Episode 167 of the Check Your Six podcast brought a great guest back into GRP Studios, Adrian Thacker of Proficiency Background Services. This is Part 1 of 4 where we start start to build on creating a podcast for Adrian about his industry. It has been a little over 4 years since he was in the first time and things have changed quite a bit for him, his business and the industry. We talked about why he decided to move into the arena and not the engineering that he loved, but an experience that...
Long time friend Staci Talley stopped by GRP Studios for Episode 166 of the Check Your Six Podcast. Staci and I met probably close to 15 years ago or more when we were both involved with Marty Jean-Louis and the My Christian Films studio here in Orlando. We have watched her go from someone that was looking to pursue an acting career to a producer for national accounts working with ad agencies. Her decision to be a part of a Jordan Brady workshop/seminar helped her begin to understand what is ...
Episode 165 is somewhat different from first 164 episode that I have done and it comes after a bit of a hiatus. We have been pretty busy and had some issues with the A/C unit in the recording studio but thanks to Shaw Air, they wrangled the problem and got us back up and running. This episode actually focuses on something that I have not talked about much at all on the podcast, that is my faith and being a Christ follower in the wake of Charlie Kirks death. It has made me realize that I have ...
Tony Boni and Sean Esler stopped by the GRP Studios with some Seminole County H.S Interns that are working with them and the Be The Change Today Foundation. Tony and Sean have both been on the podcast before in different capacities but today was all about Be The Change Today Foundation and what they are doing to change our community. It started with poker tournaments that raised money for specific charities, which was tremendously successful but the direction has evolved and developed to incl...
Data and Analytics were the topic of discussion on Episode 163 of the Check Your Six podcast. Army veteran Jake Dyal with Certus Core based in Tampa, dialed in to talk about what it is that they do and how they are handling the challenges in collecting and analyzing data for clients, especially in the military and national security arena. Jake's time in the Army provided him with the education and experience that led him to pursuing his career in the private sector in collecting and analyzing...
Episode 162 of the Check Your Six podcast brought another young lady into GRP Studios, Sarah Ricks, this time talking about human trafficking, modern day slavery and some of its many layers that are all happening right here, not just in some far away land. Sarah owns Fire Drive Films, which is her creative umbrella but also operates the non-profit I See Roses Movement which will be focused on instruction, education and exposing the evil that is human trafficking. We talked about her projects,...
Episode 161 of the Check Your Six podcast brought a very special guest into the GRP Studios, Robin van Denderen, the founder a non profit called Stay With Me and works with freeing those that are caught in prostitution. She was special for one, she is Dutch and was born in Amsterdam, my wife is Dutch and born in Haarlem so I had fun trying to pronounce Dutch words. She shared her story about her introduction to those involved in prostitution in the red light district that very open and legal ...
Episode 160 brought Morris Hartley from H & H Products into the GRP Studios for his podcast which was totally sweet. We have had several podcast in a row that guests have called in so it was good to have someone in the studio!! H & H has been around since 1964 and has been through a recession(at least a couple), oil embargo, Y2K, 9-11, 2008 crash, Covid, tariffs but have weathered the storm and are growing by nearly doubling their staff in the past year. We talked about employee issue...
The call came from across the pond into the GRP Studios for Episode 159 of the Check Your Six podcast. Katie Tamblin, author of The Lean-Agile Dilemma and mathematical guru called in from England to talk about her book and the problems that can come from companies that have become chunky, more than 10 years old, 500+ employees and investors own at least 51% of the shares. We talked about the importance of data from existing platforms, over the importance of simply adding new software to compa...
Ken Coats phoned in from South Florida for this episode of the Check Your Six podcast. Although Ken started on a path towards being a lawyer, life sometimes changes and his interest in IT before the whole Y2K boondoggle, spawned what would be his career as an IT specialist. Currently the owner of Kentech Consulting, Inc , he has become the premier provider of background checks for companies looking to hire staff. His work and experience in Chicago growing up and where the company originated n...
Fantastic day today when my son, Austin stopped by the studio as a guest on the Check Your Six podcast. We talked about a few things, both of the podcasts that he generates, Frightmares and All Juice, No Gin as well as the short film that he and Gabby, his wife are in the process of creating. Frightmares is at about 311 episodes at the time of this recording and covers just about all things horror from movies to books to events and everything in between. Gave a shout out to Chris Bishop and h...
It was an absolute pleasure having Kijuan Amey as my guest on the Check Your Six Podcast today. Air Force veteran, business owner, author, speaker, musician and survivor of a horrific motorcycle accident back in 2017 that took his eyesight but did not take his vision. Kijuan or "Kiwi" as he likes to be addressed, called in and spent about an hour talking about his life that was on the fast track to excellence, suddenly derailed but the accident. We talked about his journey from waking up afte...
Marine Veteran Patrick Trujillo, phoned in for Episode 155 of the Check Your Six podcast and talked about the Warrior Scholar Project and the impact it has made on his life. After Patrick left the Marines, he found himself, like many veterans, somewhat lost with little or no direction in his life and future. It took a kick in the backside from a former member of his squad that had gotten out of the Marine Corps and gone through the Warrior Scholar Project. Patrick talked about his reluctance ...
Episode 154 of the Check Your Six podcast brought a ground breaking, barrier breaking lady into the GRP Studios that was the first female TV anchor in Central Florida, Carol Nelson-Pond. Carol was the first woman in Central Florida that broke the barrier of women in TV and radio that could interview, host and anchor just like the men that were currently in power in the industry during the 70's. She had some great stories of how she was able to break through that barrier, just a few of the hun...
Episode 153 of the Check Your Six podcast brought Van Carlson via the remote connection from Idaho to talk about the 831b plan for businesses. The Boise State Bronco grad talked about a program for businesses that most of us small business owners know nothing about, the 831(b) plan. An often unused tax code from the 80's that a lot of CPA or accountants do not know about or understand but could be very important in helping to mitigate risk. SRA 831b Admin is really tailored to support small a...
Texas sized marketing was the topic today on the 152 episode of the Check Your Six podcast. Amber Gaige, the 3rd generation entrepreneur from Texas called and talked about going beyond just marketing with her business, Far Beyond Marketing!! Besides being a best selling author, speaker, she is also laser focused on giving her clients the tools necessary for business owners to help create, maintain and showcase their brand. Her "4-C" approach to go far beyond marketing starts with Clear Copy, ...
Episode 151 of the Check Your Six podcast had Chris Bell stop by the GRP Studios to talk about toxic living!! A drummer and graduate from Florida A&M talked about the path that he is on to create living spaces that are free of toxic air pollutants, so we can all breathe a little easier. We talked about the influences that have shaped his life including his parents and in-laws that have continued to support him to follow his passions. Talking about food toxins led us to the fact that...
Episode 150 of the Check Your Six podcast talked about something pretty close to home for me, dealing with Alzheimers and dementia. My father was diagnosed back in the 70's with Alzheimers before it was as well known or researched as it has been over the last nearly 50 years. Denise Ward, the Florida Region Strategy and Program Development director for the national Alzheimer's Association, stopped by the studio to talk about the subject matter of Alzheimer's and dementia. We talked about some...
Shalisa Griffin, the Director of Development for The Sharing Center in Longwood stopped by GRP Studios, also in Longwood, for her time on the Check Your Six podcast. We talked about Shakira's journey from going to school for an IT career that was "sidelined" by a high school basketball coach in NJ, David Bellani, that developed her love for sports management and planning. A change of majors, some time with the NCAA in Indianapolis, the DeVoss Sports Business Program along with some time at UC...
Had a great conversation with Chris Ham, the Executive Director for The Rescue Outreach Mission in Sanford today on the Check Your Six podcast. The last episode for 2024 was a great way to talk end the year and talk about the issues and challenges that our community has with homeless population here in Central Florida. As Seminole County's only homeless shelter, they have done a fantastic job over the past several years changing the view of homelessness and providing assistance through the pa...