Our Two Cents Podcast

Amanda DiGiacomo welcomes Debbie Powers, executive director of Golden Empire Gleaners. Debbie tells us the story of how the local non-profit was founded and how much they have grown since then. Debbie goes over what the non-profit does for the community and how it has an impact on many lives. She discusses the process in which the non-profit receives its donations and how they create and distribut...

We are welcomed today with a special recording from our Host Amanda DiGiacomo as she tells us the story on how she came about founding Atlas Financial Solutions. Amanda goes over a year-end business checklist for small business owners and how to close out their books. She goes over minimum wage increases and sick leave changes for 2024. Atlas Financial Solutions offers a variety of services that c...

Kyle Jones welcomes Richard Chapman, President and CEO of the Kern Economic Development Corporation. Richard educates us on what the Kern EDC corporation does and gives us an in-depth on the process of how they study and strategize the market overview of Kern County. He also gives us insight into what's going on in East Kern, he discusses how they started the East Kern Economic Alliance (EKEA) and...

Troy Burden Welcomes Eric Dhanens and Alex Vigil, partners of the strategic engineering firm known as Cornerstone. Eric Dhanens, the vice president of Cornerstone, gives us insight on the idea behind Cornerstone. He goes over the civil engineering process in our region and what kind of services they provide, from flexible and dynamic engineering to a diversifying environment that provides clean en...

Dave Plivelich (The Marcom Group) and John Duffield (Integra Accountancy Corporation) welcome Shannon and Kevin Lowther, managing partners of Central Pacific Valuation, as they discuss how a business is valued and the reasons why it is important to know a business's value. Kevin and Shannon might value an interest in a business for clients who are interested in buying or selling a business as well...

Kyle Jones welcomes Lori Malkin, secretary and founder of the JJ's Legacy Foundation as she invites us to the 8th annual Grillin and Brewin event on November 9th. All proceeds from the event go towards the foundation's "Got the Dot?" program and club. Their program gives students an educational insight on organ, eye, and tissue donation and the importance of donating. The program allows the childr...

Dave Plivelich and Dustin Pitcher welcome Wendy Porter, the Executive Director and Founder of the Wounded Heroes Fund, as she explains how the Wounded Heroes Fund was born 13 years ago at her kitchen table. Wendy is the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran, and after seeing the way her father was treated upon his arrival home, she wanted to give back to the Veteran community. Now, Wendy runs the Wounded...

Dave Plivelich welcomes Bryan Porter, the owner of St. John Sporting Dogs, as he discusses his passion for showing and breeding Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. Bryan started showing Chessies 13 years ago, even though he had no previous experience, and quickly won 6 shows in a row! Bryan is now the President and Chairman of the Kern County Kennel Club, which will be hosting a four-day all-breed show at...

Thank you for joining us for our final episode of our health and fitness mini-series! John Duffield and Troy Burden welcome back Anna Marie Frank and Dr. Beatty as they discuss the many different services they offer and how they focus on improving the overall health and wellness of their patients. Anna Marie Frank has initial meetings with her patients so they can give her a detailed list of their...

Welcome back to episode four of our Health and Fitness mini series! Troy Burden and Amanda DiGiacomo had the opportunity to sit down with Stacy Kuwahara the Director for Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services and Anna Marie Frank the Founder of Happy Whole You to discuss the importance of mental health. Anna outlined the services she offers at Happy Whole You and how she strives to help othe...

Amanda DiGiacomo sits down with Melissa Rossiter the Senior Marketing Specialist for Blue Zones Project – Bakersfield and Chelsey Hall the President and Co-owner of Modern Grub as they discuss why nutrition is so important for your overall health. Melissa explains where the 5 Blue Zones are located and the 9 things (The Power 9) they all have in common such as nutrition. This led to Blue Zone Proj...

Welcome back to the second episode of our Health and Fitness mini series!! Kyle Jones sits down with Ryan Beckwith and Jake Hannaman as they discuss the importance of exercising. They understand how daunting it can be to start your fitness journey so they focus on creating your routine to fit your needs and lifestyle. Kyle relates it to making an investment in yourself and how he feels after start...

Welcome to the first episode of our Health and Fitness mini series! Kyle Jones sits down with Rashamm Sandhu, MD as he discusses how to improve your overall heart health. Dr. Sandhu strongly encourages lowering your risk factors by cutting down on processed foods, exercising, and not smoking. He outlines the benefits of being proactive with heart health and how it can significantly improve your qu...

Thank you for joining us for the final episode of our education mini series! Amanda DiGiacomo sat down with Dr. Vernon B. Harper Jr. the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at CSU Bakersfield (CSUB). Dr. Harper gives us a detailed overview of the University's structure such as who appoints the president and committee leaders, as well as who reports directly to the president. He explains...

Welcome back to episode three of our education mini series! This episode John Duffield and Scott Hanson welcome Matt Guinn, the President of Bakersfield Christian High School as he explains how they focus on creating strong relationships with the families that attend their school. This means the families are not only more involved in their children's education but more involved in decision making....

Welcome back to episode two of our education mini series as Kyle Jones sits down with Jeremy Adams and Amanda Frank as they give us an in depth look into our local public schools. They discuss the pros and cons of schools starting at a later time as well as how to create change and where to start. Jeremy and Amanda express their concern for how connected students are to their phones and how distra...

Steve Sanders currently serves as Chief of Staff for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS). In his role he provides direct support to the elected Kern County Superintendent of Schools, and he oversees the Communications Division for KCSOS and its educational television station KETN, in addition to overseeing the California Living Museum (CALM) and the Kern County Network for Children....

Family man Danny Hill is co-owner of Hill Broadcasting and is co-host of the Danny & Kait syndicated radio show. Danny & Kait have won Best of Bakersfield, Favorite in the Radio Personality category for 4 years in a row. Their show is currently on 11 radio stations in 6 states! Danny is married to Kait and they have five adorable children. Danny is also an accomplished wedding DJ, winner of the Ke...

Anthony Garcia is a highly regarded sales expert, bestselling author, and motivational speaker with over 20 years of experience. He is passionate about helping companies achieve remarkable growth and scale by enhancing the skill and efficiency of their sales process. Anthony's expertise in training and developing successful sales teams have earned him top accolades in various sales fields. His int...

Welcome back to episode two of our sales and marketing mini-series! Dave Plivelich and John Duffield welcome back Dustin Pitcher, the co-owner of Dirty Bird Guns & Ammo, a local firearm and gunsmithing store. Dustin outlines the difficulties of advertising in his industry and how he had to think of creative solutions like collecting emails, creating reward programs, and having monthly giveaways. H...

Welcome to the first episode of our mini series on Sales and Marketing! Our hosts John Duffiled, Troy Burden, and Dave Plivelich sit down to discuss what to expect out of this series and how sales and marketing isn't a one size fits all. Dave emphasizes how every industry requires a different plan and what works for some doesn't work for others. Meanwhile, John explains how important it is to trac...

Kyle Jones is joined in studio with his daughter Ella Jones as they welcome back Krista and Bryce Horton. Since we spoke to them last they have created Drink Horton, a go-to cocktail of coconut rum mixed with diet. Krista has also partnered with Ulta and Sephora for limited edition products! Bryce is also working on a Golf apparel line and hopes to launch it this year. If you want to Keep up with...

Mikin is an accomplished Executive Director/CEO with over 25 years of experience in the small business and association world. With a focus on the small business and commercial construction industry, she has represented and served 550 companies, fostering business development, education, and collaboration among industry professionals and community partners. Mikin excels at building and managing eff...

John Duffield and Danielle Alcala sit down with Alberto Colmenares, a local alcohol infuser. He learned the basics of infusing in Hartford CT in 2013, and since then has developed it to a point where he believes its quality deserves a brand. He touches on the aspects of the business that he had found difficult as well as the aspects he loves the most. Alberto has developed four main flavors and di...

Yiuvany Aguilar was born in a typical Peruvian family as the eldest of four children. As a registered nurse by profession, Yiuvany has experienced true pain, frustration, and grief endured by patients and families. She decided to specialize as a holistic nurse, life coach, and Mindfulness and Self compassion teacher, to help her patients, and later, those resources were applied in her own grieving...