Community Capital

This is another special live edition of Community Capital, recorded on the ground at Smokin’ Rock-N-Blues in Downtown Brighton. Jennifer Bond and Karen Storey sat down with six businesses and community members throughout the festival: Dewain Combs of Junkyard Pit Crew, Andrew Kruczynski of Kasi, Hunter Hazle of Olde Orchard Pediatric Dentistry, Logan Dimitrie and Nick Defenthaler of Center for Financial Planning, Marie Butler of Hell Survivors, and Matt Scullin of EverDry Waterproofing. Six conversations, one great weekend downtown.

Guest Links

On this special live edition of Community Capital, Chamber CEO Karen Storey sits down with Casey Yancho from LaFontaine Automotive Group at Smokin' Rock-N-Blues in Downtown Brighton. Casey shares what LaFontaine has been doing in the community since 1980, breaks down their holiday giving program that awards up to $20,000 to local nonprofits, and talks about what it means to work for a company whose values actually match your own.

Show Links

On this special edition of Community Capital, Chamber CEO Karen Storey sits down with Amanda Binder, Senior Business Consultant with the Small Business Development Center of Michigan. Amanda breaks down what SBDC actually does, who it's for, and why more entrepreneurs should know it exists. Whether you're just starting out or have been in business for 30 years, the services are free, and the support is real. 

Find SBDC Michigan and registration details for the October 8th Strategic Marketing Foundations virtual session in the show notes.

Michigan SBDC: https://michigansbdc.org/

Show Links

On this special live edition of Community Capital, Jennifer Bond and Karen Storey take a moment on day two of Smokin' Rock-N-Blues to pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to put on Brighton's biggest festival. From last-minute pivots with the chief of police to hauling garbage past midnight, this is a love letter to Team Chamber and the community that shows up for them every single time. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more episodes from the Festival!

Show Links

On this special edition of Community Capital, Jennifer Bond sits down with Dorothy Harrison from Bank of Ann Arbor Livingston to talk about Brighton's Smokin' Rock-N-Blues Festival returning to Downtown Brighton on September 11th and 12th. The conversation covers the lineup, the barbecue contest, the rockin' kidpreneurs, and what it means to kick off the festival on the 25th anniversary of September 11th with a tribute to first responders.

Show Links

On this episode of Community Capital, Rob sits down with John Alban, Vice President of Michigan Clear Water. John shares how a referral from a common contact led him to leave an 18-year career in office equipment, take a leap with a 3-month-old at home, and build a bottleless water cooler company from the ground up. Ten years later, Michigan Clearwater covers the entire state and is just getting started on its next phase of growth.

Show Links

On this episode of Community Capital, Rob sits down with Chris Berry, founder of Castle Wealth Group in Brighton. Chris is one of the few professionals in Livingston County who is both a certified elder law attorney and a certified financial planner, and he built his practice around a simple idea: your legal, financial, and tax planning should work together instead of against each other. The conversation covers what elder law actually is, why nursing home costs catch so many families off guard, and why waiting too long to plan is the most expensive mistake people make.

Show Links

On this special live edition of Community Capital, Chamber President and CEO Karen Storey sits down with Sandy Rachwal and Jerrad Beauchamp of Beauchamp Water Treatment Solutions at the Country Boots and Beats Festival. The conversation covers how a dad taking apart a water softener in a basement in 1976 turned into one of the most community-minded businesses in Livingston County, and what the 322 initiative means for people around the world who don't have access to clean water.

Show Links

On this episode of Community Capital, Rob sits down with Elyse Moore, founder and co-owner of McClements Farm Country Store on Main Street in Brighton. Elyse shares the winding road that brought her from freeze-drying fruit on a hobby farm to navigating a toxic business partnership, losing her storefront, and landing in a space she never could have planned for. The conversation covers what it really means to build a business around mission instead of margin, why chasing trends is usually a losing game, and what faith has to do with entrepreneurship.

Guest Links:

Show Links