1on1 with Jon Evans

The third season of our podcast featured interviews with a network news anchor, an Olympic head coach, Captain America's stuntman, a World Cup soccer goalie, a Pearl Harbor survivor and other interesting people who have ties to the Wilmington, NC area. Here is a look back at 2019, featuring parts of several episodes with guests you may recognize.

Leslie ‘Bud’ Hollenbeck was just 19 years old when fate put him on the U.S.S. Pennsylvania on the morning of December 7, 1941. As the Navy Signalman raised a flag on the battleship just before 8:00am, he spotted a group of planes approaching the harbor. Seconds later, the world changed. Now at age 97, Hollenbeck tells the story of how he survived the attack, the destruction he witnessed, and the bomb that came within feet of taking out his entire ship.

It’s the image many people remember from Hurricane Florence. A group of Wilmington firefighters gathered along the street in prayer after working for hours to rescue a man trapped inside his home by a fallen tree. The emotion and exhaustion evident on their faces, realizing they could not save the man’s wife and infant son. More than a year later, several of those men share their memories of that day, and the emotions they’ve carried ever since.

It was a $20 bet with his cousin that first got Basile Katsikis on stage to tell jokes. Since that night in 1986, ‘Basile the Comedian’ has entertained audiences around the world with his unique brand of humor, often sharing stories of growing up as the son of Greek immigrants. Since being a comedian, entrepreneur, voiceover actor and podcast host is not enough, Basile has set his sights on television, creating a new series based on his life experiences.

It’s the Christmas break that nearly changed Lacey Suggs’ life. After a stellar basketball career at East Bladen HS, her freshman year at UNC Wilmington brought the opposite result. More bench time, less playing time. In December 2016, Lacey thought about giving up basketball. But something told her to stick with it. Now she enters her senior year as a co-captain, and one of the key players as the Lady Seahawks chase a conference championship.  

When the X Games launched BMX Freestyle to new heights, Ryan Nyquist soared as one of its’ young stars. Now more than 20 years later, Nyquist is still front and center as the sport prepares to make another jump in the 2020 Summer Olympics. The three-time world champion is the Head Coach of the U.S. Olympic Team, helping the country’s best athletes go for the gold on the world’s biggest stage.

If you’ve watched the Avengers’ Infinity War and Endgame movies, you’ve seen Daniel Hargrave in action. You’ve also seen him in Atomic Blonde, Hunger Games and in dozens of other films and television shows. You just didn’t know it. The UNC Wilmington grad has become one of the sought-after stunt performers in the business. Here is the story of how it almost didn’t happen.

Sydney Schneider said ‘no’ the first time she got the call. But when she received a second invitation to join the Jamaican women’s national soccer team known as the ‘Reggae Girlz’, Sydney accepted. Years later that decision, along with her talent and hard work, helped Sydney become part of soccer history on the world’s biggest stage: the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

Some communities have recovered from the devastation of Hurricane Florence. For others, the recovery may never end. Working Narratives, a non-profit group from Wilmington, received grant funding to ensure stories are told during the healing process, and the flow of vital information reaches the often forgotten areas in rural North Carolina.  

For two years, Suzanne McCormick knew what it’s like to be ‘different’. The Peace Corps assignment taught lessons she never learned in school about humility and service to those in need.  The New Hanover High and Duke University grad has turned that passion into a career of service, leading to her new position as U.S. President for United Way Worldwide.