#0012 - Nancy Lane

What happens when a single mother of three steps out of her comfort zone and into the world of Rotary? Nancy Lane from the Waxahachie Rotary Club shares her inspiring journey with us, revealing how a simple invitation from a friend named Brian led her to discover an intergenerational community that transformed her life. Despite initial feelings of being out of place due to age differences, Nancy found a warm, welcoming environment that nurtured personal growth and offered a newfound sense of belonging. Her story highlights the incredible power of Rotary to foster deep community connections and support personal transformation, especially for those juggling family responsibilities.

In our conversation, we also explore the profound impact of Rotary as a pillar of support and community. Hear personal stories about how members become like family, sharing in the joys and challenges of life while contributing to meaningful projects like Dave McSpadden's health clinic initiative in Africa. As we discuss the importance of raising awareness among younger generations, I also share insights from my own journey of nearly 15 years in marketing, and how Rotary has been integral in my professional and personal development. Tune in to discover how Rotary not only builds community but also inspires entrepreneurial growth across generations.

Chapters

• 0:25 Discovering Rotary
• 6:37 Building Community and Entrepreneurial Growth

Transcript

Brian Triger: 0:25

Welcome to the Rotary Spark Podcast. With me today is Nancy Lane from the Waxahachie Rotary Club in Texas. How are you doing today, Nancy?

Nancy Lane: 0:34

I'm doing great, Brian. Thanks for having me on the show today.

Brian Triger: 0:37

You're welcome, so let's start by talking about what got you involved with Rotary and what made you want to join.

Nancy Lane: 0:47

Well, it was actually you. So you and I met and as we got to kind of learn a little bit about each other's lives and stories, I quickly realized that Rotary is a very big part of yours, big part of yours. And you encouraged me pretty early on to explore my local Rotary club, which I knew pretty much nothing about at the time. So it was a bit of a stepping out of my comfort zone on my end and I was very pleasantly surprised with what I found.

Brian Triger: 1:24

Tell us more about what you found.

Nancy Lane: 1:28

Well, as I visited I. So when I reached out, I just I wasn't even sure how to get involved. I was, you know, just, should I go to a meeting? Should I show up? Should I reach out? Should I contact someone? And I remember that was one of the questions that I actually asked you about and you said, well, you know, look on the website, reach out to one of the members on the board on the website.

Nancy Lane: 1:56

So I picked the president of our club and he had his email address on there. So I reached out to him via email and just briefly introduced myself and said, hey, I'd love to, um, to come to a meeting. Is that something that I could do? And he reached back out, uh, I mean within 24 hours, and just said, yes, we'd love to have you come have lunch with us, um, myself, and, uh, the membership chair would love to welcome you.

Nancy Lane: 2:24

And just you know, and from the very get-go it was just so warm and welcoming and I went, and there are some younger people in our club, but the majority of the folks that come on the lunch hour that I attend on are generally a little bit older, and so initially I kind of thought, oh, I'm a little bit out of place, but that was as I got to know a little, know everyone a little bit more. That has totally been erased and I've actually really loved that intergenerational feeling um that we have. And so, anyway, that's kind of a long story, short um, but just super glad I reached out um and made that first initial step of of sending an email to someone you know that I didn't even know.

Brian Triger: 3:21

Yeah, and I remember from my end. I mean we both have different perspectives because we live in different worlds and we're still getting to know each other, but I do I, I do remember that you know I was kind of going through this internal thought process of you know this Kool-Aid, for the most part is working out for me and there was a little bit of hesitation of passing it on, just based on experiences of associating with other organizations and stuff like that. So I feel like I was kind of doing this not only internal but external trust exercise with Rotary International you know a close friend that I haven't known for too long but also just the opportunity to share something that has truly strengthened the foundation of my life and being able to just kind of pass that on in a way not only to expand, you know, our connection, but also Rotary as a whole.

Nancy Lane: 4:19

Sure, and I saw the incredible impact that it had in your life and just how much you give to Rotary as well, Like how big of a part of your life that you carve out just to be able to give back either to Rotary or with Rotary. And so I kind of went in thinking, OK, this is interesting. And then there was a very quick shift from OK, this is no longer I'm checking this out because Brian told me to to wow, this is amazing and I'm here because I I want to be here. Not that I didn't want to be there, but it was very much switched from wow, this is my thing, and, like, I'm taking ownership of this, and I'm here because I want to be here. So that shift happened, I mean almost immediately after going to a meeting.

Brian Triger: 5:08

It's interesting to hear. I mean, we talk on a regular basis but just to be able to, I guess, observe from the outside, kind of passing on a tool and a group that gives someone a stronger know, a stronger agency, you know, over their own lives, uh, so no, they, I mean uh, you know I'll always appreciate this.

Brian Triger: 5:29

So, uh, you know, as a friend, I'll I'll tell you that until you get sick of hearing it. Um, but uh, no, I just, I, I just re really appreciate our you know our relationship. It helps me kind of, uh, continue to trust Rotary more and then continue to trust you more and just kind of create more of a balanced perspective of the way in which I think that the world operates.

Nancy Lane: 5:56

Yeah, and I think a big thing for me and this has been something that you've kind of encouraged me to step out again of my comfort zone is to look for that community. This is something you already know, but our audience might not know this. So I am a single mom and I have three kids under the age of 10. And so support is a really big deal to me and I don't have family living in the area, in our immediate area, in our city, that can step in and help me out, and so I rely heavily on you know, friends, daycare, you know just people around us to be able to help, and so sometimes that kind of net feels really thin.

Nancy Lane: 6:37

And so one of the things that I have found with Rotary is that there are so many people who have already, just in the very short time that I've been a part of Rotary, who have said we will step in, we will be there for you, we will watch your kids if you need something. One couple has even stepped in and said we will, we will be, you know, grandparents for your kids. My kids have one set of grand. They only have one set of grandparents that live in the US, and so they don't even, um, see their other set of grandparents at all. And so, um, there's just, there's been such an unexpected response to stepping out and saying, hey, you know, I'm here, and just not only being welcomed, but people stepping in and saying we will be your family, we will be there for you, you can count on us, we've got your back. And that was totally unexpected and something that just brings tears to my eyes thinking about.

Brian Triger: 7:42

Yeah, it's interesting, I mean, and I'm glad that that happened for you, it happened to me in some ways. I don't have kids. We have differences in a lot of similarities. I have my. You know you've seen pictures and videos of my fur babies and you know, at times I think about how their lives are better because of Rotary and it's it's nice to have, it's nice to have a community. You know I haven't. For me, I haven't always been able to trust the idea or really appropriately stitch myself into the fabric of society. As I get older and more mature and stuff like that, I think it becomes a little bit easier. But to find a flavor of a tribe, so to speak, that basically has, you know, a good amount of balance and peace tied to one of its major causes. It gives me an opportunity to kind of to, to explore and grow in different ways and and and to get to know you in a different, you know, under a different lens.

Nancy Lane: 8:45

Yeah, and that's fun. And it's fun to explore in our own respective communities and just see um, that give and take and that just showing up for the people around us and and being able to experience that it's um, it's really amazing.

Brian Triger: 9:04

So tell us a little bit. Uh. Uh. Correct me if I'm wrong. I believe you're in I I. I think I announced it as a club in Texas, which is true, but you're in uh 5810. Is that correct?

Nancy Lane: 9:18

Yes, that's correct Okay.

Brian Triger: 9:20

Yeah, so we're in different districts and we got the opportunity to come and visit you and I was. I was grateful to be able to get you know our district, two thirds of our district chain, to come and, you know, see your induction. That was really cool. I really liked the way that the Waxahachie Rotary Club put a lot of passion and time into your induction. They not only emphasized their level of appreciation but they gave you a solid amount of kind of information and clarity tied to what their message and what their overall agenda was. It wasn't just a. You know, here's our certificate. Here are. You know, here's a pen or two piece out. Here's our nonprofit of the day. It was just a really warm, a warm welcome. The food was really good and you know I was impressed by the facility.

Nancy Lane: 10:16

Yeah it. It truly does feel like a place where people care, genuinely care, and that makes a huge difference.

Brian Triger: 10:29

So are there any projects? You know, I've reached out to a couple of your club members because I know that there is an overseas project going on tied to either the creation or the modification of a health clinic in Africa, if I, if my memory serves me correctly. But yeah, go ahead.

Nancy Lane: 10:51

Sorry, yes, that is a project that is ongoing. So there have been different phases and the current phase is to provide different medical equipment, equipment facility like that around where women can come and receive services for, you know, any type of ailments that might affect the female body. So, like before this, there were lots of moms who were the caregivers of their family and the breadwinners who were having just different issues that were curable issues, curable with surgery, but they were not able to get that help, and so you can imagine how that affects. You know, if mom's sick or mom you know passes away and the kids are relying on her, like that's a huge deal. So this facility will be able to offer those services to the women who need those and it's at very low cost, I think, for it's like a membership thing, so for the year they pay I don't remember what it is, but I think it's around like a hundred dollars and they can receive services throughout the year for, you know, whatever they might need. So pretty cool initiative there.

Brian Triger: 12:22

I really love what your club's doing with that and I look forward to the opportunity for our districts to collaborate. I've looked at his website. It's rtcmissionsorg and the individual's name is Dave McSpadden that is spearheading that project, if I'm not mistaken. What's one goal in 2025 that you'd like to accomplish, with or without Rotary?

Nancy Lane: 12:50

well, I definitely like to raise more awareness within the younger group of people about Rotary. I know that there's Rotaract and Interact and I know my daughter is even excited about getting involved in that she's not quite old enough yet but I'd love to raise more awareness in the 20s and 30s and 40s age group about Rotary. And just you know, I think our like I'm almost 40, so our demographic doesn't just have a lot of knowledge about what Rotary is. You know, I didn't know a lot about really what it was at all, and so I would like to help change that, because I think it's an organization that could benefit greatly from having multiple different generations within it.

Brian Triger: 13:41

I look forward to those changes. Let's move on and talk about your new marketing agency.

Nancy Lane: 13:48

Yeah, so that's something really exciting. I have worked in marketing for almost 15 years. I have worked in marketing for almost 15 years. I spent eight years of that working overseas and doing a lot of nonprofit work and fundraising, a lot of storytelling, email marketing, that kind of thing, and then for the last about five years I've been really focused on small and medium-sized businesses, doing website development, seo, social media. I currently work at a small private university on their marketing team, and so my marketing agency that I just launched is called Lane Marketing and Consulting, and I'm super excited about it.

Nancy Lane: 14:38

It is something that I am currently doing on the side, but I'm hoping to be able to grow it and to really have an impact and continue to have an impact in the nonprofit area and then also in the small to medium-sized business world. That is something, as an entrepreneur, that I'm really passionate about and that really just grew out of trying to market my own business and realizing how difficult it might be for someone who isn't in marketing, so that's something that I am so excited to grow. I did have a marketing agency during the pandemic for a few years and ended up closing that down, so I feel like this is kind of a second chance. It's just kind of a fresh breath of okay. I, you know, learned so much from the you know, the last agency that I had and I'm just looking forward to really using all of that knowledge that I gained to kind of start off and really just fly.

Brian Triger: 15:50

I love that being in a, an entrepreneur or a developing entrepreneur's mind, in the very early stages, at least for myself there's there's a ton of fear that I feel like needs to be diffused, and the only way that I know how to do that, personally and professionally, is to see other people taking the risks or meet other people who have taken the risk. I've seen you make great strides within the last few months alone. We've collaborated on a couple of projects at least one for-profit, one non-profit and I look forward to seeing you develop. For anyone that's interested, on our contributors page, all of our podcast guests have a link dedicated to each thing, so you can go to Nancy Lane's profile and check out lanemarketingtxcom to check out her services. Thank you for sharing that. Sometimes I kind of forget about what the experience is like outside of an echo chamber.

Nancy Lane: 17:04

Yeah, I think it's easy to forget, and I absolutely agree with you with taking risks, and I think a lot of times, if you look at entrepreneurs, it seems like, oh, they're fearless, they just go for it. And it's truly not the case. We go for it, but we may be totally afraid and totally freaking out on the inside. I know, for me, there have been moments when I'm just like what am I doing? But there's also the other side of that, that's like I have to do this. This is part of who I am, and so there's always that constant um dynamic of you know can, which can be a little bit of friction, and so to see other people who are also dealing with that and be encouraged um is such a big deal, Um, and I think that community is is what it's about.

Brian Triger: 17:56

I really love that, uh, the next opportunity that I get where there? You know that there's that, uh, you know that suffocation where it's like, you know, do I? I need to latch on to, you know, my training wheels, whatever those wheels may be, and, uh, there's that, that temptation to just basically throw them in the trash and respect respectfully or recycle them to another individual that needs training wheels, so to speak. Conversations like this inspire me to to go in that direction, so thank you so much for sharing.

Nancy Lane: 18:35

Yeah, thank you much for sharing. Yeah, thank you.

Brian Triger: 18:37

Thank you, nancy Lane, and thank you district 58, 10, 57, 50 Almonte library. It spark our listeners and our subscribers. I really appreciate everyone involved on this new project and have a great evening everyone.