The Hollercast: Recent Episodes
The Holler Creative
A show about bringing hope and opportunity back to the Appalachian region. The Hollercast provides insight through discussions, interviews, stories, and news. The podcast is recorded and produced by The Holler Creative, a digital marketing firm in Corbin, Kentucky whose aim is to bring hope and opportunity back to Appalachia by empowering business owners, leveraging creativity, and ultimately rebranding the region.
Maggie and her husband, Will, own Old Homeplace farm in Oneida, Kentucky. The farm's mission is to provide families with delicious, healthy meats and vegetables at an affordable price. They provide naturally-grown vegetables to southeastern Kentucky.
We sat down with Maggie to talk to her about her story, the farm's business model, and the importance of this type of farming.
Check out their Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/OldHomeplaceFarm/
http://www.oldhomeplacefarm.com/
Seth Long is the owner of SouthDown Farm in Ermine Kentucky. The farm produces maple syrup from the trees found on the property. On top of owning the farm, Seth is also the President of the Kentucky Maple Syrup Association and the Executive Director of HOMES, Inc. HOMES, which stands for Housing Oriented Ministries Established for Service, has built over 243 homes in Whitesburg and the surrounding counties since 1991.
We sat down with Seth to talk about maple syrup production, the role that housing plays in building communities, and how using latent resources could stimulate the economy.
https://www.southdownky.com/
Mike Addison is a man who wears a lot of hats. He's the Vice President of the Appalachian Children's Home in Barbourville, an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Cumberlands, the Lead Pastor at New Hope Ministries Church of God, and he serves on the board for Corbin's Baseball Boosters.
We sat down to talk to Mike about his story, leadership, and what he's learned from his many roles.
You can hear more from Mike on his own podcast:
https://spoti.fi/39KRwoK
Dr. Jordyne Carmack is a Professor at The University of the Cumberlands who teaches courses in marketing communication. Many of her classes have an emphasis on the digital side of marketing, which becomes more and more relevant as technology and social media continue to develop.
On top of her work as a professor, Jordyne sits on the Board for 127 Worldwide, a non-profit organization that cares for orphans and widows around the world by supporting local leaders and churches so that they can care for the vulnerable among them.
We sat down to talk to Jordyne about her story, what it was like to form a strategic marketing track for students at the university, and what she thinks the future of advertising looks like.
https://127worldwide.org/
Kendra Smallwood is the Owner and Founder of Pearl Apparel, a custom garment printing and embroidery business that helps bring creative visions to life.
Kendra sat down to talk to us about how she started her business, what her business' mission is, and where she hopes to take it in the future.
Like Pearl Apparel on Facebook!: https://bit.ly/2RIPPC0
Follow them on Instagram @pearlapparelky
Salvador Sanchez is the owner of A Cup of Commonwealth, Chocolate Holler, and Magic Beans Coffee Roasters.
We drove up to Lexington, KY to talk to Salvador about his experience as an entrepreneur, his business' mission, and how he's embraced community.
http://acupofcommonwealth.com/
Jonathan Webb is turning his dream of a high-tech farming hub in Appalachia into reality with AppHarvest. The company, which has raised more than $100 million in funding, is building some of the largest indoor farms in the world, combining conventional agricultural techniques with today’s technology to grow non-GMO, chemical-free produce to be sold to the top 25 U.S. grocers. The company’s first controlled-environment agriculture facility, will span 60 acres and open in 2020 in Morehead, KY. We sat down to talk to Jonathan about community, agriculture, and being headquartered in Appalachia. appharvest.com
The Holler's Co-Founders join us on the show to tell us some of the things they wish they'd known before starting the business.
Listen in to hear what they have to say about leadership, managing a team, insecurities, and why you should hire someone to do the stuff that you can't.
Payton May is the Chief Operations Officer at Bit Source, a software development company that is famous for hiring out-of-work coal industry professionals and teaching them how to code.
Ryan Jones is the Director of SOAR Innovation. SOAR helps foster Appalachian entrepreneurship, so they have worked pretty closely with Bit Source since its inception.
James and Chase sat down with Payton and Ryan to hear more of the Bit Source story and what the company is doing now.
Check out Google's Bit Source feature here: https://bit.ly/2QIJuoz
Maggy Kriebel is the Director of Tourism for the city of Corbin, Kentucky. In order to encourage people to visit the area, Maggy has to have a strong understanding of the things that make the region great.
We sat down with her to talk about the things she loves about the area, how tourism spurs economic development, and the role that marketing plays in her department's success.
To learn about all the great things there are to do in Corbin, visit corbinkytourism.com!
Courtney Oliver is the founder of Reppin2Recovery, a nonprofit organization that provides individuals who complete substance abuse rehabilitation programs with free gym or fitness facility memberships.
We talked to Courtney about why she started the organization, some early success stories, and where Reppin2Recovery is heading in the future.
https://www.facebook.com/Reppin2Recovery-443345453173732/
https://www.instagram.com/reppin2recovery/
Chase Hail, The Holler's Director of Operations, recently completed Leadership Kentucky's BRIGHT program for young leaders in Eastern Kentucky.
We sat down and talked about the closing session, his favorite parts of the program, and the importance of humility in leadership.
Tal Jones is a Business and Innovation Champion of SOAR Innovation. He provides support to business owners and entrepreneurs in 14 Kentucky counties to help them launch and grow their businesses.
Tal has experience as a small business owner, so he understands the challenges that many of his clients are facing.
In this episode, we spoke with Tal about why he believes in the region, how SOAR supports local entrepreneurs, and a business pitch competition at the SOAR Summit.
Check out SOAR's website to see all the great work they're doing! https://www.soar-ky.org/
Ryan Osborne is another member of the Bright Kentucky leadership class that we were fortunate enough to have on the show.
Ryan is a Development Officer with the University of the Cumberlands, which means that a lot of his job is focused on raising funds for new projects that the university is undertaking.
As someone who grew up in the region, Ryan appreciates both the landscape and the people of Eastern Kentucky.
We talked got to talk to Ryan about what's going on at the university, his vision for a more modern region, and his long-range shooting hobby.
Chase and James took a field trip to the Appalachian Challenge Academy in Harlan, Kentucky to record this episode of The Hollercast and tour the facility.
We sat down with Colby French, the Deputy Director of the Appalachian Challenge Academy to discuss what the Academy does, who it serves, and how it serves them. Colby had a lot to say about the perception that many people have of the region and how that affects the youth here.
https://challengeaca.com/
Jeffery Justice is a Business and Innovation Champion of Shaping Our Appalachian Region, Inc. (SOAR). Jeffery works throughout the region to identify and build relationships with existing small businesses that have the desire and capacity to scale-up.
We talked about why he believes in the region, the fear of failure that often holds entrepreneurs back, and some of the innovations that are coming out of the region.
https://www.thereisafuture.org/the-proof
https://www.instagram.com/jeffery.justice7/
Tyler Johnson is the Communications and Community Development Coordinator for the city of Richmond, Kentucky. On top of that, he is also a member of BRIGHT Kentucky. Tyler has some experience at every level of government as well as in the non-profit sector.
Tyler's duties involve overseeing the city's communication efforts and working on the downtown revitalization project. Although he hasn't been in this position for long, he's excited about what's to come.
We discussed what Tyler loves about the region, what he hopes to achieve in his city, and how he's going to reach those goals.
Jessica Bray is a Regional Transportation Planner for the Cumberland Valley Area Development District. This means that she meets with government officials in eight different counties to discuss road project concerns. Aside from her work in transportation, Jessica is also the Owner and Founder of the Kentucky Country Music website.
James and Ford sat down with Jessica to discuss how transportation affects communities, why she loves the region, and interesting things that have happened to her in her 20 years of interviewing artists.
Check out http://kentuckycountrymusic.com/ to find a collection of stories, interviews, road trip adventures, reviews, and a culture that is like no other.
Visit http://cvadd.org/regional-transportation-planning.html to learn more about how to reach out to your local officials with road concerns.
In this episode, Director of Operations Chase Hail and Chief Vision Officer Josh Coppock discuss the "The 25 worst counties to live in," negative perceptions of Appalachia, and what positive changes can be made.
The article referenced in the show:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/03/13/worst-places-live-us-counties-ranked-poverty-life-expectancy/39163929/
Ford Edwards, Editor of The Holler Hustle, sits down to tell us his story, explain what his work entails, and catch us up on the hot topics of marketing. He explains online privacy concerns while discussing potential solutions, and looks ahead to trends in social advertising that will affect marketers in the coming months.
https://hollerhustle.com/
Kevin and Josh tell us a bit about their upbringing and education that brought them to where they are today.
The two founders explain how their business started and what it does now.
The purpose of The Holler, to bring hope and opportunity back to the Appalachian reason, is explained.
In the show's inaugural episode, host James Schweizer interviews The Holler Co-Founders Kevin Flora and Josh Coppock about their backgrounds, entrepreneurship, how they decided to start their business, and where the company is headed.
The Holler Creative is a digital marketing firm located in Corbin, Kentucky. The team at The Holler helps businesses grow by leveraging the power of the internet. Whether it's through graphic design, social media management, or website development, The Holler helps companies understand and implement cutting-edge solutions to 21st-century business problems. All of this work points back to The Holler's mission of bringing hope and opportunity back to the Appalachian Region.