Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Welcome back to another episode of Just say Something podcast.
Before we get started, please be sure to, like, share and subscribe, but you can also comment before we move on. And just for those of you that happen upon us, you can remember to find us wherever you find your favorite podcast.
So today, as every day, we have a very special guest, and her name is Shelby Draft, and she is Miss Golden Corner. You got it, South Carolina.
[00:00:48] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:00:49] Speaker B: Okay. Welcome.
[00:00:50] Speaker A: Thanks for having me.
[00:00:51] Speaker B: Awesome. So where's Golden Corner?
[00:00:54] Speaker A: Golden Corner is the corner of South Carolina, and it's called the Golden Corner because of the beautiful mountains and lakes. But predominantly it's known with, like, Walhalla, Seneca, Oconee County, Clemson.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:01:05] Speaker A: And Greenville is included in there, but it's not near the corner. No.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay. You know, I didn't realize that. Interesting. And so tell us about Shelby.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: Okay. Well, I'm 23 years old. I've got four little sisters with vast age differences.
16, 14, 9, and 2 years old.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:01:30] Speaker A: So I've learned a lot of leadership skills through being the older sister, but that's come in handy, especially with my CSI and what I'm able to do and. And partner with you guys.
[00:01:41] Speaker B: Okay. All right. And so as Miss Golden Corner is that Miss Teen South, Miss South Carolina is part of the Miss South Carolina contest?
[00:01:51] Speaker A: It is. So I'm an official candidate for Miss South Carolina, and the finals will be in June, so that's when we find out who our new Miss South Carolina is.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: Drum roll.
[00:02:01] Speaker A: I know, right?
[00:02:02] Speaker B: We hoping it's Ms. Shelby.
So we have you on here today. You found us.
I don't want to say, not in a normal path of finding someone, but tell our listeners what brought you here today in that journey of you first reaching out to where we are today.
[00:02:30] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So I created a community service initiative called Breaking Cycles Prevention Before Intervention.
And I was really looking for groups, organizations, partnerships of people who had already had something in place and I could just be a part of and achieve a very similar mission, which is substance abuse prevention.
And I had a very good friend, and I will not name her, but you know her, and she's wonderful and she loves you guys, but she suggested I reach out, and I did. I got an email back, and.
And the rest is history. And now we have some exciting stuff, which I don't know if allowed to
[00:03:07] Speaker B: say anything, but we'll get into that a little bit.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:03:11] Speaker B: And, yeah, no. No worries. No worries. And so with this, I know you've been sharing your personal story, right? Of why this is so important to you. So if you could share that with our listeners of why this particular topic is important to you as an individual.
[00:03:32] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. And my story isn't uncommon. That's the first thing I want to say. Unfortunately, I actually spoke with someone earlier who had a very similar story.
But my biological mother has and still does struggle with a substance abuse disorder. And that affected my childhood in very diverse ways. Now, I'm very lucky. I had great support. I had my grandparents.
But I learned very early on what that can do to someone's mind.
And I felt like I was handed two roads. Either I could continue the cycle of substance abuse, or I could choose the exact opposite.
So it's a flip of a coin. And you know, this, like DNA chromosomes, all the things when you have addiction running in your family, you have the 50, 50% chance of also becoming an addict yourself.
[00:04:30] Speaker B: Right, right, right.
And so that's good that you mentioned the support groups or support that you had with your grandparents.
[00:04:40] Speaker A: Right.
[00:04:40] Speaker B: So how critical was that, as you were.
As you were going through life and growing up, of having that constant support from your grandparents?
[00:04:52] Speaker A: It was very important.
It's made me the woman I am today. I would not have the public speaking skills, for one without them instilling that in me, but also teaching me grit and to be courageous and brave and that you are not a victim of your circumstance. And just because an adult or someone in your life has chosen a path for themselves does not mean that has to be your story either.
[00:05:19] Speaker B: Right, Right. Yeah, that's. You know, we. We, again, the more, you know, with the latest research and what we hear from adverse childhood experiences and how addiction has passed from generation to generation to generation.
And so you've decided to take a stand and to break that generation, that it stops here.
[00:05:44] Speaker A: It does.
[00:05:45] Speaker B: And so as you see your life above and beyond the Miss South Carolina and all the glamour and fame and things that come along with that, when it comes to giving back to the community, what are some of the things? I know that we're working on some things. And I'll just. I'll go ahead and put a teaser out there that for the month of May, we are working together along with a few other organizations, and we are going to Launch Preserve your air.org website that has information about the dangers of tobacco, but also vaping, because we're seeing so much of our young people starting to vape now that it's almost epidemic as far as what we're seeing. But we're wanting to educate the young folks about the dangers of what they're doing. And with that, especially with the flavors that we're seeing, that we will have some education components and pieces out there that will educate the community of not just about the dangers, but also the ingredients that are in those vapes, but also the flavored vapes and how they compound each other.
I'm trying to.
So as we're building this, I know part of it is we're wanting to get you and some of the middle schools and high schools to talk to the students.
What's based on your history, what some of the other messaging that you would get like to get across to our young people as. As you're sitting there in front of them, talking with them about this topic.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: Yeah. So I've developed a school program called you hold the Pen. And I do have the opportunity to tell my story, but in an age appropriate way, depending on what school I'm in, of course.
But I really want young people to know that they're in control of their life. Just because something seems easy or convenient like vaping and the fun flavors, doesn't mean that's the route they have to go down. Just because their friends decide to make this choice doesn't mean they have to. Because they hold this pen to the next chapter in their story, they decide what happens next.
So with that being said, I mean, it follows hand in hand with vaping. It seems like something that's easy and convenient and their friends are doing it. And it's not that bad. It's not as bad as smoking. I actually listened to your podcast this morning. Is safer, really safe. And that couldn't be more far from the truth.
[00:08:35] Speaker B: Right? Right. So those of you that didn't catch that, go back and listen to that one. Thank you for that plug.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: You're welcome.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: You know, we also know that kids are starting to use tobacco and vaping at earlier and earlier age. I know here in Greenville, we have elementary schools who have reported students vaping. And so I think part of that is our community, those of us that deal with it a lot, we know about the dangers. But I think a lot of the community, they don't see or they don't hear. They're not in that like we are. One of the things I do like to let people know is those little devices are considered biohazardous waste. And so then what do we think about when we think about biohazardous waste? I think about hazmat suits and all that. So maybe some of our listeners could tag in to that.
So to get back to you.
So you've. You have. And gratefully, and I really appreciate it, you've adopted. Just say something.
And not just our smoking, but overall the organization to be part of your platform for Miss South Carolina.
Tell us about some of the.
And they'll edit this.
Tell us some about how you see the opportunity that you have to bring this to maybe more the forefront.
[00:10:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:19] Speaker B: And maybe with some of the other contestants within the pageant.
[00:10:24] Speaker A: So first I want to say you said that I adopted you guys. I think the roles are reversed because I've already learned so much from you guys and y' all have been so helpful and I know with the bill and everything, like, I couldn't ask for more support. So thank you.
But I would love to take anti vaping on a national scale. And it might sound crazy to some people. I know we had mentioned vape free and smoke free ordinances, but there was once a time you could smoke in restaurants and airports.
[00:10:59] Speaker B: Right.
[00:10:59] Speaker A: And now you can't do that anymore. So I think anything is possible.
And if I'm lucky enough to be Miss South Carolina, that's something I would really want to focus on taking that to Miss America. And you can do so many things not being Miss South Carolina. But not everyone knows Shelby drafts or listen to her, but they'll listen to Miss South Carolina. So I not only want to take that from a state level, but nationally.
And I think that's absolutely doable.
Someone has to do it. Why? Why can't just say something to it?
[00:11:30] Speaker B: Right, Right. And you know, at the end of the day, we just want parents to have a conversation.
[00:11:34] Speaker A: Right.
To just say something.
[00:11:36] Speaker B: To just say something.
I know the office that's on top of where we are, their employees go out back and there's some of them that I pick on from time to time and they're like, oh, here comes. Just say something.
[00:11:53] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know what? I think it's so funny. And I've even reached out to some of my family members who vape and I've said things, but they just get so annoyed. But they know you're right.
They just don't want to hear the truth.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: Right, Right.
Yeah. Sometimes the truth hits too close to home.
[00:12:11] Speaker A: Right. And I. I think with all addictions, not just tobacco, nicotine, but you kind of have to choose your heart.
Being addicted to something is hard, and overcoming something is also hard.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: Right.
[00:12:24] Speaker A: So you have to choose your heart. Which one is it going to be?
[00:12:27] Speaker B: Right. Right. And so for the continuation of our Work, though, there are studies that show there is a pathway from vape to opioids. And so as we look at that, in what horrific outcomes we've had because of the opioid crisis, of families losing family members and their children, brothers and sisters, and things along that line, it's prevention.
Unfortunately, prevention gets a bad rap.
A lot of people don't understand prevention, but we talk about, it's just like, what do you do to prevent heart disease? We know what we need to do. We need to exercise, we need to eat healthy and all those things. Well, it's the same with addiction.
Know that if you start using, if you have addiction in your family, you're more likely to.
[00:13:24] Speaker A: Right.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: Have an addiction. And so, well, how do you combat that? And so that's where I think a lot of our work, especially with young people, of getting them to be comfortable with who they are and what they believe and what they stand for will help in that, right?
[00:13:43] Speaker A: Absolutely. I think that sense of self and kind of knowing who you are helps that peer pressure.
So that confidence, emotional regulation, those are all things that help prevent substance abuse.
[00:13:58] Speaker B: Right, right. And, you know, a lot of our kids don't.
It's part of what we do is one of our sports program through impact is we're teaching kids life skills.
They're not getting that elsewhere. And so we do a lot with anger management. And so what we're seeing is, and as you mentioned, so many of our young people don't know how to regulate their emotions and their feelings.
And so for a lot of them, all they know is violence. And so that's what they're going to go to.
And there are other ways.
[00:14:34] Speaker A: There are.
[00:14:34] Speaker B: And so helping them identify what those other ways are is key for what we're doing.
[00:14:41] Speaker A: Well, and it makes sense, especially all the resources you guys provide, because who we are as people or who they are as young people, it's all about from your life experiences that helps you make those decisions. So those programs I, I really like and I, I need more copies of this, by the way. I've been leaving those resources in my town.
[00:15:02] Speaker B: That's wonderful. Yeah, that's great.
[00:15:04] Speaker A: They've loved it. So. Yeah, please support it.
[00:15:06] Speaker B: Wonderful, wonderful.
So what's one message that you would like to get across to our listeners that either I haven't asked you about or we haven't talked about? What's the one thing that you would like our listeners to take away from this conversation today?
[00:15:29] Speaker A: Not to be afraid to do things that make you uncomfortable.
I think with speaking about my story. First of all, terrified. Terrified of speaking about that two years ago.
But speaking up about it allows me to provide a voice to others who are terrified. Also, having courage to say no to peer pressure.
It could save your life.
It could really save your life. And it might not be something immediate, but any kind of substance you do, like vaping, it will kill you eventually.
So learning to not live in fear and be brave and courageous, it's one message I want to leave because it's changed my life, and I know it'll change the lives of others.
But you just got to jump.
[00:16:19] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:16:20] Speaker A: You just got to jump. And when I say jump, I want you to say, how high?
[00:16:25] Speaker B: Oh, and some of y' all can jump a lot higher than I can, but, yeah, that's. That's good advice. That's good advice.
If people would like to get in touch with you, what's the best way for them to do that?
[00:16:38] Speaker A: Absolutely. Please follow me on Instagram.
DM is the best way to follow me. I'm not the best at answering my text messages, but I am on social media because of marketing and all things.
But my Instagram is ch, E, L, V, Y underscore drafts, as in rough draft with an S, D, R, a, F, T, S. Okay.
[00:17:04] Speaker B: All right. Well, Shelby, it's been a pleasure. It always is.
[00:17:07] Speaker A: Yes. Thanks for having me.
[00:17:08] Speaker B: It's always wonderful to have you in the office. I'm glad that we were able to work this out for you to be on our podcast today.
We support you. I support you a hundred percent.
[00:17:20] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:17:21] Speaker B: I'm very excited about our partnership that we have with each other to help educate the community about the dangers of tobacco vaping.
That's only the beginning.
[00:17:31] Speaker A: It is. I'm excited. It's gonna go crazy.
[00:17:33] Speaker B: Yeah, it is. I'm really excited, and I can't wait for the general public to. To see the campaign preserve your air.org but also to think about it, because, as you mentioned earlier, in the state of South Carolina, there's only 71 ordinances against smoking or vaping across the state of South Carolina. In Greenville county, there's only two.
So we have a lot of work to do. And at the end of the day, it's about saving lives.
So high five.
[00:18:10] Speaker A: Thanks, Phil.
[00:18:11] Speaker B: Thank you, Shelby. Appreciate it. It's always great to see you. And again, this is Philip Clark, CEO of Just say Something. Thank you for joining us today. And remember, be sure to, like, share and subscribe, and we hope to see you soon. Thanks. Again.
