Storm Q&A: Betty Lennox
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Betty Lennox has spent her off-season in Kansas City, where she makes her home. Before going to play overseas later this winter, Lennox has been working for Habitat For Humanity as an intern. Lennox will be in Seattle next week for the Storm's Winter Warm-up season ticket-holder event as well as to perform in the Dec. 16 presentation of "The Nutcracker" by the Pacific Northwest Ballet. She chatted recently via phone with storm.wnba.com.
storm.wnba.com: Your internship with Habitat for Humanity - how did that come about?
Lennox: The WNBA came up to me the final game in Sacramento and I talked with Bonnie Thurston, who works for us and the WNBA, and she was talking with me and some other players about our interest in doing internships. She was asking everyone whether they were interested in doing internships or was everybody, right at the time, going overseas. And some of us said that we were interested in doing it right now, and some of us said that we were going overseas and when we come back we might be interested in doing an internship. So that's basically how the conversation came about.
I was one of those who was interested in doing it right now, because I knew I was planning on going overseas after Christmas. So it was just a great opportunity for me to do that until I go. How Habitat came about is that I did something with the WNBA and Habitat earlier before the season was over, which was go down and help try to rebuild some houses in Louisiana and I was a part of that. I had an opportunity to meet David Stern and Clyde Drexler and Spud Webb and some other NBA legends. Myself and Nikki McCray, we went out there and we had the opportunity to work on some houses. After that I was interested in it, it reminded me of that day, and I told Bonnie I was really interested in doing something with Habitat because the reason why we work on Habitat is to help low-income people who are less fortunate to just have affordable houses. And for me to be a part of something like that, it made me eager to want to do a little bit more of it. So she (Bonnie) mentioned that she knew a couple people down here in Kansas City, and it kind of hit off from there. I was just eager to do that, plus here being at home, it was a good opportunity for me.
Is this kind of work an extension of what you've done with your foundation, Lennox Foundation 22, and all your work in the community so far during your career?
Definitely I think it's a carry over from starting my foundation. Of course my foundation is directed towards neglected and abused kids. Flipping that over to working for Habitat, who helps the families who are less fortunate to have nice houses despite a low income, I think is just a great opportunity because those who are qualified for these homes obviously have children and I think it's just a carry over from our foundation to be able to help the adults' lives and kids' lives.
On a day-to-day basis, what are you doing in this internship?
Well, basically it's Tuesday through Saturday a week and I work from 8 to 4 each day. Basically I'm in the part of doing the construction, which is actually hands on, building the actual house. I do stuff in the office as well, but they really haven't asked me yet to do stuff in the office because we have a couple deadlines of getting a couple Habitat homes built. So basically it's been every day, going on two months, going to a house and building it from the ground up.
So far I have done the outside of a house, which means to put siding on the house, which is wood siding, versus brick or plastic siding and stuff like that - as you can see I've learned a lot so far. I've done some of that as well as putting some of the porches together, picking the colors out; painting the house, of course, with your hands and brushes. No rollers, just brushes. And then putting siding up and just putting the frame up. I've been doing that for basically a full month, and then a couple weeks I've been doing some of the inside, putting insulation in, putting the ceilings up and putting the walls up. It's been an experience for me because I've had my home going on three years and my home is six years old and just to see what my house is made up by putting this house together piece by piece it's something that I've learned a whole lot about.
 Lennox with Habitat for Humanity Kansas City Executive Director Yahna Gibson. Courtesy Habitat for Humanity Kansas City. |
With that schedule, how much time does that leave you for working out and then working on basketball?
Mondays I work out with my trainer for an hour, and then I work out on Monday just doing some weights and conditioning. And then Tuesday I go to work and when I get off of work, I have I've been doing kick boxing and boxing for a month and a half. So every day I get off of work, boxing starts at 5:30, kickboxing starts at 6:30-7:30, so obviously when I get off of work I just go straight to the gym every day of the week. I'm doing it four days a week, and I make it home every night about 8:30. And so that's just my week. Then Sundays I play games. So with ample amount of time I'm doing a lot of things. I'm definitely keeping myself busy.
On Sundays, also Mondays when I'm not at work, I've found some time to do up my house. I painted one of my rooms lime green, I painted my office orange and I just put dry all up, which is what I've done in Habitat houses. I put that up in my weight room, so I'm doing a lot, I've been very active, so I still have time after that. Definitely I make time after that, because I won't let my basketball career go down the drain. It's kind of a full schedule right now, but it's good to know that the hours that I put into Habitat make a difference in someone's life or someone's family.
Boxing and kickboxing, are those things you've done in the past at all?
Actually no, this is the very first time. My instructors both said that it looks like I've got a future in both of them - which I don't know what they see, because I don't feel I have a future in it. But I've been doing boxing to get my core strength really tight and my footwork quicker. Kickboxing for me is basically trying to be a little bit more flexible. I definitely can't do a kick, but my leg is getting higher and higher and higher. I do that just for the flexibility part and also for the conditioning as well.
Naturally, with the season already having started, you're still looking for a four-month-type season overseas?
Definitely, because when Christmas comes, everyone has a tendency of coming home and taking their break and the second part of the season starts right after Christmas. That's the season I'm looking to join. The only thing it would really help me with is it would help me financially, and that would always be a bonus and a plus.
Sounds like a full off-season. Keeping up with the Storm teammates much, if at all?
Not really, I think a few people are going overseas and playing and a few people stayed home, like 
Shaunzinski (Gortman) is rehabbing and hanging out with the family. I have a full plate; every off-season my plate is full and this time it's a little bit different as far as holding a job down. But it's the same as when I was working at General Motors a couple years ago and it's just an opportunity to be around your family and still improve and having them being able to watch you play and come to your one-on-one sessions. It's great.
 Lennox works on a house for Habitat for Humanity. Courtesy Habitat for Humanity Kansas City. |
