 Welcome back to the Sports Mag Zone, it's now time for one of my favourite segments. Today marks the official return of Celebrity Knock. Celebrity Knock is a Friday feature where we invite influential persons in society, busy politicians, stars of media, traditional and social athletes, or those from the entertainment industry to speak about their careers. Well this week's guest is a lady who has captured the hearts of young women across the region. Dr. Terry Carell Reed, the veterinarian turned media personality is one of the Caribbean's leading event hosts, an award-winning media and communications practitioner, and internationally acclaimed speaker, TV personality, author and community builder. Terry Carell. Wow. Welcome. How are you? Hi guys. Thank you for having me. You can catch your breath now. Wow. Hi guys. It's a pleasure to have you on the Sports Mag Zone. Thank you for having me. Beautiful set. My goodness. This is impressive. And you look beautiful. So you match our set really well. Thank you. Except for Lance. I don't really know what's going on and if he missed a memo about the pink. But you know, we're not going to talk about it. But you're a German fan so you shouldn't have a problem with my jersey. I'm going to give you the slide. I'm going to give you the pass today just because you were in the jersey. Thanks for having me guys. You're welcome. Always a pleasure. So what have you been up to? Oh, that's a very hard question. Oh, fun. It's so open. I recently came back from New York where I was awarded an award most influential people of African descent in media and culture and being in the room as the only Jamaican. I think that really made me feel good. That happened about two weeks ago. But something that I'm really passionate about is the Braille project that we have doing with the Digital Cell Foundation where we're actually trying to get 50 Braille machines into the Salvation Army School for the Blind and visually impaired. So at any given time, I am launching projects and hosting events. I'm doing community building things. And that's a project that I'm really interested in right now. I saw that interview insights. I think it was a really, really touching one. And you're going to have more coming up soon, right? Absolutely. And for your viewers who may not even know what insights is, really what we're trying to do is we're making this blind awareness series. And what it seeks to do is to remind or reinforce that being blind does not mean that someone is incompetent or incapable. And so having the stories or hearing the stories from blind citizens who are doing amazing things, I think, helps to reinforce that we need to be a more inclusive society. And harmful language just is not, there's no place for harmful language where they're concerned. Yeah. And one of the latest headlines, you stepping down from digital rising stars. Yes. I mean, Lancers are a fan of digital rising stars. I didn't even get to ask you how you took that. It was a bit of a jolt, actually. Yeah, because they're always talking about digital rising stars. Yeah. It's one of those conversation starters. And even though it's been maybe a month since I announced it, time has flown, no matter where I go, whether it's the pharmacy, it's the supermarket. If I'm going to the bank, literally, people come to me and they go, so you leave us? Yeah. So you're just gone, so? Yeah. So that's how you live in my heart. And a lot of people thought it was because I was migrating, which is actually not true. But after doing something for 12 years, giving it your all, I think it is time to pass the baton, have someone enjoy the experience, and now give oneself the opportunity to expand even more. Yeah. So it was a bit of sweet goodbye. Yeah. What you make has been absolutely beautiful in terms of how they embraced me, how they allowed me to grow and certainly how they support me on whatever it is I plan on doing in the future. Well, you've been brilliant. Thank you. So the reaction from the viewers is automatic. Thank you. Because you're so outstanding as a host. Can I take you back earlier in your life, though, because you're a qualified vet? Yes. Did you depart from that to become so engaged as a media personality and the multiple other things that you are doing? Did you actually start working as a vet? So it's interesting. They say if you want God to laugh, make plans, right? Manor plan, God alive. So imagine having this dream all your life. I collected animals, I had 26 animals, once upon a street puppy, I had taken it home. And understanding from a mobile 3, 4 that this is going to be my dream. Streamlining, doing the subjects, got the scholarship, went to Cuba, was there for six years, learning my career in Spanish, doing my exams in Spanish. And then I come home. Six years. Six years. We have to do our first year, which is preparatory, just to kind of allow you to learn the language basics. And then you start your career. Your teachers are speaking at 3,000 miles per hour, and either you catch up or you go harder, you go home. And imagine graduating. You finally get your document and get your paper. And then you come home. And you say, Simia, already know you know. Let me do the exam. How it go? And they're kind of like, yeah. Good for you. Congrats. But we do not accredit students who study veterinary medicine in Cuba. And so what the, what the suggestion was, or the recommendation was, was to know, go and do more years in Trinidad and Tobago, St. Augustine, University of the West Indies, or go to Alabama. And I was like, well. That was Tuskegee. Tuskegee? Ah. So everyone recommends that, you know, that's like one of the greatest. And I was like, well, will I get a scholarship again? And they said, well, no. And I said, well, this can't work. And my mother cried because she was a tri-mom single parent and she just did not have any more resources. What was I going to do now? And I just remember telling her in the parking lot, I'll always say it at all. And God that I serve is not going to hurry me this far and just drop me like a bad habit. Like that's not going to happen. And what happened in those years were people who said, do you ever think about doing media? And I'm like, absolutely not. Who would media drop in? I didn't even know media was a career. I didn't. You know, you're stuck in your lane. And people said, digital rising stars coming up, Nadine Sutherland said, go give it a try, man. And I said, nah, not for me. I'm not qualified. She said, no, man. Your personality suits you. Go and try it. And the rest of his history went in for the auditions and they called me back the year after. And 12 years later, I made digital rising stars my own. And the spin-off was that I started being invited to host events locally. Then it became events regionally. Then it became events in the bigger, you know, the continents. And I've just owned it, regardless of whether I was qualified or not. I made it my own. Yeah. And you know what? I think the pace was set by Denise Hunt was early in. Correct. The previous host of the digital rising stars was very bubbly and effervescent in the same way that you are. Thank you. The transition was seamless because your performance as a host and the way you integrated with the contestants and so on and the judges, it leaves an indelible mark as far as the show is concerned. It means a lot. I think a lot of the times when people see us hosting, they assume we're just there to, you know, deliver the lines, speak to the judges, get the party moving, and that's fine. But for the most part, you have to understand that the contestants are there. They're young. They're inexperienced. Their lives have changed overnight. And sometimes taking criticism whether constructive or destructive can be really hard. And so my role, even though I didn't have to, I was not contractually obligated to, is to hug them, hold them, get a good job. You look great. You'll do better next time. And so you kind of have to do more than just stand with your mic and deliver the adequate lines, in my opinion. You speak about doing more. And whenever we see you presenting, you're very well composed. I'm talking about physically, mentally. Everything just looks put together. And I mean, the question is, tell us about the work that goes into an event because I always say people see me on the set and they see the finished product. Of course. They don't see what happens behind the scenes, you know? You're like the graceful swan, but you're paddling underneath. I think the more effortless you make a job look is actually a true reflection of the work, the work ethic that goes on in the back. When I am invited to host an event, whether or not it's the Prime Minister, diplomats, dignitaries, all the way down to grassroots, the idea is you can't just go in there to run a show. Oh, then book me for two hours and I was going to run a show and just do that thing and just collect my money and go about my business. My question is, what is your objective? What do you want your audience to feel? What do you want your audience to walk away with? You know, and whether they give me speaking notes or not, people know me, I'm going to go, I'm going to do my research, I'm going to check all the articles, the newspapers and then I'm going to put it together and deliver it in a manner that I think will be beneficial to the client, but it will also be exponential for the people in the audience. So I take it extremely seriously from what I wear, the brand colors that I wear, to how I start a story, I think is a part of the package. Not just to run a show, but to be excellent in all aspects of your delivery. Well, that leads us to my brand, the Compass, because you put it in a book and that's amazing, because in her booklands, she outlines like everything that you need to do and how important your personal brand is. And I did it during COVID. So during COVID, as happened across the world is, that was supposed to be my biggest year. 2020, travel the world, see the countries, you know, do it all. COVID hit March and everything got canceled. So I found myself at home like so many people trying to figure out, you know, what next? What do you do? How do you prepare for something? You have no idea how long it's going to take. And I started to think about the questions that I had gotten from my community that I had not had the opportunity to answer because I was always busy. And a lot of them were questions that stemmed around branding. How do I put myself together? How important is impression? You know, what are the things people need to consider regardless of the phase that they're going through? And I said, all right, let me just start writing a blog. It would just be a blog to put on my website. And then it became more. And the deeper I got is the more I said, well, this is a book. And so I created it and have launched it in Trinidad, had book signings all over. I saw you on Caribbean Airlines. I remember that. Yeah, I made cover on Caribbean Beach. I saw that. I was on the flight. It was so much happening. But I'm happy that, and again, it's another area where a lot of us feel we're not qualified. How do we dare to be authorized to write our book? For who? And so we play small and we shy away from the things that are not our areas of expertise. And doing the book was probably one of the greatest accomplishments for me. And by the year, I was doing it in Audible because my grandma can't read anymore because her eyesight is bad. So I did the Audible version for her to make it more accessible. Yeah, COVID has been catastrophic in many ways globally. Correct. But there's the other side of COVID. It has given a lot of people an opportunity to unearth something that probably without COVID we never have seen. Correct. A lot of people don't like the struggle because struggle is uncomfortable. It's painful. It's hard. It's difficult. How do we deal with this thing that we can't control? But for what I've realized is that sometimes you back have to be against the wall. Sometimes we have to have the resilience and the grip, but that doesn't show up unless you're in the presence of a struggle and it's do or die. My grandmother taught me you have two choices. You can either sit down and wallow about the things that you cannot control or you control what you can. And that's your attitude and it's your approach and your perspective, your mindset. How am I going to approach this thing very differently? So where some people saw destruction because it was destructive, many of us also saw opportunities. So I learned how to build my website. Build my website in five weeks because I knew it would be temporary. And will I be prepared when we come out on the other side? That's the question I asked myself and that's what I work towards. There's something impressive, Terri, about your DNA. Your granddad is Teddy Griffith, who is a former West Indies Cricut Board President. And you have a family that has given a lot of themselves to the Caribbean. And sports, absolutely. From football to tennis to growing up and growing up and growing up in sports. Growing up in the days of Maradona, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, who was my favorite. But then when we spoke about West Indian sports, it was all about Cricut. And you look forward to seeing your Brian Lauer, your Courtney Ambrose, Brian Adams, all of those guys. And that's when West Indies kind of had the entire world in fear. I miss that. Your emotions are like roller coasters. But I'm grateful that I came from a family that respected not just sports, but also respected the countries. The country that you represent, the one Caribbean that we represent and showing how excellent we can be across all facets. Teddy Griffith had lived in Jamaica for a part. He's based on all the way. The Griffith families are in Jamaica and are in Barbados as well. So if anyone even looks me up, they will find articles on me as Terry Griffith. And of course, Terry Carl Reid. The Griffith DNA is extremely strong. Of course, I didn't turn out to be an athlete. But I would hope to know that they're proud of the different avenue and industry for myself. I'm sure they are. It's a multi-dimensional family. A multi-faceted man. Hi Grandpa, if you're watching. I hope he is. I think he'll see it even if he's not on right now. Somebody is going to call him. Somebody is going to call him and say, Teddy, granddaughter on. I want to ask about your daughter, Naima. Yes. She is really nice, of course. I look at her also through your social media because you post Naima when she is getting ready for school. You're managing her. Ensuring that she does well in school. She's also very active. How's Terry as, you know, how are you able to manage your daughter? Sometimes I feel like you're doing the classes and you're writing the exams. We're not even going to talk about celebrity knock. What I will say is that I try to post real stories. You're not going to see glamour shots with me as if I woke up like this with my daughter. Whenever people see me with my daughter, I am dressed down and it's really just mommy mode. Balance is extremely hard to attain. I personally don't think it's attainable. It's practical to think that you can do everything all at once and be great at all things. I've just simply learned how to manage myself in time. I've learned how to prioritize. So at this moment, if she's important and whatever she's doing important, that's going to get my full attention. But most importantly, what people speak about whenever they ask about Naima is our relationship. So we started having conversations in the car about various topics from body to love to respect. All kinds of stories and people found it interesting that I started having these conversations with her earlier. And I said, you know, you can't wait for your child to get to an age where they're either too old or they're already being influenced by other people. And it was because of those conversations that TEDx reached out to me and I ended up delivering a TEDx talk in Birmingham during COVID when most people were not traveling for TEDx and that allowed me to create history as the first to make on a woman who delivered a TEDx talk in that particular territory. So that stirred just from my conversations with my daughter and I encourage us as parents not to shy away, but to confront these conversations with love and grace. To the two of you looking at me like, hmm? No, it's been a pleasure having you on the show. Thank you for having me. We wanted to have you on the show for a while. For a while. We've been marking you. Nothing happens before it's time, right guys? And we are happy that you are international. And we know that you're going to make Jamaica and the Caribbean proud. I appreciate it. Maybe next time you see me I'm playing cricket or maybe DJ Bravo doing a dance with you in a music video. I'm not too sure. I like it. Thank you for having me guys. It's a pleasure. Alright, let's take a quick break.