Made In Monrovia

This week Barrett sat down with Andy Montgomery in the studio. Andy is the owner of Schaffer Awards located here in Monrovia. Andy and Barrett discuss how Andy got into the trophy business, being the owner of a small business, and what Monrovia means to him as he was born and raised in Monrovia.  Andy is a devoted husband, father, grandfather,and humble businessman who we were honored would spend some time with us so we could hear more of his story.

Schaffer Awards

Location: 440 W. Foothill Blvd. Monrovia, Ca

Phone: 626-303-7077

For this week’s episode, I (Leandra) asked my fellow Monrovia High Alumni (class of 2003) Tim Gomez to come in and record a conversation with a special Monrovia High School teacher. While Tim was a student at Monrovia High school he was inspired and influenced by his teacher Mr.Paul Dols. In this episode Tim has a conversation with his high school teacher, who is still currently teaching and leading at Monrovia High School. The two sit together and discuss education, their approaches, and how Paul’s work as a Monrovia High teacher has helped shape and inspire Tim as he went on to pursue a teaching career of his own. 

Timothy Gomez is starting his ninth year of teaching high school Humanities at Aspire Ollin University Prep Academy. He graduated from Monrovia High school in 2003 and Cal State University Fullerton in 2008 (BA English).  He then attended Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where he received an MFA in Nonfiction Writing in 2011. He spends a lot of time talking about his feelings (check out his instagram: @timfinitely)

Paul Dols will be starting his 24th year as a classroom teacher this year.  All but 2 of those years have been spent at Monrovia High School, where he served as a social science teacher as well as a Leadership Director.  He has been the Renaissance Coordinator since 2008 and last year added the title of Activities Director to his resume.  His official title is School Climate & Culture Coordinator.  He was Teacher of the year in Monrovia Unified in 2012 and was named National Coordinator of the Year by Jostens Renaissance in 2013.  In the summer of 2018, he was inducted into the National Jostens Renaissance Hall of Fame.

Hope you enjoy this heartwarming conversation as we hear about the legacies of caring for kids, seeing others well, being kind and helping kids develop and grow that has come out of Monrovia High School system.

Contact Mr. Dols:

[email protected]

IG: @pauldwildcat

Contact Tim Gomez:

IG: @timfinitely

This week Barrett sat down with George Khoury in the studio. George is the co-owner of Stix Boardshop located in the heart of down town Monrovia on Myrtle Ave. George and Barrett discuss growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, the music scene, and the skateboarding culture influence of Outhouse Skate Shop when they were growing up in Covina, Ca. George is a devoted dad, son, and humble businessman who we were honored would spend some time with us so we could hear more of his story. 

Stix Boardshop:

Website:stixrideshop.com

Location: 421 S. Myrtle Ave. Monrovia

Instagram: @stixrideshop

FB: @stixrideshopmonrovia

 This week we welcome to the studio, Megan Lundgren, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and fellow Monrovian. 

Megan Lundgren is the Founder and Director of Relationships For Better, a psychotherapy private practice in the heart of Monrovia. Megan’s team includes four other Clinicians (with one more on the way) who specialize in helping people work through relational challenges with spouses, partners and family members.  

Megan has a huge heart to serve her community. In this episode she shares about her practice, how relationships heal us, and answers some of those questions we may have as we think about starting therapy.

We hope that if you or someone you know is thinking about finding a therapist that this episode will encourage you and will inform you of the therapist and network that is available right here in Monrovia ready to serve and support.

You can learn more about Relationships for Better at:  www.relationshipsforbetter.com

You can reach Megan at:

[email protected]

(626) 272-4908

Instagram: @relationships_for_better

This week we welcomed San Choi and his dog Shadow to the studio. San Choi is founder of Ruff Roll Academy. He serves our Monrovia Furry friends by offering boarding, training, and daycare services . He can be seen riding his electric unicycle around Monrovia with his pack of dogs in tow. San is so kind spirited. He talks with us about where his love for animals developed, his intentions for serving our community and more about his perspective when training our furry friends. We hope you enjoy learning more about San and please follow this guy on instagram! His dog videos are delightful and are sure to put a smile on your face!

Contact San:

Instagram & Facebook: @ruffrollacademy

Email: [email protected]

Number: (626) 321-1977

Follow shadow on instagram: @shadow_inu    

 Welcome to Made In Monrovia Podcast! We are the Soops. Barrett and Leandra Soop. Today we share a little bit more about the couple behind Be Seen Company, the producers of this here podcast! We focused our conversation today on sharing more about our story as individuals, how we met and married and what has lead us to a profession that focuses on storytelling. Both of us have somewhat “colorful” past, filled with some trauma, heartache and lots of therapy that has helped us heal. As we have done our work to heal ourselves through storytelling, we have developed the love to hear others stories as well. It is our belief that its through the storytelling that we discover more of who we are and the power to heal, connect more deeply to ourselves and the world we are apart of. 

Leandra and Barrett are Monrovians. They run Be Seen Company: a Video and Podcast Production Company. They love creating space for people to storytell and to create content to help people share their story with their intended audience. Leandra also works as a therapist in Burbank at a private practice. Barrett specializes in creating content for social media and websites. He is the producer, engineer, and editor for Made in Monrovia podcast and others. Together this team uses their creative skills and skills of being with others to create meaningful and artistic content.

Find Be Seen Company on the inter-web:

Website: beseenco.com

Instagram & FB: @beseenco

email:[email protected]

Phone: 626-664-4219 

Made in Monrovia. Bringing you stories of the work, play, heart and history of people who help create the magic in Monrovia. Weekly we have Monrovians come to our Podcast studio on Myrtle Ave to share insights into their experiences, service, and motivations for being a part of the Monrovia community.

Our hope is that by hearing these stories we can learn from and celebrate the people of our city, see how we are connected, and find new ways to participate and experience Monrovia more fully.

Made in Monrovia. Bringing you stories of the work, play, heart and history of people who help create the magic in Monrovia. Weekly we have Monrovians come to our Podcast studio on Myrtle Ave to share insights into their experiences, service, and motivations for being a part of the Monrovia community.

Our hope is that by hearing these stories we can learn from and celebrate the people of our city, see how we are connected, and find new ways to participate and experience Monrovia more fully.