Episode 15: The kids are alright

The topic of today's episode comes hot off the heels of CityLab Detroit, where our host Brittany Schock attended a conference session called "Are Female Leaders Different? Perspectives on Female Leadership." Feeling inspired, she brought the conversation back to Mansfield with a roundtable discussion featuring Richland County Commissioner Marilyn John, founder and executive director of the North End Community Improvement Collaborative Deanna West-Torrence, and president and CEO of the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce and Richland Community Development Group Jodie Perry. We tackle topics including the "year of the woman," the #MeToo movement, and whether gender should matter when considering a prominent person in power. 

Thomas Palmer has quite the range of hobbies, talents and vocations. For example, right now he serves as the law director for the city of Galion, the owner/publisher of a local media conglomerate, and a church organist. That’s not even counting the two years he spent living in Paris, France with the Mormon faith, or his time he spent in the best damn band in the land. We’ve been Twitter friends for a while now, but I really enjoyed getting to know Thomas in the real world. 

Councilman Don Bryant went from briefly living in his car in college, to interning with Senator Sherrod Brown in Washington, D.C. to serving as a principal at his alma mater Mansfield Senior High School, to now serving as a city councilman for his hometown. Today's episode follows this winding journey and explores why public service is important to Don. 

Oh, also, don't forget to vote on November 6. 

There may be some listeners out there who are disappointed that this is a podcast and not a video interview, because today's episode is with Mike Tyler, one half of the act "The Naked Magicians." The Australian native and his co-magician Christopher Wayne are coming to the Renaissance Theatre on Wednesday, Oct. 17 to premiere their R-rated magic show in Mansfield. For more information about their act visit www.nakedmagicians.com and for tickets to the show visit www.mansfieldtickets.com. And if you're wondering, yes: they actually do get naked. 

Before starting his career in real estate, Jerry Holden had quite the successful baseball career. In fact, he was on his way to playing in the major leagues before an unfortunate injury sidelined him for good. Now, not only does he get to relive the sport through his kids, but also through his business The Holden Agency. America's pastime taught him lessons in teamwork and perseverance that will last him a lifetime. 

If you don't feel the need to go see the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra's next concert, then this podcast will have failed you. Music director and conductor Octavio Más-Arocas takes us through a musical journey today of how he found his calling as a conductor growing up in Spain, to his favorite part of a Symphony concert here in Mansfield.

Big changes are happening at DRM Productions Inc. in Mansfield, Ohio, and who better to talk about it than the two men at the center of it all? Jon Pierce is set to take over as president of DRM, filling Dave Damron's shoes when he retires at the end of the year...er, I mean, "goes part time." Jon started at DRM as an intern, and Dave finds himself a bit anxious about entering this next phase of life. And it turns out, this is just the tip of the iceberg. 

One day not too far from now, I'm going to be proud to say that taekwondo Olympian Natalie Hershberger was once on the WTHAIH podcast. Natalie and her father Chris are the first father-daughter duo we've had on the podcast, and we talk about how martial arts saved Chris's life, how Natalie knew at a very young age that she wanted to go to the Olympics someday, and the sacrifices one makes in order to train to be at the highest level of their sport. These two are a force to be reckoned with. 

By his own admission, Bill Freytag's career has not been a straight line. He started out in computer technology, took a quick side step to own my favorite bar in Shelby for a while, and then dove into politics with absolutely no political experience, but that’s where he’s ending his working life at the Richland County Board of Elections with less than a year left to go. And he's had an exciting run in politics, from serving on Shelby City Council to transporting political speakers at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in 2016. The whole mission behind "Why The Hell Am I Here?" is taking a moment to look back on your life and realize how you got where you are, so what better time to do that than at the end of your career? Take a listen, and join me in wishing Bill a happy retirement.

Jessica Gribben has done some pretty awesome things right here in her hometown, from being an instrumental part of starting Richland Young Professionals to becoming a branch manager at Richland Bank to sitting on the board of the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce. You might notice everything she has her hand in has something to do with business (for the suits) and economic development. Tune in to find out why that's exactly the right fit for her.