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Thank you.

And now the 490 with Gretchen De Backer, Matt Killam and Kevin Mullin all.

Welcome into the 419.

I'm Kevin Mullin.

Gretchen de Becker might kill him.

It is Wednesday.

It's Wednesday.

All day.

In the world.

Well, you know, I think we've and I was like, we taped these in advance.

And so we have no idea of what happened.

We're fine.

A little blind, right?

But but as we talked.

About on Monday, the most important thing is that folks got out.

The voice was heard.

And we did that.

How are you guys?

How are you guys handling kind of moving into season two?

Everything's good.

All right.

With the world.

This again, we've we've.

Told our audience before that we all have full time jobs.

This is not it.

And I'm sure I'm sure they're relieved to know that we don't.

Do this for a living.

But we record these early in the morning before we go to work.

So it has been interesting adjusting to the time schedule.

I'm trying to find sort of the sweet spot to go to sleep and be able to get up at 445.

It's also, regrettably, getting dark at 4:00 in the afternoon which is one of the challenges.

One of the few downsides of living in northwest Ohio is that for about four months.

Dark, dark when you go home.

At 630 last night, I texted some friends and I was like, how is it not midnight?

It was 630.

Yeah.

Well, the affects that, right?

No one wants to hear a long diatribe about the time change, right?

But it is interesting how you you prescribed that as all symptom related, right?

So I have a headache or I'm hungry, like.

Well, I did go.

Did do that time.

It's like El Nino, right?

That was a cause of my terrible grades in college.

I was like, I don't know that this is a El Nino is pretty powerful.

The ripple effects we won't know about for decades.

Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect?

Those wings.

Are big.

That's right.

That's exactly right.

That's a legit theory.

I've also had to do a series of anxiety based dreams.

I think it's a combination of watching the horror movies.

Following and and pounding down my children's candy.

Right.

And the children?

Yeah.

That's right.

Those three things.

That's exactly right.

So I just a real lame dreams.

It's like, Ocean's 11.

But if ten of my friends didn't show up.

So I was, like, robbing a bank.

And I've had.

By yourself.

Yeah.

It's like your worst nightmare.

I couldn't get anyone to come with me.

Just, just a sad save affair so regularly.

Remember your dreams.

Yeah, I think, like, the normal amount.

Like you remember it and then sort of washes away over a period of a short feeling, like a short amount of time but not usually anxiety based, like waking up or not.

Have studied for the test or not have gone to single in the classes.

Which is weird because academically speaking, that never was a concern.

So I don't know why they were creating anxiety for me.

It's exactly.

That's like a standard, like generalized theory that, I mean, I think it's happening.

It probably is.

That's right.

That happens in dreams when they say you're about to miss a test, that means that you're worried about something.

Sure.

Yes.

Yep.

Well.

Are you are you a student of like.

I do.

Sometimes or study the like?

Hey, if you're dreaming about this, like, if you dream about what's the, like if your teeth are falling out?

Yes, I have.

Looked that up.

It means something.

Yes.

Yes.

Or you.

Or if you see someone that you haven't seen in a while, like, look it up.

What does that mean?

And then, yes, I. Do put the crystals out around.

They're always out.

Yeah, sure.

My, my wife, one of one of her best friends, is into this.

Crystal crystals go out on a full moon and charge and all the like certain sense do certain things, and I she's, the latest we were told is that on the first of the month, you were supposed to put a pinch of cinnamon in your hand and blow it into the, like the main entrance that you use in your house.

Let me say what I'm a little leave because I've been doing that.

I didn't know that.

That was.

I served a dual purpose.

Yeah.

You know, you were saying.

Yeah, I'm allergic to anyone.

Oh my goodness.

I we go we got a jam packed show today.

We're going to have a lot of fun.

We've got Josiah Williamson is going to be joining us.

Local photographer creative videographer just incredibly talented individuals.

Excited to have you on the program.

And then we've got Dick Archer.

Yeah.

Going to be joining us from Live Arts Toledo.

Yep.

And I talked to Zach Vassar.

Zach was excited for him to come on the program, and I think he's a little nervous about being this close to you.

He.

Because he's so intimidated by your talent.

Oh, please.

He is a very complimentary person, but he's entirely charming.

And I've known him as an attorney for a very long time.

And now is the new chai of the Live Arts Toledo board.

I think our audience is going to love him as well.

And then we're going to wrap up the program with Tina Brook, the director of educational services here at GT.

So it'll be a great program.

We're excited to have yo stick around and join us for it.

We'll be right back with Josiah Williamson on the 419.

Support for this season of the 419 comes from work spring.

Work spring helps businesses and clients with HR expertise, workforce training, employee wellness solutions, and personalized support to help make work life easier, workplaces healthier, and teams.

Learn more at work spring Dawg.

Welcome back into the 419.

Our friends at Work Spring are helping us have conversations about the workplace, about professionalism in the community, and we're joined now by an absolute expert in that space, Josiah Williamson of J.W.

media.

Welcome to the 419.

Yeah.

Great day.

It's a. Great day.

Thanks for.

Thanks for having me.

We appreciate you being here.

You know, when we think about I guess let's let's start kind of with your background, how you ended up in this space.

Because I know you've you've just recently gone all in on your own brand and your own business, but what was the journey that got you there?

Yeah.

So I was a firefighter for seven years.

So most firefighters, as you guys know, they have a side hustle of some sort.

Minds was doing the photo thing.

I was just taking pictures.

And then throughout as the years went on, I was like, you know, I want to start doing video.

Started doing that.

And then as I was just doing work for people, doing headshots, doing events, doing little things like that, just recording people.

I'm like, I'm gonna make a make a company out of this, from.

This entrepreneurial.

Well, it's a combination of art and business, right?

Is this from your mom, your dad or grandparent?

What?

Have you always had this sort of spark in you?

Kind of.

Sort of.

So my mom had, like, had a, my mom, she was into, like, design and, like, merchandizing.

Cool.

So she had, like, a sewing business, and she sold her own clothes.

And on the side.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So, Did she make you wear stuff to try it out?

She did not.

Okay.

She would.

She would practice like she would.

You know how you I don't know.

I don't even know.

They still have these where you go to join fabrics and have the patterns and the little things.

100%.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You make that you.

I you had homemade Halloween costumes growing.

Not Halloween, but like Easter for sure.

We some Christmas stuff we did have, like homemade stuff.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So and you moved into th equipment things of that Friday.

You've always been sort of a tinkerer.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah.

I know that's like I've all.

I'm a tech guy.

Like all the new Apple devices like my iPhone dual hasn't came at shout out.

Shameless plug for Apple.

Right.

Can I ask you a question?

That was I feel like there are multiple people and families that have this this talent or interest, and they become the entire family's geek squad.

Do you have relatives asking you to help with their apps and have fun?

Yes, absolutely.

Helping other families, geek squad.

Yeah.

What is the most fun, funny thing that you've had to do to help a family member out from a. Even operating their own iPhone?

Oh, wow.

My internet's not working.

Sure.

And they they are like, my phone's not making phone calls, and they just have to turn off the cellular in some some capacity.

Sure.

That's right.

Miracles happen every day.

I would fully expect in my household to get a phone call from my parents saying my cell phone is not working, and I would have to say, what are you calling me on?

Yeah.

Right.

It's the.

It's like I can't find my glasses there on your face.

Cause my dad called me once and he said, I'm embarrassed with you.

And I just assumed he was having with his phone.

So sorry.

Your connection.

Is bad.

It's just, you know, I think there's there's so many different social media platforms.

I guess I want to talk just a little bit initially about kind of where you see them, maybe in your own life or in other people's of kind of where they all fit.

What is the purpose of each of these different channels?

Right.

So there's LinkedIn, which feels like that's more the, the the business professional side.

But Facebook Instagram tick tock tick tock.

Yeah.

So I. Why is everyone on on LinkedIn proud to announce things.

Because because people know honestly this is what it is.

People do not think of LinkedIn as a post everyday platform.

Yeah.

It's like the this is like the important one where you should really just treat LinkedIn as another leg under their social, like your social, spear, like your, your social world where you should treat it just like you do everything else because it's just another opportunity to get your stuff on.

It's interesting to me if I think it's dovetails to your good question, Kevin.

You know, LinkedIn, obviously, we just mentioned seems to have like a legitimacy that others don't.

But if you were talking to somebody, and this ultimately is sort of a digital resume, all of it.

So what does the the pantheon, the pyramid, how should people post or how should people view all thes to sort of advance themselves, or at least have a digital framework that is respected and advances them personally?

Yeah, I would say like you need like the core things like one who who are you.

Right.

What makes you credible to say like if you're, if you're taking the like that type of thing.

Who is it that that you are serving.

Your idea of your ideal client.

And then your actual services and then you can go there, there's like other sub tiers to that, like testimonials and showing you doing the work that you're, that you're talking about doing.

But like if you just do like one like killer a killer video just.

Yeah, like a concept is just you showing who you are, what you do and who you serve.

And you can take that, and that's great.

I've got a questio for the two of you and Gretchen.

I know this is a little bit of your world as well.

You know we talked about quality, Kevin.

We talked a little bit before the show about it.

Both of you are into curating or crafting messages and material, right?

And material.

I mean, in a very broad sense.

One.

Of the best.

Yeah.

Me?

No.

That's fine.

Well.

You're you're the best.

Yeah, whatever it may be.

But I figured.

It out.

But I'm curious as to, you know, we have a wide range of peopl who watch or listen to the show.

Some people like, I'm not interested in this in the slightest, which is certainly understandable.

But when we think about quality, can you give me a little bit of a of your thoughts on that?

What does that mean?

I would say, quality has changed so much because now in today's age, somebody can take they can pull out their iPhone or their Google Pixel or whatever phone they have and get a great picture.

You don't necessarily have to hire a photographer and pay them 500 bucks per hour.

But I will say there is like, I feel like there's a shifting where the people that are really, really good, they're going to be good.

But it's, it's the gap is closing.

And so quality is still important.

I will say that consistency is the best.

Talk to me.

About that.

So were you talking about I don't think it's about putting out a bunch of stuff but if you're whatever you do, just be consistent at it.

So if you're going to be talking about we were talking about earlier about posting and whatever, if you're going to post three times a week, make sure you always post three times a week.

Okay.

Don't post three times a week and then be gone and then be gone.

And then now you're doing five times a week to try to make up for it.

Then the algorithm is just make whatever you do.

Just make sure you always do it.

Is there a client that you've had or someone that you worked with or even online presence that you've seen for a business or an individual that's operating as a business where it's just it doesn't work because it's not them.

Like it doesn't it's not it's not catching because it's not authentic to what they are or their message.

And then how do you handle that?

What do you you know what?

It's funny.

I'm gonna be fully transparent here.

That's me.

For myself, I. I tell all my clients, if you look at my stuff, you're because I'm.

I'm like the hamster.

I'm the the lab rat.

I test a lot of stuff on myself before I even do it for clients.

So, like you'll see some of my ads, like, it's just me testing stuff and me seeing what works, what doesn't.

I've tried to scripted thing for some of my videos.

I've tried the, the fake podcast type of thing.

I've done, obviously real podcasts like how we're doing now.

I've done all different types.

And so that's just I'm, I'm one where I'm I'll test stuff so I know what works and what doesn't.

And so the biggest thing that I've seen is the, the being, authentic and what you're doing.

So in that to that question, pardon me Kevin.

So are you making these things for the audience or for yourself?

I mean, and I ask that in that way is, you know, people talk about authenticity in some regularity now.

And you want to make sure it's true to whomever you are, right?

Which we're all spending a lifetime seeking to some degree.

But I'm curious when you are, when you are filming, when you're taking this picture.

Are you doing it for the audience you want to achieve or check in with, or are you doing to satiate your sense of self or your brand?

Both.

And it's one when you say that.

I think for me it's about about legacy.

For when I'm posting, like when you say for myself, it's not necessarily for for Josiah, it's for for for for my daughter.

It's for her kids.

She's nine months now.

Oh, journey.

So you're starting to sleep a little bit.

I'm.

She actually is.

Yeah.

She sleeps.

She sleeps through the night.

I appreciat he said she's starting to sleep.

He's still not asleep.

She's.

Yeah.

She's sleeping through the night.

So I mean.

What's her name?

Journey.

Beautiful.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Kevin, I interrupted you as well, I think.

Well, I'm interested in, you know, talking about the business or individual.

Right.

I think we've grown into this space where I think increasingly the next generation is recognizing that they have a brand and their marketing themselves.

Yeah.

So talk to me about that.

Personal brands matter.

It used to be like if you were building a, a company of whatever sorts, that the company could just starve on its own.

But now people they want because of AI, because of the distance with our phones and we're not doing so much in person stuff like the you know, when I think of Metroparks, I think of Matt.

Like I can't not think of Metroparks and not see Matt's face, but, you know, but that's because, I mean, well, I mean, whatever I mean, it's just but it's, I mean, right now we see we think of TPS, we think Doctor Durant.

Right.

And so those are certain things where companies are it is important for when you are building your personal brand that especially if like again, I think you should build a personal brand yourself because, you know, it's just it's very important.

Sure.

But, what am I trying to say here?

But I mean, I using Matt as, as an example here, right?

I mean I think everybody would agree.

When you think about Metroparks, you're thinking, Matt, when you see Matt, you're thinking Metroparks, but you've done that without social media presence, right?

I mean, you've done that with the hard work and the community.

And so I think it's I guess what I think I'm hearing you say, Josiah, is that that there would be a benefit to Matt having the digital presence.

Absolutely.

Because the audience is they they don't.

They're starting to see like we want to relate to a person.

Yeah.

Actual actual human being.

So the brand is obviously the brand is the brand and Metroparks isn't, you know, Matt Killam, but it is because he's out.

He's doing things, he's doing saying so we have no choice but to associate certain things.

And so now he can leverage that and do other things.

And you know.

So let's so let's talk about, you know, building that individual brand.

If somebody does not have that it isn't established.

Or maybe they're trying but it's not working.

What are th what are the core tenets of that that someone should put in place.

If they're trying to build their own personal brand aside from whatever else they're doing?

Right?

Sure.

What I would say is figure out your your your offer, figure out what it is that, that you are wanting to do.

Is it going to be offering, offering consultations on the side?

Is it going to be, be info?

Is it going to be you're taking the coaching approach?

Whatever it is, figure that out.

First is if it's going to be a digital product, it's going to be merchandise.

Figure out what it is you want to do.

Because having a personal brand, just to not do anything with it as a waste.

That's a few.

And I think that there are certainly cynics out there.

We all want to feel seen, right, or want to be present.

You know, people have the fear of missing out and things of that variety.

So I do think it's an interesting and you said something else to get back to in a second.

But I do think that that's an interesting example or I guess, question about it in its entirety.

Prior to all these things, you know, people still needed to be heard and seen.

And that's gives people a vector to be able to do just that.

But to your point, everyone can think of a few friends, right, that are constantly posting things in this sort of eyeroll, but do you care for them?

So it's an interesting conversation to what this has done for us to feel seen, right?

We all have our stuff to work through, right?

Some more healthier than others.

But there's a psychological component of this, right?

So have you ever.

And I'm certainly no going to ask you about anything, but if you talk to you and a consultant, anyone and just felt like they just need attention and what is the directive to their.

See, I struggle with this because it's hard to know what people's true.

Their true like the intention behind what the why they really want to do it.

Some people don't know.

Some people are just figuring it out.

Some people have an idea of why they want to do what, what what, what they want to do.

And that' something like sometimes like, that's some things I hav to help people navigate through.

Like what is your actual why why are you trying to do this?

And what is your, your destination to where you're trying to go because your motivation for it might be wrong if we're trying to go here versus there.

Yeah.

And so, I, you know, it's hard to say.

Yeah.

Why but I, I do think a lot of the stuff that we, we have our own hurdles of what we think when we talk about posting every day and how it can be.

That was one of the things where people don't see as much as we think they do.

Like, I get crazy about posting and it's just like 30% of my audience didn't even see it.

Maybe 50% of them didn't even see it.

So here I am, worried about my email campaign, about me sending out an email every day, and most people are not even going to see it.

So let me just send an email every day.

Let me let me post this, this piece of content every day.

So it's just Williamson with J W media.

Thank you so much.

If you were to you know sometime this week challenge a friend of our program, Danny Woodcock to a battle on Xbox.

Who's winning?

Man, that is a difficult question.

What did you say you.

It is me.

Yeah, okay.

It's me.

We all.

Know you got the microphone on.

What is your what is your X-Box game?

What's the game that you know you're going to beat him in.

A college football 27 Ohio State all day long.

It is the greatest video game.

Like every time a new college football game comes out.

Yeah, you say that every day.

About everybody.

That's just my way of saying I really want to get back into.

I need to get.

Back to shap and start playing the ice box.

That's right.

That's exactly what.

That's my cardiologist.

Yeah.

All right, Josiah, thank you so much.

We're going to take a break and come back.

We'll be joined by Dick Karcher, the chair of the board for Live Arts Toledo here on the 419.

Support for this season of the 419 comes from work spring.

Work spring helps businesses and clients with HR expertise, workforce training, employee wellness solutions, and personalized support to help make work life easier, workplaces healthier, and teams.

Learn more at work.

Spring.org.

Welcome back into the 419.

There's incredible organizations in Northwest Ohio doing some incredible things.

Live Arts Toled is certainly a friend of ours, a friend of us.

Gretchen, I know you serve on the board, I do.

We're joine now by the chair of the board, which I think means that he is your boss.

That's correct.

Dick Karcher.

Dick, welcome to the 419.

It's so nice to be here.

What's on your launch for a second year?

Yes.

Thank you.

What's the worst part about serving on a board with Gretchen?

Yeah, she's a dynamo in every way.

She's really a lightning rod for good things.

She's been a very important part of our operation.

How did you get connected to Live Arts Toledo?

It's been a long time coming.

I was a young lawyer when I first became exposed to the inner workings of the organization and worked on the annual campaign, and since then, it's evolved.

I was asked to be on the board in 2013, became a member of the executive committee and then in the hierarchy as vice chair the last two years.

And now I'm I am the chair for two years, and then I'll be the immediate past chair.

So it's an immediate six year kind of hierarchy.

So much growth and change has happened since you joine the board in 2013, including the I think the merger happened after that.

Right.

2019, we merged with the Toledo Ballet, which was in a seismic change, and now we are also under the tent with the Toledo Jazz Orchestra, which is an amazing amalgamation because all across the country, organizations, arts organizations such as ours are looking to us as the model because it's difficult to to have an arts organization that's viable and vibrant and robust in the community, because we all know it takes a lot of capital to make it work.

I also we be remiss and you're very humble, as are all the board members and the leadership there.

So I at the ris of putting on a spot and making you feel uncomfortable, consolidating that and moving into a single, and we should mention how much courage that took, because you can always just keep doing what's doing right.

But it does take out the acknowledgment of the work and the courage to do so.

So on behalf of somebody who has been sitting out in the parking lot waiting for sisters to finish the Nutcracker performances and things of that variety, you know, this is a this is a significant event, and having these things be housed in one location is wonderful for full families, but it's a central location to remind people what a great place it is to live until we do in Northwest Ohio.

So I thank you, sir, for your leadership, but I'm a little curious as to attorney to Gretchen's boss, which I'm sure you aspire to be since you were a child.

But talk to me a little bit about where you grew up and what brought you sort of the stair step to here.

Just south of here is a small town community known as Fostoria.

And I came up to do undergrad in 73, stayed to do law school, and it was in that era that I was enjoying the symphony on student ticket prices.

So it was a cheap date, and it was one of those things that was a natural progression from my high school music training, as my parents gave me a is enduring.

Bless you.

Kevin's allergic to culture.

So well.

And to your point earlier about the we're all conservative and to make a change like we did not only took courage and leadership and foresight and enlightenment, but it it's always taking each individual entity from their silos and merging into a common purpose is difficult.

Yes.

And we've managed to overcome those challenges.

And so I think we we can all be gratified that it's worked as well as it has.

One of the things I regret most about my childhood.

Not that many, only in our show.

But is that my mother had me in piano lessons and I just didn't.

I just didn't do it, I didn't practice, I did it, you know?

And so eventually I quit.

But your parents had you and piano lessons and you succeeded in that.

You still play piano today.

It helped coming from Fostoria, where there was literally nothing else to do.

I thought Toledo was Mecca.

Yeah, sure.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

And this was one of the crown jewels, of course, becaus it was part of my orientation.

My parents forced me to take piano, and there were lots of triggers that made that happen.

My sister was more like you.

My younger sister just kind of fell off.

And to this day, regrets not being able to do what I am able to do for my own enjoyment.

You know, I'm surrounded by professional musicians, all of whom are very lofty in their capabilities.

I am not, I'm a schlock player.

I boast all the time, but it's for my own enjoyment.

And I can sit down and pound for an hour or so.

A couple times a month.

You get home from a from a long day, you sit down at the piano.

What's the song you're playing?

There are so many, but in my era, I grew up with James Taylor and Carole King and Carly Simon.

It's those kinds of songs that stick with me.

If I don't have anything to look at in terms of sheet music, I'll start playing what I knew 50 years ago.

What's your favorite Carly Simon song and why is it let the River run?

That's a good one.

Yes, sir.

So talked a little bit, and I know that you're not the spokesperson for culture in northwest Ohio.

Certainly.

And Zach Vassar, the head of Live Arts, wouldn' want to put himself in the top of that lefty positio either, but talked a little bit about the cultural scen in its entirety in Toledo, Ohio.

You've decided to live here your whole life, and there's got to be a reason why you put roots in here, and I would think this played a part of it.

Toledo and Northwest Ohio are frequently the people who are most ardent critics, but there's an incredible amount of things to experience here.

Walk us through some of those things that are important to you and have made lasting impressions.

Every community has its draw.

We know that it's well said.

The museum is one.

The cultural scene is an amplifier for any business enterprise, bringing people in to live in a vacuum.

Peter was known to comment about his upbringing in Eastern Europe, when there was no culture, and how that impacted everyone living there.

We are quite the opposite.

We're rich with culture and that makes all the difference because we're not Ottomans working totally eight hours a day or 12 hours a day or 15 hours a day.

Whatever you do, we can't do it in isolation without having an escape valve into the beauty of our world and music dance.

We now have the jazz orchestra.

As I commented before, there's a great concert coming up this weekend with a great trumpet player at the Valentine, so there's just lots of of plenty.

And we in the spirit, as we approach the high holiday season into Thanksgiving we have a cornucopia of plenty and we have to be thankful for that.

But this season of is so busy for every entity at Live Arts Toledo with The Nutcracker and Handel's Messiah and so many holiday performances that are coming up throughout November and December.

Can you talk a little bit about the season?

Just launched a couple of weeks ago.

There was just a big article in the blade, I think last weekend about about the season, but it's really an exciting time.

But it's a very busy time.

Talk a little bit about some of the preparation that are going on at Live Arts.

It's a very interesting time of the year for Live Arts Toledo, because we are so community oriented in our outreach.

We call them run outs.

We will do dozens of regional concerts, many in churches or other public spaces.

Not our own, not the Valentine, not the peristyle.

And it is a way to connect people throughout northwest Ohio to live arts.

We make revenue during this period of time that sustains us in different parts of the year.

For instance, in the summertime, while there's lots of activity, then two it's diminished compared to what we're about to enter into.

And of course, as you mentioned, The Nutcracker is one of the longest running Nutcracker productions in the country.

We're very proud of that.

And we always look to Marie Voit as the the the originator of that.

And it's a great tradition.

And we do so much for young people and the almost every generation we'll talk about.

I bet your parents did too, with your sisters, about being a mouse or some other character in The Nutcracker presentation.

So it's just one of those fun things to be a part of an a very energetic time of year.

Everybody's exhausted by the end, but it's worthwhile.

I was at a concert two weekends ago at the peristyle, and I just was thinking about the.

It was very full.

It was.

A very energetic, performance.

And the emphasis on the word live as it relates to Live Arts Toledo, because so much of the stuff we see online is recorded, or AI or there's not, you know, it's made up by a robot.

What?

Why is it important?

Why are the live arts in particular, and the presentation of this artistry important?

I remember when that question started.

Yeah, I. Don't I'm not sure what part of the brain registers that kind of pleasure, that kind of intimate emoting kind of trigger.

But that's what happens when you experience both individually and as a community in a peristyle auditorium.

And you're talking about th first masterworks of the season.

Last weekend was another second performance with John Nakama to doing the Rockman and Third Piano Concerto.

The peristyle was packed to the gills.

It was great to see.

It's a it's just part of how we experience wonderful, beautiful, fulfilling moments that enrich our lives.

You talk about the peristyle, you talk about Valentine Theater, two absolute world class gem venues to which perform.

But you guys also have.

I kno we've had Zach on the program.

You guys also have a beautiful new facility.

What has what what has been the biggest joy for you in seeing that come together and start to fill up?

I, I was part of the task force that selected that edifice, and many of us have walked past the west end of the Stranahan complex hundreds of times and always thought that part was part of the Great Hall.

It wasn't.

It's 54,000ft of the former Masonic Temple.

We are so fortunate to be the candidates that purchased that building.

It's a big bite to chew, but it will serve us so well many decades into the future.

It was talk about foresight and enlightened leadership.

It took a big leap.

And we have.

Now, if you're in that building, we have now succeeded in getting the Toledo Youth Orchestras and the Toledo Jazz Youth Orchestras, our music education, our dance education programs.

That place is poppin at 330 every afternoon.

It's wonderful to.

See it is.

I can absolutely affirm that we were joking a little bit about it before.

As a brother of sun performing and walking into that facility where kids were doing homework, where theoretically siblings were taking lessons, and as you walk through it, there's the there's the sound or a cacophony of all sorts of things being performed and experimented with, but it's community and communal.

Right.

I've got a question.

If you were to start Tabula Rasa and the piano was not in your your life, and you got to pick one thing that you would be terrific at, what instruments or I guess, vocation would that be?

You're excluding the piano.

You get to choose, sir.

It's, It's your show.

I got to stick with what I know.

And, every instrument is difficult in.

Its in your infancy when you'r first training on an instrument.

I played in concert band the bassoon.

It's a wicked instrument.

When you're just learning.

Double reed is challenging.

Violin is the same.

To hear a young person start with a violin can be where's my earplugs?

But it's if you stick with it and the kid sticks with it, it can be a very rewarding experience.

It's like being bilingual to have another language.

Very briefly, what is what is a stated goal that you have for your term as chair of the Board of Live Arts?

To continue seeing the success of Live Arts Toledo at our new headquarters just opened in 25, you, I would invite you and all of your listeners to get into that building.

You won't believe it.

Dick Karcher, chair of the board for Live Arts Toledo, thank you so much for joining us.

You're quite welcome.

It's been.

A pleasure.

Thank you for taking a break.

When we come back, we'll be joined by Tina Boston Brook, the what is her title?

Director of education here at WGT.

You should have learned that.

Now, but.

That's what we do here.

We'll be right back.

It's the 419.

Well.

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Welcome back into the 419.

We're joined now by the Director of Educational Services at WG and a friend of the program, Tina Brook.

Welcome back to the 419.

Thanks for having me, Tina.

You are part of I think, the four timers club.

So you get a commemorative plate with our faces on it, which is.

It's not microwave safe.

That's right.

And you can't eat all of it.

Or just watch.

You melt, too?

Yeah.

That's right.

But there's a lot of exciting things to talk about from event standpoint, but I am really excited and proud.

I'm sure you are as well of this little bugger.

Touch us a little about apples to zebras.

And I know that you're very humble, bu this is incredibly successful, and it's made right here.

So walk us through that in case somebody doesn't know about it.

Apple is 26.

Short form videos each.

How'd you come up with that number?

Well, you need to study your 26 short form videos, one for each letter in the alphabet shot at locations all across Lucas County.

We all know that Lucas County has a wonderful locations to visit, and so we chose one location for each letter the Alphabet and Live Arts.

Just being on I is actually from live Earth is for instrument.

Oh yeah.

The live Arts Toledo has their their place there.

And then we created this flip deck that goes along with the videos, as Mac can.

Show you there.

Holding up one for each letter of the alphabet.

So on the front and the back side of that, there's phonics activities and other activities that families can do together to engage in that letter and help their young children learn what is letters of the alphabet.

What's the age group for this project?

Roughly 3 to 6.

Or 50 plus.

Lawyer.

Yeah.

Well, you know.

Need a refresher?

We can all enjoy our alphabet every single day.

So it's really, you know, the kid who are learning their letters, so learning their letters, learning their sounds, with everything being so based on the science of reading, getting kids ready for school, making sure they're, you know, prepared, knowing their letters and really that focus on reading and increasing reading levels across our area.

PBS is known for world class educational programing.

We've had Kathy on the show talking about, you know, programing for WG, t, e and selecting programs and the catalog that that exists that you can choose from.

What what was the motivation to create your own program rather than go to the shelf and grab something that somebody else has made.

It's really using them in tandem.

So our moving at this Friday we're premiering supervises back the super Y has new comic book adventures.

All right.

So we're showing one of the new comic book adventures this Friday.

But then we're also premiering our own F today of the Apple series.

And I really think it comes back to when kids are learning their letters, when they can see something that they know they recognize, they have background knowledge for, and it becomes very exciting when they see, you know, parts of their community being shown on these videos.

For those that don't know.

And the weather are starting to turn a little bit, although I certainly enjoy the fall.

But talk to me about movie night.

What does a night entail and where is it?

Yeah.

So this Friday movie night start, doors open at 545.

Families can come in, and we have curated activities that go along with the theme of the show.

The educational goal of every PBS kids show, you know, there's a strong goal, obviously, for Super Wyatt's literacy.

So we have a bunch of family activities, hands on things that they.

Can do.

It's right here.

It's right here at the.

Station, and it's.

Free and it's absolutely free.

So they come in, then they get to watch on our big screen and our live studio will watch whatever show we're highlighting.

We change every single time that we do a movie night.

So they'll be able to watch that they enjoy a snack.

Then they continue with those activities.

We quite often read a book together, and they go home with a copy of the book, which is great.

And then they also go home with other activities that they can do at home.

And what did.

You learn?

Is that what tell us what the story of that is?

What the.

Giveaway, the ending?

No spoilers.

So super why was a show for maybe 15 years early 2000.

Kind of like 2000 to maybe 2015 or so, roughly.

I didn't look up the dates, sure, but illiteracy show.

So really focusing on each letter of the alphabet, this one that we're showing this week focuses with F, so it goes along with our F, but they're all just the basic components of literacy.

Tina, I know that you are an academic at heart.

And there are certainly easier ways to to educate.

Right.

Talk to me about what kind of get you going, what what drives you, or even a singular maybe moment in your career.

I am a reader.

And so this for me is is a special project for me, because not only is it great to see kids actually learn, you know, start to read.

For me, I think it's that building the love of language, building the love of books and stories that continues throughout their whole life.

And so my passion has always been, I thin I could have been a librarian.

That would have been my other dream job.

Yeah, and being a teacher.

But my passion has always been reading.

So that curiosity that goes with reading and just that enjoyment of sitting down with a book and I am a like a traditional, I need the hard copy feel the pages of the books.

I'm not a Kindle reader.

You know, we lived out of the country for a year, an I had to read off my Kindle, and I couldn't wait to get back home and, like, feel that.

Where did.

You live?

We lived in Trinidad for a year.

Oh my goodness.

When my husband was on.

Yeah.

So 26 letters apples.

Debra's on w gt of course.

They're available on the W GT app, available online.

We've got movie night this Friday as you're producing these 26 micro episodes.

Is there a letter that stands out to you that that you were, you know, as you were putting together, you're like, yeah, this is this is going to be special.

Oh, that's that's yeah, that's really difficult.

We've shot almost all of them.

And a huge shout out to our host Kelsey, who's a music teacher in the mommy schools.

She's wonderful.

And she makes all the letters so much fun.

I do have to say I really love K. That's not out yet.

And K is for kayak at Glass City Metro parks.

Nice.

That one was super fun.

B is for baseball was great because we were at the Mud Hens and muddy was just great.

Yeah it was.

It was a fun one to shoot.

And he was sober.

Really enjoy it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We know.

So I'm curious as you, this gave you an opportunity also to explore a region which theoretically you're familiar with.

Anything that came out or a surprise to you that you learned a little bit yourself?

You know, it has so many great places.

It was a hard for me to sit down and pick the 26 that we wanted to do, bu it was fun to think about those, and it's fun to just explore as we go out as a community and, you know, learn about these places to like D is for dinosaur.

A lot of people don't know that the sculpture in front of the art museum is a. That's right.

So, you know, it's it's it's that added bit of learning where, you know, we can hopefully educate people that they want to go and visit these locations.

Think about the cutting room floor.

Why why did you guys and whose decision was it to make sure that G is for Gretchen?

Never happened.

Yeah, I pitched that myself.

I'm sure you did.

It wasn't.

Didn't make it.

It's called with the G. I don't think everybody would want us to visit Gretchen's house to see.

That's true.

Well.

I've never been invited, so I wouldn't know.

What a gift in itself.

Which is also G. Yeah.

That's correct.

So when how does the education planning, start or when does it ever stop?

Is it a whiteboard?

This is one of the challenges of something that's really successful is the next thing.

Right.

But do you sit down?

Do you think about thi constantly when you're driving or in the shower, or ignoring your family as they're talking or complaining?

Are you constantly thinking about education?

Like, how do you see the world in terms of things that you experience and then think of them as opportunity for education?

How do you move about the planet like that?

You know, it's a combination of there's great PBS kids things that we promote all the time.

So that's obviously part of our job.

But as we push toward local here on GT, this is a great example of things that we want to do locally.

So there is a huge need for kindergarten readiness.

And so this kind of came out of that idea of looking for the needs in our community.

And how can we as w to address those educational needs that are out there.

So that's that's part of it.

But I am always kind of looking.

My husband is an educator too.

And so now that we're nesters, you know, it becomes the topic of our conversation a lot of times because we're both looking in and we're both trying to see where we can help in the community to make sure that we're being the best educators that we can.

Yeah.

Talk to me about that.

That support for educators, kind of what all GT provides in that space for for students, for teachers in our community to provide and to support education.

So we try to focus our programs to make sure that we're hitting all three of those areas.

We directly reach out to kids.

We reach out to families to help them and support them in the learning process.

And then we also reach out to teachers.

So apples to zebras right now is more kid and family focus.

Next of all, we're hoping to roll out a teacher component to this to make it easier to implement it into your classroom.

But we also have programs like Learn and Play Treasure Chests, which really focuses on helping preschool teachers.

There's such a need for high quality programing and education in that space.

And preschool teachers are underpaid and they don't have enough time in their day.

So we provide curriculum to them and supplies in the form of a treasure chest.

And so we give them the training that they need.

They can take our classes for credit, and then they walk home with a curriculum and a materials that they can use in their classroom.

And then we have a family component that to November 14th, we're offering a pattern parade family workshop here at the station Saturday morning from 10 to 12.

They can come in and learn about how patterns can be part of their life at home.

Preschoolers really need to learn about patterns and in all different things.

Whether it's folding the laundry, whether it's how you load your dishwasher especially.

Okay, that's.

One of those people.

That's a hot topic in my.

Time's Up.

Times down.

Times in my eye is how I feel about the experience.

Okay, that was a bad one.

Yeah.

So, I'm also curious, and this is certainly we've become friends.

My words, not yours.

So this isn't to put you on the spot or be critical of anyone else, but if you were to identify an area that needed focus, you just mentioned preschoolers.

Maybe it's pre-K in its entirety.

Where are we sort of nationally, locally, in the need of the most help or support or sort of rubbing thinking?

Is there an age group or a grade that you've identified or think, boy, Matt, we need to change fourth grade curriculum to make sure that it's more about X. But if you could change one thing, what would it be?

Wow, that's a difficult question.

I think it goes back to that reading thing for me.

But also, you know, my background in the classroom is science.

I taught middle school science for years.

And I think just that curiosity in your world.

You know, PBS talks about that all the time on their programing is developing curiosity.

And I think it's the same way with middle school teaching science.

It was all about not learning, memorizing the periodic table and learning all of the details.

That was like, let's look at and see how something works or why it happens that way, or why it develops that way.

So I thin just curiosity across the board, we can start that at birth when, you know, you start looking at books together or singing songs.

But I mean, that carries through your.

Whole life.

As well.

Said.

Right?

Yeah, absolutely.

Well I don't know if you're news, but but we don't do science anymore.

Period.

I'm just saying that's not the.

Show we're talking about.

T that Boston Brook, the director of educational services here at WTE what what's.

I kno we've got some events coming up, but what is the next six, 12 months look like here on w GT.

So we're also gearing up toward we do a writing contest here at the station.

Share a story.

Our theme this year's Responsibility Making Good Choices.

So that'll kick off at the beginning of the year.

And then we just have a whole lot of other events coming up.

Later on.

We'll do a coloring contest.

You know, those quarterly movie going treasure chest keeps going, and that's an ongoing project.

We do storytimes.

I would really.

Encourage.

People to come to the movie night that goes all out.

There's the room is so nicely set up, and there's all we've seen it when we come in.

There's all kinds of activities and ages.

Yeah.

Wonderful.

Well they kicked us out of the studio so they can get more space and make it more welcoming.

So that's they.

They sold it as a they gave us our own studio, but really, they just wanted.

We're not.

We're in this trailer.

The tyrant retired.

She made us.

She made us get out of there.

So it was.

Her kids.

It was for the.

Kids are talking over each other.

No, no.

Wow.

I might not get invited back.

No, we tried to do that last time.

And you're here anyway.

Tell me, is there an educator in your life?

That was a tipping point.

Do you have a special man or lady that you were like, boy, this is meaningful.

I come from a family of educators, but my dad was an educator, middle school math teacher.

People think middle school teachers.

You're crazy half the time because you either love teaching middle school or you hate it.

But I think I got that middle school bug especially that's, you know, in my career, that's where I taught.

It was from my dad, I think.

But my grandma, my aunts and uncles and a whole family of educators.

So I just thin it was naturally part of legacy.

I was.

Absolutely me one more time.

Give me the details for movie night this Friday and where people can find apples to zebras.

This Friday.

545 door is open here at W GT and like I said, you can watch the new F to J get the new flip deck pages.

So they're like collecting cards.

We don't release the flip deck pages until we release the videos.

Videos can be found on our website, YouTube, our app.

Anywhere you kind of consume our programing.

Tina, thank you so much for everything you're doing.

We appreciate you being on the program.

We're going to take a break.

When we come back, we'll wrap up this edition of the 419.

It's time for season two of The Local Thread, a community series uniting voices and storytellers from across the region in partnership with Toledo, Lucas County Public Library, Toledo History Museum and powered AI, Toledo Free Press and La Prensa.

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Listen to it weeknights at 7 p.m.

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Welcome back into the 419 as we wrap up this Wednesday edition.

It's off the rails.

Well, it was when it started.

Yes.

But you know what?

That's our first for rails.

That's right, that's right, that's right.

Yeah.

I had to think about those letters.

Right.

Another another great episode.

Incredible.

Guest.

Thanks to Josiah for joining us.

Decatur Tina Brook from GT.

Gretchen, what is something that that you learned today?

I learned I need a personal brand.

Don't have one.

Don't have a personality.

Well, that's that's a different show.

That's putting the cart on top of the horse.

No, I thought just what I was saying was pretty interesting.

And I also, you know, something to think about.

I also confirmed my, my appreciation for Dick Carter.

He's just such a delightful man that the way you saw him today, that's how he leads meetings.

That's how he is in conversations.

He's just an even keeled, very, very smart person.

Zach Vasser shared with me that, when I think when Dick was named or was going to be name chair of the board, he was like, no, no, no, no, I'm not I'm not the chair of the board.

That's not a role that, I don't deserve that or something like that.

And it was like the more somebody pushes against that, it's like, you know, that's the right person.

That's exactly the person we want.

And Tina obviously doing amazing these I again I courage people these little these little cards are.

The Kevin you have for jus the one thing right I'm sorry.

Yeah.

Matt.

But you know what she learned the alphabet for the first time.

I didn't realize we're gonna feel much.

How about you, Matt?

Well, Gretchen said everything, so I think that I. I met Dick for the first time this morning.

But I was reminded of how many people came together to make the live arts experience happen.

Singular location.

And I don't want to take th work out of the courage there.

That that was not without its bumps.

But we're all now made better by that decision.

And that was a great thanks to a lot of people who made that happen.

Tina talked about education and the programing and kind of the support on the parents and teachers side, and that was a good reminder for me about the incredible work that GT does when I think about, you know, Dolly Parton, Imagination Library.

My favorite part is the inside cover that tells parents how to read this.

And it's free.

It's free, and there's multiple activities for a range of kids.

If you missed any part o today's show, you can catch it.

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on FM 91, 5 p.m.

WGTE HD 30.1 or 6 p.m.

w GT connects channel 30.4.

Thanks to our guests and thanks to you for joining us here on the 419.

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