Who Gets What?

Through a history with names such as Cub Foods, Meijer, McKay, SuperValu, Jewel, Walmart, Costco, Target and Sams, grocery business leader Rusty McKay traces his family's involvement from 1880 in Ft. Wayne to the rise of destination stores and the large warehouse stores of today. His volunteer commitment to Fairbanks Hospital also is explained.                 

Doug VanSlambrook is Senior Design-Build Manager of The Walsh Group which has recently completed the Madison (Indiana)-Milton (Kentucky) Bridge over The Ohio River, and he has started work on two major projects (8 years or more) in Cincinnati, The Western Hills Viaduct Replacement and The Brent Street Bridge rennovation.  (Listeners may Google these projects.) The Interstate projects in Louisville are his as well.  This conversation is about Doug's personal involvement with bridge construction, the history, techniques, styles and social implications of projects.      

Performer, singer, sound design expert, lighting design expert, and, after twelve years at The Palladium, Lisa Posson now is Director of Production. The Palladium is an astoundingly fine and effective venue in which support staff are artists as well as technicians.  This charming and compelling interview tells all about it.        

Special Olympian John Wheeler, champion in soft ball, track and field, and especially basketball, tells us how to overcome obstacles and to reach personal goals.  John is an author, student of basketball, and a motivational presence.  His two books are availabe on Amazon.  Two days prior to this interview, he started writing his third book.  

Lynne Sladky is a photo journalist with the world's largest supplier of news content, The Associated Press.  She lives and works in Miami, covering everything from Mar a Lago Club to Lionel Messi. This conversation considers modern digital photography compared to portable laboratories of the past, the changing businesses of newspapers, instantly transmitting photographs to AP clients, as well as the history of Lynne's 1992 Pulitzer Prize.  

In Indianapolis, our guest, Jill Santoriello, produced a preliminary version of her musical "A Tale of Two Cities."  In 2008, the show opened on Broadway.  Jill's most recent effort is "It Happened in Key West," which will open in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in January, having already opened in London.   This conversation describes the 25-year labor to compose her first show, and how she moved forward from high school as a largely self-educated musician.   Note:  John Guy has the first autograph Jill ever signed.  

This conversation is a wonderful survey of local musicians, national stars, and, in general, the life of an accomplished musician, cellist Marjorie Hanna.  Elton John and Michael Jackson, plus Indiana musicians such as Al Cobine and Dick Dennis, to name just a few, all have important cameos in this delightful exchange.  

Indianapolis-based Sagamore Institute, sometimes described as a "think tank," includes Alan Dowd as head of its Center for America's Purpose.  Many of Alan's clear and effective writings can be found at http://alanwdowd.com/Articles.aspx.    One theme of our conversation asks "Is America the greatest country in the world?"

Rachel Blakeman, director of a Purdue-based community research institute in Ft. Wayne, IN.  talks about the economy, public health, and infrastruture of Indiana's second city.  Home ownership and transportation are among the many topics discussed.  

Jerry King is chair of "Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence," which works to reduce gun violence.  Reducing ability to acquire guns, and to reduce access to guns inside homes, are among the activities of this organization.  

Broadway Across America, a national, privately-owned company, manages broadway touring shows in 48 American cities.  For Indianapolis, and Salt Lake, the group sales manager is Chris Schneider, who describes differences between cities both in culture and marketing.  An example of differences is Book of Mormon, which performs five to ten minutes longer in Salt Lake than elsewhere because "laugh times" are longer there.  Some towns support lesser-known plays and shows, while others require well-known traditional presentations.  

We came across The Rhythm Discover Center just a few years ago.  It was located in a lower level location near the corner of Illinois and Washington Streets.  Our guest, Joshua Simonds, is executive director of the sponsoring organization, The Percussive Arts Society, with more than 5000 members world wide. This conversation considers the nature of percussion, names of outstanding contemporary players, hearing protection, and the annual convention in Indianapolis.   

John Shertzer leads The Medal of Honor Foundation which is closely associated with The Congressal Medal of Honor Society.  Since The Civil War 3,530 medals have been awarded.  Sixty five holders survive and provide personalized educational opportunities throughout the country, including at the Medal of Honor Museum on The Yorktown in Charleston, S.C.  An important topic discussed here is patriotism.  Our guest also has been active in Kiwanis, Key Clubs, and The Society of Professional Journalists.  

In less than a decade, 1st Maker Space has created powerful tools to educate.  They have been adopted in five states and serve more than 100,000 students every year.  Our guest, company founder Kim Brand, describes both the the educatinal theories and practices that engender creativity in students.  

Andrea Howe edits The Princeton Daily Clarion which was founded in 1846.  She attends civic meetings, writes news stories, organizes the personals column, advises about crossword puzzles, and enjoys the comics page.  Princeton is the county seat of Gibson county and is located about 25 minutes north of Evansville.

Shelbyville-based Lee Marks, photography dealer and consultant, describes her work representing photographers.  She is a founding member and past president of the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD). While maintaining a broad inventory of photography and working with many private collectors, LMFA has increasingly focused on representing the work of a select group of contemporary photographers. Their work has been acquired by major collectors such as Sir Elton John, corporations such as Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, and museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Houston Museum of Fine Arts, TX; Art Institute of Chicago; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Social Psychologist Sara Konrath* discusses the personal happiness that arises through the act of giving.  She also considers how to teach empathy.  An old line is "It is better to give than to receive," which plays out at a practical level in this discussion.     *Sara Konrath is a social psychologist and Associate Professor who directs the Interdisciplinary Program on Empathy and Altruism Research (iPEARlab.org) at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

The new book by Sheila Suess Kennedy and Morton Marcus, "From Property to Partner:  Women's Progress and Political Resistance," describes the trajectory of women's emancipation over the last century.  Both commentary about history and extensive statistical data are provided in their 80-page review.  

John C. DePrez Jr. , former editor/publisher of The Shelbyville News, and now editor of The Indiana Economic Digest, talks about the history and prospects for potentially successful modern journalism.  

Morton Marcus discusses the recently-released Indiana Univerisity Strategic Plan.  He considers priorities he would reduce or eliminate, such as collaborating with others towards economic development, and goals he would include or emphasize, such as teaching teachers.  John then questions the value, in general, of strategic plans, which, he believes, do not produce tangible results.