Podcast appearances and mentions of jacob thompson

In this episode, we chat with Choni Fernández, Chief Sustainability Officer and Customer at PortAventura World, the first carbon-neutral theme park in the world, and now proudly B Corp certified.Choni isn't just ticking ESG boxes, she's leading a cultural shift in how attractions operate. From zero-emissions hotels to renewable energy and deep supply chain work, PortAventura is setting the global standard.In this episode, we dive into the real work behind the headlines. How do you build a sustainability culture that actually sticks? Can you lead without a big green team? And what does digital sustainability really mean?If you're serious about sustainability, or wondering where to start, this is the conversation you need to hear.Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden, with co host Andy Povey and roving reporter Claire Furnival.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on LinkedIn. Show references:  PortAventura World website: https://www.portaventuraworld.com/nosotros/trabaja-con-nosotrosChoni Fernández on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/choni-fern%C3%A1ndez-veciana/Choni Fernández is Customer, Sustainability and Communications Director at PortAventura World. With a background in Economics and over a decade at BASF, she joined PortAventura in 2007, where she has led Procurement, Logistics, and Sustainability. She spearheaded the company's sustainability strategy, achieving the milestone of B Corp Certification, and now leads the newly created Customer Department to drive a more customer-centric approach. Choni also serves as Catalonia Delegate at DIRSE and is Chair of the IAAPA EMEA Sustainability Committee. Plus, live from the IAAPA Expo Europe show floor, we catch up with:Jakob Wahl, President & CEO of IAAPAhttps://iaapa.org/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakob-wahl/Elliot Hall from Expression Capital Partners LLPhttps://expressioncapitalpartners.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliot-h-1b804a6a/Matt Barton, CEO / Co-Founder CurtainUp Ltd. & President of Themed Entertainment Association TEA https://www.curtainup.livehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-barton-99a8039/Melissa Oviedo, Chief Executive Officer, Themed Entertainment Association TEA https://www.teaconnect.org/https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-oviedo-ruminot-90a63228/Kevin Murphy, Senior VP, Kraftwerk Living Technologieshttp://www.kraftwerk.athttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-murphy-854439/Jacob Thompson, CX Director, Attractions.io https://attractions.iohttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-thompson-icap-151271149/ Transcriptions:  Welcome, skip the queue, to Barcelona.Paul Marden: Welcome to Skip the Queue, the podcast about the world's best attractions and the amazing people that work in them. I'm your host, Paul Marden, and along with my co-host, Andy Povey, and roving reporter Claire Furnival, we're bringing you the latest news from IAAPA Expo Europe in Barcelona.Paul Marden: You join me today tired and just a little bit emotional at the airport after an amazing week at the show.Paul Marden: In this episode, we wrap up our time at IAAPA Expo Europe with a final look back at the show floor buzz. I catch up with Jakob Wahl, Chief Executive Officer of IAAPA, to get his reflections on an unforgettable week, from standout innovations to what's next for the global attractions industry. But first, Andy sits down with Choni Fernandez, Chief Sustainability Officer at PortAventura World, to explore what it really takes to become the first carbon neutral theme park on the planet and why sustainability must be at the heart of guest experience going forward.Andy Povey: So hello, everybody. I'm joined today by Choni Fernandez from PortAventura World. Choni is responsible for sustainability and guest experience and a number of other things, I believe, Choni. Hello and welcome to Skip the Queue. Hello. Choni Fernandez: Thank you very much for your invitation. Andy Povey: So, Choni, you guys at PortAventura World are really leading the industry and probably more than just our industry. In terms of sustainability, you were the first carbon neutral theme park in the world and in '24, the first theme park company to achieve a BCorp certification. Am I right?Choni Fernandez: Yes, you're right. It was, in fact, we are VCOPS since 2022. And yes, we were operational carbon neutral because we reduced our emissions during several years. And after that, we acquired some carbon credits to compensate the result of the balancing emissions. For scope one and two. Yes. So since then we are operational carbon neutral. That is not really an official name, but it's easy to explain what we are doing. Andy Povey: Okay. So what is the official name?Choni Fernandez: The official name, in fact, now that's interesting because it's a big discussion in the European community. We chat the terms we can use or not. In the new CCRG, that is going to change. Some words like green, sustainable, are probably forbidden, words that cannot be used any longer. And you need to speak properly about the impact of your activity without using these words that can lead to a type of greenwashing. And you need to be more clear about when you say, for instance, 'carbon neutral,' you need to say, 'we have reduced emissions, we compensate.' More explanation than just using one word that can be easily misunderstood.Andy Povey: Okay, yeah, yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Just buying carbon credits. You're actually doing something positive. Taking action. Like, is it Europe's largest solar farm?Choni Fernandez: It's the largest solar farm. That was one of the biggest at the source of Europe. And for sure, I guess, is still the biggest in Spain.Andy Povey: The biggest solar farm in Spain.Choni Fernandez: Sorry, in a holiday resort, yes. There are other very big solar plants that they produce energy for third parties, but they are not linked to a tourist industry.Andy Povey: No, that makes absolute sense. So you're generating your own power.Choni Fernandez: We generate 30%. The plant is not big enough and we have some restrictions of the government. So we cannot sell the surplus of energy we produce. So we could only make the plan as big as the low on consumption we have in a period of a year.Andy Povey: That makes absolute sense.Choni Fernandez: So that means that there are several months where we produce 100% energy we need. But then, obviously, in the peak of the season, we need extra energy. We buy from the net, but we always buy green energy from the net, too. Then 100% of the energy we consume is green energy, not coming from non-renewable.Andy Povey: It all becomes much more complicated as you dive into the detail, doesn't it?Choni Fernandez: Yes, yes, yes. Everything is much more complicated. And in Europe, yes, I would say even one step more complicated than the rest of the world because of all the regulations.Andy Povey: So what was it that inspired PortAventura World and how did you persuade PortAventura World to take sustainability so seriously?Choni Fernandez Okay, the history starts really with, I would say, a huge pain point, even when they were designing the park. And it was related to water. We are established in an area where we suffer from water scarcity many periods. So for those designers, they already designed the park with sustainability in mind. So they have created a complex system to recover all water rains in a big tank that is our Mediterranean lake.Andy Povey: Yeah, yeah, yeah.Choni Fernandez: So water was a treasure since the beginning. And they have also in a private-public investment. Take all the gray waters from the park, sending it to a water treatment plant several kilometres far away from the resort, and making the pipe bring the recycled water back to the resort for gardening. So PortAventura was using recycled water since 30 years ago. And that was really the starting point of sustainability at PortAventura. So we start with all the environmental impacts that the activity was going to have. And they created the park open doors in 1995. So in 1997, just two years after that, they have created the Green Team.Choni Fernandez: It's a team from different members of different departments who takes care of the environmental impacts and how they can reduce the use of water, energy and so on. And this team is still working nowadays and takes care of more complex things, certifications, but with the same, I would say, purpose, you know, that is to reduce the environmental impact of the resort, and now we start to regenerate different areas. So it's not producing impact, it's creating positive impact through regeneration.Choni Fernandez: And that was a starting point. But I like to repeat that sustainability has not fixed rules. So that is the story of Pota Aventura, because we are what we are. We are located where we are. But for instance, in the Global Sustainability Committee of IAAPA, SCARBRED was a member of that. And SCARBRED, the sustainability, had not begun for the water scarcity. They don't have this problem.Choni Fernandez: So sustainability there was more linked to the social sustainability, how to integrate communities in the project. So it really depends, again, in that moment, the momentum, you know, that we call. Where you are, who you are, what is your future footprint of your activity in your community and in the environment.Choni Fernandez: So we start with that. And year after year, we consolidate this beginning. So any new activity of PortAventura, it doesn't matter— new hotel, new park, convention centre has always followed the same philosophy that we started in 1997.Andy Povey: Very good.Choni Fernandez: Yes, because I think that this makes the project really coherent, consistent, and resilient. So it's something that we have not done from day to night, you know. It's something that we have. It's like a dish you have cooked in a low, low temperature, you know. Andy Povey: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Slow cooker. Choni Fernandez: Slow cook. That is. Sustainable PortAventura is slow cook. But at the end, you know, the dish is very good cooked and it's good.Andy Povey: Absolutely. And then, as the person responsible for customer experience within PortAventura World, before talking to you, I wouldn't necessarily have put... sustainability and customer experience together in the same group.Choni Fernandez: You're right because, okay, that is something that has changed also through years, you know, so sustainability was linked and happened at PortAventura. It was totally linked to the environmental part. But that is only one third of what sustainability means. Sustainability is also the social impact and obviously the governance.Choni Fernandez: We call also ESG. Okay, it has some difference because it has more financial meaning. But what is clear when you talk, when we talk about sustainability, we talk about the environmental impacts and the social impacts. And the social impacts are the impacts that your activity, our activity has on people. And when we talk about people, we talk about employees, we talk about our community that's surrounding us, we talk about shareholders, we talk about suppliers, and we talk about guests or visitors. And the activity of any company should have a positive impact on these people that are affected by the activity, that they are also called stakeholders.Choni Fernandez: So, and here is the reason why we try to improve every year the guest experience in order to improve this positive impact. And at the end of the day, because we are not NGOs. We strongly believe that a positive impact on the guest experience is going to be translated in future revenues, more attendance for our parks, and makes our resort more resilient because it's more profitable in the long term.Andy Povey: So this really is a sort of a wheel or a cycle. Choni Fernandez: You are right. You are right. You are right. So we really differentiate at PortAventura. I mean, sustainability is also a new angle to see your business. There is the financial angle. And then there is the angle— how your activity affects the difference they hold up. But that is clear that both need to go together. I mean, business and sustainability. In fact... One of the reasons to become a BCorp company is to evolve our mission and vision with a purpose that integrates sustainability in the business model. So it is much easier for us to talk to employees, to talk to suppliers, to talk to guests. About what is the reason why it exists and why it's important to have sustainability included in order, again, to make our business resilient through the past of the years.Andy Povey: So we have a lot of listeners around the world. What would be your advice to someone running a venue that doesn't have the advantage of starting with sustainability right at the heart and from where they started their business? How do you make a start on this?Choni Fernandez: That is a very interesting question. And the first I think any company needs to do is really to understand the stakeholders they are affecting too. Because just with this complete transparent and dialogue with the different stakeholders, you really can understand what is the impact you are producing on them. And from this result, then you know where are your main pain points, where you need to focus first on. Obviously, there are some general rules. Your impact on the environment, as I told you before, normally a new venue has, for sure, clients, or at least customer guests, employees, probably shareholders, and then in another level, suppliers, community, etc.Choni Fernandez: So, and depends what is the situation, you need to start with that. You need to prepare a good analysis because, if not, what could happen? Imagine that you focus a lot on the environmental part and you start with that because you have seen that PortAventura has started with that.Choni Fernandez: But then that is not your problem because you are in an area where your resources are really well controlled or your resort has very good standards, very efficient, because it has done with high technology, but you have an employee problem.Choni Fernandez: You have problems perhaps to attract employees, to retain the talent, or really to make them happy working with you. Then you have to start the sustainability for not the most important topic in your company. So the most important is to understand what the stakeholders need from you and then to prepare. And it's also very interesting, I think, to start, you know, things small.Choni Fernandez: Making small projects that can be consolidated and embedded into the company. Because what is really important in a company is that each department, each area of the company, maintenance, procurement, human resources, marketing, and each of the departments really is doing the part of sustainability they need to, because it is impossible that one person on every team produces all the sustainability that the whole company needs to do.Choni Fernandez: So if sustainability is really not embedded in the activity of each Japan, it's really impossible to be a successful company in terms of sustainability. You know what I mean?Andy Povey: I know exactly what you mean. That rule is so true for so many things, isn't it? You could replace the word sustainability with guest experience or ride safety. Choni Fernandez: Yes, it's the same. Andy Povey: Any number of different things.Choni Fernandez: I always explain when people say, 'but you have done a lot, Choni.' I say, 'no, no, no, no, no.' Choni has not done a lot.Choni Fernandez: Many people are doing a lot, you know. And sustainability managers or directors normally are orchestra directors. But each one needs to play its own instrument so we have a nice music, you know. If not, it does not work at all, you know, like in orchestra. So we need the maintenance guy, really. or the energy manager to really take care of that. And human resources really to prepare inclusivity, et cetera, policies linked to employees. And marketing, doing really an ethic marketing to guests. So, and that is how everyone is really doing a part of the peak and sustainability of the company.Andy Povey: That sounds very familiar and I'm sure for our guests will ring true in many different areas. It's interesting you talk about really understanding where you are. What it is you're doing. We've done some work here in the UK on the sustainability of websites. So by not printing a park map, you obviously save resources, you save paper. But if you put that on a really inefficient webpage, then you're just consuming someone else's electricity. It doesn't make you any more sustainable.Choni Fernandez: And one thing I would like to tell you is that one of the big steps for us was when our investors make the management very clear that investors of the private funds that own PortAventura were asking for sustainable investments. So that was also a way, really, to receive more money from the investors to the owners. And that is very important because when the financial markets really recognise that sustainability is a plus for an investment, then, you know, things change. Things happen. And we had two moments in this company, in my opinion, for us, for sustainability managers, that make this big change in our mindset. Choni Fernandez: One is the world of our shareholders. And that was really a big, big step forward. Because we realised then, 'oh my God, we are sustainable. We can be sustainable. Our sustainability is a lever really to receive more funds to our business.'Choni Fernandez: And the second one was when we have two different businesses, really a B2C— final customer— and a B2E— travel agencies, companies who do their conventions in our convention, et cetera, et cetera. Once upon a time, a company came to PortAventura asking for a quotation for a big convention, European size, very big one.Choni Fernandez: And before receiving the quotation, they asked, 'Please, can you send us your sustainability report?' Because we would like to see if that's the venue where we want to go. Now, everything changed.Andy Povey: Absolutely.Choni Fernandez: Because at first time, sustainability was bringing business to the company. It was not a nice to have, something that we need to have. It was really part of the business. And that changed the history of the, I would say, the sustainability journey of this company when we have both shareholders' commitment and really request to continue on that. And on the other side, we were recognised for our sustainability activity in a business case.Andy Povey: It's very interesting when you get push or pull from both sides. Choni Fernandez: You're right. Then you realise that there is no other way to do that, you know, so you need pushing, pushing.Andy Povey: You're doing a lot of work about education, work, and working with schools, and having to engage them in your journey.Choni Fernandez: That's again the same case, you know. So in our guest segmentation, school groups are one of them. And it is a very important group for us and I guess for other operators too. As we receive many schoolers. But, you know, the teachers, not students, they thought that the trip to PortAventura was really 100% entertainment. And schools were looking for something more cultural, educational.Choni Fernandez: So then, at that moment, we prepare some workshops at the beginning of the day before the park opens. If the park opens at 10, we can deliver a sustainability workshop from 9 to 10. For instance, talking to kids about biodiversity, about waste management, how to produce green energy. So in the solar plant, we don't have only solar panels. We also have some instruments, some elements to explain children how to produce green energy with movement, with wind, with sun, with solar energy. And they can experiment with their hands. With this element, how to produce this green energy. And they understand very well because that is part of the curriculum that they have to study at school. But now they can put it in practice in a different way, in a way... that our industry delivers very well, that is entertainment, you know?Andy Povey: Yes, yeah, yeah.Choni Fernandez: And that is driving more schools to visit us. So again, there is another link with sustainability, more business, more attendance, more revenues.Andy Povey: We're back on the cycle.Choni Fernandez: Yeah, again, the cycle. We close the loop, you know.Andy Povey: Absolutely. Choni, is there something you'd like to leave as a sort of parting message or a final thought to everybody that's listening to the podcast? A single sentence about how they can emulate your success.Choni Fernandez: No, I think that, okay, sometimes in life, you know, for sustainability managers, I mean, and now in the world, perhaps you feel like Talmon, you know, coming up to the river.Andy Povey: Yeah, yeah, yeah.Choni Fernandez: In a difficult situation, but it doesn't matter. So the evidence is so strong that, if you really can close the loop, as we have been talking, if you can really demonstrate and we can close the gap. Between the sustainability impacts and the financial impacts, then sustainability is part of your business. I think that should be the goal— to really don't have sustainability as something nice to have additional to the business. Avoid that at all.Choni Fernandez: Sustainability is part of the business and makes the business more resilient and more profitable in the long term.Andy Povey: Lovely. That's a great message to leave us with. Paul Marden: Now let's hear some of the buzz from the show floor.Claire Furnival: So day three of IAAPA and I've just bumped into Matt Barton. Matt Barton: Hello. Claire Furnival: Matt, you wear many hats.Matt Barton: My day job is I'm the founder and CEO of Curtain Up. I'm also the owner of 7th Sense, a company that makes media servers and pixel management systems. But I'm also the president of the Themed Entertainment Association, better known as the TEA.Claire Furnival: Crumbs, the busy man. I hear you had a party last night. Matt Barton: We did. Yeah, we had a very successful mixer. We have a great relationship with IAAPA and we have a mixer at all of IAAPA's events around the globe. And we bring our members together, usually on the second or third night of the event.Claire Furnival: Anything announced last night at the party?Matt Barton: Yeah, so we announced our next SAIT conference, and SAIT stands for Storytelling, Architecture, Technology equals Experience. So it's a thought leadership conference where we talk about trends in the industry, best practices to follow, that kind of thing. We've just finished our SAIT Asia event just three weeks ago now, and that was in New Zealand this year. And we just last announced that we're going to be in Dubai next year. Again, building on that great relationship we have with IAAPA, we're actually doing it almost like a pre-conference event. So it's tied in with IAAPA Middle East, which is going to be in Abu Dhabi. We're going to be the week before. So people can then come to SAIT, enjoy SAIT with us, and then go straight down to Abu Dhabi for the IAAPA conference.Claire Furnival: What activities is it that the TEA do? What do you offer your members?Matt Barton: So a whole range of things. And what I'm going to do now is introduce our CEO, Melissa. Melissa Oviedo.Claire Furnival: Great to meet you, Melissa. So what is it that TEA offers its members?Melissa  Oviedo: We are really the connection community. The connection community for the design, the makers, the builders, the creators. Everybody who delivers world-class experiences around the world, that's really who we are and what we represent. That can be from theme parks to museums to cultural to location-based entertainment. Claire Furnival: So I understand that the TEA does an annual benchmark report. Melissa  Oviedo: Yeah, we've just rebranded this. This is the TEA Theme Experience Index. This is the 19th year that we're doing this benchmark study. Yeah, it's really exciting for us. And what this is, is this is the annual attendance report that tracks attendance data from around the globe for the top theme parks, water parks, and museums globally. It really looks at trends, so we can understand where are the guests going, where are they spending their time, how are the parks, especially as they're coming new on the market, how do they influence those trends? And we're actually going to be launching this on October 22nd.Claire Furnival: So a couple of questions spring to mind on that one. So first of all, can anybody access the report?Melissa  Oviedo: Yeah, sure can. It's a completely free resource. You can go online. If you're not a member, we just ask for you to fill out a quick form so we know who's downloading the report. And you will have full access to all of the data, and we will have actual books to hand out at IAAPA in Orlando in November.Claire Furnival: The sector's very, very, very lucky to have this piece of research. So can you give us any snippets as to what we might see in the report?Melissa  Oviedo: I think you'll see that the theme parks are really consistent. The big players are still the big players with Disney and Universal really driving the... main attendance data. And then China, with Chimalong Park, really still holding rank at number one water park in the world. We're seeing the attendance coming back in a fierce way in China.Melissa  Oviedo: Outlook is positive. Overall, though, you'll be able to find in the report a lot of the trends that we're seeing. A lot of what we're not only anticipating in 2025, but in the future as well, with all of the developments that are happening. So, really exciting, this year's report. Claire Furnival: And what about 2026? What does that bring the TEA? Melissa  Oviedo: Momentum is high, right? The community continues to look at how they diversify as an organisation or as a business. Theme parks is our core, but we're so much more than just that. So I think you're going to see. More people doing really cool and immersive things in new places. I think the definition of themed entertainment gets broadened and further defined. I think that you're going to see more activity and more collaboration because collaboration is really when the magic happens. And you're going to start to see that even more robustly in 2026 and beyond. Claire Furnival: Sounds exciting. So last thought from you, Matt.Matt Barton: Yeah, I just wanted to touch on a couple of things we've got left in 2025 before we look to 2026. So I mentioned SAIT earlier. We also have our SAIT conference in North America coming up. So that's in October. at Knott's Berry Farm, and that ties in with when we're launching the Global Experience Index. And then in November, we've got our mixer, our international mixer, combined with the IAAPA conference in Orlando. And so on the Tuesday night of IAAPA, we have our international mixer at the Isle of Berk attraction at Epic Universe. We've got the whole land, we've got dinner and drinks, and it's going to be a good one, so make sure you get your tickets in.Claire Furnival: One not to miss. Well, it's fabulous to catch up with both you, Matt, and you, Melissa. So thank you very much for your time.Matt Barton: Thank you.Melissa  Oviedo:  Thank you so much, Claire.Andy Povey: So we're on day three, and I'm sitting here with Elliot Hall, who's one of the founding partners behind Expression Capital Partners. Elliot, hello. Elliot Hall: Hi, Andy. Good to see you. Andy Povey: For our listeners at home, can you just tell me what Expression Capital Partners do and treat me like an idiot because I really don't understand the world of investment banking and all that kind of stuff.Elliot Hall: Okay, so Expression Capital Partners is the advisory firm to Entertainment Investments 1LP. Which is specialising in the entertainment industry. Andy Povey: Interesting. So I understand you're doing some work with Hasbro and in particular things like Monopoly.Elliot Hall: Yes, yes, yes, absolutely. So we're looking to open monopoly-themed hotels and casinos around the world. Andy Povey: Wow. Elliot Hall: Along with many of the different types of brands, as we're rather across their 1000 plus brands. Andy Povey: I understand there's also some sporting connections. Tell us a little bit about, tell us what you can. Elliot Hall: Yeah, so what we can. We are working with some brands that have relationships and contracts for the IP for UEFA, FIFA and the FA. Yeah, so some really exciting products there and businesses. And we are in a position to be able to sign licenses and lease agreements and so on. And we're looking at bringing all of those brands together, either in the same cluster of IP attractions or within one building under one roof. Andy Povey: So, Elliot, you guys really are the people that are bringing the magic together. The IP, the operators, and then working out how someone funds it all.Elliot Hall: Yes, absolutely, yes. Andy Povey: Fantastic.Claire Furnival: So I'm here talking to Kevin Murphy from Kraftwerk Living Technologies. How are you finding the show this year and what do you see the trends for 2026 for you, Kraftwerk or also the industry?Kevin Murphy: I think in many respects, the trend at the moment is survival, which isn't being negative, but the world is a different place from how it was pre-COVID. The industry, though, is very, very alive. There's a lot happening out there. It's good to see the show for full. We actually tried to get a booth this year and couldn't. Everything had sold out. It's busy. People are wandering around with a very positive vein. But there's no doubt that there's— world tensions and there's problems with investment— and it does affect the industry and you know we're not immune from that. Kevin Murphy: But what's been good about this show is that a lot of the partners and Clients that we're working with are starting to announce their new projects. You have to bear in mind, for us, we do high technology behind the scenes in parks and museums and science centres. We can be working on them for many, many years. So we've had projects that have been brewing and they're just starting to get announced now. So what I'm seeing is, although there's concern about the industry, there is a slightly more positive vein coming through. I think the economy is improving out there, investors are starting to come out, and you can make money out of our industry.Claire Furnival: So what in particular have you got going on in 2026? Anything you can talk about and share with us?Kevin Murphy: Well, we're very, very pleased it's been announced, so I can talk about it. Plopsaland, which is a park in Belgium, are working with Mac. And I'm delighted to see that they've just announced, earlier than we expected, we're still working behind the scenes, but they've now announced their new flying theatre. Which will be ready and prepared at the end of 2026 for the 2027 opening.Claire Furnival: Congratulations, that's really, really exciting news.Kevin Murphy: Sadly, a lot of the other projects, I still can't say too, too much, because they may not have announced.Claire Furnival: Yeah, the dreaded NDAs.Claire Furnival: Just bumped into Jacob from Attractions. io. How's the show been for you?Jacob   Thompson: Great. This is my second time at IAAPA in Barcelona. It's been even better than the first time. So the weather's held out. Great conversations, great company. So overall, a success.Claire Furnival: And a little birdie has told me that you have a new feature coming out.Jacob   Thompson: That is true. So, yeah, we have launched a new product this month called GX Pulse. And the idea is it's enabling operators to make sense of all the noise of guest reviews and sentiment by breaking... reviews down from TripAdvisor, Google reviews, their own internal platforms to make sense and map that across a guest journey, specifically for attractions. So it's able to understand sentiment across things like queue management, your attractions, your food and beverage, give you scores and benchmark you against other venues. But most importantly, give you actionable insights to make improvements to the guest experience.Claire Furnival: Brilliant use of data there. Really, really, really good. So is this product now launched?Jacob  Thompson: Yes, yes it is. So we've been demoing it across some attractions at the trade show floor this week and it's had some really positive feedback. This product is completely separate from our core app platform and experience. So even if you don't have a mobile app and don't need a mobile app, this can be valuable for anybody that is looking to understand the sentiment and experience of their guests across their attractions.Claire Furnival: Fabulous. Guest will be seeing you in IAAPA Orlando.Jacob   Thompson: Yes, and I heard there's going to be a great party hosted by Skip the Queue.Claire Furnival: I'm not sure we'll be hosting a party, but we'll certainly be partying.Jacob   Thompson: Well, I'll be there to join you nonetheless.Paul Marden: So we're here for the final day of IAAPA Expo Europe. I've had a whale of a time and I'm sat here with Jakob Wahl, who amazingly, considering three days into this fantastic expo, is still looking fresh and bright. Jakob, please introduce yourself for our listeners who may not know you.Jakob  Wahl: I'm president and CEO of IAAPA, the Global Association for the Attractions Industry. I've done that now for two and a half years, but in total I've been with IAPA for, I think, nearly 15 years.Paul Marden: Wow, so man and boy almost.Jakob  Wahl: Yeah, you know, and I always say the kid in the candy store— I love doing what we do and bringing people together.Paul Marden: How could you not? So this is my first IAAPA. It has been fantastic and stood on the show floor. I think it was yesterday. I was on my own, done so many interviews. I've been bouncing around, but I just had a few minutes by myself and just stood in the middle of it all. Totally is like being a kid in a candy store, the Willy Wonka moment isn't it? Of what this place is like, because it is so fantastic.Jakob  Wahl:  It is and the most wonderful thing about it is, you know, we as an association, we create a framework, but it is actually all of you, our members, who fill it with life. Because everybody comes together. It's just a massive class reunion. People know each other. And the best thing about it is they're all willing to help and support each other. So obviously, the trade show floor is one component, but we have all those networking sessions, the education sessions, safety corners, we have places where people can exchange, depending on what they work in or where they work, and everybody comes together to share. That is so wonderful, because it's not only family-owned parks, small parks, big parks, but it's also the big private equity corporate players. They're all here to really benefit from this platform, and that fills me with pride.Paul Marden: Good. So, as the week draws to a close, what's been the real highlights for you?Jakob  Wahl: How much time do I have? First of all, the people. It's always the people. It's, you know, for me, it's my team coming together from all around the world, putting this together. And then it's... the people coming and creating those education sessions, creating those moments together, sharing their knowledge. That is just wonderful. There's not one specific moment like that, but it happens all the time. Jakob  Wahl: And then one of the highlights for me is always, always, always the opening reception. That is our Tuesday night event, which took place at Tibidabo, this classic historic amusement park on top of Barcelona. We were a little bit concerned Monday. Will it rain? Will it not rain? So we had to rent tents to make sure that everybody will stay dry. And what happens if you're intense? Obviously, it doesn't rain. Jakob  Wahl: There was an expensive insurance, but it turned out to be exactly that evening. And we have been to Barcelona three times now. We have been to the Tibidabo three times and I think I can be pretty sure that when we go back to Barcelona in three years, we will also go again to Tibidabo because, you know, it's just this evening filled with magic and good people.Paul Marden: Excellent. You've had some time wandering the show floors, I'm sure, talking to suppliers, getting a feel for what's happening in the industry. What have you heard from the show floor that you think is going to influence the sector over the year ahead?Jakob  Wahl: I would have loved to ask you that question, actually. What is your impression?Paul Marden: Oh, the blending of tech with real life I find really interesting. We all want to take our kids to attractions because we want to pull them away from their screens. But there's got to be a hook, I think. And in many cases, there are rides or there are amusements of some form that is a skillful blending of that tech with an in-life, in-real-life experience that I think is the hook to get the kids in. But then we're still wrenching them away from the screens. They're doing something for real with family.Jakob  Wahl: Yeah, I think technology enhances the experience. It doesn't replace the experience. I think that is something which is very clear on the show floor, that there are different ways of how you can combine existing attractions with new technology. And we sometimes call it fusion attractions, where you bring several elements into play with each other. And I think that is very important. What we have seen also is an increase in what I would call smart technology. How can you use technology... to improve the guest flow, to make it even smoother. We all want to have a smooth process. It should be easy on the phone. All those things, besides the classic coasters and water slides and inflatables, that is, I think, some area which has really grown on our trade show floor over the past years.Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. If you can smooth that process from the moment that they hit the website all the way through, getting them to the experience and then back out the other side and encouraging them to want to return again is really important, isn't it?Jakob  Wahl: And the same is for operations and maintenance, the front of house for the customer, but also the back of house. And we learned some fascinating things. We talked in our leadership breakfast with the CEO of a large park group, and he said, 'There are tools that can now predict 93% of the attendance of every day.' And that is just fascinating because that helps operational planning, that helps food and beverage planning, that helps all those aspects in running a park successfully or running an attraction successfully.Paul Marden: Absolutely. So, as we come to the end of IAAPA Expo Europe, there are many US listeners, I'm sure, also quite a few Brits as well, anticipating IAAPA Expo Orlando in November. Have you got any insider tips or things that we can look forward to in Orlando? Jakob  Wahl: I can say it will be epic. There's quite a significant theme park which opened this year, Epic Universe, which is just down the road from the convention centre.Jakob  Wahl: And we actually have not only... Mark Woodbury is speaking in our keynote in our leadership breakfast. But we also have privatised the park on Thursday evening for the IAAPA Celebrates for four hours. So it is Epic Universe, just for IAAPA members, which will be amazing. I've had the luck to visit the park several times. And I can only tell you, you know, you should be there. The evening before the show opens on Monday, IAAPA has the Legends event, the honorary evening for the Hall of Fame. And this year we're actually inducting five inductees. Among them is Dolly Parton. So if you have ever wanted to meet Dolly Parton. Paul Marden: The real Dolly Parton. Wow.Jakob  Wahl: Yeah, Dolly Parton is getting into the IAAPA Hall of Fame, besides some other really fantastic candidates or inductees. And she will be there to receive that accolade. And as you said, you have many British listeners. Next year, IAAPA Expo Europe is in London.Paul Marden: Now, I'd quite like to do an edit for my family that might be listening, because that did sound quite epic. And we need to be absolutely clear that there's lots of hard work to be done in Orlando, as well as enjoying ourselves at Epic and seeing Dolly Parton.Jakob  Wahl: Yeah, I'm pretty sure we need to Skip the Queue on site for a podcast from Orlando.Paul Marden: Oh, there we go. There we go. I think we should end it there. Jakob, it has been delightful to meet you. I've really enjoyed it. I'm so grateful for being invited to come to IAAPA this year. Bring the podcast here. I've had so much fun. I've learned so much. It's been wonderful. Thank you.Jakob  Wahl: Oh, we love what you do. Thank you, you know, for making the attractions industry present in the digital space. And we are all great listeners of your podcast. So thank you for what you do for us.Paul Marden: Wow, what a week. A massive thank you to IAAPA for hosting us in Barcelona. It was an incredible few days of connection, innovation, and inspiration. We've absolutely loved being part of it. And who knows, maybe we'll see you again sooner than you think. If you liked today's episode, please like us or leave a comment on your podcast platform. It really does help people to find us. And lastly, thank you to all of the team that made these daily episodes and today's wrap-up session. A possibility without the team it could not have been possible to have done this— thank you to Emily and Sami at Plaster, Steve at Folland Co. Wenayn, Claire, and Andy back at Skip the Queue HQ. It has been a delight to be with you and I look forward to seeing you again next week. The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsTake the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

Jacob Thompson preaches on John 10 at Summer Salt.

Jacob Thompson preaches on John 6 at Summer Salt.

Jacob Thompson teaches on Psalm 3.

Jacob Thompson & John Carter In this episode, Jacob Thompson, Head Volleyball Coach at Rouse High School and Recruiting Coordinator for Austin Performance Volleyball Club, joins John Carter, Head Baseball Coach at Round Rock High School, to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities facing high school athletes in sports with a strong club or select […]

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Poor Leadership Subtitle: Baptist Doctrine Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Sunday School Date: 8/11/2024 Bible: 1 Samuel 9:1-2 Length: 50 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Warnings from Asia Subtitle: Baptist Doctrine Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Sunday School Date: 8/4/2024 Bible: Revelation 2:4 Length: 45 min.

Jacob Thompson teaches from Ephesians 4 at Summer Salt.

The final sermon in our Summer Salt series through the book of Ephesians. A sermon by Jacob Thompson.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Contentment Subtitle: Baptist Doctrine Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Sunday School Date: 7/7/2024 Bible: 1 Timothy 6:4-10 Length: 42 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Abundance of God Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Sunday - PM Date: 6/30/2024 Bible: Genesis 1:20-21 Length: 42 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Does God Use False Prophets? Subtitle: Baptist Doctrine Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Sunday School Date: 6/16/2024 Bible: 2 Peter 2:1-22 Length: 42 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Verb Charity Subtitle: Baptist Doctrine Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Sunday School Date: 5/19/2024 Bible: 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 Length: 46 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: God’s Sovereign Knowledge Subtitle: Baptist Doctrine Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Sunday School Date: 3/31/2024 Bible: Isaiah 46:9-10 Length: 44 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Conscience Subtitle: Baptist Doctrine Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Sunday School Date: 3/24/2024 Bible: Proverbs 14:12 Length: 49 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Blasphemy Subtitle: Baptist Doctrine Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Sunday School Date: 12/10/2023 Bible: Matthew 12:22-33 Length: 42 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Our Reward Subtitle: Baptist Doctrine Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Sunday School Date: 7/16/2023 Bible: Colossians 3:16-25 Length: 44 min.

The glowing sunrises and working besides dolphins pods alone would be worth getting up for every day but oyster farmer Jacob Thompson also gets a work-out on the job – and he's paid for it.In this Primary Matters series we're meeting people who are pulling on a pair of boots to kick-start a career in the primary industries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fresh off their Bedlam win, Jacob Thompson and Tobias Alvegran join the show to talk about Oklahoma State's rise to the spotlight. After reviving the team two years ago, the Cowboys are looking to make some noise in ACHA M2

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Consequences of Other's Actions Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Midweek Service Date: 9/28/2022 Bible: Numbers 13:26-33 Length: 47 min.

This week we welcome Jacob Thompson from OSU Hockey Club, and Ethan McKinley of the OU Hockey Club to chat about Bedlam on Ice. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/faceoffspot/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/faceoffspot/support

Life does not always go the way we prefer. Disappointments appear. Disturbances occur. How do we respond? How should we? Jacob Thompson tells his story about God meeting us in times of weaknesses and questions. Jacob is the author of From Diagnosis to Destiny: Your Trials Aren't Meant to Break You; They're Meant to Make You—a book offering authentic faith during a major life struggle. He is also the founder and director of TEN20, using his speaking and writing skills to offer hope to people facing life's difficulties. Listen to how God gave him hope amid his battle with Friedreich's Ataxia. Learn how that applies to each of us, whatever our weakness.https://www.ten20words.comFrom Diagnosis to Destiny - https://www.ten20words.com/fdtd

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Don't Look Back Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Sunday - PM Date: 6/19/2022 Bible: Luke 9:57-62 Length: 51 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Don't Look Back Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Sunday - PM Date: 6/19/2022 Bible: Luke 9:57-62 Length: 51 min.

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is  Kelly Molson, MD of Rubber Cheese.Download our free ebook The Ultimate Guide to Doubling Your Visitor NumbersIf you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this episode.Competition ends April 29th 2022. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: https://attractions.io/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-thompson Jacob Thompson joined the industry at the height of the pandemic and heads up business development for Attractions.io, a mobile app platform dedicated to creating better guest experiences.Before joining Attractions.io, Jacob has worked across varying sectors, including financial services, not-for-profit, education and tech, and has a passion for helping businesses realise the fantastic opportunities that technology presents us with.When he's not working, Jacob is a keen reader, an average basketball player and a below-average golfer. Transcription: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in, or working with, visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. Each episode, I speak with industry experts from the attractions world. In today's episode, I speak with Jacob Thompson, Business Development Manager at Attractions.io. We discuss exactly why your attraction needs an app, and the incredible positives of going digital, from an environmental perspective. If you like what you hear, subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels, by searching Skip the Queue.Kelly Molson: Jacob, thank you for coming on the Skip the Queue podcast this morning. It's lovely to have you.Jacob Thompson: Thanks for having me. Listened to it for a long time. So it's an absolute pleasure to finally be on it as well.Kelly Molson: Oh, I love that. I love it when guests come on and they already love the podcast. Maybe I'll be kinder to you with the icebreaker questions because of that. Or maybe not.Jacob Thompson: Please do. Please do.Kelly Molson: Right. Let's get cracking. I want to know what your favourite movie quote is?Jacob Thompson: "We're going to need a bigger boat." I think it's got to be, hasn't it? Iconic. And I find myself using that expression a lot, especially with how busy things are currently. I think it kind of translates very well.Kelly Molson: Love it. Yeah. That is a perfect one for how we're all feeling right now. Jacob and I had a little conversation just before we started recording, about how busy we all are right now. There seems to be an influx of very positive, new leads and inquiries, which is wonderful, but also, oh, I think that probably sums up how we're feeling, right?Jacob Thompson: Absolutely. Absolutely.Kelly Molson: Okay. If you could get rid of one food, so nobody ever had to eat this food ever again, what would it be? What would you destroy?Jacob Thompson: Oh, Stilton. Oh, is that going to be an unpopular-Kelly Molson: Cheese?Jacob Thompson: Can I use that as my unpopular opinion? It's just when you have a cheese platter, the smell just ruins it for me. And I think just get rid of it. There's plenty of other cheeses to choose from, so that... Can I use that as my unpopular opinion as well, maybe?Kelly Molson: No, you can't. We were getting on so well up until that point as well.Jacob Thompson: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Had to be honest.Kelly Molson: Wow. Okay. This might not go as well. All right. Okay. Tell me something that you are not very good at?Jacob Thompson: Oh, there's a lot of things. I think maybe this is a little bit deep, but I think reflecting on previous achievements, I think I often get so focused on what needs to be done that actually, I forget all of the things that I have done already. And I think maybe that's a bit deep and philosophical for what you are looking for. But that's yeah... That's what I go with.Kelly Molson: That's a really good one. Because I think that that is a good reminder that we all need to celebrate the small wins, don't we? We really need to take time out. And I think that's quite a common challenge with a lot of us. I am exactly the same as you. I'm always focused on what's next. What's next? What's next? And then don't sit back and go, oh actually we did a really good job there.Jacob Thompson: Definitely.Kelly Molson: Pat ourselves on the back a little bit.Jacob Thompson: Need to do it a little bit more.Kelly Molson: Definitely. All right. You're unpopular opinion. Not about cheese.Jacob Thompson: Oh, so I've probably already alienated that half of the listeners already. Probably more than half, but oh, yeah. What could I give you that's not too controversial? I think firstly, I fully get behind the England team and really get into it when it comes to the World Cup and the Euro's. But when I put them side by side, I think rugby is the better sport, over football. So sorry if I offend anyone there.Kelly Molson: Okay. All right. No, that's fine. I think this has come up before as well actually, that rugby is the far superior sport to football. I'm a massive football fan.Jacob Thompson: Yeah.Kelly Molson: So I'm going to disagree with you.Jacob Thompson: Yeah.Kelly Molson: But I think there's plenty of people that will agree with your unpopular opinion. Let us know what you think about that one listeners? And Jacob, tell us a little bit about you, and what your role is at Attractions.io?Jacob Thompson: Yeah. So I'm the business development manager for Attractions.io. So basically my role is to speak with attractions at an early stage to understand obviously, what we can help them with, what they're struggling with at the moment. And I've been doing that for the past two years now. So a relative rookie in the industry compared to some of the big hitters that you've had join you on the podcast. But yeah, it's really just, I'm here to help attractions, especially not just with a mobile app, but just their approach to their digital strategy. How they can engage their guests, how they can better communicate them. And obviously, most importantly, create better guest experiences. And that's what I'm here to do.Kelly Molson: Did you come from an attractions background? Have you got a slightly different...Jacob Thompson: So I'm still pretty young. So I left school with not really a clear direction on what I wanted to do. But I thought if I give everything to go work hard at it, and see what opportunities present themselves to me. So after leaving school, I quickly moved into to the tech background, and working with mobile app providers, for conferences and events. And after a few changes and moves, I found myself at Attractions.io. And I think obviously there was huge imposter syndrome entering the industry because I know, I learned very quickly how kind of tight knit it is. But I guess I kind of went in with a mindset of, if I've been visiting attractions since as young as I can remember. So I've got the experience, I know what a good guest experience feels like. And I've just tried to bring that to the role. But yeah, so still very, very new to the industry.Kelly Molson: But you've got real world experience. So that's-Jacob Thompson: Exactly.Kelly Molson: ...what's important. And I love that you mentioned customer experience there.Jacob Thompson: Yep.Kelly Molson: Because that's what I really love about Attractions.io. So all the content that you produce or the webinars that I've watched, that yourself and Mark have spoken on, is that you are all about improving the customer experience. And I love that because that's exactly what Rubber Cheese is all about as well. But it's interesting because we come from slightly different ways of looking at that.Jacob Thompson: Yep.Kelly Molson: So I guess we are all about that kind of pre-visit experience and making people feel excited about what they're potentially buying and what they're potentially going to see. And then you guys take over with the-Jacob Thompson: Yep.Kelly Molson: ..app visitor experience. So we are very complimentary. I've got loads of questions around what you do today, but I think the most important question that I want to know is, why does an attraction need an app?Jacob Thompson: Yeah. So I think there's kind of two sides to this. I think firstly, and this has been largely because of the pandemic, but it's always changing, is guest expectations. So I think we all know that we spent however long in lock down. Everything turned digital for us, our whole lives and experiences were digital. And we got very used to being served personalised content, whether that's Netflix, given recommendations, personalised ads, Amazon offering discounts on products we've viewed, things like that. It shaped that, experienced in the expectations we now have, is that wherever we go, we want that same personalised experience. It makes us feel special. It creates a better experience. I think also there's now more digital natives. So people that have grown up with technology, than there has been previously. And I think, I know for one that I'm comfortable and happy to order, when I go to McDonald's or Wetherspoons, or wherever I may go, ordering through my phone as much-Kelly Molson: Still, insight in there, to get your free time Jacob.Jacob Thompson: I don't get, don't go to McDonald's as much as they used to. So yeah, no, but I think it's that whole expectation. It makes people's lives easier. And I think, tying into that, is actually solving the problems that I guess, some we knew of and tried to hide. And some, we hadn't even really kind of come across before, that were highlighted during the pandemic. So I think that the biggest one was queues, and social distancing. Queues are kind of that number one complaint that guests have, especially a theme park, you spend more time queuing than you do on rides. So suddenly, parks and operators needed to look at that, and go, how do we remove those physical queues? Because we can't have people standing next to each other for that long.Jacob Thompson: And that's where things like virtual queuing came in, and just adapting to use technology, to solve a lot of the problems that already existed and unlock new benefits that we didn't have before. So being able to have that direct channel of communication. You mentioned that pre-visit experience, you've got so much control around building that excitement, understanding who's on your website, what they're clicking on, what they're engaging with most. But then they arrive on site and we've lost that channel there. And that's obviously what we're out here to provide.Kelly Molson: I love that. Yeah. And it's really important. Isn't it? Because like you say, once someone's in, you've essentially lost them. If they're not attached to their app or they're not like engaged with it in some way. You're giving them, it's harder to understand where people are, where they're interacting, what their challenges are, what their frustrations are, what their positives are, I guess. So tell me some of the biggest challenges that attractions will bring to you, that might shape what their app would look like?Jacob Thompson: Yeah. That's a tough one, because I think every attraction is slightly different. And I mean, we work with theme parks, zoos, resorts, heritage attractions. They've all got their independent challenges. I think when I joined the industry, so I joined right in the middle of the pandemic. So early on, maybe just before summer 2020. So right in the middle of it, and obviously everyone was panicking, going, how do we reopen safely? And a lot of that was around, obviously supporting social distancing, with things like virtual queues, using heat map data of guest flow to understand where people going, and making sure that we're spreading people out. Now we're, fingers crossed, at the tail end of that. I think it's still highlighted a lot around the guest experience. So making sure guest flow is spread out. So people aren't queuing for ages.Jacob Thompson: That they're not having to wait to get on rides, or to see an attraction, that they can move around freely. I think another thing, and it starts to crop up a lot more, is ungated attractions. So whether that's free to enter attractions, there's some theme parks that we work with, where you can go in for free and you just pay per ride. A lack of understanding of who's visiting them.Kelly Molson: Yeah.Jacob Thompson: So they may get the odd bit of information, maybe on pre purchase of car parking, but largely they can maybe only understand 10% of their visitor base, which we need to unlock as much of that data as possible. By having that app there, is we can collect email addresses and behavioural data to attach to that, which in turn, just opens up that world of possibility, to engage guests and understand who they are.Jacob Thompson: But I think the biggest thing now that I've noticed is that people, as we spoke about expectations, changing, do understand the importance and need for that digital presence and that experience on site. So I think the biggest challenge that's coming to us now is, how do we do this right? Because there's so many ways to approach building an app and it's about rethinking, okay, how can we not only benefit the guest and create a really good guest experience, but how can we obviously gain those benefits as operators? So that data, those insights, and often rushing into building an app can lead to just an interactive map and not much more, and not giving much substance. So yeah, again, from your experience, I don't know from the previous experience, what it's like for you, when you get operators coming to you, because digital is so important now, how they approach that. And whether they want to jump in and just make sure they've got the basics, or it'd be really good to understand how you've approached that as well.Kelly Molson: Yeah. So I guess it is interesting. So as a web design agency, we often get asked about apps. And it's always, okay, well, we've had this idea and we think that we need an app. And you go, okay, well, let's pull that apart. What does this app need to do for you? What does it need to deliver for you? And then essentially they will kind of explain something that their website already does. And so we are like, okay, well, you don't need to create an app that's a carbon copy of your website. It has to do something more for the guest. They can go to your website and they can find that information. What is, what's the use of just replicating that in an app.Kelly Molson: And I think that's the challenge, is understanding really, what the benefit to the client, what the benefits are to the customer is, and what the benefit to them is going to be, and not just replicating what they already have, because that doesn't make any sense. So that's what I see as the biggest challenge is. Do attractions, and then not just attractions because we work with a variety of people. Do people really understand what that need, and what that benefit is going to it be by having an app? I think that's what we get asked all the time.Jacob Thompson: Yeah, absolutely. And I think one thing that people often, until they start to speak to us, and I think the biggest thing is, is that education piece around, there's no point in doing this kind of just have an app for the sake of it. It's really making sure that it's delivering value. And most people see the app, but then forget that we've not just spent a long time building an app dedicated to the attraction's industry. We've also got a whole operator experience as well in the background, where it's given those data and insights, allowing you to use the data capture, to communicate with guests. And I think that's one thing that the education is so important, because what we don't want is, is attractions taking that leap, trying to build an app themselves, and have not really thought it through.Jacob Thompson: And we really want to make sure that they've got all the information they need to make an informed decision around how is this going to add value to the guest experience. And also how is it going make our lives easier, solve our biggest challenges, and obviously bring the benefits of increased revenue, increased NPS. So there's a whole host. And I think education's just that big piece that we really have to work with when we speak to attractions.Kelly Molson: Yeah, definitely. And I think what was really interesting. So I listened to Mark.Jacob Thompson: Yep.Kelly Molson: Founder of Attractions.io. I listened to his podcast interview that he did with the great guys at AttractionPros. And I really liked how he described the approach to what you guys do for app development, as a holistic approach. And this was really interesting because he described it as, "A lot of the time when attractions want to develop an app, it will sit with marketing, and it'll be very much in the marketing departments pile." But where he said, actually, this is a whole operational piece, that this app could be. And it was really interesting to hear, how this app can have an effect on so many different departments. From operations, in terms of customer flow, like you mentioned, yes it is a marketing piece as well, but yes, you can order your food.Kelly Molson: So the beverage team need to be involved in these decisions as well. And I just, I kind of thought, yeah, that this is so much bigger, isn't it? It's such a, it could be such an integrated piece that could really help so many different departments across the organisation, rather than it just being something that marketing pick up and go, we need an app.Jacob Thompson: Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's, again, it's probably my biggest challenge when speaking to attractions, is getting that message across. And yeah, like you say, it's very easy for marketing to have, own the app and do a good job with it. But in that siloed approach, they miss out on so many opportunities. And just from the deployments we've done, and even attractions that have apps with different providers that have done it right, or built it themselves, is the best ones are where it really just span the entire guest experience, which as you mentioned, it spans the whole team at that attraction. So retail, food and beverage operations, ride operators, even senior management, in terms of planning, expansion, understanding what guests are doing, where they're spending the time. It really is. Yeah. That, that holistic approach to the whole digital strategy.Jacob Thompson: And I think it also ties into, again, what you and the team do is, tying the whole journey together. So it's a seamless digital experience from the moment they see an advert online, to going through to the website, to purchasing their tickets, uploading their tickets into the app, using scanning it when they arrive. Using the app through the whole experience. And then obviously the data that we've captured from the start of the journey. So the booking phase to the app phase is then continuing to own that relationship going forward, and being able to communicate with them. So you want people to come back, you want them to bring friends and family, you want them to purchase season passes. So by creating that end to end guest journey, you've then got full control to engage and influence that the guests that are visiting with you.Kelly Molson: Yeah. It's really powerful, isn't it? When you actually timeline that journey through, that's a really powerful, to be able to contain that data for so long. Here's a question for you. Now this is something that's come up a few times when I've had guests on. And I think actually it was one of our guest's unpopular opinions. I'm pretty sure it was.Jacob Thompson: Yeah.Kelly Molson: How do you get the balance right, of wanting guests to engage with the app, but not trying to detract their attention from the attraction that they're currently in. So this was definitely, I can remember now, it was the interview that we carried out with Edinburgh Zoo.Jacob Thompson: Yeah.Kelly Molson: David Field of Edinburgh Zoo.Jacob Thompson: Yep.Kelly Molson: The unpopular opinion was, "I just, I don't, I want people off of their phones while they're here. I don't want them on their phones. I want them to be present. I want them to be in the moment." And so I guess that's really tricky, isn't it? Like, how do you do that?Jacob Thompson: Yeah. And do you know what? That is quite a common early objection that we'll come up against. And I think the kind of highlight is, is we don't want people on the phones the whole time. We don't want them staring at the phone. We want them experiencing it. We want to enhance that experience. I think there's a few ways we do that. And just that is, firstly, it's getting people from A to B quicker. So let's say we're at the zoo and we want to go find the penguins. So a paper map, obviously we can talk about sustainability, and the printed maps aren't great for the environment and cost money. Having the app there, we've got, rather than having to rotate the map, you've got the whole family standing around. It is, we can quickly find where we want to go and use the wayfinding abilities to get, to see the animals quicker.Jacob Thompson: So we don't miss the keeper talks, the animal feeding time. So it's removing some of those challenges to allow people to actually spend more time engaging, whether that's getting on the ride, seeing the animals, rather than all the little bits in between. The other thing is reducing, as I mentioned, some of those real pain points around queuing. So let's say the kids are on the playground, and you want to go and order food. Normally you'd have to queue, but now with a mobile app, you can stand there, watch your kids play in, they can have fun, you can order your food and you'll get an alert to say, right, go and pick it up now. And you've just saved all of that time where the kids would be kicking and screaming, because you're dragging them away from the playground. That you can just sit back order your food, and wait for it to be ready.Jacob Thompson: And then the other aspect and the third aspect that kind of ties it all together is, enhancing the experience. So when people are looking at, let's say some of the animals is, that we can supplement that with audio and video guides, to just really educate. And that's one big thing that we work with zoos on, is more than just having kind of the name plaque and the name in Latin, is how can we engage, especially a younger audience, and educate them and start to promote those conservation initiatives, which obviously drives revenue.Jacob Thompson: So there's a few different areas, but I think ultimately we just want to enhance that physical experience. We're not here to replace it. And I think, hopefully, all of the attractions that we've work with, will affirm that, and understand that it's helped. It's really helped engage guests in a better way but still hasn't taken away. Because you can't replace the feeling of seeing your favourite animal for the first time or going on that roller coaster. So it's all about being that companion, to make that experience better and not take away from it.Kelly Molson: That's a great word, a digital companion. I love that.Jacob Thompson: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.Kelly Molson: I actually prefer that to app. We should all use-Jacob Thompson: Yeah, there you go. Maybe we'll, yeah, I'll rebrand my sales material. But yeah, I think that's exactly what it is and yeah, we're here to supplement and enhance it. Not take away from it, or replace it.Kelly Molson: Yeah. It's great. And there's some great benefits in there as well. Just from, from talking about that, I could, it was, I could see myself kind of at the playground waiting for my kids.Jacob Thompson: Yeah.Kelly Molson: I could put myself in that situation. Something that you touched on actually was sustainability. And I'd really like to talk about this. I mean, sustainability is something that all attractions need to be really focused on anyway. But we had a really great past episode on this specifically, with Lucy Downing and Sue Pennington from Holkham Hall. And they talked through, I mean, phenomenal sustainability policies that they have in place there and their Wonder program that they've initiated there, which is incredible. There's a really good case study on your website that I've read a number of times now, from ZooTampa.Jacob Thompson: Yep.Kelly Molson: I would really love to hear a little bit more about this, because it does some really incredibly positive things for the environment, the sustainability around the zoo. And they've made some, like quite phenomenal cost savings as well.Jacob Thompson: Yeah, absolutely. So I think that the case really kind of came off the back of, I think it was Green Loop. Me, Mark, and the team at ZooTampa, did the talk just around how having a digital presence like that, and having a mobile app can help with sustainability. So yeah, hopefully I'm quoting it right. So I think the kind of amazing results, that even blew me and Mark away, when we heard them, was that ZooTampa were able to save $50,000 a year, which is just phenomenal. Especially for a charity, a zoo. But they're cutting their print waste by 95%.Kelly Molson: That's amazing.Jacob Thompson: And it's almost nothing. And what that has done, obviously apart from having that immediate impact on the reduced print and the cost savings, is that there's two things that have happened. Obviously, those cost savings can now be redirected to something much more important. Whether that be the conservation initiatives that they run locally, to them, or obviously internationally that they're involved in. But also the way they went about it was not only digitising maps and not printing maps anymore but pushing for digitised tickets.Jacob Thompson: So they now get people to upload their tickets into the mobile app. And that means that more people, because there's a need now to have everything within the app, that they now can communicate those conservation initiatives, because they've got that direct channel during the visit, during the experience. So they can educate and really capture the whole audience. And I think it's not just ZooTampa obviously that yet, absolutely incredible results that they've seen, but we've seen a lot of attractions, not just zoos, but theme parks as well. In some of our partner attractions, reducing printed, like guest printed information, completely. So the only option is that digital companion, we'll call it now, I like that one. So I think it's been a real shift and it's so important. And I think it's been ever present recently, but it's something we need to continue to think about, sustainability, and it all ties back to those expectations as well.Jacob Thompson: And the digital natives especially is that people either expect or are really comfortable now, in the majority of cases, using a digital channel. So if it makes life easier, if it enhances the experience, then it's a perfect way to channel people in that direction, rather than picking up a printed map. And I know a lot of parks that haven't, are on that path now, from handing out loads of maps, to now, just printing maybe 10, 15% of what they used to. Just to have it on hand. But I think over the next couple of years, especially we're just going to see that shift towards a 100% digital, because it has all the added benefits, not only just of the sustainability angle as well.Kelly Molson: Yeah. I mean, it's phenomenal, isn't it? The cost savings.Jacob Thompson: Mm-hmm (affirmative).Kelly Molson: And the advantages to sustainability that, that can bring. I mean, I think it's important to acknowledge that, we probably talk from a place of privilege that we have mobile phones, and we know how to use them, and there will be a lot of people out there that, it's accessible for them. So there is self place for printed maps.Jacob Thompson: Yeah.Kelly Molson: But to be able to save so much and channel that into other things, is just incredible. Who knew that an app could be so valuable?Jacob Thompson: Who knew, and yeah. It's just been, yeah. It's been amazing to see. And I think the results like that, when we can save charities money through our product, it's obviously, yeah. It's very rewarding to see. And yeah, I think, always got a soft spot when working with zoos, because I know there is that opportunity out there to really help them.Kelly Molson: Yeah, absolutely. I want to go back a little bit. To what we talked about earlier, about some of the common challenges that attractions bring you. And kind of what I mentioned as well, about how we often get asked, hey, I need an app, but then it's not really, they are not very clear about what that app needs to do. What do you need to understand from an attraction to be able to work out what would be the perfect solution for them? Like, what do they need to think about before they come to speak to you?Jacob Thompson: Yeah, well, there is a lot to think about, and that's what we're here to help with. I think firstly, it's really zooming out a little bit. And we did run bit of initiative last year to help attractions around mapping out the entire digital guest journey. Because as we mentioned, that timeline is really powerful, but we almost want to see it as a bit of a flywheel rather than an end to end timeline, because what we want to do is make sure the app is connecting the start and the end of the visit, but ties it all back together. So I think firstly just, just mapping out, understanding what technology they're currently using. So things like ticketing providers is incredibly important because we want to be able to integrate with them, through to point of sale, CRM systems.Jacob Thompson: Once we've started to tie that together, it's then to really look at guest feedback, and feedback from the wider team as well. When we look at that holistic approach, to understand, okay, what challenges can we solve? So what are the biggest pain points for the guest experience right now? And like I said, that they'll differ for each attraction. But once you can pinpoint those, whether that be queue times, whether that be everyone is going into the same food outlet at lunch, and we're just getting people waiting around for ages. Whether that be the animals, aren't always visible. It's how can we communicate with guests, to let them know when the animals might be visible or when there's the next keeper talk so they can make sure they can obviously see the animals they've gone there to see.Jacob Thompson: I think obviously that's just a flavour of some of the problems. But I think most important, is mapping that guest journey out and then pinpointing where an app is going to be able to solve those problems. There'll be some added benefits along the way. And once you've got that, and that's what we are here to help attractions do is, then you can start to really evaluate the process of, okay, how do we go about implementing an app. So it's not just let's launch an app in the app store. It's how do we market that properly? Because otherwise, if you don't explain the benefits or the reasons behind the launch, the app, people won't download it, if you don't make it visible. So if you don't promote it, when people are purchasing tickets, when they're receiving the ticket confirmation, when they arrive on site.Jacob Thompson: So again, it's that holistic approach that attractions need to just zoom out a little bit, understand what they're currently doing, identify those pain points, and then start to evaluate the solutions that are out there. So there's kind of three approaches that we often see. There's the do it yourself, which larger attractions, no doubt, have the capital to throw at that kind of project. It takes millions of pounds of investment and years of work to get a solution, to be that world class solution. And obviously, Mark and the team at Attractions.io, have learnt that the hard way I guess. And they've gone and done that, so other attractions don't have to. There's bringing in teams to help with that, which especially with an app for a visitor attraction, it's such a specific thing. So things that need to be considered like battery life conservation.Jacob Thompson: So it's not just like ordering a Domino's and you can put your phone away, you out for the whole day, you need to make sure that your battery life will last. And there's loads of work just around optimizing that. Things like being an offline solution as well, that often someone coming in wouldn't really understand if they're not from the attractions space, is that we know you can go to a lot of visitor attractions, and I think most of them admit themselves, there's always going to be a patchy signal in some places.Jacob Thompson: So we need to make sure that experience doesn't, isn't impacted because of that. And then I think finally, is ourselves and obviously platforms like ourselves. So like I said, there's been loads of investment going into the platform and it now means that we can scale that out to attractions very quickly. And they're kind of the three approaches that people will look at. So yeah, I guess looking at their current guest journey and then starting to evaluate the approach to how to launch a mobile app. And that's, they're the two big areas that I guess attractions will look at, on that journey.Kelly Molson: That's brilliant. Thank you for detailing that out for us. It's interesting, because it's a really similar process that we go through when we are asking about websites at the start.Jacob Thompson: Yeah.Kelly Molson: What technology are you already using? What does it need to integrate with? What are your challenges? What are your customers saying are big issues with stuff. And again, taking that real holistic approach, and making sure that everybody is having their say, and what gets produced, and what is going to be of benefit. So, yeah. Brilliant. Thank you. We always ask our guests that come on the podcast, if they can share a book that they love with us, something they love, something that's influenced their career in some way. It can be personal, it can be work related. What have you got to share with us?Jacob Thompson: Yeah. So I know that, I think I've seen Mark Ellis and Johnny both recommended, I think Mark went to the extreme of recommending 43 books, I think. I know it was obviously part of a larger series and I could have easily done maybe not 43, but a few, but I have taken it down to one book, which is Atomic Habits, by James Clear. I don't know whether it's been recommended before, but I picked this. In fact, I listened to it on audiobook first, and then loved it that much, that I bought the physical copy. I think it's impacted so many areas of my life personally, professionally. I think it's, I won't give too much away. People should read it, but it's all about making change. So whether that be implementing new habits, getting rid of old ones, it's all that, there's so much really useful information and tips in there that a lot of books tend to waffle on and pad it out.Jacob Thompson: This is page to page, really actionable advice on making change, implementing change and basically just starting off small. And then yeah, like you say, look back and see all those changes that come together to have that big impact. So that's, that's my one recommendation, I'll stick to.Kelly Molson: One book recommendation. Did you hear that listeners? One book. Well done Jacob.Jacob Thompson: Yep. It was hard.Jacob Thompson: It was hard.Kelly Molson: Following instructions though.Jacob Thompson: Yeah.Kelly Molson: It's a great book. I have read that book.Jacob Thompson: Yeah.Kelly Molson: And it is an awesome book. I really like, it's about marginal games really, isn't it?Jacob Thompson: Yep.Kelly Molson: It's about being one percent better. One percent better all the time.Jacob Thompson: Mm-hmm (affirmative).Kelly Molson: And that is something that I think is really important, rather than taking a massive jump into trying to do something huge and looks really scary. But yeah, it's a big thing about celebrating your progress in there.Jacob Thompson: Yeah.Kelly Molson: So that's one that we all should take away from today. Thank you. As ever, if you want to win a copy of that book, if you head over to our Twitter account and you retweet this episode announcement with the words, "I want Jacob's book", then you will be in with the chance of winning it. Jacob, thank you. I've really enjoyed our talk today. It's really interesting to see, I think how aligned both of our approaches are. And I hope that our listeners today will take away from this, how important and how beneficial an app can actually be, as long as it's thought out, and processed, and constructed in the right way.Jacob Thompson: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. You've summed that up perfectly. So yeah, it's been an absolute pleasure to talk about it today, and yeah, thanks for having me on the podcast.Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip The Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us, and remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese,, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions, that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.

Join host Richard Mendelow and his wingman Christy Stratton as they talk to Jacob Thompson. Jacob may seem like a regular, every day, ordinary guy, but he is anything but ordinary. He is a Courageous Christian! You will want to hear Jacob's story of learning to give every area of his life to God and why he says, "Whatever the Lord is calling you to do, you better get on with it!" Please add this podcast to your library, rate it, and review it. And share this and all episodes with those who will benefit. To catch all previous episodes and learn more about this ministry, visit CourageousChristianity.today. God Bless and Semper Fi! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wendy is now grown up. She is married with a daughter of her own named Jane. Jane loves to hear stories about Peter Pan and the Neverland.This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl. It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Anna Bilbrough as Adult Wendy and Alana Denham-Preston as Jane.Sound design for this episode by Jacob Thompson and musical direction by Marli van der Bijl. Attributions for this episode can be found here.The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung, Ngunnawal, and Wadawurrung people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store.Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.

Wendy is now grown up. She is married with a daughter of her own named Jane. Jane loves to hear stories about Peter Pan and the Neverland.This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl. It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Anna Bilbrough as Adult Wendy and Alana Denham-Preston as Jane.Sound design for this episode by Jacob Thompson and musical direction by Marli van der Bijl. Attributions for this episode can be found here.The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung, Ngunnawal, and Wadawurrung people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store.Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.

An oath fulfilled. Time has run out. The final battle between Pan and Hook will reveal all — Hook or Pan this time?This episode features 'You've Got Me, James Hook!' by Stamatis Seraphim during the battle between Pan and Hook. Simply put, it's breathtaking! ♥ We hope that it moves you as much as it moved us.This episode was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl. Sound design by Jacob Thompson and musical direction by Marli van der Bijl.It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Barry Kay as Captain Hook, Annie Laurenson as Smee, Conagh Punch as Gentleman Starkey, Jono Lukins as Mullins, Nigel Goodwin as Noodler and Quercus, Jack Emond as Chameleon, Fred Preston as Cookson, Alana Denham-Preston as Wendy Darling, Felix Steinwandel as Michael Darling, Evie Ifandoudas as Tootles, Megan Lilley as Slightly, Eloise Keppler as Nibs, Solveig Yen as Curly, Katerina Ifandoudas as Twin 1, Irini Ifandoudas as Twin 2, Emily Archer as Pockets and Kira Yang as Tiger Lily. The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Bunurong, Eastern Maar, Eora, Gadigal, Kaurna, Ngunnawal, Noongar, Wadawurrung, Wangal, Whadjuk and Wurundjeri people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store.Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.

An oath fulfilled. Time has run out. The final battle between Pan and Hook will reveal all — Hook or Pan this time?This episode features 'You've Got Me, James Hook!' by Stamatis Seraphim during the battle between Pan and Hook. Simply put, it's breathtaking! ♥ We hope that it moves you as much as it moved us.This episode was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl. Sound design by Jacob Thompson and musical direction by Marli van der Bijl.It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Barry Kay as Captain Hook, Annie Laurenson as Smee, Conagh Punch as Gentleman Starkey, Jono Lukins as Mullins, Nigel Goodwin as Noodler and Quercus, Jack Emond as Chameleon, Fred Preston as Cookson, Alana Denham-Preston as Wendy Darling, Felix Steinwandel as Michael Darling, Evie Ifandoudas as Tootles, Megan Lilley as Slightly, Eloise Keppler as Nibs, Solveig Yen as Curly, Katerina Ifandoudas as Twin 1, Irini Ifandoudas as Twin 2, Emily Archer as Pockets and Kira Yang as Tiger Lily. The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Bunurong, Eastern Maar, Eora, Gadigal, Kaurna, Ngunnawal, Noongar, Wadawurrung, Wangal, Whadjuk and Wurundjeri people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store.Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.

The series featuring Courageous Christians continues in this episode as host Richard Mendelow and his wingman Christy Stratton talk to Jacob Thompson. Jacob may seem like a regular, everyday, ordinary guy, but he is anything but ordinary. You will want to hear Jacob's story of learning to give every area of his life to God and why he says, "Whatever the Lord is calling you to do, you better get on with it!" Please add this podcast to your library, rate it, and review it. And share this and all episodes with those who will benefit. To catch all previous episodes and learn more about this ministry, visit CourageousChristianity.today. God Bless and Semper Fi! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chapter 13 – The pirates have captured the children, but where is Peter? Still asleep in the home under the ground, blissfully unaware of tragedy unfolding.  This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl.It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Anna Faye as Tinker Bell and Barry Kay as Captain James Hook.Sound design for this episode by Jacob Thompson with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl. Attributions for this episode can be found here.The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Wadawurrung people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store.Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.

Chapter 13 – The pirates have captured the children, but where is Peter? Still asleep in the home under the ground, blissfully unaware of tragedy unfolding.  This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl.It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Anna Faye as Tinker Bell and Barry Kay as Captain James Hook.Sound design for this episode by Jacob Thompson with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl. Attributions for this episode can be found here.The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Wadawurrung people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store.Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.

Chapter 10 – The children find themselves new friends in the Neverlanders after saving Tiger Lily on Marooners' Rock. The home under the ground starts becoming a family as they settle in for one of Wendy's stories.This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl.It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Kira Yang as Tiger Lily, Daniel Lamech as Fraxinus, Nigel Goodwin as Quercus, Jack Emond as Baobab the Great, Alana Denham-Preston as Wendy, Irini Ifandoudas as Twin 1, Katerina Ifandoudas as Twin 2, Eloise Keppler as Nibs, Megan Lilley as Slightly, Solveig Yen as Curly, Joseph Appleton as John Darling, Felix Steinwandel as Michael Darling, Evie Ifandoudas as Tootles, Emily Archer as Pockets and Anna Faye as Tinker Bell.Sound design for this episode by Jacob Thompson and musical direction by Marli van der Bijl. Attributions for this episode can be found here.The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Bunurong, Dja Dja Wurrung, Eora, Kaurna, Ngunnawal, Noongar, Wadawurrung, Whadjuk and Wurundjeri people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store.Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.

Chapter 10 – The children find themselves new friends in the Neverlanders after saving Tiger Lily on Marooners' Rock. The home under the ground starts becoming a family as they settle in for one of Wendy's stories.This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl.It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Kira Yang as Tiger Lily, Daniel Lamech as Fraxinus, Nigel Goodwin as Quercus, Jack Emond as Baobab the Great, Alana Denham-Preston as Wendy, Irini Ifandoudas as Twin 1, Katerina Ifandoudas as Twin 2, Eloise Keppler as Nibs, Megan Lilley as Slightly, Solveig Yen as Curly, Joseph Appleton as John Darling, Felix Steinwandel as Michael Darling, Evie Ifandoudas as Tootles, Emily Archer as Pockets and Anna Faye as Tinker Bell.Sound design for this episode by Jacob Thompson and musical direction by Marli van der Bijl. Attributions for this episode can be found here.The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Bunurong, Dja Dja Wurrung, Eora, Kaurna, Ngunnawal, Noongar, Wadawurrung, Whadjuk and Wurundjeri people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store.Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.

Chapter 7 – The Darlings make a home in the Neverland with Peter and the Lost Boys. This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl.It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Alana Denham-Preston as Wendy Darling, Joe Appleton as John Darling, Felix Steinwandel as Michael Darling, Anna Faye as Tinker Bell, Evie Ifandoudas as Tootles, Megan Lilley as Slightly, Eloise Keppler as Nibs, Solveig Yen as Curly, Katerina Ifandoudas as Twin 1, Irini Ifandoudas as Twin 2, Emily Archer as Pockets, Barry Kay as Captain James Hook, Annie Laurenson as Smee, Conagh Punch as Gentleman Starkey, Fred Preston as Cookson, Kira Yang as Tiger Lily, Jack Emond as Baobab the Great, Daniel Lamech as Fraxinus, Nigel Goodwin as Quercus and Casey Withoos as the Never Bird.Sound design for this episode by Jacob Thompson. Musical direction by Marli van der Bijl. Attributions for sound and music used in this episode can be found here.The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Bunurong, Dja Dja Wurrung, Eastern Maar, Eora, Kaurna, Ngunnawal, Noongar, Wadawurrung, Whadjuk, Woiworrung and Wurundjeri people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store.Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.

Chapter 7 – The Darlings make a home in the Neverland with Peter and the Lost Boys. This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl.It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Alana Denham-Preston as Wendy Darling, Joe Appleton as John Darling, Felix Steinwandel as Michael Darling, Anna Faye as Tinker Bell, Evie Ifandoudas as Tootles, Megan Lilley as Slightly, Eloise Keppler as Nibs, Solveig Yen as Curly, Katerina Ifandoudas as Twin 1, Irini Ifandoudas as Twin 2, Emily Archer as Pockets, Barry Kay as Captain James Hook, Annie Laurenson as Smee, Conagh Punch as Gentleman Starkey, Fred Preston as Cookson, Kira Yang as Tiger Lily, Jack Emond as Baobab the Great, Daniel Lamech as Fraxinus, Nigel Goodwin as Quercus and Casey Withoos as the Never Bird.Sound design for this episode by Jacob Thompson. Musical direction by Marli van der Bijl. Attributions for sound and music used in this episode can be found here.The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Bunurong, Dja Dja Wurrung, Eastern Maar, Eora, Kaurna, Ngunnawal, Noongar, Wadawurrung, Whadjuk, Woiworrung and Wurundjeri people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store.Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: He Came to Himself Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Midweek Service Date: 5/12/2021 Bible: Luke 15:17 Length: 58 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Bethany Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: He Came to Himself Speaker: Jacob Thompson Broadcaster: Bethany Baptist Church Event: Midweek Service Date: 5/12/2021 Bible: Luke 15:17 Length: 58 min.

Chapter 4 – The Darling children have taken to the skies with Peter Pan, but flying isn't as easy as he makes it seem.This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl. It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Alana Denham-Preston as Wendy, Joe Appleton as John Darling, Felix Steinwandel as Michael Darling and Anna Faye as Tinker Bell.Sound design for this episode by Jacob Thompson. Musical direction by Marli van der Bijl. Attributions for sound and music used in this episode can be found here.The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung, Ngunnawal, Noongar, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store.Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.

Chapter 4 – The Darling children have taken to the skies with Peter Pan, but flying isn't as easy as he makes it seem.This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl. It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Alana Denham-Preston as Wendy, Joe Appleton as John Darling, Felix Steinwandel as Michael Darling and Anna Faye as Tinker Bell.Sound design for this episode by Jacob Thompson. Musical direction by Marli van der Bijl. Attributions for sound and music used in this episode can be found here.The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung, Ngunnawal, Noongar, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store.Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook.

Peter has promised to take Wendy, John and Michael to the Neverland. First, he must teach them to fly.This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl. It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Alana Denham-Preston as Wendy Darling, Joseph Appleton as John Darling, Felix Steinwandel as Michael Darling and Anna Faye as Tinker Bell. Audio editing by Marli van der Bijl and sound design by Jacob Thompson. Attributions for sound and music used in this episode can be found here. The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production is produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Bunurong, Dja Dja Wurrung, Ngunnawal, Noongar, Wadawurrung, Woiworrung  and Wurundjeri people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders. Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook 

Peter has promised to take Wendy, John and Michael to the Neverland. First, he must teach them to fly.This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl. It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Alana Denham-Preston as Wendy Darling, Joseph Appleton as John Darling, Felix Steinwandel as Michael Darling and Anna Faye as Tinker Bell. Audio editing by Marli van der Bijl and sound design by Jacob Thompson. Attributions for sound and music used in this episode can be found here. The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production is produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Bunurong, Dja Dja Wurrung, Ngunnawal, Noongar, Wadawurrung, Woiworrung  and Wurundjeri people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders. Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook 

Chapter 3 – Peter returns to the Nursery with Tinker Bell to search for his missing shadow. Unable to reattach it, his frustrated cries wake Wendy. This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl. It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Anna Faye as Tinker Bell and Alana Denham Preston as Wendy Darling. Audio editing for this episode by Jacob Thompson and sound design by Marli van der Bijl. Attributions for sound and music used in this episode can be found here.The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Bunurong, Ngunnawal, Wadawurrung  and Wurundjeri people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store. Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook. 

Chapter 3 – Peter returns to the Nursery with Tinker Bell to search for his missing shadow. Unable to reattach it, his frustrated cries wake Wendy. This episode was directed by Olivia French with Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl. It features the voices of Matthew Bradford as Narrator, Trillian Sharples as Peter Pan, Anna Faye as Tinker Bell and Alana Denham Preston as Wendy Darling. Audio editing for this episode by Jacob Thompson and sound design by Marli van der Bijl. Attributions for sound and music used in this episode can be found here.The theme song for our production is Nefeli by Stamatis Seraphim.This production was directed by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French and Marli van der Bijl and prepared for production by Tyrone Cross, Amanda Mill, Angela Olwyn on behalf of Ballarat National Theatre. Original story by James M. Barrie and adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford, Olivia French, Angela Olwyn and Marli van der Bijl.This production was produced on the lands of the Boonwurrung, Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri people. Cast recordings for this episode were made on the lands of the Bunurong, Ngunnawal, Wadawurrung  and Wurundjeri people. Ballarat National Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders.Official merchandise for this production is now available on the Ballarat National Theatre RedBubble store. Support our community theatre company and help us create future stories by becoming a member or follow Ballarat National Theatre on Instagram and Facebook. 

Thank you for listening to the Someone New Theatre Company podcast production of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Our actors and production team have worked tirelessly to bring these stories to you, and we hope that you have enjoyed listening to them as much as we have enjoyed making them. This production was directed by Gracie Rogers with Joanna Lusty, adapted for audio by Elizabeth Bradford and Marli van der Bijl and produced by Ryan O'Connor. Sound design for this production was provided by Callum Blair, Elizabeth Bradford, Taneesha Plummer, Josh Andrews-O'Neil, Jacob Thompson, Ryan O'Connor, and Marli van der Bijl.Our cast for this production was Lauren Atkin as Alice Turner, Nick Barker-Pendree as Colonel Lysander Stark and the Mysterious Gentleman, James Bowman as Inspector Bradstreet, Matthew Bradford as James Windibank and Isa Whitney, Mandy Calderwood as Miss Stoper, Paul Canlan as Jabez Wilson, Alexander Holder and Mr Windigate, Thomas Dimmick as Mr Breckinridge and Driver, Danny Donaldson as James McCarthy and Mr Toller, Jack Emond as John Clay, Amy Fortnum as Woman Street Actor, Olivia French as Violet Hunter and Julia Stoner, Nigel Goodwin as Station Master and Man Street Actor, Louise Gracey as Mary Sutherland and Elise, Liz Hardiman as Hatty Doran, Chris Hiscock as Arthur Holder and Victor Hatherley, Jessica Hutchinson as Irene Adler, Daniela Ifandoudas as Lady's Maid, Barry Kay as Jephro Rucastle and Joseph Openshaw, Lucia Kelly as Mrs Rucastle, Jazz Laker as Mrs Toller, Benji Leeks as John Openshaw, Stefanie Lekkas as Maggie Ryder, Jono Lukins as James Ryder and Detective Peter Jones, Jono McAteer as Wilhelm, The King of Bohemia, Katy Nethercote as Helen Stoner, Georgia Perkins as Mary Watson, Fred Preston as Neville St. Clair and Mr Merryweather, Conagh Punch as Guard, Hotel Waiter and Page Boy, Connor Rawson as Lord Robert St. Simon, Miarka Rogers as Mary Holder, Ursula Searle as Kate Whitney, Greg Shawcross as John Turner and Commissionaire Peterson, Sean Sully as Dr Grimesby Roylott and Francis Moulton, Matthew Whittingham as Henry Baker, Coroner and The Plain Clothes Man, Emma Wood as Mrs St. Clair, Matt Young as Inspector Lestrade and Duncan Ross, and - finally - with Steven Georgiadis and Shannon Nicholls as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John H.  Watson. This podcast was produced on the lands of our traditional custodians, the Wadawurrung people. Cast recordings were made on the land of the Anewan, Awabakal, Boonwurrung, Cadigal, Dja Dja Wurrung, Eora, Gameygal, Wadawurrung, Wangal, Whadjuk, Worimi, Wurundjeri, Yorta Yorta, and Yuggera peoples. Someone New Theatre Company acknowledges and pays respect to our traditional custodians and to their past, present and emerging leaders. And, with our stories now come to a close, please enjoy this selection of outtakes and mistakes, courtesy of our wonderful actors. Enjoy! You can shop official SNTC and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes merchandise on our RedBubble store.Follow Someone New Theatre Company on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date with our other projects. #theholmespodcast

This week with sit down with former Brookline now Dexter-Southfield student-athlete Myles Liss-Riordan. Already making a name for himself and being a successful runner before transferring and before the pandemic started, Myles has made huge strides and PRs in racing. Most notably is the 14:48 track 5k he ran this past fall at the RedTrack Time Trial. We discuss everything from his school transition, college recruitment and training, to his new training from Jacob Thompson in 2020 that was a huge factor in his success. Preaching patience in training and mental toughness for racing We would be shocked if Myles's success does not continue. It was great having him on and getting his thoughts and opinions on everything he has accomplished.

Jacob Thompson (TEN20) has gone from diagnosis to destiny. His childhood dream was to be a professional athlete. He would tell you that, sometimes, our dreams for our lives need to die before we can live the true dreams and purpose that we were created for. He wouldn't only say this; he lives it every day.In his late teens, Jacob started having trouble performing athletically at a high level. Throughout college and after graduation he had not been feeling right physically for a long time and finally decided to see a doctor. After a series of tests, he was diagnosed with a rare, genetic condition known as Friedreich's Ataxia (FA). FA causes progressive damage to the cerebral cortex, causing difficulties in balance, coordination, and energy production, leading patients into a wheelchair and a shortened life expectancy.This diagnosis was an opportunity for Jacob to give up on his life and his faith. Instead, he chooses daily to make the most out of his situation. He uses his story and his art as a way to inspire others, helping them persevere through their challenges and find their purpose. He has spoken and shared his art for over 10,000 people and counting, and is now working on his first book. Aside from speaking, spoken word, and hip-hop, Jacob, better known as JT, runs a high school mentoring program in Minneapolis and coaches football and basketball. He has a Master's degree from Bethel Seminary, is married to his beautiful wife, Abigail Thompson, and together they are raising their son, Titus.Your trials aren’t meant to break you; they’re meant to make you. Keep on fighting and don’t quit. There is a purpose in your pain. Your struggle is meant to mold you into the person that you are meant to be. God has a plan for you!____________________________________________________________________Connect with JT:TEN20words.com FB and IG @TEN20wordsSupport the show (https://www.patron.com/findyourrare)

Check out the condensed version of this interview on our website extempers.org! Interview Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction to Mo Marks. 0:35 - How did you got started in extemp? 1:20 - What specific qualities drove you to extemp? 3:11 - What was that aha! moment where everything clicked and you realized that you could be successful in this activity? 5:03 - Who were your extemp role models & whose speaking styles did you most appreciate? 7:10 - Mo's harrowing source check story with Olivia Shoemaker. 8:40 - What was it like going to Roosevelt in the wake of Jacob Thompson, Lily Nellans, and Nathan Leys? 10:10 - Are there any particularly good or bad questions you remember drawing throughout your extemp career? 13:13 - Do you have any books or pieces of theory that you really enjoy using in extemp speeches? 17:27 - How do you answer really broad questions in extemp? 18:57 - What has been the most helpful piece of advice you've received in your extemp career? 23:17 - What are you favorite sources to read in extemp? 25:15 - What are some structural changes / rule changes you'd like to see in extemp? 28:28 - Why Mo doesn't like autofilers. 29:14 - How did you win the most prestigious extemp round robin in the nation (MBA)? 35:28 - MBA is known for its very creative questions. Are there any really memorable questions that stand out from the round robin? 40:15 - One of the experimental rounds you discussed allowed extempers to write their own questions. What was the weirdest question you remember someone writing? 41:41 - How do answer really specific questions while still having relevant & up-to-date sources? 44:20 - You're someone who comes from a smaller school. Do you have any pieces of advice for other extempers who come from smaller schools? 48:16 - What has been your proudest extemp achievement? 50:45 - If you didn't extemp, what event would you do? 54:07 - Mo's funny story on how she unintentionally got into informative speaking & wrote her info days before the tournament. 59:26 - What are you future plans now that you've graduated high school?

"Skeptics and Seekers" host, David Johnson debates race, riots, and anarchism with Jacob Thompson and Sam Lunt from the "Tread on Me" Podcast.  Read Surviving Corona and donate @ https://skepticsandseekers.squarespace.com/ Listen to Tread on Me @ https://soundcloud.com/treadonmepodcast Listen to Skeptics and Seekers @ https://skepticsandseekers.squarespace.com/ Support this broadcast @ https://www.patreon.com/right  And learn more @ https://www.therighttoreason.com/ 

(Originally aired May 21, 2020) We've got a (responsibly) packed show for you today! After discussing the incredible Berklee graduation ceremony with our own Becca Shrand, we're joined by Levitate owner and producer Dan Hassett to learn how he and his team have adapted to these strange times. Becca's Couch Beach bandmate Jacob Thompson also chimes in with his experience and projections for the future of music as an art and business.

Gregg Whiteman of GOJO Industries, Jacob Thompson of the U. S. Coast Guard, Akron municipal worker Brian Linder,  Akron Fire Lieutenant Doug Price and Firefighter Marcus Council, and Akron schoolteacher Barb Fisher are all featured in this episode.

This week Danny and Loco talk to some GMU debaters and get all the funny stories from the other side of public speaking. Get to know Jenae Barnes the former debater turned forensicator, and her former teammates Ian Lowery and Garrett Hansen as they talk policy. As always email us at vantalkpodcast@gmail.com, follow on instagram @vantalkpodcast and send hate mail to Jacob Thompson!

Live Interview/Fellowship with Brother Jacob Thompson. He has a YouTube channel called "Sinners to Repentance" and he is the author of the book "The Romans 10 Controversy." We will discuss his testimony, his book "The Romans 10 Controversy" and much more. Sub to his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn-V...

Live Interview/Fellowship with Brother Jacob Thompson. He has a YouTube channel called "Sinners to Repentance" and he is the author of the book "The Romans 10 Controversy." We will discuss his testimony, his book "The Romans 10 Controversy" and much more. Sub to his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn-V...

Welcome to Season 6 of the Garage Gym Athlete Podcast!!  Top 4 Highlights: Volleyball S&C Coach 2 years Garage gym athlete Changing to low carb Post back surgery recovery -- About our Garage Gym Athletes: The athletes all have a diverse background; some from Powerlifting, CrossFit, Olympic Lifting, Endurance Training, Military Operators, Collegiate Athletes, Spartan Racers, Obstacle Course Racers, and many other forms of physical training. It takes the experience of these athletes braving the extreme heat, bitter cold, early mornings, and late nights to tackle their training and become athletes. This podcast is for Garage Gym Athletes and by Garage Gym Athletes. Athletes share their experience (whether a beginner or advanced), share their knowledge, and give us a glimpse into the life of a Garage Gym Athlete!!

Wherein our friend and guest star Jacob Thompson arrives with a mysterious and recently-purchased hat for us to identify! 

Thank you all for dropping by to Platinum Roses’ Garden, the “Supernatural” Podcast, for the Winchester Lover in Everyone…. THIS WEEK’S VISIT TO THE GARDEN: HELLO KIDDIES...all kids of observations, apologies for being sick again, and more CARRY ON WAYWARD SON - "Advanced Thanatology" - Season 13, Episode 05 AND "Tombstone" - Season 13, Episode 06 Goodbyes... NOTES: UPDATE: I brought up Jacob Thompson's battle and his wish for Christmas Cards on the show this week. Just after I posted last night, Jacob Thompson lost his battle with cancer. Please donate to Jacob's parents so they can afford the necessities after his passing:   Jacob's parents have also launched a GoFundMe for after Jacob passes - you can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/xkcjc8 Donate to Jim Beaver's niece's Go Fund Me at http://gofundme.com/helpkirafight Fan Fiction writer this week is Ista - Story is "A Fickle Thing" http://fanfiction.net/s/12222967/1   PATREON CAMPAIGN - PLEASE BECOME A SPONSOR!!! Platinum Roses' Garden is a part of PNRNetworks, which is home to Subject:CINEMA and a ton of other great websites and podcasts. And PNRNetworks has launched a Patreon campaign to raise some funds for ALL our shows and sites - we're hoping to expand a lot of things, raise some funds for some MUCH needed equipment upgrades and more! And we could use your generous recurring support! We've got TONS of cool perks at seven different donation levels, and you could really get some cool stuff! Please consider becoming a Patreon Supporter - check out our campaign at http://patreon.com/PNRNetworks and join in on the fun! And help us out BIG TIME in the process! Thanks!  Contact me at platinumrosel [at] yahoo.com Don’t forget to check out my other shows: Subject:CINEMA - our weekly film podcast, with our weekly topic, the latest news, and much more extensive film reviews than I give here...every Sunday at 7PM ET (or there abouts...usually....) And where can you find it, Kiddies? Why at   http://subjectcinema.com   of course! and Subject:CINEMA presents Front Row Five And Ten, our relatively new list countdown show, where we take on pop culture to the max. It's also at http://subjectcinema.com! PNRNetworks Shows Subject:CINEMA Platinum Roses’ Garden (seasonal) Cavebabble Three Minute Weekend Front Row Five And Ten Tuesday Digidex Catastrophe Vortex Comic Grotto PNRNetworks sites eCinemaOne eCinemaBoston Platinum Roses' Garden Cavebabble Catastrophe Vortex The Kirkham Report Planet BiblioMusica Comic Grotto