The Scoop with Tanya Flanagan

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Good morning, and thank you for joining me for the scoop with Tanya flat again. I'm so happy you decided to wake up and start your day with me. Here on the scoop, where we talk about life, joy, funny moments, trending topics, and so much more. We promise to keep you in the know and find out what you know. So let's get started.

Unknown Speaker 0:47
Morning, Good morning, Las Vegas and welcome to another edition of the scoop here on K you envy 91.5, radio, jazz and more radio. Last year, we had some moments where we had our man on the street. Well, we're going to introduce that I'm going to introduce that again this year. And this is I'm so excited. But first man on the street, but in this case, it is the woman on the street, the woman of the hour, we are in Women's History Month. And I wanted to take the opportunity this month to recognize amazing women in our community who change people's lives every day and just do wonderful things just by being who they are, who got made and manifested them to beat. I am delighted this morning to welcome to the studio, a very, very dear friend of mine who I am in awe of, on numerous occasions. She is phenomenal. When I say the name in it, she will be a friend to some of you a phenomenon to others of you. And someone that many of you may have just said I've heard about her and I would love to get to know her better. Well this morning. We're going to do just that. I'd like to welcome to the show. Asha Jones, the incomparable Asha Joe.

Unknown Speaker 1:59
That is an amazing introduction. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. When Tanya says we go back, we go back back to that. We're not going to give yours because both of us are in our late 20s, early 30s. Absolutely no need to tell the whole story.

Unknown Speaker 2:16
We could do it by music and I remember a song that was out when I first met you. Probably something to pack or something. Oh, to switch to see populated with a friend.

Unknown Speaker 2:30
Here's the problem. I'm bad with songs and artists. If it comes on I can sing along and tell you everything but one of those people. Yeah. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 2:38
I think I'm like that like every Luther Vandross. Ah, right. I know everything to it when it starts to play. Yes. But if you ask me when it's not playing, I don't remember what comes. I could never win a radio contest.

Unknown Speaker 2:51
Oh, no. Or that show finished that tune or whatever. Would they play the first three quarters? Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 2:56
no. Yeah, totally not. Well, good. Morning, us, Jones. Good morning, I was gonna tell people that we had been out all night and we just stumbled into thinking. Right?

Unknown Speaker 3:10
They'd have a better chance of thinking we got up early to do some service. Absolutely. Which

Unknown Speaker 3:15
you are all about service. So that is the perfect segue into talking about your fantastic life. I met you through. Well, I met you in a space of work, right? Sort of politics, community outreach advocacy. At a conference, I think at the MGM Grand or something. Was it the women's it was a women's conference? I think in the late Tyrone Thompson did the introduction.

Unknown Speaker 3:41
That sounds about right. That was my brother, that is still my brother. When our pictures pop up on Facebook, it just reminds me, I know

Unknown Speaker 3:50
I had one pop up the other week. And I remember I don't even know how I came to become so familiar with your resume. I think you were working for Shelley Berkley when she was the congresswoman at the time. Yeah. And I had tasked with starting the Urban League young professionals. And I wanted to compile a group of people who weren't over tasked to do something. But that didn't include you who weren't already overextended in their activities. But that was not that didn't include you. And I knew that if I said I shall, let's do this. We could to fist the two arm like be the bad girls together and actually get it done. And we were and

Unknown Speaker 4:35
you put a good group together. I think back to a lot of those folks. I don't know that they would be involved and engaged the way they are today. If they hadn't met you, and you put them in position that I think about that all the time because we're all still doing the work although we're we're too old to be young professionals. But we're all still doing the work but I really do not think that everyone would be operating in the way they You, if you hadn't picked this eclectic group of people, because we were all so different, everybody was so different, I think what I loved about it the most when we come together, because you and I will get together, and we'd have these work meetings, right, and we will work hard. And then I would say, okay, that's like three months of work

Unknown Speaker 5:18
that we just got, we just came up with, that we worked on, and then we came up with to engage people over the next the coming three months. And then I would say, we have to give them some flight time. So we would build in something social, there was also an additional Community Give Back upon it, but mostly for the members who were in the Urban League young professionals. And I just used to love the way it gave people family, because a lot of the members are from other cities, and they moved here for jobs and careers. And they didn't have family connection. And it created that space, that safe space, that connection of like minded people with also varied interests to make you expand yourself.

Unknown Speaker 5:57
It definitely did that I think back to just the activities that we did, even from holidays, you know, folks getting together. And we did enjoy the fun. I think one of the memories that stands out, was when we had the YP regional convention. And we went downtown and we went to the What's that place called The Seven than I don't know why I'm blanking on the picture to have the playground that turns into two Container Park container apart. And we have the wipey presidents running through the jungle gym. And it just, it was so crazy, because people would not think that these executives and attorneys and bankers and all this stuff would end their free time. Yeah, but it showed who we weren't showed that it's not just what you see, like everybody is still a whole and complete person. And I feel like the wipey is just, you know, the legacy that we set.

Unknown Speaker 6:59
It's such a powerful move. I mean, it was just a powerful thing to do. You could get into a room with a group of people and see the mind just working and churning out solutions, societal solutions, economic solutions, neighborhood solutions, right? It was like, Who are these people? You know, but it makes me also look at you because you have to be wired a certain way. So I have to wonder and ask you the question, Where does it come from? For you? Where is that fire born from? to do what you do?

Unknown Speaker 7:32
I always think I tell the story. You know, growing up in church, we were taught that everybody had a spiritual gift. And I was told very early on that I had the gift of help, helps is how the church would say it. And I when I say young, I was probably five or six years old. And so I always wanted to make people comfortable, make, you know, I could always look at a room and be like, you could tell who's not comfortable. You can tell and I'm always about environment. And so growing up in church, and especially being the bishop's granddaughter, and then the pastor's daughter, your job was to help. And through that my mother, my mom was a stay at home mom until I was like, eight or nine years old. So my brothers got older and what she used to do, you know, we'd have a whole lot of money we were well taken care of, but I'm just saying we didn't have and she would take us to the senior citizen facility to volunteer. And I mean, I was like, six, seven, my brothers are like two and three. And so my earliest memories are of helping, we did a cooking class with no heat. So we're teaching seniors how to make fruit salads, and, you know, whatever. And so those kinds of things stuck with me. And then as I got older, in church, again, somebody had surgery or somebody had a baby, I was always really good with kids. So they would drop me off. And I would stay and help take care of kids or help clean up the house or whatever. And then when I got to high school, it was just service, I just wanted to be of help because it was rooted in thinking if I help people, I can change things. And I think I learned early on that I wanted to be a change agent. So I went to camp, any town that was something else. It was like, if you want to make changes in society, you have to get your hands dirty. So all I know is that my whole life has been about trying to help trying to make change and trying to make sure people are comfortable. I probably do it too much now, but they joke everywhere I go, they think I work there because I'm like, are you okay? Do you mean anything? But it really is rooted in?

Unknown Speaker 9:44
I think I can say that no matter where we go. If you walk in the room, and she's right, because there have been times where people probably think I'm so extroverted, but really Ashton knows I'm really a very quiet person. And I'm really an introverted personality who was forced to be a extroverted by the nature of I knew I couldn't just sit by on the sidelines of life and watch it pass me by. So it's the thing where you do the thing that's uncomfortable, right? So I've been in rooms before, where I really probably wasn't the most comfortable person. But Ashley Jones, my friend Asha was in the room. So if I'm out somewhere, I'm instantly taken care of, because not because I know anyone but because ASHA has been there. bridged all the gaps. Yes. made all the friendships, and whatever you need, we're gonna get, they're gonna ask you if you need it, because you're there. I'm there with you. is bad. It is like, no, it's wonderful.

Unknown Speaker 10:45
I'm happy with us. My name

Unknown Speaker 10:49
is wonderful. It's wonderful. I can go down to certain spots. And by default of not having a clue what I want well, but what it's actually doing, she's doing this, I'll do that. It's almost like we could make we could make tic tock videos, and they would be so cute.

Unknown Speaker 11:02
I would, if I knew what I was doing. I feel like this digital age is passing me I need like a class.

Unknown Speaker 11:08
I mean, I need a tic tac video that's all about the way you handle situations, people will probably just find great enjoyment in there. I like the two dogs that talk about football and everything else in this the dad and the Son and the Son is always on the wrong page. And the dads like now what do you do? If the man tells you to get in the car, right? I love that. I love those. And so I think you will be like all these life lessons that can be learned through through Tiktok videos, and

Unknown Speaker 11:35
just make you connect with people like you. If I go into a place, especially a new business, I'm like, so who's the owner? And told me the story and did it? Because that's how you get to know it

Unknown Speaker 11:47
creates relationships? Yes. It's like no one's a stranger. Right? And it helps people understand, you know, you have to come out of your comfort zone, you have to do what's uncomfortable. You know, and I think that I could ask you like, you know, what is the thing you worked on? That you're most proud of? Because you I mean, I could sit here and run your resume down, but people would just be they wouldn't be tired listening to me. Tell them everything that you have done, because it is amazing where you find the energy.

Unknown Speaker 12:16
And I really don't know I had a friend I was just talking to last night. They were like, when do you sleep? I was like I do sleep. Do you? I do look at me sometimes. I try. I tried last night I said I wasn't good a bit early. That didn't work out because

Unknown Speaker 12:30
I feel like I want to live my life sometimes vicariously through you. It's like my life is not exciting enough. And like she just always gotta get outside and people think I go places. I'm like, I don't know where compared to Asha. No,

Unknown Speaker 12:42
I was looking at it. I thought about it. This weekend. I started Friday night. I went to fat cat lounge downtown to support on new son who was local guy born and raised here moved to New York came back. That was great. And then Saturday, it was like Mr. Jeremy's topic party. And that was great. And then Sunday, I don't remember what I did Sunday. But like the kids say, I'm outside, you have far more fun. And I suppose if I have to say the thing I'm proudest about, it wasn't work. But it was, it would be my son, Christian, actually, that I think he's wonderful. He's wonderful. And he's wonderful. Despite, you know, all of my missteps, which we talk about all the time. He's funny. He's like, those are love bumps. And I was like, I'm glad you see it that way. See what you tell your therapist in your 40s. But right now, so funny. But that was him. And then I think the other thing would be my Nevada Partners work. Because that was the most, I would say was the most difficult job ever. But it was the most rewarding because even to this day, I see kids who are in our program who are now full grown adults. And they still remember things and they still talk to you. And it all comes full circle with my mom's research that she did here at UNLV, which is how do kids become successful? Like what is the key component. And it's her research says that it's the love and care of one individual. It doesn't have to be their mom. It doesn't have to be their teacher. It could be but it's one consistent individual. And I think our work at Nevada Partners is that's what we were for the kids. And we assembled a team similar to what you did with young professionals, of like minded people who gave everything to help these kids and then to see that these kids are now adults. I think that's my because we paid it forward.

Unknown Speaker 14:36
You're doing and you see the the riches of the efforts that you put forth. You see the payback. And I have to 100% agree with the argument. You know, the argument your mom has put forth that it's the care of one person because I've always believed when I see kids who were struggling. That child doesn't have someone to perform for was how I would kind of think of it Right, if there was someone invested in knowing how my test scores were going to come out or how my date school went, or expected me to excel, but someone to come and report back to, and hold me accountable, I'm gonna work that much harder because I don't want to disappoint that person, I want them to be happy, examine me and with me. And when you're young, you don't know anymore, but kids work because they don't always understand how valuable an education is deemed to be, how this is going to shape their career. But they do know that I want to make you happy. Yeah. And I'd have

Unknown Speaker 15:35
relationships with the handshake or the whatever. And I think we all know, of one or two teachers who really had an impact on us. And at us, I had Dr. Minyard and Mr. Stoll when I was in middle school, because I hated math. I was like math, not for me. And those are the two male math teachers that I had. And I think about them to this day, you know, they weren't like overly, you know, warm, and they weren't like that. But they were structured and you knew that care. And I think what you said is exactly right, if young people knew that, that one person really cared and had an expectation for them, because expectation as part of expectations,

Unknown Speaker 16:17
almost everything. I mean, expectation is I mean, I would get my, you know, great report when I was a kid. And I just would come home and put it on a refrigerator. It was chock full of A's, right, but I just threw it up there because I didn't want them all the hoopla. But I wanted them to see it. And then I would go to my room and wait and listen. Let me listen to the reaction to my, on the refrigerator, because I know they're gonna be excited about it. Right? And then I would act like it was nothing. But I would wait.

Unknown Speaker 16:45
And if they hadn't said something, then they wouldn't know. Like, and

Unknown Speaker 16:50
you're like, wait a minute, did you not see it? I mean, where's the reaction? But I think kids, you know, it's really important. And I want to say thank you, for the time you give. I know we did the Student Leadership Conference, I remember planning it together in like, a month, it was a three at the mouse we put in, that was like a job every day. It was it was every day slept and breathed that conference. And it was something else. So I want to thank you. Thank you for the opportunity, because I'd like to answer the call. Because you can say no. And you know what I loved about our model, when we were working together on stuff. Nobody was the chair. And there is no committee chair. There's a team. So if you don't reach out, everybody fails. But it's not because one person didn't contact you. Were team, each committee working on whatever, that's a team. There's no chair to the committee, and it made everybody accountable to the other person. I

Unknown Speaker 17:56
think that helped them want to be involved, though, is it's easy to get in in an organization and sit back. Exactly,

Unknown Speaker 18:02
because someone else was supposed to be supposed to schedule the meeting, but they never made the phone call us. And now we all fail. Everybody fail because nobody, nobody helped the other person. We had a role. And I liked that it brought us together made us more cohesive that way. community advocacy, your career has been amazing. And you're a shining example of what hard work hard work produces. Most recently Chief of Staff for Congressman Steven Horsford. Yes, but you've done just recently switched from public sector, political work to private sector. Well, private sector, government, quasi private sector, work, but career change. You're young, you know, you're not even in the house. My father put it over half 100. So, not at that better yet, but I'm getting close. But I'd say fail to make a career change in the middle how it is crazy.

Unknown Speaker 19:00
I don't know. I think there's something that happens in your 40s where you start to say, Okay, what does the rest of my life look like? What do I want to do? And I had worked at every level of government, like local, state, federal, and I said, I want to do something else. But I still want it to be aligned with what I do. So I still wanted to do government affairs. And when the opportunity came, because you know, people tell you about jobs and like, I'm not sure when this one came it combined. Everything I wanted to be pushed out of my comfort zone. So I definitely got that. But I still get to work in the space of bringing something to life. And the one thing I did a lot of campaign work in campaigns. I always say campaign work and grant writing. It's like, like having a baby. You have this defined amount of time. And at the end, you're going to have this amazing product. So Right and result. And with the place that I'm at now went to bright line West, which is the high speed rail, from Las Vegas to LA. And

Unknown Speaker 20:10
we're excited about. So excited, we are so excited about the connectivity that that is going to create between us. And the other part of the West Coast, right? Because the drive, and I've done the drive, and I rarely drive. But I think the day that I drove instead of that being a four hour drive, that was a seven hour drive, because I spent four hours of that sitting in traffic in California. And Nevada. Yeah. And it was like, What are we doing each way? So 14 hours in a car. So when people say Do you ever drive? No, I go to the airport. And that's

Unknown Speaker 20:49
what I fly all the time. And now I'm finding you know, air travels a lot different. I still do it all the time, we will continue. But with, you know getting stuck. I was coming back from LA actually I was coming back from LA and I My flight was delayed like six times. And it was 10 minutes. 10 minutes. Yeah, actually from the Orange County Airport, I think it was, we know all travel is going to have this barrier. So not saying that train is the answer to everything. But we have to diversify how we get

Unknown Speaker 21:19
to something new, right? And its growth and you look at other countries around the world, and everyone has rail. So how is it that we are one of the most if not the most advanced country in the world, nation in the world, and we don't have light rail on the west coast because I'm not gonna say we don't have this on the East Coast. We have a lot of rail service on East Coast and East Coast cities. You know, you can get out of it off the plane and take a train, it takes you through the entire city and drops you off. You can not own a car and get everywhere you want to go, you know, so we I think it's the distance between spaces on the west and it just makes it so different. I think it would make it a beautiful experience, though. You know,

Unknown Speaker 22:00
it's lovely actually took the train. I was in Florida. So I took the train from Miami to Orlando. And there was two stops in between it was like Aventura and then I think Fort Lauderdale. Don't quote me. And what I liked about it was it was relaxing. And I'm not a person that relaxes often, I'm used to trying to find what am I doing what I do. And it got to the point where I'm sitting on the train, I was actually reading a book, which

Unknown Speaker 22:25
isn't that nice just to have a moment to look out the window to not be the person who's caught up with managing traffic or

Unknown Speaker 22:31
just or being somebody sitting on your lap thing near

Unknown Speaker 22:35
you know, just the time a little room you can read a book you can I

Unknown Speaker 22:41
met a new person, you are gonna have a conference it encourages Yeah, I thought about it was traveling in Europe and took the train from London to Paris. Best conversation ever, like, it opens you up in understanding kind of in it and it forces you not because you can sit in a seat where you don't have to talk to people, but you know me, so I'm doing the face to face seats, and talk to new people that were you know, I'll probably never see them again. But we had a great conversation. And I enjoyed the app, but it's

Unknown Speaker 23:14
memorable. Yeah. So in some ways, it changes your life forever. Because you have this once once in a lifetime conversation during this once in a lifetime type of experience. I mean, this is a quite an aha, you say I have these sweeping connections. So I remember, museums remind me of that, which have nothing to do with trains. But it's the concept of escape. Because while I was in London, I went to the museum while I was there. Four hours later, five or six I emerged and it wasn't enough time, right? I went to China. I went to Rome. I went to Egypt. I went everywhere. And all right, they're like, This is amazing.

Unknown Speaker 23:51
I love love, love, love, love, love using. I go to museums in every city. country that I go to, I try to find time to go. Because history teaches us so much. And I think that if we if we just take a minute, just I mean and I go to all museums even before the African American Museum in DC I will go to all the Smithsonian's I love them. I went to this a sad I went to Paris. I went to several museums. I didn't go to the Louvre. That was Yeah, I was tired. I was so tired.

Unknown Speaker 24:28
But you did a lot of stuff. Yeah. And I've been to cities where I haven't gotten to go to things that I thought I wanted to go to, probably because the people I was traveling with at the time, right. But the Kennedy museum was really neat to go to when I was up in Boston, and spent a little time in the Field Museum in Chicago. So yes, well, that's a nice when the actual Urban League had a reception at The Field Museum for us during one of the conference's and the Smith, African American Smithsonian was an Urban League event. So it's also cool when you find yours elf in these spaces because there's a connection, there's a connection to everything that you do. thing. But do you put information out? Or do you want to share any that people that would get updates? Is there something bright line you want to put out so people can can watch how it is evolving?

Unknown Speaker 25:17
I think you know, people can always just go to the website and the website is it's bright line west.com bright line West,

Unknown Speaker 25:25
because the West Coast Yes. For me,

Unknown Speaker 25:29
my I'm old enough to still appreciate Facebook, but I do have it connected to my Instagram, which that's what the young people do. That's what they're into. Yeah, so I was still people, although now they're starting to make jokes. And I'm like, stop it. So if anybody wanted to see what I was doing, it would be on the ASHA Jones page. I always have live music on there. It's so funny. I meet people and we're friends on Facebook. But we're not like friends, friends. And they're like, you're always going to live music. I was like, Yes. And I signed along. But there's some good stuff happening in Las Vegas. And for

Unknown Speaker 26:03
the record people, she has a beautiful voice. It's almost as if you would think that Ashley Jones should sound like Jill Scott.

Unknown Speaker 26:09
I wish she has a new album coming out soon. Everyone's ready. Because I'm excited about it. But no. So

Unknown Speaker 26:19
since your music person favorite owl

Unknown Speaker 26:26
that is hard. It shouldn't be hard and I'm not good with album. So we're gonna go to

Unknown Speaker 26:32
top three songs, favorite artists, then your favorite artist, and that'll give us a sense of the album. Joe Scott's

Unknown Speaker 26:37
definitely. Okay. Number one. Funny Kirk Franklin. Okay, I really I really, really, really enjoyed your time, but okay, no, I met Kirk Franklin. When he first started, he came to St. Paul. And I was pregnant with Christian. And I was like, I shouldn't even be at church because I'm pregnant and whatever, you know, church, and he actually prayed for me, and like, laid his hands on my stomach and all that so, but I also like how his music has grown. He

Unknown Speaker 27:08
has he's like that. Okay, I dare I say this, but he's like the as the brothers perfect. Yeah. I mean, because today, I like Uncle Charlie, right? You just thing. I think get bm 2.0 was on the way. Hey,

Unknown Speaker 27:26
I heard today. The man is doing his thing. I went and saw him live. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 27:30
I've seen him a couple of times. It is a phenomenal show. puts on a phenomenal show. It gives you everything

Unknown Speaker 27:36
has come a long way from his little haircut. He's bald. He's you know, and I just liked the whole person. cast his kid out here in there, you know, but he loves the Lord. Who are yours?

Unknown Speaker 27:50
I do love the oldies. And I am od person. So once I evolved to appreciate it, right. The Isley Brothers the Commodores all that Oh, back in the Gap Band days. Live when I was I love, you know, all of that stuff. But I'm also a huge jazz person. So foreplay is one of my favorites when it comes to jazz. I like you know, Norman I love Brian Culbertson headed there on Sunday. We're really good. later on tonight. What a really good friend, as a matter of fact, so it's just you know, I love I love that but from a gospel standpoint, I do love the talent. I love Kirk Franklin for his music writing talent, right? And then what he's done with Tamela Mann, the songs he's done for her. Yeah, and Tasha Cobbs letter. There's a ton of people that like I remember when is our last 30 seconds when dealing first hit the scene, and that he was getting his times changed and humble yet the shot was like, Have you heard this? And I was like, No, and he lets me borrow his Jill Scott CD. Who was Jill Scott. I'm like, You're gonna let me borrow it. Like this is a lot of trust. I went home I listened to the whole thing fell in love. I did honestly return his CD and go get my own that was gonna be Well, I'm a person of integrity. I do what I say. I say what I mean and it's true. That it is true. I love you in six seconds. I love you. In 4321 I love you. Goodbye Las Vegas.

Unknown Speaker 29:21
i Happy Sunday everybody.

Unknown Speaker 29:27
I want to thank you for tuning into the scoop with me Tony Flanagan and I want to invite you to get social with me I'm on Facebook and Twitter. My name is my handle TA in YFLA na GA N You can also find me on Instagram at Tanya almond eyes Flanagan and if you have a thought and opinion or a suggestion, don't hesitate to shoot me an email to tanya.flanagan@unlv.edu Thanks again for joining in. Stay safe and have a great week.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai