I Am Norman

Jeff Moody becomes our first 2-time guest as he joins us to talk about the BBBS Lip Sync Battle.

Lip Sync for Kids' Sake supports BBBSOK mentoring programs and allows more Littles to start on the path to their brightest possible futures.

Team members raise money for BBBSOK in Norman. After reaching their fundraising goal, the team will make a solo, duet, trio, or group music video to be judged by our celebrity judges.

Find out more at www.lipsyncnorman.org

Norman, Oklahoma artist Brett McDanel constructs innovative industrial sculptures from found objects. For the last twelve years McDanel has spent his free time scouring streets, vintage stores and the scrap yards for parts that, to most people, are insignificant. The artist states, “When walking down the street you find a random piece of metal that doesn’t belong there. All by itself, it’s just a piece of metal, but when you place it with other objects, it becomes something bigger... a part of something. All together these creations have a place.”

Hear his story in this episode of the I Am Norman podcast.

Ed Kelley's career is nothing if not impressive. An award-winning journalist, Kelley has served as the editor of the Washington Times in Washington, D.C., the editor of The Oklahoman and senior contributing editor of the Deseret News in Salt Lake City. he was named Editor of the Year in 1996 by the National Press Foundation for overseeing The Oklahoman's coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing, has served as a juror to the Pulitzer Prizes and was named to the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2003. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Kelley returned to his alma mater in 2015 and was named the dean of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication in March of 2016. Listen today as Kelley recounts his career, his time in Norman and much more.

Angela Jimenez-Calhoun is an Oklahoma native, graduate of the University of Oklahoma and long-time Norman resident. As someone that has spent her life helping others, she founded Pantry Partners with the mission of fighting childhood chronic hunger & teen homelessness. Hear her story and about the many amazing programs Pantry Partners has that help provide a better life for Norman teens.

Maggie McClure is a native of Norman and half of the husband/wife music duo, The Imaginaries. After touring the country for many years as a successful solo artist, she and her husband Shane Henry of Verden, OK formed The Imaginaries to bring a slice of Americana to the music world. Well-known for their Christmas music, The Imaginaries were chosen to tour with Brian Setzer for a 2019 Christmas tour before health issues canceled the tour. After that setback, and having more than 50 shows canceled due to COVID, The Imaginaries are back to playing a few shows this holiday season. Hear Maggie talk about how Norman shaped her as a musician, what she loves about being back here after living 6 years in Los Angeles and where you can see them play this holiday season in this great episode of "I Am Norman."

Dr. Amy Hutchens is a native of Purcell and resident of Norman for 20 years. She's also an assistant professor at the OU College of Nursing and the Membership Development board member for the Oklahoma Nurses Association. Today we talk about the shortage of nurses in Oklahoma and nationwide, and what the industry is doing to chip away at that problem. We also chat about the benefits of being a member of the Oklahoma Nurses Association and we tackle the big issues like what to get at The Mont, how many swirls is too many swirls, Chris Stapleton and good books.

If ever there was a single individual who could say, "I am Norman, Oklahoma," it was Randy Laffoon. A pillar of our community for many years, Randy was a dedicated husband, father, coach, philanthropic board member, advocate and so much more. Unfortunately, we lost Randy recently after a hard-fought battle with cancer. We had wanted to have him on as a featured guest on the podcast but were unable to make that happen. However, with his family's blessing, we assembled a few of his closest friends for this episode to talk about how they knew Randy, how he impacted their lives and what some of their favorite memories of Randy are. A great episode for everyone who knew Randy and especially those who did not.

Dr. Meghan Scears is a family medicine physician and the medical director/founder of Living Hope Eating Disorder Clinic in Norman. After completing undergrad, medical school and residency at the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Scears saw a lack of available options for Oklahomans in need of treatment for eating disorders. She founded Living Hope in 2011 and has been serving our community ever since. Hear her story in this episode of "I Am Norman."

In this episode I am joined by Andreé Danley and Paige Uhr of the Mary Abbott Children's House, an amazing organization that provides a safe place for children to share their experiences regarding sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect, as well as children who are a witness to crime and in drug endangered situations. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a huge spike in child abuse cases in our community and also a decrease in funding to organizations like the Abbott House. Listen to Andreé and Paige share about what the Abbott House provides, why it's important and how YOU can help put an end to child abuse in our community.

Brady Sexton is a Norman native, graduate of the University of Oklahoma and owner of one of Norman's favorite restaurants, Scratch Kitchen & Cocktails. Today we hear from him on how he formed the concept for his eatery, why his cocktails are the best you can find in the area, how they've tried to adapt during the pandemic and much more.