Pennsylvania native Karen (Stein) Lupton, looking to a career as a Biblical scholar, graduated with a degree in vocal performance--the first student to do so at the new music school at Eastern University, but left Yankee territory to marry and raise a family and is now a voice for education reform in Georgia as a freshman member of the House of Representatives. She affirms: Southern Hospitality is real and, since she arrived, there's greater openness to healing the racial divide. She's determined to build relationships among her colleagues and constituents from all sides to make common sense decisions that benefit the welfare of all those she represents. Remembering her dedication to excellence "back in the day," we are happy she's in a position to do so and confident that she will. 

The Bear Fever project is fortunate to have long-time contact Brieanne Hauger handling orders for bears at Cowpainters, LLC. Brieanne—who joined Cowpainters in 2007—several years after our launch—purchased the company in 2018—and facilitates orders, designs and sculpts custom additions to the bears, and handles delivery of the sculptures to the artists in the Boyertown area.I was excited recently to record a “B Inspired” podcast episode with Brieanne to learn a bit more about the company and the process involved in our project from its beginning. Bear Fever seemingly can’t be cured, and our community seems to be quite satisfied that this fever remains contagious! https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/b7mL8cedfyb

Rescuing the Colebrookdale Railroad from abandonment allowed executive director of the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust Nathaniel Guest an opportunity to make his boyhood dream come true of running a tourist railroad. Reviewing his personal history, sharing some of the challenges involved in running a railroad, and envisioning Boyertown as Christmas City USA makes an inspiring conversation. A description of the event space and farmers' market for which the railroad received a recent grant provides the community with a beautiful dream that will inspire the involvement of the entire community. https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/atrQ64VK6xb

Ellen Martignetti, Building a Better Boyertown’s Main Street Manager, describes her job as completing a giant puzzle, one that requires her to search carefully for just the right person to head up or volunteer for a project or just the retail business to fill an available spot on the main street to attract shoppers. Finding the right puzzle piece is Ellen’s favorite part of the job, and she’s not shy about her mission to put the puzzle together. Learning about her lifetime creativity that she shares in different forms with her husband and children and her future goals for Boyertown bring her puzzle metaphor to life. 

Christy Weidner is on a mission to offer healing through conversations held ideally in a meadow as Sacred Circle Ceremonies to liberate the “natural self” stripped of ego states, defenses, judgments and expectations that block the energy of emotions toward becoming a loving human being and reclaiming joy. Christy shares her journey--from the traditional mental health structure to one in which she offers an alternative style of healing mental health issues through nature-based therapeutic practices. 

Learning about the history of Martin Stone Quarry and its president Rod Martin preceded an inspiring tour of the Martin Stone Quarry that provoked admiration for the size and scope of the 70-year-old operation and an eye-opening peek below earth’s surface. Martin Stone Quarry’s president Rod treated me to a ride and an introduction to the 350-acre quarry in which thousands of tons of quartz and granite are mined for use in a multitude of projects from road construction to ballparks and sandboxes. We rode to the top of the quarry and descended over 400 feet to its bottom as Rod pointed out the layers of earth—grass to granite—that are removed in the mining process.

This episode comes in two parts. The first announces Assistant District Attorney Justin Bodor's run for office of Judge of Common Pleas. The first, recorded a month earlier before when running for office was nowhere in his plans, you'll learn about Justin's passion as DA--finding penalties for those who cross a lawful line that includes efforts toward reform and personally provides him with a way to "make a difference" in the lives of individuals and families. While he didn't plan to be a prosecutor--headed to corporate law--he enjoys the challenges of his current position running the drug treatment program and that everyday is different. Reflecting on his journey, Justin feels blessed with the family, education, coach, and scout master he was provided. We riffed on funding for treatment for mental health and addiction issues, media today, politics as a game sport. My conversation with Justin was a chance to catch up with a friend I've known for decades. 

New York-based architectural and landscape photographer Jade Doskow provides a portrait of success in a demanding field, earning her living photographing what remains. As a high school student, Class of 1996, New York-based architectural and landscape photographer Jade Doskow enjoyed afternoons buried in the novels of Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky with plans to major in Russian literature preparing her for the life of a literary scholar. Instead, curtailed by a bad accident from her job as bike courier, she began a series of photographic self-portraits that led to a project that replicated the novelist’s tone and vision of the world in images that are often dark and haunting--described as “eerily poetic” as they capture moments where people, architecture, nature, and time come together in a moment—and then move on.

Denise Pulgino Stout, director of the Boyertown Area Community Library, didn’t plan to become a librarian; her dream was to become an actor—the next Carol Burnett, actually. Her college degree is in theatre arts. The acting skills she acquired led her to a job as a paraprofessional bringing activities like storytelling to children’s pre-schools. She grew to love the idea of becoming a librarian, eventually earned her Master’s degree in Library Science after a hiatus to conquer a serious illness, and accepted the executive director’s position in Boyertown in August 2022. She describes renovations and goals coming in the library’s future, expresses her gratitude for the supportive library team and board members, and shares some of latest activities and programs offered at Boyertown Community Library. 

Darryl Williams, professor, podcast host, workshop facilitator knows that often a move from one role to another needs a helping hand. Be it from high school to college or college to a job, Darryl offers tools to smooth those transitions. In addition to his college teaching, he's in process of developing a podcast as part of his new business venture - Outward In Learning.  https://www.outwardinlearning.com/home. He offers individualized programs for young people--homing in on the skills and habits they'll need to succeed in order to develop activities and information to help them like Time Management for the College Student, a How-To-Guide on Reading the Syllabus (& Understanding It's Importance), and Managing Test Anxiety in addition to academic coaching. In a world that's complicated and often confusing, the self-confidence Darryl helps to develop is often the key ingredient.