In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Reginald Coopwood, CEO of Regional One Health, to talk about how he and his team led one of the most significant healthcare turnarounds in Memphis history. He shares what it took to step into a hospital losing $20 million a year and rebuild it—without ever losing faith in the people who showed up every day to serve. From personal tragedy to civic vision, Dr. Coopwood offers a powerful look at leading with purpose.
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In this episode, I sit down with Field Norris, co-founder of Chene Gear, to talk about how a frustration in the duck blind turned into a premium outdoor brand. He shares the story of what it takes to build something from the ground up, and how he and his team have scaled without losing sight of their values. From early challenges to staying customer-first, Field offers an honest look at building a brand with purpose.
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In this episode, I sit down with Mark Goodfellow — a man who’s lived life at full speed and with no filter. We cover from the trailer park in West Memphis to the car lots and the flash people in the city know him for today. Along the way, he talks about gambling, second chances, hard lessons, and big swings. This isn’t a polished story — It’s a conversation about the price of ambition, the impact of choices, and the search for meaning after the dust settles.
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In this episode, I sit down with Dana Evans—missionary, adoptive mother, and advocate—to discuss her journey of faith, calling, and resilience. She shares what led her to Russia, the challenges of adoption, and the lessons she’s learned about trust, fear, and perseverance.
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In this episode, I sit down with Stephen Shannon—entrepreneur, investor, and family office operator—to discuss his journey across private equity, real estate, and capital management. We explore the principles behind his investment strategy, the challenges of building credibility, and the hard lessons he’s learned about leadership, trust, and execution.
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In this episode, I sit down with Jonathan Torres, former CEO of Memphis Athletic Ministries and Frase Protection, and Danny Song, founder of Believe Memphis Academy and CEO of Give Services, to discuss everything nonprofit leadership. With years of experience serving communities in need, they share their journeys, the realities of leading nonprofit organizations, and moving to the for-profit world.
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In this episode, I sit down with Daniel Shumate, CEO of Campbell Clinic, to discuss delivering patient-centered care in a country with the most expensive healthcare in the world. We explore the challenges patients face and the bold decisions that need to be made.
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Hear my conversation with Elizabeth Rouse, the President and CEO of Arts Memphis, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the arts in Memphis, Tennessee. With over 60 years of impact, Arts Memphis has played a pivotal role in fostering creativity and connection in the Memphis, TN community.
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Hear my conversation with Randall Swaney, the entrepreneur behind Marshall Steakhouse, named the #1 Steakhouse in Mississippi by the Food Network. Located in rural Mississippi, Randall turned what was supposed to be a feed store into a bustling restaurant.
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Enjoy my conversation with Nancy Knous, Executive Partner at Benchmark Wealth Management. Nancy built her firm from the ground up, tackling the unique challenges of being a woman in a predominantly male industry.
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My guest today is David Wedaman.
David began his career as an accountant at Arthur Anderson. He then left to go into the transportation industry, and after his first stop, David was a co-founder in Mark VII, which he and his partners grew to $800 million in annual revenue. After this business was taken public and sold in the late 1990’s, David founded Retrans, which he and his team built into 32 branches across the United States with sales of more than $500 million a year and sold to global logistics company KUEHNE+NAGEL.
Thank you so much for listening. This is a great episode about entrepreneurship, fighting bureaucracy, how times are changing, how to scale, community involvement and how to make an impact in the communities you live in plus much more.
Please enjoy this week’s episode with entrepreneur David Wedaman.
Memphis, TN is where I call home. A city that has much momentum, but also a city that has significant challenges. This episode is outside my normal focus of business and entrepreneurship, but I wanted to sit down with Mayor Paul Young to discuss his journey and these things head on.
Discover his vision for transforming Memphis, a city rich in history and culture but also facing significant issues such as cutting high crime rates, economic issues, minimal population growth, and more.
With a city proper population of over 600,000 and a deep History of the blues, Elvis, and sadly Martin Luther King’ Jr.’s assassination in 1968, Memphis is known all over the world. This interview covers Mayor Young’s own journey, what drives him, his thoughts on these issues, plus his vision for the future plus much more.
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Hear my conversation with Rich Johnson and learn how he went from Air Force airman to CEO, building ViaQuest into a leading healthcare provider with 3,500 employees across Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
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Our guests today are Hal and Julie Lansky.
Lansky Bros. opened as an army surplus and uniform store in 1946. It then pivoted when supplies ran out after WW2. Bernard Lanksy hit the jackpot when a young man with no money, Elvis Presley, walked into his store before the one and only Ed Sullivan show.
Today, 78 years later, Lansky Bros. is an international brand. Here, I sit down with second-generation Hal Lansky and third-generation Julie Lanksy at the world-famous Peabody Hotel.
Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy today's episode!
Link: their website- https://lanskybros.com
LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-xpm-2012-nov-16-la-me-bernard-lansky-20121116-story.html
Here is my conversation is with Steve Laffey.
Steve is a politician and businessman who ran for Mayor of his hometown of Cranston, Rhode Island and won. Steve is a former executive at Morgan Keegan and Company, author, and filmmaker. After serving as Mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island, Steve ran for the Republican primary for United States Senate and the Republican Primary for the House of Representatives where he was not successful.
In 2023, Steve announced he would run for the Republican nomination for the 2024 United States Presidential election and withdrew from the race in 2023.
Steve is the author of Primary Mistake Mistake: How the Washington Republican Establishment Lost Everything in 2006 (and Sabotaged My Senatorial Campaign).
In 2012, Steve released Fixing America, a documentary film.
Steve currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Please enjoy this conversation with Steve Laffey.
Links:
www.fixingamericamovie.com
https://www.amazon.com/Books-Steve-Laffey/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ASteve+Laffey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_James_Morgan_Keegan
Hey everybody, my guest this week is Chris Mercer. Forty-two years ago, Chris Mercer left investment Bank Morgan Keegan and launched Mercer Capital. Mercer Capital provides Business Valuation and Financial Advisory Services to clients worldwide. To date, Chris says they have served over 15,000 companies. Today, Mercer Capital has 57 associates and four offices across the United States.
With the documentaries and interviews, my team and I produce, I spend a lot of time with entrepreneurs and companies across the country. Businesses and entrepreneurs fascinate me—the risk, the hardship, the passion, the growth, perfecting one's craft, and so much more.
What better person to have a conversation with than someone who has examined the inner workings of thousands of companies over the last four decades? But someone who has done much more than just advising, someone who's an entrepreneur in their own right and founded something that will pass on to the next generation.
Please enjoy this episode with Chris Mercer!
Links:
https://mercercapital.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zchristophermercer/
This family doesn’t care about taking Private Equity money and selling. They are all in on their 75-year history and 3rd generation family business.
This family business started with Generation 1. Dr. Lloyd Reed founded this family business right after WW2. 75 Years later, Generation 3 is now running it with Generation 2, and they have no plans on slowing down.
Dr. Kevin Reed is 2nd generation of Reed Family Dentistry, which is located about 16 miles from Memphis, TN, with a population of 10,508 people. I used to think that a bigger city meant better care and technology. That’s not the case. What stood out to me here was the number of patients they serve annually, their principles on capital investment and technology, and their commitment to their field and what’s ahead.
Small Businesses are the backbone of America, and this is a great episode about building a multi-generational family business, finding yourself, maintaining a high standard of patient care, plus so much more.
Please enjoy this week’s episode with Dr. Kevin Reed!
Links:
https://www.mcguirewoods.com/client-resources/alerts/2023/5/consolidation-dsos-secondary-private-equity-sales/
https://reedfamilydentistry.com/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/03/25/how-small-businesses-drive-the-american-economy/?sh=6c90aad34169
My guest this week is Bill Courtney. Bill is the CEO and founder of Classic American Hardwoods. An 80 Million a year global lumber company based out of Memphis, TN. Bill started this company out of his living room in 2001.
Bill is also the host of the Army of Normal Folks Podcast, a former High School Football Coach, Featured in the Award Winning Documentary Undefeated, plus much more.
This interview is unique. Bill goes into his tough upbringing, selling cars, learning from legendary entrepreneurs, risk, his Faith, and everything entrepreneurship plus so much more.
Please enjoy this episode with Bill Courtney and go check out his podcast An Army of Normal Folks.
Links:
https://www.cahmemphis.com
https://www.coachbillcourtney.com
https://www.normalfolks.us
https://www.coachbillcourtney.com/films/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-courtney/
My guest this week is Ryan Pryor. Ryan is an educator with Crosstown High School based out of Memphis, Tennessee.
The Public School system in the United States is broken. To better understand this why I did a podcast with an educator that’s not scared to do something different.
Crosstown High School was started out of the XQ Institute which works directly with the Emerson Collective which has been established by Laurene Powell Jobs.
Our education problems are not local, they are national. They affect all of us.
This episode covers:
Please enjoy this episode with Ryan Pryor!
Links:
Bold crosstown high school- www.crosstownhigh.org
public school system in usa is broken- https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/01/30/public-education-crisis-enrollment-violence/
xq institute- https://xqsuperschool.org/about/
Emerson collective- https://www.emersoncollective.com/our-work/philanthropy--
My guest this week is Danny Palo. Danny is the CEO of Vital Records Control. This company started in 1988 at $300,000.00 in annual revenue and today is at $300,000,000.00. Windjammer Capital now owns VRC and is in 80 markets with 2,000 employees.
What’s even more impressive is that Danny’s only job prior was flipping hamburgers. He then started as a delivery driver, dropped out of college, and has run this company for nearly 40 years with a great group of long-time associates, original investors, and owners. They are one of the top leaders in their industry.
The document management industry has exploded with the adoption of computers and printing, and now, there is a shift to digital.
This is a great episode that covers:
Please enjoy this week’s episode with VRC Networks CEO Danny Palo!
Danny- https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-palo-46650225/
VRC- https://vitalrecordscontrol.com/
Windjammer- www.windjammercapital.com
