cityCURRENT Radio Show

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Danny Song, CEO of giveservices, who shares his personal journey and how he was selected to lead the group of service companies that give back with the giving model built in. Danny talks about coming to the United States at an early age with his family to focus on education, moving around and putting down roots in Jackson, Tennessee, where he graduated high school and college, and then stepping into the world of education with Memphis Teacher Residency. He talks about his 15 years at Memphis Teacher Residency and some of the lessons learned, and then transitioning to launch Believe Memphis Academy Charter School after going through a program with Building Excellent Schools. Those experiences paved the way for him to meet Joe Williams, founder of giveservices, and to ultimately step into the role as CEO to help expand the efforts and impact for that focus on turning a "line item into a mission statement." Danny highlights giveclean and givethreads, and how those companies support the Lionheart Foundation, and then shares some examples of their impact locally and around the world.

Visit https://giveservicesco.com to learn more.

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Psychotherapist Emily Moon, who shares some of her personal background and how she helps individuals better understand themselves and others to make impactful changes within themselves and their business in 5 simple steps.

During the interview, Emily talks about the importance and power of discovering your purpose and (re)creating your identity and vision after going through a challenging time, like an injury, the sale of a company, a divorce, or recovery from a chaotic lifestyle. She walks through the five steps, starting with understanding your story and understanding why you do what you do, then looking externally as you learn the story of the others around you and understand why they do what they do. That leads to step five, which is developing communication strategies, principles and skills based on the first four steps.

Emily provides some examples of how these steps help reframe thoughts, decision making and behaviors that then lead to positive change and more successful and impactful outcomes.

Visit https://www.emilymoon.life to learn more.

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Ralph Manning, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Coltala, a purpose-driven holding company based in Fort Worth, Texas, who shares some of his personal background and how experiences, like serving on a major nonprofit board and leading a turnaround effort, helped shape the company's core values and unique approach with "Mission and Margin."

During the interview, Ralph discusses how structure drives behavior and why "Mission and Margin" are important for both for-profit and nonprofit organizations to be impactful, successful, and sustainable. He talks about where we are in society today being exponential versus linear in the century before, and how process relates to speed and not bureaucracy.

Ralph also covers The Coltala Enterprise System, which is based on the Danaher Business System, focusing on People, Plan, Process, and Performance, and how this system is driving continuous growth and development internally and externally. He wraps up discussing what excites him about the future, their internship program and free resources that are available.

Visit www.coltala.com to learn more.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/coltalaholdings/

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Jeff Ponchillia, Founder of Change The Stars, who highlights the nonprofit organization's mission and efforts to empower the children of Haiti to rewrite their destinies by providing housing, medical care, education, and a pathway out of poverty.

During the interview, Jeff shares how a trip to Haiti in 2013 forever changed his life's purpose. After witnessing firsthand the dire conditions of the schools and orphanages there, he knew something had to be done, so he and his family began supporting multiple primary schools, an orphanage, and a children's hospital. The nonprofit was established in 2017 to bring positive change by establishing an orphanage, implementing a scholarship program, supporting local schools, and aiding the children's hospital.

Jeff talks about the orphanage and how it provides a safe haven for abandoned and vulnerable children, offering them a nurturing environment filled with love, care and educational opportunities. He discusses the importance of the scholarships, supporting the schools and children's hospitals and how the community can get involved and support their efforts to help. He also talks about how he is personally helping to fund the projects by donating 100% of the income from his working as a loan originator at Wesley Mortgage.

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Melinda LaFollette, Senior Communications Manager with Musicians On Call, who highlights the nonprofit organization's 25th anniversary and their mission and efforts to deliver the healing power of music through bedside, virtual and streaming programs across all 50 states. Musicians On Call brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients, families and caregivers in healthcare environments. As the nation's leading provider of live music in hospitals, Musicians On Call volunteers have performed for more than one million individuals in healthcare facilities nationwide.

During the interview, Melinda shares some of the history for the organization and talks about the healing power of music and the impact it has on patients, families and caregivers. She also touches on the impact for the volunteers, along with the different types of musicians and individuals who breathe life into the mission of Musicians On Call. Melinda shares how the organization will be celebrating their 25th anniversary with an event in Nashville this spring and all throughout the year, and how the community can support their efforts.

Visit www.musiciansoncall.org to learn more and get involved.

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Davie Lieske, Business Development Director with Military Warriors Support Foundation, who shares some of the history for the nonprofit organization that was founded in 2007 by Lt. General Leroy Sisco, USA (Ret) to provide programs that facilitate a smooth and successful transition for our nation's combat-wounded Heroes and Gold Star families. Programs focus on housing, transportation, outdoor recreation, and leadership development.

During the interview, Dave discusses some of their key programs, including Homes4WoundedHeroes, which provide mortgage-free homes, Transportation4Heroes, which provide payment-free vehicles, and Hope4Heroes, which supports veterans through personalized financial mentorship and situational needs. Dave talks about the impact of these programs on the combat-wounded Heroes and the generational impact it has on their families, as well as how the corporate supporters and musicians, like George Strait, become part of the personal storyline. Dave wraps up by talking about ways to get involved and to support their efforts to personally help combat-wounded Heroes and their families.

Visit www.militarywarriors.org to learn more and get involved or email Dave Lieske at [email protected] to connect directly.

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Jonathan Torres, affectionately known as "Torres," who shares his personal journey from working with and leading nonprofits in Memphis, Tennessee, to becoming CEO of Frase Protection, a locally-owned and operated residential and commercial security provider offering customized alarm and camera systems, backed by 24/7 monitoring.

During the interview, Torres discusses how his experiences working with Young Life and transitioning to lead Memphis Athletic Ministries helped shape and develop him, and prepare him to step into the role of CEO with Frase Protection. He highlights Frase Protection, their team and focus on customization, along with some of the trends in technology and their commitment to making a difference in the community. Torres wraps up with some of their philanthropic goals and the power of companies taking an active role in physically serving the community.

Visit www.fraseprotection.com to learn more.

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Morgan Tansey, Area Director with Best Buddies Tennessee, who highlights the organization’s history and efforts to establish a volunteer movement that creates opportunities for One-to-One Friendships, Integrated Employment, Leadership Development, and Family Support programs for individuals with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in Tennessee.

During the interview, Morgan discusses the power of the One-to-One Friendships with their school based programs that start in PreK and extend through college, and their Citizens program for adults. She shares some testimonials and talks about the ripple effect of creating community champions for inclusivity, and highlights some of the other programs with the Integrated Employment and Leadership Development. Morgan wraps up discussing ways the community can get involved to support their efforts, including some upcoming gala events in the fall.

Visit https://www.bestbuddies.org/tennessee/ to learn more and get involved.

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Abbey Kidwell, Assistant Prinicipal at Clinton Elementary School in Clinton, Tennessee, who was recently honored as Tennessee's 2023-24 sole recipient of the prestigious Milken Educator Award, which comes with a $25,000 cash prize. Kidwell is among recipients across the country who will be honored as part of the Milken Family Foundation's historic, nationwide tour reaching the presentation of the 3,000th Milken Educator in 2024. Hailed as the "Oscars of Teaching," 2023-24 will reach $75 million in individual financial prizes spanning the length of the initiative and more than $144 million invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall, empowering recipients to "Celebrate, Elevate, and Activate" the K-12 profession and inspiring young, capable people to pursue teaching as a career.

During the interview, Kidwell shares how she fell in love with teaching at an early age and talks about her journey as an educator to Assistant Principal, instructional leader and mentor. Kidwell oversees the Response to Intervention (RTI) program, visiting classrooms to address students' individuals needs and collaborates with the district instructional coach, the English Language Arts (ELA) coach and the math coach to help students reach their maximum potential. Kidwell's work has contributed to Clinton Elementary' s consistent designation as a Tennessee Reward School for academic growth.

Kidwell discusses how and why she likes to start each day greeting students by name, and saying, "If nobody has told you, remember that I love you today," during her morning announcements. She talks about leading the district's new teacher academy and why it is so important to support new teachers, along with the district's partnership with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET). She also talks about being able to share her expertise on a broader level, including serving on former Governor Bill Haslam's Teacher Cabinet and School Safety Working Group, as well as presenting at the 2023 NEIT National Conference on increasing the effectiveness of district instructional learning teams. Kidwell wraps up with why the Milken Educator Award is so meaningful, and why she continues to be inspired by the educators around her and around our nation.

Visit www.clintonschools.org to learn more about Clinton Elementary School and Assistant Principal Abbey Kidwell. Visit www.mff.org to learn more about the Milken Family Foundation and the Milken Educator Award.

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Will Brown, Managing Partner of The Benefits Group, who highlights how his company is able to help small to medium size organizations offer “Fortune 500 benefits.”

During the interview, Will discusses transparency in coverage legislation and why it matters, how Tennessee and Texas soon will be opening up opportunities for consumers to take advantage of cost savings, and how these will become trends shaping the future. Will talks about the competitive advantages in offering benefits, some of the different options companies can pursue, and how the options are becoming more customizable. Will wraps up with how technology is making the whole process easy, and then a tip for how business owners can approach the process to get the most out of it for their business and their employees.

Visit https://www.thebenefits.group for more information.
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