I’m so excited that I got the chance to sit down with my very good friend Ryan Morrison, owner and operator of Tiki Tiki board games. Tiki Tiki is slowly becoming a Woodbury staple and community gathering place with a unique twist on nostalgia and nerdom – it’s truly a place anyone can enjoy. And I hope you that you enjoy listening!

I got to sit down with Michelle Yeager, the Director of the Woodbury Public Library, alongside Leah Klem and Kaylyn Roger who respectively the outgoing and incoming chairs for the Friends of the Public Library.

This was such an important conversation to have as we start to see restrictions being lifted for public spaces, like libraries, and how folks like Michelle, Leah, and Kaylyn have been moving their work forward despite these difficult times.

*Disclaimer: I was not recording at my usual site, so the audio is not up to my standards at all, but it’s what we’ve got and I hope you enjoy listening regardless!

I’m really excited to be rolling along into season two with my next guest – Angela Rogers. Angela is in charge of the 21st Century Community Learning Center, which is a really great program that has been running in our city’s school system for nearly five years now!

The program focuses on building up and edifying Woodbury youth through activities and initiatives that support development of real-life skills and career training. There’s also a huge focus on making sure that families are incorporated into these activities and this program as a whole to ensure that our youth are growing up and developing into strong and responsible citizens right along the folks that invest so much into them.

Enjoy listening!

We're officially kicking off Season 2 of the podcast after a LONG hiatus!

I sat down with local resident and organizer Terry Collins to talk about the upcoming rally this Saturday (June 6th) as a response to the public execution of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week.

The rally will start at Wing-Dickerson Park on Carpenter Street at 1:00 pm. There will be a march from the park to the Superior Court Complex on Hunter Street. 

I hope to see you there! #BlackLivesMatter

So excited to sit down with my friend and the owner of MADE. Artisan Marketplace - Jamilah Damiani.

MADE is located at 65 N. Broad Street downtown in Woodbury and is the newest jewel in the city's crown when it comes to seeing what real development centered around people and the arts can do for our community. 

Be sure to follow them on Instagram (@made_artisan_mktplc) and on Facebook (MADE. Artisan Marketplace) to stay up to date on all of their wonderful events, programs, and offerings!

I got to sit down with my very own mother for today’s episode to speak about an enormously important discussion: addiction. Full disclosure, my mother suffered from an opioid addiction for well over a decade while I was growing up and for better or worse it shaped me into the man I am today. Knowing how extremely prevalent this issue is in many lives across the country, and given the focus of 2020 being aimed “impact,” I felt that it was rightly timed to be a little more open and honest in our conversations with this podcast. 

It’ll be the same theme you see running throughout future episodes and our Instagram (@woodburyvoice) so please be sure to follow along as we focus our year on impacting our communities and moving the city forward together with one voice.

Enjoy!

I’ve been doing my best to get some election coverage done with not too much success, but excited that I was able to highlight the only contested election in the city this season.

Got the chance to sit down with Kevin Furlong, a Republican running for the open Council seat in the Third Ward. We had a great discussion about his hopes and vision for the city - and of course I had to bring in some community development talk before we finished up.

Election Day is next Tuesday, November 5th - polls are open from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm and here is a link if you need to look up your polling location: https://voter.njsvrs.com/elections/polling-lookup.html?polling-location

Make your voice heard and do it loudly!

I got to sit down with Dr. Stanley El this afternoon, and he brought some incredible insight to how we as a city, especially the adults, can collectively engage and develop Woodbury’s youth with more intention and more passion and with better outcomes for our community as whole.

I really want people to glean from this episode a few things.

#1 – As Dr. El would state firmly, the youth in this city (who compromise almost A THIRD of Woodbury’s population) are the wealth of our future and the way we move forward

#2 – The youth are not the burden bearers alone of the weight of today’s problems and it’s just as much up to the adults and current leaders of our city to make strides in achieving new benefits for Woodbury as it is for the youth to carry on that legacy

And #3 – we can all make a difference and it’s of the utmost importance for us to remember this as we carry on throughout lives because something simple that we say or do can have a lasting effect on generations to come.

I hope that this episode enlightens you on how to do your part, share your gift, and not just uplift the city’s youth as the leaders of tomorrow because we’re here now and we’re ready and willing to make a difference now.

Enjoy listening!

I got to sit down with Tim Zatzariny this week from On the Record – a vintage record shop in the heart of downtown at the historic and ever famous Polsky’s cornerstore. Tim and I chatted about his experiences as both a local business owner and a resident of the city and what that means when the two overlap.    

Please make sure that you check out Tim’s shop “On the Record” at the corner of Broad Street and Barber Ave – you can’t miss the bright neon pink Polsky’s sign just above the entrance. That store is a testament to placemaking and the benefits of mixing old and historic with modern and inviting - do yourself a favor and get down there ASAP!

Also please also make sure you follow along with the podcast! You can do so on Instagram @woodburyvoice and sharing with your friends. If you’re interested in helping out with future episodes or would like to be a guest later on, feel free to reach out at [email protected]

Sitting down with the director of the Woodbury Community Garden, Amelie Harris-McGeehan, was one of my summer highlights! Not only does Amelie bring years of experience and expertise about gardening to this conversation, she also hit me with some amazing historical photos of Woodbury from almost 100 years ago where the garden currently sits!

I hope you enjoy this discussion about the power of pushing toward your dreams, taking care of environment, and learning some interesting facts about our city along the way.

If you'd like more information about the garden, visit woodburycommunitygarden.com or search their Facebook page ("Woodbury Community Garden") and also follow us on our Instagram @woodburyvoice. Enjoy! 

P.S. Here is a link to the book Amelie mentions early on in the episode ("City Green" by DyAnne DiSalvo) that was one of the inspiring factors to creating the Woodbury Community Garden:  https://www.amazon.com/City-Green-DyAnne-DiSalvo-Ryan/dp/068812786X