Why not me? Stories of grit and growth from from FLS winners
We saturated social media, hit you up a hundred time in email, and cheered you on for weeks as you cruised toward earning a spot to Founders’ Lifestyle Getaway. But when the rubber hit the road, all 22 spots were claimed in a jiffy, and we tacked on three more raffle-style, just for good measure.
Each of our FLG contest winners has a story to tell, and here are three of our favorites. These are people who know something about working hard, having vision, and helping people. We know you’ll be as inspired by them as we are.
>> Freddy Martinez
Freddy Martinez joined 7k and got himself to 7kX in Orlando the very next week. As a pastor who lives in Salem, Oregon, but ministers abroad, he said once he saw 7k’s potential for good, he was all in.
“I want to put all my effort and my 100 percent in what I’m doing,” he said. “I believe in the company.”
But Freddy didn’t stop at 100 percent. Earning an FLG trip required 12 preferred-customer enrollments; Freddy hit 19.
Martinez travels the world visiting churches, and an important part of his work is empowering others. Now he is introducing others to 7k to help them financially—it all goes back to the adage “give a man a fish, and you’ll feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you’ll feed him for a lifetime.”
“When the Lord blesses me, I try to bless (others). I try to help them. I have the tool to teach them to catch the fish, and that’s 7k. I’m already changing lives in my family and in my church,” he said.
>> Kerri Sundy
Most people don’t make the trip to the 7k corporate office until they’ve been members for a while. Not so with Kerri Sundy. She joined May 29 and was in the office June 19 with questions aplenty and a boatload of curiosity.
In the past, Sundy and her husband had success in direct sales, and they were trying to decide if they should dive into 7k or not. At the suggestion of mentor Nate Ridgeway, Kerri made the trip.
It wasn’t without its hiccups. Her husband planned to come but had to back out at the last minute. Her flight was delayed 24 hours, so she missed her schedule tour and meeting with the executive team by a full day. But no matter—the team simply pivoted to make things happen when Sundy arrived. She was sold. “Their leadership and their genuineness was a big part of it,” she said, and she “came home a little bit on fire.”
Sundy got after it and earned her FLG ticket in a hurry. Her previous sales experience revolved around wellness, but “this feels a little bit more like we’re looking at helping people secure their future—helping people leave a legacy for their family,” she said. “We look at our retirement and think, Have we done enough? This is a platform where I feel like you can. You can help secure your future whether you’re our age or whether you’re 70 or whether you’re 30.”
>> Stacia Montgomery
Stacia Montgomery attended FLG two years ago as a newbie. She was so new she didn’t even realize what FLG was, but after nights under the stars, conversations with co-founder Richard Hansen about dreaming bigger, and a few rounds of whiskey, she was converted for good.
Montgomery was especially committed to stacking collectible coins. For the last two years, she never missed an AutoSaver, and in May, “I was honestly coming to convention to see my family and my friends and to get in on the coin drops because my collection just blew up in the last two years.
“But it was the gala—seeing everybody win and get hugs and kisses and fist bumps. I didn’t get to go up there and get hugs and kisses and fist bumps. I just finally thought, Why not me?“
Montgomery excused herself from the gala dinner and got on the phone. Within an hour, 24 people had committed to take a look at the 7k info she was sending them. It wasn’t long until she’d also earned her second FLG trip.
FLG is 7k Metal’s treat to 25 trip earners and their guests. They’ll be wined and dined and invited to take place in adventures never experienced before. True, the trip is a contest prize, but perhaps the biggest reward is enjoying results of a job well done, new friendships, and new opportunities, and sustained belief that dreaming big does pay off.
Want to see our full list of FLG winners? Here they are!
Freddy Martinez
Carter Rethwisch
John Mills
Nathan Ridgeway
Roman Valovič
Macon Marketing Group (Mike & Dorie Slagle)
Stacia Montgomery
Sherri Pickett
Benjamin Heyny
Sally Mary De Leon
Kimberly Wiley
Hoss Monsebroten
Steven Adams
Patricia Fors
Jose L. Rivera
Ann Moller
David Mathews
Richard Eddy
Rodney Williams
Chris Nagle
Kerri Sundy
Tony Hubbard
Raffle winners:
Clayton Perez
Kennedy Lukania
Norma Alicia Méndez Moreno
