Sam Estes: Executive Leader, Published Author, and Philanthropist Discusses Work in the Defense World, and Passion for Helping Youth with Disabilities

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hi everyone, this is Joyce Bender on Disability Matters. I hope everyone's having a great day, and thank you so much for listening to the show. I always say it is my listeners that have made such a difference in my life, but more importantly, the lives of millions of people living with disabilities. Because guess what? This has been on for 22 years. 22 years. And last year was my 1,000th episode. And we now have over 170 countries with listeners. And I always say But, and by the way, Singapore has one of the largest listening audiences. Way to go, Singapore. I always say to those countries, even if you have one, one listener in Saudi Arabia, that one listener makes all the difference. Keep going. And Yoshiko, special shout out to my dear friend Yoshiko Dart. Who I love so much. Yoshiko, lead on. And I know you're yelling that back right now. And I know many of you know Yoshiko Dart. And I try to get her on, but I can't get her on, on the show. But she listens and she listens to every show. We love her. We love you, Yoshiko. And thank you to my sponsor, Highmark. What a great company Highmark is. So great they are, and they do so much for people with disabilities. They are the lead sponsor, and they hire people. As you all know, I'm the CEO of Bender Consulting Services, a for-profit company that focuses on the employment of people with disabilities from the more junior to the executive level in STEM areas, in finance, procurement and AI. And I'm the chair of the Bender Leadership Academy that trains high school students with disabilities about the world of work. And we will be talking about that in a few minutes here. But I'm telling you this because I live with epilepsy, and that is what got me here. Living with Epilepsy. So I'm so thrilled to be here with you today. And I know you're going to love our guest today, who I love very much. And just so you know, even with a loss in his family and having to drive to meet his siblings and friends, he still is on the show, even though it's from his car. And that's what he's like. He never lets you down, ever. You can always count on him no matter what. Sam Estes, who is the founder and CEO of SJMB Enterprises, a board member of the Bender Leadership Academy, and my friend— I love him, he is just such a good person. And as you see him right now, yes, he did play football. So I know that's one of the first things you'll notice. Uh, but with that, Sam, welcome to the show.

Thank you very much for that, Joyce. It's my pleasure being here and being in front of your audience. It's important and loving work that you do, so I'm glad to, uh, be able to, uh, participate once again on your radio show.

Well, it's good to have you again also. And you know, I was thinking about this, Sam. I met you over decade ago, because I met you, wow, it was like 15 years ago maybe, at the Epilepsy Foundation.

Correct.

You got involved with the Epilepsy Foundation, and as Tony Coelho told you, it's not just how much you give, it's how you give personally, the volunteer work, the service. And boy, you are all about service, I'll tell you. Uh, so it's just a pleasure to have you, but I know my listeners who are seeing the show, they always want to know more about our guests. So would you mind sharing with our guests a little bit about you, where you grew up, went to school, what happened, what was your journey?

Sure. So, you know, grew up in the Metro Detroit area. Went to high school, of course played football, played at Eastern Michigan University, played professionally for a couple of years and just really, you know, started that life and started a different profession into the security and law enforcement realm. Moved out to the Washington, D.C. area in 2012, starting to support, you know, at the time, DOD. With the Department of Navy, and from there went over to Homeland Security, was a director of operations for over at Homeland for 14 years. I mean, I'm sorry, 12 years, and really wanted to operate in a, in a couple of different spaces. So I have a couple of different companies, and one of them is a consulting company where I assist government contractors industry and law enforcement realm operations. So we, you know, we support, I support a number of different clients in the private and public sector. And yeah, we do some great work and assist where we can on a lot of different things. You know, Compliance is a full-service consulting company. So we do a lot with our clients and You know, it's a passion. It's what I love. So, doing good.

Well, Sam, I know, 'cause I know you're a very passionate person. Tell me, you have many friends in the NFL and you yourself played football professionally, like Jeff Pope, an example, who was in the Super Bowl with the Giants. But what I wanted to ask you is, it seems that a lot of people I've met in sports and I know you know another one, Brett, but are very giving, you know, give, want to give back. Have you sensed that also, Sam? Have you seen that also?

Yes, there's a lot of professional athletes that give back. I don't think they get justice for the amount of community work that they do on the local level. You do hear stories, there are certain highlights, when things hit the national stage, but professional athletes do a tremendous amount of work in the communities that they come from and the communities that they currently live in with whatever professional team that they're playing for. So huge hearts, you know, just giving back and pouring into communities and helping others. So it's great. It's great what they do. And once again, I don't think it gets highlighted enough. Tremendous individuals, tremendous hearts, and tremendous tremendous efforts on their behalf to assist others.

Well, what about you, Sam? I have— you have always been— Joyce, how are you? Joyce, what can I do to help you? But you're like that with so many people. What— here's an example. Sam, several years ago, wanted to make sure that, you know, we were keeping During COVID the civil rights alive. And he started this Saturday morning Zoom meeting with different leaders in the civil rights world. And I'm meaning like all the way up to Reverend Dr. William Barber. But that's just how he is. No one told him to do that. He just did it. But Sam, you are like that. Why do you think you're that way? Where did this come from?

I get it from my father. My father was a tremendous man and one of my best— He was my best friend growing up and he was part of the movement. He was very engaged in civil rights in the '60s and the '70s, and he really taught us the difference between civil rights and civil responsibilities in that, you know, you have the right to vote, but you also have a responsibility to vote and that you have to leave things a little bit better than when you received it. So he instilled that in me and my siblings at very early ages, and we've been engaged and we've always, you know, we live by that every single day, you know, just trying to be a little bit better every single day within ourselves and the communities that we serve. So, you know, it's something that is in me, and I definitely get that from him.

Well, that's wonderful. I like that. It's not about voting. It's not just about the right to vote. It's about the responsibility to vote. Wow, how true that is. And you know, at the Bender Leadership Academy, which we'll be talking about, as I said, that Sam's on the board, we have a part called The Valerie— the— I'm sorry, the Jarrett Community Engagement, named after Valerie Jarrett. And, and we are teaching people how to vote, and we tell them— as a matter of fact, Sam, I'm going to put that in the training about why you should vote. So, well, your dad did a good job, I'll tell you that. And with that, we're going to get ready to go to break. We're going to give you time to call your friends and tell them to listen to this show with Sam Estes, founder and CEO of SJMB Enterprises and board director on the Bender Leadership Academy. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Don't go away, we'll be right back with Sam.

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You're listening to Disability Matters. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

Hey everyone, welcome back Disability to Disability Matters. Matters with me, Joyce Bender. So great to have you with us. We are talking to the dynamic Sam Estes today, who is a board member of the Bender Leadership Academy and the CEO and founder of SJMB Enterprises. Sam, if someone is listening and they, you know, you do this consulting, how would they get in touch with you and what services do you offer?

So they can go to my company website, which is sjmbenterprises.com, get a, you know, figure out exactly what we do. We are a full-service consulting firm, so we provide services, everything from Compliance, auditing, everything to capture. We do a lot of our clients deal with government contracts. It doesn't have to be security or law enforcement, but being able to get access to the federal system to see what contracts are available. We teach our clients how to properly go after federal contracts, how to structure the companies to be appealing to the government when it comes to, you know, contracts, which is everything from janitorial to uniforms to cutting grass. You know, the federal government puts all of that out for contractors to do. And we deal with the public sector, you know, private businesses. The world-famous Golden Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas is one of our clients. You know, we help from a security standpoint, so we do threat analysis. You know, we do workplace violence training. We do the whole gambit. We have a lot of subject matter experts in those fields to be able to provide our clients with necessary guidance and consulting services. So we really do the full gambit.

You brought up the pawn shop. Do you want to tell everyone who you know there and who you work with there?

Well, a good friend of mine is Rick Harrison, um, you know, from the, from the famous, uh, uh, television show, uh, Pawn Stars. Um, so he's been a close friend. We did, uh, we started, uh, working together at the Epilepsy Foundation years ago. Um, and over the years, he's just really, you know, become a very, very close friend. He just recently, um, got married again, um, to his, to his wife Angie. So you know, a shout out and congratulations to them on that. But he's become a really close friend, and, uh, you know, we vacation together, we spend time together, and, um, you know, he's just a— he's just a wonderful person. He has a very big heart. Um, he had epilepsy as a kid, had seizures, and, and he at one point served on the board of directors at the Epilepsy Foundation with, with you, Joyce Bender. Um, and that's where we, you know, You know, we were introduced and just through the years cultivated that professional relationship into a friendship. So, you know, we handle a bunch of services for him there. And yeah, just, you know, good guy, solid guy. Yeah.

Yes, he is. Well, I remember because he was, as you said, he was on the board of the Epilepsy Association and was very committed to that foundation the whole time. Uh, so Sam, getting back to your services, so if there's some national corporation and they're putting out a bid trying to find a firm that would do security for them, that's something you would be able to do?

Correct. Um, you know, on our private end, we have a lot of clients. Some of them, um, um, don't want their names being out there. Uh, some of them, you know, we do. But we have a large list of clients that we provide security services for, everything from unarmed security to armed security to executive protection. Unfortunately, with the political landscape that we're in, some of my clients are nonprofit organizations. Some of them are democracy organizations that get people out to vote no matter what side of the aisle you're on, the political aisle. And a lot of that unfortunately has been targeted by, you know, individuals, other organizations, and even some government agencies, which is unfortunate. So we do provide those services, risk mitigation, you know, organizations get a lot of threats, whether that be emails, whether it be on social media, we do assessments on those. We, you know, we monitor social media imprints, we work closely with our, uh, state, local, and, and federal partners, um, when it comes to investigating potential threats and so on and so forth. Uh, my team are a lot of retired law enforcement and military, and we, we, we deal in that, um, in that space. So, uh, you know, we, we do definitely provide those services to large companies with over 3,000 employees, and we provide them for smaller organizations that have 25 employees. Um, once again, those training services You know, every place should really, you know, emergency response plans. What do you do when there's a hurricane? What do you do when there's a fire? What do you do when there's earthquake? And what do you do, you know, from that all the way to what do you do when you have to terminate somebody? You know, how do you properly do that and maintain workplace safety when you're letting somebody go? So we provide those services to all of our clients if that's what they're looking for. And But if I don't say so, we do a very thorough and comprehensive level of service. We provide those to our clients.

Well, that's good. So if you're listening to the show, Sam, how do they reach you?

Once again, you can go to my website, sjmbenterprises.com. You can send an email, you know, S, Estes, S my first initial, last name Estes, E-S-T-E-S, at SJMB. Enterprises.com. Uh, we have a LinkedIn page you can go to. Um, we're on those. We're not on any other social media platforms, but, uh, uh, yeah, you can reach out or, um, you know, electronically, um, and, uh, we can, you know, sit down, do a consultation, see exactly what you need, and go and see if we can help you.

Yeah, so you understand that, uh, whether you're a national organization a smaller company, but even someone at the executive CEO or COO level in the company, if you're feeling apprehensive right now and you're wanting to get a security service, Sam does that also. So take time to go to his website. I can assure you that he is You know, a man of integrity and commitment. So this is someone I would want on my side protecting me in this environment that we're in right now. And Sam, I wanted to ask you about the Huntley Foundation. You're very involved with that foundation. What is it and why did you get involved?

Yeah, so the Hunley Foundation was started years ago by a good friend of mine. I call him my little brother, Brett Hunley, who played professionally. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. He was one of my ambassadors underneath the Athletes Versus Epilepsy initiative underneath the Epilepsy Foundation of America. And he wanted to branch out. Brett's sister Paris lives with epilepsy and her son Elijah Lives with epilepsy. So he just wanted to create a foundation to where we can support individuals with not only living with epilepsy, but other disabilities or disenfranchised communities. So we started that. I serve as the vice chairman on his board of directors. It's been, I believe, 5 years now. And we just do tremendous work. We partner with a lot of different organizations. We had a fatherhood program with Eisner Health out of California. To teach first-time fathers or fathers, um, that, that are going through some type of situation. We assist them through, through a program to give them training, for them to have access to mental health professionals and just have an avenue. You know, a lot of women, uh, are given opportunities to have that type of support, but We felt like there was a need for men to have that same or similar support. So we started that, which we're extremely proud of. We've done financial scholarships. We feed the homeless and the less fortunate. We've been doing that at Eastern Michigan University for the past 3 years where we give out Thanksgiving meals and we provide hot meals for the less fortunate. We just do so many. We do a Secret Santa where we sponsor families with individuals that live with disabilities or less fortunate. And we team up with other professional players, Kenyan Drake, which is a, you know, Alabama University legend, and he played in the NFL for, I believe, 8 years. He just retired last year. He's been tremendous in that. We work with the, once again, the Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. They support us in so many different ways. We just do a lot of different programs where we're assisting individuals with social support or financial support. And so I give all the credit to the world to Brett for just being a great human being, being a great man, and leading that effort. And I'm just proud to be a part of that team and the work that we do. It's just tremendous. And Rick Harrison actually does an annual pawn shop poker run in Las Vegas every year. So we're in Vegas every year. And he does this fundraising event. We raise, you know, $50,000 plus each event. We're, you know, getting on motorcycles and you do a poker run and we have great partners for that. And, you know, it's just tremendous. We're able to help so many people through these fundraising efforts. So just love the work that we do there.

Well, he is an awesome person because of Sam. I met him and got to know him. And although he's not here in the United States, he's like Mr. World Traveler, but he is really a good person. He's really, really good. And as Sam said, he played in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers, but he too has a heart of gold. So you can see the people you associate, Sam. With or like you. So with that, hey, it's time for our news break. Only place in the world where every week we have a news break where we talk about what's going on in the world, and we call it Mathis on the Mic. And here today substituting— well, can you substitute? Being here to represent Jennifer Mathis Anne, I always get it wrong. Is it Raj? How do you pronounce your last name?

It is Raish.

Raish? Is that right? Yes, that is. Anne Raish? Well, I've got to get it right because you know you'll become famous because you were on this show. So Anne, thank you. Anne is with Bazelon and another awesome person that is fighting the fight for people with mental health disabilities. So Anne, what news do you have for us today?

Thanks for having me. Yes, I could never substitute Jennifer or fill her big shoes, but I have some good news today. I wanted to talk about last week's budget package that Congress approved. They approved a fiscal 2026 budget that will fund agencies through the end of this fiscal year, so through the end of September. And they chose to continue funding, uh, current levels programs that support people with disabilities. Um, so that means that they rejected proposals by the administration to cut those programs. Um, so for example, funding was maintained at current levels for Protection and Advocacy programs, so they can continue their work strengthening community living and protecting the rights of of Individuals with Disabilities. They also funded the Administration for Community Living and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at current levels. So this is a big win for people with disabilities, and it shows that sustained advocacy can really make a difference. The final funding levels here really resulted from sustained advocacy from the disability community, which raised concerns that the proposed cuts would weaken civil rights and independent living services. So I wanted to just share that good news from last week.

Wow, that is so awesome. Oh, thank God. I mean, thinking, like, just one thing, thinking about protection and advocacy organizations being cut, ah. So much. And also education is pretty much back, correct?

Yeah, things that were being cut, they funded special education services under IDEA, and so really rejected the administration's attempt to curtail those programs.

Well, a question I get frequently from our listeners is it appears just as you said, some good things are happening from advocacy, which by the way, you listeners, Jennifer always tells you everything you're doing is having an impact, which is obvious by so many things happening. But is it possible, do you think, that there could be relief in Medicaid? In other words, Medicaid cuts, do you think that could happen?

I think down the road, perhaps with advocacy. I don't see that as a likely scenario currently, but I think people should continue the work to preserve, you know, the levels that do exist and do whatever they can to prevent harm from arising from the, the recent cuts from, from the Big Beautiful Bill. Um, you know, making sure that those cuts don't, uh, result in, in, um, you know, termination of really critical services, I think, is still very, um, important work.

Well, you know, when is a lot of this doesn't, hasn't gone into effect until after the midterms, isn't that right?

Um, I think you are right.

Yeah. Now, and, uh, well, what I say about that to everyone out there is, you know, your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing. So no matter what, you know, we can't give up. What is that? Faith is taking a step without seeing the whole staircase, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said. And we have to have faith that if we keep moving forward, something will happen. We have to keep moving forward. We have to keep raising our voice. That's the only thing that's going to change anything. Yeah, but right. And it was so nice to have you on today with— boy, Jennifer is going to be so jealous. You get to come on and say, I have good news, I got lucky. Yeah, you came on, I have good news, not I have bad news. So that's good. Well, and again, Bazelon Center on Mental Health Law. Bazelon, B-A-Z-E-L-O-N, bazelon.org. I'm so proud to be on the board of this wonderful organization. And thank you so much for being with us.

Thank you, Joyce.

All right, have a good day. Yeah, bye-bye. We love bringing you the news. We love it. We don't have our own CNN, but you've got Disability Matters with Joyce Bender. So, Sam, we are so honored to have you on the board of the Bender Leadership Academy, which of course helps prepare high school students with disabilities for the world of work and also how to fight bullying. Um, so, you know, having you on is such an honor, but You do have a passion for students. Look what you just talked about before, but students with disabilities. What gives you a passion to help students with disabilities?

Well, there's so much there. I think that, you know, before I even joined the board, I remember having a conversation that, you know, every time I look at you, um, I see Mary, our good friend, and having a conversation with her about what the Leadership Academy did. And I remember her giving me a call and asking me about serving on the board. And at the time, I was really stretched thin. I was serving on a couple of different other nonprofit boards, and I was getting vetted to be a trustee at my alma mater at Eastern Michigan University. And I was like, ah, you know, I have this thing in my head where I have to go 100%. I can't do anything one foot in, one foot out. And so I was like, you know, I don't want to be a disservice to the board. And she said, Sam, you don't know how inspirational you will be to other individuals in the communities that we serve. And, you know, decided to do it because I love you and Mary. And I really don't like bullies. You know, I mean, I've always been a larger man and I never had to deal with bully— bullying in high school. But when I really peeled the layers back and through my own worldly experiences of seeing individuals living with disabilities and what they have to encounter and speaking to parents of individuals, um, um, it was just a no-brainer for me. And so anything that I'm able to do to support those individuals when they're in school and out of You know, a lot of times people want to only believe that bullying happens in school, but kids get bullied in places of worship. They get bullied in the normal walks of life when they go to the grocery store. They get bullied, you know, even at home. So just empowering individuals to be authentically themselves, and there is nothing wrong with being yourself. Everyone is different.. It doesn't make you better or worse than any other person. So that's what drove me to, to really be a part of the Leadership Academy.

Well, Mary was right, what she said about you. You are inspirational. And you see, folks, kids with disabilities are bullied more than any other group, and sadly, it has created suicidal ideation. Joyce Bender: So you've really— you're out there listening. You gotta help us. BenderLeadership.org is a standalone, not part of Bender Consulting, a standalone organization I started in 2018 with a terrific board. But we always need help. So if you're listening, a dollar, $10, $100, doesn't matter. Everything counts. These kids, the bar has been lowered. People don't even think about them, you know, when it moves forward to employment. And like in Delaware, for example, the great majority of the students are African American. So I always call that double jeopardy. So we need your help. We gotta prepare them. They need to be included in the world of work just like everyone else. But bullying, like on social media, in person, no matter what, can be very deadly. So I just ask you to please get behind us and go to the website. You'll also see Karen Slaughter, the famous author behind the show Will Trent on ABC on Tuesday nights at 8. She would be would be upset with me if I didn't say when it's on, um, helped us start the Slaughter Stigma campaign. So go, go to benderleadership.org and you'll hear what Karen has to say about bullying. And make your own video and send it in. You just need a cell phone and 30 seconds. benderleadership.org Slaughter Stigma. And Sam, you know, today there are so many jobs where you don't have to go to college to make a lot of money. I mean, between plumbing and HVAC and electricians. I just read an article. There was a time that when you had these jobs, like my father owned his own garage, he was a mechanic. And so there was a time when any job like that, they're just, you know, they're just a mechanic or they're just an electrician or they're just a whatever because they don't have a college degree. Well, let me tell you, with AI, many college students are having a hard time finding any job. But journeymen and women, opportunities in these other fields are paying extremely well. So that's why I tell the students at Bender Leadership Academy, you do not have to go to college to be in that $60,000, $80,000, $100,000 job today. And Sam, if you were talking to different companies, why would you tell them to give one of these students with a disability from Bender Leadership Academy, an internship or apprenticeship, what would be the reason? What would you say?

There's so many different reasons. Um, just from a practicality standpoint, in the language that business owners or decision makers have, is that what I've experienced firsthand is individuals that live with disabilities are extremely hard workers. They have a different approach to work because they feel like they have to prove themselves every single day, every single shift, because all eyes are on them because they have disabilities. They're extremely hard and dedicated workers. And so just a mindset that I've always had, you know, in my previous experience, I've been responsible for over 1,200 employees at one point in time. I always look for individuals to have a vested interest in the success of the company or the organization. I don't want the people that's just looking for a check, right? I don't want the— you know, I mean, there's so many teachers out there that just teach because it's a check and they don't care about the kids actually learning. Who would want a teacher like that for the child, right? There's some nurses out there, doctors out there, firemen, or whatever else it is. Those are what I call angel jobs, individuals that do it for the love of the profession and others as opposed to the paycheck. And so people that live with disabilities They really are extremely hard workers. And, you know, I think everyone should have an opportunity to have a decent job with pay that they can live off of. So I think giving those— not giving anything, but providing an opportunity for people with disabilities to enter that workforce and become part of that family organization is incredibly important. And it's something that we strive for at the Academy. So, you know, I do want to take time to give a special thank you to you for creating the Academy and leading it. It's one thing to start an organization. We have too many leaders that talk the talk and don't walk the walk. You have been a tremendous role model and mentor to all of us at the Academy, but even individually and personally. So I want to thank you for that.

Back at you. It goes both ways, Sam. So Sam, you know, when I think about you— integrity, giving, caring, uh, wanting to reach out, servant leadership, so many things— who, who is your role model? Like, what has impacted you the most in your life?

My father. Um, I'll say it every day of my life, he, he is my moral compass to this day. He passed away in 2006, uh, but he taught me everything. Everything good in me comes from, uh, comes from him. Uh, no discredit to my mother and my uncles and aunts and everyone else that had positive influences on my life, but my father set the bar. Um, so I get all of that from him. He was a tremendous man. Um, it's funny, you know, uh, Mary's father's name was Jack as well too. And so that was one connection that we always, we always talked about, both our fathers being named Jack. And, um, um, he's, he's just a tremendous person. But, you know, over the years I've had— I've been blessed to have a lot of mentors, you being one of them. Uh, Bishop Barber has been my moral— has been my spiritual leader for quite some time. He's just a tremendous man that I can reach out to when I'm having any type of conscious crisis or, you know, just input. Um, he's been tremendous. There's so many people to, to, to name. Uh, my uncles and aunts, my Uncle Jimmy and my Uncle Joe and my Uncle John, uh, my Aunt Emma. You know, I'm the youngest of 9, so all of my siblings have been incredibly important to me in helping structure the man that I am today. So, um, there's not any one person, um, um, on this earth that I can, that I can I give the majority of the credit to, but my father has definitely been my guiding light.

It sounds like a great man to me. What are some of the things you remember that he taught you?

Oh, wee. Oh, so many things. I mean, he taught me about really a lot about politics and that Civil disobedience is a part of democracy. He also taught me that we don't live in a democracy. People throw that all out. We don't live in a democracy. We live in a democratic republic. So just understanding the political climate and politics and how to maneuver those politics and how to stand up for yourself and how to stand up for others is just those things that he embedded in me and my brothers and my sisters, how to be self-sufficient. Um, he just, he just, you know, I, I remember at a, at a very young age, I think my brother or sister might have posed a question to him. I can't remember exactly what the circumstances, but he gauged— he said he gauged his success as a parent on if his children are better people than him. It doesn't matter the job you have or how much money you make, you have to be a better person than me. And that's how I gauge my success as a parent. And I use that today. You know, we, you know, we want to provide opportunities to our children to be in a better position than we had it, you know. And that's, I think, one of the dynamics that every parent goes through. But he taught me so many life lessons that we could, we could be talking until next Tuesday and I could still rattle off things. He just was that important of a person to me and, and to my family. Family, um, and, um, you know, I owe a lot to him, um, so he's the man. He is the man.

He set the bar and it seems like he set the rule and it seems like he walked the talk.

Yes, he did. Yes, he did.

And he had his hands full. 9 children, that wasn't a small amount. Yeah, his hands full.

Yes, yes, he did. He did a wonderful job with it too. I can only— I can't imagine 9 kids. Ooh. But he made it work. And, um, you know, give all the credit to my siblings as well too. They're tremendous individuals in their own right. And, um, you know, we all have that community fabric embedded in us. So, uh, you know, we're, we're doing things as a family, we do things as a community, uh, they help out um, at all of my functions that I have, you know, fundraisers and, um, advocacy, uh, you know, situations, whatever that may be. They, they support— my entire family supports. So it's tremendous.

You know, when you're talking about your father, this is Black History Month, and what I say to people is When they say, oh yeah, I know it's Black History Month, I say, okay, yeah, good. What are you doing? Hm? What are you doing? And that is why this month, Black History Month, I have been honoring it every week. It reminds me of your dad, what you said about him, the right to vote versus the responsibility to vote. We're all in this together, folks. We're all in this together, and we all have to support one another. When people call me, I say there are two things. One, move forward, keep moving, don't let anything stop you, keep moving. And two, communicate. We all have to communicate with one another because that's what gives us strength. Our brothers and sisters in the spirit, getting connected with everyone, that is what gives us strength. What is that? Let me see if I— if you can't fly, walk. If you can't walk, crawl. But whatever you do, keep moving forward, said Martin Luther King Jr. And that's the truth. You have to keep moving forward. So Sam, you have done so many things at such a young age that you are, um, but if you had looked back on your life so far as a young man, what, what do you consider your greatest accomplishments?

Oh, my greatest accomplishment are my children. Um, you know, I have 3 children and, uh, they have a unique way of making you feel old and young at the same time, keep you on your toes. Um, you know, my accomplishments that I take pride in have nothing to do with professional accolades. I've received a lot of professional accolades and educational accolades, but it's really about family, uh, for me in the community. And those things is just, you know, being there for my family in different ways throughout the years. And more importantly, my family being there for me throughout the years, whether it be phone calls, you know, flowers. You know, I remember in college my Aunt Tootsie, God rest her soul, sent me a check for $25. Yeah, just out of the blue. I'm, you know, in my dorm room and I got the mail, and it's— I, I think back and hearken back to to memories of that, of being on full scholarship and just getting a random check from your aunt, you know what I mean, for $25. And I'm sure I probably spent it on a pizza or something. I have no idea what I spent it on, but just knowing that I was on her mind and those things are tremendous. I mean, they leave the world, they mean the world to me. So my accomplishments have to do with family, in the community, serving the less fortunate, feeding the hungry is something that reaches and touches my soul. The things that we do at the Leadership Academy, the things we do at the Hundley Foundation mean the world. To be around individuals that you assist, it just recharges my batteries. And that's why it's always been, even with the Epilepsy Foundation, My most— the most rewarding thing was our national walk at the National Mall in D.C. and just being around people and letting them know that it's okay to be themselves and other people are going through similar circumstances. A lot of times people with disabilities feel like they're going through things on their own, whether they're sitting down getting chemo in the hospital by themselves or they're getting themselves up off the couch when no one's around, but they have multiple sclerosis or whatever the circumstances are, a lot of times you feel like you're lonely and just getting the messaging out that you're not alone. You know, you might be alone in the moment physically, but you know, someone, you know, there's people out there, there's organizations out there that are with you 100%, and, and I'm one of those individuals. So, um, it means a lot to me to, to, to, to reach out and, and let your presence be known, um, that you're there to help.

I'm not surprised that this is what something like this is what you would say. Beautiful, wonderful, just like you, Sam. What you just said is just like you. And I hope that you will remember Sam as a board member of Vendor Leadership Academy, but also as the founder and CEO of SGMB Corporation. And what is the website there, Sam? Sjmbenterprises.com. Get in touch. You know, a good way to support is by working with someone. So don't talk the talk. You know, I hate when people do that. Well, what can I do? I do anything to help you. What can I do? And I say, really? Hire someone. Let's go. Make it happen. Don't say it. If you don't mean it. So Sam, what message do you have for our listeners today?

Um, my parting remarks would be, uh, number one, tune in next week. Joyce does a great service to not just individuals living with disabilities but the friends, family, and loved ones of people with disabilities. And this is a great platform. I'm honored to be on it. It's my second time being on it. Um, you know, tune in next week. She has great, wonderful guests that come in and provide insight into what some of those struggles are as we, you know, deal with this societal impact that we're currently in. And, you know, it's never to harp down what we're in but look forward toward tomorrow. So tune in next week, go to our Bender Leadership Academy website and find different ways that you can support us in our mission, whether you're local to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area or you're national or international. Uh, please go to the website, look at the work that we're doing, and please, you know, help out. That can be volunteering, that can be a $5 donation, it could be a $50,000 donation. Um, it could be something as simple as just sharing on your network. If you don't have a dollar to give, that's fine. It takes no money at all to share one of our posts so that someone in your network can see it and they'll be able to support it. And so that's one of the things that I strive in when I'm reaching out to my network when we have different things that's going on. And you don't have to wait for an event to support. If you wake up and it's on your heart, do something about it. And that's, you know, getting on— everyone has access to their phones, just figure out what's going on, follow us on our social media, and help out where you can.

Yeah, amen to all that, Sam. Well, I hope you do join us next week on the show as we continue To celebrate Black History Month, we end every show with a quote, and today that quote is, "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men," said Frederick Douglass. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters at voiceamerica.com. And in the words of Mary Brooker, when you get up tomorrow morning, remember, choose joy. See you all next week.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Voices. Quality matters right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.