Podcast appearances and mentions of lane tech

Nallely Suárez Gass has spent her life challenging norms, embracing opportunities, and building meaningful connections. Raised in Chicago to Mexican parents, Nallely grew up understanding the importance of adaptability and resilience. Her journey, from the west side of Chicago to co-founding Drop Needle Drinks, is a story of determination, cultural pride, and fearless ambition. Today, her wine-based ready-to-drink cocktail brand is redefining what's possible in a competitive market, all while staying rooted in quality and authenticity.Growing up in Chicago's vibrant cultural mosaic, Nallely's early years were filled with family gatherings and rich traditions. Everything changed when her family moved to a predominantly white neighborhood during her childhood. This shift made her hyper-aware of her identity as a Latina, shaping how she navigated the world. In high school at Lane Tech, she found a sense of belonging through cultural clubs like Hola and Aspira, which celebrated the diversity within diversity. "Chicago is a bubble of diversity," she says. "You don't realize how special it is until you leave." These formative experiences laid the foundation for her confidence and cultural pride.While pursuing her degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Nallely discovered a love for problem-solving through econometrics—a mix of economics and statistics. Her passion for analyzing complex systems carried her into a thriving corporate career at PepsiCo and Molson Coors, where she honed her skills in sales and strategy. But what truly set her apart was her ability to cultivate relationships. “Cheerleaders are everything,” she says. “Focus on the people rooting for you, and don't waste energy trying to win over the naysayers.”Despite her success in the corporate world, Nallely always had an entrepreneurial spirit. In 2019, she launched two businesses simultaneously: a consulting firm and a trucking company. “I was scared one of them might fail, so I started both,” she admits. While the consulting business allowed her to focus on leadership development, the trucking company thrived during the pandemic, employing over 130 people at its peak. “One of my proudest moments was helping my team support their families during such a challenging time,” she says. The experience taught her flexibility, grit, and the importance of asking for help when needed.The idea for Drop Needle Drinks emerged from a collaboration with four former colleagues from her time at Molson Coors. While Nallely joined the team last, she quickly became integral to the brand's success, leading sales and market strategies. “We all have our silos of expertise, and we respect each other's strengths,” she says. Drop Needle Drinks stands out with its wine-based cocktails made from natural ingredients sourced from a family vineyard in Paso Robles, California. The flavors—crafted with real juices—are a reflection of the team's commitment to quality.Entering a crowded market didn't faze Nallely. “It's crowded because there's demand,” she explains. “If you believe in your product and know what makes it unique, go for it.” She emphasizes the importance of differentiation, pointing out that the ready-to-drink cocktail market is one of the fastest-growing segments in the beverage industry. “Our goal was to create something that feels fresh, approachable, and delicious, and I think we've done that.”For Nallely, working with her co-founders has been a masterclass in teamwork. “You have to have clear expectations and hold each other accountable,” she says. “We're all betting big on this, so respect and trust are key.” She believes that successful partnerships stem from understanding and appreciating each person's role. “I don't try to micromanage the creative aspects because that's not my area of expertise. I focus on what I'm good at and trust my team to do the...

Dr. Aileen Marty, Infectious Disease Specialist and Professor at Florida International University, joins Bob Sirott to talk about the latest health news. Dr. Marty shares details about the whooping cough outbreak at Lane Tech and a study of which cooking oils could cause inflammation.

In the first episode of "Faith Declassified: Career & Tech Survival Guide," Kenneth Nelson interviews Hunter Guy, CEO/Co-Founder of Study Aloud, about launching their Bible study app and her journey as a Christian entrepreneur. She shares insights into combining faith with technology, the challenges and successes she's experienced, and the significance of community support and diversity in tech. The episode is a compelling narrative of innovation, faith-driven entrepreneurship, and personal growth in the tech industry.

Anna Davlantes, WGN Radio's investigative correspondent, joins Bob Sirott to share what happened this week in Chicago history. Stories include Mike Royko’s first printed column, the White Sox go to the World Series, the birth of Bill Murray, and more.

Chicago's own Louis Trinca-Pasat joins Walter Brzeski and Pete Jansons on the Chicago Back in the Day Podcast to discuss Louis' impressive life as a Lane Tech Football Grad, Iowa Football Star, St Louis Ram and more importantly a Spiritual Leader Key Moments: 0:00 1:47 Pre Show 4:35 Show Start 5:02 Cross Video 11:28 Grew up In Lakeview 19:04 Lane Tech Practice field gravel 19:43 Laken Tomlinson 23:00 Iowa visit 25:55 Religion 29:48 Michigan visit with Laken 30:50 Lane Hangout places 37:00 School Bus Indiana Religious 34:14 Kinnick Stadium Experience 36:35 Quitting? 37:15 DL coach at Iowa 40:12 Going up against Brandon Sherff 42:30 Carl Davis 44:06 Prep Bowl 45:50 Draft Day 47:10 Hero Subs 47:40 Fave lunch at Lane 48:27 Draft Party 49:50 Free Agent Contract 52:00 Laken Tomlinson 54:00 Lions 57:18 Marc Jacobs and Ben Jacobs Carolina Panthers 57:52 Aaron Donald Weight Room 59:10 Knee Injury OTA's 1:02:00 Detroit Lions 1:03:00 Cross Story Religion 1:08:00 Christreward.com 1:9:51 Donate to Louis Louis Trinca-Pasat: A Glimpse into the Life of the Former American Football Star Louis Trinca-Pasat (Romanian: Trîncă-Păsat; born September 7, 1991) stands out as a former American football defensive end who showcased his prowess on the football field during his college years at Iowa. Early Years: Born and raised in Chicago, Trinca-Pasat graced the fields of Lane Technical College Prep High School, where his athletic abilities shone bright. Not limiting himself to just one sport, he lettered in football, basketball, track, and volleyball. Remarkably, Louis didn't begin his journey as a tackle until college, having played as a tight end, linebacker, and wide receiver in his school years. At Lane, his leadership skills emerged as he captained the team in his senior year, even clinching the team MVP honors. Alongside Laken Tomlinson, a former teammate, Trinca-Pasat propelled Lane to the 2008 Chicago Public League football championship. His outstanding performance didn't go unnoticed, earning him the coveted MVP title in CPS football. His potential was evident early on, with Rivals.com ranking him as a three-star recruit and the No. 45 defensive end prospect for the class of 2010. With over 20 full-ride scholarship offers, Louis chose the Iowa Hawkeyes, favoring them over notable institutions such as Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Stanford. College Career: Trinca-Pasat's freshman year at the University of Iowa in 2010 saw him redshirted, with limited playing time the following year as he honed his skills and technique. However, by 2012, his sophomore year, Louis had made significant strides, registering 40 tackles. The next three seasons saw him start in all 38 games, peaking in 2014 with a career-best of 69 tackles. His commendable performances earned him the honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2013 and a spot in the 2nd Team All-Big Ten in 2014. In addition to his on-field prowess, Louis showcased academic excellence, receiving Academic All-Big Ten honors from 2012 to 2014. Professional Career: Post-college, the St. Louis Rams recognized Louis's potential, signing him as an undrafted free agent in May 2015. Although he faced challenges, including being released and then signed to the practice squad, and later a torn ACL in 2016, Louis displayed resilience and dedication throughout. Personal Life: Behind the athlete is a compelling personal story. Trinca-Pasat's identity as a first-generation Romanian-American ties back to his parents, Vasile and Estera. The duo bravely escaped communist-ruled Romania in the late 1980s, seeking a brighter future. Louis's journey, from Chicago's fields to the professional arenas, is a testament to their resilience and dreams. Through each phase of his life, Louis Trinca-Pasat's journey tells a tale of determination, skill, and the importance of roots. Whether on the football field or off, he remains an inspiration for many.

On this episode of CTU Speaks!, co-hosts Tara Stamps and Jim Staros speak with two active and one retired teacher about Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas and his time as CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Nina Hike is currently a chemistry teacher at Westinghouse College Prep, who as a second-year teacher found herself laid off alongside many other Black staff at Rezin Orr High School when then-CPS CEO Vallas imposed a “reconstitution” scheme there. Nora Flanagan is an English teacher at Northside College Prep who as a grad student studied how CEO Vallas' emphasis on testing hurt Black and Brown students as well as the dog-whistle appeals to white supremacy that he has used in his campaign for mayor. And Howard Heath is a retired math and science teacher who spent most of his time at Lane Tech and today serves as the functional vice president of the CTU's retiree chapter. Back when Vallas was CPS CEO, Howard was CTU vice president and recalls how Vallas shortchanged the teachers' pension fund and is thus responsible for today's pension issues.

Robotics season has begun. Never heard of it? It's when high school robotics teams meet up to meet the next challenge issued by First Robotics. Reset checks in with the Lane Tech team's head coach Robert Berg, seniors Gabby Weffer and Joaquin Valencia and junior Jane Bazzell.

Also in the news: Northwestern University graduate students approved; Vacant Woodlawn school to be used as migrant shelter; Three dogs died after a house fire in West Chicago and more.

Also in the news: Northwestern University graduate students approved; Vacant Woodlawn school to be used as migrant shelter; Three dogs died after a house fire in West Chicago and more.

Also in the news: Northwestern University graduate students approved; Vacant Woodlawn school to be used as migrant shelter; Three dogs died after a house fire in West Chicago and more.

Nick LoGalbo is entering his 15th season as the head boys' basketball coach (18th total) at his alma mater Lane Tech High School in Chicago, Illinois. Nick recently returned from Hungary where he led the Team USA U18 Men's and Women's Teams to Gold Medals in the FIBA 3 x 3 World Cup. He has worked with USA Basketball as a lead clinician for their youth development clinics and regional camps, serves as a regional coordinator for USAB 3×3, and he has also spoken at USA Basketball's Coaches Academy to other aspiring coaches from across the country. Coach LoGalbo also works with USA Basketball's Junior National Team as a court coach. Nick played his high school basketball at Lane Tech and then played four years of collegiate basketball at Benedictine University. He has been working at Lane Tech since graduating from college as an English teacher, basketball coach and now also serves as the school's athletic director. Website – https://il.8to18.com/lanetechhs/activities/basketball/b Email – nflogalbo@cps.edu Twitter – @CoachLogalbo --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kevin-furtado/support

Intro: Sometimes the little guy just doesn't cut it.Let Me Run This By You: Time's a wastin' - giddyup, beggars and choosers.Interview: We talk to star of Parks and Recreation, Easter Sunday, and Barry - Rodney To about Chicago, Marquette University, Lane Tech,  getting discovered while pursuing a Chemistry degree, The Blues Brothers, Dürrenmatt's The Physicists, playing children well into adulthood, interning at Milwaukee Rep, Lifeline Theatre, Steppenwolf, doing live industrials for Arthur Anderson, Asian American actors and their representation in the media, IAMA Theatre Company, Kate Burton, and faking a Singaporean accent.FULL TRANSCRIPT (UNEDITED):1 (8s):I'm Jen Bosworth RAMIREZ2 (10s):And I'm Gina Pulice.1 (11s):We went to theater school together. We survived it, but we didn't quite understand2 (15s):It. 20 years later, we're digging deep talking to our guests about their experiences and trying to make sense of it all.1 (21s):We survived theater school and you will too. Are we famous yet?2 (30s):How's your, how's your eighties decor going for your1 (35s):New house? Okay, well we closed yesterday. Well,2 (39s):Congratulations.1 (40s):Thank you. House buying is so weird. Like we close, we funded yesterday, but we can't record till today because my lender like totally dropped the ball. So like, here's the thing. Sometimes when you wanna support like a small, I mean small, I don't know, like a small bank, like I really liked the guy who is the mortgage guy and he has his own bank and all these things. I don't even, how know how this shit works. It's like, but anyway, they were so like, it was a real debacle. It was a real, real Shannon situation about how they, anyway, my money was in the bank in escrow on Friday.1 (1m 20s):Their money that they're lending us, which we're paying in fucking fuck load of interest on is they couldn't get it together. And I was like, Oh no.2 (1m 29s):They're like, We have to look through the couch cushions,1 (1m 31s):Right? That's what it felt like, Gina. It felt like these motherfuckers were like, Oh shit, we didn't actually think this was gonna happen or something. And so I talked to escrow, my friend Fran and escrow, you know, I make friends with the, with the older ladies and, and she was like, I don't wanna talk bad about your lender, but like, whoa. And I was like, Fran, Fran, I had to really lay down the law yesterday and I needed my office mate, Eileen to be witness to when I did because I didn't really wanna get too crazy, but I also needed to get a little crazy. And I was like, Listen, what you're asking for, and it was true, does not exist. They needed one. It was, it was like being in the, in the show severance mixed with the show succession, mixed with, it was like all the shows where you're just like, No, no, what you're asking for doesn't exist and you wanna document to look a certain way.1 (2m 25s):And Chase Bank doesn't do a document that way. And she's like, Well she said, I don't CH bank at Chase, so I don't know. And I said, Listen, I don't care where you bank ma'am, I don't care. But this is Chase Bank. It happens to be a very popular bank. So I'm assuming other people have checking accounts that you deal with at Chase. What I'm telling, she wanted me to get up and go to Chase Bank in person and get a printout of a certain statement period with an http on the bottom. She didn't know what she was talking about. She didn't know what she was talking about. And she was like, 18, 18. And I said, Oh ma'am, if you could get this loan funded in the next, cuz we have to do it by 11, that would be really, really dope.1 (3m 6s):I'm gonna hang up now before I say something very bad. And then I hung up.2 (3m 10s):Right, Right. Yeah. Oh my God, I know. It's the worst kind of help. And regarding like wanting to support smaller businesses, I what, that is such a horrible sadness. There's, there's no sadness. Like the sadness of really investing in the little guy and having it. That was my experience. My big experience with that was going, having a midwife, you know, with my first child. And I really, I was in that whole thing of that, that time was like, oh, birth is too medicalized. And you know, even though my husband was a doctor, like fuck the fuck the medical establishment we're just, but but didn't wanna, like, I didn't wanna go, as my daughter would say, I didn't wanna be one of those people who, what did she say?2 (3m 52s):You know, one of those people who carry rocks to make them feel better.1 (3m 57s):That's amazing. Super.2 (4m 0s):So I didn't wanna go so far as to be one of those rock carrying people to have the birth at my house, but at the same time I really wanted to have this midwife and then there was a problem and she wasn't equipped to deal with it. And it was,1 (4m 11s):I was there,2 (4m 13s):Fyi. Yes, you were1 (4m 15s):The first one, right? For your first one.2 (4m 16s):The first one.1 (4m 18s):Here's the thing you're talking about this, I don't even remember her ass. What I, she, I don't remember nothing about her. If you had told me you didn't have one, I'd be like, Yeah, you didn't have one. I remember the problem and I remember them having to get the big, the big doctor and I remember a lot of blood and I remember thinking, Oh thank God there's this doctor they got from down the hall to come or wherever the hell they were and take care of this problem because this gene is gonna bleed out right here. And none of us know what to do.2 (4m 50s):Yes. I will never forget the look on your face. You and Erin looking at each other trying to do that thing where you're like, It's fine, it's fine. But you're such a bad liar that, that I could, I just took one look at you. I'm like, Oh my God, I'm gonna fucking bleed out right here. And Aaron's going, No, no, no, it's cool, it's cool, it's cool. And then of course he was born on July 25th and all residents start their residency on July 1st. So you know, you really don't wanna have a baby or have surgery in July cuz you're getting at a teaching hospital cuz you're getting a lot of residents. And this woman comes in as I'm bleeding and everything is going crazy and I haven't even had a chance to hold my baby yet. And she comes up to me and she says, Oh cuz the, the midwife ran out of lidocaine. There was no lidocaine.2 (5m 30s):That's right. They were trying to sew me up without lidocaine. And so this nurse comes in, she puts her hand on my shoulder, she says, Hi, I'm Dr. Woo and I'm, and I said, Dr. W do you have any lidocaine? I need some lidocaine stat right up in there. Gimme some lidocaine baby. And she had to call her boss. You know who I could tell when he came in, of course he was a man and I could tell when he came in, he looks at my midwife and is like, Oh, this is what you did here. I see we have to come in and clean up. But sometimes that's the case. Sometimes it's really just true that, you know, it's that the, that the bigger kind of like more corporate option is better cuz it just works better.1 (6m 8s):Well, and they've done this before, like there is, they've done the job before in a way, and they've seen the problems. They know how to troubleshoot in a way because they just have the fucking experience. Now you could say that getting that experience is like super fucked up and patriarchal and, and all the isms, it's, and you'd be right, but when you are bleeding to death or when you know you are in a big financial negotiation that could go south at any moment and lead to not having a ho like a all feeling lost. You want someone who knows how to fucking troubleshoot, dude. Like, come on. And I, you know, and it is sad, it's heartbreaking when you like, fuck man.1 (6m 50s):I really wanted this, like Dr. Altman always said, and I have an update on Dr. Altman, my favorite psychiatrist mentor of mine. But he always said like, well when I was going through med titration, when they put this dingling at Highland Park Hospital, who tried her best but put me on lithium thinking I was bipolar and then I was and all the meds, right? All the meds. And he's like, well they could've worked2 (7m 15s):It could've worked it1 (7m 17s):All's. And I was like, you are right. So like, it could've worked, it could've gone differently, but it just didn't. So it's like, yeah, it's better to look at it like that because, or else it's just infuriating that it didn't work in the first place, Right? Like, you're like, well fucker, Well they tried.2 (7m 35s):Yeah. I use that all the time that it could have worked. Things that I got through you from Dr. Altman, you know, my husband is having like some major, you know, growth moments. Like come like those moments where all the puzzle pieces become clear and you go, Okay, my childhood isn't what I thought it was and this person has got this and this person has got that. Yes. You know? And, and whenever he's doing the thing that we all do, which is like lamenting the life, the family he wish he had had, I always say like, well, as Dr. Almond says, it could have worked. Yes, these parents could have been just fine for you if you were a different person, but you're you.2 (8m 16s):And so, and they're them and it wasn't a good match. And like that happens sometimes.1 (8m 21s):And I think it's really good with kids maybe too. Cause it's like, listen, like, like I say to my niece, like it could, this could have been whatever it is the thing or my nephew too that worked and like that you loved volleyball or that you loved this. Like you are just looking, and I think it's all about titration, right? Like it's all about figuring out where we fit in, where we belong, where we don't. And it's a fucking process, which is what he was saying and like, and that you don't, we don't get it right the first time. Even in medicine, even in it's maybe especially in medicine, maybe in especially in relationships, like, so it, it also opens the door for like, possibility, right? That like, it's an experiment and like, we don't know, even doctors don't know, Hey, run this by you, Miles did of course.1 (9m 14s):And done. What about you? What about you?2 (9m 17s):I'm gonna do it after this, after we're done recording today, I'm gonna go over and I always like to take one of my kids so they, you know, see that this is the process and you have to do it and it's everybody's responsibilities to do it. That doesn't mean that I didn't get all angry at my own party this week. You know, my mom has a great expression. I think it's her expression. She says it. In any case, all politics is local, right? Like where it really, where the really meets the road is what's happening in your backyard. And like, I have a lot of problems with my town,1 (9m 52s):So Right.2 (9m 53s):They don't wanna have, you know, they voted down this measure to put a a, like a sober living place, wanted to take up residence here. Couldn't think of a greater idea. Nobody wanted it. You know, it's a lot of nis not in my backyarders over here. And it really drives me crazy. And in the, in the paper this week, there was a big scandal because there's this particular like committee in our town, Okay. That was in charge of, there was gonna be this, what is it, like a prize maybe or an honor or not a scholarship Okay. But something where they were gonna have to name it.2 (10m 33s):Okay. And they were, you know, really looking around for names. They were trying to think up what names would be appropriate. And somebody put forward the name of this person who is already kind of a named figure in our town. Like, we had this beautiful fountain, it's named after him. He was, he was a somewhat of a big guy, you know, he was an architect, whatever. Sure. So this name gets put forward in this woman who's on this committee says, I don't think this is a great time to name something after an old white man. Now, to me couldn't be a more reasonable thing in the world to say everybody's calling for her resignation. And these, you know, the thing that I hate the most about, not just conservatives, but it seems like it's especially conservatives.2 (11m 20s):I hate this saying. And I remember, I think I've said this before on the podcast, I remember hearing some black activists saying a lot of white, you know, a lot of racism perpetrated by white people is like founded on pretending. Pretending like you don't see color pretending like, you know, saying things like, Oh, well why would you have had that experience, you know, walking down our street at night? Like, or why would you have had that difficulty getting that job? I don't understand. And pretending like they don't know that this person just got1 (11m 51s):That job because of2 (11m 52s):The color biscuit and that kind kind of a thing. So of course the way that people are coming down on this woman is to say, Well, I don't know about you, but I was taught that we have to look beyond race and we have to recognize the person before the color of their skin. And if you can't be, you know, representing the needs of white men, then I just don't really think that you, there's a place on this council. And of course, you know, somebody who I know and have in the past really respected was quoted in this article as saying, Oh, somebody who considers himself like a staunch liberal. Yeah. I mean, I just really can't think of any people of note from our town who weren't white men.2 (12m 34s):Sure. And this motherfucker let himself be quoted in our newspaper as saying this. Now maybe he feels fine about it. Maybe he doesn't think there's anything wrong with it. But I I I think it's completely, completely disgusting. Of course. So then I went and I just did this research of like all the people who have lived in our town historically, they're not just white men. We, there's other people to choose from. Needless1 (12m 58s):To say. Yeah. Well also, like, it's so interesting. I mean, it's just that that quote just is so problematic on so many levels. It like goes so deep. But like the other thing is like, maybe they miss, the only thing I can think of is that dude, did they miss the second half of your quote? Which was, and that's a problem. Like, like if, if you can't, if you can't finish that quote with, you know, I can't really think of like anyone of note in our being or anyone being recognized in our town in this way that wasn't a white dude and that's really crazy. We should really reevaluate how we're doing things here.1 (13m 39s):Period. You're so2 (13m 41s):To offer, you're so, you're so sweet to offer him this benefit of the doubt. Of course I don't offer that to him because this is a person who, you know, there's been a few people in my life who I've had the opportunity to, you know, know what they say privately and then know what they say publicly. Right? And I, and I know this, you know, I know this person personally. And no, it doesn't surprise me at all that, that that would've been the entirety of the quote. It would've been taken out of context. Now it might have been, and I don't know, and I'm not, I'm not gonna call him up to ask him, but you know, at a minimum you go on the local Facebook page and say, I was misquoting.1 (14m 20s):No, no, yeah. Chances are that this, this person just said this. And actually the true crime is not realizing if, if, if that's the case, that they, that that statement is problematic. So that's really fucked up. And also, like, think of all the native people that were on that land, on our land. Like, you're gonna tell me that just because you haven't done, they haven't done the research. They don't think that a native person from the northeast did something of greatness. Shut up, man. Excellent. Before it was rich.2 (14m 56s):Excellent point, Excellent point. Maybe when I write to my letter to the editor, maybe I'll quote you on that because Yeah, yeah. It's like, it's so, it's just, and I'm, by the way, I'm, I have been, I'm sure I'm still am guilty of the same thing too, of just being the laziness of like, well, I don't know, we'd love to, you know, hire a person of color, but none have applied. I mean, I have definitely said things like that and I just understand differently now I understand. No, no, no, they're not gonna be at the top of the pile of resumes that you're gonna get because historically these people haven't felt like there's a place for them at your table. So what you have to do is go above and beyond and say, we are specifically recruiting people of color for this position. I understand.1 (15m 35s):And how about even like, do some research online and find out who those people are and try to like, hire them away from wherever they are to and make them a great offer. You know what I mean? Like all those things. Well,2 (15m 48s):This experience did cause me to go on my little Wikipedia and look up, you know, people who have lived here and I was really like, surprised to learn how many people have known. Now it's true to say that, you know, when, when you're just looking up a list of famous people, it is gonna mostly be white men because that's who mostly, you know, sort of, she made, made history, made the news, whatever. But yeah, one of the very first things that come up, comes up when you look it up my town on Wikipedia, is that the fact that this was the Ramapo tribe that lived here. You know, this is who we took the land away from. I was also surprised to that.1 (16m 29s):I've never,2 (16m 30s):Yeah, Yeah. It was also interesting to learn, supposedly according to this, how many people of live here currently, including people like Harvey Firestein, who I have, I've never seen around town, but God I would really love to. And like some other, you know, sort of famous people. But anyway, That's1 (16m 50s):So cool.2 (16m 51s):Yeah. So, so I will be voting after this and I really, I don't have a great feeling about the election, but I'm, you know, I'm just like, what can you do? You can just sort of go forward and, you know, stick to your values. Yeah. I mean,1 (17m 7s):The thing is, stick to your values, move forward. And like my aunt, happy birthday, Tia, it's her birthday today, and she is like super depressed that, you know, she, she said, what she says is like, fascism is really, today is the day that we really something about fascism, it's like really dire and like really, Okay. So my, it's so interesting that I think boomers feel really bad because they had it so good, even though it wasn't really good, there was an illusion of goodness. Right? So I, I am depressed. But here's the thing, and I was, I was gonna bring this up to you.1 (17m 47s):It's like I, I had an experience last night where I went to this theater and saw the small theater, which I really wanna do my solo show in which is this famous theater called The Hayworth, which is, they show silent movies and all, but there's now it's like an improv sort of venue and, and it's really cute and throwbacky. But anyway, I went there and I just was thinking like, as I was watching these performers, like, oh, it is not even that, Like, it's literally that I spent 45 years thinking that I was worse than everybody else, right? And so now that I don't really think that, I actually don't have that much time left to accomplish what I would like to accomplish. So I, I spent all this time feeling like I couldn't do what she's doing.1 (18m 29s):I can't do what he's doing, can't do what theirs doing. They're, they are doing because I'm not good enough. Like literally. And now I'm like, Oh my God, I'm good enough. I have things to say. I really wanna leave a legacy. And literally the clock is ticking. Now, I'm not saying I'm running around like a nut, but what I'm saying is like, I, I, I do feel that I literally don't have the time left to participate in half-assed measures of art or whatever we're gonna do. We gotta make it purposeful because I w i, I spent all this time getting ready 45 years to not hate myself. And now the clock is ticking, I donate myself and there are things to do.1 (19m 13s):That's literally how I feel. So then when I see art or something where I'm like, Why are you using your platform this way? What are you talking about? What are you saying? Oh no, I can't, I even now I know why people leave movies early, plays early if it is, and some, for me anyway, like some people probably just assholes and like the, the person on stage doesn't look cute and they're out or whatever, but, or they're having panic attacks like I used to and I have to leave. But like, mostly I understand where it's like this is wasting my, my time, time I could be using to sort of plant seeds that may do something to be of service.1 (19m 53s):So I'm gonna jet and good luck to you. But yeah, it's the first, I just really feel like time is of the essence. And I always thought that was such a stupid thing that old people said, which was, you know, time is our most precious commodity. And I was always like, that is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. And now I'm like, oh shit. Yeah, it's really true Dude.2 (20m 15s):Yeah. Yeah. I actually had an experience some that I relate to with that, which is that, you know, I, I volunteered to be part of this festival of one act and you know, the thing we were supposed to do is read all of the submissions and then pick our top three. And then they were gonna do this rank order thing where they're attempting to put each director with one of their top three choices. Well, I read, it was like 10 plays I read them and I, I didn't have three, three ch choices. There was only one play that I felt frankly was worth my time.2 (20m 56s):And I felt really uncomfortable about having that feeling. And I was doing all of the like, who do you think you are? And you know, it's, you haven't directed something in three years and beggars can't be choosers in the whole thing. And I just thought, you know, I know what I'm gonna do if I don't stand up for whatever it is I think I can do here is I'm gonna resent the thing that I get, you know, pitted with and then I'm gonna do something self-destructive or I'm gonna kind of like blow up the relationship and I don't wanna do that. So I spend a lot of time thinking about how I was gonna write this email back saying basically like, I don't have three choices. I only have one choice. And I understand if you don't want to give that to me that this, I might not be a good fit for you.2 (21m 37s):You know? But I really, I really kind of sweated over it because when you don't, you know, when you're a very, if I was an extremely established theater director, you know, I wouldn't have thought twice about it. But I'm not, I'm trying to be established here and I, you know, so my, my, my go-to has always been well having opinions and choices and stuff like that is for people who, you know, have more than you do or have more to offer than you do. And it doesn't always work out that when you kind of say, This is me and take me or leave me. It doesn't always work out. But in this case it doesn't. They gave me my first choice. And so I'm, I'm happy about that, but there's a lot.2 (22m 18s):Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, there's a lot that just goes into the, it's all just work I have to do on myself. Like, I have this, a way of thinking about things is like, I have to do this work with this other person or I have to convince them why it has nothing to do with that. It's just that I have to do this.1 (22m 34s):Well that's what I'm realizing, like Gina, Absolutely. And good for you for like, coming at it from a place of like, okay, like this might not work, but I have to do it to see and put it out there and it may not work and they may say, go fuck yourself. But the alternative one is resentment, but also is like, hmm, not doing anybody else any favors either. If you aren't saying like, I actually don't have three choices here, I'm not gonna do justice. And I also, it brings me to my other thing, which I thought was so full of shit, which is so true. It's like most things are just not, it's about not being a right fit. It's not about you're bad and I'm good, I'm good and you're bad.1 (23m 15s):It's like, this is not a good match. And I, I think it just takes what it takes to learn that it is a not, it's about a matching situation. So like you knew that like those other two wouldn't be good matches and you wouldn't do a service to them or yourself. And it's not, And also like this thing about beggars can't be choosers. I fucking think it's so dumb because like most of us are beggars all the time and, and we, we settle for garbage. And it doesn't, like, I feel like we can, like beggars should be more choosy. And I also feel like, I'm not saying not be humble, but like, fuck you if you take away our choices, like we have to have choices.1 (23m 57s):That's the thing. It's like beggars have choices, whatever you call a beggar, we still have choices. Like how we're gonna interact and how and how we're gonna send emails and shit. I'm just like,2 (24m 9s):Yeah. Plus that whole phrase is so like, in a way rooted in this kind of like terrible supremacy structure that we're trying to fight against, which is like, we wanna tell, of course we wanna tell beggars that they can't be choosers cuz we just, we don't wanna think about them as people who have the same agency in life as we do.1 (24m 25s):Sure. And now I've started saying to people when I have this conversation about like, about unhoused, people like having tent encampments and I get it, like, you're going to school, you're walking your kid to Montessori and there's a fucking tent encampment in your front yard. You did not pay for that. You did not sign up for that. You are, I get it. And also my question is, what are we gonna do when the tents outnumber the people in homes? Because then it's a real fucking problem. So like, how are we gonna do that? You think it's uncomfortable? I think it's uncomfortable to walk by a tent encampment as I'm on my way to a coffee date with someone or whatever.1 (25m 8s):That's uncomfortable. But what are we gonna do when, like in India, the, the quote slums or whatever people, you know, whatever people choose to call it, outnumber the goddamn people in the towers. Then we, then it's gonna be a different problem.2 (25m 35s):Today on the podcast, we were talking to Rodney Toe. Rodney is an actor, you know him from Parks and Recreation, Barry good girls Rosewood. He was in a film this summer called Easter Sunday. Anyway, he's a delight. He's also a professor of theater at USC and he's charming and wonderful and we know you are going to love listening to him as much as we loved talking to him. So please enjoy our conversation with Rodney Toe.3 (26m 8s):Can you hear me? Can you hear me okay?2 (26m 11s):Yes, you sound great. You sound1 (26m 13s):Happy. No echo. You have beautiful art behind you. We can't ask for a2 (26m 17s):Better Easter Sunday. We were just talking about Easter Sunday, so we're gonna have to ask you Oh sure about it, Beth. But first I have to say congratulations, Rodney tell you survive theater school.3 (26m 28s):Oh, thank you. Yes, I did. I sure did. Was2 (26m 31s):It usc? Did you go to3 (26m 32s):Usc? No, I, I'm a professor. I'm currently a professor at usc. So1 (26m 36s):We just assumed you went there, but where did you go3 (26m 38s):To No, no, no, no, no. I, that, that came about like in a roundabout way, but no, I, I totally, I went, went to Marquette University. Oh, in Milwaukee?1 (26m 46s):In Milwaukee. Oh my gosh. Yeah. So3 (26m 48s):Everybody's reaction, everybody's reactions like, well1 (26m 53s):I actually love Mil, I'm from Chicago and Evanston you do and then you are,3 (26m 58s):Yeah, born and raised north side. My family's still there. What1 (27m 1s):The hell? How did I not know this? Yeah, I'm from Evanston, but lived in Rogers Park and went to, we went to DePaul.3 (27m 7s):Well I hear the park. Yes, yes. Born and raised. My family's still there. I am a Chicago, I'm an undying Chicago and through and through. Yeah.1 (27m 15s):Wait a minute. So, so, okay, okay, okay. So you grew up on the north, you grew up in, on the north side.3 (27m 20s):Yeah, I grew up in, I, I grew up and I went to Lane Tech. Oh1 (27m 24s):My gosh, that's where my niece goes right this very minute. She goes, Yeah,3 (27m 28s):It's1 (27m 28s):Quite the school. I dunno how it was when you went, but it went through a hard time and now it's like one of these3 (27m 34s):Go, I mean when I went it was, it was still considered a magnet school. And I I, you know, I think like in like it went maybe through a period of like, sort of like shifting, but then it's like now it's an incredible school. I'm September 17th is apparently Rodney to day at Lane 10. No, Yeah, it just happened. I mean it's, it's silly. It's Easter significance. No, cause of Easter Sunday they did like a bunch of, you know, I do a lot of advocacy for the Asian American for Asian-American representation. So sort like all together1 (28m 4s):That movie had broke so many, broke so many barriers and was, I mean it was a phenomenal, and also I just feel like it's so obviously so needed. Duh. When people say like, more representation is needed, I'm like, okay, no shit Sherlock. But it's true. It bears repeat again. Cause it still is true that we need more representation. But I am fascinated. Ok, so you went to Lane Tech and were you like, I'm gonna be a famous actor, comedian? No, what,3 (28m 34s):What anything about it? Didn't I, you know, it's called Lane Tech for a reason, right? It's a technical school. Correct. So like we didn't, you know, it didn't, I mean there were arts, but I, it never really, you know, it was one of those things that were like, you know, I guess like when you were a kid, it's all like, hey, you wanna learn how to like macrame. But there were theater arts in my, in my high school, but it wasn't like,1 (28m 54s):In fact, my mother did macrame. And let me tell you something, it has come back in style. And the shit she made, we could be selling for $199 at Urban Outfitters right now. I'm just,3 (29m 4s):Oh yeah, it's trendy now. Yeah. It's like, yeah, it's in style.1 (29m 7s):Anyway, side note, side note. Okay, so you were like, I'm not doing, there was no performing at Lane Tech. There was no like out there, there,3 (29m 13s):There was, and there was, but it wasn't, again, you know, in terms of representation, there was nothing that like, I mean there was nothing that that showed me any kind of like longevity in, in, you know, it didn't even really occur to me that this was a business that people sort of like, you know, pursued for themselves. So it wasn't until I went to Marquette that I discovered theater. And so it was one of those things that like, I was like, oh, there's something here. So it wasn't like, it wasn't fostered since I was a kid.1 (29m 43s):This,2 (29m 44s):And this is my favorite type of origin story because it means, you know, like there are people who grow up in LA or their, their parents are in the industry. And then, so it's always a question like, am I gonna go into this industry? But, but people like you and like me and like Boz, who, there's no artist in our family, you know,3 (30m 4s):You2 (30m 4s):Just have to come to it on your own. So I would love to hear this story about finding it at Marquette.3 (30m 10s):So like the, this, I, I've told this story several times, but the short version of it is, so I went to college for chemistry. And so again, because I came from, you know, that that was just sort of the path that, that particularly, you know, an Asian American follows. It's a very sort of stem, regimented sort of culture. And when I went to Marquette, my first, my sort of my first like quarter there, it was overwhelming, you know, I mean, college was, was a big transition for me. I was away from home and I, I was overwhelmed with all of the STEM courses that I was taking, the GE courses. And I, I went to my advisor and at the time, you know, this is pre-internet, like he, we sat down, I sat down with him and he pulled out the catalog.3 (30m 52s):Oh yeah, the catalog, right? I1 (30m 54s):Remember the catalog. Oh yeah.3 (30m 56s):And so he was like, let's take a class that has nothing to do with your major. Oh,1 (30m 60s):I love this. I love this advisor. I love this advisor. Do you know, can he you say his name3 (31m 7s):At the, was it Daniel? Dr. Daniel t Hayworth. I mean, it's been a while I went to college with Dahmer was arrested. So that's been a1 (31m 15s):While. Okay. Yeah's, same with us. Same with me. Yeah.3 (31m 18s):Yeah. So like, I think it was Daniel Daniel Hayworth. Yeah. Cuz he was a, he was a chemistry professor as well. So he opened up, he opened up the, the thing in the, the catalog and it said acting for non-majors. And I remember thinking, that sounds easy, let's do that. And then I went to the class, I got in and he, he, he was able to squeeze me in because already it was already in the earl middle of the semester. And so I, the, the, the, the teacher for that class was a Jesuit priest. His name is Father Gerald Walling. And you know, God rest his soul. And he, his claim to fame was he had like two or three lines on Blues Brothers, the movie.1 (31m 59s):Amazing. I mean like great to fame to have Yes. Get shot in Chicago. Yeah. And if you're a Jesuit priest that's not an actor by trade, like that is like huge. Like most people would like die to have two to three lines on Blues Brothers that are working anyway. So, Okay, so you're, so he, so how was that class?3 (32m 19s):So I took the class and he, after like the first week he asked me, Hey is, and it was at 8:00 AM like typical, like one of those like classes that I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm gonna go in here miserable. Yeah. But he said to me early on, he said, Do you have any interest in doing this professionally? And I said, no. And he's like, and he, he said, and he said, I was like, You're hilarious. You know,1 (32m 43s):You're a hilarious Jesuit.3 (32m 45s):Yeah. I'm like, Good luck with God. He, he then he was directing, he was directing the university production of, and he asked me to audition for it. And I was, I don't even know what an audition was. That's amazing. So like, it was one of those things that I didn't really know how to do it. I didn't know much about it. And so he's like, Can you come in and audition for it? And I did and I got it and it was, it was Monts the physicist,1 (33m 12s):What the fuck is that?3 (33m 14s):Oh man, I love that play. It's Amont, it's the same, you know, it's the same. He's, you know, Exactly. It's really, it's one of those like sort of rarely done plays and it's about fictitious Albert Einstein, the real, lemme see if I, it's been so long since I recall this play. The real, So Isaac Newton and what was the other Mobius? A fictitious, So the real, I'm sorry, The real Albert Einstein, The real, the real Albert Einstein, the real Isaac Isaac New and a fake, a fictitious play scientist named Mobius.3 (33m 55s):And they were, they were all in, in a mental institution. And I1 (33m 60s):Think that I have this play and my shelves and I just have never read it before. Okay, so3 (34m 4s):Who did you play? It's extraordinary. Extraordinary. And so I played, I played a child like I did up until my mid thirties. I played a child who had like one line, and I remember it took, it took place in Germany, I believe. And I remember he's like, Do you have a German accent? I was like, No. You're1 (34m 20s):Like, I I literally am doing chemistry 90.3 (34m 23s):Yeah. I was all like, you're hilarious. Yeah. Only children do accents, You know what I mean? Like, it was totally, I was like, whatever's happening, I don't even know what's happening. And, and then I made up a European accent. I mean, I, I, I pulled it on my ass. I was like, sure, don't even remember it. But I was like, one of,1 (34m 39s):I love when people, like, recently Gina showed me a video of her in college with an accent. Let me tell you something, anytime anyone does an accent, I'm like, go for it. I think that it's so3 (34m 51s):Great. Yeah. I've got stories about, about, I mean, I'm Asian, right? So like, I mean it's been one of those things that all my life I've had to sort of navigate people being like, Hey, try this on for Verizon. I was like, Oh gosh. And you know, anyway, I can go on forever. But I did that, I had a line and then somebody saw me in the production with one line and said, Hey, this is at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, somebody from the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. It's huge1 (35m 18s):Theater. Fyi. Right,3 (35m 20s):Right. Again, it's, it's to this day. And so they asked if I would intern, if I would be considered interning while I was in school. And I said, I didn't even know what that was. So I met with them. And when I walked into that theater, it was one of those, it's one of the biggest, most extraordinary music theaters in the wor in the country. Right. Won the regional, Tony and I, again, I had no frame of reverence for it. So walking in, it was like this magical place. And so I started, I started interning right, right off the bat. And it was one of those like life changing experiences. I, I mean, to this day, the best acting I think I've ever seen, you know, face to face has been on that stage. It's, you know, many of those actors are still, I'm still in touch with to this day.3 (36m 3s):Some of them have passed away. However, it was the best training, right? I mean, I got thrown into the deep end. It was like working with some of the greats who never, no one ever knew. Right. So it really, it was really a wonderful experience. And that's when I sort of, you know, that's when I was like, Oh, I actually can do this for a living. So it was,1 (36m 21s):Oh yeah, Milwaukee rep. I've seen some amazing stuff there. And also what would've been great is, yeah, we like, I mean there's so many things that would've been great at DePaul at the theater school, but one of them would've been, Hey, there's all these regional theaters, like if you wanna make some dough, it was either like, you are gonna be doing storefront and Die of Hunger, or you're gonna be a star. Hilarious was no like, what about Milwaukee Rep? What about the Guthrie? Like all the things3 (36m 50s):Gut, Yeah. Never1 (36m 51s):Told at least. Or I didn't listen or I was like in a blackout drunk state. But like, I just feel like hilarious. I just feel like that is so amazing that you got to do that. So then, Wait, did you change3 (37m 2s):Your It wasn't, I did. I eventually did. Yes. So I have both. And so now it was one of those, like, it was, it was harrowing, but eventually, I mean, I did nothing with my chemistry degree. Nothing. Like literally nothing. That's,2 (37m 16s):Most people do nothing with their theater degree. So, so it all evens out. Wait, I have a question. Now. This is a question that would be difficult for me to answer. So I wouldn't fault to you if it's difficult for you. What do you think it was in you that this person saw and said, have you ever considered doing this professionally? I mean, just trying to be really objective about the, the asce the essence of you that you bring to the table. Always. How, what did that person identify, do you think, if you3 (37m 44s):Had to guess? You know, I'd like to say it was talent. I'd love to be that person and be like, you know, they recognized in me in one line that ordinary artist was going to emerge into the universe and play children into his thirties. I, I wish I could. It was that, I mean, honestly, I looked different than everybody else on that's a white school and Milwaukee rep, you know, God, forgive me for saying this, but it was a sensibly all white institution.1 (38m 12s):Super white. Super white. Yeah.3 (38m 14s):So in comes this little Asian guy who like they thought might have had potential and also is Asian. And I checked off a lot of boxes for them. And you know what I could easily say, like I, I could easily sort of, when, if you asked me like 20 years ago, I was like, Oh, I was talented, but now I'm like, no, I made my way in because of, because I, I checked boxes for people and, and1 (38m 37s):Talented,3 (38m 38s):You couldn't,1 (38m 39s):You3 (38m 39s):Couldn't have done it if you didn't have talent to thank you. And I can, I can, you know, whatever, I can own that now. But the, but the reality is like, I made it in and that's how I got in. And I'm okay with that. And I'm not saying that it's not taking anything away from talent, but the reality is it's like you gotta get in on the inside to work your way out. And if I didn't have that exposure early on, I certainly wouldn't have had the regional career that I did for a little while. You know? So like that credit, like you, like you said Jen, it's like, it's a, it's a huge credit. So like I would not have made it in any other way. Right. And I certainly,1 (39m 12s):Yeah, I just am like noticing also like my reaction to, Yeah, it's interesting too as other humans in this industry or any industry, it's like, it's like we have had to, especially those of us that are, you know, I'm 47 and like those of us who have made it in or sort of in for, in my, I'm just speaking for myself. Like I, I sort of, right, It could have been fucked up reasons or weird reasons that we got in the door or even filling someone's need or fantasy. But then it's like what we do with it once we're in the room, that really, really matters. And I think that yeah, regardless of how you ended up in Milwaukee rep, like I think it's smart and like I really like the idea of saying okay, like that's probably why I was there.1 (39m 58s):I checked, I've checked boxes, but Okay. But that's why a lot of people are a lot of places. And so like, let's, let's, let's, you could stop there and be like, that is some fucked up shit. Fuck them. Or you could say, Wait a second, I'm gonna still have a fucking career and be a dope actor. Okay, so you're there, you're, you're still, you graduate from Marquette with a double major, I'm assuming, right? Chemistry and, and was it theater, straight up theater or what was your degree?3 (40m 23s):It's, well, no, no, it's called, it's, it's, it's the, at the time it's called, they didn't have a theater degree. Right. It was called the, you graduated with a degree in Communications. Communications,1 (40m 32s):Right? Yes. Okay, okay. Yeah. My, my niece likes to say Tia, all the people in communications at UCLA are the dumbest people. I'm like, No, no, no, no, no. That would've been me. And she's like, Well, anyway, so okay, so, so you graduate and what happens? What happens to you?3 (40m 54s):So, you know, I, I went from there. I went to, I got my equity card pretty ear pretty early cuz I went for my, I think it was my final between my, the summer, my junior year and my senior year I went to, because of the Milwaukee rep, I got asked to do summer stock at, at ppa, which is the Pacific Conservatory, the performing Arts, which is kind of like an Urda contract out in the West Co on the west coast. And so I was able to get credits there, which got me my equity card very quickly after, during that time I didn't get it at the institution, but I got like enough, you know, whatever credit that I was able to get my equity card. And again, at the time I was like, eh, what are the equity? I didn't even know know what that was really.3 (41m 34s):I don't know if anybody truly knows it when they're, when they're younger. So I had it and I went, right, I had my card and I went right to Chicago because family's there. So I was in Chicago. I did a couple of shows, I did one at at Lifeline at the time. I did one at North. Yeah. So it was nice to sort of go back and, and, and, and then I, you know, right then I, it's my favorite story, one of my favorite stories. I, I got my, my my SAG card and my after card in Chicago that summer, because at the time the union was separate. That's how old I am. And I got my SAG card doing a Tenax commercial, and I got my after card doing, I'm not sure if they're still there.3 (42m 18s):I think they are actually. It is a company called Break Breakthrough Services and they did it live industrial. Oh yeah.1 (42m 24s):They, I think they still wait live. How does that work? Yeah,3 (42m 29s):Exactly. So it's a lot of like those training, you know, you see it a lot, like the people do it, like corporate training stuff. Right. So they used, at the time it was really new. So like they used a lot of actors and they paid well.1 (42m 42s):Well, I did an Arthur Anderson one that like paid my rent3 (42m 45s):Long time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So exactly when Arthur Anderson was still a, I think I did one too. So like, they,1 (42m 53s):Rodney,3 (42m 55s):Were you in St. Charles, Illinois?1 (42m 57s):I don't know. I had to take the Amtrak. It could have been,3 (42m 59s):Yeah. In St. Charles. Right? That's where they were centered. Yes. Yeah.1 (43m 2s):Okay, go ahead. Go ahead. So you, okay, so you got your, I know our world. Do you live, Where do you live?3 (43m 8s):I'm in, I'm in LA right now. This is my home. Yeah.1 (43m 11s):Okay. Well I'm coming to your home. Okay, great. I'm in Pasadena right now. Okay. Anyway, go ahead. Oh yeah.3 (43m 17s):Okay. So we, yeah, I went to Chicago, got my cards, and then was there for, you know, a hot minute and then I moved to New York. Okay.1 (43m 25s):Wait, wait, wait. Moved. Did you have, what years were you working in Chicago? Like were we still, were Gina and I in school? What, what, what years were that were you were like, Tampa, a man Chicago.3 (43m 35s):I did God bless that commercial. Yeah, it was so good. I did, let's see here, I grad, I was there in 90, let's see, 97,1 (43m 47s):We were there. Well, Gina was graduating and I, I was, yeah. Anyway, we were there.3 (43m 52s):And then I moved to New York in 98 and then I moved to New in 98. So1 (43m 55s):You were only in Chicago a hot minute? Yeah, yeah, yeah.3 (43m 57s):Okay. Yeah. But then I came back, I came back in 2004 five to do a show at Victory Gardens. Oh. And then I did a show at Victory Gardens, and then I did a workshop at Stepin Wolf. So it was nice. Look at1 (44m 12s):Victory Gardens. Victory Gardens. That was a whole,3 (44m 15s):I'm sorry, what was that?1 (44m 16s):R i p, Victory Gardens.3 (44m 17s):Oh, yeah. I mean, well I was there pre-K. Yeah. And so, but it was, yeah, r i p I mean, r i it was truly one of the most magnificent, magnificent shows that I've been part, but I mean,1 (44m 30s):Okay, so wait, wait, wait. Okay, so why New York? Why weren't you like, I'm gonna bust out and go to LA and be a superstar on,3 (44m 38s):It's all about representation. I mean, I didn't see at the time, and you know, if you think about it, like there were people on television, but, you know, in terms of like the, the, the, it wasn't pervasive. It was like sort of every once in a while I'll turn on my TV and I'll see like Dante Bosco or I'll see like, you know what I mean? But it wasn't like I saw like, you know, I wasn't flooded with the image of an Asian American making it. However, at the time, you know, it was already Asian Americans were starting to sort of like flood the theater world, right? So I started, you know, through James c and, and Lisa Taro in Chicago, and like, people who are like, who are still friends of mine to this day, Asian American actors, they were doing theater. And so I was like, you know what, I'm gonna do theater. And so I, it was just one of those, like, I went to, and I already had these credits.3 (45m 19s):I had my equity card, I had some credits. My natural proclivity was then to go to, to, to first theater in New York. So it wasn't, I didn't even think about LA it wasn't like, oh, let me, let me like think about doing television and film. So I went1 (45m 32s):To York. I just feel like in LA it's so interesting. As an actor, writing is a little different, but as an actor, it, most of us, if we plan to go to LA as actors, we're gonna fail. I just feel like you have to end up here as an actor by accident because you do something else that you love and that people like, and then they're like, I just, it's not the most welcoming. Right. Medium film and tv. So like, it's so hard. So I think by accident is really sort of the only way, or if you're just already famous for something else, but like, anyway, So you're in New York. Did you, did you love it? Wait, can I,2 (46m 9s):Can I hang on Buzz, Can I do a timeout? Because I've been wanting to ask this just a little bit back to, you know, your undergrad experience. Did you wanna be, did you love chemistry or did you just do that because Oh, you did, Okay. So it wasn't, it wasn't like, oh, finally I found something that I, like you liked chemistry.3 (46m 29s):Yeah. To this day, to this day, I still like, it's still very much like, you know, the, the, the values of a stem field is still very much in how I teach, unfortunately. Right? Like, I'm very empirical. I, I, I need to know an, I need to have answers. Like, you know, it tends to, sometimes it tends to be a lot of it, like, you know, you know, sort of heady and I'm like, and now I need, I need, I'm pragmatic that way. I need to understand like why, Right? That2 (46m 53s):Doesn't seem unfortunate to me. That seems actually really fortunate because A, you're not the only artist who likes to think. I mean, you know, what about DaVinci? Like, a lot of people like to think about art in a, in a, I mean it's really, they're, they're, they're really kind of married art and science.3 (47m 8s):Yeah. They really are people. I, I think people would, It's so funny. Like people don't see it as such, but you're absolutely right. I agree. It's so more, Yeah. There's so much more in common.1 (47m 18s):The other thing that I'm glad Gina brought that up is cuz I'm questioning like, okay, so like, I don't know about at Marquette, but like at DePaul we had like, we had, like, we had these systems of, you got warnings if you, you weren't doing great and I bet like you probably didn't have the cut system cause that just is okay, good. But okay.3 (47m 36s):Well we were, we remember we were, we weren't a conservatory, right? So we were very much a, a liberal programming.1 (47m 42s):Yeah, I love it. Oh God, how I longed for that later, right? But anyway, so what would've helped is if someone with an empirical, like someone with more a stem mind sat down with me and said, okay, like, here are the things that aren't working in a practical way for you, and here are the things that you can do to fix it. Instead, it was literally this nebulous thing where my warning said, You're not living up to your star power now that's not actually a note. So that, that, that Rick Murphy gave me, and I don't, to this day, I'm like, that is actually, so I would love if I had someone like you, not that you'd be in that system, but like this to say like, okay, like here's the reasons why.1 (48m 25s):Like there was no why we were doing anything. It was like, you just do this in order to make it. And I said, Okay, I'll do it. But I was like, what the hell? Why are we doing this? That's,3 (48m 35s):That's like going to a doctor and a doctor being like, you're sick. You know what I mean? And you're like, but can, that's why I'm here is for you to help me get to the root of it and figure it out. Right. Being like, you're,1 (48m 46s):I think they didn't know, Here's the thing, I don't think it, it3 (48m 50s):Was because they're in.1 (48m 51s):Yeah. I I don't think it was because they were, I mean, they could have been rude in all the things. I literally, now that I'm 47, looking back on that experience, I'm like, Oh, these teachers didn't fucking know what they were, how to talk. And3 (49m 3s):This is how I came. Yeah, yeah. Which is how I came back to usc. So like that's,1 (49m 7s):Anyway, continue your New York adventure. I just wanted to know.3 (49m 11s):No, no, no. New York is was great. New York is New York was wonderful. I love it. I still love it. I I literally just got back with it. That's why, remember I was texting you, emailing you guys. I I just got back, Yes. The night before. Some amazing things. My husband would move back in a heartbeat if I, if I like texted him right now. And I was like, Hey, like let's move back. The house would be packed and we'd, he'd be ready to go. He loves, we both love it. You know, Am I in love with New York? I, that, that remains to be seen. I mean, you know, as I get older that life is, it's a hard life and I, I love it when there's no responsibilities when you can like, skip around and have tea and you know, walk around Central Park and like see shows.3 (49m 53s):But you know, that's obviously not the real, the reality of the day to day in New York. So I miss it. I love it. I've been back for work many times, but I, I I don't know that the life is there for me anymore. Right. I mean, you know, six fuller walkups. Oh no. Oh no. I just, yeah, I1 (50m 11s):Just like constantly sweating in Manhattan. Like I can't navigate, It's like a lot of rock walking really fast and3 (50m 20s):Yeah. And no one's wearing masks right now. I just, I just came back and I saw six shows when I was there. No one's wearing masks. It's like unnerving. And again, like, you know, you know, not throwing politics in it. I was like, you guys, like, how are you okay with it? I'm just like, how are you not unnerved by the fact that we're cramped in worse than an airplane? And everyone's like coughing around you and we're sitting here for three hours watching Death of a Salesman. I mean, like, how was that1 (50m 43s):Of an2 (50m 45s):Yeah know?3 (50m 46s):I mean,2 (50m 47s):So what about the, so at some point you, you pretty much, I mean, you don't do theater anymore, right? You transition to doing3 (50m 55s):Oh, I know, I do. Very much so, very much. I'm also the associate, Yeah. I'm the associate artistic director of, I am a theater company, so like I'm, I'm very much theater's. I will never let go. It's, it's just one of those things I will never as, as wonderful as television and film has been. It's, it's also like theater's, you know? It's the, it's my own, it's my first child. Yeah.2 (51m 19s):Yeah.1 (51m 20s):We have guests like Tina Parker was like that, right? Wasn't,2 (51m 23s):Yeah. Well a lot of, a lot of people. It's also Tina Wong said the same thing.3 (51m 26s):He and I are different. She's part, we're in the same theater company. So Yeah. Tina's.2 (51m 30s):That's right. That's right. That's right. Okay, now I'm remembering what that connection was. So I have a question too about like, when I love it, like I said, when people have no idea anything related to performing arts, and then they get kind of thrust into it. So was there any moment in sort of discovering all this where you were able to make sense of, or flesh out like the person that you were before you came to this? Like a lot of people have the experience of, of doing a first drama class in high school and saying, Oh my God, these are my people. And never knowing that their people existed. Right. Did you have anything like that where you felt like coming into this performing sphere validated or brought some to fullness?2 (52m 14s):Something about you that previously you hadn't been able to explore?3 (52m 18s):Yeah. I mean, coming out, you know what I mean? Like, it was the first time that people talk, you know? Of course, you know, you know, I was born to, you know, like was God, I said I was born this way. But that being said, like again, in the world in which I grew up in, in Chicago and Lane Tech, it's, and, and the, you know, the technical high school and, and just the, the, the, I grew up in a community of immigrants. It's not like it was laid out on the table for one to talk about all the time. Right. It wasn't, and even though I may have thought that in my head again, it wasn't like, it was like something that was in the universe and in the, in the air that I breathed. So I would say that like when I got to the theater, it was the first time, you know, the theater, you guys we're, we're theater kids, right?3 (53m 2s):We know like every, everything's dramatic. Everything's laid, you know, out to, you know, for everyone. Everyone's dramas laid out for everyone. A the, and you know, part of it was like sexuality and talking about it and being like, and having just like, just being like talking about somebody's like ethnic background. And so it was the first time that I learned how to talk about it. Even to even just like how you even des you know, you know how you even describe somebody, right? And how somebody like, cuz that again, it's not, it wasn't like, it wasn't language that I had for myself. So I developed the language and how to speak about people. So that's my first thing about theater that I was like, oh, thank God.3 (53m 43s):You know? And then, you know, even talking about, you know, like queer, like queer was such a crazy insult back when I was a kid. And then now all of a sudden queer is now this embraced sort of like, badge of honor, Right? And so like, it was just like that and understanding like Asian and Asian American breaking that down, right? And being Filipino very specifically breaking that down, that all came about from me being in theater. And so like, I, I'm, I owe my, my life to it if you, and, and because I've, yeah, I didn't, you know, it's so funny how the title of this is I Survived Theater School for me. It's, Yes, Yes.3 (54m 23s):And I also, it also allowed theater also gave, allowed me to survive. Yes.2 (54m 31s):Theater helped you survive. Yes. That's beautiful. So in this, in the, in this spectrum or the arc, whatever you wanna call it, of representation and adequate representation and you know, in all of our lifetimes, we're probably never gonna achieve what we think is sort of like a perfect representation in media. But like in the long arc of things, how, how do you feel Hollywood and theater are doing now in terms of representation of, of specifically maybe Filipino, but Asian American people. How, how do you think we're doing?3 (55m 3s):I think we, you know, I think that there's, there's certainly a shift. You know, obviously it, we'd like it to be quicker than faster than, than it has been. But that being said, there's certainly a shift. Look, I'm being, I'll be the first person to say there are many more opportunities that are available that weren't there when I started in this, in this business, people are starting to like diversify casts. And you know, I saw Haiti's Town, it was extraordinary, by the way. I saw six shows in New York in the span of six days out of, and this was not conscious of me. This is not something I was doing consciously. Out of the six shows, I saw every single show had 90% people of color.3 (55m 43s):And it wasn't, and I wasn't conscientious of it. I wasn't like, I'm going to go see the shows that like, it just happened that all I saw Hamilton, I saw K-pop, I saw, you know, a death of a Salesman I saw. And they all were people of color and it was beautiful. So there's definitely a shift. That said, I, for me, it's never, this may sound strange, it's not the people in front of the camera or on stage that I have a problem with. Like, that to me is a bandaid. And this is me speaking like an old person, right? I need, it needs to change from the top down. And for me, that's what where the shift needs to happen for me. Like all the people at top, the, the, the people who run the thing that needs to change. And until that changes, then I can expect to starter from1 (56m 25s):The low. It's so interesting cuz like, I, I, I feel like that is, that is, we're at a point where we'd love to like the bandaid thing. Like really people really think that's gonna work. It never holds. Like that's the thing about a bandaid. The longer the shit is on, it'll fall off eventually. And then you still have the fucking wound. So like, I, I, I, and what I'm also seeing, and I don't know if you guys are seeing it, but what I'm seeing is that like, so people got scared and they fucking started to promote execs within the company of color and othered folks and then didn't train them. And now are like, Oh, well we gave you a shot and you failed, so let's get the white kid back in that live, you know, my uncle's kid back in to, to be the assistant.1 (57m 6s):And I'm3 (57m 7s):Like, no people up for success is a huge thing. Yeah. They need to set people up for success. Yes, yes, for sure.2 (57m 12s):Yeah. So it's, it's performative right now. We're still in the performative phase of1 (57m 16s):Our, you3 (57m 17s):Know, I would say it feels, it, it can feel performative. I I'm, I'm definitely have been. I've experienced people who do get it, you know what I mean? It's just, Sunday's a perfect example of somebody who does get it. But that being said, like again, it needs to, we need more of those people who get it with a capital I like, you know, up at the top. Cause again, otherwise it's just performative, like you said. So it's,1 (57m 38s):Does it make you wanna be an exec and be at the top and making choices? Yeah,3 (57m 42s):You know, I've always, people have asked me, you know, people have asked me what is the next thing for me. I'd love to show run. I've, I just, again, this is the, this is the stem part of me, right? Like, of us, like is I'm great at putting out fires, I just have been that person. I'm good with people, I'm, I'm, you know, and I've, I, you know, it's, it's, it's just one of those things that like I, I see is a, is a natural fit. But until that happens, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm also, you know, a professor is very much a version of show learning. So I've been doing that every day.1 (58m 14s):We talk about how, cause you've mentioned it several times about playing children into your thirties. So a lot, we have never had anyone on the show that I'm aware of that has had that sort of thing or talked about that thing. They may have had it. Mostly it's the opposite of like, those of us who like, I'll speak for myself, like in college, were playing old people at age, you know, 16 because I was a plus size Latina lady. And like that's what what went down. So tell me what, what that's what that journey has been like for you. I'm just really curious mostly, cuz you mentioned it a couple times, so it must be something that is part of your psyche. Like what's that about? Like what the, I mean obviously you look quote young, but there's other stuff that goes into that.1 (58m 57s):So how has that been for you and to not be, It sounds like you're coming out of that.3 (59m 1s):Yeah, I mean, look, all my life I've always been, you know, I mean I'm, I'm 5, 5 6 on a good day and I've always just been, I've always just looked young. Like, I mean, I mean, and I don't mean that like, oh I look young. Like I don't mean that in any sort of self-aggrandizing way. I literally just am one of those and you're built, like me, my one of my dear friends Ko, God rest his soul, he was always like, Rodney, you're like a little man look, looks, you're like a man that looks like a boy. And I was like that, that's hilarious. Like, and look, I for growing up little in, in high school and, and it, it was one of those things that I was always like, you know, like I was always chummy with people, but I was never sort of like, like there's a look, let's face it.3 (59m 45s):Like we're, we're a a a body conscious society and when you're, whatever it is, you can't help. There's implicit bias, right? Implicit bias, right. Supremacy at it's most insidious. And so I am not all my life, I was like always trying to, you know, the Napoleon complex of always trying to sort of be like, prove that I was older than I was.1 (1h 0m 6s):How did you do it? How did you do, how were you, what kind of techniques did you use? For3 (1h 0m 10s):Me, it wasn't even my technique. It was about doing everything and anything I possibly could. I mean, I was like president or vice president, I a gajillion different clubs. So it1 (1h 0m 18s):Was doing, it was doing, it was not like appearance. Okay, okay. So you3 (1h 0m 23s):Was actually yeah, I couldn't do anything about this. Yeah.1 (1h 0m 25s):Right. So yeah, but like people try, you know, like people will do all kinds of things to their body to try to, But for you, it sounds like your way to combat that was to be a doer, like a super3 (1h 0m 36s):Duer. And I certainly, I certainly like worked out by the time I got to college I was like working out hardcore to try and masculinize like, or you know, this. And, and eventually I did a gig that sort of shifted that mentality for me. But that being said, I think the thing that really, that the thing that, that for me was the big sort of change in all of this was just honestly just maturity. At some point I was like, you know what? I can't do anything about my age. I can't do anything about my height, nor do I want to. And when that shifted for me, like it just ironically, that's when like the maturity set in, right? That's when people started to recognize me as an adult.3 (1h 1m 17s):It's when I got got rid of all of that, that this, this notion of what it is I need to do in order for people to give me some sort of authority or gimme some sort of like, to l

With an extensive background in selling and leasing apartment properties, John McGeown started High Fidelity Property Management in 2010. A Chicago native and longtime North Side resident, he utilized his large network of contacts to successfully build the business almost exclusively from referrals – effectively meeting the increased demand from his clients. John's growing management portfolio now includes more than 1,000 units in over 100 buildings, with a myriad of expertise throughout Chicago's neighborhoods and surrounding suburbs.   Today, he digs deep into the nuances of the unique Chicago market, the opportunities and risks you need to know about, and what they are doing to thrive in the space. [00:01 - 04:43] From Navy to Real Estate John talks about his real estate journey and eventually developing a passion for property management He explains why Chicago's housing stock is different from anywhere else   [04:44 - 07:58] Getting Into the Chicago Real Estate Market There is always a good time to buy in Chicago, but the market is tougher now because of the financing climate The higher density and scale, the better When looking for an investment, it is important to have a team assembled, to know the neighborhoods, and to have a relationship with banks, general contractors, brokers, etc.   [07:59 - 13:16]  Succeeding as a Chicago Real Estate Business John on founding his company and how they started incubating properties While there is a softening in the market, he believes that Chicago is defying gravity and there are always good deals Make sure that you're buying in an area where the residents will have an easy time either going to work or going to enjoy their life   [13:17 - 17:50] Closing Segment John reflects on valuable lessons he learned throughout his career Pick your focus and stay in your lane Don't ever quit Reach out to John!  Links Below Final Words Tweetable Quotes   “ Chicago has a very unique housing stock. In the sense that there's a lot of smaller multifamily.” - John McGeown   “My proposition was, let me rent it for you. I'll manage it for you. We'll incubate this single-unit condo and when the timing is right and the market's there, I can sell it for you.” - John McGeown   “Take all that information as a learning lesson and apply it to your next project. Just never give up.” - John McGeown   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------   Connect with John through HiFiPM.com or HighFidelityRealty.com. Email him at john@hifipm.com and find him on LinkedIn.   Connect with me:   I love helping others place money outside of traditional investments that both diversify a strategy and provide solid predictable returns.     Facebook   LinkedIn   Like, subscribe, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or whatever platform you listen on.  Thank you for tuning in!   Email me → sam@brickeninvestmentgroup.com Want to read the full show notes of the episode? Check it out below:   [00:00:00] John McGeown: Making sure that you have your banking relationship, architect relationship, general contractor, multiple real estate brokers, property managers, you know, things like that. I think having a good team before you start, like, writing offers or buying buildings, like, getting your team assembled and making sure that everybody's on the same page and everybody knows what you're looking for and what you want and how you want to go about doing it is very important.  [00:00:37] Sam Wilson: John McGeown is a Chicago native. He's a military veteran and longtime real estate professional. His values are fairness, transparency, and empathy. John, welcome to the show. [00:00:47] John McGeown: Thank you for having me.  [00:00:48] Sam Wilson: The pleasure is mine. John, there are three questions I ask every guest who comes to the show: in 90 seconds or less, can you tell me where did you start? Where are you now and how did you get there?  [00:00:56] John McGeown: Sure. I'm a Chicago born native. I went to Lane Tech for high school. I went to UIC for college. I was in the United States Navy for four years, from 1999 to 2003, had a very seasoned career. While I was in, I was an operation specialist, which basically means I was on board on the ship. We did, like, a lot of intelligence, so information gathering and processing and evaluating and a lot of that sort of transposed well into real estate. I started in real estate right when I got on the Navy in 2004. Started an apartment rentals and then slowly but surely as I unpeeled the onion back, I found that, you know, property management, sales and then investing was sort of the path for me. And those all kind of happened a few years apart. And today I own High Fidelity property management as well as High Fidelity Realty and about 12 investment properties.  [00:01:52] Sam Wilson: Wow, that's a lot of moving pieces. So property management side of things. You guys manage existing assets to other people own, is that...  [00:02:00] John McGeown: Sure. Third party.  [00:02:01] Sam Wilson: Third party management and then also you have your own suite of rental properties. Is there one you prefer over the other?  [00:02:08] John McGeown: Oh, man. That's a good question. I like property management, whether it's managing my buildings or managing buildings for other people. There's definitely a need for it. And the buildings, there's always stuff to do. The only constant is change. Things are always changing and I like that. It keeps me on my toes.  [00:02:27] Sam Wilson: John, would you say that managing properties in Chicago is different maybe than what you see in the rest of the country? But I'm thinking of when I say that is maybe just the types of properties that you're managing as far as age, as far as style. It's a little bit different maybe than what you'd find, say in suburban Nashville. Is that fair? [00:02:46] John McGeown: That's a fair statement. Yeah. Most of the buildings we manage are a hundred years old, right, brick in varying conditions. Some are older and need a little more love. Some are older but have been renovated and are in really good shape. But Chicago has a very unique housing stock. In the sense that there's a lot of smaller multifamily. So we manage anything from 6 unit apartment buildings to 50-unit apartment buildings. And most of the stuff is brick. The weather changes here a lot, whereas other parts of the country, I think a lot of the housing stock is newer. A lot of it's with Hardie board or frame, and it seems like the weather is maybe a little more cooperative in other places, which makes it a little bit easier to manage. [00:03:29] Sam Wilson: What are some things that you would recommend investors look for if they're looking at Chicago as a market to invest in? Like, what are some things you said, man, here's a few items that I would say you really make sure you got to check off when taking a look at buildings.  [00:03:44] John McGeown: Because of the weather and it being fall right now, and this being kind of my focus, finding properties where the seam is intact, and I've said this before, but you know, your roof your parapet walls, the tuckpointing the windows, the basement, you don't want any water getting into these buildings and the tighter the seam of the building is sealed, the easier of a time you're going to have to reach your objectives on the inside of the property. So a lot of people buy property and they look at, you know, old kitchens, old bathrooms. Can we redo the floors? But a lot of that stuff is definitely prudent. But before you go and do that, I would say you always want to make sure that the seam of the building is tight because if you don't have that done, oh, what ends up happening is water will penetrate into the building and it'll ruin all of the stuff that you had just fixed.  [00:04:32] Sam Wilson: That's interesting. Yeah. And it sounds like that's something you've learned from hard experience dealing with a hundred-year-old properties on a consistent basis. [00:04:39] John McGeown: That's right.  [00:04:40] Sam Wilson: That's really, really great advice. Thanks for that. Appreciate it. Tell me about the Chicago market as a whole. Is now a good time to be looking for multifamily and or rental properties there in Chicago?  [00:04:52] John McGeown: From my purview, there's always a good time to buy. There's always going to be deals out there. It depends on what your objectives are and what kind of flexibility you have. The lending climate, you know, financing climate I think is affecting everyone across the board. That's making things a little bit tougher. Some things have slowed down with respect to velocity in the marketplace. Some of that has to do with larger economic issues, but really in Chicago, the seasonality of the business sort of kind of puts things, you know, there's a there's a lot of activity in the summer and the spring. And then when you get into the fall, winter, things tend to slow down a little bit naturally just because of the weather. But as far as a whole, there are still a lot of good deals if you're looking for value add properties where you can get in and rehab them. I think that's a harder target. What I'm seeing a lot more of are buildings that have been improved, you know, anywhere from 10 to, you know, 10 to 5 years, to just a couple years old, and people are trying to sell those buildings to people who don't want to do a lot of the work, and I see some value there because of construction costs and because of labor shortages and things like that. Some of those deals are a little bit more attractive to us, but the cap rates, you know, and the financing has to make sense as well.  [00:06:09] Sam Wilson: Yeah. Yeah, that makes a heck of a lot of sense. You know, buying buildings that are already renovated, you know, ready to go for the investor. Tell me, you know, what sorts of things outside of that are trading hands right now that you guys are looking at that, you know, where's the most activity in the market? [00:06:25] John McGeown: The most activity in the marketplace is in, you know, the more density, the better it seems. I mean, a lot of investors are looking for economy to scale. So, wherever there's density and scale, those are always going to trade in good markets and in bad. There's a lot of that going on, and like I said, a lot, you know, anything from a three, four-unit to a 30, 40 unit building in A, B, C, even D neighborhoods seem to be trading pretty with, a lot of regularity in Chicago.  [00:06:55] Sam Wilson: Wow. That's really cool. I love the Chicago market. Chicago's probably one of my favorite cities to come to visit. Certainly, I can picture, you know, and I haven't been up there in a couple of years, but can certainly picture, you know, the type of assets that you guys are buying. And it is unique, I think, market. When someone comes to market, what are some of the first things that they should start doing when they're starting to select an area to invest in around Chicago?  [00:07:17] John McGeown: I think having the right team assembled is probably the most important thing to me. I deal with a lot of outside investors, people from California or New York or Texas even. And getting to know the neighborhoods is one thing, but making sure that you have your banking relationship, architect relationship general contractor, multiple real estate brokers, property managers, you know, things like that. I think I think having a good team before you start, like writing offers or buying buildings, like getting your team assembled and making sure that everybody's on the same page and everybody knows what you're looking for and what you want and how you want to go about doing it is very important. [00:07:58] Sam Wilson: Tell us, let's talk about your property management company. At what point in time did you know., hey, I'm onto something, and that there's a need in the marketplace that I can fill. [00:08:07] John McGeown: I started the company in 2010, which was right during the recession. And at the time I was working for Jameson Sotheby's and my objective was to sell property. I wanted to be a real estate broker, so residential, commercial, I felt like that was a good hybrid. But at that time, a lot of people were underwater and, you know, they didn't want short sell. They didn't want to give it back to the bank. So my proposition was, let me rent it for you. I'll manage it for you. We'll incubate this single-unit condo and when the timing is right and the market's there, I can sell it for you. So sort of like this one-stop shop idea for absentee landlords in Chicago because at that time a lot of people were going where the money was. You know, like unemployment was very high, so people were losing jobs and then they were getting new jobs in Cleveland or California or Portland, and they couldn't dispose of their assets in Chicago because they were underwater on us. So they waited it out. That was the initial concept. Then we started, you know, interfacing with owners or investors who were looking to buy larger multifamily that were distressed. And after my first assignment, my first assignment was in the West Loop in 2010. The address was 123 North Sangamon. It was a 45-unit building that was in receivership. My clients bought it, renovated the entire thing. My group, we leased it, we managed it, and then when they exited, that was when I realized that was onto something. That first bigger building assignment, kind of never looked back from there.  [00:09:43] Sam Wilson: Right. Incubate the property. I've not heard that phrase before, and I and I kind of like that idea where, you know, you can't get rid of it, but yeah, you can at least have it cover its debt and if not, make a little money on it and hold it until things are more, you know, more favorable time to sell. Are you guys seeing any price decline currently in assets? I mean, I'm talking to other people in other markets and I'm here and there's some softening, especially in the multifamily market. So what's that like in Chicago right now?  [00:10:12] John McGeown: I read a quote and it was, you know, Chicago was defying gravity, and I sort of believe that like the inventory is so slim. It's sort of keeping pricing high, you know, where interest rates are increasing and costs are going up across the board. Stuff is still, you know, sellers are still out there getting their asking price. Now I will say that over the last month, month and a half, things have slowed down quite a bit and I just haven't really done a good enough job digging to see if that's like something local or if that's with the bigger, you know, stuff from the bigger picture impacting the market. [00:10:45] Sam Wilson: Right, right. No, that's very, very interesting. You know, if inventory is slim, it's one of those, nobody has a crystal ball, obviously, but even with money printing plus inflation, even so, and in an interest rates of course going, you know, sky high, even, so if there's no inventory, there's still no inventory. [00:11:02] John McGeown: Yeah. And I think there's a lot of people who have set their sites out to Chicago as a viable investment place to be. And you know, there's a lot of dry power out there and there's a lot of people who make their living off of acquiring properties. And I do think that buyers are a little more scrupulous and they're taking into consideration a lot of the stuff we're talking about. But at the end of the day, stuff's still trading. I mean, a great example would be 1211 La Salle, like a 60-something-unit condo deconversion. Somebody paid a big number for that and that just recently closed and that was on the market for a very long time. And I think that's a good indicator of how the Chicago market's moving. [00:11:40] Sam Wilson: Right, right. No, I think that's great. Are there risks or things that investors should be aware of when looking at the Chicago market, either, you know, like you said, seasonally or politically, or things that you maybe apply specifically to you guys maybe that don't apply in other areas that people should be thinking about? And then if so, how do you mitigate those?  [00:12:02] Sam Wilson: You know, I can't really speak to stuff like politics or anything like that. But from, just like a pure investment standpoint. There are neighborhoods in Chicago that are still developing, and they're they're in development. So knowing what those neighborhoods are and what to look for. I I've always said the Chicago market is kind of nuanced. It's neighborhood by neighborhood, asset type by asset type. So really kind of getting in there and getting on a granular level. And looking at an asset one at a time and then understanding that neighborhood. A good rule of thumb for outside investors looking in Chicago, I never really like to be outside of a 4-block range of a public transportation or the train, figure out how easy it is for people to get a route. So that'd be my one tidbit would be to make sure that you're buying in an area where your residents will have an easy time either going to work or going to enjoy their life. [00:13:00] Sam Wilson: That's a big part of Chicago, like you said, is public transportation. Even when I fly into Chicago, that's all I do, is use public transportation straight from the airports. It's just like... [00:13:09] John McGeown: Yeah.  [00:13:10] Sam Wilson: Otherwise and without that, you go, you know, that becomes a serious consideration. Okay. No, that's absolutely fantastic. Tell me about the veteran interned broker journey for you. I think that's probably a fun part of your story and I'd love to hear more of that.  [00:13:24] John McGeown: Sure I got into real estate sort of by accident. Like when I left the Navy, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do. I had a lot of different ideas. A friend of mine, his father was working at a company called Chicago Apartment Finders, and I started as a listing agent. I didn't take out renters. I called landlords and nurtured relationships with owners, and we rented their stuff now. That was where we earned our fee from. And so, I got to learn the language of the landlord at an early age, at an early time in my career. And so, with a pretty good, what I felt was a pretty good understanding of what makes an investor tick and what's going to make them happy or upset them, or what's a good outcome or a bad outcome. I started setting my sites on more multifamily and you know, I also had a big network of people that I knew. And Chicago is a city where sometimes it's not all about what, you know, it's about who you know. And so I wanted to leverage my bigger network of property owners and sell buildings to them. And so I went to a company called Jameson Sotheby's, where I was, again, kind of a hybrid commercial agent, but also a residential agent. And frankly speaking, the property management company ended up fueling a lot of that sales business while I was at Jameson. So my journey kinda as a broker runs in tandem with my journey as a property management company owner. [00:14:46] Sam Wilson: When you rewind and think about the last 20, or, I guess, 12 -ish, maybe closer to 20 'cause you got out in 2003 out of the...  [00:14:54] John McGeown: Yeah.  [00:14:54] Sam Wilson: Yeah. So So pushing 20 years here, if somebody wanted to follow in your footsteps, is there one piece of advice you would give them? You said, Hey, here's something I did really well that I feel like you should emulate. [00:15:05] Sam Wilson: You know, never give up. Once you have a goal in mind, just don't stop until you hit it. I think a lot of people think it's hard. Maybe they get burned on one deal and they don't fulfill their objectives. I would say take all that information as a learning lesson and apply it to your next project and just never give up. Don't ever quit.  [00:15:27] Sam Wilson: I love that. I love that. And conversely, is there something that you feel like a mistake you've made or a lesson learned that you could help other people avoid repeating?  [00:15:39] John McGeown: Sure. It took me a long time to kind of refine who I am and why I'm different and why people would want to work with me. And I think part of that process was trying on different real estate personalities, you know, like, am I John the broker? Am I John the investment manager? Am I John the property manager? But like, squeeze it all to the middle and pick your focus, stay in that lane, and don't leave until you've succeeded. [00:16:06] Sam Wilson: I love that. I love that. That's really, really good. Yeah. What'd you say? It was John, the broker. John, you mentioned like four different hats.  [00:16:12] John McGeown: Exactly. Yeah.  [00:16:14] Sam Wilson: Right, find your focus and stick with it. I think that that's absolutely seasoned advice. John, this has been fascinating. Thanks for taking the time to break down the Chicago markets, how you guys are finding opportunity, kind of the nuance of investing in such a unique housing stock.  That's something that, you know, even here in Memphis, I mean, yeah, we're an older city, but it's just, it's not quite the same as to what it is that you guys or the same product type that you guys are dealing with up there. So I can only imagine that having someone such as yourself on the team would be invaluable. If our listeners want to get in touch with you or learn more about you, what is the best way to do that?  [00:16:52] John McGeown: Well, we just launched a brand new website that you can reach us there at www.hifipl.Com. That's H I F I P L.com or High Fidelity Realty. Those both work for URLs. I'm on LinkedIn. I'm on Facebook. My personal email address is john, J O H N, @hifipl.com. That's H I F I P L.com. Feel free to get in touch with me there anytime.  [00:17:17] Sam Wilson: Awesome. John, thank you so much. I appreciate your time today. Have a great rest of your afternoon.  [00:17:23] John McGeown: Will do, thank you.

Also in the news: Street closures begin for Chicago Marathon; South Bend VA clinic to be renamed after Congresswoman ; Trailblazing Black football player honored by alma mater Lane Tech and more.

Also in the news: Street closures begin for Chicago Marathon; South Bend VA clinic to be renamed after Congresswoman ; Trailblazing Black football player honored by alma mater Lane Tech and more.

Also in the news: Street closures begin for Chicago Marathon; South Bend VA clinic to be renamed after Congresswoman ; Trailblazing Black football player honored by alma mater Lane Tech and more.

My cuzzin NIGEL WALLS joins the u.s.a. National basketball team. One of 62 Celtics suspension of IME Brett Farve stealing from the poor Chicago police arrested for firing on 2 innocent people Historical marker unveiled during ceremony marking Underground Railroad site on Chicago's Far South Side...Single-Family Homes Coming To Vacant City-Owned Lots In North Lawndale...Affordable Lofts In Bronzeville, Black-Owned Dispensary And More South Lakefront Projects Get City Council Approval...Blackexcellence A Mortgage Loan, Just for Black Borrowers! Offered by the Nation's Largest Black-Led Mortgage Company....Bears honor Lane Tech's football coach Dedrick DeWalt...topic: Would you rather a woman lie to about money or lie to you about who she mashed? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/amon-phillips/support

My cuzzin NIGEL WALLS joins the u.s.a. National basketball team. One of 62 Celtics suspension of IME Brett Farve stealing from the poor Chicago police arrested for firing on 2 innocent people Historical marker unveiled during ceremony marking Underground Railroad site on Chicago's Far South Side...Single-Family Homes Coming To Vacant City-Owned Lots In North Lawndale...Affordable Lofts In Bronzeville, Black-Owned Dispensary And More South Lakefront Projects Get City Council Approval...Blackexcellence A Mortgage Loan, Just for Black Borrowers! Offered by the Nation's Largest Black-Led Mortgage Company....Bears honor Lane Tech's football coach Dedrick DeWalt...topic: Would you rather a woman lie to about money or lie to you about who she mashed? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/amon-phillips/support

Chicago school celebrates 'College Signing Day' with entire graduating class accepted into college....Black Development Duo Bringing More Restaurants, Retail and Housing To 51st Street Corridor...Lane Tech wins baseball state championship at Wrigley field....Pat Beverly is he wrong or naw...Lakers new HC Darvin Ham...Lupe Fiasco to teach rap at Massachusetts Institute of Technology....Mass shooting up from 2021 by 50%..Blackexcellence Chef Liz Rogers is the Founder, President, and Executive Chef of Creamalicious...HOWARD UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WIN $1M GRAND PRIZE AT GOLDMAN SACHS CASE STUDY COMPETITION --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/amon-phillips/support

Chicago school celebrates 'College Signing Day' with entire graduating class accepted into college....Black Development Duo Bringing More Restaurants, Retail and Housing To 51st Street Corridor...Lane Tech wins baseball state championship at Wrigley field....Pat Beverly is he wrong or naw...Lakers new HC Darvin Ham...Lupe Fiasco to teach rap at Massachusetts Institute of Technology....Mass shooting up from 2021 by 50%..Blackexcellence Chef Liz Rogers is the Founder, President, and Executive Chef of Creamalicious...HOWARD UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WIN $1M GRAND PRIZE AT GOLDMAN SACHS CASE STUDY COMPETITION --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/amon-phillips/support

Shamus Toomey, Editor in Chief and co-founder of Block Club Chicago, joined Bob Sirott to share the latest Chicago neighborhood stories. Shamus had details on: Albany Park On Edge After 3 Fires In 3 Days, But Investigators Haven't Found A Connection: “They're looking at each fire to see if there are any similarities or anything that could […]

Avi Kaplan recently placed second at a national youth chess tournament and is closing in on a 2,200 master score. "Even though I have a lot of trophies, it doesn't mean that chess is any easier. I still have to focus on every game."Host - Jon HansenReporter - Maia McDonald

In our inaugural episode of The Face of Latina Professionals Podcast, we sit down with Rebecca Bustos. Rebecca, a first generation Mexican-American, grew up in Logan Square and from an early age was surrounded by strong Latina women.  “Being Latina is being there for your family, being the pillar of the family and being Latina for me is being someone that's powerful as well, because you're holding it down for your family.” Rebecca goes on to share about her own revelation of identifying as “Latina” in addition to being Mexican-American here in Chicago. She discusses the sense of community and belonging fostered amongst Latinos specifically in Chicago vs other cities in the United States.  She also touches on topics such as our parents' culture compared to the modern-day Latino culture we're living through presently. Most Latino families have been so rooted in the man being the sole provider and head of the household. In this day and age, many Latinas are working tirelessly to redefine the “traditional Latino household.” Rebecca shares her own experiences of not only realizing she was Latina but also how in a diverse community, there are people that have always looked down upon her simply because she was Latina. She recalls vivid memories of being at Lane Tech where teachers were constantly surprised at her high grades where her white classmates didn't get the same reaction for the same or similar marks.  A thoughtful discussion between two first-generation Chicago born Mexican-Americans, this first episode of many to come with The Face of Latina Professionals podcast is one you don't want to miss.

Nick LoGalbo is entering his 14th season as the head boys' basketball coach (17th total) at his alma mater Lane Tech High School in Chicago, Illinois. Nick recently returned from Hungary where he led the Team USA U18 Men's and Women's Teams to Gold Medals in the FIBA 3 x 3 World Cup.  He has worked with USA Basketball as a lead clinician for their youth development clinics and regional camps, serves as a regional coordinator for USAB 3×3, and he has also spoken at USA Basketball's Coaches Academy to other aspiring coaches from across the country. Nick played his high school basketball at Lane Tech and then played four years of collegiate basketball at Benedictine University. He has been working at Lane Tech since graduating from college as an English teacher, basketball coach and now also serves as the school's athletic director. If you're looking to improve your coaching please consider joining the Hoop Heads Mentorship Program.  We believe that having a mentor is the best way to maximize your potential and become a transformational coach. By matching you up with one of our experienced mentors you'll develop a one on one relationship that will help your coaching, your team, your program, and your mindset.  The Hoop Heads Mentorship Program delivers mentoring services to basketball coaches at all levels through our team of experienced Head Coaches. Find out more at hoopheadspod.com or shoot me an email directly mike@hoopheadspod.com Follow us on social media @hoopheadspod on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to check out the Hoop Heads Podcast Network for more great basketball content. Be prepared with a notebook and pen as you listen to this episode with Gold Medal Winning Coach Nick LoGalbo, from Lane Tech High School in Chicago, Illinois. Website - https://coachbrenttipton.com/ (https://il.8to18.com/lanetechhs/activities/basketball/b) Email - nflogalbo@cps.edu Twitter - https://twitter.com/NMHbasketball (@)https://twitter.com/lanetechhoops (lanetechhoops) Visit our Sponsors! https://www.drdishbasketball.com/ (Dr. Dish Basketball) Mention the Hoop Heads Podcast when you place your order and get $300 off a brand new state of the art Dr. Dish Shooting Machine! http://www.fastmodelsports.com/ (Fast Model Sports) Use Code SAVE10 to get 10% off the number one play diagramming software for coaches https://gripspritz.net/ (Grip Spritz) Grip Spritz revitalizes and cleans the soles of your basketball shoes to stop you from slipping and sliding on the court! Better Grip, Better Game! Twitter Podcast - https://twitter.com/hoopheadspod (@hoopheadspod) Mike - https://twitter.com/hdstarthoops (@hdstarthoops) Jason - https://twitter.com/jsunkle (@jsunkle) Network - https://twitter.com/HoopHeadsPodNet (@HoopHeadsPodNet) Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hoopheadspod/ (@hoopheadspod) Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hoopheadspod/ (https://www.facebook.com/hoopheadspod/) YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDoVTtvpgwwOVL4QVswqMLQ (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDoVTtvpgwwOVL4QVswqMLQ) Support this podcast

Glenn Hamilton the prominent Lane Tech Alum stops by to chat with Butch and Pete regarding the New Lane Tech Principal Edwina Thompson (Glenn and Butch called it ) Ideas for a topic or show? pete@backintheday.blog

Glenn Hamilton stops by to chat with Butch and Pete regarding the Lane Teach Logo Change Glenn thank you for all the work you've done to help Lane Tech! Ideas for a topic or show? pete@backintheday.blog

Author Gerry Lekas is a longtime Chicagoan, a Lane Tech grad who worked at WGN while in school, and an aficionado of all things mysterious. He joined Bob Sirott to talk about his travel book “Where The Tour Buses Don’t Go.”

Walter and Pete rehash High School Football back in the 1980's Lane Tech Football HOF Coach Sam Bronswick Lane Tech Champs 1985 Schurz Lane Tech Stadium vs Hanson Park vs Gately Football players then and Now Have an idea for a topic email pete@backintheday.blog

Susan is the mother of a kindergartner at Charles J Sahs, who has been doing well e-learning. She shares her daughter’s experience. And, Patti is the mom of a swimmer at Lane Tech, which she says, has done a great job following protocols.

Susan is the mother of a kindergartner at Charles J Sahs, who has been doing well e-learning. She shares her daughter’s experience. And, Patti is the mom of a swimmer at Lane Tech, which she says, has done a great job following protocols.

Chicago Public Schools’ largest high school voted Monday night to remove officers from campus. Reset asks,, "What does that mean for the school and its budget?"

Ep. 2: Drake track and field shaped this business icon. Louis Carr's story encourages us to set impactful goals, work harder than everybody else, and refine our mental skills. You will learn the power of competing against yourself as Don Yaeger interviews the man responsible for more advertising dollars targeting African-American consumers than any other professional or company in history. Louis Carr has led an incredible 21 straight years of advertising revenue growth. His athletic accolades are as impressive as his corporate leadership success. Louis was the co-captain of the 1974 State Champion Track Team at Lane Tech high school in Chicago and was awarded a four-year track scholarship to Drake University. In this episode, you will discover how he uses the lessons from the track in his leadership today. Visit CorporateCompetitorPodcast.com for show notes and a free chapter of Don's best-selling book.

A community survey with over 9,000 responses found 52% wanted to see the mascot, name, and any Native American imaginary removed from the school. American Indian Center Executive Director Heather Miller discusses the significance of the decision with John Howell.

John and Derondal discuss schools reopening, Lane Tech and the Census Cowboy. John's Game-ball: 2020census.gov

Ugo Okere, Policy Director for Raise the Floor Alliance, joins Anna to talk about his effort to remove the police at his alma mater, Lane Tech.

GK & EJ interview Lane Tech soccer and Chicago Fire captain Alexis Dempsey.

Reset hears from an alum — who once played the mascot role at Lane Tech — on why he thinks it’s time for a change. Plus, we take a look at why other potentially offensive mascots in Illinois sports haven’t gone anywhere and what it would take.

Chicago’s biggest public high school, Lane Tech, is setting the wheels in motion to change the school’s “Indians” mascot, after a push from alumni that called it “wrong and racist.” Reset hears from an alum — who once played the mascot role at Lane Tech — on why he thinks it’s time for a change. We also take a look at why other potentially offensive mascots in Illinois sports haven’t gone anywhere, and what it would take.

40th Ward Alderman Andre Vasquez joins Anna to talk about the Chicago Board of Education rejecting the bid to end its contract with the Chicago Police Department. Alderman Vasquez also comments on the controversy surrounding the use of Indian imagery at Lane Tech.

Fawn Pochel, Education Coordinator, American Indian Center, joins Anna to weigh in on the controversy surrounding the use of Indian imagery at Lane Tech.

Jetzi Calvin (Lane Tech class of 2010), joins Anna to talk about the group effort to replace Lane’s longtime “Indian” mascot.

We Offered CPS Coaches To Come On The H2S2 Show To Recognize Their Seniors From The Class Of 2020 Who Final Year Of High School Has Been Interrupted By This Quarantine This Week On The High School Holla Sports Show We Welcome Nine Seniors From The Lane Tech Indians Baseball Team Along With Head Baseball Coach Sean Freeman As His Seniors Share Their Heart Felt High School Experieinces It's The H2S2 Show Special Way Of Honoring The Senior Class Of 2020…

We are thankful to have on a great guest, Anthony Long, who recently sold off his 150 unit portfolio on the North Side of Chicago. In this episode he explains how he recently acquired a property in Streeterville in CASH and explains what it takes to operate and liquidate a 150 unit real estate portfolio at the young age of 31.Guest: Anthony LongTopics:4:24 - Selling Real Estate At 12x Earnings5:33 - Management Headaches & Solutions6:40 - Technology VS. Old School Management7:18 - Handling Tenant Complaints11:17 - Following Ambitions12:23 - Overcoming Selling Fears15:23 - Underwriting the Deal17:25 - Reinvesting In Your Existing Portfolio19:12 - How To Increase Rents The Correct Way20:35 - Overcoming Negative Social Media Reviews21: 55 - Keeping 100% Occupancy24:03 - Creating A Management Company27:06 - The Maintenance Staff/Units Magic Number29:16 - Success In Real Estate

Lane Tech grad and former first-round pick Laken Tomlinson talks about the unreal commute he took as a kid, the perils of snow on the CTA and what it will feel like Sunday when he starts at guard for the 49ers in the Super Bowl.

The LT Makers Lab at Lane Tech College Prep high school in Chicago is an amazing innovation and digital fabrication classroom. We’re heading to Lane Tech for a conversation with educator and technologist Jeff Solin. Jeff is the mind behind the LT Makers Lab and an award-winning National Board Certified Teacher. We'll also delve into Lane Tech's history and transition from a vocational training school for boys to a coeducational selective enrollment college prep high school. • Follow Jeff on Twitter and Instagram @JeffSolin twitter.com/JeffSolin instagram.com/jeffsolin/ • Follow the LT Makers Lab on Twitter @LTMakers twitter.com/LTMakers • For information about the LT Makers Lab can be found here sites.google.com/cps.edu/ltmakers • Learn more about Lane Tech here lanetech.org

Jeff Solin is an educator, makerspace administrator, and all around good-guy at Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago. This is the third part in This Should Work's* series on educational makerspaces, and I'm really grateful that Jeff joined the podcast to talk about the way he thinks about educating students in makerspaces and fostering a supportive educational makerspace environment.

Breaking down the Apple Educational event which took place on March 27th at Lane Tech in Chicago

Bloomberg reports Tim Cook may roll out new Apple products for the educational market at Lane Tech on the North Side, even as CPS students are off for spring break. Plus the rest of the day's news, sports and weather forecast.

DIVA SPORTS - LANE TECH V. WHITNEY YOUNG GIRLS BBALL (Jan. 20TH, 2018) by Urban Fieldhouse Media

On this episode we welcome guest “Career Tips with Krys” to give us some career advice.  First we detour to talk about the importance of high schools in Chicago and Lane Tech (the pride of the north side) vs. Whitney Young (one of the most celebrated schools in Chicago's history).  Then we dive into all things career related.  When should you look for a new job, interview & resume etiquette and when you should ask for a raise.  What hiring managers and recruiters are looking for, company culture, the importance of LinkedIn and more.  If you are looking for increase, change or just looking to navigate your career by working smarter this is a show you'll love.    

Ron Munvez, founder of Tri-Fitness, has had a lifelong passion for fitness. He has over 25 years of experience providing personal training for a broad variety of clients. Ron is a former NCAA Athlete. He has a BS in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Ron is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and a certified Personal Trainer (CPT) through The American Council on Exercise (ACE). He is also a Level 2 certified Youth Fitness Specialist through the International Youth and Conditioning Association (IYCA). He has also coached youth sports for 13 years. Ron is one of only twelve trainers worldwide to have completed all four mentorship programs at the prestigious Athletes’ Performance in Tempe AZ. Athletes’ Performance is the top training facility in the world for elite and professional athletes. He is a TPI-CGFI (Titleist Performance Institute – Certified Golf Fitness Instructor). Ron was formerlly the strength, conditioning and speed coach for Chicago’s Lane Tech football and baseball teams and the conditioning and speed coach for the Chicago Force women’s professional football team. He is constantly seeking continued education from top professionals in the fitness and sports performance industry. He was voted one of Chicago’s Best Personal Trainers, 2007-2008, by Chicago Citysearch. SPECIALTIES: Sports Performance Enhancement Training Youth Fitness and Performance Training Weight Loss General Fitness Golf Fitness Instruction CERTIFICATIONS: NSCA: Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist IYCA: Certified Youth Fitness Specialist Level 2 ACE: Certified Personal Trainer TPI – CGFI (Titleist Performance Institute) Certified Golf Fitness Instructor Precision Nutrition Certified Website – www.trifitnesschicago.comEmail Address – ron@trifitnesschicago.comPhone – (312) 497-0187Facebook – Trifitness & Performance The post #25 Ron Munvez – The importance of fitness and conditioning with kids appeared first on Eric W Su.

The “original” Lone Ranger reminisces about growing up in Chicago and going to Lane Tech. Click here to return to the Roy Leonard Audio Archive. For more about Roy Leonard, visit royleonard.com. December 20, 1975