Where and Why

Ray Ellis has always loved to sing. He was a middle school and high school choral teacher and the music director at Asbury Church. He is a singer, actor, voice-over specialist and is well-known in community theater, most recently starring in "The Story of My Life.”

So when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, it shook his world .... for a moment … and then he just got up and started fighting back.

Most notably he made contact with the Michael J. Fox Foundation and raised more than $10,000 from his latest performance, in which he and is co-lead both had Parkinson's. Now, he is working with his friends at Asbury to bring "Dance for Parkinson's" to the community.

Dance for Parkinson's will be 10:30am, Friday, August 21, and Saturday, August 22.
For more information, contact Ray at [email protected] .

This has been Where & Why – conversations about the origin stories, the latest interests, and the definition of success for Savannah's super heroes. It was recorded at Montimello on (TaLayHee) Talahi Island, GA - halfway between Savannah and the Sea. 

It is produced by Garrett Zajac for ZipZap Media and is a project of EBS Brain - where we study the Human Intelligence behind success. You can find out more at ebsbrain.com.

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Welcome to Where & Why, the podcast that asks the question: How does location inform mission?

Today, we're in conversation with Roger Smith, a native Savannian, and the founder and director of The Learning Center, the premiere lifelong learning program in Coastal Georgia. Next year, the Center will celebrate its 20th year as part of Senior Citizens, Inc.

His resume reveals his deep ties to Savannah and the region - from teaching at Savannah Christian to museum educator at the Massie School to his time with the Georgia Historical Society. But it all started at the old St. Joseph’s Hospital downtown ...

The interviews on Where & Why are done by award-winning news editor Dan Suwyn and come to you from the banks of Turners Creek on Talahi Island, Georgia. They are produced by Garrett Zajac for Zip Zap Productions. For more information, go to ebsbrain.com and click on the Where & Why logo. There you can find the 25 conversation partner podcasts we've done so far and suggest new ones. 

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Our conversation today is with Cecilia Arango, the host of TEDx Savannah on May 15 of this year, her second time bringing continuity to a program whose purpose is to showcase a broad range of ideas - each of which is powerful and potentially impactful. 

That same description could be applied to Arango herself. She is the synthesis of many good ideas, to which she brings energy and optimism.

Her day job is marketing manager for Thomas & Hutton Engineering. But her resume reads like a model for community involvement

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Thank you for downloading Where & Why, the Savannah podcast that surfaces the origin stories of newsmakers and asks them to define what success looks like to them. 

Our conversation this time is with Amy Paige Condon, the former editor of the Savannah Morning News, the co-author of roots-driven cook books, and founder of the Refinery Writing Studio, a creative writing space for both emerging and established writers who come together to study craft and sharpen their skills.

Amy's story is of a talent nurtured by teachers and fed by her own focus and drive. 

This conversation was recorded at Montimello on Talahi Island, GA - halfway between the city and the beach. It is produced by Garrett Zajac for ZipZap media and is a project of EBS Brain - where we study the Human Intelligence behind success. You can find out more at ebsbrain.com.

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We're back for another season of Where & Why, the podcast that surfaces the origin stories of local heroes and asks them to define what success looks like to them. 

Just a quick reminder, Dan has Parkinson’s disease, which sometimes slurs his words but doesn’t slow him down.

Our first guest this season is Rachael Shaner, leader of the Folk/Blues/Punk band, Lulu the Giant. She is the answer to the question, “Can you be a rock star when you grow up?”

Rachael is a singular talent and a thoughtful leader in a messy industry.

Her band has a show Feb. 22 at the Tybee Post Theatre, where Rachael will be releasing her first book of lyrics, poetry and essays.

You can get tickets at tybeeposttheater.org 

This conversation was recorded at Montimello on Talahi Island, GA. It is produced by Garrett Zajac for ZipZap Media … and can be found wherever you get fine podcasts. It is a project of EBS Brain - where we study the Human Intelligence behind success. Find out more at ebsbrain.com/whereandwhy.

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When Brynn Grant grew up in Liberty County, she didn’t think much of Savannah. 

It was where you went to the doctors or to go to the mall to buy a new coat. 

Since then, wherever she goes, growth seems to follow. She had a key role in the birth of what is now the Savannah Music Festival, in JCB bringing 500 jobs to the area, and in leading the United Way through COVID. 

Recently, Brynn returned home to Liberty County to lead the county’s economic development efforts in a post-Hyundai Coastal Georgia. 

Learn more about Brynn and Liberty County at comegrow.global

Where & Why is recorded in beautiful downtown Savannah and produced by Garrett Zajac for Zip Zap Media and EBS Brain, where we are only as good as the quality of our conversations.

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Welcome to Where & Why, a podcast where we surface the origin stories of community leaders and influencers.

Today, we brought back two guests who have something a bit unusual in common. They both have attended Burning Man - a week-long, large-scale event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance.” It is held annually in the Nevada desert, about 100 miles from Reno.

The event's name comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred to as the Man, that occurs on the Saturday evening before Labor Day.

The event is guided by ten stated principles: radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy.

Our guests are:

A.L. Addington is the retired dean of the business school at Valdosta State University. For his 85th birthday, his son took him to Burning Man.

Christi Hester, a massage therapist, is in her early 30s and went to Burning Man for the first time this year with friends she met at a professional conference.

We asked them what they learned …

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Today we are in conversation with Clinton Edminister, an Oregon native who ended up in Savannah via Homer, Alaska.

Of course, SCAD was the draw for a pioneering videographer, but Savannah also gave Clinton the chance to become a true Renaissance man. He is an artist and art advocate, he has started two successful small businesses - Starlandia and Waters Street Cafe, was appointed to the Chatham Area Transit board, and ran, unsuccessfully, for county office.

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Today we are in conversation with Peter Roberts, gallery manager at Location Gallery on Bull Street. It is a joint project with Austin Hill Realty to promote Savannah artists and raise money for local charities. To date, the project has  donated around $300,000. Peter is a Connecticut native who 30 years ago came to Savannah for a year at SCAD. And he's still here.

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Today we are in conversation with the Rev. Michael White, the retiring rector of historic Christ Church Episcopal on Johnson Square.

Michael came to Savannah in 2008 to navigate the church through some of its most turbulent times in a history that dates back to 1733. 

The congregation was divided by the Episcopal Church's acceptance of gay and lesbian clergy and same sex marriages. One group called themselves Anglicans and left the denomination; the other group remained Episcopal. What followed was a lawsuit over who had the rights to the historic church building, a legal and moral dispute that split families, friends and neighbors.

As a Georgia native and former rector of a church in Richmond Hill, White knew what he what he was getting into but he likely didn't imagine that 16 years later the church would have grown to its highest level of members, diversity and viewpoints. 

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