Parks provide real life environmental, aesthetic, and recreation benefits to everyone. They’re some of THE most-requested amenities in most any community. And for good reason: they enhance property values, increase municipal revenue, they bring in homebuyers, create a sense of community… the list goes on! 

But, parks can’t do it on their own. It takes folks in the community – and businesses and corporations – to keep parks and green spaces as part of the conversation when budget priorities, land acquisition, and other issues create opportunities for equitable access to parks and green spaces.

In Charlotte, “Partners for Parks” does that kind of lifting. Emily Condon is a board member with that local nonprofit and she’s out guest today on the BrandBuilders Podcast.

In the more than 300 episodes of the BrandBuilders Podcast, we have had some heavy-hitters here on the program. This is one of those episodes… 

Very few people PERIOD can boast of a resume that includes: D1 collegiate athletics, modeling, law school, politics, entrepreneurship – work in the US Senate, entertainment, tech, programming, public affairs, advocacy… 

And this man is FAR from riding off into the sunset. Brandon Andrews is way too young for that, and it is an absolute honor to have you on the program.

Fall means football, the eventual end to major league baseball, NHL and NBA preseason… and soccer! 

Despite Americans playing soccer for over 100 years, it’s only recently started to really gain real traction. It’s now one of the fastest growing sports in the US. As of Q4 2022, soccer is the 4th most followed sport in the country. 

Not sure if “Ted Lasso” had anything to do with that or not…  

We are BIG fans of the game at my house (presuming you’re reading this, Brian!) and we are really excited about today’s guest on the BrandBuilders Podcast: Brad Wylde from Charlotte Soccer Academy!

If you consider yourself a dog “parent,” rather than a dog “owner,” then It’s pretty safe to assume you’re a REAL dog person. If movies like “A Dog’s Purpose,” “My Dog Skip,” or “Marley and Me,” have you clutching the kleenex… well, we have found your tribe. 

“Paws Social Club,” bills itself as the social club FOR DOGS – and the humans who love them. They host dog-friendly events all over town, and keep tabs on others so you’ll always have a calendar FULL of “to do’s” with your four-legged friend. 

Lindsey McGee is the human behind “Paws Social Club,” and she’s our guest today on the award-winning BrandBuilders Podcast.

LOTS of folks have hidden or underutilized talents. I’ll bet most of our listeners probably don’t know my co-host also plays guitar. Or, that our engineer is also a woodworker… go ahead and let that settle in. 

Well, not everyone considers themselves creative. Either they never got the opportunity to “get creative,” don’t have the time, or maybe they just never found the right medium to work with. 

We may have a solution to help you unleash your inner “Jackson Pollack.” Roll up your sleeves, folks. We’ve got Tim Edwards from Splatter Charlotte in the studio today!

Charlotte’s got a lot, as the marketing campaign says, and it’s enough to keep drawing people to town. In fact, more than 100 people are moving to town each and every day – that’s great for business and our national reputation, but there’s a yin and yang to everything, of course. 

More traffic, less affordable housing, fewer seats at your favorite restaurant, longer lines at the grocery store… all that. 

And it takes smart people to help forecast, design, and engineer solutions that can help fast-growing places like Charlotte roll with the punches. And the changes. And we’ve got one of those smart people with us here on the BrandBuilders podcast… welcome, Tobe Holmes.

George Carlin said it best: “All you need in life, is a little place for your stuff…  This is my stuff, that’s your stuff, that’ll be his stuff over there.

That’s all your house is– a place to keep your stuff. If you didn’t have so much stuff, you wouldn’t need a house. You could just walk around all the time. Think about it.. A house is just a pile of your stuff with a cover on it!”

Well said, Mr. Carlin. Well said. 

And when your house isn’t enough, there’s always storage! This is DCL sitting in for the vacationing Brian Young. I’m here with Scott Dunstan, the president of the Dunstan Group. We’re talking about a place for YOUR stuff with Brent Wright on this episode of the BrandBuilders podcast!