Being the daughter of the town drunk in a small town and having to repeatedly visit him in jail could destroy the self-esteem of most young girls but following by being abandoned by your husband when six months pregnant and left to raise the child on your own might be the final blow unless… you have the gumption of The Unsinkable Molly Brown in I Ain’t Down Yet, like BJ Brundage. The success story of how BJ rose above the humiliating circumstances of her life starting as a small child and propelled herself into action with the strength and determination that catapulted her into winning in a man’s world will compel you to look differently at what could be defeating obstacles in your life and how choices have consequences … good or bad. BIO: BJ Brundage grew up in Congers, GA, a small town just outside of Atlanta. After earning a Secretarial Science Certificate (which was all her family could afford) she went on to work for the state of Georgia Health Department, Revenue Department, and State Crime Commission. While supporting her husband’s career she worked for temp agencies as she moved from city to city, finally landing in Ft. Myers, FL where she opened her own business (ProTemp Office Services). After a few years, she took a full-time position with TLC Engineering which started her career in the Architectural/Engineering/Construction industry. Years later, after relocating twice she started to climb her ladder of success in a predominately man’s world when she became a Principle at Schenkel-Shultz Architects, the highest-level female in the company. But BJ had just begun. Nine years later she entered the construction industry and in 2017 she became the first female to be named as a Vice President of DeAngelis Diamond (VP of Strategic Development), a $4 Billion construction company where she led the efforts to develop new client relationships for all their offices (Naples, Ft. Myers, Sarasota, Nashville, and Birmingham). A monumental accomplishment. In addition to supporting five offices in three states, BJ now supports the local community and serves on numerous boards and committees. Some of her successful local projects for DD include SWFL Lutgert School of Business, FGCU Resort and Hospitality Management, Gulf Coast High School (among several other high schools), Cape Coral Library Expansion (among several other regional libraries) Page Field Redevelopment, LeeSar, Punta Gorda Airport, and SWFL International Airport FAA Tower. These do not include other major projects of DD. Today, while still active on boards and committees, she works as a business development ambassador/consultant for DD.

“Follow the Money” isn’t just a line out of a movie for Joe Bonora – it’s real life. Jumping into the mortgage world with his brother right after graduating from Cape Coral, FL high school, Joe tells how he used his financial propensity to skip the baby steps and leap into real estate finance and development. Starting his own company, Joe has provided over $660 million in commercial real estate loans nationwide, and developed $200+ million in multifamily, senior housing and other mixed-use projects in Florida. So, when you’re looking up in awe at a beautiful new apartment building in your community and asking “how did they do that” … there’s a good chance Joe is the one who did it an he’s here to answer that question. How did you do it Joe?

BIO:

Joe Bonora is the founder and President of Catalyst Asset Management, Inc. and Catalyst Community Capital, Inc. He has over 20 years of experience in real estate finance and development, and is responsible for managing the strategic direction of the companies and identifying new real estate development and investment opportunities.  Joe is particularly well-versed in government funding and tax credit programs and is well known for his ability to engineer complex capital structures and create innovative new ways to finance projects. He lives in St. Petersburg, FL with his wife and two children and believes in giving back to the community. Joe serves on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club of Lee County, the Central Florida Regional Housing Trust, and is a member of a number of community-focused organizations including the Urban Land Institute. 

When you grow up on a small island and your road is named after your family, you must be destined for greatness, like becoming a professional baseball player. Roger Lolly is a dreamer, but taking his five kids to the museum of his hometown on Pine Island to show off his baseball paraphernalia was something even Roger never saw coming. Obstacles became a way of life for him at a young age starting when he lost his father in a tragic accident. Listen to Roger as he talks about how overcoming a barrage of curve balls in his life built character, giving him the strength to become one of only two professional ball players to return to the game after a hip replacement at 25, (you’ll be surprised to hear the name of the other one) and the courage to make a life-changing decision with his wife no parent should have to make. Listen to how facing forward on your journey with a smile and an eye on helping others has only one destination. Success. 

BIO

 Roger Lolly is a man who doesn’t allow opportunity to pass him by. With his ‘I can’ attitude and  refusing to fall prey to a victim mentality, even major setbacks haven’t deterred him from accomplishing multiple levels of success, from the world of professional sports to building thriving businesses.  Graduating with a Masters in Business from Liberty University, and later achieving an Ed. D in Educational Leadership, Roger’s passion remains in helping others.  Starting as a child when his dad was killed and his mother was suddenly left to raise two little boys alone, he knew where his heart was, which is why he established If I Can Dream Foundation, a self-funded 501c3 he founded to provide services throughout the state of Florida to individuals with special needs.  With a zest for life and boundless energy, Roger is also the CEO of Abez North America, Clutch Recruiting and Allcare National and has part ownership in others. But being a Goodwill Ambassador to Haiti is one of his most rewarding and proudest achievements that spawned from his years of helping others even as a little boy. When character matters. 

Roger resides in Fort Myers, Florida with his wife and five active children where he takes his responsibility as role model very seriously. 

Sitting on the front porch in the country drinking coffee with the likes of a new friend like Luke Bryan is routine for Mike Stauffer.  But he didn’t start out that way. Listen as Mike talks about the obstacles he encountered on his bumpy journey to success that would have caused most people to give up. His motivational rags to riches story of a scholarshipped, star high school football player in Small Town, USA, the life-altering sacrifices he made for family, and what it’s like to give up your dream will hearten you while listening to how he went from swinging a hammer with his dad to being sought after by some of the biggest names in country music. And what does the inside of fame look like? Find out from one who is on their speed dial as he shares his experiences talking to and working with the stars themselves.  A moving story that exemplifies the difference between never giving up and quitting, and how character and doing what is right always land you on top. 

BIO:

Mike Stauffer is homegrown in the midwest town of Bloomington, Illinois, where he went from the town’s hometown football hero to the founder and owner of his highly respected company, Signature Homes. Building homes for executives of national corporations and other professionals weren’t handed to him. He earned it by not only building his signature detail-perfect homes (thus the name) with sticks and bricks but by building his sterling reputation with diligence and long hours of hard work. He took those values with him when he and his wife made the decision to follow their dream and move to Nashville with their two daughters and had to start over. He laughs, “I had to put on my tool belt again and prove my resume.” And that’s what he did. With the same diligence, work ethic, and attention to detail he built more than homes. He built trust and valuable relationships that, coupled with his skills, built him a new reputation as a builder of the stars.

Making the leap from an All-State tuba player in high school to playing the bass in a rock band may sound like the next step to following your dream of becoming a famous musician, but what do you do when someone hands you a microphone and says 3-2-1 “you’re on the air?” Without missing a ‘beat’ you become a nationally recognized radio host, talking to newsmakers we would all love to talk to. Policy makers that affect our lives very day. Drew Steele has overcome nay- sayers and learned to ride the pendulum of success as both a media mogul and musician, but his secret to getting there while handling rejection, may surprise you.

Drew Steele Bio:

Among the many talents of Drew Steele, the popular morning radio talk show host of Daybreak with Drew Steele on 92.5 FM in southwest Florida, are songwriter, producer, engineer, radio host and the list goes on. Drew has written and produced multiple songs, including several for well-known artists, including one that peaked on Billboards and lead to the release of a full-length album that he co-wrote and produced for Columbia Records. As a freelance video producer, Drew works with top names like The Dan Borgino Show, Common Sense with Dr. Ben Carson, The Trish Reagan Show and Gingrich360 Network. Among his other talents, as a professional freelance sound engineer, some of his work includes NBC Sports (Sunday Night Football, NHL Hockey, and writing and producing jingles for TM Studios.

When experience meets opportunity it can build a bright future or a beautiful city. That’s exactly what happened when 6’8” college basketball star Don Schrotenboer, while managing and renovating elite country clubs, met billionaire Tom Monaghan, the founder and former owner of Domino's Pizza. Don tells his remarkable story of traveling the country on the private jet of Mr. Monaghan, as he watched unimaginable doors of opportunity continue to open, launching him into the success he had never dreamed possible. He lends the adage, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, a new twist of reality. The magnitude of his success is proof that what you know, coupled with who you know, is a powerful team.

Don Scrotenboer Bio: Don has more than 20 years of experience with land development and entitlement projects in both Florida and Michigan. One of his proudest and largest accomplishments is his ground-up development of the new town of Ava Maria, and its’ nationally recognized university in eastern Collier County, Florida, just outside of Naples. Don was fully responsible for overseeing not only the entitlement phase, but the Development of Regional Impact, working with the Army Corps of Engineers permits, site development, programming of university facilities, management of horizontal and vertical construction, and all critical phases. Currently, Don is the Founder and Managing Director of Realvisory, LLC, a real estate and advisory firm. In the most recent 10 years, Don had completed over $1 billion in real estate transactions including managing hundreds of thousands of acres of land. He resides in Fort Myers, Florida with his wife of 36 years and is a father to five very tall successful children, following in their father’s big shoes.