🎙️ From Sales at the Cavaliers to Sobriety and Success: Taylor Evans's Journey Building Rust Belt Recruiting

In this deeply inspiring episode, Taylor Evans, founder and president of Rust Belt Recruiting, shares his remarkable journey from sports industry sales with the Cleveland Cavaliers through personal crisis to building a thriving manufacturing recruiting firm. Through candid stories about quitting his job the day after learning his wife was pregnant, confronting his relationship with alcohol just three months into launching his business, spending his first sober weekend at a bachelor party during the Waste Management Open, and receiving a life-changing client call four days after his daughter's birth, Taylor reveals how sobriety became the foundation for both his business success and his ability to give back—from housing homeless families to leading Cleveland's small business community.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Sports management career evolution from Ohio University to Cleveland Cavaliers sales during post-LeBron era and NBA lockout

• Starting Rust Belt Recruiting in November 2017 without business plan—choosing between coffee shop or recruiting firm

• Stopping drinking in late January 2018 after three months of entrepreneurship while business and family life spiraled

• First sober weekend at Waste Management Open bachelor party using "five days to get to 10 or back to five" mantra

• Life-changing client call four days after daughter's birth: 86-person third shift hiring project opened business doors

• Specialization strategy: focusing exclusively on manufacturing roles rather than broad recruiting creates stronger client relationships

• Housing homeless family living in minivan between job placement and first paycheck as reinvestment of placement fee

• Professional "citizenship grade" philosophy: opportunities find you when you demonstrate integrity and work ethic consistently

• ADD/ADHD as superpower for connecting people and building community rather than viewing as disability

• Becoming COSI chair and National Small Business Association board member on eight-year sobriety anniversary

🌟 Taylor's Key Mentors:

Wife Jenna: Entrepreneurial family background enabled Taylor's leap into business ownership and supported year one financially Jason Geyer: Made introduction resulting in first client just before Thanksgiving 2017 launch Recovery Community Members: Provided life-saving support during first year of sobriety through meetings and accountability Counselor During Early Sobriety: Explained neural pathway redevelopment when senses became vibrant during recovery Ohio University Sports Administration Program: Founded sport management degree and created disproportionate alumni network in industry

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about how personal adversity became professional foundation and why giving back matters more than making money.

🔗 Connect with Taylor Evans:

Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: Taylor S. Evans Company: Rust Belt Recruiting Website: rustbeltrecruiting.com

📄 Transcript Available: Building Community Through Business: Taylor Evans's Path to COSI Leadership and National Advocacy

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

#ManufacturingRecruiting #SobrietyJourney #EntrepreneurshipStory #ClevelandBusiness #SmallBusinessAdvocacy #RecoverySuccess #IndustrialStaffing #PurposeDrivenBusiness #CommunityLeadership #InspiredStoriesPodcast

🎙️ From Calgary Winters to Arizona Sunsets: Lloyd McBean's Journey Transforming Las Sendas Golf Club

In this inspiring episode, Lloyd McBean, Executive Director and Managing Partner at Las Sendas Golf Club, shares his remarkable journey from becoming the youngest head golf professional in Alberta at age 21 to transforming a near-bankruptcy Arizona golf course into a top 10 Phoenix destination. Through candid stories about mortgaging his home at 25 to buy Lakeside Golf Club with his NHL brother, raising $5 million from 50 Canadian members in just 19 days during the 2009 economic crisis, discovering that mountain-desert golf requires $150,000 in seed alone each year to regrow the entire course, and building restaurants generating equal revenue to golf operations (including the only golf course in America ranked top 100 for alfresco dining), Lloyd reveals how two Canadian brothers proved skeptics wrong—turning a community eyesore with porta-potties and broken promises into a transitional private club embodying family values, exceptional customer service, and proof that listening to your wife is humanity's greatest superpower.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Youngest head pro: hired at age 21 in Alberta, bought club at 25 by mortgaging home with brother's NHL retirement funds

• 19-day miracle: raised $5 million from 50 members ($100K each) during 2009 crisis when Canadian economy was strong

• Dual-grass challenge: $150,000 annually in seed alone regrowing entire course (fairways, greens, rough) fence-to-fence with ryegrass overseed

• Food & beverage parity: generates 50% of $8 million revenue, unprecedented for golf operations typically 80/20 weighted toward golf

• Top 100 alfresco: only golf course in America ranked OpenTable's top 100 outdoor dining experiences (3 years running)

• Transitional hybrid model: Monday revenue/maintenance days preserve public access while building private membership Tuesday-Sunday

• Community transformation: acquired course with 18 members, porta-potties, broken promises; now top 10 Phoenix golf destination

• Robert Trent Jones Jr. design: 900-foot elevation changes, mountain-desert layout, no parallel fairways, breathtaking Camelback views

🌟 Lloyd's Key Mentors & Influences:

• Wayne Bygraves (Cananascus Mentor): First mentor teaching resort operations, recommended Red Mountain Ranch membership, lifelong friend

• Lloyd's Brother (NHL Fourth Overall Pick): Partnership across 40 years, bought Lakeside together, Las Sendas vision, handles Calgary operations

• Las Sendas 50 Original Investors: Canadian members who trusted Lloyd/Wayne with $100K each in 19 days during economic crisis

• Lloyd's Wife: Strategic partner who risked mortgage at age 25, guides major decisions (Lloyd's admitted superpower)

• Alice Cooper: Weekly golf partner, close friend for 16 years hosting annual charity concert raising millions for Solid Rock Teen Center

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about customer service obsession spanning 40+ years, building sustainable golf operations through economic downturns, embracing community values discovered moving from Canada to Arizona, and why separating responsibilities with strong partners prevents fights you'll never win.

🔗 Connect with Lloyd McBean:

Website: lassendas.comPhone: 480-396-4000 (human answers!) 

📄 Transcript Available: Raising $5 Million in 19 Days: Lloyd McBean's Journey Acquiring Las Sendas Golf Club

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

#GolfClubManagement #ArizonaGolf #HospitalityLeadership #CustomerService #GolfOperations #PrivateClub #CommunityValues #GolfCourse #InspiredStoriesPodcast

🎙️ From Law School Food Network Therapy to Leading Hawaii's Farm-to-Table Restaurant Empire: Sara Connery's Journey

In this inspiring episode, Sara Connery, CEO of Handcrafted Restaurants, shares her remarkable journey from law school student who cooked to cope with stress while joking "restaurants have lawyers? That's what I want to do!" She earned her bar admission in Hawaii but never practiced law. Instead, she cold-called a restaurant owner after a mediocre Mexican restaurant experience in college helped her understand that chaos and wonderful heathens make up her favorite humans.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Decision framework: "Who do I want to be a year from now that I'm proud of?" became North Star during divorce at age 38
• Spiritual practices collected through 20s-30s prepared her for biggest emotional challenge and bring workplace empathy understanding grief's impact
• COVID shutdown March 2020 required closing all restaurants then reopening Thanksgiving 50% capacity mediating mask tensions protecting staff first
• Monkey pod tree metaphor: sustainable profitability means nitrogenating soil so ecosystem thrives together, not giving tree chopped to stump
• Values-based hiring focuses personality over skills: 40 managers stayed 10+ years starting as dishwashers, prep cooks, or bussers
• Peter Merriman pioneered Hawaii regional cuisine 1980s farm-to-table telling farmers "you grow it, I'll buy it"
• High volume tourist locations enable front-of-house great tips, back-of-house $18-20/hour Hawaii wages with profit sharing quarterly payouts
• Jim Collins hedgehog concept: passion plus best at plus economics drives employee retention strategy
• Walking together processing hard conversations somatically prevents emotions getting stuck in the body
• Live music 2-4 times daily, everything made from scratch, signature Mai Tais with honey lilikoi foam create memorable customer experience

🌟 Sara's Key Mentors:

• Food Network Chefs: Inspired cooking during law school, exposed her to diverse cuisines and ingredients, made law school survivable
• Peter Merriman (Co-Founder): Hawaii regional cuisine pioneer, created 1980s farm-to-table movement telling farmers "you grow it, I'll buy it," merged high quality with high volume
• Bill Terry (Co-Founder): Moved to Maui as infant with hippie parents in 1970s, brought high volume restaurant and business expertise

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about framing major decisions around who you'll be proud of a year from now, collecting spiritual practices that prepared her for divorce at age 38, and why the monkey pod tree metaphor means nitrogenating the soil so the ecosystem thrives—not being the giving tree chopped to a stump.

🔗 Connect with Sara Connery:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: handcraftedrestaurants.com
• Company: Handcrafted Restaurants (Hawaii-based restaurant group)
• Locations: Four Monkey Pod Kitchen locations plus Moku, Ulu, and Beach House

📄 Transcript Available: From Law School to Leading Hawaii's Restaurant Empire: Sara Connery's Journey

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency:AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom lineWebsite: addbackbenefits.com

🎙️ From Ugandan Refugee Dishwasher to Award-Winning Chef: Karim Lakhani's Extraordinary Journey

In this inspiring episode, Karim Lakhani, Executive Vice President of Food & Beverage and Procurement at Northwood Hospitality, shares his remarkable journey from losing everything overnight when Idi Amin expelled 80,000 Ugandan Asians in 1972. He landed in Regina, Saskatchewan at age 12 with his mother after witnessing dead bodies at checkpoints, looting, and violence. His father had already passed away when Karim was 7. At age 13, he became a dishwasher when his mother needed surgery, then completed his Canadian culinary apprenticeship in two years instead of three. He trained under one-star Michelin chef Jean-Louis Paladin at the Watergate Hotel and rose through Trust House Forte's 400-hotel empire before leading food and beverage strategy across boutique luxury properties. 

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• 1972 Idi Amin expulsion: 80,000 Ugandan Asians stripped of citizenship in 90 days, family separated, Karim and mother landed Regina Saskatchewan after witnessing checkpoint horrors

• Age 13 dishwasher job: took over when mother needed surgery, chef allowed him to work while attending grade school, helped family financially

• Canadian apprenticeship structure: 8 months practical work under master chef (paid), 4 months theory (unemployment pay), government-funded tuition, completed in 2 years instead of 3

• Family friend accountant opened door: Windsor Arms Hotel master chef interview became critical connection changing life trajectory

• Jean-Louis Paladin mentorship: one-star Michelin chef at Watergate Hotel taught open mind, creativity, and taking constructive criticism from those operating at higher levels

• Age 28 first executive chef: Palace Hotel Philadelphia under Trust House Forte, learned P&L management, food/labor/beverage costs, profitability incentives

• Pushed into front-of-house: CapStar president forced transition from executive chef whites to suit-and-tie GM role in San Francisco, learned wine inventory/vintages/pricing/pilferage

• AI predictive purchasing: demand forecasting, contracted pricing through GPO, weekly vendor monitoring for tariff impacts when coffee prices jump 30% and beef escalates

• Teaching juvenile detention kids: 10-week knife skills program, brought kids to rooftop Citronelle for graduation (first time in hotel), judges and teachers attended

• Giving back motivation: came from challenged refugee background where family struggled, reminds him marble pillars and fine dining aren't where everyone starts

🌟 Karim's Key Mentors:

• Mother (Single Parent): Well-educated in fashion and business, started as dishwasher as refugee despite background, raised children with strong respect-for-elders values, asked chef to let 13-year-old son work during her surgery

• Jean-Louis Paladin

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about growing up fast after losing everything overnight, respecting constructive criticism in military-style kitchen training, balancing creative cuisine with P&L management, and why teaching knife skills to juvenile detention kids who've never been in hotels reminds you that marble pillars aren't where everyone starts.

🔗 Connect with Karim Lakhani:

• Company: Northwood Hospitality

• Portfolio: 9 hotels/resorts + 2 standalone restaurants

• Properties: Palace Hotel NYC (900 rooms, $140M renovation), London West Hollywood, Conrad Nashville, Luxury Collection Ballantyne

• Headquarters: Denver, Colorado

📄 Transcript Available: From Ugandan Refugee Dishwasher to Award-Winning Chef: Karim Lakhani's Journey

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

🎙️ From Beige Food Palette to Fourth Generation CEO: Ryan Wilson's Journey Leading Lawry's 90-Year Legacy

Ryan Wilson, fourth generation CEO at Lawry's Restaurants, shares his journey from eating only "shades of beige" until college, to training in Michelin-starred Italian restaurants, to becoming CEO July 2020 when all restaurants shut down during COVID. Through stories about grandfather's 17-year licensing battle with McCormick (resolved December 2023), managing 18 family shareholders across three generations with no controlling interest, and navigating divorce while co-parenting three minutes apart, Ryan reveals how transparency, quarterly board rigor, and balancing nostalgia with relevance became his foundation for leading 90-year legacy.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Fourth generation CEO of 90-year family business: great-grandfather Lawrence Frank founded 1938, radio announcer mispronounced "Lori's" as "Lawry's"

• 1979 sold Lawry's Foods to Lipton after building multinational brand from single SKU, McCormick purchased 2009, 17-year licensing battle resolved December 2023

• Ate only beige foods until college: watched cooking shows age 8 (Jacques Pepin, Julia Child), light switch moment Australia junior year

• Six years outside business: La Toque Napa, two-star La Bastiglia Italy, opened first restaurant for Tuscan butcher Dario Cecchini

• Stanford Executive MBA 2017-2018 while working 30% time, lost father to aggressive prostate cancer same period

• Became CEO July 2020 three months after COVID shutdown, ran business from Five Crowns private dining room two years

• 18 shareholders across three generations no controlling interest—quarterly board meetings with outside directors provide public company rigor

• 11 international licensed locations: Shanghai, Osaka, Bangkok, Gulf States/UK exploration—20-year deals upfront fees plus residual percentage

• March 2025 China stopped purchasing US beef threatening Shanghai operations, licensing versus franchising provides lower oversight costs

• Managing nostalgia versus relevance: how occasions changing, what legacy means to guests today, Joel Peterson wisdom "walk towards problems like firefighter"

🌟 Ryan's Key Mentors & Influences:

• Lawrence Frank (Great-Grandfather): Founded Lawry's 1938, created Beverly Hills flagship concept, established prime rib as signature

• Richard Nathan Frank (Grandfather): Built Lawry's Seasoned Salt from single SKU to multinational brand, took Lawry's Foods public in late 1960s, opened 13 Southern California restaurant concepts, established quarterly board rigor

• Mary Alice Frank (Grandmother): Matriarch who influenced hospitality culture, Ryan lived with them four years during later life stage

• Ryan's Mother

• La Toque Chef (Napa): Sent Ryan to Italy for first international culinary experience

• Dario Cecchini (Famous Tuscan Butcher): Opened first restaurant Solo Ciccia with Ryan's involvement

• Mike Tusk (Quince, San Francisco):

• John Heil (Outside Board Director, 25 Years):

• Scott Barnett (Outside Board Director):

• Joel Peterson (Stanford Professor):

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about managing family shareholders without control, negotiating multinational licensing agreements across volatile markets, becoming CEO during COVID shutdown, and why protecting the Lawry's name intellectual property is the most valuable asset on the balance sheet.

🔗 Connect with Ryan Wilson:

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/romwilson/

Website - https://www.lawrysonline.com/

📄 Transcript Available: Managing Memories, Not Menus: How Ryan Wilson Leads the Fourth Generation at Lawry’s

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line

1. Website: addbackbenefits.com

🎙️ From Housekeeper at 16 to Senior HR Manager: Abigail Flynn's Journey Through Hospitality Without a Degree

Abigail Flynn, Senior HR Manager at Olympia Hospitality, shares her journey from starting as housekeeper at age 16 for Mahaney family-owned Inn by the Sea to becoming general manager at 24, then leading HR for 40-property portfolio across 2,000+ employees—all without finishing college. Through stories about helping employee get to detox/rehab (mother said six months later daughter wouldn't be alive without intervention), launching recovery-friendly certification as one of 15 inaugural companies nationally (only hospitality), and learning she can't save everyone despite seeing potential first, Abby reveals building emotional calluses while maintaining investment.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Started housekeeping age 16, became GM at 24—one of youngest in company without college degree

• Olympia Hospitality: 40+ properties, 2,000+ employees, Mahaney family-owned since 1969, values-driven quality growth

• Internal communications: automated 25-message onboarding, text-based for non-computer staff, monthly "Spark Note" newsletter

• Leading Minds book club: art of apology training—apology invests in relationship over being right

• Hospitality double national substance abuse average: long hours, access, stress drove recovery support need

• Sobrant partnership: 24/7 peer support, researches rehab centers, finds care, provides education materials

• 2023 one of 15 inaugural national recovery-friendly certifications (only hospitality), Maine state designation

• Helped employee to detox/rehab: mother messaged six months later saying daughter wouldn't be alive

• Biggest challenge accepting can't save everyone: walked with "personal failure notch" when couldn't save someone

• Built emotional calluses: celebrate impact without absorbing uncontrollable outcomes

🌟 Abby's Key Mentors & Influences:

• Mahaney Family (Owners): Provided 22-year career foundation starting age 16, supported continuous growth from housekeeper to senior leadership

• Larry Mahaney (Founder): Rooted in Maine educational system, philanthropic baseball field donations, started company 1969 with singular Bangor hotel

• High School Track Coach: Made Abby realize when setting goals and dreaming big, putting work behind it makes it happen

• Greg McLean (Director of Operations): Advocated for developing emotional calluses, reminded when taking things too personally, provided accountability

• VP of HR at Olympia: Wealth of knowledge on law side, helps remove personal element, uses coaching/mentorship by asking "what do you think?" to pull out Abby's own answers

• Olympia Leadership Team: Allowed driving sober support resources, supported wellness initiatives, created environment valuing whole person

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about proving success without degree credentials, building recovery-friendly workplaces in industry with double national substance abuse average, learning emotional boundaries while maintaining investment, and why hospitality rewards experience over education for those willing to work hard.

🔗 Connect with Abigail Flynn:

Olympia Hospitality:

📄 Transcript Available: Abigail Flynn on Becoming GM at 24 and Proving Success Without College Through 22 Years at Family-Owned Olympia Hospitality

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

🎙️ From Trinidad to 286% Sales Goal Achievement: Janelle Cash's Journey Through Cancer, Caribbean Separation, and Building Government Hospitality Partnerships

Janelle Cash, Senior Sales Manager Government Travel at Placemakr, shares her journey from Trinidad separated from mother age three to sixteen, accidentally falling into hospitality sales, to actualizing 286% of goal before joining tech-enabled apartment-hotel hybrid Placemakr creating brand new government travel vertical. Through candid stories about turning lost million-dollar deal into custom pop-up hotel and surviving spindle cell sarcoma, Janelle reveals why relationship building beats hunt-and-kill closing and everyone wants to feel valued.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Trinidad separated from mother age 3-16: typical Caribbean parent-leaves-sends-for-child story, grandmother raised her becoming true mother

• Accidentally into hospitality: needed job, front desk to reservations to sales—loved helping guests, meeting people

• Sales evolution: initially hunt-and-kill closing, now relationship building where clients follow 20 years across companies

• Placemakr 286% goal: landed massive business, searched "what's next," five-step grueling interview realizing "I want this job"

• Apartment-hotel hybrid: one night to multi-year stays, full kitchens, washers/dryers, bi-weekly housekeeping, rates comparable hotels

• Pop-up model: lease-up phase buildings, management takes 100 units immediately versus owner finding tenants over year

• Million-dollar deal rescue: client said "build hotel closer," called team 24 hours, created custom pop-up only for that client

• Spindle cell sarcoma July 2017: golf ball tumor, three-month walking recovery, declared cancer-free two years ago quarterly scans

• Grandmother passed September 2024 age 98: two days before death thanked her for sacrifice, opened closet finding 11 dresses (10 Janelle bought)

• Ask right questions from start: who's deciding, when's decision, who else needs involved—prevents deals falling apart

🌟 Janelle's Key Mentors & Influences:

• Joelle Whitaker (First Director of Sales): Showed clients can be friends, when you make them friends they're always loyal to you, gave "The Measure of a Man" by MLK teaching be best at whatever you do

• Grandmother (Trinidad): Raised Janelle age 3-16, wanted US visa to go through so badly giving life she couldn't provide, 98 years saw sacrifice come to play, passed September 2024

• Kenneth Corby (Father): Wrote "Everyday Leadership" about leading in everything you touch whether you realize it or not, taught people grasp at straws to save you when they love you (cancer advice reframe)

• Placemakr RAPP Team: Real estate property partners who found three possible locations within 24 hours when million-dollar deal needed closer hotel, created custom pop-up

• Cancer Doctor: Went "as deep and wide as possible" removing golf ball tumor plus anything suspicious, refused assistive walking device saying "discipline your mind you can do this"

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about turning lost million-dollar deal into custom pop-up hotel by asking "you told me to build a hotel, here's the builder," surviving spindle cell sarcoma three-month walking recovery, and finally understanding at grandmother's death why Caribbean separation sacrifice mattered—because relationship building beats hunt-and-kill closing when everyone wants to feel valued.

🔗 Connect with Janelle Cash:

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Janelle Cash

Website: https://www.placemakr.com/

📄 Transcript Available: How Janelle Cash Built 20-Year Client Relationships and Won Multi-Million Dollar Deals at Placemakr

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

🎙️ From Mexico City Engineer to Global Amusement Ride Leader: Dr. Jay Luis Aguilar's Journey with Chance Rides

In this inspiring episode, Dr. Jay Luis Aguilar, Global Vice President of Business Development at Chance Rides, shares his remarkable journey from dreaming of designing roller coasters as a child in Mexico City to leading business development for a 65-year-old amusement ride manufacturer that has delivered over 3,000 rides worldwide. Through candid stories about accidentally discovering his passion for sales during an emergency trip to Tokyo, navigating a catastrophic pricing mistake that nearly destroyed a Japanese partnership, and earning his doctorate while working full-time, Jay reveals how curiosity, listening skills, and cultural respect have shaped his approach to building lasting international relationships—and how Chance Rides is revolutionizing the industry with 100% electric trams powered 80% by solar panels.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Career pivot from automotive technology development engineer to commercial leadership after emergency Tokyo presentation

• Chance Rides history: Founded 1961 with CP Huntington train replica, now celebrating 65th anniversary in 2026

• Three core product lines: trains (with tracks at zoos), trams (trackless parking lot shuttles), and elaborate themed carousels

• Carousel complexity: From classic hand-painted horses to character-themed rides for Universal's Kung Fu Panda and Minions

• All carousel figures are hand-painted by artists with time allocations based on complexity level

• Morgan acquisition in early 2000s: How Chance entered roller coaster market for small-to-medium amusement parks

• Portable carnival market shift: Economic conditions made competing with Europe and Asia Pacific pricing difficult

• Electric revolution: 100% electric trams launched 2025, powered 80% by solar panels with standard 120V wall charging

• Learning from trains to trams: Electric CP Huntington trains since 2017 provided foundation for tram development

• Swedish technology partnership: Collaborated on development while Chance handles manufacturing for electric trams

• Post-apocalyptic carousel at Area 15 Vegas: Half-turtle, half-robot figures with unique lighting systems

• Private equity transition 2023: Acquired by Permanent Equity, a non-traditional 30-50 year investment firm

• Doctorate earned while working: Completed PhD in business with specialty in how social media impacts corporate decision-making

🌟 Jay's Key Mentors & Influences:

Harold Chance (Founder, Generation 1): Created iconic CP Huntington train replica in 1961, originally hoping to build 10-20 units—company has now built 439+

Dick Chance (Generation 2): Shared company history and family legacy during Jay's transition to leadership role

Former CEO Carlos (German Automotive Company): Challenged Jay with emergency Tokyo pricing crisis, teaching resilience under pressure and cultural negotiation

Japanese Business Partners (Honda, Toyota, Nissan):

Aaron Landrum (Chance Rides President)

His Wife

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about finding your calling through unexpected opportunities, the art of listening in high-stakes negotiations, and how a 65-year-old company is electrifying the future of amusement transportation.

🔗 Connect with Dr. Jay Luis Aguilar:

LinkedIn: Jay Luis Aguilar 

Email: [email protected] 

Chance Rides Website: chancerides.com 

Company Address: 4200 West Walker Street, Wichita, Kansas 67209

📄 Transcript Available: Building International Partnerships and Electric Innovations: Dr. Jay Luis Aguilar's Chance Rides Story

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

🎙️ From Bussing Tables with Dyslexia to James Beard Winner: Bobby Stuckey's Journey Building Frasca Hospitality Group

In this inspiring episode, Bobby Stuckey, founder and partner of Frasca Hospitality Group, shares his remarkable journey from starting as a struggling dyslexic bus person in 1983 to becoming a three-time James Beard Award winner leading multiple acclaimed restaurants across Colorado. Through candid stories about finding acceptance in the restaurant industry when school felt impossible, learning world-class hospitality at the French Laundry and Little Nell, and building a restaurant empire inspired by the humble frascas of Northeastern Italy, Bobby reveals why the restaurant industry is America's "beautiful sleeping giant"—employing more people than any private sector except healthcare, operating on razor-thin 6% margins, and providing career opportunities for people from all backgrounds without requiring traditional education.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Starting as bus person in 1983 while struggling with undiagnosed dyslexia through school

• Restaurant industry as cornerstone species: 12 times larger than airline industry

• Career progression from Little Nell to French Laundry sommelier to restaurant founder

• Moving to Boulder to support family after wife's mother passed away

• Frasca concept inspired by Friuli Venezia Giulia wine country restaurants

• Three James Beard Awards: Outstanding Wine Service, Outstanding Hospitality, Outstanding Restaurant 2024

• Operating on 6% profit margins while bailed-out banks limited to 20%

• Career-worthy compensation: matching 401k, full benefits after one year

• Growth philosophy shift: realizing not expanding was selfish to employees

• Scarpetta wine label: growing from 100 cases for Frasca to all 50 states

• Scholarship focus: supporting first-generation college students through speaking fees

• Third grade ruler trauma: keeping physical reminder of perseverance through learning disability

🌟 Bobby's Key Mentors:

• His Parents: Provided loving support and positive reinforcement when school was challenging

• Eric Calderon & Connie Thornberg (Little Nell): Thoughtful leaders who pulled team into excellence through engagement

• Thomas Keller & Laura Cunningham (French Laundry): Provided leadership tools Bobby uses daily 25 years later

• His Father "The Lizard": Retired entrepreneur who sends salient business wisdom at critical moments

• Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson (Business Partner): Co-founder who challenged Bobby's growth resistance

• His Wife's Family: Alberico's legacy inspired pizzeria name and Boulder relocation

• Julia Child: Icon Bobby served at both French Laundry and Little Nell, inspiring his career path

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about embracing neurodiversity, the economic power of restaurants as employment engines, building hospitality through empathy rather than ego, and why operating on thin margins creates relentless excellence.

🔗 Connect with Bobby Stuckey:

LinkedIn: Bobby Stuckey, Founder & Partner at Frasca Hospitality Group Email: [email protected] Frasca Hospitality Group Restaurants:

• Frasca Food and Wine (Boulder)

• Pizzeria Alberico (Boulder)

• Osteria Alberico (Denver)

• Tavernetta (Denver)

• Sunday Vinyl (Denver) Scarpetta Wines: Italian wine label in all 50 states Website: Frasca Food and Wine

📄 Transcript Available: How Bobby Stuckey Transformed a Learning Disability Into Hospitality Excellence at Frasca

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

#RestaurantHospitality #JamesBeardAward #Neurodiversity #HospitalityLeadership #FineDining #SommelierLife #RestaurantIndustry #EmployeeBenefits #FirstGenerationCollege #InspiredStoriesPodcast

🎙️ From Accidentally Joining HP to Malcolm Baldrige Excellence: Teresa Roche's Public Service Journey

Teresa Roche, Chief Human Resources Officer at City of Fort Collins, shares her journey from accidentally falling into HR at Hewlett-Packard in 1981, to building 90% internal senior leadership bench at Agilent, to leading 2017 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award-winning city government discovering "the city broke me and the city made me whole."

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Accidentally joined HP 1981: "when you want to save the world it's hard to put it in five-year increments"

• HP 1984-85: saved 1,500 material handlers from layoffs through community college retraining program

• Agilent 90% internal bench: filled both 2014 split CEO positions entirely from within

• Best CEOs are internal hires with outside experience: sent candidates to board programs

• Fort Collins 2017 Malcolm Baldrige winner after 2016 failure provided improvement feedback

• Community broadband fiber: 25,000 customers, underground fiber beats private competitors

• COVID Future of Work: essential workers get three annual flex days for fairness

• Purdue students: "used to think government workers wore gray, now see innovation"

• Hogan derailers revealed stress denial: "city broke me and made me whole"

• Metrics: 90%+ acceptance rate, retention gaps analysis, employee experience surveys

🌟 Teresa's Key Mentors & Influences:

• Dick Stewart (Purdue Placement Services): Mentor who set up HP interview saying "only company you should work for has values"

• Bill Sullivan (Agilent CEO): Initially skeptical ("spread rose petals?"), became two-in-box partner caring about development and business results equally

• Gene Halloran (Agilent): Developed metrics framework with Teresa (acceptance rate, retention, leadership quality)

• Darren Atterberry (Previous City Manager): Asked hundreds "do you think local government can be great?" (none said yes), charged performance excellence

• Zach Mercurio (Fort Collins Author): Wrote "Mattering" about discovering purpose, what fulfills you, what gives joy

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about accidentally falling into HR speaking from heart versus technical knowledge, building 90% internal senior leadership bench at Agilent through intentional outside-experience preparation, and why "the city broke me and the city made me whole"—because seeing your derailers under stress, being willing to look at shadow side and heal them without getting afraid, creates ongoing life challenge felt most acutely in public service.

🔗 Connect with Teresa Roche:

Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: Teresa Roche Organization: City of Fort Collins, Colorado Website: fcgov.com

📄 Transcript Available: Why Great Government Is Possible: Teresa Roche’s Blueprint for Talent, Trust, and Transformation

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com