May 2026

[00:00:18] Speaker A: Well, good morning, everyone, and welcome to the May edition of the chamber chant. Good morning to my co host, Jen Sherwood. [00:00:23] Speaker B: Good rainy morning to you. [00:00:25] Speaker A: Okay, Jen. [00:00:26] Speaker C: Yes. [00:00:26] Speaker A: So we've been doing this a long time. I mean, I think I've been doing this for like 26 years now. And this is the most guess today that we've ever had. I'm sweating. [00:00:36] Speaker B: We are gonna have so much fun. It's about the fun. Well, it means that much. That's the much fun we're gonna have. [00:00:43] Speaker A: Well, Coco's in the studio, you know, organizing, and she said if we go too long on one, she's gonna give us a senko. I don't know what that is, but it's scared. [00:00:53] Speaker B: I've seen it. [00:00:54] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:00:55] Speaker D: All right. [00:00:56] Speaker A: We're gonna try to help get it. We're gonna try. [00:00:58] Speaker B: We're working hard on staying on track. [00:01:00] Speaker A: Oh, I'm getting the sen. Oh, but Jen, you know my favorite thing in the whole wide world? [00:01:06] Speaker B: New members. [00:01:07] Speaker A: New members. And boy, do we have them this morning. [00:01:09] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness. We are so grateful to. [00:01:12] Speaker A: Yes. [00:01:12] Speaker B: All of our members. But it's especially fun to have new members to talk with. Oh, I love it. [00:01:17] Speaker A: Well, you know, the first group we've got here, I've got a group of three. [00:01:21] Speaker B: Yes. [00:01:22] Speaker A: And they're not only representing one new member, but two. [00:01:27] Speaker B: Oh, they're awesome. We got a twofer. [00:01:30] Speaker A: We do whatever that is. And we have. [00:01:35] Speaker B: I'm gonna go to the dentist. [00:01:36] Speaker A: Okay. This is the head mama right here. This is Tanya Sullivan. [00:01:41] Speaker B: Yes, Tanya Sullivan. Welcome. [00:01:42] Speaker E: Thank you. [00:01:43] Speaker A: And we have Shea, Walter, and we have heather centers. And it's like center heel hake, except with a s and an s at the end. [00:01:53] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:01:54] Speaker A: Was that confusing? [00:01:55] Speaker B: No. Still less. [00:01:56] Speaker F: I know. [00:01:57] Speaker B: And so that's a good way to remember it all. Good job. [00:02:00] Speaker A: Or confuse every. Good morning, ladies. Good morning. Oh, it's been so fun. I have talked to Heather so much. I think we've become best friends. She's awesome. [00:02:09] Speaker G: So. [00:02:10] Speaker A: Well, let's first talk about the first one we got here. [00:02:13] Speaker B: Sullivan. [00:02:13] Speaker A: Walter Homes. Oh, my goodness. I know, Jen. They not only have homes that move straight in, but they do custom builds. [00:02:21] Speaker B: I do want to ask. [00:02:22] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:02:23] Speaker B: Go ahead, Tanya. [00:02:24] Speaker A: Since the beginning. [00:02:25] Speaker B: When did you start building? [00:02:27] Speaker E: About 10 years ago. [00:02:28] Speaker B: And how many houses have you built? [00:02:31] Speaker A: Estimated you didn't know it was going to be a test, did you? [00:02:33] Speaker B: I. I mean, I just want people to know. [00:02:35] Speaker E: James, he had a statistic. [00:02:40] Speaker B: It's just to help people understand what. What you're doing. In the. [00:02:43] Speaker A: In the gas, you can say a lot. [00:02:45] Speaker E: So for custom homes, we've done probably 40. And the spec homes that we do or the available homes that we do, over 100. We've got some developments that we've done here in town, Beckham Way, which is right up behind kfc and that really new area, like a Murfreesboro feel just in the community. It has a small HOA fees, but so that they can kind of govern themselves and maintain some order in there and make it look good. We added the street lights to just give that a really good feel in there. We have a lot of folks that are in there that are either newlyweds or young professionals coming out. [00:03:29] Speaker B: I see a lot of people walking their dogs, happy. In a neighborhood. Yeah. In a neighborhood where they're out enjoying. Enjoying the. The neighbors. [00:03:41] Speaker H: And. [00:03:41] Speaker B: And that just is a good feeling. [00:03:44] Speaker E: And that was kind of when Shay and I got together. Of course, Shay moved. She. She moved off to Murfreesboro area, Spring Hill, and then rotated back around to Highway 96. But she had a good feel for what we wanted the community to. To be like. The atmosphere there. [00:04:00] Speaker A: Well, we're loving it, Shay, I tell you. How is it working with your mom? Oh, that was a good question. [00:04:11] Speaker B: Can I just warn you, her nickname is Smother. [00:04:15] Speaker A: And please ask her. [00:04:17] Speaker B: And she has her own children who she has worked with. [00:04:20] Speaker A: So somebody asks my children, it's like over for me. [00:04:24] Speaker B: It's a weighted question. You're welcome to be as untruthful as [00:04:30] Speaker A: you need to be. [00:04:32] Speaker I: I love the word dream, though. [00:04:34] Speaker J: No, it's a blessing. I mean, I enjoy getting to work with her every day, and it's fun to start a new project. And she's helpful. She'll do anything for me. [00:04:43] Speaker E: Most of the time. [00:04:44] Speaker A: Most of the time. [00:04:46] Speaker E: I will say I've been very fortunate. Shay and Mallory both. I've got two girls, and to be able to be in our hometown, my hometown, with the girls and get to see them every day down on the square is just fantastic for me. [00:05:00] Speaker A: Well, and they're all got these wonderful businesses. No, you're so proud. Well, what else? Anything else you want to share about that before we go into the next one? How do people get a hold of you? What do you need to do, Shay? [00:05:11] Speaker J: Contact me, okay. 931-510-7332. We also have a website that is up and going and it's got just a collection of some projects that we've completed. Things that opportunities, if you're Looking for land or different things like that. And then explains, like a highlight overview of our process. So that would be a great source, too. [00:05:35] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:05:35] Speaker I: And social media, Instagram, TikTok. [00:05:40] Speaker A: So you have a great presence. I was looking at all that. [00:05:43] Speaker E: And we have an office building downtown where Refined used to be. [00:05:48] Speaker A: And, oh, it is beautiful. [00:05:51] Speaker E: First Baptist Church. And so we're loving that office space, though. [00:05:55] Speaker B: It's wonderful. [00:05:57] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:05:57] Speaker A: When the, when the state people were here to, you know, see, make sure I'm doing my. My stuff, you know, for downtown. [00:06:03] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:06:04] Speaker A: I said, oh, I got to take you over to see some. [00:06:05] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:06:06] Speaker K: Right. [00:06:07] Speaker B: I mean, we like to have. We like to have those gems every place that they are. [00:06:12] Speaker A: And, oh, the DeKalb County Fair. Seems like y' all got a little bit of a connection there. Right. This year. [00:06:18] Speaker I: Yeah. So for the first time ever, the DeKalb County Fair is going to have a free admission day. [00:06:24] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:06:25] Speaker I: Sponsored by Sullivan Walter Homes. And also mid tent disposal. [00:06:29] Speaker B: Love it. [00:06:31] Speaker I: So free admission. Bring your family, friends. [00:06:34] Speaker B: That's a first. So I need you to whisper in my ear what day that is, because I always. I always work the ticket booth. [00:06:42] Speaker I: Yeah. [00:06:42] Speaker B: And so I will sign up for that day, make it really good on, you know, an easy evening for me. It's Wednesday. [00:06:50] Speaker A: But she's not telling the truth. She wants to talk to every single. Walks through. [00:06:56] Speaker I: Yes. Hopefully there's a lot more people for you to. [00:06:59] Speaker A: Oh, we still be crazy now. [00:07:01] Speaker I: So June 24th. [00:07:02] Speaker B: That's amazing. That's really wonderful. [00:07:05] Speaker E: We just wanted to give back to the community. Shay got involved with that and lassoed us into it and said, hey, mom, we need to sponsor this. [00:07:12] Speaker L: Wow. [00:07:12] Speaker J: The fair board is working really, really hard to bring some new things to the fair and to grow it. And so we just really wanted, you know, to support that effort, and we're excited to see what that produces. [00:07:22] Speaker B: That is amazing. [00:07:23] Speaker A: That is amazing. [00:07:24] Speaker B: Thank you very much. [00:07:25] Speaker A: Jeff McMillan is going to be on the phone with us next to talk about everything. So I'm excited about that. But that is amazing. [00:07:33] Speaker B: And your second business that you're here to talk about is Middle Tennessee, Tennessee [00:07:42] Speaker A: Med 10. You say it that way. Mid 10. All right, there we go. So. [00:07:50] Speaker I: So that's dumpsters and porta potties. So we have 15 and 20 yard dumpsters and whole selection. [00:07:56] Speaker B: No porta Potties in the dumpster, though. You don't have to go in the dumpster for the porta potty. I just. Just trying to visualize it. Yeah. [00:08:04] Speaker I: And the nice thing is that One thing that sets us apart is we also have same day delivery, so that's actually a really great thing. And we also have contractor pricing, which is nice. And we have rentals everywhere from like one week all the way to long term. [00:08:20] Speaker A: I love their website on this. It's so easy to see the pricing. Easy to see what you've got. I mean, great job. [00:08:27] Speaker B: And this is great entrepreneurship, too, of seeing the need in our community for this and being able to provide service and be in a hometown business that we know we're gonna be treated right. [00:08:38] Speaker E: And you'll be able to see a little visibility out on Cookville Highway. We renovated the barn, and that's where we. Tried to restore that. We fell in love with the history [00:08:52] Speaker J: and so fell and. [00:08:53] Speaker A: Oh, that's your. That's your barn then? [00:08:56] Speaker E: That's our barn. [00:08:56] Speaker B: It is our barn. [00:08:57] Speaker A: I used to stop there and buy corn from the Pritchards when I was. It's been a day or two. [00:09:02] Speaker E: We also get to work with my brother Terry. He is our contractor, and so he and I fell in love with the barn. [00:09:09] Speaker A: I love the barn. [00:09:10] Speaker E: We've restored the barn. [00:09:11] Speaker B: That's great. [00:09:11] Speaker J: It started off as a small project. [00:09:13] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:09:16] Speaker I: Nothing is a business. [00:09:17] Speaker B: Knowing Tanya saw then nothing is a small project. [00:09:21] Speaker A: We would drive up and see how far along the was coming. I mean, we love it. Oh, my goodness. I'm so glad to know y' all got. [00:09:28] Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you again for supporting the chamber and coming and spending a few minutes to talk about the exciting things happening. [00:09:34] Speaker E: We appreciate you guys so much. [00:09:36] Speaker A: Awesome. [00:09:37] Speaker B: All right, thank you. And they wanted us to know. Off you go. And next we have Jack Schroyer and associates. Did I say that right? [00:09:51] Speaker C: You did. Schrader. Schrader. [00:09:53] Speaker A: Oh, Schrader. [00:09:54] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:09:54] Speaker C: They'll throw you off. [00:09:56] Speaker B: And this is Kathy Wilson here to talk to us about this new member. New chamber member. [00:10:02] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:10:03] Speaker C: I'm a newbie. So I just moved from Jacksonville, Florida, and decided to put roots down in Smithville. [00:10:09] Speaker B: She does have a look of surprise. I'm like, what have I gotten myself into? [00:10:14] Speaker A: We tried to calm her down beforehand. [00:10:15] Speaker C: I'm trying to make a list of sayings like, you know, my hat flew in the creek or things like that, so I couldn't fit in. [00:10:23] Speaker A: I say that every day. [00:10:24] Speaker C: Oh, we do. [00:10:24] Speaker B: Because we do have a newbie Southern language class. We need signing up for that because, you know, we've. [00:10:32] Speaker A: Well, you're not as much trauma as Emily Bell from Australia is. [00:10:36] Speaker B: Right. [00:10:37] Speaker A: Although we've adjusted to her language. We're calling things whatever she calls them now. So anyway. Yeah, yeah. [00:10:43] Speaker C: So good to have you used to that Southern in Jacksonville. But so I'm here and I'm representing Jack Schrader and Associates. We're a national fmo, which is an agency. So like realtors, you have to fall under a house of an agency. And so we're one of the top up lines and we have a great back office. We have a four headquarters nationally and one of the biggest FMOs. So we have training and actually have a podcast I do monthly, so I'm actually part of the Marketplace Affordable Care act team and I do Medicare as well. And so if you're looking for maybe a side hustle or a new business or a way to expand your business, if you're a local broker here, we can help with that. [00:11:25] Speaker A: Oh, that sounds awesome. So how do they contact you? [00:11:29] Speaker C: Well, they can go to jsa online.com or they can call me directly my cell phone. And one thing we're known for is we answer our phone. Oh yeah. So that's always agents that call. And if you're a broker out there, that's the number one tip I can give anybody. Answer your phone, answer your phone. Or you can say next. You know, and I tell them if you, if you don't know, if you can't see in touch and talk to your broker for your health insurance, your life insurance, then they probably live in Nigeria. They're probably from a telehealth, you know, call center calling you. And that's not good feeling to have someone that you don't personally know who can really take care of you and who knows you. [00:12:13] Speaker B: Well, there's nothing better in customer service than somebody who's with willing to listen. [00:12:17] Speaker C: Absolutely. [00:12:18] Speaker B: Before they start trying to tell you what, what fits for you. [00:12:22] Speaker C: That's right. And with all the scams that are out there these days, I mean, and once you turn a certain age, and I won't say it but you know, I actually was able to join. [00:12:31] Speaker A: Look at me brother Chad. He knows I'm 71 of the counties [00:12:34] Speaker C: let me join their senior center. [00:12:36] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:12:36] Speaker C: And I said it's my first time joining a senior center, so I'm proud to be part of one. And you could see me at the local Smithville senior center, maybe at food banks and as well helping out. And we just want to become a resource to Smithville. [00:12:50] Speaker B: Oh, that's awesome. [00:12:51] Speaker A: We are so grateful you joined the chamber. [00:12:53] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:12:54] Speaker A: You're just, you're going to fit in here just fine. [00:12:57] Speaker C: We met so many people, my husband and I. He does home health and just everybody has been so welcoming to the Walmart greeter, to, you know, the person at the gas station. We've had long conversations everywhere we've gone. [00:13:11] Speaker A: It makes me feel good. [00:13:12] Speaker B: Yeah, me too. [00:13:13] Speaker A: That's why it should be a bad community. [00:13:15] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:13:16] Speaker A: So nice having you here, Kathy. [00:13:18] Speaker C: Thank you. So if you need any help with life insurance, annuities, indemnities, Medicaid, Medicare or Obamacare, we can help. [00:13:27] Speaker A: Okay. [00:13:28] Speaker B: Awesome. [00:13:28] Speaker A: Yeah, just give you a call. You'll answer? [00:13:30] Speaker C: I'll answer, I promise. [00:13:32] Speaker B: Thank you and welcome to the community. [00:13:35] Speaker A: Thank you. [00:13:36] Speaker C: It's been a pleasure. Thank you. [00:13:38] Speaker B: Are we going to talk about volunteer? [00:13:41] Speaker A: I think we're going to wait in case Danielle gets here and if not, we're gonna. Don't even forget to wind back around. [00:13:46] Speaker B: We'll do it. [00:13:47] Speaker H: Okay. [00:13:47] Speaker B: So this is our exciting moment where we segment. We've started this maybe three months ago, our industrial spotlight. Yeah. We are very excited about our new members but we also want to take a few minutes to talk about our long term ones. The ones that are in our industry who have been great support of our community, major employers, people who provide that long term support and influence in our community. And this time this month we have Cherokee North America. Roth Terrell is here. [00:14:29] Speaker A: One of my favorite people indeed. Yeah. [00:14:32] Speaker B: To come talk to us about. You know, most people have passed by Shoki and they say what do they do there? It's pretty, it's pretty hard to get anywhere from Smithville to Lebanon or Nashville or Murfreesboro without seeing that big complex over there across from the high school. But let's talk about what Cherokee does. [00:14:57] Speaker M: Sure. [00:14:58] Speaker K: So. [00:14:58] Speaker M: Well, first of all, thank you for having us. We appreciate you spotlighting Cherokee. We've been in the business here in Smithville since 1988. The Shoki Wicks Corporation started here as a joint venture in 1988. The facility came here in support of the new Toyota facility that was being built in Georgetown, Kentucky at the time. And so since then we've had several name changes. People still ask today, are you working at S and W or working at Shoroki Wicks? But we've gone through several name changes through different corporate restructuring over the years. So we are now Shiroki North America. We have expanded our facility numerous times since we've been here. Our commodity investment and what we produce has changed a couple of times. We began with the window regulators which is the mechanism inside the doors that make the windows go up and down. We do that for all of the Toyota vehicles produced in North America right here in Smithville. Well, those products actually have moved to Gornsville, Tennessee. We haven't slew there. [00:15:58] Speaker B: I should say Middle Tennessee. [00:15:59] Speaker M: Yeah. So we have been fortunate enough. We do have three facilities. Dalton, Georgia, Smithville and Gornsville, Tennessee, North America headquarters. I was here in Smithville. So this is where the corporate headquarters is located, which we're very fortunate to have. But yeah, so here in Smithville we, we produce seat mechanisms. So the recliners in your seat that make your seat go back and forth and then the sliding tracks that slide the slate seat back and forth. [00:16:23] Speaker A: My favorite feature in a car. [00:16:25] Speaker M: So. So those. That's kind of the. That's the largest portion of our business out of the Smithville facility. We also do door frames. The door sashes is what some people call them. It's the, it's the sash that goes around the door where the window is moving up and down inside. And then we also have a door channel. And we do that door channel for gm. And so we're currently have the business for all of the GM truck platform. And we're shipping those across three countries. We ship those parts out of here, goes to Canada, Mexico and multiple facilities here in the US for all the GM locations. So it's the Chevrolets, the GMCs, the Tahoe Suburbans, Escalades, Denali. I mean it's all, all the truck platform. So we're really excited about that business. It's, it's good business for us. We are in the process of launching the next round of business for that project with GM this coming year. So the all new 2027 trucks that will be coming out, we'll be supporting those for the next seven years. [00:17:22] Speaker A: Wow. [00:17:23] Speaker M: So it's really good commodity. [00:17:24] Speaker B: So how many people work at Shiroki? [00:17:27] Speaker M: Yeah, so it's here at the Smithville facility we have approximately 440, you know, five people. Approximately 80 of those are salary team members. So the other 361 are our hourly team members. Like I said, we do have the corporate division. So there's about 40 salary team members there. 40 on the plant floor. From a salary standpoint. The remaining amount is hourly team members. [00:17:49] Speaker A: Wow. We are so fortunate that I have these big companies here that apply so many jobs to people. You've been there quite a few years, you're saying there. [00:17:58] Speaker M: 15 years this August. [00:17:59] Speaker G: Wow. [00:18:00] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:18:01] Speaker B: You must have started when you were 10. [00:18:03] Speaker A: I was Satan. [00:18:09] Speaker B: So tell us A little bit about Cherokee's philosophy about community outreach. And so we've been very fortunate partnership. [00:18:18] Speaker M: We. We have. [00:18:19] Speaker L: We. [00:18:19] Speaker M: We've got a really good partnership currently through our EHS activities with the local ambulance service and fire department. This past several years we've been working on real world catastrophic events. So what would happen if we got hit by a tornado at the facility? How do we. How do we take care of our team members? How do we take care of our customers? So we've done a really good job working with Charlie Parker and his team and what service and we've had some real world scenarios pop up where we actually go through the drills of what would happen. Fire department, Smithville Police Department and everybody comes. We practice disaster recovery inside the facility. So we've done that from fires. We've done that for tornadoes which is [00:18:59] Speaker B: not crazy to practice because a tornado just blew over Cherokee a couple of years ago. [00:19:06] Speaker M: That's right. [00:19:07] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:07] Speaker M: So. So that is part of our community involvement with them. [00:19:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:11] Speaker M: We have over the past couple years started developing a really good relationship with the high school school and their mechatronics program. Ms. Amy Fricks over there has been bringing over some students to do some tours and to see what our facility does. And then we were able to donate a Panasonic robot to their. Their. To the high school a couple years ago to help them through some training and some. Some things that they're working on. So it's been a great relationship there. Part of our nature symbiosis activities that we're currently working on in the back of Shiroki. We have a lot of land there. [00:19:42] Speaker L: There's of lot a. [00:19:43] Speaker M: We're sitting on 92 acres but used [00:19:45] Speaker B: to play soccer back there. [00:19:46] Speaker M: Used to be soccer fields back there. There's a really nice barn back there that we use for company outdoor events. But we're in the process of creating that as more of a nice nature area. We hope to partner with Community4H Boy Scouts and things like that in the future to try to help them get involved out there a little bit more. So developing more community activities that way as well. [00:20:06] Speaker B: Oh, that's great. [00:20:07] Speaker A: I love that you're so community minded. [00:20:08] Speaker B: Right, right. Well and it's great for your employees too because there is nothing more. More connective than having an employee be proud about where they work and be able to share that with their family. [00:20:21] Speaker M: Yes. [00:20:22] Speaker B: And. And that that just grows. Grows both in a great way. [00:20:27] Speaker M: It does. We an activity that we started just a couple years. A couple years ago. Is it's called a your story board, and your story is a stand by me or hear me board. It's a Japanese term. And so we give all of our team members in the plant an opportunity to. They can. If they see something, it could be safety, morale, anything they see that they feel like needs to be done in the facility they can fill. It gets turned in, we evaluate it, we rank it. A, B, C, D. Safety would be A. Obviously morale, you know, is going to fit in there somewhere. But some of that's come from this nature symbiosis we're doing. Some team members said it'd be great if we had a walking trail. So we actually put in a walking trail out around the bar. It's approximately a quarter of a mile long. So we used recycled asphalt to do that, and so we put that in. Last year, there was another one for Frisbee golf. So we've got a couple of stations to. In the backfield for Frisbee golf. So when team members get off work or before work or however they want to do that, there are some activities that we afford them as well to do that well. [00:21:21] Speaker B: And I know Cherokee has always been very community minded, but also personal development and being physically fit and having that opportunity seems like a great use of your space. [00:21:36] Speaker M: There it is. You know, we do challenge our team members every year. We do have a little bit of a health activity that we challenge them with. We partner with the health department through that activity to try to inspire them to be, you know, health conscious, make good decisions, be active, and all of those things. [00:21:52] Speaker A: So that's awesome. You know, because of Shiroki, I learned a new word years ago. [00:21:56] Speaker H: Yeah. [00:21:57] Speaker A: And I got, you know, I was friends with. [00:21:58] Speaker B: With Timomi. [00:22:00] Speaker A: Well, and Nick. You remember Nick. [00:22:02] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:22:02] Speaker A: Konichiwa. Of course. We had some people come in from. From Shiroki once, and when I said that, they thought that meant I can and speak. I was like, that's. [00:22:16] Speaker B: That's one word. [00:22:16] Speaker A: My one word. [00:22:17] Speaker G: She just said kishi want y'. [00:22:19] Speaker A: All. They would have figured it out. Yeah. Right? [00:22:23] Speaker B: There we go. [00:22:24] Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you so much for having us. [00:22:27] Speaker B: We really appreciate your support the chamber. You've been a great partner with us for many, many years, and we're just glad to have you in the community. Thank you so much. [00:22:37] Speaker D: Thank. [00:22:38] Speaker A: Maybe we can get to Momi to look online, you know. Yeah. [00:22:43] Speaker B: Tomomi. [00:22:44] Speaker A: Oh, I miss Tomomi. [00:22:45] Speaker B: Yeah, she was awesome. [00:22:47] Speaker A: Okay, well, where she still is. She's awesome. And I get to see her all the Time like we used to. Oh, De. Look who's here. [00:22:54] Speaker B: Oh, page two. [00:22:56] Speaker G: We're on page two. [00:22:58] Speaker A: Turn the pa. Oh, we're about to get the stink out again. Oh, now look at her. Look at her. [00:23:04] Speaker G: She's paralyzed on the side of the face. [00:23:06] Speaker B: That's right. [00:23:07] Speaker L: You're not going to look at her, are you? [00:23:09] Speaker B: My smile goes down half and we know it's because of the stink. [00:23:13] Speaker A: Get her done. Smith First Baptist Church. Brother Chad. Y' all have been busy lately. [00:23:18] Speaker G: Yeah, it's been. It's been busy, busy, busy. April, Easter for everybody. Wonderful community service. Last month we had our Good Friday service, which was great. And then we also had some. A Seder meal service for the community, and then everybody had our Easter services, and it was just awesome, just seeing everybody get plugged into their churches, whatever. [00:23:39] Speaker M: That's it. [00:23:39] Speaker G: So a lot of stuff going on right now, though, too. So tomorrow, actually. So Today is the May 6th. Tomorrow's May 7th is National Day of Prayer. [00:23:49] Speaker B: Yes. [00:23:50] Speaker G: So we'll be out on the court, out by the court house steps at noon. [00:23:55] Speaker C: What side? [00:23:57] Speaker G: Huh? The one that has steps. [00:24:01] Speaker B: The one that everyone will be at. [00:24:03] Speaker G: So just come on out, park your [00:24:06] Speaker B: car, and walk to where the people [00:24:08] Speaker G: are on the east side. [00:24:10] Speaker C: Okay. [00:24:10] Speaker G: The east side. [00:24:11] Speaker B: I think I saw it kind of set up over there. [00:24:13] Speaker A: That's the city hall side for you people who don't know north and south and east. [00:24:17] Speaker G: Yeah, yeah. So we'll be there tomorrow at noon having a. A service, praying for our. Our city, our county, state and country and world and stuff. So we were doing it at night, but we tried to. We thought, let's just go back to doing the daytime. [00:24:32] Speaker A: So what time's that going to be? [00:24:33] Speaker G: It's at noon, and if it does rain, we're going to slide over. Graydon has opened Refuge for us. In case it does rain, we can slide over there and go to Refuge Church. [00:24:43] Speaker A: The churches all work together. [00:24:45] Speaker G: Yeah, there's all different pastors leading the prayer, so it should be a great service tomorrow at noon. So that's going on tomorrow and then on Saturday. For those interested, our church at Smith Hill First Baptist is doing a women's community day, and we did a men's community day last month where we gave out free oil changes to single moms and senior adults. [00:25:05] Speaker E: Adults. [00:25:05] Speaker G: This is a women's community day where for young family and young parents, if you will, going to be giving out free diapers, baby supplies, all kinds of stuff during the day. Having some resources from pregnancy Crisis center will Be there. And also the Haven of Hope and some other centers will be there just to offer and tell people what the services that are available for them as well. [00:25:29] Speaker A: What's that date again? [00:25:30] Speaker G: That's this. This sun. This Saturday, the 9th. [00:25:33] Speaker A: The 9th. [00:25:34] Speaker G: And it's from 9am to noon. [00:25:36] Speaker B: And do people have to register? [00:25:38] Speaker G: They do not. You can show up from 9am to noon. And we will give away until we don't have any more to give away. [00:25:43] Speaker B: So make sure you get there a little early. [00:25:46] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:25:46] Speaker G: I mean, the. [00:25:46] Speaker L: More. [00:25:47] Speaker G: I mean. But I mean, we were not before nine. Yeah. Sometimes they line up. [00:25:51] Speaker L: Let's just. [00:25:52] Speaker B: Yeah, that's fine. [00:25:52] Speaker A: That's fine. [00:25:53] Speaker G: So. But we'll be out there that 9am being able to serve the community. And. And it's mostly going to be our. Our ladies, our Madison Vaden and Sherry Lynn who run our women's ministry. They're leading that endeavor. And we'll have some other. Our counselors out there as well, too. But just looking forward to that and a lot of other stuff going on. I know. It's just a busy time of year. We got Mother's Day is. Is this Sunday. And then graduation, Graduation Sunday, the Memorial Day weekend. [00:26:22] Speaker B: I've always said May. May seem. Seems just as busy as Christmas. I always think of that. Yeah. The, you know, between Thanksgiving and Christmas is just so crazy, everything going on. But I think May is just as busy. [00:26:36] Speaker G: It is. It really is. Like. And, and especially I can say in my household, I have a high school senior. [00:26:42] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:42] Speaker G: And so it's just. It's gone even quicker. [00:26:45] Speaker B: One event after the other. [00:26:47] Speaker G: Yes. He was sitting right here apparently, a couple weeks ago and ate. I think he ate pig brains. For the, the. [00:26:53] Speaker B: For the fundraising. Yeah. [00:26:55] Speaker A: We can do that for chamber chat. [00:26:56] Speaker B: Do you want to do that? Yeah, let's do it. [00:26:58] Speaker G: I will not be here that day. We won't be there that day. So I could believe he did it. So, so. But a lot of stuff going on, especially this Sunday. Jump in for Mother's Day and get back in church. [00:27:10] Speaker D: So. [00:27:10] Speaker A: Oh, thanks, brother. [00:27:11] Speaker G: Thanks, guys. [00:27:12] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:27:13] Speaker A: Well, the DEA Prevention Coalition yard sale estate Saturday, May 23rd from 8am to 12pm I wish I brought my glasses. At the DeKalb County Complex. Go through the UT Extension entrance. That have clothes and baked goods and preventive materials, community resources. Lots of stuff. Yeah. [00:27:31] Speaker B: Yep. And that's a great day. That's Memorial Day weekend. [00:27:34] Speaker A: Oh, is it? [00:27:36] Speaker B: Maybe not. [00:27:37] Speaker A: I don't know. Maybe. It sounds like it's fourth. [00:27:39] Speaker B: Fourth Monday. Yeah. [00:27:40] Speaker A: It is. [00:27:41] Speaker B: Yep. So do you. Do you know my favorite event is coming up? It's already started. [00:27:50] Speaker A: What is it? [00:27:50] Speaker B: DeKalb county cleanup. [00:27:52] Speaker A: Oh, you really like that? [00:27:53] Speaker B: I do, because it is such a disappointment when people throw their trash when people litter. [00:28:03] Speaker A: Oh, it's such a disappointment. We don't like that. [00:28:06] Speaker B: And so this is an opportunity for us to all getting together. I really feel as if there is a theory out there that one big pile is better than two little piles, but if there's no pile at all, maybe no one would ever litter. [00:28:22] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:28:23] Speaker B: So that's my theory. [00:28:24] Speaker A: And be careful about throwing trash in the back of your truck, because it blows out. [00:28:28] Speaker B: Yeah. You're like, oh, that solved that problem. Well, no, it's someplace else down the road. [00:28:32] Speaker A: We're not gonna have a day we actually, like, come and get a big picture and all that this year. We're just gonna have the dumpster set out. We'll have them starting May 6th through the. All the way through Mother's Day. So that we'll have the county complex. Yes, Today. Today. Today's Wednesday, right? [00:28:48] Speaker B: Today's Wednesday. [00:28:50] Speaker M: Yeah. [00:28:50] Speaker D: They're at 6. [00:28:51] Speaker B: That's today. [00:28:52] Speaker A: So they'll be at the county complex there in the parking lot. We'll have one behind the Alexandria Square there. We'll have one at the Liberty Community center and one at the. Right there. Somewhere in D town, probably next to the post office. [00:29:06] Speaker B: So I know our church is doing a collection on May. May 9, for going out on Saturday. And I really like the idea of folks just not necessarily having to dedicate a time putting it on their calendar. Like, oh, I have to be there for that. Yeah, that this. This is really just an opportunity. We always like to say we're. We're cleaning up the house before the. [00:29:31] Speaker I: The. [00:29:32] Speaker B: Before the tourists get here. [00:29:33] Speaker A: But. [00:29:34] Speaker B: But it's for us. [00:29:35] Speaker A: Yeah, it is. [00:29:36] Speaker D: And. [00:29:37] Speaker B: And bigger pieces of garbage are easier to pick up and. And take care of. Once they start mowing on the sides of the road, then it's just like, all kinds of little pieces, thousands of little pieces. That's not good. So. So we hope everyone is mindful about where you put your trash and make sure it goes in the right place. [00:29:58] Speaker A: Place. [00:29:58] Speaker B: And if you can get out there and clean up your street, your neighborhood, wherever. Wherever you can. We're actually just celebrating beautification of DeKalb County. [00:30:10] Speaker A: Well, I'll tell you who else is celebrating beautification is the downtown Smithlebudge. [00:30:14] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. Looking great. Downtown. [00:30:17] Speaker A: So pretty. They work so hard. [00:30:19] Speaker B: And here to talk about it is Randy Caldwell from the Purple Door. [00:30:23] Speaker L: Yeah, thanks for having me. Well, a lot of big things happen on my list, as usual. But the biggest thing is the mailroom celebrating their five year. [00:30:31] Speaker A: That was so fun. [00:30:32] Speaker L: For those of you that don't know, surviving for five years is a big deal for a small business. I would say if you looked at the stats. Yeah, the percentage of businesses beats the odds. Very low. [00:30:43] Speaker A: So you beat the odds. [00:30:45] Speaker L: You're going to see a number of those because that's kind of when Walnut street started regenerating businesses there. So I think throughout the year, what [00:30:52] Speaker B: we're going to celebrate, everyone celebrating five years. [00:30:54] Speaker L: So congrats to the mail rooms and what they have accomplished and what a great, what a great business to have in our downtown. [00:31:00] Speaker B: Especially preparing for Father's Day, which, you know, I mean, this is the time to be out getting that special gift. [00:31:07] Speaker L: Exactly. And speaking of Father's Day, but Mother's Day is coming up, so everything you need is in DeKalb County. You don't have to go outside to go get, get gifts for mom. So, you know, keep us keep all the businesses in mind and DeKalb county for your Mother's Day. [00:31:21] Speaker A: And not just downtown. We have so many wonderful businesses. [00:31:25] Speaker L: Absolutely. [00:31:26] Speaker A: From Alexandria all the way to Smithfield. [00:31:27] Speaker L: Yeah, absolutely. And then of course, we got the Cornbread festival coming up the 16th from 10 to 3 downtown. They're gonna have arts and crafts, car show, food trucks. Angela always does a great job putting on the events downtown. We as business owners is always excited to have her down there because it brings us a lot of business too. But we do want you to support the vendors as well. So it's important because if you don't support them, they don't come back. So, you know, support Angela and her efforts down there. You can find out more@centerhill events.com she does a number of festivals downtown throughout the years. [00:32:00] Speaker B: She knows how to do. It's very organized and, and lots of, lots of good things. [00:32:07] Speaker L: But she does it in other communities [00:32:08] Speaker A: as sure, we love her. [00:32:11] Speaker L: The pictures are always well attended and again, she does a great job. Don't forget about our shop late local on Friday nights. So we've, we've got that, you know, first Friday. We had everyone this past month, but we'll have, we'll continuing that effort on and we try to theme that with something. So don't know what we have planned for June, but we'll, we're figuring come up with something so on other things. Speaking of the mail room this week, they have a. They have a little bundle package going on. If you buy three items, you get 15% off. So keep that in mind. That'll go through Saturday. So great opportunity for Mother's Day or Teachers Appreciation, too. It's Teachers Appreciation Week as well, so. So keep that in mind. And then I saw car show on here. But, you know, we've got another car show there that the Smithville Merchants alliance is going to sponsor on June 26th. It's going on June 20th. I'm sorry. It's going to be chrome on the square, so we're going to have music and food trucks as well as that. So put that on your calendar. I know. I'll be reminding everybody next month. [00:33:18] Speaker B: I do love a car show. [00:33:20] Speaker L: Yeah, yeah, they're pretty cool. So this is. I think it's a little different than the car show. I don't quite know the concept of, but Shannon at the mail room is kind of coordinating that and putting that all together. So she's already got that lined up. So that'll be on the square. And I'll have a little more detail on it next month. And I want to keep talking about the art Walk again, just to remind everybody, put on your calendar September 26th. We've got a website that will be going live here probably in a few weeks. So if you are an artist that wants to participate in that, you can go to that or you can reach out to directly to myself or Sherry Elkins over at Rocky James there, so we can get your information. If you want to be a sponsor for the event, do that as well. Last year, we had 40 artists at the event. [00:34:02] Speaker B: That's amazing. [00:34:03] Speaker L: They were just a variety of artwork. So much talent. And the community really came out and supported us. Now we have moved it to a Saturday this year. Again, I'll say it every time, too, to put a Friday just so we could try to capture more of the community to come to it. Because I know Friday night's a big, big night for the football games. So we made a conscious decision this year to switch it to Saturday so that more of the community can come out and enjoy the vendors and enjoy the artists and. And just the event in itself. It's. It's becoming quite well known. We're getting artists from all over now, not just. Not just DeKalb County. [00:34:37] Speaker A: Oh, great. [00:34:38] Speaker L: We're getting them from Nashville. We're getting them from other communities. So we're becoming a known festival. Festival now with the artist. [00:34:44] Speaker A: So it takes a while to build that, so I appreciate it. [00:34:47] Speaker L: I think this is our fourth or fifth, I think our fourth year of having it. So it's gone from probably 15 artists now to 40. [00:34:55] Speaker A: That's awesome. [00:34:56] Speaker L: You know, on a number of streets now, rather than just walnuts, started out by the wall, by the walnut business is just doing something to give back to everybody. But now the whole downtown's embracing it. So we're so it event really put on by the downtown, historic downtown and the merchants Alliance. Yeah, so. So, yeah, so keep everybody in mind. We got a lot going on, a lot of beautification going on. If you haven't gone down there with the grant that Suzanne got for us, you see a lot of businesses that have taken the opportunity to do that and upgrades. [00:35:24] Speaker B: And we talk a lot about, you know, the live windows at Christmas. But I was noticing how neat the windows are now. [00:35:32] Speaker L: Well, that's a big thing that people have taken advantage of. Myself, my building, my wings were old. You know, the wind was blowing through them. So not just great appearance, but also helps the business owners from an energy efficiency standpoint. Bills as well. So. So that's a big deal. It's a big deal for the businesses to get that and give them the opportunity to improve the facades. [00:35:53] Speaker A: When I talked to Cheryl at Cheryl Bo, you know, she got all new windows. She said her utility bills, I mean, electric's cut in half. [00:36:01] Speaker L: Yes. [00:36:01] Speaker A: Wow. That's a big deal. [00:36:03] Speaker L: That's a big deal. So she told me what her electric bill was. And it's not cheap. [00:36:09] Speaker B: So when we say historic downtown, we mean not the windows up. You have to remember all of those things. [00:36:17] Speaker L: It's one of those things you might not notice. [00:36:19] Speaker B: Right. [00:36:19] Speaker L: But it does make a difference, you know, to the. To the building owners and the business is there. It helps them the long run. [00:36:25] Speaker B: And. [00:36:26] Speaker A: And we're about to get the stink eye. Uhoh. We gotta go. [00:36:29] Speaker L: I got the stink eye. So I got. [00:36:31] Speaker B: She's good at it. [00:36:32] Speaker A: She's good at it. [00:36:33] Speaker B: But we love. We love hearing all the great things that are happening downtown. [00:36:38] Speaker A: Thank you very much. [00:36:39] Speaker L: Thanks for having me. [00:36:40] Speaker A: Randy does so much for me. Bless his heart. He's scared to come by the chamber office. I put more stuff on him. Oh, Jen, I had the best week. I went out to Tenco Clean Air. [00:36:50] Speaker B: Yes. [00:36:50] Speaker A: And you know, they invited me to come for the. The bronze certification site. Oh, well, they'll have tea. Bronze site certifications. Did I get that right? And I was like, oh, how nice you invite me oh. [00:37:02] Speaker L: Oh. [00:37:03] Speaker A: It was a big deal. [00:37:04] Speaker B: Oh my word, it was awesome. [00:37:06] Speaker A: But to talk about it this morning, Roger Curtis and Anna Dodson. Did I get that right? Yes. Oh, yay. So. Oh, congratulations. That wasn't just something you received, that's something you earned. It was a lot of work and I hadn't realized until I got there and I was like, wow, this is a big deal. So tell us a little bit about it. [00:37:23] Speaker N: We've been working on it for about three years total and really put a bunch of effort into it for the last year. So it involved all the team members on the shop floor having to not just beautify, but set standards in the shop floor and work on how well our plant is running and everything. So it was a lot of work and everybody put a lot of time and effort. So the big party was just the celebration put into it. So we put as much energy into it as, you know, our celebration. So. [00:37:53] Speaker A: Well, the big global CEO was there, so I knew it was a big idea. Yeah, absolutely. So let's see. Wait, Jen, I've got some questions here, so I'll see you. [00:38:07] Speaker B: What exactly is P3? [00:38:09] Speaker A: It is P3. Yes. [00:38:10] Speaker K: Well, P3 is really. Every business has an operating system that they use to manage their business. For Tendico, with our more than 500 sites globally, it's a way for Tendenco to. Excuse me. It's a way for tendencode to manage those equally across every site. Right. So every site has the exact same standard. And so whenever you're looking at the results from the business, then you get the exact same requirement. Right, so. So it's much easier to manage from a senior leadership level to manage each site whenever one of them run exactly the same. [00:38:46] Speaker A: Oh, that's good. To keep consistent. Okay, so let's see what else we got here. [00:38:50] Speaker B: Also means something. [00:38:51] Speaker H: Yes. [00:38:51] Speaker B: Because that means anyone could research what that means. And it's standardized. [00:38:57] Speaker K: That's right. [00:38:58] Speaker B: So you don't have to justify. We got these numbers because of this. It just. You're following that path to know that you're succeeding. [00:39:08] Speaker M: That's right. [00:39:09] Speaker K: And for example, with our 500 plus sites globally, there's. There's less than 60 sites that are even certified at the bronze level. And the bronze is the very first step. [00:39:17] Speaker G: Right. [00:39:18] Speaker K: I mean, so to get bronze is, is a lot of hard work and it is outstanding. Where we really are happy to have it, but it's the very first step. Silver and gold to go. [00:39:28] Speaker B: I can see he's a little hungry. He's like okay. [00:39:31] Speaker A: We're like, they were already shooting for silver that day. I was there, they were already talking silver and gold. [00:39:36] Speaker B: So that's amazing. [00:39:37] Speaker A: These are awesome people. So, okay, so where do you see Tenco Clean air in three to five years? [00:39:43] Speaker N: Fortunately, with all of the electric vehicles, you know, they said by 30 or 2030, everybody was going to be electrified and stuff like that. So a bunch of people, a bunch of businesses got out of exhaust. So what that's done is Tenneco said, no, we're not going to do that. We're going to continue with our exhaust systems and our clean air. So we're taking a whole bunch of business away from our competitors that they didn't want. And then with us getting our certification, [00:40:11] Speaker B: Tenaco corporate sets you up first. [00:40:14] Speaker A: They were thinking, yeah, that was awesome. [00:40:17] Speaker N: It sets us up for, hey, we're going to, our Smithville plan is certified. We're going to put the business in there. So. [00:40:23] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:40:23] Speaker A: So you have any new products that'll be launching? [00:40:27] Speaker K: Yes, actually, we. Ford is going through a rev, which is a huge customer for us. [00:40:31] Speaker A: Yes. [00:40:31] Speaker K: And they're going through a revamp. They'll be launching all their new products later this year. And then we're also picking up a new new product, Colorado, that used to be a Smith bowl and then it went to another supplier. But, but now we've, we don't care about that. We've got, we've got it back now because of the, the way that the company is run. [00:40:53] Speaker A: Right. [00:40:53] Speaker K: So the results are of the company. You know, most, most OE customers would look at a company and, and do business with them based on like, ISO certification, those kind of certifications. But those are very small certifications within the, the P3, for example. They're a very small part of that operating system. [00:41:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:41:09] Speaker K: Where the P3 encompasses every aspect of the, of the operation. Right. So if you, if you pass that, then your customer can look at that and say, that's somebody I want to be a partner with, not just a supplier of. [00:41:21] Speaker B: So. Right, right. [00:41:23] Speaker A: So is that going to add some revenue to your 20, 26? [00:41:26] Speaker N: Yeah, we're looking at adding on between now and the end of next year or this year, we're looking at adding $16 million in revenue. And then next year we're going to more than double that. [00:41:36] Speaker K: That's right, yeah. Because that's just that where it launches at the last quarter and then that's all we're going to pick up in the quarter. [00:41:41] Speaker B: So next year that we'll get times Four. [00:41:43] Speaker K: And we're picking up another plant from Ford as well. So matches are opening. [00:41:47] Speaker M: So. [00:41:48] Speaker N: Yeah, and that's looking to be about between 50 and 60 jobs that we're going to be adding in between now and the end of the year. [00:41:54] Speaker B: That's amazing. [00:41:55] Speaker A: I see there's going to be lots of spots on here. [00:41:59] Speaker B: Anytime you want to come back. This is great news. You just help spread it. [00:42:04] Speaker J: That's right. [00:42:04] Speaker A: She's got the hotline to my number. [00:42:07] Speaker B: Well, and I want to say thank you again for sponsoring leadership DeKalb. You have were our lunch sponsor for our Center Hill Lake or May session. And so thank you very much for supporting leadership DeKalb. [00:42:20] Speaker N: It's a privilege of us to be able to give back to the community. [00:42:23] Speaker A: We're so grateful and thank you for that invite. I tell you, I had the time [00:42:27] Speaker B: of my life that day. [00:42:28] Speaker N: We had a shark dancing shark and everything. [00:42:30] Speaker H: Oh, gosh. [00:42:33] Speaker B: Thanks again. [00:42:34] Speaker N: Thank you. [00:42:35] Speaker A: Oh, Jen, where are we now? [00:42:36] Speaker B: We are celebrating all kinds of things. Things today we've got the. For the fine folks from this spot, Justin and oh, tell me, Kendra. Kendra here to celebrate their one year anniversary for the Spot. [00:42:54] Speaker A: Big celebration coming up. [00:42:55] Speaker B: And. And so tell us, let's start by just saying what, what the Spot is. [00:43:01] Speaker J: So the Spot is just a local nonprofit. It originally started in Smith County. [00:43:06] Speaker B: It's been going for about 20 years [00:43:08] Speaker A: and we've been working with Ms. Barbara can app before about five. [00:43:11] Speaker J: So we just decided that we wanted [00:43:13] Speaker A: to start something here in DeKalb so we needed it. Spot. [00:43:15] Speaker J: Yeah, it's a hangout spot for all their, all their, the kids and all their friends. [00:43:19] Speaker B: So what I love about the Spot is that it is in the space that was the Rotary Youth building. That is the name of that building. City of Smithville partnered with the Rotary Club at a time when there were a lot of activities from Rotary to re to do outreach for the youth. And they called that building the youth center. And then it lay vacant for a little bit. And so now anytime that you see cars there, when you see all of the activities that you all do, it is again, once again a youth center. And I just, I just love that for our community, for our youth and for our families. And so thank you very much for bringing it back to life. It's just a really wonderful project that you guys have taken on. [00:44:13] Speaker A: Well, Jess and y' all are gonna have a big celebration coming up, right? Yes. [00:44:17] Speaker F: Yes, we are. [00:44:18] Speaker B: I can't believe it's one year. It just seems like yesterday they Were like, we have this dream. [00:44:23] Speaker A: Well, tell us what's going on. [00:44:26] Speaker F: So May 30th we're going to be setting up over at the spot over at the old rotary building from 2 to 4. 2 to 4. We'll have lemonade, hot dogs, a bake sale, crafts. We'll have all kinds of activities, games, bounce houses, a live band. So, yeah, just bring you your family. Just come by, check out what the spot's all about. [00:44:49] Speaker L: We're very grateful. [00:44:50] Speaker F: Grateful for the city of Smithfield partnering with us and just all the different restaurants here. Ms. Cheryl, Bobby's is a good partner. Papa John's, El Rancho. If it wasn't for those guys, we'd probably struggle providing meals. So we provide a free meal for the kids every Wednesday. And so we're just very grateful for the community and community partners we have here. [00:45:11] Speaker A: These small businesses. [00:45:12] Speaker B: I know it. And if people don't know where the Rotary building is, telling, tell. Tell us a little bit about that. [00:45:17] Speaker J: It's 425 Golf Club Drive, right in front of the Smithville City Pool beside the tennis courts. [00:45:23] Speaker B: So it's across the street from the golf course? [00:45:26] Speaker F: Yes, sure. [00:45:28] Speaker B: And it's a great little spot. There's lots of parking and it'll be fun to see. See you all. Is there anything that you need for May 30? Are you reaching out to people to come to? [00:45:40] Speaker F: Yeah, the prayers, all the support, just. We're looking just to pour into the next generation any way we can here in this community. [00:45:48] Speaker B: About how many kids do you have on a. On a Wednesday? [00:45:52] Speaker N: Around 30. [00:45:53] Speaker B: Yeah, we probably. Oh, my gosh. For just. For just one year. That's just amazing. [00:45:59] Speaker L: It is. [00:45:59] Speaker B: You're doing great work. [00:46:00] Speaker J: And they're almost both. One of them is completely full and it's. [00:46:04] Speaker A: What, how many passengers? [00:46:06] Speaker L: 15. [00:46:06] Speaker A: 15. [00:46:07] Speaker J: It's full because we pick up at the school. And then our other van, we have about two or three seats empty on it. [00:46:13] Speaker A: We're so grateful for this ministry. It is a ministry and for all you do for our young folks and, and, and Justin, you. I know you go around giving your testimony everywhere and it's such an inspiration and so, so grateful to both y' all and for putting all this work in. [00:46:27] Speaker F: Thank you, guys. [00:46:28] Speaker A: See you later again. [00:46:32] Speaker B: It's the spot, but it's a bright spot for our kids. [00:46:35] Speaker D: Thank you so much. [00:46:36] Speaker A: It. The BR spot. I like it. Thank you. [00:46:39] Speaker B: Thanks for being here. [00:46:40] Speaker A: Talk about a bright spot. Hinton is here. [00:46:44] Speaker B: Susan Hinton. How are you? [00:46:46] Speaker L: I cannot believe It. [00:46:47] Speaker D: It's time for art. [00:46:48] Speaker A: It's been another year. [00:46:49] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness. [00:46:50] Speaker D: This is probably close to 20 years we've been doing this. [00:46:54] Speaker C: Did you realize that? [00:46:55] Speaker G: No. [00:46:56] Speaker A: It goes by so fast. [00:46:58] Speaker D: It started with an exhibit in the park. [00:47:01] Speaker A: Yes. [00:47:01] Speaker D: Probably don't, but [00:47:04] Speaker B: it used to be [00:47:05] Speaker D: an exhibit in the park. And we did regular artists like they're doing downtown now. And then we transitioned because we thought we needed to pour into the community the young people and showcase their art rather than, you know, so there's a place for both. And I'm excited about the art walk, but I'm also excited about seeing student art. If you can smile when you see the children art, you need to get a heart transplant. Yeah, but it's the 16th, which is the Cornbread Festival. But you can go to the Cornbread Festival and zip on over to the art. The art is from one to three at the county complex. And this is our. We had this designed a long time. So all we have to do is just change dates. An artist in Watertown design that. It's again, Elaine McGuffey is the president of the Smithville Study Club, who sponsor it. And some questions that I've been having people ask me. Who can participate? Anyone, any student from 5 years old through high school can participate. It can be homeschool, private school, another school. We don't care what school they're from as long as they have property or live in DeKalb. And it can just be they have property here as long as they have a tie. You're just trying to encourage students to DeKalb County. They are able to enter art. The art teacher at Smithville elementary in Northside. Turn it in. At the school, we have people picking up art at Alexandria Library, we have people picking up art at Smithville, the Justin Potter Library. With Miss Kathy, the only thing we're going to tell you about the libraries, it will be returned back to the library if we picked it up from the library. But keep in mind, Ms. Kathy will only keep it for a couple weeks and she has my permission to do away with it. Sorry, guys, but she would. I know she said she hated to throw any art away, but she would end up with art for like a year or something, Right? So if you submit art, please, please, please pick it up. So the date is May 16. We will be putting art up and it will be judged. There are three artists who judge it. We get just artists. That's the qualification. We have money prizes this year. [00:49:28] Speaker H: Oh, there's five categories. [00:49:30] Speaker B: Skin in the game. [00:49:31] Speaker D: And they get $30 per category. There's five categories. If you want to know the categories. K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 2, 8, and 9 through 12. [00:49:45] Speaker A: Oh, that's pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. [00:49:47] Speaker D: Because it's kind of hard with the little ones to compete with the older. So that's what. We broke it up to something. Oh, my gosh. [00:49:55] Speaker A: I tell you, it's not you. This was another county. [00:49:58] Speaker B: Right. [00:49:58] Speaker A: They accused me. I hope it. I'm like, let me tell you. I promise you, I did not. [00:50:03] Speaker D: Overall winner, a sneak peek person will receive $100. And the people's choice, which is a favorite, you just bring out your family to vote for you. One. One vote per person who comes through. They're winning $50 this year. [00:50:20] Speaker L: Oh, wow. [00:50:21] Speaker D: The children a couple years ago, well, we've done it different ways. And they'd say, can we trade this in for money? And we'd say, no. [00:50:29] Speaker B: Sorry. [00:50:30] Speaker D: So this year we said, hey, they love money. [00:50:32] Speaker A: They love money. Yes. [00:50:34] Speaker D: There also is an art project that day, and there's. It's nothing big, but the students who come through get to go to a table and work on art. [00:50:44] Speaker A: They have fun and they have fun. [00:50:47] Speaker B: So you get inspired by what you see, and then you get to actually do it yourself. That's wonderful. [00:50:52] Speaker D: Trying to think if there's anything else. Oh, thank all the ladies. And also the sheriff's department. They always send the trustees out to help us get out the art. Art boards. [00:51:02] Speaker A: And they're always so helpful. [00:51:03] Speaker D: They're very, very helpful. I really appreciate them. And last year they were just so nice and so helpful. But all the ladies pitch in on the days to get it up and to get all the art down. So that's pretty much it. [00:51:17] Speaker A: Well, we'll just need to come out [00:51:19] Speaker B: and see that fabulous art from the young people. [00:51:21] Speaker D: You guys, a poster. [00:51:22] Speaker B: Great. [00:51:23] Speaker D: This is an art entry form. And Ms. Kathy has them. And Ms. Suzanne, you can keep it at the chamber. And Jen, so be here through it fast. Here's an example. [00:51:37] Speaker A: You did great. And my grandchildren will love this. Miller especially. She loves to get inside. [00:51:42] Speaker D: But I appreciate all of you and what you do. Ms. Kathy at the library and Jen and Suzanne, you make our community just sparkle wherever you are. And. [00:51:53] Speaker A: And we. She's projecting. [00:51:54] Speaker B: Oh, she is. [00:51:55] Speaker A: Sparkle. [00:51:55] Speaker B: It's all good. [00:51:56] Speaker D: Thank you for having me. And thank you, Smithel Study Club, for sponsoring the art every year. We love it. [00:52:02] Speaker A: Praise you, honey. Okay. Oh, coach here going to have to give her stuff a. [00:52:08] Speaker B: She already. Yeah, she already gave us a double stink eye. That's all right. [00:52:16] Speaker H: The 46th annual Older Americans Day celebration. That's our big event coming up next Wednesday. [00:52:21] Speaker B: Next Wednesday. [00:52:21] Speaker H: Next Wednesday. [00:52:22] Speaker B: I know you all have been working [00:52:24] Speaker H: hard working since March. And so it will be at the Mike Foster multi purpose center located at 712 S. Congress Blvd next Wednesday. The vendors start at 9 o' clock to 10:30. [00:52:35] Speaker A: What is that date? [00:52:36] Speaker H: That is May 13. May 13. May 13. And it will be the vendors for nine to 10:30 in the gym area. And theme this year's champion, your health. And the our entertainment will be Benjamin Franklin and his daughter Sarah Franklin. [00:52:49] Speaker A: Lynn's gonna be there. Jen. [00:52:50] Speaker C: I know. [00:52:50] Speaker H: I love it. AKA Linda and Linda and David Mitchell. The program is honoring our 250th anniversary. We will have, we will have entertainment. They will get a goodie bag. We appreciate all the businesses and organizations. We couldn't do it without their support picking up, you know, for our goodie bags, for our sack lunches. So I'm gonna pick up, be picking up today. So anybody that has donated or I've called and they haven't got back to me, probably need to have everything. Yeah. Friday so we can do the programs because we get to get that together. [00:53:19] Speaker B: You can call the library and just assembling the, the bags and all of that. [00:53:23] Speaker H: Senior center is doing that. So I'm taking all that over in the senior center. Two senior centers and we appreciate them. Call us at 597-4359. [00:53:32] Speaker A: I'm gonna be out of town that day. I'm so upset. [00:53:34] Speaker H: Our summer reading starts. They start signing up on May 26th. Story time will be May 29th at 10:00 at the library. So we're going to have a fun day. So come out next Wednesday the 13th for our older American state. [00:53:47] Speaker A: Awesome. [00:53:48] Speaker B: And when you say older Americans is their cut off? [00:53:51] Speaker H: Well, I think whatever the senior center says, I think it's 60. I think it's 5 or 60 is there. [00:53:57] Speaker B: I mean you can come but it's [00:53:58] Speaker H: really, it's really for the older Americans dollar prize in the goody bag. [00:54:02] Speaker A: Which means 55 and above. [00:54:03] Speaker F: Right. [00:54:04] Speaker A: I've been at something like that. 60. Okay, 60 and above. Thank you for changing that because when I was 55, it was really upsetting to know I was a senior citizen. But I wish you to change. [00:54:14] Speaker H: Your center says I'll just go by then. [00:54:15] Speaker G: So. [00:54:16] Speaker B: Well, I do have to take just a couple minutes because this is my favorite leadership. [00:54:22] Speaker A: That's how we got left. [00:54:23] Speaker B: So we, we had our Center Hill Lake Day session and got. We got the van tour, and you know how much I love to say that. So I want to say a big, huge thank you to Tenaco Clean Air, who helped to sponsor lunch and Gill Automotive. And lunch was provided by McKenzie's Off Broad. [00:54:44] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness. It was so good. I got that Karen's chicken salad. [00:54:47] Speaker E: Oh, my gosh. [00:54:48] Speaker B: She's. She's just really doing a great job with that event. I mean, with that, with her restaurant. So. So we did the damn tour. So thank you to the US Corps of Engineers. Our lake is a huge resource, but it needs to be managed. And so we want to say thank you to the Corps of Engineers, Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency. We had tourism discussion with our wonderful Upper Cumberland Tourism association director, Billy Davis. [00:55:19] Speaker A: Our Billy. [00:55:21] Speaker B: Our own Billy. And then, of course, we want to say a huge thank you to Ed Greven State park for giving a pontoon folk cruise so that you can't really talk about the lake without actually going on the lake. I mean, that just doesn't make any sense. [00:55:35] Speaker A: Oh, and the weather was like that. Perfect weather. [00:55:37] Speaker B: Perfect weather. So just a big shout out for everyone who supported Leadership DeKalb throughout the whole year. This was our last session, and they will graduate. [00:55:47] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness. Well, the chamber was. To promote your news or special events, call 615-597-4163 or email me at directorecalbcountychamber.org or tag me on Facebook. I'll help you spread the word. [00:56:01] Speaker H: Thank you to all our guests this morning. And we are grateful to W Radio for sponsoring our Chamber Chat program. [00:56:07] Speaker B: And you can watch chamber chat on DTC3 as well as on their website. Just go to DTC3.com TV. Oh, that's so fun to say. And click Chamber shows. And you can watch not just this one, but all to your heart's content going way back. [00:56:24] Speaker A: Oh, go ahead. [00:56:24] Speaker H: We appreciate our listening and viewing audiences. And we'll be back on June 3rd, [00:56:28] Speaker A: same chat time, same chat channel. [00:56:31] Speaker B: Happy day, everybody. [00:56:33] Speaker A: Oh, I'm sorry. [00:56:43] Speaker L: Sa.