Heroes in Business - Shannon Eastin, First NFL female official, Owner SE Officiating, Author Lady Ref

Episode Date: March 24, 2023

Never stop chasing your dream. Shannon Eastin, First NFL female official, Owner SE Officiating, Author Lady Ref is interviewed by David Cogan famous host of the Heroes Show and founder of Eliances entrepreneur community.  

Welcome back to Alliances Heroes, where heroes in business align. To be part of our super community and find out more about Alliances, visit www.alliances.com. Oh, that's right. So much activity going on. And make sure you get that feedback that you keep providing to me. It really motivates. It helps a lot. I mean, we're still getting feedback when I interviewed a member of Alliances, the co-founder of Oculus.

So make sure that you go to Alliances.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com. So we have with us today, I'm so excited, we have Shannon Easton. She is the owner of SE Sports Officiating, NFL first female referee. You got that? And author of Lady Rep, Making Calls in a Man's World. You can reach her at shannoneaston.com. And of course, we'll also have that at eliancs.com and click on the radio part here. So Shannon, welcome to the show.

I mean, let's talk about it. What do you do for a living? Thanks, David. I am the director of officials for the Canyon Athletic Association, as well as the owner of SE Sports Officiating. And through both of those outlets, my job is to assign sports officials and then train and mentor them as well. Fantastic. So tell us what it was like becoming the first, paving the way, the first female referee in the NFL. Well, you know, it was a lot leading up to stepping on the field. There was a lot of

attention that was coming my way. There was a lot to prepare, a lot in a very short amount of time to get ready for the moment. So really leading up to it was probably the hardest part. The easiest part was when I actually got to step on the field and finally be where I felt at home. And that was when I got to make the calls on the field. So great experience for sure. Yeah. I think it's, I mean, I have never been a referee, but I think it's such a very challenging and people haven't, you know, that it's such challenging because

you're watching and you've just got a split second to be able to decide the call, right? You have a little time, a little more time, I would say in football to process a play than you do in basketball. I've officiated both and basketball is a little quicker. Football, there's a little more time to process what you see and decide if you want to throw a flag or pass on a play. So, yeah. So, if someone wanted to get started in the field, how would they go about, where would they begin? There's a lot of ways, probably wherever they're at locally, just Google sports officiating. I'm sure there's something for everybody locally.

If somebody is interested in Arizona, by all means, reach out to me through my website. And I would be happy to talk to you, get you started, point you in the right direction. And then just make sure this is something that you really want to do because there is a little bit of cost involved to get started as well. And officiating is not for everybody for sure. So, but yeah, there's lots of avenues, I'm sure, in your local area. Yeah, because with every call, there's going to be a ton that love you and a ton that don't. Yep. 50-50 all the time. Right. So, I mean, was it your goal to always become the NFL first female referee? You know, once I started officiating, I definitely, that was my goal right away. As soon as I realized that I could officiate and once I stepped on the field, it was like, it was so natural for me that immediately that became my goal. It wasn't

my goal growing up. I didn't even think about officiating, but once I started, then immediately I knew my goal was to make it into the NFL. Absolutely phenomenal. And again, we have with us Shannon Easton, owner of SE Sports Officiating, NFL first female referee and author, lady rep, making calls in a man's world. You can reach her by going to shannoneaston.com. That's Shannon, S-H-A-N-N-O-N-E-A-S-T-I-N.com. Because you're watching, listening to me, David Kogan, host of the Alliance's Hero Show. So you know the only place to go, E-L-I-A-N-C-S.com. The only place where entrepreneurs align.

So what was the response like, Shannon, from the coaches and the players? I mean, again, being the first in the NFL, I mean, it's I mean, you can't get any bigger than that. You know, the welcome I received was unbelievable. So many players came up to me congratulating me. The coaches were just amazing. You know, the coaches, they just want to know that you are you can do the job, male or female. It really doesn't matter. But the response was overwhelming. I even had owners of one of the NFL teams that sent me something in the mail to tell me congratulations and signed it and said, good luck. So I couldn't have asked for more positive response all the way

around. It was an unbelievable blessing. So when you stepped on the field, I want to know what it felt like for being in the NFL and, I mean, being the first and being on the, like, just what's going through your mind? I mean, how do you stay focused and concentrated on the job while you're looking and realizing this is a monumental event? Yeah, like I said earlier, everything leading up was more of a challenge than once I actually stepped on the field. Because once I actually stepped on the field, there's no choice but to focus on what you're there to do. And of course, I was feeling, you know, I was nervous. If I wasn't, there's something wrong. Feeling the weight of not just being the first, but realizing that

I needed to be successful because had I stepped on the field and I wasn't, then that was going to make the road a little bit more challenging for women to come after me. So yeah, there was definitely some pressure, but I felt ready and it was great to step on that field and finally feel I was where I belonged. Absolutely. Absolutely. So then what was, talk to us about the book, the purpose of the book. So actually, I was doing an interview after the NFL with a local news reporter. And as I was telling him a little bit about my story, he said that I really should write a book. And I thought about it. And then I kept hearing it again and again, as people would ask me questions, they're like, you really think you could write a book?

And so I finally decided it was time. And it was a long process, for sure. Just getting from the writing and rewriting and rewriting to getting it published. But I think it is a very necessary story. It's the truth of the whole truth, the good, the bad, you know, everybody that helped me along the way and the challenges I faced. As you can well imagine, it wasn't a road just, you know, just paved with gold, so to speak. So it is a great story, not because it is my story. Believe me, had anybody wrote this story, I would say, you got to read it. It's about more than just football. It's about life. And I hope everybody decides to read it. What kind of secrets can you share with children, particularly girls, of how they can go about making a difference, paving the way around and in the world as you have?

Yeah, I think that one thing that is really important is to just don't be afraid to dream. is to just don't be afraid to dream. No matter how big it is, how small it is, whatever your goals are, just don't be afraid because nothing's going to happen for you if you don't go for it and give it a try. And in my case, you know, it was important to surround myself with people that were positive. There's, you know, obviously I ran into enough people that you want to tell me, no, it wasn't going to happen or stand in my way. But for every no I received, I tried to find somebody that said, hey, Shannon, you can do it. You can do it. So just don't be afraid to dream big and make sure you're ready to do the work because dreaming big is one thing. Don't think just because you've got that dream, it's just going to be laid out before you.

You have to be prepared to put in the work. And unfortunately, in a lot of cases, you're going to have to work harder than the average man. And that's something that's a challenge that you have to know going in. And you have to accept that challenge and just be ready, like I said, to work hard. and just be ready, like I said, to work hard. That's great. Well, Shannon, you have certainly broken down barriers to follow your dreams in officiating and are inspirational to others.

That's right. You're a hero. Shannon Easton, owner of SE Sports Officiating, NFL first female referee and author of Lady Ref, Making Calls in a Man's World. Make sure you go to shannoneaston.com. This has been David Kogan with the Alliance's Hero Show.

You've got to dance with me too now. you you We'll see you next time. 60 seconds of secrets of heroes with David Kogan from Alliances. We're entrepreneurs alive. Our heroes will provide one-word short answers to the secret questions. Can you beat the Flash? That's right. We have with us Shannon Easton, owner of SE Sports Officiating, NFL first female referee, and author of Lady Ref, Making Calls in a Man's World. Go to shannoneaston.com. Shannon, what is your good luck charm? My puppies.

The best day of your life? The day I gave my heart to the Lord. One wish you would make? To make an impact on people. Your power phrase? Value people. Most memorable experience in your career? Working at Florida A&M. Favorite sport? You froze. Favorite sport? Right now, baseball.

Would like to be this one superhero? Wonder Woman. Who would play you in a movie about your life? Sandra Bullock. What makes you laugh? My dogs. Would like to give my younger self this advice? You're stumping me on that one. Okay, and then we'll do it. We'll end it with this. We'll say this as my final words. Just don't be afraid to dream, dream big and work hard.

Thank you for playing flash 60 seconds of secrets with David Kogan from alliances. We're entrepreneurs. Align. Go to E L I A N C E S to unlock more secrets.