President Paula Brahan presided over today’s meeting. She thanked those who filled in for her during her recent business travels.
Thanks to Bill Dabney who provided the invocation and Lynn Walton who led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Thanks also to Colby Sappington and Mary Cromartie who served as our greeters today.
Wes Brooks filled in for Mike Ratliff and introduced today’s visitors. Paula Brahan has Mark Killingsworth as her guest.
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Club President Paul Brahan and our guest, Sheena Allen.
Paula noted that Ryan Kelly has resigned as the Club’s Program Chair due to business obligations. She asked club members interested in filling in to complete Ryan’s term to get with her as soon as possible. She also asked for members to sign up to serve on the 100th Birthday Celebration Committee. Volunteers are also needed to sell Coke products during the April 7th Hub Fest. Our club will get to retain the proceeds from this event. A minimum of 8 volunteers are needed throughout the day. Club members were also asked to put March 29th on their planning calendar. That’s the date for a Pot Luck dinner from 6 until 8 pm at Paula’s home. She will provide pulled pork. Members are asked to bring a side that will go with the pork.
The Fundraising Committee will have ideas for the board to consider in the next few weeks. Once the board has reacted, we’ll keep you informed.
Tracie Fowler reported that the United Way of Southeast Mississippi is participating in a Baby Shower to provide education and outreach to new, expectant parents. Each participant will receive a gift bag filled with items they can use when the new baby arrives. Tracie asked that our club members provide baby shampoo for the gift bags. Small baby shampoo bottles should be provided no later than March 13.
Erin Granberry then introduced today’s guest speaker, Sheena Allen the CEO and Co-Founder of CapWay, an organization focused on building an untraditional financial ecosystem for the underserved. Sheena is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. While a student at USM she developed an app to help her keep up with her money and her receipts. She left USM and worked in San Jose and then Austin returning back to Mississippi in 2015.
Shenna became aware of how many people are still using predatory financial services such as payday lenders and check cashing services. Many Mississippians, especially the younger ones are unbanked, underbanked or the working poor without much exposure to financial literacy. In 2015 she founded CapWay which is a fintech company that increases these people’s financial health. CapWay is Sheena’s first social impact venture. Sheena has traveled around the world speaking to a variety of groups and realized that this is not just a Mississippi or an American issue.
Sheena remembers her grandmother keeping her money in a sock and in her recliner. Banks were scarce and often not trusted. CapWay has a full line of financial services and assistance available to anyone who downloads the app. Artificial intelligence is built into the app. It monitors spending habits and offers suggestions as to how users can change those habits and become more financially stable.
Sheena says the prediction is that traditional banking will disappear from the American financial picture within the next 20 years. We will need a variety of financial opportunities to replace those traditional systems now in place.
In 2017 Sheena released her first books, “The Starting Guide.” It is a three-part publication that talks about her journey provides a guide to those interested in app development, and helps people with business 101 tips.
If you’d like to know more about CapWay you can visit their website at www.capway.co. You can email Sheena at sheena@capway.co or give her a call at 601.573.1656.