Take On The Lake

Chris Wilson has traveled the country as a "Fixer." Auto dealerships would bring him in to help turn things around: from culture problems to messy financials, Chris has seen a lot [pun intended].

Now a partner at Van Chevy/Cadillac/Subaru in KC, Chris brought his unique experience to Lake of the Ozarks when he discovered it thanks to "that video" in 2020 (you know the one).

He's joined the Shootout Board and is helping guide that organization, and he also leveraged his Cadillac connections to bring a huge win to this year's Shootout events.

In this episode we talk about that, but we also discuss the unique problems in the Lake of the Ozarks' economy... especially seasonal business and entry-level housing. Turns out, we're both pretty bullish on the Lake, and Chris has some thoughts on the way forward.

www.vankc.com

www.lakeoftheozarksshootout.com

#lakeoftheozarks #economy #housing #shootout #boating #tourism

It's arguably the most well-known name in all of American medicine: Mayo Clinic. When you can't figure out what's wrong with you and you've exhausted all your local doctors, you end up going to Mayo.

Now, Mayo is coming to the Lake of the Ozarks.

In a dramatic announcement last month, Lake Regional Health System announced they would be joining the exclusive Mayo Clinic Care Network. That means when you get treatment at Lake Regional, the medical staff have Mayo Clinic resources behind them. This is a pretty exclusive deal -- there's only one other medical system in Missouri with this kind of connection.

I sat down for a short interview with Mark Larson of Mayo Clinic and Kevin McRoberts of Lake Regional, right after the announcement at Lake Regional Hospital, and they helped unpack exactly why this is such interesting news for healthcare at the Lake. (Pardon the audio quality, we had a pretty minimal setup!)

#lakeoftheozarks #mayoclinic #lakeregional #healthcare #missouri #medicine

New Lodge of Four Seasons GM Steve Sharkey and Golf Director Matt Dillman join us as we look backward at the Lodge's past, and look forward into the Lodge's future.

People are already noticing some of the upgrades, and they're really just getting started... room overhauls, golf cartpaths, there's a lot on the horizon and we got a sneak peek in this episode.

Did you know Hurricane Deck Elementary school has the highest rate of homelessness in the Camdenton School District?

"We will run anywhere from 16 to 25%. So a full quarter of our population will qualify under what's called the McKinney Bento Act," HDE Principal Christie Moulder shared.

Moulder also shared a fact many people probably don't know: the school has no budget for things like field trips. Those are paid for by the Parent-Teacher Organization, commonly known as the PTO.

The Hurricane Deck Elementary PTO pays for everything from field trips to field days to playground equipment and fun community events, to help bolster kids' education. And a new golf tournament coming up this weekend will help fund the PTO's continued efforts.

The Birdies & Books Golf Tournament is set for Sunday, Aug. 10, at Indian Rock Golf Course. It's a 4-person scramble, with a shotgun start at 9am. $320 for a four-person team, and the money raised will help HDE kids have things like field trips and field days.

Want to register? Learn more on Facebook. Or contact: 

Lori Whitten at 816-804-3673 or [email protected]

or

Kathy Brown 619-312-5520. [email protected]

Google is infamous for changing the rules of the Internet. For the past 20 years, it's been: play by Google's rules, or you won't get found. And if they change the rules, well, sorry, you'd better keep up.

But what happens when the guys who are constantly changing the rules get the rug yanked out from under them?

Well, one thing is that my guest Sandy Waggett and I can't help but smile.

So yes, there's some schadenfreude in this episode. But we also talk about how AI (when ChatGPT dropped onto the stage in late-2022) not only changed the game for Google, it also gave normal folks — and celebrity types — a massive opportunity.

Sandy — founder/owner of MSW Interactive Designs — is an expert in helping people capitalize on the opportunities afforded by AI: in fact, she'll be presenting to a group of elite business coaches later this summer on exactly how to do it.

We got to her first, and you're going to find this conversation fascinating. And yes, ChatGPT made this episode thumbnail and I love it.

#ai #google #chatgpt #business #lakeoftheozarks

If you lived through the '90s, you know Edwin McCain's massive love song, "I'll Be."

That song propelled Edwin around the world, and now having toured for 30 years, he still sings it everywhere he performs. Edwin will be opening for Train at Ozarks Amphitheather — at Lake of the Ozarks — on Aug. 1, so we convinced him to come on the podcast!

We talk about one of his major concert mistakes, how music is changing, his lesser-known role in his band, and what group he's always avoided... because he knows he would fanboy them to death if he ever met the lead-singer in person.

#edwinmccain #lovesongs #lakeoftheozarks #music #takeonthelake #1990s #90s

Mary May works wonders with a chisel.

A woodcarver for decades, her claim to fame is standing in the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. She helped carve the incredibly ornate capitals in the two giant "Pillars of Hercules" that hold the theater's main roof beam and stand on either side of the stage.

Now Mary lives at the Lake of the Ozarks and runs an online and in-person woodcarving school, called Mary May's School of Traditional Woodcarving. She even has a one-day woodcarving event for novices, coming up soon.

In this fascinating and free-ranging interview, we talk about the dying practice of apprenticeship (and the oversaturation of formal education), the irreplaceable richness of creating things with your own hands, and what to do about a culture that values efficiency over beauty.

We also praise the merits of Play-Dough.

Learn more at marymaycarving.com

Check out photos of the Globe Theater at shakespearesglobe.com

#lakeoftheozarks #woodcarving #building #shakespeare #globetheater

Episode thumbnail: Jens Naehler, Creative Commons License (via Flickr)

There's a moment when you realize, "I need help."

For boaters, it's the moment when you've been coving out and you go to start the engine, and it just clicks. You're miles from home, and along comes Chris Stockton, a Marine and a licensed towboat captain. Chris's company Upstream Towing Co. is one of the main towing partners for XTow, LakeExpo's "worry-free boating" club.

But sometimes you're a Marine, and you look up and realize, "I'm not the man I need to be. I need help." That's where FOCUS Marines Foundation meets military members who are ready for a change. Steve Benefield serves with FOCUS, and as a Marine, Steve came back from deployment a changed man. "I lost my smile," he said. After more than a decade, Steve's smile is back, thanks to the transformative week he spent with FOCUS.

In this episode, we talk boating, boat-towing, and boat-rentals (Steve's main business). But then we dive deep into what makes — and breaks — a person, and how FOCUS Marines Foundation has helped more than 1,000 people come out of the fog of war.

For more info on the show's topics, visit:

-LakeXTow.com

-UpstreamTowing.com

-FocusMarines.org

#lakeoftheozarks #focusmarinesfoundation #upstreamtowing 

What happens when the LakeExpo team skips lunch and starts talking about food?

Chaos. Spicy chaos.

In this hangry roundtable episode, we dish on our favorite Lake of the Ozarks food trucks, most memorable meals, and which restaurants we think are underrated.

Plus, we debate the proper way to pronounce “birria” and “beignet,” and explain why grouper fingers deserve more respect.

It’s a rowdy, food-filled episode you don’t want to miss!

#TakeOnTheLake #LakeoftheOzarks #FoodTrucks #LakeEats #RoundtableTalk #Hangry

Social media is just a game.

Jeff Pfitzer — Lake of the Ozarks Lifestyle & Pftizer Media — is obsessed with figuring out the rules of the social media game and helping small business owners hack them, to turn-up the profits. And do it without getting hooked on social media.

I've known Jeff for a couple years now, and since he had me on in the early days of his TikTok channel, I decided it was time to bring him onto TOTL.

We also learn about his secret past identity as a very famous MLB mascot! Plus I talk about Tolkien, because I can't help myself, and we take a quick philosophical dive.

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Pfind Pfitzer & Lake of the Ozarks Lifestyle on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.