John Williams

In 2014, John Williams convinced the store owner of the local Chick-fil-A, where he worked as the Relationships and Marketing Director, to include developing a relationship with local schools into his job expectations.  John did this by going to school principals and offering to facilitate and resource peer mentoring programs which paired upperclassmen with younger classmen over the course of the semester and school year into small groups where they would learn about and discuss things like future plans, goal setting, and most importantly how to achieve those plans and goals for their lives.  Knowing that sexual abstinence (refraining from physical intimacy and sexual intercourse) till marriage and working hard in school and in acquiring important skillsets for future career paths were important, he taught those things to students using activities, handout worksheets, discussion prompts, and assembly talks as forums to convey those important steps for achieving long-term future goals. 

Local schools opened their doors to John and his message of focused hope, optimism, hard work, and determination for a healthy future.  As more opportunities presented themselves to serve more schools, to speak to more students through assemblies, and educators through workshop and keynote presentations, and even publishing a book, John and his wife, Alexis, prayed about whether or not he should go full time with the work.  

In 2016, Life that Counts, Inc. was launched and John went full time in July that same year.  Our first federal funding opportunity was as a state partner and subgrantee of Friends First on a multi-year OJJDP peer mentoring project.  We also brought in our first part time staff that year, too!

In the years to follow, Life that Counts would become celebrated for its innovations in reaching youth with a strong resounding message of hope!  In 2017, speaking at Albertville High School with over 2,000 students in the auditorium, John emphatically and extemporaneously shouted to everyone in earshot, “YOU’RE ENOUGH!!!”  “It doesn’t matter who you’re parents are or are not, what label you have on your shoes or not, whether theres and android or a little apple on your phone or no phone at all…YOU’RE ENOUGH!!!”

After the devastating events of one south Florida high school, Life that Counts was invited in to discuss ways to end school shootings and youth bullying once and for all.  You see, peer to peer mentoring was having this effect at the schools Life that Counts was serving utilizing this pivotal model for engaging the young people on their campuses.  In 2020, on September 11, in a room closed off due to the restrictions imposed by covid 19 protocols, John delivered a TEDx talk on how to end school shootings and youth violence.

As Life that Counts continued to apply for and win federal funding opportunities, we’ve had the good fortune to work with and employ some very wonderful people in Alabama, Indiana, Illinois, and Montana.  We’ve got to serve tens of thousands of young people with the message of hope for the future through a message of healthy relationships, abstinence till marriage in romantic relationships, pursuing and finishing a great education, launching in a chosen career path, and starting a family.  

Life that Counts assemblies and programs regularly happen other ares too; Washington state, New York, South Dakota, Georgia, Idaho, Tennessee, and Florida.  Everything we do is to help students make better decisions for more healthy outcomes because we believe that you’re enough to achieve all that’s within your heart and mind to do and accomplish!

John and Alexis have two grown kids in college, Jayden and Joshua.  In addition to leading the charge at Life that Counts, John owns a commercial poultry farm, cattle, and an earth moving company.  In addition to helping with grant writing, Alexis is a national board certified special education teacher and has been a classroom teacher for almost two decades.