The People of Peoria Podcast

"People are capable of more than they realize." - Jam Rohr Welcome back to The People of Peoria Podcast! We've got such a fun episode to share with you today as we got to hang out and have some beers with Jam & Danny Rohr, owners of Black Dog Metal Arts and Up Beet Jams. These are two of the most thoughtful, intentional people here in Peoria and we're incredibly grateful fo...

Welcome back to The People of Peoria Podcast! We've got an awesome conversation recorded live from the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce to share with you today. For Episode 13, we had the chance to have a beer with Joshua Gunn, CEO of the Chamber, who moved to our community 3 months into COVID-19. Today, Joshua shares the potential and opportunity he sees in Peoria, how music has been the guid...

Welcome back to The People of Peoria Podcast! We are so excited to start sharing the stories of Peoria again. Today, we're sharing an emotional and real conversation we actually recorded back in February with local musician, Nathan Peterson. Nathan and his wife have 5 children — three boys and two girls — one of whom was born with Trisomy 18 and now has gone ahead of them. In this episode, Na...

We're closing out 2020 with a fun one, LIVE (and distanced) from the comforts of Alex's three-seasons porch because Alex recently tore his patellar tendon (he shares the whole story at the start of the conversation). For Episode 11, we're welcoming Kayla Phillips on to the show. If you've been following us on social media, you know that we've been partnering with Kayla on...

We made it to Episode 10! For this one, we had the incredible opportunity to hang out with Jake Hamann at The Nest Coworking downtown. A serial entrepreneur and local ecosystem builder, Jake is the Founder and Executive Director of the Peoria Innovation Alliance. This episode is a special one. Jake opened up and brought us into his story in such a powerful and honest way. He shares about growing u...

Welcome back to The People of Peoria Podcast! Today on the show, we've got Nick Yates and Jaymee Barra of BUILD Peoria, an organization that exists to unite the community through their love of the Peoria area to physically BUILD Peoria into a better place and leave a legacy for future generations. Nick and Jaymee are both incredible people and I was grateful for the opportunity to grab some d...

We've got an EXCITING bonus episode for you guys! (AND Alex is back for it!) If you haven't heard, JK Williams Distilling is bringing the legacy back to Peoria. We were recently invited to the Launch Party at Peoria Country Club (the fanciest party either of us have ever been to) and we got to learn about the legacy of JK Williams, the new vision for where it's headed, and meet the...

For Episode 8, Austin had such a great time connecting with Reagan Leslie, Creative Director at Leslie Tyler Design (@blackhouseseven on Instagram), at her office in the Sunbeam Building. The conversation was a coffee-spilling good time. (Inside joke. Not really. Reagan just spilled her coffee like 3 times while we were recording and it made for some laughs. 😂) Reagan is so kind. Not only did she...

THE PEOPLE OF PEORIA PODCAST IS BACK! For Episode 7, Austin got to meet with Ronda Guyton at the Creve Coeur Club in downtown Peoria. Ronda is the Corrections Superintendent at the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office, Founder of the Living to Serve Foundation, and someone who is very active throughout the community. We talked growing up in Harrison Homes, having a son when she was a teenager, how she o...

For Episode 6, we had the incredible opportunity to sit down at the Riverplex with Carl Cannon, Founder of ELITE Youth Outreach. Earlier this year, Carl was featured on the Returning the Favor show (hosted by Mike Rowe) and we had so many people reach out asking us to get him on the podcast. So when he said yes, we were ecstatic! Carl has such a huge heart for Peoria, and he has such a huge story...

Today we're excited to share Episode 5 with Casey Baldovin, Founder of Baldovin Construction & Development! As you can tell in the episode, we had such a blast meeting Casey. (And we got to hang out with him for an hour afterwards, which was also fun!) We covered all sorts of things (with a bunch of 2-part answers): the story behind his signature Sox hat, his vision for Peoria, how he’s b...

For Episode 4, we had the opportunity to connect with Chelsie Tamms, Owner of Lettering Works, a hand-lettering design company that was originally founded in Peoria in 2016, and the Creator of 100 Days of Peoria. We actually just saw some of her art when we were at Dream Center Peoria for Episode 2 of the podcast! Chelsie has done some incredible projects throughout the area! We loved meeting her...

This has been such a fun project! Thank you for listening and supporting us! For Episode 3, we're live from Bearded Owl Brewing in downtown Peoria to talk with Nick Babcock, Founder and Head Brewer there. We really hit it off with Nick, the beers were awesome, and we loved learning more about a place we both love to spend time at. They just celebrated 2 years as a business, so we were gratefu...

We can't thank you all enough for your support after we launched on January 1! We're so encouraged! For Episode 2, we're live from Dream Center Peoria to talk with Andy King. Andy and the team at the Dream Center are doing some incredible work to support the community as part of their mission to impact families living in poverty, starting with kids and youth. Andy's a great sto...

EPISODE 1 IS FINALLY HERE! On Episode 1, we had the opportunity to sit down with Travis Mohlenbrink. Along with being on quite a few boards for local nonprofits, Travis is the mind behind Thyme, Sugar, Industry Brewing, Cracked Pepper Cafe, Cayenne, and The Warehouse on State. (He's a busy man!) We loved hearing some of his personal story and the journey of Spice Hospitality, along with the s...

Join Austin & Alex for a failed game of "this or that," some highlights for what's coming on The People of Peoria Podcast, and some good ol' fashioned laughs. We're really excited for this podcast and we hope you'll join us as we explore the people and places that shape the culture of Peoria, IL! Got ideas for the show or businesses, people, and organizations that...

Take a quick listen as Austin & Alex give you an overview of what's to come on The People of Peoria Podcast! Got ideas for the show or businesses, people, and organizations that should be featured? Let us know on Facebook or IG, or send us an email at thepeopleofpeoriapodcast@gmail.com -- The People of Peoria Podcast on Facebook The People of Peoria Podcast on Instagram Support the show