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1. You are beginning your 3rd season as a TTC and your first as a captain. What leadership qualities/characteristics will you bring to the squad?
I'm SUPER excited about having the opportunity to be a leader of this year's squad. The line I'm leading, Line 4, has a long history of incredible leaders, Sissy, Kerry, and Lindsay S. so I have some BIG shoes to fill.
As far as the leadership qualities I can bring to the table, I feel there are three. First of all, I have a very high standard of excellence. I've served under some amazing leaders and learned from my mother that if you don't expect the very best, you just get average. When I led other teams, I was known for my ability to "clean routines" which basically means being able to look at a routine and identify areas that can be improved. From there, you figure out how to fix the issue and address it. I love precision and unison and have a background of working with over 500 dancers at one time on a field while trying to get everyone to look the same. It's tedious work but I truly LOVE it. I'd rather work my butt off to make something look perfect than settle for so-so.
Secondly, I hope to be a leader that listens and motivates. I'm not perfect by ANY means and I'm not a trained professional when it comes to giving advice, but I feel as though I have good listening and motivational skills.
Lastly, by all means I hope to bring some fun to the table! We spend HOURS upon HOURS working hard at practice and it's important to have fun so it doesn't seem like "work." On a previous team a danced on, I was given the nickname "Mama Roz." I earned the name because I was always making small crafty items, handing notes with trinkets attached to them with funny sayings, or giving small pep-rallies with lots of clapping to cheer everyone up! Positive energy is an amazing thing and any little thing I can do to create that and bring the team closer together can only help.
2. Take us through a day in the life of Lindsey.
A normal day in my life starts with some type of morning workout. Being in the music industry, we tend to start work a little later than most which makes it nice and easy to get a workout in before I start my day. My day at work is typically spent searching for country music news through several different sources, interviewing artists, and meeting to discuss future plans for our business. I also cover industry events such as award shows, artist number one parties and record sales parties from time to time as well.
If it's a night of practice, I usually go straight from work to the gym to either practice one of our routines and/or workout. Practices last from 7:45 until 10 or so and after that, I usually head home and finish up my work for the day and hit the hay!
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To me, the best part of being a Titans Cheerleader is the group of women that I get to work with. One of the main reasons I auditioned to be a Titans Cheerleader was because I hadn't found a group of women I really connected with. I truly believe that you are who you surround yourself with, and I wanted to find a group of women that were hard workers, set their standards high, were career driven and believed in giving back to the community. And after doing some research I believed the Titans Cheerleaders were all of those things.
I've made some amazing friends and have two women that I met on the team that I look up to greatly when it comes to their lives on and off the field. I had the privilege of cheering on the team with Lindsay S. and Kerry A. who have been and will continue to be great role models for me. Both cheered for four years, were selected as Pro Bowl Cheerleaders, and served as Captains. These women will leave a legacy long past their tenure on the team. It's women like these two, and there are several, who are the reason why I wanted to be part of this elite group. They set the bar high for all of us!
4. What is your occupation and how does Titans affect your work?
I've been working at CMT for four years and serve as the Producer for the CMT Radio Network. Basically, I interview country artists and celebrities and then write stories that are distributed to our radio network affiliates, 160 radio stations plus. Just this year, CMT launched CMT Radio Live with Cody Alan which can be heard in 60 plus radio stations across the country. I'm on the show as one of the two Dirt Divas and give reports on all of the hot country and entertainment news.
I feel being a Titans cheerleader has really helped me in my career for multiple reasons.
Most country artists are aware I cheer for the Titans so it's a great ice breaker and way to get them in a great mood before I start an interview with them. What's funny is that they normally want to sit and interview me about what it's like to cheer and I have to redirect the conversation!
Outside of country artists and celebrities, being a Titans Cheerleaders has given people something to attach along with my name. There are a TON of young women in the music industry and keeping all of us straight is a task. But I feel people remember me as "The Titans Cheerleader" which separates me from the pack!
5. Who do you admire most in the sports industry and why?
Once I became a Titans Cheerleader, my knowledge of sports increased dramatically. We have to keep up with all kinds of sports information in order to keep up with our amazing fans! I've read a lot about all types of people in the sports industry in the past two years of being on the team, but I really wanted to answer this question with a name of someone I've actually been able to meet. Admire is a strong word and I think it's unhealthy to idolize someone unless you truly know them and have met them. I learned this after moving to Nashville and meeting some of the people in country music I'd looked up to for years. Needless to say, the list of country stars and celebrities I "admire" has changed a lot.
As for someone in the main sports industry that I admire, I'd have to say Justin Gage. I've only been around Justin a few times at appearances but have been truly impressed with how amazing he is with the community. In addition, I was the Titans representative for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society's Woman of the Year Campaign. I held two fundraising events and Justin was one of the few football players that came to help support the cause. One of the events was a celebrity bowling event with Eric Yutzy of Channel 5 called Strike Up A Cure. Justin walked in to the event carrying his own bowling ball and shoes in one hand, and his infant son's toys in the other. It was right then and there that I learned Justin is not only great with the community, but he's a family man. I got to meet his beautiful wife and hold their adorable son and it was just really neat to see him interact with his family.
As for someone in the sports/dance industry that I admire, I would have to say my high school dance director Ronnye Patterson. You may be thinking, "Oh, she was JUST a high school director." But what you don't realize is the impact she was able to make in HUNDREDS of women's lives. The life lessons I learned from her are countless. I learned how to be a leader from her and I use that life lesson DAILY. I could go on and on about the reasons I admire this woman and I guess what I hope readers will get from me mentioning her is that sometimes the best role models in life aren't the celebrities we read about and hear about. They are average people, just like you and me, who are making the world a more positive place.
6. How do you spend your time off the field?
My time off the field is honestly spent working and planning for my future. I read a lot of self-help books and I'm trying to educate myself in areas that really interest me like marketing, finance, nutrition, and small business growth. I know this all may sound boring and I do get out and do things with friends, but I'm also very focused on reaching a lot of personal goals.
7. Where do you see yourself in five years?
Goodness, five years is such long time from now and I hope to be in a different place in my life at that point. Hopefully I will have been married for a few years and starting a family. I have a long list of things I'd like to do in life so hopefully I'll be checking those off of my list.
To follow in my father's footsteps, I'd really like to run for a public office one day. My dad has served on the City Council for two terms and has really made an impact on our community. I know by giving back and investing his time into the community that helped raise him, he will leave a legacy in our town.
I also see myself starting my own business at some point whether it be in public relations, marketing, event planning or a combination of the three. I'm also interested in real estate and flipping homes.
I would love to open a healthy fast food restaurant at some point: a place where you can drive through and grab a healthy turkey burger on whole grain bun with organic vegetables. Or get a cup of lightly sautéed vegetables..a place where a parent can still give their children the novelty of a French fry with sweet potatoes fries that were baked and dashed with sea salt instead of loaded with starch, grease, and salt like normal fast food fries. And Instead of a banana split loaded with tons of sugar, a parent can take their children for a sweet treat and get banana popsicle covered in almonds. It's obvious that Americans rely on fast food to make it through their busy schedules, why not offer some HEALTHY food made fast that doesn't involve the guilt of putting bad products into our bodies?
Lastly, if I'm ever in the position to where I can financially afford to have a job where my salary isn't an issue, I'd like to start and run a charity of some sort. I'm very passionate about issues concerning adoption, cancer research and hearing disabilities since I personally was born with a hearing disability. I also think the education of living a green live style and feeding our bodies healthy nutritious food is important. So between all of those things, the most rewarding thing I could do would be to give back to the community by running a charity.
8. What is your most important goal in life and how does cheerleading fit into that goal?
My most important goal in life is, by all means, to be a good mother. When I was younger, I never saw myself having children and figured I would be the cool aunt that spoiled her nieces and nephews. I wanted to be an independent professional woman who made my own money. But now that I've been in the working world for four years, I've learned you can pour your heart and soul into your work and never see a great payoff or feel a sense of accomplishing something. I feel having the job of a parent is the only job where you can truly see your hard work payoff as you watch your children grow into the people God created.
I was blessed with AMAZING parents. I have no idea what they did to have raised three children who have all gone on to follow their dreams. So it is my number one goal and priority to try and follow the example set by my parents and one day have a family of my own.
9. What are your favorite things to do in Nashville?
I'm a Texas girl who grew up on the coast so the fact that Tennessee actually has four seasons is wonderful in my opinion. When I first moved here I think I maybe had five sweaters and one jacket so I quickly had to expand my wardrobe to fit the climate. I love the seasons and how the landscape changes depending on the time of year. So as the seasons change, I enjoy doing activities that are specific to the weather.
10. Three words that best describe you.
Committed, positive, driven
