The Front Porch

Season 4, Episode 25  of The Front Porch Podcast features Laura Rackers and Lily Joseph of Laurall Beauty Aesthetics. Links: Laurall Beauty Aesthetics: Facebook City of Melissa:  Website Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Season 4, Episode 24 of The Front Porch Podcast features Norma Brito , co-founder of the local Dementia Caregiving and Connection group. Links: Dementia Caregiving and Connection: Library Website City of Melissa:  Website Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Season 4, Episode 23 of The Front Porch Podcast features Chauntel Busche , owner of Makor Agency and founder of Community Commerce Melissa.  Links: Makor Agency: Website Community Commerce Melissa:  Website City of Melissa:  Website Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Season 4, Episode 22 Featured guest on this episode of The Front Porch is Kim Winarski, assistant to the city manager.  Links: City of Melissa:  Website Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Season 4, Episode 21 You may know Aaron Woods as one of the people helping keep Melissa’s water, wastewater, and streets running. What you probably do not know is that he once helped transform an allegedly haunted bar into an elaborate, Hollywood-style haunted house. In this episode of The Front Porch Podcast, Aaron shares the unexpected journey that brought his family from Nevada to Melissa witho...

Season 4, Episode 20  of The Front Porch Podcast   Great communities don't happen by accident. They're built by people who choose to invest in one another. In this episode of The Front Porch Podcast, we sit down with Human Resources Director Mitzi McCabe and HR Generalist Leslie Chapman to explore the culture behind the City of Melissa and what it takes to create a workplace where people genuinely...

Season 4, Episode 19  of The Front Porch Podcast   What turns a new address into a place you truly call home? In this episode of The Front Porch Podcast, we sit down with Casey Hysell, a member of the inaugural Leadership Melissa class, to talk about what it means to move to a new community and intentionally become part of it. After relocating to Melissa in 2021, Casey wanted more than just a plac...

Season 4, Episode 18 of The Front Porch Podcast   100 Episodes. Countless Stories. One Community. Every community has a story, but it's the people who make it worth telling. In this special 100th episode of The Front Porch Podcast, we look back on the journey that has brought us here with three familiar voices: City Manager Jason Little, Facilities Director and former Mayor Reed Greer, and Executi...

Season 4, Episode 17  of The Front Porch Podcast features Paul Anderson , president of the Melissa School Board and a founder of Melissa Sports Connection.  Links: Melissa ISD: Website Melissa Sports Connection:  Website City of Melissa: Website Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Season 4, Episode 16  of The Front Porch Podcast features Darren Thompson , who serves on the Melissa School Board and was an inaugural member of Leadership Melissa. The people who shape our lives often never realize just how far their influence will reach. From growing up in a family of educators to building a career as an IT Engineer for Toyota, Darren shares how his mother's passion for serving...

What starts as an idea can sometimes grow into something much bigger. In this episode of The Front Porch Podcast, we sit down with Roberto and Katie Hern , owners of Hern's Pest Control and Hern's Pro Products , to talk about the journey that led them from Southern California to North Texas and from a simple observation in the pest control industry to becoming inventors with a patented product. Af...

Season 4, Episode 14 of The Front Porch Podcast features Anthony Obiselu , part owner of Yonx Pizza Bar & Co.   Links: Yonx Pizza Bar & Co:  Website City of Melissa:  Website Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

Season 4, Episode 13 of The Front Porch Podcast features Cachelle and Puc Westrupp , the owners and operators of FC Cardinals Soccer Club in Melissa. What started with a single team of 4-year-olds has grown into a program serving more than 200 kids across 14 teams, all built around one mission: putting kids first. In this episode, Cachelle and Puc share why they saw opportunity in Melissa long bef...

Season 4, Episode 12: Faith led Jamie and Seth Tilley to Melissa, Texas. They were traveling three days a week from their home in Richardson to attend First Melissa and spend time with Seth's dad. During those frequent visits, they started to fall in love with community, specifically the people. Then ... a seed was planted by one of Seth's friends that changed everything. That seed was watered by...

Season 4, Episode 11:  Zach Stinton and Bruce Tyner love the game of football. They also love kiddos and Melissa, Texas. What do you do with all that love? You create  Cardinal Nation Sports . On this episode of The Front Porch , these two passionate fathers talk about how and why they created this community's premier sports league. Cardinal Nation gives every kid in Melissa, Texas, the opportunit...

Season 4, Episode 10: Phil Lytle – a.k.a. Santa Phil – has a heart for giving back in this community. That is kind of ironic to say, because his actual heart was the culprit behind this life-changing transformation. It was a health scare and a brush with death that inspired Santa Phil to start spreading joy across Melissa, Texas. Whether that's greeting customers at Ace Hardware, putting out flags...

Season 4, Episode 9: Ashlee Palma had a tough decision to make when she was opening her own salon. She was living in Melissa, Texas, but starting her business down the road in McKinney was the safer bet. Ashlee decided to take a chance and get ahead of the wave in her new hometown. She opted to open The Society Salon and Boutique in Gateway Village last November, and she's starting to hit her stri...

Season 4, Episode 8: Tarnesha Nickens is a firecracker! That is said probably ten times on this episode of The Front Porch . After hearing her story and all the ways she is giving back in Melissa, Texas, you understand how fitting that title truly is. She gets stuff done, and her driving force revolves around legacy. During our conversation, she said: "Sometimes your legacy is not always with the...

Season 4, Episode 7:  Father Fred Caldwell is spreading the love of God across Melissa, Texas. And he's doing it in a very unique way. If you visit Kroger ... or WalMart ... or HEB in this community, there is a great chance you'll run into this 91-year-old Catholic priest. He'll be wearing one of his unique spiritual t-shirts, and he'll simply be visiting with people. He has no agenda, but when th...

Season 4, Episode 6: Brittany and Brian Shull are extra - in the most wonderfully great way. Everything they do is done full throttle, and the ripple effects they're creating across Melissa, Texas, are profound. On this episode of The Front Porch , Brittany and Brian discuss all the different ways they're giving back and supporting this community – whether that's through the youth football league...

Season 4, Episode 5:  Ericca Boone has only lived in Melissa, Texas, for six months, but she already has a heart for this community. On this episode of The Front Porch , we get amazing perspective from someone who discovered exactly where she "should be," after spending a majority of her adult life in the Greater DFW area. Do you know what surprised her the most about Melissa, Texas? Listen and fi...

Season 4, Episode 4: Sgt. Bryan Kile has worked for the Melissa Police Department for 16 years, and his love for his department and this community runs deep. Throughout this episode of The Front Porch , Sgt. Kile references the strong culture across the city. It's evident how proud he is to work for the Melissa Police Department. Reminder: Our shadow mission when visiting with city staff is to hum...

Season 4, Episode 3: Tyler Bark was born to work in parks and recreation.   He watched his father work in that capacity of city government for most of his life. Then, Tyler got his own little taste of the parks and rec world while he was in college. That's when a legacy was born. Now, Tyler serves as the Parks and Recreation Manager for the City of Melissa. When we recorded this episode of The Fro...

Season 4, Episode 2: Jon Underbrink gets the opportunity to give back in Melissa, Texas, in a very caffeinated way. As a shift supervisor at the Meilissa Starbucks from Day 1, it has been his mission to create positive ripple effects across this community - one cup of coffee at a time. On this episode of The Front Porch, Jon shares how he ended up in Melissa and waited patiently for the Starbucks...

Season 4, Episode 1: Andrea and Scott Murray - owners of Ash & Sage Sauna Spa - have a simple goal. They want to create community through wellness. This power couple has taken an out-of-the-box wellness concept - which is emphasizes self-care and self-love - and started to make it come to life in the heart of this community. On the spa's Facebook page it says:  "A sanctuary where you can eleva...