08/21/2026
This next First Fridays Network & Chill is personal for me.
On Friday, September 4, I have the privilege of welcoming Louis Oliver as my special guest. Long before either of us became business leaders in South Florida, before the NFL, before the accomplishments and titles, we were two young men shaped by the same place: the Glades.
Louis and I are both proud Glades Central Raiders from Belle Glade, Florida. We grew up in a rural community known simply as the Muck, a place rich in pride, family, hard work and incredible athletic talent, but also a place where opportunities for young Black men could sometimes seem limited.
We were both scholar athletes. We both earned the opportunity to become starters at major universities. Louis became a Florida Gator and I became a Florida State Seminole. Yes, we will definitely have some fun with that rivalry! đ
But there is a part of this story Louis has never heard from me.
Louis is about ten years my senior, and as a young athlete growing up in the Glades, I looked up to him.
When you come from a small rural community, seeing someone who walked the same hallways, came from the same fields and carried the same Muck Pride accomplish something extraordinary changes what you believe is possible for your own life.
Louis became that example for me.
He went from Glades Central to the University of Florida, where he excelled both academically and athletically, became an All American and ultimately was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He went on to play nearly a decade in the NFL and remains part of Dolphins history.
I would eventually have my own opportunity to play college football at Florida State and briefly reach the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals. My professional football career was very short compared with Louisâ distinguished career, but watching athletes like him gave young men like me a North Star.
He showed us that if we took care of our studies, worked relentlessly at our craft and carried that Muck Pride wherever we went, the world could become much bigger than the place where we started.
What makes Louisâ journey even more meaningful today is what happened after football.
The uniform eventually comes off. The crowds disappear. Then the next chapter begins.
Louis successfully transitioned from professional athlete to entrepreneur, investor and business leader, building opportunities in real estate, luxury transportation and other ventures. Our paths are another reminder that the discipline, preparation, competitiveness and perseverance learned through sports can become powerful tools in business and leadership.
That is why I want our business executives, entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, creatives and professionals in the room for this conversation.
This will be more than networking.
It will be a conversation about where we started, what we learned, how opportunity is created and how you reinvent yourself when one chapter of life ends and another begins.
And for the first time, Louis will hear directly from me just how much his example meant to a younger Raider watching from the Muck.
Come Network & Chill with us.
đ
Friday, September 4, 2026
â° 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
đ Universal Technical Institute, 2601 SW 145th Avenue, Miramar
đď¸ FREE with RSVP | Space is limited
Two Glades Central Raiders.
A Gator and a Seminole.
Two former football players.
Two South Florida business leaders.
One shared story about what is possible when preparation meets opportunity.
I hope you will join us.
