Connect Raleigh

After a quiet pause,  Connect Raleigh  returns with a reflection on why these conversations still matter. In this short standalone episode, host Chuck Belden shares why he stepped back, what brought him back, and why the stories of the people building their lives and work in Raleigh matter more than ever. It’s not about growth, headlines, or hype, it’s about people, perspective, and the feeling of...

It's not what you know....it's who you know. The Connect Raleigh networking group gives professionals in Raleigh a way to network socially while expanding their professional sphere by focusing on building quality relationships. It's also a fantastic opportunity to highlight who you are, what you do and most importantly...why you do it! Today I get to introduce you to one of our fantast...

Jolene (Jo) Fender is a French Canadian expat that chose to move to North Carolina after getting a taste of snow birding during her maternity leave. She homeschools her 3 kids and started her own secular homeschool co-op to serve over 30 families currently here in the Triangle. She splits her time as best as she can between homeschooling, managing the co-op, creating social media content and helpi...

A conversation with Billy Richardson is a good conversation to have. He's lived all around the county but chooses to call Raleigh home. He's a veterinarian, financial + business + soccer coach and really passionate about connecting to other humans and building strong relationships where we can help each other grow. He has a strong desire to gain understanding and perspective from the peopl...

Today on the Connect Raleigh podcast we get to be Connect Durham...sort of. Our guest Michelle Johnson is with us today to talk about all that is going on around Durham including her brand spanking new DIY studio called Nailed It. I'll also talk a teeny tiny bit about what in the world is happening in the real estate market because it seems to be a little all over the place. If you're look...

To start with, Michael or Mike as I'm allowed to call him, is a good friend of mine and the kind of guy that you just enjoy being around. He's smart, he's kind, he's funny, a great dad and husband and a HUGE music geek which is kind of cool. He's a partner with NC Planning where he serves as an attorney and business advisor with over twenty (20) years of experience focusing his...

Cheyenne is a local mom, entrepreneur, and content creator. She runs Triangle Families Explore, a media resource connecting families to high quality experiences in the triangle. Cheyenne is currently in the process of opening her first brick and mortar business, Little Oak Collective, a children's consignment store and community space. She's passionate about connecting community and creati...

Brandon Baker is the President/CEO of First Tee of the Triangle and has served in the role since 2013. Prior to moving to the Triangle to join First Tee in 2010, he held a variety of roles in the youth development space spanning from programming to marketing and communications in the youth development space. He holds a M.S. in Recreation, Parks, and Sports Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth Uni...

Danny Rosin is the president of Brand Fuel a brand merchandising agency that delivers brand experiences, ecommerce, inspiration and results while having fun along the way. And that right there seems to be the key to everything important in Danny's life...doing big things while having a blast doing it. I think that is the big take away here. At least it was for me. The conversation with him rea...

Courtney is the owner of a small business in Raleigh called Raleigh Cheesy where they make custom cheese and charcuterie boards for catering options as well as they have a retail location you can pop in for some take home goodies or an educational class. They sprung on the market during Covid and built a very successful business by plugging into and serving their community. Check out Courtney's st...

The real estate market has been an insanely confusing and ever changing situation over the last few years. The national media says one thing but is that true for each local market? I'm not sure it is. Today, we get to talk with my preferred mortgage lender Patrick O'Connor of Guaranteed Rate. Patrick has been a lender for 20 years and has likely seen it all. In 2005 he moved to Raleigh from Virgin...

Libby Taylor started SchoolUp to provide families in Wake County with the knowledge and guidance they need to find the right school for their children. And she's now expanded to Durham County and will be at the coast soon. With first hand knowledge of the challenging intricacies navigating our school system, I can say with certainty that her services are needed. Whether you are new to Wake County,...

This is a little shorter version of the podcast where we focus on and highlight different members of the Connect Raleigh networking group on Linked In. We started the LinkedIN group 15 years ago and today it has approximately 8000 local Raleigh professionals. The goal of the group is to build quality relationships by building personal connections because people want to do business with those that...

I've heard a lot about Kiara Ruth over the last few years. Mostly from my wife, whom is one of her biggest fans. But also from her husband Terrance, an alum (is that the right word? Alum? Alumni? Alumnus? Who knows???) of the Connect Raleigh podcast. A few weeks ago my wife Brook, Terrance, Kiara and myself got together for a dinner at my home and once the conversation got rolling I immediately kn...

This conversation with Matt is one from the vault that got unintentionally lost in the move between studios. It was recorded just prior to the opening of Oak + Iron Fitness which has now been open for over a year. Matt holds a BS in Physical Education with a minor in nutrition and technology from East Carolina University. Collegiately he wrestled at NC State University. He was a private personal t...

Welcome back to kick off Season 3 of the Podcast. We've been busy over the last few weeks and months lining up some great new guests to introduce you to around our city and can't wait for you to listen in. For our first episode back in a while we bring you a great conversation with local brand strategist Angelique Bolding. Angelique and I had a great chat centering around bringing the human elemen...

We are taking a little time off from the podcast preparing for season #3 so in the meantime please listen in on this awesome conversation about Raleigh’s Best Bars from our friends at Raleigh Magazine.

I love getting together with my boy Greg Pearlman. It's always one of my favorite conversations and today we let you listen in on it so you can get insight into His Raleigh. Give it a listen and afterward go check out some of his favorite places around town like... CAM Lincoln Theater Oak + Iron Fitness Raleigh Raw Weaver Street Market Cortez Second Empire Stanbury Umstead Hotel NC Museum of Art B...

Ever wondered what it would be like to sell all of your stuff, move someplace new and start fresh? I've done it twice and there is something to be said about it for sure. My new buddy Mike Doyle did it too. Mike moved to Raleigh in 2016 after selling everything he owned in New Jersey and traveling the US for about a year in 2015. He owns an animation company called drive80.com that brings to life...

Hannah's story has a lot of twists and turns, but I get the impression she wouldn’t have it any other way. She says "there have been more jobs and moves than I care to admit, ranging from account management fresh out of college in NYC, to getting engaged and moving to Boston, losing my dream job in Miami, to landing back in my hometown of Raleigh with a husband and a baby on the way." After a very...

Nathaniel is what some call a deep well to drink from. His ability to extract principles and concepts from a vast array of cultures and texts, gives him the perspective, ability and the tools to engage others on many levels which always makes him a great conversationalist. Nathaniel battled with PTSD, night terrors, mis-identity, inferiority, anger, isolation and the overall feeling of not being e...

Originally from Australia, Craig and Caz Makepeace are the founders of ytravelblog.com , one of the world's largest family travel blogs and now two good friends. Their blog has won multiple awards, they've been invited to The White House in 2014 as one of the most influential travel bloggers and digital media outlets to attend the first ever travel summit on study abroad, and were recently awarded...

In today's conversation I get to introduce you to Matt Sheehan of Exhale, a brand new tech enabled company that focuses on simplifying all of the  home services needed to care of your largest single investment...your home, to give people back their most precious resource...their time. Matt is a Boston transplant and now Raleigh resident. He's a husband, father of 3 awesome kiddos, a proven executi...

Susie is an experienced and effective consultant, trainer, LGBTQ+ subject matter expert, and content creator who artfully mixes her professional experiences with down-to-earth humor and personal coming out story to bridge the knowledge deficit and help others on their DEI journeys. Her unique perspective and future-ready business strategies are amplified as a TDM Senior Consultant where she drives...

David Meeker is a Raleigh native, which is becoming harder and harder to spot these days with so many folks moving to town. He founded Carpenter Development and partnered with the Trophy Brewing team in 2008 to open Trophy Brewing and Young Hearts Distilling . He has made every mistake in the world, lived to tell about it, and has invaluable development experience because of that. David is on the...