From the Fidelity Bank Foundation studio, PBS Kansas Presents One on One with Victor Hogstrom.

Welcome to One on One where each week I have an in-depth conversation with a notable Kansan.

We talk about life and lessons learned along the way.

My guest this time is Splurge magazine publisher Jody Klein.

Klein and her husband, Terry, took over the magazine in 2007 with no publishing experience whatsoever.

Yet under her direction, Splurge has emerged as Wichita's premier lifestyle, fashion and Entertainment magazine.

But such success is not surprising when you realize that Jody Klein has always been a doer, eager to jump in and tackle one challenge after another.

Coming up, we'll discuss the factors that have given her the courage and determination to step out of her comfort zone and make a difference in our world.

And for the first time, Jody will reveal a dramatic personal secrets she has never shared publicly until now.

It's an emotional, real life story about her past that she continues to come to terms with and piece together.

This promises to be a compelling and emotional half hour as I go one on one with Splurge magazine publisher Jody Klein.

Right now.

Hello and thank you for joining us.

I'm Victor Hogstrom.

I'm so delighted to welcome the publisher of Splurge magazine, Jody Klein, to the program.

Welcome.

Thank you.

We took while trying to get this going, working on it.

You're a busy woman.

No, I just procrastinated a lot because this is the hardest thing I've ever done in my whole career.

You'll find it easy.

Okay.

Okay.

So before we begin with the turnaround story of Splurge magazine, let's begin with you, a back story, your growing up days.

And tell us about about those days and where did you grow up and all of the wonderful details.

I was the youngest of six children born in Litchfield, Illinois.

My father was a coach, counselor and teacher.

He was actually in his younger days, he was a scholar athlete for the University of Iowa, played football and track.

And my mom was a homemaker with the six kids and rather really busy because of all of us.

For sports, life was pretty hectic growing up because we didn't have a whole lot of extra things and we had a two bedroom home with eight people and one bathroom that seemed perfectly normal and we never complained about that because we just thought that was pretty normal for growing up.

So.

So as you were growing up, what were your aspirations?

Well, I learned around age eight that education and family were the most important things to me, and primarily because my mother really instilled that I needed to have an education.

She pressed upon me how important it was.

I needed to be independent.

And so I primarily wanted to have a family and be a mother.

So I remember specifically telling her that I was going to have a baby at 15 because that's how bad I wanted to be a mother, that I was going to get married at age 20 so my baby would have a father.

I did not realize I needed the father first to have the baby.

So it took me a few years to figure that out.

But after that I just babysat all the time.

I just loved children, and everywhere I went, I seemed like I had a baby carriage carrying around a baby.

And so then I actually the other thing was I wanted to be a nurse.

And so right out of high school, I started an LPN program, which wasn't really the direction I had hoped for.

I was wanting the RN program, but this worked out well for me because I really did want to leave home.

And once I realized I was in the program and I needed to finish the program first so I could go on to our in school.

I was inspired by a lot of the other students in my class is a private school and they're much older than I am at the time.

And I said, Why are you in school now?

And all of them had failed marriages and single moms.

And I was like, Wow, this is something I really need to focus on because this is a reality for a lot of people.

So I really worked hard to get my RN and so it took me like nine years to become an RN because I had so many fabulous jobs along the way.

I had the opportunity to continue my education in Arizona and so I moved in Arizona to Arizona.

And at that time I took a job for Cigna Health Plan.

And I had I just kept getting promotion after promotion, and then I took a job for Glaxo Pharmaceutical.

And so eventually I had to quit all those jobs because I wanted my RN.

Right.

And so I was finally able to go back to school and graduate with my RN.

You had made enough money to do so, I take it?

Yes.

Yeah.

But what I'm hearing from you is that you were pretty perceptive as you were growing up.

And the emphasis in education from your mother played a key role.

Why is that?

I think she didn't have an education and she was always so proud of my dad.

Walter was my father's name because he had an education and he was an athlete and she was so proud that she, even without an education, she could still find someone to marry her that had that level of education.

And and so I think she wanted more for me.

She wanted me to feel independent, that I was not trapped because I felt like she felt like she was trapped many times.

Why was that?

Like I said, growing up was kind of rough.

I remember I couldn't even really have sleepovers at times because I never knew if a fight was going to break out as often with some of my siblings and my mother.

But she had a secret.

I guess she had a secret and it took me years to find that secret.

Your mother had a secret?

Yes.

And I think we discovered that secret about ten years ago.

About ten years ago, yes.

You want to share it?

Sure.

So growing up, you know, like I said, I was the youngest of the six children I had a normal lifestyle.

I mean, it was like I said, it was hectic at times with there was six kids, so it's going to be hectic.

But I always had my mom's support.

I was her golden child and I could do no wrong.

I she was so proud of me all the time, but my dad wasn't and he was a wonderful man.

He was very calm.

He's kind of the peacemaker of the family.

But I was never daddy's little girl and I couldn't figure out why, because I was perfect in my eyes.

And so there's three girls and three boys in the family.

And so he always paid more attention, I felt, to the boys because they were athletes.

And he was a coach.

And so it made more sense.

But I just had to grow up with a lot of unanswered questions.

And and so finally, ten years ago, I found out that the father who raised me, Walter, was really not my father, but he doesn't know that.

And unfortunately, he passed away in 2007 and I found out, I think, like I said ten years ago, that he wasn't my father.

And so all of a sudden I got to realize who I really was.

I did a lot of research.

I've talked to family members that I've never met yet to get to this day yet.

But it really answered a lot of my questions on who I was and why was I so different than my siblings that to me, people ask me now as an adult, Were you angry at your mother?

I'm like, No, it makes sense.

It really closed doors and opened new ones for me.

But it was it just made sense.

And so I had to do some research to really figure out if this was the truth.

But I did find my biological father.

His name is George, and he was still alive.

And this is a few years ago.

He died at 96, age 96.

And so we chatted for a little bit, not a whole lot.

I didn't get a chance to meet him, it just didn't work out.

So.

So how did you find out?

My aunt knew because my mother had shared the information with her because my biological father was actually sending child support checks to her.

And then she would write a check on her account so it wouldn't be found out.

Discovered.

And so right before she passed away, she told one of my siblings that you need to let Jody know this.

So about ten years ago, I received a phone call from my brother very and said, Are you sitting down?

And and it's like whenever you get one of those phone calls, you're always wondering, oh, no, what it's going to be.

And Barry was Walter's son.

Yes.

Yes.

And so he just gave me all the information I needed now.

And at first I didn't really understand it.

I didn't accept it.

And but at the same time, I thought, well, this makes sense.

And I wasn't angry.

I was just kind of in a little bit of shock, maybe, and I can remember writing notes down.

And then I just started researching and finding family members on Facebook, actually, and they accepted me as friends, but they didn't really know why that we were related.

And I didn't want to tell them yet because I wasn't for sure.

And then the family joke is and my kids make fun of me all the time because I'm a huge supporter of Ancestry.com.

And so that really that actually answered all my questions is ancestry.com.

So your mother then was receiving these payments from your biological father to your aunt.

Right.

But she was she working?

Did she have a job?

Did her husband, Walter, not ask, where are you getting all this money?

Well, at the time.

My Aunt Ruth was actually only had one child, and she had significantly more money than we did.

So it was not unusual for her to support us.

And that was it looked like she was just helping us.

And so I remember my mom loved fashion and so she took me shopping every Monday evening to buy a new outfit for school.

And that's probably one of the funny things I have in our memory.

Someone told me, I just don't believe it because I moved to Decatur, Illinois, from Litchfield when I was third grade, and the classroom remembers me arriving mid-term in Go Go Boots.

I do not have any memory of my go go boots.

But they said I had shorts on and gogo boots and I showed up for my first day of school.

And that sounds like something my mother would have dressed me in a third grade, but so I always seemed to have the latest fashion and the coolest clothes, even when I didn't have a whole lot of money.

But now at the time I didn't understand it.

Now, looking back, now I realize that the money was coming from my biological father.

But your mother tried to also tell you the real story.

She did.

She tried.

And actually, when I found this out, I was angry because that's the only thing that I was disappointed about, is why didnt my mother tell me, she was my hero?

She was my life support and my best friend.

And I couldn't understand why she didn't tell me.

Then, looking back in 2000, she did try to tell me.

She showed me a letter and I read part of the letter and she then she kind of went into denial because, oh, that didn't happen.

And and so that was the last we heard of the letter.

And then here again, ten years later, I find out.

And so just coincidentally, over this past summer, we were remodeling and I was getting rid of all the books that have, you know, outdated things.

And I found a book and I'm like, This is an interesting book.

I didn't remember purchasing it.

So I looked at the copyright was 2000.

So when I was going through it, a letter fell out and that was a four page handwritten letter from my biological father to my mother.

And it was quite personal, very intimate and kind of stating that he couldn't realize that the relationship had to end because we're moving to Decatur from Litchfield, and at that time we only had landlines.

So there's really no way to communicate to her.

So I have to admit, I just cried and cried because he was so much in love with my mother.

And so it was important to me to know that I just was not a one night stand.

I know my mother probably isnt proud that she had this extramarital relationship, but it was like a 7 year relationship.

And one of the movies that she recommended that I watch here, again, I didn't know why was the Bridges of Madison County.

So if you haven't watched that, it's kind of her story.

And I when I listened to that, I'd actually did an Audible book and I could visualize her in every scene.

And really that even listening to that rewatching that kind of helped me understand the story a little bit more.

So now, knowing all of these things, who is Jodi Klein?

That's an interesting question because I find I'm rediscovering myself all the time.

I find something new about myself and that I keep every time I go back to my mom.

She was like I said, she was my hero.

She provided me the confidence that I needed to make the decisions, to set your goals and don't give up on your goals.

And that was what my goals, the mom and the nurse.

And so she just encouraged me all the way.

So but I'm I feel like sometimes I'm an orphan because I really now have no full-blood sisters, were only half and we're not close at all.

In fact, once my mother passed away, we really have lost communication with most of them.

But we are so different and so that made it easier not to have a relationship with them because we are so different in many, many different levels.

Very interesting story.

Yes, it was.

I have to say, I actually prayed about this because I wasn't sure if I was going to go that direction, but I kind of felt like I was not being transparent if I didn't bring that up.

And I have never publicly told this story.

So this is the first, my friend, so my friends know and like my son who's Chad, he's our third child.

He's a dentist in Maine.

And he just recently with the movie that came out, Our Father.

Now, this is might make me cry.

He called me and said, Mom, I really feel bad because he won't listen to these women's testimonies of finding out that they really had a different father.

And he said, It's really no different than you.

And we didn't support you.

We laughed at you.

We made fun of Ancestry.com and and it's okay.

I took it very lightly.

But for him to be so compassionate and come back and tell me that just a few months ago, that really touched my heart because it is kind of shocking, but it's only been positive for me because it really answered a lot of questions.

Well, it's a touching story.

And I'm proud of you for telling and for sharing it.

Thank you.

Yes.

So let's move on to something else.

Okay.

Well, you have demonstrated that you don't have to be or have any experience as a publisher to turn a magazine around.

And you have turned Splurge magazine into a household name in our community.

And everybody goes looking through it just about every month.

Yes.

How did you do that?

Well, I cannot take credit for myself by myself.

First of all, a little background Splurge had actually closed in 2007.

So my husband, I were approached to become investor and reopen the magazine.

I thought it actually kind of sounded fun.

And so we did it.

We also include our brother in law and then Dr. Denny Ross and his wife, Ann.

And so we thought this is the greatest thing ever.

And then six months later, we realize it was kind of, to be honest, the Money Pit, and we had to invest a lot of money to keep it going.

And we had the choice to close it or keep it going.

Well, I was super nervous about keeping it going because I really wanted to stay at home with my children.

That was my career of being a stay at home mom.

And so but I chose to keep it going because we had several employees that needed to continue working.

And so I was the only investor available.

And so we said, Well, I'll give it my best shot.

And so being surrounded by people who knew what they were doing, I can remember specifically being in a meeting and they would say, you know, this terminology that I had no idea what they're talking about.

So I just write a little note and I'd go home and embarrassingly look it up because I didn't even know what they're talking about.

So everyone trained me well.

I would say.

I think my background in pharmaceutical sales helped me with the sales aspect of it, and my nursing degree helped me with the relationship of the client.

It doesn't matter if they're well or, you know, sick.

It just there's that patient, that personal relationship that you get with a client.

So overall, what's the perspective of the magazine now?

I'm so thankful we decided to keep it going.

I have made friendships and partnerships that I will probably have in my lifetime, and I mean, I really didn't know anyone when I moved here in Wichita.

I was a stay at home mom with the children.

And so my so my best friends are through splurge.

And so I'm very thankful because we've had advertisers that have been with us from day one.

We have our readers.

We could do without our readers, but the main people I want to thank as my staff because they've been very patient with me and they I think they're impressed when I know something that they don't because they have so much more experience than I have.

But so I've learned along the way.

Like I said, I've been surrounded by a lot of very talented individuals.

So what's the goal for Splurge?

Well, people ask me, because at some point, I mean, I'm I'm getting up there in age.

And so my partner, Amy, she's a vice president.

So right now there's we have three owners, my husband and I, Denny Ross and then Steve Rood and, you know, magazines.

Everyone say, you know, the print is going out, but it really isn't.

Matter of fact, I spoke with our publishing company, our printer, and he said they're printing more magazines than ever now.

And it's hard to find staff, though, that's educated in this in the printing industry.

But he said that it's not going away.

And so just be patient.

And so that's what we're doing.

And I just don't I don't see an end point.

I think Amy will be fabulous at continue helping me and taking it over if there's ever a point that I feel like I've had enough.

But she does she does so much.

It helps balance my life out with some of the my hobbies that I have.

So my passions.

Right.

Right.

All right.

So moving from Splurge, let's come back to you again.

You had a husband and two children previously.

Yes, I did.

The marriage broke up.

And then in 1999, you had a life changing accident?

I did.

I actually had two life changing experiences.

And the first one was I lost my best friend to suicide.

That is hard when you're a nurse and a nurturer and you feel like you can save anyone.

And I couldn't save him.

And so after that, I decided I needed to do something that can occupy my mind.

My son and daughter, Kelsey and Chad were both in gymnastics.

I had that cheerleading background.

I said, There's an adult class.

I'm going to be an adult gymnast.

So I signed up for the classes and I guess I was like 36 at the time.

And it's kind of like riding a bike.

It was what you think.

You think if you can do backflip, then you can do it now, right?

Well, technology had changed a little bit.

I wasn't used to spring floors.

I was used to the gym floor of a cafeteria, which was all tile.

Right.

And so I decided to start tumbling and I just had a really bad landing and I broke both legs.

Well, I had four fractures before I was actually in a car accident or a skiing accident, its like, how could you have four fractures from gymnastics?

And I literally blew out both ankles.

And so I had a trip planned to California.

And so I went in my wheelchair and happened to be at the Pasadena Ritz-Carlton.

They had lots of large throw rugs.

I kept trying to get my wheelchair through, and so then one kept helping me through everywhere I needed to go.

And that's my husband, Terry.

He was just a very compassionate, interesting individual that I felt our first conversation.

We definitely had an interaction.

So if I hadn't broken my legs, I probably wouldn't have met him because he was the one pushing me to go to the dinner, to my nail appointment, wherever I needed to go.

So and then we kept in touch for three and a half years, long distance, because I was living still in Arizona at the time and he was still in Wichita.

So you will say that that accident led you to what.

Gosh, led me to more children, which is what I wanted, led me to Splurge magazine.

It led me to a new, successful marriage.

We've been well, we met in 99.

So now this year, next month, gosh, a week or so, we're going to be having our 20th anniversary.

And so so it was love at first sight?

I would say so.

I would say so.

You don't want to admit that because it's time I wasn't really prepared to be in a relationship.

Matter of fact, I called my mom.

I said, Mom, I met this really wonderful guy.

And her response was, he must be desperate.

Was not getting around very well at that time.

Oh.

So so you get married to him and you settle in in Wichita did with your your blended family?

Yes.

We added two more children.

So he had a daughter, Laura, and then I had Kelsey and Chad.

And then now we have taken a taxi together.

So that was just the highlight of my life.

And then again?

Peyton and Casey.

Are they twins?

No.

They're 18 months apart.

Okay.

Yeah.

And then you have two doctors in the family.

Well, there's three.

There's three.

Well, okay.

My brother in law's are two doctors with my husband, the three doctors, the three brothers.

And then my son in law is just visiting his third, finishing his third year residency program at Cox Health in Springfield, Missouri.

And then my son is a dentist.

As I mentioned earlier, I graduated from UMKC and now practicing dentistry in Maine.

So we have a little game we play in this program and we'd like to try that.

I won't move because I always say it helps the viewers understand you better.

Okay.

And this time I want you to tell me your favorite.

All right?

Okay.

First one, this time of day.

I love nighttime.

Any time after midnight, I have so much energy, I can really clean house.

I can finish the magazine.

It's always been from 11.

It used to be till three or 4 a.m., but I had to focus on sleep.

So now it's from 11 to 1 or 2AM.

What about season of the year?

Definitely summer.

Definitely summer.

Musical instrument.

The piano.

My father, who raised me was a fabulous piano player.

Do you play an instrument?

No.

No.

I got kicked out of clarinet, and I quit because someone told me I was gonna get buck teeth if I played the clarinet.

So I quit in middle school.

Well, maybe that was a good thing, because you have beautiful teeth.

Well, thank you.

But there's two bands, Orange and Blue, and I was not in the best bands on like that was humiliating to put me in though it just so that I did not have any musical talent.

All right.

You know, favorite dessert?

Well, this candy is candy dessert.

Well, my favorite dessert is always going to be white wedding cake.

Oh, but now it has to be gluten free.

So do you bake white wedding cakes to serve at dinner?

I don't know.

No, but I'm always usually trying to get one or two pieces that each wedding that we go to, my husband will give me his the frosting.

I love the frosting on wedding cakes.

Your favorite animal.

Monkey.

Monkey why?

Growing up with The Beverly Hillbillies.

I wanted to be Ellie Mae all the time.

I still to this day want a monkey.

I would do anything to have a pet monkey.

Wow.

Your favorite pastime.

Shopping.

It's not.

It's.

Yeah, people call it an addiction.

It's a hobby.

I've gotten really good at it.

And your favorite quote?

My favorite quote would have to be Winston Churchill.

“We make a living by what we get, and a life, by what we give.

” That is actually on one of my favorite websites right now, which we'll get into in another in a little bit.

All right.

We are out of time in this half hour.

And I like to let our viewers know that because of how interesting this interview is, we will do a part two next week.

So please join us for part two of one on one with Jody Klein.

And I thank you for watching this week's edition of One on One.

Our email address is oneonone@kpts.org, that's if you have a question or comment.

Until next time.

I'm Victor Hogstrom.

Do take care.