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Veteran's Affairs Plus discusses the issues that veterans in Las Vegas deal with on a daily basis. Your host, David L. Washington connects listeners with relevant community resources and information that they need to help veterans or themselves.
Announcer 0:00
This is a KUNV Studios original program.
Wesley Knight 0:04
You're listening to special programming sponsored by Making Moves Life Coaching Services. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and More, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Pick it back and
Music 0:30
pick it south. Come on, talk to me, so you can't see what's going on. Yeah, what's going on? Tell me what's going on.
Dave Washington 0:50
Great day, Las Vegas. Great day. This is Veterans Affairs Plus on 91.5 Jazz and more. I'm Dave Washington, your host. We have our first guest on the line, Miss Dusty Armstrong. Dusty, I don't know your married name, so you you'll be able to give it shortly. I'm going to make a few announcements, and we will bring you in. That cool?
Dusti Armstrong 1:09
Sounds good.
Dave Washington 1:10
All right, great. Well, Las Vegas, I want a reminder. Doctor Lonnie Wright is running a program that'll be in late September. You'll hear more about it, but 50, 5050, black men, 50 years in our city, and what are you doing within our city? But you'll hear more about that coming up. I always ask my wife to let me know who's doing birthdays, whose birthdays this month. Well, we hit some last month, so I mean last week I should say. This week we got Gretchen Williams, Trina Holmes, Dolores Towers, Jan Randolph. She's a longtime city employee. We kind of worked there together, and then we got Ralph Robinson and brother-in-law Aubrey Campbell celebrating birthday Suzanne Clark Grant, Sherry White Washington, and that's my colleague Bert Washington's wife, dear friend for sure. Ethel Robinson, oh Rudolph, excuse me, Ethel Rudolph Davis birthday, Sharon Geis, Candice Fountain birthday this month. She's down at Grambling State University as a graduate assistant, and Odessa Coleman birthday. So happy birthday to all those August folks, and condolences to all who may have lost a family member over the past week or two, so just want to say condolences to you all, veterans, veterans voter education program. I'll be doing a workshop on august 29 and also on the 10th of October. More information will be coming out on that, but hope we will be able to get. Hopefully, we'll be able to get a few people to attend it because you need to know your voting rights. I also should announce that, and I trust Wes, my producer, director, and engineer. If you haven't heard, Gene Chief, you, Gene Campbell, is going to sit in for me for our last Saturday of the month. And Gene is the current president of the Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute. He'll be sitting in, and he's done that before for me. So, with that, Miss Dusty Armstrong, how are you, young lady?
Dusti Armstrong 3:29
I'm well, Chief Washington. How are you?
Dave Washington 3:31
I'm doing, doing well, doing well for our listening audience. And I know last year you had a program that that went on and you weren't able to make it. I tried to get you on the radio and you sent an embassy. I don't remember who it was. Oh yes, I do. It was the, it was the lieutenant colonel. Oh gosh, what's my name? Yes, he came on and did well representing you and the family. So tell us, Dusty, who are your parents? Where were you born and raised, and what what have you got going? We got about we got about six minutes to talk.
Dusti Armstrong 4:06
Okay, perfect. So the representative last time was Victor Ingram. Yes, and I thank him for for sitting in with you. So I am a Las Vegas native and through, born and raised right here in Las Vegas, I attended Halle Hewson, St. Christopher, Bishop Gorman, and then stepped out to Arizona for a minute. Came back after graduation, and you know, started my career in hospitality and moved into the advertising industry. I would say I'm someone who really believes in family community and giving back, which is a lot of what comes from my parents, Marilyn and the late Sammy Armstrong. They taught me to be hard work. Taught me about hard work, respect. They. All those good things, the importance of showing up for people, and those lessons have stayed with me. And honestly, they're a big part of why service and giving back are so important to me now.
Dave Washington 5:12
Excellent, excellent, well said. And yeah, your dad continues to be the legend that we know that he was in terms of his commitment to community. Your mom also a great lady, and we're glad that God has allowed her to still be here with us. And your parents did a great job because I'm just listening to what you say, and I'm like, yeah, my my kids would say similar type things because we stayed on their case, make sure that that they that they care and know about community. Now I remember. I think you and Amber went to dance school together. If I remember correctly, was it Amber or Angel?
Dusti Armstrong 5:47
Amber, Amber and I did go to dance school together, but I was closer in age to April.
Dave Washington 5:55
Oh, okay, all right, yeah. April's April's just having a birthday this week, turning five six, that makes me and Marcia way up there. Well, let me let me say this, Jesse. One of the main reasons again wanted to hear from you because you're doing good work as a as a fellow citizen of Las Vegas, but you're doing something in honor of your dad, and I like you to share that. We can't talk about numbers, but you can certainly share where to get information to to involve yourself. And trust me, I plan to be involved. I plan to have my team, and I'll encourage others. So talk to our listening audience about what you got going on and why.
Dusti Armstrong 6:35
Yes. So prior to my father's passing, we talked a lot about how much more the community thrives when we have people from the community leading, lifting up, giving back. So for those reasons, we created the Armstrong Family and Associates Foundation. His former company, Ray and Ross would hold an annual event where they gave scholarships to deserving students, and we wanted to do the same. So that's part of the reason why we started the foundation. With that said, fast forward to our annual golf tournament, so that it's one of our largest fundraisers of the year. It's coming up on Saturday, october 3 at Aliante Golf Club. It's going to be a fun day, friendly competition, and I'm emphasizing friendly. But we'll also be giving back. Yes, Jesse, Jesse,
Dave Washington 7:40
hold for one second. I must share this with our listening audience. Me and my team showed up last last year. Wes, we come strutting in there because I done built me a team, man. And she said, "This is Dusty, the young lady on the line. She said, "Dave Washington, I am so familiar with you guys trying to buy trophies. Guess what? We're not gonna do the group thing. We're gonna do individual. I'm like, what? And Wes, the guy who I had on my team, Lewis Connor, won first place. But guess what? He didn't get to carry the rest of us. I just sit there looking with a puzzled face. But that was that was really good, Dusty, because I learned from Lewis Connor, your dad, and others, man. You you do just like the professional teams, basketball, baseball. You you get yourself some good players to go with you. So that's what I had a tip to do. So you bust my bubble. Wes is over there laughing like crazy. Go ahead, go ahead, Dusty. I'm sorry. I had I had to I had to get you I had to get you back.
Dusti Armstrong 8:41
No, it's okay. But you know, we've we've grown this year, so we will have team competition this year, along with raffles, the buffet lunch, some prizes for longest drive and closest to the pen, and like I said, it's going to be team bragging rights this year, so come ready. All right. I know you're building a team, so I hope everyone else is too.
Dave Washington 9:07
Oh yeah, trust me. You know, with these scrambles, folks, we come because you know it's fun. Like you said, come to have fun, and and I don't I don't think people because I was I was in a tournament this past weekend, and just for the education of those who don't know out there in in our listening audience, when you play a scramble and you got four good players, they was moaning and groaning. Dusty, cause a team came in 14 under, and and and the guy, Doctor Captain Addington Stewart, I told him because we played in the same group, me and him and Gene Campbell and his brother, I said, Stu, it's going to be between an eight and a 12 minus that's going to win this tournament. Well, they came in at 14, and some guy, oh, how did they do that? If you get four good players, that's nothing. You can get you can get as as low as. 1820 under. If you got good, and these guys were long ballers, so there was a bunch of, you know, moaning and groaning. I'm like, man, please, it's okay. But we we really appreciate that. So give that information again, Dusty, because I think it's important to share again with our listening audience, and hopefully we can feel. Because I think if what is it, 7172 or something like that. If you fill the whole 18 holes with two with an A and a B group, she's honoring her dad and their family for the great work that they've continued to do in our community.
Dusti Armstrong 10:30
Yes, and anyone who wants to sign up, you can learn more on Eventbrite. Just search Armstrong Golf, and the registration information will pop up for you.
Dave Washington 10:42
All right. Well, once again, this is Veterans Affairs Plus on 91.5 Jazz and more, and we had Miss Dusty Armstrong. What's your last name, Dusty? You're married. Armstrong
Dusti Armstrong 10:52
Wood. All
Dave Washington 10:53
right. Now y'all got that. So we we appreciate you, young lady. Thank you once again.
Dusti Armstrong 11:00
Thank you, Chief Washington.
Dave Washington 11:02
All right, bye bye. Once again, Las Vegas. This is Veterans Affairs Plus on 91.5 jazz and more. I have a dear friend. Sometimes I'm his boss when I get to be when I'm the chairman of the board of all of his housing, and he looks at me crazy, and I say, "Oh, Hawk, we can't do that. But anyway, he's also my boss. As my wife calls me all these names, Wes, as I drive the little the the dispensary van, it's legal, Marsha. What are you talking about? Well, you're the former fire chief. So what? I'm not doing anything illegal, but anyway, Hawk, so happy to have you online here, and generally to our listening audience, I asked Frank generally to come in here to talk about the housing, affordable housing. I also asked him about the issues of marijuana, cannabis, which he's very knowledgeable. But this time, I'm really, really honored to talk about something else, Frank. You just got inducted most recently into the Big Sky Hall of Fame. So, what I want you to do is give us a quick rundown. When did you get involved in football?
Frank Hawkins 12:16
Oh my goodness! I started playing football when I was 12 years old. My mother took me and four of my friends up to Brindley Junior High School at that time to give us something to do, try to keep us out of trouble.
Dave Washington 12:30
Right. So was that Pop Warner?
Frank Hawkins 12:32
And Pop Warner. First time I got on the field, I said, "I know what I want to do. I want to be a professional football player. And everybody said, "Ah, you'll never make it. Not big enough, not strong enough, not smart enough. They said that forever, and I hear it still today. And no matter what it is, I still hear those sounds in the back of my head, and I just keep proving them wrong.
Dave Washington 12:54
Yep. Well, I can tell you that, you know, I I play with police, fire. That's the only time I never really played organized football. In fact, I was in the in the locker room and I was putting my pads on backwards. What are you doing, Washington, Horace Smith? And I saw him at the the Western High School's tournament earlier this this year. But he said, "What kind of experience you got? I said, "I never played football before, he said. Well, son, you got a lot to learn, but anyway, Frank, I got I was on special teams. I'm running down the field without my doggone mouthpiece. I'm like, I don't need no mouthpiece. Man, that one of them big cops hit me up under my chin, man, and my jaw hurt me for two months. I said, never again. That next year, I had on two mouthpieces. So after Pop Warner,
Frank Hawkins 13:43
never knew you played football.
Dave Washington 13:44
Oh, that's that was it. I played two or three years with the the police fire football game, and there was so many injuries. They said y'all got y'all got to cut this. Y'all got to cut this. I don't know if you was a councilman as I was still playing or not. But anyway, bottom line is they cut it out because there was too many injuries, man. But from Pop Warner,
Frank Hawkins 14:01
right?
Dave Washington 14:01
You went to high school and played. Yeah, where
Frank Hawkins 14:05
played at Western High School. We were two-time Nevada State champions in '75 and '76 and '76 and '77. I was also a two-time state champion wrestler, and I believe, if I remember correctly, I won my last 61 or 66 matches, and then I got a football scholarship to the union. Oh, and I graduated with honors. Got a football scholarship to University of Nevada Reno. Went there, played four years, and became the third all-time leading rushing post football history. Ran for 5333 yards, three-time All-American, and then got drafted by the Oakland Raiders, and played seven years in National Football League, won the state champions. I mean the Super Bowl in 1984. And
Dave Washington 14:57
so Frank, I want I want to
Frank Hawkins 14:59
business business. Sure,
Dave Washington 15:00
I want to. I want to go back. When you started, were you always offense, running back, fullback, or did you play other other positions?
Frank Hawkins 15:10
Offensive running back and and defensive back, cornerback.
Dave Washington 15:13
Oh, okay. And they and they didn't think you were big enough to to to do anything.
Frank Hawkins 15:19
No, no. I made all conference at cornerback in my junior year. My senior year, I played behind a great running back named Jesse Cook in high school, and then he left and went to Iowa, got a scholarship there, and then I played running back my senior year, didn't play defensive back, and we won state championship again.
Dave Washington 15:41
Wow! Now, just for the edification of our listening audience, how can they see and view? Because I, you sent it to me, and I and I sent it to my grandchildren because I want them to hear and appreciate your commitment to your craft. And not only that, one of the key things, and I told you when we talked about it, when you showed it to me, is that student goes before athletes, and that's what I keep trying to embed into the brain and of my grandchildren who are ballers. They're basketball players. You are a student athlete, not athlete student. You carry yourself to class and you learn. And what what degree did you graduate on time, Frank?
Frank Hawkins 16:20
I sure did. Graduated in four years with a degree in criminal justice
Dave Washington 16:25
at
Frank Hawkins 16:25
University of Nevada, and my counselor advisor told me, "Hey, I understand you're going to be here for four years if you're a good football player, but I don't care about you four years from now. I care about you 40 years from now,
Dave Washington 16:40
right,
Frank Hawkins 16:41
and no one had ever said that before. And to his credit, I never forgot that. And he made a great impact on my life. And one one of the other things he did is said when I wanted to take an elective, which I did, and I wanted it to be ROTC because you know when you're young, think you're going to get involved in the war or whatever. Right. I was out there and I decided that ain't going to work for me because all I can do is think about everybody at home. I'm sure I get shot, but my professor, being the the strict guy that he was, said Frank, you weren't supposed to take any classes other than the ones we agree on, and I didn't agree on this. So now I have to send a letter, which he did to the president of the university, to the head coach, and to me, saying if Frank don't graduate, it's not my fault because he took this elective. So that's how, even though I only needed three classes. I took an elective, and that didn't fit within the program he had designed. So he had to let everybody know it wasn't his fault if if something went haywire. It didn't. Right, right. That's that's the commitment he had.
Dave Washington 17:53
So what what did you take instead of ROTC as an elective?
Frank Hawkins 17:59
No, I took ROTC. That was my senior year, and that's what I'm saying. I only had three classes in the whole day, and one of those was the ROTC class. But he didn't want me to take nothing if because I didn't need to take anything.
Dave Washington 18:11
Oh, I see. So had
Frank Hawkins 18:13
enough credits to graduate.
Dave Washington 18:14
Okay, so it
Frank Hawkins 18:15
was an elective.
Dave Washington 18:16
Uh, so ROTC was helpful apparently, or no?
Frank Hawkins 18:22
No, you know that was the clue. You dress up like an army. You go out in
Wesley Knight 18:26
the
Frank Hawkins 18:26
in the field and you play soldier. You know, I know
Dave Washington 18:29
exactly what it is. That's what I'm glad. I'm glad it made
Frank Hawkins 18:32
me know. Hey, it made me know I didn't want to get
Dave Washington 18:36
man. I had no idea you were a member of ROTC. Oh, that is that is it. Oh, that is it. And you stuck it out that elective. You you you completed it. I
Frank Hawkins 18:47
enjoyed it,
Dave Washington 18:48
man. That's interesting. Interesting. So, you know, as far as and and and something that you you said, and you were kind of like tongue in cheek, but you are. I think you you're 67 years old.
Frank Hawkins 19:03
Yeah.
Dave Washington 19:03
All these records, and some that are still standing, and you ran through them so quickly. I want you to go back to that that 56, 53, 100 yard, whatever it was. Go back to that and describe how that occurred and what you were doing.
Frank Hawkins 19:20
Less than five athletes that have ever rushed for 21 straight-that means consecutive 100-yard games in a college football career. I was a three-time All-American when I graduated from college. I was the third all-time leading rush in college football history, with only two people gaining more yards than myself: Archie Griffin and Charles White. Wow! And of course, I graduated from the University of Nevada with a degree in criminal justice, and went on to play in the Nets for seven years. And then our team won the World Championship in 1984. So I looked into the Western High School Hall of Fame, Southern Nevada Hall of Fame, the University of Nevada Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, and now the Dick Sky Hall of Fame.
Dave Washington 20:20
Oh, so because I was wondering, I'm like, man, if this guy did all this stuff and with these great stats, so this was just one of the final ones to come. But you've been recognized for for your feet on the football field more than once. Because I'm like, man, how how did they just come up with this now? But there's been other acknowledgements. That's that's that that now that makes sense. That makes sense.
Frank Hawkins 20:45
Yeah, but you know what? I'm even more proud of Dave. The work that I do now with affordable housing and providing housing to low-income Nevadans, be it our apartments that we build for seniors and families, or our single-family homes that we sell to low to moderate people.
Dave Washington 21:04
Well said. I I think that's important because we know that throughout America there's a there's a problem with affordable housing. I I listen to all the different programs as I watch certain people who are pursuing elected positions. They always mention affordable housing, and I know one person I know who actually made that come to fruition, and that's you. You you you made it happen, and I think it's important and enlighten our public because I think we got a few more minutes on what's going on with the Windsor Park activity.
Frank Hawkins 21:37
Yeah, so in the 30 years that we've been around our nonprofit community development program center, Nevada. We built some 2000. Been involved with funding, building, renting, owning, selling housing for Nevadans, and that's our commitment to help fill the gap that local governments can't fill and/or work with local, state, and federal government to provide housing to its people, to the state's people.
Dave Washington 22:14
Right.
Frank Hawkins 22:14
So the project that you asked me about Windsor Park, that's a project that been spearheaded by the state, and leader of that effort has been Senator Dina Neal, who is the keepsake, the daughter of state senator, longest-serving African-American senator in history in Nevada, 30-plus years, 32, I think it was, his daughter for what happened in Windsor Park, where the land starts subsiding, the house foundation started cracking and crumbling, and folks have been moving out for oh, at least 30 years, and the state legislature RFP. We responded, being we being community development, we were selected as the developer general contractor. We are going down the finish road, the stretch. We have 93 houses erected, and hopefully, we'll start moving folks in in September.
Dave Washington 23:19
And and you mentioned
Frank Hawkins 23:20
we've built 93 houses since we got our permit in February of this year.
Dave Washington 23:27
And you mentioned Senator Dina Neal and her pops was our ancestor Senator Joe Neal. You know, one thing I learned from Senator Neal, he said everybody talks about passing bills. Also, you got to be the one willing to stop certain bills that are not good for your community. And he he told me about a number of ones that he actually stopped. He said, "Yeah, passing bills is important, but also you got to watch them that that try to slip through crazy bail bills that will be harmful to your community. Now,
Frank Hawkins 23:58
that's right.
Dave Washington 23:58
With these 93 homes that you're building. We got a few more minutes, Frank. Explain that that that process because people. Oh, those houses are going up too fast. I say, first of all, Frank is one of the few developers contractors who use this particular style of building where you stand up your your your your exterior walls. What's that called?
Frank Hawkins 24:20
Yeah, we use SIP insulator panels, and those panels are six and a half inches of foam with 716 OSB on both sides. So what you end up getting is a refrigerator type environment. Your envelope is the most important part of your house. So if you have an envelope where you have low E windows, you have SIP panels, you have a foam roof, then you treat your house like a refrigerator. So it's gonna when it's cold, it's gonna be colder. When it's. Warm is going to be cooler, and that's what the panel does. And we've just mastered the erection of the panel with the ability to mass produce and stand them almost like a jigsaw puzzle.
Dave Washington 25:15
Right.
Frank Hawkins 25:16
So in three or four erections of the panels in in lengths up to 2530 feet and up to 1214 feet in height, we can stand the panels in that first day. That framing is that exterior framing with insulation is free. Then we start framing the inside of the house.
Dave Washington 25:40
Right, and your man Smiley, he he and his his team does all that work, and and that's why I tell people I say when you stand up because I'm watching these these crane not cranes but what those lifts set these walls up and then on the the real framing comes on the interior, which makes it a lot faster.
Frank Hawkins 25:58
And with our ability, we can either frame the interior walls first, or frame the ex, or set up, stand up the exterior walls, and then frame the interior.
Dave Washington 26:07
Right. All right, my brother. Well, Frank, it was important for me to get you on because for you to have been celebrated by Big Sky, because I'm like, now you enlighten me on something. You've been recognized. At least this was the fifth time, fourth or fifth time for Wall of Honor or Wall of Fame. So your community continues to appreciate the work that you're doing, man. God bless you and your mom and your family. Keep doing good work. This is Veterans Affairs Plus on 91.5 Jazz and Moorehead, the former councilman, the former NFLer, he is a still a contractor and developer in our community, and that's mr. Frank Hawkins Jr.
Frank Hawkins 26:49
Thank you, Chief. I love you, man. I
Dave Washington 26:52
love you back, brother. Thanks, Mike. Oh, take care.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai