In this episode, we are joined by Rick Balentine, a producer, and composer at Temple Gate Films. He has created scores, opens, bumpers, and music libraries for a variety of programs, including Ted Lasso, America's Next Top Model, NCIS LA, Dancing With The Stars, The Bachelorette, The Real Housewives of Dallas, and Black Ink Crew: Chicago, as well as for the feature films True Justice, Dragon Eyes, Never Back Down 2, Red Clover. Today, Rick talks about the film Wilkes County Line, how he grew up in a family of musicians, the difference between wisdom and experience, and the keys to personal growth.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with John Santa, founder of the Marathon Jam, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which seeks to improve the lives of injured Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Joining Carl and John is vascular surgeon Charles, who speaks to us about his journey to making the switch from “actively practicing surgeon to actively practicing musician”.

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Today, Jeffrey discusses his involvement in the revival of the North Wilkesboro Speedway, in which he played a key role in securing the funds. He talks about the process behind his being the go-ahead and his conversations with key people on their vision for the new speedway.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl once again sits down with Tabitha Hudler, Director of The Walker Center at Wilkes Community College.

Coming up on the 40th year since the founding of The Walker Center, Tabitha is excited to announce the 2022-2023 season of acts kicking off on September 9.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with Craig DeLucia, CEO at The Leonard G. Herring Family Foundation and President and CFO at NC Tech Paths.

Craig speaks on the crucial difference between charity and philanthropy. To him, being charitable is writing a check to help a good organization do well, whereas philanthropy involves human capital—direct involvement—in helping the community or organization solve problems.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with Dale and Michelle Isom. After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, they are excited to announce the return of the Carolina In The Fall Music and Food Festival, which runs this September 23-24.

Carolina In The Fall celebrates Good Food and great music, including folk, country, and bluegrass.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with Graig Hoffman, who as of April 2022 has served as the Executive Director at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. For the past 24 years, he has also managed accounts at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

Graig speaks on being swept away by racing promoter Barry Braun and the mission to restore and reopen the legendary North Carolina Speedway. He talks about the Speedway’s historic preservation efforts.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with Lyric Wallenda, Simon Arestov, and Alex “The Mooch” Arestov of Circus Incredible. Lyric is a 7th generation circus performer of the Flying Wallenda family while Simon, a member of the Arestov Circus Troup from Moscow, is 2nd generation. The Mooch, now five years old, is the 8th and latest generation to carry on the Wallenda legacy.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with Bob Abdou, aka “Mr. Puppet”, an Ohio-born ventriloquist who built his early career in Atlanta and now calls Hilton Head Island, South Carolina his home.

Bob’s foray into professional entertainment in 1996 saw him performing at many a school and birthday party. He married seminarian June Wilkins in 2002 and settled for a time in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After June’s graduation, the pair moved to Austin, Texas in 2003, where Bob continued to share his love for puppets and ventriloquism to all who were willing to be entertained!

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with Tabitha Hudler, Director of The Walker Center at Wilkes Community College.

She celebrates the theater’s huge and intensely loyal customer base, demonstrated by the 4000 volunteers that show up every year for MerleFest, not to mention the high volume of patrons who have availed of The Walker Center’s Lifetime Patron and Season Ticket programs. This customer loyalty was, in part, directly responsible for the theater’s ability to thrive over the past two, turbulent years.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with Jan Kronsell, a Danish university business professor and the author of Land of friendliness and beauty: A Danes Guide to Western North Carolina, The Doctor's Secret: Another version of the Tom Dooley legend, and his latest release, Who killed Laura Foster?: My view on a 150-year old murder.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with historian Doug Mitchell of the Overmountain Victory Trail Association. Originally born in Ohio, Doug now lives in North Road, North Carolina with his wife of 40 years, three daughters, and seven grandkids.

Doug recalls the moment that began his love of history and culture at age 16 when he was asked to help auction off his late grandfather’s belongings. It was there where he came across a Civil War-era letter written by his great-great-great grandfather. Reading that letter sparked an endless curiosity: Young Doug had caught the history bug.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with R.G. Absher, Executive Director at Yadkin River Greenway, a nonprofit created in 1994 through the cooperative efforts of citizen volunteers, landowners, and the governments of Wilkes County. The first phase of the Greenway became a reality and was opened May 18, 2002.

This Greenway is a natural area between urban communities where wildlife, vegetation, and streams are preserved and enjoyed. Greenways also provide transportation, recreation, and exercise opportunities for the community.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with Jason and Chantelle Sargood, co-owners of the veteran-owned meat processing business, The Meat Sweats.

The dynamic husband and wife team kick off the conversation by discussing their secrets to raising their large family, mainly how they are teaching their five kids the value of respect and always going beyond what is expected of them.

Having grown up in small towns, Jason and Chantelle believe that their grounded and value-driven approach to life has carried over into their role as parents and now as business owners.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with returning guest Nikki Morgan, singer-songwriter, to catch up on developments in her life and career since their last conversation.

She speaks on the common threads between gospel and country music and the path that she is currently on in discovering exactly how these two genres influence each other. She focuses on the element of faith present in most country songs, as well as the down-to-Earth everyman nature of the genre as a whole.

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with North Wilkesboro-based woodworker Keegan Watson, founder of Handcrafted by Keegan.

Keegan reflects on being exposed to “the construction side of woodworking” since he was just a kid, having grown up in a house “that was always being renovated.” It was in 2018 when he fell in love with woodturning after making his first cup using a friend’s lathe. “Within a week, I found an old machine on Craigslist, went and bought it, and I was off to the races.”

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On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with historian and heritage cook Mary Bohlen. She currently serves as President of the North Carolina Daniel Boone Heritage Trail. Here, members participate in preserving Boone’s story, promoting the history of his era, and sharing both his legacy and heritage.

Mary’s passion for the outdoors goes all the way back to her adventures as a child, many of which involved cooking whatever nature offered that evening by the campfire. “Cooking on the fireplace,” Mary contends, “is a common denominator for drawing people.”

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