Exploring the Valley

Maui to the mountains is a big leap, and David Carmona made it with a three-year-old, a newborn on the way, and a vision of a life built by hand. We sit down with the man many locals know as “David the Window Man” to talk about what people rarely see behind a home service business: the values, the culture, and the long game. If you care about Black Mountain NC, Asheville small business, or how to...

Paul Krause is the kind of person who sees a “safe” job as a launching pad, not a finish line. We talk about how he walked away from stability, moved into a van, and built a working life on the road through sports photography, weekend tournaments, and a constant cycle of planning, driving, setting up, and tearing down. It’s a candid look at van life logistics too, from gym showers to finding legal...

Coaching can feel mysterious until you hear it framed like sports practice for adulthood: clear goals, honest feedback, and small tweaks that compound. We talk with Adam Knapp of Knapp Creative Coaching about transformational coaching, how his decades in teaching shaped the way he listens, and why so many capable people still get stuck wrestling with worthiness and self-perception. If you’ve ever...

A packed Jeep, a brand-new town, and the kind of fear that comes with starting life over from scratch. That’s where Ali Casparian’s story begins, and it’s also where a radically practical idea takes root: hunger relief can look like dignity, choice, and real community, not shame and scarcity. We talk with Ali, founder and executive director of Bounty and Soul in Black Mountain, about the personal...

A YMCA conversation in Black Mountain turns into a surprisingly deep look at what makes a town feel like home. I sit down with David Carter Florence, associate pastor at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church, and we trace his winding path from the Shenandoah Valley to seminary, teaching, chaplaincy, and finally ministry in Western North Carolina. The more we talk, the clearer it gets that “community”...

A leap of faith can look like a rental signed sight unseen, a job change across state lines, and a promise to figure it out as you go. We sit down with Melissa Baker to trace how a Florida beach couple found their footing in Black Mountain, North Carolina, and why they now want their retirement to keep the mountains close. It starts with walkability on 4th Street and a chance hello at My Father’s...

A beautiful town rarely happens by accident. We sit down with Anne Drummond of the Black Mountain Beautification Committee to pull back the curtain on how 135 volunteers design seasonal displays, care for street trees, and make public spaces feel warm, walkable, and wonderfully inviting. Anne’s story weaves childhood summers in Montreat, a return to the North Carolina mountains, and a love of gard...

A room lights up when the right neighbor walks back in. That’s the energy Tammy Potter brings as she traces her path from New Mexico to the Smoky Mountains and shows how a “service first” mindset turns a company into a community engine. We dive into the real work behind those words—helping rebuild an agriculture program after storm damage, donating materials for a school pole barn with the Rotary,...

Two lives intersect over paint cans, songs, and a mountain skyline—and suddenly a vacation town becomes the place you can’t imagine leaving. We sit down with Jeanie Grindstaff to follow a winding road from Tuscaloosa to Belmont, through Nashville studios and the TV set of Nashville, into the bright, real world of Black Mountain where love, worship, and neighbors turn ordinary days into a lifeline....

A six-month hike from Maine to Georgia can change everything. That’s how Andy Gibbon stumbled into Black Mountain, fell for a local arts festival, and started a life anchored by family, music, and a small-batch coffee roastery that smells like pure happiness. We sit down with Andy, co-owner of Dynamite Roasting Company, to trace how a detour on the Appalachian Trail became a 25-year commitment to...

The most meaningful decisions aren’t made on spreadsheets—they’re made in the quiet moments when you ask, can I sleep at night with this? We sit down with Lee Ann Lewis, a lifelong Black Mountain local and mortgage banker who blends hard-won finance chops with a heart for community, to explore how a place shapes a person and how numbers should serve a life, not the other way around. Lee Ann’s jour...

A hurricane knocked down trees, but it lifted up something bigger: the kind of community you only understand when neighbors show up with laundry baskets, hot showers, and time. We sit down with Hope Burk—longtime local, real estate pro, and steadfast friend—to explore how Black Mountain turns shared hardship into lasting bonds and why that spirit keeps people rooted. Hope traces her path from App...

What makes someone trade the easy path for a winding mountain road and a van full of strangers who become friends by sunset? Phil Holderman joins us to share how a high school romance, a deep love for Western North Carolina, and an obsession with good views turned into TP Day Trip Adventures, a small-group tour company built for people who want the magic without the guesswork. We dig into the real...

What happens when a single word becomes a weekly promise to your town? We sit down with Ruth Pittard to follow a winding path from childhood trips through Black Mountain’s craft scene to a tiny, solar-powered home and a public ritual that turned protest into presence. After three decades at Davidson College, Ruth uprooted her life, found an unlikely lot by a retention pond, and—against a ticking c...

Ever wonder what happens when a part-time high school job turns into a life’s work and a community legacy? We sit down with Lori Morris to chart a rare arc: from a 17-year-old filing papers at White Insurance to becoming an owner, mentor, and steady hand in Black Mountain and Swannanoa. It’s a grounded story about choosing to stay, building trust one small task at a time, and discovering that home...

What does it take to move from emergency response to real, lasting recovery—and why would a relief worker choose to stay long after the chainsaws go quiet? We sit with Operation Blessing’s Bob Burke, who arrived after the storm to clear trees, tarp roofs, and deliver water, then found a home in the Swannanoa Valley. Bob opens up about the pivot from short‑term aid to a two‑year plan restoring more...

A hometown can change your taste—and your life. Cheryl sits down with Black Mountain native Ali Whitman to trace a winding path from teenage restlessness to culinary roots, from Atlanta classrooms to Asheville kitchens, and finally to a Japanese-influenced steakhouse that’s reimagining what “fine dining” feels like in the Swannanoa Valley. We dig into Black Mountain’s transformation from a few fam...

What if the place that raised your curiosity also raised your confidence? We sit down with Jack to trace a path from creek-stomping summers in Montreat to choosing Black Mountain as an adult, and the story is full of unexpected lessons about freedom, belonging, and everyday access to nature. This is a portrait of the Swannanoa Valley as both a sanctuary and a springboard, where spontaneity thrives...

We meet Treselyn, a Montreat senior and basketball player from Texas, who finds unexpected home and purpose in the Swannanoa Valley after storms, loss, and a major change to outdoor recreation. We talk about real outdoor skills, community resilience, and how the Visitor Center connects people to authentic adventures. • deciding to transfer from Texas to Montreat after a call from a former coach •...

Start with a bike, stay for the community. We sit down with Michael of Epic Cycles to explore how a beloved Black Mountain shop became a crossroads for locals, visitors, students, and families who want to ride safely, see more, and feel connected to the Swannanoa Valley. Michael shares the shop’s journey from its founding under Alan Hightower to a COVID-era ownership handoff, then opens the doors...

A small mountain town can feel bigger than any city when the gym lights come up and the whole valley shows. We sit with Fred McCormick, founder of The Valley Echo, to trace how a stay-at-home dad found journalism, begged his way into a newsroom job, and ultimately launched a hyperlocal site three days before the world shut down. What kept it alive? The same spirit that fills Owen High bleachers an...

Some places find you before you realize you’re looking. That’s how Scott Kelts tells it—a Mississippi native who came to the Blue Ridge for a summer camp job, fell for a chef named Catherine, and never quite left. We share how a picnic turned into a partnership, how a storefront on State Street became a living room for locals and visitors, and why Black Mountain still feels like a town that looks...

Few people embody the spirit of Black Mountain like Fire Chief Coffey, whose roots in emergency services stretch back to his teenage years as a volunteer firefighter. Driven initially by the classic teenage motivation of escaping high school classes during fire calls, his career evolved through paramedic training, law enforcement, and ultimately to his current leadership role serving the Swannanoa...

Sarah Sunshine of Sarah Sunshine Pottery shares her journey from environmental chaplain to pottery business owner in Black Mountain's vibrant downtown. Her serendipitous path includes taking a pottery class for fun, buying a house with a studio from another potter, and eventually purchasing her Cherry Street storefront after overhearing a conversation in a changing room. • Originally a chapla...

Cheryl Hyde, director of the Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, introduces "Exploring the Valley" podcast dedicated to sharing the people, places, and stories that make the Swannanoa Valley special. This new show aims to highlight local businesses, hidden gems, and community stories while fostering collaboration over competition. • Podcast will feature local businesses, entrep...