It all began on Oct. 29, the night before Jarron Webster’s 31st birthday. Originally from Owensboro, Webster openly admits that his life has had its share of ups and downs. But, at that particular point in his life, he said he was experiencing a number of challenges. Until a woman he had never met shared her story with him, which encouraged him to embark on a 365-day journey of meeting new people and sharing their stories.
“Ever since then, I realized everyone has a story and everyone’s story can impact someone’s life,” Webster said. “The very next day I came up with the initiative, #1personeachday. If you do something for 365 days straight — you can’t not be great at it. If I can do this intentionally and learn about this person and share their story with the rest of the world, there‘s no telling how many people that person can impact. Doing it intentionally is just taking it to another level.”
Now living in Tampa and working in real estate, Webster’s outgoing personality and charismatic attitude have earned him the nickname “The Tampa Bow Tie Guy.” While he has a newfound passion for acting and has aspirations of one day being a TV host, Webster has used his skills with others and with social media to share the stories of the new people he meets each day.
“That’s given me incentive to get up and get out of the house over these last 127 days,” Webster said. “I’ve grown so much because of these people that I’ve met. I want to take it national because I think it’s a really great thing.”
Webster has met hairstylists, financial advisors, college students, musicians and men and women of all ages and walks of life. In his one minute blog each day, he shares the person’s name, where they are from, a little bit about what they do and what makes them happy. Webster has also been known to ask for a favorite quote or life lesson.
One of Webster’s favorite encounters was on Day 31, the same number as his age, when he met a woman named Denise while he was walking on a trail. Webster said Denise was walking her dog and picking up trash along the way.
“Every day she picks up trash and says, ‘Look what someone accidentally dropped,’” Webster said, adding that he admired her attitude and her mantra, “Enjoy the journey — life is all about the journey.”
Recently, a Tampa woman recognized Webster’s energy and confidence and nominated him for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Man of the Year. Webster said the woman approached him and said, “You seem like you are a person that could raise a lot of money and awareness for this cause.”
So, for the next 70 days straight, Webster will be presenting the #1 Person Each Day LLS edition. He intends to feature one person each day who is battling cancer, has overcome cancer or is a caregiver for someone with cancer.
“I’m all about bringing value to other people’s lives and being able to do it on a platform like, that is such an honor,” Webster said. “I want to raise more money for this campaign than has ever been raised. I think $160,000 is the most.”
Going forward, Webster intends to continue making an impact in and around the Tampa area as he meets new people daily. But he hopes his impact reaches far beyond the city limits.
“I may be known as the Tampa Bow Tie Guy but it’s not about Tampa, it’s about Owensboro,” Webster said. “I want to be a good representation of where I’m from. I want to be a good example for people everywhere.”
Follow Jarron Webster the Tampa Bow Tie Guy on Instagram or Facebook here or using the hashtag #1personeachday
