Upstate Update Podcast

This morning, we are talking about Citizens and Southern Bank in downtown Spartanburg. It first open in the 1800s, but now it is re-opening as a beautiful event space right in downtown Spartanburg. We talk to Amieecheek and Amy Zimmer two fabulous ladies that are going to make this a place and events you will never forget.

Today we are talking to Dr. Marcus Blackstone, chief clinical officer with the Bon Secours Health System about what to do to stay safe if you are gathering with loved ones over the holidays. As you can imagine, the answer is clear and familiar, don’t gather with loved ones, but if you do, socially distance and wear a mask.

The Dominion Boys Home, where each day they improve the lives of young men who were taken from awful situations at their home and now grow under the care of amazing men and women from Dominion. We were able to talk to Brittany Barbrey, who told us how important Dominion is, and some of the great success stories they’ve had along the way.
You can support this home with a great outdoor festival at the Fr8yard in Spartanburg this Sunday.

Have you had hot chicken before?
It’s super crispy fried chicken covered in an incredibly delicious hot sauce, that started at Prince’s Hot Chicken more than 100 years ago in Nashville Tennessee.
But now there are a few places in the upstate that sell a version of this hot chicken.
However, Prince’s hot Chicken has landed in the Upstate.
As you are hearing this podcast, you don’t have to take a trip to Nashville to have this legendary fried bird, you just need to head to Yee Haw Brewing Company in Greenville. Which is now serving the OG, Prince’s Hot Chicken.
So today we talked with Semone Jeffries whose mother Andre Prince Jeffries took over the restaurant 40 years ago.
And we talked with Joe Baker, owner of Yee Haw, about how excited he is that his Greenville location is first and only place to get Prince’s outside of Nashville for the first time in one hundred years.

Good morning and welcome back to the upstate update podcast..
I’m your host joe Gagnon and I hope you are having a great start to your day today which is Veterans Day.
Today and this week, Upstate Warrior Solutions is helping to put in and host more than thirty events to honor our soldiers.
This Saturday, they and United States Jeep Association our teaming up to honor our troops and to help the family of late Greenville county deputy sergeant Conley jumper who was killed just weeks ago in the line of duty so we talked to the USJA treasurer Steve Mathison about the big day at trailblazer park in TR .

Welcome back to the Upstate Update, I’m your host Joe Gagnon.
And happy birthday to the men and women of the United State Marine Corp.
This very day 245 years ago, right at start of our nation, was the first day of this incredible branch of our military. featuring an incredible marine who served in our military and in active duty for eight years in combat. Tomorrow is Veterans Day and he and his team with Upstate Warrior Solutions are doing dozens of events to honor all of our military. His name is Nate Moore he is the director of Community Engagement with the Warriors.

Today we are actually talking about an event your family can check out. I feel like I haven’t said those words in years. Anyway, the Greenville Classical Academy is welcoming one and all to their campus for its eleventh annual fall festival. We talked with Del Dee Hindman and Jessica MacQuarrie who has been working day and night to pull off this event as safely as possible.

Good morning, and welcome back to the Upstate Update Podcast
I am your host Joe Gagnon and today we are talking to the biggest news team in the upstate about how they prepare to report and cover a huge election like the one happening right now.
Executive Editor of the Greenville News, the Anderson Independent and the Spartanburg Herald Journal Steve Bruss.
We spoke with him Tuesday before polls closed about how his team gets ready for such a massive day of going to different precincts, victory parties and concessions speeches all over the state.
This is important to me because I hope you the listener and those you love can trust local news.
I’ve worked in many newsrooms over the last fifteen years, I’ve worked for NBC, ABC and most recently Fox.
Never, and not one time has a boss or supervisor told me on any story I’ve ever covered, hey Joe you are covering this story or interviewing this person, make sure you have this slant before it airs.
Not one time!
Cable news or editorial pages is something completely different, those are opinions and their job is to get you mad so you come back to read or listen or watch the next day.
So put your trust in your local news outlet because they are giving you the straight news as best as they can, and as you may know, after what happen to me with me tv news career, I have every reason not to say this things.

Good morning, Happy Election Day and welcome back to the Upstate Update Podcast.
Today’s story has nothing to do with America’s politics but it has to do with America’s pastime... baseball.
It’s about one of the best players of all time who got his start right here in the Upstate, perhaps the best player in baseball and now a two time World Series champion of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Mookie Betts.
Not very long ago, Betts was crushing the ball right here for the Greenville Drive, and today, we are talking to the man who had even better than a front row seat to the start of what I think is Mookie’s Hall of Fame career, and all of the amazing things he did off the field as well.
The General Manager of the Drive, and such a great person to talk with, Eric Jarinko.

Good morning Upstate and happy Monday, I hope you had a nice weekend and great Halloween.
Today, We are talking to Chef Trudy who is about to open her very own eatery here in the Upstate, but in the meantime, she has a catering business that is doing very well and is also hosting two cooking classes this week.
Her student, however, are kids.
She says you are almost never too young to learn your way around the kitchen.
So if you want your son or daughter to get some cunning culinary skills, take a few minutes to hear from Chef Trudy..