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How to Work with Family When You're Not Family | S1 E12
The senior staff joins the Alessis at the table to reveal how they handle the special responsibilities of working within a strong family business culture.
How do you manage working as an employee in a family business...especially when the leader's kids become your co-workers?
In this episode, Steve Alessi and his son, Chris Alessi sit down with two members of the senior staff of the ministry, Armando Gomez and Jonathan Roman. Together they break down how to navigate working within a family business culture , and how their attitude toward the leader and their responsibilities creates a lasting impression on the next generation.
Armando Gomez currently serves as campus pastor at the Dadeland location of Metro Life Church, and has served in several roles in the ministry for over two decades. Jon Roman serves as the technical director for Metro Life Church and has served alongside the Alessis for over 18 years.
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KEY MOMENTS OF THIS PODCAST
0:00 Intro to Episode 12
4:21 Working as a Staff with Family
6:20 Working with The Boss's Kids
12:14 Speaking Into the Next Gen
18:08 The Role of Correction
27:44 Building Trust and Foundations
40:12 Favortism vs. Preference
43:18 Closing Thoughts
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Steve Alessi: 0:09
All right, we want to welcome you to another episode of the family business podcast with the Alessis. And I'm pretty excited here because we have a full table. And we're talking about things we cannot talk about on Sunday, because nobody would believe what you're going to hear today, if we said it on Sunday. And so listen, we just want to make sure you're being encouraged by our family business podcasts. And you heard Chris on the intro. And if it is encouraging to you, maybe it'll encourage others. So go ahead and get the word out there and subscribe. And let's have fun with this. But here at the family business, we talk about things about business and family because let's face it, family's everybody's business so today's episode is brought to you by Ricola. Just before we go on Armando decides to stick a Ric cola lozenger in his mouth,
Armando Gomez: 1:12
But nobody knows. It's right here
on that side?
Right here.
Ah, couldn't tell
I'll try ... I'll try not to do this.
That is great.
Jon Roman: 1:19
That's gonna be fun to edit.
Well, we have some senior gen guys around the table, and you can tell that Armando and I are definitely senior because we're more silver lined than the other guys, especially Jon here, who only has a little pepper.
It's in my beard. I got it in the beard here.
Great beard, Jon.
Yeah, usually Jon is behind the glass over there. But we have Ashley doing it. So if anything messes up on this audio, it's Ashley's fault. And AP is right behind her AP for Allen Paul. And then behind the cameras today is who, Chris?
Chris Alessi: 2:04
My boy, Caleb Perez.
Caleb!
...he's with us. Alright, so we're gonna have fun today because I want this episode to focus on since it's family, I wanted to focus on the guys that work with our family. So there's some things here that we got to talk about. So myself Armando, Jon, Chris, we're around the table. Let me... the focus is going to be on how to work with the family when you're not family. So our family's in leadership, you guys are in leadership. You've been incredibly loyal and faithful to Mary and myself since we started the church. And every since you came along with us, incredibly loyal to us, couldn't ask for better people. Matter of fact, some of my friends who minister come, they're just so impressed that you guys are still here. I don't know what that says about me and my dysfunction.
I was just talking to Jon about that.
How do we do this?
That we're still here!
On next week's episode Armando and I...
... are behind the glass.
And there's a compliment to be paid to all of us because we stay in this thing together. But you have had to also work with us as our kids have started to grow up and they mature and are on staff with us. And some of your kids are on staff with us, Armando and your kids in future, Jon, could be on staff with us as well. So it's a definitely a Senior Gen and a Next Gen. So all three of us on this side are the senior gen and Chris is the next gen. So let's just kind of put it out there, all right? How do you guys... how do you manage... what are you saying behind our back? And what are you saying in the back room? How are you processing making way for this next generation who happens to be the... you know, boss's kids, and you're making way for them? You know, let's just jump right into this. So take it away senior Armando.
Well, we're not blood family. So... but I would say that we it's family to us, your kids are our kids to us. Which is interesting as well as an interesting dynamic in that sense, because here we are with the love that maybe a father would have for children and we're more connected with some than others. Like, Pastor Chris was in the youth group and we had a really beautiful, and still have a beautiful relationship. And you know, with the girls is a little different, but they still feel like our kids. So as they come up, and they grow up, all in their 20s, I think... I think if anything in the back room, it's... when needed, we talk about grace. Because first of all, we were all in our 20s. We... I was in my 20s outside of church. So even though different processing for that. But I think that, if anything, it would be that. They're not laden with mistakes or issues or... you have incredible kids. Um, but you know, with the management things, and the church things and things that go into the family business, and the church...First, they're family. We treat them just like we treat, at least I speak for me, I think I speak for Jon, just like the relationship we treat with you and pastor Mary. It's not going anywhere. It's not changing. We love each other. So that's like the bedrock.
And then from there, we take it one step at a time, learning curves, just like you would with any... anyone else. So I think that that's what it is. Grace when needed, but, but mostly, you're just loving the loving to see the transition, and the growth, like you would with your own kids.
Unknown: 5:59
Now, Armando, you've been here a little longer than I have, you've been here from the beginning. So you've seen them since they were even younger. But for me, I've been here since 2001. So at the time, Chris, you were probably seven.
Eight or nine...
Eight years old. Gabby was on Pastor Mary's hip. So we truly have seen them grow up
Gosh.
And I think part of what has helped us is Pastor Steve and Mary have always given us the open door into their world.
So you treated us like family. So we treated reciprocally, you like family.
And your kids, you know, we have stories on each of them. Chris was a goldfish thief when he was in children's ministry.
Still is a goldfish thief, I don't mind admitting it.
But we've seen the growth over the years step by step. Yeah. And having a relationship with you has allowed us to have a relationship with them. That's first we know we are in their lives, because you've allowed us into yours. Yeah, that's first. Second is you have never protected them from us. We've always had an open door. If we saw something, you'd always tell us. Make sure you call it out. Because you're not always there. Yeah. And it's not an A, in a bad way. But if we saw something, Hey, Chris, this... that. Steph... So that's the second thing, you've always given us that open door. And the third thing I feel is, on our end, we've always had to put... put out the fire in our mind that we know that one day they will be our boss and be okay with that. And I remind myself, it's okay that I am work....I am going to work for someone who I saw in diapers. And that's okay.
Why? Because if we want something generational, if we want to be a part of something bigger than us...
Then I want to see them succeed so that they can pour into my kids what you've poured into me.
Can I...sorry, can I go into that word, boss? Because I think that that's an important. We all know what that means, and it's cute. But there could be ministries that have or businesses that have a real boss-like feel.
We don't feel that here. We know you're the boss, quote, unquote, I don't think that's ever crossed my mind, in that sense. We'd have to actually say it like we are now to actually see that. So the... we've all been able to put on a lot of different hats over the years. And we can be personal.
We can be coworkers. We can be mentor mentee. He can be like, hey, Armando, I want to talk to you about something. And, and I think that the most interesting thing about Metro Life Church because I have not grown up in another one. This is... this is my church, is we're all really good at putting on different hats, depending on what environment we're in. So that has been really special as well. And you set that culture. You haven't set a boss culture. You have expectations and you want things done, but you haven't set that boss culture. And that's made it a lot easier. I think.
You know, Chris, you're sitting around the table. And you represent not only Steph Lauren and Gaby, but you you represent Marcus, Allen Paul's son, Marcus Paul, who is precious, man, having him around, he went to school. And while he was in school, he worked part time for us. And now he's pretty much full time and helping out with Gianni in the finance office. So that next gen is right there. You know, we're the senior Gen you guys are the next gen. I mean, listen to what these guys are saying. How does that...How does that make you feel, first off? Well, it was besides the fact that your dad's a great boss.
Well, it was it was it was really awesome to hear Jon say that you never protected us from them. Because I'm literally sitting here thinking, I know what I'm going to say when it's my turn that you never protected us from them. And when you really break that down just psychologically... If the people who, the parents, the bosses have poured into the most, if the parents put a dividing line between their kids and those people, you've actually just watered down all of your teaching. Because you've said the people that have been the most important.. and I've watered...like I've poured into the most still aren't good enough to speak to you like a person.
Steve Alessi: 10:23
Chris Alessi: 10:23
So it actually starts to break down the very foundations of everything you teach. So I mean, if they're supposed to be the, I guess you could say the represent... the best representation of your business? Well, then if you draw a line in the sand between family and business, well, now the whole family draws that line in the sand too. And everything starts to crack. So I remember being 20 years old, laid out before these men and a couple others. At my worst, I remember, there was never a moment in my mind, because of the way we did things where if I was called on the carpet, by one of our senior staff, doesn't matter how it was said, or what it was said, I never felt like I could go home and get them in trouble for that.
Because... and you've raised us this way... If there was a fire, which one of you did it? Well, so if, if I did have to get told off by Jon or if I did need to be put in my place by somebody, it was always a "Okay. Well, what in the heck did you do to get that?" And maybe, I don't even know, maybe in y'alls backroom you guys handled that separately. But I never saw that. All I knew was to not do that again.
And now I look at - and I know I'm next - But there's a lot of guys, seven, eight years younger than me coming on staff right now. And I feel like because I started so late, it's crazy to hear you say you work for Papa for 13, because September makes 10 years for me.
So I feel like even I am coming into it like, well, I can't let these guys... I can't protect these guys from... from, you know, Pastor Armando. And from Jonathan and from Dez. And Maury. I can't protect them, either. You've got to be at their full mercy, because it's what made me who I am.
Yeah, Chris, do you realize at your 13th year, you're going to be 33. That's that year of crucifixion. So be careful.
Armando Gomez: 12:13
No pressure.
You know, we we have an just on our end, you know, because there's backrooms in our family, too, when something happens between a senior staff and our next generation staff, and the family, they'll come home, wow, I had to get talked to today. And I didn't appreciate the way they talked to me or they were a little hard to me, they were a little rude to me, or there, there was those conversations going on in our living rooms, in our back rooms, about staff members who would have to correct them. And so whenever our kids would come home at that point... now, I've heard of some parents who really think their kids are perfect. And they hold their kids up there like, their kids are perfect. So if, if a teacher had to talk to him, it was bad teacher, I'm gonna go talk to that principal, because that teacher is not going to talk to him. If it's in business, and a senior staff talk to their kids in a certain way, they would then go and put... reprimand that senior staff for talking to their kids that way. That was never going to be the case in our home. Because for one, you know, actions speak a whole lot louder than words. And the actions of you guys, and the other senior staff Desiree, Maury, your wife Jackie, even Ana over the years, the senior staff, Allen Paul over the years, has always been honor, loyalty, love, good character. So if our kid ever came home, because one of you had to correct them, they'll tell you. We didn't go to their defense. We had to say, all right, man, listen, we know so and so's character, we also know so and so's personality. Hey, as long as it's not a character issue, don't you worry about it. If it's a personality issue, I mean, if it's a character issue, we'll deal with it. But if it's a personality issue, you better get accustomed to dealing with different personalities in the office, because these are people that love us. These are people that go to battle for us every day. They serve the calling that's on our life. And these people, if they're going to go to battle for us, they're going to battle for you. So you better figure out how to get it right with them. We always put it back on them. Figure out how to deal with the different temperaments and personalities because loyalty and relationship is going to lead how we will ultimately work with each other.
Well, I'm just thinking, that's the better business decision. Because there's going to be a day where the parents aren't in the office that often. Couple of years ago, you and mom were five days a week in the office, and then you kind of let everybody know, we're gonna get a lot of our work done from this area, this area. If I as your son was walking into the, into an environment where people felt like they could not correct me, because only you could, how would I ever know if I was actually doing something wrong?
And people may think, oh, there's a confidence in that. But there's actually no confidence, when you are thinking, if I'm doing something wrong, no one will tell me. I won't know.
There's a confidence that comes about if no one's correcting me, it's because I'm doing something right.
But you've created an environment where if I walk in, and I'm wearing something I shouldn't, I'm speaking in a way that I shouldn't, somebody will speak to that. So there's this confidence that comes on your kids, on the days where you're not in the office all that much, where they walk in and go, you know what? If I'm not being corrected, it's actually because I'm doing something right. So you set your child up to fail, if you can't allow the pillars of your organization to speak into your kids.
Jon Roman: 16:15
And outside of the Alessis, there aren't many people who want to see this thing succeed more than than the senior staff. We've poured a lot of seed into this to not see it continue. I want to see this thing work.
Yeah, no, Jon, that's a good point. I think you
Right. deserve that. I think it anybody who has sowed into something...it's like the people that when we left, Grace Church, my parents church all those years back, and we came back in the picture 15 years later. I couldn't just go in and change everything. I couldn't change the look of the building. I couldn't change....You know....too much that was was taking place. I, some people, you know, they just on that alone, somebody told me, you know, you just need to shut the church doors for six months. And let all the people that were there, just find another church. And then you come in with your spirit. That's how you're going to create culture. I'm like, Are you kidding me? I can't rob the people that were faithful all those years. They should appreciate the journey of the new and the growth and everything else. And it's the same thing, what you're saying. You guys, as much as we deserve the opportunity to watch this thing succeed, because it's what you've given pretty much your whole career, your whole adult life. And Armando has been with us from day one other than a couple of jobs here and there that he picked up. But then full time, even when he was working full time outside, he was still serving as one of our pastors or youth leaders or worship leader. You... You gave.... you and Jackie. I mean, Jackie's father...
Is a pastor in town.
...is a pastor in town. You guys walked away from that. And you came over and came to work for us, which I felt was an incredible honor, you know that y'all would do that. So you deserve it.
Pastor, I wanted to rewind to that whole correction. Because if there's a... if there's a crisis right now, I would say is a correction crisis.
Explain that.
Okay, so to set everybody free, nobody really likes it. But the Bible says we're supposed to love it.
Ahem...excuse me. So we have always opened our lives up. You have, too, and I know you have to pastor, your whole life was open to correction. And what's not happening...because there's so many people watching this. What's not happening right now is people going to bat for the teacher, for the police officer, or the authority, for the pastor for the...there are some out there situations, but for the most part, those people want the best for their kids. But now it's this defensiveness which anybody contend to. Our flesh wants to do that, defend. I do that a lot. But, but the truth is 24 hours, 48 hours, a few hours. Yeah, that comes down. And then it's like, wait, that person loves me. That person wants the best for me. Why are they telling me that? Let me love correction, like the Bible says, and that is the spirit that I think has brought so much success to Metro Life Church.
Probably your whole congregation or most of it is okay with sharpening and correction. Definitely those that are close to you. We know what correction is. We've all been through it. And we've all stuck around to to get some more. So I think that that's the crisis in the world right now, not to make this a really big subject or anything. But embrace correction. Let's...if we can all just embrace correction - Not necessarily like it, but we can love it because it's good for us - then things would be so much better. And that's how we're going to get generational and that's how we're going to get legacy because everyone keeps that spirit and nobody gets offended. Nobody gets rebellious. It's just, okay. Correct me. Help me.
Yeah. Do you remember that time though, when Chris was younger, and he referred to it earlier, where it was it was a wobble. He was young man who was what we called really at that point, he was age appropriate behavior, something he got involved in. And I wanted to make sure he knew that this was unacceptable. But there was just certain things in our line of work. We just, we can't do. Bottom line. You maybe get by with it in other lines of work. But for us that have to lead in this way we just couldn't. So tell us about it Jon, you remember that day?
You pull us all into an office. And you have Pastor Chris now, but he was just Chris, back then.
20, 21, something like that?
No. Was this? I thought it was a younger one. Not 13, 14? Yes, yeah.
Oh, we're doing that one.
So there were two.
I made two mistakes.
At 13. In sunset place, there used to be a restaurant, it was Dan Marino's restaurant. So for his 13th birthday, in honor of number 13. You bring all the big, big guns around a dinner table. And you had us all talk to him about what, what it meant to move forward as a man, as a young man.
Stuff I didn't have to apply until the last two months.
There goes our rating, Allen. It's PG-13 now.
No, what about when he What about you referring to
the same look when I was 19 2021? Yeah, I remember that day. Clearly, gosh, because that was, you know, they talked about in the Bible in the Bible all the time. Like they they sat down and they built an altar to what God did there. That's an altar moment from Yeah, or somebody in the office. Yeah. Every time I walk by, okay.
In the office, there's harnes. So and feel free to give input. guys looked as uncomfortable as Chris did that day.
As did you, by the way.
Oh, gosh.
Well, we're in a room. And you know, usually when we get called into a room, it's because we did somethinig. You know, there's that stress level on us. We're like, oh, man, what did we do now?
Chris has to watch it now? My gosh.
So you, very wisely, had Chris explain to us his sin, his shortcoming. And then he had to hear it from all of us on why that was unacceptable. And it's, and that's what we go back to, you gave us that opportunity. And it didn't take anything away in our minds of who he was. It propped him up even higher, because if he can be a man, and if he can be man enough to state his sin before other men, which is biblical, then this is a young man we can trust moving forward.
Yep. And I'm trying to stay away from the sin word just to not make you feel uncomfortable.
I was.... I was 100% a virgin when I got married, I feel great.
I can I can. So when you jacked it all up.
Well, okay. But I think about this, though. If only my dad was allowed to say those things to me that day, then that makes all of that truth, a him truth. Which means if I'm uncomfortable with the truth, then I just got to get away from him. No, but when he didn't say it, and all of you said it, but man, it sounded a lot like him. That now said, Okay, this isn't a dad issue. This is a life issue. This is a man issue. And I really, I really hope people see that you... you actually remove all of the weight of your words, if you're the only one that can say them. They have weight when everyone else shares them. So that was..
Two or three.
That was a mountaintop moment for me where I realized Okay, I don't I don't live my life. We talk about backrooms. I don't live my life in backrooms.
I live it in front of people. And so that was the little squabble never grew any worse than that.
And it was, it was 100% Because of that day.
You just said it was a mountaintop moment. And let's go back, you were in the pit of the pit in that room. The interesting thing is the amount of lessons that were in that and I can't name them all, but I can name a few. Exposure. God always sees. Think about the lessons in that room. Your peers and your brothers are there for adversity. You were... it was adversity, adversity, but it's all good. Yep. You...you being humble. You were very humble. Here's what I did. Here's what I didn't want to do. Blah, blah, blah. And, and then, the way we... you just said this, the way we looked at you was not changed. It was age appropriate. It was things that any guy would go through, anybody would go through and we're able to see you when you're probably looking at us going... What are these guys thinking? We're just saying, Wow, you just opened up his life.
to us for correction, which, which, by the way now transfers through generation because when my boys, I have four boys - when my boys have an issue. I mean, there might not be office moments, but either he's going to know, you're going to know or he's going to know... Jon, Jon corrects my boys all the time.
It's a lot of fun.
So I'm waiting for Isaiah to just... but think about how that now continues. We're pastor Chris now is pastoring my boys.
Yes, sir.
And has those conversations that I never not never have. I have them as dad. But now they're hearing it from Pastor. And then they're hearing it sometimes from Pastor. And oh my gosh, that is like, talk about a community to help help you raise your kids, the family business...
...brings in all kinds of support. Yeah, it's an entire church that's helping you raise your family or stay connected or stay married. So I think it just goes in that direction.
And I think, guys, if we can try to really show the importance of something here pinpoint it really does show the if I needed someone, need for exclusivity, I'm sorry, inclusion, not exclusion. Raising our kids, even though we are the pastors, the boss, raising them in the environment of you guys and your wives. And having y'all come alongside of us was was very helpful. So that they would be the better version of themselves. We didn't try to cover anything, we've never tried to cover stuff. I feel bad for the parent that feels like they gotta cover when their kid does things that kids are going to do. It's just what it is. Now, we're not talking about major immorality here. We're ot talking about a major reakdown. But we're talking bout stuff that's pretty age ppropriate. But you got to each them a lesson early on. If ou hide it, you teach them a esson to hide this stuff. But e've always said when the ights put on something, when he light comes on the ockroaches run, right? We...w know, put the light on it, i keeps the ugly, dirty, nasty sickening stuff out. So we were able to use that. But over the ears, then what that lesson woul teach for all of us was, if y u needed to speak into his life speak into his life. And if h needed to, yep
I knew who to go to.
Outside of dad, outside of mom.
Well, sometimes in the family business, guess what you have to process, Mom and Dad.
And you need help processing mom and dad. And they think that their safety that they can handle that. I know that if the worst of me, even though that was the worst that got that day, they can handle that, well, they can handle this. And Dad, all I can keep thinking throughout this podcast is the only constant in my life, the only constant in my life, are Metro Life Church, and the senior staff.
Chris, you just said something that's extremely powerful and talk about what could happen in other businesses or ministries when the children of the boss don't have somebody they can count on, and trust that we're gonna have your back.
But we're gonna say it way different than you're gonna say it...him with his personality me with mine, or whoever else, the ladies with your sisters. But there were times that he had to process Pastor Steve and dad. And everybody has to do that. Because your parents
Yeah. are your parents, but now he's your boss. And now he's... and talk about being able to stay...like how, how important was that to be able to just stick around with your calling in those crisis moments where we just had to sit down with my youngest. And.... and in that model, which you guys kind of know a little bit. But in that model I brought Alexis and sorry, Addison, the two older brothers and Aiden... Alexis was not there. The things that they said, after I was addressing him about some things, the things that they said, floored me, like my heart was melting with pride. The way they were saying how important Dad is...he's not your friend right now. He's your dad. All these things that I've said to him, or you've said it to them right now they're saying it to their younger brother and again, not major issues just sure agee appropriately. Because we don't want to I'm not throwing anybody out there without neither are we?
Welcome to my life, Eric.
Gosh. It just is a beautiful cycle.
You know, I remember a time, Pastor, and this goes back to you allowing us to speak into them. It works to their benefit as well. I remember a time Chris did something and Pastor you just set him straight you laid into him. And it was something he wasn't even responsible for. But you wanted him to fix it. And it was like, and he looked at me. And he's like, he was just floored, like, What? Why me, what's going on? And I said, Chris, Pastor Steve is looking at you because he trusts you. And he didn't understand that he thought he was just getting it because he was a son. And it was like no password trust you. So that's why he's treating you this way. And it changed the way he saw you. Because I understood that.
In an instant.
I remember that conversation. It was on the front row. So I'm the campus pastor, but I got nothing to do with the lights in the building, nothing. And there was something that you didn't like about the lights. And so you came to me and you were like, and you... you, I would have thought that I took 80% of the church people and told them, they're all stupid. You were so angry about it. And it was all on me. And I just happened to say it jokingly, to Jon kind of like tongue in cheek, but he couldtell that it wasn't...
Wait, you complained about me to Jon?
He could tell
He processed with me.
He could tell that it wasn't all tongue in cheek, that there was a little bit of hurt there that I was like, Okay, that was funny. Please tell me that was funny, right? And he was able to say, Well, you know, I remember having to shift it in my mind that wait. Yeah, maybe that doesn't come under my realm of responsibility. But he's coming to me because he trusts me to get it right.
And I remember saying, Oh, my gosh, john, he did do that with you for all of these years. And man, you got to be able to pass that baton on. So I get it. And that, that moment, it wasn't because what he said was so profound. It was because the relationship is so profound.
Because of all of the smaller years, smaller moments where he's spoken into me. And you know, it was insane because just recently, like, Jon and Jackie are the people who, if someone needs them, they are there.
Oh, my gosh, yes.
They rarely ever have needs.
And I'll tell you right now, my entire life, if I needed something I knew Jon and Jackie were there , and to the same degree Pastor Armando and Ana, but just like a little bit, that was Jon and Jackie. Well, there was a day where, where they were just...they needed lunch. And I remember telling Richelle, let's go be Jon and Jackie, for Jon and Jackie. Let's go do it. And that's not the way that I think.
And it was just amazing, because it was like talk about legacy. But at a different level. Yeah, just continued. And I just want to go back to the only constants in my life, I've had so many friends, and for different reasons, they've come and they've gone. The only constant in my life have been my parents and and your business. Yeah, your friends, your staff members, the business that you've started. That is the only thing that's lasted. So when I wake up, and I look at the pillars, the foundation of my life, I'm married, now my house has changed, all these things are changing. But what remains the same are these people.
And it just it gives me solid ground to build my life on.
I'll tell you when I was young, I came back from college. I wasn't working for my dad right away. And I had to work construction, which was a crazy deal because I had an education and... for ministry, and then my dad thinks well, you got to be like Jesus now. Go swing a hammer, and I hated it. But I did it for like two years. And then when I started working, I remember complaining about all the employees to my dad. Because I was there full time every day and Dad was not. He was not a office guy at all. So I would see different things. And I'd go to my dad, dad, this guy, this.... this, that this guy that. And it was just so unwise of me as a young man, because I put pressure on my dad to do things and he was having to take my word for it. It was...and it was a flawed understanding because I was only in my 20s at that time, coming out of school thinking I knew everything and not recognizing the wisdom and their experience of these guys that were in the office and the weight each of them were carrying. So I made it about the stupid things that they were late to meetings or they were late getting in the office or they were going out to lunch too much. And I would come home and complain and, and my dad was put under such ridiculous pressure because of me. And I remember it was... even for our dynamics here in the office, that it's natural for a young, younger generational, next gen family member in the business, family business, in the ministry to come up and want to pinpoint things about different members of the team. Because they're, they're young, just like I was, it's just kind of natural. They want to bring up stuff about this one or that one. And every time, not that it happened all the time. But every time that would happen, we'd always go back and say, Hey, wait a minute, wait, wait, wait a minute. For one thing, you're too young to make a judgment call. Two, you got to know the gifting and the talents of each and every one of these staff members. And three, you got to know that they are committed to us more than anything, or else they wouldn't be here. I say that because just as much as the leader in the business, wants to protect his family, if the family is wrong, so they'll cover up things, they have to be even more protective of the staff that has demonstrated to the family over the years loyalty, commitment, and integrity. Because the younger minds of the next generation don't... don't see the big picture. And the dad, that is... the mom that's running this, you know, enterprise, they're taking such a higher level of perspective, they have to fly over all of this. So they know who brings what to the table, who brings that to the table, who's strong here, who's strong there. And it's a great understanding for the next generation to know that, Wait a minute. Everyone on that team that's with us, if they're for us, they have a role to play. So honor that. Don't get picky over what this one's not doing, that one's not doing or this one is doing, or the way that one is saying it, or the way that one is handling the situation. Know the uniqueness and the balance that each of the team brings to the table. And that's kind of what we're saying here today. The only reason he's able to have, and Steph, and Lauren and Gaby and Marcus, your own kids Armando making a way, your kids future making a way? The only way they're going to be able to have the opportunity to really succeed is if we all show them how important the honor is for everybody on the team. And we said something and I'll bring this thing for closing here. We throw this out, it's my favorite, to whom much is given much is required. You know, we.... we lead by example, not by parking space. But we always said about our kids, especially when they were younger. Our kids are asked to do something no one else's kids are asked to do. For one, right now we see with Jon, Jon and Jackie are here full time. Their kids are here full time. They're here earlier, because their workday starts earlier, especially when he's dropping them off at school down the street, they would be in the office earlier than anybody else would be in the office. their kids are asked to stay later than other kids are asked and yours went through the same thing back in the days, right mando. But we said this, alright, because they're asked to do more. Just because they're here. And in our offices and so on, because they're asked to do more. They deserve a little more liberty than the average kid. So as much as we didn't want them in the office, if they were in our offices, because when they're kids it's not the best place for him to be because they're disrupting the flow of things, like kids will do - age appropriate, we still have a little more grace for that. And we tried to go ...even bring kids with us, if we go on certain events, try to bring the kids if we could. We always wanted to make way for our kids to be a part of it. Because we know that the family unit, just the staff isn't going to be as happy if the family is not happy. I need my kids alongside of me to be happy, Mary and I need to make sure they're respectful. And if we need that, so do you guys, so does every staff member. That's one of the reasons why if our kids, if we have a position that's open for something, if our kids are there to help fill that spot, we're going to hire them. We're going to put them in that place of leadership. They deserve that opportunity. And may the Lord just bless their lives because of it and their destiny would play out. So we do try to make way for our kids and we all chip in along the way to make sure our kids are on the straight and narrow and doing what they need to do, but you can't...you can't raise healthy family business without others alongside us.
And in the Bible, if your last....if you are Levite, you're a priest.
So if you're in Alessi, guess what? It's okay that you're gonna get preferential treatment, if you're Roman or a Gomez., and that's okay. Because they're pouring into this ministry.
But people don't see it.
Please make sure you say they get... a Gomez and Romans get preferential treatment as well or else people just say, oh, only the Alessis
If your last name's Roman, if your last name's Gomez.
Good. Or Paul.
Or Paul
or Martinez
It's not favoritism. It's preferential. I think it's a good word. Pastor, we've all been in the team...When I was on the team where my dad coached. I had to, I got harder than the other people. But I also got different I love yous than everybody else. So I think that's the preferential treatment, like you get it harder. But you also get a different intimacy, with... with your parents or the boss's families.
Most families don't want to trade with us, they don't realize what it takes to be us. And for that there is a benefit. And yes, there's nothing wrong with that.
I remember a couple of years ago, Addison, Armando's second son, who's now on staff and is really doing a great job. By the way, he now when we share wins on a Monday morning? Two out of every three is his win is Jonathan correcting him. And he's thankful that Jonathan corrected him. So just to tie all this up, literally, it's it's proven even outside of this room. But I remember when he wasn't on staff, he was younger, you needed him to run an errand to, we're all having this staff meeting. And I watch him as he walks into the front door, and he puts his head down to like, not distract from the meeting. He walks into the offices, he does his thing. And as he's coming back, I'm thinking, you know, if I was 18, if my dad was leading a staff meeting, and I walked in, the whole staff would stop and acknowledge me.Not to get in the flow, not to distract, but they would never make me feel like I was getting in the way of business. And so when he came back out, I said, Hey Addison, one quick... good to see you. And I just wanted to make sure that in...that we keep that the team's kids who are part of the team too, who are going to be the first ones to clean your campus when they get there, if you need help, they're the first ones there, yep, we're always gonna acknowledge them and honor them. And we will never set a culture that "wow, you're getting in the way of what we're doing." it's like, no. that's good. And I just remember that day. And look...now. I mean, he's on staff, and he's really doing a good job.
They are. And we're blessed to have that. So guys, I want to thank you both. And all of our team that's really our family and friends that make up our staff here at our church. And, Chris, I want to thank you, you're doing good, being able to let them speak into your life and not get small and sensitive. And we've got something good here. So now, we just got to keep it going.
Keep it going.
So we hope we were encouraging to you today at the family business with the Alessis and the Romans and the Gomez's and we hope you had a great time. We sure did. Take care.
Thanks for listening to the Family Business podcast with the Alessis. We appreciate you listening and learning with us as we just shared more about the family business. You know, I bet there's someone you know who can use this kind of advice and encouragement. So make sure to share this episode with them and their family. Because let's face it, family is everyone's business. If you want to be a part of our family, subscribe to the show right now on your favorite app and make sure to download the episodes so you can hear them at any time. Oh, and one more thing. One of the best ways to help us spread the word about the family business with the Alessis is by reviewing the show on Apple Podcasts or your favorite app. So help us out. write a review and join us next time at the Family Business Podcast with the Alessis.
Why We Chose Homeschooling (and Why You Should Consider It) | S2 E4
Meet the In-Laws! Marrying into Ministry w/ Richelle Alessi and Chris Muina | S1 E14
Family Intervention: How to Help Your Kids Find Their Way | S1 E11
Fight Right! How to Resolve Conflicts in Your Family and Business | S1E10
How Successful Parents Set the Right Family Priorities | S1 EP2
Building the Foundations of a Strong Family | S1 EP1
Business Episodes
BONUS: How to Manage a Big Family + Big Business with Tim Schmoyer, CEO of Video Creators
Sharing the Mic: How We Communicate Truth in Our Family Business | S2 E10
Here are some great episodes to start with...or just check out some of the topics we discuss in our categories!
Just like your family, The Alessi family had to make decisions about education - and they chose to switch to homeschooling. Here …
Episode page
Meet the In-Laws! Marrying into Ministry w/ Richelle Alessi and Chris…
The in-laws meet at the Family Business table to share how they are adjusting to married life, all while becoming part a generati…
Steve Alessi and his daughter Lauren have a heart - to - heart conversation about embracing different personalities in your famil…
Fight Right! How to Resolve Conflicts in Your Family and Business | S…
The Alessis tackle the not-so-minor conflicts in their family business and reveal how they stay strong - not split apart - when t…
In Episode 2, Steve and Mary open up about how they lived out our faith and set their priorities in order, so that their children…
Steve and Mary Alessi reveal the unlikely foundations of their family business, and show how you too can build a strong foundatio…
Let's face it... Family is everybody's business. Steve and Mary Alessi, who lead a multi-cultural church alongside their 4 grown-up children, are pulling back the covers on how their family keeps it all together. The Family Business with The Alessis gives you real-life tips, principles, strategies and advice on marriage, parenting, work and more - everything you need to build a thriving family and business!
© 2022 The Family Business with The Alessis


Rings at the Craft Centre and Design Gallery, Leeds. 6 April - 27 July. Wyckoff Smith Jewellery.
Crouch End Open Studios. 11-12 May. Jo Angell. More details to follow.
West Dean Arts & Crafts Festival, West Dean, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 0QZ - 31 May - 2 June. Romor Designs.
Potfest in the Pens, Penrith, Cumbria - 2-4 August 2019 Isabella Lepri Ceramics.
Muswell Hill Creatives was the inspiration behind design writer Barbara Chandler's article about collectives popping up around London as a form of local activism. We are featured as a 'small but dynamic' collective.
Ham & High Broadway - 23.11.17. Winter Market.
Our Spring Market Market featured in 19th May 2016 issue of Ham & High.
April 2016: Les Jones from new magazine Where&When (whereandwhenmagazine.com) came to Muswell Hill to hear all about our collective. Where&When is a one-man magazine, published by designer and photographer Les Jones. The content for the magazine is completely driven by invitations from the general public.
8 May 2015. Ham & High. Muswell Hill Creatives Open House second open house on Hillfield Park.
14 November 2014: Muswell Hill Creatives held its first Open House on Hillfield Park, Muswell Hill.
18 October 2018. A homeware range designed by Jo Angell was launched by Art UK - the online home for art from UK collections. Read the blog here.
7th March 2018. We invited Evening Standard Homes & Property design writer Barbara Chandler to meet the group and had a really informative session on press & the design & craft world.
Autumn 2016: A collaboration between Rob Jones of Romor Designs and Isabella Lepri Ceramics all started at the Fringe Pop Up Shop in June when Rob and Isabella had their work on display together. Rachael, MHC's founder, could see an instant synergy between their products and suggested that a ceramic lamp base would work beautifully with one of Rob's Shibori lampshades. After time away on distant shores over the Summer, Isabella returned in September and set to work with Rob to create a range of lamp bases which complement, or indeed appealingly contradict, with the patterns and styles Rob creates using traditional Shibori techniques. The lamps come in a range of sizes and prices start from £300. We hope you love them as much as we do.
The lighting collaboration was launched at MADE London and showcased soon after at the Colour Saturation Pop Up at Craft Central in Autumn 2016.
14th April 2016: Muswell Hill Creatives hosted a floristry workshop for beginners led by The Kitchen Table Florist at Nati's Café on Priory Road. A delightful evening immersed in Spring flowers produced some fantastic results with the participants taking the hand-tied bouquets home they made to show off!
8 March 2015: The Creatives came together to celebrate the collective as a dynamic group of women who are passionate about craftsmanship for International Woman's Day.


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State Route 73 (SR 73) is a  state highway in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. It connects Glennville with the South Carolina state line, via Claxton, Statesboro, Dover, and Sylvania. Except for a brief portion in the Sylvania area, it is completely concurrent with U.S. Route 301 (US 301). Its southern terminus is at US 25/US 301/SR 23/SR 57 and SR 144 in Glennville. Its northern terminus is at the South Carolina state line, east of Millhaven, where US 301 enters that state.

Route description

Tattnall County
SR 73 begins concurrent with US 25/US 301 (Veterans Boulevard) at an intersection with SR 144 (Barnard Street) in Glennville, within the southeastern part of Tattnall County. This intersection is the northern end of the concurrency of US 25/US 301 with SR 23/SR 57. Here, US 25, US 301, and SR 73 travel to the north-northeast, through  a mostly commercial area. Just before an intersection with the eastern terminus of Cloverdale Road, they begin a curve to the north-northwest. They leave the city limits of Glennville and curve back to the north-northeast. They cross over Beards Creek just before passing Smith State Prison. They intersect the southern terminus of Hugh Driggers Road and the western terminus of Bird Ford Lake Road, the latter of which leads to the Smith State Prison Training Center. The concurrency meets what was the southern terminus of former SR 250 just before traveling through Gooseneck. The three highways pass Groover Pond and then enter the south-central part of Evans County.

Evans County
US 25, US 301, and SR 73 cross over Grice Creek and then enter the community of Deans Crossing. There, they intersect the eastern terminus of Bay Branch Church Road and the western terminus of Green Cypress Church Road, the latter of which leads to Evans County Landfill. Just past this community, they pass Evans County Fire Rescue Station No. 5. After they pass Dyess Pond, they cross over Bull Creek. The three highways curve back to the north-northwest and pass Richards Pond. Then, they curve to a nearly due north direction. They pass Claxton Elementary School just before entering Claxton, where it is known as South Duval Street and is also known as Norman W. Fries Memorial Highway. In downtown, they cross over some railroad tracks of Georgia Central Railway and then intersect US 280/SR 30/SR 129 (Main Street, also known as Albert Parker Highway). Here, the concurrency becomes known as North Duval Street. Just south of an intersection with the eastern terminus of MLK Jr. Drive and the western terminus of East Long Street, they begin a curve to the northeast. At the northern end of this curve, they leave the city limits of Claxton. They pass Smith Transitional Center, the Women's Probation Detention Center, and the Evans County Maintenance Facility, before intersecting the northern terminus of an entrance road to the Claxton Poultry Farms. They pass Rocks River Park just before crossing over the Canoochee River on the Earnest W. Strickland Memorial Bridge. After passing the Claxton–Evans County Airport, US 25, US 301, and SR 73 curve to the north-northwest. Just after curving back to the north-northeast, they pass Lewis Pond and cross over Rocky Branch. After passing Beasley Pond and crossing over Thick Creek, the highways curve to the north. They intersect the northern terminus of SR 169 and the southern terminus of Caddie Green Road. They pass Oliffs Pond. After curving back to the north-northeast, they enter Bulloch County.

Bulloch County
US 25, US 301, and SR 73 immediately curve back to the north-northwest and cross over Scott Creek. After curving back to the north-northeast, they pass Nevils Pond. They curve back to the north-northwest and have an interchange with Interstate 16 (I-16; Jim Gillis Highway). The concurrency becomes known as Jones Lane Memorial Highway. The three highways curve back to the north-northeast and then intersect SR 46. After curving to the northeast, they cross over Lotts Creek and then begin paralleling some railroad tracks of Norfolk Southern Railway (NS). They pass East Georgia State College's Statesboro campus, a Georgia State Patrol post, and Ogeechee Technical College just before entering Statesboro. Immediately after entering the city limits, they intersect SR 67 Byp., as well as the southern terminus of US 25 Byp., US 301 Byp., and SR 73 Byp. (Veterans Memorial Parkway). They intersect the eastern terminus of Rucker Lane and the western terminus of Old Register Road, the latter of which leads to Georgia Southern University (GSU). A short distance later, they meet the northern terminus of Parrish Drive, which also leads to GSU. Just before the intersection with the southern terminus of Azalea Drive, the three highways curve to the north-northeast. At this intersection, they begin paralleling the eastern edge of W. Jones Lane Memorial Park. They intersect the northern terminus of Southern Drive, which is the last access road for GSU. They cross over Beautiful Eagle Creek and then intersect Tillman Road. Here, they leave the memorial park and enter downtown Statesboro. They cross over Little Lotts Creek and then over the NS railroad line they were paralleling. Then, they intersect SR 67 (Fair Road), which joins the concurrency. The four highways intersect Grady Street, which leads to the city's police and fire departments. Just north of this intersection, they pass the Statesboro–Bulloch County Library. An intersection with the eastern terminus of Bulloch Street leads to the Statesboro–Bulloch County Recycling Center. An intersection with the eastern terminus of West Main Street and the western terminus of East Main Street leads to Averitt Arts Center. On the northeastern corner of this intersection is the Bulloch County Courthouse. Just south of an intersection with the eastern terminus of Elm Street, the concurrency curves to the north-northwest. They intersect US 80/SR 26 (Northside Drive). Here, US 25 and SR 67 depart the concurrency to the left. At an intersection with Parrish Street, US 301 and SR 73 turn right and travel to the east-northeast and make a very gradual curve to the northeast. Just before an intersection with the southern terminus of Mathews Road, they cross over the NS railroad line. They intersect the northern terminus of US 301 Byp./SR 73 Byp. (Veterans Memorial Parkway), which leads to Willingway Hospital. This intersection is immediately before the highways leave Statesboro. They cross over Mill Creek then curve to the north-northeast. They intersect the eastern terminus of Holland Industrial Park and the western terminus of Statesboro Airport Road, the latter of which leads to Statesboro–Bulloch County Airport. They travel through rural areas of the county and cross over the Ogeechee River and enter Screven County.

Screven County
US 301 and SR 73 become known as the H. Walstein Parker Memorial Highway. They intersect the southern terminus of Dover Road, which leads to Dover. They travel on a bridge over some railroad tracks of Norfolk Southern. In Cooperville, they intersect SR 17. Almost immediately after this intersection, they curve to the north. They begin paralleling Simmons Branch just before curving back to the north-northeast. Just north of an intersection with the eastern terminus of Jackson Branch Road, they leave Simmons Branch. They cross over the South Fork Ogeechee Creek and passes Lee Pond. The two highways travel through Goloid before crossing over Ogeechee Creek. Almost immediately after entering Sylvania, they intersect the southern terminus of Waters Station Road. Here, just one block to the west, is the southern terminus of Frontage Road West, a frontage road for US 301. Just north of Waters Station Road, they begin a curve to the north-northwest. Almost immediately, they intersect SR 21 (Sylvania Bypass), which joins the concurrency. Just past this intersection, SR 73 splits off of US 301 to the east-northeast. This intersection is the southern terminus of SR 73 Loop, which is US 301's companion state highway through most of the Sylvania area. SR 73 takes on the name of West Ogeechee Street. Immediately, SR 73 curves back to the north-northeast. Immediately, it intersects the southern terminus of Frontage Road East, another frontage road for US 301. It passes Bennett Lake and then curves to the east-northeast. It intersects SR 21 Bus. (Mims Road), which leads to Optim Medical Center – Screven. SR 21 Bus. begins a concurrency with SR 73. They intersect the northern terminus of Lewis Place and the southern terminus of South Community Drive, the latter of which leads to Screven County Library. They travel on a bridge over some railroad tracks of Ogeechee Railway. At an intersection with South Main Street, where the city hall of Sylvania is located, SR 21 Bus. splits off to the south-southeast. SR 73 turns left onto North Main Street and travels to the north-northwest. It then curves to the north and crosses over Buck Creek before an intersection with the southern terminus of Habersham Road and the western terminus of Torrington Road. It then meets the northern terminus of Frontage Road East before intersecting US 301 and the northern terminus of SR 73 Loop. Here, US 301 and SR 73 begin their second concurrency. They head to the north and curve to the north-northeast before they cross over Indian Branch. They curve back to the north. After bending back to the north-northwest, they begin a concurrency with SR 24. Immediately, they cross over Beaverdam Creek on the Jacksonboro Bridge. A short distance later, SR 24 splits off from the concurrency to the north-northwest. Then, they curve to the northeast and cross over Brier Creek. They cross over Beaverdam Creek again. They curve to the east-northeast and pass the Georgia Welcome Center. Then, they cross over the Savannah River on the Burton's Ferry Bridge, where US 301 enters South Carolina. At the state line, SR 73 ends.

National Highway System
The following portions of SR 73 are part of the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be the most important for the nation's economy, mobility, and defense:
From I-16, south-southeast of Register, to the northern end of the southern concurrency with US 301, southwest of Sylvania
The entire length of the northern concurrency with US 301, from the northern part of Sylvania to the South Carolina state line east of Millhaven

History
The roadway that would eventually become SR 73 was established between January 1, 1920 and September 23, 1921 as part of SR 26 southwest of Statesboro. SR 73 was established between November 1930 and January 1932 between US 280/SR 30 in Claxton north-northeast to SR 26 southwest of Statesboro. A northern segment was also established from SR 24 north of Sylvania northeast to the South Carolina state line. The next month, the paths of SR 26 and SR 46 west of Statesboro were swapped. Between November 1932 and May 1933, a central segment of SR 73 was established between US 80/SR 26 in Statesboro and SR 21 in Sylvania. There is no indication as to whether this segment connected to either of the previously-established ones. Between April and October 1934, SR 73 was extended south-southwest from Claxton to SR 23 in Glennville. Between September 1938 and July 1939, US 25 was designated on the path of SR 73 from Glennville to southwest of Statesboro and on SR 46 (and possibly SR 73) from this point to Statesboro.

Between November 1946 and February 1948, US 301  was designated on the entire length of each segment of SR 73 (and US 25), and on SR 46 and SR 24 between them. By April 1949, SR 24 was extended to the southeast, with a concurrency with US 301/SR 73 north-northeast of Sylvania. Between June 1963 and January 1966, the path of SR 46 southwest of Statesboro was shifted to the southeast. Its former path, on US 25, was indicated to be part of SR 73. In 1970, SR 73 Loop was designated on its proposed path, with US 301 shifted onto it. US 301's former path was redesignated as US 301 Business (US 301 Bus.).

Major intersections

Special routes

Glennville bypass

State Route 73 Bypass (SR 73 Byp.) was a bypass for SR 73 that partially existed in Glennville. Between the beginning of 1945 and the end of 1946, it was established from SR 144 in the eastern part of the city to US 25/SR 73 north of it. By February 1948, it was extended southwest, west, and west-northwest to US 25/US 301/SR 23 in the southern part of the city. By April 1949, it was truncated to its previous southern terminus. In 1953, the bypass was extended again, this time just slightly to SR 144 Loop. Between June 1963 and the end of 1965, it was truncated again to its original southern terminus. In 1985, the bypass was decommissioned.

Statesboro bypass

State Route 73 Bypass (SR 73 Byp.) is a  four-lane bypass of SR 73. It travels south-to-north in the southern and eastern parts of the city of Statesboro. It is completely concurrent with U.S. Route 301 Bypass (US 301 Byp.) for its entire length. US 301 Byp./SR 73 Byp., along with US 25 Byp. (and SR 67 Byp.), makes up the Veterans Memorial Parkway, which forms a near circle around the southern part of the city. The entire length of SR 73 Byp. is part of the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be the most important for the nation's economy, mobility, and defense. The Veterans Memorial Parkway was established in 1993.

Sylvania loop route

State Route 73 Loop (SR 73 Loop) is a  loop route of SR 73 that exists in the western part of Sylvania. It is completely concurrent with US 301. It is the only special route of SR 73 that is not concurrent with a special route of US 301.

The loop begins concurrent with US 301/SR 21 just southwest of the city limits of Sylvania. This intersection is the northern end of SR 73's southern concurrency with US 301. The three highways travel to the north-northwest, just west of the city. They have a frontage road on the western side of the roadway. A short distance later, a frontage road on the eastern side of the roadway joins it. They pass Screven County Elementary School, with the east frontage road having access to it. They curve to the north-northeast and intersect Rocky Ford Road, which leads to Screven County's agricultural center, public works department, landfill, and prison, as well as a Georgia State Patrol post, the sheriff's department, and Rocky Ford. They meet the western terminus of SR 21 Bus. (Mims Road). At this intersection, SR 21 splits off to the northwest. US 301 and SR 73 Loop then cross over some railroad tracks of Norfolk Southern Railway. They curve to the east-northeast and have an intersection with the northern terminus of Singleton Avenue and the southern terminus of Buttermilk Road. They begin a curve back to the north-northeast and have an intersection with Habersham Road. The eastern frontage road ends before they intersect SR 73 (North Main Street). Here, SR 73 Loop ends, and SR 73 begins its northern concurrency with US 301.

The entire length of SR 73 Loop is part of the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be the most important for the nation's economy, mobility, and defense.

A central segment of SR 73 was built between US 80/SR 26 in Statesboro and SR 21 in Sylvania between November 1932 and May 1933. Between June 1963 and January 1966, a western bypass of the city, designated as SR 73 Loop, was proposed between two intersections with US 301/SR 73 (one south-southwest of the city and the other north-northwest of it). In 1970, it was established on this path, with US 301 being shifted onto it. US 301's former path through the city (on SR 73) was redesignated as US 301 Business (US 301 Bus.). In 1993, the path of SR 21 in Sylvania was shifted to the southwest, replacing the entire length of SR 829 and on a concurrency with US 301/SR 73 Loop. Its former path was redesignated as SR 21 Bus.

See also

References

External links

0073
Transportation in Tattnall County, Georgia
Transportation in Evans County, Georgia
Transportation in Bulloch County, Georgia
Transportation in Screven County, Georgia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Departamento de Engenharia Informática (DEISI) da ULHT, Lisboa, recruta doutorados em tempo integral nas àreas de Computer Science
Face ao aumento do número de alunos, o Departamento de Engenharia Informática (DEISI) da ULHT, Lisboa, pretende recrutar doutorados em tempo integral com perfis em áreas core de Computer Science (Informática, Telecomunicações, Redes, Processamento de Sinal, IA,....).
Para além das actividades lectivas (max 12h/sem), o(a)s candidato(a)s estarão associados à Unidade de I&D COPELABS, afecta ao DEISI, como membros integrados, onde terão a oportunidade de desenvolver actividades de investigação.
COPELABS é o único centro de investigação 100% privado (sem ligação a nenhuma instituição pública) na área de ICT (o painel de Electrical and Computer Engineering + o painel de Computer Science and Information Technologies da FCT) com financiamento estratégico da FCT . Na última avaliação da FCT em 2018 o COPELABS teve a classificação de BOM. As condições financeiras comparáveis às da função pública.
Os potenciais candidatos devem enviar um Curriculum Vitae. para: p3564@ulusofona.pt
Decentralized Machine Learning Control of Drone Swarms | OCRE
The project is developing advanced methods and algorithms for decentralized Machine Learning Control (MLC) for Networked Cyber-Physical Systems, and complex, spatially distributed and networked autonomous multi-agent dynamical systems. The methodological solutions cross the traditional boundaries between (deep) machine learning, control systems (reinforcement learning), and decentralization of functions.
This project is developed by Researcher Miloš Stanković, at Univerzitet Singidunum (in collaboration with Univesidade Lusófona).
More information, here.
COPELABS PRODUCTION OF INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS IN 2022
In 2022 Copelabs members produced 50 publications in peer-reviewed international journals, out of which 25 are Q1 (Scimago quartile) journals and 21 are Q2 journals.
PhD thesis defence
We are happy to announce that on November 9, 2022, NEMPS' student Godwin Anuork Asaamoning successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled: "Wireless Networking for Autonomous Mobile Smart Camera Drones" in front of the jury composed of the following members:
- Prof. Doutor Marko Beko – Chairperson
- Profª. Doutora Ana Cristina Costa Aguiar (FEUP) – Raporteur
- Prof. Doutor Luis Filipe Lourenço Bernardo (FCT/NOVA) – Raporteur
- Prof. Doutor Paulo Jorge Milheiro Mendes – Supervisor
- Prof. Doutor João Carlos Roquete Fidalgo Canto – Member
- Prof. Doutor Lúcio Miguel Studer Ferreira – Member
- Prof. Doutor Slavisa Tomic – Member
EU Horizon 2020 grant awarded to COPELABS!
An OCRE (Open Clouds for Research Environments) EU Horizon 2020 grant (100,000 EUR) has been awarded to a COPELABS team for a project dealing with algorithmic solutions that enable a system of autonomous Micro-Aerial Vehicles (MAVs, drones), acting as an intelligent cooperative swarm, to safely perform complex tasks in unknown environments, such as prevention and assistance with natural disasters (e.g. floods, earthquakes, wildfires etc.), assistance with search and rescue operations, and infrastructure monitoring and maintenance, to name a few. The project requires specialized cloud computing resources to perform complex and computationally heavy processing as part of training of the algorithms for MAVs demanding simulators of real-life environments. The cloud services will be provided by Google Cloud (represented by Telecom Italia Sparkle) who won the mini competiton organized in May 2022. The project has started in July 2022.
Great news! 2 European project proposals have been accepted for funding.
Great news! 2 European project proposals have been accepted for funding. The titles and abstracts are given below. Congratulations to all!
- Title: CyberSecPro-Collaborative, Multi-modal and Agile Professional Cybersecurity Training Program for A Skilled Workforce In the European Digital Single Market and Industries
Abstract: EU Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have more than 128 cybersecurity academic programs (undergraduate and graduate) as identified by ENISA (CyberHEAD), JRC (ATLAS) and a variety of reports by the 4 pilot projects (Sparta, CyberSec4Europe, ECHO, CONCORDIA). These academic programs, with their static curricula, do not provide the dynamic capabilities and emerging skills needed in the market. The digital transformation imposes the HEIs to enhance their role in preparing the new generation workforce and to upskill the existing one in meeting the challenging and ever-growing cybersecurity challenges (e.g., massive AI attacks).
Seventeen (17) HEIs and thirteen (13) security companies from sixteen (16) Member States propose the agile CyberSecPro professional cybersecurity practical and hands-on training program that will complement, support and advance the existing academic programs by linking innovation, research, industry, academia and SME support. CyberSecPro aims to bridge the gap between degrees, working-life and marketable cybersecurity skill sets necessary in the digitalization efforts and become the best practice for all cybersecurity training programs.
- Title: REMARKABLE- Rural Environmental Monitoring via ultra wide-ARea networKs And distriButed federated Learning
Abstract: Internet of Things (IoT) technology combined with complementary support for data analytics is the corner stone of today's digital transformation. The societal and economic impact of IoT/ML systems in urban and suburban areas significantly outpaces the one in rural areas due to a limited reach of connectivity infrastructure. To reverse further widening of the urban-rural gap, we need to bring efficient and affordable IoT/ML solutions to deep rural areas, reaching out to applications and use cases ranging from wildlife management, rural tourism, livestock monitoring, water and air pollution control, and others. By identifying main gaps in connectivity and affordable data analytics and through interleaved research, development and validation in a real-world setting, REMARKABLE will address the challenge of bringing IoT and data analytics systems a step closer to seamless, energy efficient and secure deployment in
rural ares. The consortium composed of six European academic partners, five companies and five associated partners representing leading academic groups from Africa, will focus on research, development, innovation and demonstration across five use cases with six demonstration sites located in rural areas across the European and African continent. The inter-disciplinary nature of the programme provides a unique opportunity for investigation of smart sensing, IoT and data science technology from non-traditional, holistic perspectives leading to new scientific achievements and innovations. Project outputs like smart IoT sensors and devices, rural IoT digital twining platforms, ultra wide-area IoT networks, novel data analytics models and architectures will find their routes to the market via active industrial partners. The project will impact EU workforce market via new interdisciplinary skills for young contributors and form new long-lasting networks of European and African institutions in the area of sensing, IoT, big data analytics and rural entrepreneurship.
Lusófona wins DGS contest in the area of mental health
MentHA Digital - Mental Health and Ageing project, promoted by Lusófona university, won a public funding tender, within the scope of the National Program for Mental Health, of the General Directorate of Health (DGS). Proposed by two Lusófona researchers, Pedro Machado dos Santos (ICS) and Lúcio Studer Ferreira (COPELABS), this project aims to improve the well-being and quality of life of older adults with chronic mental illness and their formal and informal caregivers. A web platform will be developed with (i) a cognitive stimulation program to help delay cognitive losses in older adults with dementia, (ii) a neuropsychological assessment protocol to validate cognitive training, and (iii) a psychoeducational monitoring of their informal and formal caregivers. These programs can be carried out in mixed mode - face-to-face and remote. It will count on the involvement of Lusófona researchers and Computing Engineering and Information Technology Management students, as well as partners with whom the solutions will be built together: Association of Support to Depressive and Bipolar Patients, Association of Mental Health of the Algarve, Association for Integration and Support for the Young and Adult Mentally Disabled, Intervention and Active Rehabilitation Group, Portuguese Federation of Associations of Families of People with Experience of Mental Illness and Portuguese Red Cross.
CEEC INDIVIDUAL 2021
In the 2021 FCT Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus Copelabs has been awarded 1 Junior Researcher position.
Research database includes 2 DEISI/COPELABS professors among most influential in the world
Two DEISI/COPELABS professors have been ranked among the most influential researchers in the world according to a database created by Journal Plos Biology. The study carried out at Stanford University, in the USA, is published every year and assesses researchers in two different perspectives: one assessing scientists for career-long citation impact (Table-S6-career-2020) and another assessing scientists for single-year impact up until the end of 2020 (Table-S7-singleyr-2020).
The list of most influential researchers in 2020 includes Prof. Marko Beko and Prof. Slavisa Tomic. The database lists the 100,000 most influential scientists in the world, according to the composite citation index and other criteria. In addition, the list also includes scientists who are not in the top 100,000 according to the composite index but are nevertheless within the top 2% of scientists of their main subfield discipline.
According to the database, citation metrics are widely used, but not always correctly. For this reason, Plos Biology created a publicly available database that features the 100,000 leading scientists on the planet, considering standardized information on citations, h index, multi-author hm index, citations of articles in different authoring positions and a composite indicator. In this database, the separate data is shown for impact throughout the career and single year.
Also according to the document, "metrics are provided with and without self-citations and proportion of citations for cited articles. Scientists are classified into 22 scientific fields and 176 subfields. Field and subfield specific percentiles are also provided for all scientists who have published at least five articles. The data for career-long citation impact will be updated by the end of 2020 ".
Memorandum of Understanding between fortiss and ULHT
fortiss, the Bavarian not-for-profit research and transfer centre for software-intensive systems associated with the Technische Universität München in the form of an An-Institut, and COFAC, entity responsible for the University Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, hereinafter referred to as "ULHT", have agreed to collaborate within the technical umbrella of "Edge computing and networking", and specific topics being addressed within the fields of research and/or education: future wireless communications, including 5G/6G; Edge computing.
IEEE VTS UAV 2020 Innovation Challenge
The joint effort of University of Novi Sad and Copelabs (represented by Brena Lima and Marko Beko) on the IEEE VTS UAV 2020 innovation challenge (https://events.vtsociety.org/vtc2020-fall/authors/vts-innovation-challenge-for-students/) won the first prize, ahead of teams led by Georgia State and Virginia Tech University.
THE FOLLOWING 6 PROJECTS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED IN THE FCT CALL FOR PROJECT GRANTS (2021)
1. Desenho de Sistemas de Localização Segura, with INESC-TEC
2. Codificação de dados esparsos para abordagens de reconstrução, classificação e aprendizagem, with IT
3. Técnicas de Transmissão de muito Alta Velocidade para os Futuros Sistemas de Comunicação sem Fios na Banda dos Terahertz, with IT
4. Segurança de nível físico melhorada para UAV, with IT and INESC-TEC
5. Monitorização de Ambiente Marinhos com Veículos Aéreos e Marítimos Não-Tripulados, with INESC-ID and CCMAR
6. Reconhecimento e identificação de cavalos através de inteligência artifical, with FCiências.ID
In 2020 Copelabs integrated members produced 71 publications in peer-reviewed international journals and/or conference proceedings, out of which 21 are Q1 (Scimago quartile) journals and 13 are Q2 journals. In total, 89 publications in peer-reviewed international journals and/or conference proceedings, out of which 55 are journal articles (25 Q1 and 19 Q2), were produced.
The Following 6 projects have been submitted in the last FCT call for project grants
1. Building Secure Localization Infrastructure, with INESC-TEC
2. Sparse Signal Representations for Compressive Sensing and Machine Learning, with IT
3. Novel Ultra-high Speed Transmission Techniques for the Terahertz Band in Future Beyond-5G Networks, with IT
4. UAV enhanced physical layer security, with IT
5. Autonomous Multi-Vehicle Marine Environment Surveyor, with INESC-ID and CCMAR
6. Multiscale Self-Supervised Learning for Multimodal Medical Image Analysis , with ISR
In 2019 Copelabs members produced 82 publications in peer-reviewed international journals and/or conference proceedings, out of which 19 are Q1 (Scimago quartile) journals and 15 are Q2 journals.
The following 3 proposals have been selected for 1 year funding under the latest round of Copelabs Internal Call
1. Pedro Sá Costa, Architecture and communication systems for autonomous vehicles,
Recent traffic accidents involving autonomous vehicles cause great concern regarding safety and reliability in autonomous driving. These facts encourage research to improve the efficiency of the perception systems of these vehicles. Perception refers to the ability of an autonomous vehicle to collect information and extract relevant knowledge from the environment. In turn, cooperative perception is the sharing of local perception information with other vehicles or infrastructure through wireless communications. This cooperation impacts decision making and driving planning for increased reliability, safety, and reduced road congestion. In this proposal, we intend to elaborate a computational perception system for autonomous vehicles based on the cooperation capable of complementing the current systems to increase the confidence and safety for autonomous driving. This novel perception system will allow to detect moving and stationary objects to generate an obstacle map of a given geographical area. The combination of the local and remote information will give vehicles a more efficient perception system. This system cooperation will result from the data exchange between vehicles, and mobile edge computing infrastructure.
2.Milos Stankovic, Decentralized Cooperative Learning and Control for Networked Dynamical Systems
The subject of the proposal belongs to the emerging area of Intelligent Networked Cyber-Physical Systems (INCPS) dealing with complex, spatially distributed and networked heterogeneous multi-agent dynamical systems, representing one of the greatest challenges in modern science and technology. The impacts of INCPS will be ground-breaking, revolutionary and pervasive; this is evident today in emerging applications such as swarms of autonomous vehicles, smart buildings, cities and power grids, intelligent agriculture, transportation and manufacturing systems. Dimensionality, uncertainty, potential vulnerability, and information structure constraints, as fundamental characteristics of these systems, have led to the development of the decentralized decision making theory, providing scalability and robustness to structural uncertainties. However, high level of decentralization may increase vulnerability and decrease performance of the overall system. The general objective of the project is development of new methods, algorithms and practical tools for decentralized learning and intelligent control for resilient INCPS, based on applications of consensus techniques, robust statistics theory, game theory and reinforcement learning. More specifically the objectives are: 1) Development of decentralized and distributed estimation algorithms, for resilient cooperative learning in INCPS; and 2) Development of novel decentralized algorithms for cooperative multi-agent reinforcement learning control. Besides the short-term (1 year) expected results, the formulated objectives should also be considered in a long-term sense, having in mind the complexity, interdisciplinarity and generality of the approach.
3. Slavisa Tomic, Distributed Secure Localization
The fifth generation (5G) of networks is expected to provide significantly higher bandwidth and faster data rates with potential for interconnecting myriads of heterogeneous devices (sensors, agents, users, machines, and vehicles) into a single network (of nodes), under the notion of Internet of Things. The ability to accurately determine the physical location of each node (stationary or moving) will permit rapid development of new services and enhancement of the entire system. In many outdoor environments, this could be achieved by employing global navigation satellite system (GNSS) which offers worldwide service coverage with good accuracy. However, installing a GNSS receiver on each device in a network with thousands of nodes would be very expensive in addition to energy constraints. Besides, in indoor or obstructed environments (e.g., dense urban areas, forests, and canyons) the functionality of GNSS is limited to non-existing, and alternative methods have to be adopted. Many of the existing alternative solutions are centralized, meaning that there is a sink in the network that gathers all information and executes all required computations. This approach quickly becomes cumbersome as the number of nodes in the network grows, creating bottle-necks near the sink and high computational burden. Therefore, more effective approaches are needed. As such, this project aims at developing novel distributed solutions for target localization in large-scale networks, in which nodes have restricted energy resources. Besides guaranteeing good localization performance (both in terms of localization accuracy and computational complexity), the main goal of the project will be to provide secure solutions (localization in malicious environments, i.e., in the presence of one or more internal/external attackers whose objective is to impede our fundamental desire to achieving high accuracy). This malicious setting raises the bar even higher in terms of difficulty of the problem, but is of paramount importance in many practical applications.
CEEC individual
In the 2018 FCT Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus Copelabs has been awarded 1 Assistant Researcher position.
Visit of Dr. Manya Afonso to Copelabs
10.2019: Dr. Many Afonso, from Biometris group, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands, visited COPELABS on October 27th 2019, and interacted with the resident researchers and PhD students.
Last Updated: Monday, 22 March 2021 16:04
UMOBILE
IoT Lab
H2020 UMOBILE project: Universal, mobile-centric and opportunistic communications architecture.
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 645124
BEING: Inference of Human Behavior via Network Mining
The BEING project (2018-2020) is focused on contextualization derived from data captured via wireless networks, and which today any device overhears. BEING expects to contribute to the development of pervasive wireless solutions, as well as studies in mining in wireless networks, to assist in a better and non-intrusive inference of human behavior, from an individual and collective perspective.
The COPELABS IoT Lab
The IoT Lab is an experimental project of COPELABS dedicated to the exploration and analysis of networking architectures and communication protocols for multiple IoT environments, e.g., personal IoT and industrial IoT. A few aspects being worked upon concern protocolar transmission and unified abstraction models for edge computing, as well as the relevancy of novel communication models (e.g., ICN) for IoT.
Experimental Facilities
Wireless testbed
17 smartphones Android; 4 tablets: iPhones and Nokia phones; 6 OpenWRT access points (Ubiquiti Nanostation and Power AP N); 1 3G to Wi-Fi router; notebooks (Toshiba satellite L755). 2013-. EU IST FP7 ULOOP and EU IST UMOBILE project testing and validation.
IoT Testbed
Composed of 1 server (HP Proliant DL380 G7, 1x 6 Core 2,40Ghz, 12GB Mem, 2x SAS 146GB 15K rpm, Rack floor 0); Arduino boards; smartphones. 2013 40 smartphones with middleware developed in-house to assist data capture concerning roaming behavior and interaction. Currently used in the context of the Proxemics Data Lab project. 2017
Named data networking testbed @COPELABS
1 dedicated router interconnected to the worldwide NDN testbed, 7 Android smartphones. Currently deploying interconnection towards the wireless tesbed. 2017-

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Andrew Coburn says the beauty industry found him over 9 years ago. He enjoys changing someone's outward appearance and watching how it reflects on the inside. He specializes in men's cuts, bobs and short textured cuts. He is inspired by Vidal Sassoon. When looking for shine without weighing the hair down, Andrew recommends BC Bonacure Extra Sealer.


Money Monster, the Wall Street hostage thriller, is hitting theaters this Friday. While the movie is looking to sell itself with a topical story and high profile actors, it is the song in the trailer that really caught me. About halfway in, after the characters and plot have been established, we hear the familiar strums of Springsteen's "Devils & Dust". While "Devils & Dust" isn't frequently discussed among Springsteen fans, I did note in an ancient post that it is one of the few modern protest songs that has held up well. While originally about the Iraq war, it seems to fit right in with the common man's anger towards the financial sector.
No word as of yet if this is just a song for the trailer, or if it will highlight a particular scene in the movie. If you see it, let us know!


text:
Home Fiction THE BELLRINGER
The Story Behind the Story
Keep learning... keep swinging... and believe in yourself.
The Story Behind the Story: I interviewed an entrepreneur who had started a company—running it while working full time—that grew from zero to $200+ million in revenue in a handful of years. He didn't have a fancy formal education and had been raised in borderline poverty. No real foundation. But he had what I—and he—believe is the most critical trait for success. I finished the interviews with him (for his 'success' chapter in one of my ghostwriting projects). And something he had mentioned stuck with me. It became this short story (about that success trait). I knocked it out quickly, and he loved it. Others have too.
"Such a good read. Loved it. Dennis, you are amazing." -Jo Myer
"Wow just wow! What a new meaning to try, try again. No matter how long it takes."-JoAnn Carpenter
"Love this. Your words, the mix of them and all they hold…warm my heart and make my day."-Dawn Jackson
The old man slowed the rocker when he heard the steps come onto the wooden-floored porch. His eyesight was failing, but the hearing was still as sharp as ever. Those boards—their sounds when trod on—announced his great-grandchildren. "Alice… and Jimmy, you came to visit grandpa!" He opened his arms, knowing they'd fill them with a hug. "What are you rascals up to today?" The hugging done, he shifted and leaned forward.
"Mom's taking grandma and big-granny to their doctor's appointments." Alice had pulled one of the other chairs closer.
He focused on her; now 13-years-old, sharp-chinned with jawline more distinct since losing her childhood fat, blonde hair haloed by the morning sunlight slanting in behind her. A scraping, sliding sound told him Jimmy was moving his favorite perch—a still sturdy old trunk with stout hinged top, now used as a porch coffee table—next to his chair. He always liked to sit eye-to-eye with his big-grandpa. Four years younger than Alice, he was still round-faced under a mop of brown hair that never stayed combed for long. "Mom said we could stay with you." The boy's smile stretched and tightened, taking away some softness in his features.
His great-grandkids company was a gift he never took for granted. Each minute with them was a blessing. "So, afterward… when your mom brings your big-granny back… what are you going to do?"
Alice leaned back in her chair. "We're going to a fair this afternoon."
Jimmy tugged at his shoulder, "Mom says they have clowns and rides! Have you ever been to one, grandpa?"
He could hear the excitement and anticipation in the boy's voice. "Yes, but a long time ago."
"Tell us a story about one!" Jimmy bounced on the trunk—getting too big to do without risk of breaking it—making its top creak.
He looked over at Alice. "You're not too grown-up; are you… to listen to one of my stories?"
"Never grandpa," she smiled at him.
"Okay. Here's one you might like; it means a lot … even still today." He drank the last of his coffee and with a twinge in his back, bent over and set the empty cup between his feet and began. "Once there was a boy in his early teens the year a carnival came to the small town where he lived. Excited at the chance for a new experience, he went. He'd never been to a fair before. Exploring all the sights and sounds, he followed the flow of the crowd and came across one of the fair's pitchmen." He broke from the story to explain to them: "That's a man who tried to get you to do things that took money from your pocket and put in his." He continued, "The boy stood listening and watching the pitchman work the crowd: 'Heya, heya… who's a strong man? Who can ring the bell and win a prize?!' The pitchman wearing a red-banded straw boater tilted back on his head called out to passersby and gestured at the contraption behind him. 'All you gotta do is take this here hammer…' he held up a giant wooden mallet, a 15-pound rubber head on a four-foot handle. 'And smack this,' he pointed at a circular pad at one end of a see-saw board. At the other end was a square metal puck that would be catapulted along a cable in a channel inset in a wooden frame rising vertically 10 feet to a bell at the top. 'If yer a strong man, ya ring the bell!' Along the channel were markers titled 'Weakling' about a foot from the bottom to 'Strongman' just underneath the bell. And at that highest level was also the words 'You Win a Prize!'
"The boy stopped as two teens older than him, and a middle-aged man tried without success. He reached into his pocket for one of the two coins he had left from his earnings for the week. The boy paid his 25 cents and took a swing. The mallet was unwieldy, and his handling awkward. He only half-hit the pad, and the puck barely moved. 'Better luck next time, kid,' said the pitchman already looking for the next 25 cents. Several more, young and old, tried. A few did as poorly as he had. A couple whacked hard enough to send the metal puck halfway, and one stout man slammed it to a foot short of the bell. Needing to save his one remaining coin, the boy moved on to other things to do that did not come with a cost.
"A year later the carnival came to town again, and he went opening evening. He had thought little about the strongman test, but when he came upon it, he recalled his first experience. Now, the boy was a year older, and through the manual labor of his chores and earning money working for others… he'd grown stronger. Times were hard for him and his family, but he handed the coin to the same pitchman from a year ago and stepped up. This time his grip was surer—more certain—and his swing smoother. His strike landed squarely on the pad, but the puck only jumped about four feet. 'Better luck next time kid.' The pitchman took the mallet and handed to a man—not much bigger than the boy—in blue, worn but well-patched overalls, who, with no hesitation struck the pad and reached about two-thirds up. Shaking his head the man gave the mallet back and stepped off to the side next to the boy.
"Several other men tried, and all failed, and the boy had the first inkling it—this strongman test—was rigged so no one could win. He couldn't see how to get the prize, whatever it might be. Next to him, the man in the overalls shifted feet in scuffed boots and dug into his pocket. 'I'll give 'er another try.' He flipped the coin to the pitchman. Picking up the mallet, he stepped back clear of anyone around him and swung back and forth like a baseball player warming up, stretching before standing over home plate to face a pitch. After a minute, mallet in one large hand hanging rubber head down at his side, he approached the pad. Up and over his shoulder in one motion without hesitation, he brought the mallet crashing down squarely. The metal puck shot like a rocket all the way to top. The bell rang—a deep tone—that made the wooden frame vibrate and the boy standing beside, felt it. 'We got a strong man!' the pitchman crowed, knowing it would bring others. Most would fail.
"The boy thought about what he'd seen and moved on.
"Another year went by, and the carnival returned to town. The boy was there the minute they opened. Everything was set up as before, and he went straight to it. Along with his work since the last fair, he'd added training. He'd chopped more wood than Carter's got liver pills." The old man blinked; he knew it not likely Alice and Jimmy would understand the reference but kept going.
"Older and stronger, the boy paid his money to get his shot. The man in the patched blue overalls wasn't there but was on the boy's mind as he stepped up. He'd seen the man try and fail. Then attempt again and succeed. That's all he needed… the belief it could be done. He looked around at the people stopping by to watch. He knew many of them. Ten seconds later the bell rang. A far deeper, more melodic gong than the year before because he'd made it happen. Everything's different when you witness something difficult—maybe that seems impossible—get done that you want to do too. And then you do it. The boy kept the mallet and dug out another coin for the pitchman. Soon that bell not only rang, it jumped as the speeding metal puck struck it. 'Never had someone do it twice in a row,' the pitchman shook his head as he handed two prizes to the boy. 'You're a real bell ringer, kid.' Several in the crowd clapped and congratulated him. And from that day forward the people in the little town—who saw him try and fail, try again and succeed in many things—called him, 'The Bellringer.'"
The old man stopped talking and sat back.
"What happened to the boy?" Jimmy asked.
Worried, his old man's tale had bored her; he looked at Alice. She was still smiling and nodded. "Yeah, grandpa… what about the boy afterward?"
"Jimmy, hop down," he tapped the trunk. "Help me lift this," he got age-gnarled stiff fingers under the edge of the lid and lifted. The boy helped with the other end. It opened with a protest, a rusty unused-hinge squeak. "Let me see…" he dug around shifting the contents. "There." He reached deeper and brought them out. He handed the stuffed horse to Alice and the bear to Jimmy.
Alice held it up and turned around. On the horse's side was crudely stitched: 'The Bellringer.'
"Hey, mine has it, too!" Jimmy's showed the same rough-sewn lettering.
The old man grinned—carefully, his damn dentures wanted to come loose—then reached to trace the stitching on Jimmy's bear. "Your great-great-grandma added that to them."
"Grandpa, you were the bellringer!" Alice clapped her hands and slid from her chair to hug his neck. Jimmy laughed, and he joined him.
"That I was… that I was. You know…" he straightened and put a hand on each of his great-grandchildren's shoulder, "I've learned in life you can do a lot… if you can see your way and believe in yourself." He drew them to him wrapping them with a memory of once strong arms. "And I want you to know, I believe in you, too."
They hugged him back and it filled his heart.
Life-lessons
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https://www.dennislowery.com/about/
I'm a fiction and nonfiction writer, author, ghostwriter, and veteran of the United States Navy (a former Operations Specialist). My stories span multiple genres.


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