The Way We Were: Carole Poindexter
Sometimes you don’t have to leave home to make an impact in others’ lives, or succeed in business, breaking a few glass ceilings and motivating folks along the way. For Colonial Manor resident Carole Poindexter, being a life-long “stayer” – in her family neighborhood, with the same company her entire career, and by increasing dedication to goals that encourage others’ success, such as mentoring adults, helping disadvantaged youth, and spreading the love of reading to youngsters – “staying” has brought satisfaction and achievement to herself and all those lives she’s touched.
It’s been a strong, determined and, even, tender life-journey for Poindexter, proving that “The Wizard of Oz” got it right. There really is no place like the home of your roots. Is there any other place where you can feel comfortable at being authentic, be available to help each other, feel freer to explore passions and goals, and ultimately be at peace at the end of the day? Although some folks feel they can only succeed in life by venturing out, Poindexter’s life and that of her family show that “staying” may be the smartest “app” to success and happiness.
Poindexter’s father died in 1964 when she was only nine, and soon after her mother, Jean Jones, moved her children to a bungalow cottage in Miramar. Having attended five different schools following her dad’s jobs, the move brought her a first taste of a stable life in a friendly neighborhood. “This neighborhood is what gave me the permanency to grow, feel connected and safe, and really start enjoying a charmed childhood with close friendships,” said Poindexter.
Somehow her family of seven fit in the two-bedroom, one-bath home where her grandparents also lived in the detached garage apartment. Today, her mother’s home remains in the family with her sister’s family living there. It has since been enlarged to include the apartment area, and additional master bedroom and bath, and a pool.
As the oldest child, Poindexter first attended Hendricks Avenue Elementary School (HAE) as a fifth grader, enjoying the area with classmates who rode their bikes together throughout the neighborhood or walked to the Coley-Walker drug store on Hendricks Avenue together to play the pinball machines and purchase penny candy. She has many fond memories of HAE and the exceptional education and teachers there, recalling each year how the sixth-grade class would learn and perform an operetta on multiple nights, just like a professional production.
During Poindexter’s time in elementary school, her class performed “The Prince of Pilsen,” with photos still featured on the Facebook group for the class of ’67. At 5-foot-8 – the same height she is today – Poindexter was the tallest girl in her class and played a French maid in the play.
“It was good for us to learn and perform something so involved at such a young age making it an unforgettable experience,” said Poindexter. “The event gave us confidence, highlighted our abilities, and I believe, contributed to our future success.” Along with so many caring teachers at HAE, Lillian Walker, stands out in Poindexter’s mind because of the extra things she did, such as teaching on her own time a “how-to-study” course, who Poindexter and other classmates attribute as a reason for their future success. “Even my kids loved her as she was still teaching when they went there,” said Poindexter.
Another example of teaching through responsibility were the “TOTs” and “patrol” programs. Here the girl “TOTs,” or teachers of tomorrow, dressed in plaid skirts and white shirts to help the teachers, while the patrol boys, in their uniforms, kept kids safe as crossing guards.
“A lot of remarkable people grew up in the neighborhood and many of us are still friends with some still living here,” said Poindexter. For the last several years, the “class of ’67” has been reuniting at the school for a picture in the auditorium and then having dinner together.
Although she met the girl who would be her best friend at Hendricks and she was part of the crowd of weekend roller-skaters, it wasn’t until they were in the same biology class at Landon Middle School that they realized commonalities and announced their “best friend” status to each other. It stuck because, today, Poindexter and Sandra Hedrick remain best friends, live within two miles of each other, and even shared a nanny when both of their kids were young.
As teens, Poindexter and Hedrick had great times riding the city bus downtown to shop the department stores. Searching for the 45 records of the latest hit songs at Woolworths, trying-on clothes and makeup at Sears, and dining on club sandwiches upstairs at the Jean Ribault Dining Room pretending to be little ladies imitating their moms.
“I’m convinced that the friends you make when very young are the best kind to be real friends because there’s a bond formed when young,” said Poindexter.
By the time the neighborhood kids were at Landon Middle School, they were spending after-school time hanging-out in the heart of San Marco walking to Peterson’s Five and Dime, Mim’s Bakery, and the public library. Reading by age four, Poindexter has been a voracious reader her entire life with the library a favorite spot. Even at her busiest with both career and volunteer work, she read around 150 books a year, and still does, so it’s no surprise that teaching kids how to read is also a favorite pastime, especially at HAE.
She even has her own little library in her front yard, which is part of the national registry of little libraries, and it enables her to share her love of books with neighbors. Poindexter’s mother was always employed as an accountant and active women’s business association member, even into her 80s, and eventually owned her own accounting firm. When as a teenager, Poindexter noticed her mother’s friend, a stay-at-home mom, dropping a stack of books on the kitchen table having just come from the library, “I got a visual of what all I could do as an adult,” she said.
Advancing to Wolfson High School with the neighborhood kids, Poindexter graduated in the upper part of her class and was awarded Jacksonville University’s presidential scholarship. Following her mother’s example, Carole studied accounting at JU, and between her junior and senior years, married Al Poindexter, the guy she first met in Sunday school as a child and became friends with again when he returned from the University of Florida. “It was special for us to get married in my grandma’s church, Lakewood Methodist,” recalled Poindexter.
Poindexter and her husband ended up working for distribution firms for many years, with Carole recently retiring after 42 years at Baker Distributing. The couple is looking forward to celebrating 44 years of marriage this year.
Poindexter started her career at what was then Baker Brothers, Inc., in 1977, when she began working as a staff accountant. At that time the firm was a small public company in the HVAC distribution business. She earned her Florida CPA license in 1980 and an MBA at the University of North Florida in 1981.
Despite several company turn-overs, she continued to earn promotions to the positions of Controller, Vice President of Finance, CFO and Executive Vice President. In 1999, she became President of Baker Distributing and remained in that position for 14 years. After Baker was acquired by Watsco, Inc., a NYSE company, and for the last seven years of her career, Poindexter also served as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Watsco, working in their Miami-based headquarters.
Poindexter broke the glass ceiling in a male-dominated field by working hard and focusing on the work. “When I took the accounting job at Baker Brothers in 1977, I had no idea I would end my career there in 2019,” she said. “The prevalent thought was that you had to move around to progress in your career. When the company was sold in 1982, I was advised that since I was a financial person I should go ahead and find another job since I would be terminated when they brought in their own financial team. I decided to work hard and to wait and see. As it turned out, the new owner canvassed the field team and told me that I was the ‘most common denominator and critical to the company’s success.’”
Instead of being terminated, Poindexter was promoted within a year and progressed again when the company was sold to Watsco, to rise to the top as president of Baker in 1999. “I learned you can move around and make progress by staying with the same company and working hard to show your worth,” she said. “I have shared this experience with many of those I have mentored in the business and out in the community.”
One example is when she spoke to a class about her career at Stetson University and one young lady came over to her and expressed how much her words meant when explaining how she rose in a male-dominated field.
“It’s important to focus on your competencies and not get distracted with issues that could discourage you in your work,” said Poindexter. This was in the year 2000 and during one of many talks Poindexter would give, so it was heartfelt when recently this same young woman reached out to her on LinkedIn, telling Poindexter she was now a logistics professional in a national company and how she has leaned on her words during trying times.
Through the years, Poindexter has also made a positive impact as a member of various business/accounting-associated organizations including National Association of Accountants and Financial Executives Institute, where she became president for both of these organizations. She was also member of Women in HVAC and the Leadership Jacksonville 2000 class.
Carole’s volunteer work spans the same number of years as her career and both are so accomplished that she exemplifies John C. Maxwell’s definition of success as, “… knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.”
All her volunteer work has revolved around her passion of mentoring youth whether it be reading to classes at Hendricks Avenue Elementary, steering youth at The Bridge of Northeast Florida in Springfield, or guiding JU students as part of their business advisory board. “I wanted my kids to learn that a part of life should be giving back,” said Poindexter said.
Some of the many community boards she has served include past board chair of The Bridge of Northeast Florida; board member for the Boy Scouts of America; JCCI (Jacksonville Community Council, Inc.); and being part of the governing body of the Athena Powerlink Program mentoring women business owners. Promoting communication and understanding amongst all types of people has played a large role in her work focus as reflected in her past presidency of the Interfaith Council of Jacksonville, which is now part of OneJax. Poindexter is also currently a member of the Jacksonville Women’s Network, and the Women’s Giving Alliance.
One of the initiatives she is most proud of is being a founding member of Inside/Outside, Inc., a faith-based organization that, for more than a decade, mentored juveniles in the Duval County jail after they had been tried as adults. It began as a concept at an interfaith gathering where she and other members spent three hours rotating Sunday nights encouraging about 18 boys between the ages of 14 and 19 with positive activities such as group discussions, reading aloud, poetry writing, motivational videos, making greeting cards for family members, performing plays and goal setting.
When they learned that positive connections were also needed after their release, Poindexter and others developed an “outside” program on Monday nights, picking-up the boys or meeting them at a local venue to continue the mentoring. “The purpose was to help them avoid falling into their old ways and crowd,” she said.
Wanting to do more to help those kids that had nowhere positive to live upon release, they grew Inside/Outside, Inc., into a nonprofit, and with funding was able to open a half-way house for six parolees with 24/7 on-site supervision. This helped the young men get jobs, go to school and not be repeat offenders.
“There were many successes celebrated and sad failures we mourned,” recalled Poindexter. “One of the boys I connected with was an excellent artist and gave us pencil drawings of celebrities and wonderfully poignant poems. He ended up going to prison. While another finished high school and went to college after his release.” Their mantra was that if even one person was saved from prison or early death, their work was worthwhile.
“This experience changed me and my beliefs about people in these circumstances,” said Poindexter. “I also felt like it was an important role for my children to see as I believe it was one of many community involvements that has contributed to making them the people they are today.”
Over the years, Poindexter has been honored with numerous awards such as the Girl Scouts’ “Women of Distinction” award, a “Women in Business – Corporate Leadership Award” by the Women Business Owners, the Jacksonville Business Journal’s “Woman of Influence” award, the “Spirit of Rosie” award from the Women’s Center of Jacksonville. Also, she has been a Florida Times-Union’s Eve award finalist in the employment category. Her alma mater, Jacksonville University, where she has served as a trustee board member and on the Executive Advisory Council of the Davis College of Business, has honored her with the prestigious “Community Woman of the Year” and the “JU Distinguished Alumni” awards.
By Christina Swanson
Resident Community News
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