Meet Mindy Bess | CEO and Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mindy Bess and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mindy, how does your business help the community?
We help the community and world by a ripple effect. When we grant a wish to an adult battling a terminal illness we not only provide hope and joy to them and their family, but to their community and world as well. A good news story in a world of constant bad news is a welcome relief and instills a sense of hope and encouragement in those who experience the story. In short, we inspire the community each time we grant a wish.

One example of how we help the community is in July 2023 we had the opportunity to grant a wish to a local Nashville woman that directly impacted around sixty people and indirectly impacted the entire Nashville Metro area, the nation, and possibly the world.

We received an application from Suzanne, a local Nashville woman, who was battling terminal cancer and given less than six months to live. Suzanne was a former addict who turned her life around and began serving as a house mother to recovering addicts at a local recovery center. Her wish was twofold, a meet and greet with Jelly Roll, and a private concert for her and forty people she had worked with over the years at the recovery center. Eight days later Suzanne’s wish came true.

On Monday, July 17, 2023, Suzanne, her immediate family, volunteers, the forty people she had worked with, and Jelly Roll with special guest Bunnie XO (his wife) arrived at a local church in Nashville. We started the evening with a private meet and greet between Suzanne, her immediate family, and Jelly Roll with Bunnie XO. At its completion, we moved over to the small café where a small stage was set up for Jelly Roll. Jelly Roll took his place on stage and began to sing, interact, and tell stories to everyone in the room. The room soon became electric with a strong sense of love and compassion that strongly impacted everyone in the room, including Jelly Roll himself. By the end of the concert portion of the evening, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house! Jelly Roll himself was so moved by the sense of love and compassion in the room that he began to weep while on stage. After the concert portion of the event, everyone moved to the sanctuary for a photo op with Jelly Roll.

Later that night, unbeknownst to me, Bunnie XO went home and did a Facebook Live post sharing with all her followers what happened that night and how the evening completely impacted her. After that post, the wish fulfillment story was picked up by a slew of big-time media outlets, including Billboard Media and CMT Media. Before I knew it, outlets in South Carolina and New York were running with the story. This is a prime example of how one wish fulfillment can impact an entire nation and the world.

The entire world, including mainstream media, is craving stories that will give them a sense of hope, joy, love, and compassion. So, by sharing a wish fulfillment story we not only give them a sense of hope, joy, love, and compassion, we also inspire them. This is how we ultimately affect the community and the world.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The James Bess Foundation is a unique organization that grants a dying wish to an adult (21-65) battling a terminal illness. What sets us apart from other adult wish-granting organizations is that we are a national organization that is open to what each client requests as their wish. Where other organizations are specific to what they give a client, we are fairly open to what we can give our clients. In our six-plus years of operation we have granted wishes such as family vacations, meet and greets with celebrities such as Luke Combs and Jelly Roll, riding lawnmowers, reconciliations between father and son, and a night out on the town in Nashville. With as much good as we have done, I have to say the thing I am most proud of is that we have granted a total of thirty-six wishes.

To get to where I am today, business-wise, it took a huge dose of faith in Jesus, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears – mostly sweat and a lot of tears – and a massive support system. It takes a lot of courage, faith, and humility to run an organization like the James Bess Foundation and if it wasn’t for the constant prayers, encouragement, and support from my support team, I would not be where I am today. The success of the foundation is due mainly in part to the amount of support and love my team gives me. In the times when I wanted to give up and throw in the towel, they came alongside to encourage and challenge me to keep going.

Throughout the years of running the foundation I have learned many lessons, but there are three that are the most important.

1. Faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
2. Humility.
3. Risk.

For me, faith and trust in Jesus Christ have been the most important lesson of all. Faith and trust are an ever-growing thing that requires a new level of increase at every turn. As our organization grows the more wish requests we get and the bigger the fundraisers become. This increase requires a higher and deeper level of trust and faith in Him that He will provide the necessary resources needed for each thing to be successful.

Humility is the second most important lesson I’ve learned. To run a successful business, one must stay humble, and not let ego get in the way. I’ve heard it said that humility isn’t thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. This means that to stay humble, one must keep their focus on why they do what they do, and who they are doing it for. As a business grows and becomes more successful, one must learn not to succumb to arrogance and ego but remember where they came from and who helped them along the way to get to where they are.

Finally, the third most important lesson I’ve learned is risk. There is a certain element of risk involved in the success of any business, especially a nonprofit. In order to be successful, one must be willing to step out of one’s comfort zone without compromising their core values and beliefs, which always involves a risk. I’ve learned though that if a decision involves a risk, it needs to be calculated, and supported by your core team. Once a risk is thought out and supported by your team, it’s time to take a deep breath, jump in with both feet, and trust that whatever happens, you will be okay, regardless of the outcome.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Living in Music City USA, AKA Nashville, TN, there is no shortage of things to do and places to experience. Nashville is one of the hottest destinations in the world for tourists, and its draw has approximately 100 people moving here every day. Whether you’re a sports fan, a nature lover, a history buff, a foodie, or a music fan there is something for everyone here in Nashville.

In planning a trip for a friend who is coming to Nashville for a visit I would give them a list of things to do during the day and another list of things to do at night. During the day I would suggest a tour of the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, the Hermitage, or the County Music Hall of Fame. I would also suggest a nature walk or hike on one of our beautiful trails and waterfalls or taking in a Tennessee Titans football game.

For evening activities, it really would depend on what my friend likes. If my friend is into sports, I might suggest they attend a Nashville SC soccer game, a Predators hockey game, or a Nashville Sounds baseball game. However, if they are into music, I would definitely recommend they take a walk down Lower Broadway. Lower Broadway is chocked full of live music of differing genres in every establishment. From Tootsies to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, to Blake Shelton’s Ole Red, there is no shortage of amazing entertainment and fabulous food. Of course, if my friend isn’t into the lower Broadway scene, I would highly recommend taking in a concert at the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman, Bridgestone Arena, or one of the many other venues we have in Nashville.

Lastly, no matter what my friend is into, I would highly suggest an evening to enjoy the inside of the Gaylord Opryland Resort, especially during Christmas time. Even though the resort is a hotel, the epicenter is teeming with shops, eateries, gardens, waterfalls, and even a river that surrounds the perimeter of the inner hotel. During Christmas time the resort goes all out in its decorating, both inside and out. It is the most beautiful and magical thing to experience during the holidays.

All in all, Nashville is the place to be no matter what area piques your interest. Our nickname is Music City USA because no matter where you go you can always find live music. Nashville is also set into some beautiful scenery, which is amazing to experience. Finally, if you are a sports fan, all you have to do is pick your league. From the MLS, NHL, MiLB, NFL, and the SEC Nashville has you covered. I have lived in Nashville for over eight years, and I don’t regret a single moment of it. I highly recommend everyone visit Nashville, no matter what they are into.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are a lot of people who deserve credit and recognition for the success the foundation and I have experienced this year, including my fundraising coordinator Donnitta Hayes, and her family, and my executive assistant Ellen Gordan Yager. However, there is one person in particular who deserves the biggest credit and recognition this year, and that is Mr. Carleton. We had worked with Mr. Carleton for about a year prior on a few wish fulfillments, but in August 2023, he decided to take things to the next level, by becoming a personal and professional mentor.

Mr. Carleton is a brilliant and humble businessman and philanthropist who saw something in me that I didn’t and asked to come alongside me to mentor me and ultimately encourage me in my endeavors. All in all, he extended honor to me in such a fantastic way that I had never experienced before. Because of him, I am now thinking and dreaming on a higher level and believing in myself like I never have before. In conclusion, Mr. Carleton deserves the biggest shout-out this year.

Website: www.jamesbess.org

Instagram: @jamesbessfoundation

Facebook: @james.bess.foundation

Other: TikTok: @jamesbessfoundation

Image Credits
Andrea Thompson