Jackie Fair

I attribute my success to consistency, and my mom is my hero. She's been consistent in more ways than you realize. I had to share her with other kids in the neighborhood because she can't let no child go without. If they need a hug, she gave it to them. I have people that say 'that's my sister' because my mom welcomed everybody. In doing so, it helped me be humble in recognizing that I'm blessed to have someone that not only cares for me and is involved with me, but encourages me and pushes me. All my life, I heard 'Jackie, you're a jack of all trades,' and I'm like 'but I master none.' But she will not give up on me, and she is my biggest cheerleader. She's always been that, so I'm like 'Mom, you're kind of partial,' and I blow it off, but she just calls to tell me she loves me. Watching her consistency, watching what she does, and the effects of it pushed me to do the same thing, even with my kids. I have 3 that I birthed, but all of their friends would get off the bus and come to my house because I've cooked, but more than anything, because I listened. Sometimes just that simple gesture could be the difference between saving a kid's life or helping them not make the wrong decision. My purpose in life is to be an encourager, to be a resource for people, and give my testimony of some things and obstacles that I've been through in life. One of my sayings is 'the rest of my life will be the best of my life,' and it starts with me recognizing who I am in life.

My son, when he was young, gave me some of the most powerful advice I've ever received. I used to tell him all the time 'man, I've made so many mistakes,' and he said 'well, I don't pay attention to the mistakes, I pay attention to how you get up.' That changed everything for me. It taught me that it's okay to fall - what matters is how you rise. I had to learn to forgive myself. At one point, I didn't love myself. I did it silently - I didn't want anybody to know I was broken or vulnerable. But I had to forgive me, and that was part of the lesson for me in life to give to someone else. It is okay to fall, it's not okay to stay down. My babies are my encouragement, and I understand now why my mom did what she did. She loved every one of us differently, but we have a close bond, and we're trying to do the same thing with our kids because this generation is lost.

The most important value to me is simply being kind and listening to people. I tell my kids all the time - if you can't think of any way to be or anything to say, just be kind. You'll never get in trouble, it will never serve you wrong. Being an active listener sometimes speaks more volume than just advertising. You can't love if you don't even know who you are, and if you don't even love yourself. I had to learn that lesson. The thing that probably sets my team apart from others is we're not robotic - we're actually humans that empathize with customers and listen to customers. The biggest thing that I love to do is to help people. When times come up and people need help, or need a voice, or need a difference of opinion, I'm there. A lot of my time is giving time. Somebody helped me one day, and I wanted to be able to pay it forward. I got that from my parents growing up - that was something they did with us. As a young child, you think 'ugh, I'd rather be doing something else,' but the older you get, you realize how important and how valuable that is.