Three Song Stories

Episode 198 - Dean Davis

Dean Davis. Dean is Vice President of the Foundation Board of Directors, at the State University of New York College at Oneonta. He’s also a retired senior instructor at FGCU, and his early efforts at the university laid the foundations of the communication department.

Episode 197 - Joseph Hall

Joseph Hall is a third year Journalism student at FGCU, and is “Joe the sound guy” on  the Razzle Dazzle podcast (hosted by our own Jared "the Intern" Gonzalez) as well as the How To Cry Monster podcast.

Episode 196 - Dr. Wilson Bradshaw

Dr. Wilson Bradshaw served as FGCU’s third president for a decade beginning in 2007. During his tenure, the university’s student body grew from about 9000 in 2007 to about 15000 when he retired; and the faculty grew by 50% over that time.

Dr. Bradshaw also managed the transition to Division 1 athletics, and the FGCU Eagles have won 54 conference and tournament championships in eight years, including the meteoric rise to national visibility when the Men’s basketball team was the first #15 seed to make it to the Sweet 16 in NCAA history gaining the nickname ‘Dunk City’ because of their explosive success in the tournament.

 

Episode 195 - Kyle McCurry

Kyle McCurry is Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communication at FGCU. He’s been a television journalist, a radio program director, and host of Classic Rock Insider, where he got to interview guests like Joe Perry, Mick Fleetwood, Huey Lewis, and Tommy James. He ended up becoming James’s publicity and media relation manager after their meeting.

Episode 194 - Will Prather

Will Prather is the Executive Producer and Owner of Prather Productions - he operates Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Fort Myers, Florida; the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; along with Prather Touring and Apex Touring which are national touring companies that bring productions around the country and across the world. Prather Touring is currently producing Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.

He is past-president and current Advisory Board Member of the Lee County Alliance for the Arts, past secretary of the National Dinner Theatre Association, and past Chairman of the Lee County Democratic Party.

Episode 193 - Andryanna Sheppard

Andryanna Sheppard is the Consumer Reporter at WINK News in Fort Myers, where she’s been a reporter since February of 2020. Before moving to Southwest Florida, she was a nightside reporter at KDRV in Medford, Oregon, where she was also the go-to breaking news reporter.

Episode 192 - Ryan Boland

Ryan Boland is Chief Business Office at Mercola Market, and was was recently named a 40 Under 40 honoree by Business Observer. Originally from New York, Ryan began his career in the food and restaurant industry selling ingredients to restaurants but later transitioned to natural health formulations, working for a supplement manufacturer. 

Episode 191 - Jack Massing

Jack Massing formed The Art Guys in 1983 with Michael Galbreth - it was a conceptual art collaboration that ended after 37 years in 2019 when Michael passed. Their “direct to the public” methodology often circumvented the established art world and incorporated a wide range of not-so-conventional materials and activities in an effort to make art more accessible and to challenge notions about perceived divisions between art and life.

Jack is currently working on William WEGMAN & Jack MASSING: TWO CLEVER BY HALF – A Call & Response Project at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery that will remain on display and will evolve until March of 2022. 

Episode 190 - Glenn Whitehouse

Dr. Glenn Whitehouse has taught philosophy and religious studies at FGCU ever since it opened its doors in 1997. He's now the Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and director of PAGES, a career program for liberal arts students at FGCU. 

Episode 189 - Brian Weaver

Brian Weaver is a street artist and co-founder of Artsemble Underground which was created to help local businesses attract traffic with murals, sculptures, or art events. He owns a gallery of the same name with fellow artist Cesar Aguilara. 

Artsemble Underground gallery is where the current “Battle of The Arts” is held, every second Saturday of the month. Brian and Cesar consider this event less of a battle and more of an opportunity for local artists to connect and network all while raising money for a different non-profit organization each month. At the end of the year all of the winners from each month will compete for the “SWFL’s World Cup of Art!”

Episode 188 - Patrick Pereira

Patrick Pereira is a student at FGCU majoring in Journalism with a minor in Creative Writing. He is a reporter for ENTV and Co-host of Razzle Dazzle. He also currently works as a production assistant at WINK News, a helping hand for his parents remodeling company, and a freelance model.

Episode 187 - Doug Berman

Doug Berman is Executive Producer of Car Talk; and Creator and Benevolent Overlord of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

A two-time Peabody Award-winning producer, Doug began his career in news while still in college, serving as a production assistant for NPR's All Things Considered and Morning Edition. It was at WBUR that Doug met and became friends with Tom & Ray Magliozzi brothers, who were doing a local call-in show. He produced a pilot for them, and that became the first episode of Car Talk.

In the late 90s after Car Talk proved there was an audience for such silliness on NPR, Doug was asked to create another show to pair with Car Talk and so Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! was born. These days he’s Wait Wait’s “Benevolent Overlord.”

Episode 186 - Sean Milchan

Sean Milchan Channel Partner Program Executive at BlueCrest - he said that means he’s a salesman.  He’s been many things through his life, a missionary, a carpet-store worker, and a mailing equipment salesman - that last one stuck. Sean went from almost being fired his first year, to being the number one salesman in the U.S. within 4 years with no college degree.

Episode 185 - Mike Patella

Mike Patella is the business director for Eagle Media on FGCU's campus, where one of his main jobs is creating the Eagle Radio Music Festival every year, an event that brings live local music to FGCU’s campus. He’s also a multi-instrumentalist who plays drums, guitar, bass, ukulele, and vocals.

Episode 184 - Christin Collins

Christin Collins is a former healthcare executive who thought that she was doing everything she could to live a vibrant and healthy life, but her health still struggled. She’s the author of Her Phoenix Rising: A Journey to Health & Healing, which explores her journey to uncover the root cause of her ailments. 

Episode 183 - Stacey Chen Cannington

Stacey Chen Cannington and her family moved to Kissimmee, Florida in 1971 - right before Disney World opened - and were the first (and at the time) only Chinese family in Kissimmee.  She attended FSU and eventually went into broadcasting like her famous aunt, Connie Chung. 

She’s been doing sales for more than 20 years - for WINK-TV, Gulfshore Life, California Closets, Simon Property Group and now Carter Pritchett Advertising.

Episode 182 - Mike Cannington

Mike Cannington is a native Floridian who grew up in Tampa and graduated from USF with a degree in mass communication. He spent 14 years as a TV broadcaster, then he spent 14 years as the marketing director for a little chicken wing joint known as HOOTERS, a couple of years with the local Harley-Davidson dealership group, before joining Bowling Management Associates which owns HeadPinz, Bowland Centers and FastTrax here in Southwest Florida in 2009, where he’s been ever since.

Episode 181 - Cesar Aguilera

Cesar Aguilera is the co-founder of Artsemble Underground, and Artsemble Underground Gallery, and the art curator of the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center, known for his mixed media paintings, drawing, oil painting, sculpture, film, special effects, make-up, costume design, acting and performance art. 

Episode 180 - Bryn Goldsmith

Bryn Goldsmith is a recent graduate of FGCU’s School of resort and hospitality management, as well as president of FOUR student organizations. She also created a survey to identify fellow students who found themselves struggling with food security during the pandemic, and partnered with faculty on getting food to them. She also makes and sells jam online, sending the proceeds to various social justice organizations. 

Episode 179 - Melinda Isley

Melinda Isley operates MCreativePR. Melinda’s work on behalf of the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, American Cancer Society, Bennett’s Fresh Roast, and Community Cooperative has been recognized with local and state awards. Her industry scope of work and experience ranges from nonprofits, healthcare, construction, finance, insurance, law, restaurants, automotive and real estate to performing arts, sports and government bodies.