Now the 490, with Gretchen de Becker, Matt Killam, and Kevin Mullin all.

Welcome into the 419 Powered by Wheat and presented by which row wealth management.

Easy for me to say.

I'm Kevin Mullin.

Gretchen Becker might kill him.

It's always appropriate on Wellness Wednesday that I sound the worst.

Well, I have.

I wouldn't describe it as medical information.

My mom informed me that Toledo is number seven for on the on the list for having the worst pollen year.

Now, I would have thought we were five.

I asked her some clarifying questions, which she eventually became irritated and stopped answering them.

Yeah.

Where did you find this information?

Did not remember.

I thought it was odd that Toledo.

And admittedly, I don't I don't claim to be an expert on this.

And certainly that's the level of.

You just knew you couldn't accept that information.

I mean, there's some holes in it.

She couldn't tell me where she got it, what she was looking at when she said found it, said information.

I said, what made Toledo?

She said, oh, I don't.

She's like it was alphabetical.

I was like, it doesn't.

It doesn't work.

But I do think seasonal allergies are here as people sort of dragging their eyelids or feeling like weighted sacks.

Get up in the morning, go out to the car, and, you know, if it was raining the day before, windshield wipers are on and you just watch it, just push dust all over the windshield.

That's all of the all of the pollen.

All the time.

Do you both have allergies?

I don't, I do.

I think that I may now.

Yeah.

You need to get that.

Mom's article.

Now.

You look into it.

I was like.

I assume that you knew you had allergies, and that's why she was giving you that information.

No, she gives information on a wide variety of topics.

This is just a chat.

That's right.

That's a public service announcement.

Yeah.

Inevitably.

My wife, like you said, you asked follow up questions and it fell apart.

My wife will ask me follow up questions to almost any story and it falls apart pretty quickly.

But like her follow up questions are actual, like common sense follow up.

That's because men don't get the appropriate details of any story.

Right.

So I'll say something like, you know, something about some story about Matt.

And she'll ask, like literally the first possible question of like.

What happened next?

Yeah.

I'm like, I don't know.

I don't know.

I have this will make him cringe, but he doesn't live here.

My best friend, who you all know about.

I talked about the shame.

That's right.

Not our our just nightmare producer.

He's not.

He's a friend to no one.

His words and everyone else's.

Yeah.

Anyway, so my sister and my mom asked me, you know, about his dating life.

I never know anything.

We talk pretty regularly, but I guess we'll talk about subject matter that they are interested in.

So I did the last time I talked to him, I was like, hey, I got to get some information.

He was like, why?

I was like, I don't know.

So these.

Women so.

So I asked him and he says he's in fact seeing someone.

And I was like, okay, I got to ask you some questions here.

And I walked.

So weird.

I was like, what is her name?

What, did you meet her?

What did she do?

How long have you been dating?

That's okay.

Well, that's how that seemed to the story.

So I finally have, like, hot diggity dog, I got my mask.

Yeah, yeah.

And then she was busy because she was doing her pollen research.

So I called my sister and she was like, where did they meet?

And I was like, oh, fresh.

Right out of that, I was like, don't you want to know her name?

She's like.

I care what her name is.

I was like, I never, never get this right.

Don't you want to know if she's left handed her right hand?

That's right.

Just give.

Her his number.

Yeah.

Can talk directly.

Yeah.

All right, let's just.

Let's take a break.

When we come back, we'll kick off our Wellness Wednesday, presented by Work Spring with Chris.

Paul, an.

Expert, a pollen expert, I hope.

Noted expert.

Let's find out.

No, he's not a pollen expert.

We don't know yet.

You know what he could be?

He could just be a Poland.

I mean, pollen aficionado.

Poland expert.

Yeah.

I need more coffee.

Oh my goodness.

All right, you get coffee?

We'll take a break.

When we come back, we'll kick off Wellness Wednesday, presented by Work Spring here on the 419.

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Thank you.

Welcome back into the 419 powered by GT.

It is Wellness Wednesday presented by Work Spring.

We're joined now by Chris with Pro Medica.

You're a licensed professional counselor in the with the EP program.

Indeed.

Yeah.

So I, I have a lot of spaghetti after my name, but licensed professional counselors use what I just go with because that's the easiest to explain to everybody.

I there's a variety of ways to get to this, but I do think sort of the unsung group of the group left behind in terms of care and eating resources, actual caretakers.

We have an aging population on the national level.

But, Chris, can we talk a little bit about the data here, meaning how many people are taking care of other people or anything of that variety and walk us through sort of the relationship of that?

Yeah.

So what are the interesting things about just like our population in the States here is you would think caretakers immediately think of like having children at home.

Right?

But as we continue to age as a population, we're now seeing really the tipping point here where we're having more people taking care of elderly parents and really children.

And I think it's actually 2030 to actually be reversed for the first time, where you'll have more elderly parents being cared for by, you know, the population than kids, which is crazy.

Give us a I guess I should blow past a caregiver caretaker.

Is there a clinical definition of that?

What?

Give me the root of that conceptually.

Yeah.

So I think a caretaker is just just that right.

It's it's going to be defined as anybody.

It's just not necessarily be I always think caretakers are more like outside kind of just helping with others.

Whereas you get the caregivers directly doing the carry.

Right.

So there might be you could be both really as a child, right.

Taking care of your parents or against him with your kids.

But I think a caregiver is more that a full time role where caretaker, you know, could be a disposition.

Right?

I think a fire police, doctors and nurses, they're all caretakers and then caregiver.

I think we really more in the action, so to speak.

Yeah.

Okay.

There's so many people that are what they I think they refer to it as the sandwich generation that have kids, kids that maybe not even in high school, grade school kids and are also taking care of aging parents.

Many, many of our parents that want to stay in their home and continue to get the support of their children.

So how does that impact them at work?

Who are these are people that are also working on full time jobs.

And so what kind of stress.

Role does pollen play in all.

Of this?

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, probably.

Probably not.

Yeah I know that's one of the most difficult things, I think, for folks at work, because they often suffer in silence.

Right.

They don't want to say anything to work because, you know, I have a job I love.

But also I got to do this, and it's almost the point of feeling like this is not just an obligation, but something I want to do, right?

So they'll just usually suffer in silence.

Often one of the ways that we often when we get, you know, leadership is, hey, make it a conversation, right?

I mean, don't, I guess, make it so it feels like, you know, it's taboo to talk about it, you know, make it to normalize in your workplace.

This is a reality we're facing.

And I think helping leaders be flexible with their their timing.

But it is it is often in silence because I'm either embarrassed or I don't even know that I'm really going through this.

It's kind of normalized.

So the there's two pieces of this is they're all in most things.

Right?

There's a physical exhaustion.

Right.

The same as generation is a new phrasing to me.

But that certainly makes sense.

Yeah.

So there's a physical component of it.

But presumably this is a parent, right, that they would be taking care of or potentially an older sibling.

The role of parenting your parent is wild, and it's layered in as things are by definition gets in a multitude of ways.

Can you dip into both of those sort of buckets psychological component of it as well as the physical?

You know, I the physical one I think is most obvious because you go home and you just feel wiped.

Right.

And it just I think we often don't recognize the signs of stress, and mostly because we live in an environment that stressful.

So, you know, you just kind of normalized your shuffle like, you know, but I think physical is easy.

You kind of go home, need a lot, a lot more rest and I but really the psychological components, the part that I most worry about because ultimately that stress that you're feeling right, our body doesn't know it's not a saber tooth tiger.

It just knows it's stressed.

Yeah.

And so therefore it kind of goes to the process.

Saber tooth tigers.

Well that's true.

There's no reason to split here.

Right.

Your mother.

I mean.

Yeah I was wondering if.

My mom.

Yeah.

Where did I be related?

Yeah.

Yeah.

But yeah, you know, to me, that's where the high blood pressure and the potential for diabetes even, like, really the risk of alcoholism or using substances.

Yes.

Yeah.

It's a sort of dumb numb.

So what you're saying is your mothers are driving you to drink.

Is is basically what you're saying.

I did have as this was years ago, my mom called me on some sort of tech support something and I literally warm, but it was like, yeah, like, I need you to fix my printer, right?

Yeah.

And I was like, hang on one second.

And I literally muted the phone, went over and got a glass of wine and I was gone.

And I was like, okay, no, I'm ready.

My it's so it's so.

Funny because it just it's so true.

And it happens all the time.

Literally just celebrated Mother's Day.

We were at my mom's house and she's like, I just, you know, I was trying to renew my passport online and I was like, what was the what are you talking about?

First of all, why do you need a passport?

That's number one.

Number two, what website were you on?

And she's like, I don't know, it just it just never worked.

It never worked.

And I said, well, did it look like a government site?

It's like it did.

And I said, well, that's what they make them look like.

I said, did you put your Social Security number in your passport number?

Did they ask all this stuff?

And she said, no, I didn't put that.

And knowing full well that she did.

So what are the things?

Yeah.

What are some or dad are lying to you.

Yes.

Or some.

Sort of some practical things.

I mean that that caregivers, children of aging parents which which my mother would quite literally want me to never say the term children of aging parents, but can do like what are some practical steps or or things that we can turn to for, for what should be there to, to protect our parents?

Keeping our children safe is easier because they don't have car keys and a credit card.

That's right.

Right, right.

Like our parents have those things.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, in with aging parents, of course, you have to worry about, like, even my mom's assisted living, but I. You always worry about, like, oh, what if she does get out and get in a car, right?

And try to drive somewhere and she forgets where she's going, right.

There's all those extra layers.

You're right.

I really try to break it down to a couple of things.

I the term self-care I think is so overused, right?

Because all of a sudden we think of digital gadgets and things like lavender base and you're like, yeah, that's kind of part of it.

Immediately go to lavender, right?

Well, you look like.

I could get up on my skin.

The dad is a guy with a restaurant.

That is.

For sure.

Yeah, I think I tried to break it down to pillars.

Right.

So what are you doing physically for yourself?

What kind of like this movement?

I know we're tired, right?

We talked about the fatigue there, but still getting something that's physically active for yourself.

The other thing I really have people leaning into is our social components.

We've always heard that it takes a village to raise a child, but it really takes a village to keep us saying, you know, we need that person that we can emotionally connect with, but just dump.

And I'm going to use a Dave Tippett here thing.

Right.

The BMW and wine with.

Right.

But we need somebody we can do that where they're not going to judge us for it, and they're not going to use it against this labor.

Just listen right, not fix.

Listen.

We need that person.

You need somebody who's going to push you and somebody is going to support you.

So you need all those people in your lives.

So I'd like to social component aspect of it.

I also think it's the, the the mental wellness.

What are you doing to kind of stimulate yourself?

Sure.

You get so dragged down often by caring because it's just, you know, part of the gig, right?

I want to know.

Yeah, yeah.

And if you don't go, you feel that guilt coming through.

But of course.

You know, are you doing things like reading the book?

Are you listening to podcasts?

Right.

Are you going through the process of doing something fun for yourself?

You know, and it doesn't have to be having their best.

Maybe an apology?

Yes it does.

Yeah.

You know.

You're I'm taking a pollen back.

Your employer deals with a particular type of employee, someone that may be caring for children, caring for parents, but also caring for the public that comes in.

Yes, to be treated and to be cared for.

So what particular needs or things does ProMedica do for your team to help them?

Yeah, so I'm part of the Employee Assistance Program.

I think that's one of our favorite things to talk about.

If you feel stuck right, we're here for you.

That to me, the other parts of it really is, again, they encourage wellness.

They've swift shifted to like a wellness type format this year to really kind of, you know, hey, what are you guys doing for yourself?

What are the stories out there?

But I think for our, you know, a lot of medical professionals that we deal with pretty consistently, they're terrible taking care of themselves.

I wish they were better.

But look, I'm a counselor.

I'm terrible at taking care of myself.

Sometimes we get so busy and so hung up.

So you're caring for people at work, going home and often doing the same thing.

So a lot of it is trying to find that balance, right?

How do I kind of I like the work life harmony, you know, like sometimes it is more fun to be at work, but sometimes it's more fun to be outside of work.

So how do you kind of keep that harmony inside your life?

What are some of the red flags for?

I guess for even self-diagnosis with this really challenging, right?

Or looking out for others as an employer or as a caring loved one, like what are some warning signs?

And then also, Chris, I don't know if there's a formula to this, but how long does it take somebody on average to sort of reset meaning?

My, my my mother is just our father has just been a place in assisted living.

We've got some memory issues.

I'm there a couple times a week.

It's very it's upsetting in a multitude of ways.

So one of the warning signs and also how long does it take to get yourself righted.

Yeah.

So I think some of the warning signs is usually when you're not acting like you.

I think if people around you need to be the ones you're listening to, because when you start to get withdrawn or, you know, to me it's just getting short, right?

If you're not a person that's usually have a pretty long patience streak, and all of a sudden you're getting real short with people, probably signs somebody needs to somebody take a look and go, hey, are you okay?

Right.

Those are some of my classic ones.

I think the other thing is when, you know, sleeps disrupted, I'm not.

I'm feeling off or I feel like I'm sleeping, but I'm not getting rest, right?

Even I know there could be other medical issues going on.

But often if it's not you and all of a sudden you're like, I feel tired all the time.

Well, that's probably a good sign, right?

It's that stress coming into fatigue in terms of the second part, you know, resetting yourself is such a hard question because everybody is so unique.

Yes.

Right.

I would love to say like this is just, you know, follow this pathway and you'll be good.

But truthfully, this is what I tell my clients to come in.

I wish I had a magic formula for you.

We just got to try some things out.

Right.

See what it's going to be.

You know, working with fire and police.

One of the things we talk about is their first day off, what we call it a recoup day, right?

You know, like, hey, look, we're going to minimize things you're doing.

We want you to get back into the flow of life.

And then second day, we really want you to be engaged with your family and kind of loved ones and kind of getting back into yourself.

But, you know, that's just because it's where their job flows.

I think everybody else is kind of a bit of trial and error.

That must be helpful to get someone to give them permission to write.

If you have high functioning people or people that are in service to others like fire and police.

Not that you know that people feel guilty if they are sitting, sitting around or you know, a partner, you have this list of things that you've got to, you know, get done in a limited amount of time that is actually yours.

We're talking with Chris, licensed professional counselor with ProMedica here on a Wellness Wednesday, I guess.

So you so you you see, you identify the red flags in yourself.

Maybe you turn to the the lavender baths and the podcast and some of those cells.

Can I drink them both?

Right.

That's right.

You're right.

But but like, I guess like from like who who can you turn to to help.

Right.

Like if beyond the.

Oh, I can do this stuff for myself.

Right.

Because generally, you know, we're we're bad at putting the oxygen mask on ourselves, right?

But if I, if I'm going to ask for help, who can I ask for help from?

Yeah.

I think if your company offers an employee assistance program, think it's probably of the best places to always start because often and get you into referrals, right?

So you may go there and like, you know, whatever session number, it may not be enough.

And you're just like, hey, I need some more, need some help and then let them help you find placement.

You know, when I think about, like, getting a long term, you know, counselor, social worker for you, I think of a couple of aspects as one.

Do they have the one they take my insurance probably first, but two, you know, do they have the skill sets I'm looking for, then?

Three, do I feel like I personally match with them?

So as you, if you get through the process of like, you know, I need help and somebody saying, I need help and I'm going to go get help.

It's okay to, you know, the shop around with your therapist, you know, find the right one.

I mean, you mentioned the EAP program as a first place to look.

I just I want to have kind of a candid conversation about that because I'm self-employed now, so I don't have any I don't have any AP program.

Right.

I'm just deal with it yourself.

But in previous employees, previous employers, I've always been hesitant to go to the EAP for fear that if you go and say, hey, I'm feeling depressed or I'm feeling this, or I'm I'm distracted at work, going to HR and saying I'm not a great employee.

Yeah, I was always afraid of that.

Sure.

Yeah.

And I love that.

You know, a good EAP would definitely be separated out and confidential from the from the company.

That's an important step.

It's got to be that because if not nobody's going to go.

So I think talk to your HR and your leadership.

But any good EAP will be confidential.

That way they don't even know you're going right.

And that's the important thing.

We want to make sure you have a safe place to be able to come.

And not anybody ever know you're there, because sometimes it is work stress, right?

The word entitled has certainly a negative connotation to it, but I don't know that that's fair to it.

By definition, you're entitled to if you had to walk through that, you were entitled to of health, feeling good of mental space.

Yeah, yeah.

We've talked about closing here and we've talked about a multitude of complex relationships right from now taking care of your parents.

But in terms of entitlement, you're entitled to what, in your opinion.

In terms of like for mental health, I think we all have to be aware that it's okay not to be okay time, but also it's okay to take care of yourself.

You know, I think of my my dad's generation, it was like, keep everything inside.

Just hold it in, hold it in.

But I think the more aware we become, and I think the more kind of just going through the process and realizing how it can help, I think it's been great.

I'm seeing younger and younger kids come in that are more self-aware to their mental health, but I think we all deserve a safe place to work.

But also, you know, to go through life as best you can.

Difficult times lead to growth, and sometimes as we need somebody to push you through it.

But I think everybody deserves a chance to enjoy life, right?

Yes.

Well, said.

Chris Christie, thank you so much for joining us here on a Wellness Wednesday presented by Work Spring.

We're going to take a break.

When we come back, we'll continue this episode of the 419.

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Welcome back into the 419.

It is a Wellness Wednesday presented by Work Spring.

We're joined now by our friend Justin Moore with the Area Office on Aging.

The last time we had you on the show.

I did not I was not here.

I think.

Personally, I did not think a person.

And so while this is your second.

Time.

This is Kevin.

Yeah.

It's nice to meet you.

Thanks.

Great.

Let's just catch people.

That show was run.

It was.

It was a great episode.

I watched it.

It was really good.

Yeah.

You did give us a call.

Pages of notes.

But other than that, I think.

I tried to even notes before the episode.

You said just.

And people aren't familiar.

What is the area?

Office on aging?

Yeah, they really helps individuals.

There are 60 plus and their family caregivers with living better and longer.

So a lot of what we do is help them get people connected with home care, home delivered meals.

Maybe senior center could be transportation, doctor's appointments, whatever it is that they need.

We're really want to help them with living better and longer.

And at the risk of somebody missing that episode or that I was running the show.

So it was probably our worst ever.

I do want to talk a little bit in full candor.

You and I are friends, so I know the story, but how you got into this line of work, I think, is important and what it means to you.

So if you don't mind giving us a little background on you, which I know that you are loathe to talk about yourself, but if you don't mind, because it's a good segue into the next portion of it.

But why?

How has this found you in terms of a calling?

Yeah, so my parents raised me, but other than them, the biggest figure in my life was my great grandpa, who lived to be 104.

And up until last year, his life, he was living in his own home, you know, driving his own car, starting a local TV commercials for an eye doctor and his own grass, all that kind of stuff.

So I admired his longevity.

I admired his independence.

So the work we do at the area Office on Aging, helping people live long, healthy, independent life like him is super meaningful to me.

And it's not.

Just surviving right is about a quality of life.

Yeah, absolutely.

Talk to me a little bit about that portion of it.

Yeah.

I mean, I think that the better part of it, certainly their individuals want to still do the things that they've enjoyed in life.

So for us, we try to focus on meeting them where they're at today and what they can do and helping them thrive.

So if people enjoy doing certain types of exercises, making sure that we're helping them be able to do those, if those require accommodations or whatever, if they enjoy gardening, what does it look like to get them planners so they don't if they can't bend down as much as they used to.

All those kinds of things are super important for people to have that purpose of wanting to live, so on and so forth.

Where can pe caregivers get not just practical information, but a resource to understand what the person they're caring for is going through?

Yeah, I've had the experience in the last six months or so of my mother and her two sisters and her brother and her brother.

They're all, you know, very late 70s.

We just celebrated my godmother's 80th birthday.

But they all are saying the same kind of things, usually in a joke way.

Why are.

You all less?

Usually in a jokey way?

Because that's just how we are.

But, you know, you guys just don't understand.

You're not going to like it when you get here either.

You know how to a resource.

Where can we as people that are trying to help find out what it is that they're going through, right.

So they're trying wants to be that resource we were kind of to has as an organization, one is as a direct provider of some services.

And the second is as a funder.

So memory lane care services for example, is a great resource that we contract with.

So individuals who need help, whether it be kind of that training, if you will, for those that are in a caregiver role and what all that entails.

They're a great resource for that, especially for individuals that have dementia for their aging loved one.

But they also provide adult day services.

So those that are working can drop their loved one off at the memory lane.

Care services know that they have peace of mind when they're at work, that their loved ones being taken care of.

They're getting fed, they're having fun and so on and so forth, and then pick them up after work to be able to, you know, provide the rest of the care.

I know that you are a bit of a data junkie and also apply information to strategy.

I Chris, mentioned the aging population.

I think that's not a surprise or secret to anyone, but what are the numbers here you're familiar with?

Can you talk a little bit about what kind of where we're at as society?

So one of every four of us.

So I said on the table, adults 18 plus in the United States, our family caregivers, that's 63 million individuals.

Oftentimes they don't identify as caregiver.

They think I'm a son taking care of my parents.

Or daughter to do.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Average family caregiver is 51 years old.

Majority of the individuals are women.

They're caring for their aging loved ones in the lake.

So in the.

Workforce.

Gretchen's low level sexist.

I believe that's what's clinically described as passive aggressive.

Yeah.

I've been diagnosed.

With that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But the average individual that they're caring for is 80.

So when we look at the numbers over the decades.

So 2010 in the United States has seven individuals were of the caregiving age for every one.

And sorry one are we care giver.

There is.

Yeah.

There's seven individuals to one individual providing receiving that care.

So now it's 4 to 1.

And 2050 is going to be 3 to 1.

So there's an increasing burden on those individuals that are of caregiving age in terms of the number of individuals needing care.

So do we know what people that are aging want.

And then if we do know that, are we doing things as a community or just writ large as a society to figure out that what I'm talking specifically about is do does the aging population want to stay in their home?

Do they want to not go to a nursing home?

Do they want to be in so so then what are what mechanisms are being put in place or need to be put in place to, to allow that to happen if that's what we know that they want?

Yeah.

So the vast majority of individuals, way over 90% of individuals want to age in place in their own homes, not in a nursing home.

That's really what they often aging all about.

We realize there's a time and a place for nursing home.

We want to make sure people are not feeling like they're prematurely forced in a nursing home because of not having the resources in the community to be able to Asian place in terms of what we need as a community.

I think while the area often aging has a lot of resources for family caregivers, there's something to be said of having one place you can go.

So we're building a senior center right next to our building, as well as some affordable senior housing.

And in the evening hours, we're flipping that into a caregiver center.

So when that goes live in 2027, there will be one place those are caring for an aging globe.

One can go to start to access services, find out what services are available to them.

And the overall goal is that while they might be coming in their stress, the goal is for them to be able to leave, relieved that whatever the resources they need were, were having a one stop shop for them.

Talk to me about forgive me.

Kevin, we're talking with Justin Moore with area office on aging.

I'm curious, I guess, how important it is for that.

You know, I talk about the sandwich generation, right?

The caregiver, you know, I've got kids.

I'm caring for my parents.

How important is it for me to get help versus just to struggle through it and try to do it alone?

Yeah.

So those are those 63 million caregivers.

20% of the individuals are those sandwich generation caring for an aging loved one as well as kids.

Right.

It's critically important.

I'm struck by this video that we did and we were meeting this family.

Son was caring for his aging mom and dad.

Mom was a bed bound, dad was homebound, son was working, caring for his own kids, so on and so forth.

Three years later, we want to see how that family dynamic change.

Only one of them was alive.

Three years later and it was a bed bound mom.

The son unexpectedly passed away in his early 50s because of the stress associated with that, not taking care of himself.

So sometimes these family caregivers are very selfless individuals.

They're making sure that their mom and dad are getting to their doctors appointments, being fed, being taken care of, so on and so forth.

But at the same time, they're not making their own doctor's appointments, they're not getting enough sleep themselves.

They're not getting exercise themselves.

And, you know, at the end of the day, that is not helpful long term for their aging loved ones.

If they're not around to be able to provide that care to them because they're not taking care of themselves.

So it's critically important that they take care of themselves.

Well, that is depressing.

Thanks for usual, Justin.

Spreading your what?

You know, what are some fun things that seniors can get involved in at our senior centers.

Other than pickleball?

Other than pickle?

Yeah.

So there's going to be a pickleball court, part of that senior center we're talking about, but there's going to be a cheer yoga, Zumba classes.

There's different kinds of educational presentations, like tai chi for false prevention that's been proven to keep people from fall and so on and so forth.

So there's all different kinds of exercise programs, educational sessions and so on and so forth.

So talk to me.

We talked a little bit this with Chris just the right before you.

But the physical portion of it I think most people kind of get but the social component of it at minimum, knowing that there's other people that are sharing the same feelings, you are the conflict.

Like the guilt of not feeling like just the math of what you just said feeling you're not like you're not serving anyone properly, let alone yourself.

So he talked to me about what the social component of it sort of takes a village mentality that I know that you shepherd talk to me about that.

Yeah.

So for sure.

So one of the programs that's available for family caregivers is a caregiver volunteer respite program, where they might need just a couple of hours to get away.

And like, so we pair them with a background check trained older adult volunteer that's 55 plus that's coming in the home and visiting, just visiting with their aging loved ones so they get a break for a couple hours to be able to go to their own doctor's appointments, go have friend or a coffee with a friend, and so on and so forth.

So that's just one of many programs that we have available to really make sure that that socialization piece is taken care of.

Chris, we just talked a little bit with I'm sorry, Justin, we just talked a little bit with Chris about sort of online security.

It's one of the things that really scares me about my mom, particularly because her position is, well, it wouldn't be online if it wasn't true.

Right?

They can't they can't just put a website up there and have it be a scam.

And so but they can.

What is something you would recommend?

I don't want to say parental controls because that's for children.

But like.

Something you know, we're going to have Dan Dower on from from KeyBank.

People can get their money stolen.

Sure.

People can, you know, put their identity and stuff in online.

And then next thing you know, all of their money.

What are some things that you would recommend as an advocate for the aging population when it comes to the online space?

Yeah.

So certainly making sure that filters are in place right on the router and the like.

That's one way to help keep some of the bad actors out.

Making sure that people are socially engaged is another thing.

I think oftentimes individuals that are predators are looking for that vulnerability to exploit, and for many individuals is that they're lonely.

Right.

So just given a phone call to an aging loved one to give them some healthy socialization so they're not so thirsty, if you will, for socialization from a bad actor?

Sure.

I think you talk about that socialization piece, right?

I mean, I it's so hard.

We talk about it with my friends all the time about like just how hard it is to make new friends at this age.

Right?

But I think about, you know, my my parents are reaching that age where friends are starting to pass away and it's already hard to find friends, and you're losing the friends you have.

What are some of the things you guys are doing to help, you know, folks, the aging population stay connected with their community, make new friends, and just get that socialization.

Yeah, I think volunteerism is a great opportunity for that, right?

Individuals that are not just viewing volunteerism as something that's doing good for others, but actually it's been proven to do good for individuals themselves.

Right.

Helping them be more socially engaged, meeting new people of all ages and the like, doing something together.

So volunteerism is, I think, a great opportunity for people to meet others and new friends and the like.

I think senior centers also are a great space for that different educational, recreational kind of programs.

And like individuals that are maybe a similar age, similar stage in life, so on and so forth.

Tell us a little bit about the senior prom.

You guys just.

Yeah, that's another great opportunity, right?

So we know the importance of aging is like eating well, being socially engaged, moving more.

And we did all three of those at the senior prom event that we did with Toledo Public Schools.

Over 500 individuals aged 60 plus just had a night of dining, dancing and the like and did all three of those things and did it well and had a blast doing.

It right.

Event.

Help me have the conversation with my parents, right?

They don't consider themselves to be older.

Yeah, I think that there is certainly a I don't use stigma, but there's a brand associated with the area, Office on Aging, that I think everybody believes that the office at age is for people older than them.

How do I start to have that conversation to go, hey, I think this is a great this is a great resource you should tap into.

Pick up the phone and call.

Let's let's call together.

What does that look like?

Yeah I mean so first of.

All, we're.

We're all about living better and longer, right.

Age individuals age 60 plus.

So I think the terms we use are really important.

I think age 16 better has a positive connotation associated with many individuals.

They know their age.

They know whether or not you're talking to them.

I think so those words are really important.

I also think that we're helping individuals set up for success and the like.

We should all want that.

I think when we bury our head in the ground and think that everything is hunky dory and so on and so forth, and not access to different programs and services, we do ourselves a disservice in terms of our longevity and how vibrant we are throughout life and the like.

So I do think that it's really important for individuals to realize that there's something for everybody, even if that means that they're volunteering that saying that old age is 15 years older than I am, I think is reality for many individuals.

Sure.

Yeah.

So so I think it's really important for individuals to realize that we live unfortunately in a pretty ages culture.

We need to be more about kind of the way I grew up where aging is celebrated.

That birthday is something that my dad ran a spotlight for my great grandpa by the road when he's 100, and I remember staying out there as a little kid and, you know, people honking and the like.

And that rubbed off to my grandma, his daughter.

Right?

I remember when she was in her 80s, she was always looking forward to her next birthday because she was one step closer to living, to be 100 like Poppy and the like.

So I think we need to create that kind of culture within our family.

We're aging is celebrated.

People don't feel like they have to be closeted about their age, but instead we're celebrating it.

Tell me about the income requirements to to access services programs.

Is this tied to income?

So the vast majority of the programs and services are available through the Office on Aging are not tied to income.

There are some Medicaid funded programs we have that are tied income, but the vast majority of the programs and services available through us are not tied to income.

People want more information on the area.

Office on aging.

Where can they find it?

People can always call us at (419)382-0624 or visit our website at Area Office on Aging.

Com what's the next big, big event coming to the area office and.

Agent yeah, we got a Spring Fling event coming up here in May.

Later in May again kind of a one stop shop of different resources for individuals age 16 better with helping them live better and longer.

You canceled the.

You're going.

To be there the cage fighting tournament.

Because you refuse to participate.

That's right.

Yeah, I think there's been doping.

I mean, I would pay good money to watch seniors like that.

Yeah.

I think that's a great idea.

Sure.

Yeah.

It's almost like the.

It's the next fundraiser.

Modern day pinata hit, Matt.

Until candy comes out.

Justin.

Thank you.

Justin, thank you so much for joining us here.

We'll take it back.

When we come back, we'll be joined by Dan Dower from KeyBank here on Wellness Wednesday.

Presented by Work spring.

Support for the 419 comes from Waitrose Wealth Management, where we understand that your financial path is personal.

Advisory services are offered through Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC, securities offer through Capital Investment Group member Finra and see more information at Whiterock Advisors.

Destination Toledo whether you're a local or a visitor, Destination Toledo invites you to explore the region and be a tourist in Toledo.

Find events, dining and things to do at Visit Toledo.

Work spring HR issues and employee well-being.

Go hand in hand.

Work spring supports employers through compliance, training and wellness because healthy workplaces don't happen by accidents.

Learn more at work.

Spring Toledo Refining Company, a subsidiary of PDF Energy Toledo Refining Company is a supplier of fuels that keep our region moving.

Located in Oregon, Ohio, the refinery processes crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products.

And Tada!

Celebrating its 55th year of connecting Northwest Ohioans to their community.

More information at Tata.

Com.

Welcome back into the 419.

We are joined now by a good friend, Dan Dower, president of KeyBank.

Dan, thanks for being here.

Absolutely.

And I know that historically, people's names were given because of their trade or profession, like Carpenter.

Right.

Or your last name is dower.

Any relation to this?

Your resting demeanor?

Zero.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

That's just get my notes corrected here.

So it's Wellness Wednesday.

So maybe let's let's start just in that wellness space.

Just I'm curious kind of some of the the the data around financial wellness.

What are you guys kind of tracking.

What are some of the things key banks doing to help improve financial health across northwest Ohio?

Yeah, I mean, financial health is it's very critical.

And we think that.

The origin of a lot of economic mobility revolves around housing.

So we're doing a lot in terms of our strategic investments in improving housing and trying to fill gaps in homeownership.

We think that housing is really the cornerstone of strong communities.

Then, in all kidding aside, to each other, in passing him a fan, I consider you a friend.

My word is certainly not yours.

You've made a point to make sure that was clear.

Then give me a little bit of your origin story.

Where are you from and how did you get to be the Dan we know today?

So from this Bellevue, Ohio, is that answer was actually born in West Virginia, and my family moved quite a bit when I was younger.

Huntington, West Virginia.

Sure.

All right.

But my parents settled in Bellevue as I was starting preschool, and they're still there.

So to me, Toledo was a big, small town.

I tell people now, when I see them in passing or on the road, that Plato is home for me.

Absolutely.

So we've been here since 2010.

I met my wife here and raising a family here.

So physically lived in Slovenia.

But I've always worked downtown since I've been here.

And that's where.

Office.

Have you been with KeyBank throughout your career or what?

This is my 13th year.

The key.

Okay.

So when I moved to town, I was with a different bank to be in my banking journey.

And then after undergrad, I actually went.

I made a one year commitment to work in a family business in the Sandusky, Ohio area in building materials and family businesses, if you get in them, are hard to get out of.

We definitely support quite a few of them in the roles that I've served, leading our business segments at key.

So a one year commitment post undergrad to help my dad turn into almost four years, and then kind of a confluence of events got me out of that into Toledo to start a career in finance, which is what my undergrad was.

What is something that people would be surprised to know that the head of a bank has to do every day?

There are a lot of things like this, which probably is in a big surprise.

How rewarding.

Speeches?

Yeah.

What else do we have to do every day that.

You count the piles of money?

Do you do you personally have to count the money?

I do not think so.

Technology for that style.

I dive in there.

You just go in and look at it.

Vaults.

Vaults are really are really cool.

So maybe surprise people.

So my individual expertise is on the large business side.

So that was how I came up through commercial credit and managing things along those lines and worked with large businesses.

So I still spend a third or more of my time doing that and directly leading that team.

A lot of folks in the community may know Jim Hoffman, your predecessor as the president, when you were stepping into that role.

I mean, certainly big shoes to fill, not just in the workplace, but in the community as well.

What were some of your, you know, you think about in the sports analogy?

You know, new head coach is hired, do GM is hired.

They've got a vision for the business.

What was your kind of day one.

This is what this is what Dan does.

KeyBank is going to look like.

Yeah.

I think that.

I definitely learned so much from him.

And I was so fortunate to have about a decade or so of overlapping with him.

I just wanted to be myself.

I want to be authentic.

I'm a big believer and authentic leadership and how that will serve you well.

One of the other early initiatives that aligns extremely well with our community support is I created a nonprofit task force, so I wanted to have a little better system and data.

There was so much that Jim had in his head from 51 years at the bank in 30 years as the market president, and he left me with a lot of good playbooks and ideas.

But we kind of knew specifically on the community side, you're not going to replace somebody like that with one person.

And I was already on quite a few boards and trying to find time to balance family things and coaching.

And so with my leadership team kind of morphed into some ideas of there's going to be a better systematic approach that we can use to tie in some of our prioritization of philanthropy, of employee engagement, employee investments, and get that in to a technology source.

That way, it could survive and exist to be on me and make it even easier for people to get involved, because I was starting to see a gap generationally, but also coming off of Covid and the kind of the remote work time frame when everybody was getting back to the office of, you know, you need to create opportunities for the next generation of people.

Not that I'm overly gray haired myself, although quickly graying by the year, as my kids remind me, find ways for them to be more involved in community leadership and see the value in that and see how their business can their career can grow because of their serving of others and serving in the community.

In full.

Canada there is making you feel uncomfortable.

Then we met one of the first times right before you walked on stage and gave, I thought, a particularly compelling speech for the Boys and Girls Club.

You came off as I know you to be as an authentic person, which is admittedly an overused term, but you were genuine and I thought vulnerable.

My words.

And again, this might make you cringe a bit, but bear with me here.

The duality between and this is, I guess, maybe an unfair generalization of your job, but someone who is linear in thought, meaning you are in charge of an overwhelming amount of finance, right?

And quite literally, that is a linear profession.

Talk to me a little bit about what makes you uniquely good.

These are my words.

You are uniquely talented at serving the humans that live in a community as well as an Excel spreadsheet.

What?

What makes you wired to do this at the capacity that you're able to do it?

I think that I would have to thank my parents for how they raised me a lot.

I think coming from pretty meager, humble beginnings makes you really appreciate the value of of hard work and opportunities.

And then number two, I have to thank my wife.

So she's exponentially more empathetic and better at those things.

So I mentioned that in the pre-interview.

She would mention that yeah, as she should.

And so definitely she's makes me a better person.

Now where did you meet?

We met in the Old Orchard area of Toledo as I was looking for a place to move as my career was bringing me over here.

So she was managing a housing apartment complex, and her leasing consultant was out for a late lunch when I happened to stop in, and I. So I got the tour from her, from the from the bigwig up in the upstairs office.

And as I joke, she was immediately smitten.

And then as I was offered a job and decided to move here, I initially had to choose that complex, right?

And the rest is history.

It's just it's history.

What kinds of things do you like to be involved in with your family, or you mentioned coaching?

What other kinds of things do you do in your.

Limited time?

Right.

A lot of sports.

So my my son Derek is in sixth grade, my daughter Natalie's in fourth grade.

And so I just ran A5K with her Saturday morning before for girls on the run.

Yes, yes.

And she was disappointed that dad did not let her quit.

And so she had the fastest time she's ever had.

Wow.

Because dad encouraged her to that you're not going to die and you will survive.

And this is a good thing.

Yeah.

And then later that evening was another community fundraiser thing where I saw Kevin.

So she's very busy.

She does piano, basketball, volleyball, softball.

And then my son is in travel baseball and travel basketball that I coach.

I like the golf when I have a chance.

I think sleeps important and I like to work out, stay active.

I'm big proponent of the the why, and that's another one of the community leadership roles that I feel great.

You athlete.

Growing up, I was a major athlete growing up as a big part of my life in the middle of three boys.

So sports were a big thing.

And I saw my dad volunteer a lot of time at the Bellevue Rec Center and serve on the Bellevue Rec Board, and sports just taught me so many life lessons basketball and baseball.

What was your NBA team?

Cavaliers.

Although I like college basketball a lot more than NBA okay.

All right.

You mentioned college athletics.

Obviously.

You know you and I spent a decent amount of time over the winter months across the court from each other at UT basketball games.

That's by court order.

By court order.

That's right.

Yeah.

That's fun intended.

That was good.

That's the extent of her her basketball.

That's right.

Acumen.

That's correct.

And also her death, if that is the limit.

Yes, but KeyBank made a. Court order.

KeyBank made a historic sort of investment in University of Toledo women's athletics.

Talk to me about what?

That what that commitment was and why that was important to you and to the bank and the community.

We did.

We just announced that in the fourth quarter of last year.

So we are the title sponsor and official Bank of women's sports all categories for the University of Toledo.

That's one of the most sizable and unique kind of across women's athletics investments in all of the country.

So it was really exciting.

It was really important for us to repeat that one more time.

Official bank and title sponsor of women's athletics at the University of Toledo.

And that is unique on a national level.

In what way.

To sponsor all women's sports within an athletic department?

That's not to be blown by.

That's that's really cool.

That's amazing.

Yeah, oftentimes the Olympic sports as we refer to them like get get ignored.

Right.

And so dancing and you know, your favorites.

Riding the ponies.

That's right.

You know.

But but it's the you know basketball and football will get the recognition but swimming does not.

And softball.

Softball not soccer.

Does not.

Women's crew which is a new sport coming to you mommy River near you.

Yeah.

So that's a it's a burgeoning program.

Why why that right.

I mean, there's there's so much energy and pomp and circumstance around football and men's basketball.

Why was it important for you guys to support women's athletics?

A couple things.

I think women's athletics in particular is absolutely on the upswing.

So we think we're entering from a kind of a brand alignment perspective at a really good level.

It's also always important to the bank where we make community investments, that we do that from a lens of equity.

And women haven't always had as much opportunity as they deserve.

So we have some unique programs around supporting women business owners and things along those lines.

So there was just a lot of natural points of connectivity.

And then I also give the Atletic Department team, Brian Blair at the time, Conor Whalen in their staff, a lot of credit because we started with an outbound call that I made to them.

We had some some resources to deploy, but they absolutely hit the ground running and did a lot of homework on our mission and our vision as a bank and what our brand meant.

And so they gave us a couple different options, and then we collaboratively decided on something that we wanted to be unique in differentiating and support women in the athletic department here at Toledo for a long time.

I think this is Toledo's university, and the stronger it operates, the better we will be as a as a city, as a region, as a community.

It's so true.

And as a big sports guy, sports are the front door for the university.

We're talking with Dan Dauer, president at KeyBank.

All right.

And it's now time for Gretchen's wacky quiz.

Nailed it.

I'm going to ask for rapid fire questions.

Gretchen's going to have you describe Toledo in one word.

And then you and Matt are going to list the nine best things in Toledo.

Question number one.

What keeps you up at night?

I think that our education system to me lately keeps us up, and I think we got some school funding challenges.

And I think as a community to be better in 10 in 20 years from now, we needed to be better in terms of education.

This will be a fitting follow up question.

Who is your favorite teacher?

That will be Doctor Henry Barker at Tiffin University.

Professor of finance.

If you opened a restaurant, what kind of restaurant would it be?

Dallas donuts.

A Mexican, is what comes to mind just because that's family's favorite.

The best.

If you had access to a time machine, what point in time would you visit?

And do you have access to one?

I should check the vault, but I do not believe that we do.

I think we just celebrate our 200th anniversary as a bank last year at key.

And so that was 1825.

If you do the math there.

And that was before electricity was before so many advancements in society.

And so I think I would go back there just to try to understand what what life was like, what operating any business was like in 1825.

Day one.

That's cool.

What's the number one or what?

You would one word you would use to describe the city of Toledo?

Underestimated.

I mean, like it?

All right, let's do the nine.

You ready, brother?

Ready?

Fire away!

People!

People.

Absolutely.

Good start.

Great restaurants.

Restaurants.

What's your favorite?

Probably.

Mansi.

Okay.

Sports.

Great sports.

Town.

Great sports town.

What's the.

Where do you take the family?

Go to a sports evening.

We're usually playing and or coaching.

If not to the rockets game.

Yeah, right.

Rockets.

All right.

All right.

Keep going.

The you mentioned the.

Why.

I know that's important to you.

Why?

Yep.

Science center.

Yep.

Imagination station.

All right.

Love that.

I love the access.

There's no traffic you get everywhere you need.

Yep.

All right.

I love the nonprofits.

Such a generous community.

Absolutely.

Okay.

If you had ten, would you say Metroparks finally.

Or just kind of when.

I might say what?

He's not going.

He's not going to suck up to you.

Dan KeyBanc.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you.

We'll take a break.

When we come back, we'll wrap up this Wellness Wednesday edition of the 419.

Support for the 419 comes from Waitrose Wealth Management, where we understand that your financial path is personal.

Advisory services are offered through Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC, securities offered through Capital Investment Group member Finra and CPC.

More information at Which.

Destination Toledo whether you're a local or visitor, Destination Toledo invites you to explore the region and be a tourist in Toledo.

Find events, dining and things to do at Visit Toledo.

Work, spring HR issues and employee well-being go hand in hand.

Work spring supports employers through compliance, training and wellness because healthy workplaces don't happen by accident.

Learn more at work.

Spring Toledo Refining Company, a subsidiary of PDF Energy Toledo Refining Company is a supplier of fuels that keep our region moving.

Located in Oregon, Ohio, the refinery processes crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products.

And Tata, celebrating its 55th year of connecting Northwest Ohioans to their community.

More information at Tata.

Welcome back into the 419 as we wrap up a Wellness Wednesday edition.

Great conversation with all of our guests.

Packed show Dan Dower is just such a nice guy.

We didn't talk about it, but I do have to mention they are an incredible partner with T, longtime supporter, and certainly we appreciate what they do.

Dan in his leadership.

Dan I had a conversation shortly after he was named president and he had talked about and he's he's too humble to go into it, but talked about how important investment in the community was and nonprofit.

And I know he talked a little bit about the systems that they put in place.

Yeah, I. Mean, I'm.

But there's so much need.

I'm sure they get millions of asks.

So I think it is important to have a strategy and a commitment to things that they care about and that they're that their employees care about.

So and then, of course, Justin Moore is always fantastic.

His his leadership and vision for the area office on Aging.

I've got tremendous respect for him in what he does.

We can see the construction of their new space right down the street here from Wheat Studios.

It's coming up quick.

And then we talked with Christophe about care for caregivers.

He's is EP program, a counselor with them.

And I think that's something that it's again, I use the analogy a little bit of the put your oxygen mask on first.

That's just not how most of us are wired, right?

You know, we want to take care of the people around us and and we become the afterthought.

Matt, has your EAP asked you to stop contacting them?

I don't know, I didn't read the order.

I was actually brought for here for you to read.

Was it was.

It a court order?

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's such a good joke.

It was one.

I don't.

Know which one.

You know, that's how you know, it was a good joke.

Yeah.

Because there's.

Yeah.

So many.

Yeah.

Layered.

Yeah.

So huge.

Thanks to our, our guests for being on the program.

Thanks to you for listening as well.

And joining us and of course, thanks to Work Spring for supporting Wellness Wednesday every Wednesday here on the 419.

If you missed any part of the show, you can catch it 7 a.m.

on YouTube, 3 p.m.

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on Wheat Connects.

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