Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Sam.
[00:00:31] Speaker B: Secretary Michelle Branham, welcome to the Code Red studio.
[00:00:33] Speaker A: Thank you for having me.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: We met for the first time at a Florida Family Voice event. I think it was a tour that they brought us on down to the Capitol and we were meeting different people in the administration.
I was immediately impressed. I went home, told my wife, these ladies, especially the cabinet people that we met.
1. You knew what you were talking about.
You were intellectually equipped for the position.
You had great empathy with the subject, but spiritually, there was depth there, and it seemed very sincere.
[00:01:13] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:01:14] Speaker B: And so I was excited when you were tapped also to be kind of the liaison between the faith community for the governor's office.
And so I'm really excited to bring you in the studio and just introduce you to our audience and maybe pick your brain a little bit.
[00:01:29] Speaker A: Oh, it's a pleasure to be here.
[00:01:31] Speaker B: So tell me, let's go back to when did you come to know Jesus and what was that experience like? How long have you been a Christian?
[00:01:41] Speaker A: It was an interesting path because my father is Jewish, my mother is Catholic, and they did not put any constructs or structure around how we. How we thought about religion.
I think because they had had such turmoil trying to get married and being accused that they really didn't want to put any of that anxiety on us. So we just grew up really experiencing the beautiful parts of my father's Jewish faith and his family and my mother's Catholic faith.
And then I think because I went to Catholic school as a young child, I had a lot of fear about God. God was a very frightening thing to me growing up. And I remember talking, as I got a little bit older with friends of mine that didn't go to Catholic school. No dish on the Catholic Church, because I absolutely loved my education there. But I think just in my perception, my purview, this is how I came to know God. It was frightening. I needed to do my best. I needed to be on tip top behavior. And I had a lot of worry and anxiety around God.
So when I talked to friends that weren't Catholic, I felt a much deeper, softer, warmer, inviting thought. And I thought that it was fascinating to me that you could question things. You could ask, what age was that? Gosh, that was graduating high school, going to college. So I went to undergrad to Stetson, and then I worked for the Secretary of state in Georgia. I was interning for him, and he offered me a position. I was so excited to go to the big city of Atlanta and be there, and then wanted to pursue a master's program in theological studies. And I remember my parents sitting down and saying, why are we doing that? What's happening here? And I thought I really needed to understand my faith in a way that didn't feel so stressful and anxiety provoking. I did not find Christ in my theological studies or at the seminary. That is not because I think we dove so deep into seminary and to exegetical work into breaking. So it became very academic. So God went from being a place of fear and anxiety and concern and worry about whether or not I was measuring up to academic and then looking at God and Jesus in a very academic way. And I had a great professor who did the search for the historical Jesus. And I remember just dissecting that, but not feeling that.
So I think that came much later.
Long story short, and I feel like I'm making it too long, but it was.
It's sort of coming to me to share with you now is.
My husband and I moved and we got married, and we were in Jacksonville beach, and we were walking and thinking and contemplating having children.
And we'd been married for a while, and I heard children playing and the sounds of their voices. So I kept walking around that area and kind of dragging him around. So we kept walking near that, and it was a playground and a church.
And I just remember being very called to be near those voices. And we got pregnant very shortly after that and found ourselves sitting at the back of the church thinking we needed to raise our child in a space of faith. And that by. In that nine months of really posturing my heart towards the church and towards Christ, I think Jeb and I together found a new and deeper relationship. Well, you.
[00:05:28] Speaker B: You know, in explaining that, you didn't go too long on it, first of all. But that is what I appreciate.
You know, we're in the 250th anniversary of our founding of our nation, and so we're hearing a lot of people talk about faith, but I want to hear it from the heart. You know, I want to hear really what happened. You know, it's easy to look at a set of notes and explain your faith walk or whatever, but this is legitimate. This is authentic, and I appreciate it.
[00:05:57] Speaker A: Yeah, I diverge from the notes for sure, but I think as you were asking me the question, that's what came on my heart is my. My relationship with God changed over time, and now it is.
And then to invite our Lord and Savior into that experience, and then to feel my heart not only postured, but pierced and pulled and tugged, and that Started to really, both of our path and our careers and our lives became very bright and apparent to us.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: Well, you know, as a citizen of the state, that's very encouraging to me, and I want our people to see that.
I wish we could sit down and do this, like, with the whole Cabinet, because I know not everybody's going to have the same experience or the same perspective. There's diversity there as well. But, you know, I came up in a family. My grandmother was the mayor of our hometown, a small town in Alabama.
She was in civic service most of her life.
And I've been around the people who can tell you what you need to hear in that moment. And then, you know, you can kind of grow jaded, especially. Especially as a minister. You can kind of get jaded to where it's like, wow, well, we're helpful when we're helpful, you know?
But then it's like, okay, we got the votes, let's move on.
And it's so refreshing to me and so many pastors in Florida to not feel that way with this administration and with you guys.
And God bless Ron DeSantis. I don't know him. I'm not saying this because of him or any political affiliation there. I've met you guys, and I've been really impressed with it.
[00:07:48] Speaker A: Oh, thank you.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: You know, the first lady yourself.
So many of the people around the governor were convincing to me that it was real, that it was authentic.
And so when I hear that you're working in senior services in a vulnerable part of our state, that's the heart I want there. You know, just as a citizen, and I think anybody would, as a little girl, did you have experience in civic service? Did you have a drawing to that?
What caused you to move in that direction?
[00:08:25] Speaker A: Great question, and I will say just one thing about the governor and the first lady is the ability to not only live into our faith, but to let it blossom and grow and to create ministry in our leadership is something that I couldn't believe we got the opportunity to do.
So that was just. It was just thought, oh, we can pray before our senior leadership meetings. We can. I can testify to my vulnerability, my hope in Christ, my desires to. In my calling, that I can live out and testify to my calling.
When you are in government, for better, for worse, you are meeting people in a sacred, vulnerable, holy space of just pure vulnerability and crisis.
They don't come to the government when things are going good.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: Right.
[00:09:19] Speaker A: They come to us when it is pure crisis. And I think I learned to see that crisis in the most sacred and holy way, because we've all been vulnerable, we've all experienced crisis, and we don't ever think of our government as a space to, you know, be safe in that crisis.
The fact that the governor and the first lady not only encouraged that, but just let that flourish and for five years, to be able to live into how we meet seniors and their families and this vulnerability, and then for the first lady to do hope Florida. So not only am I connecting with the families, I am right there, and my team is right there. So for agencies, for folks in government, where you are mired in bureaucracy and bloat, sometimes, where you're checking boxes, people didn't get into government because they don't want to do good. They want to do good. But years and years and years of being in government, just having to push that bureaucracy back and forth and paperwork and check this box, and here's your form, it kind of strips you down, you know. So the idea of being able to meet families directly in service and feel like we were making a big difference and seeing them really seeing them holistically from start to finish, that's a gift that I have never. When I speak with colleagues all across the nation, because I have the opportunity to be federally working as chair on a federal advisory council for the President and Secretary Kennedy, you don't hear about that very often. So I couldn't be more grateful to be in Florida and to be working for Governor DeSantis. And I do know them.
They're tremendous human beings as family. They're tremendous human beings as leaders.
So I just wanted to say that part because I think it's so important.
[00:11:19] Speaker B: It is. And I think it makes sense why the whole Florida is such a natural fit, and the connection to the faith community is a natural fit.
You know, firsthand walking there, I've been in situations, and I've been in offices where it was very awkward. They try to talk to pastors. They try to have that conversation, but it's very uncomfortable, and it makes us uncomfortable.
And I'm looking around the room, and this one's got a devotional. This one's got a C.S. lewis book. And I'm like, am I at church or am I at the Capitol? I mean, this was. It was really encouraging to see, and it wasn't uncomfortable.
It was a natural conversation. And Eric Dellenbach probably, you know, helped bridge that gap for a lot of us.
[00:12:04] Speaker A: He really did.
He created a bridge there that I think one I love. Eric Dellenbach, he's A brother in Christ.
I call him brother because he's a great mentor to me in my faith and in my leadership. But I think that he created that synergy, that beautiful connection and he, you know, the red phone, all the things that he put together in the faith office to say, I want to have direct connection. And one of the things I loved about Eric is the first thing he did in the faith office was say, I want to say thank you. So I'm just going to reach out to every faith community in Florida and say thank you. Right. Thank you for shepherding folks in any part of Florida you're in. Thank you for your faith, thank you for your leadership.
That said so much to me. So it's hard shoes to fill, honestly, to try to walk into that connects
[00:12:55] Speaker B: the conversation a little bit. You've taken his position now and we'll talk more about that in a moment.
Really, the red phone, for those who don't know, is sort of a direct line to the faith community that we can call up if we need help with something.
[00:13:10] Speaker A: I answered it. I didn't know what it. At first when you walked in and the phone was ringing. It is right there. It's right there on my desk, which is terrific. But it is for any.
Anybody. I mean, you don't have to be a pastor. You could be anyone.
Florida that needs us.
[00:13:26] Speaker B: So we were in Israel when the Hamas war began.
So we're on the Sea of Galilee. We get off the boat with a tour of 50 something people from our church and community and the news is breaking. Everybody's in bed back in the states.
So this all happened and we're going through that the next day. We're thinking of, who do we know that can help get us through this?
And so I said, well, you know, they said, there's a red phone in the governor's office somewhere. Let me see if I can find that number. And so, sure enough, I'm calling everybody I can to get in touch with all of the strings we can pull to help get us through that. And thankfully we were able to get into Jordan and escape the conflict. But. But yeah, we were there when it happened.
[00:14:17] Speaker A: I can't believe that. It's an incredible story. Praise Jesus. So someone answered the phone and then what happened?
[00:14:23] Speaker B: Yeah, so we were able. Between.
Between state, Kemp, we had a state senator from governor from the governor's office, worked with the governor's office in Georgia, Kemp's office.
The State Department calls us and a lady from the State Department says, pastor, you've got A state senator, you have a nuclear physicist and you have a three star general on your trip.
I had no idea we had a three star general or a nuclear physicist on the trip. I knew we had the state senator and the other two guys, we had a conversation like, how did you not tell me you're a general? How did I not know that?
But they said, so you are a high value target.
We want to keep, you know, a touch of where you're at and all that. And I said, well, ma', am, right now we're at the corner of and I'm looking at the streets. And she says, pastor, we know exactly where you're at. We're pinging your phone, we're following exactly where you're at. So if we tell you, don't go this way. Trust us, you know. Yes, ma', am, whatever you say. And so they, they were able, between the tour company and the State Department and everybody working together, they found us a route through Jordan and we had to stay in Jordan for a few days, but got out safely, thankfully.
[00:15:39] Speaker A: Thank God.
[00:15:40] Speaker B: You know, hopefully that conflict is in. The current conflict in Iran is going to come to a conclusion soon. We're praying for that so that we can get back and have you been, have you been to Israel before?
[00:15:52] Speaker A: I have not. This is on my bucket list.
[00:15:54] Speaker B: Yeah, you got to go.
It's really strange. It's kind of like somebody described it to me this way. It's like your dad talks about his high school experience and then you visit the school and you're like, oh, this is where his locker. He's told stories about this and all of your imagination kind of gets clarified, oh, this is what it looks like when David faced Goliath. And it's so different. And it's a small piece of real estate. It's like from here to Orlando. And so everything you ask about, well, where did this happen, but everything happened like right over there.
So you got to go make sure that happens.
[00:16:34] Speaker A: My dad do have to go.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: Is your dad still living? Is he still around? Yes, he would love that trip.
[00:16:39] Speaker A: Yeah, I know he would. He's been a couple times with his family, but he would love that trip.
[00:16:45] Speaker B: Awesome. So were you raised to value civic service? Did you have any family that was involved?
[00:16:53] Speaker A: Yes, my mother is.
My mother has been serving since I could remember and is deeply involved in community and service and still is.
We're from Deland, Florida.
So mom is involved with. I can't even name the amount of service communities and civic service that mom is involved With. Because she has such a heart for that. So we were taught very early on that it is important to give back to the community that's giving to you and that if you are in a position to give time, energy, talent, treasure that it's your obligation, responsibility and your joy to do that.
[00:17:34] Speaker B: What was your major in college?
[00:17:35] Speaker A: Political sciences.
[00:17:36] Speaker B: So poli sci major, you had the opportunity.
Was it with the governor's office?
What was that opportunity you had, you mentioned earlier.
[00:17:44] Speaker A: Oh, for the internship. I got to work for the secretary of state in Georgia.
[00:17:50] Speaker B: How did that work?
[00:17:50] Speaker A: He was a graduate of Stetson University, so he would give one internship a year. So I got that internship. So that was really exciting.
I worked in his press office and became his speechwriter. Oh, cool.
[00:18:03] Speaker B: Did the bug just bite you there? Did you say, I want to do this the rest of my life? Or how did that. Because I know you pursued the theological degree and had some curiosity there, but did you see yourself being in that environment for the rest of your life or how did it feel?
[00:18:24] Speaker A: I loved it. I mean, I knew that I wanted to do it. So Career took some twists and turns. Is when you live in Atlanta and you work at the Capitol, you don't make a whole lot of money.
So I had to bartend and do other things too. Yeah. To just keep going.
But no, I knew. I loved that. I knew that I could make a difference there. I knew it was a calling for me.
[00:18:48] Speaker B: Did you ever see yourself running for office or have you ever done that?
[00:18:52] Speaker A: You know, a lot of people have asked me. I want to say a lot. Some people have asked me that. And I really enjoy being. Being the kind of leader that I am on an agency side, being on the. I don't know if I. I don't know if I have the heart for running for something that would be tough for me.
[00:19:11] Speaker B: It takes a different.
[00:19:12] Speaker A: I wear my heart on my sleeve, so I'm not sure how I would do there, you know, so. And I admire everybody that does. And I can coach and I can be on campaigns, which I have been. But I tell you what it takes. They say a thick skin, but I think it takes a heart that is heavily guarded. And my heart is always out there, raw and open, so I'd probably get lambasted.
[00:19:32] Speaker B: I get that.
I ask selfishly as a dad who has kids that are daughter moving to FSU in the fall that's all into fashion. They've got a great fashion marketing program, so she's pursuing that. And then a son who's Graduated at UF and is pursuing the career in Nashville doing the political campaign management side of it as a day job and trying to figure out what's next. So I'm always curious to hear how people end up in that world as a career, because there's something about.
There's a big push now to put term limits and not have career politicians.
But there is at the same time, you and I have seen that people that are.
That that's where they are best fit to serve. They serve people best by understanding how government works and knowing how to work the system and help the system and that sort of thing.
[00:20:31] Speaker A: It's interesting because you're. We're talking at a deeply reflective time. For me, we are at the end of an amazing administration where we've been, you know, working. The governor's been here almost eight years. I've been with him for a little over five.
So I think for me, in this deeply reflective time, you think about that and you also, you want to. There's an opportunity and a time and a season where I think Christ calls you too, to make sure the next group of leaders get to be risen up and taken in. And so one, you want to make sure that there's that knowledge there, and you're thinking about that and fastening down stakes and what do we need to make sure? And how do I leave it better than I found it? And how do I set up the next leader for success? And how do I find a great leader who can continue to shepherd and care about the work the way that we do?
But I think it's important to transition and to be kneeling in transition and postured towards him, because I think during transition you can want to clutch so tightly to those things and you want to wrap your ego around those things and you want to, you know, claim those things. And I think I find myself on my knees a lot right now in that space of reflection. What have I done to make sure I've left it better than I found it? What have I done to find good leaders emerging? What have I done to coach and nourish and strengthen those leaders?
And sometimes it's the right time to step out of the way and let them be the leader? It's hard because you keep thinking, I can do this, I can keep doing this.
I should be doing this. And then at the other turn, too, sometimes I think in some instances, you don't want a leadership to be too short and be cut short, because two years sometimes is not enough to get it done. Three years is not enough to get it all done.
And when you're cut short, there's just so many things untethered.
[00:22:38] Speaker B: Pastors think early on, when I first began pastoring, you leave. I had a seminary church in Kentucky. I went to seminary in Kentucky, pastored there four years into that, came back to Alabama, my home state. And I'm looking back at the church in Kentucky, and there's an ego check there of it did well.
Really, the heart should be. You want it to do better when you leave that you set it up for success. Right. And they chose well in their pasture. And it did. It did phenomenal. And then there was that other side of it of they did great without me. I'm not sure how I feel about that. You know, you kind of have to check your heart on it sometimes.
[00:23:20] Speaker A: You do.
[00:23:20] Speaker B: But you've served in the state of Florida, a massive community of people for much of your career, working with the Alzheimer's work that you did prior to taking this cabinet position.
How did that transition happen? How did you end up working with the aging community?
[00:23:42] Speaker A: I got to a certain place in my career and a certain time in your life where you think, am I doing good?
Am I serving?
And, you know, you do when you're younger, you take the big job and the money that you need to do okay in Atlanta and things like that.
But then once Jeb and I were married and I thought, I really need to make sure that I am intentionally and purposefully choosing careers that serve.
And so I made that decision in my heart and then tried to find an organization that sort of met that criteria. And. And when I had interviewed with lots of different beautiful organizations doing wonderful work and service, but when I met with the Alzheimer's association, where it just felt like the families at that time, over 10 years ago had no hope.
There was no prevention, there was no treatment, there was no cure. It was just an awful death sentence for a family. And it was going to be a long and painful experience.
And to see the kind of courage that these families took to go up to D.C. and to go to Tallahassee and testify to the most terrible experience happening for them. But trying to do good with it, knowing that it wasn't going to help them, it was going to help somebody else, a future person. A future person and caregiver living with that disease, it changed. And I thought, that's an organization I can get behind.
[00:25:18] Speaker B: Had you been through it personally?
[00:25:21] Speaker A: My grandmother, my mom's mom had dementia, so I had experienced mom taking care of her, but we had not had a terrible experience. My grandmother was so lovely and vibrant and engaging, and my mom was such a loving and devoted caregiver that I really. I saw this in a beautiful space, so I didn't have this terrible experience that I had seen, but just watching these families in D.C. so once I ended up working with them and representing Florida and seeing that kind of vulnerability, I thought, I'm all in. What can we do? And then watching that courage every day from these families was. It just absolutely, profoundly changed me.
[00:26:07] Speaker B: We've been through it. We've gone through it on both sides of my family.
My dad's mother suffered from Alzheimer's.
My great grandmother, who helped raise me.
It was one of those families that mom worked. My grandmother was in civic service, and so my great grandmother really helped raise me. So we saw her go through it. It was beautiful. It was a great way to grow up.
But my father's mother, dad was the baby of 12 kids, so he was responsible, you know, to make sure that she was in a safe place. And all of these things. We live close to her. And so out of all of the tragic things that happen in that slow loss where you kind of slowly lose the person, a beautiful story that came out of it.
We would go over and we would visit with her after church on Sunday.
And the doctor, it instructed us to ask her certain questions. And so I would always ask her, you know, how many kids did you have? And she'd say, 12 kids.
What were their names? And she would name them from the oldest to the youngest. So every week we had certain questions I would ask, and she would give me the same answer, because those things she could retain. She couldn't tell you where she was.
She thought she was buying the hospital, you know, and she would talk about as if this were her home, you know, so there were things like that that were just totally out of left field.
But then when you talked about her memories from the past, she could, you know, recite those quickly. So we're talking one day, I walk in. She's progressed quite a bit.
And I said, called her Mamaw. I said, mamaw, how many kids did you have? She said, I had 12 kids. No, no. She said, I had 15 kids.
And I thought, okay, this is a bad sign, because she's always got that one right. And I said, what were their names? She named all 12, and then she said the other three didn't make it and said they didn't get a. We didn't name them, but they're buried at the corner of Dancy Chapel Cemetery.
And I'm going, I've never heard this before.
I go to my dad. Dad, you know, she said she had three more kids that didn't make it.
And dad said, I've never heard that before. I don't know if this is just one of those anomalies that popped up in her mind.
And we talked to the older siblings, and they're like, yeah, she's not talked about that in years.
[00:28:38] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:28:38] Speaker B: But it happened. And she knew exactly where those kids were buried. And so that says a lot about what's going on in the mind of an Alzheimer's patient. And it says a lot about the effect that childbirth has on a mother, you know, and so that story just, to me, I felt like I knew her better in those years than I ever had the chance to before she had the disease.
[00:29:02] Speaker A: I love that you saw that through that. Such a gift that is.
And it's hard for a lot of families to find the gifts because it's. It's such a difficult, long disease.
[00:29:14] Speaker B: So during your time there, were you primarily responsible for more of the lobbying side of it? Were you fundraising? What kind of things did you have to do?
[00:29:26] Speaker A: I was in charge of all of the public policy for the state of Florida, so spent time in D.C. because Florida played such a pivotal role. We have third highest population, we have second highest population of seniors. We make up 20 states worth of seniors.
We know that Alzheimer's, you know, the greatest risk factor is age.
So Florida played one of the most significant roles of any state in the country. So being VP of Public policy for the Alzheimer's association in Florida was pivotal and important to the overall work we were doing on the national level and certainly from the state and community level.
[00:30:06] Speaker B: So when DeSantis was forming his cabinet, was that seems like a natural fit. Did you guys know each other?
How did that. How did that. How did you get tapped for that position?
[00:30:15] Speaker A: I am so. I met him as a member of Congress, and he was incredible. Very dynamic, very engaged. If you gave him a piece of material, he would absorb it so quickly and then ask questions. So almost like, almost photographic. I mean, it was so. I was always so amazed by the amount of things he could take in and the retention that he had. And for. For many years, talked with him and his team. They didn't have a very personal connection to it, but he would listen and like I said, take in all the information. And then the very last thing that he did before he announced, because you had to step down in your role at that time to run for governor. So he stepped down as a member of Congress to run for governor. The last thing that he signed as a member of Congress was the bold infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act. So it just kind of. Of. And he invited everybody there, all of these caregivers, people living with the disease, us, and just celebrated this achievement in D.C. and I thought, wow, I really, really admire that person. And I just. I'm very excited about him running for governor. So I just, you know, stuck close to him, really was very supportive of his campaign and what he was doing. And then when he became governor, I was still working for the Alzheimer's association, but working very closely with the Department of Elder affairs because of the Alzheimer's disease initiative and all the work that they were doing. Got to know their secretary, who's still a great friend of mine. I just spoke with him yesterday and told him, if there was ever an opportunity, I would love to do this. And I just felt again, like that calling and that pull. And he said, you know, I'm thinking about retiring soon, so talk a little bit more about that.
[00:32:03] Speaker B: I love that you took the initiative.
[00:32:04] Speaker A: Oh, I was bold. I mean, I said secretary Prudhom and he's, like I said, a great guy. This is what I want to do. And then I really did make it my mission to tell everybody I knew around the governor that I was very interested in this opportunity if secretary Prudom retired. And then when he said he was going to retire, the governor appointed me. So, you know, in. And he had remembered everything we talked about. And it was a great opportunity, a great commission, a great mission. And I was overwhelmed because Jeb had already been appointed to be a judge. So the two of us were now, in a short period of time, called to this administration called a service through that we knew exactly. We knew where we were supposed to be.
[00:32:56] Speaker B: How was that on your family and your marriage? Because it is a sacrifice. It's like someone in military service. It's got to happen. We've got to have people on the front lines. But it's a sacrifice that the family has to make.
What kind of freedom did you have to just get back for a date night? How much time do you have to spend in D.C. versus Jacksonville and all that?
[00:33:18] Speaker A: It's a lot. It's a lot to work out as a family. And Jeb and I had a lot of prayers about that and a lot of guardrails that we really needed to make sure that our marriage and our family that we just stuck very close to that one thing that became important because I traveled so much and because I was going to spend so much time in Tallahassee away from our child and away from Jeb. And here, Jeb's a judge and going to be a single parent a lot, you know, so it took a lot of support and commitment from him to.
But one thing that I love that we still do today is I told him I would make his lunch for as long as I was going to be gone. So sometimes I'm sure it was spoiled by the time, but I would make five different lunches, six different lunches, however long I was going to be gone, and write a note for each day and let him know how much I loved and appreciated getting choked up that he made those sacrifices for me and that a mom's heart is always in pain.
You can't have it all. I think that's a fallacy. There's always suffering that takes place when you're in service. But so, you know, Jeb gave so much for me to have that opportunity.
[00:34:36] Speaker B: Well, you know, this is the difficult thing that on one hand, being a mother, being a wife, just your highest calling.
And at the same time, I've got a young man I'm counseling now that's in Orlando, who's a pastor, who's got opportunities to do some really big things.
And he's a dad. He's got three kids, and he doesn't want to miss those years.
And I've told him, I said, there's a balance to it, because in some ways, your success is a gift that you give to your kids to show them what's possible. Not just to your kids, to your grandkids. Your great grandkids are going to look back and say, guess what? Your great grandmother did? And it raises a bar for them, and it shows them what a person in this family can accomplish.
And so, you know, I would tell
[00:35:28] Speaker A: your young man, too, when you're home, you got to be home and present and there and make every moment count. Right?
And I do think that there are certain folks that are called to service and their hearts are yearning to serve. And you do. There's. And I'm sure you and your lovely wife and family know that. That in that service, there will be time away from the family, time away from your spouse, and that be very mindful and intentional about what structure and guardrails you put there, because that, you know, for a beautiful marriage like that, that's where the enemy comes in, you know, and you question whether or not you're doing a good job as a mom and you question whether or not you're doing a good job for the state.
And your heart is always yearning to be in two places at once.
But being very real and being very aware of those things, that's all real.
[00:36:26] Speaker B: Darrell Bock so I want to get into the policy and to especially to get into Faith Florida and lean into all that. Before we do, tell me, just give me a behind the scenes perspective.
When I've been at events that the governor has been involved in, he is one of the most fast paced people I've ever seen in my life.
[00:36:48] Speaker A: That man runs at 1,000 miles per
[00:36:50] Speaker B: hour all day long and it's like you blink and you're going to miss it. He comes in the entourage, the, the motor pool.
They get in there, he walks up as if that's the only thing he was doing all day. He's fully engaged in the camera, talking, taking the questions.
He's aggressive, he's articulate. And then it's to the next thing.
I would love to just see the schedule, how many events he gets done in a day. We had him here this week, last week because you know, you know the biggest thing happening in Nassau county right now is we need more snapper days. We like to fish here and there's not.
[00:37:30] Speaker A: I saw those tweets. That looks good. I'm excited about that.
[00:37:33] Speaker B: So that's a big deal for us here. And so he's helping us with that. But it was, it's like he's in a few photos and moves on.
Is the entire office, I mean, is it. The first lady seems to have the same kind of just fast paced, heavy schedule.
What's that like?
[00:37:52] Speaker A: The tempo is very, very, very high.
And what I love about our governor and first lady is they work incredibly hard.
I love their parenting too. If you walk up to the mansion, I know you did. Where you see all the toys there too, because they're great parents too. I think it takes a ton of energy and both of them have an exorbitant amount of energy.
And for those of us around them, even people that are quite a bit younger, everybody's marveling.
But I think when you are very steadfast in what you're doing, there's only so many hours in the day and you want to accomplish a lot and then you get into at the beginning this rhythm is really hard. And I have to give a lot of credit to the team. I think the governor has an outstanding group of leaders around him. Him that you have to figure out that tempo and that rhythm and that schedule. And then you have to be incredibly flexible with that tempo and that rhythm and that schedule.
So, you know, in the, like, in a lot less of that. In my space, we have a very hectic schedule. We work for the governor and he, you know, he is constantly moving. And you would think when the administration is winding down, it is pedal to the medal because there's so much more that we want to do.
So even in the fourth quarter, we're going to play every play, going to go for every pass. It's going to happen.
[00:39:21] Speaker B: That surprised me.
[00:39:22] Speaker A: I love it. I love that tempo.
[00:39:25] Speaker B: Well, hey, it's over now.
[00:39:28] Speaker A: Not the boss? No.
He is so dynamic.
I have watched him speak so many times in so many different places, and I'm always completely riveted because he is right there in the present moment. He loves the engagement of that.
So I just.
There are so many things that are important to him and the First Lady. I love their energy. But, yeah, if you saw the. Behind the scenes, the schedule is insanity. So great. People make it work really well and make it look seamless to everybody on the outside. But there is a lot of scurrying around to make sure everybody's getting to the place they're supposed to be on time. The notes are there, everything's ready.
The podiums, we're all working really hard for that.
But much credit to that team for just.
I can't even explain it.
[00:40:18] Speaker B: The schedule's crazy and watching and this is what was cool.
And I think, you know, again, I'm a pastor, I'm a country preacher at large is what I describe myself as. That's what I do.
And there's an unusual season where we're being invited to the table on the state level and the national level, unlike anything I've seen in my lifetime. And so. But it's new to us. You understand, right? And so as we're getting in there, I'm very observant and I'm taking it all in. And here's what struck me. I'm just wondering, your comments.
One, you guys seem to really respect the governor and first Lady. You guys were.
You were riveted. You were hanging on to every word. Not just you.
[00:41:06] Speaker A: I love listening to him speak. I love listening to her speak.
I was listening to her yesterday in a meeting and she is just so intelligent, excited, engaged, energetic.
One of the things I love about the first lady is she can't stand the thought of people struggling or in pain. So her heart is just so loving and sincere.
And you saw her.
[00:41:32] Speaker B: Yeah, totally. And there was a moment. It's funny what you remember and what sticks with you and what you talk about when people say, how did it go? Or whatever.
One of the things that stuck out to me she was. Because she's really concerned at this moment. And this is where I want to go with the conversation about when this administration is replaced with whatever is next and what happens to the work and the crafting of the relationship between the state and the faith community. That's been Hope Florida. That's been established.
But she was talking about it. Her mind was going in a thousand directions, probably, and she was talking about something that the governor had done. And she sat back and she just kind of looked off in the distance. She said, you know, he's a really great leader.
And I thought, that's impressive. I mean, John Maxwell said that success is when people who know you the best respect you the most.
[00:42:30] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:42:31] Speaker B: And that was authentic.
[00:42:32] Speaker A: I'm not just. I love that you picked up on. No, no, she's very authentic. So is he.
I wouldn't have been working for them five years, just unabashedly excited to do it if I just. I didn't think the absolute world of both of them, personally and professionally.
And I think I shared this with you at that luncheon is when Eric stepped down and went into work for Florida Family Voice, I put my hand up and begged for that opportunity. And they said, secretary, are you sure you can lead the agency and do this? Fortunately, after five years, you get a good tempo and a good rhythm, and you do. You kind of.
The schedule is, you know, still insane, but you understand it and you're comfortable with it. So I have an outstanding group of leaders that gave me the opportunity, and I thanked them. We prayed about that together.
[00:43:32] Speaker B: Well, tell me about Hope Florida.
I know a lot about it because I've been involved with Florida Family Voice on an advisory committee, counsel for them, and we've had been at several events that the First Lady's spoken at, followed it very closely. I'm not sure that the average person in our congregation understands exactly what's happening, even though they've served with it, they may not be aware. So tell me, from your perspective, what is it? What's been established? What are we trying to do to keep it alive?
[00:44:06] Speaker A: I love that question because it's.
It is a little difficult to explain sometimes.
The way I look at it now is kind of reforming the way that reforming welfare, reforming the way the government engages with people in crisis. That is something that the first lady had a vision for when we, when she first, they first took office.
And then, you know, over the years kind of working through how do agencies respond.
Department of Elder Affairs, Meals on Wheels, home health Aides, you know, Alzheimer's assistance. So we have all the things that we do. And then Department of Children and Families does this, and then Department of Veterans Administration does this, and Department of Agency of Persons with Disabilities does this. So everybody is serving the public in unique ways, but none of us really, you know, government's not that collaborative.
We're kind of bureaucratic, you know, so we weren't, you know, and there's layers and layers of things that you know, kind of cobbled together over the years and that's the way that government works. And then I think what the first lady that you and I heard is, I think she probably sat down and thought, how can we make this easier, more efficient? And instead of just meeting people in crisis and saying, here's your SNAP benefit, good luck, that we actually set that family up with their God given talent to be successful, to sustain them and make them successful. And that's reforming welfare. That is just a reformation of the way we think about welfare. So I think when we think about welfare, we think about government. But what the first lady envisioned too was how do we get our faith communities and our community at large involved too.
What I love about that is bringing faith into, to intercede with government too, so that there's not separation between church and state.
There is a connection, tissue. Because if you bring faith in, government's going to be doing this better. You know, faith communities involved, we're going to be able to serve people better. We're going to see them, we're going to really see the family holistically. So HOPE Florida is really a way to take the need in. So let's say if you've got. In our world, in Department of Elder affairs, we see a need. You know, a person's in crisis, a family's in crisis. We take that need. Here's what the government can do to assist you, and here's the services you're eligible for. But wait a minute, how did we get here and what can we do to change and reform this process so that the HOPE navigator in our department can say, all right, family, tell us what else we can do so that we can work with the faith community and provide services and resources and structure with this family to maybe set them back up for success. Because what the government did is we Set them to come back in crisis again and again and again. And I think the first lady wanted to disrupt that. How do we disrupt that? You know, bad cycle where we're just coming back over and over in crisis, but we're not really doing good by this family. We're just meeting them in crisis and sending them back on their way. So what I love about Hope Florida is it involves faith community and government. And by the way, y' all have reformed us.
It is a much more beautiful experience with a family when we can go above and beyond with a faith community as a government agency and see people holistically in a whole different way. So we put the need in, then we reach out to that goes into care portal, as you know, and then that need goes out to faith communities and nonprofits in that community to say, hey, within a 25 mile radius, what can we do to serve this family? Because here's the government resources part. This is what we can do. But we really want this family to be able to have more.
And that's where the faith community came in, to really supplement the work of the government and hopefully stand up this family for success.
[00:48:02] Speaker B: So we're solving the same problems, whether it's a family, you know, a child that's in the foster system, whether it's someone toward the end of life, those issues, we're all in the faith community, we're solving those same problems. You guys have resources that you can provide that our tax dollars go to help these people in crisis.
And then in the faith community, we're always evolving, as I'm sure you guys are too, to figure out better ways to not just add to the problem, but to actually help.
And so faith care Portal, when it came along, it was introduced to our church and we would have Sunday school classes that would sign up and kind of have a point person. And when these needs, and it may be something as simple as a bed, they need a baby bed. A family's going to take a child care for a child, they need a baby bed, they need diapers. Basic things that some of our guys could come together and build that bed and on one hand, just get a kick out of it. They love serving.
And on the other hand, people could step up and say, yeah, I can't give $100,000 to move the needle, but I can buy a baby bed, I can buy some diapers, I can help with these things. And so it helps the entire system flow better so that the children are carrying cared for, the seniors are cared for, whatever it might be. And it engages the faith community in an intelligent way, it seems to me.
One thing I really love about it is it's not partisan.
Like when nobody's asking, well, is this child a Republican family or is this, you know, nobody's asking those questions. And it's not.
It's not denounced denominational.
[00:50:00] Speaker A: Oh, no.
I mean, there is 20,000 faith communities in Florida. 70% of Floridians identify with the faith.
[00:50:09] Speaker B: Right.
[00:50:10] Speaker A: So to be able to harness that energy and that great commission that we all, you know, we all feel called to serve, we all want to take care of our vulnerable in our community and not keep them vulnerable if they have opportunities to be successful, to be successful. So you, you had heard too. So maybe a young man needs some clothing, right? Because he's grown out of his clothing. But then we come and visit him and hope navigators are with him and pastors are with him. And next thing you know, young man is going to young life at that congregation and is found Christ and found a group of people, a tribe, you know, to lift him up and let him know he's valuable and seen.
That's something that, I mean, the government can give that family SNAP benefits and other things, but providing him, that is something that the faith community, you know, so reforming the way we look at it is something the first lady had in her heart. Again, going back to. She has said many, many times, I've heard her say, it's just, I can't stand to see people suffer. And I can't stand to see people that have all this beauty and talent and resource. They just need opportunity.
[00:51:32] Speaker B: We look out. I look out. As a pastor, I have a perspective that I know more of what's going on. It's a large congregation for this community, but I can look at it and see. And I know, okay, this guy three fourths of the way back, he's got a great home. He's got a beach home. He's got plenty of resources.
He doesn't know that the person who's sitting about four seats down from him came on a bus and probably slept in a tent last night. He's not aware of that. We're aware of that. And it's beautiful to see the two worshiping side by side. And the church is every week feeding people in need. We've got staff members who are dedicated to help them understand what's available to them.
But in the past, you know, you needed a social worker that understood how all of these things fit together.
And it has become a simpler process.
I think with this introduction and this collaboration between the faith community and the government, government, it's become a simpler process that we can help people move forward faster.
[00:52:42] Speaker A: Right. Because you're seeing 42% reduction in children entering the foster care program, you can see tangible evidence it's working.
And I think that it's not just bunk beds, you know, and plates of lasagna. It's really seeing the family holistically from beginning to end and providing services and wraparound support that is beyond government.
Like I said, community based things. So it's been an incredible journey for me as an agency head to see that and also see the way it changed us.
So to see my team to be very, very enthusiastic and excited and energized and lit up by wanting to look after these families and go the extra mile where maybe you wouldn't ever think a government person would just pick up the phone and say this.
[00:53:35] Speaker B: Do you think when the term comes to a conclusion, will it go away? Will it continue? What do you think?
[00:53:41] Speaker A: Gosh, I really hope not. I think that would be just such a tragedy.
So I hope not. I think what I think is that through Careportal and having thousands of churches in Florida be engaged with careport Portal through the faith office, through our work together, I'm hoping that the faith communities and families and communities will say, please don't, please don't let that go away.
That works. So I don't think so, because I think the work is there and the tangible evidence and the return on investment to our communities, to our families is so pronounced and so evident.
And you're right, it's not partisan. This is just families. This is just taking care of families in Florida.
[00:54:29] Speaker B: The community that we're in now.
And the culture of Florida is different from Miami to Jacksonville. You know, there's a lot of subcultures in our state, but it's less.
It's less denominational than it once was. And so there was a time when perhaps the Baptists wouldn't work with a Methodist or whatever and Democrats and Republicans.
[00:54:54] Speaker A: That sounds like the legislature. Yeah.
[00:54:56] Speaker B: You know, but somebody said years ago, you know, I'll let anybody help me kill a snake.
[00:55:04] Speaker A: Right, right.
[00:55:05] Speaker B: I don't care who you voted for. I don't care where you.
[00:55:07] Speaker A: I might use that. That's a really good line.
[00:55:09] Speaker B: I'll tell you the source later. But, you know, I'll let anybody help me kill a snake. And so this is.
This is a snake. This is an evil thing that's affecting families. That's affecting people that we can actually solve. We can solve for that. And so whatever, whoever would be watching this that would say, well, I voted for the other guy.
This is not about that. This is not about partisan issues. This is not about, you know, the majority of the people at First Baptist Church in Fernandina beach grew up Catholic. That's just the nature of Florida. Most of our people are not Native Baptist. And so this is the perfect fit that can live on past the administration.
[00:55:56] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. I mean, I hope whoever is sitting at the desk come January sees that, and I hope that our faith communities continue to clamor for it.
[00:56:07] Speaker B: Well, and I hope it spreads to the other states as well.
[00:56:10] Speaker A: And it is. It actually is. That was a conversation we had yesterday as many states that we invited a couple of years ago to kind of walk through the Hope Florida model have taken it up. So you have six, seven, eight states that are really working hard to reform welfare that way, too. So. And each state is customized to their own thing. But yes, it has inspired many states across the country.
[00:56:35] Speaker B: Well, and I know you can't say much about this if you know know much about this. I'm not sure that they know yet exactly what's going to happen. What do you think the future of the DeSantis family will be?
[00:56:46] Speaker A: Oh, you know what? I don't know and I truly don't. But what I do hope and pray is I pray for their future because they're an incredible family.
They've been incredible principals, boss, leader.
I'm so grateful and lucky to live in the free state of Florida as a citizen and as a leader.
[00:57:17] Speaker B: Well, we would keep him in that office for a long time if we could.
[00:57:20] Speaker A: I would. I'd work for him forever if I could.
[00:57:23] Speaker B: Do you see him best being served or best serving his country in the executive branch, legislative, judicial?
Do you have a hunch where he would best be placed?
[00:57:37] Speaker A: I will tell you one thing, and I've talked a lot about this with my husband, is he would be. He and she would be amazing anywhere.
The governor has so much to give this nation and he has so much that you've seen him give our beautiful state. So goodness, wherever he goes, I'm one of his biggest fans.
[00:58:00] Speaker B: Well, same here. And let him know, I remember we had just moved here the first election cycle. That was close, that first.
[00:58:10] Speaker A: I remember we were there. I remember. But Harken, back to the part of the conversation where I met him as a member of Congress.
I told Jeb, my husband, I said, look, that is our that's the guy.
He's got to win. He's amazing. So I remember how close it was back then. And then it wasn't close at all the second time around, obviously. But the governor has.
I mean, he's young, and him and the first lady are young.
So I think they have so much Runway. There's so much opportunity I can't even begin to imagine. But I do pray for their leadership every day.
[00:58:52] Speaker B: That's exciting, whatever the future.
When we first moved here, I'd taken the church, and Julie probably remembers, we reached out and did.
Made a donation and got one of the first Desantis caps, the blue Desantis cap.
[00:59:06] Speaker A: I have one.
[00:59:07] Speaker B: So I got it. I put it on, took a selfie with it and posted it. And it was before the election.
And so it was one of those things that people would say, you feel good about that? And I said, I really do. I really do.
Supporting the governor, supporting Desantis, I really felt good about that. I think he's the guy.
But now, eight years later, oh, I was right.
We nailed that decision. I've been wrong about some others, but I was not wrong about that one. He's been one of the greatest governors. If we ever can find a Mount Rushmore in Florida, he certainly belongs on that hill.
[00:59:51] Speaker A: I couldn't agree more.
[00:59:52] Speaker B: Well, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for coming on Code Red and giving us a little bit of the behind the scenes.
[00:59:58] Speaker A: It's been a privilege. Thank you.
