Host Jeremy C. Park interviews Kelly O. Finnell, Founder and President of EFS ESOP Consultants and author of "The ESOP Coach: Using ESOPs in Ownership Succession Planning," who discusses the importance and power of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).

Kelly shares how he accidentally entered the ESOP field in 1979 while working at a law firm in Massachusetts during his first year of law school. After being assigned to research ESOPs for a white paper, he developed a passion for the topic and eventually built his consulting practice around it. Jeremy and Kelly discuss ESOPs, explaining that from a business owner's perspective it serves as an exit and succession strategy alternative to selling to private equity or strategic buyers. Kelly describes how ESOPs function as retirement plans from an employee's perspective, with the company fully funding them and the investment being limited to company stock. Jeremy notes the power of ownership, highlighting how it can transform employee perspectives and create a legacy for business leaders.

Kelly discusses the performance benefits of employee-owned companies, citing academic studies and Higginbotham as examples of improved employee performance and business outcomes. Jeremy agrees with these points, sharing his firsthand experience of the positive impact on responsibility and ownership at all levels.

Kelly outlines the criteria for determining if a company is a good candidate for an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), including financial metrics like adjusted EBITDA and employee count, as well as subjective indicators such as emphasis on company culture, legacy, and philanthropy. Jeremy agrees, highlighting how outside ownership often leads to changes in culture and philanthropy, making an ESOP a viable option for preserving a business's legacy and values.

Kelly advises business leaders that implementing an ESOP or any exit strategy typically requires a minimum of three years of planning and preparation. He emphasizes the importance of becoming educated about different options, including sales to private equity, and involving trusted advisors like lawyers and CPAs in the process.

Kelly discusses the positive outlook for ESOPs, highlighting the bipartisan support from both Democrats and Republicans. He explains that ESOPs function as an effective wealth distribution vehicle, offering tax benefits to companies and providing a way for business owners to sell to employees with government support covering 40% of the cost through tax savings.

Kelly shares contact information, including the company website www.execfin.com and LinkedIn page for EFS ESOP Consultants. He discusses his book, which was written specifically for business owners and includes case studies in plain English to explain complex ESOP topics.

Visit https://execfin.com/ to learn more and connect with Kelly Finnell and EFS ESOP Consultants.

Host Jeremy C. Park interviews Mitch Gaylord, who discusses his Olympic gold medal winning gymnastics career, his transition into acting including roles in movies like Batman Forever, his keynote speaking, and his current work as a producer with Higginbotham Financial. Mitch shares his background, explaining that while he originally dreamed of playing football or baseball, his growth trajectory and the encouragement of his parents led him to discover his natural talent for gymnastics through tumbling and trampoline classes. He describes the feeling of "flying and defying gravity" that initially drew him to the sport. Mitch highlights what it takes to succeed in gymnastics, covering the importance of discipline, core strength, and mental strength beyond just physical talent. He shares a challenging experience at the Junior National Championships in New York, where he felt intimidated by the competition and made mistakes in 50% of his routines, as a result, missing a key opportunity to advance. This experience marked a turning point in his career, prompting him to commit to improving his mindset and confidence moving forward.

Mitch talks about his transition from UCLA to becoming a top-ranked athlete, describing how Kurt Thomas' belief in his potential led to a pivotal decision to leave UCLA for a year of intensive training. During that year, Mitch went from being an alternate in 1981 to becoming number two in the country in 1982, and eventually reaching the top ranking in 1983 and 1984.

Mitch discusses his decision to return to UCLA for the 1984 season and the team's historic NCAA championship win. He then describes the pressure and expectations during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where the U.S. men's gymnastics team, including Mitch Gaylord, Tim Daggett, Peter Vidmar, Bart Conner, Jim Hartung, and Scott Johnson, competed with a home court advantage at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. Although picked to place third at best, the team ultimately defeated the world champion Chinese team and won the gold medal, marking the first time in history that a U.S. men's team achieved this feat, and Mitch emphasizes the importance of team support and unity in their success.

Mitch shares two special moments from his Olympic experience in the 1984. The first was scoring the first ever 10.0 in U.S. men's gymnastics during the compulsories, which created momentum for the team. The second was a personal disappointment when he failed on high bar, but was supported by teammate Peter Vidmar who reminded him of the team's greater mission.

Mitch reflects on his Olympic gymnastics career, where he won gold, silver, and bronze medals, and he shares how his experience transitioned into a career in film and stunts, including working on Batman Forever. He talks about being a keynote speaker and explains his two signature keynote speeches: "Raising the Bar" and "Turning Fear into Fuel," which draw from his athletic career to inspire audiences about overcoming challenges and building confidence. He also discusses his current role with Higginbotham Financial, where he works in life insurance, particularly with high net worth clients, and emphasizes the importance of having conversations about life insurance protection for families.

Visit https://www.higginbotham.com to learn more about Higginbotham and Higginbotham Financial. Connect with Mitch Gaylord on LinkedIn or email him at MGaylord@higginbotham.net to connect.

To learn more about Mitch Gaylord's public speaking and presentations, visit https://www.executivespeakers.com/speaker/mitch-gaylord

Joni explains how the Germantown Education Foundation supports educational enhancements across schools by helping teachers get creative with standard curriculum to make learning more engaging. She describes examples including a middle school math teacher who created a black light math program to keep students interested and elementary schools that collaborated on a squid dissection activity tied to a shared reading book. The discussion focuses on how the foundation supports innovation at the classroom level to help drive student success.

Joni explains the foundation's grant process, which includes mini-grants up to $500 per teacher and annual grants over $500 for larger school programs. Last year, they provided nearly 60 mini-grants totaling about $25,000 and multiple annual grants exceeding $75,000, with the foundation distributing over $115,000 back to schools while also adding $50,000 to their community foundation fund.

Joni describes the positive impact of teacher grants on both students and educators, explaining how the funding creates excitement and demonstrates community support for teachers who often spend their own money on classroom activities. She emphasizes how the grants help reinforce that "the community has your back" and supports teacher creativity and passion.

Joni discusses the growth of the mini grants program over the past couple of years, highlighting that they have increased from giving out $40,000 to $75,000 in annual grants. She explained the city of Germantown's matching program, which will match up to $100,000 raised by the foundation. Joni expresses hope to continue growing the funds and mentioned plans to use community foundation funds for a lasting impact across the entire GMSD school district, potentially benefiting students at the high school level. Jeremy emphasizes the importance of staying current with technology and facilities to provide students with the best opportunities for success.

Joni explains the main events supporting the Germantown Education Foundation, including the Color Run, Lemonade Stand Day, and Summer Soiree. She describes how these events engage different community members, from students and families to parents and business leaders, and highlights the growing participation and financial impact.

Joni describes the Germantown Education Foundation's annual teacher kickoff event where they award a $2,500 grant to a randomly selected teacher. She shares examples of successful grants, such as a learning garden at Forest Hill Elementary School that students maintain and sell produce from, and a storybook trail around a pond that serves the entire community.

Joni provides contact information for the foundation, including their website germantowneducationfoundation.org and email GEF@GMSDK12.org, along with a phone number 901-230-3776 for potential partners and supporters to reach out.

Visit https://germantowneducationfoundation... to learn more and connect with the Germantown Education Foundation.

What does it take to truly break the cycle of poverty, crime, and dependency?

In this inspiring episode of the cityCURRENT Show, host Andrew Bartolotta sits down with Chris Blaney, Development Director of 4:13 Strong, to explore how this Nashville-based nonprofit is transforming lives through faith, workforce development, mentorship, and life-changing relationships.

Built around the mission of creating Stronger Men, Stronger Families, and a Stronger Nashville, 4:13 Strong offers a residential workforce development program that equips men with the skills, discipline, confidence, and support they need to build successful careers and meaningful lives.

Whether you're a business leader, nonprofit supporter, mentor, or someone passionate about creating stronger communities, this episode offers an encouraging look at what's possible when people are given the opportunity and the support to rewrite their future.

Learn more about 4:13 Strong, volunteer, become a mentor, or support their mission by visiting www.413strong.org.

Host Jeremy C. Park interviews Missy Acosta, Senior Vice President, Brand Experience with Delta Dental of Tennessee, who highlights Tennessee's largest dental benefits carrier and their differentiation as a not-for-profit 501(c)4 with a mission of "Ensuring Healthy Smiles" and a focus on philanthropy and community investment. Missy talks about Delta Dental of Tennessee's charitable arm, The Smile180 Foundation, which was founded in 2014 with three philanthropic pillars: to increase access to dental care for underserved communities, support children’s hospitals, and fund oral health education across Tennessee and beyond.

Missy shares a number of examples how their support of charitable dental clinics, including Church Health and Christ Community Health Services in Memphis and Neighborhood Health and Interfaith Dental in Nashville are increasing access to dental care for underserved communities. She discusses why oral health is a top priority for children's hospitals, including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, and explains why their support of oral health education covers everything from kids television programming to promote healthy habits to supporting colleges of dentistry in Tennessee to help equip the next generation of dentists and oral hygienists to be successful and to help address dental deserts across the state. Missy talks about how these efforts tie in with the Healthy Smiles Initiative, along with some of their other philanthropic efforts, including providing mouth guards to youth playing sports through various organizations and affiliations.

Missy then highlights their fifth annual Kids Dental Day, scheduled for Friday, July 10 at First Horizon Park, home of the Nashville Sounds. More than 500 youth from various nonprofits in Middle Tennessee will be attending the fun, festival-like event where they will receive free dental screenings, cleanings, new socks and shoes through a partnership with Soles4Souls, new books through Book 'Em, snacks, and more. Over 100 volunteers will be coming out to support the kids and a number of organizations will be providing interactive games and experiences, like PBS Kids, American Red Cross, Adventure Science Center, American Heart Association, Schenk Photography, and the Colgate Bright Smiles Bright Futures Program. The dental organizations participating include Neighborhood Health, Meharry School of Dentistry, South College, LINKS INC., and Hope Smiles. Partners for the event include Nashville Sounds, cityCURRENT, Signature Transportation, United Way, Kroger, OneGen, Henry Schein, and Dunkin. Missy talks about why this annual event is so important in the community and how this can serve as inspiration for other companies to give back and get more involved in making a difference. Missy closes by inviting youth-serving organizations and volunteers who wish to serve to connect with KidsDentalDay.com to learn more and to plan ahead for next year.

Visit www.KidsDentalDay.com to learn more about Kids Dental Day and visit https://deltadentaltn.com to learn more about Delta Dental of Tennessee.

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Robyn Householder, CEO of the Better Business Bureau Serving Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky, who highlights the organization’s efforts and mission “to create a marketplace grounded in trust, guiding people toward the best experiences while fostering stronger relationships between businesses and consumers.”

Robyn provides an overview of the organization's efforts to build trust in the marketplace through pre-purchase education and dispute resolution, processing approximately 3 million information requests and 12,000 disputes annually with a 98% success rate. The organization hosts various community events, with Songwriters Night on October 1st at Marathon Music Works being their largest annual event that raises funds for educational services and small business grants, particularly supporting veteran-owned businesses this year.

Robyn highlights the upcoming Nashville event and notes that tickets can be purchased through bbb.org/Nashville under the events section. She describes various educational initiatives including Coffee and Connections events and an upcoming September event in Clarksville with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Robyn emphasizes their mission of helping businesses grow and advised consumers to check with them before doing business with strangers to avoid potential scams.

Robyn then starts discussing some of the different scams taking place and shares helpful tips to avoid them. She reports that nearly 5,000 consumers are scammed daily through online purchase scams, highlighting how scammers use technology and AI to target specific shopping behaviors. She provides specific safety tips including avoiding pop-up ads, verifying secure website indicators, checking URL spelling and grammar, and using credit cards instead of debit cards for online purchases.

She talks about employment scams, noting that legitimate jobs are not offered to unsolicited applicants and advised checking company websites directly. She also discusses debt collection scams, which use fear tactics to intimidate victims into paying alleged debts, with Robyn sharing a personal example of someone who verified their warrant claim was false.

Robyn also talks about government agency imposter scams that target the elderly. She emphasizes the importance of being cautious about sharing personal information on social media and warns about sweepstakes and lottery scams that aim to capture personal information under false pretenses. She highlights the resources available through the Better Business Bureau, including their ability to verify legitimate businesses, provide guidance on licensing requirements, and help connect with government agencies, with Robyn encouraging people to report scams through bbb.org/spamtracker to help track and combat fraud.

Visit https://www.bbb.org/ to learn more or for additional questions email info@gobbb.org or call 615-242-4222.

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Betsy Wright, Partner, and Brandon Holley, Regional Vice President of Sales with IT Solutions, who both highlight how the company has become one of the fastest-growing IT firms with 14 locations across the country and Canada, specializing in small to medium-sized businesses with 50-300 employees. The company focuses on managed IT services, cloud solutions, and strategic technology guidance, particularly in areas like AI, LLMs, and cybersecurity. Their key verticals include legal, healthcare, manufacturing, and financial sectors, with special expertise in compliance areas like HIPAA, CMMC, and governmental contracts.

During the interview, Betsy discusses her transition from running a small IT company in Nashville, Tennessee, to merging and joining IT Solutions, which has more than 500 employees compared to her previous 25-person team. She highlights the company's culture of clear objectives, metrics, and accountability, noting how she has learned from her sales leader Brandon. Betsy emphasizes the benefits of having specialized experts across different areas like cybersecurity and AI implementation, which was a key reason for selling her company to provide enhanced client services that would have been impossible to achieve otherwise.

Brandon emphasizes the importance of understanding client needs before implementing AI solutions, highlighting the need for secure and effective AI implementation while addressing data protection concerns. He identifies key trends including cloud adoption, cybersecurity, and maximizing ROI, while Betsy notes that new regulations like HIPAA changes and CMMC are driving compliance-related conversations with clients. The discussion focuses on the challenges of helping clients navigate these complex technological and regulatory landscapes effectively.

Betsy and Brandon discuss the unique culture and support system at IT Solutions, emphasizing how the diverse team, spanning different experiences and locations, collaborates effectively to solve challenges and drive growth. They highlight the remote work capabilities and the team's ability to support each other and clients alike, particularly in the growing Middle Tennessee market. To learn more and connect with IT Solutions, start by exploring their website at www.itsolutions-inc.com or engaging on LinkedIn.

Visit https://www.itsolutions-inc.com or www.PickITS.com to learn more and connect with IT Solutions.

He details their six-system framework called the Scaling Results Operating System, which addresses people, strategy, operations, execution, leadership, and finances, and describes working with clients who are typically founders looking to transition leadership teams and scale their businesses. He describes how the framework helps businesses scale results and impact, particularly addressing challenges like market forces and AI automation that require companies to pivot and update their processes.

Tom provides examples of his coaching approach, including a success story about helping a marketing agency refocus on fundraising for nonprofits after struggling during COVID, and discusses his life planning process called Strategic Life Map that helps clients gain clarity through examining past turning points. Tom shares recommendations for driving success, emphasizing the importance of a growth mindset and achieving elite performance through intentional choices and addressing "head trash" that prevents organizations from reaching their full potential. He discusses their "Strategic Life Map" process, which involves analyzing past turning points to plan for the future, and explained their philanthropic work with nonprofits through strategic planning and leadership development. Tom recommends visiting navigatethejourney.com for more information about their services and next steps.

Visit https://www.navigatethejourney.com to learn more and connect with Navigate the Journey.