Looking Forward Our Way

Both of us have had opportunities to work with many media members over the years. And when an article crossed our computer screens regarding our guest, we were floored! Bonnie Rutledge is the new owner/editor of a community newspaper in eastern Ohio, the Harrison News-Herald. Now, you may not consider that to be “news” - except when she is a “twenty-something”, local English teacher, taking over a...

Housing values skyrocket, property taxes increase, and the housing burden intensifies for older homeowners in Franklin County. Where do we go from here? Our guests, Franklin County Auditor Michael Stinziano and Katie White, Executive Director of Age-Friendly Columbus & Franklin County , give us an overview of a report recently released entitled “Older Adults and Property Taxes: Findings and Re...

Our guest is Kelly Fuller, Vice President of Talent and Workforce Development at the Columbus (OH) Chamber. Our workforce has certainly changed over the past few years. The shortage of workers is not a new phenomenon but has certainly grown to a critical level. The issues in our economy and workforce are usually the top headline. Today we have lots to discuss. Our discussion with Kelly includes......

We welcome Carol's longtime friend Rodney Dunigan, Managing Editor and Weekend Anchor, WSYX and Fox28 . Media coverage of the news has been turned upside down over the past decade. We talk with Rodney about... The role of a reporter and media in providing news/information to their audience - unbiased, educated, wide-ranging, and complete - in a 24/7 news cycle? How has news coverage changed over t...

In 1965 the Older Americans Act was passed in Congress to create and strengthen services to older citizens. Amended in 1973, the legislation created the Area Agencies on Aging – a national network of state-based regions to plan and implement needed critical services. Cindy Farson has led the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging – or as we all like acronyms – COAAA – for 28 years and is turning the pa...

Today’s families are multi-generational, and each generation has significant needs. Many in our community have struggled over the past years, dealing with not only childcare but in many cases, responsibility for caregiving of parents and even grandparents. In our next episode, our guest is going to provide us with insights on not just the caregiving industry, but also the challenges today’s famili...

"Don't regret growing older. It's a privilege denied to many." This quote was taken from the Fairfield County OH newsletter, “Alternatives For Older Adults,” and the feature of this episode! We welcome Anna Tobin, Executive Director of the Meals on Wheels Fairfield County Program ! We were at the Center to learn more about the senior services available in Lancaster and Fairfield County. And to cel...

We continue our look at small business owners in this episode, but with a twist. We talk about the value of our local chambers of commerce in supporting local businesses. These organizations can create not only successful entrepreneurs but also lend to successful communities with a thriving economy! David Polakowski is the President/CEO of the Tri-Village Chamber Partnership. His background includ...

It’s no secret that women have long faced barriers in the business world. While today’s landscape is more embracing of women, systemic gender bias and discrimination still exist, which makes starting and growing a business difficult. We talk with Ava Edmonds who is the owner of Ava Jewelers in Lancaster, Ohio . Lancaster is a fairly large city of nearly 40,000 people. It's located less than an hou...

The home health care industry's workforce shrank by about 3.1% from February 2020 to February 2021, according to the nonprofit research and consulting firm Altarum . In terms of raw employment figures, that translates to an overall loss of about 47,000 home health professionals. At first glance, a loss of 47,000 home health workers may not seem too steep, especially considering the extraordinarily...

The future of transportation involves moving into new, smarter sources of energy, modes of transport, and physical and technological infrastructure to support these transportation innovations. We have a special guest returning to the podcast to give us even more information on transportation issues in Central Ohio. Thea Ewing is the Director of Transportation & Infrastructure Development, for...

Women-owned firms made up only 19.9% of all firms that employed people in the United States in 2018 but their numbers are growing. There were 6,861 more women-owned firms in 2018 than in 2017, up 0.6% to 1.1 million, according to the Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey (ABS). Our guest is Darlene Ziebell . As her LinkedIn profile states, Darlene is a veteran entrepreneur, Board Director, CEO, a...

As we end 2021, we take a look at what we did this past year. Get some insights on why and how we do this podcast. And what to expect in 2022. We would love to hear from you. Email us at hello@lookingforwardourway.com. Find us on Facebook . Please review our podcast on Google! And of course, everything can be found on our website, Looking Forward Our Way. Recorded in Studio C at 511 Studios . A pr...

For the past few years, we have all heard about scams, spam, and hacks. We constantly hear about identity theft. Here in Central Ohio, another type of scam has reached critical levels – the financial exploitation of older adults. In this episode, we're going to hear more about this issue and how we can protect our vulnerable seniors. We welcome from the Franklin Office on Aging, Orvell Johns, Dire...

We have all had a couple of crazy, frustrating years. Now, we are drawing in a deep breath, ready to take on the new one. But wouldn’t it be better to begin this new year with a new attitude? How does a person know if they have emotional intelligence? And why is it important for an individual? With us today are Eric Pennington and Jeff East, both partners with an organization called the Spirit of...

66% of small business owners need to hear our guests. We have a great program for those small businesses dealing with today’s tech challenges, and the lack of an IT disaster recovery plan. Let’s welcome back our friends of the podcast Mason Landrum , owner of Nice Guy Technology, and Alex West , a support technician, from Nice Guy Technology . Earlier this year, Mason and his wife Mary joined us t...

We welcome back friend of the podcast Josh Kinzel from Seniority Benefit Group. It's Open Enrollment for Medicare recipients and needless to say, there are always questions! Even if we are not old enough for Medicare, we may be assisting our older relatives to navigate the complexity of this program. And actually, that is what Seniority Benefit Group, and other “connectors” provide – the demystify...

We are pleased to have Steve Stivers with us as we are honoring Ohio's veterans this November. Steve is currently the President and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. But for 10 years, Ohio's knew his as Congressman Stivers, when he was representing Ohio's 15th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Steve has devoted your life to public service. While serving in Congress from 2011 until...

We are going to take on a very special topic in this episode. The issues our Ohio veterans face each day.   We are honoring Veterans’ Day and with us today is a wonderful guest. Ryan Blackburn, the Manager of Veteran Workforce Development for the Ohio Department of Veteran’s Services. Ryan starts with an overview of his background and the role of the Ohio Department of Veterans Services (ohio...

Apprisen is a non-profit organization committed to their clients' financial well-being and controlling debt. For over 60 years, they've been helping, empowering, and motivating people along their financial journey. They offer an array of services and resources designed to help their clients achieve financial health and wealth. This is done mainly through education. In this episode, we talk about f...

Inspired by the advocacy needed later in life by her beloved grandparents, Larae Schraeder started Schraeder Law LLC , to specialize in estate planning and elder law. Larae focuses on helping clients of all ages plan for the later-in-life issues her own family faced without legal counsel. Many of us have had to move through the difficult steps of making decisions with our parents regarding housing...

We speak with Rebecca Nelson. She is the community engagement strategic advisor for Columbus Public Health . We thought as we started to get a better hold on the pandemic and COVID-19, that it might be a good idea to visit the public health. Many of us were not aware of all that is accomplished by Columbus Public Health. However, we have learned this department did not just “pop” out of thin air w...

What Is CAPE Ohio ? As citizen advocates, they defend the concept of public education as envisioned by the nation’s founders. At the same time, they seek the transformation that will improve and advance learning so that all students thrive. In this episode, we explore the issues facing our local school systems and why attempted reforms are failing. Ohio’s educational system has not been funded at...

Sharon Hamersely is known to many as the “Resume Coach.” However, she’s been working with many small business owners in their need to further grow their company as the “ LinkedIn Coach ”. Often, small business owners are so busy, social media is just an “evil necessity”!  Yet, with just a few steps, being active on LinkedIn could make significant changes in your business, finding great vendor...

During this pandemic, our older adult population were under siege. They were the most vulnerable to the Corona virus. Their residential facilities were hotbeds for the disease. And many felt they were in a “locked down” prison at home or in a senior housing. They were unable to interact with their family and friends. Our special guest in the episode is Dr. Krisanna Deppen with Ohio Health . Her sp...