Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Brewer.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I moved to Florida from Connecticut in 1976 as a young gal of 12 years old and my family settled in Tampa. I attended high school student at King High School, along with our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and worked at Brocato’s Sandwich shop every night after school and all day Saturday. As a shy young girl, working there taught me the value of hard work and great leadership skills which shaped me into the person I am today.
I was blessed to meet my husband, Jeff in 1984 when he was 17 years old and I was 19 years old. I was his high school sweetheart and in his words, was a cougar before that was cool! Jeff and I were married in 1986 and moved to Brandon where we raised our three incredible children, Jeff, Tyler and Brittany. Our family has grown with the addition of Jeff’s wife, Alyssa, Tyler’s wife, Devynne, and four beautiful grandchildren. We are truly blessed and family is everything to us!
Over the past 30 years I have also served my community through my work on the Board of Directors of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, President of the Newsome High School PTSA, Graduate of Leadership Brandon Class of 2009, Leadership Central Hillsborough Chamber Inaugural Class of 2023, Board of Hope for Her, and I am the current President of the Rotary Club of Brandon. This is very special to me because I’m the second woman President in its 61 year history. In 2023, was honored to receive the Greater Brandon Community Leadership Award, which I then presented to Sheriff Chad Chronister in 2024. I have been the Chair of the Brandon Wonder Women for the Brandon Riverview Chamber of Commerce for the past 3 years where we hold quarterly workshops for women.
My family attends Radiant Church where I serve on the Praise & Worship team and am a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We were very poor when I was young girl. although our home was filled with so much love that money wasn’t a factor. What I learned was that one has to work hard and stay consistent in order to be successful. I have experienced tremendous struggles in life but my faith in God has kept me strong to endure many tragedies. I lost my Father in 2006, after a short battle with lung cancer, my mother to a botched heart surgery which left her paralyzed and she passed just a few days later in 2012. Just three months later, I also lost my younger brother to an overdose and in 2015, my younger sister died due to overdose of pain meds. Drug addiction is a extremely hard and especially hard on loved one because you feel so helpless. Two young and vibrant lives lost so needlessly leaving behind a family broken. Those losses taught me that you can choose to give up or press on. In June of 2020, my son Tyler fell ill and was diagnosed with a brain tumor and spent 12 days in the ICU. During those 12 days, we were not allowed to be in the hospital because of the Covid virus. I drew upon my faith for strength and saw God perform incredible miracles. I believe those challenges strengthened by faith and I am now able to encourage others going through a season of grief or knowing that you will get through it, one day at a time. In 2020, I wrote my first book, “I am the Answer, My Pathway to Joy” which chronicles my season of grief and how the Lord was able to get me through day by day. In 2024, I wrote my second book called “The 12 Days of Miracles” and share how God showed up during our worst days bringing us hope and healing for Tyler from this brain tumor. It is my hope that my journey will encourage others to keep the faith even in spite of tragedies. In my career, I believe that when one does something they truly are passionate about, you will face struggles along the way. I have been a part of the Angel Foundation FL, since 2004. In 2006, after my father passed away from lung cancer, we created the Foundation Angel Program. My struggle came in 2017 when we made the decision to rebrand from a foundation providing grants to local nonprofits to focusing our efforts to provide direct family support. We believed that a gift of $1000 to a family who was battling cancer or other catastrophic crisis would be much more impactful and filled a gap of services in our community and has served thousands of families in the Greater Brandon area, giving them hope and help during their worst times.
In regard to the real estate industry, when I first started my career in the mortgage industry in 1986, rates were at 10%, yet we were very busy. When the Great Depression hit us in 2008, I was forced to close my mortgage office. That was a very hard decision but I remained committed to the real estate industry and have been able to serve my clients due to the wealth of knowledge I have gained through the ups and downs of this industry.
It is without a doubt that my faith is what keeps me grounded and focused and while I know struggles will always come, I consider them opportunities to lean in and trust in God to either grow me, stretch me or force me to make changes to open up even bigger doors.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am blessed to be able to have two amazing careers.
I fulfill my calling and “heart work” at the Angel Foundation FL. where I started as a volunteer in 2004 and have served as the CEO since 2014. I created the Foundation Angel program in 2006, and we have served thousands of families affected by cancer and other catastrophic events in very practical and life-changing ways. We match them with local businesses to meet their practical needs and provide them with financial support to keep them on the road to self-sufficiency.
My primary career has been in the real estate industry since 1986. I am a licensed Realtor and Mortgage Broker. I believe that my passion for serving others is what sets me apart. I work by referral so I can provide my clients with top-notch service from the moment they think about buying, until long after the sale. I love seeing the joy on my real estate clients faces when they are able to achieve their dream of homeownership when they thought it was out of reach. I love serving clients with their real estate needs and educating them on the process.
In 2015, I became a Recruiter, Trainer & Coach for a large brokerage in Riverview, FL. I love seeing new agents learn the business and thrive. When the pandemic hit and we could no longer host in person bootcamps, I created an online real estate training courses for newly licensed agents called, “Realtor Up & Running”. I love training new agents who are hungry to be successful but often do not receive the help they need.
Many always tell me, “you do so much!” But I do not accept any roles, responsibility or assignment without asking if it meets at least one of these criteria: 1) Does it honor God. 2) Does it bless my family and, 3) Does it bless my work? If I can’t answer yes to one of them, the answer is no and that has served me very well.
I am most proud of the beautiful family my husband and I have raised who are all doing very well in their respective careers and now, my sons are raising families of their own. I am also proud of the 28 year business my husband and owned and runs every day at Patriot Arms & Outfitting in Brandon. He has shown our family what faith and hard work will produce if you are passionate about your work and calling in life.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The nonprofit industry is always struggling to raise money to fulfill our missions and I believe those who stay the course and focus on their mission, will be successful. I believe this is a very relational business and developing strong partnerships in the community is critical for success to achieve your overall mission and purpose. We truly cannot do work and life without strong partnerships. When you are serving those you are called to serve well, God will always provide. I will always be a part of this nonprofit industry because I believe so strongly in taking care of our most vulnerable neighbors in their time of need.
In the real estate industry. we are seeing great shifts in home sales, interest rates and buyer’s ability to afford homes. During the pandemic, we saw a throng of new agents and mortgage brokers enter the business because there was so much business out there that you didn’t have to know the business well to make a good living. However, when things cooled off, many of those same people were not able to make a living at all and left the business. Customer service levels have dropped off considerably as well as mutual respect for each other. It pains me to hear of people having issues with their realtors and lenders because they don’t practice basic etiquette or have the skill sets to serve clients well as this causes incredible stress on all parties and is hurting our industry. But it also puts a fire in my heart to teach the younger generation the foundational skills in real estate and mortgage lending sales from my knowledge, experience and successes I have had. Real estate is cyclical and I believe a new wave of opportunity is coming for both buyers and sellers. We must be educated, prepared and ready to get to work and provide the highest level of service to everyone we touch in the process. Our industries will survive as we always have as long as we have perseverance and focus on serving our clients the way we want to be served.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.LizBrewerConnections.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizbrewerconnections/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LizBrewer
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-brewer-73aa027/
Image Credits
Credits to Halo Photography
