Podcasts about Peabody Hotel

Kenon Walker got one of the most unusual job offers you can get: be the Duckmaster of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. That means he would lead the hotel's five ducks on a daily march to the fountain in the lobby, a bizarre and beloved tradition that draws visitors from all over. But when he was first offered the job, Kenon was hesitant to take it because all the previous Duckmasters he knew of were white. Or so he thought.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. 

Ever wondered how a college football team can bounce back after a shocking defeat? Join us on this week's SleepHawk Worldwide Sportscast as Sleep Dog and the Big Hawk break down UNC football's staggering 70-50 loss to James Madison. We'll sift through the chaos of five turnovers and 53 points allowed in the first half, then shift our focus to Coach Mack Brown's unparalleled credentials and the team's path to recovery in the tightly knit world of college football.Next, take a vivid journey through Memphis with us, where we uncover hidden gems like a mouthwatering barbecue spot near the Peabody Hotel and historical landmarks such as the Lorraine Hotel and Beale Street. We also gear up for Carolina basketball's intense matchup against teams like UCLA, Alabama, and Kansas. Switching gears to the NFL, we'll analyze the Carolina Panthers' surprising win with Andy Dalton taking over for Bryce Young, and debate the age-old question: Should rookie quarterbacks start right away or learn from the sidelines?And for a lighter touch, laugh along as we share our misadventures with the Big Green Egg grill—ever managed to overcook while wrangling airflow and temperature? We've been there. Plus, discover the joys and trials of grilling, from condo code restrictions to the thrill of perfecting Jimmy's Seafood crab cakes. We're also excited about plans for an outdoor entertainment setup complete with a new TV just in time for the Commander's game. Tune in for an episode packed with sports insights, grilling tips, and plenty of humor!Brought to you by Jimmy's Famous Seafood.

Twice every day, a rapt audience gathers at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee to see six local celebrities: five ducks and the hotel's head Duckmaster, Kenon Walker, who leads them in “The Duck March.” With John Philip Sousa music playing, the ducks march across a red carpet through the hotel's lobby to a fountain. The ducks swim about the fountain until the afternoon, when the Duckmaster marches them back to their palace on the roof. People travel from all over to see this surreal local tradition.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. 

In episode 69 of The TBD Podcast, Garrett sits down with Sean Demartino, a widely respected veteran in the construction industry who has led multiple large scale projects for clients such as Walt Disney, Universal Orlando, LYNX and the Orlando Magic. Sean has overseen Tampa projects like the JW Marriott Water Street, the Ritz Carlton residences on Bayshore Boulevard, the Pendry Hotel in downtown, and the Arts and Entertainment residences. Sean Demartino is the President of Coastal Constructions Central Florida division. Sean's efforts and expertise can be seen in some of the most significant and iconic structures in the region, including the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the Peabody Hotel (now the Hyatt Regency Orlando), and the Harris Corporate Headquarters and High Technology Center in Palm Bay, FL. In South Florida, Coastal Construction has built some iconic towers such as the Porsche tower, Bentley residences, and many more.

Our guests today are Hal and Julie Lansky.Lansky Bros. opened as an army surplus and uniform store in 1946. It then pivoted when supplies ran out after WW2. Bernard Lanksy hit the jackpot when a young man with no money, Elvis Presley, walked into his store before the one and only Ed Sullivan show.Today, 78 years later, Lansky Bros. is an international brand. Here, I sit down with second-generation Hal Lansky and third-generation Julie Lanksy at the world-famous Peabody Hotel.Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy today's episode!Link: their website- https://lanskybros.comLA Times: https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-xpm-2012-nov-16-la-me-bernard-lansky-20121116-story.html

If you think you know all there is to know about being hospitable listen to our guest, Quentin McElveen and then decide. Quentin grew up in South Carolina and has studied the idea of Southern Hospitality for most of his life. He was serious enough about it that he went to college to study and earn a degree in Hospitality Management. Quentin then worked in the hotel industry securing a variety of jobs in both the front of the house where he interacted with the public and the back of the house where he spent more time dealing with staff, processes and working with the behind-the-scenes system. He feels his time in the hotel and hospitality industry has made him a better person and a much better leader. He discuss with me at length various issues and concepts of what it means to be a leader. I am sure some of you will value much what Quentin has to say on this score. During Covid Quentin transitioned out of the hotel industry and now works in the healthcare field as a “customer experience manager”. His ultimate goal is to get back into the hotel world and eventually own and operate his own hotel. About the Guest: Quentin, a native of South Carolina, has been immersed in the values of southern hospitality since childhood. This philosophy has been reflected in his personal and professional life, driving his interests as a business professional and shaping his character. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from the University of South Carolina, where he chartered the National Society of Minorities in Society USC chapter and held leadership roles in other organizations. With over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry, Quentin has served in different capacities, including Assistant General Manager, Director of Operations, and Front Office Manager for diverse hotel brands. He has a proven track record of improving guest satisfaction scores, turning around underperforming hotel operations, and exceeding quality and performance management objectives. As he advances in his career, Quentin is passionate about professional development, coaching others, and leading successful teams. He is committed to leveraging his leadership and training skills to make a significant impact in the hospitality industry. Through his diverse professional background, he has gained valuable insights and knowledge from various industries, which he has effectively utilized to strengthen and improve his leadership abilities. This multifaceted approach has allowed him to develop a unique perspective and skillset, ultimately making him a more well-rounded and effective leader. Despite the challenges that come with pursuing dreams, Quentin always encourages others to think big and embrace their aspirations. His ultimate goal is to become an owner of hotels, a dream that motivates him to learn more about hotel operations continually. If you would like to connect with Quentin, he would be delighted to receive an invitation on LinkedIn. Ways to connect with Quintin: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quentinmcelveen/ About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Hi, there I am your host, Mike Hingson. Or Michael Hingson, if you prefer and I'd like to welcome you to unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. And I bet our guest today Quenton McElveen can talk all about the unexpected. He talks a lot about hospitality, southern hospitality. And of course, the South is supposed to be known for southern hospitality. So we want to get into that, needless to say and learn about it. But that will come as we go forward. But for now, Quentin, I'd like to thank you for being here. And welcome to unstoppable mindset was   Quenton McElveen ** 01:56 a pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate this opportunity. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 02:00 this will be fun. I'm looking forward to it. Tell me a little bit about kind of the younger Quentin growing up and what what life was like as a kid and all that sort of stuff. It's always great to start at the beginning.   Quenton McElveen ** 02:14 So I grew up in South Carolina in a two parent household. I was at a strong Christian background. I was one of the kids that couldn't listen to anything but but gospel music I got in trouble if I tried to listen to something else. I grew up around a lot of a lot of family oriented activities and outings and a lot of my childhood we did a lot of traveling. So I believe that's why I became so interested in hotels. We stayed at hotels, I live on the east coast. I spent a lot of time with Florida. The beaches of South Carolina like Myrtle Beach, had a good childhood, very good childhood.   Michael Hingson ** 02:57 So you went to school in high school and so on. Did you go on to college?   Quenton McElveen ** 03:01 Yes. I went to the University of South Carolina in Columbia, and had a wonderful college tenure while I was there at a very good time. They're majoring in Hospitality Management course. I'm telling you, man,   Michael Hingson ** 03:21 of course. So with all the traveling that you've done, what's your favorite hotel?   Quenton McElveen ** 03:28 When I was younger? My favorite hotel was Embassy Suites. I love to go there. Yeah, I love there. How large the rooms were being looted kid. I like to jump across the bed from one to the other. And the breakfast buffet. I always loved that like the um, so as an adult, I like the Hilton brand building brand hotels. Yeah. I have a credit card.   Michael Hingson ** 03:59 I don't have a Hilton credit card. But I love when I can to stay at Hilton Hotels. And I still love Embassy Suites. I've always been welcomed pretty well there. And it's good to still follow the Hilton. Yeah. Well, it's all part of Hilton. And but so I enjoyed it and I still enjoy the breakfast. They they do a good job with that. And I've even I've even spent time at the manager's reception not being a big drinker. But the snacks are good and occasionally but a drink but I love just the hospitality Embassy Suites. I agree with you. It's it's a great hotel and a great brand. Alright. So you worked at the well at the university and you you charted an organization there, didn't you if I recall? Yeah,   Quenton McElveen ** 04:52 the organization that I reached out there is called the National Society of Minorities. in hospitality. And so that organization was something that we really needed on campus at the time. And it it started a lot of engagement with different students on campus. And it allowed us to travel to Atlanta, to the National Conference twice. While I was there, we traveled to Indianapolis to a national conference got us a lot of exposure with different professionals and students across the parts of the US that had the same issues we had. Well, and I went on further than it. I'm sorry, go ahead. I went on further than that, and joined the National Board of the entire organization. So I went from chapter president to the national program. So right there there. I have got a lot of exposure, do a lot of networking, with industry professionals.   Michael Hingson ** 05:54 So are you still in the hospitality industry today?   Quenton McElveen ** 05:58 Well, I'm not not officially in the hotel industry. But right now, I am a guest services Coach and Trainer, which sounds like hospitality. But it truly is hospitality. But it's not an end to hotel. Industry. Is it your own company? Is not my own company. I work for healthcare company. Okay.   Michael Hingson ** 06:19 Well, we will, we will get to that. Yeah, I know that. That's a little bit of a switch, though, although you can certainly justify it under hospitality, I suppose. And that brings up the question, what is hospitality? Hospitality   Quenton McElveen ** 06:33 is really a feeling that you give to someone else is really a feeling that someone's feels warm and comfortable. And they feel welcomed. Hospitality is a feeling so I'm satisfied. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 06:50 Well, if you don't have it, you, you should I think it's a fair thing to say being hospitable and, and making people feel welcome is something that I, I enjoy. And I've had the opportunity to do it for lots of podcast episodes now. But I've always enjoyed it. And it's, it seems to me that, collectively in this country, we're losing some of the art of hospitality because we can't talk to people. We can't have discussions. We're so fractured. Do you? Do you find that to be the case?   Quenton McElveen ** 07:26 Yeah, I agree. As great as social media and technology we have today is it really it took away the personal interaction that we have we once had before, the advancement that we have with cell phones and the internet. Because we don't have to talk to one another in person anymore. We can do it on the screen.   Michael Hingson ** 07:48 I have heard people say many times that they've been on trips with their kids and their kids are in the back of the car. And they're texting back and forth. And I've never understood why. And I asked somebody once, and they said, because they want to talk about things that they don't want their parents to know. And I'm sitting there going, that is so scary. You know,   Quenton McElveen ** 08:10 it seems like it shouldn't be the other way around. It seemed like texting would have came first. And then eventually when it came out later, oh, you can actually talk to someone now. But it was backwards. Yeah. Wow. Okay.   Michael Hingson ** 08:22 Yeah. And, but and you lose some of the art and some of the nuances of personal context that it would be really important, it seems to me to have That's right. So how, in your way, you went to college, you got a degree? Did you get a bachelor's? Did you go on and get a masters or just a bachelor's?   Quenton McElveen ** 08:45 I got a bachelor's degree, and okay, great to work after that   Michael Hingson ** 08:48 trying to work? How do you teach people hospitality? I'm assuming that when you hire people in a hotel environment, you want to try to get people who are going to be able to be welcoming and so on. But at the same time, isn't it something that sometimes you have to teach the art or help people improve in their hospitality efforts?   Quenton McElveen ** 09:10 When any hiring role that I've had as a full time manager in whatever capacity I was in at the time, I hired for personality, so they had to be already hospitable and coachable in the interview, and what what they were taught was the skills to complete the job, because you can have you can teach someone skill, but it's very difficult to teach hospitality. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 09:37 It is a it's a real challenge to do that. Because as you said, it's a feeling. It's an attitude. It's a mindset, and it's something that people have to develop. I love going to airports. Speaking of hospitality, and whenever I get to a TSA agent, you know when we get to the kiosk or to the counter or not well, though The desk and all that. The first thing they say is, can I have your boarding pass and your ID and I give them my boarding pass? And well, can I have your ID? And of course, what I say is, what's wrong? Did you lose yours? And they mostly do laugh. Or I say, Why do you need my ID? Don't I look like me? You know, I just, it is it is a thankless job. And even at hotels and so on, I love to try to get people to laugh. I think it's one of the things that I've learned to do over the years from probably doing radio, in college and other things. But I think it's so important that we try to make people feel at ease. And of course, there are a lot of people who are uncomfortable around a blind person. And there are people who are uncomfortable about people of other races. And so anything we can do to deal with, that is always worth doing, it seems to me,   Quenton McElveen ** 10:54 that's good to hear how you, you find a way to connect with someone by using humor. I do that quite often, almost every day on the job. And with strangers that I meet. I think there's humor and everything. And it bridges the gap between, like you said different different races. And it's an easy way for me to input hospitality, but humor by using humor, because oftentimes we go to businesses and restaurants, retail stores are just places where you feel like a transaction, like you walk in, they just want to give you what you want and get you out of there. You don't feel like they really care. You know, that number was like a robotic transaction. And I don't like that. So anytime I interact with someone or my current job or anywhere, I want to make sure they feel valued. How do you do   Michael Hingson ** 11:48 that? Can you tell me a story of where you had to do that once or where you decided to do it once?   Quenton McElveen ** 11:55 Sure, I do it quite easily. The easy target for me being in the south is football. I live in. I live in South Carolina. So the two top teams of discussion are University of South Carolina and Clemson. So usually when you talk to someone, you ask them, okay, Which team do you like? And if it's the Carolina person, I just sparked up friendship. If it's a Clemson person, it's a friendly rivalry that we can joke with back and forth. Yes, that's what I do very often. And being here to south. Well, yeah, go ahead. If they're not a college fan, we can quickly move to the NFL, you know, a sports fan. like to talk about their, you know, what they have on or their name. I find different clever ways to, to interact with people.   Michael Hingson ** 12:43 Let's get real serious here, though. So that works great for South Carolina. But what do you do when you get somebody from UNC North Carolina State or Duke? Who comes to visit?   Quenton McElveen ** 12:55 Just checking. We just, we just shift the basketball? Yeah, that's something I've done. Yeah, if you shoot the basketball, and if you're a UNC fan, and you may be casual, you don't really know what's going on. We could talk about the older the older days with Michael Jordan, or move forward. Vince Carter, and we can talk about those days. So   Michael Hingson ** 13:15 yeah, no, I understand. I remember going to a speaking event.   Quenton McElveen ** 13:22 At Oh, well,   Michael Hingson ** 13:25 I, it was somewhere right around Raleigh Durham. And I landed, got to the hotel, and I was gonna just order room service and eat in my room and watch a little bit of TV, which seems innocent enough. It was March, which gives you a clue. I hadn't even thought about it. And I was going to actually watch a TV show that used to be on CBS called without a trace. And I turned the TV on was his getting ready to order. And suddenly the announcer comes out and says the television shows normally broadcast at this time without a trace and whatever, are not going to be shown today because we're going to bring you the UNC North Carolina State basketball game that decides who goes to the championship. And you can watch without a trace at 1:02pm on Sunday morning. Yeah, who's gonna be up there watching that? But, you know, they, they really did take it seriously. It was it was fun. And so I I've watched enough to learn to get into the discussions, but I've been in several situations where sports is ruled what you do. I've had a couple of speaking engagements where I was told you have to end by a certain time so that we can end this event by a certain time, like once in Kentucky, because it was the final two for March Madness and the Wildcats were one of the two teams and they said this all ends at 630 Because by 630 One, this gym, it was in a gymnasium totally full, this gym will be totally empty by 631. And you know what it was? It was I'd never seen people get out so fast. Wow. But you know what? We know what their priority. That's right. We know what their priorities are. It was kind of fun. But I agree, I think humor is, is is an important thing. And it doesn't need to be humor that puts anyone down or anything, right? There's so many ways to make people feel more welcome. And I wish we could really all learn more of that. And even with serious discussions, like nowadays, you can't really talk to anybody about politics. And you can't because everyone takes it so seriously, we become so fractured, you know. But as I put, as I love to tell people, we don't do that on top of mindset, we don't talk about politics. But if we were to I would point out that I'm an equal opportunity abuser. So it doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter. I'm an equal opportunity abuser. I'm with Mark Twain Congress was that Grandal benevolent asylum for the helpless?   Quenton McElveen ** 16:13 So okay.   Michael Hingson ** 16:17 So everybody fits in the same mold. What do you want, but you know, politics is, it's just something that is, is so serious, and we're so steeped in some of that stuff today that we just can't converse about it. And we talk about humor, but the whole art of conversation. And so I'm sure that you were to spend a lot of time just having conversations with people, which helps make them feel more welcome.   Quenton McElveen ** 16:44 Right, and I was trying to meet people where they are, you can kind of have a dessert for people, I fill them out. So you know what they're comfortable with talking about. And that's just it. So I have different conversations with different people depending on the when you're going through at a time when they're already talking about. And so it's never a disrespectful conversation and never insulting. It's always uplifting. And something that builds you up. Have you ever had a   Michael Hingson ** 17:15 situation that where you just could not break through and talk to someone or they were just really obnoxious?   Quenton McElveen ** 17:20 Yeah, I've had quite a few of those. That's what I know just to if they wanted to be transactional. Okay, I'll do that for you. I'm not going to ask you how your day was or anything like that. I'm just going to complete this transaction. I'm going to provide the service that you want me to provide. And I got to be out your way. I'm not going to hold you up at all. Yeah, few and far between. But they happen though. Yeah, that's   Michael Hingson ** 17:48 unfortunate. And you know, you don't know what caused them to be that way. And maybe they're not always that way. But whatever. There's nothing that you can really do about that other than your best guess   Quenton McElveen ** 17:59 right? There. In the hotel industry, there's a difference between hotel leisure and hotel business. So these guests come in with two different needs. against us, they're on vacation, or they're there, they have all the time in the world to spend. So they're going to ask you a lot of questions like what's the best place to eat? And what should I visit while I'm here, they're gonna ask you engage in questions. But the business guests their their own business, they just want to run with a nice, big enough outlet to plug in their laptop and their cell phone and tablet. They don't need to know what a pool is. So why am I spending my time telling them about a pool? They don't need that. They don't want to know, the newest exciting thing in town. They're not here for that. So you got to know what's compensation the half? Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 18:52 I must admit that even if I'm somewhere for leisure, I do want to know where those outlets are. Yeah. To be able to plug things in and especially where the USB ports are these days, which is, which is getting to be more and more important, and probably rightly so.   Quenton McElveen ** 19:12 Yeah, and I believe hotel so far, some of them have done a great job of adapting to the, the new that new target market, because 20 years ago, we didn't need extra outlets, and of course, but now it's almost mandatory. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 19:29 And you got to have enough outlets to make it worthwhile this because people are bringing things that require them and they want them and it's all about convenience. That's right.   Quenton McElveen ** 19:41 Every note is that um, um, we talked about cell phones earlier. Now there are there are apps that you can connect with the desk before you even arrive. There are right before you had to pick up the phone or call now. They don't want you to call it as much now because sometimes you have to talk to a call center versus talking to the front desk. Yeah, well, that wasn't as big as it is now. So things are changing. And there   Michael Hingson ** 20:12 is a huge difference between talking to someone in a call center and talking to someone at the front desk. And I still prefer to call personally and speak to someone. And usually, I can figure out how to get around calling the call center, like if they want if you want to talk about reservations, and they can say, if you want to speak to somebody about reservations, push one, I pretty much am certain that's gonna go to a call center. And not interested in that. So secret, everybody, I just dial zero and go from there. But mostly, I have my act together before I go and have enough information is sent to me via email, or I can look at like the Hilton honors app, and get a lot of information right off the bat. So I get a lot of the data that I need, which is which is important.   Quenton McElveen ** 21:09 I want to I want to answer that. I'm glad you mentioned about that out. I think it's important for those who don't travel often or you're really not that into travel, you may or may not have out it whether you go to Hilton Marriott high Wyndham doesn't matter which brand you go to, I highly encourage you to download the app and do check in on the app, I would not wait to check in when you get there. But download the app and you can use it as a room key in some hotels, you don't have to have physical key. And if you check in on the hell, you don't have to stop by the front desk, unless you absolutely just want to, you can walk right past the front desk, you don't have to check in there and go straight to your room. That's so convenient. And there are times when hotels sell out. If you check it out, you put in much I guarantee your room, no matter what time you arrive, whether you get that midnight or after, if you've already checked in, they're not going to remove you from that room, right?   Michael Hingson ** 22:14 My challenge with some of that though, is in checking in and picking a room. Especially if there are different styles rooms that all fall into the category that I can choose. Not being able to see them and and then giving you the information through pictures. That's a problem for me. Okay, so I have a challenge with that. But I don't mind checking in, but I also still go to the front desk. And the reason I do is it being different enough. very frankly, I want people to know who I am. So they're they'll understand later if I ask questions or call and have a question or just come down or or whatever. So I don't mind speaking to the desk, but that's a personal thing. And it doesn't matter to me if it's business or personal or pleasure. It is still to me. Probably extremely helpful to speak to somebody at the desk.   Quenton McElveen ** 23:14 Right? I agree. It was good to get that personal interaction as well. Just connected with people. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 23:22 Where I see challenges for me a lot is going to a hotel. And they have a lot of hotels have these breakfasts in the morning, the free breakfast or whatever, and you go into this room and they can you can make a waffle or they've got pre made omelets and all that stuff. Sometimes they're not necessarily very good, but they're there. The problem is getting help to find out what's where and actually getting assistance to get things because, you know, unless I just go around with a fork and taste everything in each each container, you know, that's not gonna work very well.   Quenton McElveen ** 24:05 Well, normally, there are representatives that   Michael Hingson ** 24:08 well, there are tenants, but sometimes they're in the kitchen in the back washing dishes or whatever, or they step away. So it's just, they're not always there. And more often than not, it takes a while. But the other problem is, here's what usually happens when I find a breakfast attendant. i I'll go in and I'll stand for a second and usually I can find an attendant fairly quickly. So most of the time, they don't wander off, but then they say, Well, what do you want for breakfast? I don't know. I just got here. What do you have? You know, they always want to know and a lot of times that's why I hate it when people want to read me menus in restaurants and so on. If I go in and they don't have a Braille menu. I say to them, you know, I'd like to know what's on the menu. And then the question is what do you want? Well, you know, the the temptation, when that happens is to say something like, I want to roast duck dinner with stuffing, and other things like that, that I'm sure they're not going to have. Why are you asking me what I want? When I want to know, first of all, what's on the menu? How am I going to figure that out? It's kind of an interesting world we live in.   Quenton McElveen ** 25:22 Yeah. And that's a common question that I get to when I go to restaurants that I have not been to before. Let me see the menu first. And I'll be able to answer that question. Right. But I'll tell you what your hell first, you know,   Michael Hingson ** 25:33 yeah, because seeing the menu doesn't do good for me. Right. And it is a challenge to get people to recognize, well, I got to know what there is. First. There are some interesting apps, and they don't do as much as I would like. But there's a an app, for example, called menus for all. And it has some almost 800,000 different restaurant menus. And what you can do is you can just activate it when you're where you want to be. And it will tell you, starting from the closest going out what the menus are that they have. Unfortunately, I've been doing really well lately in the menus that I've wanted, or for the restaurants that I'm I know I'm at, they don't have. And so I still only get them the menu. There are other ways to get it. And there are a number of ways there's a program called Blind square that I can access. And when I do that,   Quenton McElveen ** 26:29 then   Michael Hingson ** 26:32 it'll see where I am. And blind square also is great at pulling up local menus, it actually goes into the website on its own, and finds it and discovers the menu and then it can read it out loud or whatever. But yeah, menus can be a challenge and restaurants. On the other hand, go to Embassy Suites, the chicken case, ideas are always good. Yes, so I can I can be in a rut pretty easily. In case the Diaz,   Quenton McElveen ** 27:05 if all else fails, go to Embassy Suites. That's a good place to eat.   Michael Hingson ** 27:10 And stay Yeah, it is. pricey. But but you know, there are there are always challenges. And mostly, I do find that people want to do the right thing. But of course, they want to do the right thing a lot more, when you make it joyful for them to want to do the right thing. So I think that's really important to address to   Quenton McElveen ** 27:34 you talking about just employees in general. I'm talking   Michael Hingson ** 27:37 about employees in general, and interacting with with the public employees are going to be more prone to interact with me, if I make it pretty clear that I value them and want to talk with them. And you know that we can have a good conversation as opposed to just being a jerk. That's right. That's right. I agree. So what do you love about the hospitality industry since you were in it for such a long time, and you're still sort of in it, if you will,   Quenton McElveen ** 28:09 it's come natural, to me, is something I've been doing my entire life. And just just being a part of having a job where you hospitality is something that you have to do. It's not hard at all, it comes natural. Even if I wasn't working, I will be doing something with hospitality. Even when I'm not working right now. Like if I go to a mall or something, something as simple as holding the door for the next person. Or something as simple down south, we say Yes, ma'am. Yes, sir. I know that's not accepted everywhere. But it shows respect. Just making sure if if there was an accident that happened with someone, someone slips and falls, making sure they Okay, versus pulling your phone out for YouTube and Facebook, you know, just the old school stuff that it's not as valued as much today. So working in the hospitality, industry or working in hospitality, it gives you the opportunity to do that, to get paid for doing something that you love doing.   Michael Hingson ** 29:17 And that's really the issue, isn't it? It's all about making it a fun job and paying for what you love doing and getting paid for what you love doing.   Quenton McElveen ** 29:25 If there's my personality, we have a front of the house, or there is in front of the house and the back of the house for a reason. Not everyone wants to be up front talking to guests, and that's fine. This was the back of the house for and so and then in front of the house person, they don't necessarily want to be in the back. So it's a room for you. You don't have to be customer or guest facing to be in the hospitality industry. But   Michael Hingson ** 29:52 even so, there are going to be times when people in the back of the house are going to have to interact with customers and so they should I understand enough the value of doing it even though it may not be what they do regularly.   Quenton McElveen ** 30:03 That's true.   Michael Hingson ** 30:07 That's right. So it's kind of important. What's your most memorable moment? What's the thing that stands out to you the most about being in the hospitality industry or that happened to you?   Quenton McElveen ** 30:18 When I graduated in 2011, and I love this question. I moved to New Orleans never been there before. Don't have any family there. I moved there, because I have a great opportunity. And it's a culture shock. Coming from South Carolina to New Orleans, they don't even speak the same type of English. So I had to learn English again. When I first touched down in the in the airport, the lady said, she asked me how I was doing but she said, how you doing baby? And I thought she liked me something because she called me baby. But no, that's and then as I continue to go along, that's just how they greet one another there by saying, baby. That's it. Oh, okay. So it's a whole lot different. So my most memorable moment in the hotel industry was opening or reopening the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. Hotel was destroyed by a bit of real bad by Hurricane Katrina. Katrina, right. And I was part of that team that reopened it. So I when it comes to mattresses and pillows, sofas, I was part of that team just restocking the rooms, getting them prepared, ready to open. I even had a hand and the 10 replacement in the bathrooms. So that was a big part of my idea. If you're still like that today, how wasn't that when I was there? Notice something I could have credit for. Many years later,   Michael Hingson ** 32:04 I stayed at that hotel. I remember it. It's been a while, but I've been there. And we're attended a couple of conventions in New Orleans as well.   Quenton McElveen ** 32:12 Around what year? It   Michael Hingson ** 32:15 was, it was pre Katrina. Okay. I'm trying to think if I'd been if I've been there since I may have been there once since. But I know I did pre Katrina, and I think I was in New Orleans once and did stay there. And it was after Katrina, but it was several years after I Katrina hit. And then I was also Hurricane Rita, in Texas. And I was in Texas, when all of that happened. And so I got to see a lot of what was going on like in Beaumont, Texas, and around and around there and how people were having to deal with it. It was definitely a sad situation. Yeah. And people were homeless because of what happened. And sometimes I remember it was very difficult to break through to people and get people to smile. And, and I worked at it pretty hard. Course, in one sense, it's easier for me having a guide dog because most everyone loves to pet a Labrador golden retriever. And right, especially when the dog comes up and pushes his or her nose right under your hand and says I'm here. Time to talk to me. And people love that. Yeah.   Quenton McElveen ** 33:34 Now I'm actually working at a property of my   Michael Hingson ** 33:37 current dog would say let me jump in your lap. But that's another story. You're gonna say.   Quenton McElveen ** 33:43 I once worked at a property where we had a adopted dog program. Uh huh. So there was a dog in the hotel lobby by the front desk 24/7 until someone came to adopt that pet and then when that pet got adopted, they brought a new dog in and that was that was interesting and people love to come in and like you said pet pet the dog that we had in at the time.   Michael Hingson ** 34:12 Yeah. Quite she had to have a dog that would tolerate being loved by lots of people but that's fine. Yes.   Quenton McElveen ** 34:20 The only we have many problems so one dog that we had to we had to send back because didn't like the pit   Michael Hingson ** 34:32 only dogs oh no cats, huh? No kiss. Yeah, there's there are differences there and cats would be a different situation all the way around anyway. But still, that's neat that they did that. Where was that? What was what hotel was that? Where was that?   Quenton McElveen ** 34:50 This is actually in Greenville, Greenville, South Carolina.   Michael Hingson ** 34:56 Do they still have that program? Do you think   Quenton McElveen ** 34:59 I'm gonna Sure, I would imagine that they do. But I'm not 100% Sure. That's cool. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 35:07 Now I have been to the Peabody Hotel in Tennessee, where, you know, they have the ducks that go over the bridge every day. And we watched the ducks and my dog was very interested in those ducks. The thing is with with her, she liked ducks. We actually had ducks. That came up on our patio, in Northern California, in Novato, California, we were lived on a lagoon and the ducks would come up because we fed them bread. And if my dog just laid down, they would surround her need to quack at her and so on. And as long as she didn't make any sudden moves, they were they were fine course what she loved to do was suckered them all to getting close by and then she would jump up, and they would all fly away. She loved to watch them. flyweight did not do. But but she she was absolutely very, very sociable and loved them. That was her visit version of hospitality, right? Because she really did she loved the ducks. And, and, and actually, they all got along really well. So it was kind of cool. Nice. Nice. Yeah, it is.   Quenton McElveen ** 36:25 Well, so   Michael Hingson ** 36:29 what? So what is the the hospitality industry taught you what have you learned from being in it for such a long time.   Quenton McElveen ** 36:37 So working in the industry, you meet people from all walks of life, it teaches you diversity. So coming from a small city in South Carolina, where you run the same atmosphere all the time, and that's all you see, once you move out, like for example, when I moved to New Orleans, or, or moved back to South Carolina, and worked in a few different cities in South Carolina, you meet people that fly in from all over the world, really. So it expands a broaden your horizons, you get to interact with a lot of different ethnicities. So it definitely teaches you diversity, teaches you patience, because not everyone has an enjoy, they have time. Let me say it another way. Some people run into some issues, like maybe some accident happened at room was a cleaner web, whatever the case, was it tissue patients because you want to sit down and listen to them completely, and then solve their problem, you don't want to just cut them off. And then to solve the problem, you want to listen to them first. Because that's one way that they're going to feel value. They think that it matter if you listen to them first. So it teaches you that patience, and it teaches you really be a better person. It really does. So because if you didn't have the opportunity to know that, just because you think something is a good idea your co worker is from another country or from another city, another background, they have a completely different idea. And there isn't wrong, yours isn't wrong either. Is is different, you got to figure out a way to come together for the greater good of the assignment that you're on or the greater good of the property and work it out. And it's good to see some from another lens. You've only you only can speak on your life experiences. If you've never experienced something different How can you give a valid input on your coworker has and vice versa. And so that's another way of just broadening horizons. And having a problem solving skills is transferable to any industry that you transfer to your personal life, being able to problem solve, because it's not gonna be perfect every day. There's no two days of like something something's always going to need attention done to it. And if you've done so many times, just being just being a human being, you're gonna have to put those things into practice at some point outside of your job. Yeah. And one thing that I'm not sure if people know it or not, but I won't point they didn't work in in the hotel industry has a lot of transferable skills. Like as we stated before, I currently work in the healthcare industry, but a lot of stuff that I use, I learned from working in hotel talking to a guest with a patient but I call them guests that maybe were frustrated with them. Well, let me tell you the story. Listen, this happened last week. Last week, I got a call that we had a guest that was actually blind guests. And he struggled with getting around in our facility, he, he was able to get dropped off there by the transportation company. And he was able to get picked up. But why he was there. He didn't. He didn't receive the help that he needed. So he told, he told him, the person, his caregiver. And he told me because I worked with guests, the guests experience department. And we met at work. So the next time you come, give us a call, we ensure that you get around to your destination while you're in the building. And when you leave, make sure you get back to the front door. And I got a I got feedback on this week that he saw the difference that he really enjoyed us taking the time to make sure that he was taking care of it. So that looked that's come from the hotel industry. And that was something I love to do. I love to take care of someone.   Michael Hingson ** 41:02 So you think you probably wouldn't have necessarily learned that if it hadn't been for being in the hotel and hospitality industry for so long.   Quenton McElveen ** 41:09 I wouldn't have been exposed to it the way that I have been so would have reacted, maybe not the same. But just my upbringing, I'd love to help people in a way, but going about it in such a way to get it done as quick as seamless as possible. The hotel industry has taught me how to do that.   Michael Hingson ** 41:29 How would you describe your leadership style? Because clearly, you've progressed in the hospitality industry, and you must have been in managerial and leadership positions. And obviously, in college, you did some things that that would mark you as a leader. So what's your style?   Quenton McElveen ** 41:47 Yeah, so yes, I have had some, several manager positions in front of the house, and back of the house with rooms and food and beverage, and my leadership style is charismatic. And hands on down in the trenches with them. We're going to get our work done, but we want to have fun doing it as well. If you're going to laugh joke, you're going to go to see some humor, I want you to feel comfortable, I want you to feel like you matter. It's not a dictatorship, it's not a strong on ruler, ship. Your opinion is needed and is necessary. And as leader, I'm going to frontline not going to ask you to do something that I would not do. So charismatic would be the answer to that.   Michael Hingson ** 42:35 Have you had Oh, go ahead.   Quenton McElveen ** 42:38 Let me give you a housekeeping story. Many times in a hotel industry you have to you're gonna have to pitch in and help housekeeping which is understood, very common. So it doesn't matter that you got a brand new suit on that you bought rolled sleeves up and get in there, make them beds and help clean, that's what managers do. You don't just tell somebody else to do it. And so there have been times where I'm helping house he was in a room to know when to quit, we got it, you go back up to the front, we'll take care of it for you. So that respect level they have they know that I'm willing to help. But in that particular case, they wanted me to they didn't want me to do it that they want me to help it in other ways.   Michael Hingson ** 43:27 But you said a message by what you did that you're willing to help and assist them. Because they they also have a lot they're dealing with so you kind of have their back.   Quenton McElveen ** 43:39 Right? At a town of a family this is is actually international housekeeping. We I'm not in the industry anymore. But this week is special. It's a it's a time where you use your resources and use the time to celebrate housekeepers. And I absolutely love this week. And just scrolling through my feed. There's a lot of different things that are being done this week. There's one hotel, they're getting all the housekeepers a pedicure, but a spa day a lot of celebrations, a lot of food, a lot of acknowledgments. And just think of the hotel industry without housekeeping. You know, hotel would last because they are the heart of the hotel. You   Michael Hingson ** 44:33 in dealing with a lot of different people and all that. Have you had any employee situations that you've inherited, for example, where, again, somebody just didn't respond and you had to take some action because they were not being hospitable?   Quenton McElveen ** 44:52 Yes, yes. There's two I can think of right now. One case it was Is that like, you come in, and you're working, you're working with the public. Like I say, you want to be hospitable, if you just want to come in and just be transactional. I don't want to tell about the exact the exact things that happened. But if you just slipped, somehow slipped through the cracks through the interview, like you played the safe in the interview, and you act it well, but you get the job, and you're totally different person. That's not going to last, well, this isn't going to last long, I should say. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 45:32 And cuz you can't hide it forever. Right? After   Quenton McElveen ** 45:37 about three months is usually a time. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 45:44 It is something that people are going to pick up on. Again, it's so much easier to have fun and enjoy life and encourage others to do the same thing anyway.   Quenton McElveen ** 45:57 Well, one thing that I really enjoy about another thing about working in hotel industry, as I got older,   Quenton McElveen ** 46:05 my focus really wasn't so much. Me, of course, I know I'm going to do a good job. But I want to see how can I develop a team, I kind of lead others to be successful, I kind of build up others to match their dreams and goals, because not everyone wants to be a manager and hold change. Not everyone wants your job. Some people are they're working through school, some people have a spouse that's working, and they just want a second job. Find out what motivates everyone. And that'll help you be a better manager to them. And if you align with your people's needs, they're definitely going to align with yours as well. And, for example, let's say you have your short staffed one day, if you're not a good manager, if you don't treat your team with respect, you can make the phone calls or call people in your phone, you might not get the answer. But then they see, okay, this manager respects me. Let me answer the phones, if they want it, yeah, come in, even even to come in. That makes a big difference in how you treat people. And being a leader, not just a manager, a boss, you get a chance to really change people's lives for the better. And that brings more joy than just by anything. Because I always treat my employees as they were just about treatment, I guess, then I don't, there's no doubt in my mind, they're going to treat the guests. Well, because they see that manager do.   Michael Hingson ** 47:33 You just said something really interesting, you talked about a leader or a manager, or just the boss, what's the difference between a boss and say, a manager or a leader?   Quenton McElveen ** 47:45 Well put boss, a manager in the same category. So a manager, they have a certain task and incomplete goal that they need to reach, they're gonna just reach that goal, and they're going to tell you to go do it. They're part of that airplane is delegation. That's the main part of what they do. Leader, yes, they're gonna delegate as well. But they're going to do it with you, they're going to make sure that you have all the tools that you need to complete the task, the delegation, they're gonna do some of that some of them with you on the front lines. So they while they're on the front lines, now we get to know each other, we've moved on from small talk. Now, I might know something about your family. Now I know about your interest was your favorite ice cream. So when your birthday your birthday gets here, I can give you that? A manager, they don't really care about all those details that much. Just come in, do your job, and and keep it moving. So there's a there's a big difference between a manager and a leader. And I always want to be the leader that I want my layout that I want to have. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 49:03 I think it's important to be a leader in the really good managers learn to assess who has what leadership qualities and know when to give up leadership to somebody else on the team to deal with something that they need to deal with.   Quenton McElveen ** 49:20 Yes, I 100% agree with that. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 49:24 we experienced a lot of that in the World Trade Center, going down in escaping on September 11. There were different people that had different skills that that worked at different times. And and even working with my guide dog, there were times that the dog was able to guide because we could walk side by side and there were times that the dog couldn't be next to me and had to walk behind me just at heel on leash. But, you know, the bottom line is that for the team of me and a guide dog, we both respected each other and I think that's The biggest issue with teams and team building overall, is to develop a true respect among all the team members and that the leader of the team knows, and learns to understand the qualities and abilities of everybody on the team to know exactly that when to allow someone else to take the lead to accomplish something.   Quenton McElveen ** 50:23 Yes, there are several times in department meetings, that was something that we had to accomplish or go over. There are times I would open up the floor until tell the team okay, this is what we need to accomplish. Does anybody have any ideas, I mean, it might be an acid that I have. But reverence is given all the answers, empower somebody else to join in, and give them a chance to lead. And you start to see what you have a lot of stress on your team, if you just allow them to contribute, that have made them that have made them better employees and make them better leaders. I've seen where I've seen housekeepers turn into housekeeping managers. I've had a Front Desk Agent turn into a general manager made throughout progression of the Maya leadership. Yeah. So empowering employee empowerment shoes, for me is a big part of my own. What I do as a leader,   Michael Hingson ** 51:26 well, and as you, let's go back to your discussion, you're having a discussion with people and you say, what, what are your ideas, please contribute? And somebody said something, and you assess, and then maybe make the decision to say, Okay, would you be willing to coordinate starting and working this project, which is, of course, part of what you're saying, it's very important to be able to do that. And I think that that's extremely important. And it shows that people value the people that they work with. And I also believe that good leaders are also servants and Rita understand that, Oh,   Quenton McElveen ** 52:08 yeah. That that goes into employee engagement as well. Once you get your employee engaged, then you don't necessarily have to worry as much about what they're doing whenever you're not around. Because they have an assignment, like you just mentioned, and the deadline, they're going to be working on getting that assignment done. And if somebody is engaged, they're more likely to stay because you want to be somewhere where you feel like you have some type of value. I'm thinking everyone just wants to come in to a place where they know no one wants him to be there. So that employee engagement is another thing as well, that's a big part of my leadership style.   Michael Hingson ** 52:50 I work when I'm dealing with my teams, whenever it is, to get people to understand that I don't want you to just feel that this is a job, I want you to have fun, I want you to come because you want to. And I think that I have to have fun, and I have to set that example. But I want people not to think that a job is just a job, but it is what we're doing. And we're working together. And we're making a difference. And part of my job is to show people when they make a difference and how they make a difference and why that's so important.   Quenton McElveen ** 53:29 In today's world, you know the the generations change from Baby Boomers to Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z, the 10 years of the length of time someone stays at a company, it changes. You used to see those that stay at a job for 20 plus years. You don't see that as often now, usually the generation now or Millennials or generation after us because I'm a millennial, my standard job for three years or so? No, maybe less than that. Maybe more now, but I would say three years is probably a good average. And the some of the reasons why they would take a position at another job because they don't feel as value. Another job might offer them something that they can't get at their current position. That's one of the reasons. And as I think that we need to kind of as, as leaders of businesses and companies just kind of evaluate how can we get our employees to stay longer? What can we do? Will it help our bottom line and we figure out a way to keep the longer or I think that's a discussion that needs to be had.   Michael Hingson ** 54:52 You think companies are doing that at all and are catching on to the fact that that probably is a sensible thing or do you think that People just still are viewing workers as commodities without really looking at the person. Because my impression is that there's a lot of that that goes on today,   Quenton McElveen ** 55:12 I think is a topic of discussion. Um, I honestly don't know, what's, what's being done. The the gig economy has played a big part in that. Because so the generation now they can just go quit. And okay, I'll drive Uber for a few months until I can find something else, or am I stupid, permanently, that this was not an option 2030 years ago, that you couldn't take a job like that. Or somebody might say, I'm going to be a content creator. So I'm gonna make my money online. So there are more options now than ever before. And because of those options, it should be some action taken within corporate America. Something that we got to learn?   Michael Hingson ** 56:08 Well, you talked about the lessons that you learn in the hospitality industry that you take to life. How about the other way? What have you learned outside of the hospitality industry that you brought into your work in the hotel industry,   Quenton McElveen ** 56:20 there's something that feels right now it's called Emotional Intelligence. I've never heard of that before. Maybe I'm late to the late to it. Or maybe I think I'm just rattling time. But I've never heard of emotional intelligence before. And the industry that I'm in now, as you teach it as a coach, is understanding how your emotions affects others around you, and how it affects your actions as well. And the fact I've been studying this and teaching it to others, like I've improved my performance as far as having conversations with others, because I understand now, how my actions, even though I might not be trying to do something negative, or I might not be trying to act a certain way, it might come off as a certain way. Emotional Intelligence has taught me that. So that's something I've implemented. And I'm going to use this forever. So pretty cool. So   Michael Hingson ** 57:24 in the world, you we all tend to be inspired by people who's the person who's most inspired you.   Quenton McElveen ** 57:31 Person that as far as me right now is my wife. But she's she's given gives me the motivation that I need to go to go in and move our family forward every day. So my wife is my biggest motivation right now.   Michael Hingson ** 57:51 I had a conversation actually with someone earlier today, and we were talking about that very thing. And he asked who inspired me and I mentioned, my geometry teacher from high school did herbal Shimer, but certainly another person and the person who, if I also were to really talk about inspiration would be my wife, Karen, who was married to me for 40 years until she passed, but 40 years, a lot of memories. But in so many ways, and I even in the book I wrote about the World Trade Center in my life, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man has guide dog on the triumph of trust, to talk about that, and talk about some of the things that she did that. I think only she would think of that I certainly didn't, until she brought it up. It just really helped me make some very wise choices. I always thought she was brighter than I anyway. So you switch from directly being in the hospitality industry, the health care industry? What what caused that? And what do you do now? I think you've told us some of that, but that's a pretty big change going from one to the other in a sense that would seem   Quenton McElveen ** 59:05 Yeah. Really well cause is it 2020 During the the height of the pandemic, the situation that I was in in the hotel at the time, it became a hazardous situation because the room rates went down, a lot of the staffing went down. And the environment wasn't a good environment at time. So just so I can be safer and be closer to my family. I accepted a position outside of the hotel industry, hard decision to make because it's an issue that I love that I'm passionate about. But then I found something called a guest experience coach. So wait a minute, is this a hotel job or something? What's the guest experience coaches doing in healthcare? A job so I looked it up. And it was really, if teaching people and instilling in them what I've learned so many years as a manager in the hotel industry, but teaching it to healthcare workers. And so as a guest experience Coach, what I do is I travel around different campuses of my of my company that train on different subjects like the emotional intelligence, training on telephone etiquette, and how to handle difficult guests, and many other topics as well. So that's what I do now, very similar to what I've done in the past. Do   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:39 you think that you would go back into the hotel industry directly in the future? Are you really happy where you are now?   Quenton McElveen ** 1:00:47 Yeah, so I'd love the opportunity to re enter in a role similar to what I'm doing now where you can use your experience and coaching build others up, like a learning and development manager, or even in a role supporting operations. Like, like, I told you, my biggest, my biggest memory or not remember, you asked him what was my biggest something? I did? And I told you that was New Orleans. My most memorable, memorable moment. Yeah, yes. Opening up a property? I absolutely. That was a great experience. There are there are positions that are that you do just that you go around and you open property. So I would love to re enter the industry will give you an opportunity. Well, hopefully that will happen. Yeah, I believe it will. Well, I   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:45 want to thank you for being with us. We've had a lot of fun over this last hour. And I think you've said a lot of very interesting and important things that we can all take to heart I love your view of leadership and, and a lot of the things that you've said, and I've spent enough time around the hospitality industry, I think to understand it, like I said, I I enjoy dealing with people to and helping to have people feel welcome. And and I know that for me being different because of being blind. It's very helpful to do that. So I I love getting the validation of your philosophy and I appreciate that.   Quenton McElveen ** 1:02:25 Listen Michael, Michael, thank you again, it's a great opportunity to be here with you. And I'm honored that you will allow me to be on your platform. So I appreciate what you do here. And I thank you.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:35 Do you do any coaching privately? Or do you just do it for the healthcare industry? You don't have your own sort of side hustle business?   Quenton McElveen ** 1:02:42 I currently I don't have that, but that's something I've been looking into thinking about.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:47 Well, yeah, if you do, let us know, because we'll let people know. But if people want to reach out to you, is there a way they can do that? Or do you have any contact information that you want to tell people?   Quenton McElveen ** 1:02:58 Sure. You can find me on LinkedIn, you can just type in Quentin McElveen. Can you spell the active on there? Sure. Q u e n t i n says Quentin and McElveen is M c E l v as a Victor e e n. So Quentin McElveen. easiest to find on there and I'm on there pretty often. So that's that's the best place to end to interact with me. That's how we found you. Yes, that's right.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:35 I'm very glad that we did. Well. Thanks for being here. Thanks for listening. We really appreciate it. I hope that you enjoyed what Quentin had to say today and that some of it resonates. Reach out to Quentin, establish a connection and make a new friend all the way around. For my part, I'd love to hear from you hear what you think about today. Give us up an email at Michaelhi at accessibe.com That's m i c h a e l h i at accessibe A C C E S S I B E.com. Or visit our podcast page WW dot Michael Hingson H i n g s o n.com/podcast. And wherever you're listening, please give us a five star rating. We really value those ratings and would very much appreciate you saying that you liked us. And if you've had some things that you want to say about it, let us know. Email me I would love to hear from you. Get your thoughts again. It's Michaelhi at accessibe.com. I know Quentin would like to hear from you as well. And when we all get the chance maybe we'll have to do this again, Quentin, when you go back into the hotel industry, we'll have to just hear what new adventures come up. But I want to one more time. Tell you thank you very much for being here and giving us the opportunity to chat with you.   Quenton McElveen ** 1:04:53 Well, I'm looking forward to that I want that to happen as well. I look forward to   **Michael Hingson ** 1:05:03 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

On this captivating episode of 'The Journey' on the KUDZUKIAN Network, host Larry Robinson engages in an insightful conversation with Kenon Walker. Kenon shares his unique journey, highlighting his 'superpower' of spiritual intuition which has guided him in making genuine connections with people from all walks of life. He recounts his experiences as the Duck Master at the Peabody Hotel, where his role goes beyond a job, becoming a platform for impactful, heartfelt interactions. Kenon's story is one of transformation and self-discovery, from overcoming personal challenges to embracing a path where he could use his natural gifts to inspire and connect with others.

On this captivating episode of 'The Journey' on the KUDZUKIAN Network, host Larry Robinson engages in an insightful conversation with Kenon Walker. Kenon shares his unique journey, highlighting his 'superpower' of spiritual intuition which has guided him in making genuine connections with people from all walks of life. He recounts his experiences as the Duck Master at the Peabody Hotel, where his role goes beyond a job, becoming a platform for impactful, heartfelt interactions. Kenon's story is one of transformation and self-discovery, from overcoming personal challenges to embracing a path where he could use his natural gifts to inspire and connect with others.

Hey Happy Campers! In this episode we are blabbing about our eventful trip south to Memphis, Tennessee. We visited Elvis' home in Graceland, had drinks at Priscilla Presely's hair salon, hungout with the ducks at the Peabody Hotel, and joined St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in their Country Cares event. Oh and starting a hot air balloon smear campaign. Check out our website: campcounselorspodcast.com  Bonus Content: patreon.com/campcounselors Submit your advice needed, juicy gossip, confessions, and horror stories at campcounselorspodcast.com Camp Songs Spotify Playlist: https://spoti.fi/3qyK0ri Camp Songs YouTube Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg9-jhcwB2oYDvLR8zGn8t8rS0q_umm8J Camp Counselors TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@campcounselorspod Camp Counselors Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/campcounselorspod/ Camp Counselors Twitter: https://twitter.com/_campcounselors

Hey Happy Campers! In this episode we are blabbing about our eventful trip south to Memphis, Tennessee. We visited Elvis' home in Graceland, had drinks at Priscilla Presely's hair salon, hungout with the ducks at the Peabody Hotel, and joined St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in their Country Cares event. Oh and starting a hot air balloon smear campaign. Check out our website: campcounselorspodcast.com  Bonus Content: patreon.com/campcounselors Submit your advice needed, juicy gossip, confessions, and horror stories at campcounselorspodcast.com Camp Songs Spotify Playlist: https://spoti.fi/3qyK0ri Camp Songs YouTube Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg9-jhcwB2oYDvLR8zGn8t8rS0q_umm8J Camp Counselors TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@campcounselorspod Camp Counselors Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/campcounselorspod/ Camp Counselors Twitter: https://twitter.com/_campcounselors

In Episode 46, Michael and Julian talk about1.     Memphis. Music, museums, and ducks. We also talk about Marc Cohn's Walking in Memphis2.     American Trucks. Julian loves a truck and speculates why there are over 50 million on American roadsOther Show NotesLearn more about how America's culture developed in Julian Bishop's High, Wide, and Handsome.Available here to buy as a paperback, ebook, or audiobook

Intro and outro @nikkos ramone Edited and recorded @mzoundz. Recently, I read an article in Conness Traveler magazine that gave a list of the places to travel This year. Since the airports are more packed than they were pre Covid, I thought I'd dedicate this episode to some of the top places to travel. I'm Drea, the hostess of Drea's point of view, and I would like to welcome you to my show. Drea's point of view is on Facebook, IG Clubhouse and Pinterest. You can also find me on Twitter @Dreapoint. The first place on the list is Auckland New Zealand. It is known for keeping covid under control. They have non-stop flights from six cities in February. They'll be celebrating the Chinese New Year with the Lantern festival. In March They'll have Pacifica, the largest Pacific Island festival in the world. Next on the list known for island getaways and safari lodges is Kenya. In Nairobi, they opened some new hotel concepts. The Social House of Nairobi opened pre pandemic and has 83 rooms of local products. On my list is Morocco known for desert stays and design exhibits. Marrakesh known to attract designers. There's also the Museum of African Contemporary Art. Memphis, Tennessee is on that list and I can agree to that. It has a lot of museums, good food and blues. There's a lot more than just Beale Street, so if you ever go, don't just go to Beale Street and Graceland. If you go in May, you can enjoy the world champion barbecue contest as Memphis in May, which is a long month long celebration. They have a lot of unique hotels opening there, including the Memphian and if I'm not mistaken, they have the Peabody Hotel at the top of it. They have these ducks that actually they're trained. They line up in a circle. It's very cute to see. So definitely add Memphis to your list. Nepal is on the list. For those of you interested in mountain retreats. tea houses and a culinary experience is what attracts people to Taiwan. One area can not pronounce this, Ximending was just named one of the 51 coolest neighborhoods in the world. There's also a high speed rail in Thailand, one of the oldest cities. Japan is now open and welcoming people visa free. Those who have been Vaxxed don't need a covid test, but those who are un vaxxed need a negative test. Tokyo and Kyoto are the best places to see. I went once about seven years ago and was surprised at how reasonable prices were. They don't take tips either. I found that out when I tried to tip my server. She actually followed me out the door, ran after me and gave it back to me. It's a civilized society too, so it was definitely worth the visit for that alone. Bangkok is on this list for their culinary scene, their Virginia Blue Ridge mountains home to the Blue Ridge Parkway, also known as America's Favorite Drive. If you're big on adventure, hiking, horseback, archery, or even golf, then this is a place for you. Turks and Caicos is known for cruise upgrades and sleek resorts. White sands and blue waters is what attracts visitors there. More properties are planning to come this year, including the 31 acre South Bank, Turks and Caicos and the Strand Turks and Caicos, which is 20 minutes south of Grace Bay. Zamora, Spain is on the list and it has the most Romanesque architecture in Europe. It's also known for its lakes. Toro is their wine region. There is much more on the list. So where are you planning to visit? One of my cities to visit this year is Rio. My quote of the day comes from James Miser and it says, if you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people you might better stay home. Before I go, I wanna remind you to turn your notifications on so that you're one of the first to know of my new episodes. I am not trying to change your point of view. All I ask is that you listen to Drea's point of view. Thank you for listening. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dreaspointofview/message

The Routing Around travel podcast episode 47 - Ash went to the USA!This week on your favourite adventure podcast we're traveling to the United States of America, who's just back from a road trip across the US!From ducks parading in the Peabody Hotel to disappointing food in New Orleans, it is fair to say that Ash had a very American experience on his road trip. Join us as he tells us how he got hustled in New Orleans, bought some cowboy boots and sailed up and down the Mississippi River.If you enjoy this travel podcast episode make sure to leave a comment and tell us your own travel stories! Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on socials!The Routing Around travel and adventure podcast is produced by Next Stop Adventures in collaboration with Nerpa Travel.Nerpa are setting out on the mission to electrify travel and adventure. Creating sustainable, ecologically responsible and beneficial events and projects all over the world.You can find out more here: https://www.nerpatravel.com/Instagram: @nextstop_adventures / @nerpatravelTikTok: @nextstop_adventuresThis podcast is also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1UpjRWFvEN4Join us on our journey to become one of the best travel podcasts on Spotify and all other podcast platforms!Intro music by Rohan Bishop & Ollie Beard#podcast #travelpodcast #adventure #duck #usa #americaAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Community Impact editor Cody Thorn joins the podcast with news from Roanoke, where the city continues to await development on a new landmark attraction for the Dallas-Fort Worth region, the Peabody Hotel.  The DFW Breakdown is a production of Community Impact. This episode was produced by Olivia Aldridge with editing by Marie Leonard. Weather and allergy reports are sourced from www.weather.com and AccuWeather. ***PATRON PROGRAM SIGN-UP: www.communityimpact.com/patron

138: From Cinderella to CEO with Cary Broussard Cary Broussard, the Founder, and CEO of From Cinderella to CEO is today's guest! Cary is an amazing industry leader! She started her career in Corporate America and is now an entrepreneur. She joins us today to talk about her journey and share her insights and experiences as a woman in the industry and an entrepreneur. We hope you enjoy listening to our inspiring conversation with Cary Broussard! Bio: Cary J. Broussard Cary is well known for establishing award-winning diversity, inclusion, and communication programs in several organizations, including Wyndham Hotels, Aimbridge Hospitality, Bank of Tokyo (now Union Bank MUFG), Carnival Cruise Line, Meeting Professionals International, and other organizations.  She has been interviewed by The New York Times, CNN, Bloomberg, CBS This Morning, The Wall Street Journal, and other national media about her successful women's marketing programs. Cary's business book: From Cinderella to CEO (Wiley) features business lessons learned while climbing the business ladder and has been published in 10 languages. Interviews included in her book can be heard on her podcast Cinderella CEO On Air. She recently launched a nationwide tour for the Cinderella to CEO™Awards.  Dow Jones described her work as "the gold standard of women's marketing for Wall Street companies." Aimbridge Hospitality and Union Bank MUFG have implemented Broussard's Cinderella to CEO curriculum and mentoring program to rapidly increase the number of women in senior-level management positions. Cary has also designed a leadership curriculum for New York University. Cary Broussard provides business courses, corporate training, executive coaching, and business mastermind groups for equitable, career opportunities with positive, measurable outcomes for individuals and organizations.  Cary's background Cary had three sisters and went to all-girls schools. She came from a background of valuing women's opinions and input, but deep down, she wanted to be a boy because they could do a lot more and seemed to have more fun. After she started working in a hotel, however, she was thankful to have ample opportunity to share ideas and contribute to the overall business. How Cary joined the hospitality industry Cary unofficially began her career as a banquet waitress at the Hyatt at Lake Tahoe one summer while in college. Officially, she started her hospitality career as the Director of Public Relations at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. Cary moved to Dallas and started her own PR business after leaving the Peabody. She later applied for a position as the head of PR at Wyndham Hotels and got the job because she was ambitious and had tons of experience in communication.  From Cinderella to CEO Carey wrote From Cinderella to CEO after creating the Women on Their Way woman's leadership program at Wyndham and through the MPI program. Her book is a reminder of how, with the help of women, the hospitality industry was able to transform and better itself.  The Cinderella to CEO brand  After launching the Cinderella to CEO awards, Carey created the Cinderella to CEO brand. It is a coaching, training, diversity, and inclusion effort to share advice from her own experience and the experience of others.  Transforming the industry through women In the past, few women used to travel on business. After Cary launched Women on Their Way, research showed that more women leaders and decision-makers in the meeting and corporate travel industry were traveling on business. Using ideas from women travelers, Wyndham transformed its image and how it operated as a hotel company.   The pandemic The hospitality industry dipped during the pandemic. Things are picking up now, so people are looking to hire a more diverse selection of candidates. This is an excellent time to join the industry because smart companies require diversity of thought, age, talent, and everything else it takes to make an organization great!  Some advice for women: Take control of your destiny.  Find a company to work for that matches your culture and values.  When traveling, always be sure to select a hotel that is clean and feels safe. Tips for traveling safely Plan your trip.  Contact hotels ahead of time to let them know what your needs are.  Ensure your room is easily accessible, away from dark corners, and close to the elevators.  If someone at the front desk says your room number out loud, ask for a different room. Take some time to look at reviews online before making a hotel booking. Use a VIP car service, like Alto. Be prepared to spend a little more for a safer travel experience.  Ideally, get someone to help you plan your travel arrangements and make your bookings to ensure your experience is safe and effortless.   Competition amongst women  In the past, women were considered too so soft or too family-oriented to cope with managerial positions. So there were few opportunities for women, and women used to compete against one another for the few available “breadcrumbs”. We have come a long way since then. Today, at least 50% of all general managers of hotels are women.  Good leadership Good company leaders offer training to help everyone collaborate and work together. Good leaders also ensure that nobody feels like they are competing against external competition. Advisory boards Entrepreneurs can sometimes be isolated and could benefit from having advisory boards. People interested in creating an official advisory board need to know that it requires a structured approach. Corporate experience As an entrepreneur, Cary has benefited from her corporate experience. Others could also benefit from learning about the systems and processes of the corporate world before deciding to become entrepreneurs.   Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website   Connect with Cary Broussard On her website On LinkedIn

Hal Lansky, the son of Lansky Bros. founder Bernard Lansky, was the delivery boy who would deliver clothing to Graceland for Elvis Presley to wear. Lansky Bros was the Clothier to the King, Elvis Presley from the 1950s to 1960s and into the 1970s.    Today, along with his daughter Julie Lansky, he carries on the Lansky Bros. legacy that is still operating retails stores in the lobby of the historic Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. From musicians, movie stars and athletes, they shop at Lansky Bros. and you'll never know who will be walking through their famed doors.    Bernard Lansky, the founder of Lansky Bros. was given advice on his 18th birthday by his father telling him that he could conquer anything as long as he worked hard. Bernard started his business by sensing that there was a void in the Memphis market and paved the way and became a force in the fashion industry across the world.   So ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome the man who dresses you for success and makes you look like a rock star, carrying on the legacy of Lansky Bros, Mr. Hal Lansky!

Hal Lansky, the son of Lansky Bros. founder Bernard Lansky, was the delivery boy who would deliver clothing to Graceland for Elvis Presley to wear. Lansky Bros was the Clothier to the King, Elvis Presley from the 1950s to 1960s and into the 1970s.    Today, along with his daughter Julie Lansky, he carries on the Lansky Bros. legacy that is still operating retails stores in the lobby of the historic Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. From musicians, movie stars and athletes, they shop at Lansky Bros. and you'll never know who will be walking through their famed doors.    Bernard Lansky, the founder of Lansky Bros. was given advice on his 18th birthday by his father telling him that he could conquer anything as long as he worked hard. Bernard started his business by sensing that there was a void in the Memphis market and paved the way and became a force in the fashion industry across the world.   So ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome the man who dresses you for success and makes you look like a rock star, carrying on the legacy of Lansky Bros, Mr. Hal Lansky!

Host J.D. Reager shares something truly special from his personal archives: a lo-fi "field recording" of his 2017 conversation over breakfast at the Peabody Hotel with music legend Lamont Dozier (Holland-Dozier-Holland, Motown Records, etc.), producer Fred Mollin, and Lamont's late wife Barbara Dozier. They discuss the recording for what would become Lamont's 2018 solo album Reimagination, the singular inspiration behind several Motown classics, how Lamont's solo work has been reinterpreted by modern hip-hop and soul artists, and much more. This interview was originally conducted for an article in the Memphis Flyer which was published on August 3, 2017.

If you don’t think of Oklahoma City as a prime culinary destination, Andrew Black would suggest that you think again. The chef and owner of Grey Sweater — a tasting menu-only restaurant where Black’s staff interviews guests as they take their reservations to plan out their meals — and the more casual Black Walnut, says he’s not the only restaurateur in the city to flex his culinary muscles for a group of well-heeled and well-traveled customers who, like Black, have come to call this city their home. Originally from Jamaica, Black got his start as a porter at The Boscobel Resort in that country, which eventually arranged for him to study abroad — to the United States where he got a degree in hotel management at Ohio State University. He then worked his way across the Caribbean and Europe and eventually ended up at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn. He moved to Oklahoma City to work on the opening of The Skirvin Hotel in 2007 and has been there ever since. Black recently discussed his restaurants and why he believes in a great gastronomic future for his adopted home.

We're back after a week off where David took vacation and Gary was on a work trip. This week's bourbon is Basil Hayden Toast and the beer is Rhinegiest Nines Are Wild.In this episode, we start out talking about 4th of July and Gary of course has a funny fireworks story. We discuss the new Jack and Coke ready-to-drink cocktail, and Gary tells us about his new favorite energy drink.Gary's trip to Memphis involved lots of bourbon and a gentleman getting very excited for the opportunity to buy lots of people rounds of Blanton's. Gary tells us about seeing the famous ducks at the Peabody Hotel, and how he nailed his presentation.David went to Grand Rapids and Lake Michigan. In Grand Rapids he visited the New Holland Knickerbocker location, where he purchased some barrel-aged Dragon's Share Seltzer. The big news item of the week is that Stone Brewing sold out to Sapporo, ending 25-plus years as an independent craft brewery. We discuss the sale and our podcast's fun history with Stone.Gary drinks Basil Hayden Toast, and let's just say that he's a fan. Basil Hayden Toast features an entirely new brown rice mashbill and a secondary finish in toasted barrels. The result is a bourbon with less spice, and deepened notes of sweet caramel with a bright, light mouthfeel.David drinks Nines Are Wild, a cold double IPA brewed to celebrate Rhinegeist's ninth anniversary.Make sure to visit Beers and Beards Podcast for a full list of our episodes.Use code “MMAMcKinney” for 10% off at Rivalry Brews as well as 10% off at BeardOctane.com with code BeersBeards10.Support us and get a free trial of Amazon Music by heading over to www.getamazonmusic.com/beersandbeards. Check out our full list of Craft Beer Reviews and Bourbon Reviews on our website.

According to Welcome To Memphis, “The Pick Awards recognize and celebrate the people who deliver the best, most authentic Memphis hospitality, are knowledgeable about Memphis, and have pride in the 901!” In this episode, we get to speak to the four 2022 winners: Leenie Knowlton of Babalu's East, Landon Smith of the The Guest House at Graceland, Bob Watkins of the Edge Motor Museum, and Duckmaster Kenon Walker of The Peabody Hotel. 

Today's little special guest, Alan, hops on the mic with Kaitlyn to talk all about his experience as the Duck Master at the Peabody Hotel... a true honor. She tests his Duck Mastery with riveting duck questions and they even answer the compelling question, “Does a duck's boner drag in the weeds?” In this episode, we find out that Alan is more than just a Duck Master - he is also really shitty at giving advice. The two dive into the OTV Hotline to give some “Take It or Leave It” advice and we would say, for this round, leave it. Kaitlyn and Alan also reminisce about the DWTS tour, drop who their dance partners would be if they got to choose, and Kaitlyn finds out if Alan had a spark with any of his former DWTS partners. KB & her little mosquito have come a long way. STARBUCKS - Starbucks Baya Energy drink is available online, at grocery stores, convenience stores, and gas stations nationwide. HELIX - Helix is offering up to $200 off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for my listeners at HelixSleep.com/vine. LIVING PROOF - Go to LivingProof.com/VINE and use code VINE to get 10% off your first purchase. SAKARA - Right now, Sakara is offering our listeners 20% off their first order when they go to Sakara.com/VINE or enter code VINE at checkout.

Thanks for joining me today for a NEW podcast on my #vegan #vegetarian #roadtrip this past year. I had so much tasty fun researching and discovering new eateries around America. Here are a dozen healthy culinary options to include on your cross-country adventure. I thought it was going to be much harder than it actually was to find Vegan/Vegetarian options as I traveled, here's how I did it!⏱TIMELINE⏱My Vegan/Vegetarian Journey1:01 Let the Road Trip Begin1:18 1️⃣ Seedz Cafe, St. Louis, Missouri2:02 2️⃣ Café Gratitude, Kansas City, Missouri3:24 Happy Cow App - Vegan Dining help on the go!3:39 3️⃣ Rutabaga's Comfort Food, Lincoln, Nebraska4:09 4️⃣ Mad Greens, Castle Rock, Colorado4:59 5️⃣ Sunrise Minturn, Minturn, Colorado5:31 6️⃣ Pho Bay, Avon, Colorado6:02 7️⃣ Urban Egg, Colorado Springs, Colorado6:57 8️⃣ The Burger Stand, Taos, New Mexico7:35 9️⃣ Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pies, Davis, Oklahoma8:24

Some Places Roll Out The Red Carpet For The Oddest Reasons. Welcome to October 26, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate the Southern hospitality of our feathered friends and the workhorse of the Old West.  If you find yourself in Memphis, Tennessee, it's likely because you are there to visit Graceland. But once you're done exploring Elvis Presley's mansion, head downtown to the Peabody Hotel. Here you'll find one of the most unique traditions in the country. Each day, there's a duck parade at the Peabody. The hotel literally rolls out the red carpet and leads a procession of ducks through the lobby. As the web-footed celebrities pass by onlookers, they get into the elevator and go to their “Duck Palace” on the roof. It's National Tennessee Day, when we celebrate the Volunteer State and all its citizens. Feathered and otherwise.  One of the great unsung heroes of the Old West wasn't even a person. It was the mule. These animals are a hybrid of a female horse and a male donkey, and they inherited the best traits from each of their parents. Mules are athletic and intelligent.  They also have greater range of vision and are more sure footed than either the horse or donkey.  Plus they are more even tempered. All of these traits added up to one perfect animal for helping settlers expand across America. Mules could carry heavy loads, walk longer distances, and navigate rugged terrain and they were the perfect pack animal and companion for cowboys. On National Mule Day, tip your hat to the animal that helped tame the West, and did so without any complaints.  I'm Anna Devere and I'm Marlo Anderson.  Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day.

Welcome to October 26, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate the Southern hospitality of our feathered friends and the workhorse of the Old West.  If you find yourself in Memphis, Tennessee, it's likely because you are there to visit Graceland. But once you're done exploring Elvis Presley's mansion, head downtown to the Peabody Hotel. Here you'll find one of the most unique traditions in the country. Each day, there's a duck parade at the Peabody. The hotel literally rolls out the red carpet and leads a procession of ducks through the lobby. As the web-footed celebrities pass by onlookers, they get into the elevator and go to their “Duck Palace” on the roof. It's National Tennessee Day, when we celebrate the Volunteer State and all its citizens. Feathered and otherwise.  One of the great unsung heroes of the Old West wasn't even a person. It was the mule. These animals are a hybrid of a female horse and a male donkey, and they inherited the best traits from each of their parents. Mules are athletic and intelligent. They also have greater range of vision and are more sure footed than either the horse or donkey. Plus they are more even tempered. All of these traits added up to one perfect animal for helping settlers expand across America. Mules could carry heavy loads, walk longer distances, and navigate rugged terrain and they were the perfect pack animal and companion for cowboys. On National Mule Day, tip your hat to the animal that helped tame the West, and did so without any complaints.  I'm Anna Devere and I'm Marlo Anderson. Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From upstairs at the historic Peabody Hotel, I talk with Shelby County Historian Jimmy Rout about the surprising history of Beale Street, W.C. Handy, "Boss" Crump's mafia like rule over the city, the Tennessee Ouster Law, and Juke Joints and hangouts like Pee Wee's Saloon. We'll also dive into the lore surrounding the city's founding in Belle's Tavern. From Handy to Elvis to today, we'll investigate the whiskey past of Memphis.

June 27-July 3, 1959 This week Ken welcomes producer, composer and all around great guy Fred Mollin to the show. Ken and Fred discuss Memphis, The Peabody Hotel, ducks, Toronto, SCTV, making records, improv, Godspell, Paul Schaffer, David Cronenberg, Fast Company, growing up on Long Island, being the baby, Perry Mason, Ed Sullivan, Wanted Dead or Alive, Western Detectives, wish fulfillment, fantasy, the rifleman, being fascinated by guns on TV as a kid, Jean Carrol, plate spinning, Lloyd Price, Frankie Avalon, Dick Clark, Ray Boulger, 77 Sunset Strip, Johnny Mathis, Ricky Nelson, Zacherly, Disney's music side, children's music, lullabies, Friday the 13th the movies and the series, Forever Night, synths, Faith Healer, televised Blood Drives, Life of Riley, Love that Bob, Bob Cummings, Wyatt Earp, Hugh O'Brian, John Carradine, Highway Patrol, Dragnet, growing up Jewish, comparing your family to television families, Donna Reed, Zorro, Burns and Allen, having access to everything, Newark vs Las Vegas, old school Wrestling, Nat Hiken, Car 54, Where Are You?, Phil Silvers, trivia ringers, and how being a television kid teaches you a life time of useful skills.

Dave brings the much anticipated, Hunting Dog of the Year 2022 into the studio for a test run.  Deets has strong Pro-Trump opinions and demands universal healthcare for all.  Very confusing dog.

This week on Legends & Spirits we're taking a terrifying trip to Tennessee where we'll cover everything from skinless skeletons and angry witches to haunted historic theaters. And check in with our own paranormal reporter who's on location to give us the supernatural scoop on one of the most famous haunted hotels in the world.In this week's Macabre Mixology we're batching up one of our favorite warm weather cocktails made with good ol' Tennessee gold . And for our Spooky Saloons, we're paying a visit to one of Nashville's favorite haunts that rests on the site of the old baggage claim of downtown's Union Station, where many have traveled to and from destinations unknown...where no boarding pass requiredWelcome to Legends and Spirits!Visit us: legendsandspiritspodcast.comInstagram: legends_and_spirits_podcastTwitter: Legends and Spirits PodcastFacebook: Legends & Spirits PodcastPatreon: patreon.com/legendsandspiritspodcast Email us: cheers@legendsandspiritspodcast.com Artwork by: zombienose.comMusic by: Burton Bumgarner, Ken Peters music@legendsandspiritspodcast.comFull credit list and references at: legendsandspiritspodcast.comTips (via PayPal) are always appreciated:  TIP JAR

Opening in the 1890s, the Bon Ton Cafe has been operating in some form or fashion in downtown Memphis. Apparently the cafe was originally a saloon in the late 1800s, but was then turned into a restaurant in 1904. Tony Angleos and Charlie Skinner, two cousins who immigrated from Greece, opened the first manifestation of the Bon Ton Cafe, called The Hole in the Wall. This eatery was located behind the original location of the Peabody Hotel on Monroe. In 1923, the cousins renamed and reopened the Bon Ton Cafe, as it is known today. Apparently Elvis really liked to visit and perform in the basement. The cousins owned the restaurant for 41 years before selling in 1945.  Now, you’ll notice on the plaque, which will be posted on the website, that it says The Hole in the Wall opened in 1911. But like any good history retelling, dates are going to be a bit dodgy. The Bon Ton Cafe was purchased and reopened in 1950 (or 1945 as I have also read) by the Zambelis family. Mike Zambelis, also a Greek immigrant, took over the cafe and their breakfast and lunch specials have been staples in the downtown community ever since. When Mike passed away in 1998, his son Sam took over the business. Sam kept his father’s legacy alive by running the restaurant exactly like his father did, like a family dining room. Bon Ton was a place where you could get good food and have good conversation, and according to one member of the “Breakfast Club”, a group of people that had been eating breakfast there for decades, it’s a place where they figured out how to “solve the world’s problems, if only anyone would listen”. Sam Zambelis suddenly passed away in 2008 and the restaurant closed for a few years.  In 2011, the Bon Ton Cafe was reopened by Mac Edwards, the previous owner of McEwans. This time, Ewards added dinner to the menu. According to Edwards, breakfast will be nice and sunny, lunch is all business, and dinner will have the lights turned down low for a sexy vibe. You can get a nice, inexpensive dinner, but also high quality spirits. He also wanted to support the local community by providing a farm to table philosophy, buying as much as he could from local vendors.  Currently the Bon Ton Cafe is doing private events and catering. Next up is the actual oldest still operating restaurant in Memphis. This also surprised me because I had always heard it was another restaurant, but we’ll get to that later.   The Little Tea Shop is located at 69 Monroe Ave and is open Monday through Friday, 11am to 2pm. This lunch only cafe is another staple in downtown Memphis.  The Little Tea Shop was opened in 1918 by Lillie Parham and Emily Carpenter. They wanted to have a place where their friends could come get lunch while they were having an outing downtown. The ladies served finger sandwiches and made change out of a shoebox at the front of the shop. Obviously at the time, two women owning and running a business wasn’t terribly common. Originally, the shop was located in the basement of the Memphis Cotton Exchange Building. While the men were upstairs conducting business, their wives could shop downtown and then come in for a light snack and socializing before heading home to do whatever wives of wealthy cotton traders did.  In 1935, the shop was relocated to its current location. It’s said there was no disruption to the service either. After closing time one day, the employees packed everything up and moved it down the street. They were serving lunch the next day like nothing had ever happened.  The ladies sold their shop in 1946 to an amatuer golfer named Vernon Mortimer Bell. Bell had quite the legacy in Memphis. After purchasing the Little Tea Shop, he opened up The Knickerbocker restaurant in East Memphis. He also started the Danver’s food chains. Years later, his daughter Sara opened Mortimer’s on Perkins off Sam Cooper. He, along with Danny Thomas, helped found what was to become the FedEx/ St. Jude Golf Classic.

***NOTE: This episode was recorded 3 days BEFORE the assault on our nation’s capital on January 6, 2021. The jokes in here are intended to address the ridiculousness of these conspiracies and in NO WAY make light of their violent outcomes.*** Y’all. We gotta talk about some conspiracy sh*t. In this week’s podcast episode, the girls dive into the mentality of conspiracy believers, honing in on the group calling itself QAnon. Along the way, they address some burning questions you didn’t know you had, like: Just how many times will Cheetoes get a shoutout on this one little show and during this one little episode? What is Becky willing to do to have a connection to a certain prime minister who lives to the north? How comfy are Memphis’s Peabody Hotel’s duck pants? Who are the 18 asshole members of Congress who voted AGAINST admonishing QAnon? Is the movie “Agents of Chaos” really a recruitment video for unemployed graphic artists? Who wants to start protesting those freedom-killing rules like “no pants/no service?” What is all this about Merie’s machete-based childhood summers? Come for the Netflix “Pedophile Patrol” series proposal. Stay for some “Q-tips” for avoiding driving yourself up into this crazytown.

This week we welcome Bob Davidson and Jason D. Williams! Bob Davidson, After following in his father's footsteps and playing alongside him in a band, Bob worked in Kimberling City with Jim Weatherly's Ozark Jamboree at the age of 9. Bob never played many sports and instead chose to follow the musical path. After graduating high school, Bob went to work for Lee Mace at Lee Mace's Ozark Opry in Osage Beach, and then became part of the Ozark Country Jubilee, which came to Branson in 1979. Bob decided to head out and play the road venues after six years in Branson, eventually relocating to Nashville. He did solo gigs and some carpentry work to “pay the bills.” A few years back, Bob got that rambling fever and decided to give Branson one more shot in 2009. Bob returned to Branson in 2010 with a show titled Swingin’ Doors Country Music Show at the Clay Cooper Theatre. In 2011 he joined Down Home Country at Grand Country and performed there for five years. In June 2017, Bob rededicated his life to Christ. “God laid upon my heart to write songs of love, hope, and faith because the ‘Old was gone and the new had come’ (2 Corinthians 5:17),” Bob said. “It all began when I laid it all at the foot of the cross. You see, after many years of playing the honky-tonks and writing Country music, I had found that missing piece of the puzzle. Yes, my Lord and Savior said, ‘Pick up your cross and follow Me,’” Bob stated. Bob continued, “By God’s grace and 10 songs later, hours upon hours in the studio and many sleepless nights writing an entirely new project, God revealed to me His plan for my life: to share the Gospel through a brand new music ministry, which the guys in the studio refer to as ‘Bob Style Gospel’. There’s really no other way to describe it.” With a new album and renewed faith Bob has a new sound and music ministry. To book a performance or get his new album, visit: MusicByBobDavidson.com. You can also follow Bob Davidson Music Ministries on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and SoundCloud. Jason D. Williams has spent a lifetime behind the piano connecting with country and rock 'n' roll greats while creating a persona that's 100 percent original. After decades of being celebrated for his take-no-prisoners approach to performing country and rock 'n' roll penned by others, Williams has added a new element to his artistry, songwriting. The rock 'n' roll history of Memphis looms large in Williams' world. He recorded for RCA and Sun Records in the 1980s and '90s, and returned to the recording fold in 2010 and has continued steady since. At the age of 16, Williams left his tiny hometown of El Dorado, Ark., to perform
with LaBeef who had set up a base of operations in northeast Massachusetts.
Williams, who continues to work with LaBeef on occasion, went solo in the late 1980s and found a steady home at Mallards in the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN when a snowstorm stranded him a few steps from the Peabody door, quickly he attracted a following and the rest, as they say, is history. After several years, he left after signing with RCA, which released his first album, "Tore Up," and he stayed on the road after Sun Records issued "Wild" in 1993. "Don’t Get None Onya’," released in 2004, captured the power of his blend of honky-tonk country and Memphis rock 'n' roll and was the birth of his own label. “Rockin”, “Killer Instincts” and “Recycled” soon followed and the latest album is in progress now. Williams is also no stranger to large motion pictures, movies as we call them. Williams performed all of the hand shots for the movie “Great Balls of Fire” starring a young Dennis Quaid and was also featured in “The War Room” documenting Bill Clinton’s race for the White House. He’s also had numerous television appearances and various shows on MTV, VH1 and CMT. A wild man onstage, Jason accredits influences like Jerry Lee Lewis, Moon Mullican, Memphis Slim and Al Jolson, for helping to develop his vast repertoire and seemingly endless energy. “I’ve always welcomed the comparisons; my influences were some of the greatest entertainers ever to be seen.” Jason continues to tour more than 160 shows a year. For more information on Jason visit his website: RockinJasonDWilliams.com; or find him on Facebook. His music can be found on YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, Deezer and iHeartRadio.

SEPTEMBER 1 --  1864 Atlanta falls to Union; 1764 Parliament passes Currency Act;  1925 Peabody Hotel opens in Memphis; 1941 Sheena, Queen of Jungle, debuts in America; 2013 Bad Habit makes longest ramptjump in monster truck history

"Sweetheart, I can fix anything but the break of day and broken heart..... and I'm working on those." Carson Reno (The Innocent Stranger) The featured book, The Innocent Stranger, is the twentieth book of the Carson Reno Mystery Series. Gerald Darnell, the author has written each book as stand-alone novels. His writing style allows the readers to transport into the past where detectives not only wore hats and trenchcoats, but they had to solve murder mysteries without modern technology. Detectives had to make connects with cops and criminals to get information about the people they were investigating. Don't worry if you did not experience the 1950's or the 1960's. Gerald includes pictures in his novels so the readers can learn about the nostalgia items and places such as the famous Peabody Hotel and the Starlight Lounge. The Innocent Stranger contains not only a mystery, but it also has a bit of romance. Russell Maxwell, a truck driver, has gone missing. Carson Reno is hired by an insurance company to resolve a 1.5 million dollar life insurance claim. Carson's connections do not fail him.  The readers may think that they have the mystery figured out until another body appears in Carson's complicated case. Will he be able to solve the case before more bodies show up?  He also uses his charming personality which leads to a romance in an unlikely situation. Gerald Darnell does it again! He creates characters that readers are able to connect with and a mystery that contains an unpredictable plot. What is your story?

The Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis , Tennessee , first opened its doors in 1869. An integral part of the grand Peabody since the 1930s is the Mallard ducks who live on the roof and parade twice daily through the hotel’s lobby. The Peabody is where Elvis went for his senior prom, and it’s where Mr. Lansky, tailor to the stars, dressed Elvis in pink for his first live performance and continued to select his wardrobe for the next two decades. Join correspondent Tom Wilmer at the Peabody for a visit with Duckmaster Doug Weatherford. Afterward we’ll stop in at the nearby International Blues Society and the Blues Hall of Fame for a visit with docent and local radio host , Reed Malkin. You are invited to subscribe to the Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel show podcast, Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer, featured on the NPR Podcast Directory , Apple Podcast , iHeartRadio , the NPR One App & Stitcher.com . Twitter: TomCWilmer. Instagram: Thomas.Wilmer. Member of the National Press

During this Commission In Action 2.0 episode we review the County Commission Meeting recorded live from the Peabody Hotel, for May 27, 2020. This episode is comprised of the highlights from the meeting.  

A phrase that's often heard these days, is “Downtown Memphis sure has come a long way.” It's one for which, in large part, Memphis can thank the vision of Jack Belz. Mr. Belz and his family purchased The Peabody Hotel in 1975 rescuing it from dilapidation. He re-opened it in 1981, at the same time revealing his dream for revitalizing downtown Memphis. Links to items mentioned in the interview: Belz Enterprises Society of Entrepreneurs Profile The Peabody Memphis Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art

Jeff Savage, Vice President and Partner, of his family's business, Metro Construction, has a heart for Memphis and serving others. Listen in as Jeff shares the history of Metro Construction as they celebrate their 40th year, and how they are literally helping to build Memphis even through the coronavirus pandemic. Jeff discusses Metro's mission to buy products and materials from the USA whenever possible and challenges us to do the same as conscious consumers. He also shares how he is personally navigating the emotional toll caused by the coronavirus pandemic through journaling, prayer, and leaning on his team and family.Founded in 1981 by Joe Savage, Metro Construction has been building throughout the Memphis area for over 30 years. Throughout the years Metro has been involved in Memphis' most recognizable developments and historical projects including the renovation of the Peabody Hotel, major restorations of the Peabody Place Historic Block, constructing the Fire Museum of Memphis and just recently remodeling the historic WDIA building. Adapting to COVID-19, OSHA, to their credit, was pretty far ahead of it. They issued some guidelines pretty quickly. We distributed those to our team through our third party safety vendor and our men adjusted as quickly. Code enforcement for instance, in Shelby County has remained open  and they've pivoted really nicely into this digital a way of thinking. Calling people  with permit applications and questions and comments, much more so than the old way. And inspectors in the field are still coming to work. We're getting inspections, in a timely manner. Jeff says, "We're currently working on,  projects that were funded a long time ago and their deadline stands. Memphis Business Academy in Memphis Rise Middle School.  We're going to work as safely as we can, but, the deadline remains". Our supply chain for  construction materials is  tremendously long, drywall from Canada, HVAC from Mexico fire alarm panels assembled in Mexico, but the products come from China, Canada, even the U S where they're assembled in Mexico and then shipped back to the U S so it's a bit of a tangled web to try to untangle  over the time. If you keep the mindset of buying American on a long enough timeline, it can hopefully make a difference. Providing different avenues to support local businesses, subcontractors and USA based companies as possible.Closing thought from Jeff on Leadership challenges, opportunities, lessons.... There is no more work life balance. It's work life integration.  For me, I think hitting the bottom line and getting that result that my clients need and want and the information my team needs to get the job done that outpaces any old mentalities of the old world of eight to five, you know, why aren't you busy?  I've told my team,  if it's critical, if it's urgent and important, do it now. If it's neither  urgent nor important, find out why. Find out why that keeps landing on your inbox or on your desk. How can we get rid of the minutia that doesn't matter and focus on what does. The other thing I would lean on would be, what the great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, "do not let what you cannot control interfere with what you can control". Learn more:  https://www.metro-gc.com/

The Daily Memphian’s Jennifer Biggs and Chris Herrington discuss the sixth episode of “Bluff City Law,” where Della gives a speech at The Peabody Hotel, Elijah is a Tiger and it’s Rendezvous ribs for everybody.

Timm & Frank Hear From DJ, Bubba & John Rahm along with  "The Duckmaster" from The Peabody Hotel Memphis

Week Two starts with a visit to two Memphis tourist destinations that both feature ducks. Sure, let's do it. First up is watching the 90-year-old tradition of ducks descend in an elevator and then walk a red carpet into a fountain at the Peabody Hotel. No, really. There's a whole ceremony, an official Duckmaster and, well, it's actually pretty fun! Then there's the Bass Pro Shop, which is inexplicably located inside a gigantic pyramid just off of Downtown Memphis and it's got ducks inside it too, and fish, and alligators and, boats, and taxidermy and it's all inside a gigantic pyramid. Typing all that it sounds fun! Listener, it is not that fun. Why? Let Dan and Janice sort it out. Come on and hear duck tales at the campsite tonight. Week two starts here! Follow along on Instagram @tincanevangeline Follow Dan on Twitter @dansinker Follow Janice on Twitter @janicedillard

When Janice and Dan sat down and stared plotting this summer's trip, Memphis was high on the list of places they wanted to visit. And so when she started mapping out the whole thing, Janice made sure to make Memphis the first place that they parked Evangeline for a more extended stay. And now that they're there and have gotten settled in, it really feels like the trip has begun for real. And so of course, the first thing they did was change plans. Originally a day to visit the Civil Rights Museum and the ducks at the Peabody Hotel, instead the whole family took advantage of the sunny weather to hit a park and... and they kind of never left. Sometimes you have to slow down and just be a part of the life around you, and this was that kind of day. A beautiful park, a good playground, a run for Janice and oh right: a hamburger where the buns were two grilled cheese sandwiches for the 14-year-old. Pretty much a perfect day. Follow along on Instagram @tincanevangeline Follow Dan on Twitter @dansinker Follow Janice on Twitter @janicedillard

“Life is Cheap-make sure you buy enough." Carson Reno  Lack of Candor is the 18th story in the Carson Reno series written by Gerald W. Darnell. The main character, Carson Reno, is a private detective with an office located in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. Carson is a tough, hard drinking and womanizing private detective, but he also shows a sense of humor in difficult situations Carson Reno finds himself protecting a young lady who has information about the death of a Sergeant with the Memphis Police Department. The Sergeant was found dead hours before he was going to give his testimony before a grand jury. Using his connections, he is able to decipher the clues to find the truth behind the events leading up to the death of this Sergeant. The reader will enjoy not only the mystery behind this death but also the pictures that are found on several pages of the book. The author does a tremendous job using visuals that depict the lifestyles of the 60s and readers will be able to “witness” the events that take place in the story as if they were truly present. Was the death of this Sergeant a murder or a suicide? Information about Gerald W. Darnell: A Florida native, Gerald grew up in the small town of Humboldt, Tennessee. As a boy, he wrote western stories for his grandmother. In the late 60s and 70s, he wrote articles about outdoor life that included hunting adventures. He collected notes for 20 years that helped him write his first book – ‘Don’t Wake Me Until It’s Time To Go."  Then, after publication, he was encouraged to do a story about a fictional character from the early 1960’s and Carson Reno was born. Questions: mohenderson2525@gmail.com "WHAT IS YOUR STORY?"

INTRO: (00:00) Did you guys see the latest video in our #10KForReels series? We asked you guys what weird food combos you eat, and said we would try them in a live video. Here's our Weird Food Challenge video! OBSESSIONS: (6:35) Alison's facial steam inhaler has been a life saver with her vocal chord/breathing problems. Lulu is obsessed with a snack she discovered while in Hong Kong, Golden Duck's Singapore salted egg crab seaweed tempura.WISHLIST: (9:27) Alison's wishlist is a portable bathroom for your car. I mean there are adult diapers? Lulu is wishing for a new microphone. While she loves her blue snowball mic, it is heavy and she wants a lighter one.ALISON’S 10K DAY - OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI: (15:43) Alison visits the home of Ole Miss and stays at a Airbnb located in the heart of downtown. She hires Queenissippi Catering to cook for her throughout the day at her house. Armed with an electric skateboard, Alison spends the morning at The Oxford Skate Park. She gets the SOS Take Me Away package at the Suthern Oasis Spa. She gives a masterclass to the students of Ole Miss's Ghostlight Repertory Theater, then invites them to her house to have a dinner catered by McEwen's. While Simply Clean Oxford cleans up after her dinner party, Alison takes the aspiring thespians to The Library, a popular spot with an 18+ club, where she buys a round, for those that can legally drink, of course.LULU’S 10K DAY - MEMPHIS, TN: (31:08) Lulu stays in the Presidential Suite at the Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. She rents a 1967 Cadillac Deville from Morrie's Heritage to get her around her day of reliving Marc Cohn's Walking In Memphis. She's got blue suede shoes, W.C. Handy looking over her, and the ghost of Elvis. She visits Graceland, where she's the pretty little thing in the Jungle Room. Catfish is on the table, then she listens to some music where Muriel played piano. Then its back to the Peabody for a seven course dinner at Chez Philippe. Read more about this episode and the cities we visited here.CHARITIES: (47:53)Ghostlight Rep TheaterThe Paul Oliver FoundationFOLLOW US:FacebookInstagramYoutubeTwitterWebsiteApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsSpotify

Founded in 1981 by Joe Savage, Metro Construction has been building throughout the Memphis area for over 35 years. In its early days, Metro was an interior specialties company, but with a key “breakout” job in the late 80's (the remodeling of The Ridgeway Inn) new opportunities were discovered. Once in the role of General Contractor, Metro launched into various commercial projects of all shapes and sizes across the Mid-South, and has not slowed down since. Throughout the years Metro has been involved in Memphis' most recognizable developments and historical projects including renovations of the Peabody Hotel, redevelopment of the Peabody Place Historic Block, constructing the Fire Museum of Memphis, remodeling the historic WDIA building and more. Quality craftsmanship and attention to detail has helped Metro secure a reputation of being the construction company for historic renovations. Whether Metro is on the job for FedEx, renovating the Lipscomb & Pitts Building or working for any of the thousands of customers over the last three decades, we continue to surpass expectations every time. Metro has created valuable relationships, cultivated repeat business, and built a reputation for quality construction and exceptional customer service. Learn more→ https://www.metro-gc.com

By now you have probably figured out that there are a lot of exciting activities and great museums in Memphis, so lets slow things down a bit and talk about some easy going, relaxing travel activities that are also great with families with young children.If you have young children and are particularly fond of water fowl, head over to the Peabody Hotel to watch the famous duck march. The Legend of the Peabody Memphis Ducks started back in the 1930s, and they still visit the lobby fountain at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day.They hop out of the fountain, walk the red carpet, step into the elevator and ride to the rooftop. The whole procession only takes 20 seconds, but the “duck master” talks for about 20 minutes about the history of the hotel and the ducks. Now you might think this is an odd tourist attraction, and you are right and that is probably why it is so popular.If you have little ones and you need to wear them out for the day, head over to the Memphis Children's Museum. Children will have the opportunity to learn about transportation, camping, art, weather, nutrition and health in a hands-on environment. Exhibits are located both indoors and outdoors, creating year-round fun.Here you can also ride the historic Dentzel Memphis Grand Carousel. The original carousel was constructed in 1909 and has been fully restored. Admission to the museum costs $15 per person and most people spend a great deal of a day here.The next spot we recommend is the Pink Palace. The Pink Palace is unlike what most people think of when it comes to museums. Learn about everything from agriculture, to dinosaurs, to the civil war! The Pink Palace looks back at the history of Memphis from many perspectives. The museum is undergoing renovations and new and improved exhibitions will soon be made available. It is best to check out their website for updates.For those who want a little outdoor activity head over to Mud Island. Located on the Memphis riverfront, Mud Island has various activities to entertain the family. The Riverwalk is an exact scale replica of the Lower Mississippi River. Part splash pad, part history lesson; it provides a unique opportunity to have fun while learning.$4 per person gets you on the monorail which goes across the harbor to the Riverwalk while enjoying spectacular views of Downtown Memphis and the river. Once you’ve walked down the Mississippi you arrive at the ‘Gulf of Mexico’. The ‘Gulf’ is represented a mile acre pond. You can rent paddleboats for $5 per person.If you are still enjoying the sunshine head over to Overton Park where you will find biking trails and picnic areas as well as the Memphis Zoo and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. You might find a free concert going on at Levitt Shell, the place Elvis was first paid to entertain in 1954. That show is also known as the first ever rock-n-roll concert. Today, Levitt Shell hosts 50 free concerts each year.Another great park to unwind in is Shelby Farms. Not only is it a huge green space, there is horseback riding and one of the coolest playgrounds you will ever see. In fact, it was named one of 16 coolest playgrounds in the whole world. Look for signs pointing you to the Woodland Discovery Playground.Another great experience for children is the Fire Museum of Memphis which showcases and exhibits firefighting trucks and equipment. Also, the Railroad & Trolley Museum located downtown is a popular spot for train enthusiasts. Keep in mind, however, there is some major renovations going on and they expect to be open in the fall of 2018.Now the next place we recommend going to may seem a bit odd but it is a pretty neat attraction.Located inside Memphis Memorial Park Funeral Home & Cemetery, the Crystal Shrine Grotto was designed by Mexican artist Dionicio Rodriquez and has been inspiring visitors since the 1930s.Dionicio dug a cave almost 60 feet into a hill on the grounds of the cemetery and decorated the interior with faux crags made of cement and quartz crystals. Beautiful crystals are exposed to the sunlight on the exterior end to create gorgeous glowing effects. The stonework around the grotto showcases a series of biblical tableaus with two-dimensional figures depicting the life of Jesus Christ. The peaceful scenes are a mixed media of paint and sculpted by a variety of artists. There is a peaceful ambience for those visiting and it’s easy to be in awe of its majestic scenery.On our next episode we'll talk about where to stay and where to eat. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode of Memphis Type History: The Podcast, we look at the history behind a few Memphis mansions. Hear from Caitlin about Ashlar Hall's many lives and the history behind the Woodruff Fontaine House. Then hear Rebecca tell a little history and description of the Annesdale mansion which could be your next wedding location.     Ashlar Hall Robert Brinkley Snowden grew up in Annesdale with his parents, Robert Bogardus Snowden and Annie Overton Brinkley Snowden, who lived in the Annesdale mansion because Annie’s dad bought it for them (learn more about Annesdale from Rebecca later in the show!) He went to Princeton to study architecture and returned to Memphis in 1896 to build everyone’s favorite 11,000 square foot local castle at 1937 Central Avenue – Ashlar Hall! This quote that Creme de Memph dug up from Memphis: An Architectural Guide about the Gothic Revival Mansion was simply delightful: "one wonders what books about medieval castles Snowden brought back with him from Princeton, or perhaps the whole may have been influenced by a too-early reading of Ivanhoe." The three-story, 8-bedroom mansion only cost $24,900 to build, which is $683,767.48 in today’s money. Inside are six bars, five bathrooms, and a swimming pool. Rumor has it there are two secret passages under the mansion: One passing under Lamar to Snowden mansion in Annesdale and the other leading under Central to the University Club’s pool area. Snowden would go on to take over the Peabody Hotel when it relocated in 1925, as the original one was started by his great-grandfather, Colonel Robert C. Brinkley, back in 1869. After Robert died in 1942, the place went into disrepair and became a Grisanti’s restaurant called Conestoga Steak House at some point in the ‘60s. In 1970 it became Ashlar Hall Restaurant. In 1983 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The mansion’s next life began in the ‘90s when Prince Mongo turned it into a nightclub called the Castle for a few years before abandoning it. Sometime around 2013, ownership started switching around for Ashlar Hall and the property fell further into disrepair. There are links below for the latest on its current life. Woodruff-Fontaine House This mansion of Memphis is located at 680 Adams in the heart of Victorian Village. In 1845, Amos Woodruff and his brother arrived in Memphis from Rahway, New Jersey, with the intent of expanding their business of making carriages. Although his brother went back to New Jersey, Amos found great success with carriages in Memphis and his other ventures: the Overton Hotel, two banks, a cotton compress firm, a lumber company, running the Memphis & Ohio Railroad, and the Southern Life Insurance Company In 1870, Woodruff spent $12,000 on land in “Millionaire’s Row,” in what was then the outskirts of Memphis. It's now known as Victorian Village, and it was here that he started building his five-story French Victorian mansion at a cost of $40,000. He also built a carriage house on the property alongside beautiful gardens and fountains. He lived in this 18-room mansion, with its three great halls and a three-story tower, with his wife, Phoebe, and their four children: Sallie, Mollie, Frank, and Cora. Many believe that the Woodruff-Fontaine house is haunted by Mollie Woodruff’s ghost. Some haunted moments include staff seeing Mollie's form in smoke, seeing her sitting on the bed in her former childhood room, and her demonstrations of anger like slamming doors and breaking items when anything gets moved or redecorated. Supposedly, her bed is sometimes dented as if someone has been lying there.... even though it’s roped off from all visitors. One paranormal website said she once told museum docents how they should have the furniture arranged. So of course we have to tell you more about her in this episode! In the 1960s, the mansion was in danger of demolition. So the Memphis chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities started raising funds to renovate the property. They outfitted it for modern times, restored antique elements, and even found a fresco on one of the ballroom’s ceilings! It opened back up in 1964, although it wasn’t quite finished up at that point yet. Many people donated the furniture and stuff that’s inside, and how it’s a proper museum showing 1800s life in Memphis! Annesdale Mansion The Annesdale mansion was built in 1850 on Lamar Avenue which, at the time, was called Pigeon Roost Road. The home was originally built by Dr. Samuel Mansfield, a wholesale druggist from Maryland, on 200 acres on the outskirts of Memphis. Nineteen years later, Colonel Robert Brinkley, the guy who built the Peabody Hotel bought the estate as a wedding gift to his daughter Annie and it was named Annesdale, for Annie's Dale. Since 1869, Annesdale has been home to the same family for at least 7 generations. Annie married Col. Robert Bogardus Snowden. And for 160 years, members of the socially prominent Snowden family lived here. It is Italian Villa in style, built with bricks made on the site. It has a four-story tower which overlooks the current seven and a half acre park-like setting. The Details The Annesdale is an 1850 antebellum mansion nestled amongst seven and a half acres of elegant lawns and gardens. It holds a grand parlor, spiral staircase, and a marble entryway. A great description can be found in a Memphis Magazine article which states,  We were told that the +17,000-square-foot home has 13 rooms, five bedrooms, and four and a half baths. The downstairs public spaces have 14-foot ceilings, and the period details include: 11 fireplaces, pocket doors, carved walnut paneling, intricate needlework panels over the windows, stained glass, painted ceilings with exquisite figural details, ornate plasterwork and lustrous oak floors. Ken Robison is the one who purchased the home and estate in 2010 and rennovated and reopened the mansion as an event space. He says the Snowdens have been extremely gracious in helping him buy back antique pieces from family members that were original to the home. He has found additional items that once belonged there through other sources. In particular, he is especially proud of the portrait of Annie Overton Brinkley which hangs in the music room. As history tells us, when Annie married Colonel Robert Bogardus Snowden, her father, Colonel Robert C. Brinkley, made Annesdale a wedding gift from her father. And as the new owner likes to say, 'Annie has come home at last.' A later discovery... In 2016 a bone fragment, possibly human, was found in the grate of a boarded-up fireplace inside the mansion when a photographer came across it during a photoshoot. It went under investigation but Rebecca couldn't find if a verdict was ever made aside from knowledge that it was very very old, likely from the Civil War era which would make sense since the mansion did serve as a hospital during that time. If anyone knows of any updates on the discovery, please tell!

In this episode of Memphis Type History: The Podcast, we tell each other the history behind a favorite historical Memphis hotel. Rebecca dives right into how the Peabody Hotel came to be, while Caitlin shares about the lesser known Hotel Pontotoc. The very first Peabody Hotel opened in 1869 at the corner of Main and Monroe at a cost of $60,000. Rates were $4 a night and included a meal in the first class dining room. Rebecca talks about the origin of the famous Peabody ducks and how they got tamed by the Ringling Brothers' circus animal trainer... who then became the first Duckmaster! The current Peabody is a beautiful relic of historic architecture in Memphis... and many celebrities have stayed there (like Michael Jackson, for starters). The ducks stay in their duck palace up on the roof. The Pontotoc Hotel is a European-style hotel constructed of rusticated concrete block, located at 69 Pontotoc in downtown Memphis. Unlike the swankier Peabody, the Pontotoc catered to railway and riverboat travelers... but there were Turkish baths available just to keep things classy. And just in case you're not sure how a Turkish bath works, Caitlin happily gives you her first-hand account! By the 1920's, though, the Pontotoc was one of Memphis' most well-known (and most elegant) brothels. Later on a Greek family owned the establishment and Caitlin talks about the wine they made and the famous vaudeville performers and artists who stayed at the Pontotoc. We try to dispel yet another ghost story and tell you how the Pontotoc survived some wild years as a nightclub known as The Cellar. Caitlin wraps up by announcing who owns the Pontotoc now, the ways they support downtown Memphis, and their famous Halloween parties. For full show notes go to memphistypehistory.com/hotels1

Episode 223: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for week ending Apr 30, 2017 takes on a special dimension as we videoed the show on location at the CGNA Synergy Conference at the Peabody Hotel, in Memphis, TN. Additionally, EasyIO releases VAV using Wi-Fi Mesh and Live Wiresheets; Hepta Systems’ Jason Houck, Award-Winning Master Systems Integrator on ControlTalk Rewind; Acuity Brands Introduces SiteView Energy Solution; AHR interview with Dimitri Papadopoulos of Johnson Controls; ControlTrends Rewind with Therese Sullivan; and new Edge Controllers from Lynxspring. ControlTrends CGNA Vendor interviews with Earl Doyle, Director, Product Management & Smart Systems Efficiency, VERASYS, Johnson Controls’ Plug-and Play Controls System for Light Commercial Buildings; Josh Felphrin, Senior Sales Manager, Siemens’ TRA and BT300 Solutions; Gina Elliott, Marketing Manager, Small to Mid-Markets, Schneider Electric’s New Building Insights, Small Building & Energy Management System; Aaron Gorka, Innovation Manager, ANT Technologies’Paperless, cloud-based, operational technology for HVAC & Control Contractors; Barry Gordon, Senior Sales Engineer, ACI’s New DLP Differential Low Pressure Transmitter; Maggie Talbert, North East Regional Sales Manager, Functional Devices’ new products and continued partnerships; Bill Dunkleberger, President, Blue Ridge Technologies’ BACnet Unified Lighting Solutions; and Mike Sackett, Executive Director, CGNA Elite — Industry’s Elite Working Together. EasyIO is CHANGING the Game — Again! VAV using Wi-Fi Mesh and Live Wiresheets. EasyIO is CHANGING the Game — Again! This time with VAV using Wi-Fi Mesh, Live Wiresheets, and you can mix wired and wireless, all running BACnet IP, with free tools and no extra fees. Does it get any better? And you get to keep the labor and wiring savings, as we are not charging a premium for this awesome device. See this in Manchester, UK, May 22-23, 2017, at the Global EasyIO Partner Event. Hepta Systems’ Jason Houck, Award-Winning Master Systems Integrator on ControlTalk Rewind. On this episode of ControlTalk Rewind, we replay our interview with Hepta Systems’ Jason Houck, Award-Winning Master Systems Integrator. Jason, and Hepta Systems are all about taking the Smart Building Controls concept to the next level — and making their service available through The Panel Shoppe! Inquire within. Acuity Brands Introduces SiteView Energy Solution! Real-Time Power Metering to Manage Energy Consumption and Costs. ATLANTA – April 25, 2017 — Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) today introduced its SiteView Energy solution, which combines power metering devices and a digital dashboard, to create a detailed, real-time look at actual energy consumption within a building. The SiteView Energy solution takes advantage of software that is hosted within nLight ECLYPSE smart building-ready controllers, also from Acuity Brands, to help building owners track and analyze weekly, monthly and yearly energy data to identify trends and savings. Catching Up with Dimitri Papadopoulos and Johnson Controls at the 2017 AHR Show. ControlTrends interview with Dimitri Papadopoulos of Johnson Controls, who tells us all about Johnson Controls’ new Niagara Analytics and the Johnson Controls new technology on display at the 2017 AHR Expo. Johnson Controls featured their FX Supervisory Controllers, which are web-based supervisory-class controllers in the Facility Explorer product family. FX Supervisory Controllers manage networks of field controllers using open communication protocols, such as such as BACnet®, LONWORKS®, and N2 protocols. Edge Controls the Smart way to do Smart Building Controls: Lynxspring explains at the 2017 AHR Show. ControlTrends stopped by the Lynxspring booth at the 2017 AHR product show case. See what Marc Petock and Chris Ryan had to show us about the edge and Edge controllers. The Edge is the next great frontier in making smart building controls smarter. Smart Buildings ControlTalk Rewind: Therese Sullivan. On this episode of ControlTalk Now Smart Buildings Control Rewind we feature Therese Sullivan, editor buildingcontext.me. Therese is writer/technologist and marketing professional providing news and analysis for commercial building system integrators, facilities managers and real estate professionals about innovations in building automation with emphasis on data analytics, mobile apps, cloud services and wireless networking. The post Episode 223: ControlTalk NOW — Smart Buildings VideoCast|PodCast for Week Ending Apr 30, 2017 appeared first on ControlTrends.

This week on A Waste of Time with ItsTheReal, we were joined by our good friend and Southern Rap aficionado Matt Fastow as well as Memphis' own Yo Gotti! Over a great BBQ spread, Gotti spoke on his relationships with Jeezy, DJ Khaled, and Cash Money, the perks of being neighbors with Penny Hardaway, and why you can't hire family to work at your restaurant. We discussed his record deals with TVT, RCA and Epic, what it was like to meet Jay Z for the first time in Miami, and the best places he hid his hustling money. That, plus 8 Ball & MJG, the ducks in the Peabody Hotel, washing money in his backyard pool, and much, much more! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Cory talks about growing up in Mississippi, Graceland Too, the Style Station outside of Waco, working at record stores, Lucero stories, Elvis’ karate dojo, Andy Kaufman and Memphis Wrestling, bartending at the Peabody Hotel, a great Prince story, his breakdancing… Continue Reading →

During the Big Band Era, Dances were an important social activity for young people. Frances Joyner of Tupelo recalls her first dance and staying out all night.  Organized dances had unique customs and vernaculars. Joyner explains the terms Check-In List, Stag Line, No-breaks and Specials. Joyner also remembers dancing on the roof of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. Please enjoy this extended version of the original broadcast.  

In this rambling episode, Myke and I talk a bit about his trip to Memphis, some of my travel experiences, and the emotional baggage of houses. I also recount an amazing experience I had not too long ago at The Peabody Hotel in Memphis. It taught me an important business lesson — how to gain a customer for life. - This episode is brought to you by Squarespace, the secret behind exceptional websites. Go to squarespace.com/70decibels to start your free trial and use the offer code '70decibels5' at checkout to get 10% off your first order. Links Include: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Peabody Hotel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Downtown Memphis Hotels: The Peabody Memphis Hotels Tennessee Conference Centers Twitter / @bethanyg: In which I achieve my life long dream Lansky Bros. — This is the clothing store I mention towards the end.

Special Guests Don Holloway, Curator, Gerald R. Ford Museum and Doug Browne of The Peabody Hotel, Memphis

Special Guests Richard DeSousa of Peter Deilmann Cruises and Doug Browne of the Peabody Hotel, Memphis, TN and Joan Brambilla of St. Joe Today, St. Joseph, MI