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

All.

Welcome into the 419.

Powered by and presented by Wetterau Wealth Management.

We're already off, and we should get a clip of what it says in the three seconds prior to them saying this.

It makes me laugh every day.

Yeah, I'm Kevin Mullin Becker.

I'm still Matt killing.

It's not just the three seconds before.

It's the three seconds after.

They say quiet on the set.

Yeah, but I don't trust what those people are saying.

I've never even met them before.

Okay, that's fair, that's fair.

We've got an exciting show today.

Excited as we do on on every Tuesday.

We we talked to community leaders that are making a difference in northwest Ohio.

Our friends at the Community Foundation support us in promoting people and amplifying the voices of individuals who are dedicated to making Toledo.

It's very clear that the community Foundation is on the move.

They're on the fast growing upward trajectory there.

Really.

Kate and her team are really doing some amazing things.

I've been working with Sarah to get us these guests for our Tuesday shows that they're helping support.

So some really good gets and today's no different.

I think obviously this isn't necessarily an about face from a strategic standpoint, but you talk about a time that their impact is going to matter so much.

Kate, who is very humble and would probably will have such shilling or occipital when I say this out loud, but is a great leader in the team that she's assembling.

So the individuals that we have had the good fortune of having on our show, as you've articulated, talk about things that are important, and if no one's going to come to help us in northwest Ohio.

So we have to help ourselves.

And we've got a guest today that is certainly embodies that, that that thinking.

Yeah.

So we're gonna have Ryan Bunch from that design collective.

Sorry.

Yeah.

Sorry for former king of the old West End parade.

That's right.

Yeah.

All right, all right.

Claim to his fame.

And then also, Sarah Best is back on the show.

I think it's going to be terrifying outside of if we if we subtract episode one, which was sort of chaos with a bunch of guests, unlike now, the well-oiled machine that we've.

I think Sarah might be our first.

Maybe outside of our work spring friends.

So a lot of qualifications here, Kevin.

Our first plane.

Kevin.

Our first guess.

That's not true, but she is a dear friend of the show and we're thrilled to have her.

We'll tell her tell our audience briefly what Sarah's going to be doing with us.

So when Sarah was on the last time we talked about predictive index, and both Matt and I had taken the predictive index before, but you had not.

Correct.

And so you have since completed the pie and deported I've heard.

That's right.

Yeah.

And Sarah is going to come on and I, I think I can say psychoanalyze the three of us.

I think she's going to tell us how we can best also interact with each other.

I think that the result is going to be you both just need to do what I say.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I don't want to speak for her because she's the expert, but that's my predictability.

I don't want to ruin the segment, but I used to be friends.

I took the test and she hasn't spoken to me since.

So you guys, you came back.

Sociopath.

Yeah.

Well, we'll have to find out.

Yeah.

So that will be.

I'm looking forward to that.

I'm a big fan of predictive index.

I'm fascinated by how much it can tell about you in a short period of time in questions.

But I shared when sir was on the last time when I read my predictive index report, it was like, I don't know that anybody has like predicted your index.

That's right.

But like I felt very thin.

It's a very short assessment.

Like the feeling of this segment.

Yes.

Unlike this, which feels like this way.

Let's take a break.

When we come back, Ryan Bunch is going to save us.

Thank God you, Ryan as well.

We'll be right back on the 419.

You're right.

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Thank you.

Welcome back to the 419, powered by GTA.

Our friends at the Community Foundation.

Are supporting us, talking to great people who are making a difference in our community.

We're joined now by Ryan Bunch, the studio director for Toledo Design Collective.

Ryan.

Thanks for being here.

Thanks for having me.

It's great to see you guys.

I don't know that you and I have talked a whole lot about your role.

I think you've been there two years now, which feels like it does not feel like it's been that long.

Feels like he owns it.

Thank you.

Okay.

What is.

If people aren't familiar.

What is Toledo design collective?

Yeah.

So we're what's called a community design center.

There's 60 of us around the country.

There's three of us in Ohio.

Ours turns 25 this year and later this month, which we're really excited.

Great.

25.

Thank you.

I it's Matt, so he got that joke.

We we really are like a neighborhood based organization.

So what we exist to do is support community on the ground to establish vision for where the neighborhood is going to go in the future, and a path to get there.

Who are the members?

If that's how it's set up?

Who are the members of the collective?

Yeah.

So we have a we have a small staff.

There's five of us.

Three.

Three primary.

And then we have an internship program.

So we've had over 50 interns over the years that have come from all over the region, which is really excited about.

And then we have 23 board members.

So they come from all over the community.

We have some folks from the Metroparks.

We were established by retired architects, landscape architects.

So it's a lot of folks from that profession that really thought, here's a way we can kind of give back and lend these skills and services to communities that otherwise typically wouldn't be able to afford that.

Is it about city planning?

Is it about architecture?

Is it about streetscapes, beautification?

Yeah.

That's okay.

Yes.

All of the above.

Yeah.

So we're in urban planning, design and community engagement.

Those are kind of our three primary buckets.

And really what it is, is, you know, when we and I could I could nerd out on this forever, right.

But the, the sort of gist of it is over time, our city was built to be very walkable.

Right.

We we see the trolley lines coming up through through the streets and which were widened over time.

Right.

We became a very car centric culture.

You know, expressways went in.

Sprawl happened, all of these things.

And really, I always say a lot of times it's really about just kind of getting back to the intentional way that the city was designed, planned and designed in the first place, which was for how do you get how do you get the baker next to the the meat slicer next to the produce stand?

Yeah, exactly.

You go to Matt's house.

Where are you talking to?

The baker and patient.

Right.

It's my.

It's your vision to put a baker within five miles of every.

Every.

That's exactly right.

And we're we're working on that as we speak.

Yes.

That's right.

It's a bold vision, and I cannot.

Do I meet you?

Yeah.

So if you want to build a sandwich on a block.

Right.

And you want each one of those sandwich components to be a business, you have to get people walking on that block.

Ryan, you mentioned building a for the neighborhood for tomorrow, who's involved in the building and planning and who has to say and talk to me about the the how that is put together in the recipe?

Yeah, sure.

It's primarily the people that are there.

Right.

I mean, that's where you start with you start with who's there.

And, you know, especially we work a lot in Central City Toledo.

Right.

So these are our neighborhoods that have endured some tough decades to, to put it mildly.

Right.

And so, you know, one, I think it's about honoring the voices.

I mean, some some folks really had visions for their neighborhood that never got to see any of the things that are happening now realized.

Right.

And so I think it's about honoring the people who put in, like, work, like real work in the city that we all stand on the shoulders of.

So honoring those voices, who are those people today and how do you bring those people together?

And then who's going to be there 50 years from now?

Right.

Is is the kids right that are ideally ideally right.

Yeah.

And and so, you know, I think it's really the kind of perfect balance of bringing all of those folks together and then people who care, you know, not everybody lives directly in that place.

Maybe they moved out or their parents used to live there.

They have some affinity or affiliation or affection.

And it's really about getting all of those people in the room.

How do you get people to care?

Yeah.

Or.

If they care, how do you get them to trust the Toledo Design Collective as an actor in the space?

Yeah.

Those are both great questions.

And that's that's there is not an answer to that.

Right.

The I say all the time the question.

Right.

The work is never.

Yeah.

The work is never done.

And, you know, I, I think to me, community engagement work is, is, it's a, it's a dinner party, right.

When you, you somebody ideally either invites you or you invite yourself.

I'd say oh that sounds really great.

I'd love to come over for dinner sometime.

And then you come in and then you find out what the rules of the house.

Are.

We taking our shoes off or are we allowed to leave them on when we sit at the table?

Are we talking about subjects?

Are we keeping it light?

Right.

Right.

Let me ask you to put you on the spot right away.

But you go to a place in some entails.

You take your shoes off.

What is your immediate reaction?

I leave.

I'm with you.

Yeah.

I with you.

Take my shoes off.

I've been to this dump a thousand times.

Yeah.

God.

Did you.

I'm sorry.

No, no, you're.

My wife.

And I were just having this conversation.

I won't go.

Yeah, it's like I wouldn't describe what I do as a career, but if there is something that I marked success with, it is if I think it has dress pants involved, send someone else.

Well, my biggest concern is I live in the old West End.

I have an old house, which means there's there's a nail popping nails coming up.

So my trail in their newest pair of gold tone socks that was gifted to me for Christmas.

Right on day one.

Yeah.

Got a hole in the bottom.

So I don't want to tell you what happened to mine.

Yeah, no, I also.

Oh, okay.

How are you guys funded?

I mean, is this something where when somebody brings you in the neighborhoods paying you to do this work?

Yeah.

So we have kind of interesting model.

We.

One of the things that's fascinating about TDC, to me, as somebody who's worked in the nonprofit space for a long time, is we were entirely volunteer run and self-funded for 16 of our 25 years.

So being established, Bob Sifang, who was our founder, Bob just turned 90.

And Bob just stepped down from the board last year.

Right.

So and Bob started this organization when he retired.

So, yeah, that was 23 years of volunteer service.

So most of our board were retirees that were lending their their later years to to gifting these skills back.

So so one, we had a very low, low cost for for a long time we were able to be really nimble.

If we needed something, they would just kind of chip in and take care of it.

But now we are predominantly fee for service and then we're supported by local corporations, individual donors.

Can we go back a little bit and talk about the young Ryan Bunch?

I think that I hope that, you know, that that that I've long since admired your your work and your involvement in the community.

Many people know that you used to work for a long time at the Arts Commission.

But let's talk about are you from Toledo?

Have you lived in Toledo your whole life?

I am a proud Southeast Michigan native.

I always say that if the war breaks out again, I'm going home.

I'm sorry.

I love you guys, but that's fine.

I'll be over the border.

We now know.

So we're good.

Okay.

Yeah.

So I grew up in Monroe County in a rural, small, rural town called Ida, and.

But my, you know, my dad worked in Detroit.

My mom worked in Toledo.

And so I always kind of say when I and I did an internship in DC in college, and my friends there were always like, where are you from?

Because I would talk very fluidly about these two states in these two cities.

Yeah, yeah.

And I'm like, I'm from this sort of gray stretch between those, those two places.

But yeah, I moved, I moved, I took that internship in DC.

That was my first semester at UT was in Washington, DC, because my intent was that I was never coming back.

Right.

Like a lot of people.

Right.

I just I wanted to go to a place that had cultures if it was a destination.

And what I learned there was that I was from a culture.

I was just so in it, I couldn't see it.

Right.

And so I had to get out of it.

And and then I became really enthralled with this place and very intentionally moved to back here to get involved in the arts community, which at that time was I was kind of a wish in a prayer of, frankly, it was I was like, I think, I think this can happen.

You know, that was also name of your first band.

I think this can happen.

Oh, yeah.

That was the second band I think this happened.

Yeah.

Both.

Both equally beloved.

You know, there was a number one song that you got performed.

It was this is never going to happen.

So good.

That was a great one.

It was a banger.

Yeah.

They played that at my wedding.

Yeah, yeah.

And your divorce party?

Yep.

Yeah.

What are you saying?

Yeah, but you had to hold the whole day, so we didn't know what to do.

You just went right into it.

Yeah, that's.

What did you study in college?

Creative writing.

Okay.

And you are?

Where do you keep all the money?

In the poems?

It's that's that's where the wealth is.

Matt.

Yeah.

What a deep thought.

Yeah, yeah.

You you are a writer.

You are a poet.

Is that the primary sort of art that you practice?

Yeah.

They said you're going to have to pay the bills.

And I thought, well, nonprofit administration should do the best.

Right.

Right.

No cover every couple of these things together.

And working at the Sunglass Hut.

Yeah, we just had the folks that couple of young people that on ode to the zip code on the show.

And you were involved in that, or you participated in the program?

Yeah.

With a fair housing center.

And then we.

How old is it now?

Like, I think they said 11.

Yeah, something like that.

Yeah.

It's up there.

It's over ten.

Yeah.

So I was yeah, that was one of one of the things when I worked at the Arts Commission, which was kind of, I have to give a shout out that I was actually going to I had finished up, I was working at the City Paper as arts and entertainment editor, and I had left that job, and I was going to finish college for one of the many times I was going to finish college, and and I was going to leave again.

And I was like, you know, I'm good here.

I'm going to go.

I've done some things.

I got involved in the art scene, I'm ready to go on.

And I was like, the only other place in town that I would want to work is Arts Commission.

And they had at that time had not hired in years.

And this was in the middle of the Great Recession.

Congresswoman Kaptur got a small business grant through the Americans for the Arts, and that opened up a part time opportunity and that turned into a career.

So remind me what your job title was there, what you were responsible for.

So I was the I became early on became the performing and literary arts coordinator.

So my job was specifically to sort of build awareness for the literary arts in through the Arts Commission, which at that point was predominantly a visual.

Where did I mean?

I mean, you talk about being an artist working in the nonprofit sector and sort of accepting that, like, you know, you're not going to get paid what your talent would be worth in a different sector.

Where does that drive come from?

That's a wonderful question.

I just recently partnered up with Bird's Eye View Circus, and we did this like aerial silks, circus poetry performance thing.

And I literally as I was walking in there, I was like, how did this happen?

Yeah, right.

Who am I?

Yeah.

You're wondering how we got it.

Yeah, I think it really I mean, it really kind of still goes back to that, that there was a specific moment on the Metro in DC where I kind of had this, like, reverence for something that we take for granted here, which it happens now less.

But, you know, like trees growing up inside of old buildings and really just seeing one, the beauty in that and then to the potential of that.

And I think at the core, that's the thing that I always come back to is like, I'm fascinated by that and I just want to interact and be part of it.

Do you right now, do you like.

Right.

Yeah.

Like, right.

Right.

Yes.

And then and do you, do you like to exclusively.

Right.

But it sounds like with this bird's eye thing that you also like to perform what you write.

I do.

And there's kind of two answers to this.

One is that I've really been enjoying the idea of publishing, but not traditionally.

And and I think this is like there's some Midwestern thing where we can't just allow ourselves to, like, take the easy way out.

Right.

And so I'm like, well, what's the fun?

And just sitting around writing, why don't I do it live in front of people in real time?

Yeah.

And so I've been doing that and it's been really fun.

And now I'm kind of addicted to that.

But explain that to our audience, because it's a thing where you have either like a little keyboard or a typewriter, whatever your mechanism is, but someone comes up to you, you ask them, you explain it.

Yeah, sure.

Yes.

So I have a project called The Human Poetry Machine.

And the core of this is I got invited to do a poetry reading, and I waited till the last minute and I didn't prepare.

And I thought, well, instead of doing all the work to put that together, I'll just write poems for people because I thought it would be easier.

Yeah.

It wasn't.

Yeah, but people are probably right now thinking, what on earth why could you.

Yeah, that would put some people over the edge.

Yeah.

So the so I do it in a couple of ways, but the idea is that you fill out kind of a little prompt with some questions about yourself, and then we sit and have a brief conversation.

And then while my friend Natalie Lee takes your photograph, that photograph goes into the typewriter.

Yeah, that can take the energy right up.

You're telling me.

Yeah.

Terrible.

Terrible.

Well, for all it's not fun to be around either, right?

Yes.

Terrible is a real pessimist, but terrible laughter.

Yeah.

For those of you who do not know a friend of a friend, anyone who's met her, Nelly, Nelly, also the Art Commission, a wonderful photographer and even better person.

She's amazing.

And yeah.

So.

So we have a little conversation and then you get a poem about you typed onto this, the photograph of you.

And so the bird's eye thing was kind of similar.

People came in the audience, each filled out a prompt.

So it was like 50 prompts.

And then while the other performers were performing, I kind of went back and, and how do you get up for this?

And just that's exactly what you put into the typewriter.

It comes out great.

Yeah.

I mean, there's, there's, there's moods that you have to be into, right?

I mean, even if I'm like writing a motion for court, if I'm just not if I can't, if I'm not in the space at that day or time to do it, you just it's just not going to come out.

And you thought about using his strategy of just having somebody bring their mugshot to you, and then you actually type the motion.

If this murder is this murder, is it motivating?

I just, you know, some days it's just not there.

It's just not you just can't get into it.

But how do you know?

It's a great question.

What happens if you get to the event and you're supposed to be writing poetry live.

And every day that I commit to this, in the morning, I wake up and go, yeah.

What, are you going to do this?

Yeah.

But the the you you know, you guys are performers, right?

Like, you come in when when they say go, you just go.

And when you've made that commitment.

So that is a wait a minute.

What is it.

You come in, they say go.

What do we do?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Right.

But yeah I think it's the, I think the, the the accountability of being there live in front of people is, is the inspiration.

I think that's why I'm a little bit addicted to this process because you don't have the choice to think out.

Okay.

Let me let me put a little bit on to that as well.

There is an almost it is very difficult other than I guess substance is to get that adrenaline push.

One we are wired a little bit the same way, although you are far superior, not you don't have to prepare and you can't.

Yeah, it is coming for you and it triggers the juice, right?

Because you know what's coming in.

The terrorists coming as many times as I've had to perform or whatever, I would not I wouldn't be able to eat.

It was a night show.

I would eat at lunch even after a decade.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So let's just let's take a break.

When we come back, I want to talk more about this.

I am interested, I made a joke about ChatGPT, and I'm interested about your thoughts on technology and art and where that where that.

I've got some neighborhood questions, but then, yeah, we got to get back to Design Collective as well.

And I'm interested in kind of your vision.

I mean, you're somebody who loves Toledo, your vision on this community and where it's going.

I'll take a break.

We'll be right back on the 419.

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Welcome back into the 419.

We're talking with Ryan Bunch, the studio director of the Toledo Design Collective.

Yeah.

Ryan, there's a little there's a theme here.

What you were just describing about the poetry machine and your day job and lifelong passion about community work.

You are a profound listener, and that's what makes you great at both the things you've just described.

Right.

And a great friend.

Talk to me about where you think that skill set came from.

Talk to me about your folks and what makes you molecularly positioned to be good at all of these things.

And please pass the humble.

I'm saying this.

Yeah, I know that's incredibly generous of you.

One.

Yeah, I I'm glad you asked, because I do have a lot of reverence for sort of my family history.

I'm what I like to refer to as a Czech hillbilly.

So, yeah.

My family.

I just said easy with the brag.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

My, my.

In the Czechoslovakia, inside of my family.

My, my.

I was very fortunate to know both of my great grandmother's and have a very adult relationship with all four of my grandparents.

And so I got to know a lot of that family history.

And it's really split between, well, one my I asked my grandpa what part of you were from.

And he said, it's like the hillbilly part.

And I was like, oh, this is perfect.

Yeah, I'm glad you guys found each other.

Yeah, but it's really kind of split between auto very, very Southeast Michigan autoworkers teachers.

And so I got to know a lot of our family history.

But I also really got these values instilled in me of one of of caring for your community.

Right?

I mean, this is like very sort of my, my one of my earliest memories was UAW protest in Washington, DC with my grandfather, who was a pretty notable union leader here, and he was on the DC side.

That's right.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

It was.

Yeah, we were we were at the white House.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah.

So but it was, you know, it was very much, it was very much about like hard work caring for people and, and really like not taking for granted opportunities.

Right.

And these all depression era folks.

And so, you know, good food on the table and, and getting the opportunity to learn became really important.

So those values are instilled, I think in a way that I, you know, I never took for granted the the fact that I was like walking around Washington, D.C.

on a scholarship, like to do this internship as the first art students in this internship program, like, was never something that I brushed off, right?

It was like it was important.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And it really put you on the spot because I don't know if I answered the question.

You did?

Yeah.

I wasn't listening anyway.

Perfect.

I guess I can make the example of my day job, which is the Metroparks.

You know, we work on behalf of 420,000 people.

You work on behalf of neighborhoods.

And sometimes there is a difference between what people say they want and what you think the right thing is.

So I'm sitting on a conservation level, right?

We want we want development here.

Or let's get rid of this wetland.

Right.

actually want the wetland here.

There is some commonality when you talk about the historical components of it, of neighborhoods and what they should be like in holding them in the people who are having them today.

How do you know this is a difficult, complex, but how do you bridge the two things?

And when you say this, I mean, sometimes people don't actually know what they want.

Well, Ryan and I both live in the old West End, right?

So we live in historic homes and we are the current residents of it.

But there are rules that will not allow us to do all manner of things in it, but we are the current owners of it.

So I guess a typical American and I can say you can take my meaning in that either positive or negative.

That's a neutral statement to me.

I own the home, so I should be able to do what I want with it.

The neighborhood needs this today, but you are a steward of the history, Ryan.

The Toledo Design Collective, a steward of the knowledge of how things need to be constructed to work and what people are saying they want.

Yeah, vacillating between these three buckets is overwhelmingly challenging.

And you are a human being who has opinions.

How do you balance all of these things?

A really great question, and I think you hit on it.

I say all the time about living in the old West End.

It's not an ownership, it's a stewardship.

Our job is just it's we're in a three way relationship.

It's me and my wife and this 120 year old woman that we live with who has needs.

And so, yeah, but our job is just to keep this thing upright for right now.

Right?

And so I think it's this sort of, you know, I kind of have this poetry in the city is kind of my like, background thesis.

Right.

Like the work that I'm doing as a creative writer is not all that different than the work that I do in my day job, which is it's based on listening.

It's based on having the right amount of historical context and reverence and understanding where people are at to, to to figure out what that story is.

And sometimes I think, I think that part is the key.

So sometimes people will say that they want something very specific.

And I always use food as the example for this.

But if you hear that people want they want food trucks, they want a grocery store.

They well, I'm going to kind of keep it's like when you start to line those things up, it's like, we want food trucks, we want a restaurant, we want a grocery store.

And it's like, well, none of those things are going to happen.

Like those are all complicated things to make happen.

But really, are we actually just talking about a food access issue?

Probably so.

Right.

And so maybe it's not about that thing.

That's just the touchpoint that people know to go to like the result or the yeah, inclusion and service.

And so it's like okay, well let's look at the larger issue.

And then when you kind of can that informs how I think we can bring knowledge to the space in a way.

That's again like honoring of the feedback that you're hearing.

So you're not coming in and going, let me tell you about food access in central city neighborhoods.

Like, you know, you're you're sort of you're saying, hey, I heard these things.

It sounds to me like maybe we're talking about this, right?

And that changes the conversation.

Yes, this is a fair question.

But like, I mean, as you look at the city of Toledo and neighborhoods and the way that they're used is there is there a neighborhood that's just sort of screwed up right now that like we've developed?

I mean, I guess, but I mean, what would that what would that look like?

You can talk, though.

You don't need that for how patient I was about to say.

But you can certainly talk about you mentioned something earlier highways and things of that, right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I was going to say I mean I my sort of area of expertise is Central City.

That's where I live, work and spend 90% of my life and time and, and it is and I'm enthralled with it because it is I mean, it's the holder of the history of this region, right?

It is well said, is the place where it's all happened and come and gone from.

But it's also it's got a lot of issues.

It's got infrastructure issues.

It's certainly the highways were not helpful.

That's right.

Speaking of wood in particular.

Yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

And I mean, you know, junction neighborhood was the home of the first Mud Hens stadium.

It was directly it was an extension.

It wasn't even extension.

It was inherently connected to the warehouse district by trolley lines.

Right.

And so that expressway being there is no mistake.

It curves around the back side of the museum for a reason.

There's no reason it has.

We live in a very flat area.

I don't know if you know this.

So in expressway that makes any turns at almost any moment was professional.

Probably pretty intentional.

So you know, generally the central city though is is holds about a third of our residents.

It's about 90,000 people.

When you kind of put all those neighborhoods together.

Our median household income in Toledo is $58,000 a year, which is $30,000 below the national average.

The collective household income for that area is about 30 to 40% lower than that.

So we have really old expensive houses and buildings.

We have population that's earning less meaning.

The simple thing here is that our people able to participate in a way that's healthy, healthy and helpful for them and for everyone else.

Right?

Like, do you have the spending power in your house to take advantage of the things that are happening?

So that's I think a lot of to me that's like the chorus, how do we get everybody there?

What are the you're married to the lovely male who's a teacher at Toledo School for the Arts, had an epic City of Toledo wedding, which we don't have time to get into right now.

But it was it was, in fact, epic.

That was.

What do you guys do?

It wasn't I wasn't there.

I saw the social media.

But what do you guys like to do you're not doing other work?

What's a fun thing that you guys like to do on your phone together?

Yeah, I was going to say it's I spend an inordinate amount of time on Google Maps, and my Google Maps is plotted out with like, regional day trips for specifically like, food based locations.

Okay.

But we kind of like to pair that with it's like, okay, this is really kind of like the meal is the landing spot for other what else?

Exploration.

Right, right.

Yeah.

So that's what's the food pick that you would do what it means.

Is it sushi.

Is it is it I actually I ask a different question because I know a little bit about your culinary ventures.

Give us just a couple off the way places that you've happened upon or heard about, and then whatever item is there thing that brought you there?

Absolutely.

I'll answer both of these questions.

I'm constantly in search of the perfect Italian, and the closest one I found outside of Bari in Chicago is a place called Ventimiglia in Sterling Heights, north of Detroit.

And so it's it's fantastic.

It's that's the one that Jared was involved with.

Close.

What was that?

It's not live.

Yeah.

Yeah yeah it's a fantastic excellent bread fantastic deli.

And it's in a little Italian grocery store that has all these imported goods.

It's about the size of this desk.

It's adorable and great.

So those are the.

You can't see.

This desk is massive.

Yeah.

So it's not helpful.

What's your favorite local restaurant?

He didn't finish the list.

He did take us around.

Yeah, that was it.

Oh, another.

Oh, God, I don't do I have another location I don't fun.

Okay.

Let's do this.

Let's let's dive right in.

Okay.

Are we doing it?

We're doing it.

It's now time for questions.

Quick.

Are we doing it?

We're doing it.

So when we say go, you just go, okay.

All right, I'm going to ask for rapid fire questions.

Okay.

Gretchen's going to ask you for your favorite.

If you had to describe Toledo in one word, what would it be?

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

The fact that you're a poet should not put any additional pressure on you.

Yeah, yeah, I just went.

I also don't do well at urgent prompt, so I'm going to blank for all.

I actually didn't listen to anything, but.

Well this is great.

I'll try and give you the easy ones.

Okay.

How many people are in your family?

My immediate family to technically two.

Nailed it.

I do want the time to call answers.

Yeah.

What makes you laugh the hardest?

I love.

Unbelievable.

I told you.

Yeah.

What makes me laugh the hardest?

I like, I like a really off color comedy.

Okay.

What's something you daydream about?

I daydream, I daydream constantly about what I'm going to be when I grow up.

Yeah.

Great answer.

If someone texted you right now, who would you want it to be?

Oh, wow.

Did kill him is Laurence Nightingale was the first name that came to mind.

Interesting, I don't know.

Well, that was going to be mine.

I don't I don't know that she's got a plan.

Yeah.

No.

Yeah, that would be a haunting.

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

Oh, I you know, people might look at this as a negative.

I think it's an extreme positive.

It's gritty, and I like that.

I like that, too.

All right.

Right.

It is nine of your favorite things about the severe region.

Nine.

Are you keeping.

Okay, good.

First one chili Mac.

What?

Culinary lake?

Yeah.

I just don't know how he led with chili.

Chili.

Delightful.

I can go.

I know you don't have enough time.

We have another.

Another segment.

High school or body of water?

Lake.

Lake.

Water.

Yeah.

Yeah yeah yeah.

Yeah.

Not the fliers.

That's right.

Got it.

Okay.

For weight.

Are we on?

No, we're on three.

Yeah.

So, guys, I'm counting on you.

I promise you.

Chili Mac and lake.

Chili Mac and lake.

Yeah.

He's on number three.

Yeah.

Oh, you're on his third one.

Tandoor.

Yeah.

The restaurant?

Yeah, I get it today.

This is your fourth one.

Fourth Michael's Barn grill.

Great place for a wedding.

Not the craft store.

No.

Okay.

It's a very strong.

No.

Absolutely not.

Yeah.

We all love every one of your nine.

No.

To have, like, multiple.

Not like, potential donors who are crafters just like on this show.

So don't fret.

What am I on?

You are.

You're doing your fifth one.

Okay.

Metroparks and I'm going to be specific middle ground.

I'll give you two for that.

So now you're on your seventh meaning you have three total to give back.

Okay.

I am I allowed to choose people?

Yeah, of course you are.

Okay.

I don't have anyone.

I yeah.

That's right.

And that's the show.

Yeah.

I love that.

He was like, oh, there's three left and I can choose people.

It took a while to figure out how many family members he had.

I what else do I like?

I told you I was going to be very much a dog's name.

Oh, I love my dog.

His name is.

His name is Fido.

I know, I know, I know.

Buckminster.

Maximillian the third is his full name.

That's right.

Keep going.

Yeah.

I also have we have two African clawed toad frogs that don't ever get enough shine.

The dog takes all the credit.

I usually say interesting when people say one of these things.

I'm not going to there.

Yeah, that's all right.

Two more things, brother.

Two more things.

I like, I like a god.

Talk to me about the arts.

Try to give me the arts.

Something about it.

You know, that means so much to you.

So to put it in one line.

I, I like artists, and and I like artists.

Creative process.

Is there something about Toledo that that breeds that supports it?

Fills it?

No.

I know that's a fair answer.

That's a fair and honest answer.

I of course there is.

What is what is that thing?

It's it's the it's the the the history here.

It's my answer, which is also a thing that I love the people.

Local history.

Cutthroat.

Wow, that was nerve wracking.

I can't tell you what I am.

Well done.

I don't, I don't.

That's nice of you to say.

Yeah, it is nice of you to say.

And now there was a comma.

There was a kind of.

It was.

Well, comma.

Yeah.

Done.

Now we're done.

The left is, of course, your bride, who is the Highland?

That's right.

Yes.

Thank you.

She is an absolute.

I'm not going to bring out the fact that you mentioned the dog and not her.

But that's not.

Nobody closed with her.

No.

Okay.

All right.

Take us out, bunch.

You're amazing.

Information on the design collective.

Where can they find it?

At Toledo Design collective or to Design Collective.

Org.

Awesome.

Nailed it.

What's the next?

Next public performance?

We.

Well, I would.

Everyone to join us on April 30th for our 25th anniversary celebration at Sophia Kantaro Art and Cultural Center on South Broadway, which is a project that we've been working on for a long time.

We're really excited about it.

Next performance, I'm working on more circus gigs, which I'm really excited about.

The people in Poetry Machine, and there's information about the 25th anniversary on the website, on Toledo's On Collective.

Okay, great.

Toledo Design Collective.

Ryan Bunch, thank you so much for joining us.

When we come back, we are going to get psychoanalyze by Sarah Best, and she's going to tell you why I am the best.

I think that's what that's going to happen.

Probably we'll be right back on the 419.

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Welcome back into the 419.

We are going to nerd out a little bit on ourselves.

In this segment we're joined by our good friend Sarah Best.

Sarah, you are an expert on people and and relationships and every interaction I have with you.

You're just you are so thoughtful.

Agreed.

And I think part of what you do.

We talked about the last time we had you on the show was that you also work with the predictive index.

If people aren't familiar, what is the predictive index?

Maybe we start there.

It's a behavioral assessment.

It is a psychometric tool that measures traits and natural behavioral wiring or drives.

There are over 700 of them on the market.

It's one that happens to be pretty simple and straightforward, which is why I like it.

It's also a valid and reliable for hiring people.

It just gives us practical insights that we can use.

We like to say data, not drama.

All of that.

Yeah.

I don't claim to be an expert.

I just know the data.

The data helps us recognize.

Then what can we use?

What can we do on purpose versus default?

So may I just qualify by saying this is not good or bad?

Predictive index or any of the behavioral data that people look at is not good or bad.

It just is.

And we need to understand it.

In your business, when you're working with businesses or executives and you put forward something like this.

What do you do when someone says, I'm not that?

Even if they've taken the index in it and it shows them to be that.

How do you handle that situation?

Tennessee probably already saw it coming.

Probably, yes.

You're right.

I think that what I would often say there is you are the expert on you.

This is this should be accurate based on the words you selected, but you're the expert on you.

This is not meant to put you in a box.

It's not meant to define who you are, but rather to reveal your natural behavioral wiring.

I find that the people who question it the most are the people who, in our speak, would say.

We would say they need to know they have a high degree of patience.

We call that the C factor.

They have this drive that says, I have to have understanding, and if it doesn't make sense and there's no understanding, they may bristle.

Yeah.

All right.

So you have the three of us have taken the predictive index assessment.

Yeah.

You have layered these on top of each other and provided us with relationship guide.

So I've got one for Kevin and Gretchen.

I've got one for Kevin and Matt.

What?

You should tell us what we are probably.

Yeah, let's let's start there.

And before I do that, can I just offer a simple framework?

This is helpful for all of us.

Head, heart and briefcase.

Head, heart and briefcase.

A whole person and baggage.

There's baggage too, but we're going to look at the head today.

The head is the piece, the part of us that contains our natural default behavioral wiring in our cognitive ability.

The heart is what contains our emotional intelligence, our values.

It's what we do to express what is important to us.

Head.

Heart.

The briefcase is probably what we focus on the most, even when we're trying to develop ourselves.

But it's the stuff that we've learned how to do.

It's our credentials, what we put on LinkedIn.

But when we think about all these things together, the head and the heart, really the head is what deploys the heart and the briefcase.

So our default wiring, once we know it, then we can use it on purpose.

So as I say, that head heart in briefcase, we're just looking at the head part today.

We have a promoter in Matt Kilham.

We have a captain here in Gretchen, and we've already talked about this.

Kevin, you're a maverick.

I noticed too.

You've taken the pie a couple of times.

Let me just qualify that even though in the second or third time you took it, your pattern was slightly different, it still represents who you are at your core.

Which is this, this, this great monster, this profile.

So let me just say this, Matt, a promoter is a casual, uninhibited, persuasive extrovert.

Hello.

With a tendency for informality.

Doesn't that make sense?

Progression.

A captain is a problem solver who likes change and innovation while controlling the big picture.

You can just put controlling.

And I imagine when I think of the captain role, my partner, John Brewer is a captain.

You're on the battle of the ship.

You see all the moving pieces and parts.

You have confidence in your own ideas, and you are also able to roll up your sleeves and jump down there and help swap the deck.

But it's like coordinating all this.

Now, is that captain's voice so grating?

Is it just like nails on?

You're being too and out of a shotgun in your face, is that.

Well, here's the thing.

A captain can be.

A captain can be very decisive.

A promoter is much more collaborative.

Harmony seeking.

Sorry, I don't know where you come up with this stuff.

It's so good.

Neither.

Yeah.

Harmony seeking.

Definitely informal.

So you may perceive the captain as a little too direct and a little less warm and fuzzy than you.

Like, where's the collaboration?

Why are you telling me what to do?

I don't like to be told what to do.

What?

That makes sense.

Yeah.

I mean, I'm interested in the things that.

I mean, obviously, we've been doing this show for three years.

I'm proud of what we've done and what we've built, and I think we work well together.

You do?

But I'm curious what what is it about our this analysis that says we work well together?

And then what are some of the the challenges and pitfalls that that you can see that we've all met a string directly at Gretchen.

Well, but you can see on paper, but we might see in real life.

So let's just start with the innovation and the creativity that fuels and the energy that fuels your show, which is so excellent.

You're kind of the originator of that.

I would have to say, Kevin, because you're innovative, out of the box thinker.

As a maverick, you're a maverick.

So think of like Top Gun, like risk taking.

Just look at your trajectory and the series of businesses you've owned and what you've done.

It's like, what else is there?

Let's grow.

Let's make it bigger.

So I think that influence shapes the energy here.

And then you've got the captain who says, let's create order.

Let's create the flow of how this is going to work.

Let's have some respect for adhering to the structure, but have some flexibility.

That's the thing about your formality.

We would say, Gretchen, formality is a drive for conforming to rules and structure.

You're kind of right in the middle.

Whereas these two gentlemen here are way over on the low side.

They don't have a lot of need for that.

But you bring that respect for it.

Yeah.

Or knowledge when it happens.

Yeah.

So.

That's right.

Largely because it's dumb.

And then I get fired.

Please keep going.

Well and then Matt you continuously lift it up with energy.

You all have really you have good high.

It's not good.

You have high extroversion.

So this people focus natural optimism confidence in your own abilities.

And then the extroversion creates a natural connection to the other person.

So you're not over here going.

Me me me me me.

You're really interested in highlighting and showing people and showing our community what's out there.

So these patterns work really well together and creating something that has vibrant energy.

It changes a lot, but you can kind of count on what you're going to have.

See the captain and the maverick part of part of that in there.

And then there's Matt, who just continues to like kind of make it go.

And a lot of different talent.

Talent.

Okay, good.

Yeah.

I think that the informality would be the only potential.

We'll call it a caution area that what what you want to communicate may sometimes be a little watered down or hard to understand because it's couched in an informal way.

You know what I mean?

Yes, I do, I do, we do.

I feel seen as we think about, you know, us continuing to grow this show or I guess as you're maybe it's more broadly so it's less about us and maybe slightly more relevant to the folks that are listening or watching this.

What how do we, you know, how would I identify friction and and think about how my personality and Gretchen or Matt's personality, somebody else is what's the right way for me to approach that if I don't have this relationship guide in front of me?

Well, I think the first thing you can do is kind of check yourself and there's a default way that you each operate.

I think for Gretchen and Kevin, it's pretty similar.

The only thing that's different about really the two of you uniquely different is that you have different levels of attention to the rules and regulations.

You have different affinity for detail, but still a bit on the lower side.

So you 2nd May just resonate and think the same way.

Matt, you have less formality.

You have a great deal of flexibility.

Interestingly for you though, you have patience too.

So you have this higher degree of patience and this lower degree of attention to the rules just as your natural wiring.

And so there could be a need for steadiness, yet also a need for flexibility.

I don't want to be boxed into a structure.

So I think there's a there's a nice balance that gets created here.

We also have a team graphic.

I think we'll be able to show that later or during as they edit the show, they'll be able to show that.

But on the team graphic, the three of you are concentrated up near the top.

It's kind of like this.

Okay.

Yeah, hold it up.

And what that means about you is you're an exploring team, so there will always be opportunity, I think, for you to grow and build upon what you have.

Yet if you notice in our circumflex there's some white space there.

So we have these competing values.

You are very risk taking big picture thinkers.

Let's make it happen.

You work fast, you're proactive, really, all three of you, and you're very focused on people.

There's not a lot of producing stability there, like the consistency.

Not that this is a bad thing, but what will happen is you may gradually shift and change and not remember where you started from.

Like we reinvented a wheel here.

Oh, but we did that last week too.

So having some kind of protocol or an anchor, an anchor that you follow can be helpful.

But I'm also, since I live in that upper quadrant with you, I'm kind of like, but what's wrong with that, right?

If you're a member of a team, is it better to be any any three member team, executive team, whatever?

Is it better to have everybody be a different good question.

Diagnosis or is it a profile or is it is it more like if all three of us were mavericks, it might not work out as well, right?

That is such a good question.

We get asked that question a lot.

We would like to say, or we would respond to that by saying the best team is a team that is designed to do the work you need to do.

Yeah.

So if you were accountants and you needed to create consistent process, flawless process, you would live down in that lower set of quadrants.

I'm never going to do that.

Yeah, yeah.

So the way you're wired to create something that continues to innovate and be lively, engaging, I think you're wired to do the work you need to do.

So it's not about do we need someone in every quadrant?

It's really about, are we about stabilizing right now?

Do we have to get more market share?

Do we have to innovate and recreate something?

Do we have to focus on the people?

I think a lot of our organizations right now are recognizing the burnout and the struggle.

We would say that you need more cultivating strategy, and people need to think more about the people, but not everybody does that.

Does that make sense?

Yeah, it does make sense.

Yeah.

You are you are a boss and, you know, trying to best align and enable your team to be successful.

How how exactly does this at its core, how exactly does this do that.

So such a good question.

We need to understand who we have around us and what they need.

So one of the things you might notice I'm wearing a t shirt here.

It says no one is born to be a boss whole.

What we're talking about right now is boss whole prevention and intervention.

This is pure prevention that if you recognize how a person is unique and different from you and you're willing to respond to those needs.

So, for example, Kevin, we would say about you that your needs are to have autonomy, independence, the opportunity to be challenged, to move at a fast pace and to not be boxed in.

And if I was of him, I think you met.

Yes.

Well, and I would say, Matt, your needs are to be not boxed in.

You definitely want some freedom from rigid structure.

You like to have some understanding of what's coming, and you like to have clarity and removal of office politics, like the drama and the tension for you creates stress.

And so the ability to have harmony and relationships.

I've been used for 14 years.

That's true.

I've had a good fortune of being a friend of yours, certainly from my perspective for a long time.

And I do consider myself very lucky.

One of the things I'm just using myself as an example that we've talked about in groups, I think using me because I'm usually the most comfortable with it, is that sort of my comfortability with things being or needing to have things be very flexible or informal.

I also simultaneously need stability.

Yes you do.

So the juxtaposition between these two things is not dissimilar to others, but that's the sea and the D we talked about.

You actually need both.

Yes.

And sometimes, depending on the situation more than the other.

Yes.

Gretchen, you also need autonomy.

You need the opportunity to take decisive action.

You love a challenge both of you can buy, by the way, be people focused or task focused.

It really depends.

Like you can put your nose to the grindstone and get the work done, or you can think about the relationship first.

But you also need quick pace like let's let's have action and proactivity.

You, by the way though, as a captain, need to have some order and structure.

So we're going to rely on you as that anchor for this team.

That makes sense.

It does make perfect sense.

Yes.

Sarah, thank you so much.

This is I mean, this is the best person to deliver it because it can be it can be.

People can be defensive about it.

But you walk people through it and make people feel hungry.

People want you want more information on on your organization or on the predictive index.

Where can they find it?

Oh gosh, real good ventures.

Com certainly we do have a podcast too.

Yeah.

And that pertains to the whole nature.

It's called the Boss Hole Chronicles.

It's fantastic.

You have special t shirts for the day of you.

Thank you.

You wear them proudly.

They're very comfortable.

Yes.

Yeah.

And thank you for for the work that you do to make the community vibrant.

Being a part of that.

Sarah Best with real good ventures.

Thank you so much.

Where we come back, we will wrap up this Tuesday edition of the 419.

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This is WGTE public media in Toledo.

It's where you belong.

Welcome back into the 419.

Wrapped up incredible conversations with Brian Bunch from Toledo Design Collective.

And then, of course, Sarah Best with Real Good Ventures.

I am going to studying this all weekend to figure out how to better manage you to for our best, in our best interest, only in your best interest at all.

I appreciate that.

No, I think you should learn how to be less of a terrorist.

Yes, that's what this is really about.

This was.

This was not, captain.

This was an intervention.

That's what this was, you know, so huge thanks to our guests, of course.

So grateful for the support from the Community Foundation, on bringing on folks like Ryan that are doing incredible work in the community.

And of course, so grateful for Sarah to take the time to dive into our relationship and explain, just in, in practice, how the predictive index works.

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

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on connects channel 30.4.

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The 419, powered by WGTE is made possible in part by supporters like you.

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