Robin Reshard wants to hear your story. She calls it being nosy, but it’s a curiosity born from a genuine interest in people and a desire to see them succeed.

“I like people,” Reshard said. “I think people have amazing stories that connect them at a basic foundation.”

You can find her at DeVilliers Square in Pensacola, the fourth Friday of every month, encouraging others to share their stories as part of the Pensacola Network. The professional networking event was launched by Reshard and her husband, Lloyd, to strengthen relationships in the African-American business community.

“It is for anybody and everybody who has good in their hearts for building up the African-American community,” Reshard said.

Lloyd Reshard successfully ran a similar networking opportunity in Fort Walton for years. The Reshards saw the same need for connection in Pensacola and started the Pensacola Network a year ago. Now they draw about 100 people to each event.

“We have a lot of resources that are available to us and when you don’t know about them, it’s harder to succeed,” Lloyd Reshard said.

“What’s rewarding to me is if someone finds something they didn’t realize was there, and they become successful. They get a scholarship or they get a job, that’s the reward. It’s like our way of giving back.” Guests pack the meeting hall in the heart of Pensacola’s historic Belmont-DeVilliers neighborhood, a historically diverse and culturally rich area. Reshard, who also runs her own production company, recently produced a documentary about the community.

“There was an African-American business alliance here in the 1800s,” she said, “so there were black folks getting together around business ideas and building economic development and community development long before we came on this plain. Doing this is nothing new to any community.”

At each event, there’s time to mix and mingle, then Reshard often interviews a special guest. She hopes to spark conversations that help people. Reshard believes open dialogue is the key to connection. “Diversity in business is good business practice, so this is not solely for getting one particular community together,” Reshard said. “When you see who comes to our networking, it’s not just black folks, it’s not just white folks, it’s not just business folk, it’s not just college folk. It’s a blend of all that. They are all coming together and understanding the good.” In many ways, Reshard is a community educator at heart. She credits her parents. Growing up in rural Arkansas, her mother was a teacher and her father was a real estate purchasing agent. They kept Reshard and her seven siblings busy with everything from sports to volunteering.

“They raised eight children and I don’t care how much money you have, eight children will eat it up. They really had to make use of their limited resources to get us where they thought would be best, so they connected us to people,” Reshard said. “I met governors and potentates. I met pimps and prostitutes and all of them were important to building the community.”

Building community remains a priority for Reshard. She moved to Pensacola in 1993, to teach at the U.S. Navy cryptology school at Corry Station. She has been here ever since, working to make a positive impact through a variety of creative channels. She has written two published books in addition to some unpublished plays and a movie script, two motivational CDs, and a documentary. She has two more documentaries in the works. She also hosted a public affairs show on WSRE for several years called “Connecting the Community,” and continues to host and produce several web series, including one for the Pensacola Network. Reshard’s many projects keep her busy, but the opportunity to see people connect and find success makes it all worthwhile.

“I want people to fulfill their purpose. I want Pensacola Network to be a vehicle to help them achieve that purpose, whether it’s for business or personal,” Reshard said. “I want the Pensacola Network and all of the people, organizations and companies that come there to help them on their way.”