Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Reese.
Karen, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My name is Karen Reese. I am married to Wendell Reese of 26 years. We have four kids together and I have one granddaughter and one on the way. I have worked as a pricing analyst for a financial printer for almost 30 years. I’ve owned a tax business for 15 years called KOAR Fast Tax. I am just now at a point in my life that I am seeking to know who I am and what I love to do. I began volunteering for the DeSoto football booster club in 2012 and continued to do so four years after my son graduated. I grew to love all our kids from DeSoto and the community. I am the # 1 fan of the DeSoto Football and have the championship ring to prove it.
I also have developed a talent for creating & organizing parties. I was the event coordinator for the 1st Adult Prom of Dallas in 2017, where over 1,000 people attended. I also organized the fashion show called Pure Elegance put on by Isy Fashion in 2018.
On May 17, 2017, I was turning 50 years old and I wanted to do something different in my life, so I started a weight loss journey. I wanted to lose 50 pounds for my 50 birthday. Throughout my weight loss journey, God begins to share with me about the power of sharing your journey or story, so I did a video of my weight loss journey. (https://youtu.be/KRcJiY-nF9c)
During that time, I was watching TV one Sunday evening and I saw a commercial about this reality show called “Bring up Ballers. Well I remember a few years back me and some moms asked about doing a show called football moms but we dismissed it because of all the negativity around it reality shows. That day when I saw this commercial a strong feeling came over me about this idea again but it was from the point of view that each mom would share their individual stories. I begin to pray about it and God gave me the name “Can I Play”. From there I begin to put together a prototype video that created the name “Can I Play Sports”. (https://youtu.be/KWDnKiK7XvI)
Because I was a strong supporter of the Desoto community and keep with all the kids in college, I realized we had something unique from our community. We had seven players from our community, all from the same high school, played together on the same team and graduation from college become eligible for the 2018 NFL Draft at the same time. I thought this was a great story for ESPN and this started me on the journey to start a documentary called “Path to the Draft: 7 Desoto U Players” and it will be premiered in November 2019. (https://youtu.be/ApvtPhGS_DE)
I continued working the platform with the ladies which gave birth to “Can We Talk Sports” which brings me to this present state. (https://youtu.be/ID0wuwcnG2M)
Can We Talk Sports is a sports commentator talk show, presented by the Can I Play brand, comes from the perspective of the mother’s of student-athletes and sports professionals will bring knowledge to the parents and players regarding everything that pertains to sports and education. Each episode of “Can We Talk Sports” will consist of the panel of parents speaking about their personal experiences in their child’s choice of athletic profession, as well as discussing major events occurring in the industry of sports.
Each episode will revolve around several topics and will be i)guided by the host and panel, breaking down the rules and laws of the particular sport being featured during that episode, providing an intriguing correlation between the sports playbook, real-life experiences and athleticism. The episode, in addition, will also consist of ii) news clips and articles that will serve useful in providing facts about the sport and all the realms of the athletic world (i.e. navigating from pee-wee to the NFL, college pursuit, endorsements/sponsorships, recruitment, career opportunities), and iii) interviews with celebrity athletes, inspirational players from each particular age group, sports commentators and experts, and most importantly the parents.
This talk show seeks to encourage our athletic leaders to: 1) educate, 2) equip, 3) empower, 4) inspire, and 5) lead, by introducing a modernized perspective on sports, while also staying true to the history of the game and incorporating the raw reality of the society we live in and encouraging self-accountability of all parties involved. Finding the balance between being both honest and humorous gives us the ability to “laugh at our pain” and deal with our circumstances, encouraging unification amongst all people of all colors and backgrounds, tearing down cultural barriers one educational segment at a time to reiterate that “knowledge is power”.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road, I’ve struggled with feeling like I didn’t have the necessary skill set required in any of the areas that God was leading me into. Nor did I have the money to fund my passion project which is what I found out it was later a “Passion Project” But I continued the work, now I’m starting to feel the accomplishments of my journey. Another struggle was deadlines because I didn’t have any prior knowledge of what I was doing and I put unrealistic deadlines on myself. I had no idea it would take two years to produce a documentary when I started.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I believe I am a visionary. I specialize in creating innovative ideas and bringing those ideas to life. My proudest moment will be when the documentary is unveiled. To finally be able to see an idea (a seed) that was planted in me and God bringing it to life. What an amazing story about a wonderful community with the greatness that lives in it or came from it. God taking a desire and giving me the courage to step out and taking on something this large without any prior experiences. To God Be The Glory! I believe what sets me apart is that I have enough faith to believe in your story, journey or idea and can bring it to life. If we build it they will come.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Faith, Dedication, Passion, Tenacity and Hard Work. When you take on someone’s vision, you have to embrace it, like it’s your own idea.
What are your plans for the future? What are you looking forward to or planning for – any big changes?
My plan for the future is to continue producing quality episodes for the talk show in hopes to sell it to a major TV station. I am looking forward to doing more documentaries, I have several more ideas and I would like to write a script for a movie.
Pricing:
- Can We Talk Sports is promoting a tshirts for all the sports moms around the world. It’s called “Mom Can Talk Sports Too” – starting at $24.95 – Click website to order tshirts. Like, Share, Follow & Subscribe!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.canwetalksports.com
- Phone: 9724898145
- Email: canwetalksports@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CanWeTalkSports
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CanWeTalkSports
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CanWeTalkSport
- Yelp: https://www.linkedin.com/company/canwetalksports
- Other: https://youtube.com/channel/UCoiGmc0YalJuNW0Z5c6uS7w
Image Credit:
Ireshia Brown, Shannon Mason, Katrina Salles, Sonja Warren, Kwashia Hyanes, Nycol Woods
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