Speaker 1: When Lanier started typing on the iPad, the first thing
Speaker 1: she typed was thank you for releasing my voice, and
Speaker 1: the second thing she typed was tell my mom I
Speaker 1: love her. Tell my dad He's my hero. When she
Speaker 1: told me what Lanier had typed, I can honestly say
Speaker 1: it took me upers of two years before I could
Speaker 1: ever say that without crying. Put another log on the
Speaker 1: fire everybody hears give it time. Welcome to the fire
Speaker 1: pit with Matt Janella. It was January twenty six, twenty eighteen.
Speaker 1: I was reporting on the PGA merchandise show for Golf
Speaker 1: Channel's Morning Drive. I was on the set they had
Speaker 1: in the middle of Orlando's Convention Center, and I was
Speaker 1: joined by Bobby Weed, the golf course architect, who was
Speaker 1: sharing details of the course he was designing and building
Speaker 1: in Hope Sound, Florida, for none other than Michael Jordan.
Speaker 1: At the end of that segment, we talked about technology,
Speaker 1: how it was helping him professionally but also personally, which
Speaker 1: is what led us to a conversation about his daughter, Lanier,
Speaker 1: who at eighteen months old, was diagnosed with nonverbal autism.
Speaker 1: He told me that when she was fourteen years old,
Speaker 1: they heard about facilitated communications, a therapy developed in Australia
Speaker 1: and Denmark in the nineteen seventies which was greatly advanced
Speaker 1: by technology and specifically iPads. According to Raising Children dot
Speaker 1: dot au, facilitated communications involves a facilitator physically supporting the hand,
Speaker 1: wrist or arm of an autistic person while they spell
Speaker 1: out words on a keyboard or ler device. What Bobby
Speaker 1: Weed told me that day and what Leslie Weed says
Speaker 1: in the intro to this podcast, which is from the
Speaker 1: video feature we just published on Firepit Collective dot com
Speaker 1: and on the Firepit's YouTube channel. When Lanier Weed got
Speaker 1: in front of a keyboard, the first thing she typed,
Speaker 1: thank you for releasing my voice. If you haven't seen
Speaker 1: that feature or read the story, I suggest you do
Speaker 1: so before listening to this podcast. As you learn in
Speaker 1: the video, Jailed my entire life was another one of
Speaker 1: Lanier Weed's first messages. But now she is free, and
Speaker 1: one letter at a time, she's sending profound messages and
Speaker 1: perspectives that are having a significant impact on the world
Speaker 1: we live in. Her goal, which she also typed, is
Speaker 1: just that to change the world. Ever since that interview,
Speaker 1: with Bobby Weed back in twenty eighteen. I've wanted to
Speaker 1: track him down and hear more of Lanier's story. This podcast,
Speaker 1: a recent interview with Bobby and Leslie Weed, is a
Speaker 1: follow up to that feature on Lanier and the Weed family.
Speaker 1: In this podcast, we hear about where Lanier is now
Speaker 1: at the age of twenty four, ten years after typing
Speaker 1: her first sentence. We hear about Heal and the impact
Speaker 1: their foundation is having in its twentieth year of existence.
Speaker 1: We talk about the impact the PGA Tour has had
Speaker 1: on that foundation. They talk about Arnold Palmer, Dean Beamon,
Speaker 1: and Jay Monaghan, just some of the people who have
Speaker 1: helped the Weeds along the way. Bobby and Leslie also
Speaker 1: reflect on Pete and Alice die and what Players Championship
Speaker 1: Week means to them in their community. I start the
Speaker 1: conversation by asking, how are the Weeds. Everybody's good here.
Speaker 1: You know, it's checking in almost you know, a couple
Speaker 1: of times a week whatever daily. Lanier's doing great. R
Speaker 1: and her group home. The girls were still in Nashville.
Speaker 1: I think our middle daughter, Carly is coming in to
Speaker 1: mar for the Players Championship. So we're here this week
Speaker 1: I was gone all last week on the road, so
Speaker 1: um I got back this weekend, so we're all going
Speaker 1: to be together and it should be a good week.
Speaker 1: Weather's great for the players championship. The only thing we're
Speaker 1: missing is you. I'm actually arriving on Sunday. I'll tell
Speaker 1: you about that later. But Leslie, how are you doing?
Speaker 1: I'm doing great. Lanier's progress is she's just doing so good.
Speaker 1: She's in an adult program this year. She's out of
Speaker 1: school and her group they make candles and soaps and
Speaker 1: they're selling them online. And we had a little showing
Speaker 1: and made like four thousand dollars, so you know, she's
Speaker 1: got purpose and she's making things. And she picks out
Speaker 1: the colors and the sense and pours the candle wax
Speaker 1: and they're all she names them all. It's really cool.
Speaker 1: Quite the entrepreneur. Yeah, well, yeah, not surprising. What what
Speaker 1: you know, having now learned, you know, learned about Lanier
Speaker 1: and her story and then your story and how this all.
Speaker 1: I mean, I get chills just even starting to talk
Speaker 1: about it. You know, Bobby, this goes back to that
Speaker 1: original conversation we had on the set of Morning Drive
Speaker 1: at the PGA merchandise show. I don't know how many
Speaker 1: years ago that was, maybe let's say five years ago.
Speaker 1: And from that point forward, I was always so curious.
Speaker 1: I mean, I obviously knew of you. I knew of
Speaker 1: your work. I had talked a lot about your relationship
Speaker 1: with the Dies and your impact in the world of architecture.
Speaker 1: But when you told me that when you gave an
Speaker 1: iPad to your nonverbal autistic daughter and she was able
Speaker 1: to type, I finally have a voice, that just that
Speaker 1: just that just knocked me over. I mean, uh, and
Speaker 1: in in so many ways, And from that point forward,
Speaker 1: I always was more curious to understand more about Bobby
Speaker 1: Weed and his family, which is what brought us to Pontovidra,
Speaker 1: in which we were able to actually learn more about
Speaker 1: this story. Uh. I you know, in so many ways,
Speaker 1: something like this that happens to a family, Leslie, Like
Speaker 1: you said, everything was going along and then all of
Speaker 1: a sudden, Lanier started going backwards. That can that can
Speaker 1: that can tear a family apart, or it can make
Speaker 1: a family closer together. I you know, that's just from
Speaker 1: my casual observations from families that go through things in
Speaker 1: which they really get tested and challenged, and I'm just
Speaker 1: inspired by how you as a family just seemed to
Speaker 1: get closer together. I know it's not always that easy,
Speaker 1: and I know there's probably been a lot of urb
Speaker 1: in days and stretches, but it just and now looking
Speaker 1: getting to know you guys and observing through various aspects
Speaker 1: of social media just really makes me inspired to see
Speaker 1: how close you guys are as a family unit. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, Bobby set that in motion when she started
Speaker 1: regressing him. We took her in for all these testings
Speaker 1: and it was words. I had to learn a whole
Speaker 1: new language. I had to, you know, And it was
Speaker 1: just the shock of it all. And I remember calling Bobby.
Speaker 1: I think he was in Texas. I could hear him
Speaker 1: hammering mistake and I was like, I can't be there
Speaker 1: for the girls. And because I was volunteer coordinator at
Speaker 1: their school, I was at their school every day for
Speaker 1: at least three or four hours, volunteering everywhere, and I
Speaker 1: was always in the halls. And I'm never gonna be
Speaker 1: able to do that anymore. I'm gonna not be a
Speaker 1: good mom and it's just going to ruin our lives.
Speaker 1: And that's when Bobby said, wait, a minute, Wait a minute,
Speaker 1: You're gonna be a much better mom. Now we have
Speaker 1: an aunt, so we have answers. Now we have a
Speaker 1: list of things we need to start doing. And she
Speaker 1: will be the blue, the glue, and the bond of
Speaker 1: our family. And we're going to be Team Weed. And
Speaker 1: we set the girls down and said, you know you
Speaker 1: all play soccer. You don't like sitting on the bench.
Speaker 1: You like to get out on the field. Well, Lanier's
Speaker 1: on the bench and we're gonna get her off the
Speaker 1: bench and on the field. And Team Weed is going
Speaker 1: to do that. And Bobby really set that in motion
Speaker 1: because I was a mess, and he just said, yeah,
Speaker 1: day by day, we're gonna do this, and you know
Speaker 1: we're here today. Well maybe so, but Matt, in reality,
Speaker 1: she was. She was as much the glue as anything
Speaker 1: for being a mom, being a mother, being a wife,
Speaker 1: and just just totally immersed herself in all of this.
Speaker 1: I mean, we were pioneering. We didn't know anything about
Speaker 1: the mission we were on or where we were going
Speaker 1: with it. We just knew we were in a crisis
Speaker 1: mode and it was twenty four seven and and um,
Speaker 1: we just had to figure it out. We had to
Speaker 1: deal with it. We had to figure it out and
Speaker 1: deal with it on an hour to our basis and
Speaker 1: a m and with the rest of our family and
Speaker 1: our children. Um, it was. It was a mess. It
Speaker 1: was a true mess. And while I was traveling and working,
Speaker 1: um uh you know, we didn't have the benefit of
Speaker 1: We had plenty of insurance, but insurance didn't recognize they
Speaker 1: do now, but then they didn't. Back then they didn't.
Speaker 1: So we were loading up, we were loading up with therapist.
Speaker 1: Um we were. Leslie was seeking out information on how
Speaker 1: who we needed to go see what kind of uh
Speaker 1: I mean because you looked up autism and dictionary or
Speaker 1: Encyclopedia or medical journal and there was virtually nothing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there was nothing substantial, nothing substantial about it. And so
Speaker 1: we we basically had to learn on our own. And
Speaker 1: Leslie was the one that really took the bull by
Speaker 1: the home. Remember I came home one day and I said,
Speaker 1: I have to we have to get Lanear to the
Speaker 1: specialist in Chicago. We had to get her to Chicago.
Speaker 1: I'll just drive and because we knew she couldn't handle
Speaker 1: me in an airport, and Bobby came, you know, very
Speaker 1: nonchalantly came home that afternoon and he said, Arnold Palmer's
Speaker 1: given us his plane to fly us to Chicago to
Speaker 1: see the specialist. And it was like wow, it was
Speaker 1: just we had to go to New Orleans and we
Speaker 1: had to run a plane. We you know, everywhere we went,
Speaker 1: we had to do. That's beam and we had to
Speaker 1: charter plane. Helped us get his plane, you know, you
Speaker 1: know the guy. As you know, the golf world is
Speaker 1: really small, so uh uh so small circle of folks
Speaker 1: and um, you know when you have friendships and relationships
Speaker 1: uh in business and uh and personal relationships, you know, uh,
Speaker 1: it's okay to reach out and um that's that's what
Speaker 1: we did and uh um you know, we got a
Speaker 1: lot of help and uh and then ultimately when we
Speaker 1: started our foundation. Our foundation are the pillar of our
Speaker 1: foundation was the support of the PGA Tour, you know,
Speaker 1: which I worked for for thirteen years. And they were like, look,
Speaker 1: you know, we we want to we want to choose
Speaker 1: some charities to help and um, we think you have
Speaker 1: a good cause and we want to be part of
Speaker 1: you and your family because we know you personally and uh,
Speaker 1: we know how much time you spent with the PGA
Speaker 1: Tour and um, you know, we want to is called
Speaker 1: adopt a charity. We want to adopt your charity. And
Speaker 1: they gave us their clubhouse. We had the very first
Speaker 1: gala and the brand new clubhouse. It gives the golf
Speaker 1: course and I mean, I just couldn't even believe it.
Speaker 1: I didn't when I met with them. I didn't even
Speaker 1: have a board, and they're like, where are your people.
Speaker 1: I'm like, Oh, they couldn't make it. I's like, man,
Speaker 1: I got to get the word fass. But you know,
Speaker 1: our first gala, I think we raised five hundred and
Speaker 1: eighty thousand dollars or something crazy like that. So it
Speaker 1: was really great. That's been good. Al this relationship with
Speaker 1: the tour, Bobby and specifically saw Grass and the dies
Speaker 1: and all the TPC properties that you've been a part of,
Speaker 1: that is that's a big That's a that's an you
Speaker 1: look you got you know from what I'm hearing, you
Speaker 1: guys look at that as almost an extent. All of
Speaker 1: this is an extended family for you. Is that what
Speaker 1: I'm that what I'm hearing. You know, the whole time
Speaker 1: I was at the PGA tour, it was a family.
Speaker 1: And I think Dean Beam unset that in motion as
Speaker 1: much as anybody. And you know, even to this day,
Speaker 1: the players, the players feel like they are part of
Speaker 1: a family being the PGA Tour. And I think that's
Speaker 1: one reason why the PGA Tour has sustained itself to
Speaker 1: the highest level over many, many many decades. And basically
Speaker 1: the history and heritage that comes with the PGA Tour. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, we have so many people to think to
Speaker 1: be thankful for, um, from so many decades ago, and
Speaker 1: now all of a sudden we have this new millennial
Speaker 1: generation playing on the tour and UM, you know, they've
Speaker 1: just they've bought in, they've bought into the family. And
Speaker 1: UH and and and that's truly what it is in
Speaker 1: our sense. And certainly, certainly I found that to be
Speaker 1: true within my years of working with the PGA Tour
Speaker 1: and uh from an administrative standpoint, and in all my travels,
Speaker 1: it's very close knit. And to this day, I've been
Speaker 1: gone a long time and I still have a lot
Speaker 1: of very close friends associated with a PGA tour well,
Speaker 1: and our neighbors J Monahan, and you know, he's very
Speaker 1: generous to heal and to us, and he brought us
Speaker 1: the stack stack of iPads one time and you know,
Speaker 1: here or your mission and it was just you knocked
Speaker 1: on my door. Hey, I've got some iPads for you.
Speaker 1: So it continues, well, so many really cool things that
Speaker 1: you guys just mentioned. The Arnold Palmer loaning he was
Speaker 1: playing Dean Beamon helping you guys get and obviously the
Speaker 1: dies I'm sure had a lot of big role in that.
Speaker 1: All to the stage J Monahan now giving you guys
Speaker 1: a stack of iPads. Technology gets, you know, a bad
Speaker 1: rap sometimes as it relates to you know, we've got
Speaker 1: teenagers kids, we're trying to balance the understanding of you know,
Speaker 1: how much is okay, how much is too much? You know,
Speaker 1: social media all that. But in reality, technology changed your lives, right,
Speaker 1: changed the life of Lanier and a lot of a
Speaker 1: lot of people like her. Tell me a little bit
Speaker 1: more about that. That moment in which you guys go
Speaker 1: from having a nonverbal autistic daughter who you you know,
Speaker 1: you're trying to understand and to you know, to to
Speaker 1: raise as as you know, as as your daughter, and
Speaker 1: then she gets then she gets a voice, and now
Speaker 1: you get a look into who she really is. That
Speaker 1: to me, is where this whole story just goes to
Speaker 1: a whole other level. I wouldn't got trained. It's just
Speaker 1: not handing an iPad. And then she starts typing. It's
Speaker 1: a technique. And we started this technique. We went to Syracuse,
Speaker 1: New York, a bunch of US moms and teachers and
Speaker 1: got trained and came back and I was like, there's
Speaker 1: just no way, there's you know, I believe these other
Speaker 1: kids were doing it. I just didn't. I couldn't, you know,
Speaker 1: fathomed that Lanier could do this. And she sat down
Speaker 1: with her coach and the first thing she typed was
Speaker 1: thank you for releasing my voice. Tell my dad, Tell
Speaker 1: my mom I love her, Tell my dad he's my hero.
Speaker 1: Stop the baby talk. Now. That is when I was like,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, said that's her. And it took her
Speaker 1: at least forty five minutes to get that out because
Speaker 1: she typed a letter and then I have to, you know,
Speaker 1: get that letter in her head and then you know,
Speaker 1: hand eye coordination and hit hit it on the iPad.
Speaker 1: Now she's we called turbotyping. She types pretty fast, just
Speaker 1: pecking with one finger. But it is really just an example.
Speaker 1: Last week, we three three or four weeks ago, we
Speaker 1: changed her onto a different medication, and so we went
Speaker 1: in with her doctor and he's like, on a scale
Speaker 1: to one to five, one to ten, you know, where
Speaker 1: are we on this? You know, how are you feeling?
Speaker 1: And she goes, we're out of five, which means we're
Speaker 1: getting there, but just to monitor her medication or I
Speaker 1: have a headache, or you know, where do you want
Speaker 1: to go? I want to have pizza today. You know,
Speaker 1: just little things like that are so huge for us.
Speaker 1: It's feedback, it's it's communication, it's it's insight also, and this,
Speaker 1: you know what she says and we talk about this,
Speaker 1: but what she says in the in the in the
Speaker 1: piece about like people who judge, you know that incredibly
Speaker 1: perceptive quote, people who judge, people who think they know
Speaker 1: people are like, that's an indictment on them, as you
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, Like that to me is also
Speaker 1: what kind of turns everything is when she's absorbing all
Speaker 1: of that for so much of her life and now
Speaker 1: she's able to turn that back around and say no,
Speaker 1: no, no no, no. If you think you know a person,
Speaker 1: whether whoever that is color of skin or autistic or what,
Speaker 1: you know, what you know any kind of handicap or
Speaker 1: looks or appearances. You don't you got it? That the
Speaker 1: fact that you're judging that person and you think that, oh,
Speaker 1: an autistic person has no ability to like process the
Speaker 1: world around them. That's wrong. And we've we've were all wrong.
Speaker 1: I mean, look at Stephen Hawkins. You wouldn't have if
Speaker 1: you walked up on him, You would have never known
Speaker 1: how brilliant he was had he not had his ability
Speaker 1: to communicate. I think he did with the eyes m
Speaker 1: But that's the same thing. You know, somebody could walk
Speaker 1: up on him and judge him ago you know, who's
Speaker 1: that over there? And but he's brilliant, and our daughter's brilliant.
Speaker 1: And all these kids in Pontovitra now who are non verbal,
Speaker 1: I think we have thirty kids who've never spoken a
Speaker 1: word in their life. Who are you know, typing away?
Speaker 1: And are they're brilliant, brilliant, genius. They are incredibly Lanarius's
Speaker 1: words I have to go look up. I'm like, wait,
Speaker 1: is this a word? I don't think that's a word. Gosh,
Speaker 1: it has worked, and it's it's amazing, it's it's really
Speaker 1: it's it's powerful, it's very heavy, it's powerful, it's inspirational,
Speaker 1: it's informational. It's like it's just all of these different
Speaker 1: things that that fold into one and uh and you
Speaker 1: guys have lived it. Um. I just uh heal, tell
Speaker 1: me a little bit more about where you're at with
Speaker 1: your foundation and the progress you're making to try to
Speaker 1: help so many more people other than just linear. Yes,
Speaker 1: he'll stands for helping enrich autistic lives. Next year is
Speaker 1: going to be our twenty year anniversary. Makes me feel old, um,
Speaker 1: and we guys looked great by the way you look.
Speaker 1: We've pulled out about over five million dollars uh since then.
Speaker 1: And we're just a tiny, little, tiny little um foundation.
Speaker 1: I have a one paid employee that's executive director. I'm
Speaker 1: you know, major volunteer. I don't I don't pay mysel self. UM.
Speaker 1: I consider my ministry to help others. UM. In the summers,
Speaker 1: we have about fifteen camps. We have one at the
Speaker 1: PGA tour um hug help us Golf. We've done that
Speaker 1: camp probably sixteen or seventeen years. And all the teaching
Speaker 1: pros take three days off, half days off and come
Speaker 1: and do golf camps with our kids. They'll let them
Speaker 1: ride in the ball picker up thing they get with
Speaker 1: the maintenance, they cut holes in the greens. I mean,
Speaker 1: so it's very holistic almost. They'll they of course, you know,
Speaker 1: they go out on the course with um um. They
Speaker 1: have a checklist of all the native plants and all
Speaker 1: the animals and they'll you know, spot an eagle and
Speaker 1: check that off their list. So that's you know, they
Speaker 1: incorporate the whole golf and to not just putting and hitting.
Speaker 1: And then the last day they get hit on number seventeen.
Speaker 1: And these boys and girls you know, started to fifteen
Speaker 1: years ago and now you know they're out playing on
Speaker 1: the olymp you know, the Golf Olympic Special Olympics, and
Speaker 1: they can't wait for that week and they video them all.
Speaker 1: They can see themselves on videos, and the teaching pros
Speaker 1: tell me, this is truly we do TPC, We do
Speaker 1: all that, but this is really a fun are really
Speaker 1: fun week and they can see each year how the kids,
Speaker 1: you know, get better and better. But the Surf Camp
Speaker 1: is Surf Campus full as soon as we announced it.
Speaker 1: Two hundred volunteers, unbelievable volunteers. We have bowling, we have fishing,
Speaker 1: we have we go to the museum, so I mean
Speaker 1: horseback riding. Um, if the lyst goes on, and then
Speaker 1: we've raced enough money. We've given out five hundred iPads
Speaker 1: to five hundred teachers in a five county area. And
Speaker 1: then the trips, the three real trips as big trips.
Speaker 1: We realize these these kids can't ride a bike, they
Speaker 1: can't balance, So we've given three hundred trikes, two hundred
Speaker 1: fifty schools two trikes so that coaches can get on,
Speaker 1: we get we do it through the pe and then
Speaker 1: the kids get on and ride in the track and
Speaker 1: the whole classes like running beside them, so they're you know,
Speaker 1: learning coordination and it's just so much fun to ride
Speaker 1: a bike. So that's our big initiatives that we've been
Speaker 1: doing it. It's just so much fun to deliver them
Speaker 1: and see the kids get excited and um, you know
Speaker 1: get on the bike and ride around the track. To
Speaker 1: go from you know, feeling like we are in crisis
Speaker 1: mode to now you've raised over five million, you're giving
Speaker 1: ipat year, You now have this, you know, you strengthened
Speaker 1: relationship with your daughter and your family is where it's at,
Speaker 1: Like does that just feel like lives ago that you
Speaker 1: that you went through all that it does. And you know,
Speaker 1: my daughter's Haley and Carly. I mean they just they
Speaker 1: were like little mamas. They were just running around helping me.
Speaker 1: They never complained ever. I think they're like moms out
Speaker 1: of pretty bad. So I think we're you know, we're
Speaker 1: I can go through that teenage stuff. We're just we're
Speaker 1: here to help, you know. Um. And you know, I
Speaker 1: tell moms now because I was always felt like I
Speaker 1: was in a sprint sprint sprint sprint, you know, and
Speaker 1: it's a marathon, you know, pace yourself day good day
Speaker 1: by day. It's easier to say, but when you're in
Speaker 1: the middle of it, you're just you're gonna hardly breathe.
Speaker 1: You're like, I gonna help my daughter. You know. I'd
Speaker 1: be somewhere at a cocktail party or something and somebody's
Speaker 1: talking about something, and all in my head is like,
Speaker 1: my daughter can't talk. I gotta help her. I gonna
Speaker 1: help her. I just I couldn't get out of that
Speaker 1: total um. You know, sprint. I'm in the sprint. I
Speaker 1: gotta keep going, I gotta keep running. And I look
Speaker 1: back now and I could have relaxed a little bit
Speaker 1: along the way, but I didn't know what I was
Speaker 1: dealing with. Doctors didn't you know, Autism just sprang up
Speaker 1: out of nowhere. Really, these type like my daughter, the
Speaker 1: non verbal, and you know, they were trying to figure
Speaker 1: it out too. So we're all there in and out.
Speaker 1: There's something to that, right. I know you've spent a
Speaker 1: lot of time researching, but you know the idea that
Speaker 1: autism is and I know you know the numbers, but
Speaker 1: we've gone from a time in which autism wasn't really
Speaker 1: you know, it wasn't happening very autistic children, you know
Speaker 1: that were there, weren't a lot of them, And now
Speaker 1: it feels like that's something that's more prominent. You know,
Speaker 1: I don't know if you want to get into that,
Speaker 1: but what's one of forty four and four out of
Speaker 1: five are boys, So the girls are rare. I mean,
Speaker 1: the boys just got nailed. And um, you know, you
Speaker 1: can't you can't have a genetic epidemic. It's an epidemic.
Speaker 1: And like I go to these high schools and every
Speaker 1: high school has at least over a hundred in population,
Speaker 1: and these kids are in classrooms no more than six
Speaker 1: So it's like a whole city behind these high schools
Speaker 1: as modulars. Yeah, and it's like a whole city back there.
Speaker 1: And you know, there are a lot of theories. You know,
Speaker 1: ours was vaccine injury, you know, without a doubt. I mean,
Speaker 1: you don't have a perfectly walking, talking child at sixteen seventeen,
Speaker 1: eighteen months and then they lose all that and she
Speaker 1: didn't walk till she was almost three again, so I
Speaker 1: mean she lost all her motor So it's it's really
Speaker 1: brain motor, it's not and so her intelligence wasn't touched.
Speaker 1: But because somebody walks with the gate, or somebody can't talk,
Speaker 1: or they you know, do funny weird stuff, you just think,
Speaker 1: oh they don't you know, the brain is not in there.
Speaker 1: But we have realized it's it's all motor. That motor
Speaker 1: that's connected to the brain is somehow damaged. A lot
Speaker 1: of these kids also have autoimmune disorders, and that's the
Speaker 1: immune system got nailed at the same time. So, yeah,
Speaker 1: invulnerable leaves in vulnerable in a lot of ways obviously,
Speaker 1: and then and then being nonverbal, being able to now
Speaker 1: get access into what they're what they're feeling from inside
Speaker 1: that that unlocks the box right being able to now
Speaker 1: then yeah, and then she telling us the first time
Speaker 1: she realized that she she wasn't speaking because you know
Speaker 1: how you talk in your head. And she was about
Speaker 1: three or four, and she said, I always thought that
Speaker 1: thoughts were transferred through the brain. I thought I was
Speaker 1: talking to you. And I said, oh my gosh, did
Speaker 1: you think we're ignoring you? And she said no, I
Speaker 1: just I felt like you just immediately forgot what I
Speaker 1: said and then putting her putting the pieces together that
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, I can't speak. And that's when she
Speaker 1: became inconsolable and um, you know, upset all the time
Speaker 1: and coming after people because she said, I was trying
Speaker 1: to get great words out, trying to get great words out,
Speaker 1: and now she can get her words out. She's she
Speaker 1: says that she wants to change the world. How is
Speaker 1: how is how is her mission going? I mean day
Speaker 1: to day and in what you're doing through heal, I
Speaker 1: mean you are changing the world in this, in this story,
Speaker 1: in this these conversations and within your community in a
Speaker 1: way you would Does she feel like she's making progress
Speaker 1: in her mission to change the world? Oh, definitely, Um,
Speaker 1: And you know I've read her excerpts from Helen Keller,
Speaker 1: who you know couldn't see and couldn't you know, speak,
Speaker 1: and you know, learn how to do this in her hands,
Speaker 1: and people didn't believe that. You know. Um so I
Speaker 1: I gain a lot of my own inner strength because
Speaker 1: I've just read every single thing I could get my
Speaker 1: hands on that Helen Keller wrote and her mother and
Speaker 1: and um Annie Sullivan and I feel like we are that.
Speaker 1: And so because of the typing, another mother has opened
Speaker 1: up a school where we're on the same curriculum at
Speaker 1: Saint John's County High Schools and we have teachers facilitating
Speaker 1: these kids and near did all she was doing algebra
Speaker 1: and stuff, and so that is huge. The fact that
Speaker 1: we have over thirty kids in the Jacksonville area that
Speaker 1: have been trained, and we brought in trainers to train teachers,
Speaker 1: and now we have teachers that are training other teachers.
Speaker 1: So we really have kind of like a mecca here.
Speaker 1: Atlanta has a few people and you know, all these
Speaker 1: big cities, but they are not connected like we are.
Speaker 1: And that is because of Planeer, And you know, that's
Speaker 1: her mission. She brings awareness on a onl this daily
Speaker 1: weekly basis. She's really proud of what we're doing with
Speaker 1: Heal And it's incredibly gratifying to us with the foundation
Speaker 1: to be able to go out and assist other families,
Speaker 1: knowing how we struggled with some resources and so many
Speaker 1: don't have, uh, don't have some of those resources. So
Speaker 1: it's very gratifying for us to um to establish the
Speaker 1: pillars of our foundation, mainly bringing about awareness and education
Speaker 1: along with these summer camps just giving the family some
Speaker 1: hope and some relief, respite and uh so you know
Speaker 1: that's just a big part of our our family taking
Speaker 1: all this on being you know, being givers and and
Speaker 1: and not takers and uh and and trying to help
Speaker 1: other families. I mean, that's that's the gratification that that
Speaker 1: we're that we've received out of it. And uh and
Speaker 1: we'll continue that mission. And Lanier understands and knows that
Speaker 1: she wants to go to college and um, um she
Speaker 1: she has, she has a lot of things that she
Speaker 1: wants to achieve and um she's just a beautiful young
Speaker 1: young lady inside and out. And you know, I have
Speaker 1: to say that Leslie single handedly brought her out of
Speaker 1: that deep, dark, autistic world to where she is today,
Speaker 1: and you know, we'll all be forever grateful for that
Speaker 1: because so many children get left behind and aren't aren't
Speaker 1: cared for properly, and it just breaks our heart. And
Speaker 1: so you know, we're trying to do something right here
Speaker 1: in North Florida that makes the difference. And you know,
Speaker 1: we have we have a lot of folks that have
Speaker 1: been generous donators to UM, to our calls. UM along
Speaker 1: with the PGA tour early on, been a they've been
Speaker 1: a big supporter. So we live in a wonderful community
Speaker 1: and people are moving here in part because of what
Speaker 1: Leslie and her team of mothers. I mean, between Leslie
Speaker 1: and these other mothers of autistic children, I'm telling you, Matt,
Speaker 1: they they can truly move mountains. I've seen it, and uh,
Speaker 1: I'm just I'm just so proud of all of them.
Speaker 1: And uh um, you know, without Leslie, uh, most of
Speaker 1: our dreams would never been you know, have never been
Speaker 1: able to come true. So that's a big part of it.
Speaker 1: It's amazing. I yeah, No, I've known you, Bobby for
Speaker 1: a long time. We've you know, and I've learned a
Speaker 1: lot about your career and your architecture. But when I
Speaker 1: met Leslie. I was like, okay, well this is this
Speaker 1: is the heart and soul of this family. I love you, Bobby,
Speaker 1: You're an amazing guy. But I was like, okay, Leslie,
Speaker 1: is that this is like a rocket ship. I mean
Speaker 1: this is like, yeah, how do how do how do
Speaker 1: people help? How do people help? How how can people
Speaker 1: get involved if they're so so inspired? Well, our website
Speaker 1: is Heal Autism Now dot org and there's a little
Speaker 1: donate button you can hit it. I think Bobby has
Speaker 1: our web, our website on his Bobby bobbyweed dot com. Um.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I mean money, money, money is where it's at.
Speaker 1: And you know, we we enable so many teachers, so
Speaker 1: many educators at school, and uh you know, I'll say, hey,
Speaker 1: once you write a grant, don't you need twenty five
Speaker 1: hundred dollars? And they're like what, Yeah, we buy smart boards,
Speaker 1: And I mean, you know, they get all the dregs,
Speaker 1: they get all the hand me downs, and these teachers
Speaker 1: are just it's like they've won the lottery. We always
Speaker 1: go in surprise them with iPads and call them all
Speaker 1: to the office and they think they're in trouble and
Speaker 1: they're just jumping around and kissing us and you know,
Speaker 1: the kids are excited. So well, it's a wonderful tool.
Speaker 1: It's a wonderful tool for all of these public schools
Speaker 1: and all of these teachers and therapists as well. So
Speaker 1: U it's proven, it's proven to really open up new
Speaker 1: channels and avenues that these that these children and young
Speaker 1: adults have never have never had because a lot of
Speaker 1: them can't hold a pencil, but they can tap and
Speaker 1: they can swipe. And that's why the iPad is just revolutionary. Well,
Speaker 1: it's incredible, and I can't thank you enough for sharing
Speaker 1: all of this with me and us and and uh
Speaker 1: and and and we look forward to then sharing this
Speaker 1: story with with with everybody you know who who who
Speaker 1: would be so inclined. It's it's just a it's a gift.
Speaker 1: You know what you guys are doing, and your story
Speaker 1: is a gift that keeps giving obviously day to day,
Speaker 1: you know, week to week, month to month. I mean
Speaker 1: this kid to kid, family to family, it just keeps
Speaker 1: keeps going. Um, and so so thank you for all
Speaker 1: of that. It was it's been a very special Of
Speaker 1: all the stories I've told or you know, been I
Speaker 1: just this one is just one that just means so
Speaker 1: much more than most so well appreciate we appreciate that map.
Speaker 1: And you know, most people know Pete, Dye, Bobby we
Speaker 1: Tom Fazzio by their name and what they've done in
Speaker 1: the golf business. But let me tell you, Tom Fazzio
Speaker 1: has a wonderful foundation and a very very giving individual.
Speaker 1: Pete and Alice had a heart of gold, and they
Speaker 1: were just such a dynamic duo and they did more
Speaker 1: than just golf course design. Uh No, different than Arnold
Speaker 1: with his charitable giving and Jack and Barbara as well.
Speaker 1: I mean, the story just goes on and on and on.
Speaker 1: Ernie has a great school down in Jupiter. So I mean,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of folks out there that are that
Speaker 1: are helping to push the mountains to give these children
Speaker 1: and young adults a better a better future. The Winnie
Speaker 1: Palmer Hospital in Orlando saved saved our son's life with
Speaker 1: if we weren't in that hospital under that care with
Speaker 1: a pro prolapsed umbilical cord, with our son, he had
Speaker 1: five minutes, you know, and and the doctor came in
Speaker 1: and said, if you weren't here and at this hospital,
Speaker 1: and that nurse hadn't identified that situation, you know, and
Speaker 1: that's the that's the Winnie Palmer Hospital, you know, I
Speaker 1: mean that was you know that, So you know what
Speaker 1: I mean, And I know Jack is very involved in
Speaker 1: to your point, it's not just about, you know, leaving
Speaker 1: a legacy of old people running around and making birdies
Speaker 1: and pars and bogie. It's it goes beyond that. So
Speaker 1: it is it is a pretty special community. Um this
Speaker 1: week obviously, and all the effort you put into saw Grass, Bobby,
Speaker 1: and this golf course and now what it's become as
Speaker 1: a players Championship, and going back to those days where
Speaker 1: you had to walk around with that notebook and you
Speaker 1: had to you had to take notes on what the
Speaker 1: players thought about that original design to where it is now.
Speaker 1: Does this week always mean just so much more to
Speaker 1: you than than a lot of other weeks that come
Speaker 1: up on the on the PGA Tour calendar. No question,
Speaker 1: it harkened back to when I came here and and
Speaker 1: all the folks Um starting with Dean Uh and the
Speaker 1: vision he had and all the staff Vernham, Kelly Uh
Speaker 1: and then Tim finching behind him and now Jay Um
Speaker 1: leading the helm at the PGA Tour you know, all
Speaker 1: the charitable moneies that have been have been generated, not
Speaker 1: only here at the Player of Championship, but throughout the
Speaker 1: PGA Tour. I mean, we're all about charity and giving
Speaker 1: and uh, it's a it's a family and for me
Speaker 1: here this week, um, you know, to host one of
Speaker 1: the biggest events um uh if not the biggest event
Speaker 1: on the AJ Tour being the Players um Championship course
Speaker 1: here and the Players Championship for the players. Uh, it's
Speaker 1: very special. It's grown in every way from from where
Speaker 1: we were back in the early days and uh M
Speaker 1: to a point where all the other tournaments send their
Speaker 1: chairman here uh every year to see what we're doing
Speaker 1: here at Sawgrass and because it's it's showing the way
Speaker 1: for all these other events and tournaments to improve. And
Speaker 1: so it just you know, it takes the village. I mean,
Speaker 1: we have a massive amount of volunteers that that work tireless, tirelessly,
Speaker 1: and all of the PGA Tour event saying we have
Speaker 1: great sponsors. So I mean it's just a it just
Speaker 1: feels good, it feels right, and the players, the players
Speaker 1: are just as good as they've ever been. It's the
Speaker 1: best tour on the planet and h the venue that
Speaker 1: we have here this week and coming up this weekend,
Speaker 1: you know, we'll be showcased all over the world. And
Speaker 1: for me to play a very small minute role in
Speaker 1: that process early on in the foundation and building of
Speaker 1: this property, it's a little bigger than minute. Bobby, I
Speaker 1: think you get Pete. I think was like, hey man,
Speaker 1: you take this. I'm busy. I'm moving on to other things. Bobby,
Speaker 1: you go back to Saga Grass and fix that place.
Speaker 1: Well it turned out it's turned out to be a
Speaker 1: great golf course and a great venue and uh, I'm
Speaker 1: just proud to be here and I'm gonna enjoy some
Speaker 1: of it this week. But uh, it does. It does
Speaker 1: bring back some very fond memories of some you know,
Speaker 1: a lot of hours and a lot of changes and
Speaker 1: transformations that have taken place on this property. But to
Speaker 1: be where it is today, it's one of the preeminent
Speaker 1: events in the world. Yeah. The the you know, your guys,
Speaker 1: is life. I mean, you guys, it's a movie, it's
Speaker 1: a book. It's books. I mean, you have you know simultaneously,
Speaker 1: you know, as a family. But Leslie, what you're doing
Speaker 1: with heal and obviously Bobby's involved there. But but what
Speaker 1: Bobby's been done doing in his career, you know, going
Speaker 1: on to build Michael Jordan's private golf court, Saga, all
Speaker 1: the all the different projects you've been a part of,
Speaker 1: your relationship with the Dies and then beyond and all
Speaker 1: the people that you've met. I mean, it's been the life.
Speaker 1: The life you guys lead and could very easily have
Speaker 1: been one where you get you know, tunnel focused on yourselves,
Speaker 1: but you but here comes Lanear and all that you got.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's just it's just a very it just
Speaker 1: seems like a very enriched, uh you know path that
Speaker 1: you guys are on in a way with the people
Speaker 1: that are involved and the giving that's going on, as
Speaker 1: you said, you know, not being takers, but being givers.
Speaker 1: That's something for all of us to learn from. For me,
Speaker 1: the perspective, you just to provided we get caught up
Speaker 1: in this live verse tour and this is this is
Speaker 1: then and that is then and you know, but you
Speaker 1: can see that this has actually brought the PGA tour closer.
Speaker 1: It's getting them to kind of refocus on what their
Speaker 1: product is so to speak. I mean, I just think
Speaker 1: it's important to keep looking at things from a big picture,
Speaker 1: the philanthropic aspects of what the tour has done. I
Speaker 1: think we we get we forget that, and I think, uh,
Speaker 1: thank you for you know, helping us remember that this
Speaker 1: isn't always just you know, checks for the winner and
Speaker 1: uh and and it's and it goes, it goes much
Speaker 1: further than that. And I think you guys are an
Speaker 1: example of that. Is that would that be accurate? Do
Speaker 1: you think? I mean, is that kind of no question?
Speaker 1: No question. I mean, nobody's bigger than the game of
Speaker 1: golf itself. Uh, golf is going to live on. It's
Speaker 1: very healthy today and we're in a good spot, will
Speaker 1: continue to grow the game. A lot of folks, all
Speaker 1: the allied associations involved in growing the game. So uh um.
Speaker 1: You know, the game of golf is worldwide and um um,
Speaker 1: and it has far reaching impacts on on on lives,
Speaker 1: um through the charitable benefit of all the events across
Speaker 1: the country. I mean, it's a it's a nationwide it's
Speaker 1: a nationwide and global game today and um and we're all, uh,
Speaker 1: we're all part of the game. We love the game
Speaker 1: and it gives us so much more than just the
Speaker 1: golf itself. Um so I think we're all blessed to
Speaker 1: be where we are. I know, I'm very blessed, and uh,
Speaker 1: I don't, uh you know, I'm I'm I've never really
Speaker 1: had a chance to take a mulligan. So I'm playing.
Speaker 1: I'm playing it down every day and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: you just take you just take what it gives you
Speaker 1: and deal with it. And that's you know, it's part
Speaker 1: of life. I mean, it's very similar to life. That
Speaker 1: goes back to your guys's first date where you told
Speaker 1: me you had to see how she plays it out
Speaker 1: of these she played out. I remember that story, right,
Speaker 1: didn't that go back to the first day of date. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's right, that's right. You watch how people play through
Speaker 1: the through the tough parts of a round of golfer.
Speaker 1: You knew right then you had something a lot of hilaritas. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Uh well, um, uh just just give me one last
Speaker 1: reflection and and and obviously I would imagine it's a
Speaker 1: week like this that you you probably think about Pete
Speaker 1: and Alice every day, but uh, this week in particular,
Speaker 1: I miss Pete and Alice. I got the pleasure of
Speaker 1: getting to know them quite well as my you know,
Speaker 1: my career went on and followed them and had conversations
Speaker 1: and went to their house and got to feel the
Speaker 1: warmth you know, of them as people and not necessarily
Speaker 1: as this architectural tandem. Um is this is this a
Speaker 1: week in which you think about them more than most,
Speaker 1: no question. I mean, Pete's been gone, um a little
Speaker 1: over three years now, and it just seemed like it
Speaker 1: flies by. There's probably not a day that goes by
Speaker 1: that um. Um something that that he said, or something
Speaker 1: that he taught me, or I asked myself, you know,
Speaker 1: what would Pete do or would Pete approve of this?
Speaker 1: So uh? Um Yeah, it's um, you know, the duo
Speaker 1: of Pete and Alice, who for for the longest time,
Speaker 1: I think we're probably the most powerful two people in
Speaker 1: the game of golf and um and you just you
Speaker 1: just never could tell it because um, they were just
Speaker 1: so immersed and uh. And then to parallel that with
Speaker 1: deemed Demon and his vision and what he had done
Speaker 1: with the tour um uh when when he came to
Speaker 1: pon Avidra and grew and grew the tour to what
Speaker 1: it is today. I mean, we have a lot to
Speaker 1: be thankful for for Dean. I wrote him a note
Speaker 1: last night and sent it to him. I wrote Vernon
Speaker 1: Kelly a note last night as well, early early, early on. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, they they really, they really um um together
Speaker 1: had the vision and brought this tournament Players Club to
Speaker 1: where it is today and UM, we're all better for it.
Speaker 1: And you know Tim Fincham you know, took over and
Speaker 1: did a great job. So I'm I'm very very thankful
Speaker 1: for the mentors I have, Uh, I've had access to,
Speaker 1: but these guys are so dedicated. They're so so so
Speaker 1: dedicated not only to the game but to the PGA
Speaker 1: Tour and doing the right thing. Um just conducted themselves
Speaker 1: in the right way. And with the hundreds and hundreds
Speaker 1: of millions billions now I think in charitable giving across
Speaker 1: the country, I mean it's impacted so many lives and
Speaker 1: you know, to volunteer for this event to give back
Speaker 1: and then to see how much money is being distributed
Speaker 1: to all the local charities, Yeah, we received money from
Speaker 1: them too, So it's just it's just it's just a wonderful,
Speaker 1: warm feeling. There's so much gratification that goes with it.
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's a it's a special. It's a special
Speaker 1: week for us, and uh, it's one for me to
Speaker 1: reflect back on. You know, where would I be without
Speaker 1: being being and where would I be without Pete die
Speaker 1: in our forty five year friendship and relationship. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: it's just I don't know. I have no idea. I'm
Speaker 1: just fortunate and blessed to be where we are today
Speaker 1: and back then, like forty employees when they started one
Speaker 1: little building and now you know, now look now, look
Speaker 1: at what's going to transpire this week and how many
Speaker 1: people are going to be around that golf course, that
Speaker 1: seventeenth green that you know that that that do you?
Speaker 1: What do you remember about that, Bobby when when they're
Speaker 1: making the island green, that was there any part of
Speaker 1: you that was like, I don't know what the hell
Speaker 1: we're doing? Well you, I may guess you were already
Speaker 1: familiar with island like at that concept? Was that just
Speaker 1: mind boggling at that time? It was I think kind
Speaker 1: of evolved. Alice obviously had a lot to do with that,
Speaker 1: but it evolved. I mean, we have an island green
Speaker 1: from yeah, a little eader fob and and then I
Speaker 1: know there's another one up in Connecticut. Um, I think
Speaker 1: at Weeburn so um um. But nonetheless it evolved and
Speaker 1: um turned out to be an iconic golf hole, you know,
Speaker 1: one that people loved, one that people hate, but you know, regardless, Uh,
Speaker 1: it has a tremendous amount of drama and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: people just flocked to it and uh it's just been
Speaker 1: it's just been a real staple to the to the
Speaker 1: golf course, to the event and uh and I'm sure,
Speaker 1: I'm sure it'll be it'll be a big factor this weekend.
Speaker 1: Uh here once again to get sand. That's why they
Speaker 1: were doing they were trying to want to get some sand. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: we needed we needed sand and uh in that particular
Speaker 1: area had quite a bit of sand. So we kept
Speaker 1: they kept mining the sand out of there, and and
Speaker 1: the next thing, you know, we had a peninsula, and
Speaker 1: then the next thing, we had an island. And because
Speaker 1: we needed all the sand that we could possibly find
Speaker 1: on site, and a lot of that sand came between
Speaker 1: the ninth and the eighteenth golf holes. It's probably the
Speaker 1: probably the biggest lake on the golf course and and
Speaker 1: the source of most of our sand for capping capping
Speaker 1: the golf course. So you know, stadium. Golf evolved a
Speaker 1: little bit during that process. Obviously, the golf course evolved,
Speaker 1: and you know, it goes back to what Pete always said,
Speaker 1: you know, she'll be a golf course built by a
Speaker 1: set of plans, and I'll show you a bad golf
Speaker 1: course because it truly happens in the field. And nobody
Speaker 1: was in the field more than Peepe And so you know,
Speaker 1: a lot of that he handed down to myself and
Speaker 1: many others that are out in the business today. So
Speaker 1: we're all we're all better for it. We're all very
Speaker 1: grateful and hum every one of us have Pete and
Speaker 1: Alice to thank for for much of our career, but
Speaker 1: also leaving a legacy of golf courses, much like much
Speaker 1: like some of the great musicians or you know, leaving
Speaker 1: their music music behind for us to enjoy. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: all these great artisans are leaving golf courses here for
Speaker 1: future generations to enjoy and um. And that's a great
Speaker 1: thing about golf. Well, I know all about your your
Speaker 1: music collection, your record collection, the actual vinyls which which
Speaker 1: which which I were thoroughly enjoyed that night going through
Speaker 1: that was that was incredible. Uh. Lastly, what you know
Speaker 1: you talked about. There isn't a day go by that
Speaker 1: you think something that Pete might have said or would
Speaker 1: Pete approve? What? Give me a couple Give me a
Speaker 1: couple of nuggets that that you'll always think about when
Speaker 1: you get going on a project or when you're assessing
Speaker 1: your own work. What what What are some of the
Speaker 1: things that he taught you that always go through your head? Well,
Speaker 1: he always uh, at the start of a project, even
Speaker 1: talking to an owner about a new project, you know,
Speaker 1: one of the first questions he always asked was who
Speaker 1: was he building the golf course for? Who? Who are
Speaker 1: we building this golf course for? Because that's that's very,
Speaker 1: very very important and um so uh first and foremost, UM,
Speaker 1: I think you have to understand that on the front end,
Speaker 1: and the fact that he was never completely satisfied. He
Speaker 1: always thought that whatever he was working on shaping and
Speaker 1: molding a golf hole, um, you know, there was always
Speaker 1: something that he would go back and say, you know,
Speaker 1: I think he could be better. Let's change this or
Speaker 1: or or or let's just keep rubbing on it until
Speaker 1: he gets better. And uh. It was always somewhat funny
Speaker 1: because the saddest day for Pete always was a day
Speaker 1: we grasped the golf hole because he couldn't do anything
Speaker 1: else after that. But that didn't stop him. That didn't
Speaker 1: stop him. If he wanted to make a change, he
Speaker 1: could make a change. And uh, you know, he was
Speaker 1: a great salesman. Um. He was so passionate and um,
Speaker 1: I mean he could you know, he could say he
Speaker 1: could sell Rachearl's prescription sunglasses that he needed there, I
Speaker 1: mean he was he was just he had that great
Speaker 1: Midwestern wit about him and uh, um he just um,
Speaker 1: he treated everybody equally. He treated everybody the same, and
Speaker 1: that's that was That was an important takeaway from me.
Speaker 1: It didn't matter if you were um in the trenches,
Speaker 1: putting in irrigation, putting in drainage, running a piece of equipment, um,
Speaker 1: if or the superintendent or the owner. I think he
Speaker 1: seemed to be able to treat everybody the same. And
Speaker 1: you know, the bottom line is if you were a
Speaker 1: lover of the game, you were a friend of Pete
Speaker 1: Dies And so a lot of a lot of that
Speaker 1: mum has been handed down to many of the folks
Speaker 1: that worked under Pete and worked for Pete. I've often
Speaker 1: said many many times that as uh for in regards
Speaker 1: to his legacy of all the great golf courses he designed,
Speaker 1: um another aspect of his legacy was all the people
Speaker 1: that he impacted and brought into this business and into
Speaker 1: this game. I think that's an equal component of his legacy,
Speaker 1: that family tree that he has of all the people
Speaker 1: who've worked for him and all the tentacles of his legacy.
Speaker 1: He analyzes legacy, you know, and obviously you're a key
Speaker 1: component to that. Always considered you know, a third son,
Speaker 1: a third die son. Basically you were you were on that.
Speaker 1: But I mean that that to me is is tremendous.
Speaker 1: I tried to do that story and create that that
Speaker 1: family tree, and even then I was missing missing names,
Speaker 1: and it keeps going on and on now to this day,
Speaker 1: it just keeps going. So modern architecture whatever is referred
Speaker 1: to as modern architecture, obviously Robert Trent Jones Senior, but
Speaker 1: also Pete Die that that Pete Dye is the man.
Speaker 1: I mean that there's arguably arguably the greatest modern day
Speaker 1: architect of all time. And right now it's only you know,
Speaker 1: Pebe's the last representative of that of that family immediate family,
Speaker 1: I should say he felt lots of cousins and relatives
Speaker 1: that are actually in the business as well. But Phoebe
Speaker 1: and I are talking about teaming up and doing some
Speaker 1: work together. Yet once again, so um. While we started
Speaker 1: a company back in the eighties, UM called die Weed
Speaker 1: Die for Pete, Phoebe and myself called a die Weed Die.
Speaker 1: But now we're just like to die weed. So I thought,
Speaker 1: I told Peven like, we might as well keep Pete's
Speaker 1: name in there so we can just maintain the die
Speaker 1: Weed Die a name. I say that every year every
Speaker 1: day in my yard, Die Weed Die, Die Die. How
Speaker 1: is how is? How is your? How many projects do
Speaker 1: you have going right now? What's your what's the status
Speaker 1: of weed design? How how's it going? We're small by choice.
Speaker 1: We don't take on a lot of projects just because
Speaker 1: we kind of operate similar to how Pete did. And
Speaker 1: more often than not, I'm moving to the site and
Speaker 1: um and working and being hands on. I've got a
Speaker 1: great partner and associate, Joey Graziani working with me that
Speaker 1: I'm bringing him along and he's he's the future of
Speaker 1: the business in the industry, just like so many others.
Speaker 1: And again I think that's inherent upon me, which also
Speaker 1: gives me a great gratification just like it did with
Speaker 1: Pete to bring home in terms and students and uh
Speaker 1: and give them a platform an avenue to ultimately go
Speaker 1: out on their own eventually one day. And so that's
Speaker 1: open one in Jacksonville. That's a big part. Yeah, we
Speaker 1: just opened another golf course here in Jacksonville call still
Speaker 1: Water first course here in almost twenty years. We've got
Speaker 1: some good projects going on. We're always chasing a few projects.
Speaker 1: So Waynesville, we're blast, we're blasting, fortunate. We're we're finishing
Speaker 1: up a project in western North Carolina right now in Waynesville,
Speaker 1: North Carolina, Waynesville and Golf Club, and so we're excited
Speaker 1: about that. So last week I was back out in
Speaker 1: Austin and up in North Carolina, back in South Florida.
Speaker 1: So um, we're constantly, we're constantly on the run. And uh,
Speaker 1: it's great, it's been it's been great. And we're just
Speaker 1: like I said, very fortunate and blessed and uh um
Speaker 1: to have a few projects that we can we can
Speaker 1: work on and keeps us playing in the dirt. You know.
Speaker 1: The one thing that big takeaway is you guys are
Speaker 1: each other's biggest fans. And that to me is is
Speaker 1: what I talk about to my wife is when I
Speaker 1: you know, anytime I'm talk to you guys, or I'm
Speaker 1: around you guys, or I see you guys, or I
Speaker 1: get little bits and pieces, it's very obvious. And I
Speaker 1: think that that is probably why all of this has
Speaker 1: worked with so much. Uh, you know, so that's why
Speaker 1: you guys are so effective. That's why you guys are
Speaker 1: able to do what you do and have had the
Speaker 1: impact you've had and uh and that also extends now
Speaker 1: to your daughters and certainly obviously Lanier. So all of
Speaker 1: this is just so inspiring. Thank you again for letting
Speaker 1: us in and uh and sharing your story and uh
Speaker 1: it keeps going on and on and uh and uh
Speaker 1: and thank you. I just I guess that's probably just
Speaker 1: the best thing to say at this point. It's just
Speaker 1: thank you for being you and for doing what you're doing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you're kind and generous. You're kind and generous, and thanks
Speaker 1: for taking the lead and running with us, and uh
Speaker 1: it just helps get the word out even more so
Speaker 1: you're doing a big part and helping us as well.
Speaker 1: So thank you, well that talk about a minute part
Speaker 1: that would be that would be that would be an
Speaker 1: appropriate use of that term at this point. But uh yes,
Speaker 1: Bobby Leslie, thank you and uh and uh and nothing
Speaker 1: but hugs and loves to Lanier as she continues to
Speaker 1: change the world. Thank you, Thanks so let us know
Speaker 1: and thanks us know any time you're heading back to
Speaker 1: North Florida. Yep, that you're always my first, my first text,
Speaker 1: my first call ever. Will spend some vitals in, put
Speaker 1: another log on the fire, nobody hears. Get the time