Waves of Awareness - WOA it's A Podcast

This week is a special episode for Waves of Awareness as we invite Diane Giddens to share her history with Waves. Diane's brother Jimmy Dean started receiving services from Waves in the 1980s. Before Jimmy passed away he was a force to be reckoned with, both with Waves and in his community. Beth also returns this episode and shares her own memories with Jimmy, having connected with him through Wav...

This week our hosts Trent, Gina, Matt and Christy welcome a special guest! Jim Littlefield is a fellow podcast connoisseur who most recently welcomed our Early Learning Program Director Gina Wilson on his own show. This time he's the one answering questions, as he dives into how being the parent of a child with special needs has shaped not only his home life but inspired his career focus today. Ha...

This week we welcome Hannah Rose to Waves of Awareness! It's a full house on WOA this episode as Hannah speaks with Misty Bowker, the Program Manager for the Waves Residential and Day Services at Fairview. As well as our OG Matt the Man Moore and Marci Cohen, the Adult Service Director at Waves. WOA has the honor of being Hannah's first experience behind the mic as she makes moves towards her goal...

Waves Early Learning Program isn't the only program providing services to children 5 and younger with developmental delays and disabilities. There are a lot of really great organizations providing a myriad of services and The Children's Center for Communication and Development at USM is one that deserves a highlight. Trent, Matt "the Man" Moore, Gina, and Staci talk to Sarah Myers, the Executive D...

Vision therapy? We aren't making things up! This is a service available through Waves Early Learning Services and we have Cara DeLap, Vision Specialist, on the mic to share what it is! Listen along as Trent and Matt learn more about vision therapy at Waves with Cara and Gina. As a newer service offering, a lot of questions are answered about how children with low vision or vision loss are supporte...

We are so excited to introduce our listeners to Talisman Summer Camp! Waves of Awareness had the pleasure of sitting down with Haley Mitchell, Admissions Director for Talisman Summer Camp. This incredible summer camp provides exceptional programming for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, and similar Neurodevelopmental Disorders in a traditional camp environment. Based in Zirconia, NC,...

Another awesome episode of the Waves of Awareness podcast with the new President of the Board, Rebekah Zeitlin, and Johnny Sunshine. Listen in to hear all about what Rebekah is excited about being the incoming Board President and as always Johnny Sunshine brings all the energy and greatness!  This podcast is made possible through partnerships with Spread the Positive, TN's Department of Intellectu...

This week we are joined by a very special guest, Markus Jones! Markus is the  Sr. Director of Development & Strategic Operations for Riverside and a long-time friend of Staci Davis! Beth, Chris, Staci, and Trent are our co-hosts this week and discuss what services Riverside offers in Massachusetts.   Riverside and Waves have very similar missions, and both serve the population with Intellectual an...

This week Katy Clouse joins us for the podcast! Katy has been with the ARC of Williamson County for 20 years, and as of April 2022, she is their newest Executive Director. Join Chris, Matt, and Staci for a conversation about all the newest happenings at the ARC.   The ARC has a few save-the-dates coming up that you won't want to miss!   February 23 rd  – Ventures   March 2 nd  – Future Planning Wo...

Welcome back, everyone! Waves of Awareness is back with Season Four and we couldn't be more excited. We are kicking the season off with an amazing Christmas story and the tale of a beloved Waves hero.   Over the holidays, Middle TN experienced a sudden blast of cold, resulting in a little snow and a lot of ice. Many families experienced frozen pipes during the arctic blast. One of the homes operat...

Waves of Awareness is celebrating one year of production! WOA debuted on January 17th, 2022, and what a year it has been! Three seasons, 38 episodes, and many incredible guests later, we wanted to sit down and reflect on all the amazing memories of the past year.   Listen along as WOA sits down in two different groups to discuss year one and the future. We are joined at the table by Chris Tashima,...

Happy Holidays from Waves! This week we sat down with some important people involved with Waves. We had fun talking about different holiday traditions, holiday plans, and favorite Christmas movies! Waves wishes you a holiday full of love and good fortune.   This podcast is made possible through partnerships with Spread The Positive, TN's Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, a...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Waves, Inc. has plenty to be thankful for this year! We couldn't continue without our incredible employees, so THANK YOU for being a part of our team! We also wouldn't be where we are without our service participants, either. We have the extreme honor of working with these spectacular individuals every day. Listen along to this holiday episode that includes several in...

Rachel LaRen makes a surprise appearance on WOA this week to collaborate with Matt on another musical episode! We talk about all the exciting things happening in her life and the success of her recent EP, Cowboy's Don't Change. You'll be able to stream her newest EP, the Cotton Candy Sky Sessions, on November 11th through any streaming service. Listen along as Matt & Rachel sing some of their favo...

This week Waves of Awareness had the pleasure of sitting down with Matt "Man" Moore and his Best Buddy, Mason Shank! If you have been following along with WOA, you know the familiar voice of Matt Moore and you also know he is very involved with Best Buddies. We invited Mason on to talk about his 7-year friendship with Matt and how Best Buddies TN brought them together. Chris and Trent go down memo...

WOW – Chris sits down with one of Waves founding family members and longtime Waves participant, Roger Sullivan. Roger has been with Waves from the very beginning in 1973. As Waves approaches its 50th anniversary in 2023, we thought it would be fun to reflect with Roger! Listen along to learn more about him! This podcast is made possible through partnerships with Spread the Positive, TN's Departmen...

WOW – Eric Part 2. This week we learn more about Eric and his passion for music. He tells the unbelievable story of how Johnny Cash taught him how to play the guitar!