Dorothy: [00:00:00] Today we have a very special guest joining us, a man who has worn many hats throughout his life from being a successful pro football coach to becoming a thriving Chick fil A franchisee and most importantly, a passionate breast cancer advocate. We’re excited to welcome Tony Levine to the show as he shares his journey of building a successful career and leveraging his platform to make a positive impact in the fight against breast cancer.
With his involvement with The Rose, Tony has truly become a beacon of hope and inspiration for so many.
Let’s Talk About Your Breast. A different kind of podcast presented to you by The Rose, the Breast Center of Excellence and a Texas treasure. You’re going to hear frank discussions about tough topics and you’re going to learn why knowing about your breast could save your life. Join us as we hear another story and we answer those tough questions that you may have.
I’ve [00:01:00] never seen so much stuff on the internet about anyone that that we’ve interviewed yet. That’s for sure. So you’re gonna have to tell us a little bit about your background.
Tony: I’ll start, uh, I guess where I’m from. I’m from, uh, St. Paul, Minnesota, just north of here, born and raised. And, uh, I know it’s not just north of here, but it’s north of here.
And, um, born and raised. My parents still live there, and my brother and his family still live there. And, um, did a lot growing up, was involved throughout high school in, uh, a lot of sports, football, basketball, baseball, track, tennis, and soccer, and, and, uh, was probably better at the saxophone actually than anything else.
And, uh, ended up coming out of high school trying to decide between music and football or basketball. Ended up having the opportunity to go to the University of Minnesota as a walk on football player. So, uh.
Dorothy: What does that mean?
Tony: Yeah, that’s great. Great question. So there’s two ways. In theory, [00:02:00] there’s two ways to play college athletics.
One to be recruited, uh, and offered a scholarship, uh, where the schools obviously pay for everything. And then the other would be that you may or may not have been recruited, but asked to come and, uh, and pay your own way. Potentially for your entire career or potentially, um, earning a scholarship at some point.
So I was able to earn a scholarship my second year and end up, uh, playing receiver and starting for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and went to college with the, uh, thought of being an accountant. My dad is, as you and I speak is, is up there. Um, if it’s not shoveling snow, he’s doing a tax return right now. And he and my brother and I were going to plan was to be accountants and work with him.
And, um, Really my sophomore year of college was my brother’s freshman year. He was a lead trumpet player in the marching band at the University of Minnesota. And, and he and I got together and said, you know what, I don’t know if we want to sit there in front of a computer all day and do tax returns. So we met with our dad and, uh, gave him the news.
He [00:03:00] said, that’s great. I’m going to support you. And what, what do you want to do? And I said, I want to coach football. And he said, he wanted to be a band director. So he’s a high school band director in the Twin Cities. And I started about a 25 year career, so— in coaching football in all over the country.
And uh, my family and I got to Houston, Texas, January 3rd of 2008. And, uh, my bride’s from Birmingham, Alabama, never been to Houston before nor had I, and we fell in love with not only Houston, but the state of Texas and, and, uh, uh, coached at the University of Houston for a total of seven years.
And, um, our kids at the time were, when I was coaching there were 7, 5, 3, and 1. And, uh, in coaching is a, is a tremendous profession. You’ve got the opportunity to make a great impact on, on your players and even your assistants and in the community that you’re in. But, uh, um, you, if you’re not careful, you can spend, uh, 99 percent of your time [00:04:00] coaching and 1 percent of your time with your family. So kind of reached a point in my career where I wanted to try something different, but stay in Houston if we could, we absolutely love it here. See if there was something I could do where I could balance my career and, and, uh, spend a lot more time with my, my family.
And then when we had that meeting with my dad, I know I’m giving you a long answer to your first simple question here, but—
Dorothy: No, no, no. I’m learning things.
Tony: But when we had that made my brother and I met with our dad, he said, I’m going to support you. I think it’s great. I think you should do what you love. Um, and the only question he asks is “I’m just curious, why, why do you want to be a band director to my brother, Jeff? And why do you want to be a football coach?” And, and, uh, I enjoyed the game of football. I am a competitive person. My favorite sport growing up was basketball, but really at the time. And I think we got this from our parents. We really just wanted to do something where we felt like we could give back and impact people’s lives.
And I loved the thought of teaching and coaching and training and encouraging and motivating. And I do, again, [00:05:00] like competition. So again, coached for almost 25 years as a career and then had the opportunity to To apply to get a Chick fil A franchise. And, uh, uh, May of 2018, we opened up and several months earlier, I, uh, resigned and, and left, uh, uh, at the time I was at Purdue University as the, uh, as an assistant coach and, and, um, Started our restaurant and have absolutely loved it. We have, uh, just briefly about the restaurant. We have almost 135 members of our team there. Uh, very diverse, which is what one of the things we love about Houston. And, uh, diverse in every way, age, race, religion, culture, you name it. It’s a part of our team. And, and, uh, it’s been, uh, someone asked me one time, you know, how does it feel not to coach anymore?
And I feel like I’m still coaching. So it’s a lot of things that I loved about. Uh, coaching football is very, is very, uh, parallel, if you will, uh, running the restaurant.
Dorothy: You even call your employees “team”?
Tony: [00:06:00] Correct? Yeah. Yeah. Team members. In fact, I will politely and respectfully correct a guest or, or someone I know if they say I met one of your employees, I will say, you know, that’s great.
We, um, you know, we, we call them team members. Uh, and that’s how we, that’s how we look at, uh, look at our restaurant, look at our team.
Dorothy: Now, Tony, you’ve just told us a lifetime here in like five minutes, but you did take some time off in there somewhere and started thinking about what you really wanted to do.
I mean, this was a very deliberate change in your life because you were being recruited, you were— You were darn good at fo— at football and you were really good at coaching. So was that something that you did as a family? Was it something that started with you? How, how did you make that decision to leave it?
Tony: Yes. Well, thank you. No, great question. And you’re correct. So one thing I’ll back up slightly. One thing that, uh, I dunno if, if your listeners are familiar with, with the coaching profession or not, [00:07:00] uh, in, in case they aren’t. Something that’s been said a lot about, at least, at least football coaches at the college level and professional level is: there— there’s two types of football coaches, coaches that have never been fired and coaches that haven’t been fired yet. And for 19 years, I was in that second category, hadn’t gotten let go. And then after seven years total at the University of Houston, for the first time in my career, a change was made and I was relieved in my, my job. So was offered several jobs and, and took 14 months off at the time. Just to reflect and look, look ahead and kind of figure out, you know, what, what do we want kind of the next chapter to look like? So started the Chick fil A application process at that point. And really to get the franchise, uh, the Chick fil A franchise, there was a three and a half year process for me, uh, with probably 15 interviews over the, over about three years with, with 12 different [00:08:00] people.
So it was, uh, uh, they say there’s about a hundred thousand people every year that apply, uh, for a Chick fil A franchise and every year there’s about 150 franchises that become available.
Dorothy: I was reading that and thinking, “oh my gosh, I had no idea.” This is not something you can just decide you’re going to do. You really have to go through a process.
Tony: Correct. Yeah, it was a very, very extensive. interview process. And, um, and one of the things, you know, early on when I made the transition, um, I would have people, especially in coaching say, well, you’re a football coach. I can’t believe you got out or I can’t believe you’re making this transition.
And I think one of the things for me that, um, over the years I’ve seen people struggle with, I would say is the word “identity”. And what I mean by that is. Is my identity has always been, I’m a husband and I’m a father. I absolutely, and I want to stress this. I absolutely loved coaching football, loved it.
And again, did it as a career for almost 25 [00:09:00] years and, and at the highest level of coaching the NFL and coach major college football, but that didn’t define me in that I didn’t see that as who I was, if that made sense. So who I am to me is a husband and a father. So for me, the transition was very smooth in terms of our last game.
I was coaching at Purdue. We played in the Foster Farms Bowl against Arizona on ESPN in January of 2018 and five months later, I was handing out barbecue sauce at a fast food restaurant with no problem with with absolute joy in my heart. So that was kind of the thought process of the transition for me and for our family.
Dorothy: So where in this, this timeline did Erin be diagnosed with breast cancer?
Tony: Right as I was stepping away from coaching and making the transition to, uh, running the restaurant. Um, she went in for, uh, just a routine exam and came home and said, “Hey, they, they, uh, felt something. And they, [00:10:00] they said, it’s nothing, uh, but they just want to make sure and I need to go back tomorrow.”
So, okay. Uh, so she went back tomorrow and came home and said, you know, they, they still said it’s nothing, but, uh, now they want to have me come back again and have a biopsy. So now I said, well, this is sounding, I don’t want to say a little bit more serious, but I’m definitely going to go with you to this, this appointment.
So she and I went together, uh, we live in Missouri City when the appointment was in Sugarland. And. And, uh, went to the appointment, and we were probably in and out, it feels like we were in and out in an hour, and went to lunch, and went, uh, shopping for, uh, Christmas presents, and spent the day together, and then, uh, a few days later, uh, got the news that, that, uh, she had breast cancer, so that was just as we were beginning the early stages of preparation really to open the restaurant. So, uh, the year of [00:11:00] 2018, our family opened the restaurant and Erin went through, uh, chemotherapy, surgery, radiation. Uh, that year is, as we look back, is, is certainly a blur at this point. Um, But, uh, she’s been cancer free now for four years or so, feels great, is doing wonderful.
And, and, uh, you know, I can’t, uh, uh, we ended up going to the, um, Baylor College of Medicine. They were fantastic. So, you know, not something anyone certainly thinks they’re going to go through, would want to go through, but, uh, uh, they were fantastic there. Everybody we’ve ever met with has been tremendous.
Dorothy: So, what was her diagnosis? I mean, what stage was she?
Tony: They, they caught it early. So she was, uh, uh, stage one and the treatments obviously with the surgery and 12 weeks of chemotherapy and then four to six weeks of radiation was, [00:12:00] I think I would say in our minds, very significant. I think she would say that as well.
Um, but, uh, but they did catch it early and for that we’re, you know, certainly very grateful and fortunate.
Dorothy: Did you ever worry about she might not make it?
Tony: I don’t think you can be prepared for this, uh, curveball being thrown at you. You know, one day we’re getting ready for the holidays coming up. We’re getting ready for a bowl game coming up. We’re getting ready for really my last, uh, game as a, as a, as a coach for my career coming up. And within 24 hours, a phone call and the words on the other end of that phone call, uh, become us as a married couple sitting in a, a room at a hospital waiting for someone to walk in with a white coat on that we’ve never met before.
To tell us here’s, here’s the plan and here’s the prognosis and here’s what the next, uh, next [00:13:00] 12 months are going to look like. And I remember when, when the doctor walked in, he said, it’s going to be a, it’s going to be a tough 12 months, but we’ve got a great plan in place. So nothing prepares you for that.
And, you know, one of the things, and I think this is true in life, is. You really ought to, we were telling our kids the other day, we, we eat as a family every night together and we get a lot of great conversations. We were telling our children, we have four children. We were telling them the other day, if you wake up in the morning and then at the end of that day, when you go to bed, if, if you hadn’t had to go to the hospital or have a surgery and no one in your family or friends, uh, were injured or passed away.
I mean, no matter what happened, it’s been, it’s been a great day. And I remember sitting in the hospital room and you look out the window, and this is true as you, as you and I speak right here for, for many, many others. Uh, the cars drive by in the street and people go about their day and have no idea, uh, you know, what’s going on in those rooms on the 12th floor.
So [00:14:00] again, nothing that can prepare you for that and certainly a lot of, a lot of thoughts go through your mind and, and, uh, you know, very blessed and fortunate that, uh, she’s, she’s doing great right now.
Dorothy: How did you tell your kids?
Tony: It was, uh, not, uh, not a great conversation and at any age when you hear, uh, that six letter word that starts with a C, it can be very frightening.
And certainly for our children, our oldest, Ben, at the time was 12, so our kids are two years apart. They were 12, 10, 8 and 6. And, um, you know, we, we sat them down and said, you know, this is something we need to, we need to tell you. And, and there’s a plan in place and there was a lot of, uh, prayer in our home and still is certainly.
And, and, um, you know, they all took it differently. And I think, uh, I think they would share with you also, you know, individually, they probably had. Uh, times when they were either [00:15:00] alone or at school or where they were trying to reconcile what uh, what was, what the news was that we gave them about their, uh, their mama.
Dorothy: So were those 12 months. Hard physically on Erin? Or, I mean, did she manage the chemo, manage the radiation? So many women have different reactions.
Tony: I would say she’s, uh, uh, a lot of women are tough. She is tough. As I was watching her, I would, I would tell you it was hard. She would say, I mean, She was, and she would tell you this, if she were here right now, she would say, the doctor said, this is the plan, let’s go do the plan.
And, um, you know, fatigue and, uh, nausea, and she lost all of her hair and there was a lot of things that came, you know, as side effects, but for her, there was a vision of, [00:16:00] uh, what’s to come once she gets through this. And, and I think that really kept her motivated and kept her going of, I know I’ve got to go back for this treatment and I know what the next week is going to be like, uh, after the treatment with the side effects, but you know what, I know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I think that, uh, I think that, uh, you know, her faith and I think that, uh, knowing that this was coming at the end, what, what was to come with our family, um, got her through it. So. She would say it was tough, but she knew this is what I’ve got to do, and I’m going to do it.
Dorothy: So who carried who during that time?
Tony: Well, it was, uh, a lot of carrying each other going on, uh, and the one thing about Chick fil A, they actually, uh, are an unbelievable, uh, company to, to, to be a part of, to partner with, and, and, one of the things that, um, one of the words I would say that I feel like I’ve got a good [00:17:00] grasp of, I feel like I do, is the word “perspective”.
And I see people all the time that, uh, specifically in their businesses, situations can become very stressful for them. And even at Chick fil A, I’ll see times, you know, I’ll hear someone say, I’m really stressed out. “We didn’t get our, We didn’t get our Polynesian sauce on the delivery this morning,” and I’m thinking, you know what, that’s unfortunate for some guests that come today that really love Polynesian sauce, but I think the perspective could be a little bit different if that makes sense on what’s truly important.
So the reason I share that with you is when we opened the restaurant, I remember people, either Chick fil A owners or some people that have been, uh, you know, close to Chick fil A have said, Hey, the first 18 months of owning a Chick fil A, I mean, it’s going to be early mornings, late nights, sleeping there, smelling like chicken and, and, um, you know, it was a lot of hard work, but it [00:18:00] was, it never, it never took a priority over, over the care for Erin and, and, and certainly our family.
So even on the fourth day that we were open, she had a doctor’s appointment and I went with her to the doctor’s appointment and never felt like I needed to check on the restaurant or check my phone and see how, uh, the team was doing or the restaurant was doing. Um, so I think perspective is, is something that, uh, I think, I think, I feel like I’ve got a good grasp on that word.
Dorothy: You went with her to a lot of the therapies and, or to all?
Tony: All of them.
Dorothy: A lot of people don’t have that support.
Tony: Well, and that’s when the word you just said, support. I think is very important. I mean, I would never want her to feel like she’s going through that, uh, alone or by herself. Um, and again, one of the, I don’t know if unique is the right word, but one of the unique things about our family and the fact we’re living in Houston and have been for the last, uh, uh, 16 years is that being with— from [00:19:00] Minnesota and Erin being from Alabama, we have no family here.
So we are our own family, if you will. And certainly her family from Alabama came in and minded as well from, from Minnesota, but that can’t be a permanent stay. So, you know, it was very important for me. that I was there with her at every appointment to, you know, give her the support. And then, and then certainly to, uh, uh, be a sounding board for her and to be able to ask questions as well.
Dorothy: Did you research what was going on with her? Did you have questions when she went in to the doctor? Were you? As curious as she was.
Tony: Well, two things come to mind when you ask that. I think one is, you know, one of the, uh, I don’t know, I’m not, I’m not going to state this as a fact, but it’s my gut that tells me one of the most popular, uh, doctors today is Google.
And I think a lot of people probably make the mistake when they hear anything, or even if they feel something, uh, you know, I have a pain on my right elbow and they go right to Google and [00:20:00] type that in. So, Uh, you know, I think you got to be careful what you type into the internet and ask Google at times.
And the other thing is, and I was just telling Erin this the other day, because we had a, we had a meeting with, with, um, one of our kids, uh, potential schools for next year. And, and, uh, I may, uh, I may question, And, uh, I’ve never been, I’ve always— a couple of things. One as a coach, whenever, whenever I’d have presentations to, to families or recruits and their families, I would always give the, the line of, “Hey, there’s no such thing as a bad question.”
And if someone’s. Thinking the question is probably others out there thinking the question as well. Uh, so now that sometimes I find myself on the other side of that, where someone’s presenting to me or someone’s giving me information, I do like to ask questions. And I think as you ask questions and hear an answer, probably like this podcast, uh, other questions arise that you maybe weren’t prepared to ask.
So I am a, I’ve always been a big question asker. I’ve never been one to [00:21:00] apologize if someone said, “Oh, that was a. That was a bad question.” Well, you know what? I didn’t, I didn’t know the answer. So I wanted to, I wanted to ask it. So I think that was important, uh, as we went through that to ask a lot of questions.
Dorothy: Oh, yes, yes. That is a theme we hear all the time. The woman didn’t want to ask. She was, you know, not, not comfortable asking the doctor cause he’d just given her, she had just given them this whole prognosis. And I think most of us, when we get into that world of medicine, It doesn’t matter, you know, you’re listening to a whole different language.
Tony: Absolutely. And you know, one of the things, uh, and I’m, I maybe relate this a little bit to, to, uh, our restaurant to Chick fil A now, you know, one of the things we strive to do as much as anything at our restaurant is really, uh, foster an environment of customer service. And so I think when I think of the uh, the doctors and the nurses and the surgeons, I think that, uh, you know, the old quote or [00:22:00] phrase, the bedside manner. I mean, just, just to be able to, um, ask questions, our surgeon, for example, she came in and it was almost like there was nothing else for her to do in terms of, there was, there was nothing else on her schedule or agenda that day than to sit and, you know, sit with Erin Levine and answer her questions over and over.
And just to comfort us on what the procedure is going to be. And, you know, I think, uh, I don’t want to say that anyone would take that for granted, but, uh, just, uh, the, the impact that had and continues to have is just. Just absolutely, uh, can’t put into words how much that meant.
Dorothy: So many studies have been done about how the patient feels about the doctor.
Is there confidence there? Is there, you know, can really impact recovery. If you have faith in your doctor and you’re going to do what they say, then you’re [00:23:00] just going to do better. We see it all the time. So that was, that was phenomenal that she took that time and—
Tony: It meant a lot. Absolutely. And we told her that meant a lot.
Dorothy: So let’s fast forward now. You’ve got your restaurant open and you’ve always been community minded. What brought you to The Rose?
Tony: As I was going through the three plus years of my interview process/election process with Chick Fil A. Um, one of the things that I told them over and over and over to the point where, um, is I was getting closer to maybe the finish line, if you will, uh, they were saying, you know, you keep telling us the same thing and we get it.
And it was almost sounding like I was saying it for them. Thinking that this is what they wanted to hear from me. But, but the, the common theme, uh, among other things was that we wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and make it a positive impact in our community and try to find ways, creative ways to do that.
And not just, I use the [00:24:00] word transactional, not just sell chicken and have a guest come in, place their order, take their money, give them the chicken sandwich or what they ordered. So as we were trying to figure out ways in, in different ways, obviously breast cancer became something that we became passionate about almost overnight and as we were opening the restaurant.
So October being National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I did do some research. prior to October of 2018. So our restaurant had been open at the time, three or four months, uh, July, August. Yes. I guess it was good math right there. At the time I had three or four months, uh, having just opened that, that may have 18 and wanted to do something special for the month of October being that it’s, um, breast cancer awareness month and do a little research on what some businesses are, are doing.
And I called several business owners said, Hey, do you, do you [00:25:00] do anything for this? And many of them said, yes. And then, you know, my followup question, what is it that you do? And, and, uh, you know, support is support and that’s fantastic. Um, but we wanted to try to do something maybe a little, uh, more impactful if, if, if that makes sense.
So, um, we did that October where we had only been open four months and we’re still trying to figure out how to even run the business is we did all of our cookie sales, uh, we’re going, um, to The Rose and um, several of our guests down in Missouri City, uh, knowing Erin’s story and, and also knowing that we were going to be passionate about this, um, approached me and said, you know what, you, you got to meet, you got to meet Dorothy at The Rose.
We got to get you connected. Um, they mentioned about your RVs that come out and do the, the mobile mammogram. So it just felt like it was meant to be. And one of the things [00:26:00] we do at our restaurant every October is we make a custom, uh, pink Chick fil A shirts to, to again, create awareness. And so we did all of our cookie sales to your amazing, incredible organization.
And the first year, I think we presented a check. to just over $4,000.
Dorothy: I was about to say that, you know, people think cookie sales, what, what can, but if they’re Chick fil A cookie sales and everybody is encouraging customers to purchase them because it’s going for a good cause.
Tony: Well, and it was so, it’s, our community, it’s, it’s, um, I don’t know what the word is.
It’s incredible how many people would come in and say, you know what, I have an aunt that, that is a breast cancer survivor, a family member, a friend. Uh, we had community members come in and say, you know, I don’t want any recognition or anything, but I’m going to buy, I want to buy 250 cookies right now because of, uh, the [00:27:00] support of The Rose.
And I think, um, in the five Octobers, uh, that we’ve done this now, you know, two years ago, we, we, I think brought a check for over $9,000. So we’re, we’re, we’re over $35,000 now in the five years. I’m going to say two things. One, our team absolutely, they cannot wait till October because they put the, the breast cancer Chick fil A shirts on that are pink.
And they, I mean, they are so excited to ask every guest that comes in or we take their order outside at the drive thru, would you like to purchase a cookie to support breast cancer awareness and support The Rose? And they just take a lot of pride. I mean, they know right now, October is coming up and we can’t wait to do it, but more importantly, and I mean, this may be a question you’re going to ask, but I’ll jump to it is, you know, having your RVs come out to our restaurant parking lot now 10 times. It’s been 10 times. It would be four times this year. We’re on the calendar for four times this year. We’ve had two, we’ll have two more [00:28:00] for once a quarter to provide anywhere from 25 to 30 women with mammograms has just been absolutely tremendous.
And, and, um, obviously it’s confidential and, but, but the thing I will share with you. Is there have been several numerous, I will say times where I’ve been in our community, whether it’s the grocery store or at an event for our Children at their school, and I’ve had I’ve had women approach me and say, Hey, I had my mammogram there.
And, you know, I mean, it’s gets me choked up at times. I’ve had a couple that said I’ve had my mammogram there and they did— they did find something. So, um, it’s really been we’ve had over, um, 200 women at our restaurant and get their mammograms. And that’s just been, uh, absolutely incredible.
Dorothy: I’ll never forget when we got that first call from you about, I’d like to have the mobile coach out.
I think you came around that time to talk about it. And, you know, Tony, you get a lot of [00:29:00] people really want to coach to come out and they don’t have that commitment or they don’t realize how hard it is to, you know, to recruit people because there’s thousands of things women would rather do than have a mammogram.
But then you said, uh, and I don’t know if you’re going to continue this forever, but then you said, well, I’m going to give them free Chick fil A for a year. We all went, well, who wouldn’t go there? I mean, my gosh, it was such a generous offer, but also that combining something that’s a true reward for doing, for taking care of yourself.
You know, the show is all about encouraging women to take care of themselves. Sometimes we need that kind of motivation. And of course your days fill up in what? Four hours?
Tony: Uh, I mean, yeah, I don’t want to correct you on the podcast, but about 30 minutes now.
Dorothy: Oh, 30 minutes.
Tony: 30 minutes. Yeah.
Dorothy: They just know when it’s opens or they’re on it.
Tony: No, well, it’s a good question. So I’m going to back up slightly. Yes. When we had our meeting with [00:30:00] you and you saw the passion, Erin was at the meeting with me and you saw the passion we had for it and you, and you, you did say, you said, I just need to let you know, cause you’re very passionate. You said women have jobs, women have families.
Sometimes it’s hard to get enough to sign up. And it’s, and that’s when I said, well, I said, well, we can give them an incentive. I said, we have food and some people like our food. And what if we did free Chick fil A for a year for every woman that gets her mammogram? So, yeah, so no, that will never stop. And, and, um, so we actually, We, we, we have a database of, um, guests of over 18,000, um, email addresses. And then we’re on our, our social media on Instagram and in Twitter and Facebook. So when we, when we post it now, now, now our community has come to, to know that we do this, uh, you know, every quarter, every six months or so. But so when we, when we post it on social media, we say, here’s the [00:31:00] link, we’re having uh, The Rose back on this date and this time to provide women with mammograms. And then we put every woman that signs up and receives her mammogram, mammogram will get free Chick fil A at a restaurant for a year. Um, the— Candice Saxton always sends me an email 30 minutes later and says, all right, it’s full. Uh.
Dorothy: Wow. I didn’t realize it had gotten that fast.
Tony: Yes. That fast.
Dorothy: Wow. Okay. Now, again, tell us where the restaurant is located.
Tony: So we’re down in Missouri City. Uh, on highway six, not far from the Fort Bend toll road. So, uh, there’s a subdivision there called Sienna. Uh, there’s a couple of high schools on highway six, Hightower high school and Elkins high school right in between Hightower and Elkins right there, right off the Fort Bend toll road and highway six in front of an Academy sporting goods.
Dorothy: And I think the other thing that, that you’ve addressed with women is, are with this whole needing a mammogram. Some women just aren’t good at travel. They [00:32:00] aren’t going to go into town, they’re not going to go to that hospital and have to wait forever. And I think what you do is you make it convenient for them, besides the incentive. But it’s so convenient to just go to your place and have your mammogram.
Tony: Well, and I’m going to say it’s what you do. We just have the location. It’s what you do. And that’s, Um, you know, you and I have talked before, and now that you have, I believe, three, correct? Three RVs? Five? Oh my goodness. So, I mean, what, what you do is just tremendous. So we’re just, we feel like we’re just, um, a place for your RVs to spend the day and, and park.
And we feed your staff and, uh, uh.
Dorothy: He’s so— his staff does so much more than that. We go there and it’s like we are kings and queens coming in because everyone knows The Rose people are there, treated so well, but it’s the same way you treat all your customers, and I’ve seen that with your team. Let’s just talk about your team for a minute, because I think you have so much to share, [00:33:00] not just about breast cancer, not just about mammograms, but about community.
It takes, it’s hard to build community. And some— so hard at many times, but your community starts with your team. And did I read right? Did you gave 26 scholarships last year?
Tony: We did. And you know what I was going to, I was going to show you this video earlier and I didn’t get a chance to, I’ll show you when we’re done.
We just gave 22 this year and we just announced it yesterday. Um, so I mentioned earlier, we have 135, uh, members of our team and about 90, our students. So. Uh, that could be high school students, some are in college naturally, and um, so we do, Chick fil A has a program where students can apply to get $2,500 college scholarships.
It’s based on your volunteer and community service, and then your, your grade point average, and it’s very, very competitive, and uh, we just actually announced, As [00:34:00] yesterday’s you and I are visiting here, but we announced yesterday that 22 of our students this year got $2,500 college scholarships. And so in the, in the five years we’ve been open, we’ve had 95 of our team members get college scholarships totaling over $235,000.
So very, very impactful, very life changing. Um, uh, you know, for, for many of our, many of our team members. Um, That, um, we are always at our restaurant and I, I can’t stress this enough. And really to the point when I mentioned earlier, as I was going through the interview process, they kept hearing me say this over and over, but we’re always trying to find creative and impactful ways to make a difference in the lives of our community members and our team members. And one of my phrases that I believe in and I kind of live my life on is, “cared-for people, care for people.” “Cared-for people care for people.” [00:35:00] So we really, really, really make it a point to show our genuine care.
And I do, if you will, from the top down, trying to, to our, our leaders and then to our team members, how much we care about them, genuinely care for them. And I feel like that then trickles to our guests as well. And they feel that, uh, uh, really love and care and support from, from our team. Uh, when they, when they come to our restaurant.
Dorothy: And to get these scholarships, do you help them?
Do you, I mean, do you allow them to go do volunteer work or, or—
Tony: Oh, absolutely. So we, so a lot of the events we do at our restaurant, we give them the opportunity to volunteer for them. Now, I don’t want to, I don’t want this to come across where, I mean, we have events at a restaurant, like a kid’s camp in the summer where they’re like Chick fil A in the country. There’s a little kids. Youth camp in the summer. We have eight of them and our, our team members work those as, as, as camp counselors, if you will. And they’re paid for that. But like, for instance, [00:36:00] um, one of our team members last fall came to me and said, I love cars. Could we have a car show here one Saturday afternoon, an exotic classic car show, and then have, ask our guests to bring, uh, non perishable food items to donate to a food pantry.
I said, absolutely. I love that idea. So, so he organized it and then he got with a lot of our team members and said, Hey, we’re going to do this— this car show. He actually, he actually needed to do a community service project to become an Eagle Scout, but then he recruited a lot of our team members to work the car show for volunteer hours and, and kind of man the Chick fil A tent to collect the canned food items.
So we had 75 cars show up, we shut down the parking lot. It was, it was incredible. Thousands of people showed up and, uh, I mean, the food was overflowing that was donated. So I’m giving you an example. Um, Of yes, we have, we have many events and different projects, [00:37:00] uh, that we do at our restaurant throughout the course of the year where they can, uh, get community service and volunteer hours.
And one of the things I do is, um, and I’ve done it already is, is I make sure our students that are eligible to apply next year, like ones that are finishing their junior year of high school, for instance, that can apply their senior year. prior to becoming a freshman in college that they are aware of. Now is the time to get community service and volunteer hours. It’s actually the number one thing Chick fil A looks at in determining who receives these scholarships. So, uh, they have a lot of opportunities and a lot of notice to get their volunteer hours in, uh, prior to applying for the scholarships.
Dorothy: I know that your first love was football, but how does that compare with what you’re doing now?
Do you get as much satisfaction out of seeing these young people grow and, as you did, helping young people play ball?
Tony: I do. It’s a great question. Um, the, as I was going through the selection process and the interview process to get the [00:38:00] Chick fil A franchise, I was trying to convince everyone interviewing me that there’re real tremendous amount of parallels between coaching football, believe it or not, and running a Chick fil A restaurant. Again, now that I’ve been doing it for going on five years, there’s, there’s more than I even imagined. And I’ve always been passionate about trying to impact people’s lives and make a difference in people’s lives. And in one of the things, one of our top directors at our restaurant likes to talk about is we’re hoping to get invited to our team members weddings one day. That’s the type of impact we want to make on their, on their lives. And I was at a grocery store last week with, with Erin and we ran into one of our team members who next month, so she started with us when we opened and then, uh, she just left our team within the last year as she’s graduating from, from Texas A& M. And so she was with us for about four years [00:39:00] and we, we ran into her in the grocery store and in, I mean, she, we saw each other and she ran over and we, we hugged and, uh, her name is Jasmine.
I said, Jasmine, give us, you know, give us the update. What’s the plan? And she was talking about. Uh, I’ve got to decide now, uh, between graduate school at Columbia, Tulane, she named, she named five schools, two or three were Ivy League schools. And for, uh, uh, uh, uh, something in the medical field, it was such a long word.
I normally, I don’t say words that I can’t spell and there’s no way I could spell this word. Um, but something in the medical field and when Erin and I got in the car, I was like, Erin, I mean, I am so, I mean, unbelievable. And I don’t know if we had any impact on her or not, but just seeing her when she joined her team as a high school junior. And now she’s talking about potentially going to a couple of these Ivy league schools or [00:40:00] Tulane, and there’s going to be a, there’s going to be a doctor one day. It was like, wow, that, uh, to me, that’s what life’s all about. And, um, so when you, when you ask about parallels and again, I mentioned earlier, the teaching, the training, the coaching, the competition, the motivating, the encouraging, uh, the development and growth.
That’s something that I’ve always been passionate about, and I feel like I’ve never, never even stopped doing that from my transition to coaching, to running the restaurant.
Dorothy: So you think that’s the motivation for everything you do? Is that the other mantra of your life?
Tony: Probably is. I love football, and I loved coaching football, and probably like college a little bit more in terms of now watching it than the NFL.
Although I love the, I like the NFL, but I probably on a Saturday I could sit there all day if— I mean, I don’t, but I could sit there all day and watch college football, but I think it’s Tyler White who played for me at Houston texting me last week and saying [00:41:00] “coach, surprise. I’m in your dining room” and I’m in, I was in the back office and I walk up and there’s there’s Tyler in the restaurant. Drove down to take a shot and see if I was see if I was in and it was close to dinner time and we sat there for an hour and caught up and, um, and had some great times reminiscing about, um, His playing days and his growth and development.
And so those things mean so much more to me. The relationships and having a player I coached tell me, you know, now I’m in my late 20s or 30s and I have a family and I remember you said this or I remember seeing you and your family like this and that means a lot more to me than any touchdowns we scored or or interceptions we had on defense.
Dorothy: What are your dreams for your children?
Tony: I was telling Erin the other day, [00:42:00] you know, one of the things that, uh, my dad taught me, and I say taught me by my, by me just observing and reflecting, Um, you know, when, when my brother and I said, Hey, we’re going to go study business and study accounting and work with you and be accountants.
And then we come back and say, you know what, he wants to be a band director. And I want to, uh, coach the game of football. And he said, go do it, do what you love. And I’m going to support you. Um, I think for us, I think that’s, that’s important. And, and our son. Ben is finishing up his senior year of high school.
He’s going to go to, he’s going to go to Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. And, uh, and I think sometimes, I know for, I’ll just reference me. I think sometimes if you’re not careful as a parent, I’m talking about myself. Don’t want to be clear on that. No other, no other parents listening to this podcast, but you can say, you know, I see them doing [00:43:00] this and I think they really should do this.
I think they should go here and I think they should work there and I think they should study this and. Um, I think at the end of the day, we’re called to be, uh, supportive and, you know, give them, uh, wisdom. And I think also have the discernment to know when to provide it and when to, uh, let them figure it out.
I think, uh, one of the things I’ve always thought, I think everybody makes mistakes. in life. Everybody does. And I think it’s important to, when you make a mistake, to admit it, to learn from it. And then I think to try not to repeat it. And I think, uh, sometimes, and again, I’m only talking about myself as a father, you want to, uh, try to help your children avoid all these mistakes.
And I think maybe sometimes you’re not doing them justice. You should, You should, sometimes they gotta, they gotta make a decision and learn from it. So I don’t know, I haven’t answered your question yet. What are my dreams and goals? I mean, that they [00:44:00] do something, uh, that they love and that they give back.
I think it’s important to, um, to try to make a difference in people’s lives. And, and, and hopefully, hopefully how I share with you that, um, my dad taught me things from just watching him, you know, I would, I would, I would hope they would see some of the things that we’re trying to do. And maybe it inspires them at some point as well.
Dorothy: Does he know what he wants to be?
Tony: You know what he, uh, when he goes to Chick fil A to eat, he doesn’t know what he wants to order. So he’s very indecisive. That’s my point. So, uh, uh, and he would tell you that. So there’s some, some things he’s considering and I don’t think he knows just yet. And it doesn’t need to probably declare anything until, uh, a year or two into school.
Dorothy: But you believed in education. I mean you certainly— two masters? My gosh And you really had to earn some of those in a very unique way.
Tony: Yes, I have two [00:45:00] master’s degrees. So I got I did my undergraduate at the university of Minnesota And then I got my first master’s degree at— I still say it’s Southwest Texas State now— They’ve taken off the southwest and become fancy. It’s just Texas State but Southwest Texas State in San Marcos and then got a second master’s degree at Auburn when I was, uh, when I was coaching at, at Southwest Texas and coaching at Auburn. So, yeah, those were busy times and, uh, uh, did a lot. I remember, uh, being exhausted in breaking down film and, and game planning and coaching and recruiting.
And then, oh, I got a. I got to go to class and I got papers to write and presentations to give, so, but yes, education has always been something, uh, that has been important to me. And it’s something that, um, you know, not only have we stressed to our kids, but it’s something that, uh, when you talk about the scholarships at the restaurant, it’s something Uh, that I’ve really, I’ve really, really encouraged our team members to, uh, to pursue those scholarships [00:46:00] to, to further their education as well.
Dorothy: So coach Tony. It’s 50 years after your death and you can look back and see your imprint. What do you hope to see?
Tony: You know what? I get asked that question all the time. No, I’m kidding. I’ve never been asked that question. You know, one of the things, I don’t know, this jumps in my mind and it’s, uh, you know, we’ve got a couple of different phrases or verses that I feel strongly about and try to live my life according to. And I don’t know, when you asked me that question, what jumps in my mind is the, uh, the verse, love, love your neighbor. And, um, I would just hope that, you know, as, as we have team members that work at our restaurant, as we have guests that come to our restaurant and see what we try to do and see the impact we try to make, and I think the love we try to spread [00:47:00] and players that I’ve, that I’ve coached over the years, and then certainly our four children, that maybe there would be a, an effect or a trickle down effect to where we’re Um, we’ve made an impact on, on people’s lives to where, you know, you’ve heard the phrase pay it forward.
And I don’t know if that’s what I’m referring to necessarily or not, but to where, uh, you know, when I was treated a certain way and impacted me and I’m going to, I’m going to treat others the way, uh, that I was, that I was treated by Tony Levine.
Dorothy: Well, I certainly know some women who had their mammograms on the coaches at your place who you actually gave life to. In the end, you know, we caught it early and they’re going to be around for a long long time so sometimes even when you don’t mean to or when you don’t know that’s the outcome and you just care It it really can have a difference in someone’s life. Absolutely [00:48:00] So anything else you want to share with our listeners?
Tony: Um, you know what? I just want to tell you, thank you again. I mean, I mean, truly being asked to be a part of this. It was an absolute yes. I haven’t been on any podcasts and, uh, I do get asked and it’s a, it’s a little bit of a commitment and that’s not why I don’t do some, but we’re busy with our children right now and the restaurant and some other things.
And, um, but when I got your, uh, email, it was an immediate yes. And, uh, uh, truly honored to be on with you today and, and, and really thank you, uh, for all you do. I’ve said this to you before, but I’ll say it on your podcast, cause the difference that you and your team make and what you do is absolutely remarkable.
So it goes a long way and you impacted thousands among thousands. So thank you, Dorothy, for what you do.
Dorothy: Thank you so much. And thank you for being the kind of person that’s going to give away Chick fil A for a year just for a [00:49:00] woman to go and have a mammogram. I think that is, is, wish everybody could come up with something that creative when they’re holding these events.
Tony: Well, and I would, uh, if we got 30 more seconds, I would, you know, who’s ever listening, I would challenge them. To find ways to make a difference and find ways to impact people’s lives and find, be creative and think outside the box, you know, I mean, it’s free Chick fil A for a year if 20 years from now, we’ve given thousands of mammograms and, and, and only one showed up with, uh, breast cancer.
And the thousands and thousands of free Chick fil A for a year was, was worth it. And so, you know, find creative ways to make a difference. I just think that’s what it’s about. You know, I’ve got, uh, at our home, I’ve got an office and in our office, I’ve got football, game balls and plaques and trophies, and [00:50:00] it’s, uh, It’s fun to look at, but you know what, it collects dust and it just sits there.
And so I think, uh, to me, what life’s about is trying to make a difference, uh, with others. So I would encourage anyone listening to try to take some time and think if they’re not already, how they could make a difference in people’s lives.
Dorothy: I think that’s great. Great advice, encouragement, because we’ve seen how you’ve been able to do it, even for your team member.
To have had the idea of the car show. I’m just amazed. You know, you just never know where these ideas are going to come from. So thank you again for being with us. This is Tony Levine known better as Coach Tony. And, uh, he is helping The Rose give out so many more mammograms, serve so many more people, and we appreciate you, Tony.
Tony: Well, thank you. It’s truly our pleasure.
Post-Credits: Thank you for joining us today on Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. This podcast is brought to you by The Rose, [00:51:00] visit therose.org to learn more about our organization. Subscribe to our podcast. Share episodes with friends and join the conversation on social media using #Let’sTalkAboutYourBreasts. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Consider supporting The Rose. Your gift can make the difference to a person in need. And remember, self care is not selfish. It’s essential.
