for someone who just graduated. And then that all came to a sudden end. Right. And I, I probably cried for about a week, you know, like, I thought that I was gonna graduate college making, you know, oh. To be, to be in my twenties again. I know. Yeah. And, and, and this was all of a sudden taken away. But then. Now I look, and that was why I got into real estate, was I, I never wanted to be escorted outta the building again by hr. Right. That's not a good feeling. Yes. You know, they, they knew where I was, but like they had all my stuff ripped outta my bag before I could even leave. And they took my badge at the door, you know, and I realized that that was never gonna happen to me again. And that's what started the entrepreneurial journey that I've been on for the last, I guess, three years now. And it's just been amazing. You know, I get to sit here on, on a Monday talking with you and so it's awesome. And can you imagine now if you were, you would be sitting here on a Monday in a real estate, I mean an insurance company probably in a cube with lots of other people in cubes. Yes. And I would be on a teams meeting right now. Yes, probably yes. Trying to just. S you know, keep my head about me'cause it's, and not in this cool location with all these people that you get to connect with and Yeah. And learn from. Yeah. So it's been such a blessing for that to happen. So I'm glad we got to hit on Yes. Like, past changing how cool that can be. So I would love to learn a little bit about the telecommunications industry.'cause I, I don't know that I've heard you talk about that much. I've listened to some of the podcasts you've been on. What did that career look like? What was it exciting? Was it boring? Did you enjoy it? Well, I mean, back then this is, this will age me tremendously. It was when wireless first started, so it was. It was very entrepreneurial. I mean, because it was in its infancy. I mean, phones were huge. They were expensive. I mean, I can't even imagine. I didn't imagine them what we do now on, on telephones. So it was, it was like a startup. Yeah. It was a very, and that company I was with kept growing by buying other companies. That became a Fortune 500 company. It was a great career path for me in that I did move a lot and I had to learn how to network very well. I had to learn how to go in and we would take over operations and how you, you know. How you change and how you identify the right people and put the right people on the bus and get the wrong people off the bus. Yeah, it was, yeah, it was an incredible, early in my career, it was a great foundation and I think about so many of the things that I learned and used because of those experiences. So I was, it was a very male oriented industry back then. Maybe it still is. So I was one of the few females and back then, in order to move up, you had to be able to move. And I was very fortunate in that my husband had had a career and was older and he said, if this is important to you, then I'll pick up and move. I don't think he knew we would move like six times. Be careful what you asked for. Right. So I was very fortunate in being able to do that and was one of a few females that did it. And then I. Like, I guess a lot of people in careers, corporate careers. I woke up 16 years later and thought, why am I doing this? Mm. It just wasn't, I wasn't passionate about anymore. Right. So it was a good opportunity to make a pivot. Yeah. And I, and I did that in 2003. Awesome. So how did you end up in telecom after graduating with a liberal arts degree? I started doing logos for companies and, and, and I was in Augusta, Georgia. I ended up in Augusta, Georgia. I was doing logos and I was working for a real estate company, but not any, I was doing relocation for a real estate company and I got very involved in the community. That's a pattern with me and everything. I was involved with the Chamber of Commerce and, you know, when I like to, when I'm involved, I like to just jump in and really try to understand. Where I am and how do you connect with the right people? And it was through just networking. Someone said, Hey, there's this new company that's starting. They're looking for someone to start help them with marketing. So that's, that's how I started. Then I ended up, I'm good in sales. I found out I was good in sales, so I built sales teams and then did operations and became vice president of it was Alltel Communications. Oh, I've heard Alltel. Yeah. Yeah, I remember. They got acquired by Verizon. Verizon, yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. So I, there's this, I have a theory and then there's also, it's backed by numbers. So almost every single job in this country that's actually desirable. It's filled by someone that is known by another person, not the applicant. Right? Yes. And so that's really cool to hear your story that. It came out of networking, right? Yes. I get people that'll come and ask me and they'll say, I lost my job. What? What should I do to go and get a new job? And I'm always talking about like, go to a networking event, right? Like Yes, get on LinkedIn and send people video messages. Yes. And ask for it, because you're not just going to, there was someone who's actually here visiting and she recently switching jobs. She's like, I just can't get anyone. You know, I sent out a hundred applications. I'm like, you need to be reaching out to the people who are the hiring managers. Right? You need to show up at the office with your resume in your hand. Yes. Yes.'cause the connections are what's gonna get you the job that you want. I think it's so easy to hide behind. You think you're doing activity because you say, I'm gonna send out all this stuff and look at all these things I've done. But it really is not the right activity. Right. It's activity. And I totally agree with you. Every job I've ever had is because. Of a connection, and it's because of some things I did differently maybe to make me stand out. And it was, it was all because of that. Right. And it's easy to make these uses, like when you're like, oh, but I've sent a hundred applications, right? Like I'm doing, I should be hired. Right? Like, and most people fail to realize that I, I believe the statistic is 80 or 85% of jobs get filled. Not by the most qualified applicant, but by someone who knew someone else. Yeah. I, I, I believe that. Yeah. I, that's been true within my history of hiring and looking for jobs. Yeah.'cause we all wanna do business and work with people who we know I can trust. Yes. Right? Yes. So, if you have someone who you know, I can trust already, even though they may not be the best fit for that job, they may have a arts degree, but they, you know, that they think. The way that you would want to think. Right. And, and they've shown themselves to you and how they act in tough situations. So I know a lot of people right now are in transitioning careers. Like what would your advice be to, to create connections to, to go and get that job that they are going after? I would do anything I could to get face to face with somebody. Mm-hmm. Whether it is, you know, I tell people, like coming out of UTCI have a lot of students come and talk to me and I say. It really is about trying to find the right culture, not the right job description. So if you can identify companies that have the right culture, companies can identify talent. I mean, I know that if I have someone talented and I may not have the exact position, I'll hire the person. Yeah. And try to make it you make a position, make it fit. Yeah. When I moved, when I moved back to Chattanooga. This was way before so much on social media. I mean, it was nonexistent really. And I did the same thing. I mean, I grew up here, but I had been gone for 20 something years and I first thought, well, let me get a headhunter and let them. Get out there and, and get me connected. And I sat down with someone across the table and I thought, do I want this person to represent me out in the community? And decided the best way for me to do it was to do my own. And I started just looking at what was going on in Chattanooga. Reading magazines, reading. I mean, you can now you can find tons of articles. Who are the companies doing the cool things that you would say, wow, I'd love to be part of that. Right. And I, I made a list of 20 folks. That were doing great things in Chattanooga and I just cold called and I just, I had my little spiel. You know, I'm Kim White. I I grew up in Chattanooga. I worked for a Fortune 500 company for 16 years. I've moved back because I wanna put down roots in the city, and I'm trying to figure out just how to get networked and what would be a great fit. Do you have 15 minutes? Mm-hmm. So I would say for people that are in a transition, your job. Is to get in front of people and just have a conversation. That's right. And they know other people. And you can always leave us saying, Hey, if you know of anybody that you connect me to, would you do that And then follow up. So I mean, that's what I did. And and I met great people along the way who are still friends and learn so much about the city. So I would say it's just, there's nothing like rolling up your sleeves and doing the work. And getting in front of people. Don't hide behind a resume. The four words that have made me the most money are, do you know anyone who, yeah. That's great. That's such a powerful Yes. Those are four very powerful words. Yes. When you use'em in that order. Yes. Because people wanna help. That's right. And, and if you come across in a genuine way and you're not trying to sell someone something, or you're not trying to just get value from them without giving them anything in return. Yes. You know, even if they don't have, like, so, you know, I have an investment fund I raise money for, for my career, for my fund. And when I meet with investors, I don't say, Hey do you wanna put$500,000 in the fund? It's, do you know anyone who may be interested in investing in something like this? Now that I've shown it to you? Oh, hey there. It's me again. I know you expected Morgan Freeman to come on and talk about the biggest company in the world. Well, I'm sorry, but you get the next best thing. This show is sponsored by the company that I co founded, Acadia Capital, and acadia is a hard money lending fund originating loans in Southeast Tennessee and Northern Georgia on residential one to four unit renovation properties. We are regulation D five Oh six C fund and are actively seeking accredited investors. We provide fantastic first position real estate back returns. If you're ready to get your tired and lazy capital to work with a minimum 8 percent return, go to Acadia loans. com backslash invest. Not only do we accept standard investments, but we can also accept self directed IRAs and other self directed retirement accounts to take advantage of tax advantage investing. Thank you so much for listening to Art of Connecting now back to the show. And they may not have liquid capital, they'll, they'll tell you what your, their situation is. It's like, oh, you know, I've got$250,000. This is a real situation I have right now. I have 250,000 tied up. As soon as it comes back, I'm putting in. Right. And by the way, I'm gonna sell probably two or three houses in, in Ootlewah as well. That will be another like million, million and a half will put in. Right. And so just by asking for the, do you know anyone who, a lot of times people will self-identify and say, well, you know what? Like, I like you, you know, I'm gonna hire you at my organization. Just like you said, I don't know where we're gonna put you. Yes. But come on board and we're gonna figure out a way. Because I like who you are. Yes. And that's so doable. It absolutely is. That's awesome. So I love that advice'cause I preach it all the time. Yes. That it's just get in front of somebody. Yes. And gosh, in Chattanooga and every city, there are so many networking events. There are chamber events, there's things you can volunteer for. Find a board that, something that, that you would, you would love to do anyway. Right. I mean, make those connections. Yeah. And those, those are some of the best connections because people see you work. That's right. Being on the board for the Real Estate Club is actually what led me to Brickyard here in the fund. So that is incredible. You know,'cause I was at a real estate club meeting and then there were two guys that came in that had a start up here and I worked for them for a short period and then ended up reconnecting with Gumption'cause I had already connected with them. And so all these connections, there's just this commonality and it's why I started the show is when I look back on my life, it's just a marvelous map of all the different connections that led me to where I am. That's fantastic. So I wanna talk about Mr. Corker. Yes. So Bob has impacted the city probably more. I mean, so much. I mean more than most people that Yes I've ever heard of. And also I got to meet Bob when he was a senator. I, we, I was a boy scout and we went on a scout trip to DC and this happened to be the time when the government was shut down. And so all we were going to go to the Smithsonian, we were gonna go to all these places, but it was all shut down. And so what wasn't shut down though was coffee or, or coffee and donuts with the senator. And so we went and we met with Bob and Lamar and in my little Boy Scout uniform, I got to ride the private senate, the Senate train. Yeah. Train. Yeah. Bob, Bob and Lamar walked us around the capitol and showed us them actively trying to figure out how to get the government up and running again and. What was gonna be a bad thing, right? Because we used to do what we wanted to, became such an awesome memory. And I have a picture of me shaking Bob's hand. Oh, that's awesome. On my bookshelf. And so I didn't realize that Bob had done so much in Chattanooga when I met him as ci I was a little kid. I barely knew about Chattanooga. Yes. And now, you know, I look at the Chattanoogan, I look at I saw an article the other day actually talking about, I, I guess I found it somehow. It was a. It talked about how when Bob ran for I guess the, for Senate, he divested everything, right? Yes. And then it had a list of all the buildings that he owned. I was like, yes. What? Holy, he had two 10 million, 10 million square feet of real estate. Wow. That's just insane. And they were the iconic buildings. Half of it was downtown, half of it was out. In the suburbs. Yeah. But they were the iconic buildings where all the who's who of Chattanooga had had spaces and lease space. So that was it was a great opportunity to meet the people in those buildings too. Yeah. So I would love to hear about the story of, first off, how you started working with Bob. We got a little preview of it, you know, you went down this list, you're in Chattanooga. How did you start with the Corker family? Yes. So, through that list. About the third person on the list I talked to said Hey, you know, you seem to love the city so much. You need to meet our mayor, Bob Corker. And I put that in my, yeah, yeah, sure. I'd love at some point to meet the mayor. Well, Haydynn, after the third person on that list of 20 said, you know, you really seem to have such passion about our city. You really shouldn't meet our mayor. So I didn't know, bob Corker. A lot of people think in my career I came back to work to work for Bob Corker. I would've, but I didn't know Bob Corker. Mm-hmm. So I cold called on him when he was mayor. I called City Hall over the Christmas holidays when it's normally very slow, and got his assistant and did my little s spill. And you know, Bob is a great connector too. I mean, and he's so interested in people. So I think it maybe, I don't know, I, maybe he was bored. I don't know. Maybe it intrigued him that I had moved back to Chattanooga after working with a Fortune 500 company. But I got him on the phone and he gave me 15 minutes on his calendar and end up, I talked to him for probably an hour. Hmm. And over the course. I mean, he said at that time, you know, I, I'm, you know, we love to get people back in the city and while being on the lookout. And so I made sure that whenever he had an event, I was at that event. Hmm. And went by and introduced myself. So I end up talking to Bob for about six months. Hmm. I always thought I was talking to him about something at the city, and maybe I was, maybe he was just trying to figure it out too. And I got a call, he had his real estate in a blind trust at that time and I didn't know he even had real estate. Hmm. And so I got a call for, from the person that was man, an attorney that was managing the Blind Trust and said that mayor Corker asked me to call and see if you would come in and talk with us. So I found out one, he had a very large real estate company and yeah, so I ended up going to work for him without a title. What I'll say was pretty intimidating. I had come from this company that was like quarter to quarter earnings. It was high pressure. Everyone I talked to said that, you know, Corker was like very demanding and. I thought, God, you know, real estate's not my background and I would hate to come in and disappoint someone that the mayor. So it was like, why don't we just, let's just try it, like without a title come to work and let's, let's see about, let learn the business about leasing. But the great thing about real estate, as you know, Haydynn, it's all about connecting. It's all about the people you know. And so. I mean, over the course of my career, I mean, I became better and better at networking and I was really interested in Chattanooga and I was really interested in the people that I was meeting. And I became really good at learning about real estate negotiating leases involved in the community. And after about six months working there he made me president and CEO of Wow, this company. And it was. One so rewarding to be a part of Chattanooga in a bigger way because of all the real estate, the wonderful people in the buildings that I met. And then I had such a sense of pride representing him. Hmm. And working with him Now he was mayor. He had lots of stuff going on. But I mean, I saw him picking up trash off the street. I saw him talk about the care and concern he had for the city. It really. It really, I think, changed the way, I mean, I love Chattanooga already, but it gave me a whole new respect about how one person could make a difference and how he had made a difference. And really, the thing that attracted us back to Chattanooga was because he was mayor and we were, my husband and I were looking for cities. I mean, I didn't have a job. We could move anywhere. Was he was mayor. There were cranes everywhere. The 21st century waterfront was being built. It was just. There was an energy and it starts at the top. Yeah. I mean, he was, he tremendous. Tremendous. And Bob brought the aquarium in. Right? That was, that was a big claim to fame for. He was involved in so many things, and that was like way before he was mayor. So the, the aquarium was already here when he was mayor. Okay. But but I mean, he redeveloped the riverfront, right? He, he redeveloped the riverfront. Yeah. So at one time there was the aquarium. But the riverfront was way disconnected from the river and so it still needed the park, the green space, all of that. He did this tremendous development that he announced I guess his first. Year in office and it was completed in three years. Wow. I mean, it was a tremendous, tremendous, I mean, we're now 20 something years later looking to redevelop that riverfront. Right. So it was, it was made a tremendous impact. And that was a real launch point of Chattanooga, from what I understand, was once the riverfront started to become more palatable, that was what really drew people back to the city. Yes.'cause before then it was a, you know, I, Ken de Ford's a good friend of mine and he's talking about how. You come in Chattanooga and six o'clock, nobody would be downtown. Yes. Yes. That'cause why would you be downtown after six o'clock? Well, and the, and the riverfront had green spaces. It had the river walk. Mean that was when the river work walk first started. Mm-hmm. And you could imagine, God, 20 something years ago that. Putting money, taxpayer money and developing a Riverwalk. It was very forward thinking back then. Mm-hmm. So, you know, you walk a city, you start thinking about it differently. Yeah. He also, I think, was instrumental talking about our natural assets and how, you know, we had more boulders and rock climbing than Boulder, Colorado. I mean, really talking about the things that make Chattanooga so unique and. Of course now you think about what we do with tourism and the people that move here because of rock climbing and all the paddle boarding and everything else that we have. So yeah. Over a billion dollars a year in tourism in Chattanooga. Yes. Yes. Incredible. So he's a visionary. Tons of integrity. I think real estate developers make great mayors too. Mm-hmm. Because that's what the city is. It's a big piece of real estate. Yeah. And how do you move it effectively so it benefits the most people. And has the most opportunity, helps the tax base. So I think, you know, we had, we had two very good mayors with Kinsey Ann Corker with real estate development backgrounds. It's, it's pretty wild to be, so I've been in Chattanooga for five years now. I moved here for UTC and you mentioned the Kinsey name of hanging out with Adam tomorrow. Yes. You know, and. It's so amazing to look and see how accessible the people who have built our city are. Yes. You know, I've, I've met Bob at several events going forward from there. I met him at the UTC Entrepreneurship dinner. I've met Mr. Rollins. You know, all these really, really cool people that you hear their name, you see'em on the buildings, but they're all just people. Yes. Right. And that's why I realized the further along I go. Is I, I get to see Adam and his wife, and his wife is so involved in the community as well, and I told him, I was like, yeah, my mentor's coming into town. We're looking at developing and purchasing real estate. He is like, oh, well I'll hop in the car with you guys and let's go ride around. I'll show you my neighborhoods. And so it's so cool, you know? Yes. To to see how welcoming people are in this city still today. Yes. Of people that want to come in and make it better. I think that's one of the things that makes Chattanooga so special, as someone that lived in a lot of different places. Is Chattanooga is very connected in a good way. Mm-hmm. That it is very welcoming to people that wanna roll up their sleeves and get involved. It's not one of those cities that says, oh, you're not from here. Yeah. I think we are a very welcoming city from people from all over. Yeah. And we're just getting better and better because of that. Back in the day though, I hear it wasn't that way. So 20 years ago, re rewind the clock, right? You're working in the, the corporate administration and working in that real estate sector. Back in that day, people would ask, what school did you go to? Yeah. Right? Yes. And did you go to Baylor or GPS? Yes. Is what they're asking. Right. For those that are listening to the show that don't understand what that means is Chattanooga is a highly and in the past has been a highly high school dominated society, so it sounds super weird to someone who hasn't been here. It is private schools, some of the best private schools, and we have a lot of wealth on the mountains. So I think we had a lot of highly concentrated wealth. But I will say when I moved back 20 something years ago, I went to public school. I wasn't connected. My family wasn't connected. We, I've never been a member of a country club. And it's still, you're still able to get in? I'm still able to get in. Yeah. Yeah. That's incredible.'cause a lot of people like to make excuses of like, oh, I can't go talk with those people because they're from here or they have this last name. Yes. Or they're a member of this club and I'm not. I think if I could boil it down to anything, is you just gotta remember everybody's just a person. Yes. You're exactly right. And you gotta figure out how to get past the gatekeeper. But once you get past the gatekeeper, we're all just people. Right? Yeah. You're exactly right. Yeah. Yes. So what was that experience like inside the real estate? Like, so you, you became the, the president, CEO of this large, you know, 10 million square feet of real estate. What was the day to day like? What, what did you do with, especially having no real estate background, like. What did you come in with, your perspective and what was the day-to-day? So that really, I mean, Bob bought a lot of existing buildings, office buildings, so my day-to-day was more working with tenants, renegotiating leases looking for opportunities. But again, it was a weird time because he was mayor. So there wasn't a lot of that. It really was filling up the buildings. Mm-hmm. Making sure that. Tenants were happy. And and you did that by one. You get involved in the community and find out who's doing what and who's looking for space. Yeah. Who's growing? Yes. Yeah. Yes, yes. Well, amazing. So we'll shift out of the real estate gear. I wanna talk about the development side of, of, you know, being at River City Company. So for those, again, that don't know this, this is kind of a Chattanooga focused episode.'cause Kim is, is, is. Very entrenched in the Chattanooga community. But we have this development city development private entity that's funded by taxpayers, right? Nope. Or funded by Hotel Tax? Nope. No. Nope. So I'm going, I'm gonna show you something so I'm gonna get educated today. Yes. So, river City Company is a private nonprofit and it was put in in the late eighties when there was absolutely nothing downtown. And, it was River City Company had some funds, a private individual gave us a lot of funds to purchase property to keep it safe, keeping right, to make sure that we developed Chattanooga the right way. So early on we were more like a land bank. So just about anything that you can think of downtown that's iconic, including the land, the aquarium was on, the land that the lookouts are on. River City at one time owned it. Hmm. And we worked, and, and you think about back in the eighties, it was hard to get people to invest in downtown Chattanooga. But we worked with the public private sector. We worked with the city and the county, so they didn't fund us, but our role was to work with all the different entities to try to come together to develop downtown in the right way. Hmm. So a lot of time and energy was spent on, city planning? Community planning, I mean really, I would say Chattanooga was ahead of its time with having these huge community events for people to come together and reimagine what could the city look like. Mm-hmm. And I think we've kept that community engagement because people came to these meetings, they talked about their dreams. They actually get to see some of those in reality. And we've kept that public, private. Partnership design focus for, since it since the eighties. So, river City, we developed a lot of property. We worked with others to develop property. They are funded mainly by the properties they still own, which is not a lot, but they still own some properties. And they work as a, I guess, more nimble arm of the city and the county. Right. So when I came on board, Bob sold his real estate. Company, you alluded to that when he ran for the Senate and so the management part with it, so I stayed there for about, about another year. But, but working for Bob Corker was different because the real estate meant something to him. It wasn't just transactional. Right. And then sometimes when you sell a next owner may not feel that same way. So it wasn't the same kind of culture. Mm-hmm. I was on the board of River City Company. And was approached about putting my name in for the president and CEO role and loved it. Got to use my art creative background by looking at cities. And I love cities, but you look about, you look at cities in a different way. And we worked with the city in the county to say, what are the gaps? Mm-hmm. What, what needs to be filled? And back then it was housing. It was like, how do we really rebuild the city core? How do we get people living downtown? And so during my tenure we were, we did a lot with redevelopment of hotel spaces, like the McClellan building. Mm-hmm. Was one, I lived downtown, so I, I believed it. I love it. Yeah. And and work on Miller Park. Some just core downtown issues. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And so what, what were some of the things that you did to bring housing back to Chattanooga downtown? Like what did that process look like and,'cause I, I think about. And we, we alluded to this several times, that real estate's all connections. Right? But how did you actually, in reality, convince people to come and live in the area that most people thought was unsafe? I think it was we had a lot of activity. The, and we're lucky in Chattanooga, the core business community stayed downtown. I mean, I think it's a topography and everything else, but, so there was always activity. There just wasn't opportunity for living very, very few. But we had some empty office buildings and we worked to get some tax incentives. And then we went out recruiting developers and telling the story about Chattanooga, just proactively about a great place to live, work, and play. So it was inch by inch, block by block, and. Yeah. What would you say your biggest win while you were at River City was? I would say, I would say there's two. One I'm really proud of the climbing gym downtown. That was a piece of property that River City owned. It was very forward thinking. It was very organic. It started with a. With a conversation with Dawson Wheeler at Rock Creek. I've been trying to recruit, recruit Rock Creek for years to his space. And he introduced me to someone that was thinking about doing something with, with rock climbing. They were really into rock climbing and, you know, most of these climbing gyms are way out in the suburbs, and this was a way for us to really, to put an exclamation mark. About who we were as a city and do something really cool on the outside of the building. So it's, it's an incredible space. What I'm really proud of. Yeah. And then the, my last hurrah at River City Company was getting past something called a business improvement district. That where, where property owners have to vote to tax themselves for additional services that the city couldn't provide. Ken's told me about this. Yes. Yeah. So it was, it became very political, very controversial. The property owners after a while Got it because we could see the city wasn't providing all the services that were needed and everybody wants a clean, safe city. Right. And so even after the property owners voted that yes, they wanted to tax themselves for these additional services. Then the politicians got involved and it became a political football. So it was a very challenging thing to get through. But we have the downtown Alliance. Mm-hmm. And they do a fantastic job. And the core of our city really looks fantastic. It's clean. Yeah, it's safe. It's, it just makes me very, it makes me so proud when I see the work that they're doing. It's so interesting to see that Chattanooga really has that. It really almost has an entrepreneur spirit. You think about EPB, right? It's a, it's a public entity run like a company. Yes. And they invest in marketing and they invest in their infrastructure and they reinvest and they have a CEO. And then the downtown Alliance you know, Ken, Ken talked with me about this.'cause he was a big champion of that too. Yes. I believe from what he's told me. Was he had to convince all these other people and, and with, with you guys as well to, to tax themselves. Yes. Shoot. You know? Yeah. As a, as a real estate owner myself, I just got that reappraisal. I'm like, I know. Yeah. Oh man. Yeah. I don't wanna pay more taxes. Right. But a lot of cities are, they have a lackluster infrastructure and it shows. And who's gonna pick up the slack? Right? Right. Like, are you gonna sweep in front of your, your business? A lot of businesses, they don't wanna do it. Like I, I pay my taxes for this. Right. So it's really fascinating to see how in our city, when we have a problem that is annoying us or that doesn't make sense, we don't necessarily just wait until government comes and steps in and finally does the thing. After years of making the, the wheel squeaky, we, we, we just make the noise about ourselves. Yes. And we go and find a solution. Yes. I would say almost any major project, successful project in Chattanooga has been led by the private sector. Sometimes you just say to city government, just, just don't get in the way. Yeah. I mean, they are a great partner at times, but it has been led by really the private sector, city government can't do everything that, I mean, you think about the art in the city, you think about again the Riverwalk and. The things that make our city special. There is a great public private partnership history and when I was at River City Company, there was hardly a month that went by that a city from somewhere else in the country didn't come visit us to find out how we did it. And it is very entrepreneurial. It is people working together for the greater good putting together those silos. So I hope that stays with us for. Decades to come. Yeah, me too. People joke around. I might be the mayor one day, so we'll see. I like that. Yes. You remember these stories. Yeah, absolutely. So I we have, we have just a few minutes left and so I want to ask about the time at UTCs. We've kind of gotten to have this amazing journey through. How connections have led you, you know, kind of to where you are today. And I, I wanna talk about UTC because if you wanna hear about Kim's May Royal race, you can go listen to the my Daily Cup episode that that Oh, Mike Costa did. Yeah. That Mike Costa did. You talked a lot about that. So yes, I wanna talk about UTC because it's something that's near to my heart as well. Yes. I'm an alumni. You're an alumni. How did you end up in that? In that position in the, in the university world. So I UTC changed my life. I'm the first one in my immediate family to go to college, and when I came to UTCI was so shy. I, I left there with so much more confidence and I learned so much about leadership and I credit it with so much. When I moved back 20 years ago I said, you know, one of the first things I wanna do is get back, re-involved in UTC. Hmm. So I started volunteering. I, I'm a serial volunteer for this university. I've done every volunteer job you could possibly do from being president of the alumni association to serving on the foundation board and chairing the foundation board. And then governor Haslam tasked me to be on the UT board of Trustees. So I've done, I've done it all. After the mayor's race, the next day I got a call about this role as vice chancellor. The next day, the next day I'm like, oh my God, no, I'm exhausted. No, I have no, and it was about five or six months. I guess the role they had still, they had been interviewing and several people I called during that time to say, you'd be absolutely perfect in this job.'cause everybody knows how much you love this university. And I mean, that has been a really true part of my story. And it was about September after the mayor's race in April that I got a call. I said, we're getting ready to close the job opening. So just think about it, if you. Want to apply, it's now's the time. And I, at that time, had enough energy and I thought there's nothing more true to who I am than UTC, I mean, UTC and Chattanooga mean the most to me. And how blessed would it be to be able to make a difference in both those capacities. And so I did, I went through the interview process and. I've loved it. I've been there a little over almost four years and I had the opportunity to come in and rebuild their fundraising organization. I am over the foundation and I get to see every single day the impact that dollars make to our students. And so many of our students, they're working students. So many are first generation students. I mean, I just, it's been a very rewarding, I said, this is my last hurrah. Who knows what my last hurrah would be, but, but if it is my last hurrah, it's been great to be able to come again full circle and give back to a university that changes lives Yeah. And changes families for generations to come. So it's a great place. And UTC is attracting so many students like you that came from outside of Chattanooga when I was. There we were a commuter school. Now it's not, I mean, 67% of the students come from outside of Hamilton County. So we are a great recruiter of talent. Yeah. Now, how many times did we, I mean, how many times can you like think about something that really strikes me in the story you said, sorry, I'm trying to like collect my thoughts. I've been talking all day is the day after, right? The next day you had all those people that were saying, well, what are you gonna do if it doesn't work? Right. Well, you're giving all this up, right? Like you're, you're taking this huge risk, right? And, and what if you don't win? And the way I see that is even though you didn't win, you still won. Yes. Right? Yes. Because now maybe, maybe even being at UTC was like more fulfilling potentially than being the mayor would've been. Yes. Right? Yes. So I think it's just a testament to when you. Are doing things that are challenging, people will take notice. Right. It wasn't coincidence they called you the day after. Yes. They were noticing what was going on. They were waiting, they were ready to call you. If it didn't work for you and if it worked, they were gonna celebrate with you. Yes. Right? Yes. So I just think that's an incredible testament to if you put in the work, if you show people you're capable, even if you fail, you're still gonna win. Absolutely. And the way you handle failure. You know, when I went into the race, I said, I just wanna make sure that, one, I make my family proud. I make the people that are supporting me proud and that I run a race with high integrity no negativity, and couldn't hold my head high. And I had no regrets about it. Yeah. Wow. Well, we've come to our time, so I'll ask our final question. I ask every guest. And that is, what is a connection to a person or group of people that you think changed your trajectory of your life or career? Well, I would say it was my, it was, it was UTC. It was my, my connection, my group of people was the K Omega sorority. Hmm. That really taught me about leadership. It started giving me confidence. I, I left UTCA totally different person after being involved with. A group of folks that I knew had my back and I felt supported. And so I think it set me off on a, a great trajectory. Wow. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show today, Kim. If people want to connect somehow, what's the best way to do that? I know you're a busy lady. No. So if, if people heard like what they heard, they wanna get involved, what's the best way to do that? Yeah, easy. Easy. So it's kim-White@utc.edu. Awesome. Alright, well thank you for coming on the show today. Guys. Thank you so much for listening to The Art Connecting Without You. This show is me just talking into a microphone to nobody. So if you got value out of this, please share this episode with a friend or two. And also something that helped me out a ton is if you leave a five star review, if you're on Apple Podcast, down at the bottom, if you're on Spotify, it's up there at the top. Thanks for listening to The Art of Connecting. I'll see you on the next episode.