Rounding The Bases With Joel Goldberg

A former professional golfer, Brad Smith, took his experience on the golf course and created a sleeve that trains golfers on the proper mechanics of straight arm pitching/chipping. Over 50 PGA Tour players and instructors wear the sleeve in order to refine their game. Brad was born and raised in Australia and left his native country to pursue his American Dream as an entrepreneur.

Isaac's intriguing upbringing shaped him into the entrepreneur he is today. He believes we all have a dream and a purpose, and he uses his gifts by helping people live more passionate and meaningful lives. Isaac owns multiple Yogurtini shops in Kansas City. He is also a coach, teacher, and speaker. He's owned seven for-profit businesses and one nonprofit organization. His story is unique and courageous showing how we all are in charge of our own destiny.

Debbie Lee is the president and founder of America’s Mighty Warriors, an organization that supports our troops and the families of the fallen through education, advocacy, random acts of kindness, a Helping Heroes Heal Program and more. In part two of the interview, Debbie shares about the life and inspiration of her son Marc, who was the first Navy Seal killed in Iraq in 2006. His legacy is powerful and can be seen daily through America’s Mighty Warriors.

On Aug 2, 2006, Debbie Lee received a knock on the door that would forever change her life. She was notified that her son Marc Alan Lee had been killed in action becoming the first Navy SEAL killed in Iraq. Since that day Debbie has dedicated her life to honoring our troops and the families of the fallen, defending our defenders and fighting to keep the freedoms that our troops have fought for. She is the president and founder of America's Mighty Warriors. This is part one of her story.

In 2019, sisters La'Nae and La'Nesha Robinson followed their dream and founded Bliss Books & Wine to provide an environment and community to indulge in great wine while getting lost in a book. 2020 forced the sisters to pivot and become a solely virtual operation, but their dream was not lost in fact it grew and formed a nationwide community. Bliss Books & WIne is a great story of not allowing anything to come between you and your dreams.

SJ Barakony is an edupreneur, an educator and entrepreneur. He is the founder of SBSL, a business that designs and implements customized educational solutions. SJ is an active mentor, he is a creative thinker, a profound connector, the list goes on and on. Listen in as he discusses his unique career path and his aspiring future plans on this episode of Rounding The Bases.

Kiona Sinks is a social, civic innovator setting the standard for young leaders. Kiona focuses on bridging the generational gap as well as taking action in community engagement. She is a young activist shaping minds as it comes to social justice, inclusion, and diversity. With 10 years of consistent volunteerism, Kiona takes pride in giving back to the community. She is mission-driven connector, and a name you will remember.

A premier name in basketball, Danny Manning is an accomplished public figure, family man, coach, and 15-year NBA veteran. Manning is known for his passion, honesty, character, positivity and work ethic in helping young people succeed in basketball and off the court in the game of life. Manning's generosity and passion for helping people be successful are apparent every day as he continues to touch countless lives.

With 25 years as a marketing professional, Bob Martin has navigated a career from start-up firms to established companies. During his career as a corporate executive, he worked for Gartlan USA, The Thomas Kinkade company, and the Walt Disney Company. He’s a co-Founder of several businesses, including iWerx, designWerx, The Mercantile, EnCorps45, Digital Legacy, and Martin Marketing Inc. He’s also an adviser to various companies.

Josh Ross is the co-founder and CEO of Kerauno, a leading provider of global cloud communications solutions for business around the world. Josh has played a visionary role in the company’s mission to advance human interaction through communication technologies. Under his guidance, the organization has experienced triple digit growth, built national teams for scale, and raised the largest series A funding round in Indiana history - ranked in the top 7% globally.

After nine years of being an engineer, Mitch dropped the conservative mindset and established his own definition of success and happiness. In the middle of a pandemic, Mitch decided to go all-in on building different businesses while giving himself the protected time to be more present with two young boys and a loving wife. Even through the fear, the anxiety, and the sleepless nights, he’s never been more happy, more clear, and more excited about the future and the work he gets to do!

Michelle Wimes is an impressive Thought Leader, Inclusion Specialist, Global Citizen, Social Justice Advocate, Speaker and Author Chief Equity and Inclusion officer at Children's Mercy Kansas City. The former attorney is a nationally renowned presenter on professional development, diversity and inclusion issues in the workplace. Michelle is highly respected among colleagues and in the community as she continues to make significant changes in the work environment.

Gary Wilbers is a successful lifetime entrepreneur. Known as the Positive Culture Mentor, he shares his experienced knowledge by helping individuals & organizations cultivate a positive culture. Gary has authored many books. His passion is working with Special Olympics Missouri. One of his greatest joys is playing unified golf with Keith Lueckenhoff, a Special Olympic athlete.

Chris Cheatham is the Vice President, Product, Insurance Intelligence for Bold Penguin. He moved into that role in October 2020 after Risk Genius, the company he served as CEO was acquired. Chris is fascinated by the application of technology to the insurance industry. He works with an amazing team to apply machine learning to insurance policies with software that is changing the way policies are reviewed.

Giving up has never been an option. She has overcome an array of circumstances and events. Angie used each negative circumstance to fuel her drive to be more than what the low success rates for foster children would allow. After being abused and abandoned, she couldn’t have anticipated just how successful she would become. She shares in her book, A Recipe For Bad Lemons, a few of the sweet ingredients that resulted in co-owning a multi-million dollar company and being the mom of four.

Jeff Eckert is a sports referee, author and CFO of Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joe. He is the proverbial "jack of all trades" in his life. Exploring new horizons and challenges seems to drive him onward. This includes rising up through the ranks in Fortune 500 and nonprofit environments. This unique experience allows him to see how the parts fit together and be a globally effective decision maker. More importantly, Jeff is a mentor at heart with a desire to be a positive influence.

Karen Crnkovich is an active member of the Junior League of Kansas City, MO and serves as current President. Karen the first “plumber” President in the 107 year history of the JLKCMO. Karen is 100% owner and Chief Hand-Shaker of DMC Service, Inc. a Kansas City based HVAC and plumbing service contractor. She is founder of Strong Homes-Strong Families, a charity focusing on helping homeowners in need.

Jaysen Van Sickle has worked in a wide array of professions, from the restaurant and bar industry to corporate America to education as a professor. But his most significant role is his current position of executive director at Hope Faith, an organization that works to alleviate homelessness and poverty in Kansas City by providing basic necessities and critical services and programs to empower individuals experiencing homelessness and at-risk individuals to become self-sufficient and independent.

Daniel Harris is a 30-year veteran of the U.S. armed forces, the founder of Muddy Boots Leadership and the author of the book, On Guard: The Four Pillars of Leadership. Lt. Colonel Harris is also an adjunct professor teaching graduate-level business courses at Mercy College.He has strategic level experience from working at the DoD and can leverage experiential learning solutions through teaching, coaching and mentoring leaders.

In part two of an interview about Relentless Pursuit Outreach and Recovery, a nonprofit hoping to end sex trafficking in the Kansas City area, founder Lee Gibson is joined by board member Christine McDonald, a trafficking survivor, and former MLB player Adam Laroche to talk about Christine’s Place, RPOR’s drop-in center an crisis shelter that offers a safe, non-judgmental place for prostituted people from all backgrounds and races.