Felecia Wilson earns Big Brothers Big Sisters ‘Woman of the Year’
The ‘fire extinguisher’
At a training seminar many years ago, Ms. Wilson received a piece of professional advice she still lives by today.
She was told not to list just her name, title and contact info on her business card, but to assign herself a nickname.
So, written toward the top of Ms. Wilson’s cards are the words “fire extinguisher.”
“If my clients are reaching out to me, it’s because they have a problem,” she said. “They reach out to me to put out the fire. To save the day.”
Every so often, someone she met a decade ago will say to her, “I remember you. The fire extinguisher.”
Ms. Wilson got into the title insurance business about 40 years ago. She had been working at the town nutrition center when a friend said she was leaving her job at Chicago Title Insurance and thought Ms. Wilson would be right for it.
She accepted a position as a file clerk at 20 years old and worked in that role for five years before a sales position opened up. In 1981, she became the first black saleswoman in the company’s Riverhead office.
She would remain with Chicago after it was sold to Fidelity Title Insurance more than a decade later, eventually becoming its top salesperson. Earlier this year, having risen to the rank of vice president, she left the company after 39 years of service to open her new office.
Irene Foley had worked with Ms. Wilson at Fidelity and followed her to Judicial after Ms. Wilson made Ms. Foley’s employment a condition of accepting the job. She explained what she believes has made Ms. Wilson a success.
“In all the years I’ve worked with her, I have never met someone with so much passion for their work,” said Ms. Foley, who has worked alongside Ms. Wilson for 11 years. “Even after doing this for so long, and being as successful as she is, her drive for success is the same as if she just started her career yesterday.”
Ms. Courtney said she was first introduced to Ms. Wilson at a meeting of Zonta International, an advocacy organization for professional women. Years later, while both were getting their hair cut at Robert James Salon on West Main Street in Riverhead, owner Ray Pickersgill reintroduced the two women.
“I remembered her right away,” Ms. Courtney said. “She stood out at those meetings and not just because she was the only African-American. She stood out because she’s a powerful woman. A woman with high class. She’s very beautiful and stylized and, above all, she’s brilliant. She has it all.”
A role model and an inspiration
About seven years ago, Robert “Bubbie” Brown approached the Riverhead Central School District with an idea for a program.
The local community activist was concerned that the district’s children weren’t getting enough exposure to minority adults who, as everyday people, had made nice lives for themselves.
The result was a one-day program in which fourth-grade students took a bus to the high school, where they listened to guest speakers. When he began to devise a roster for the inaugural event, Ms. Wilson immediately came to mind.
“I’ve known her just about all my life,” he said. “I know where she came from. I know she’s made incredible strides in her life.”
Ms. Wilson showed up that day in a Catwoman costume. Decked out in leather, complete with high heels, a mask and a cape, she sent a message to students that they should be their own superheroes.
“I wanted the kids to realize that no matter how you feel on the inside, if you can appear confident and strong on the outside, it will help you feel encouraged,” she said. “Even if you don’t have the latest sneakers or name brands, don’t let that show. Appear strong and confident in that outfit and don’t listen to how anyone else views your appearance.”
Mr. Brown said he knew Ms. Wilson had made an impression on the students when they asked her so many questions after her speech.
“Kids that age hate to ask questions,” he said. “They asked her incredible ones. It was obvious they were actually listening and they wanted to know how she obtained her success.”
Ms. Wilson has since attended several more of the events. Every so often, young children will say they remember her or that they’re looking forward to fourth grade so they can hear her speak.
“One time I overheard a boy say, ‘Look, mom, it’s Catwoman,’ı” she recalled with a laugh.
Ms. Courtney introduced Ms. Wilson to Big Brothers Big Sisters, about which she’s become very passionate. Her first involvement with the organization was to attend a Battle of the Bands event, after which she wrote a check to one of the runners-up. She’s since attended several more of the group’s fundraisers.
Along with Ms. Courtney, Ms. Wilson’s biggest goal is for Big Brothers Big Sisters to establish a presence in Riverhead. While the nonprofit works with Hampton Bays and Southampton school districts, they got nowhere when they approached the Riverhead school district about it, Ms. Wilson said. The next step, according to Ms. Courtney, would be approaching local churches and the library about the program, which provides adult mentors for children facing adversity, something the two women plan to do in the near future.
“I know for a fact there are so many children in Riverhead who could use it,” Ms. Wilson said.
For an organization funded primarily through donations, the involvement of someone like Ms. Wilson, who came from very little and has found success in the professional world, is huge, Ms. Courtney said.
“She is a person who worked so hard her entire life, rose up through the corporate structure to upper management and is humble and giving,” Ms. Courtney said.
“Felecia is one of the kindest people I know,” added Ms. Foley. “She is the type of person who would go out of her way for anyone. A lot of people define generosity on a monetary level and although she does contribute to her church and many charities, her generosity with her time is endless.”
Ms. Wilson also serves on the boards of the Riverhead Community Awareness Program and the Family Community Life Center at First Baptist Church in Riverhead.
The Rev. Charles Coverdale, pastor at First Baptist, said Ms. Wilson is a fitting recipient of the Woman of the Year award.
“She is one of the most outstanding, capable women I know and she has proven herself over and over again in business and as a mentor — and she has devoted resources and attention to community concerns,” he said. “She has a way about her that she understands the person working at a grassroots level. She was once there herself and she has risen to high achievement.”
