A Conversation with Aimee Greeter

by Jaykia Lowe

Meet Aimee Greeter, a Junior League of Charlotte, Inc. (JLC) Sustainer and Senior Vice President at Coker Group, a national healthcare advisory firm. Aimee credits her mother for instilling a spirit of unceasing determination, which made her believe she could take on the world. She also helped Aimee foster a love for cold pizza for breakfast and drinking Crystal Lite lemonade. As an author to numerous articles and books, she is often interviewed in healthcare industry publications. Portions of this interview were originally published on the JLC Link Blog in August 2019.

Tell us about yourself I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And before you ask, like most people from Wisconsin, I am indeed a huge Green Bay Packers fan. In fact, when the Packers opened up additional shares for purchase a few years ago, I begged my husband, who cheers for the Packers’ biggest rival team, to buy me one share as a Christmas present. I now like to brag that I am an NFL owner - You know, David Tepper [Carolina Panthers owner]and I are basically peers-hahaha!

In Jessica Andrews’ song, Who I Am, there is one lyric that has always stood out to me, “and when the day is done, my momma’s still my biggest fan.” I have felt this acutely my entire life. I am so incredibly fortunate to have a mother who has been my champion since day one. She gave me the confidence to set big goals, to try hard things, and to never let minor setbacks stop me from achieving my dreams. When I think of the person who has had the biggest impact on my life, it is definitely my sweet momma! I have two older sisters who have been my role models, my inspirations and my sounding boards for my entire life. I am incredibly grateful for the example they set for me, first on what it looked like to be a kind sister, a great friend and a loving daughter, and now as we’ve gotten older, what it looks like to be an awesome mom. I would be lost without them.

I did my undergrad at Michigan State, and then my Masters at Emory. Fun fact, I almost didn’t choose Emory for grad school solely because they didn’t have a football team. After four years at a Big 10 school, spending every Saturday in fall being obsessed with football, I couldn’t imagine not having a local collegiate football team to cheer for. I’m so glad I did, though, both because my Emory education was top-notch and because my roommate at Emory quickly became one of my best friends, and I can’t imagine my life now without her in it.

16 I’ve been in Charlotte for the last 15 years, where does the time go? I came to Charlotte as part of the Teach for America program. I taught sixth-eighth grade special education at Sedgefield Middle School. I will never forget the fear I had walking into a classroom with 12 special needs seventh-grade boys (I had an all-boy class that year) on my first day! It was a humbling experience, to say the least, to work with my students and I will forever be grateful for it.

How has Junior League helped you develop your potential? I joined the Junior League in Atlanta while I was in grad school as a way to better connect to the community, make new friends and fill a significant desire I had to contribute philanthropically. I definitely did not appreciate the value of the organization when I first joined. Over the years, the Junior League has met all my initial goals, and done so much more. In fact, it is because of the League that I was first appointed as a Board member to a local nonprofit. That began a new way for me to serve the community, and without my League experiences and connections that supported me in being selected for that Board seat, I don’t think I would have had the confidence to continue to seek Board seats. Currently, women represent only 22 percent of seats on Fortune 1000 corporate boards. I believe organizations such as the League are well positioned to empower and support women as we work to change that, and I know from my firsthand experience that with the League’s support, it is possible!

What is your favorite childhood memory? My family has huge celebrations for “Golden Birthdays,” which happen the year you turn the age of the day of your birth. For example, my birthday is August 6, so my Golden Birthday was when I turned 6 years old. I’ll never forget that my aunt gave me a new bike for my birthday that year. It was a gray and pink

Huffy with sparkly metallic pink streamers on the handles, and I thought it was the most beautiful piece of sporting equipment ever made. I rode it up and down our street all day and night, waving to my aunt who was watching me from our front porch. Best day ever!!

What motivates you to work hard? This has changed throughout my life. When I was small, it was to make my parents proud. As I got older, I realized that I worked hard because it made me proud. These days, I am motivated to work hard because I realize my children are always watching what I do, and I want to set an example for them that working hard is often necessary, but that is can also be enjoyable and yield positive results. In so many ways, my children have helped me become a truly better version of myself.

If you could choose anything to do for a day, what would it be and why? Stay home, play with my kids, and enjoy a family dinner on our patio. I travel often for work, so getting a day to just hang out at home, with no real plans, with my husband and two children sounds ideal to me!

What is your proudest accomplishment? As I mentioned previously, my mom has had a massive influence on the person I am today. Recently, my own daughter was working on learning how to write uppercase letters, and when I asked her about her progress, she cheerfully replied, “You told me I could do it, so I believed I could do it, and now I am doing it!” I am so proud to carry on my mother’s legacy of raising strong, self-confident girls. The world would be a better place if all children grew up believing they can do anything, and then went on to do it!

What is your favorite thing about your career? As a healthcare consultant, I have the opportunity to travel across the country and work with many, many hospitals and physician groups. This means that I get to meet new people all the time. Watching and learning from all different types of people and organizations is definitely the best part about my job.

Who is your hero and why? Dick Hoyt. He is a father who has completed over 1,000 races (including marathons, duathlons and triathlons), all while pushing his son Rick in a wheelchair. After complications at birth, Rick was diagnosed with quadriplegia and cerebral palsy, but Dick and his wife Judy were determined to provide Rick with the most inclusive and joyous life possible. After their first race, Rick told his father, “Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped.” And so began Dick’s quest to compete with Rick as much as he possibly could. Every time I am struggling with a race, I think about Rick and how incredibly lucky I am to even be able to run on my own two feet. I’ve never met any of the Hoyts, but I would love to someday, so I could personally share how much their story has meant to me. Dick’s dedication to his son, and to their races, is absolutely heroic in my mind.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years? I have an interest in continuing to develop my presence on nonprofit and for-profit corporate Boards. I intend to work hard and continue to develop my professional and personal expertise over the next few years such that I would be of value to an organization as they set their strategic direction, address market forces and maintain fiscal accountability.

If you could go back in time to change one thing, what would it be? When I was a senior in college, I went for my very first job interview. I didn’t wear a suit, or bring a copy of my resume, or even know that much about the company. I assumed, the way so many 21-year olds do, that my intelligence and education would be enough to land the job. Ha! Little did I know. I bombed the interview and absolutely did not get the job. It did, however, teach me the value of preparation, and being more diligent in my professional pursuits, which has served me well in subsequent years, so there is definitely a silver lining to the experience.

What are your hobbies? I am a certified beekeeper and getting to work in the hives is a passion of mine! I’ll never forget the look on my husband’s face the first time he watched me reach into one of our hives, swarming with 40,000+ bees, not wearing any gloves. While I still occasionally get stung,and it’s usually my fault, not the bees, it hurts a lot less these days as my body has gotten used to it and I barely notice it anymore. Watching them work is so interesting.

I have been a long-distance runner for what feels like my entire life. My older sisters were both runners and during their summer training camps, I would stand on the sidelines with a stopwatch and clipboard and record their intervals. It got me hooked on running, and even though I am a lot slower today than I was when I started running, I still enjoy it just as much.

How do you think your friends would describe you? My friends know all the good and bad parts about me, so who knows what they would say?! Hahahaha. But, a friend once told me that the thing she liked most about me is that I love with my whole heart. I continue to think of that as one of the best compliments I have ever received! I can only hope all of my friends would describe me as someone who loves others completely.

What is one thing you will never do again and why? During one spring break vacation, my family and I went on a glass bottom boat in the Bahamas. I went below the deck to a small, dark observation area where I could look down and watch the water, sand and sea life as it passed underneath my feet. Only, I hadn’t realized that for me, darkness + dampness + enclosed spaces + boat motion = seasickness! I felt horrible for the remainder of the boat ride, and I promised myself I would never repeat that experience as long as I could avoid it.