The Best of LKN

In this episode, Jeff sits down with Krystal Bajkor, founder of Bee Organized Lake Norman, a professional organizing service that helps busy families and professionals reclaim their homes. Krystal shares her path from a career in corporate banking at Citibank to an eight-month, 17-country "mini retirement" that ended with her family settling in the Lake Norman area. She explains why moth...

Andrea Sharp returns for her fourth appearance to talk about a dream years in the making: her own brick-and-mortar gym. She walks Jeff through the Good Gaines Fitness journey – from training clients in her garage, to renting space at a baseball facility, to finally opening a place that's all her own on the corner of Bailey and Old Statesville. Along the way she gets honest about the entrepren...

If you've ever stepped into a backyard and thought, this is the best room in the house, you already understand what Wes Priddy is going for. Wes is the owner of Higher Ground Outdoor Living and a founding member of our Best of LKN Business Network, and he took a winding road to get here – from a plumbing, heating, and electrical background up in Boone, to HVAC and interior remodeling around C...

In this episode, recorded on the veranda at Safe Harbor Peninsula Yacht Club, Jeff sits down with interior designer Sara Brennan of Sara Lynn Brennan Interiors and builder Connor Ruckman of CTR Custom Homes to talk about a spectacular new construction home on Tinker Place in Troutman.  Connor shares CTR's story, from its 2015 father-and-son start in Grand Junction, Colorado to its move to Lak...

John Finney joins the podcast to talk about the Lake Norman Fondo, now heading into its eighth year. What started as a community ride of fewer than 100 cyclists on the Town Green in Davidson has grown into a 500-plus rider event drawing participants from 14 - 15 states and ranging in age from 12 to 80-something. John shares the history behind the fondo, why all proceeds go back to local charities...

In this episode, Jeff sits down with Jessica, a sales manager at Classica Homes, at the Napa model in Stevens Farm, Huntersville. They talk about what sets Classica apart as a locally owned, design-based builder: a custom-home experience and quality without the typical custom-home drama or cost. With 850 homes built to date but only around 40 a year, the small team gives each home and each buyer a...

Elisa Gillespie returns to the Best of LKN for the first time since November 2022 — and a lot has changed. After years operating as Gillespie Physical Therapy and then Movement Matters, Elisa launched Proactive Motion Physical Therapy in July 2025. With 17 years as a board-certified orthopedic physical therapist and 11 years of dry needling experience, she's built a practice focused on catchi...

In this episode of the Best of LKN Podcast, Jeff Hamm sits down with Jon House, a real estate broker with Allen Tate covering the North Charlotte-to-Statesville corridor. Jon shares his remarkable journey from chasing a childhood NASCAR dream as a pit crew jackman, to battling stage four cancer, to a career-ending pit road accident in 2016 that led him to real estate — a career he's now thriv...

In this episode of The Best of LKN Podcast, Jeff sits down with Audrey Pennell and Tim Hyde, co-founders of Surf Wake Ski, a new Lake Norman business launching for summer 2026. Both North Carolina natives who met working at a Mooresville boat dealership and bonded over years spent at a Pennsylvania summer camp, Audrey and Tim share how they turned a shared love of the water into a venture aimed at...

In this episode, Jeff sits down with Dr. Jonathan Leake, board-certified emergency medicine physician and co-founder of Hydrate Medical, an IV hydration and wellness practice with eight locations across the Carolinas, including Mooresville and Huntersville.  Dr. Leake shares how his ER background and a memorable stomach-bug outbreak inspired him and business partner Keith to create a physician-own...

Jeff sits down with Mike Feeley of Ivester Jackson Distinctive Properties to talk about the west side of Lake Norman — specifically Denver, Sherrills Ford, and Terrell. They dig into why this part of the lake has long been considered the region’s best-kept secret, what’s changing in the luxury market (including an $18.5 million listing and a $6 million home that went under contract on day one), an...

Cliff Kinchen, founder of Kinchen Martial Arts in Cornelius, joins the podcast to share his remarkable journey from a tough upbringing in Detroit to 20 years in the Air Force, and eventually to building a thriving martial arts school on Bailey Road. With black belts in multiple disciplines, a background as a professional kickboxer, and experience on the Air Force Taekwondo team, Cliff brings a hol...

In this episode of The Best of LKN, we welcome back Robin and Jack Salzman to talk about their latest venture, The Serve Pickleball & Kitchen in Cornelius – a one-of-a-kind entertainment complex featuring 10 indoor courts, 6 outdoor courts, 4 Top Golf swing suites, a full-service restaurant, café, bar, and an event space that seats up to 80.  Robin and Jack share the story behind the build, th...

Jeremie and Briana Evans join the podcast to introduce goGLOW Mooresville, a new non-toxic spray tanning salon opening May 1st in Langtree Village. The husband-and-wife team share how they met in Charlotte's mortgage industry, settled in Mooresville in 2018, and were drawn to goGLOW’s wellness-focused approach after exploring the franchise path. Briana walks through what makes the experience...

Meet Jenny Curran, the brand-new owner of My Gym Lake Norman — the children's fitness center tucked into the plaza by the Harris Teeter on Sam Furr Road (yes, right by Birkdale, and yes, the parking is actually easy).  Jenny shares the wild full-circle story of how she went from My Gym South Park director in her early twenties to buying the Lake Norman location when her baby daughter was lite...

In this episode, Jim Gordon, owner of Peninsula Prime in Cornelius, joins the podcast to share how 2025 became a pivotal turnaround year for the upscale steakhouse. After taking full operational control in January 2025, Jim and his wife Robin rebuilt the restaurant from the ground up — starting with aesthetics, modernizing systems and processes, and redefining the brand's identity. Jim opens...

Mike Feehley is a luxury real estate broker with Ivester Jackson Distinctive Properties, a Christie's International Realty affiliate, and a career firefighter and chief with the Charlotte Fire Department. In this episode, Mike shares how a spontaneous road trip to Charlotte at age 20 launched a dual career that now spans over two decades – 22 years on the fire department and 21 years in real...

Matt Venuti is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and national touring artist who began his musical journey as a trumpet player before discovering the electronic valve instrument (EVI) in a Boston jazz club.  That chance encounter launched a decades-long career of exploring groundbreaking instruments – from the hang drum he sourced from makers in Bern, Switzerland, to Himalayan bowls and custom so...

Karen Schmidt of Freshwater Design Build returns to the Best of LKN Podcast to share exciting news: Freshwater Shoppe, a retail design studio that opened in October 2025 on Brawley School Road in Mooresville.  Located next to their full-service design and build studio, the shop brings the same high-quality upholstery, rugs, window treatments, and accessories Karen's team uses in their profess...

Boxing Legend Christy Martin on Surviving Domestic Violence and Building Christie's Champs Boxing legend and domestic violence survivor Christy Martin joins the podcast to discuss her nonprofit, Christie's Champs, and her whirlwind 2025 — which included the release of her biographical film Christy , starring Sydney Sweeney. Christy shares how the organization empowers survivors through p...

Jeff sits down with Joe Meehan, founder of Optima Vita Consulting, whose path to wellness coaching wound through pre-med studies, a professional basketball career in Switzerland, nine years coaching Division I ball at Bucknell University, and ultimately a master's degree in medical physiology and aging from the University of Florida School of Medicine. Joe shares how all of those experiences...

Stephen Grotz, founder of Stephen Grotz Architecture PLLC, joins the podcast to talk about his path from Culpeper, Virginia to building a multi-state residential architecture firm. Stephen shares how his love of home design started early — sketching houses as a young child — and traces his career through firms in Chicago and Charlotte before launching his own practice two years ago. The conversati...

In this episode, Jeff welcomes Meghan Macy, COO of Alongside Families, and Mary Kay Portaro, board member and former staff volunteer, to share the story behind this Charlotte-based nonprofit.  Founded in 2017 by Emily Kemmann, Alongside Families works to prevent unnecessary foster care placements by providing temporary child hosting and wraparound support for families in crisis — with a track reco...

Cindy and Eric are the husband-and-wife team behind Real Massage LKN, a new therapeutic massage studio located at 5206 Slanting Bridge Road in the Denver/Sherrills Ford area of Lake Norman.  Cindy brings over two decades of experience as a massage therapist, having built and grown a successful practice in Myrtle Beach from 2007 to 2020 before relocating to the area and coming out of a brief retire...

Carol White's road to owning Impeccable Closets wound through a corporate PR career at GTE/Verizon, a stint as a stay-at-home mom, and seven years managing sales and training at a big box organization retailer — where she discovered a passion for closet design. A chance conversation at a BNI meeting eventually led to a business partnership, and Impeccable Closets was born two weeks before COV...