B Inspired

Learning about the history of Martin Stone Quarry and its president Rod Martin preceded an inspiring tour of the Martin Stone Quarry that provoked admiration for the size and scope of the 70-year-old operation and an eye-opening peek below earth’s surface. Martin Stone Quarry’s president Rod treated me to a ride and an introduction to the 350-acre quarry in which thousands of tons of quartz and gr...

This episode comes in two parts. The first announces Assistant District Attorney Justin Bodor's run for office of Judge of Common Pleas. The first, recorded a month earlier before when running for office was nowhere in his plans, you'll learn about Justin's passion as DA--finding penalties for those who cross a lawful line that includes efforts toward reform and personally provides him with a way...

New York-based architectural and landscape photographer Jade Doskow provides a portrait of success in a demanding field, earning her living photographing what remains. As a high school student, Class of 1996, New York-based architectural and landscape photographer Jade Doskow enjoyed afternoons buried in the novels of Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky with plans to major in Russian literature prepa...

Denise Pulgino Stout, director of the Boyertown Area Community Library, didn’t plan to become a librarian; her dream was to become an actor—the next Carol Burnett, actually. Her college degree is in theatre arts. The acting skills she acquired led her to a job as a paraprofessional bringing activities like storytelling to children’s pre-schools. She grew to love the idea of becoming a librarian, e...

Darryl Williams, professor, podcast host, workshop facilitator knows that often a move from one role to another needs a helping hand. Be it from high school to college or college to a job, Darryl offers tools to smooth those transitions. In addition to his college teaching, he's in process of developing a podcast as part of his new business venture - Outward In Learning.   https://w...

Craig Bennett's resumé includes teacher, musician, actor, and Navy veteran. In his second book More Things in Heaven and Earth he shares his life-long curiosity and experiences about UFO's, lost cities, and the paranormal. Shakespeare through Hamlet said it years ago: "There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Craig agrees and urges the reader to c...

Michael Barnett is a healer. Not by himself, however; in his healing work, he steps aside and allows the spirit of "Blue Turtle" to work through him along with spirits of his ancestors or those of the folks seeking assistance. A soft-spoken, gentle man, Michael recognizes his special gift as one that runs in his family. Listening to his journey as a healer, his experiences and the synchronicities...

Destined to be a painter, Ted Hallman became instead a textile artist, quite famous and has been for decades, recognized as one of North America's foremost textile artists who has influenced the direction of contemporary fibre reflecting the breadth of his experience, the inventive nature of his work, and his willingness to take risks. Spiritual, reflective, introspective, his work is a journey of...

Chatting with Erica Vinskie about creating her perfumes from native wildflowers--"foraged fragrances--was one of my favorite episodes. Erica shares her early goal of becoming an art therapist but in college turned to studio painting only to realize she valued spending time with people. And so "painting with fragrances" has become her lifetime pursuit. Her business "Henny Faire" features a line of...

I love when folks take an opportunity to explore a new idea or project. And so, learning about Michelle's Hair Design's new project--a boutique offering jewelry and gifts...and artisan balsamic vinegar, I celebrated with her. Michelle shops vendors in NYC to stock her shop and is enjoying a new feature as part of her efforts to beautify and add a fun shopping stop to the Boyertown scene. 

You can’t miss it—Boyertown Brickworks. The bright, yellow sign attracts the eye. The LEGOS logo promises time for play, for building, for creating. And once you enter the store to buy, sell, or trade LEGO bricks and minifigs, you are transformed into a playland of primary colors that transcends all ages. Boyertown Brickworks brings to Boyertown what it values—a place for family working and enjoyi...

Sing Christmas Karaoke with Jody at the Zuber Realty office on Dec 3, 2022, as part of Building a Better Boyertown's Chillin' on Main Festival. Jody Dolansky, currently a real estate agent with Richard A. Zuber Realty, sings her life's stories as part of a guitar duo known as The Keystone Ramblers. The lyrics she writes express the joys and pains of her own life and those she found in the literatu...

In this two-part episode, artist Mimi Conrey shares her future outlook: becoming free-er in her artistic style and her life. Free to express her love of family, God, and her dogs through her paintings. Free from competition and judges and even from making her living with her art. Free to explore unusual foods and continue her active life. In part two of the episode, she introduces listeners to Ali...

Michelle Neifert shares the influences and challenges that inspire her art. At times on a mission to study color. At others to enjoy the unthinking process of applying paint to canvas. Always needing to manage her mind, she makes the most of moments to create, to express, and to brighten the walls of patrons with her iconic artwork. 

In customizing "The Honor Bear," Mark Malizzi offers tips to working in fiberglass. Mark Malizzi adds to his expansive community service resumé by customizing Bear Fever's 83rd bear--The Honor Bear--as part of a memorial commemorating veterans, located at Boyertown's American Legion. Working in fiberglass is not a simple task, but Mark demurs, saying, "It's just like working on a Corvette"--someth...

Barnstone Art for Kids: A place to heal, cope, and grow from trauma in one-on-one mentorship through art. Sean Halloran, Executive Director of Barnstone Art for Kids in Phoenixville, PA, is a believer. In the power of art. In the healing nature of supportive relationships. In the wisdom of addressing trauma in children 6-18 through one-on-one mentoring while participating in trauma-informed practi...

Linda Anthony of Boyertown was bothered for years by the spirits who lived in her home. Annoyed and frightened at times, she shares her experiences and when one frightened her, she reached out to a priest, a medium, and the Paranormal Spirit Seekers to make the spirits go away. Yet today she calls out to those spirits hoping they return. She misses them. Who’d have thought.

Since 2013, as his mission to help people, Jim Smith, organizer of a 12-member team known as the Paranormal Spirit Finders, has logged in almost 100 free home visits to trigger spirits to appear and to document and record proof of the existence of spirits living in the house along with the owners. Their mission is to identify the spirits, not rid a home of their presence--nor do they try to convin...

Donnie Ellixson, owner and martial arts instructor of Ellixson's Tae Kwon Do Academy, loved all things Asian involving martial arts as a young teen. By the age of 16, he was instructing classes; and by 19 opened his own studio. "Tough love" is his method as his students work to prove to themselves and others that their training, the ways of their “sensei” or instructor, and the way of life they ha...

A conversation with Yenna Hill radiates the same strength, vigor, depth, and complexity as her artwork that she describes as “pop-infused ancestral hieroglyphs.” This episode, longer than most, was tough to quit! In the episode, we talked about the role of numbers in her life, her journey as an artist, her process, and the meaning behind her work. There’s so much depth to this young artist that fa...

Maggie Farrell and Jason Houck--partners in business and life--left host Jane Stahl breathless. Their retail shop offers "gotta-have-it" basketry items, textiles, and more--items found during their travels, purchased wholesale, and/or handmade. Their warehouse and barn is filled with furniture and items they rent for events and weddings along the east coast. Plus, Jason's uniquely-designed hand-ma...

In this episode of “B Inspired,” artist Nina Yocom offered host Jane Stahl insight into the technique and process of painting with alcohol ink. Substrates. Tools to use. Layering. Timing. While her color choice may be deliberate, Nina’s process is largely intuitive. Having explored other mediums, she has happily found her favorite! Nina invites you to visit her website www.ninayocom.com to learn m...

"Congratulations! Cruise with Jude! You've won a 7-day cruise with Magical Wonders Vacations!" Vacation-planner Judy Wetzel's life turned upside down when her beloved husband, the love of her life, died suddenly leaving her in deep grief, wondering if she and Magical Wonders Vacations--the business they built together--would survive. But survive they have and--in an inspiring 'lemons into lemonade...

Meet Sean Misko, National Security Official. Little did I know that the young man I met decades ago, who dutifully assisted his English teacher mother prepare for the first days of school, would someday be working in the heart of the U.S. government in rooms with Presidents and international heads of state and security advisors, doing his part to keep America secure. Sean reflects on the state of...

Becoming a parent does not come with an instruction manual. And when your children behave differently than other children, are found to be troublesome in school, and are frequently bullied and shunned by their peers, parenthood can become a nightmare. Diane Lauer Hallman suffered in the way all loving mothers suffer watching their children struggle--but then she began to research the characteristi...