Good Morning Aurora

We had fun in the studio today for sure! Today we did a #throwbackthursday episode and we re-hashed some of the original GMA episodes. And boy oh boy, was it interesting to see where we came from. This show started off from very humble beginnings and we've done so much, and we still have a lot to do. Our first episode was on May 11th of this year, so we're coming up on 4 months! A whole 4 months, wow! We also did a short interview with our audio engineer and photographer, that was fun too. Our plans going forward include a variety show and perhaps even some in-house music. The interviews we re-visited were our very first episode and two others. Our dear friend and Marine Corps. veteran Ale Hernandez was one & Culture Stock was the other. Oh the audio, we surely got better with that! Other things have changed and some have been eliminated; but its all about growth! Tune in and listen to where we came from.

Shouts go out to Aurora Downtown, VizoArts and our friends down at Cotton Seed Creative Exchange. Much love to our friends of the Aurora Veterans Advisory Council & Eric Pry of the G.A.R. Big thank you to the Rotary Club and the Aurora Public Art Commission. Stay tuned in to our livestream and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. We've got so much more to come, we're proud to be the 2nd largest city's 1st daily news podcast. Be blessed and motivated on this Thursday!

Social justice, dedication and community; these are just a few of the principles our friend Chicano abides by. The interview today was fun and informative and we learned a lot! We also were proud to learn and highlight the activities of our friend Chicano and we look forward to his growth. He's got a lot going on and he's very involved in the community. From meetings, activities and his own personal initiative Chicano is a true force for change. The history of downtown Aurora is also something we spoke on. Theaters, restaurants and even Goldblatt's! That was a true throwback! Far too often in our lives there are those who fall in between the cracks. They have no one to help or advocate for them. That needs to change. And change starts with dedicated people. It will take all of us to make the city into what we want it to be. And we are happy that there are individuals like our brother Chicano here to help. 

Shout outs go to Tredwell, Aurora Tap House & PreMil. Much love to the City of Aurora Youth Services and our brother Simon Rodriguez. Big thanks to candidate for Kane County Recorder of Deeds Brenda Rodgers, our State Representatives for the 83rd & 84th District and the entire staff of Tredwell. Thanks to our friends at Talented Tenths Social Services and Crystal House. Shouts out to West & East Aurora School Districts, VizoArts and Lanphere's furniture. Let's all do our part to make the city into what we want it to be. Be blessed and motivated on this Wednesday!

We had another great interview this morning and we met Mr. Andre Pearson of the O.N.U.S. organization. O.N.U.S stands for Our Neighbors United and Strong. This is an organization that is doing a whole lot of good in our city and they've become famous in a short amount of time. Taking personal responsibility and showing accountability are keys to personal growth. With those personal keys we as a society are able to grow and pass on to the next generation what they need to succeed. We spoke about the power of a mother and a father in the lives of youth, O.N.U.S. seeks to highlight the responsibilities of our men. They've been doing great things at Our Savior Lutheran Church with free food for the community. All Aurorans should DEFINITELY swing by for a plate and a chat. Andre and O.N.U.S. were also scheduled today to place their first 'Neighbor Box'; it will be in the Roseland community on the Southside of Chicago. From Aurora to Chicago, Andre & O.N.U.S. are changing lives and we're proud to see their growth and dedication take shape.

Much love and shout outs go to Aurora Public Library and Aurora Tap House. Shouts also go out to Alderman At Large Sherman Jenkins & the OCAACC (Quad County African-American Chamber of Commerce). Helping businesses grow and succeed is just one of the many things that the Chamber does; great work always! Shouts also go out to Crystal House (59 S. LaSalle street), Cotton Seed Creative Exchange, Tredwell & Talented Tenths Social Services. So many good things are taking place in our city and we're glad to be able to highlight our city and our people. We've got a lot of new things coming up, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Tune in every Monday thru Friday to our Facebook livestreams. Be blessed and motivated this Tuesday!

Dark roast, medium roast, hot chocolate or English Breakfast tea; there was more than Latte' being served this Monday morning! Today we had a great conversation with a friend of the show, Mr. Chad Dawes of Tredwell. We did a live show and it went very well, and it was fun and informative. As a business, Tredwell provides great coffee, wonderful pastries & has an awesome patio. As a community space, Tredwell is a home for all Aurorans. It takes outside of the box thinking & dedication to be the type pf place that benefits the community. Tredwell does that with music, food & voter registration drives and a great staff. Chad spoke with us about the challenges faced by a business like his during a pandemic and what's next. The story of Tredwell and its inception is very heart-warming and motivating. Chad never gave up, his staff never gave up, and he's blessed and paying it forward daily. And it shows.

Shouts go out to the whole Tredwell staff, they make a mean matcha oat strawberry! Big shouts go to Aurora Downtown for the successful Alley Arts Festival over the weekend, celebrating 10 years! Big shouts also go to the City Of Aurora and the 5 new businesses highlighted with ribbon cuttings recently. Much love to VizoArts, Gin Ingram Art, Cotton Seed, Talented Tenths Social Services & all veterans and veteran families. Peace to the Quad County African American Chamber of Commerce, West Aurora School District & a super shout out to Giordano's in Naperville for letting me slide even though my coupon had expired by 3 days. Big love! We're proud to be the 2nd largest city's 1st daily news podcast. Be motivated; we'll see you tomorrow morning at 8 am!

Today is Friday, we always end the show on a positive note, and today we let Sarah set the tone for the weekend. It was awesome sitting down and talking with local author Sarah Sommer today. She has an awesome story and it's a creative one as well! From being on the stage under the lights to writing children's books, she has done a lot in life! Our conversation touched on many points and her perspective is very much appreciated. Aurora has a very thriving art scene and she's part of it. So here's a fun fact: our host met Sarah at Gary Brown Art and on that day won a raffle with gifts from another artist, Devan! How cool is that! In life, many people have a passion, but what is it? And also, what will it take to do what we want? Sometimes that means asking others for help, or it could mean doing the work ourselves. Sarah has two books and another on the way. With a love of animals the books have a consistent theme. In addition to that, Sarah uses the talents of multiple artists. Her books has a flavor, a life and a dimension all their own!

Shouts go out to all Aurora artists and authors. All the hard-working Moms, everyone with a passion; shout out to you all! Much love to our friends doing great things in the community like our food pantry and library. Shout out to the Neighbor Project and City of Aurora for collaborating on the rental assistance program. Shouts out to the Aurora Downtown team for the Alley Art Festival. And a special thank you to our Good Morning Aurora staff for all their hard work, focus and dedication. Thank you to all of our listeners and subscribers. Thank you to everyone who's been with us since day one, and thank you to our new listeners and subscribers. We've got a lot more to come so stay tuned. Be safe, blessed and motivated on this day, see you all Monday!

It's all about our community, our youth, and the services we can provide them. In today's episode we sat down with a friend of the show, Mr. Simon Rodriguez Jr.. Great things happen when we share ideas and talk and we really did that today. Simon is a lifelong Aurora resident and Army veteran and his perspective on all issues Aurora is appreciated by us. There are a lot of disparities in education, particularly in funding, and Simon addressed those well. He also mentioned that CIS (Communities In Schools) has been fantastic in their help as well.  As an individual who's been in Aurora almost all his life, what Simon has seen is remarkable in regards to change. He has watched a lot come and go in Aurora, yet community remains. Also, as a veteran, we spoke on the ongoing tragedies taking place primarily at Fort Hood but other facilities as well. We has SO much to talk about we almost didn't get to it all so a part 2 is in the works.

Shout out to our friend @countercultureclub on Instagram for winning our contest! Random art on a random street and he knew exactly what street it was on! Good job! Stay tuned everyone because the next contest will have a prize! Shouts out to Crystal House, Tredwell & Ballydoyle. Thank you for the help and support to our friends at PLS Solutions and Vizo Arts. Thank you to all of our listeners and subscribers, we appreciate you all and we have so much more cool Aurora content for you. Shout out to Alderman O'Connor who recently announced retirement. Shouts go to the Neighbor Project as well for helping our host develop himself professionally. Be safe, strong and blessed; we'll see you all here tomorrow morning!

From BMX riding to tacos, in this great episode we speak with Aurora local & operator of All Spoked Up, Mr. Jon Schratz. Jon is an Aurora native and this episode is especially cool because we were live on location! The bike shop is a cool place and they moved locations on Downer Street to simply one building over. We got to see the new place and meet Frances the cat, the store mascot. Much more than just a sport, hobby or pastime, biking is also a great way to reduce stress and reflect. Our everyday lives do tend to be a little hectic; for many people biking has replaced golf for their relaxation. We also talk about how the biking industry has been affected by covid19 and current challenges. It was great to speak to Jon and hear what he has to say about our shared community. If you're looking for a bike or need to get some repairs done, look no further than All Spoked Up!

Shout outs go to Vizo Arts, Aurora Downtown & our friend Jose at Lanphere's furniture. Shout out to all postal workers, shouts also go out to all artists & authors in Aurora. We'd also like to give a kudos to all the groups and organizations doing good things on behalf of the community. Remember to donate food items to our local food pantry and to be on the lookout for ways you can help get involved. Shouts also go out to the Aurora Public Art Commission, Aurora City Council and Cotton Seed Creative Exchange. Be blessed and motivated and do great things!

Today it was non-profits, life, food, family, personal self-growth and everything in-between. On this episode we sit down to talk with Natalie Bonner who is the owner and founder of Talented Tenths Social Services. In conjunction with other community partners, Talented Tenth has been doing a lot of good work in Aurora. By partnering with others, the ground has been shifting in regards to fairness and social justice. Family and community are very important to Natalie and she works very hard to improve the lives of others. The Talented Tenth team has a lot of great plans to help invigorate the spirit of Aurora. We also learned that Natalie's Grandfather was the late Bishop William Bonner. It was wonderful getting to learn about Aurora's history as we talk about Aurora's future.

Thanks and shout outs go to our friends at the Aurora Public Library. Don't forget about the Senior Meal Distribution & Mortgage Assistance event Monday the 31st at the Aurora Police Department. That event will help a lot of people so please spread the word on that. Shout out to McCarty Mills, Gin Ingram Art & VizoArts. Also special thanks and shout out to Cotton Seed Creative Exchange. Thank you to our listeners for tuning in and thanks to our subscribers as well. Shout to Talented Tenth Social Services, ONUS, West Suburban & all veterans in Aurora. Be sure to tune in Thursday as we sit down with Simon Rodriguez (COA Youth Services), we will see you all tomorrow morning for another great interview Be blessed and powerful on this Tuesday!

Acting, directing, life and helping young people develop their talent; all in a day's work for Shannon Cameron. As the Director of Education & Community Engagement she has been a positive force for creativity and change in Aurora. Located on Galena & Stolp downtown, the Paramount School of the Arts is committed to bringing the arts to the community & highlighting talent. So many young people find themselves unable to take part in engaging activity, the Paramount provides that opportunity. In our conversation we speak about the mission of the School of the Arts, activity during the time of a pandemic and what's to come. There are plans and initiatives to stay engaged with the community through robust virtual programs. As Aurora continues to grow, we all hope that community interaction will continue to grow as well. We spoke about Kinky Boots, acting, the Artesan Lofts & dancing styles. Interestingly enough, the Paramount has featured West African Dancing in addition to more traditional 'Western' dancing styles!

Shouts go out to all of our listeners and subscribers and a good morning to everyone in the city of Aurora. Shouts go out to Vizo Arts, Aurora Downtown & the Neighbor Project. A big thank you to our friends of the Puerto Rican Fraternal Order for getting us involved in their golf outing on Saturday. It was awesome to take part in a charitable cause on the golf course. Friday we sit down with local Aurora author Sarah Sommer, with much more to come this week. Stay tuned to the 2nd largest city's 1st daily news podcast. Be blessed & motivated on this Monday!