
419 Day at Jupmode
4/24/2026 | 59mVideo has Closed Captions
Kevin, Gretchen, and Matt celebrate 419 Day at Jupmode.
Kevin, Gretchen, and Matt celebrate 419 Day at Jupmode.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
The Four Hundred & Nineteen powered by WGTE is a local public television program presented by WGTE

419 Day at Jupmode
4/24/2026 | 59mVideo has Closed Captions
Kevin, Gretchen, and Matt celebrate 419 Day at Jupmode.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipAnd now the 490 with Gretchen de Bakker might kill them.
And Kevin Mullin.
Oh.
Well Cheering and welcome to the 419 powered by and presented by Retro Wealth Management.
We are on the road again celebrating for one nine day outage mode in downtown Toled with a beautiful live audience.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, everybody, for being here.
Certainly our huge thanks to John and the team at Duke Mode for opening their doors to us today.
Barbecue is out here.
Latter 419 is out with some great local beer.
And we've got an incredible show jam packed with truly the best corners of Toledo.
We're celebrating the arts.
We're celebrating leadership.
Our community.
We're celebrating, community.
We're celebrating an incredible local athlete.
And talent.
So we've got Elaine Trudel going to be with us.
Yep.
We'll have the Gherkin, and then we'll wrap up with Chris Wormley.
More celebrit power than we deserve, I think.
That's fair.
Yeah.
That's exactly what I deserve.
Yeah.
And, Matt, you're rocking the shirt that you just made.
Yes.
Yes I am.
Yeah.
Just came off the presses and, Is it burning using these crutches?
This is a public service announcement.
If you are warming your clothes in the microwave right before putting them on.
You are where you stand.
This feels terrific.
Yeah.
During the break.
It's like burning.
Hair.
Yeah.
No, that's my pants.
Yeah.
It's just exciting for the live show.
Yeah.
And you're.
Goin to put your jeans through the.
8%.
Diet.
That's legitimate.
So you guys run your lunch through here?
Yeah, sure.
And they don't.
Yeah, but they do now.
That's what the jeans.
Yeah.
Right there.
All right, you guys celebrating for one nine days?
What does for one nine day mean to you?
I just love the weight.
Especially in recent years.
So many groups.
Downtown convention bureau.
Groups like mode.
This is John Tomato's idea was bringing people together to the store to wear this gear to merchandise.
The area.
So many place downtown were open this weekend for people to go out and celebrate and see what's going on.
So I just think it's a nice little weekend of enthusiasm.
Yeah, I like to g to some real social staples, so I go to Walmart in the morning to shop.
Then I catch a bite at a my neighborhood grill.
Applebee's.
Yeah.
You just want to sort of crowd favorites.
And then I celebrate food at a local Italian eatery called the Olive garden.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Just celebrating everything that is really, really.
All the great local spots, all the grass.
Nailed it.
I didn't realize that Olive garden was local to Toledo.
Then you have a celebrated food.
No, I have not.
I haven't.
Yeah.
Well, you're off your family when you walk in there.
That's right.
That's exactly right.
Yeah.
No.
I family that makes you sick.
We talked about it when we started the show.
That what we want to do is celebrate our community.
Right?
Celebrate the great people doing great things across northwest Ohio.
Part of what I love about for when I de what I can see in the faces that are with us here today.
Is certainly the best of Toledo.
And a lot of pride in our community.
And folks that are all working hard to make this a better place.
So.
All right, let's take a quick break.
When we come back, we'll be joined by Elaine Trudel from Live Arts Toledo.
It's the 419 powered by support for the 419 comes from Wheaton Wealth Management, where we understand that your financial path is personal.
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Public media where you belong.
To some shame.
I love it, I love it.
Welcome back into the 419 a special for one nine day celebration.
We are live with a live studio audience out at group mode in downtown Lido.
Sounding good.
And we're joined now by Elain Truesdell from Live Arts Toledo.
Elaine, thank you so much for being here.
Thank you.
And thank you for saying my name properly.
I was threatened before if I got it wrong.
Great job.
You're going to hit me with whatever that stick is that you conductor with?
Welcome.
How long have you been in Toledo?
It's not a eight season.
Yeah.
Right here.
Yeah.
Incredible.
So you are the music director for the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Toledo Jazz Orchestra.
What is the correct ter or title for people to call you?
Is it conductor or is it maestro?
Is it.
Oh at like what's that?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm allergic to maestro personally.
Okay.
Yeah.
Now it's, Now you just come me a ally.
Yeah, yeah.
No, that's I that's my name.
Yeah.
So that's a benign I we're trying to to make symphony music o whatever music we play on stage because, you know, the symphony we play from about film music symphony music, the ballet rock, and we play all kinds of music.
So we want everybody to to feel welcome.
Sure.
You know, we're trying to have all these walls that maybe have been built over the last century or something like that to bring those down and that people feel welcome.
And when they see me, I' very happy when they say, either I miss you too, that there's a man or just a I'm very happy to to meet everybody.
How do you say hello in Canadian?
Oh.
All right.
Yeah, yeah.
I sing to the upside every rehearsal.
That's right.
I come in and say banjo and some of that are.
Yeah but they say bones or something.
So a lot of people may not know that you sort of split your time between, Toledo, Ohio and Toronto, Canada.
Is that correct?
Oh, it's.
Way worse than that.
It's quality that I'm telling you, though, for the for hockey fans it was very difficult last year.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, it was really hard.
And we've gone through it today.
Under the guise of singing wa the kickoff to the NHL playoffs.
Right.
And now it's this dumb show.
So what, where did your love of music get started?
So I it's interesting because you talk a lot about community for me, it started I come from a modest neighborhood in Montreal, Canada, and, we were looking for something to do as young teenagers or 12 years old thinking, you know, going out with friends, doing the, you know, can get if you don't find something to do, if you don't find your teens, something to do.
And then sometime then on the greatest things on.
The map.
I'm so sorry.
And I illustrate the symphony.
That's what a brave.
So I joined, the local brass band, and, just to be with my friends.
I didn't have, like, any ambition.
I mean, my parents were jazz musicians.
Oh, yeah, both of them.
So, of course you don't have a real ambition of making a living because it's so hard for jobs if you love dance.
Tried to.
That.
That's what I'm doing.
You know?
But they love music, of course.
And I started playing, you know, going there with my friends.
Just stay out of trouble.
Yeah.
And, The instrument that you picked up.
I wanted to play drums.
And then Mike, that was a drummer.
I wanted to play trumpet because that's the only one I knew.
And, you have, like, three choices you fill out, and I feel one and two.
I didn't feel three.
And they gave me a trombone.
So that's.
What.
Happened.
Yeah, but, you know, i wasn't love at first sight, but, you know, it taught me on thing is that it's not really.
It's what you're saying.
It's the message more than whatever instrument you beat.
So when we have in our youth orchestras, you know, because, you know, we have with the symphony, we have three youth orchestras as well.
So and we also have programs that we go and, you know, boys and girls, club and all kinds of instrument that we, we provide some time and, it's really something they get to do with this.
It's a way to express yourself.
It's a way to open your creativity, and it's a way to feel like when we have the youth orchestra, sometimes the musician i the school of the 2 or 3, it's all those guys are weird you know, because they they sure ain't thinking so fast or.
No.
But when we put all of them together that then they feel like they have a plan.
They have a group that there are families who have three of those families with the orchestra as well.
When you picked up the instrument, did you start hearing music differently?
I mean, is this wired into your molecularly?
How did how did the light bul or switch get turned on for you?
It's interesting because I always love being with other people and using together.
Yeah.
So it was more doing something together.
Yeah, than actually making notes or making a music.
And I, I didn't play any classical musi for the first three years.
Okay.
We're basicall playing a disco music or a music from that era, I'm telling you, my age a little bit.
So yeah, but, and and suddenly I went to audition for the conservatory, but it was not because I had, this great vision about being a classical musician.
Because that it was free.
Yeah, sure you can.
Pay for.
Lessons.
Yeah.
You take people come here, they take.
Yeah.
So I said, I'll try.
So I tried out and I finally I got in and, then slowly love of classical music happened, you know.
Yeah.
You need to be you need to hear it.
You need to see it.
You need, you know, it's the same thing with, a sport you might not know.
Then you see it more, you start to appreciate it.
So for us is the same thing.
Yeah.
I started because I was doing jazz or pop or that that you see all the time where classical music.
I started being more in contact with it.
Yeah.
And then I started really appreciate it.
And that's what people sa when they come to the symphony.
They say, okay, the more we come down, we feel like, okay, this is home.
You know.
When you first guest conducte here, I think in 2017 or 2018, and then ended up getting the job.
So tell us a little bit about your Toledo story, how you ho you made that connection.
Yeah.
Well, yeah, I came here actually before that.
Okay.
As a guest conducto like 3 or 4 years before that.
And then they formed usually, you know, if it goes well, they call you back like two years after or something like that because there's kind of rotation.
That's a good feedback time frame.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So four years went by.
We're three years.
Into the show where you.
Get some good feedback.
Right now I'm still waitlisted.
Oh you.
So that's how many times so.
Like four years went by.
So I said well it was good for me.
Maybe it wasn't good for them.
Right.
Yeah.
So so finally what I didn't know is that they were making their list of who they wanted to consider for the job.
Yeah, right.
Nobody.
No.
There was an opening back that.
Sure.
So they said, would you come back, as of a sudden, after four years to conduct a concert with Tchaikovsky's Symphony or something else, they said oh, help us choose a repertoire.
I said, oh, that's very nice of you.
And then I came in and said, oh, you know what?
We'd like to know what you think about our orchestra.
Would you take a meeting?
And the minute I walk into a meeting, I said, okay, this is a search committee.
So I knew what was happening, but I didn't know before, and they knew after my first rehearsal.
So basically, I was auditioning.
Yeah.
And, well, i went quite well after that week.
They, they offered to jump to me.
Tell us a little bit about the day in the life of, of a of a conductor.
You're traveling back and forth, obviously between Canada and Ohio, but in Canada.
Gretchen.
I don't know.
So you I love it there.
What is it?
If you if you have a concert on Saturday night.
Yes.
What's the plan with the orchestra?
How often do you.
Because you're obviously, obviously also doing so many pieces simultaneously that you're preparing for it.
So how does it work to get ready for that weekend's concert?
Well, the Toledo Symphony is a special kind of orchestra because we do so many kinds of music.
For example, this this wee we just finished, we're playing, popular yesterday with Emily Claire Barlow.
Wonderful show like mostly based around jazz and chance on and the day before.
We're celebrating the refurbishing of the organ at the Great Cathedral.
Right.
So, we had two different new programs completely.
They couldn't be more different.
And the different places righ where the wonderful peristyle.
Right.
But we also had the incredible cathedral, but it's different, acoustic, different.
So we started Tuesday.
We have a or so what we're going to play Saturday.
Then we had the bulk of the rehearsal of we're playing Friday and it's always like that.
It's it's nonstop.
We have rehearsal for this for what's in a week.
Then another one.
And just never thought that.
This concept of rehearsal is fascinating to me.
I mean, you are conducting and practicing with real class talent.
Oh, yeah.
How do you.
At the risk of putting on a spot, how do you give feedback, when errors happen?
Because they inevitably do.
These are human beings.
Okay.
So that's a wonderful question.
I was I hear what you said.
Yeah, that's a great question.
Yeah.
Okay.
So so I have the great fortune ones of, I don't know if you have any hockey fans around here.
So we're close to Detroit, right?
Yeah.
So some of you know, Jack the Messiah was the coach of, Do I that.
Yeah.
Yeah, he's our favorite domestic.
Yeah.
So when he was coaching Montreal.
Yeah, I had a moment that I could meet with him.
So I met with him for about, you know, I was supposed to be 15 minutes, and I wound up being an hour.
We talked about things that are something between coaching and conducting, because basically you have to put something together.
You know, it's a strategy of the conductor is more like, how are we going to do the concert?
Are we going to manage?
Because the big difference is that we manage people in real time.
So you don't get like a review report.
Report on what did you review as two times a year.
You get it every day.
Right.
But we have to fix things with somebody who's been there for two years.
That's.
But someone who's been there for minutes.
Yeah.
You know, so you have to manage them differently but in front of everybody.
So it takes some psychology.
At the same time, you have to perform right away a few days after because they're so goo that we have limited rehearsals.
Yeah.
Often we have two days of rehearsal to play a big symphony, which is normal because then we have another program.
There's a ballet coming up next week.
So it's really, it's really you have to think very, very deeply when you're going to talk to somebody because because when you say something, somebody, everybody else can say, well, it's going to be me at some point.
Right?
So what's your.
Strategy with like, a rogue flutist who doesn't want to do what you're saying?
Squeeze.
Yeah.
They're talking like, do you do do they accept?
I mean, are they allowed to say somethin back to you in that rehearsal, or are they allowed to communicate?
I mean, is it a give and take?
It's depends on the culture.
You you create with your so.
And that's a big part of me.
But, you know, they have their own culture also.
But when I was in tha discussion with the John Davis, he told me one thing I. How do you deal with your bi star?
Yeah, the really big star.
The viola Patrick was a big star.
And he said, oh, yeah, it' a basically your best players.
They they act basically the like if they were the ones with the least talent.
They come to work every day.
They work the hardest, hardest.
And so I kept that in mind.
And I also thought, let's try to make this a bi chamber music group, a big like, like a string quartet, but with 80 people.
So yes, people can always know, I lay there, what about this?
And, and it makes suggestion.
I mean, of course it' not a democracy, unfortunately.
Sure.
But but we tried to make it as close as possible.
Stay with us as a crutch.
Yeah.
One of the things people may not know about you is that, you are actually a knight.
In 2019, you were knighte by the National Order of Quebec.
So we should be calling you, sir, to down right.
If you wish.
So how did how did that happen?
Tell us a little bit about the the ceremony and.
Think it was very nice was the Prime Minister and I was giving you.
That's kind.
Of nice.
He was giving out the knighthoods and I was.
Just giving them.
Out.
Yeah.
There's only.
You know, if you ever year.
Yeah.
You go to the National Assembly and and it's very moving.
I mean, you know, I was thinking back when I was starting not to be in trouble and get all of it, you know, not just being on the street, but doing something.
And I said, well, and I'm getting this interesting.
It's a way to encourage that.
It says that the work we do, yes, is on the right track.
So we keep working in that community we keep working with the people.
And, it's just I see it as an encouragement saying, keep going.
More that you talked about accessibility.
Yeah.
That's right.
And so I'm curious for folks that haven't been to, a live performance out at the new space.
Yeah.
What what's the what's the right?
I mean, it's intimidating right?
I mean, it's the.
Yeah.
And I think about the thought of going to the symphony and.
Yeah you know, I've got to dress up and people are going to be in tuxes.
And if there's a, there's a, an ai of like sort of a stuffy feel.
Right.
Let's destroy all of that.
Right now, love and get.
So that's the idea is that when I was saying we trying to be closer to the public, you don't have to dress up.
You don't have to do anything you don't want to do.
You don't you don't need to know what we're going to play because we have pre-concert chats anyway.
And they're an hour before the show and they're not based on.
It's not a music lesson.
It's a little bi what was happening at that time.
What was the composer thinking?
But not in this technical sense.
Like, did he have like, a love story at that time?
What was happening in the world at that time?
Also, we also have our own building, right?
Where we have Live Arts Toledo, where people come and se sometimes some rehearsals and, they and we see a lot of parents there also.
Yeah.
So that's nice.
So between the all from the young stars who are in the ballet school or in the youth orchestra all the way up to the symphony, it's like one line of colleagues that are of a different age.
Yeah.
Like to see it that way.
Yeah.
So it's not like kids and then pros, it's like, well of course they're pro.
Yeah.
But then we see them, then we try to encourage them to continue and we try to encourage the publ I love that we're talking with Elaine Trudel from Live Arts Toledo.
This is the time where it becomes the group participation portion of the show.
All right.
Well, no, no.
All right.
So I love it.
I love the clapping.
That was great.
That familiar with it.
But when it's time, you'll know.
But I need everyon to shout Gretchen's wacky quiz.
Yes, because it's now time for wacky.
I like the name now.
I like the name.
I didn't like it before, but.
I'm going to ask for rapid fire questions.
Gretchen is going to ask yo to describe Toledo in one word, and then you.
And that will work together to list the nine best things in Toledo.
Question number one describe your parents in one word.
Loving.
Yeah.
What word would you ad to the dictionary if you could?
Wow.
All right.
Sorry, sorry.
Sorry.
That's it.
That's the one we're doing.
All right.
What would your secret DJ name be?
Yes.
Oh.
It's got to have Knight in it.
Ball that I'm being called.
Tee off.
Yeah.
You know, how about the maple sirup night and.
No, I know, no big deal.
Something like that.
Around the city, I love it.
Yeah.
All right.
Was that one.
Big tell you on the ones and twos?
Yeah.
And.
All right.
You had a pet parrot.
What would you teach it to say?
Oh, Thank you.
And please.
Yeah, it's a very polite parrot.
Of course.
What is.
Canadian?
What is the one word you would use to describe the city of Toledo?
I thought about?
It's not so much imagination, but it's what I really think as we tal community.
Community.
Community.
Community.
Family.
That's what I feel here.
And the.
And I felt, well.
It's just it's just one word, sir.
But now you got a little.
Me.
Yep.
We got one minute left.
You need not words describe the city or region.
Ready?
Okay, I came prepared, all right.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Great.
Put your list away, man.
Typical Canadian taking over everything.
No, no.
Not yet.
Okay.
Let me know.
Metro parks.
Yes yes yes.
Okay.
Including my two favorite, Swan Creek and Glass City, including the pier on the other side.
If you want to have a bite.
After you.
Oh.
This town I love.
I went there.
All right, that's a lead.
Amusing.
A museum of art.
Amazing.
All right.
The zoo.
One of the top zoo in the country.
I spent a lot of time there.
Of course, I never studied a building.
I mean, with the kids there.
The market on Saturday morning.
Yeah, right.
Yeah.
You get all your great food restaurants there.
Like I'm going to name a few.
I'm sorry.
It's a soup.
Yeah.
And it's blocked.
Very, can go and also, slice pizza don't stop for a baseball gam or something like that.
Right.
Did you just Google things to say to Americans?
Its place.
You see me often?
I was at work yesterday and the pizza the other day.
So, the walleyes, of course, the hockey fan.
And they should have one and, and of course, though our wonderful symphony at the Peristyle theater.
Thank you so much for being here.
Alain Trudel, or as we now know him, big T. Yes.
You.
So much for joining us.
We'll take a break when we come back, we'll have Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gherkin.
It's the 419 powered by WGC.
To me, community means connecting to others.
I'm Danny Miller, and welcome to the point.
I lost it yesterday.
We are a community committed to education.
Discover new ideas, dive into exciting subjects, and engage with the world around you.
I would send.
Them personally a T-shirt.
Crime doesn't pa in the Old West and pass it on.
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The public media invites you to get out and play day.
Monday through Friday, it's the 419 powered by W GTD with Matt Killam, Gretchen De Backer, I'm Kevin Mullen.
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It's going to be an hour, a reminder of why this is a great place to live, work and play.
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Welcome back to the 419 powered by RTE presented by Riccio Wealth Management.
We are out in group mode celebrating for one nine day.
So happ to so many of you could be here.
So happy to see so many friends and family.
I see both sides of man's parents are here, which is bringing people together.
Is what this podcast does.
Happy to shout out.
Happy to shout out my brother and his wife that are here.
Matt's girls are here.
So thank you all for being here.
We're excited to have our next.
My family's here somewhere.
Oh.
You're here?
Yeah.
They wanted Kevin.
Now I know.
There they are.
They're they're they're.
Rocking their apparel.
A couple of their new shirts.
Yup.
It was great.
I told my, my oldest son, what I want to d and how I wanted to make a hat.
And he was like, well, I'll make that, and we can just share it, which is the most adorable thing ever.
Yes.
He' never gonna let you wear it.
No.
No chance.
It looks so much.
This looks so good.
It looks good on him.
Yeah.
We're in trouble.
We're joined now by Luca County Commissioner Pete Gerken.
Commissioner, thanks for being here.
Welcome, Pete.
Welcome.
Thank you.
What?
We ask this to most of our guests ther in some sort of elected office.
Why in the worl have you done this to yourself?
I asked myself that.
Why, sure.
I think you got to be a little crazy.
Yeah.
You have to have a thick skin.
Yeah.
You have to be grounded.
Like I've been in this for.
Believe it or not, 30 years now, since 1996.
I got on the city council and I've been here ever since.
But I do this because it's stuff I learned when I was younger.
Right?
And know where to bring us back to younger.
I'm not sure a lot of people know.
Where did you grew up?
Some of you grew.
Up in the Old West and I went to Central Catholic High School, graduated in the magical year of 1969.
Yeah.
Left town for a while.
Went to the University of Detroit.
That was an if you remember, the late 60s, early 70s.
And I do.
Social torment going on.
And, my college career washed out after a couple of years for a variety of activities.
All right.
But we.
Got to get into that.
Was a Jesuit school, you know, at.
That.
Time.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's interesting enough.
I came back and, had to get a job, right?
College wasn't working anymore.
I actually went to work for a few years for CTE, so I've done your jobs.
Gambler people.
It's kind of still the same.
I think I could do it again.
And there was very formative years where I learned how the community worked.
I got to be creative a little bit, and then I got fired.
Sure.
So I still remember the day.
And.
And Stranahan Robert Smith, come to my office.
You're fired.
Pete.
Yeah.
I tried to organize a union.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Came up one vote short.
Yeah, I probably got fired.
Now, was it Snuffleupagus or Bert?
That fucked?
It was.
Bert.
I knew at that time, you know.
It was the engineer and the sound.
Or we told me.
Yes, the whole way.
Then I saw him sneaking out of hall.
Meet your folks.
What sort of infused this, civic nature to you?
This rabble rouser?
The organizer.
Where where did that start?
Where did that come from?
My mom was a single mom.
In 1958, I was six years old.
My dad died.
The youngest four kids.
My mom never got remarried.
She was a professional.
She was a teacher.
She was an educator.
She was a researcher.
She was a chemist.
And she always taught us that we have to be about somebody else.
Yeah, I mean, that was her thing.
On Sunday, you go do something for somebody else.
He just didn't come home, go to church and come home.
We went out and did something.
So I think at the time of m life, the late in the mid 60s, there was a lot of activity going on.
Yeah.
Causes, you know, I saw my mom persevering as a single parent trying to raise four kids.
Yeah.
So it was never about her.
So I think I kind of took that and I could there wasn't a cause that I didn't want to get involved in at some point.
So I think it's really from her in the way I got raised.
You'r going to be part of something.
And then you, afte I'm assuming, after firing you then went over to UAW and that were very long serving there over 30 years and got involved in union leadership there.
Yeah I think probably the best thing that ever happened was getting fired by Jerry, because then I went to GE, right?
And I remember the day I walked in, I felt part of something.
And this community, our legends together.
I mean, it's really a strong cultural aspect of it and I, I, I probably made more money at the cheap than I did here.
Sorry.
And I got a great know that.
And I got a great pensio I don't think about I got there.
So you guys do me a favor.
But I walked into Jeep and I found out it was, I was making big money, $4.12 an hour.
All right.
1976.
Big money.
Yeah, but here's what happened.
There's community there, an I think Alaska's the lifeline.
Talked about the community.
You worked at the Jeep plant, and I was there 30 years.
It was the United Nations.
I mean, it really was that built our our community over here from Mexico, from the Middle East, from Syria, Lebanon, Canada.
So I got to see the trial and tribulations culture, food, sadness, holidays of a of a world.
And you packed 6000 people into a place for eight hours a da and right on top of each other.
You better learn to get along.
You better learn to listen to people.
And you better be able to say, hey, I think I could help each other with that, so that one day I was bad at putting parts on cars.
I sure if I had a Jeep in 76 to 78, I hope you don't have any up.
I was probably responsible for the steering wheel.
Bad thing that happened.
Yeah.
So I saw a guy walking aroun with the other flannel shirt on and a clipboard He wasn't putting parts in cars.
He was giving a boss.
Hell, yeah.
I'm the boss.
Are going to hell.
I go, who's that guy?
That's a union steward?
And I go, how do you get his job?
They said, you gotta get elected.
Once the election.
Three weeks from now.
Three weeks later, I had flannel shirt and a clipboard.
Nice.
Did you run against that person or was.
Okay, I did, yeah, I learned how to campaign from be an organizer, you know, in college.
So I put these all these years later, right?
I mean, serving as a county commissioner.
What what of those?
You know, you go back to th young Pete that got fired from the, slightly less young Pete that was screwing up steering wheels.
What are the lessons you learned from those early days in your career that are still serving you today as a county commissioner?
Just keep going.
Sometimes your your things are going to get in your way.
People aren't going to do what you want.
Life deals you a bad hand.
Sure.
Look like me assistant, right?
Yeah.
The things that you could have figured work for the Metro parks, right?
When done.
When life feels you a bad hand.
Like where this from?
My brother.
You keep going.
Yeah.
And that's something that she instilled in me.
It didn't matter when she got home from work at 8:00 at night and had a fever.
She just kept going.
So I think what I learned was you get back up and go.
There's always tomorrow.
If I always found something and tomorrow will be a better day than today.
I think that's a good segue into what I would describe my words.
Your sweet spot certainly is.
I have had the good fortune o being in the same rooms as you.
Economic development is feeding tomorrow.
Right.
Can you talk a little bit about how we're prepping our county to be ready for tomorrow?
So I'm very proud of our county and our city.
We've been through a lot.
We've been through it.
Think back to the, the offshoring of jobs here.
We've lost our manufacturing base.
We had to retrain people to do it.
But here's a here's what I like about it.
People are are willing to learn and willing to try new things this year.
So we're not just stuck in automotive anymore.
We're now in technology.
We're now, marketing.
We now have, you know, look at our public schools under some duress right now.
But they have great things like academies of, you know, tech and career pathways.
Right.
So I think what's great about it now, we have to continu to train people for the future.
Here's what I worry about.
I think we're a good spot right now.
But if we can't get complacent, communities to just stop end up dying.
Yeah I want to be green and growing.
I don't want to get rip and fall off the tree, you know?
So my passion is what can we do tomorrow?
We did great today.
We have some great assets.
Look at downtown.
What it looks like today from ten years ago.
Just just look Yeah.
It's not the same place.
I want to know what downtown is going to look at five years from now.
So we got to keep moving.
Yes, sir.
You guys have a new app coming to the county?
We do, and it's called, know.
Ready?
Lucas County.
We want to make sure we have people want to come and start businesses here.
People kind of reinvest here that sometimes governmen gets in the way of that stuff.
You gotta get a permit You gotta get a zoning change.
You got to get this.
You got to get that.
And this app will help us help.
We will help you navigate through that.
Your job is to open your business or hire employees or find trained employees.
Go do that will help you.
But if you need somebody downtown to help you worry about a zoning change or a permit, or if your site needs an environmental review, we're going to do that because that's an investment.
I know we're taking tax dollars away from maybe something else to put in that, but if we're not growing this community with a vision, then we're not going to be as good as we are today.
I think we're just at the tip of it.
I mean, five years is not where we're going to be compare to where we were five years ago.
We got to keep the momentum going.
He one of the reasons I'm a fan of yours is certainly the economic development and the time you've served.
But way back in the 90 when you were on city council, you share and I think with many people here, a progressive ideology as it comes to politics, people might not remember that you were, partially responsible fo the first domestic partnership ordinanc that was in the city of Toledo, that you were strong, a strong advocate for living wage ordinances in the city of Toledo.
You help with the smoking ban.
You helped with mayor and others to develop care net all very progressive problem, progressive policies to help the least among us.
Right.
How do you look at those policies today?
Do you think that they would be able to get through the the local governments, today in the environment that we're in now?
Yes, because I think we're still that kind of community.
I mean, when we did, we ar the first city in Ohio to have a a smoking ban or public smoking ban.
I'll tell you, all hell broke loose over there.
Sure.
My picture was in bars saying do not allow this man to enter.
Mine to for different reasons.
Well, I'm sorry I wasn't.
Sorry, but we are that kind of community that will take a chance.
And I make no concession about being a progressive.
I think we need people there.
And it's not really about being a progressive.
It's about what can you do to help the most people that need the most help?
I still remember a campaign I did with, great community organizer Tina Butts who had several on the movement.
We went into the Green Belt Parkway for a year.
Green Belt Parkway was the worst public housing entity in the city.
And rather than saying, let's just write them off, we went in there, we put programing in there.
We got people to pay attention.
We brought the owner to town from from Texas, held his feet to the fir and said, we're going to disrupt your funding from the federal government.
If you start fixing this up for a place where people get real live.
So I think those aren't hard things to do.
They're just things you're supposed to do if you have some power influence.
So I don't know if that's progressive or just being a human being.
You can call it whatever you want.
We're talking with Speake and Lucas County commissioner.
It's now time for Grant is when he quit.
I know, I know, I'm nervous.
I'm really.
Yeah.
All right.
Yeah.
Four rapid fire questions for me.
Gretchen's asking you to describe Toledo in exactly one word.
And you and Matt will lis the nine best things in Toledo.
Right?
All right.
Question number one for Lucas County.
That's right.
That's fair.
That's fair.
What word do you love using?
It's you're allowed to use on that.
Okay.
Yeah.
Can do.
I think it's Seward.
Yes.
My favorite words is.
Yes.
Okay.
I like that.
Is.
Yes.
What's your favorite animal?
My dog too.
Just I he was a call.
He was a, a big English, mastiff.
Awesome Thanks for bringing the show up.
Commissioner.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He died.
I don't even Want to ask the next question.
But what's something that always makes you laugh?
Oh, I thin any time I walk through downtown and I see people on the stree and I walk everywhere downtown, I just see people on a street corner talking that makes me laugh.
I think it' what kind of what we look like.
Yeah.
All right, all right.
What's the craziest theme park or fairground ride that you've ever been on?
I think it's probably the rotor.
Back in the old days of Cedar Point, where we stood against the wall and it went so fast it wouldn't fall down.
And then if you.
Yeah, yeah.
How was that ever.
This is usually when I make a joke about another commissioner.
But I've been told I can't.
So don't ever fall.
So you follow the rules?
Yeah.
Yes.
Well we'll just keep moving on.
Yeah.
What is the one word you would use to describe the city of Toledo or Lucas County?
That's easy.
Genuine.
We are.
I don't think anyone has said that word yet.
We are genuine.
All right.
You and me.
Nine.
All right, here we go.
One of your favorite.
Ready to do this?
Yeah.
Okay.
My last name is pronounced kill.
I'm just reminded.
Okay.
Your favorite things about the county.
It's diverse.
All right.
We need.
We got a bunch more.
Yeah.
All right.
How about that dog?
All right.
Here.
Let me start out.
Here's my nine words I practice.
I think we're I think we're gritty.
Yes.
I think we're pretty.
Yes.
I think we're rich.
Yes, I think we're poor.
Yep.
I think we're east.
All right.
I think we're west.
Yes, I think we're kind.
Okay, I think we're generous.
And I think we're kind of an enigma.
Though.
I love it.
Lucas County commissioner.
He was being nice.
Thank you so much for joining us.
For having me.
We're gonna take a break.
When we come back, we'll be joined by, NFL veteran Chris Wormley, talking about the Wormley Family Foundation.
We'll take a break.
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Welcome back to the other 19 powered by W GTI, a special for one nine day edition.
We are with a live studio audience out at Ju mode, and we're joined now by former NF football player Chris Wormley.
Chris, thanks for being here.
I just I just want to say this.
This is Chris.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's hard to downplay the NFL.
I'm Matt I, but I'm one of the people.
You may not have listened to the podcast in the last couple of weeks but Matt has been talking smack for a week that he was going to arm wrestle you live on the show.
No, no no no different Chris Jericho yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
It's a very small, Korean kid that we're having.
He's he's an intern.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes.
He's very weak.
Is, calcium deficiency, and I'm going to crush him.
Chris, we're going to we're goin to come back to this eventually.
But I want to ask you, you're wearing your Wormley Family Foundation shirt.
That's a joke mode here for good shirt.
This is the hottest, the most special, the here for good campaign, we've done for the last two years with, juke mode.
And it's, it's been fantastic.
Be able to get back and what they do for the community to be a partner with it.
It's it's pretty cool.
It's they've been an incredible partner as well.
Folks that have come out to enjoy the live show today, have made their way into the bowels of juke mode.
I think that's what you call that.
That's what I call it.
And they're making their own shirts.
They're making their own hats.
With proceeds, of course, supporting.
But the here for good program, it's just one of the many things that Juke Boat has done.
What what is the Wormley Family Foundation?
Well, it's, we've had it for about two years now.
And my last name was Wormley.
My wife and I are both from Toledo, and we just serve the youth of Toledo and Northwest Ohio.
Give them the tools and resources to live a more fulfilled, successful life.
We're both from here.
We both love this city and what it's done for us.
So we have supported me for almost 20 years now.
So for me to be able to give back and serve, in a meaningful way, it's it's this.
Honestly, it's what it's all about.
Chris, for those of you who don't know who you are.
Let's get back to the very beginning, because, there's a lot to celebrate, bu it doesn't happen by accident.
So where where are you from?
Tell me if we were just meeting for the first time and I didn't train you to be the athlete you are today, which, of course you did, I did.
Of who?
Who who are you, buddy?
Tell me about you.
Chris Wormley.
I grew up in Toledo, Ohio.
That's right.
Whitmer.
Gretchen Whitmer had originally lived grew up in Sout Toledo for my first five years.
And then we, we moved to Northwest Toledo.
Yeah.
Went to Whitmer High School.
Once the University of Michigan played football.
Played?
Yeah.
Played out of last night, as was.
There was one.
Hey.
That's good.
I'll take.
I was that one.
And the last, the last nine years have been playing in the NFL.
Yeah.
Baltimore.
Pittsburgh.
Carolina.
Indianapolis Colts.
So kind of been all over, but Toledo is home.
I while we were setting up today, there was a gentleman that was here that said he actually was, a youth coach, for you, when you were growing up and said that they had to travel, when they'd go play.
You play youth sports.
Their coaches would travel with your birth certificate because nobody believed that you were actually ten.
That's true.
That's true.
I mean, were were you, like, just instantly?
Were you always a great athlete or is this something that that you really had to work at or both?
Both.
I mean, I was always taller and bigger than everybody.
But that doesn't matter.
I get you so far.
Yeah.
Actually once you get into college and.
Right.
Once you get to college and and professional sports, everyone's tall, everyone's big, everyone's right.
The best where they came from.
So you have to work at it.
You know, she she.
My daughter stayed here.
She's 60, comes to train with me all the time and is running around.
And I was talking with John in the back that, you know, it's as a as a dad, you have t be a dad, but you also have to do your job, which is for me.
And the offseason is working out and training, and the fruits of my labor now is, you know, playing on Sundays.
And they got to see that.
So that's been fun.
But it took some work.
But I mean, I was I was blessed with a massive body.
Me too Chris.
Chris, I got to ask you, though I, rarely the people get to talk to the human being.
You're from Whitmer, which was a big school.
Sure.
But then Michigan, which, of course, is a giant school.
Ever feel like, scared or or like a fraud or like a moment like.
Oh, no, I'm in now.
I'm in the Big Ten school.
Can I do this?
Did you ever have a panic moment?
Or you always felt like, I can do this?
I just have to put my nose to grind.
Yeah.
I mean, I have imposter syndrome every day.
Yeah.
In terms of, you know, the foundation work, like, am I doing the right thing?
Like, am I the right person for it?
You know, at Whitmer in eighth grade I didn't want to play football.
Yeah, there's, you know, my mom almost forced me.
She's like, you're going to be grounded for the summer if you don't play football.
Yeah, heck, I can't make because I don't want to be a basketball player.
Sure.
But, yeah, there's there's times where you doubt yourself, but, you know, you put the right people around you.
Yeah.
My six year old is a very big, Yeah, cheerleader influencer in my life in terms of sticking with things and having my two by two girls see what hard work and dedication and discipline can get you.
Especially when I'm away for a few months out of the year.
They.
Yeah, they have questions, but I want to be able to show them that.
Hey, this is what it's for.
This is what I'm doing it for.
I think it's a it's so easy for kids to see a professional athlete, right.
And look at the paycheck and be like, oh, I want that.
But they don't want to pu the work in to to get it right.
What did a in season?
What was a typical da like for an NFL football player?
I mean, you get to the facility, the facilities where you have meetings and practice and you work ou and they have a full cafeteria where you eat food and all that good stuff.
But, you know, you get there at 630 and you leave.
You know, especially in the fall in the Midwest, it gets dark by 430.
So you're there befor the sun rises and you're there when you know, when the sun sets, you walk ou it, you know, 536 and it's dark.
But anything you want to be good at, you have to be dedicated to those who have to sacrifice things.
And and for me, it's sacrificin family time during the season.
But if you want to be great at something, you want to be good at something.
You have to be dedicated and and put the work in.
And you are literally tackling moving cars, essentially, when there's 18 weeks in the NFL season.
Tell me what week you're you're hurt.
I mean, is it I mean, it is one.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The first week.
How does it go through?
I mean, you go through a month and a half of.
Yeah.
Fall camp.
Yeah.
And as long as I've been able to play like yeah, I'm never really healthy.
You work out and you try to.
Yeah.
Get healthy throughout the offseason and you take breaks and you, you try to build up muscle and you work on certain things.
But you know, week one you'r sure you're not totally healthy.
Yeah.
Are you still want a still wanting to pla or are you still hoping to play.
Well that's a good question.
I mean, it's been a I'm really enjoying what I'm doing now with the foundation.
Excuse me.
With our foundation and being home and being a more dedicated father, that's that's huge.
But, you know, football has been my my is my first love.
It's my first passion.
But, you know, there's there's going to be a time where I give it up for good, and, and that's going to be a sad day, but I'm excited for what's to come.
You get a phone call today.
You're ready to go.
Baby.
Okay.
Yeah.
All right, all right.
So, talk to me about the foundation.
You know, you don' have to give back to your point.
You're a comparativel young man, so you hang this up, and you could be done forever.
You don't have to give back.
You don't have to participate anymore.
Where was this decision made?
Was it over a kitchen table?
Was it on the phone?
Was it looking at your beautiful daughter?
When did you decide it was time to do this?
And?
And it touched a lot of what it is.
Yeah.
So I mean, I was talking with John in the back.
It was my aunt used to direct, nursing homes.
She would bring me my cousins to work with the elderly, and we would do chocolate moles and play bingo and try to just be around.
And that was my first real taste of.
What was your physical strength?
Helpful.
And bingo.
No, don't ever feisty.
You know that?
Sure.
Yeah, yeah.
Just turn in that thing with your giant.
Yeah I was like 9 or 10 at the time.
I don't know how you know ho much my physical stature would.
Were still six.
Two.
It was eight.
Yeah.
Just smashing the balls.
Anyway.
But then when I got to college we would work at the Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan.
Then.
And then I had a lot of teammates in the NFL and had their own foundations.
And then the city has supported me for almost 20 years now.
So to be able to give back in a small way, especially for the youth of Toledo, that this is the next generation, like what you.
What exactly does the Wormley Family.
Foundation do?
We give back to the youth?
Whether that's literacy, we're starting to, you know, we're doing a summer reading program with the Lucas County Library System this summer.
We do a football camp at Whitmer going on our fifth year.
It's a totally free camp.
We've done turkey drives and the holiday shopping sprees for the kids.
So trying to hit on all different points of what it means to to give back, but then also show them that do is a special place that this place means a lot to, to me.
And, you know, a lot of people sitting in the, in the, in the audience here.
And until you three, that that Toledo can can do a lot for you.
You've got a really cool event coming up this summer.
I kind of tee up to let you talk about what's what's coming.
That's so June 20th.
We're having a charity softball game at fifth field.
It's called the Chris Wormley Celebrity softball game.
Where celebrities and athletes and the legends are coming, coming back to the city, playing at Fifth Third Field, raising money for our foundation to give that to the to the city that that, is Toledo.
All the proceeds are going back into the city that that means a lot to us.
But June 20th.
Who are some of the people like me playing.
Storm Norton, a team made up at Whitmer?
Yeah.
Went to Toledo and played football in that place for the land of Falcons.
Eric canard.
Sure.
Yeah.
Well, medal winner in the high.
Went to Rogers High School.
He's coming back to play.
We have some social media influencers, we have some comedians coming i and a guy named Steve Byrne who, I think he's performing at the funny Bone Down in Perrysburg that weekend.
So he's coming to play to play in the game beforehand.
We're looking to get about 25.
We're available.
I'm assuming not all the invites are going out.
Yeah, because I haven't seen I haven't seen my I don't know if you're a. You know.
Incredulous, aske what's the doping testing.
Yeah.
The Joe.
You I'm assumin there's no policy for the chair.
For the charity.
So yeah, yeah.
Go ahead.
Take what you want.
Yeah.
And do so.
And we have every available.
If you, if you can send me a video if you hit the no fields.
Yes you're in.
Because I haven't seen your videos every night for five, 60 days now, let's just look I mean, he can.
I can hit it over the fence.
My question is, where do I have to hit from this?
Can I stand directly in front of the fence?
There's there is a home run derby.
Okay.
But at the end of the game.
So I know storm the storm is bigger than I can if I. Outfield.
He's here and he can he can spike a golf ball.
He can smack a softball.
And he is well, he's going to win.
Yeah, but I hope there's some competition.
Yes, sir.
All right.
We're talking with Chris Wormley with the Wormley Family Foundation.
What what is when you think about I mean, obviously you we've traveled all over the country, lived in differen cities, got a chance to see it as an NFL football player.
You know, you get out of a gam and the city is sort of yours.
When you come back home to Sillitoe, what is it that you love most about?
About Toledo?
I'm a midwest guy, so I when I when I got drafted to Baltimore, it was East Coast and I had to adjust to living in an East Coast environment.
The attitudes, the language, the the speed of things, you know, is.
But not not like the country.
But it's a slower pace Midwest city with great values.
Everybody seems friendly.
They hold the door for you to say please and thank you for things that matter to me.
And then I try to teach, teach to my my two daughters.
But it just feels like home.
I don't know if that's the right answer, but it just feels like a place that wherever you come from in the country, you ca you can find something valuable.
And so.
Yes, sir, what.
Would you tell a high school freshman that that is good at football, maybe wants to make this their career, their life a tip or something that you wish you had known at that age?
To be successful, to prepare themselves for this kind of life?
I'll tell you.
I mean, you have to handle adversity.
And as a 14, 15 year old, you're probably not.
Great for that.
I guess I'm great at it.
You know, it takes a lot like, you know, from rejection to not being good enough to.
Sure, injuries to setbacks, all those things that come with life in general.
Yeah.
You have to be really good at that.
And you have to be focused and know what you want, which is hard as a young kid without football.
If you had it in the dream gig, what would it be?
Stay at home dad.
Yeah.
Good for you right now.
Yeah, I'm doing, I'm doing now, which is good, but.
Fun, I love it.
Let's go back to the, you know, playing career, whether this is at Michigan or in the NFL.
Is there, is there a moment that sticks out?
You're like, that's that' when Chris Wormley was his best.
Other than right now.
Yeah.
I mean, I had my my best game ever.
I was playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Baltimore Ravens.
And I sacked Lamar Jackson two and a half times.
And if anybody watches football, Lamar Jackson's the fastest guy known to man.
Yeah.
And to be able to sack him, which is.
Yeah.
Defensive lineman's job.
Yeah.
Okay.
I'm doing something.
Right.
Look, I finally got his open.
Yeah, yeah.
That's right.
That's incredible.
All right, what's the typical diet for an NFL defensive lineman?
I mean, how many calorie are you throwing down every day?
Yeah, 4 to 5000, I would say.
Me too.
Yeah, that's so odd.
But looking at that softball game is going to be amazing.
No.
Weird.
Yeah.
Oh my goodness.
Yeah.
So it's so good.
It's so good I want to do it.
Just do it.
All right, all right.
It's now time for this wacky quiz I this I don't know that I felt.
It wasn't there.
Yeah.
One more time.
One more time.
You guys think we do We do.
Better.
Yeah, we get it.
All right, here we go.
It's now time for questions.
Now, this is two.
I'm not doing it.
The third time I am going to ask you for rapid fire questions.
Okay.
Gretchen's going to ask yo to describe Toledo in one word.
And then you and Matt will work together to list the nine best things in Toledo.
Okay, that's the 419.
Okay.
All right.
What is your favorite Halloween costume?
Ooh.
Oh.
My own.
Yeah.
Or maybe I think you're giant.
Just say whatever you want.
I was I was a lunch lady.
Yeah.
Elementary school.
Yeah.
I had a dress on an apron.
Hairnet?
In a. Way.
Yeah.
There's a picture floating around somewhere.
I think you seen it before I got here.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I love it.
All right.
What's the worst purchase you ever made?
The worst purchase?
I don't know.
I feel like I'm pretty smart with my money.
Sure.
The worst purchase.
What was that?
Let me.
Let me switch it up.
What was the first purchas you made with the NFL?
Peyton?
I was just thinking about this.
We were at slee number, the super number store.
It's like a mattress store.
But we were buying, pillows today, and then they were just on.
The Boston Common and.
Our first purchase was a mattress for my house in Baltimore.
Yeah.
And I was like, dang, this is how much mattresses cost.
You know.
I was hitting this.
I didn't realize.
This is a big mattress.
Wants you to think.
Okay, so worst purchase.
So there's a lik when you go to a city to play.
Yeah.
We all try to go out to dinner and there's you know defensive linemen and linebacker play defensiv defensive linemen linebackers.
And this one time it was a preseason game.
So it was a lot more guys because the roster is bigger.
We're in Philadelphia in a in a at a steakhouse.
And the meals done.
And like all right let's do credit card roulette.
And I don't know if you guys know that, but you put your credit cards in a, in a hat or, you know, a bucket or whatever and then you have the waitress pull it out.
Oh my.
God.
For this one we did, the last card standing.
My card was the last card standing is about 5000 bucks.
I was gonna say each o you were eating 5000 calories.
That's what.
I mean.
And there were.
We weren't drinking at the time because there was no.
There was a gam the night before a game.
Yeah.
So I had to call my wife.
I was like, hey, I just spent this amount of money on a credit card.
Yeah.
Please don't, you know, don't divorce me.
You know, we've done this a lot.
This is my first time losing.
So, like, I've you know, I've paid it forward, I guess, in terms of that.
So that's why I had the worst purchase.
And it was just because of bad luck.
Yeah, yeah.
You're more of a morning person or a night owl.
Or morning person, for sure.
Especially now that I have kids.
It's.
You got to get up and.
She says, no to it.
All right.
So are you sayin that he's not a morning person?
She wishes I could stay up.
She wishes she could stay up late.
So that's why.
Why she's saying that?
Yeah.
All right.
Okay.
What?
I like.
Sleeping.
Oh, she likes sleep.
Last question, last question.
How many languages can you speak fluently?
I just one, just one.
Yeah.
Well.
What is the Mac?
What's the one word you woul use to describe City of Toledo?
I already said home.
I would say real.
Okay, take it real.
All right.
You and me.
Nine things that go as fast as we can.
Nine verse.
Describe the city or region.
You said real.
I'll give you that.
Real.
Yep.
Windsor High School, we're going to give it to you right there.
All right.
These are words to describe a city you.
Know best things.
Nine best things.
Until the.
Metroparks.
My man.
Rudy's hot dog.
Yep.
Thanks for city metro.
Much preferred outdoor keep.
The mommy river.
Love it.
Lake Erie mommy bay.
Love it.
Love this two.
We'll give you two for that.
You ever go up?
Jew mode.
Similar.
When we foundation.
When we foundation nation.
That's my.
Boy.
Chris.
One way with the worm.
With your family down there, we're going to take a break.
When we come back, we'll close out this special for one nine day.
This is what's up.
The 419.
Oh, with maybe that arm wrestling competition between now.
I'm going to call 911.
Now we'll be right back on the 419.
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For generations, we've given you programs that made a difference.
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And today is no different.
This is public media in Toledo.
It's where you belong.
Welcome back to the 419 powered by GTI, a special for one nine day edition.
We're joine now by the owner of Juke Mode.
Let's hear it for John Amato.
You guys have.
This whole.
Event.
Is.
Having this in this store was actually John's idea.
So you reached out.
So we're so appreciativ of his support, not only of GTI, but of the 400.
Have been taking credit for this the whole time.
That is not realizing that.
Yeah, that is so true.
Well, I had no idea.
Was his idea.
It seemed like too good of an idea.
Yeah.
That's it.
Yeah.
John, thank you for having us.
Obviously celebrating for one nine day.
I asked the question of these knuckleheads at the start, but what is what is for one nine day mean to you?
It's it's John, it's it's a community celebrate northwest Ohio.
The people that live here and all the great things that happen.
So thanks for coming out.
Glad you finally caught on to Gretchen's idea.
And, happy to be here.
If we had known it was your idea, we would have signed on We would have.
Been a lot more.
Support.
John, the story is great.
You have great employees.
A great team which talks all the time.
And our terribly rude producer Shane from South Africa who everyone hates the choice.
They have one more minute, but everyone hates.
But talk to us about, what you most about and why it's so great.
So we are a promotional products company.
We primarily make custom t shirts and embroidery and other things for people but we also have this.
Retail.
Store where we celebrate Toledo's history, the good things that are happening.
And, you know this is a prime example of this.
We love being involved in th things that you guys are doing, supporting CTE, and other great organizations in town.
And we hope to be an integral part of all the good thing that are happening in the area.
We do want to thank ZTE and our team that's here that set all of this up.
We want to thank Dede's Food Truck for being here, latter for one nine for being here, and certainly Kim John at every one of this show.
7 a.m.
on YouTube, 3 p.m.
on FM 91 and six BMW GT connects.
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Thank you Shane.
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