Taylor Haugen Trophy Winners – Where Are They Now? (part 2)

You read about our four most recent trophy winners through the Taylor Haugen Foundation … Now, let’s take a look at where our set of four winners from 2014-2017 are at now and how they are all doing!

Josiah Pool, 2017 Trophy Winner

Pool graduated from the University of Florida with his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and his Master of Science in Management. He enjoys playing golf and pickup basketball. He has also gotten into a card game called Magic the Gathering. He also enjoys cooking and is currently learning how to fly fish!

In college, he worked for the church that he attended for two years, served for a sorority house kitchen with all the free food and volunteered with the Baptist Collegiate Ministry and International Student Ministry. Pool loved meeting new students and hearing their stories.

Currently, he works for a window and door manufacturing company based in Venice, FL. He works remotely, so he still lives in Gainesville, which he has grown fond of over the years. Either he will be in Gainesville or Venice within a year. He says he can see himself starting his own business down the road in either a manufacturing or engineering consulting capacity. But he also has the option of going back home to work for the family contacting business!

“Winning the Taylor Haugen Trophy was a huge encouragement as someone coming out of high school and entering a new season of life,” Pool said. “It was proof that God was using me and my platform in ways that I wasn’t completely aware of, and it was humbling to even be mentioned in the same sentence as T.”

Pool wishes that more people would ask him about the small bracelet he wears with T’s words imprinted on it. It’s such an amazing story to tell and one that has lifted his spirits when in a rough patch. “Don’t Quit. Never Give Up!” were words written by a high school football player who already knew what it meant to be resilient. T’s profound impact on the people around him and his don’t quit, never give up attitude constantly remind me not to sell myself short or settle for less than what I am capable of. But it’s not because I think I deserve anything more than what I have. You just don’t want to miss out on what God has in store for you if you don’t quit and never give up. And I know he promises a crown of glory for those who finish the race, as T did.

“Knowing what Brian and Kathy have been through, and for them to still pour out their hearts and lives for the community, it speaks volumes about the things Jesus can do through people in the midst of tragedy, and it was awesome to be recognized by them,” he said.

Pool’s favorite Bible verse is Isaiah 41:10: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” The idea of having the God of the universe on your side is pretty cool. No matter what happens in this life, God promises to not have evil prevail against anyone, and as people walk through trials, God is able to strengthen them. He says that being someone who struggles to be courageous, especially as he begins to make big life and career decisions, this verse serves as a good reminder that he can make those decisions without fear of what may lie on the other side because the Lord is with him.

It is so important to find a good church family that can encourage one another and support one another as members grow in their faith. Coming into college, choosing where to attend church was one of the most important and best decisions he has made in his life.

“When you begin a relationship with Jesus, he promises not to leave you, but we often need to be reminded of that, and the people we surround ourselves with are instrumental in doing that,” Pool said. “My church family for the past five years has helped me walk through difficult relationships and job decisions, and they’ve been there to rejoice with me when I see Jesus working wonders in my life.”

Tyler Russell, 2016 Trophy Winner

Russell was a football player and baseball player at Niceville High School. He attended the University of Southern Mississippi where he also played football and got his Bachelor of Science in Finance and Banking. From there, he went to Samford University where he finished playing football and completed his MBA with a specialization in Finance.

As far as hobbies, Russell enjoys hunting and fishing. He said he would consider these his passions; he takes every opportunity he can to get out into the outdoors to take a break from the rush of life. He also enjoys working out, playing golf and coaching private football lessons.

He is about to start work as an Audit Associate with Warren Averett. He is currently preparing to complete the CPA exam. By starting out his career in public accounting and passing the CPA exam, it will offer the opportunity to gain valuable work experience to progress through public accounting or venture out toward other potential paths.

When it came to winning the Taylor Haugen Trophy, it was such an honor to Russell. “To know what the trophy means to Brian and Kathy as well as the other trophy winners makes it all the more special, and I am extremely thankful and fortunate to have been selected as a winner. To be able to join such an incredible foundation, which really is just like a family, has been an extremely rewarding experience, and I consider it a huge blessing to be able to remain actively involved in the foundation,” Russell said.

When asked to pick a favorite memory, Russel said he really enjoys being a voting member of the foundation because the selection process of picking the newest trophy member is an exciting time. He enjoys catching up with other former winners and helping with events that allow him to deepen his relationships with the Foundation family.

To Russell, “Don’t Quit. Never Give Up!” means to stand tall in the face of adversity with faith that God will see you through to the other side. Life is not easy, and there will always be obstacles trying to knock you down, but being able to persevere through tribulations and set an example for others who witness your journey is so important.

Russell’s favorite Bible verse was first introduced to him during his junior year at Niceville High School. This verse is James 1:2-4. He catches similarities in this verse with T’s motto of “Don’t Quit. Never Give Up!” because the Bible does not promise anyone an easy life, and it does not tell us to maintain our faith in Christ. Rather, it tells us how and why it is worth it. Looking at the verse, it says, “to consider trials with joy” and that “the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” Through perseverance, you are stronger, and this is something to carry with you throughout life. Russell sees every challenge as an opportunity because he knows that through faith, discipline, hard work and perseverance, there is nothing he cannot overcome.

When asked about what advice Russell would give to someone who wants to center his or her life around Christ, he said first and foremost that establishing a personal relationship with Jesus is the most important thing anyone can do. It helps to create that firm foundation, especially in the society we live in today, which is extremely secular and discourages the mention of Christ. With the compound influence of social media and popular culture, it is difficult to maintain a strong Christian influence in your own life. However, Russell mentions that reading the Bible and being active in church are two of the best ways to grow your relationship with Christ. For those who have the opportunity to join organizations like Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he recommends actively participating in this or a youth group to meet like-minded young Christians, establish rewarding friendships and create accountability to help you grow in your faith.

Mary Kate Myrick, 2015 Trophy Winner

Myrick graduated from Freeport High School in 2015 and then attended Auburn University, graduating in 2019 with a degree in Biomedical Sciences. Currently, she is starting her fourth year of dental school at the University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston and will be graduating in May of 2023 with her D.D.S. When she has free time from dental school, she loves to read, take walks, volunteer at a local dental clinic and her personal favorite– plan her wedding to her best friend, Chase Shelton! Her ultimate dream job is to become a pediatric dentist and a mom.

“Being awarded the Taylor Haugen Trophy still seems surreal to me,” Myrick said. “It is one of my greatest honors to carry on T’s legacy and to be a part of the Haugen family. I love when we have the full gang back in town each year. We are a rowdy bunch and always have so much fun catching up!”

To her, T’s motto, “Don’t Quit. Never Give Up!” points her back to the truth that the Lord promises us that we will have trouble in this broken world but can take heart knowing that He has overcome. She says that she can persevere through trials because she knows the one who holds her future is so much greater than any circumstance she faces.

Her favorite Bible verse is James 1:2-3: “Consider pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” This verse places a new spin on walking through challenges by instructing us to consider it a joy that we get to do hard things because it ultimately makes us look more like Jesus. The enneagram 7 in Myrick loves to find a way to bring light into a situation, and this verse says to do just that!

Her biggest piece of advice for those who are wanting to grow in their faith is to spend time with the Lord by reading the Bible, praying, journaling, whatever ways you are able to spend time with the Lord. Just like she said, “You can’t become friends with someone you don’t spend time getting to know!”

Charlie Shackelford, 2014 Trophy Winner

Shackelford ran track and cross country at Wake Forest University his freshman year of college and then transferred to the University of Georgia where he graduated with a degree in Finance in 2018. Shackelford says the biggest thing about him is that he just got married! Olivia, his wife, and him were set up on a blind date two years ago, and they just got married this past April. They are both heavily involved in their church Christ Covenant and work in the children’s ministry Sunday mornings. He also helps lead their youth group with high school boys. His personal hobbies include hunting, fishing and any other outdoor activities. He is very thankful for their special friends in Atlanta that they have met, which makes up a big portion of their lives considering the number of small groups they are involved with in the community.

After he graduated from the University of Georgia, he worked for two years doing Valuation for Ernst & Young in Atlanta. However, as of two years ago, he now helps run the local family business – Legacy Boating Club & Double Fun Watersports. Most of his team is from Georgia; however, he still travels to Destin two to three times a month to get involved with the community there as well. His wife Olivia works at Chick-Fil-A’s corporate office, so their arrangement is unique but works great for them.

“Winning the Taylor Haugen Trophy will always mean the world to me,” Shackelford said. “The ‘older’ I get, I am able to look back on parts of my upbringing that I now consider to be extremely foundational for the man I am now and pray to continue becoming.”

He said that winning the Taylor Haugen Trophy was absolutely one of those foundational moments and plays a significant part in his testimony. While it was not a memory with the entire Foundation family, Mary Kate Myrick, the THT Winner from 2015, was one of the people who introduced him to Olivia. Other favorite memories include all of us getting together each year for interviews and being encouraged by everyone’s faith.

T’s motto, “Don’t Quit. Never Give Up!” has meant a great deal of things to Shackelford at different times in his life over the past 10 years. In high school and at Wake Forest, this motto meant giving everything he had each time he ran a track or cross-country race. Today, it means to build a true foundation of hope and trust in the Lord, something he says we can never let up on.

His favorite Bible verse is Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” This verse is super personal to him because the time we all currently live in has the world doing everything it can to corrupt our faith, so his prayer for his life is to truly be transformed by the power of Christ to know Him more and make His name known to others.

As far as growing in his faith, Shackelford said that surrounding himself with believers and having real conversation that mutually encourages each other through the Lord is one of the best things. Without intentional conversation that provides accountability and spurs on action toward a Christ-centered life, his walk with the Lord would have looked very different. He says that although this gets harder with age, it is something he wants to be committed to always fighting for.

Okay, you’ve read about our last eight Taylor Haugen Trophy winners. Are you ready for the very last four? Coming right up!!!