Leading By Example: Lyne Brown

Countless organizations, both local and national, serve those in need in Monroe County. In this series, the IDS will spotlight a group of people who do the tough, tedious work to make that service happen — the directors of these charitable organizations.


WHAT SHE DOES
Brown manages and serves on the Board of Directors for The Pour House Café, a not-for-profit coffee shop on Kirkwood Avenue that gives 100 percent of its profits to helping others.

“Each quarter, we support a different organization or mission,” Brown said. “And we always have a connection with those we give the money to, so it goes directly to those in need.”

HOW SHE GOT STARTED
Brown is a member of  Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, which launched The Pour House.

When the manager position became available in January, she jumped at the opportunity.

“I had never run a coffee house before,” said Brown. “But I had a business management degree and not-for-profit experience, and I’d always been passionate about what the Pour House stood for.”

ON HER WATCH, THE POUR HOUSE HAS SUPPORTED
- Cleft palate surgery for children at Central India Christian Mission Hospital

- Disaster relief in Japan, as well as Alabama and Missouri through an organization called International Disaster Emergency Services

- Donations of backpacks and school supplies for children in Monroe County schools
Students in an orphanage in North Korea

A BALANCING ACT
Brown said that the Pour House Café’s business model means she is constantly playing two separate roles at the shop.

“I feel like the executive director of a not-for-profit and the manager of a coffee shop, and everything in between,” Brown said.

LIVING HER DREAM
Brown said she can’t see herself doing anything else.
“I’ve always had a passion for outreach,” she said. “That’s just kind of where my heart is.”

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF HER JOB
Relationships.

Brown said The Pour House is a home to groups, business talks and studying students.

“I’ve always kind of equated this place to the TV show ‘Cheers,’” Brown said. “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.”

HER BIGGEST CHALLENGE
“The unexpected. Every day is a new adventure.”

HER PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
“This is it for me,” Brown said. “My skills, gifts and passions have all come together at this point in my life.”