Podcasts about watkinsville

In an industry where adaptability defines success, Monte Hewett is positioned at the intersection of traditional homebuilding and general contracting. On this week's episode of Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio, hosted by Carol Morgan of Denim Marketing, Hewett shares insights into how his company navigates the evolving demands of today's housing market by blurring the lines between fee building, general contracting and development. How the Post-Recession Market Shaped New Business Models President of Monte Hewett, Hewett was fee building long before it became a buzzword in residential construction. The post-recession market created unique opportunities that shaped his business model. “Post-recession, as far back as 2011-2012, a lot of investors bought property that had been foreclosed on, or they bought it as an opportunity to hold and build. They realized that they couldn't sell the lots or, if they did, wouldn't get the return they were looking for,” Hewett explained. “A lot of them came to us and said, ‘Why don't you go and build this land out for us, these lots and on a fee basis or a fee plus a profit share.'” This approach allowed Hewett to develop a parallel income stream while maintaining the quality standards for which his company is known. Over time, this evolved into a versatile business model that spans different market segments and product types. “I ended up building just about any type of product for a partnership that was not for sale, or if it was for sale, maybe I'm building it for somebody that doesn't have the capability to build it but wanted to be the owner on that project,” Hewett said. The diversity of Hewett's current projects demonstrates this versatility. On one end of the spectrum, he's building $2 million villas in Druid Hills. Conversely, he's constructing affordable housing units in southwest Atlanta through a tax-incentivized program. Various for-sale developments across the metro area are between these extremes, including The Towns at Wire Park in Watkinsville, The Harman in East Atlanta, Findley Row in Alpharetta and an upcoming development in Milton. Early Involvement & Collaborative Project Management Hewett's approach to general contracting goes beyond simply building what's been designed. He emphasizes the importance of early involvement in the process to maximize value for investors. “We start most of them in the design phase. We're not acquiring sites, so they'll bring us a site and say, ‘This is what we're trying to do,'” Hewett said. “For the most part, we're going in early, and sometimes we're even working on the product and building the budget as we go.” This collaborative approach helps avoid what Hewett calls “scope creep,” which occurs when amendments during construction lead to costly change orders. By establishing a clear scope statement early and working toward a guaranteed maximum price, his team can better manage expectations and deliver projects on time and within budget. Design Expertise Creating Distinctive Communities Hewett's design expertise is a significant value-add. He often contributes to site planning and amenity design to create distinctive communities. He shared an example of designing a mid-century modern clubhouse for a project called Clifton, adding value that the owners didn't envision initially. “I took it upon myself to design that clubhouse and felt like I had some creative ideas that would differentiate that product for the owners,” he said. “I added, I believe, to that project a component that they wouldn't have done themselves.” His approach to amenity centers reflects changing lifestyle needs, focusing on creating spaces that integrate into the social fabric of communities where many residents now work from home. “You never want to take the lowest bid,” he cautions. “In England, on public projects, they take the second lowest. Someone might come in low, and they see the plans are going to need a lot of architectural changes because they...

It's Day Four of Round One and we go through the scores and brackets to get you ready for the weekendMike Petite, head coach at Callaway, talks about the successes and challenges of coaching both programsChris Romano, boys head coach at Oconee County, talks about his season and matchup in Watkinsville as well

January 2025 - Week 3 - DAR Today PodcastNational Society Daughters of the American RevolutionPresident General Pamela Edwards Rouse WrightBrooke Bullmaster Stewart, National Chair DAR Today PodcastClick for more information about the Daughters of the American Revolution!CLICK HERE to visit our YouTube (video) version of this podcastTo support the goals and mission of the DAR, please visit our web site at DAR.org/Giving In This Episode:Junior American Citizens Committee OverviewJunior American Citizens Committee; Sparkling Examples of Chapter Activities, featuring:The Reverend John Andrew Chapter, Watkinsville, GA; Chapter Co-Chairs Emily Givens and Christine Mills. Details on the "President Who? Event, see belowWilliamsburg Virginia Chapter Junior American Citizens; Chapter Chair Mary DoughertySophia Fleming Chapter, FL; Chapter Chair Katie Lane SOCIAL MEDIA POST FEATURED:Old Glory Chapter, TNHalifax Convention Chapter, NCUtah State SocietyPeter Minuit Chapter, NYRainbow River Chapter, FL”President Who?” Event details, Reverend John Andrew Chapter JAC:February 8, 2025, 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m. - Oak Hall: 4721 Price Mill Rd, Bishop, GA 30621 For the 9th year in a row, UGA Archivist DR. MICHAEL LAW will present a humorous, history-filled lecture on the trials and triumphs of a former Commander-in-Chief. An "1876 Centennial Parade Banner of George Washington and His Horse" will be on display as well as JAC member-drawn likenesses of presidents from earlier lectures.  Refreshments include samplings of past presidents' favorite desserts.  RSVP by February 6, emilyogivens@gmail.com  The Reverend John Andrew Chapter NSDAR established Watkinsville's JAC in 2012.LINKS:Junior American Citizens Club Handout: https://www.dar.org/system/files/members/darnet/forms/JAC-1012.pdfJunior American Citizens Committee information on our DAR Public web site: https://www.dar.org/national-society/education/youth-programs MUSIC:With the exception of "America the Beautiful" by Stephen Anderson https://stephenandersonmusic.com/ all music is copyright free and provided by Epidemic SoundSongs in this episode:Opening Monologue song 1: "Don't Let this Moment End" by Jackie MartinOpening Monologue song 2: "Fool's Paradise" by Ofelia MooreJAC Segment, song 1: "One Land, One Heart" by Brightarm OrchestraJAC Segment, song 2: "America the Beautiful" by Stephen AndersonJAC Segment, song 3: "When Sun Meets Moon" by Gavin LukeJAC Segment, song 4: "If You Love Her" by Million EyesJAC Segment, song 5 and Closing: "Today is a Good Day to Live" by John T. Graham For more information about the Daughters of the American Revolution, please visit DAR.orgTo support the goals and mission of the DAR, please visit our web site at DAR.org/GivingAll music free of copyright and provided through Epidemic Sound! Check out this amazing source for music at https://share.epidemicsound.com/xr2blv

Watkinsville opens a new park. Oconee County Schools has a busy December meeting. A man has been charged for the death of a local teen. Subscribe online at ⁠OconeeEnterprise.com⁠

The College of Athens has joined in partnership with Piedmont University. The City of Watkinsville completed their annual audit. The Oconee Enterprise has created a community post on our Facebook and Instragram accounts to share your favorite local small businesses. Subscribe online at ⁠OconeeEnterprise.com⁠

Soil Amendments are being spread in the county again. The City of Watkinsville has a new police cheif. The Board of Commissioners are considering an update to the alcohol ordinance. Subscribe online at ⁠OconeeEnterprise.com⁠

Send us a textDECAL has named its Georgia's Pre-K Teachers of the Year for the 2024-2025 school year and it was just in time for our 14th annual Georgia's Pre-K Week. We name a winner from a public school and private school, and this year's winners are from Lincolnton and Watkinsville. Joining us on the podcast this week is public-school winner Elizabeth Arthur from Lincoln County Elementary School, and  private child care center winner Rachel Robertson from Oconee Preschool Academy. Also joining us is Meghan McNail, Director of Georgia's Pre-K  Instruction and Regional Operations. Support the show

Local attorney Kevin Epps was recognized by the group “Marsy's Law for Georgia”. The Oconee Veterans Memorial Foundation will host a Veteran's day program. Trick or Treat on the Town in the City of Watkinsville and City of Bogart is tonight! Subscribe online at ⁠OconeeEnterprise.com⁠

The Oconee Enterprise decides to endorse a candidate in the District Attorney race. The City of Watkinsville names the Grand Marshalls for the Christmas Parade. A Superior Court Judge halts an effort to adjust voter rolls too close to the election. Subscribe online at ⁠OconeeEnterprise.com⁠

The City of Watkinsville has rejected a rezone. The City of Bogart approved an updated Unified Development Code Fee Schedule. Hear from Michael Ransom, who is running unopposed for Post 1, Chair for the Board of Education. Subscribe online at OconeeEnterprise.com⁠

Be sure to make a plan to vote if you haven't already. Visit you my voter page to find all of your information: mvp.sos.ga.gov Visit us at the 50th Annual Fall Festival in Watkinsville on Saturday, October 19 from 8a.m. to 3p.m. in downtown Watkinsville. Subscribe online at ⁠OconeeEnterprise.com⁠

Watkinsville will hold a rezone hearing during its Oct. 16 meeting at 6:30 p.m. District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez and a private citizen this week agreed to a settlement. District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez and Independent candidate Kalki Yalamanchili have agreed to participate in two debates this month. Subscribe online at ⁠OconeeEnterprise.com⁠

Learn about the state of finances in Oconee County Schools. The City of Watkinsville had a busy but productive council meeting. The deadline to register to vote for the Nov. 5 General Election is Oct. 7. To check your registration status or register to vote, visit the Georgia My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov or visit the Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration Office at the Oconee County Administrative Building, 7635 Macon Highway, Watkinsville. Subscribe online at ⁠OconeeEnterprise.com⁠ Use code SEPT24 for 20% off a one-year subscription during the month of September.

Meet the team from Publica Coffee. Welcome Oconee Creative Studio. The city of Watkinsville is seeking qualified candidates to fill a vacancy on the Downtown Development Authority. Subscribe online at ⁠OconeeEnterprise.com⁠ Use code SEPT24 for 20% off a one-year subscription during the month of September.

Brookes Vaughan is a Board-Certified Women's Health Nurse Practitioner and the founder of The Women's Health Company, a boutique hormone and wellness clinic offering both in-person and virtual services for women. Based in Watkinsville, Georgia, just outside of Athens, the clinic provides comprehensive care tailored to women's health needs. Brookes' passion for women's health—physically, emotionally, and spiritually—has driven her career, focusing on helping women understand the root causes of their health concerns, heal their hormones, and live healthy, whole, and holy lives. In Episode 1 of Season 2, you'll learn practical tips to develop healthy habits and mindfulness practices. Brookes' wisdom and insight will inspire women at any stage of life. How do we balance hormones?  Nutrition: balancing blood sugar, prioritizing, protein, and fiber (25g per day minimum)  Exercise / Weight training  Limiting environmental toxins  Sleep    Romans 12:12  “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”    5 key takeaways :  Seek the Lord in every season  Strong over skinny  Prioritize nutrition over calories  Quality over quantity in all things  Be proactive not reactive    The Women's Health Company website: https://thewomenshealthcompany.com/services/    Let's connect! IG: carolineharrisward  Email: caroline@transfitathens.com Web: www.transfitathens.com   Train with me and my team at TransFit! We offer personal training, group training, yoga, HIIT, bible study, corporate events, nutrition consulting, and zoom training as well. Please email me at transfitathens@gmail.com for more information! So, if you're ready to take it to the next level, reach out to me, and let's get the conversation started.  Ready to conquer your fitness and health goals - the time is now!  

Kiki's Bakeshop is celebrating its tenth year of business. We have a new friend on Main Street in Watkinsville. Southern Spa and Patio has announced they will be moving their store to Madison after 18 years in Watkinsville. Subscribe online at OconeeEnterprise.com

Get your Hog Mountain Bowl Tshirt at Oconee State Bank. A proposed rezone in Watkinsville has been removed from the agenda. The State of Georgia is moving funding to help alleviate traffic in Watkinsville, eventually. Subscribe online at OconeeEnterprise.com

Born and raised in Watkinsville, GA, rising Country artist Gavin Adcock joins Tracy on the bus this week for an all-new episode. A former Georgia Southern University football player, Gavin tells Tracy about his journey from sports into Country music, making the official move to Music City just a few months ago. Gavin discusses his journey and technique as a songwriter, from writing his first song in high school to collaborating with other songwriters in Nashville, now celebrating his debut song going GOLD by the end of the year. Piecing together his team this year with new management and a record deal with Warner Music Nashville, Gavin and Tracy discuss fast-growing careers, life on the road and all that comes with it. The pair also discuss Gavin's musical influences, including Tracy himself, and some rock influences that inspire his music as well. Tune in today!

Watkinsville Police Chief Courtney Gale is resigning effective this Friday, Aug. 2. the North High Shoals Mayor and Council agreed to present a tax increase to 1.00 mills. A Watkinsville community theatre group has undergone a transformative rebirth. Subscribe online at OconeeEnterprise.com

Look for a breakdown from The City of Watkinsville meeting. Barbara Cornelius has published her third book. Oconee Youth Playhouse is about to open their season. Subscribe online at OconeeEnterprise.com

There is so much goodness in this episode you can eat it and it will be sweet, filling, healthy and sugar-free!  We are joined this week by Krysta's non-binary sibling, Blue Boese!  Krys goes to her corner to finish telling us about the cartoons that influenced her most as a child.  We also focus on telling the tale of One-Eyed Charley Parkhurst.  Charley was one of the roughest, toughest, hardest-drinking, most coarse and foul-mouthed fellow to ever drive a six horse coach.  Charley was famed on the west coast for his abilities.  So it was with some womder that when he died a few years later, his neighbors were quite shocked to discover that Charley had been born a woman.  One of the greatest 'whips' of his age being a woman was so incredible that it made national news.  We cover all this in this very special PRIDE episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

Over the weekend, a swastika was painted on an Oconee County welcome sign. Oconee County Schools will be holding three public hearings for a tax increase. Those hearings will be on July 1 at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and on July 8 at 6 p.m. All three meetings will be held at the Instructional Support Center at 71 North Main Street in Watkinsville. A closed trail at Harris Shoals Park will not reopen until August of 2025. Subscribe online at OconeeEnterprise.com

Stan Mitchell has retired after a fruitful career in agriculture education. Lee Becker of Oconee County Observations brings us a report on campaign finance. A young artist brings new life to an old well house in Watkinsville. Subscribe to read this week's edition at OconeeEnterprise.com

See the breakdown of expenses for The City of Watkinsville and their trip to Denver. Eric Gisler is now of the ballot for House District 121 in November. The Oconee Enterprise will be at the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce Summerfest on Thursday. Subscribe online at OconeeEnterprise.com for full access to the latest news.

Mayor of Watkinsville discussing his city's national award

The Board of Commissioners and Board of Education have finalized their 2025 budgets. A nonprofit called Encourage Her Academy is now in Watkinsville. The Oconee County Senior Center has a new director. Subscribe to receive this week's edition at OconeeEnterprise.com

The City of Watkinsville has won a national distinction for their outdoor recreation. Oconee County Schools cuts a ribbon on their new administrative home. A local Daughters of the American Revolution Chapter honors female veterans. See all the latest news at OconeeEnterprise.com

Correction: The Planning Commission voted to approve a request for a rezone, The Planning Department Staff recommended against approval. The BOC will vote on the rezone in June. More than a dozen state champions are featured in our Sports coverage this week. The City of Watkinsville tabled a potential development. Citizens spoke out en masse against it.

The City of Bogart is continuing the process of updating their building code to align with Oconee County. The Planning Commission is recommending a denial for a duplex proposal just north of Watkinsville. The Town of North High Shoals is being sued. Today is your last chance to vote in the General Election Primary. Polls are open from 7a.m.-7p.m. You can find your polling information at mvp.sos.ga.gov View our election guide and election coverage at OconeeEnterprise.com where you can also subscribe anytime.

We get you ready for the noon version of "In Session" to startJarrett talks the 6A finals from McEachern from last nightGreg Garza talks mentoring and its challenges in the "Friday Free Kick"Jason drops by to talk ATLUTDOconee County High Head Girls Coach Judson Hamby drops by to talk the state title win for Watkinsville...

Read all that was discussed in last week's Board of Education Candidate Forum. Learn about a traffic study for the proposed multi use development in the City of Watkinsville. Subscribe to The Oconee Enterprise at OconeeEnterprise.com

The City of Watkinsville approved a Corridor Ordinance to bring continuity and quality to the cities buildings. A new proposal for a development on Highway 15 in Watkinsville came before the council for review. See a rendering of the design on our Facebook Page and the full story on the front page of the newspaper. The Town of North High Shoals has approved a deannexation ordinance in response to a new state law that has direct implications on a property owner in town. We hope to see you tonight, April 25, at our candidate forum at 6pm. at OVP. Subscribe to The Oconee Enterprise at OconeeEnterprise.com

President Monte Hewett with Monte Hewett Homes joins the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast. He sits down with the President of Denim Marketing and Show Host Carol Morgan to discuss the company's rise in mixed-use development and currently selling opportunities. At just 16 years old, Hewett began working with a focus on framework and placing the first nail in his celebrated homebuilding career. He attended Colorado State University for the construction management program and, after graduating, moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1984. In Texas, it was typical for a builder to be production-oriented, unlike in Georgia. Over time, he moved to better locations and built better products, eventually landing in the Atlanta market. In the 1990s, Hewett decided to be an infill builder. During this time, he observed markets in North Buckhead, Smyrna, Vinings, and, during the recession, Decatur, Roswell and Alpharetta to get a clear picture of the local demographic. He noted that many homebuyers were attached to the idea of a “place” and the amenities and walkability offered in that location. Locations such as Avalon in Alpharetta or downtown Roswell provide walkability, green space and all the tools necessary to construct a sense of place for homebuyers to call home through the generations. By the year 2010, Hewett was mainly focusing on creating mixed-use developments to meet this market need. His first project was Palisades at Milton Park in Alpharetta, followed by Avalon and Halcyon in Alpharetta, Madison Yards in Reynoldstown and more. Hewett noted that after the recession, it took more work to replicate the locations and prices he secured and had to switch strategies. The company shifted its focus on product pricing to create work-live-play communities that are more cost-efficient. Hewett said, “It's a big accomplishment to be able to go and change the culture of the company and emphasize time and budgets. It feels good.” Located near Emory, Monte Hewett Homes is currently working on Downing Park, a collection of 13 townhomes off Ponce de Leon Avenue priced from $2 million. Hewett also shared that he recently closed on a mixed-use project called Water Park, which is coming soon to Watkinsville, located 15 minutes outside of Athens. The project will feature 21 townhomes, 46 single-family opportunities and 20,000+ square feet of office, retail and food and beverage space. The community will also feature a baseball and basketball training facility. The builder is also currently selling townhomes starting at $959,900 at Interlock in West Midtown, townhomes starting in the high $500,000s at The Harman in East Atlanta and single-level flats and two-story condominium homes starting in the high $600,000s at Findley Row in Alpharetta. Tune into the full interview above to learn more about Monte Hewett Homes, or visit https://MonteHewett.com to discover current selling opportunities, news and more. A special thank you to Denim Marketing for sponsoring Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio. Known as a trendsetter, Denim Marketing has been blogging since 2006, podcasting since 2011 and is currently working on strategies for the Google Helpful Content update and ways to incorporate AI into sales and marketing. Contact them when you need quality, original content for social media, public relations, blogging, email marketing and promotions. A comfortable fit for companies of all shapes and sizes, Denim Marketing understands marketing strategies are not one-size-fits-all. The agency works with your company to create a perfectly tailored marketing strategy that will adhere to your specific needs and niche. Try Denim Marketing on for size by calling 770-383-3360 or by visiting www.DenimMarketing.com. The Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio “All About Real Estate" segment, presented by Denim Marketing, highlights the movers and shakers in the Atlanta real estate industry – the home builders, developers,

Rerun: On this episode of Gifts and Graces, we get to hear from Nathan Parker on the limitations of the preached word in our disciple-making. Nathan is the senior pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church in Watkinsville, Georgia. This was originally recorded in 2020 in lieu of General Assembly. Let's listen as Nathan explores the limitations of the preached word in our disciple making.

The hosts talk to lawmakers from both sides of the aisle about the bills they're watching most closely as the session comes down to the final two days. Republican state Rep. Marcus Wiedower of Watkinsville starts the conversation by discussing the sports betting bill that he's working to pass before the session ends.     Wiedower also comments on immigration legislation introduced following the killing of Laken Riley in his home district.     On the other side of the aisle, Democratic state Rep. Stacey Evans of Atlanta talks with the hosts about her priorities for the final days. She says the Democratic minority's big job is to block what it see as bad bills rather than pass their own legislation.     Then the hosts move from the Legislature to the courtroom, to discuss the extended interview that AJC reporters Bill Rankin and Tamar Hallerman conducted with defense lawyer Ashleigh Merchant, who filed the motion to dismiss Fani Willis from the Trump election conspiracy case.     LINK TO TOPICS     Sports betting: revenue for state vs. potential addiction  Lawmakers advance bills targeting immigrant friendly policies  Sheriffs worry about new burdens from proposed immigration bills  Attorney who filed motion to dismiss Willis says she had to act     Have a question or comment for the show? Call the 24-hour "Politically Georgia" Podcast Hotline at 770-810-5297. We'll play back your question and answer it during the listener mailbag segment on next Friday's episode.     Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.”      CREDITS   Executive Producer- Shane Backler  Producer- Natalie Mendenhall  Engineer- Micah Middleton  Editor- Matt Owen  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CEO, President and Partner Greg Duriez with Blue River Communities joins the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast to discuss Atlanta's competitive homebuilding market, industry hurdles and more. Duriez joins hosts Carol Morgan with Denim Marketing and Keisha Hulsey with 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty on the All About Real Estate segment. Duriez reflects on the various job opportunities and connections he has formed over three decades that led him to his current role. At the start of his career, he worked with NVR Ryan Homes in the Northeast as an assistant superintendent, site superintendent and, eventually, warranty expert. Duriez also had the opportunity to enter the sales division as a new home sales agent and eventually a sales manager. These consistent career progressions gave Duriez entry into land development and acquisition. Duriez said, “I had some great mentors and coaches along the way at Ryan Homes, Pulte Homes, Century Communities and Davidson Homes!” Blue River Communities is a new homebuilding company connected with Blue River Development. Focused on the Southeast, the home builder constructs homes for the for-sale, build-to-rent and investor markets. The opportunistic company aims to serve the market and its needs. Duriez said, “I've always said throughout my career that we don't create the market. We just serve the market. Blue River Communities is excited to do that!” As a new home builder, Duriez expressed that they are excited to grow the team and provide opportunities for talented individuals looking to create a great culture at a fantastic company. Listen to the end of the episode for how to reach out to Duriez for job opportunities. When strategizing about how to serve the needs of the for-sale and build-to-rent market, Duriez is honored to partner with Brad and Michael Cooper at Blue River Development, continuing a 15-year industry friendship and now a partnership. Gearing up for an exciting first chapter in 2024, Blue River Communities is currently working on projects in Winder, Braselton, Athens, Watkinsville and McDonough, Georgia to meet the needs of these underserved markets. Look for official community announcements later this year. On the build-to-rent side, the new home builder is currently working with partners to deliver homes later this year in the Huntsville, Alabama, Dallas, Texas and Greer, South Carolina markets. Duriez also shared that the home builder is exploring prospects for communities in the Florida panhandle. Tune in to the full interview above to learn more, or visit www.BlueRiverCommunities.com and www.BlueRiverDevelopment.com. A special thank you to 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty for sponsoring Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio. 2-10 is the industry leader in new home warranty administration, with 1 in 5 new US homes enrolled in the 2-10 New Home Warranty Program. Founded and based in Denver, the 2-10 family of companies has covered over 6 million homes with their complete line of warranties, system and appliance Home Service Plans, and risk management products. 2-10 continues to work with thousands of the nation's finest home builders, real estate professionals, and service contractors. For more information about 2-10, please visit 2-10.com.   The Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio “All About Real Estate" segment, presented by Denim Marketing, highlights the movers and shakers in the Atlanta real estate industry – the home builders, developers, Realtors and suppliers working to provide the American dream for Atlantans. For more information on how you can be featured as a guest, contact Denim Marketing at 770-383-3360 or fill out the Atlanta Real Estate Forum contact form. Subscribe to the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast on iTunes, and if you like this week's show, be sure to rate it.

Kari Beth and Derek Chitwood are the owners of Peach State Pride, a clothing brand that is sold in nearly 100 stores across the State of Georgia and Empire South, a brick and mortar clothing store with locations in Athens, Watkinsville, Lake Oconee, and Hartwell. Derek is a graduate of Georgia College and currently serves as Vice Chair of its Foundation Board. Kari is a graduate of Georgia Tech and serves on nonprofit boards for Bethel Haven and Extra Special People. Derek and Kari reside in Greensboro, GA, with their 3 children (ages 4 and under!) where they are renovating a circa 1900 historic home.  You can find them on Instagram at @peachstatepride and @shopempiresouth Follow Ben on Twitter @benburnett and on instagram @thebenburnettshowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

GDP Script/ Top Stories for Sept 27th Publish Date:  Sept 26th From the Henssler Financial Studio Welcome to the Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast Today is Wednesday, September 27th, and happy heavenly birthday to musician Meatloaf. **** **** I'm Bruce Jenkins and here are your top stories presented by Mall of Georgia Chrysler Dodge Jeep. Jackson EMC Foundation awards $37K to agencies serving Gwinnett County residents Contemporary Classics offers 'A Karaoke Riot!' as first production of the season Around the World in the DTL returns to Lawrenceville All of this and more is coming up on the Gwinnett Daily Post podcast, and if you are looking for community news, we encourage you to listen daily and subscribe!  Break 1 : M.O.G.          Story 1: Jackson EMC Foundation awards $37K to agencies serving Gwinnett County residents   The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors has awarded a total of $196,771 in grants, with $37,500 allocated to organizations serving Gwinnett County residents. The grants include: $15,000 to Boy With a Ball in Buford for curriculum materials to support the Velocity Cross Age Mentoring program. This program pairs high school mentors with middle school students in Gwinnett County, focusing on building connectedness, self-esteem, identity, and academic skills. $15,000 to Barrow Ministry Village in Winder for its counseling program, offering affordable counseling services to needy families in Jackson EMC's service area. The program targets individuals dealing with PTSD, anxiety, and family issues. $7,500 to Bethel Haven in Watkinsville for its Mental Health Counseling Program, providing mental health services and therapeutic counseling sessions for distressed children, teens, adults, and families in Jackson EMC's service counties. These grants are made possible through the Operation Round Up program, where cooperative members round up their electric bills to support local initiatives. Since 2005, this program has contributed over $19.4 million to communities served by Jackson EMC. Eligible individuals and charitable organizations in the 10-county service area may apply for Foundation grants, and membership with Jackson EMC is not a requirement.....…..read more at gwinnettdailypost.com STORY 2: Contemporary Classics offers 'A Karaoke Riot!' as first production of the season   Contemporary Classics Theatre is set to kick off its new season with "A Karaoke Riot!"—a contemporary adaptation of Clifford Odets' 1930s play "Waiting for Lefty." Directed by Mike Weiselberg, the play offers a unique twist: audience participation. Ticket holders will be part of a special environment where they play the role of "ride share" drivers in a taxi strike, adding an immersive element to the experience. The play combines humor and satire with serious themes, highlighting the importance of fair wages and workplace respect. "A Karaoke Riot!" will be performed on October 20 and 21 at Sweetwater Bar and Grill in Duluth, Georgia.   STORY 3: Around the World in the DTL returns to Lawrenceville Lawrenceville is hosting "Around the World in the DTL," a two-day festival in partnership with the Atlanta International Night Market. The event, taking place on the Lawrenceville Lawn, celebrates the city's diverse cultures and communities. Visitors can enjoy an international bazaar with unique items and global cuisine. The festival includes entertainment such as exotic dance performances and cultural showcases. On Friday, "Los Chicos del 512: The Selena Experience – Selena Tribute" will be featured on the Lawrenceville Lawn Stage. Saturday offers a showcase of performances and culinary delights from around the world, with over 50 vendors and more. The event aims to promote cultural diversity and understanding in the community. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.874.3200 for more info. We'll be right back   Break 2:   Slappey – Tom Wages - Obits – Cumming Fair   STORY 4: Gwinnett County champs lead way at Wingfoot XC Classic   At the Wingfoot XC Classic, Gwinnett County champions Jewel Wells and Jameson Pifer stood out. Wells finished 8th in the Varsity Championship Girls race with a time of 18:37, while Pifer secured the 12th position in the Varsity Championship Boys competition with a time of 15:35. Mill Creek's girls, including Wells, placed 13th with 318 points. Wesleyan's girls finished 12th with 307 points. Pifer, along with other top Gwinnett finishers Wood Moore and Eli Griggs, contributed to their respective teams' performances. Mill Creek's boys finished 17th overall.   STORY 5: International players boost Providence Christian football's historic start   Providence Christian's football team has seen success thanks in part to the addition of international players, including six from Canada, five from Germany, and one each from England and Denmark. These players have contributed to the team's undefeated start to the season. The influx of international talent began under previous head coach Joe Sturdivant, who has extensive experience coaching football overseas. The players seek opportunities to play college football in the U.S., and they have adjusted to the differences in climate, competition level, and speed of the game. Their presence has enriched the school's culture and provided diverse backgrounds on the team.   We'll be back in a moment   Break 3:  ESOG – Ingles 2   STORY 6: Peachtree Ridge defeats Dunwoody in softball   Peachtree Ridge dominated Dunwoody with a 10-2 victory in fastpitch softball. Kenadie Garcia excelled as the winning pitcher with an RBI double. A.J. Muhammad, Amiya Hunt, and Mariella Morales played key roles in the Lions' offense.   Mountain View had a successful day, winning two Region 8-AAAAAAA games, including a 15-0 victory over Central Gwinnett and a 6-2 win over Dacula. Riley Ashby and Rylie Smith were standouts.   Brookwood defeated Duluth 8-0 in five innings, with Lorelei Sullivan and Nya Langlais leading the way.   Archer secured an 11-3 victory over Shiloh, with Kaylee Lapides and Mia Johnson standing out.   Discovery suffered a 25-8 loss to Chestatee in volleyball.   Hebron Christian split their volleyball matches, defeating Franklin County but losing to Oconee County. Key players included Addison Griffin, Malia Silva, and Brooke Thao.   STORY 7: Ambulance involved in 'serious injury' crash at intersection of Jimmy Carter Blvd.   A serious accident occurred involving an ambulance and a passenger car at the intersection of Jimmy Carter Blvd. and Quails Lake Village Lane. The Gwinnett County Police are investigating the incident. The driver of the car is being treated at a local hospital, while no one from Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services was injured. The ambulance was responding to a medical call with lights and sirens on, traveling in the center turn lane due to heavy traffic. The car attempted a left turn in front of the ambulance, resulting in a collision on the driver's side. The investigation is ongoing, and details are preliminary.   We'll have final thoughts after this.   Break 4: Henssler 60 Thanks again for hanging out with us on today's Gwinnett Daily Post podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties, or the Paulding County News Podcast. Read more about all our stories, and get other great content at Gwinnettdailypost.com. Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. 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This week we sit down with Joe Earley, the driving force behind Tifosi's remarkable success. Earley traces his roots in mountain biking back to college years in Georgia, where the community's vibrant cycling culture exerted a significant influence. Joe describes his early days as a outside rep in the cycling industry alongside his wife which laid crucial groundwork to the founding of Tifosi.  They recognized an opportunity in the world of sunglasses, spurred by the market's demand for cost-effective yet quality options.  The Tifosi brand was established in 2003.  Joe describes Tifosi's in-depth attention to the smallest details. Adjustable ear pads, nose pads, innovative ventilation, and photochromic lenses - everything designed with the athlete in mind. They have integrated style with utility in the 'Swank', a lifestyle-looking glass that showcases their commitment to high-quality materials. For gravel cyclists, Earley recommends the fog-resistant, rimless glasses from the rail series. With an easy lens-swapping mechanism, users can adjust according to different lighting situations. Tifosi Optics Website Support the Podcast Join The Ridership  Automated Transcription, please excuse the typos: [00:00:00]Craig Dalton (host): Hey Joe, welcome to the show. [00:00:02]Joe Earley: Thanks for having me. [00:00:04]Craig Dalton (host): I'm excited to get into the story of Te Foci. As I was saying to you offline, I've been aware of the brand for, it feels like my entire cycling career, so it's great to have you on and just kind of learn a little bit more of the backstory and why don't we use that as our starting point. Let's learn a little bit about your backstory. How'd you just, how'd you find cycling to begin with in your life, and where'd you grow up? [00:00:26]Joe Earley: know, um, I think, uh, similarly to you, um, You know, at college, mountain biking was catching on like crazy in the early nineties. And, uh, I was spending a summer with my, my older brother who had a mountain bike and I borrowed a mountain bike and instantly, as soon as I went, uh, I was hooked and, uh, really have been in, in the sport of cycling ever since. So, you know, early nineties got into mountain biking that transitioned to road cycling and then cycl across, and then now, Gravel road mountain bike, although I am recovering from a rotator cuff surgery, so I'm just on the road in gravel now. No mountain biking for a bit longer, but, uh, but yeah, that's how I got, um, got started in, uh, in the sports, uh, was really just through my, through my brother and, uh, Through college, just jumping on a mountain bike. So, um, you know, and then similarly to you, I had a, just a passion, um, for cycling. Just loved it. And, um, got my first job outta college and went and did that for a while. Sales managing for, for a, a boat dealership of all things. And then, um, my wife, uh, Elizabeth, who runs the business with me, her dad was a, a rep in the cycling, in the tractor industry. So he sold like tractor attachments. And I said, you know what, what Henry does, I, I could probably do that in, in cycling, right? There's gotta be some of those out there. So I picked up like a mountain bike action. I flipped to the back, to the list of advertisers and I just started calling companies. And, um, we started our own, um, independent cycling agency first. So that was our, our first business in the, in the cycling space. Um, we ended up having a very successful agency here in the southeast. So we're based right [00:02:08]Craig Dalton (host): gonna ask Joe, where, [00:02:09]Joe Earley: Georgia. [00:02:11]Craig Dalton (host): where were you in, where were you in college when you first discovered mountain [00:02:14]Joe Earley: Uh, so I was at University of Georgia. Uh, I spent a, a summer in Birmingham, actually in, uh, Oak Mountain State Park. Any listeners in that area? Uh, one of the best mountain bike places I've ever been to still today, and I've been riding for 30 plus years. Um, so that was one of the first places I was exposed to, to mountain biking, but then came back here, uh, to college in the fall and, uh, Go Dogs, university of Georgia Town here. We're in Watkinsville, Georgia, which is about 10 minutes from the University of Georgia in Athens. So, um, [00:02:42]Craig Dalton (host): And, and I feel like in that sort of early to mid nineties, Georgia actually had a nor national race over in, in the [00:02:49]Joe Earley: yeah, so actually we had, we had some interesting things. We actually hosted the, uh, the first Olympic mountain bike race here in Atlanta. We went to see that, that was crazy. It's, it's so hot here, uh, in the summer. So it was, uh, it was interesting seeing those guys hammer along. But yeah, there's been, um, you know, there's, there's also I think been a Norman National that used to be up at Sly, uh, in North Carolina, which is right over the, the border. But, um, really active, um, mountain bike scene and, and cycling scene in general here in the southeast. Athens has always been a big, you know, cycling area, the Twilight Criterium, uh, one of the best. Probably road, um, cycling events to watch in the States. 'cause it's, it's downtown Athens at night. It's when students are in, it's, uh, it's a pretty electric vibe. So it's a, it's a fun area for this. [00:03:35]Craig Dalton (host): And would you describe it as being a vibrant cycling community year round in Georgia? [00:03:40]Joe Earley: Um, yeah, I mean definitely there's pockets of, of areas where it's not as accessible. You know, if you're, if you're in parts of Atlanta, The, the, just with traffic and everything else, it's just not as accessible as a lot of other cities. Athens seems is a, is a pretty good community. We're in Watkinsville, which is a small town outside of it, but there's a lot of, you know, Atlanta does have the Silver Comet, which is a rails trail that goes all the way from Atlanta proper all the way out to the Alabama state line. Um, and so it's, it's a nice, uh, venue to have there. So it's a, you know, it's a, it's a very. Cycling friendly community overall, just, I wouldn't ride on a lot of the roads in, in Atlanta, it's a little bit hairy just 'cause of the amount of volume and there's not a lot of dedicated, like some cities, a lot of dedicated, um, bike lanes. [00:04:27]Craig Dalton (host): So you mentioned you and your wife started, uh, an independent rep agency focused on the cycling industry. What were the first products that you picked up? [00:04:35]Joe Earley: my gosh. The first products we picked up, um, brands that are gone now, um, rocket Power Parts, which was like a, a glove company. Um, we did Cantina Mountain bike gear. I. Um, CKA Cranks for a while. Um, but then the first brands that we picked up that we really started to be able to build a business with, um, Louis Gar Apparel, uh, out of Quebec City. And then, um, Marin Mountain Bikes. They didn't have any sales in our territory, but we were able to start building a business with those brands. And then, uh, over time we picked up, you know, a lot of great brands. Um, we were doing CD shoes, Easton, when they launched their cycling. Um, Products independently from selling through other people doing their, their carbon fiber products. Um, gosh, what else do we have? We did cliff bars, another southeast company, defeat socks. Uh, we did sunglass brands. We did a lot of different, or a couple of different sunglass brands over the years. Um, and that's kind of what led to tci. We had a very successful cycling agency. We were selling what was at the time, the number one, you know, cycling, sunglass, and I would make a great commission for those. Your listeners don't understand what an independent rep does. It's. You're a 10 99 independent contractor, you only make money on what you sell. So it's not like these companies are paying you a, a, a salary, it's if you sell a one of their products, you make a commission on it, uh, and you're selling to the bike shops. So we would place a, a display of 12 or 24 pairs of these higher end products, and, and we get a nice commission at that point. And then I'd go around the next month to see Craig and say, Hey, Craig, you know, uh, What's going on with the sunglasses? It looks like you've sold a pair, you know, and they would sell one or two a month at most. Um, and I'm like, guys, I can't stop the car for one pair of sunglasses. How can we sell some more? [00:06:19]Craig Dalton (host): Yeah. Yeah. I think that's another like interesting point just to make sure everybody understands, is like as a independent sales rep, you're going out and visiting throughout the territory. Maybe it's Georgia or the broader Southeast, and you're visiting every single shop. Your job is to figure out how to sell the products. You're obviously selling, but what, what's selling in the shops? Like, what should you be bringing to them? 'cause that's how you make money. [00:06:45]Joe Earley: And it's, it was a great, um, great business. Loved it still. In fact, my, my former agency, a fellow who worked for me runs it now. Um, so still, still exists. Um, great. Interacting with the retailers. 'cause what's great about the cycling industry is that the. The retailers and the shop owners. In the shop buyers, they are the market. You know, they're kind of like me and you. They got into it 'cause they, they like cycling. There's not a lot of people in the cycling industry that. Oh, well, I just, I, I wanted to, you know, start a, a great business and make millions of dollars, so I'm gonna go sell bikes, right? It's just not that type of market. So, um, you know, you're interacting with people who get the product, they get what is exciting to their consumers. Um, and so that was, that was a great learning experience just overall about products and demand and what. Selling through products. Um, you know, and we consistently see our retailers and they have sold a pair of sunglasses. And as we were talking to them, the feedback was if they had something that was nice at a, at a lower price point, they thought they could sell, you know, more products. Um, at the same time, you know, I knew lots of reps in other territories, so we just started calling other reps in other territories going, Hey, Do you see something like this? And at the time, um, what we were focused on was the interchangeable sunglasses. So in, in mountain biking and cycling in general, the idea of being able to, to swap your lenses out quickly and easily and have those in a package, um, it was available. But the brands that was available in it was generally a hundred to 150 or $200 or more. Um, [00:08:16]Craig Dalton (host): Yeah, and it feels like a lot of times you would buy the glass and you'd have to buy the lens separately, so it wasn't just $150, it was $210. All [00:08:23]Joe Earley: even the brand I was selling at the time, you know, I'm going to them going, Hey guys, just give me a product that comes with the lenses and retails at even a hundred. And I could sell quite a few of these. And so our idea was to come to the market with three lenses and be able to retail it at $50 or $60. And um, you know, we talked to other reps and other territories and consistently feedback was, no, they don't see something like this. Or, yeah, there's something there, but it's. It's just not very nice. Um, and meanwhile, there was a, a large e-commerce retailer that a lot of you guys knew in the day and, and still exists now, but performance bike was based in my territory. So they had a big mail order component and they had about a hundred stores and they were doing it. They had a sunglass that had three lenses and a case, and it retail for about 50 bucks. We can do it. It's gotta be there somewhere. So, um, In 2003, we, we said, okay, let's do it ourselves. 2002, we made the decision. We went over and, and found some sourcing and, um, we brought I think a total of 23 SKUs, 24 SKUs to market that first year. Um, [00:09:26]Craig Dalton (host): Yeah, I was gonna ask, how did you, I mean that there's a, it's a big step between here and there, which is like, okay, we have this idea, we think a price point is viable at 50, $79, whatever it was at the time. But actually sourcing glasses, you're an enthusiast, your wife's an enthusiast, you understand the market. It was not gonna be feasible for you to put out, you know, super low quality glass. And have any vision for OSI surviving is that, how did you get to creating a product that met your own expectations as well as the price [00:09:58]Joe Earley: Yeah. So, um, you know, we made a trip. I made a trip. She ran everything here. Um, went to a huge optical show over in, uh, in Hong Kong actually, and met with, had to be 300 different suppliers, factories there. And, uh, had the concept of what we wanted. Had kind of the, the three lens, had some examples of what we were looking for and just literally went and met with every single one of them there over a, a four day, uh, trade show. And we found. Three, maybe four, that we thought could do the quality and had the products. And we started with, you know, open mold products. So we said, Hey, we're looking for products that already exist like this. And, um, we found those. We, we quickly even starting in, you know, late in year one, we started developing our own. Molds in our own products, our own designs, but we started with things we negotiated and exclusive for North America with them and said, Hey, don't sell these to other people. We like this design. And we brought, uh, a collection to market from there. Um, we've been very, very fortunate in that, um, you know, one of those partners that we started with in 2003, I. Is a partner we still work with today. So we've got longstanding relationships. All of our products are, are made in Taiwan, um, not in mainland China, but, uh, well all with the exception of one. We do have one product, uh, our aviator that's made there 'cause there's no metal production of sunglasses generally in Taiwan. Um, but uh, yeah, we, we were really fortunate to partner with somebody there and then started quickly trying to develop our, some proprietary products thereafter. But, uh, we were fortunate that we had the sales apparatus with the. The sales agency that we kind of knew how to sell things. And Elizabeth, my wife, was running, uh, an east coast warehouse for one of our companies. Um, so she already knew the pick pack shipping operation side of things. So we, all we needed was the product fortunately, um, to kind of [00:11:46]Craig Dalton (host): Question for you on that, on that product, Joe, I always think about sort of the lenses and the quality of lenses being important for cycling, right? We all wanna feel confident that if a rock hits us, it's not gonna break, et cetera. I. Was that were the lens quality already there with these manufacturers? They understood like they need a high impact lens. [00:12:06]Joe Earley: Yeah, I mean, uh, the, the, the idea of a polycarbonate lens, uh, which is what we source on most of the products we do, we offer shatterproof product lenses on all of them. Some of our photochromics use a little bit different material. Um, 'cause of the technologies involved, but they're all shatterproof. You know, you can hit 'em with a hammer, they won't break. That technology was there. Um, and you'd be shocked at, you know, the higher end brands, high price brands that are being made in, in those facilities already. Um, so we, we knew from, hey, what they're already making, they can make the quality we're looking for. [00:12:39]Craig Dalton (host): Yeah. [00:12:40]Joe Earley: we were, we were fortunate in that standpoint. We did learn a lot about lenses 'cause. You know, for instance, our first polarized products that we offered, we were using a, what's called a tack lens, which is not something we were recommending recycling at the time. Um, we moved outta that just in year two, just because it's, it doesn't have as much impact protection as like what we have with all the products now, but the lens quality and the impact protection from like the interchangeable sets, um, it was there. [00:13:06]Craig Dalton (host): Yeah. Interesting. Yeah, and this is really rounding out the OSI story for me. 'cause knowing that you guys were within the industry and were independent reps and. Intended on going into the bike, local bike shops from the get go is super interesting. So I, I presume sort of in those first years you were able to kind of tap into obviously your, the local southeast region where you already had a lot of personal connections, but it also sounds like you had connections in other regions to sign up other independent reps to start putting the product [00:13:35]Joe Earley: know, it's a, it is a relationship business in cycling. Um, you know, I, I both, we sold it in the southeast with our agency, but then we were able to contact, we knew who the good sales reps were. I. In all the other territories. Um, now it's a, as a pioneering brand that didn't have sales, that was a challenge to get, you know, good reps on board. But we were really blessed, um, and that we were having really good success with it. Here we got a, I think we only started with six territories, um, to begin with. Um, so call it six or eight total reps, you know. Now on the cycling side of things, we probably have at least 35 ish. In that space. So we started small with that, but we went from zero to 500 retailers in the very first year. Um, just word of mouth, the retailers, word of mouth with the, the reps, you know, when we place the product in the retail stores, they started checking it right away and at a very high turn, generally in the same, you know, retail location, we're gonna sell seven or eight times as fast as their $150 sunglasses that they carry. Um, so we were very fortunate in that. And so we went from 500 dealers to a thousand and now, In the US we have about 3,500 retailers, um, doors that carry the product, and that's in the cycling space, which we're the number one market share. We have about 74% of the market, um, in cycling specialty stores. So seven and a half, 10 pair of sunglasses they sell. S um, but we're, you know, a top brand in the running space, uh, in outdoor we're carried in every R e I location out there. Uh, we actually have a really strong business, um, in the golf, golf arena. Um, we saw that as an adjacency, and so we're primarily focused on sport products. Um, but you know, cycling was kind of where we started and where still our largest kind of single market in the US is today. But we have distribution now in about. 35 other countries. Um, and almost all of those are cycling, um, specific types of distributors. [00:15:28]Craig Dalton (host): Got it. How, how, when did you sort of, uh, extend beyond the initial cycling industry and kind of go into running and multisport? [00:15:38]Joe Earley: um, we, we actually, so running was, was adjacent, but we really didn't, we didn't know it. Um, we had, uh, a lot, quite a few of our, a couple of our reps were doing Sego in the day and Sego was a strong cycling brand, but they had a very strong running apparel brand. And, um, almost by accident we had some reps who were doing Sego already. And so they're calling on run stores and so they just started pitching to FCI to them and they started picking 'em up and they were selling 'em, and they were like, we didn't even realize that. I think M P D came to us maybe back in, which is a, used to be, it's a. Retail reporting software, a company that, that collects retail data. It was probably 2006 or 2007. We were the number one market share in running specialty stores, and we didn't even know it. Um, our market share was actually stronger than it was in in Pike. Uh, it was just a smaller market. There's not as many, uh, Running specialty doors, is there our cycling doors? Um, so it really started even, you know, in late 2003, we had some adjacency. We were picking it up, and then kind of 2004, 2005, we realized, hey, this is a great other area. Same thing for golf. We saw that as an, as an easy adjacency. So we started knocking on those doors with other independent reps. So we knew the independent rep world. We knew how, how they operate, and we set up our business to make it. Easy for them to, to write orders and to get business and uh, and to make commissions. And so that, that worked very, very well for us building our brand, you know, through, through the retail network. [00:17:10]Craig Dalton (host): And Joe, how have you guys thought about product development over the years? I mean, obviously like sunglasses have been very trendy and there's been sort of an evolution. Maybe it comes from taste makers, maybe it's artificially inserted into our tastes from bigger brands with bigger marketing budgets. But I'm just curious kinda how you see product development and putting the best product possible out there. [00:17:33]Joe Earley: Yeah, I mean, uh, our, we have three legs to the company stool that we talk about, and number one is product. We, we feel like we have to bring out, you know, very high quality. Technical bells and whistles, sunglasses that, um, people can use for, you know, these crazy sports that they go out and do. You know, um, cycling, gravel cycling is some of these events. It's brutal on the product. So we feel like that's like the first leg of the stool. And it's certainly you see evolution, um, with the product. But we're looking for what are technical benefits that we can bring to make the experience for the end consumer better. And so it started, like the first feature was coming in with multiple sets of lenses, right? It came with multiple sets of lenses, came with a case retail around $60. Um, you know, over time we found other features that we thought, Hey, this, this really makes it better. We were always noticing it with, with all the cycling helmets, the retention systems started really. Changing and they were bigger or smaller. And so then your eyewear stems would interact with 'em either in a negative or a positive way. So we started adding adjustability to the ear pads so that you could adjust them to get 'em to be the right fit for you. And then we noticed, okay, the same thing's true for noses. Your nose, my nose, you know, your wife's all different. So if you can adjust the nose pad, that makes it. A better experience for them when they're doing these, these crazy events. Um, and then we noticing, you know, like putting ventilation in lenses. Um, we've, we've gone so far now as we have like a utility patent on our, what we use on the rail system now, but started with our podium design. It's a, it's a shield rems design that you can interchange the lenses easily on. And so just looking for these innovations that would make it easier for the end consumer and make their experience better. Um, photochromic lenses, you and I were talking about beforehand, that's been a. A huge part of our business, you know, these lenses darken and lighten automatically in about 12 seconds. They'll go from light to dark. And so when you're talking about, you know, the gravel events with different, um, you know, lighting conditions start first thing in the morning. You want something lighter. But then you, when you're at the peak of the day and you're out on Mount Tam, like you're talking about the blazing sun, you want it to be to darken up, but you don't wanna have to pull over and swap out the lenses. So there's been a lot of technical innovations that kind of happened over the years. There is some fashion to it, Craig, for sure. Um, you know, it's, it's gotta look cool and it's gotta look cool to the end consumer and what everybody considers cool. It does change over time. Um, you know, we've definitely seen that right now on the sports side of things. You know, the big shield is, Is absolutely where the market is at. They won't, consumers looking for something that's flatter, uh, which actually for the end consumer optically is a little bit better. Uh, these flat lenses, um, give a distinct look, which is why most of the consumers are buying them, but the fact that they have less curve actually makes their optics a little bit better too. Um, so, you know, they, and then we have another whole side of our business that's more what I would consider sport lifestyle products. Um, in 2018, we launched a product called Swank, which is, um, It's, it's a lifestyle looking glass, but it's made with the same frame and lens materials that we make the, you know, $80 interchangeables with. So you can go, you know, do a, a gravel race in it or you can go hang out in the coffee shop with it. And that's been one huge change in, uh, in the business in the last, you know, six years. That's now 60% of the volume. [00:20:55]Craig Dalton (host): And do you find that some of the, the cycling shops are picking up those more casual [00:20:59]Joe Earley: Yeah, they almost all do both. They almost all do both. In fact, up until, um, Actually still in units. The swank model that we sell is the number one selling sunglass in the cycling industry. Um, and funny story, we were talking about the vegan cyclist before, uh, we started recording Tyler rides with both. He'll ride our rail, which is our top of the line kind of sport piece, and then he'll wear our Swank xl and he's doing these crazy long events in what I consider something to be way more casual. It's got him fully protected, but he loves the way it looks. He loves the way it fits. And you know, that's 80% of the battle You wanna have something that's comfortable. Comfortable for you that, that you're comfortable with when you're out there doing these things? [00:21:38]Craig Dalton (host): Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Do you think about product development, we talk about cycling specifically. Do you think about mountain bikers differently than you do gravel riders or road riders, or do they all kinda end up merging [00:21:50]Joe Earley: I, you know, I think there's a lot of crossover. 'cause I mean, how many of us are there that we do? We do it all right. I mean, I started mountain biking, then I got into road cycling, and then I cycl across and then I do gravel. I used the same pair for all of them. Um, personally, there are some nuances, you know, in the mountain biking space, um, there is a little bit of preference to have something that's more full frame. Generally where that comes from is, um, you know, there's some, some mindset that, hey, if I crash, if it's got a frame on the bottom, that's not gonna cut me. I'm telling you from personal experience and from seeing tons of pictures over the years, if you crash hard enough, it won't matter whether you've got a full frame or you don't have a frame. You've got that, that possibility out there. Um, but I think, you know, most people these days are doing multiple disciplines. You know, when you're gravel cycling, you're p you're mountain biking, a lot of times you're doing single track, you're doing fire roads, you're doing road for certain parts of it. So those lines are so blurred now that I think the product tends to be quite a bit blurred as well. It used to be much more niche like, oh, if it's an open lens glass, that's for roadies. And then if it's a full frame, that's for mountain bikers. I don't see as much of that anymore. There's still some of it, but it's not nearly as much now. [00:23:02]Craig Dalton (host): Yeah. Yeah. I have to say when I first started riding the rail, my, my initial reaction was, this thing is so light. Can it possibly withstand? I mean, it's not like I go around crashing my face into things, but it was just this reaction I had. Like, is this gonna be durable enough? And, gosh, I've been wearing that glass for maybe at least a month now. And fortunately, knock on wood, I haven't crashed it. But I think I've, I've, I no longer think about durability as an issue [00:23:31]Joe Earley: Yeah, I mean we, we literally, when we started it, it's like we kind of talked about it's. People say, well, if it's, if it's $80 and it's got all the features of this $250 sunglass, well what's wrong with it? That's the the impression. We would go to trade shows with a hammer and we literally would put lenses on the ground and we would start hammering on the trade show floor just so people could see that, Hey, this is gonna protect you. Um, you know, why? How can we do it? Why Y is, you know, Y is brand X $250 if you try to put three lenses with it and we're able to sell them for $80 or even have. High quality products like swank that retail all the way down to $25. Well, it's a couple things. One, we're based in Watkinsville, Georgia. None of y'all have heard from it because it's the middle of nowhere almost. You know, we're 10 miles outside of Athens. We're not based in Southern California, so our cost of doing business is much lower. Um, number two, our marketing budget is tiny, right? I mean, you don't see full page ads with all the top Pro, pro tour riders. We don't pay. Those, those guys, we just don't, we don't have the budget for that. We're trying to give the consumer that high quality product at a value. And the way we do it is we've just got a lot smaller budgets overall, and we don't make nearly the margin. It's the high-end sunglass manufacturers do. Um, so that's kind of the, the secret in the sauce. Um, You know, it's, it's, we control our overhead for things, and we don't pay for, you know, crazy, crazy spends. We don't have the money to do that, so we're delivering the consumer a great product and they buy lots of it. [00:25:03]Craig Dalton (host): Yeah, I think you know that in the absence of this conversation, I would've assumed you were only a direct consumer brand and that's how you were able to achieve the, the price points that you are. So the fact that you're also affording a margin to your specialty bicycle retailer and running shops is quite impressive and maybe more illustrative of. What the cost of production actually is and what the cost of all those massive marketing budgets are for some of the bigger sung companies. [00:25:31]Joe Earley: I mean, it's a, it's a highly competitive space. I mean, most people know there is one company out there that's $25 billion in sales, and they really, mostly 99.9% of their business is on the ultra high end. And you know, from their standpoint, they have a great business. If they can sell it for $300, then they should. If someone will pay for it, then great. Uh, I've just never been wired that way. I was not that guy. I just can't get my mind around it because we've all had that high-end brand and we drop 'em a week after we buy 'em. And the scratches right in your field of vision and you've got a sick feeling in your stomach for this crazy expensive purchase you made that suddenly is now. That you've gotta go and spend more money to fix. Um, so that's just never been, never been our motto. It's all about having that value for the end consumer. [00:26:21]Craig Dalton (host): Got it. And Joe, if you were to recommend something in your lineup, and I know there's a lot of personal preference that goes into this, but if you were to recommend one set of glasses for a gravel cyclist out of your lineup, what would it be and why? I. [00:26:34]Joe Earley: Um, for me it would be the rail series. Um, so we have a standard rail and we have a rail XC and a rail race. They're all the same frame. I. Um, I like it 'cause it's completely rimless. Um, I like the completely rimless glass because you don't have to worry about fogging as much. So even if you're in a single track section down here in Georgia where it's super humid, if you're moving a little bit, it's gonna bring some airflow and you have nothing impeding your field of vision. You don't have a frame anywhere that you really notice in the activity. So, um, and I would recommend looking at one of what we call photo tech. Which is a photochromic option. We've got, um, both the Clarion Red and the Clarion Blue Photo Tech. What is that? These are, these are glasses that have a slight mirror to them. So, um, they're very light colored when they're not activated. But then when you're in full sun, you know, they're gonna give you a lot of shade. I have blue eyes, so I need that when I'm out there in full sun. And when you ride here in Georgia, mostly riding in full sun. Um, so I would definitely look at the rail series. That is, that's our bestselling, you know, Performance, um, sport piece in the line today. [00:27:38]Craig Dalton (host): That's the one I'm using. I'm using the, the blue one and it's the first time I, I put it on in my garage. It was really funny 'cause it's like, put it on, I looked in a mirror just to kind of see the color and then I walked outside. And to your point, like it changes pretty. Rapidly, um, really cool technology and, and to your point, like for an off-road cyclist, that versatility of the, the lenses changing themselves is super helpful. 'cause you don't have to change when you go in the woods, it's gonna automatically kind of just change that, that mirror element or the darkness that you're experiencing looking through 'em. [00:28:10]Joe Earley: Yeah, I mean it's, it is a technology that we started offering in 2005, um, and it's come. A tremendous way now, I mean these mirrored versions that we have now, those are just available in the last three seasons, um, that we just started offering those. That's not something you really see a lot of out there. Um, and we've definitely seen a lot of, a lot of end consumers on the cycling side of things love these. Um, 'cause one look, we all wanna, we think we look cool, um, with the helmet and the Lycra on and all that. Um, but definitely having that mirror out there, it. It looks cool too. So it, it definitely gives that, that, uh, the fashion factor that we all are looking for. [00:28:50]Craig Dalton (host): Nice. And the, the, the rail in the non photochromatic lenses, you've got, it sounds like you've got several op uh, options there as well. What are those, what do those look like? Are those clear lenses? Dark [00:29:01]Joe Earley: those are gonna come with three lenses. The lenses that come in the frame will be a shaded lens, you know, probably mirrored, um, more for full sun conditions. They'll come with what we call an AC red, all conditions red. That's a good like mid light conditions. If you're unsure what you're gonna be doing, go with the AC red. And then we always put a clear lens in the package. Um, you know, still a lot of people that like to ride at dusk or at night. And so this gives you a great night riding option there. All those, you can swap 'em out in just a couple of minutes. Um, Not even a couple of minutes inside of, you know, a minute. Once you're, once you're comfortable with 'em, they're very easy to swap those lenses in and out, in and out. And we do find people that, you know, they'll buy a photochromic option and then they wanna buy an extra lens to have, you know, you can get all those on our website. We offer custom, you know, products. So you can go on our custom, you know, portal on the web website and build up a rail with whatever frame color you want, whatever lens color you want, whatever ear, padd color you want, so you can fully customize it. [00:29:55]Craig Dalton (host): Nice. Since I got the Photochromatic one, it didn't have multiple lenses, so I'm curious how, how do you actually. Take the lens out 'cause it's a frameless design. So for the listener, you've got the, the, the ear earpieces going directly into the lens itself. [00:30:11]Joe Earley: Yeah, we've [00:30:12]Craig Dalton (host): Joe's gonna hold up a pair of glasses. [00:30:13]Joe Earley: on the side. I've got the glasses in front of me here. Um, but this, this mechanism on the side here, it basically, there's a little cam here. This, this has a little flex into the backside of the frame. This is a patent we have. Um, and so it allows this frame to flex and then just pull off. So it's, it's almost like a little bottle opener almost. And then when you put it back in, you just put it in the groove there and you just snap it on. It's just rotating it up and rotating it down. So it's, it's actually very, very simple. The biggest thing is, Craig, don't be scared. You know, these, these glasses. And I do this, uh, I do this for people all the time too. Let me grab a, um, I'll grab a sample. Ah, shoot, I don't have a good sample here to do it with, but our glasses with the, the frame material we use. You can twist 'em 180 degrees like this, so you're not gonna break them. And like I said, you can hit 'em with a hammer and they won't break. So don't be scared. Um, but we do have videos [00:31:05]Craig Dalton (host): let my nine year old, I can, I can let my nine year old manhandle him. [00:31:08]Joe Earley: I'm telling you, nine year olds and dogs are our two nesses. Um, that in my wife's purse, uh, if I wanna torture, test a pair of sunglasses, I just don't tell her and I put 'em in her purse and leave them there for a month. If they come out and they're in any type of shape to wear after that, then I know that they're gonna be a good product. [00:31:25]Craig Dalton (host): Yeah, I like that. I like that. Joe, this was awesome. I appreciate getting the backstory. Like I said, I've been familiar with the brand for so many years and I'm, I'm thrilled to actually own a pair now and get to use them and really can personally vouch for the quality and just super excited to hear that entrepreneurial journey and I wish you guys all the best. [00:31:43]Joe Earley: thank you so much for having us, Craig, and, um, you know, if we can help you anytime in the future, feel free. Free to give us a shout.    

   1050 Barber Creek Drive (Building 100) Watkinsville, GA. 30677 (706) 395-6042 www.core-restore.com info@core-restore.com   Core Restore LLC is a boutique personal training studio that specializes in Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT®). Owner Christopher Verdi is your very own core muscle and movement training specialist who will use his skills, training, and knowledge to provide you with a consistent application of strategic methods in order to rectify problems halting your success in accomplishing your individual health and wellness goals. Chris received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Franklin College, and has been certified by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) since 2005. Chris has specialized in MAT® since March 2007, and has worked closely with professional athletes, personal trainers, individuals from the NHL, NFL, MLB, UGA Hockey, and those in training for the Olympics.   What is MAT®?   MATRx® is a program developed and owned by Greg Roskopf. MAT® is along the lines of kinesiology, and is a method that involves the resetting of the connection between the muscle and the brain through manual reactivation, which restores mobility and increases muscle contraction while eliminating chronic muscle problems. MAT® helps to enhance the body's ability to handle exercise and movement. MAT® practices have gained recognition throughout all facets of sports and recreation. Professional athletes use MAT® to shorten recovery time, and as a maintenance tool to keep their bodies at peak performance.   What is The Core Restore Training System (CRTS™)?   The Core Restore neuromuscular movement Training System (CRTS™) focuses on generating muscular contraction to increase the stimulation of the stabilization slow-twitch muscle fibers. CRTS™ enhances athletic performance by preventing and dealing with movement imbalances and compensations that can lead to poor muscle adaptation and injury. One of the most important components of working out receives the least amount of attention, and that is the critical significance of RECOVERY. CRTS™ will be able to create significant impact on the body's recovery system. CRTS™ is a training program designed to strengthen muscle groups in all planes of motion by ensuring each section of the body can work in isolation before integration. CRTS™ benefits include: Improved Motion & Stability Increased Range of Motion Improved Posture & Coordination Improved Sports Performance Improved Fatigue Resistance Increased Muscular Endurance

On the program this week Mikey Thomas of Gold Stroke Motors in Watkinsville, GA. Mikey works for Nathan Mende at Boxerworks in Watkinsville, GA—--AND he is the head honcho of his own shop— Gold Stroke Motors. GSM specializes in custom airhead builds with an eye towards authenticity and practicality. You can see all of his builds–some of which we'll discuss in the program— at Gold Stroke Motors.com or at instagram.com/goldstrokemotors/ Drop us a line at airheads247@hotmail.com Support the Airhead 247 Podcast by becoming a member of the BMW MOA—it's FREE. Follow this link 247.bmwmoa.org and use the code airheads247 to register for a FREE one year digital membership. It's a quick and easy process and a simple way to support this program.

Jack's Cheesecake is a Watkinsville, Georgia based bakery that delivers beautiful, delicious, award-winning Cheesecakes! 15 year old owner-operator Jack Leach is a talented young man with autism who excels in playing basketball and making cheesecake. Jack is a two-time Georgia Special Olympic Basketball Gold Medalist and a huge fan of the Atlanta Hawks, Georgia Bulldogs, and of course - the Atlanta Braves! We met Jack and his Dad, Brent recently at a Braves Game and after hearing their inspiring story, we had to invite them to the Braves Radio Network Studios to tell everyone in Braves Country about Jack's Cheesecake! So today we'll focus on Family, Faith, and Cheesecake with Jack and Brent Leach - Welcome to Braves Country!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Alex Germano // #GeriOnICE // www.ptonice.com  In today's episode of the PT on ICE Daily Show, Modern Management of the Older Adult lead faculty Alex Germano discusses  how treating individuals with sensory-based approaches at an early stage of their disease progression may help prevent or delay limitations later on. Alex suggests incorporating a variety of sensory challenges into treatments for individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). These challenges include exercises that activate the inner ear and engage the eyes, aiming to improve proprioception and challenge the integration of sensory information. Alex emphasizes the importance of carefully dosing and scaling the exercises, taking into account the limitations of fatigue, in order to maximize the benefits of these interventions. Furthermore, Alex encourages starting the sensory-based approach in individuals with MS in their 20s and 30s, as it may potentially prevent or delay the onset of limitations later in the course of their disease progression. This approach focuses on enhancing sensory fitness and training the visual system through ocular motor training. By utilizing central vestibular system outcome measures and incorporating a variety of sensory challenges, clinicians can effectively identify and address the sensory integration component in their treatments for individuals with MS. Take a listen to learn how to better serve this population of patients & athletes. If you're looking to learn more about live courses designed to better serve older adults in physical therapy or our online physical therapy courses, check our entire list of continuing education courses for physical therapy including our physical therapy certifications by checking out our website. Don't forget about all of our FREE eBooks, prebuilt workshops, free CEUs, and other physical therapy continuing education on our Resources tab. EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION 00:00 INTRO What's up everybody, welcome back to the PT on ICE Daily Show. Before we jump into today's episode, let's chat about Jane, our show sponsor. Jane makes the Daily Show possible and is the practice management software that so many folks here at ICE utilize. The team at Jane knows how important it is for your patients to get the care they need and with this in mind, they've made it really easy and convenient for patients to book online. One tip that has worked well for a lot of practices is to make the booking button on your website prominent so patients can't miss it. Once clicked, they get redirected to a beautifully branded online booking site and from there, the entire booking process only takes around two minutes. After booking an appointment, patients get access to a secure portal where they can conveniently manage their appointments and payment details, add themselves to a waitlist, opt in to text and email reminders and fill out their intake form. If you all are curious to learn more about online booking with Jane, head over to jane.app slash physical therapy, book their one-on-one demo with a member of their team and if you're make sure to use the code ICEPT1MO when you sign up as that gives you a one-month grace period that gets applied to your new account. Thanks everybody. Enjoy today's show.  01:33 ALEX GERMANO Good morning everyone and welcome to the PT on ICE Daily Show brought to you by the Institute of Clinical Excellence. Welcome to today's segment of Jerry on ICE. I'm Alex Germano. I'm a member of the older adult division and today what we're going to do is discuss some of these effects of multiple sclerosis on the vestibular system, what we need to look out for as clinicians, how we can assess better and treat this population. First, let me tell you some of the offerings within the older adult division before jumping into these questions. We have two courses coming up this weekend, one in Watkinsville, Georgia and the other across the country in Boise, Idaho. We have some seats left for both courses. We also have a course coming up in Frederick, Maryland, August 5th and 6th. We have our MMOA Summit in Lexington, Kentucky on August 12th and 13th and we have courses in Minnesota, Texas and California to round out August. First, let's talk about multiple sclerosis. This is a chronic, immune-immediated inflammatory disease. It causes neurodegenerative processes within the central nervous system. Now, typically onset of this condition is somewhere between 20 and 50. That's when people are getting diagnosed. We've seen a shift, however, towards people getting diagnosed a bit later in life and then these people go on to become older adults. So that's why we're kind of, we're having this discussion land within Jerry on ICE or this older adult discussion because we are out there treating a lot of people who have MS and have had it for a number of years. Now based on where these demyelinating plaques occur, people with MS can present in a wide variety of different ways, right, different patterns. And very often what happens with some of this demyelination is it occurs across the vestibular system, right? It impacts some of this vestibular information. Remember that vestibular system is vast. It touches many different points within our peripheral and central nervous system. We have parts of the vestibular system, not just in the inner ear, it's part of the cranial nerves, part of our brain stem, parts of our cerebellum. And interestingly, the vestibular nuclei in that root entry zone of the eighth cranial nerve have been shown to be some of the most common neuroanatomic locations for sensory demyelination. Okay? And very commonly the vestibular nuclei in the entry zone of the eighth cranial nerve have some demyelination. And oftentimes people with multiple sclerosis have abnormal tests on vestibular function both centrally and peripherally. Centrally people with MS may struggle with the ability to sensory reweight with most of their reliance of balance coming from the visual and proprioceptive systems. So they're not really integrating that vestibular sense. They're maybe too visually reliant. Really our brain is just trying to balance out all this information to give us a sense of balance. Now researchers really think that this central integration of peripheral input is where the dysfunction lies within the disease process. Interestingly, this type of central integration problem could actually be causing one of the leading debilitating features of MS, which is fatigue. The hypothesized relationship between central vestibular integration and fatigue could be explained by this poor ability to gate sensory information. The person with MS is unable to process all the signals incoming. The cerebellum can't do its job to override some other sensory noise such as like the vestibular ocular reflex as it normally does. That causes a poor perception of verticality. That contributes to increased sway. And imagine all this little sway that's going on all day. That can contribute to fatigue. So this information can really help guide us on our journey in assessing people with MS and their vestibular system. Now most of the information I'll talk about today regarding testing and the treatment of the vestibular system in people with MS comes from a group out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham led by Dr. Graham Cochran. And I'm going to link all these on Instagram for you. But this group really looks at the influence of the central vestibular system on function in people with MS. They concluded that we should be selecting measures that actually test central vestibular integration versus purely peripheral vestibular function. Because some people with MS don't have that peripheral vestibular dysfunction. Really the problem is central. So what tests can we use to capture that central integration problem? Now these central integration tests are more significantly correlated with measures of fatigue and walking capacity. They do mention a limitation of the studies that they perform on people with MS are that they are using this more on ambulatory patients. They're really testing the ambulatory community of people with MS. So it's very much something to consider if you go to apply this to non-ambulatory populations or people kind of much further in their disease progression. Now the two tests that they think we should be performing are VOR cancellation and the subjective visual vertical. The VOR cancellation tasks, remember that's our ability to kind of override our vestibular ocular reflex and remain fixated on a moving target. The VOR cancellation, it requires the integration between vestibular signals and visual system to produce an equal smooth pursuit eye movements, right? To keep vision stable on a moving target, moving at the same speed as our head. So VOR cancellation can really give us insight into this sensory integration. The subjective visual vertical, for example, is a task that requires integration of our otoliths, right? Our kind of gravity dependent inputs of our vestibular system and the visual system to help us orient to a true perceived vertical. So if you've ever seen people kind of presenting with maybe a tilt of the head or folks that are kind of leaning one direction or the other, they might have a sense of, they might have a mismatched sense of verticality and they're aligning their head or their eyes a different way to line up with what they perceive as vertical. So the subjective visual vertical task, or sorry, the subjective visual vertical assessment can give us insight into the combination of otolith input and visual system input. So again, that sensory integration that we're looking for. The subjective visual vertical test can be measured via a bucket test. There's like research-based, lab-based ways to measure this that are more accurate, but we can do this clinically with what's called a bucket test. Reactive therapy and wellness has a really good video on YouTube for that test and how to set one up with like a Home Depot bucket. Pretty simple. Vestibular rehab is a great addition to therapy protocols for people with multiple sclerosis. Vestibular rehabilitation programs have not only shown change in our folks' balance and disability due to dizziness or disequilibrium, but has also been shown to impact fatigue, which is amazing. The protocols for vestibular rehab and the research look like a lot of sensory integration work. We want to work on visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive inputs over a variety of different conditions. What we're really trying to do is beef up someone's sensory fitness, so to speak. So you are going to see the themes of eyes closed, standing on foam, moving the head around in different planes, moving the body both forwards, backwards, and laterally. You're going to see working in a variety of different positions, standing, kneeling, changing up that base of support, performing dynamic movement as well, such as walking. Then you're going to see some ocular motor training added to the mix to enhance that visual system. We want to train up the visual system as well. So you are going to be seeing some ocular motor training. Now, they perform this in a progressive manner, just like we would do with resistance exercise. They're consistently progressing the difficulty of set exercises, just like we would do. That is what makes the biggest difference for these patients. The missing piece to some of our treatments with people with MS might be that sensory integration component, or that central vestibular system work. To identify these problems, we need to use central vestibular system outcome measures, and we need to look at the VOR cancellation and subjective visual vertical. We need to include a variety of sensory challenges to our treatments. We need to select exercises that turn on the inner ear, that make the eyes work, that improve proprioception, and challenge the way our patients with MS integrate all of this information. We need to be masters of dosing and scaling, loading up people in a progressive, stepwise manner, while respecting the limitations of their fatigue in order to see the benefits from these interventions. I hope this gave you just a little bit of a different approach to folks with MS that you might be seeing that have balance or disequilibrium. Hopefully you can start to apply some of these concepts a bit earlier in the trajectory of their disease progression. So imagine starting to treat someone in their 20s and 30s with this sensory based approach. Maybe you can work to stave off some of these limitations later in the course of their disease process. I think that's really exciting stuff. I hope that helps you out in your clinical practice. I hope you have a great rest of your Wednesday, and we really look forward to seeing you on the road with MMOA Live soon. Have a good one. 11:25 OUTRO Thanks for tuning in to the PT On Ice Daily Show. If you enjoyed this content, head on over to iTunes and leave us a review. Be sure to check us out on Facebook and Instagram at the Institute of Clinical Excellence. If you're interested in getting plugged into more ICE content on a weekly basis while earning CEUs from home, check out our virtual ICE online mentorship program at ptonice.com. While you're there, sign up for our Hump Day Hustling newsletter for a free email every Wednesday morning with our top five research articles and social media posts that we think are worth reading. Head over to ptonice.com and scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.  

Alan Fredendall // #LeadershipThursday // www.ptonice.com  In today's episode of the PT on ICE Daily Show, ICE COO Alan Fredendall introduces the concept of servant leadership in the workplace, discusses the four main characteristics of servant leaders, research supporting the use of servant leadersihp at work, and the intersection of "burnout" & lack of servant leadership at work. Take a listen to today's episode or check out the transcription below. If you're looking to learn more about courses designed to start your own practice, check out our Brick by Brick practice management course or our online physical therapy courses, check out our entire list of continuing education courses for physical therapy including our physical therapy certifications by checking out our website. Don't forget about all of our FREE eBooks, prebuilt workshops, free CEUs, and other physical therapy continuing education on our Resources tab. EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION 00:00 ALAN FREDENDALL Good morning, PT on ICE Daily Show. Happy Thursday morning. I hope your morning is off to a great start. My name is Alan. I'm happy to be your host today here on the Daily Show here on Leadership Thursday. We talk all things leadership, small business management, practice ownership, that sort of thing. Leadership Thursday also means it is Gut Check Thursday. This week's Gut Check Thursday. I tested this this past Tuesday. Pretty simple, but doesn't mean it's easy. Ten rounds for time, ten calories on a fan bike, that assault bike or eco bike for gentlemen and seven calories for ladies, followed by ten pull ups. So the challenge here is going to be to keep that bike as fast as you can while trying as big of a sets of pull ups as you possibly can. Just a warning, that's a lot of pull ups. If you're not used to that much pull up volume, surely you can grind through this and get through that many pull ups, but it's probably going to leave you quite beat up. I know myself today, my lats, my biceps a little bit are sore. So if you're not used to that kind of volume, maybe scale that down, maybe eight rounds for time, maybe seven rounds for time, maybe even five or six rounds for time. Maybe keep the calories on the bike, but cut the pull ups in half, maybe ten, seven cows on the bike, five pull ups, ten rounds, something like that. And overall, try to keep it between 15 to 20 minutes aiming for maybe a minute to two minutes per round or faster. So again, pretty simple. Get off the bike, do some pull ups, go back to the bike. You're going to hit a wall on the pull ups eventually, just a matter of how long you can hang on before those start to fall apart. Some courses coming your way next weekend, the weekend of July 29th and July 30th. We have upper body dry needling down in Dallas, Fort Worth area. That course has two seats left out in Denver. We have Alexis with our ice, ice, ice pelvic live course that same weekend, two chances to catch older adult live either with Alex Germano up in Boise, Idaho, or with Christina Prevot down in Watkinsville, Georgia. That's about 90 minutes east of Atlanta out towards the Athens area. And then extremity management will be in Madison, Wisconsin that weekend with Lindsay. The weekend of August 5th and 6th, again, dry needling will be out on the road with Paul, this time lower body in Greenville, South Carolina at Onward Greenville. Older adult live will again be on the road with Alex Germano, this time in Frederick, Maryland. The weekend of August 12th and 13th, dry needling will again be out on the road, this time lower body with Paul out in Salt Lake City. Extremity with Lindsay on the road again, this time in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Total spine thrust will be up in Bellingham, Washington with Justin Dunaway. And then you have another chance at older adult live, this time with all of the faculty and teaching assistants at the older adult live summit that will be in Lexington, Kentucky at Stronger Life. I will be there for that one. That's going to be a great weekend. So if you can make it down to Lexington that weekend, you should. Finally, the weekend of August 19th and 20th, again, dry needling will be on the road with Paul, lower body in Phoenix. Extremity will again be on the road with Lindsay, this time in Fremont, Nebraska. That's right outside of Omaha. Older adult live will be in Bedford, Texas right outside of Dallas or up in Minnetonka, Minnesota. That will be right outside of the Minneapolis area. So those are the courses coming your way in the next month from ICE. Today's topic, servant leadership. We have touched on this a little bit before, but we're going to get really nitty gritty today and we're going to more importantly talk about some of the research supporting the use of servant leadership in practice. So servant leadership, what is it, how to get better at it. We're going to define it. We're going to list the characteristics. We're going to give some examples of high quality servant leadership and talk about the research supporting the use of servant leadership. So first things first, what is servant leadership? You may have heard of this. You may have seen some books maybe in the airport, in the business section or something like that about servant leadership. It is a leadership principle founded in 1970 by a gentleman by the name of Robert Greenleaf. And it was an essay basically published called The Servant as Leader. And the idea behind servant leadership is leaders are essentially individuals that look and act no different than any other member of the work team of no matter what you're doing, you are hauling garbage away. You are a physical therapist. You work on a computer doing data entry or software development or something that servant leaders, true servant leaders are yes, maybe the owner of the company. Yes, in charge of a team of people, but they're also on the ground still doing the day to that composes the work of whatever the business is trying to accomplish, whatever product or service they are trying to offer. Team members then should be easily relatable to the leader because they are essentially doing the same thing. Maybe the servant leader is not doing as much of it, but they have certainly started in whatever work they are now leading and they are still doing some or most parts of it day to day. The whole idea here is that when someone is not a servant leader, we don't necessarily notice when someone is a servant leader, but we certainly notice when someone is not a servant leader that when their fellow servant, when their fellow teammates, employee, colleague, however you want to define yourself is absent, when that person is gone, the team itself, the work that the team does overall feels less organized, less functional. That day to day looking at a group of people, you might not be able to figure out who the leader is because again, they are doing the day to day work of the organization much like everybody else that works there, but when they are not on the job, things just don't function as well. They keep things organized, they understand a lot more details of the work to be done because usually they are people who have spent a lot of their time doing it. They may have been, for example, physical therapists in practice for 5, 10, 15, 20 years. They may have all of the knowledge of the back end work of the business and when they are not there, yes, work continues, but it's just not as productive. Work gets a little bit slower, it gets a little bit harder to do and overall the idea behind servant leadership is that having the servant leader there makes everyone else's job just a little bit easier, not only by performing their share of the work, but by helping everybody else stay organized and on task as well. This is in stark contrast to almost every other business philosophy and leadership philosophy Most businesses are running kind of a leader first mindset where the goal of the leader is to squeeze productivity out of people. This is obviously very common in physical therapy, but it's common across business in general of oftentimes the leader of a physical therapy clinic of a large company may not even be a physical therapist or may not even know the work that happens at that organization. They are just there to essentially be a boss, to crack the whip, to squeeze productivity out of people, to make sure deadlines get met and things like deliverables get delivered and otherwise kind of push the organization along even if it's not functioning well and even if the people in the trenches doing the work may think, boy, what would really help right now is an extra set of hands. That doesn't happen in a leader first culture, but it does happen in a servant leadership culture. So let's talk about characteristics of servant leadership. So there are four main characteristics. The first is that a servant leader always approaches work with an unselfish mindset. That is to say, there is no task beneath a servant leader. If the leader expects the toilets to be cleaned at the start of each day, if it's not done, it is not beneath the servant leader to go in and clean the toilets themselves. They still practice whatever profession they are leading. They are still a practicing physical therapist, a practicing software developer, whatever. And they still perform a lot of the mundane day to day tasks that not only do they expect of others, but are necessary for the organization to function and thrive. You will find these people still cleaning windows, cleaning up those tiny little pieces of toilet paper that get ripped off the roll and in bathrooms. You will still find them treating patients. You will still find them doing their documentation. You will still find them doing all the things that they expect the people that work for them to do on a daily basis. I think often here at ICE of I'm very familiar with what it's like to spend an entire day or maybe multiple days with a delayed flight or a canceled flight or trying to drive across the country to make it to teach to a course of understanding what it's like to do the really boring, mundane, kind of agonizing tasks day to day of a job, of driving across the country to bring equipment to make a course happen. That is stuff that I have done in the past. That is stuff that I still do. And I am able to relate to when that happens to others who work here at ICE because I have done it myself. Again, that is in stark contrast to the way that a lot of organizations are run where the person in charge may not have any idea of the actual work that goes on in the company. They are just there to boss people around and ask for reports and that sort of thing. Essentially, approaching work with an unselfish mindset is saying that I know exactly what it's like to do your job and I'm also not above doing it and I probably still do a lot of it. The second main characteristic of a servant leader is that they encourage diversity of thought. That the leader's ideas aren't necessarily best just because they are the leader's ideas, but because they come from the leader after that they have incorporated everybody else's thoughts, feedback, and opinions of everybody on the team. That large decisions should be team decisions. Large decisions should be team decisions. The third characteristic of a servant leader is that they create a culture of trust. That they are not some lofty, unapproachable individual that maybe works in a different state that maybe now works in the Caribbean from some island or something because they're so rich and they jet in every now and again to collect their checks or yell at some people or fire somebody or something like that. That they are just a regular person that still comes to work every day, that still gets up, still gets their kids breakfast and gets them on the bus to school and still comes in to work just like everybody else on the job site. They don't just come to work to boss people around, they come to work to work and to guide others to be more productive in their work, not to just come and make new rules and punish people and then go hit the golf course. The last and maybe the most important characteristic of servant leadership is that servant leaders foster leadership in other people. That they recognize that true long-term success, true long-term sustainability at a job, true long-term productive, profitable work comes from building a successful, often multi-generational team of yes, in the moment I'm thinking of tasks that need to be accomplished and deadlines that need to be met and costs and expenses, but I'm also in the back of my mind thinking who here is next going to sit in my seat and I'm trying to give that person advice and guidance and mentorship so that someday they can also be a leader within the company and that treating everybody within the company as a potential leader not only empowers them, builds a culture of trust, but really fosters leadership in them in a way that when the leader happens to not be there, things don't fall apart of like oops, we can't even unlock the door to let patients in for the day because the boss is out of town today until noon, of fostering leadership in others and having others take over some of the leadership tasks of the job. Most businesses are only created with the goal of growing them big enough to sell them and essentially just to acquire wealth, to be sold at some point for a profit. There is often not a lot that goes into the fostering of other leaders to take over the company to keep the company continuing running. It's often thought of I hope I can make this go long enough so that I can sell it someday and get a big golden paycheck and then it's somebody else's problem. Not many people approach work with the mindset of who's going to take over my position after me and continue to grow this thing into a successful multi-generational business. So that's what servant leadership is. The characteristics of a servant leader. What is some really nice research that supports the incorporation of servant leadership in the workforce? So none of these papers are going to be found in physical therapy journals or fitness journals. These are all going to be from managerial science journals. Really really interesting stuff that you really you can't put down that you can't keep flipping the page. But I want to share three articles with you that I hope hit home. The first is research on reduced employee turnover nutrition. This comes from a paper from Cash App and rang rang a car. Sorry if I butchered that. This is from the Journal of the Reviews of managerial science. Thrilling. This is from 2014 looking at servant leadership in the workforce and finding that when servant leadership was put into place the direct effects of servant leadership on employee perception results in reduced job turnover. That employees report that the workplace is seen as a positive place to be. That employees report having higher levels of pride in the work that they perform when they're on the job. That they feel they are rewarded accordingly and that they genuinely this is a direct quote generally enjoy the company of the people that they work with. It's a fun enjoyable place to be. It's great when there's a lot of synergy between coworkers and it's not just a place where you clock in and you clock out. Servant leaders model the behavior expected of others and that is very rewarding to everybody else that works there and to the organization as a whole. The second paper I want to cite is on life improvements outside of the workforce. So everything that's not work what changes in somebody's life when they work in a job where the leader is a servant leader. This is from Zimmerle, Holzinger and Richter from 2007 from the Journal of Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance. Again another page turner. This paper reported overall reduced levels of stress and an improved ability to spend time with friends and family and meet the needs of the family unit at home outside of the workplace when the workplace was run by a servant leader. Subject reported that when their work needs felt met they had more bandwidth, more mental energy to support others outside of work, to support their spouse, to support their children, to support other members of their family and friends outside of the workforce. And just concluding that when a servant leader is in charge work is not this kind of hellacious place where all we're trying to do is make it to the end of the day. That it's just this block of time on the calendar that we have to grind through and suffer through and it's really kind of this hellacious experience. Subject reported that we leave work feeling maybe at least not as drained as maybe other positions but maybe even leaving work for the day feeling energized, having more time, more energy to go do other more enjoyable stuff. Again spend time with friends, spend time with family members that when work itself is enjoyable and rewarding it's a sustainable pace that allows both work life and family and outside work life to really function and thrive. Our last paper here is that servant led workplaces are sustainable workplaces. This is from Chukotai and colleagues in 2017 from the Journal of Applied Research in Qualities of Life and finding that servant leaders carefully manage work with the use of deadlines but also with rewards and even distribution of work allocation and regular performance evaluations so people have an idea of how they're doing, how to get better and they don't feel like they're doing an uneven amount of work for less than their fair share of pay. There's a lot on social media now about burnout and imposter syndrome and all this stuff and how to just get through your work day and the truth of the matter is most of us feel burned out, most of us feel overwhelmed because we're able to perceive that we're doing an uneven amount of work for an uneven amount of pay right. We are doing more work than our bosses do for less money than they make. As soon as your brain perceives that you start to get a really disgruntled feeling in your mind and that is the nucleus that turns into burnout, that turns into maybe I don't want to be a physical therapist anymore, maybe I want to sell real estate. That is palpable in the workplace. As soon as you walk into a business you can tell when the people there are kind of just staring straight forward, they have that dead look in their eyes and you can tell that they are not happy to be there, they are not thriving. That servant led workplaces are focused on the results, not the effort of telling people to get all of their work, get X amount of work done immediately and the rationale is because I said so. For example, very common in physical therapy right, get all of your documentation done by the end of the day. Why? Well because I said so and I'm in charge. Maybe the biller has already gone home for the day and there's no way that that documentation is going to turn into claims anyways. So what the hell does it matter that I get this done by 6pm if it's not going to be looked at until tomorrow morning or if it's Friday it's not going to be looked at until Monday? Why am I at work until 8pm or 10pm at home doing my notes when they're just going to sit unaddressed for a day, two days, three days? That is kind of a boss led work environment versus a servant led work environment that says hey, get X amount of work done by Y date and you will get Z reward right? Get all of your documentation by the next pay period and that's it right? I don't care when you do it, I don't care if you do it a little bit every day, I don't care if you wait until Sunday night and do all of it at once. Like I literally don't care about the effort that it takes to get the work done, I just care about the results of the work, that the work is high quality and then it gets done. I don't care how you practice physical therapy, as long as patients get better, they leave physical therapy feeling better, they are healthier, fitter, stronger people leaving physical therapy, I don't care how you got there right? So servant led workplaces are focused on results and not just doing effort to say that effort has been done. This is objective, measurable and repeatable led work. We can track this stuff, yes, if we care about data and reports, but ultimately again we care about the results and not the effort. And so ask yourself, am I burned out because I believe that I'm not skilled enough, that I'm not competent enough as a clinician or am I really burned out because I work in a boss led workplace and not a servant led workplace? And I think you'll find that most of you considering leaving the profession, considering changing jobs are really aware in the back of your head that you are not working for a servant leader. You may be working for somebody who doesn't even live in your state, right? You may be working for somebody who's not even a physical therapist. The owners of your company may be investment bankers from New York City or Chicago or LA and you are just going to work to generate money so they can go on really nice vacations and have a cabin and a yacht. And again, the moment your brain starts to perceive that, that's really where kind of that disgruntled feeling comes in. And I would urge you to look around that there are many clinics out there, there are many workplaces out there that are led by servant leaders and you really just need to tell yourself that you're not going to settle until you find that place where you come in, work is maybe not necessarily overly energizing, but it certainly doesn't take so much out of you that you feel drained for the day, that you have to go home at 5 p.m. and go to bed for the day and all you can do is lay on the couch and watch TV until you fall asleep. A really high quality workplace led by a servant leader can be a fun environment, it can be an energizing environment, it can leave you with enough energy in the tank to where you can go home and do whatever you want with the rest of your day and the rest of your life and that you don't feel like you're just doing work to get work done, to check the box on things like reports and to produce data for somebody to look at and rubber stamp it. So again, don't settle until you find that nice servant led workplace. So servant leadership, what is it? It is a servant mindset, it is somebody who comes to work with the mindset of they have done that job before, they're likely still doing that job, they're able to help you get better at doing it so you don't have to spend as much physical and mental energy doing it as well, right? They are often great mentors, they lead their workplace in a way that makes it more organized, that makes it easier to work at and maybe even makes it a fun energizing place to work at. They embody four main characteristics, they approach work with an unselfish mindset, no task is beneath them, they encourage diversity of thought, they have meetings where they ask for your thoughts and opinions on decisions, again large decisions are team decisions, they create a large culture of trust, they're not this lofty individual living in Costa Rica, they are standing next to you, they are in the other room treating a patient and that they foster leadership in others, they challenge you to take over some of the reins the whole idea is creating a sustainable multi-generational business. Know that there's a lot of research supporting this, that it often leads to less turnover, it leads to higher quality of life outside of work for employees and then overall it leads to a sustainable work environment where people don't feel that quote unquote burnout feeling. And recognize that burnout is often not remedied by taking more vacations or reading more It's found by working for people who are servant leaders, of not being afraid to move yourself in a position or maybe even move yourself geographically to find a really high quality servant led workplace. They are out there, you just need to tell yourself that you're not going to settle until you find it. So servant leadership, I hope that was helpful, I hope you have fun with Gut Check Thursday, if you're going to be at a live course this weekend I hope you have a fantastic time, have a great Thursday, have a great weekend, bye everybody. 22:20 OUTRO Hey, thanks for tuning in to the PT on Ice Daily Show. If you enjoyed this content, head on over to iTunes and leave us a review and be sure to check us out on Facebook and Instagram at the Institute of Clinical Excellence. If you're interested in getting plugged into more ICE content on a weekly basis while earning CEUs from home, check out our virtual ICE online mentorship program at ptonice.com. While you're there, sign up for our hump day hustling newsletter for a free email every Wednesday morning with our top five research articles and social media posts that we think are worth reading. Head over to ptonice.com and scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.

Dr. Dustin Jones // #GeriOnICE // www.ptonice.com  In today's episode of the PT on ICE Daily Show, Modern Management of the Older Adult lead faculty Dustin Jones explores the concept of creating impactful memories for customers and how it can enhance business success through word-of-mouth marketing. He shares examples from the restaurant industry, illustrating how exceeding customer expectations can cultivate lifelong customers and improve business growth through positive word-of-mouth.  Dustin emphasizes the significance of creating "legends," which are memorable experiences that surprise and make customers feel special. These legends become synonymous with the business and leave a lasting impression on customers. When businesses go above and beyond to provide such memorable experiences, it not only fulfills the customers but also benefits the business owners. Dustin encourages listeners to consider what legends they can create in their own businesses. It could be as simple as acknowledging a customer's birthday with a card or text, or going the extra mile by taking a discharged patient to play pickleball or organizing a group trip. The possibilities are endless, and creating legends can have a positive impact on the business, the community, and the overall satisfaction of everyone involved. Take a listen to learn how to better serve this population of patients & athletes. If you're looking to learn more about live courses designed to better serve older adults in physical therapy or our online physical therapy courses, check our entire list of continuing education courses for physical therapy including our physical therapy certifications by checking out our website. Don't forget about all of our FREE eBooks, prebuilt workshops, free CEUs, and other physical therapy continuing education on our Resources tab. EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION 00:00 INTRO What's up everybody? Welcome back to the PT on ICE Show. Before we jump into today's episode, let's chat about Jane, our show sponsor. Jane makes the Daily Show possible and is the practice management software that so many folks here at ICE utilize. The team at Jane knows how important it is for your patients to get the care they need. And with this in mind, they've made it really easy and convenient for patients to book online. One tip that has worked well for a lot of practices is to make the booking button on your website prominent so patients can't miss it. Once clicked, they get redirected to a beautifully branded online booking site. And from there, the entire booking process only takes around two minutes. After booking an appointment, patients get access to a secure portal where they can conveniently manage their appointments and payment details, add themselves to a waitlist, opt in to text and email reminders, and fill out their intake form. If you all are curious to learn more about online booking with Jane, head over to jane.app slash physical therapy. Book their one-on-one demo with a member of their team. And if you're ready to get started, make sure to use the code ICEPT1MO. When you sign up, that gives you a one-month grace period that gets applied to your new account. Thanks, everybody. Enjoy today's show. 01:43 DUSTIN JONES PT on ICE Daily Show. It's Dustin Jones here. It is Wednesday. We're going to be talking about making legends. What, how, and then the why behind this. Making legends is going to be about how to create memorable, impactful experiences for your patients and why it's good for them, it's good for you from your professional standpoint, and good for your business. All right. So what I want to talk about first before we get into this are the modern management of the older adult courses that are coming up. We are picking back up. We usually kind of take a little break during the summer, regroup, do our revamps, update all the literature and the slides, and we're hitting the ground running. So we're going to be in Boise, Idaho, in Watkinsville, Georgia at the end of July 29th and 30th, and August 5th we'll be in Frederick, Maryland. And then on August 12th, we will be in Lexington for the MMOA Summit where all the MMOA faculty are going to come together and deliver the brand new revamp of MMOA Live. We're super pumped about that. And then we have Essential Foundations, our online course starting August 9th. All right. Legends. Let's talk about this. I'm really excited about this topic. This has been something I've been thinking about since about February when I read the book Unreasonable Hospitality. So this is a book that you probably heard some of the ICE faculty talk about that Jeff Moore recommended. Anytime Jeff Moore recommends a book, you should probably check it out. The guy doesn't recommend a lot of books, but when he is very critical of a lot of books, so when he says, hey, this is worth reading, you probably should add that to your list. And this definitely proved to be true with this book. So Unreasonable Hospitality, I'll just give you the 30,000 foot view. Will Guderia is a restaurateur, very successful in that business or that industry. And he kind of talks about some of the principles that he used to create such impactful businesses, restaurants in particular, and how a lot of those principles that he used also translate over to business in general. And just so many different industries can benefit from kind of that hospitality mindset. And so he talks about a lot of different practical strategies that all of us can use in the rehab and the fitness profession. But he speaks to one particular of how we try to create legends. And when he says the word legends, what he's really talking about is creating impactful memories for folks where they are surprised, they feel special, and they will never forget. That moment and the business that is associated with that moment. He's got all kinds of crazy examples from the restaurant business, where he just went above and beyond what people were expecting and thus created customers for life. And that really improved his business, word of mouth marketing, and a lot of different things that made their job more fulfilling. And so he speaks about that concept of legends a lot in the book. And I walked away from that book just thinking about, man, we have such a huge opportunity to create legends in the rehab space, in the fitness space. And I'm going to talk through, you know, just through that of why we may want to do that, and then particularly the how and give you some examples. So in terms of the why, the first thing that I want to acknowledge is that when we go above and beyond and provide a memorable experience for folks and do it in the mirror, that they're kind of surprised and taken back. That is very fulfilling for us. I'll give you one example. Ellen Sefi. So she teaches with MOA. She has created lots of legends for a lot of her patients. She had one patient in particular that she was treating in a more acute setting. I forget the exact situation, but she this this patient had a long road to recovery. And Ellen ended up switching jobs into outpatient as that that patient was kind of leaving that acute setting and going into outpatient. So Ellen was able to treat her in that setting. This is a long road road to recovery for that individual. And Ellen worked with this person to help her get back to being able to hike. That was a big goal for this patient. And I think this is where a lot of us kind of stop, right, is we get people to the point where they can do the thing, right? Whatever that particular goal is for this patient, it was hiking. So she worked on her lower extremity strength. She worked on her dynamic balance. She worked on her endurance and she checked the box of all the kind of prereqs to be able to go on a hike in Colorado. And that's where we stop. And that's where we have such a huge opportunity to take a one step further and create a legend. And what Ellen did is she actually organized a hike and did a 14 or with this patient, right? She gave her the prerequisite skills and abilities required to achieve that goal. But then she facilitated that goal to actually happen. And she went on that journey with that patient that for Ellen, that's one of the most memorable professional moments for her. The fulfillment of being able to see of all your hard work and time that you have invested in this person, that they're able to do something epic like that. That is so fulfilling. So it's good for you. It's also good for your business because that happens. What do you think that patient is going to tell all their friends and their whole networks? Do you think she took a thousand selfies on the top of that summit and posted it all over social media? And guess how many patients Ellen probably had from that word of mouth, from impacting that patient on such a big level that it really sets you apart from a lot of your competition that aren't doing that. They're just checking the box. They're just improving strength, improving endurance. And you're actually facilitating your patients climbing 14 years, right? That has a compounding effect over time. It's going to be good for your business. All right. So that's the what of the legends. That's the why. It's good for you, for your fulfillment, for your career. It's also good for your clinic, your business as well. And so I want to get kind of dive into some practical examples of how we can create legends in the context of rehab and or fitness. I think we can do this in very simple manners and we can do this in kind of big, big, monumentous events as well. On the small side of things, just think about how you can surprise your patients, make them feel special. This is could be as simple as acknowledging someone's birthday. You have their date of birth that you send them a card, a gift card, whatever that just that simple act kind of puts you above them. Beyond most clinics and in gyms, for that matter, it could be that easy. It could be that simple. It could be more like what Ellen did, where she worked on building physical capacity with a patient, which is usually the case in our plans of care. Right. We're trying to get them stronger, improving their endurance, improving their balance, all that fun stuff that is tied to a patient centered goal. Right. We're already asking a lot of those things. What if you take it another step further to facilitate them being able to participate in whatever that activity is? Right. I'm not saying you got to climb a 14 or like Ellen did, but what if you proactively, you know, organize the hike that they could go on? What if you address the barriers that they may have on going on that hike, like going ahead and printing out directions of going ahead and planning out the day, recommending restaurants to hit up after the hike, just reducing barriers and facilitating that or even connecting them with a local hiking group that's going to increase their odds of actually doing the thing that you help them be able to do. Right. We could do it in that manner. Ellen took someone up a 14 or for me, especially in the context of home health, this happened a good bit where it was usually something a lot simpler than going to climb in a 14000 foot mountain. It was, you know, once that person was discharged from homebound status that we would go and do something in the community that they loved about. One in particular, I will never forget this. Me and my wife went on a double date on Valentine's Day at Waffle House with Walton Peony Smith in Columbus, Ohio, that I was discharged in Peony. She was no longer considered to be homebound. And it was right around Valentine's Day. And she had just regained the ability to navigate her community safely and efficiently. And so we crushed the All-Star Special. I still remember that meal. It was absolutely amazing. A double date on Valentine's Day at Waffle House. Something like that is just takes things to the whole another level that I will never forget. Very fulfilling from the professional standpoint. Peony will never forget. And then all of her friends, her family won't forget either. And when they want PT, guess who they're going to be calling. Right. We could take it up another notch. And this is something that we have been trying to do more at Stronger Life. We have a couple examples of this recently, which has really fueled me wanting to talk about this. One is that we had four individuals compete at the National Senior Games. These four women have basically never ran their life before, about 12 months ago. They qualified at the state games last year and then went to Pittsburgh last week to compete in the National Senior Games. And one of our athletes, Carolyn Holmes, 89 year old woman, got third in the 5K. And her whole family, three kids from all across the country, their kids, and then she had a couple of great grandkids were all there to witness this. And I will never forget this. Carolyn Holmes, 89 years old, running across the finish line with her eight year old great granddaughter. We got Carolyn stronger. We improved her endurance. We improved her balance. We checked all those boxes. But we created the opportunity for them to really flex their muscles and really pursue something that they had never even thought that they would be able to do. And then to do that in front of their community, in front of their family and then the whole Stronger Life community watching this from afar. Those are potent moments. Those are legends that I will never forget. Hands down, my most fulfilling professional moment. Carolyn will never forget that. And anybody watching that story will never forget what happened on that day. It's good for me. It's good for Stronger Life. This is good for our communities. It's a win win win for everybody involved. All right. We've got another one coming up this winter where we're taking 25 of our members to Costa Rica in an all inclusive adventure retreat where we work on their balance, their strength, all this stuff inside the gym. And then we create the opportunity for them to use those skills and do things that they never thought were possible. Right. These are legends. They're good for you. They're good for your business. They're good for your community. So I want you to think what legends can you create in the context of your own business? Some of you, it may be, all right, I need to acknowledge that someone had a birthday and just write a card and send it or send the text or whatever it may be. Some of you may think, oh, man, I may end up taking that patient that I just discharged actually to go to the pickleball court and play some pickleball with them or connect them with that pickleball group. And some of y'all may climb a 14 or some of y'all may organize a group trip to the Caribbean. I don't know. But there's so many opportunities for us to take things to that next level to create legends. I've really enjoyed this. I think you will as well. And I know your business will benefit, too. All right. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. If you have any legendary stories or any ideas, I would love to hear what you're going to do. We'll get lots of ideas in the comments, which will be very helpful to make this more practical. All right. You have a good rest of your Wednesday. I'll talk to you all soon. 13:24 OUTRO Hey, thanks for tuning in to the PT on Ice Daily Show. If you enjoyed this content, head on over to iTunes and leave us a review and be sure to check us out on Facebook and Instagram at the Institute of Clinical Excellence. If you're interested in getting plugged into more ice content on a weekly basis while earning CUs from home, check out our virtual ice online mentorship program at PT on Ice dot com. While you're there, sign up for our Hump Day Hustling newsletter for a free email every Wednesday morning with our top five research articles and social media posts that we think are worth reading. Head over to PT on Ice dot com and scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.    

Christina Prevett // #GeriOnICE // www.ptonice.com  In today's episode of the PT on ICE Daily Show, Modern Management of the Older Adult lead faculty Christina Prevett discusses the significance of research in the field of physical therapy is along with the importance of translating that research into evidence-informed practice. She acknowledges the substantial nature of their research and highlights the necessity for clinicians on the front line to have access to this valuable information. Staying up to date with available evidence and combining it with clinical expertise and patients' experiences and desires is emphasized as crucial for clinicians. The episode also addresses several gaps in research that need attention, including the need for rehab research for individuals in sitting positions, outcome measures for wheelchair users, and managing conditions in neurological populations. The host expresses frustration at the lack of clinically relevant outcome measures for wheelchair users and emphasizes the need for research to support the role of rehab in enhancing quality of life and managing various conditions. Overall, the episode underscores the importance of research in informing and improving physical therapy practice. Take a listen to learn how to better serve this population of patients & athletes. If you're looking to learn more about live courses designed to better serve older adults in physical therapy or our online physical therapy courses, check our entire list of continuing education courses for physical therapy including our physical therapy certifications by checking out our website. Don't forget about all of our FREE eBooks, prebuilt workshops, free CEUs, and other physical therapy continuing education on our Resources tab. EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION 00:00 INTRO What's up everybody, welcome back to the PT omn ICE Daily Show. Before we jump into today's episode, let's chat about Jane, our show sponsor. Jane makes the Daily Show possible and is the practice management software that so many folks here at ICE utilize. The team at Jane knows how important it is for your patients to get the care they need and with this in mind, they've made it really easy and convenient for patients to book online. One tip that has worked well for a lot of practices is to make the booking button on your website prominent so patients can't miss it. Once clicked, they get redirected to a beautifully branded online booking site and from there, the entire booking process only takes around two minutes. After booking an appointment, patients get access to a secure portal where they can conveniently manage their appointments and payment details, add themselves to a waitlist, opt in to text and email reminders and fill out their intake form. If you all are curious to learn more about online booking with Jane, head over to jane.app slash physical therapy, book their one-on-one demo with a member of their team and if you're sure to use the code ICEPT1MO when you sign up, that gives you a one-month grace period that gets applied to your new account. Thanks everybody.Enjoy today's show. 01:33 CHRISTINA PREVETT Hello everyone and welcome to the PT on ICE Daily Show. My name is Christina Prevett. I am one of the lead faculty in our geriatrics curriculum. So in our geriatrics curriculum, we have three courses in CertMMOA. We have our online eight-week essential foundations course, our online eight-week advanced concepts course and then we have our live course. We are on the road in the summer and into the end of 2023. So our books are closed for 2023. So we have all of the courses that are going to be on the 2023 calendar on the calendar. And so if you are looking to get into one of our courses, know that there isn't going to be an option for something closer until we're kind of booking for 2024. So this weekend, Julie is going to be in Watertown, Connecticut. And then the next weekend, 29th, I guess it will be two weekends, 29th, 30th, I'm in Watkinsville, Georgia. There's still some room in those courses. And so if you guys are interested, just let us know and come hang out with us for all of our geriatric research and all of our geriatric course material. Okay. In today's content, on Monday, I talked about gaps in pelvic health research. So I'm on our pelvic faculty as well. And so today I'm going to take the exact same approach and talk about gaps we see in the geriatric research. I am obviously in full blown research prep mode. I am defending my PhD on resistance training in older adults, at risk older adults at the end of July. So you're going to see me full blown in the research space. And so hence the topic of these podcast episodes. When we are comparing different areas of literature, and we're talking about geriatric rehab in particular, one of the things that I want to start out with is that the state of our research in geriatrics is actually pretty good. You know, we are pretty far ahead when it comes to comparing to other areas. Like when I compare to pelvic health research, there is no comparison. I can off the top of my head bring out 10 studies that have never actually even been done before in our pelvic health research, but I cannot say the same thing in geriatrics. I had to really, pardon me, I had to really think about where I thought our gaps were. And obviously I'm thinking about this around my contribution to the literature with respect to my PhD. So the first thing that I wanted to talk about is the fact that our research is pretty good. You know, we have a lot more in this space and now we're kind of going into the nuance of our rehab and how to translate the research that we do have so that clinicians who are on the front line have access to that research and can really truly embrace evidence informed practice where they are up to date with the evidence that is available. They're taking their clinical expertise, they're taking their patients experience and desires and kind of combining them together. So that's the first thing. So I'm going to be talking about four, three or four different gaps in the research that we have so far and what this means when we are making recommendations or we are thinking about them with respect to our plan of care for our older adults. So the first thing, and I'm on, this is my bias because this is where my PhD was, was we have very few studies that have looked at high load, low repetition weight schemas for resistance training with older adults. We have one that I can think of maybe two studies and the second study is kind of an ish because it had a descending rep scheme where they use less than five repetitions and higher loads. My PhD tried to change that. I did two pilot studies that looked at the safety and feasibility of a three sets of three to five repetition schema at an intensity of seven to eight out of 10. So that high vigorous intensity, high load, low repetition resistance training. And so it's important for us to know this, right? We don't have this research. And when it comes to the way that we work in geriatric literature is that we see what works in our younger or middle aged individuals. Then we push into our healthy older adults and then we push into pathology. Right. This is the story that we saw with high intensity interval training, for example. Right. We saw that it worked in athletic populations. We started pushing the intensity into HIIT training in middle age, healthy older adults. And now the state of the literature, we cannot even deny it because we have evidence for HIIT training in a variety of different pathologies, multimorbidity, obesity, different age groups, et cetera, which is great. We don't have that yet when it comes to geriatric literature in this high load schema. What we see from a muscle physiology perspective is that the magnitude of strength increase tends to bias heavily towards heavier weights. See the one that I did there versus lower weights, higher repetitions. When it comes to individuals who are doing nothing and they start doing something, of course, we're going to see improvements in strength at any set reps. But the magnitude of those differences tends to bias when our loads are heavier. Because we don't have anything in the under five repetition schema, we see this reflected in our exercise guidelines. Right. Why are our exercise guidelines the way they are? Right. Two to three sets, eight to twelve repetitions, 60. Now we're kind of pushing into that 70 to 79 percent of a person's one repetition maximum is the standard exercise prescription that we're seeing out of the American College of Sports Medicine. We saw it in the International Conference for Frality and Sarcopenia Research consensus statement. And this is because that is where the vast majority of the literature goes. And this is where this momentum can build around two to three sets of 10. Right. Because we've always done it this way. There's a good chunk of literature that's there and we don't have anything on the flanks. Right. We don't have anything in under five. We don't have a ton in the 20 plus. And when we get into the higher repetition ranges, now we have this interference that can happen between cardiovascular fitness and neuromuscular fatigue. And which one is the one that's breaking down first or is the limiting factor? All of this to say. When we don't have those discrepancies, we have to be mindful, one, about the strength of our recommendations, but number two, we have to be pushing towards trying to get studies that evaluate this type of loading schema so that we can take a big picture view and then really start to look at dose response data. So that's number one is that we don't really have a ton of studies that look at repetitions less than five and kind of my one B is that this influences things like our exercise guidelines and not in a good or bad way, just a we have to use what's available. And that's why things are the way that they are. The second one is going to kind of be a blend of pelvic health because we in advanced concepts, we go through in week five urinary incontinence and pelvic health issues and geriatrics. And I've talked about this a bunch on the podcast before. But we have very little evidence that's looking at conservative management of pelvic floor dysfunction for individuals over the age of 65. And we have almost nothing when we look at individuals over 75 or 80. Urinary incontinence is one of the leading causes of institutionalization. So where individuals need a higher level of care, end up in assisted living, end up in institutionalized setting is because of issues with urinary incontinence. That should be justification enough that that we need studies in this area and kind of this one B or two B to C type of step down is we don't really have a ton on pelvic floor muscle training in older adults. We have some. It's not a ton. Oftentimes, our older adults are giving are given medications that influence their urine flow rate, whether that's directly with medications being given to work towards helping with kidney function or things that are given as a consequence of having urinary incontinence that change urinary flow and urinary output. A big example that has nothing to do with either of those things, but is actually a side effect because this is the second classification is individuals are given a medication for one issue and side effects relate to urinary incontinence or other pelvic floor dysfunctions is Lasix or diuretics. Individuals who are on diuretics can have horrible, horrible problems with urinary urgency and urinary incontinence or both. And it has a huge impact on their quality of life. And right now, the only research we have is that it negatively impacts their quality of life. And the next step is to try and figure out what to do about it or what can we do about it conservatively? Can we change medication timing? Can we work on different things? Can we work on urge suppression techniques? Is that going to be relevant because urine outflow is higher because of the water pill? There are so many questions, but we have nothing like we have zero studies that have looked at how to help our clients with urinary urgency or urinary incontinence as a consequence of their medication regimens. This is important because the thing that happens is that people stop taking their meds because they literally cannot go out of their house or cannot be too far from a bathroom without not taking their pill. Because if they're on their pill, they're going to the bathroom all of the time for the five to six hours post taking their medication. And so this can essentially make a person homebound. That is important, right? In PT, that's a super big thing. In OT, it's a super big thing. In rehab in general, we are trying to discharge homebound status. And this is a big influence of that. Kind of in this urinary incontinence vein for the elderly, for our older adults, you know, we have conservative management in general. We have men management in combination with conservative management when there is a medical side effect because of the medication a person is on. And then the third one is some of the issues that we see post catheterization. So individuals who are placed with an indwelling catheter and then are removed from that get into this situation where they are in bed, they go to the bathroom whenever they need to because the catheter is there. And then once the catheter has been removed, sometimes there can be a disruption of pelvic floor musculature. There can potentially be damage to the urethral structures. And then you also have to try and work on those urge suppression techniques so that now you're not just going to the bathroom whenever you get the slightest urge to go to the bathroom, but you're holding it in order to go to the bathroom when it's convenient for your schedule or when you have the block of time within your day that you can go to the bathroom. We are now also seeing different types of catheters like periwicks, which are external catheters. And what do those do? All of these things that we're seeing hugely in acute care, we're seeing it in, you know, individuals going into home health. This kind of goes into neurological populations who may be doing self catheterization. All of these things and the role of rehab in managing these conditions to improve a person's function and quality of life really has been understudied and a big low hanging fruit that we could potentially be having huge impacts and potentially preventing transitions to institutionalized care is by being able to tackle some of these problems. But we need the research to back us up first. So that's number two and two A and two B. And then the third one that we're going to talk about, and I think this one is a frustration point for a lot of our clinicians, is clinically relevant outcome measures for our wheelchair users. So we have a ton of outcome measures in the geriatric space. One of the things that I think is actually really cool is that in our rehab space, our geriatric outcome measures are very strong. We have we have several options. We have good cutoff scores. We have reliability and validity data. We have minimally clinically important differences. All of these things. We have standardized protocols. We have different MCIDs, different reliability and validity data across different settings, which makes sense because our older adult population is extremely heterogeneous. All of that is good. You know, that is great. We touch on that a lot in MMOA about how we want to be leveraging our outcome measures and not just for the sake of doing outcome measures, but in order to guide our clinical reasoning and create risk stratification, which is what they're intended for. The problem becomes when we have a client who spends a good portion of their day in sitting. When it comes to our outcome measures, we have this Goldilocks type of scenario that we need to be mindful of. We are going to have a cohort of individuals who are going to experience a floor effect and a person who is a wheelchair user on a 30 second sit to stand test is a very good example of that. They are going to get zero and they are probably always going to get zero. And therefore using a 30 second sit to stand test for a person who spends the majority of their day in a wheelchair is not helpful. We also see that we're going to have some older adults who are going to have this ceiling effect where they are going to knock it out of the park and we're not getting any information. When I was working predominantly in outpatient, one of the first things that I would ask my older adults who walked in independently into my clinic was can you stand on one leg? I was not going to be wasting 15 minutes of my time doing a Berg on those individuals because it's a waste of their time. It's a waste of my time and it doesn't tell me anything. And so we have to kind of figure out we want this composite, we want these tools in our toolbox that we can pull and leverage based on our clinical impression after a person's subjective. But when we have individuals who are sitting, we have very, very few outcome measures. We have the function in sitting test, we have stuff like the FIM. We can maybe start using the Berg and look at some of their transfers, but our pool to try and fit this Goldilocks scenario is quite limited. And so we really do need to think about clinically relevant outcome measures for things like transfers or bed mobility or things that are relevant for them. And these things are starting to come out. We have some pilot research on different outcome measures. But what we try and leverage now with an MMOA is trying to get objective data for things like transfers. And what that can look like is instead of giving MinMondax assist, which is important, we're going to do that based on our clinical judgment, but also put a timer on it. And so if we can put a timer on it, then we can see the first time we did this sitting at the edge of the bed transfer, it took us five minutes from start to finish. And now it's taking you 30 seconds. Like that's a huge improvement or it's taking three minutes. That changes the flow of a person's day. It helps the caregiver a ton. It makes individuals feel more capable who are trying to help their caregivers with their care. And so we also need the research to back us up with that. And we need help to try and figure out how we can justify our rehab for individuals in sitting. If we can't use the outcome measures that are so commonly prescribed in different settings to try and see improvements over time. And we can make huge improvements in a person's function and a person's capacity who may not have the potential to get into standing and do more standing tasks, but still has an infinite amount of potential to improve their quality of life and the things that they're doing throughout their day. So those are kind of my big three areas in geriatric practice that I think we need to be focusing on that rep dose response data in resistance training, where we're looking at load under five repetitions and seeing, does that have any improvements or the magnitude of that improvement in strength with, with a direct influence on a person's physical function? When it comes to pelvic floor in the older adult space, we have a lot of work to do when it comes to just conservative management in general in our individuals over 75, anything with response to medication management, symptoms, side effect profiles of medications and their influence on the pelvic floor. And then post catheterization work, whether that's indwelling or external catheterization and what that does to things like urgent continents. And then our third is helping our individuals who are spending most of their day in sitting. How do we help our wheelchair users so that we can justify our care, have normative data and reliability and validity data of outcome measures to be able to speak to our insurance providers who are, you know, a lot of times we're trying to justify our treatment interventions and then make sure that we know when we're making clinically relevant changes in their quality of life, when the goal of getting them in standing is not the one that we're looking at. All right. I hope you found that helpful. If you have any other questions, just let me know. I'm going to be in the research space a lot in the next couple of weeks. I might be sick of it by the time I get to the end of the month with my defense. But let me know what your thoughts are. If you have any other questions, if you are not signed up for MMOA digest, that is our every two week newsletter where we bring all of that research to your inbox. So if we see any studies that are coming out that are filling in some of the gaps that we were talking about, you're going to know about it first. If you're signed up for MMOA digest, just head to ptnice.com slash resources. If you're looking for research in general, make sure you are following hump day hustling. All right. Have a great day everyone. And we'll talk soon. 20:07 OUTRO Hey, thanks for tuning into the PT on ice daily show. If you enjoyed this content, head on over to iTunes and leave us a review and be sure to check us out on Facebook and Instagram at the Institute of Clinical Excellence. If you're interested in getting plugged into more ice content on a weekly basis while earning CUs from home, check out our virtual ice online mentorship program at pt on ice.com. While you're there, sign up for our hump day hustling newsletter for a free email every Wednesday morning with our top five research articles and social media posts that we think are worth reading. Head over to pt on ice.com and scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.

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