I Am In Podcast

Ballroom dancing with over 100 youth on Saturday mornings is a passion our next speaker and his wife turned into a side business and have incorporated it into their busy lives.  Who knew a Seminary and Institute teacher would have so many hidden talents!

This is Michelle Burk and you are listening to the “I AM IN” podcast.  

Today’s speaker, Trevor Dougal, and his wife are the parents of five awesome kids ranging in age from 11 years to 8 months. Brother Dougal has taught seminary and institute classes for the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints all over the Treasure Valley.  In addition to teaching youth and young adults, he and his wife run two other businesses.  The first is a youth ballroom dance program called Breakaway Ballroom. The second is a shoe business for children called Joyful Nest. Any time we get to hear from Trevor Dougal is a treat! We are so grateful to hear from him today.

When sitting next to Sam Swenson at a striking 6’ 2” and 250 lbs. He will claim to be a prospective “before model.” With a sense of humor that can make anyone smile, every minute in conversation with Sam brings Joy.  He’ll tell you he has a lot of failures to speak-of, which makes for some great stories - and he’ll share them often.

Sam Swenson currently owns and operates podcast production companies.  From a studio in his home garage, he produces several podcast shows weekly. Sam has navigated a circuitous road through the industries of marketing and entrepreneurship. He has owned and operated many marketing agencies, web development firms, and has a long track record as a hired-gun helping businesses as a brand-development specialist. 

He is energized by tight deadlines. “When I know that people are depending on me, that’s when I shine.” He has a strong testimony of the power of forgiveness. 

Sam and his amazing wife are the parents of three beautiful children which he will openly declare as his biggest success stories in life.

In 2004, $700,000 in debt and determined to avoid bankruptcy, the Thompsons decided to “swing for the fences” to get out of debt and bring value to the world.

While juggling church assignments, a growing family of five children and a heavily indebted business, they found Scentsy—a company famous for creating flameless candles. 

The perfect balance of rudder and sail, Heidi and Orville partner in leading Scentsy with the same passion, dedication and commitment they strive to give the Lord and their family. 

In July 2021, the Thompsons will stepped down from their business at Scentsy to serve for three years as the Mission President and Companion for the England London Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

On a regular day in Meridian Idaho, our next speaker received the inspiration to take her family on a 1200 mile bike ride down the California coast.  This idea grew into reality, became a movie and was the catalyst for her nonprofit foundation  “Chair the Hope.”

Heather is an inspirational speaker and Co-founder of the nonprofit “Chair The Hope. This nonprofit organization is committed to bringing mobility to those in need around the world. Since 2018 they have distributed over 2000 wheelchairs globally in various countries: Peru, Ghana, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.

After working in the jewelry industry for 10 years, our next speaker decided he had worked for other people long enough, and bravely decided to open his own unique business, selling custom made jewelry to customers, from a small rented space, meeting with them one on one, by appointment.  This entrepreneurial idea has blessed his life and allowed him more time to spend with his young family.

Neal Hunt was born in Boise Idaho where he grew up playing sports, hunting and fishing.  He graduated from Borah High School in 2003 and then shortly left on his mission to Indiana.  Neal now has five kids and has been married to his wife for 10 years. He runs and operates his business “Diamonds By Appointment” out of Meridian Idaho where he specializes in selling engagement rings, diamonds, and jewelry.  Neal still loves and enjoys the outdoors and spending time with his family.  His other hobbies include catching bags of rattlesnakes and catching badgers.

There are not many people in this world that can boast that they are the only boy in a family with 12 children.  Our next speaker has spent his life beating the odds, building businesses from scratch and blessing those around him with his gifts, talents, wealth and testimony.

Brother Dave Callister grew up in Boise Idaho, the only son of Judge Marion J. Callister.  It was a celebration in the whole community when after 8 daughters, the local federal judge finally had a son.  Three more sisters followed making the family an even dozen.  Dave graduated from Borah High School, served a church mission in Boston Massachusetts, and attended college at BYU in Provo, Utah.  It was during his college years that he started his first business—5 buck pizza.  He is a local businessman who has developed land, built subdivisions, and owned numerous businesses—Big River construction, Hard Rock Excavation and most recently Roma Designs Jewelry. He enjoys a good risk, especially when it follows with a big reward.  Dave’s love for the outdoors has also been shared with the young men he has worked with over the last 3 decades.  He has blessed many with his testimony of christ through both the youth program at church and the Boy Scout program in the community. He and his wife Becky are the parents of four incredible kids.

Imagine being in the first year of medical school, 75 thousand dollars in debt and receiving a prompting in the middle of class, that you were to stop and be a seminary teacher instead.  That’s exactly what happened to our speaker, and he says his life has been so blessed because of that change.

Brother Will Johns has lived the majority of his life in Idaho and enjoys the outdoors and beauty of his home state. As a young man growing up he was not raised in a religious household and it wasn’t until he was 17 that a group of friends invited him to church and which led to an invitation to be baptized. His baptism changed the trajectory of his life and became the start of a journey that has brought him many great blessings.

After serving a church mission in the South Carolina Columbia Mission, Brother Johns returned home and began attending classes at the Institute. As predicted by his mission president, he found a beautiful young lady to marry.  Will and and Ali were married on August 18th, 2011. He considers this day one of the highlights of his life. Brother Johns and his wife are the parents of 4 boys.

Brother Johns and his wife Ali both attended and completed their education at Idaho State University. After majoring in exercise science, Brother Johns intended on going into the medical field and began chiropractic school in San Francisco, CA. After nine months, a spiritual prompting came to teach seminary and after some hesitation and diligent prayer, Brother Johns dropped out medical school and began the journey of becoming a seminary teacher. He has since completed a Master’s degree at Boise State in Education, Curriculum and Instruction and is blessing the lives of youth and young adults both at Seminary and Institute classes in the Treasure Valley.

Michelle Burk, from the Boise Institute of Religion, and Sam Swenson, producer of the I Am In podcast, break down the nuts and bolts of the podcast, and what to expect on each episode. They share experiences and anecdotes about some of the amazing speakers that you will be hearing from on the podcast.