Signature Required

Sam Davidson, CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center (EC), joins Spencer and Carli to discuss how the EC empowers entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. Sam shares insights into the EC’s mission to increase the success rate for startups through education, mentorship, and capital resources. He also reflects on his own entrepreneurial journey, the challenges of risk-taking, and how the EC fosters...

Sit down with Spencer Patton and Carli Patton as they recap what they learned while talking with Melissa Trevathan, founder of Daystar Counseling Ministries.  Send us Fan Mail

Melissa Trevathan, founder of Daystar Counseling Ministries, joins Spencer and Carli to share her 40-year journey of bringing hope to children and families in Middle Tennessee. Founded in 1985, Daystar provides counseling, group therapy, and a summer camp in a uniquely welcoming environment. Melissa discusses rising anxiety in younger children, the importance of relationships, and how Daystar’s sl...

Sit down with Spencer Patton and Carli Patton as they recap what they learned while talking with Chris and Elaine Whitney.  Send us Fan Mail

Chris and Elaine Whitney, founders of One Generation Away, join Spencer and Carli to discuss their nonprofit food ministry that began out of the back of a Hyundai Santa Fe and now distributes millions of pounds of food annually. With a mission to bring hope, honor, and dignity through food, the Whitneys share their deeply personal journey from facing food insecurity themselves to creating a logist...

Sit down with Spencer Patton and Carli Patton as they recap what they learned while talking with Brian Straessle.  Send us Fan Mail

Spencer and Carli talk on Signature Required today with Brian Straessle, Executive Director of The Sycamore Institute, about property taxes, housing, and economic challenges facing Tennessee. Brian explains how Sycamore’s nonpartisan research helps Tennesseans understand the real impact of property taxes and highlights the connection between housing costs and financial stability across the state....

Sit down with Spencer Patton and Carli Patton as they recap what they learned while talking with Kelly Magill.  Send us Fan Mail

Kelly Magill, an eighth-generation Tennessean and founder of a video production company, sits down with Spencer and Carli to share the remarkable story behind her upcoming documentary on the Tennessee maneuvers during World War II. Inspired by her grandmother’s memoirs, Kelly discusses how these forgotten military exercises helped prepare soldiers for D-Day and shaped the Allied victory. She delve...

Spencer and Carli talk with Avik Roy, president of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP), about market-driven economic solutions to challenges impacting Tennesseans. From Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation to Medicare Advantage for All, Avik explores how decentralized finance, healthcare reform, and housing policy can create new opportunities for low- and middle-income Americ...

In this episode of Signature Required, Major General Brian Winski (Ret.), a 37-year U.S. Army veteran, joins Spencer Patton to discuss his post-military mission: the development of the Wings of Liberty Museum at Fort Campbell. The $40 million project will honor the history of the 101st Airborne Division, 5th Special Forces Group, and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, offering visitors a...

Charles Hatcher, a sixth-generation farmer at Hatcher Family Dairy, shares the remarkable legacy of his family's 200-year-old farm in Williamson County, Tennessee. In this episode, Charles delves into the challenges and joys of modern farming, from running a fully integrated dairy operation to the alarming loss of farmland across the state. Passionate about inspiring the next generation of fa...

In this episode, you'll hear from Sherry Deutschmann, founder of BrainTrust, a collective of diverse women business owners committed to building financial independence, wealth, and influence. Sherry shares how she and her fellow BrainTrust members leverage their collective experience and networks to help one another scale their businesses. Before founding BrainTrust, Sherry built her own comp...

In this episode, we sit down with Papa Joe Bradford, founder of Elijah’s Heart, to hear his incredible story of transformation and service. From a promising career in computer programming to serving time in prison, Papa Joe’s life took a dramatic turn when he and his wife moved into one of Nashville's most impoverished neighborhoods. There, they began supporting children in need, which led to...

Brian Hicks is the CEO of Harvest Hands CDC and Humphreys Street Coffee Company, an enterprise that began as an after-school program to foster positive behavior in Nashville’s underserved youth. With a mission of using the stunning growth of Nashville to benefit those who might not normally be recipients of the wealth transfer caused by gentrification and development, Hicks has spent the last 17 y...

House Representative Gino Bulso knew as a teenager that something didn’t sit right with him about the United States’ rising national debt. From writing a letter to then-President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s to now pushing for the Supreme Court to revisit a case about the powers of the Federal Government, Bulso is focused on bringing the balance of power back to how the country’s founders intended it...

Judge Sheila Calloway graduated from Vanderbilt University, where she earned both her undergraduate and law degrees. After law school, she served as a public defender in Nashville until 2004, when she transitioned into the role of Juvenile Court Magistrate. In 2014, she successfully ran for Nashville’s Juvenile Court Judge and was re-elected for another eight-year term in 2022. Hearing approximate...

JT Olson founded Both Hands in 2008 to support adoption funding through service projects for widows, having been orphaned as a child himself. The average project raises $22,000. helping over 1300 families nationwide. In this episode, JT Olson and Jared Delong (Executive Director) discuss Both Hands' successes, its business model, and the growing challenges in adoption.  Send us Fan Mail

Rachel Freeman is the President and CEO of Nashville’s Sexual Assault Center (SAC). She leads the SAC in creating a safe, compassionate environment for survivors to begin their healing journey. In this episode, Freeman discusses the SAC's role in the community, key sexual assault statistics, and preventive initiatives like the Safe Bar program and campus outreach efforts. Send us Fan Mail

Will Acuff is a born and raised pastor’s kid and has long had a servant’s heart. More than a decade ago while on a mission trip to Kenya, Will felt called to return home to Nashville and think critically about how to best love his neighbors. Will and his wife, Tiffany, founded Corner to Corner in 2011 to help underestimated Nashvillians increase their economic participation through business and en...

Steven Gentile is the Executive Director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) and also teaches education policy at Vanderbilt University. THEC plays a crucial role in advocating for an increase in the number of Tennesseans who obtain postsecondary credentials. In this episode, Stephen discusses the decision of whether to attend college, the benefits of choosing a technical degree, f...

Jennifer Turner joined TPAC in 2019, bringing over 20 years of nonprofit arts experience to the role of CEO. In her five years, she's guided TPAC through the pandemic, an aging facility, and a business model re-evaluation. In this episode, she shares her journey to becoming CEO, TPAC's developments, outreach and upcoming touring broadway shows. Send us Fan Mail

Diana Beach Batarseh is an accomplished educator, trainer, and presenter with experience working with students from preschool to high school. Currently, she serves as the Head of School at King's Academy, which offers a Christ-centered classical education as part of its mission to develop a socio-economically and racially diverse school body. In this episode, Diana shares what makes King&apos...

John Hoomes is the CEO and Artistic Director of Nashville Opera. Since 1995, he has guided the organization from a budget of $340,000 to over $3.4 million annually in 2024. Under his leadership, Nashville Opera has staged more than 200 productions of opera and music theater. In this episode, Carli and Spencer talk with John about accessibility to the arts, upcoming productions, and how Nashville i...

Katie Marchetti connects people with resources with those in need. A deep believer that a rising tide should lift all ships, she's committed to nonprofit work in Middle Tennessee. She is also co-founder of Voices for a Safer Tennessee and a board member at Fisk University. In this episode, Spencer and Carli talk openly with Katie about finding a middle ground in a polarized climate. Together...