Emily Slusher

I attribute my success to the guidance of many people, and also to myself.

To the following mentors: Faron Clifford, Christa Kenefick, and Russell Ermeling, thank you for showing me what true leadership looks like. I have carried those lessons forward by mentoring peers, fostering teamwork, and leading with empathy, accountability, and resilience.

To myself: For always fighting the good fight, for standing proud, using my voice, and inspiring others to do the same.

Once at a company townhall, I presented my CEO with a challenge. He had rented a machine that replicated milking a cow, and I asked him if he wanted to race; see who could fill up the cup first.

We got about five second in, and he pulled his "teat" off the cow, his cup now full. He looked at me, smiled and said, "don't be afraid to take risks, or make a mess." It was a simple piece of advice that carries a complex understanding.

I still think about it a decade later. It crosses my mind after making a hard decision or putting myself out there.

Use your voice, for silence defeats progress. Believe in yourself, you are the chisel and the rock. Challenge your leaders, stay true to your values, and don’t be afraid to leave the wrong environment in search of the right door. I would apply this advice to any industry.

In 2026, I joined an industry I have never dabbled in before. At the age of 43, I became a Relationship Manager in the world of charitable gaming. I waited a long time to walk through the right door, and it was well worth the wait.

In this industry, most things are challenging.

The implementation of House Bill 904 introduces enhanced state oversight, creating severe operational friction for veterans' organizations. Local VFWs and American Legion posts operate primarily as support networks, utilizing electronic pull-tab revenues to fund vital community welfare. Sometimes that means purchasing groceries for a grieving military widow. Let that sit with you for a minute.

Commanders and officers, many of whom are aging veterans donating their remaining years to service, are suddenly tasked with navigating intricate licensing pipelines, extensive background checks, and strict legal liabilities.

The friction deepens under the state's new environmental rules, which mandate distinct, cordoned-off spaces for electronic gaming devices. Erecting physical barriers requires unexpected financial investments that directly deplete funds meant for veterans in need, while structurally disrupting the cohesive, welcoming sanctuaries these chapters spent decades fostering.

Aggregated together, these burdens present a heartbreaking industry challenge. The sheer volume of compliance paperwork and renovation costs risks outpacing volunteer capacity and financial capabilities. This threatens the survival of the vital community lifelines these veterans sacrificed their youth to build.

However, a balanced professional lens reveals that the bill also establishes protections to safeguard the industry's future. By providing a definitive legal framework for electronic pull-tab devices, the General Assembly has insulated non-profits from sudden, industry-wide shutdowns that would completely evaporate their charitable funds.

Furthermore, increasing the single-prize payout ceiling to $1,499 creates economic potential to drive foot traffic and generate the expanded revenues necessary to heal these regulatory wounds.

As a relationship manager, my objective is to serve as an indispensable compliance bridge, validating the genuine operational fatigue felt by these veterans, carrying the weight of the technical transition, and strategically leveraging the higher payout caps to ensure these invaluable community lifelines endure. All the while, encouraging my customers to keep their chin up, this too shall pass.

Resilience, teamwork, and integrity, are principles I learned both on the soccer field and in the Army, before I found myself in the business world. They molded my belief in building strong, adaptable teams and empowering others to rise through challenges.

Resilience is the dynamic interplay of stress and reward systems; a physiological and psychological orchestration that can be trained, strengthened, and optimized.

Teamwork chemistry is a real neurochemical feedback loop of trust, reward, stability, and shared focus, amplified by endorphins that keep morale high.

Integrity is a house built on cognition, emotion, social trust, and reward systems. It strengthens principled behavior, making it sustainable and self-reinforcing.