Claim OwnershipThe Polk Experience
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A podcast dedicated to the experiences that make Polk County, Florida a unique destination for tourism and sports.
42 Episodes
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Today, we kick off season with a visit from Neal Duncan and Ryan Buckley.
Topics included Ken Riley and the NFL Hall of Fame, Pete Rose, and the upcoming IWWF World Water Ski Show Tournament, to be held on Lake Silver in Winter Haven Oct. 18 to 23.
For more information on the World Water Ski Show Tournament, visit worldwaterskishow.com.
For more on Central Florida’s Sweetest Spot, Polk County, visit www.visitcentralflorida.org.
Alison Strange, CEO of THE Spring Games, joins Kevin Smith and Jack Cormier to discuss the upcoming event in Polk County, the long last influence of sports tourism on a community and how the past two years have changed the game for events in general.
Box lacrosse -- a six-man sport played on a court the size of a hockey rink -- might be the fastest growing discipline in the game. The Interstate Box Lacrosse Association is brining the top 17 teams in the nation to the RP Funding Center in Lakeland from Sept. 17-19 to determine its champion.
We talk to Brandon Scharaga of the IBLA to learn more about the sport and what to expect this weekend.
Meet Alex Dry and Gerald Richardson, two new members of the Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing team.
Gerald comes to use from First Tee Lakeland, where he used golf as an outreach to area youth.
Alex Dry comes to use from IMG in Bradenton and has an extensive background in the sport and business of baseball.
We start the second season of The Polk Experience with two living Florida Southern College legends, Norm and Kathy Benn.
Mrs. Benn spent 48 years at Florida Southern as a faculty member in the school’s physical education department and was instrumental in organizing the school’s women’s athletic program. She was their first coach in women’s basketball, volleyball and tennis.
Mr. Benn was the head women’s basketball coach from 1985-97. He led the Lady Moccasins to five SSC regular season titles, six SSC Tournament titles, and the team’s only South Region Championship and Elite Eight appearance.
NFL and Florida A&M great Ken Riley, whose 65 interceptions is fifth on the all-time list, recently passed away at his home in Bartow.
In the first segment, we speak with his brother-in-law, Elijah Armstrong, and his lifelong friend, Bartow City Commissioner Leo Longworth, about Ken's legacy.
Longtime NFL sports writer Pat Zier joins us in the second segment to talk about Riley's NFL career, his demeanor on the field, and why he has yet to have a bust in Canton, Ohio.
The dean of Polk County sports journalism, Roy Fuoco, joins Mark Jackson and Jack Cormier to talk the end of the basketball and soccer seasons as well as the upcoming baseball and softball seasons.
For more Polk County sports, check out Roy's work at theledger.com.
Duane Hopkins, the president of the Polk Senior Games, joined Mark Jackson and Jack Cormier on a recent edition of Sports Central.
Bartow native Rick Wilson may have made his fame as a NASCAR driver, but he's also a second generation Polk County rancher as well as an inventor and a recent inductee into the Polk County Sports Hall of Fame.
The Ledger's Roy Fuoco joins Sports Central to talk high school football, the Olympics and more.
With more than 700 wins in his 24 years of head coaching experience, Rick O'Dette will take the reins of Florida Southern Baseball as only the eighth head coach in program history.
Rick joined Mark Jackson and Jack Cormier on a recent broadcast of Sports Central, which can be viewed on the Polk County Government page on Facebook or YouTube.
The Polk Experience visits Catapult, a business incubator in Lakeland.
Joining us are Catapult's Kitchen Director, Maggie Leach, and the owners of Pinoy Cravings, Hyun Dobrea and Josephine Colorina.
Not long ago, every theme park in Central Florida - and most in the nation - had their own water ski show complete with pyramids, jumps, stunts and more.
Today, while the theme park shows are mostly history, clubs around the world keep the sport alive.
When the best show water skiers in the world gather in Winter Haven, Florida from Oct. 19-23 to compete as both teams and individuals in the 2022 IWWF World Water Ski Show Tournament, things will be a little different.
Long time water ski broadcaster Mark Jackson and Joel Shapiro, the President of the National Show Ski Association, are here to give you the ins and outs of scoring an international competition.
For more information, go to visitcentralflorida.com or worldwaterskishow.com.
Dick Pope Sr.'s niece, Margaret Parry, joins Shauna Pasanen and Jack Cormier to talk about the birth of Cypress Gardens, growing up in the gardens - from spending time with Miss Americas to the Shah of Iran - and finally, what she thinks is the legacy of the Popes.
Industry expert Dr. Jennifer Stoll, the executive director of the Greater Grand Junction Sports Commission, joins us to discuss not only the powerful impact of sports on a community, how the growth of travel teams is good for the tourism industry, and how to improve this segment going forward.
Polk County and Florida Southern sports legend Norm Benn recently passed.
Having spent a lot of time with Norm up to his enshrinement in the Polk County Sports Hall of Fame, we felt that re-releasing what might be his last interview was the least we could do.
Quick witted with a sharp sense of humor, Norm will be missed.
Despite what you saw on television, parks and recreation is serious business.
In Haines City, Terrell Griffin and Ryan Ritchie use a mix of attractors and activities to not only infuse their city with visitors, but to shape the future of Polk's northeast corridor.
Perhaps the greatest water ski jumper of his generation, Polk County legend Scot "The Rocketman" Ellis is calling it a career. Find out how a globe-spanning career started in Lakeland with .49 cent tacos and his plans for the future.
On this roundup episode, we discuss if the Rays should come to Polk County, upcoming sports events including RussMatt and PFX, and the recent Major League Baseball Hall of Fame winners and losers.
If you like planes - especially takeoffs and landings - this is the event for you.
STOL stands for Short Takeoff and Landing, and its the hottest aviation competition category going.
Joining us is Anitra Goddard of the National Stol Series to talk about the Central Florida Classic STOL Competition going on in Lakeland Dec. 3 and 4 as part of the Sun N Fun Holiday Fly-In and Car Show.
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