Stories from the River

Welcome back to the second part of our conversation with Kota Bennett on "Stories from the River." Host Charlie Malouf sits down with Kota Bennett to discuss the importance of perseverance in his career and Broad River's recognition as one of the industry's best places to work. The company's family-like culture, approachable management, and strong employee appreciation create an environment conduc...

Welcome to the first part of our conversation with Kota Bennett on Stories from the River. Host Charlie Malouf interviews Kota Bennett, a Home Furnishings Expert and VIP Sales Manager at Broad River. Kota shares his inspiring journey within the company over the past four years, starting with a leap of faith move to North Carolina in June 2020 during the pandemic. Kota shares his journey beginning...

In the last part of the Founders Scholarship Fund series on Stories from the River, host Manny Rodrigues sits down with Denasia Dixon, one of the recipients of the Founder Scholarship Fund. Denasia discusses her journey from receiving the scholarship to preparing for her upcoming studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She talks about the moment she discovered she won the schol...

In this fifth part of the Founders Scholarship Fund series on Stories from the River, Manny Rodrigues talks with Tamaya Ormond, a Founders Scholarship recipient, and her mother, Shamieka Smith, who is a member of Broad River Retail's CX All Stars and a former Memory Maker of the Year in 2022. The episode highlights Tamya's first year at NC Central University, discussing her experiences, the challe...

Welcome back to the behind the scenes of this Fall's Sleep Connection held recently at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Broad River's semi-annual Sleep Summit brings all of its Home Furnishings Consultants and Retail Leaders to learn together and grow together in one of six sessions held over the course of two days in early October. In today's episode, we talk to Broad Rive...

In this fourth part of the Founders Scholarship Fund series on Stories from the River, Manny Rodrigues welcomes Joey Leimkuhler and his mother, Janet, to discuss Joey's first year at UNC Charlotte as a recipient of the Founder Scholarship Fund. Joey shares that his initial college experience was easier than anticipated, achieving a spot on both the Dean's and Chancellor's lists. He talks about the...

In the third part of the Founders Scholarship Fund series on Stories from the River, host Manny Rodrigues welcomes Mark Deulley. Their discussion centered around resilience, determination, and strategic leadership. Mark shares insights from his educational journey, highlighting his favorite MBA class, an auto manufacturing simulation that ignited his passion for strategic planning. He details his...

In this second part of the Founders Scholarship Fund series on Stories from the River, host Manny Rodrigues welcomes Kaiya McDonald, a two-time recipient of the Founders Scholarship Fund, along with her mother, Orlanda Stewart. Kaiya, a nursing student at North Carolina A&T, reflects on her second year of college, highlighting her determination and meticulous planning that helped her achieve strai...

Welcome to the Founders Scholarship Fund series of Stories from the River! In the first episode, Manny Rodrigues is the guest host and welcomes Heather Greenwood and Ariel Prince to discuss the Founders Scholarship Fund. Ariel, who manages the fund, shares her excitement about her role, highlighting the seamless application process and the importance of accessibility and equity in awarding scholar...

Welcome back to the 12th and final episode of The Purpose Summit series on Stories from the River. Host Charlie Malouf interviews Kent Chevalier, the Team Chaplain of the Pittsburgh Steelers, at the Purpose Summit held at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum Gear Shop. Kent shares his backstory, highlighting his transition from a youth pastor to becoming an NFL chaplain.  Kent describes how a Steelers p...

In this episode of the Purpose Summit Series on Stories from the River, host Charlie Malouf welcomes Ron Carucci, an esteemed consultant and author with extensive experience in organizational development and organizational psychology. The conversation is centered around Ron's experiences and insights from both his professional journey and personal stories.  Ron shares how he first attended the Pur...

Welcome back to the Purpose Summit series on Stories from the River!  Host Charlie Malouf sits down to talk with Sam Thevanayagam, also known as Sam T. Sam, who owns two companies in the defense space, speaks about the vital role of purpose in his work. He emphasizes that his businesses, Parts Life and DeVal Lifecycle Support, are dedicated to supporting the U.S. warfighter by extending the life o...

Welcome back to The Purpose Summit series on Stories from the River.  In the 9th episode of The Purpose Summit series recorded in front of a live studio audience at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum Gear Shop, host Charlie Malouf welcomes Joe Colavito to discuss his journey and experiences related to The Purpose Summit.  Joe has attended the summit four times, beginning as a participant and evolving...

Welcome back to the Purpose Summit series on Stories from the River! Guest host Heather Greenwood speaks with Carolyn Sakstrup, who represents Thrivent at the Purpose Summit 2024. Carolyn, fresh from her breakout session titled "Purpose at Scale: How to Empower Teams, Customers, and Community," shares her insights on the importance of embedding purpose into every facet of an organization's operati...

It's the seventh episode of the Purpose Summit Series here on the Stories from the River, and guest host Heather Greenwood welcomes Mboone Umbima to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Mboone shares how she and Davin, who she met at the Society for Hospitality and Food Service Management, realized they were both advocating for the same principle: taking care of people to ensure organizational success. Mboone...

Welcome back to the Purpose Summit series on Stories from the River! In the sixth part of the series, host Charlie Malouf welcomes Dwight Eberts as a guest. Dwight, who works in the same building as Davin and has attended four Purpose Summits, sat down for a podcast interview before he was scheduled to lead a breakout session titled "Breaking Boundaries."  In this episode, Dwight shares his backgr...

In the fifth part of the Purpose Summit series on Stories From the River, host Charlie Malouf interviews Mark Whitacre live from the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum gear shop. Mark Whitacre, who is notable for his involvement in a high-profile FBI price-fixing case that later inspired the movie "The Informant!" starring Matt Damon, shares his journey of wearing a wire for the FBI for three years to exp...

Welcome back to the Purpose Summit Series on Stories from the River! In the fourth episode of the series, host Charlie Malouf welcomes Garry Ridge, the former president and CEO of WD-40 company for 25 years. Garry shares insights into his leadership journey, beginning with how he got the attention of the CEO of WD-40 after singing a song during a memorable bus tour, which he, unfortunately, didn't...

We're back with another Purpose Summit Series episode on today's Stories from the River. Host Charlie Malouf welcomes Nick Craig, referred to as the "godfather of purpose" by Charlie, which was recorded in front of a live audience at the NASCAR Hall of Fame museum. Nick discusses his journey into understanding and guiding individuals and organizations toward discovering their purpose. He shares ab...

Welcome back to the Purpose Summit Series on Stories from the River! In the second episode of the series, host Charlie Malouf welcomes Dr. Amber Selking, who discusses her extensive involvement with The Purpose Summit. Dr. Selking has been with Lippert for six years and serves as an executive in culture and leadership, spearheading a global team dedicated to culture development, leadership coachin...

Welcome to The Purpose Summit Series on Stories from the River! To kick off this 12-episode series with selected speakers from The Purpose Summit 2024, Charlie Malouf welcomes Davin Salvagno, Founder and CEO of Purpose Point and a return guest of the podcast. They sat down for this conversation at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum Gear Shop during The Purpose Summit 2024. A friend of The River, this...

In the sixth and final part of this six-part series on Stories from the River, host Charlie Malouf and good friend Charlie Workmon, President and CEO of Riverstone Logistics, wrap up their conversation. They have a thoughtful conversation about Charlie W's leadership at Riverstone Logistics and his profound personal commitment to faith, community, and family.  Charlie W highlights the importance o...

In the fifth part of this six-part series on Stories from the River, host Charlie Malouf welcomes back guest and good friend Charlie Workmon, President and CEO of Riverstone Logistics. In this episode, Charlie W discusses making the move to take over Riverstone Logistics full time with his full focus and effort.  He discusses the transition as well as asking Charlie M to serve as his formal mentor...

In the fourth part of this six-part series on Stories from the River, host Charlie Malouf welcomes back guest Charlie Workmon, President and CEO of Riverstone Logistics, in a deeply insightful discussion about the transformative journey of Broad River Retail. In this episode, they cover a span from 2016 to 2020, a crucial period during which Charlie W led the turnaround in the Operational side of...

Welcome to the third part of this six-part series of Stories from the River. Host Charlie Malouf continues his conversation with business partner and close friend Charlie Workmon, President and CEO of Riverstone Logistics.  This episode really focuses on recounting the events from the year 2015, a pivotal year in which Charlie W joined the River as well as a pivotal year for Broad River itself.  A...