It's Happenin' In the Haven Podcast

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All Episodes Season 2 (from newest to oldest) 
On Episode 58 - Everything Is Awesome In Winter Haven, Rex Jackson, President of LEGOLAND Florida Resort, shares his experience leading his team through one of the hardest years in Florida tourism history, but he's optimistic about the year to come as LEGOLAND celebrates its 10th birthday.
On Episode 57 - The Growth of Our Hometown Hospital, Steve Nierman, President of BayCare's Winter Haven Hospital joins us to talk about the growth of the hospital, his experience in a leadership role through the pandemic and much more.
On Episode 56 - Winter Haven's Greatest Challenges & Opportunities we speak with City of Winter Haven Commissioner Tracy Mercer about her journey to Winter Haven and what she views as our community's greatest challenges and opportunities today and in our future.
On Episode 55 - Powering Winter Haven we speak with Nick Plott, Polk County Regional Manager of External Affairs for Tampa Electric Company to speak about his career path at Tampa Electric and the investments they are making in solar and other forms of energy to ensure their customers have reliable and consistent power. 
Episode 54 - Growing with the City is for all of you Leslie Knope fans out there! We speak to the City's new Parks, Recreation and Culture Director, Julie Adams about her background, why she decided to make the move back to Winter Haven and what exciting quality of life projects are on the docket for the City. ​
On Episode 53 - Birds and The Bees, we speak with Andrew Wagner, Mann Lake-Stromberg Chicks and Game Birds, one of the countries largest suppliers of bee-keeping and poultry supplies. You'll hear about the impact this industry has on our local community, but also how it impacts us every day as consumers of produce.
On Episode 52 - Taking Flight, we speak to Alex Vacha, the energetic director of the Winter Haven Regional Airport. You'll hear him speak about how much the airport has grown and what plans are in place for the future. We also speak to Lisa M. Peto, APRN, FNP-C, a family nurse practitioner with AdventHealth Lake Wales Medical Group about the importance of establishing with a primary care provider for your long-term health. ​
On Episode 51 - Freeze, Disease & Tangerine Trees, we speak to Quentin Roe, President of Noble Citrus/W G Roe & Sons, a company that has been investing in and reimagining Winter Haven's citrus industry since 1927. We also speak to Tommie Wofford, a 17-year-old student with Theatre Winter Haven's Performing Arts Academy who will be debuting his original musical he began writing at age 14 this May.
On Episode 50 - New Beginning, New Accomplishments we speak to the Chamber's newest team member, Ana Saavedra, Membership and Sponsorship Development Manager. We also speak to Dr. Paul Williams, breast surgical oncologist with AdventHealth Heart of Florida and his colleague Dr. Swati Pathak, medical oncologist with Florida Cancer Specialists to discuss the Breast Cancer Program's recent accreditation with the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) and what that means for our community. ​
In Episode 49: Breaking the Chain of Lakes Myths we speak to Bob Gernert, volunteer curator at the Museum of Winter Haven History on the truth behind how the Chain of Lakes came to be. We also have a guest segment from Patrice Williams of Amonie Jo's Coffee on what it was like learning she was a 'dreamer' as a teenager and how that has impacted her life.
In Episode 48: Unleashing Your Boss Brain we speak to Tra Williams, speaker, entrepreneur, and nationally recognized expert in entrepreneurship and business strategy. The significant decline of entrepreneurship in America inspired his mission to rescue 1 million entrepreneurs from traditional employment. Tra’s new book, Boss Brain, reveals a scientifically-proven system that unlocks readers’ true potential and unleashes their entrepreneurial instincts so they can leave traditional employment forever. That’s the real American Dream! Tra is also the owner of Fleet Force Truck Driving School located in Winter Haven.
On Episode 47, Born and Raised on Ave Q, we speak to Winter Haven Mayor Pro Tem Nathaniel Birdsong about his life growing up in Winter Haven in a family of 12, how he ended up going from teacher to business executive at Coca-Cola, traveling with the NBA, why dedicating the last 19 years of his life to civil service has been important to him and so many stories in-between.
On Episode 46 we speak to Bob Schade, owner of the management company for Cypresswood Golf & Country Club about growing up working on the course he now operates. February is American Heart Month so we check in with Shelly Moore, Polk Market Director for Imaging and Cardiology at AdventHealth’s Heart Success Center. Shelly talks about the importance of recognizing the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and other cardiovascular events. ​
In Episode 45 - Where George Jenkins' Dream Began we speak to Bob Gernert, volunteer curator of the Museum of Winter Haven History about how the 2020 World's Most Admired grocer's story began right in downtown Winter Haven. The founder of Publix, George Jenkins, is a story every entrepreneur needs to hear!
In Episode 44 - Reinvention we interview Katina Campbell, owner of Campbell's Landing Assisted Living Facility. Katina shares how decisions she made in her late teens and early twenties could have led her down a very different life path. But from prison to promise, Katina explains how she reinvented herself and set her life on a positive trajectory. Her story is raw, emotional and incredibly inspiring.
In Episode 43 - Stories from an Unexpected Life, we interview Tom Oldt, owner of Thomas R Oldt Investment Services. But today's conversation is not about investment advice. If you could believe it, we span the topics of growing up in a segregated Winter Haven to working for the Washington Post to Vietnam, to the early days of Andy Thornals to Gene Leedy napkin sketches to Polk County serial killers and saving the Historic Ritz Theatre. Suffice it to say Tom's life in Winter Haven and beyond has been an interesting one and I think you'll enjoy learning as much about him as I did.
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In this premiere episode of Season 2 we interview M.J. Carnevale, Public Works Director for the City of Winter Haven who discusses how the City is using data to drive its decision making on ways to improve our lives every day.