Our Two Cents Podcast

Randy Martin is the founder and Chief Encouragement Officer at Covenant Community Services, Inc. and Covenant Coffee in Bakersfield, California. Covenant's mission is "restoring lives and transforming generations for former foster youth." Randy loves to coach people and help develop their unique potential to find success. He does this daily with his team, his family and friends, and former foster youth.

Dave Plivelich sits down with super-energized Randy "Taco Man" Martin and learns how he was once arrested in Germany as a spy, why his alter ego is "Taco Man", and how you talk your wife into allowing 300 bicycles to ride through your living room. Randy also explains how he found his passion for helping local foster youth. They discuss the troubling statistics that surround foster youth and how they aim to break the cycle of abuse and neglect that is found in foster homes. Randy also stresses the importance of working through unresolved trauma and how it aids in the healing process. If you would like to contribute to their cause, 100% of your Covenant Coffee purchases goes towards job training and placement as well as mentoring for former foster youth.

LEARN MORE ABOUT COVENANT:

Website: https://covenantcoffee.org/

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 661-829-6999

Instagram: @covenantcoffee

Facebook: @CovenantCoffeeBakersfield

Twitter: @CovenantCS

YouTube: @CovenantCommunityServices

LinkedIn: @RandyMartin

Andrea R Hill, is a local CPA and business owner, mother, grandmother and most recently a leukemia survivor. Andrea's firm, Andrea R. Hill, CPA, An Accountancy Corporation, located in downtown Bakersfield, is a full service accounting firm, offering bookkeeping and payroll services, tax preparation and strategies, as well as advisory consulting. She is now also passionate about raising funds and awareness for medical research to help put an end to all cancers, but especially blood cancer. Andrea was born and raised in the San Joaquin Valley, she attended Fresno State and graduated from Cal State Bakersfield. She has been a Bakersfield resident for almost 40 years. She has recently created a Light The Night Team Red's Warriors that she is turning into a non profit organization to help raise funds for Leukemia research.

Amanda DiGiacomo sits down with Andrea Hill, Owner of Andrea R Hill, CPA, AAC as she tells us her heartbreaking yet inspiring battle with Leukemia. During her treatment she was terrified that she would lose her business and promised herself that if she beat Leukemia she would do whatever it takes to give back to the community. With her help Kern County's Light It Red will return after 3 years! If you would like to have your logo on the shirt your deadline to apply is August 24th. Or if you would like to donate the link is down below.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ANDREA HILL:

Website: www.arhillcpa.com/splash

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 661-323-2555

Facebook: www.facebook.com/arhillcpa

Donate to Light The Night and Red's Warrior's Here:

https://events.lls.org/pages/cca/Bakersfield22/ahill4

Lizette Patterson's passion is matching individuals seeking new career opportunities with the right position and company. She sits down with the decision makers within a company and gets down to the core of their needs, not just what they need on a resume. She looks into their environment, personality, future growth, and other details that cannot be met by a resume. In staffing, success comes from reaching beyond experience and skill sets. Lizette gets to know personalities, company cultures, and more to make direct hire matches that work and last.

Troy Burden and Amanda DiGiacomo sit down with Lizette Patterson, Founder/CEO of Cazador Consulting Group Inc as she explains the benefits of going through a staffing agency versus recruiting on your own. Her screening process is customized to fit her clients' needs and she also offers a one-year guarantee for her direct hires. Lizette also touches on the importance of planning ahead for future replacements to minimize the likelihood of turnover. Her company has grown exponentially over the past two years and she has now expanded to Las Vegas! If you are struggling to find the right candidate that fits your company's culture, don't hesitate to call Lizette.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LIZETTE PATTERSON:

Website: https://cazadorconsultinggroup.com/

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 877-800-4622

Facebook: @CazadorConsultingGroup

LinkedIn: @CazadorConsultingGroup

Avery Zaninovich, Tlo's Director of Marketing, studied Agri Business at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and has worked in the wine industry since the age of 21. She and her family started making wine in 2008 as a passion project, but after only one harvest, Avery encouraged her dad to make wine commercially and focused her senior project at Cal Poly on turning the family's winemaking venture into a feasible business. In 2013, the family released their first wine as Tlo Wines and in 2018, opened the Tasting Room located on 18th Street. Avery became a Sommelier in 2016, has worked to establish Tlo Wines, manage the Tlo Wine Club, and is the reason the Tlo Wines Tasting Room has become a popular destination in Bakersfield. Avery works closely with her dad, Andy (Tlo's Winemaker), in every aspect of the business, from harvest, production, barrel-tasting, blending, bottling, to designing the labels. Together, the family creates balanced wines, from the Central Coast, that are meant to bring people together to create lasting memories.

Kyle Jones and Dave Plivelich sit down with Avery Zaninovich as she tells us the history behind TLO Wines. They started wine making in 2008 which quickly turned into a family business that centers around their Croatian heritage. They opened Bakersfield's first wine tasting room and also offers a wine club with about 350 members that get first access to their newly released wines. If you are interested in tasting their wines give them a call today!

LEARN MORE ABOUT TLO WINES:

Website: https://tlowines.com/

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 661-864-7086

Facebook: @tlowines

Access Plus Capital is a non-profit, mission-driven, community lender, known in the financial industry as a "CDFI" (a community development financial institution). As a CDFI we provide low-barrier, low-interest small business loans to historically disinvested communities. Our mission is to eliminate economic barriers to financial success through fair and equitable community investment, and we do this by working to grow businesses and jobs in underserved communities. Since our inception in 2008, we have helped hundreds of entrepreneurs realize their dreams. Whether you're starting a business in Fresno County, expanding in Kern County, or looking to support and grow your company in any of the 14 Central Valley counties we serve, we can provide the funding, resources, and business coaching your need.

Scott Hanson and Amanda DiGiacomo sit down with Buffie the Business Service Specialist, Janelle the Communications Specialists and Raquel the Business Development Manager of Access Plus Capital, a non-profit that focuses on helping local entrepreneurs start or expand their businesses. They offer loans ranging from $5,000 to $500,000 and they are backed by grants and a loan committee. They also offer quarterly visits where they help keep your business on track to grow. If you are thinking about starting a business, and don't know where to start, give them a call!

LEARN MORE ABOUT ACCESS PLUS CAPITAL:

website: www.accesspluscapital.com/

email: [email protected]

phone: 661-448-2133

facebook: @AccessPlusCapital

Anna Marie is a doctor of Traditional Naturopathy, brain health professional, ICF certified coach, certified master herbalist, and lover of life! She is also an author, speaker, employee wellness consultant, and mindset wellbeing coach. Anna Marie is also the formulator of her own brain nutraceutical line which includes, "Happy You, Calm You, & Bright You." Her mission is to end mental health stigmas and help all people upgrade their brains, biology, & energy field through lifestyle choices while rewiring their neuro pathways using holistic modalities.

John Duffield and Kyle Jones sit down with Anna Marie Frank the owner of Happy Whole You as she explains how she offers holistic remedies mixed with technology as an alternative to western medicine. She tells us how her health and healing journey led her to help others stop their overthinking process that accompanies their health concerns. She offers a wide range of services that she recommends after creating a tailor made program to fit your needs and lifestyle.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ANNA MARIE-FRANK:

Website: www.happywholeyou.com/

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: @HappyWholeYou

Family man Danny Hill is co-owner of Hill Broadcasting and is co-host of the Danny & Kait syndicated radio show. Danny & Kait have won Best of Bakersfield, Favorite in the Radio Personality category for 4 years in a row. Their show is currently on 11 radio stations in 6 states! Danny is married to Kait and they have five adorable children. Danny is also an accomplished wedding DJ, winner of the Kern County Bridal Association's Wedding DJ of the year and was featured on "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway" on TLC.

OTC Hosts, Dave Plivelich (The Marcom Group) and Amanda DiGiacomo (Atlas Financial Solutions), welcome back Danny Hill as he updates us on how he came to acquire his own radio stations, the challenges he has had to overcome with the stations, and how he had to get creative during COVID to continue running and growing his business. Danny credits his morning show with his wife Kait as a huge turning point in his career. He also touches on the current music trends and how they are influenced by social media. Danny is currently hosting a backpack drive to help local children with back-to-school supplies. His goal is 300 backpacks and the deadline to donate is July 22nd.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DANNY HILL:

Website: www.rewind981.com/

Phone: 559-213-0173

Instagram: @DJDannyHill1

Facebook: @Danny_and_Kait

YouTube: @DJDannyHill

Nathan Bender grew up in Columbus, NE and attended the University of Nebraska Lincoln, graduating with an Ag Business Degree. After graduating, he moved to Bakersfield, CA where he and his father started growing baby potatoes in 2007. Tasteful Selections has grown from 250 to over 20,000 acres. Nathan started in the farming operation, then managed the packing plant, and is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Nathan serves as a board member for Bakersfield College Automation, Potatoes USA, California Potato Research, and Tasteful Properties. Nathan and his wife Malisa have 2 amazing daughters: Madelyn 8 and Morgan 3.

Troy Burden sits down with Nathan Bender the CEO/COO of Tasteful Selections as they discuss how they pioneered bite-sized potatoes. Troy and Nathan discuss how their potatoes have quick cook times and contribute to healthier and more convenient meals. Nathan also explains how their expansion has opened the door for more employment opportunities.

LEARN MORE ABOUT NATHAN BENDER:

Website: www.tastefulselections.com

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @tastefulselections

YouTube: @TastefulSelections

Twitter: @TastefulSelect

Karen King started her career as a bus driver and grew that into a long career in public transit, most recently serving for the past fourteen years as the CEO of the Golden Empire Transit District in Bakersfield, California. She started her career at Utah Transit Authority before moving to California. She worked at Long Beach Transit and then expanded her career to include rail service development and operations as Executive Director of North County Transit District in San Diego.

Karen holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Utah and a Master of Science degree in Transportation Management from the University of Denver. She presently serves as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the California Transit Association and is on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee at the American Public Transportation Association.

Attorney Kyle Jones and Dave Plivelich from The Marcom Group sit down with Karen King the CEO of Golden Empire Transit and Janet Sanders the Marketing Director of Golden Empire Transit. Karen explains how taking the bus is not only beneficial to the rider but to the entire community as well, since it reduces emissions and the number of vehicles on the road. In addition to buses, GET is now offering micro-transits in limited areas, which is similar to popular rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft, at a significantly reduced cost from 7am to 7pm with the goal of being available to the entire metropolitan Bakersfield area. Karen also shares GET's goal of becoming 100% emission free. Stay tuned to hear the different services GET has to offer and how it might just apply to you and find out what Karen did before entering the transportation industry.

LEARN MORE ABOUT GET BUS:

Website: www.getbus.org/

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 661-869-2438

Instagram: @GETbus

Facebook: Golden_Empire_Transit

Twitter: @GetBus

Richard Beene was raised in Atlanta and graduated from Georgia Southern University. He worked at The Los Angeles Times for seven years and was part of the Pulitzer Prize winning team of reporters and editors who covered the Rodney King riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. He also spent seven years overseas working as a foreign correspondent, living and working in Egypt, Spain, and Mexico. Richard has lived in Bakersfield since 1994 where he has served on numerous local boards and organizations, including serving as president of the Bakersfield Museum of Art board of trustees and president of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield. He also served on the Memorial Hospital foundation and the CSUB foundation. Richard was the CEO of The Bakersfield Californian from 1998-2016 and is currently the host of Bakersfield Observed podcast.

Dave Plivelich sits down with Richard Beene to learn about what drives him as he discusses how the media industry has evolved over the years and how print is essentially obsolete. Richard also explains how our homelessness problem cannot be solved with appeasement and the steps we, as a society, need to take. The show ends with Dave and Richard discussing the division that politics has created within our country and how we hold on to hope that we can once again become a united nation.

LEARN MORE ABOUT RICHARD BEENE:

Website: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bakersfield-observed-with-richard-beene-the-podcast/id1570782507

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @RevRico

Facebbook: @Richard.Beene