Local Matters

Ben Rodgers sits down with Curtis Hayes, Mayor of the City of Livingston. They discuss what led to him deciding to be a public servant, and running for City Council, and eventually Mayor, growth in the Upper Cumberland, the types of growth that he is seeing in Livingston, as well as ARPA funds, and how the city will be allocating and making use of those funds.

Listen to the latest Local Matters Podcast… Presented by Office Mart.

Sam Brooks continues to sit down with Coach Gerald Brown. They discuss what it was like when he first came to Tennessee Tech University as a coach, how the game of football has changed over the years, and how the spread offense has influenced that change, as well as how he came to coach in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, and what that process was like for him.

Listen to the latest Local Matters Podcast… Presented by Office Mart.

Bob Bell sits down with Cookeville High School Cybersecurity instructor Scott Waites, and Cookeville High School Cybersecurity Team members and students Nathan Papa and Landon Byrge. They discuss Scott's background, how the students found out and became interested in joining the CHS Cybersecurity Team, the importance of keeping complex passwords to defend against hackers, as well as where both students plan on going to college, and how they chose their respective majors to pursue.

Listen to the latest Local Matters Podcast… Presented by Office Mart.

Ben Rodgers meets with Amy Stockwell, Director of the Upper Cumberland Family Justice Center. They discuss her background in public service, an overview of her career, what role the Board of Directors serves for the Family Justice Center, the services that the Family Justice Center provides, as well as the need for an additional office in the Upper Cumberland, and what the location of a new office could be.

Listen to the latest Local Matters Podcast… Presented by Office Mart.

Sam Brooks sits down with Coach Gerald Brown. They discuss his family and early life growing up in Sweetwater, what led to him realizing that football was something that he wanted to play at the college level, who some of the other grad assistants and coaches were at UT during his time there, as well as how that staff changed offensive play in football.

Listen to the latest Local Matters Podcast… Presented by Office Mart.

Bob Bell meets with Dr. Barbara Jared, Director of the Whitson-Hester School of Nursing at Tennessee Tech University, and Dr. Kim Hanna, Dean of the Whitson-Hester School of Nursing. They discuss who Florence Nightingale was, her importance in the field of nursing, what National Nurses Week is, when it takes place, and how the Whitson-Hester School of Nursing celebrates the occasion, as well as what the School's placement rate is, and where students often end up after graduating.

Listen to the latest Local Matters Podcast… Presented by Office Mart.

Ben Rodgers sits down with Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter, and Putnam County Attorney Jeff Jones. They discuss and recap the County's recent Commission meeting, the potential for a hotel at the new expo center/fairgrounds on Tennessee Avenue, the decision to apply for the federal RAISE Grant to assist with the County's transportation plan, as well as the Commission's decision to postpone consideration of a resolution supporting the 2nd Amendment.

Listen to the latest Local Matters Podcast… Presented by Office Mart.

Sam Brooks talks with Tennessee Tech University Assistant Basketball Coach Allison Clark. They discuss the lead up to the basketball season, and the work that the Golden Eagles Women's Basketball team has put in to prepare, what it means for their current team to be a player-led team, as well as who some of the key performers are for the team.

Listen to the latest Local Matters Podcast… Presented by Office Mart.

Bob Bell sits down with the 2022 Putnam County Teachers Of The Year - Sycamore Elementary School's Jennifer Peek, Upperman Middle School's Charity Bowie, and Upperman High School's Taylor Key. They discuss their respective backgrounds, education, and the subjects that they teach, the challenges of shifting to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as what led each of them to going into education and becoming teachers.

Listen to the latest Local Matters Podcast… Presented by Office Mart.

Ben Rodgers meets with Shan Stout, the new Director of Tourism for the Cookeville-Putnam County Visitors Bureau. They discuss her background, the story of her career, how she got into photography, how she became the Cookeville-Putnam County Visitors Bureau's new Director Of Tourism, the Bureau's various partnerships, as well as the projects that they are currently working on.

Listen to the latest Local Matters Podcast… Presented by Office Mart.