heber

For more than a year, Church News staff writer Mary Richards has written about JustServe.org, a free online platform that connects volunteers with service opportunities in their communities. In this general conference special edition of the Church News podcast, produced in connection with KSLNews Radio, Mary Richards talks with numerous guests about JustServe: Isabelle Harris, a high school senior from Heber, Utah, who started a JustServe Club at her school; Doraleen Taulanga, who uses JustServe in her calling with young adults in her Samoan speaking ward in Woods Cross, Utah; Wendy Tibbitts and her son, Joshua Tibbitts, who use JustServe to find service opportunities as a family; and Amy Dott Harmer, executive director at the Utah Refugee Connection, who uses JustServe to connect businesses and individuals looking to serve the refugee community. 

The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Ete speaks with Becca Wilhite.

Becca Wilhite is a mother of four, a high school teacher, writer, and author. She has published four romance novels and has a new historical novel coming out in 2021. She is also part of a group that writes romance fiction under the pen name Brenna Jacobs.

Becca is a big believer in the idea that every single person has a creator within. She emphasizes that creation, making, is a human need. It's a drive that we all have and we all need to honor. She feels that we as individuals, and as a society, we would all benefit from focusing a little more on "honoring" the "small pieces," appreciating any forward momentum however small, instead of obsessing about "finished products." Becca reminds us to allow ourselves "grace" and to not let fear stop us from making. "You have permission. Do a thing," she says.

In this interview, Becca also talks extensively about the impact that outside influences can have on her writing. From readers' reactions, to navigating the constantly changing and rather fuzzy, unspoken rules of "acceptable" writing set by the national social climate, to expectations that come with working within a certain genre, writing for an audience can be complicated. And it certainly takes some courage. In one especially difficult experience, a novel of Becca's was subject to a particularly negative–and somewhat personal–critique by Publisher's Weekly, one of the very publications she'd dreamed of being featured in since the beginning of her writing career. She describes working through the disappointment and the fallout of that ordeal, a lesson all of us can learn from. And just as importantly, the experience helped her to develop the mindset contained in a pretty profound statement she makes at the end of the interview, "My purpose revolves around creation whether or not that creation is honored by other people."

Books available at King's English
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http://www.timberidgecustom.com/

Don’t miss this stuff:

• Men having feelings. Ete talks to Paul about his ability to make people feel important and cared for. Besides the fact that it’s nice to hear a couple of guys willing to get a little vulnerable, there’s also an important business application here, which they discuss. Paul likes people and cares about relationships. That genuine regard for other people slides naturally into his business relationships, and informs the way he runs his company.
• The positive vibes. Paul says that he believes that “Positive energy breeds positive energy.” It’s a really great idea and a nice phrase, but the way Paul talks during this interviews makes you believe it’s more than that for him. He describes his life so far–his upbringing, his family, his team, his clients, people in general, difficult situations that have come up–with what sounds like genuine love and gratitude. Not to get too sappy, but that’s a special thing, and it’s something we really enjoyed about this episode.
• The idea of removing fences. We loved Paul’s take on the builder/homeowner relationship. He says he learned early on that “construction and confrontation tend to go hand in hand.” So he worked really hard to change that in his own business. Paul describes the typical construction situation: the owner on one side of the fence with the builder on the other side. When one side wins, the other side loses. That tug of war is at the root of the confrontation mindset. Paul's company seeks to develop a team relationship with “no fence between” themselves and their clients. Their goal from the outset is to find out what the homeowner wants to do and then help them accomplish that within their agreed budget. Coming from it at this angle shows that they want to be a team. The clarity and shared goal helps to prevent the tug of war. We were really impressed by this approach.
• From 25 employees to one guy with a toolbelt: hello 2008. Paul tells the story of how Timber Ridge weathered the Great Recession. They almost didn’t. In the very moment he decided to call it quits, an unexpected call came. Paul looks back on this time with, what else, gratitude.  
• A builder at heart. This is how Paul describes himself and it’s the reason he is still legitimately excited about his work. He speaks of homebuilding in a really unique way: as an act of artistic creation. While most people think of building a house in terms of it’s practical, science-y aspects–as an exercise in engineering–Paul focuses on the dynamic nature of the process, of composing a home through a million aesthetic choices. Very cool.
• The best window washer in the sixth grade. Paul illustrates the essentiality of learning to work hard with some truly entertaining stories from his youth. As one of 9 kids, Paul recalls a few times when he had to run a full-service gas station by himself as a sixth grader. Throughout his childhood he also fixed cars, logged, built wood burning stoves, and did construction with his family to help pay the bills. Today this sounds absolutely crazy, but he appreciates what he learned: how to “work hard and not just drudge through it but feel the gratification of a hard day’s work.” It’s a great lesson, and you’ll want to share these stories with your kids, if for no other reason than to get them to stop complaining about having to pick up their dirty socks.
• Paul describing how he learned to “slalom ski behind a station wagon on a canal in Idaho.” Got a slalom ski for your birthday? Don’t have a boat? Well there you go. Work hard. Play hard.

This week Ete talks to Heber entrepreneur, John Call. 

Even as a kid, John Call knew that when it came to making money, he didn’t want to work for someone else. Why bag groceries at a grocery store or pick beans for a local farmer, when he could be doing his own thing? From selling door-to knife and scissor sharpening, to starting his own neighborhood car wash, to painting street numbers on curbs for homeowners, kid John loved the freedom and unlimited potential of working for himself. Society and fears around job security pushed him to follow the traditional career path, and he really gave it a go at BYU, but his undeniable entrepreneurial bent meant that he found side hustles–like selling “Coed Naked Family Home Evening” shirts to BYU students and bootlegged “Families are Forever” Simpsons t-shirts at the Manti Pageant–much more satisfying (and lucrative) than his fairly cush job at UPS. He was darn good at making money in more interesting, less orthodox ways. Follow John’s story as he leaves a stable sales job to start Mrs. Call’s candy, comes to own and then sell an even bigger Salt Lake candy and nut company, and eventually finds his way into selling shipping containers. John’s story shows us the ups and downs of entrepreneurship: the thrill of cutting your own path and succeeding at making money, and the difficulty of being the one who is ultimately responsible for getting everything done right. John story includes both the excitement of turning a company around, and the frustration of helplessly watching a business deal crumbles at the last minute. It’s a wild ride. And along the way John points out some truly insightful business and life lessons gleaned from his experiences. Enjoy.