12 GoodLifeFamilyMag.com MAY | JUNE 2017 Very Inspiring Parent AWARD Jo Ann Pugh by Karyn Brodsky TACKLING PERSONAL OBSTACLES TO REACH HER GOALS Pictured here is Jo Ann Pugh with son, Jordan Pugh, who played for the Carolina Panthers,Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints. Jordan says his mom’s support was critical to his success.“When I told my mom my goal, it became her goal. She made it her mission to help me get there,”he says. As Jordan advanced, Jo Ann hungered for information about how to deal with everything from finances, agents, coaches, the media and more, but it did not exist.This inspired the Plano mom to found a women’s organization called the 50-Yard Line Mom®, counseling players and their families on the complex sports process. Personal obstacles can take a toll on an individual, especially if that individual grew up with limited resources. It takes someone with enormous determination and inner strength to transform those experiences into positive assets and use them to help others. Growing up in rural Kentucky, Jo Ann Pugh, mother of NFL veteran Jordan Pugh, was the oldest of four children to a teenage mother and a very young father. Her grandparents encouraged Jo Ann and her siblings to work hard, and they planted the seeds that they would one day be successful. Jo Ann always believed what her grandparents told her was true. At ten years old,sheearnedmoneycleaningherteachers’ homesafterschoolandonweekends.JoAnn was one of only four African-Americans in her 1977 high school graduating class, and she was also elected senior class president – the first African-American to hold that honor. Her determination and work ethic continued as she worked her way through college and earned a Nursing degree at the University of Kentucky-Lexington and a second degree in Business Management from The College of Mount Saint Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio. “I always had a dream, though I didn’t know what it would be,” explains Jo Ann. “I just knew I was smart and there was something better outside my small town.” “Guiding athletes is a great opportunity, if managed properly. If it impacts only one child, then I’ve made a difference...” - Jo Ann Pugh