This Conversation

The say all politics is local, but national issues have become central to a Washington County, Virginia race to become Commissioner of Revenue in November. Two independents, a Republican, and a Democrat explain why they are running with a party designation -- or lack therof. And they have been asked to address both 1st and 2nd Amendment issues that would not appear to have anything to do with runn...

Sounds easy. One person. One vote. And yet, as we learn in this interview, voter suppression is not something of the past. Current efforts to stop people from voting even target college students. Amber Wilt, Virginia Coordinator of the national non-profit, non-partisan Campus Vote Project talks about her organization's work on Virginia Campuses to encourage voting and about a lawsuit against the g...

Dr. Jerry Jones' new book is called They Included Me and relates his journey from the "colored school" in Glade Spring, Va. to degrees in higher education and teaching in a number of locations. His final teaching stop was as a faculty member at Emory & Henry College, the institution he passed daily in the bus that took him on an hour-long trip to the black high school in Bristol, VA in the era...

International Opera Star Mike Austin graduated from Emory & Henry College and started work at an area aluminum factory where his supervisors wanted to promote him to management. But Emory & Henry choir director Chick Davis helped him find a different path that has led him to stages in major cities all over the world. Austin talks about his early music experience in his home church in Wythe...

In a chance encounter, This Conversation host Teresa Keller met charming and outgoing college student Tony Washington. He was sharing information about the ROTC with other students. Keller thought an interview with a college student in ROTC would be interesting and then learned that Tony had been through Army basic training and was a member of the National Guard. With that background, the intervie...

Bob Sommers has live on the Island of Maui for 27 years and never dreamed of the kind of tragedy that came with the August 2023 fire in the beautiful town of Lahaina -- not too far from where he lives. Although his home in Kihei was not threatened, he was required to evacuate and has been forever changed. He shares his experience and stories of people who survived the Lahaina fire -- and those who...

Author, speaker, and wellness coach Andrea Kanelopoulos shares her journey to peace and her decision to live in the face of anorexia. Moreover, she offers Pieces of Peace in a recent book and shares some of the three-minute reflections from the book in this conversation. You can find more information about her new book and her other activities at AnamNostosHouse.com. Mentioned in this episode: WEH...

What's it like to learn at the age of 26 that you and your family were not who you thought? Kathy Shearer tells her story of the secret her family kept from her, its aftermath, and the lessons she learned. It's quite a story. Mentioned in this episode: WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia. Stay tuned, connected, informed and entertained. This is listener supported radio. www.wehcfm...

Steve Smith followed in his father's footsteps in the grocery business and has grown into a multi-billion dollar operation. The company is widely recognized for its generous charitable donations. We talk with Food City President and CEO Steve Smith in this episode, featuring his most recent contribution to helping build a local workforce and provide child care for the area. Mentioned in this episo...

Coach Jacqui Reynolds is a professional baseball bench coach, working this summer of 2023 with the Johnson City Doughboys. When fall comes, she will return to her Assistant Coach position with the baseball team at the University of Massachusetts. In this episode of This Conversation , she shares her story of finding and achieving her unusual goal along with the joys and challenges of the job. Ment...

Many people think they want to save the world, but few do more than Pamela Irvine has done. She was inspired by a time in her life when money was scarce. Now, hungry people in a 21 county region in Southwest Virginia can get a free hot meal, pick up produce and supplies, meet the food delivery truck in their community, or even have food delivered to their doors when they don't have transportation....

Dr. John Lentz volunteers to clarify laws for those who hire members of the National Guard or Reserves. He is Ombudsman of the organization Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves. ESGR In the Guard and Reserves, state and federal members of the military have specific time commitments for training and service, plus the possibility of being called to active duty. What does an employer do when a...

As a college student, Matt Shannon found an interest in the Middle East and gradually narrowed his attention to the connections between Iran and the U.S. Dr. Shannon is now a professor of history, preparing for the release of his second book, Mission Manifest , a look at the experience of U.S. evangelicals and missionaries in Iran. The country continues to play a significant role in U.S. internati...

The United Methodist Church is splitting over how to deal with homosexuality. Guest is Pastor Dale Gilbert of Pleasant View Methodist Church who describes the issue and explains why his church has disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church. Mentioned in this episode: WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia. Stay tuned, connected, informed and entertained. This is listener supported rad...

Pop quiz: Are members of the Castro family still running things in CUBA? Why does the U.S. refuse to trade with CUBA and how does that affect the Cuban people? Can U.S. citizens visit CUBA as tourists? Sylvia Rozwadowska of Colibri Travel led a group from Emory & Henry College on a spring 2023 trip to Cuba answers these questions and discusses the origins of the powerful Cuban lobby in the U.S...

Pete Vance and Jim Ray, of VFW Post 9640 honor families who lost a family member in military service and other veterans for Memorial Day 2023. These men share the challenges veterans often face in dealing with a reality they experienced but have a hard time talking about. The don't ask recognition for themselves, but ask that the sacrifices of soldiers and their families be remembered. Mentioned i...

Dr. Susan Patrick, Director of Childhood Success with the United Way of Southwest Virginia, talks about the childcare crisis and how it can be a drag on a local economy, even limiting the number of available jobs. If a parent brings home $22,000 a year from a $15 an hour salary, how can the family afford to have a second parent work with minimum child care costs of $11,000 a year? Dr. Patrick addr...

Linda Modica is president of the Citizens Awareness Network in Erwin, Tennessee and her group is trying to stop a new procedure for enriching uranium, scheduled for Nucelar Fuel Services. She says the water, air, and people are being effected by nuclear contamination in the area. She talks about where their appeal stands in stopping the new processing in Erwin and explains why she became an activi...

In the continuation of my conversation with James Gibbs, International Vice President of the United Mine Workers, Gibbs talks about his career in the mines, UMWA representation of workers who are not miners, and the union's relationship with government representatives. Mentioned in this episode: WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia. Stay tuned, connected, informed and entertained. This...

Olivia Bailey, former news anchor at WCYB-TV talks about moving on from television into marketing for Friends of Southwest Virginia. She also talks about her recent appearance at the 2023 Rotary Frolics. Mentioned in this episode: WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia. Stay tuned, connected, informed and entertained. This is listener supported radio. www.wehcfm.com

James Gibbs has worked in mining for 40 years and knows a thing or two about mine worker issues. IN fact, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine invited Gibbs to be his guest at President Biden's 2023 State of the Union address. Gibbs used the opportunity to plead his case for continued support in protections for miners -- and for assistance in good paying jobs with benefits for replacing lost mining jobs. Gibbs...

MAJOR KRISTIN BEO WOLFE Major Wolfe has ties to Southwest Virginia and is a history-making fighter jet pilot in the U.S. Air Force. She was the first woman to command an Air Force demo team and currently commands the 13-person F-35A Team that tours the country and the world letting people see on the world's most sophisticated stealth jet. In this interview, she shares details about her career, abo...

Rail Solution director David Foster reviews efforts to move trucks onto trains to move through the I-81 corridor. Mentioned in this episode: WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia. Stay tuned, connected, informed and entertained. This is listener supported radio. www.wehcfm.com

In this episode, we talk with Vernon Miles who is headed to Korea to direct joint military exercises. We trace his career and hear about the challenges and threats on and around the Korean peninsula. Mentioned in this episode: WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia. Stay tuned, connected, informed and entertained. This is listener supported radio. www.wehcfm.com

Marketing specialist in Coast Guard Recruiting Command Zach Hupp believes that young people should examine career options in the Coast Guard. His experience has taken him on international adventures and into special public affairs training where he traveled as the official photographer for the Secretary of Homeland Security. He says there is a serious need for military recruits and points to the C...