343: Craig Barbour, Roots Food Company

343: Craig Barbour, Roots Food Company

Business-owner and Chef Craig Barbour originally studied mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland before transitioning into the culinary field. After graduating from Johnson & Wales University here in Charlotte, he started his career at Carmel Country Club. 

From there it was a food truck, event catering, a café in South End, and now a multi-brand food and beverage business. Craig is one of those people – and brands – that we can say, “we knew them when!” He’s our guest today on the award-winning BrandBuilders Podcast.

342: Grant Miller, Colliers & Harve Creek Cattle

342: Grant Miller, Colliers & Harve Creek Cattle

Aside from interest rates, real estate may have garnered the most headlines in the US economy over the last several years. If you’ve tried to buy or sell a house, you KNOW how the market’s been lately. 

Things have been just as interesting on the commercial and industrial sides, too. And that’s where companies like Colliers shine, by providing a full range of services to real estate users, owners and investors. Grant Miller is executive vice president at Colliers – and he’s our guest on this episode of the BrandBuilders Podcast. 

341: Clifton Castelloe, All-In to Fight Cancer

341: Clifton Castelloe, All-In to Fight Cancer

If you want to raise money to fight cancer in the MOST FUN way possible, the All-In to Fight Cancer poker tournament is your best bet. (Oh, and that’s not the end of our card-playing puns,)

With three events across North Carolina, All-In to Fight Cancer has raised more than 2 point 3 MILLION dollars. And here’s the deal: you don’t even have to be a good poker player to get in on the action! Heck, you’ll even feel pretty good about losing – since it’s all for a great cause. 

Clifton Castelloe is the event series executive director. He got up early to join us here on the BrandBuilders Podcast. 

340: Gale Bonnell & Emily Wheeler, Dress for Success

340: Gale Bonnell & Emily Wheeler, Dress for Success

For 20 years, Dress for Success Charlotte has been a champion of women’s economic upward mobility. It’s their vision that all women are economically self-sufficient, treated individually and with dignity and respect… and that they receive comparable pay to their male counterparts as they strengthen and shape their families and our communities.

They help hundreds of women each year with job placement, interview skills, financial education, career advancement services. Gale Bonnell is a community advisor with Dress for Success, and Emily Wheeler is executive director. They’re here as our guests on the BrandBuilders podcast.

Gale and Emily… thanks for joining us!

339: Amy Johnson & Russ Little, Strata Project Management

339: Amy Johnson & Russ Little, Strata Project Management

If you’ve ever tried to DIY big a project, you’re probably familiar with the feeling that you’ve taken on a little – or even a lot more – than you bargained for. The stakes might not be as high if you’re trying to wallpaper your bathroom. 

But when projects are really BIG, the margin of error gets smaller and smaller as the stakes get higher and potentially more costly.

Strata Project Management Group is Full-service project management and real estate consulting, from feasibility studies and due diligence to post-construction and beyond.

Amy Johnson and Russ Little are founders of that firm. They’re our guests today on the BrandBuilders Podcast. 

338: Tim Rhodes, Novant Health Charlotte Marathon

338: Tim Rhodes, Novant Health Charlotte Marathon

Covid and the pandemic changed a lot about how we work, shop, go to school –and even how we workout. One of the biggest “booms” during that time was in running. Depending on the report you read, 15 to 30 percent of runners surveyed say they came to the sport during the pandemic! 

Many of them are still running, and looking for in-person opportunities to get together and run. That’s GREAT news for folks in the events business, you’d think. But there are also new challenges for the events and endurance industry. 

Tim Rhodes is president of Run Charlotte and the managing partner for the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon. Tim, welcome to the BrandBuilders podcast.

337: Stephen Cozzolongo, Digital Position

337: Stephen Cozzolongo, Digital Position

Like my old man says, “at the end of the day, it’s all sales.” Whether you’re selling a product, a service, an idea – or yourself. And “sales” (I’m doing air quotes here) continues to evolve. 

Retail sales numbers are “up,” and consumers have countless ways to engage with potential sellers with technology. The trouble is, not that technology continues to grow and change, making it harder for sellers to meet buyers. 

Stephen Cozzolongo is the kind of pro you want in your bullpen when your digital marketing is missing the mark – or just not optimized for the constantly changing digital landscape. 

336: Miller Yoho, Charlotte Sports Foundation

336: Miller Yoho, Charlotte Sports Foundation

If you’re a sports fan in the Charlotte area, you’re probably familiar with the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, the Jumpman Invitational, or the ally Tipoff. 

Events like this generate MILLIONS of dollars in direct spending and local economic impact, hotel room rental, spending on food, drinks, and entertainment… as well as the millions of dollars that sports and sporting events mean for area nonprofits. 

One of the drivers behind some of that impact is The Charlotte Sports Foundation. Miller Yoho is Director of Communications and Marketing for the Charlotte Sports Foundation. He is our guest today on the award-winning BrandBuilders Podcast.  

335: AW Burgess, Domestic Violence Consultant

335: AW Burgess, Domestic Violence Consultant

Everyone loves a comeback story, and our next guest has one you will not want to miss. 

With a promising future in collegiate and professional sports, our guest had that fairy tale derail when went to prison in his senior year of college as a result of a domestic violence conviction. 

After receiving mental and behavioral services to recover, he emerged from prison as a “change agent,” charged to help individuals find the root cause of their violent behavior – and to help those individuals and their families break that cycle and recover. 

Now, he is a Domestic Violence consultant, advocate, & speaker. He is the author of the book “The Family Man: Solutions To Permanently Eradicate Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, & Bullying.”

AW Burgess, welcome to the BrandBuilders Podcast… 

334: Mark Janik, Destination Marathons

334: Mark Janik, Destination Marathons

There’s nothing like running in your own hometown. Waking up in your own bed. Enjoying breakfast in your own kitchen. Coming home to crash on your own couch… you get it.

It’s also pretty cool to run an out-of-town event, and traveling to someplace you’ve never been, and experiencing everything that “different” place has to offer. 

But there is, of course, the headaches that come with all of that “unknown territory.” And that’s where Mark Janik saw an opportunity.

Mark, welcome to the BrandBuilders Podcast!