#0003 - Jamie Crowe

Ever wondered how a simple introduction can transform your life? Jamie Crowe, a devoted member of the South Oklahoma City Rotary Club, shares her remarkable journey that began with a colleague’s invitation and blossomed into a 15-year odyssey of community service and leadership. From her early days in Rotary to serving as club president during the tumultuous COVID era, Jamie’s story is not just about service, but about the deep friendships and global connections she’s fostered along the way. As a first-generation Oklahoman and a mother of eight, Jamie’s dedication to education and community is both inspiring and motivational.

Join us as we highlight the Rotary Club's impactful initiatives, focusing on youth recognition and cultural exchanges. Celebrate the achievements of outstanding students through programs like "Student of the Month" and "Pedal for Perfect Attendance," and discover how these efforts encourage and reward young leaders. Experience the community spirit with events such as the "Socks for Seniors" drive and the annual pancake breakfast, a local favorite complete with a visit from the Grinch. Plus, learn about the "Wings of Rotary" exchange program that offers students unique cultural experiences in Japan. These stories emphasize the powerful impact of community involvement, painting a vivid picture of how local efforts can resonate globally.

Chapters

• 0:20 Jamie Crow Discusses Rotary Club Involvement
• 10:48 Youth Recognition and Global Exchange

Transcript

Brian Triger: 0:20

This is your host, Brian Triger, with the Midwest City Rotary Club from Almonte Library in Oklahoma City. With me today I have Jamie Crow. How are you doing today, Jamie?

Jamie Crowe: 0:29

I'm doing great. It's a beautiful day in Oklahoma City.

Brian Triger: 0:33

Thank you for joining me. Tell us more about how you discovered Rotary and tell us a little bit more about yourself.

Jamie Crowe: 0:39

I was first introduced to Rotary by being invited to a meeting and the first few meetings that I went to I realized that I could learn a lot about the community with the speakers and the business community that was civic- minded, that were in the room and I knew a little bit about Rotary, but not enough.

Jamie Crowe: 0:58

And it wasn't until I was sponsored by someone who was in Rotary and worked for a local community bank and they also believed in their employees doing things within the community. So at that time, it was a great fit for me to leverage the company that I was working for in representing them in a capacity as a civic leader in Rotary. In the local Oklahoma City Rotary Club, Becky Ferguson sponsored me and she took it further than just inviting me to lunch. She was a big supporter of Rotary, advocated, told me a lot about what they did in the different clubs that she was a part of in the different cities that she had worked in. So I was very attracted to learning more and just being in the right place where I think businesses who want to have a purpose and want to give back to the community.

Jamie Crowe: 1:59

Rotary allows your people to do that. So pick people in your organization that are good stewards of your company and give them the opportunity to plug into a Rotary Club. For me it didn't only open up an opportunity for me to meet a whole other network of people, but since I joined Rotary and I'm going on 15 years I've been lucky to be the president of our Rotary Club, not just once, but twice. I actually ran the Rotary Club during COVID, and so it was very interesting to see Rotary is consistently giving back, and anywhere you go in the world you can find a Rotary Club that's doing something in that community.

Brian Triger: 2:54

Wow, 15 years. That's quite some time. So you're out of the South Oklahoma City Rotary Club, is that correct?

Jamie Crowe: 3:00

That's correct.

Brian Triger: 3:01

Tell us a little bit more about your first couple of years and how that's kind of shifted to your perspective 15 years later.

Jamie Crowe: 3:11

So early on we had more members. We at one point had over 100 members in our club and we were sweet spots between 35 and 45. And we were lucky to have even the number of people still meeting. But in our district we have about 33 clubs. So back in the day I really only knew about what our Rotary Club was doing and at that time, with the number of members that we had, we had events that I wasn't really planning but I was a part of and the experience was phenomenal. We had masquerade and mischiefs where we raised $16,000 to $20,000 in a night at an auction with fellow Rotarians throughout the district, not just in our club but friends and family that were part of Rotary Clubs in our community as well. We did a veterans project and we were able to get a grant approved and the project was about $12,000. And our Rotary Club would take a lot of service projects, a lot of fundraising to come up with $12,000. And we were able to come up with a third of that apply for a grant and with Rotary International they allow us to tap into those investors that have put in the dollars throughout all these years and if the grant's approved, we get two thirds of that to fund that project. So you know, the Veterans Home was able to get that $12,000 project funded.

Jamie Crowe: 4:42

In our efforts and through Rotary we were able to do that and have a big celebration and present them with that type of check, and I realized early on that it wasn't just people here in the community but with it being the largest civic organization in the world. There's a lot of history in Rotary and Paul Harris was something that I also learned very early on. So and I recently so to catch up to speed now. So that was then I became Paul Harris early on and I wanted to be able to keep giving to the Paul Harris Society and be able to give back so that each $1,000 that you donate in the name of Paul Harris you receive another year of recognition for Paul Harris, instead of me being year two or year three and having years of donating.

Jamie Crowe: 5:36

You can actually recognize non-rotarians, people who are out there doing service work and working in the community, and you see, you can, in the name of that person, contribute $1,000 and they will also become a Paul Harris Fellow. So through the last 15 years, not only have I become Paul Harris, but this year I was able to recognize my husband because I couldn't do the things that I do, and I 100% have support and their sweat equity with my family rolling up their sleeves and counting onions and picking up trash and dressing up for the Grinch. I mean, he is such a service minded person as well, and so I was lucky enough to recognize him as Paul Harris and later, looking back in the beginning of my time in Rotary, and now I have friends in Montreal that are in Rotary. I have friends that I can pick up the phone and call and learn from. You know, Rotary is a network that's bigger than any network outside of my faith. Rotary has really given me friendships that I can't even measure.

Brian Triger: 6:49

I appreciate you sharing that. Can you tell us a little bit more about your background, what you're interested in Tell?

Jamie Crowe: 6:59

us a little bit more about Jamie.

Jamie Crowe: 7:01

So I'm a first generation Oklahoman. My dad is from Wisconsin and my mom is from Texas. With that being said, I graduated locally here from Capitol Hill High School. I'm currently back in school. I'm at MidAmerica finishing my degree. I'm a mom. I have eight children. I know that seems so such a large number, but I was lucky enough to have three beautiful children. And I married my husband and he had three children, and so we blended our families together six boys. And then we were blessed with two additional bonus children. One's my cousin that I'm so proud to call him my son, my bonus son, and he calls me mom and he gives me the youth moments that I remember when I was a young mom. But he truly is a blessing for me and my husband because we can't have children. So we're doing something that's good for him and he's definitely filling the void for us. And then I also took in a young man in ninth grade who is related to my children and his and my ex-husband's side of the family, and he also calls me mom and he's my son and his name is Steven and he's 23. And so we have three 23 year old kids. They're all boys, of eight boys. So in in my lifetime.

Jamie Crowe: 8:27

I'm 45. I've been a mom longer than I've not been a mom. We've done every sport that you can think of, every activity, every you know, from soccer, t-ball to all the way up to band. I have a son that's in the military. I've got a son that has a one-and-a-half-year-old little baby and she's our very first girl and she's our grandbaby. She's the best blessing that we could ever ask for. And then the others are just working hard and going to school and playing ball and Race and jet skis. I've got a little 11-year-old that's a world champion. He's second place in the world in his age and division and fourth place in another class and I just I'm just grateful to you know get up every day and have an opportunity to be a good mom and a good wife and a good person.

Jamie Crowe: 9:19

I work for the South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce. They have been a part of my business development career since 2006. It was one of my very first meetings that I ever attended. I was an ambassador for all the years before I went to go work for the chamber. So about 10 years as an ambassador and then the next I'll be there 10 years in January and I'm the membership director. We have just over right about 700 members, so my responsibility is to recruit new members, to really help engage our new and existing members, give them every bit of opportunity to promote their business. You know, Rotary is a conversation that I have with everyone in the chamber as well. They both fit my personality. I'm a business person, I'm a strategic person and I care, and so with the chamber and with Rotary, you will find the smartest people in anywhere in the world are probably part of a local chamber and a Rotarian, and I've seen that in many different parts of the country.

Brian Triger: 10:32

Thank you for sharing that. Tell us a little bit more about projects that you're working on, that you excited about, and or new projects that are coming down the pipeline.

Jamie Crowe: 10:47

Okay, perfect. So one of the things that we're doing we just did today we have a student of the month. One of the great ways that we can give back to young youth in the generations that are going through middle school and high school is to recognize a student of the month. We like them to be in high school, but the Police Athletic League has mentors that work from middle school through high school and they have a before and after kind of school program. So today we recognized a student from Capitol Hill High School. She's got her own business, she's a 10th grader, she's got a lot of aspirations and we give these students an opportunity at the podium to talk a little bit about what their passions are, and they also have a facilitator that tells us why that individual was selected for this specific month. So every month we do a student of the month.

Jamie Crowe: 11:42

During the school year we do a pedal for perfect attendance. So we're trying to drive not only the best behavior while they're in school, but we want to get those kids to school and we again allow the schools to pick which ones of the students. But we have six bikes for girls and six bikes for boys, and every grade there will be at least one boy and one girl that gets a bike. And so for perfect attendance, or close to that perfect attendance scale, the administrators will help us designate which students receive that. That right now, is being done at a local elementary school and we are approached all the time from the community whether if it's donating socks for seniors. We're doing that through the next three weeks. A lot of seniors, they don't just need socks, they need handkerchiefs and activity books, and so we just have to stop, you know, thinking that we know what everybody needs. We need to listen, and so as we bring people in the community, we invite them to tell us about what's going on. The Rotary Club allows and I challenge all of you guys that are listening if you have a purpose, a nonprofit, a program, get in front of people as a speaking opportunity, because there's people that do not understand or do not realize if there is an issue, if there is something going on and if there is a way that they can be a part of it or support it. There's just no way to know if we don't know. And so, socks for Seniors you know they've got their own testimony, but we are collecting items for them.

Jamie Crowe: 13:22

For the next three weeks, we have a pancake fundraiser coming up. So, if I can plug, December the 7th at the South Oklahoma City Chamber. You can follow us on our Facebook. But we do have annual events and that is one that we do every year. We for, I think, $10, all- you- can eat pancakes. It has fruit. We also have juice and milk and sausage, so it's all you can eat $10, $5 for kids. The Grinch will be there, so you're going to have an opportunity to take photos with the Grinch. It's December the 7th, so follow us on Facebook to keep those updates in your inbox.

Jamie Crowe: 14:04

The other thing that we do every year that we've done in our first year, which we were really proud, was a? Um Spanish dish, um, a fundraiser, a paella, um. The first year we did that we raised over $6,000, um, and it was fantastic. Um. We've done that every year since it's kind of our thing. We've had other clubs ask us how we do it, and caring is sharing. So, as we were coming up with different things in the past of what we can do, the Midwest City Club, which is where you're at, you guys do that shrimp boil every year crawfish shrimp. It's just something that you own and you guys do it well and we you helped us do that for a few years and we raised money and it's just nice to know that when other Rotary clubs are doing things that their community enjoys whether if it's a flag project or picking up trash there's things that are in need and we can't be everywhere, so Rotary allows us to connect with each other and learn from each other, whether if it's a 10, 15 minute drive. There are still things going on in that community that we don't realize, and vice versa, and so the projects coming up that we would love for you guys to be a part of are not just our projects, but also the other clubs that are in our district. There's a watch party. I know that I've got Rotary friends in Norman and they're doing a watch party, one of the OU games, and so there's just quite a bit of fun. There's always an opportunity to raise money. There's always good, just fellowship. So definitely follow us. Our Rotary website is rotaryok. org. That's our South Rotary club,, and our facebook is probably the most active as far as what's coming up. And so December 7th, all you can eat pancakes and photos with the Grinch will be the entertainment.

Brian Triger: 16:02

rom excited about that event, so feel free to reach out through South OKC Rotary Club's website and if you're inside or outside of Rotary, feel free to reach out through the contact information posted on the podcast, and we'd love to support you. Can I say one more thing? Yeah, of course.

Jamie Crowe: 16:21

So one of the things that I that came to mind was you had asked me about it early on in Rotary In 2017, I think it was 2017. My son went to Japan and Rotary has a program called Wings of Rotary.

Jamie Crowe: 16:48

Called Wings of Rotary, our district, for over 40 plus years, has been exchanging with Japan students, where we receive an exchange inbound team for 10 days or so, and then we also send an outbound team to Japan and my son had the privilege of being able to go to Japan on that trip. And we are always looking for students. Again, you don't have to be a Rotarian or child of a Rotarian, but as Rotarians and people, parents of students, if you're wanting your child to have an opportunity to see a global kind of initiative that we've been taking when we start realizing that cultures they exist, but they don't have to separate us and there are things that we're more alike than we are different. So when those Japanese students come, we host them. They they travel between two to five different host families. We're taking them to all the opportunities that people want to experience here in Oklahoma City. So there's a lot of things that you can do as a business. We try to take them to the thunder game. They love the thunder. We get them on a horse. We teach them. You know the things about, you know our history in Oklahoma, so they get to you know shoot a gun. They get to ride a horse. We take them to all the possible museums that we can take them to.

Jamie Crowe: 18:17

So for every year we've exchanged with Japan, with a few exceptions COVID. We didn't for a few years and the year they had their tsunami, there was a few years that we did not exchange. But it's back. They're back since COVID. We've had our first exchange this past year. So I do know that we are receiving applications. They're due in December.

Jamie Crowe: 18:42

So if you have a junior, senior or recently graduated student and they would love an opportunity it's not a free experience but there are sponsorships available. So as a club, if you find a student that you would like to sponsor, I guarantee there's another club who can help maybe split that sponsorship. But we have sponsored students in the past partial sponsorships, but the bottom line is the opportunity is there and if we don't ask and get the word out there, there's going to be a missed opportunity. And so just Wings of Rotary you guys can Google it, it's fantastic.

Jamie Crowe: 19:24

My son said it was the absolute best experience that he'd ever been on and one day and I plug that because I've not only since my son's been on that program and returned, I've hosted kids and I also I'm helping serve on that committee. So I want to make sure that I'm getting the word out that we're looking for students and one day I will be one of those chaperones to take a group over there. I can't tell you how much I appreciated the two adults that went with my son and the other group of kids, and that moment I said I will want to return that favor and take a group of kids and bring them back home to their parents. So that is an aspiration that I have. But we got to keep that program going and we got to make sure that the dollars and the budget's there.

Jamie Crowe: 20:16

So you know we take, you know, tickets to you know, whatever we can do to give them the best experience, we've got a lot of Rotarians and a lot of businesses but it doesn't mean you have to be a Rotarian or your business has to be a Rotarian to support our Wings of Rotary program.

Brian Triger: 20:33

And for any interested families, is there an opportunity to at least communicate and and or apply through the district or the South OKC website?

Jamie Crowe: 20:42

Yeah, if you do Google Wings of Rotary, there is our district website. We'll give you more details. Also, you can see a video. Some of those newer students recently have done a good job to try to recruit people, and so that's something that we definitely want to share. Please share Wings of Rotary.

Brian Triger: 21:03

Well, thank you for that.

Jamie Crowe: 21:04

You're welcome.

Brian Triger: 21:06

Thank you for joining us, Jamie.

Jamie Crowe: 21:08

It was my pleasure. If any of you guys are interested in following up with me, my email is my first and last name, Jamie J-A-M-I-E-C-R-O-W-E at SouthOKC. com, and South is spelled out SouthOKC. com. I would love to hear from you and I would invite you to come to Rotary Club. Our Rotary Club meets every Friday at noon at Hidden Trails Country Club. We're right off 64th and Country Club Drive.

Brian Triger: 21:42

We're definitely going to add that to the podcast website, so if anyone needs to have additional documentation of that, they'll have that available. I want to take this opportunity to Almonte Library, specifically the Metropolitan Library System and IT Spark for assisting with the structure of this podcast, and thank you, listeners, for checking in and we'll see you next time.