Outstanding Ohioans

In this episode, I am privileged to conduct a second interview with Dr. Jim Burson.  Click here to hear the previous interview with Dr. Burson.

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In our first interview, we shared Dr. Burson's incredible journey and discussed his recently published an extraordinary book The Golden Whistle:  Going Beyond:  The Journey To Coaching Success.  His career included teaching academic classes, playing and coaching a variety of sports at the collegiate level, assisting fellow Ohioan Bob Knight with the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, being featured in Sports Illustrated as the "Great Disseminator" of the famed Princeton Offense, serving as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and serving as a consultant and business owner continuing to serve the game. 

Dr. Burson has a book coming out soon called "Daily Nuggets", which is a way readers can engage the ten golden nuggets on a daily basis.  Dr. Burson talked about how The Golden Whistle has increased his connections and opportunities to speak and coach.

We went into extensive detail about how important it is to be a continuous learner and some strategies on how to apply what a reader learns.

In this interview, I had the pleasure of talking with Larry Huggins, the owner of Eastern Ohio Sports complex and a partner with Three Leaf Productions.

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The Huggins family is well-known in Ohio for excellence in basketball.  Larry's father Charlie Huggins is a legendary Ohio high school Hall of Fame coach.  Brother Bob Huggins is the current head coach at West Virginia University with an incredible record as a college basketball coach after playing at Ohio University and West Virginia.  Brother Harry played at Rice University, and Larry excelled on the court for The Ohio State Buckeyes.

During Charlie Huggins' coaching career, he developed the Eastern Ohio Sports Complex in Sherrodsville, Ohio with reknowned Pennsylvania high school basketball coach Ed McKluskey.  In 2000, Larry bought this business from his father and talks about the history and development of the complex.

Larry Huggins has had remarkable success as a person, family man, athlete, and businessman.

During this interview, Larry will talk about these highlights:

Can you imagine being the author of a book that has sold 122 million copies?  No American author can, except for educator William McGuffey (1800-1873), who spent most of his life in Ohio.  This podcast episode will bring you the interesting tale of Mr. McGuffey's remarkable life and accomplishments.

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McGuffey's Eclectic Reader, were the standard reading, english, and grammar textbook in elementary schools and one-room schoolhouses across the country from 1836-1920's and are still is used by some groups, particularly homeschooled students today.

Professor McGuffey was a famous educator who worked at Washington College, Miami University, Ohio University, and the University of Virginia during his famous career.  He was also an ordained minister active and served his communities in this capacity.

In this interview with Stephen Gordon, my friend and colleague at Miami University, the listener will hear about the life and accomplishments of the "Teacher of the Nation".  Stephen is the curator of the McGuffey Museum at Miami University and a renowned historian of Mr. McGuffey.  

To connect with Mr. Gordon to learn more about the McGuffey museum, send him an email at [email protected].

In this interview, I had the opportunity to interview Peter Lawson Jones, a prominent Cleveland-Shaker Heights figure as a lawyer, public official, and actor.  I met Mr. Jones last week at our annual ORSA Conference at Cleveland State University after his keynote address.

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Mr. Jones shares riveting stories about his parents, his professional journey, being a proud husband and father, and the responsibility of citizens to be involved in the political process.  Here are some of the highlights:

In this outstanding interview with Tim Hutzel, business owner, consultant, motorcycle rider, and author, the listeners will hear about his journey and his personal mission to bring manufacturing back to the United States.

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Besides both living in Oxford, Ohio, Tim and I are both proud graduates of Bowling Green State University's Master's of Organization Development.  After 21 years of working at General Electric, Tim developed his own consulting practice and partnered with Mainstream Consulting delivering services such as LEAN and programs for organizational effectiveness.

Tim has published two books on the steps needed to bring manufacturing back from overseas and speaks frequently to business owners,  politicians, educators, and the general public on the steps that can help make this happen.

Tim mentioned the following books in the interview:

In this incredibly interesting interview with Karen Starr, Co-Owner of Hazel Tree Interiors, listeners will hear how she built a business with her husband Jon Haidet, wrote a book, and became an ambassador for Akron.  Here is her story.

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Karen and Jon opened Hazel Tree Interiors in 2010, with a focus on interior designs and framing.  They have a wide array of services and products, with an emphasis on using local resources and creations. Most of their work is residential.

Hazel Tree Interiors is based on a purpose of "Wanting Others to Have Work", which explains the emphasis on local artisans and craftsmen.  Their business values kindness, knowing and honoring where you came from, and clarity on where you want to go.  They focus on goals from an action perspective to create a desired vision.

Karen's work was featured in Chris Guillebeau's great book The $100 Startup:  Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future has numerous case studies on why and how successful "microbusinesses" were created and sustained. This book takes a look at common themes and techniques that were used to develop these microbusinesses.

Karen believes strongly in building up the Akron community and surrounding areas.  This past March, she co-authored A is for Akron book, an A to Z List of Akron's Places and Things That Make Us Smile.

In addition to her business, Karen is an accomplished singer, here is how to connect with her band Roxxymoron.

Integrity....Fairness....Relationships....Helping Others....Self-Reliance

These are the core values the Lehman (pronounced Layman) family has operated with since 1955 when Jay Lehman opened the store in Kidron, Ohio.  Here is their story.

Lehman's has been a tremendous success selling mainly non-electrical products, beginning with serving the Amish community.  Inevitably, when there is a disaster or fuel crisis in Ohio, regionally, or nationally, Lehman's makes the news because of overwhelming demand for products to help in the emergency situations.

During this interview with Jay's son, President and Co-Owner Galen Lehman. listeners will hear:

To learn more about this unique store go to Lehman's website.

Thank you for listening, please take the time to rate the show on Itunes or Sticher.

This episode will inspire and give great ideas for you to think about for your life and career!  Jim Paluch of JP Horizons is our guest for this show.

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Jim grew up in LaGrange, Ohio, attended Ohio State where he met John Joseph from Episode 5, and then embarked on a landscape architecture career.  He then moved forward to become a coach, speaker, and author of three high-volume selling books to help businesses and professionals move forward toward their goals.

Jim shared 5 principles which he drives his work from.  These are:

Jim calls himself a "motivational listener" and feels he excels at pulling dreams and passions from people.

One of Jim's missions is to combat physical inactivity in people's lives.  He has launched the Come Alive Outside movement for people to be involved in.  Click here for more information.  This webpage is a great read if you are concerned about people, especially children, spending so much time playing indoors.

To connect with Jim, you can email him at [email protected] or through their JP Horizons website.

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For episode 7 of The Outstanding Ohioians show, I had the privilege of interviewing Gene Logsdon, the well-known "Contrary Farmer".  Gene has authored 30 books, written for many farming journals, and his popular blog "The Contrary Farmer".

During the interview that will stir your soul, Mr. Logsdon will reminisce about growing up and returning to Upper Sandusky, being raised in a charming rural lifestyle, giving the Seminary a try, becoming a writer, raising a family, and recently fighting a battle with cancer that made him look at life through a different lens.

Mr. Logsdon is best recognized through his writing as an advocate for garden and small-scale farming, along with sharing pieces of farming history.  His writing is often the result from his own small farming operations or talking to others.

I really enjoyed my conversation prior to the interview, and I trust you will enjoy listening to the podcast.   Here is how you can learn more about Mr. Logsdon:

Thank you for listening.  Please rate the show on Itunes or Sticher.

In episode 6, the show took a different approach, in that we interviewed an expert about a historical figure in Ohio history.  I interviewed Laura Bullock, Volunteer Director at the Sherman House and Museum in Lancaster, Ohio.  The Sherman House and Museum is part of the Fairfield County Heritage Society.  This historical house was home for the prestigious Sherman family.

Of the 11 children who lived in this house, General William Tecumseh Sherman and Senator John Sherman were the two most well-known historical figures.

Some of the most well-known events in their lives:

Some resources to learn more about the Sherman brothers: