The CommerceCast

This week on The CommerceCast: We want to hear from you! Comment below and join in our conversation on today's episode. We want to hear YOUR guest ideas! No special guests this week! Hosts Mark Holt and Todd Baltz take the mic to recap a wildly successful Season 1 and lay out the roadmap for the future of the podcast. Following a season that saw thousands of views and featured incredible local lea...

This week on The CommerceCast: Producer Todd Baltz takes the host chair to sit down with Matt McClung, the General Manager of Riverside Kubota. Opening their doors officially in August 2023, Matt unpacks what it takes to expand a family-owned equipment empire into Pocahontas. Matt shares his lifelong journey in theagricultural equipment business—starting with a highly unauthorized joyride on his d...

This week on The CommerceCast: Mark Holt and Todd Baltz sit down with John Plumley, a former Army combat medic and current paramedic/administrator with ProMed Ambulance. When you dial 911 in Randolph County, who actually answers the call? John walks us through his fascinating life story, starting in a small New York town where "the dairy cows outnumbered the people" to serving as a comba...

This week on The CommerceCast: Todd Baltz and Mark Holt sit down with Marilyn Hogan, the creative force behind Mar Street Productions and a staple of the Pocahontas downtown square. Marilyn takes us back to the very beginning—learning piano at age 9 and eventually teaching out of the attic of the old Burks department store. Today, her studio offerseverything from violin and voice to ballet and Iri...

This week on The CommerceCast: Mark Holt and Todd Baltz are joined by the Honorable Alex Bigger, the District Judge for the 11th Judicial District covering Randolph, Lawrence, and Sharp counties. Appointed in the height of the 2020 pandemic and subsequently elected to a full term, Judge Bigger breaks down the mechanics of the state district court system and why it operates much like a multi-county...

This week on The CommerceCast: Mark Holt and Todd Baltz sit down with the 2025 Chamber Members of the Year: Joseph and Belinda Ward, the husband-and-wife team behind Two Rivers Land and Cattle. Taking a third-generation farm into the digital age is no small feat. Joseph and Belinda walk us through their transition from traditional farming to a direct-to-consumer model, leveraging social media, onl...

This week on The CommerceCast: We sit down for a "Take Two" with Mike Thompson, President of First Horizon Bank and former President of the Randolph County Chamber Board. Mike walks us through his journey from growing up in Pocahontas to traveling the country with Walmart, and finally making his way back home to northeast Arkansas. We discusshis deep commitment to community service, whic...

This week on The CommerceCast: Mark Holt and Todd Baltz are joined by Dr. Rodney Harris, Department Chair at Williams Baptist University and President of the Randolph County Heritage Museum.   SPECIAL EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Join us Saturday, March 7, from 4:00–6:00 p.m. as we celebrate the grand opening of the Ruth Ann Cox Agricultural and Rural Life Gallery. This incredible new space more than doubl...

This week on The CommerceCast: Mark Holt and Todd Baltz sit down with Amy Jumper, the newly appointed President of Riverbank. From answering a help-wanted ad for a loan assistant back in 1998 to taking the helm of a growing regional bank, Amy shares the lessons she's learned over her 25-year career. We discuss the early mentors who shaped her vision (like Frank Walden), the transition from Planter...

This week on The CommerceCast: Mark Holt and Todd Baltz sit down with Scott Baltz, the Fire Safety Officer for the City of Pocahontas and a man who has spent 39 years telling his community, "The cavalry is on the way". In a recent conversation that ranges from the front lines of the snow and ice storm two weeks ago to the backrooms of the State Capitol, Scott pulls back the curtain on wh...

What happens when you put a commercial ranch manager in the Mayor's office? You get a leader who runs the city like a business, keeps a "posse" of department heads on speed dial from the duck blind, and isn't afraid to call out the changing culture of Arkansas hunting.  This week, Mark and Todd sit down with Mayor Keith Futrell known to many simply as "Mongo." We go beh...

This week on The CommerceCast: Mark Holt and Todd Baltz host Judge Ben Wicker for a look at the "CEO of the County" —a role that involves far less gavel-banging and far more logistics than most people realize.  Recorded in the wake of a major winter storm, Judge Wicker takes us inside the decision-making process of clearing 2,000 miles of county roads, admitting the hard truth that &quot...

This week on The CommerceCast: Mark Holt and Todd Baltz host a special "Time Machine" episode featuring Ann Savage, Executive Director of the Randolph County Chamber of Commerce.  This episode is split into two parts, recorded months apart, tracing Ann's journey from a dedicated board member to the driving force behind the Chamber's recent revitalization. We discuss her deep fami...

This week on The CommerceCast: Mark Holt sits down with Pat Johnson, Executive Director of the Eddie Mae Herron Center in Pocahontas, Arkansas. As we move into Black History Month, we explore the vital role of historical preservation in Randolph County. We reflect on the recent MLK Memory Walk, discuss the overwhelming community support that keeps the center thriving, and look at the importance of...