It is an interesting thing to be raised by someone who is ‘known’ by many people. Someone who has what you would call a ‘public persona.’ My father, Dr. Nicky Chavers, while not a huge Hollywood celebrity, was well known by many. I remember very clearly how he could hardly go anywhere where he was not recognized and greeted by someone. We girls would sometimes tease him about it, but he always took it graciously and it was never something he allowed to go to his head. I am sure his mother was a huge part of the reason for that as she kept him grounded all through his younger years of singing on TV and hosting his own TV shows. She used to say to him ‘Nicky, what you have is a gift. You couldn’t earn it, you didn’t deserve it. It was given to you by God as a downpayment on your very life. You must only use your gifts for Him. And if I ever see you getting the big head about what you are doing, I’ll see to it that you never sing another note.’ And if you knew my grandmother at all, you knew she meant every word she said. What a gift she was to Daddy and to our whole family. She was a simple woman but her philosophy was a guiding light to my father all his life and remains the backbone of the philosophy of The Academy of Arts to this day. In fact, whenever Daddy would be recognized by someone, he would almost ALWAYS remember their name, where they went to church or what school they taught at and how he had met them. His memory was just amazing, but more than that, he had learned at an early age not to get the ‘big head’ but to value others and I believe that is how he remembered people so well.