Get gutsy with your team!
USA
America's First Black Female Combat Pilot; Former Marine & Cop; Author, Zero To Breakthrough; and Consultant to Business
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Your encouragement and enthusiasm regarding leadership really has motivated the attendees and FEW to truly EXCEL. Although, your personal achievements and the powerful woman you are, are inspirational in its own right."
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About Vernice
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In 2007, FlyGirl launched VAI Consulting & Training, LLC. Through that work, she helps individuals and organizations make gutsy moves and create breakthrough results by applying her “Zero to BreakthroughTM” Success Model –a mindset that helped to propel her career and kept her safe in air combat. FlyGirl regularly takes her message to premier meetings and conferences worldwide and is a Gutsy Confidence Mentor for elite senior executive Women in Tech.
As her newest business venture, in 2020 FlyGirl started FlyGirl Construction, a General Contracting Firm in the Atlanta, GA area.
As a Black gay woman and single mom, FlyGirl brings vital experience to her role as a member of the Forbes School of Business & Technology Board of Advisors and COMCAST/NBCUniversal Joint Diversity Council.
FlyGirl has two honorary doctorates and has received numerous awards as a pioneering pilot, including honors for her commanding role in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour’s story has been featured in the media including on CNN, MSNBC, The View, FOX News, Oprah Winfrey and many more, along with being a running back for the San Diego Sunfire professional women’s football team and two-time title holder of Camp Pendleton’s Strongest Warrior Competition.
She is currently working on her next book, The Gutsy Move.
How did it all start? Vernice was born in Chicago, IL in 1973, and moved to Memphis, TN after her parents divorced when she was three. By the age of four, she knew she wanted to be a police officer that rode a horse downtown. She received her first pony as a gift on the Christmas day following her fourth birthday and her dream quickly started to have a foundation in reality. In 1991, she graduated from John Overton High School for Creative and Performing Arts where she was very active in the music program, class vice president, a member of Mu Alpha Theta (mathematics honor society), and The National Honor Society.
In 1993, the future combat pilot enlisted in the Army Reserves and joined the Army ROTC program while at Middle Tennessee State University. During an Army ROTC career day, the seed of becoming a pilot was planted when Vernice saw the image of a young Black female in an Army flight suit. “Now why didn’t I think of that!” was her first thought!
In June of 1996, after a brief stint as a Nashville Sheriff’s Department correctional officer, Vernice took a break from college to accept an invitation to the Nashville Police Academy. She graduated in December 1996 –and later became the first woman of color on the Nashville Police Department’s motorcycle squad. She graduated from MTSU in December of 1997 with her B.S. in Physical Education: Emphasis in Exercise Science.
With the aviation seed in full bloom, Vernice was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps on December 12, 1998 and on her way to flight school. When Vernice finally earned her wings in July 2001, the ambitious pilot ranked No. 1 out of both her class of 12 and of the last 200 to graduate. She made the Naval Air Station’s prestigious Commodore’s List, received the Academic Achievement Award, was the top graduate in her class, and went on to make history as the Marine Corps’ first African American female pilot.
After flight school, Vernice was stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton near San Diego, CA, piloting the AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter. While there she was Camp Pendleton’s “Female Athlete of the Year” and two-time titleholder in their “Strongest Warrior” Competition.
Deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, Vernice was recognized by the Department of Defense as America’s first African American female combat pilot. Vernice flew above the deserts of Iraq in her missile-equipped attack helicopter, engaging the enemy and scouting the roads from her cockpit, making sure they were safe for her fellow Marines and soldiers on the ground.
Upon leaving the military after the completion of two tours in Iraq, Vernice launched VAI Consulting and Training, LLC. She now resides in Atlanta, GA with her daughter Noah…her gutsiest move yet.
See keynotes with Vernice “FlyGirl” ArmourGutsy Leaders create Gutsy Teams that make Gutsy Moves. Be proactive – not reactive; that’s how the best organizations create the future. It begins by summoning the courage to change tactics and align. Drawing on a distinguished career as a U.S. Marine combat helicopter pilot, FlyGirl Armour unloads valuable lessons learned under the most stressful of circumstances – about leadership, teamwork, resilience, communication, execution, and building a culture of unshakable trust. A compelling storyteller who commands attention – in-person or virtually, FlyGirl inspires audiences and shows them the key steps to achieving more than they ever thought possible.
Audience takeaways:
How you respond to personal and professional obstacles, adversity, and disappointment is a choice. It also determines your future. Black, gay, and a child of divorce, FlyGirl Armour learned this early. Her incredible journey – from the police department to the Marines and becoming America’s first Black female combat pilot – was filled with challenges, adventures, successes, and ultimate triumph.
She translates those lessons for audiences, drawing from her book Zero to Breakthrough – The 7-Step, Battle-Tested Method for Accomplishing Goals that Matter. FlyGirl is a force who will rock the house! Her energy, enthusiasm, and positivity inspire people to Get Gutsy and reimagine what’s possible.
Audience takeaways:
Helicopter pilots can spring into action from where they are. They don’t need a runway. Being nimble gives them an incredible edge in battle. FlyGirl Armour thinks this metaphor is perfect for uncertain times where speed and agility are survival skills. FlyGirl not only fires up an audience – in-person and virtually – with her energy and memorable stories, she punctuates hard-learned lessons with tactics that can be used to quickly adapt to the forces of change impacting your organization.
This presentation is perfect for audiences navigating uncertainty, new regulations, unparalleled market forces, or looking to accomplish audacious goals. Give your group the necessary boost to come together as a team and innovate quickly and confidently.
Audience takeaways:
It’s time! This is about coming together – working to create an equitable culture for employees, stakeholders, and customers. A place where ALL can feel like they belong and are part of the team. It starts by establishing rules of engagement for civil, productive conversations that find solutions – not fault.
Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour was a diversity officer for U.S. Marine Corps HQ; its liaison to the Pentagon. As a gay Black woman she brought valuable personal experience to her work. She learned: When you bring people together, their differences can result in tension…THIS IS NORMAL! How you MANAGE that diversity is the key!
SAMPLE TAKEAWAYS
“Your energy and message started the event off on such a high note, and we are so grateful for that! The attendees felt so empowered and motivated after listening to your story—they definitely feel gutsy now!”
“You have been beyond an inspiration! You are so engaging, motivational, unique, and powerful. We all felt your energy through the screen.
"The audience was absorbed by your stories of grit, determination and your lessons learned; you clearly connected with every individual as I could see how engaged people were...thank you for demonstrating that we can make dreams happen and seize the joy that awaits us in this life adventure.
"It was a pleasure working with you on this event. Your professionalism and desire to deliver an outstanding presentation made a tremendous difference in the overall quality of our event. I would highly recommend you as a speaker for other organizations, particularly those who want to provide a 'real life' example of leadership in action.
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