¶ Podcast Guest Interview and Coffee Discussion
Hey , what's going on everybody ? Welcome back to the Possibility Mindset Podcast . My name is Devin Henderson and I am your host , and I truly deeply believe that something greater is always possible for you . Well , hello , eric Healy , how you doing today . Awesome , awesome . Man , would you like to hear about the product that we're promoting today ?
I do , yeah , that's why you're here , right , okay , awesome . Well , I want to let you all know about Mudwater . Mudwater is my coffee replacement . It's going well . I'm about 220 days off coffee right now and , yeah , man , you're drinking coffee .
You like it , do you ?
drink too much coffee or what's going on ? Mud water . You need some mud water , yeah , yeah . Well , just go to the show link eric , you'll see it's mudwatercom slash devon . Mud water is mud and then water is wtr . No , vowelscom slash devon . It really is something that's supposed to give you more focus , boost your immunity and just help you overall .
It's less caffeine , it tastes good , it's got a little chocolate in it , I put some honey in it and it's really helping me on this journey of getting away from coffee , and so I don't know for sure yet if I'm going back , but that's where I'm at right now .
I'm going to try it out . Yeah , okay , cool man .
Yeah , yeah , okay , yeah . I tell you what . Well , because it's like a third amount of the caffeine that's in coffee and I just love the ritual of a hot , yummy drink in my hands all morning . It's not like I have my cup of coffee , like people would be like I already had my coffee . I'm like what do you mean ? You already had it ?
Like when I would drink coffee . It would be like I'm having my coffee from like eight to noon . I always need a cup in my hand , which was obviously why I'm trying to get away from it . It was too much . But with mud water , even if you still want to drink coffee , you could drink your cup . Be done and then move to mud water .
Nice , it's an idea .
That's what I did for a while , but now I went cold turkey from coffee just to kind of see if it makes a difference . I'm on a journey . I don't know . Yet You're in a good mood .
I am in a good mood . Yeah , thank you for noticing that .
This is the second podcast for the day , so I'm in the zone , yeah , and , as I mentioned in the last episode , this might be our last time here at formerly Etcetera , now Rise and Shine slash .
Actually , this space is owned by Minsky's Pizza , which , by the way , I'm going to try to hit up the owner of Minsky's to see if he'll let us keep using this space . Notice all the pizza boxes behind us . Eric pointed out that you don't know what pizza boxes those are because they're turned the wrong way .
They either say Best Pizza or Kansas City , but if we were just to turn it , you know 45 degrees , you'd see Minsky's . And Minsky's Eric this is the truth is my favorite pizza of all time . It's awesome , Not just saying that because of Nextdoor . I've loved it since I was a kid .
So wait , those are empty .
Those are empty .
I thought you part of the podcast . I thought we were .
Oh , you thought that lunch was next .
Okay , fine , all right , that's cool .
Oh man , I'm learning a lot about Eric's sense of humor . He had me earlier because he works in Shawnee . He is the hold on . Eric , I want to make sure I get your title right here the . Director of Business Development and Retention at the Shawnee Economic Development Council . Can you have a longer title please ? I need it longer . That's not even enough .
No , nope , I was talking about Lenexa . For some reason which those of you that don't live in the Kansas City metro Lenexa and Shawnee are like neighbors and so , since he's a big Shawnee guy , I was talking about Lenexa . He's like where , what are you talking about ? At first I was like he's not hearing me .
Right , lenexa , and he's just messing with me because he's a punk . Well , eric , let's introduce you and then we'll talk about our history and all that . Okay , so , by a dynamic leader who is more than an advocate . He's the voice of greatness , ensuring continued growth for a top-tier community . I can vouch for that . I'm part of it . Say hello to Eric Ely .
Director of Business Development and Retention at the Shawnee Economic Development Council . Nailed it , boom . He's been there for nearly a decade , really Doing this job as a de .
It seems like it's been a couple of decades , but it's really been like six and a half years . Okay , doing this job , doing this job , I've worked for the city for a long time and then , okay , became a fish farmer .
We'll go into all , yeah yeah , fish farmer , standby for that , all right . For nearly a decade , he has remained committed to championing a local enterprise and and that's true , he's done . He's doing that for me , uh , just the other day and in doing so , enhanced more than its legacy of excellence , but the endless possibilities that are yet to be .
So , ladies and gentlemen , eric ely , all right , oh , I thought I said applause yeah , yeah , oh yeah the applause sign . I it's . I'm numb to it , thank you . Um , yeah , hey , I see that hand .
Uh , you got to it .
Thank you , thank you , yeah , hey , I see that hand . You got your Shawnee Chamber shirt on . You're ready to go for the day .
It's Friday , it's a casual day .
It's casual . What do you wear Monday through Thursday ?
Sport coat . You know I try to look the part , Do you ? Yeah , you dress it up .
I man , you know what I mean ? The candy man can yeah , awesome dude . Well , uh , so we actually go way , way back . Yeah , you , you graduated with my brother , jason , from china , mission northwest go coogs , go coogs .
And uh , a few years before me and then before that , you and jason played on the same baseball team , tippins way back in the day when you were probably in what like fourth or fifth grade , so it was a long time ago .
I was just a little tight in the day when you were probably in what like fourth or fifth grade . That was a long time ago .
I was just a little tight in the stands , but I remember those days .
It used to be called Pippins .
I remember that too , and then it was Tippins .
Yes , and then I got really confused .
Serious identity crisis there going on , it's just now happening again . Yes , yeah , I remember the Pippins Tippins Trans . What was that all about ? Why change one letter ? What happened ?
They were trying to confuse us . Is that what it was ? Conspiracy , yep .
Yeah , is it the Mandela effect ? Where maybe actually it was Tippins the whole time and we're like wait , was it ? Pippins , Tippins , what's going ?
on yeah .
What's going on ? Oh man , I don't know . Dude civic center a lot and kick my soccer ball around because I needed an indoor space , you know when it was really hot or cold outside . And then eric's in there and all of a sudden eric's like I know your brother jason . I was like who is this guy ? So , so yeah , what ? What are the jobs ?
And you , you've done the shawnee thing for 10 years . When you were at the civic center , what were you doing there ?
I was um , what was my title ? I was like a recreation program .
It was it was really really long , or maybe it was just like director and you're like nah , nah , nah . I need a new position with a better title .
I did so . I would create programming for the city . So I would find an aerobics instructor or I'd find a police department and say , hey , we want to do a forensics class for kids . So you name the class or activity , or yoga , Tai Chi , all of it .
Yeah , scoot up to the mic just a little bit , eric . I want to make sure they hear this Tai Chi stuff .
Can you hear me now ? Yes , okay , that's great . Is that better ? That is better , okay , sorry about that .
It's intimidating .
It is .
These microphones point their finger at me .
I know it's like come on , talk to me , I want you . So I was in Parks and Recreation and I did that for a long time . I actually did it for a couple of different cities too . I was in Grandview and I was in Leawood and then Shawnee and then there's some other stuff I'll talk about .
Kind of in my career journey I kind of got out and got greedy and was chasing some money and then I got back into government . But yeah , I created programs , activities and all that stuff .
But what I really loved was parks and recreation is such a great job because when somebody were coming to give us money for classes or programs , they would show up with a big smile on their face . They were so excited .
The kids are excited , the parents are excited , but when they had to go pay money for the city , for any other thing , it's always bad , it's for a ticket .
Yeah , yeah , yeah . So we were like the fun people for the city Right on , right on , that's cool . Yeah , I worked for Parks and Rec too for years Johnson County oh yeah , yeah , I did the after-school daycare .
So while I was at Northwest , my senior year , that I can juggle a soccer ball well , I'm proficient at that , because that was like the solo sport of just being able to kick and so it makes me look like I'm a lot better player than I am . I was just an average player , so I lost out to like one guy who was . For years I was like I was better .
He only made the team because the coach dated this guy's girlfriend , which is a true story . Well , okay , now I could actually drop some names for fun , because it's like we know these people Well . You remember Matt Ireland . He was in your class , I loved him .
He was my freshman coach and then as a senior varsity coach , he's the one who cut me , but understandably so . Matt cut you , matt , cut me , yeah , but that's hard because you make friends . You know , matt I mean God rest his soul Unfortunate what happened to him and it's awful , but he , you know , was just . Everybody loved him .
And so it's hard to like make friends with people and then have to tell them , sorry , you're not going to make the team . And he let me down easy and offered to like connect me with the JUCO coach and everything . So he was very sweet about it , but anyway I didn't make the team that year , sorry , and you know I think everything works out .
You know what I mean .
Absolutely .
And so then I went across to Benninghoven , which is right next door to Northwest , and I started working at the after-school daycare and loved that job , and loved that job . And then after that I moved to Broken Arrow , did it there for like seven years . It was the best job to have during college because you can do it like you know .
You go away to college , you come back for spring break . They need you . You come back for summer break , they need you .
You always have a job when you come back . I was a lifeguard . I know I was a lifeguard . I was shining with your park beach baby . It was cool .
Did you get the orange buoys that they had ? We had orange buoys .
We had the lifeguard stands .
I used to rescue people then Did you actually rescue someone as a lifeguard Rescue ?
little kids . Really , yeah , you'd pull them out of the water . It was sad because you would . Well , it was exciting because you're in there and you save this kid and you're pulling them out and you're carrying them . Yeah , and the mom or dad would always get upset .
Well , they're upset , they're embarrassed , sure , but they would never thank you Because you're making them look bad in a way .
Maybe , I don't know Like ah , you should be saving this kid not me , but it was an awesome job because you always had , like you said , always had something to go back to . Totally you go to school , come back , get an awesome tan . Yeah , whistle .
Are you lifeguarding still , because the tan's looking good .
You must have gone on vacation or something High blood pressure , high blood pressure Is that what it is ?
Oh , yeah , oh yeah , you did that on purpose , just so you could look tan . Right , I need a tan , but that's not healthy to get a tan . That's bad for your skin . Let me just get some high .
Well and then , yeah , I was always tan . Well , because I had to get tan for my glamour shots .
Yes , don't we all ?
Do you remember glamour shots ?
Oh , yeah , yeah , do I remember glamour shots .
Let me get my phone . Let me show you my latest photo . I was dating a girl and she made me do it .
Oh dude , I never heard of a dude getting a glamour shot , ever .
I didn't know . It happened at my parents house . Uh , you could still walk into their house . And then there's like this little part in the living room and that they won't take the picture down . It's still there , still there . Black leather jacket uh , no shirt on that's how you dress on tuesdays .
That's your two , I've seen you really I I want to see this glamour shot badly .
If you could send that to me . You won't see it . Guys , Zach will put it on . My agent won't let me do that . You have to pay for that , oh my gosh .
So you've had glamour shots done . That has to go in the bio , Ashley , Don't forget . In the description we've got to put that in . That's hilarious .
I think that's why they're around anymore . What ?
else did your girl ? I don't know . I haven't seen it for a while . I haven't seen it since Napoleon Dynamite .
If somebody out there is listening or watching this and Glamour Shots is around , please let us know , because I'll start a podcast for Glamour Shots .
Oh , dude , that is so funny , man . Now she made you get . Tell me about that . How did she make you it ? Tell me about that . How did she make you ? It sounds like you were a pretty easy sell , Like oh , I have to , Okay .
¶ Retro Hairstyles and Career Moves
When you have a tan from , you're like oh , I'm totally unprepared , okay , I'll put this on as long as I can go shirtless and wear that leather jacket .
It's like playing Dynamite when Kip's like do you have a vest I could wear ?
You're like do you have a leather jacket ? I could . And then also let's say this would have been what year was this ?
Like early 90s and back then , like the mullet was the mullet's back Dude , Dude , I like it . All I have to do is cut the sides and I am back in 80s fashion .
Yeah , so like you had the , so back then it was really mostly like the soccer player haircut .
Yeah , I know what you mean .
But then you had this kind of some tails coming out and coming out , and so that was that was in a glamour shot .
I can see it was it ? I wanted that haircut so bad ever since first grade ?
my dad wouldn't let me grow out the back , he was a marine , he wouldn't let me do that , so now I'm making up for it .
Look , look at me now . How do you like me ? Now dad , I'm growing it out all over . Um , I don't get many compliments on my hair I'm not doing it for other people .
Thank you , your hair looks good . Thanks , man , appreciate that . I really like it . I'm not doing it for other people . Thank you , your hair looks good dude .
Thanks , man , appreciate that . I really like it . It's fun , I'm like , why not ?
Mine's just falling out now . Yeah , well , you know .
So , dude , what else did your girlfriend make you do ? I'm just curious . Glamour shots Sounds like the kind of girlfriend who's going to speechless . I don't know . I I had to . I try to erase that out of my head , okay . Would I know this person ? Was she a cougar ? She was a meaning . Cougars are the mascots .
Cougars are the mascots of seanation northwest what's a cougar is a coug . This , this podcast is out of control . I didn't see it going this way and I like it . This is this . No , this is way better than so . Tell me more about economic development . Well , okay , man , so we go way back like that .
But then you moved from , like , the parks and rec side of things , from the Civic Center , and you made the big jump to City Hall . Yeah , so now you're like moving on up . What were you over there ? What long title did you possess ?
The City of Shawnee Business Liaison oh , the City of Shawnee Business Liaison .
Oh , French Liaison . Is it a French position ? I think it is .
Is that French ? It sounds French . It's not Russian . You made it sound .
French Liaison . Liaison . Maybe it's Canadian , I think it's Canadian .
Canadian . That's what it is , I don't know . Now I want a croissant Do they have those over next door . I don't know , that's a good word too , yeah .
I'm just showing off now . They don't have ideas .
So let's rewind a little bit . I've always loved and hated government . I just have this weird relationship with government . So I left college I worked for the city of Grandview , for Parks and Recreation , and then people would always tell me they're like , man , you need to be in sales , like you're really good , you're a sales guy , you're a sales guy .
And at that time I left Grandview to go work for Intercom Radio here in Kansas City . They had eight radio stations and all that stuff . So I went and worked for 997KY Do you remember that ?
Oh , yeah , wasn't that ? The one with the camel was the mascot ?
Okay , yeah , and so when I was at 997KY , the reason why I went there was they were going to take on the Chiefs Radio Network at that time , so it was like good timing . And then all of a sudden they found out that they weren't going to have the Chiefs Network , so they went back to 101 the Fox .
Yeah , the Fox .
All network . So they went back to one-on-one . The fox , yeah , the fox . All kinds of animals being thrown around cougars , foxes , camels right , were there , camels . Well , the ky , oh , yeah , the camel . The camel , no , that was a hippo . It was a hippo . It was a hippo .
Yeah , camel would have been cool though I thought it was a camp . Maybe I was thinking of the cigarettes . I guess I was thinking about just like the coffee yeah , okay , cigarettes are next . Yeah , they need to go yeah , but uh so , uh .
So I did radio sales . I did that for not very long . Honestly , it was a real tough business and the money was pretty good . But the problem is you're literally competing with everybody in your building Because we had all the other stations . Yeah , so I got out of that and then I went to Sprint and worked for Sprint Jeez dude .
what have you not done ? I've done everything man , and then I went to Vegas and I was one of the dancers for the reviews .
They saw my glamour shot . They're like dude , you're in .
Thunder Down Under was like . Whose glamour shot is this ?
Thunder Down Under like Dr Thunder . That's a whole other conversation . Dr Thunder , that's .
Right , did you grow up on the Not to pause the sprint , the exciting sprint conversation ? I know this is fun , though , right , this is great creative minds did you grow up in a household of dr thunder or dr pepper ?
that's really the ultimate bagged or boxed cereal we didn't eat a lot of cereal , really no , we , we ate , uh , uh , I don't know . They used to be like these little astronaut bars . They were like chocolate and they were like breakfast bars .
Yeah , we ate those all the time it was chocolate had peanut butter in it . Oh , dude , I'm going to think of it before this episode's over .
I think that's why all my hair's falling out . There's something in the ingredients .
It wasn't Nesquik or it was a different thing right .
I think it might have been Nesquik , was that it ? I don't know , but I think I know what you're talking about .
But we did eat a lot of sugar cereal . I mean , I was raised on it . I'm pretty sure it stunted my growth .
That's why our brains are so fast , you know .
Wait what .
The synapses .
You know the whole ? Yeah , yeah , I do . Now that's a whole other podcast . We'll talk about that next time . My brain is catching up to everything you're
¶ Career Transitions and City Development
saying .
So I did corporate sales at Sprint , Sprint Publishing and Advertising and I did enjoy that .
But at that time Sprint was this company , this phone company , anyway , children .
I was there when it merged with Nextel .
You were .
Yeah , and then we this like double merging thing and all that . Well , at that time Donnelly and Sons were getting ready to come in and purchase my division , and so then I was like I'm out , I'm getting back into government .
I went to the city of Leawood , started getting my master's degree in public administration and then I was having a meeting and then some folks at Shawnee were like , hey , we've got this position , you know . And I was like , man , that's perfect . That's why that's right Grew up .
I know those people , I love those people .
So I worked for a Shawnee person rec and then I was also for fun , cause I really love this city . I was always trying to bring companies into Shawnee .
So I was already doing economic development on my own time and I talked to the city manager at that time and we were talking about I was talking about , you know , these companies and and we created the position , business liaison , and it was modeled after a town in Oklahoma that had one and it was really , honestly , it's the take in government there's black and
white , there's all these rules , right , boom , boom , boom boom . But in real life , like if you're trying to build a company or a business , it's not black and white , it's very gray . So I would go and find the gray and then be able to work it through the city system , you know , through codes and all that stuff , the planning department , and I loved it .
It was great . I did that for a year and a half and then one day , my father-in-law being the good salesman that I am , he knew that . He asked me if I would sell tilapia .
This is where the tilapia , you , you have the most random eclectic background of like career endeavors ever . Like who knew it was going to go to fish farm , rather than the fact that I said it earlier yeah I didn't you know . It's like wow , tilapia yeah , forrest gump man that is .
That is the chapter of your life that I missed somehow because we got reconnected and you said fish farming . I was like I didn't even know . You left and did anything , you know so a fish farm I was .
I sold our tilapia to whole food stores all over the country , cruise ships , all that stuff . We started out in a couple of grocery stores in Colorado and I just went in . I call it reverse marketing . Well , now it's .
I don't even know what they call it now , but it was going out to the stores and talking to customers and then the customers would go to the meat counter and say why aren't you selling this fish ?
I call that manipulation .
It's a good salesperson .
It is , that's good stuff . So I would do that , and then bloggers before I'd go into a market , they'd start talking about our culture , and sorry , that reminds me that's brilliant telling the customer hey , go ask for this meat , so they'll come to me . That's like how music artists say hey , go to your radio station and request my song .
Same kind of thing right , yeah , yeah , and then , once they get requested , yeah .
I think that's how that band Mercy Me with the song I Can Only Imagine did it . Really Like hey , request our song . And they'd go to their concerts . They'd say everybody call your radio station . So then they started . Even though it was a Christian song , they , everyone was calling those stations requesting those songs . So reverse marketing .
I suppose I taught him how to do that yeah , you did .
No , I know you're like let me yeah let me tell you how this works . Buddy well , so I I did the tilapia farming and I loved it , I really did . But um , I I did that for it was about six years and um .
So the city shawnee was looking for economic development person like in this position and I had talked to some folks and they had mentioned that maybe it'd be a good idea . If I came back and I met with Ann Smith-Tate she was the president and CEO of the chamber .
Yes , just met her .
Yeah , and so when I sat down and had a coffee with her and one of the city managers just talking about Shawnee , when I saw the new energy , I was super excited , like I thought , man , this , this is awesome , like this city needs this , like Shawnee is in a really good spot I'm talking geographically , I'm talking we set the most northern part of Johnson County
and with all the stuff going on now in downtown Kansas City , you know , light 1 , Light 2 , is there Light 10 ? All these new apartments .
It's like Jaws , they just keep going , they just keep going . Or Rocky , it's like Rocky yeah .
Or Star Wars , I guess , but that's all .
Yeah , that's so confusing . I know I wish I liked it . I don't think Kansas City enough for that . I'm not cool enough to understand star wars , but um so never heard someone say that yeah , I'm really not cool enough to understand star wars .
I'm just not I , but uh , so yeah . So I mean we sit right there .
In fact there are some chiefs players that now live in our downtown shawnee , because I I don't know about you , but if I had a dog and I lived in an apartment in downtown kansas city and I wanted to take my dog for a walk or to go to the bathroom , I don't want to have to get in an elevator , ride the elevator downstairs and go walk out to the doggy
area . I want to go in my backyard . So I think Shawnee's great . You've got the elbow room that you need if you want to live that lifestyle in kind of a downtown area . Our downtown Shawnee is rocking man .
It lifestyle and kind of a downtown area . Our downtown , shawnee , is rocking man . It is beautiful down there . I mean , I grew up , we grew up in a duplex on I think it was King Street , which is really close to St Joseph School , and it was a duplex there . So we lived .
I lived there like when I was a year old , and then we moved but my dad owned the duplex , rented it out to some tenants next to us .
We became good friends with these people , the layman's and , um , layman's yeah , you know that family yeah , and um , and so I have , and so I got my first haircut there on , down there on johnson drive , which is essentially main street of downtown shawnee , back when it was dave and bob .
I don't know if you remember dave and bob or if you ever went in there , but uh was it gentleman's west ?
was that the name of it ? I know what you're talking about .
I think that's what it is . Well , is that what it is now ? I don't know what it was called back then . I don't know if I knew the name .
No , I thought it was right across the street from City Hall .
Yeah , that's right . There's still a barbershop there , yeah , and I've seen they've kind . It is a beautiful downtown area so if you remember as a kid ?
I mean , we were really overlooked for quite a while . Our downtown , at 5 o'clock , lights out . Baby , it's closed , Business is closed , and so now we've got reasons for people to go out , we have a James A Beard award recipient or nominee or whatever runner-up . I don't know how that goes , but yeah , you'd look at this list .
It would say like James A Beard , and they would say Honolulu and and somewhere in California and New York , not Shawnee .
Kansas . It was awesome yeah it was .
It's really cool , but we've got some really cool stuff going on .
We've got a McLean's down there . Mclean's is down there . It's amazing . There's some other stuff . Yeah , that's a hot place .
And then also we've got a new bar and restaurant that's going to be moving into the old garage across the street from City Hall . Oh wait , so it was an old auto body or auto shop Wait to the west , to the east , to the east of City Hall . Okay , yeah .
Over there by that leather Right . Yes , that booth store or whatever .
They moved around the corner , though they did they moved around the corner , because now on that corner it's called Wild Child . It's kind of like a wine bar and it has non-alcoholic drinks there too . But it's also an award-winning—I think it was like Best in Johnson County and there are awards popping up everywhere down there . Yeah .
That's amazing , man , and you're a big part of , I mean , you're the economic development , right yeah we've been .
Yes , and when I first came back , they were trying to redevelop downtown Shawnee and they called it Elaine Diet , not Elaine . It sounded like I said Elaine's name , elaine .
Diet Right right .
It's Elaine Diet where it was .
I think we got something there with the elaine diet . There's got to be some elaine out there who's crushing it , who we could just name a diet .
Quick , I know quick , it's that buy thatcom right now yeah , all right , seriously , yeah , uh , but anyhow , no , it's just , it's fun to be a part of that . I mean , it really is to be a part of that . And when they were doing the lane diet and a lot of people were upset about it , they're like , oh , this isn't going to work , and but what that did ?
Was it allowed , uh , the , the prop , the development , to come more toward the street , so it gives you a downtown feeling okay and lane diet a lane diet meaning like four lanes . Yeah to basically two lanes .
Yeah , I've noticed that with the one turn lane down the middle yes , yes , so smart Because the traffic isn't so crazy that you need those four lanes , you don't need them .
And also when you have the four lanes . What a lot of people didn't realize is that they were like well , that's going to slow everything down . Well , no , because if you had a car in the left lane , a car in the right lane , the right lane guy was going to turn and the left lane person was going to turn . Well , now your traffic is really backed up .
Yeah , yes , so now that turn lane really has helped out , the flow goes just fine .
I call that reverse traffic engineering . I've always called it that I like that . Yeah , yeah , or manipulation , whichever you want to call it . I like the reverse traffic engineering .
Manipulation sounds so evil , I know , I know .
I know , I know .
I get it though .
This is fascinating . Keep going , because I want you to keep going , but also I want to hear about what does it take for someone like you ? How do you create that ? Because you've helped make this happen .
I'm a part of it , but also people that are the city staff . I mean city staff . But we go out and you're storytelling , okay . So when we were first showing companies and restaurants in downtown Shawnee , when nothing was really down there , you had a storytell and you're not making stuff up , you're being very honest .
It's like the thing I was telling you about hey Power and Light's awesome , guess what Crossroads is awesome , but all their rents are going up and a lot of Johnson County and go there to hang out . Well , why not have something right here in Johnson County ?
Not only that , but people that live in the crossroads will come over here too , and so just storytelling .
And so did that encourage the current owners to step up their game and make renovations , yeah , okay .
Yeah , if you remember , there used to be a bunch of black glass Totally On a corner .
Totally Commerce Bank . Yeah , shawnee State Bank before that , right , shawnee State Bank .
Got my first check there . Nice yeah , and the guy had the little Huey stick .
Okay , so rough cut there because we had to change batteries . But Huey what , what ? What's this hooey stick thing ?
uh . So when I got my first check , my mom took me up to shawnee state bank was this lifeguarding check ? No , it was . They were like hey , it's probably a good idea that you started checking account . Yeah , like just to be a . You know , it's time in life yeah , yeah , you're a man .
Now I'm a man . 12 . Yeah , it's time to start a . Yeah , yeah , you're a man . Now I'm a man . Yeah , it's time to start a checking account . Yeah , yeah , yeah , yeah .
So maybe there's some money laundering going on , I don't know . Anyway , no , I'm just joking .
Mom and Dad , my Mom and Dad are awesome , no , so I'm sitting in there in this old bank building Shawnee State Bank and the guy he was the nicest guy , he was all you know he knew I was nervous , you know , like there's all these numbers and I have to fill out little forms , you know , and he brings out this stick and it's two sticks , and one stick had
a propeller on the end of it . Oh , yeah , yeah , yeah . And he goes have you ever seen a hooey stick ? And this like kind of calmed me down , like you know , just kind of like oh , what is that ? Yeah , and so he would rub this stick really fast and then the propeller would start spinning .
Yeah , and then he would say hooey , and then it would spin the opposite direction . Hmm , yeah , you know what ? After this is over , I'm going to Google hooey sticks .
And try to figure out how that works and just if there's even but I remember those , I mean I've seen you do okay so he wasn't like a witch doctor no , well , how does it flip the other way ?
I have , you think , the magician would be like oh yeah I know he gave me one , like he had a hooey stick . He gave it to me and I could never figure it out weird yeah , so , okay , I see .
So he made it seem like the word hooey , reversed it .
This is the magician thinking yeah there was some trick , that yeah , yeah there was no buttons it was a stick right propeller and it was like the propeller was nailed in by a little .
Yeah , nail yeah I don't know but this hooey stick nonetheless mesmerized you , relaxed you and helped transition you into manhood yeah , in terms of a checking account yeah , that's amazing , like how you can get somebody to kind of you kind of shift their focus I yeah , I've done the same
¶ Downtown Development and Community Revitalization
kind of thing .
I used to have these when I was doing kids magic shows , these pencils that you would rub them and they would change color . So I would carry those with me and sometimes in airports when there's kids just like crying , I'd tell the parents , hey , can I give them a gift ?
And I would just show them and they'd be like immediately calm down and take that pencil and rub it and it changed colors and changed someone's life , man , you know .
I like it .
It was my hooey stick .
So this sick thing inside of my head was like . And then the kid walked away and they had stuff all over their hands .
Oh right , right , you got glitter bombed . You thought it was a color changing pencil .
It was a good story , though no , like it's Friday guys .
It . It's Friday guys , it is Friday . This is so good man . When the battery went out , we were talking about how much fun we're having . This is a lot of fun , so , yeah , keep going , though .
Okay so before I talked about the Huey stick and all that , yes , it was Shawnee State Bank , yes , and it was covered in black glass .
And you know , back in the late 60s , you know 70s , that was kind of the thing yeah , you could see those windows all the way from shawna mission parkway , which is a good , would you say , like a mile away from there and it's like you could yeah , you really popped , so it was a landmark the owner of the building .
Uh , he's a great guy . Um , he , I think you know , when we went in and talked to him and kind of talked about what was going on downtown and you know all that , I think you know , his spirits turned up and he was like ready to make some changes . Yeah , okay , I'm gonna be a part of this .
Yeah , and you know , and , and so you see it happening in all of in downtown shawnee , as we're redeveloping and doing all the work we're doing , you start seeing like this energy happening .
Yes , it's snowballing in a great totally I can vouch for it . Well , here's what's funny sometimes when I'm coming home from like a trip , like I'll have a keynote up in Iowa and I drive I-35 , and I can either take Shawn Mission Parkway home or I can take Johnson Drive home .
I love taking Johnson Drive home because it's just more of this relaxed like I love driving through downtown Shawnee . It takes a little bit longer because it's , you know , like 35 miles an hour instead of 45 . But I just love that stretch .
It's not 65 miles an hour , no , it's a good stretch .
Yeah , well , and part of it's because , like I have history there . I got my first haircut there . Yeah , I learned to swim at the old pool , but I just it really is , especially now with what you guys are doing down there . It looks great and it's a fun hang .
People go to McLean's for coffee now , and then the bank for a while became kind of a coffee shop slash bakery , but now it's like some kind of meat , don't they ?
distribute meat like a meat company or something .
I've lost track . They did for a while . Back me up here . Dodge City Beef . Okay , that was it .
Dodge City Beef , and that was part of . The problem is that the owner of the building had a great idea . He's like okay , I'll kind of subdivide this building and I'll have a meat shop over here a coffee shop over here and when I talked to him I was like , hey , you need one good user in here . So I went out and actually met with uh .
When , when uh , we were talking to companies and businesses , I reached out to uh district poorhouse . They were over in waldo and uh , at that time I wasn't trying to , I wouldn't , I was like I didn't think they would want to move the whole company over .
But they had this concept called johnny wings and uh , one of the chefs in there , it was like a ghost kitchen thing , it was pretty , it was almost covid and um , so I met , I met with them and kind of walked them around , talked about shawnee , and then we walked inside of that building so there was a , there was a little taco shop in there , so we walked
in there and when he saw the exposed rock , um saw that he , he was like he , he was like I'm coming here Nice .
The exposed rock is beautiful . It's got that whole kind of I don't know just that , what's the word Like vintage or I don't know .
It was like je ne sais quoi .
The French thing is coming back . Yeah , just that rugged . That's the word , just that rugged downtown . You know , it just does have that cool vibe .
So in my mind . So you can go anywhere in Johnson County , right , and you can go to restaurants , coffee shops , all that fun stuff . But you end up showing up and it's all sheetrock . Yep , it's a box . It's a box , it might have a couple of cool track light stuff and all that .
If it's a Chipotle , you've got some industrial piping going on but that's as good as it gets .
I'll tell you my Chipotle theory here in a minute .
It doesn't sound good . No , no it's okay .
It's okay , it's get in , get out , right . You know that . Oh yeah . Yeah , I don't want you to be uncomfortable , but they're not a sponsor either .
I do love Chipotle and if you want to sponsor me Chipotle , I will take you . Oh man , you can just give me free burritos .
I lost my train of thought .
The Rock . And it's not just a box , it's rugged . He wanted to come and land there .
Yeah , so it's super organic . So that original bank it was the late 1800s . There was so much history in downtown Shawnee . So when you go into these buildings , yeah , it's warm , it's comfortable , it's organic you get this sense of just kind of coziness . When you see the rock , yes , you see some of the old wood , the rock .
You're speaking my language . I love that vibe . It's so good . Yeah , it's so good .
But anyway , I think that's what's really made our downtown , shawnee , unique . Yeah , so a lot of other places in Johnson County which Johnson County is great , but you don't get that experience in a lot of places . So , yeah , we're celebrating it , man .
Well with what you do . I can't think of a better person to be in your position , because this whole just building a city up , and especially the downtown with what you've done with it requires the possibility mindset .
You are constantly , every day , asking what else is possible , what's possible with this space , with these people , with these owners , with these members , and then you're a visionary , which is what the possibility mindset is all about .
You're the visionary , but then you have the people , skills and the knowledge and the experience you know to be able to go out , approach the right people in the right way with the right information and pull . And it's not just fluff , it's like this is how this is going to benefit people and it's tried and true , like it's paying off .
You have transformed that space down there . I know you're a part of it . It takes a team , but you're doing an incredible job man and it's they're lucky to have you .
It's fun , I love it , I love the city , I love the people in the city . Yeah , it's fun . Thank you , that's nice stuff you said about it .
Well , yeah , and what would you say to then people because there's other city development type people at liaisons , whatever you want to call it out there , who are no doubt inspired already by the things that you're saying , just like , how can you really take the true essence of what a place is and build off of that , right , like you do with the Rock and the
Wood ? But then there's also , like other CEOs , other managers , directors what would you tell them for , just if they want to like , change the work , culture , change what they have going on , how does this translate to kind of like everything Translate .
I think at the end of the day , and you probably saw it .
We did this today .
We did this right now it's called having fun and I always tell people I'm like , if I ever go into a job and I'm I'm not having fun anymore , like I to me . If you're not having fun , move on .
Like it's time to move on .
Find something that you can get excited about waking up and doing , and I think if , if managers and companies , and I think if they had that mentality . I think people get so stuck in being very serious . They think serious means good business .
Right , yeah , but the way I look at life is , if you can get somebody to relax and you , you build some commonality with somebody and you have fun with them , you're going to get stuff done . Fun doesn't mean goofing off Totally , totally . So I think it gets misinterpreted in a lot of workplaces and it always will be . You can't make people have fun .
I remember I don't want to name the company , I named a bunch of them that I worked for , but there was one where they had mandatory fun .
They didn't call it that have fun dang it .
Okay , everybody , it's time to come out and have fun . You're like , ah , and you go in there and like , okay , how long do we have to have fun now ?
You can't compartmentalize fun . You've got to make it a culture , a way of being .
And then there was this one where we'd sit in a meeting and they're like they're trying to make the meetings more connecting with the employees , and we sat around this table and this is terrible . They're not going to be listening , I'm sure .
Because I have a tiny audience . Thank you , Eric , for pointing that out . She would say here we go , no , no , I'm so sorry for pointing that out . She would go no , no , Nah .
I'm messing with you . I don't think she would , but she would sit there and she would say , okay , tell us about your weekend and celebrate . And I'm like I sound more enthusiastic than what , but she was for real man , she was like like that's not how you do it .
If the leader can't model it , it's never going to happen . Yeah , you know what I mean , cause if you're not and that's the great thing about you , I mean it's just , it's contagious man . Yeah , just your , your fun , your ability to joke , but then the fact that you can also get things done , and that's what's important .
Like you say , it's not just goofing off . You're a man who ultimately , at the end of the day , delivers and brings it to the bottom line .
But the fun is a huge part of just being able to let people connect with people , let them relax , because then the creative juices start to flow more , the ideas come easier , and so , yeah , fun , I mean that's a great answer . Just make fun part of the culture , make it natural , but let it lead toward productivity . That's ultimately what it can serve .
You get to know people , people you work in life and work and everything . But if you don't know somebody very well , you're never going to be your real self and then you're never going to really share your real thoughts with somebody . But if you are having fun and they relax we were talking about relaxing , yeah .
Who we stick . Who we stick baby .
You bring somebody down to this other level where they just feel comfortable . And when you're comfortable you share things , you share ideas better . You're not afraid to throw a stupid idea out there . Yeah , I said stupid idea .
Well , we'll edit that word out . I call it start ugly . I just call it . It's not sloppy , it's not careless , it's just like let's just get out there and get crazy .
Yeah , don't be afraid to mess up , let's just , let's talk about all the ideas . So I love that man , I love that so .
so what's the next for Shawneenee ? What's your big undertaking right now ?
there's . You know there's a lot because I I work with , uh , so I do anything from large industrial projects like trying to get some of our industrial things set up and and going um , and it took to our smaller businesses in downtown . Um , there was a lot . I mean , there's a lot
¶ Economic Outlook and Community Recognition
going on . Um , we're kind of hitting this weird the economy . Of course , course , right . Like , people are going to sit on their wallets they always do right before a national election . Everybody just sits and waits , sure , and so I would say it'll slow down a little bit , probably in October and then after the election .
I don't think it's going to matter who really wins . I have one person in mind I'd like to win , but I won't share that . But at the end of the day , once that election happens , I think all these companies are just waiting , waiting , waiting , and I think that they'll pull the trigger going a few months into the year .
So I think we'll see some good economic activity . But , yeah , shawnee's bright man , we're excited . Months into the year , I think a lot . So I think we'll see some good economic activity . Um , but yeah , sean , I mean shawnee's bright man , we , we're excited . Um , we have some new leadership at city hall .
Uh , we have a new city manager that just started a few weeks ago and I think he's going to do an awesome job . I mean , he seems like a good guy , um , and just the staff in general , um , I love working with him , so I I I feel really good about where Shawnee is going .
I really do . It's amazing . I mean shout out to Amos Funeral Home downtown Shawnee Pegas , which used to be Stern's . That was a regular for us Stern's . I mean we were there once or twice a week and actually got to come speak recently for the chamber . You had me come talk . That was a good time .
It was awesome . You did a great job and we were talking about having fun .
Yeah .
It wasn't just one of those oh , here's the information and here's the . Yeah , you made it fun and then people were engaged and we need to do those more often . But , yeah , awesome job Thanks .
And it was fun reconnecting with people I hadn't seen in years . You know , that's the cool thing about speaking in your hometown , oh yeah speaking in your hometown . Oh yeah , so well , we can't wrap without at least mentioning this and if whatever of it you want to share , just this last May you were recognized by the Lee Summit Police Department .
Another shout out to my cousin , lance , who was with the Lee Summit Police Department . His entire career was a sergeant , retired back in I think it was 2020 . And anyway , but you were recognized by the Lee summit police department with a letter of commendation . Uh , when I was practicing that , I said condemnation and we laughed .
Uh , it was a letter of commendation for bravery . So do you want to just tell us what happened ? Why did you get this ? Uh , this letter for bravery ?
yeah , it was . Uh , it was crazy . So it was was in December . I was bringing my boys home from basketball practice and it's crazy . So there's a roundabout on the way home and there's a home over there that plays Christmas music to the lights .
Oh , yeah , yeah , so you tune in your little radio station .
Well , we go through the roundabout and they're like oh Daddy , go one more time . There were no cars . So I went back through and then there were no cars , like guys , you want to go again , yeah , yeah . So we went back around and then we started heading home . Well , when we got up to this other intersection , I came upon this accident , terrible accident .
The guy , I think , was speeding or something , I don't know exactly the whole story before it , but he , he , he ends up hitting a car and he lands , he hits a tree and this engine's buckled up . Uh , he's stuck in the car , he's unconscious , um , uh . So he got the doors open and this young man came out of nowhere .
16 year old kid lives in the neighborhood , came up and neighbors are throwing fire extinguishers over the fence because this thing's starting to just go ablaze . And these neighbors were throwing their kitchen extinguishers over the fence and we were grabbing them and trying to put them out , waiting for the police and fire to show up .
You know , I was always taught if there's a pretty bad accident and he was stuck in there , if there's a pretty bad accident and he was stuck in there , but you try not to pull him out , because you could really make things worse , spinal , you know Sure . So we kept this fire .
This young man and I kept this fire at bay , just enough time for the police officer shows up . I get his extinguisher and I'm putting it out . The fire truck gets there and they get him out of the car . But it was wild and my kids had to sit and watch the whole show .
But at the end of the day , the guy that was in the accident , he survived , he's alive . I haven't met him , but I got to meet the police officers that I worked with that night . I met them during the celebration . I got to see the young man again , give him a huge hug . I've talked to him on the phone a couple times .
He's a great , great kid .
But yeah , it was wild . Yeah , I didn't know you were going to bring that up .
Yeah , Way to go . Congratulations , that's awesome . Thank you .
Hey , I don't think there's any other choice right . I would never drive past something like that , yeah wow .
Well , I imagined that like was the Christmas music , still playing for your kids .
No , they're watching this to jingle bells like Dashie through the snow and you're like in a faxing picture . Are they forever hating Christmas now ?
No , we were far enough away from that property . Yeah , wow , that's wild . Well , you're the second guest in a row we've had that has pulled someone from a fire . You heard the end of Chad's story . I'm like we didn't plan it this way . We just got a bunch of heroes in the podcast here .
Yeah , so this is great , man . It's going to be like a fire theme or something it is .
We've got to find more people . Did that person pull a person from a fire ?
What did you do ? Yeah , yeah , what have ?
you done with your life ?
Yeah , Next . Oh , my gosh dude .
This is next . This has been a blast man .
Thank you so much , hey . Thanks for letting it go all over , yeah .
That's the best .
Yeah , it was fun man .
Yeah , that's the best way to do it . I mean , and mushroom like , like a mushroom , a fun guy , get it all right .
Dad jokes sorry it took me like a few seconds , but yeah , that was . That was awesome , is it a ?
mushroom a fun guy . I very appreciate dad jokes , so I appreciate the fun guy thing man do . Well , hey , we could do this all day . This guy's any awesome shout out to eric's parents . He's oh , zach's gonna take a picture . What up ? All right , zach , I'm going to clap for you Now , zach . Funny story about Zach .
We ran out of room on the camera so we're giving him a hard time because he really is awesome . But , zach , come on , man Get it together , right ? Zach the Lego maniac . Zach , remember that ? Oh , I remember that . Zach . Have you ever heard Zach , zach , lego maniac ? It was an 80s thing .
I had a friend named Zach back then and he hated Legos , if you can believe that Isn't that weird ? I know , I know that's what he claimed . So anyway , okay , this has been a blast . Thank you so much . Thank you , minsky's , thank you Etc . Thank you Rise and Shine . Wow , this building belongs to a lot of people . Thank you , eric Ely , for joining .
This has been so great .
¶ Promotion and Tagline Sign-Off
Don't forget to check out Mudwater . Go to the show notes . Click on the link . Give us a five-star review on Apple . All those good things , man , that stuff just rolls off my tongue . Now . I'm not afraid of asking for favors YouTube subscribe , like , pass this on .
I'm going to see how long Zach can hold his phone into that position , Because now he's since he ran out of room on the camera he's now having to hold it with his hands . Look at his arms shaking he is . Look at those biceps though .
Dang boy , does that weigh the same amount as a brick ? I'm just I well , you're a mirror lifeguard , it just keeps slowly dropping down , down , down .
Anyway , what else do we want to talk about , man ? Anyway , what else do ?
we want to talk about man . I got a long list here .
Let me see what I got All right , man , that's it . Hey , we're going to sign off with our tagline what Else is Possible . I'll say what else you say is possible . Can you do that ?
Is possible .
Is possible .
Yeah , rehearse it a few times , I can do it yeah .
Blah , blah , blah , blah , and remember to never stop asking the question . What else is possible ? See you next time .