F3 Podcast - Faith, Family, and Finance
A Gaddis Premier Wealth Advisors Podcast.
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F3 Podcast - Faith, Family, and Finance
Mike Delloro | Season 2 Episode 2 | Forging Paths: Collaboration in Community Development
The community journey to develop the Durant Trails and Open Space reveals how collaboration can build stronger connections among residents and promote healthier lifestyles. Derek Hines and Mike DeLauro share their experiences in leading this initiative.
• Community development foundations
• The importance of collaboration among stakeholders
• Challenges faced in securing funding and support
• Community engagement through annual events like Turkey Chase
• Future plans for walkable infrastructure and connectivity
• Emphasis on building momentum through community involvement
In some ways, my superpower is just smiling, bringing people together and, just you know, finding ways to really Welcome to the F3 Podcast, where faith, family and finance come together Real talk, real stories and practical wisdom to help you grow in every area of life. My name is Derek Hines and I'm one of the partners here at Gattis Premier, and with me today I have a good friend. We'll call him the Renaissance man, mike DeLauro.
Speaker 1:Hey, thanks for having me. It's exciting to be here. Great setup and just excited to talk about Durent Trails and Open Space.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, I appreciate you coming on. I know we've been, I guess, working on DTOS Durant Trails in Open Space since 2017. That's right. Yeah, it's been quite the journey, man.
Speaker 1:It has, and I think that's what's fascinating about the story is just how it's really evolved and also just the trials, the ups and downs and just navigating those waters.
Speaker 2:I think, and really I think, it's been a very fulfilling journey too, because working with so many people and just trying to find ways to collaborate in those ways, yeah, no, I love the word collaborate because I mean, that was our, that was sort of our heart from the beginning was, you know how can we collaborate with all the different entities?
Speaker 1:you know, especially within the city of Durant, to, you know, create more open spaces, create trails for people to get out, you know, enjoy, enjoy nature, enjoy the outdoors, get active, and I know collaboration is tough, it can be very well, and I think that's the other thing is that sometimes it can be a very well, and I think that's the other thing is that sometimes the personality is in the room. Some people like the control factor, but I think that we kind of came at it with a different approach and I think probably a lot of that maybe with our background as well, just kind of our upbringing, and we're pretty free flowing, pretty lucid people. So I think that also was a huge help for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, so I think that also was a huge help, for sure, yeah, yeah. So let's talk about how DTOS got started.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we were in leadership Durant together, which seems like eons ago, right, right, you were working at Vision Bank, that's right At the time that was really my first I would call it more step into managerial, you know, kind of that first officer type role, and I remember our bank president at the time, who actually was the chamber president, said you know, hey, Mike, this is an opportunity for you to learn about the city, get involved and just to network, to know the players. And I think really that was such an empowering decision and just being able to be there and networking with everyone in the class as well. I mean, some of my best friends have come there and we've stayed in touch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, I know the class, you know I'd been involved in some leadership programs in the past in different states and didn't really have a good understanding of what that program is going to be like. But one of the things that did transcend that program which was extremely surprising is just all the relationships that you develop and especially in our community, it's so tight knit.
Speaker 1:That's right, and I think you kind of helped develop that rapport, that bit of relationship building that really, especially as we journeyed into Durant Trails, that really kind of laid the foundation and maybe for some people kind of maybe brought their guard down a little bit like hey, these guys, you know, maybe we might need to listen to them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, Well, we've been doing it so long. Yes, I think that rapport has developed over time, For sure, you know 2017. So in 2017, you know, the chamber already had a trails committee established, which you know. So the genesis of Durant Trails you know we kind of had the idea of developing Durant Trails in open space.
Speaker 1:I don't believe we really did, but I do know that Imagine Durant kind of took the lead at that and this really kind of spurred on from this and of course, one of our good friends, tim Boatman, was really the galvanizer of sorts which really brought the groups together.
Speaker 1:And especially we had the groundwork and I know Janet Reid was a huge advocate for us and just super positive and just believed in what we wanted to do and what our passions were.
Speaker 1:And I know, even kind of prior to those days, even prior to my involvement with leadership Durant, you know, I had a little bit of experience with organizing a 501c3, going through those steps and I got to give a shout out to Van Dixon and Dixon CPA because they were really they showed that pathway forward with, when it comes to, you know, how to get this done. And I think we made some real strategic decisions early on. That, I think, really helped us move forward. And one of those was just how we organized our bylaws, how we wanted to operate and, again, very lucid, very free, flowing, and I think we had that immediate trust with hey, if we're going to try and do something, let's make sure that we're setting this up right from the very beginning. And that way, when we kind of were able to merge the groups, it really helped us to be able to keep the momentum going that Imagine Durant built.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and I really think, like the merging of the groups was paramount, you know, because we started we had this vision.
Speaker 2:And then, you know, getting to know Imagine Durant, kara Bird, you know, I think I think at one point you know she was the one that was like well, derek, like you realize, we have a master trails plan, right, it's like I, I don't think I knew that, um, so, really learning that, that you know, imagine Imagine Durant had done, you know, a lot of work on the front end with planning and preparing and developing this plan and it really allowed us to sort of take that plan and, you know, merge the trails committee with Durant Trails and Open Space and see, like, what are some things that we could accomplish in a very short period of time, short period of time. And then also, what are some, what are some of the larger overarching goals, which is one project that we, that we have that is finally coming to completion. Yeah, but yeah, I think that was really cool to see the merging of the two groups. And then I just I love it when you know community members can collaborate towards a, towards a larger goal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I 100% agree, and I think there was a moment kind of early on where we all had this feeling of like, hey, let's all throw our swords in the middle and let's join forces, and we felt like that and I certainly agree that that was something that galvanized us early, and then also even early days, dtos, when we started with the turkey chase 5K so those that may not know about it, that's every Thanksgiving morning. It was 2017 when that was our first run at it and that was a very cool time, despite the tough, challenging weather.
Speaker 2:You remember we had some crazy years Cold, wet, and it's just, it's crazy that people just show up. Yeah, I mean remember the, the year that it, that it rained and we were on cricket smile trail, that's right, and people were running through like knee deep water through one of the creeks.
Speaker 1:I do remember that and and I look back on that and I think you know that's the community coming together, their passion for not only supporting our cause but just getting out and getting active. And I think that there's an appetite for that, especially now. I feel it more than ever because of our growing community, what we're seeing down in Texas and that growth coming up. I've encountered people in different parts of Oklahoma and they've brought up Durant in a very positive light and I remember at one point when I first came here for college, at one point I remember hearing this that Durant was one of the fastest growing cities in Oklahoma and I think that that's maybe died down a little bit. But I think that that kind of helps me realize that man, this is an organization can help be able to create that positive energy that we need in our community and provide people with opportunities to enjoy some of these low impact recreational events, yeah, and in some cases, sports and just our trail development some of the things we want to do, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I would love maybe not right now, maybe we'll talk about the bridge project, Sure, but you talk about sports. I mean, like, did you have? So I mean, how many hobbies do you have?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've got a lot.
Speaker 2:We're still trying to get you into jujitsu, right?
Speaker 1:Yes, well, I have a huge affinity. You got the gear, yeah, I do, I do. I've got the. I don't have a gi, but I've got the rash guard, I've got all that. Yeah, you know, I'm a huge jujitsu fan. I enjoy it. I think from an early age. You know, I've always had this affinity for, for sports. I get that from my dad, from my grandfather grew up playing golf and tennis.
Speaker 2:Yep Ross, yeah, and you played tennis or golf at Southeast.
Speaker 1:Yeah, both golf and tennis. That's what brought me here from San Antonio and, uh, it was a very unique opportunity to be able to play both sports and represent the Savage Storm. Yeah, and just having that kind of diverse background. I mean, I grew up my dad's from Minnesota, you know, I was born in Panama, my mom's Panamanian, my dad's from Minnesota, so I grew up watching ice hockey. That's kind of where the lacrosse factor came in.
Speaker 2:I never knew your mom was Panamanian, yeah.
Speaker 1:Is that how you say it? That's yeah, that's right. I didn't know that and so I speak fluent spanish. That's my first native tongue and uh, and just yeah, I think, having that background, and of course you know, growing up in san antonio there's not a lot of ice hockey.
Speaker 1:You know, back in those days, uh, yeah, it was. I mean, I played my dad and they, man, they sacrificed a ton for me to get to austin, houston, dallas, growing up playing ice hockey. So it was once you get a little older, you know there wasn't any high school hockey. So that's where the transition into lacrosse and of course I've always played golf and tennis and so when I came to Southeastern, that was just a, an opportunity, it was a really, it was a shock, I'll say, just to come in from San Antonio here to Southeast, to Durant, oklahoma, and I'll tell you what it's been very fulfilling and just the experience that I had on campus. I was very, very hyper-involved Student government with our fraternity, you know, in addition to playing two sports. So I know I always have people like man, mike, you do a lot, but I always respond back with man, that's all I've ever known. Yeah, always just stayed busy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what fraternity were you in Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity? Okay, I'll have to. So one of our partners was at a fraternity in Durant. I don't remember which one it was. I'll have to follow up with Dave after that. Do you know Dave?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do know Dave In fact kind of a little factoid here, but I worked for Dave for a few years when I was at Landmark. I remember that Early on in my career and Leanne and Leanne, that's right, that's right so great people. And I remember some days where after hours we'd play a game Robert Kiyosaki game, the Rat Race. Yes, I remember having some. Sometimes he'd bring out some of the clients to play and we'd meet up in Denison and play and it's just a great way to indulge in a friendly game. You kind of start talking finance and I just it really gets your mind thinking you're playing a game but you're almost having another conversation at the same time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's a good game and it's fun. I've heard there's a second version of it. I haven't played it yet, but I'm sure you have, I know I haven't, and so I've never played Rat Race. You've never played. Oh man, it's very fun, very fun. I think that you know that understanding and being able to, you know, have and be around Dave like that, I think he was also a big influence for sure in terms of just his journey with his career, and I think that really kind of set the pace for me and kind of what I want to do. So as I ventured back into the banking side of the banking world, you know, it was just a great time to have them. Just a little factoid there, yeah that's awesome.
Speaker 2:So, uh, so we do, you know we? So we got started. Master trails plan, the trails committee merged together and not not too long after we started DTOS, we were approached by the city about a project. Yeah, was that 2017 or 2018?
Speaker 1:I think that was right in between that 2017, 18. Okay, I remember you called me up. You're like hey, mike got this idea for this bridge. Yeah, come up with about 90,000. Yeah, we got a couple of weeks. What do you think? I think that's what I recall.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, a couple of weeks. What do you think? I think that's what I recall. Yeah, no, so we were uh. So there was a I believe I believe this title was a project manager at the city and the city had. So you know, there's uh, there's the uh. So if you go across Chukwawa, there's a bridge Um, it's just a, just a, a car bridge, and the city had an opportunity to get a grant from ODOT. That's right, but the city had to come up with with matching funds and at that time I don't, I don't remember the exact situation, but the city was, was looking to our organization to sort of bring the community together and and raise the funds for this project.
Speaker 2:Now, obviously, the project has morphed, grown, multiplied, mutated maybe mutated is the right word. Yes, since we started and the project got to be huge. Yes, yes, sir I restrict myself from trying to impersonate Trump there right, huge, huge, huge. But so the city? So the city came to us and said look, we, you know, in order for us to to, to accept this grant, like we're going to have to come up with some matching funds, would you be willing to help? Yeah, and I remember, I think, stuart.
Speaker 2:So Stuart, tim and myself were at that initial meeting, and so we all agreed to give it. I think it was a thousand dollars, yeah. So we all agreed to give a thousand dollars to show our support, and then we had to go out and raise the additional funds, which I think at that point they needed $25,000. Yep, that's right, and I know someone's probably going to fact check this. All these numbers are estimated to the best of my memory. So you know, we all pointed up about $1,000 a piece and then we, you know, called the community that's right To raise the remainder of the funds. And then after that there was another. So after that 25, you know there was like 75 or 80,000 additional dollars that needed to be raised, and that was just a. That that's a credit to Tim and Stuart.
Speaker 1:I mean, they were the ones that really rallied the troops, if you will, and that made it happen. And I remember being concerned, because I remember and we may have even had this conversation like, hey, derek, what do we do if we get this?
Speaker 2:Well, we wrote a commitment letter that's right To the city and I forget. Go ahead and keep talking, I'll try to find it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just remember thinking like, okay, we're going to get this done, positive energy, we can do it. You know, that's kind of how our mentality throughout this whole journey has been up to this point, and it's like, oh man, Derek, what happens if we can't? If we can't do it? And then I thought, well geez, is that going to like? Are we personally liable for this? Like what is this going to happen? Is my wife going to kill me here? Like, yeah, what are we going to do?
Speaker 2:Hey babe, I just signed a commitment letter for $99,000.
Speaker 1:And yeah, I just also remember too, thinking like okay, surely we're going to have a big partner come forward, and I remember it was. It was a little silent, you know, for a, for a minute there, and then all of a sudden it just boom, it just came to us and it's like all right, we got it.
Speaker 2:Here we go.
Speaker 1:Remember we ordered this big check from one of the yeah, it's still in that room right back there. Yeah, I got it and we had a little reception, of course. We went to a council meeting to present the check and I remember, I think it was at that very meeting, at that time, our mayor said you know, hey, we really appreciate it, you guys and the exact quote was you guys are the mover, the new movers and shakers in Durant. I remember that very vividly. I don't remember that and I just, of course, knowing what we know now, in those early days, I mean, we were filled with joy, excitement, like man, this is going to happen, like the cranes are coming in.
Speaker 1:I don't know what I thought. That's what I thought. That's what I thought. And the quest. Then, when we I think the very next recollection in that time was when we got that first bid and from the engineers, and I'm thinking, when you told me, I was like man, we're in the wrong industry here. I mean, how are we? You know, this is crazy, yeah, yes. And so I don't know what were your thoughts. I mean, what did you feel like whenever you got that? First, we got past that first wave, a lot of excitement, and then, from there, oh, man, it was, it was uh.
Speaker 2:I remember when we uh got the quote for the project and I think it was, it was close. I mean I don't it might've been close to a million dollars over the grant. Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1:And it's like all right guys.
Speaker 2:Well, uh, thanks for your effort, but we're not, we're not going to be able to do this. Yeah, and I know, um, even the city had a large part to play with finding additional grants, getting additional monies, and I know the old city's relationship with ODOT and we even had some relationships with people on our committee with ODOT and just really um, really coming at it from different directions to find additional funds. But when we found out that the project was really not feasible from a financial perspective, I mean, man, that, just tell that, taking the wind out of yourselves. I agree, because we had a lot of our committee members that reached out to people personally to get funds, to make that initial match. And then you start thinking like, well, what are we going to do now? That's right, because we gave the money to the city. It's not like we don't have it anymore, right?
Speaker 1:Well, and I think the other immediate thought that I had was we had so many individual donors, yes, and it's like they trusted us with those funds, yep, and you know what subsequently happened, and you might remember this too, but that was right in the midst of when we were trying to do and open up the new disc golf course at the lake, yep, and I remember, you know, hearing a few whispers about oh well, you know, dtos is, you know where's the bridge at? What's going on with that? Why would we give money for a disc golf course? And I remember thinking like, man, this is going to impact this other project. Yeah, you're like, you know that's a really good question.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I remember thinking to myself like, well, you know, hey, we're, really it was outside of our control and there was a few factors that really were unforeseen.
Speaker 1:I mean just not only the the changing of of some of those, those key stakeholders, some turnover within the city, and I know that that also was a was a navigating time for us, because now we've got to get used to a new regime, bring them up to speed, and of course, they've got their you know, irons in the fire with the city, and at that time it was a very challenging time for the city to put it lightly. And so now of course we kind of we get lost in the shuffle a little bit. That's right, and I think the other piece to this that I also found kind of fascinating was not only that turnover that we're having to contend with, but just how the city was changing a little bit too, from not only you know, a council perspective but also from a leadership perspective, the actual boots on the ground, and so we had kind of a two factored, you know piece there that really we were. We were kind of lost in that shuffle, I feel.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I agree, and it's I mean when we, when we look back, and I mean now, I mean the bridge is done. We haven't had a formal ribbon cutting yet, uh, ribbon cutting to be determined, Right, um, but the bridge is in its final stage, the final stages of completion, and they've got a wonderful, you know, uh, sidewalk that they've built up to the bridge over Chukwa Creek and then onto the Crooked Smile Trail and, in hindsight, like it's just, it really is humbling, um, to be part of a community of people that, just that just are resilient. Yes, right, never gave up. You know, this is the vision, this is the dream, and like we're going to be here through thick and thin and we really are here to to help the community. Yeah, and I think that takes time to, I guess, to prove it.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think what this also proves too, and what we were able to do collectively, this has turned into a big win for the city. I agree, and I think that over the last 15 years, this is probably the biggest project that the city has taken on, and you know, of course, for us to be our first big one off the ground has been pretty, pretty huge yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I know, uh, maybe we'll speak to a little bit, cause I know there's a lot of um, there's a lot of things the city has to focus on, right, and Durant. Durant is a growing community and whatever communities are growing, infrastructure is like is one of the main topics on people's minds. Sure, and I think a lot of people that don't, a lot of people that don't understand the project might question, like, why would the city allocate resources to build a bridge instead of fix potholes on the streets? And I think that's a valid question. Sure, but in this case, like, the city hasn't spent any money, right, except for time and resources of people. That's right, but that, I think, that's the. That's the beautiful part of this project is the is that we were able to partner with the city, so they, so the city, didn't have to outlay any financial capital for a project like this, and it's going to add a feature. Do you know what the total project came in at?
Speaker 1:I think it was like 1.6 million. Yeah, somewhere in that neighborhood.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so for you know, approximately $100,000 of matching grants, we got a 1.6,. You said I think that's right, a $1.6 million project for our city, for our citizens to enjoy, and that's phenomenal, like if I was making an investment like that, I'd do that all day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%, and I think that that's just. We wanted to try and leverage an opportunity and we were able to do it on behalf of the city, and I think that that, you know, at least gives us some momentum moving forward. And just everybody who's come along the journey as well, yeah, and we, there'd be a hue, we'd be here for hours talking about everybody who played a role in this, but I think what, what really resonates now that we're talking about it, is just how it's a victory, yeah, and now it's like, hey, what's next? What do we want to accomplish next? And I'm sure we'll talk a little bit about that. Yeah, and I'm curious to you know, cause I know we, we kind of jumped about five years through this story, yeah, and I know at one point we got to like a complete standstill and it took a new another, you know, city manager, yes, city council members, yes, and so I think that, in addition to, of course, president Newsom at Southeastern, his involvement, that really just kind of gave us poked and prodded this thing forward.
Speaker 2:Well, it's on Southeastern property, yeah Right, and so they had to play a key role.
Speaker 1:And I think, now that we've got it, and it's like, you know, we're looking back on it kind of smiling and we didn't know if we were going to get there, and now that we're here it's like, man, we got to celebrate it, I would say for the most part of the project.
Speaker 2:We didn't think we were going to get there. That's right and honestly I know through our conversation I mean we thought this might be the death nail. That's right For Durant Trails and Open Space. That's right Because, you know, we kind of put things, we kind of like screeched to a halt on thinking about what do we want to do for the ask people for money that's right. Or to to donate to a project like this without, without delivering on the project and that's.
Speaker 1:I remember that very vividly too, because in that, during that phase of we're kind of in our I'm going to call it our down period, you know there were some side quests that I was kind of on a little bit with the disc golf and that, and that was a challenge in itself, but really that's a victory for DTOS as well, cause they were the ones you know, that was the entity that we used initially and partnering with a lot of different local organizations, and so I think that, even though it was a small deliverable when that project was done, I think that sort of, you know, in a way helped us because it's like, hey, okay, bridge project that wasn't in their full control, the disc golf course was and knocked it out of the park, yeah, and that's something that I think now especially, really, lake Durant has turned into a destination of sorts, and now, of course, there's the new trail development out there.
Speaker 1:There's trails, there's kayaks, that's right Disc golf, and that's now become, hey, let's take the family, the kids, we're going to go to Lake Durant, yeah, and I appreciate that because I live like two minutes from.
Speaker 1:Lake Durant. Well, I have to mention this because I know at first even the disc golf was met with a lot of resistance on when K-10 and KXI came and did stories about that, everybody was like, oh well, there's a world class disc golf course, but our streets are still where they are and it's like, well, again, those are private funds. We had to come up with that, those dollars, to have the course, and really it's been a huge economic impact to our community. Our big tournament that we do every year, I mean there's three to 400 people that come.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and like really good disc golf players. Disc golf players yeah.
Speaker 1:And I mean we've had people from many different countries In fact them, yeah, yeah, and and I mean we've had people from many different countries in fact the, the last, uh, last year's uh, players from mexico that came and won it. So I mean it's, it's amazing when you think about it and of course, now that's grown, we're into the year six of that event and now it's on the national. It's a national a-tier event, which they don't. That's a whole separate thing. So we're excited about that.
Speaker 1:And again, that's a small feather in the cap to beat DTOS. And I think that that, you know, organizing those events like that has been very, you know, fulfilling too, because, hey, we're bringing the community together. Not only I mean, yes, it is disc golf, but it's like, hey, we're going to showcase our downtown, let's showcase our restaurants, we want people staying in these hotels and you know that'd be something that you know, as we progress forward with more trails and events. You know, I'd love to be able to have more things like that that DTOS can hang their hat on for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I agree, I know we've, I mean there's even been, you know, through the course of this project and our time. You know, with this, with DTOS, like there's other people that have come to town, right, so there's other organizations that are really excited about and motivated to create trails and walking spaces and bike paths and just increase the travelability or the ability to, like you know, ride a bike in Durant. Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think one of those in particular is Durant Sustainability Coalition and they, you know, we're kind of, you know, in many ways related because creating those alternative forms of transportation is something that's in our master parks plan, yep, and you know, having those ways, I think we're, and this is, you know, society is general, at least in the United States. It's just we have this over-reliance of traveling by vehicle, with my car, and it's like man, it is nice to be able to go. When you go to a walkable city and you can, you park one place and you're walking everywhere and you're experiencing it in a different light. Yeah, and I know this, this was a couple of falls.
Speaker 1:Ago 2023, we hosted a couple of DTOS sponsored with Durant Sustainability Coalition, these walkabouts where we can walk our downtown, walk our fifth and sixth street, and we had quite a few people from the community come for it. And you know, even at that time, I've been in Durant for a while now, I mean coming here for college and, you know, dead in our roots, interior, it's a different experience when you're walking around and I would venture to say that most people in this community have not really experienced Durant in that manner and it opened our eyes to many things, of course, safety being one of them. But two, it's like, hey, what if we had some sidewalks, or what if we had some bike lanes? No, yeah, and just that potential is something that kind of got everybody's ears kind of perked up to. Maybe that possibility.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and I think you know from a walkability standpoint, like Durant really isn't that safe right, right, that's right.
Speaker 1:In fact, in one of our we did a couple of Main Street workshops where we really kind of put our Main Street under a microscope both myself and Mark Massidi-Miller with Durant Sustainability Coalition and what we found was that it's a remarkable fatality rate that we have Durant compared to really not only our state of Oklahoma but on a national scale. And what we discovered through that is basically the city of Durant meets all the criteria to really move forward with a particular safe streets for all grant that really can help really address some of those concerns, help really address some of those concerns, and not only from a streets perspective, which of course, is the big hot topic. But what about sidewalks? What about those extra features?
Speaker 1:And the one point I'll make on this is this was the very first walkabout we did on our main street walks.
Speaker 1:We were at the corner there of Roma right, we're across the street from Roma's first street and we were just walking around that corner and I mean there's just cars just zooming through and we were crossing the street to walk like we were going to walk on the south part of the road over by Roma's. We almost got taken out and of course, we had city council members there, so it was a really eye-opening experience for everybody. Like whoa, we were close to being a statistic here and of course, you don't want to ever think about it like that, but I think that really opened a lot of people's eyes to hey, maybe we do need to consider some of these things, and I'm sure that's probably the next big project for the city is the Main Street, how that's going to impact, I mean, of course, all the businesses, yours included, yeah, and that's, of course, I know that's a very hot topic. It is, and I'm sure you know could be a good podcast episode too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I mean, let's jump into it. So what are some things that like, if someone is in opposition to something like this, like what are some of the arguments?
Speaker 1:For one. I think parking has been a really fascinating one, because a lot of retail owners think that there's not enough parking. Yep, and I think that there and we actually put out a survey to all the guests that come we had three different separate series of these workshops, kind of a part one, a part two and then a conclusion, and in that conclusion we actually gathered a lot of the statistics from those and what we found was that it was really a mixed bag. There was a lot of people that said, hey, if there's parking one or two blocks away, that's fine, but of course, on the other end of the spectrum you have the retail shop owners that are like, hey, we need the max amount of parking here.
Speaker 1:The other piece to this that was important was some people aren't all the way sold on bike lanes, wanting those types of alternative forms of transportation. With our main street and actually early days of this was there was a concept that would turn main street into a four lane, and so we explored the topic of what's called a strode, which is a combination of a street and a road, and so that kind of combo there, and so we really inform people that, hey, streets are what really bring value in a community Road is for you're getting. You're moving transportation left and right. You know you're getting product from point A to point B. We're building wealth with streets, and so the idea is you're either a street or a road. But if you're a strode which is what we currently- have, is that Main Street?
Speaker 2:That's right, because there may be a main street, a Strode, which is what we currently have.
Speaker 1:Is that Main Street? That's right. We consider Main Street a Strode, that's correct, and that also is considered like the futon of the mattresses. We have a futon for Main Street and you know what has happened, and of course this would be an interesting topic just in itself.
Speaker 1:But really the way our town has grown the way it has yeah, I mean, we've explored topics about crosstown travel and the big point that was really brought forward, that was really enlightening, was the question that was asked was would it be worth it to travel across town one to two minutes slower to be much safer, or would it be better to hey, we're going to go ahead and travel faster, it's going to be less safe? And astoundingly, it was almost unanimous that everybody preferred a little slower, safer. And so not only did we kind of explore those topics but we looked at other cities in Oklahoma. One in particular was Guthrie and how they revitalized their main street, and then the other was in Pawhuska and of course they've got quite a few different major tourist attractions with their Pioneer Woman and how they've really galvanized around those ideas and really bringing more people into their community. And I think there's kind of lessons there that we can apply here in Durant, and I know Mark and I have an affinity for this.
Speaker 1:This is something that we really enjoy and you know, really we just want to be, you know, informative and advocates for knowing that, hey, there's a different way to think about these things and some of these concepts, you know, are not foreign to the United States. I mean, there are cities that have embraced that and I know, in just this past weekend I was in downtown McKinney and I don't know if anybody has been in downtown McKinney, but it's just, you know, it's a different vibe, there's a different, you know, you can just sense it and that sense of bringing people together in a little bit of a different way. Those lanes are a little tighter. You got to go slow, yeah, and that's by design.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's interesting. Yeah, I love the idea, or the concept. Like you said, it's about bringing people together, that's right. And, yeah, bringing people together to enjoy, you know, the downtown atmosphere you know we've got, and I love so, one of my, you know, our office used to be on 3rd Street and I could pretty much walk to wherever I needed to go. But, you know, then we moved here to our Main Street location and I love the idea. Like I can, I can walk. I can get a Japanese food, sushi, coffee's, a block away. Mexican food, barbecue, roma's, italian pizza place, steakhouse, which is being currently renovated, but soon, soon, we'll have a steakhouse CBD. Yeah, yeah, and I can, I mean, I can walk wherever I need to go.
Speaker 1:What was uh, this is a point that Mark brought up during this Cause we of course we had some people there that attended that were, you know, kind of on the other side of this, hey, you know. But you know there was quite a bit of activity that the, the actual chamber of commerce, did with some of the concert series that they did in the fall, yeah, and that brought a lot of people downtown, yes, and the point that Mark made was well, nobody had trouble, they're running across First Street, cars are zipping by.
Speaker 1:That's right. That's right. And the point he made was, hey, people found a place to park and they found a way to get there. That's right. And so I think that that and of course I'm sure some people would say, well, it was at night and it was, you know, there wasn't all the same type of traffic during the day. Yeah, the point remains that you know there's a way to do it and just people have to embrace that idea of you know they don't have a problem walking four or five, six blocks when they go to Walmart and they park way out longer. It's a longer walk from their parking spot to the entrance, from the entrance to the back door. So I mean, it's just people don't think about it like that and it's a different way to think, for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a, that's a good way of thinking. So, as we consider, you know, so the bridge project is is kind of wrapping up. You know, we've got all the disc, golf courses, turkey chase, which we took a couple of years off because the trails were in flux, but picking that back up probably this Thanksgiving, that's right, 2025. Like what's when we think about the future, like what do you think are some, some projects that are sort of on the horizon?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know, of course our big you know piece is wanting to follow in that Master Parks plan, especially if that 5th and 6th Street yeah, you know that that just is going to link so many key destinations to our downtown, not only the university, the elementary schools, the boys and girls club, yeah, and just being able to have that opportunity, uh, one of the great things that happened just this holiday season was the, the horse rides, that, uh, the carriage rides that happened here at downtown Durant, where everybody you know got on board here, went up to the college, went through the U, came back down. I mean, stuff like that would be tremendous to just be able to have stuff like that. And so I know there's a lot of hurdles, it's easier said than done and really and truly, I think, even just having that idea of you know, maybe it's something simple, right, maybe we look at sidewalks there, how can we link, keeping the safety factor in mind? Cause I know again, fifth and sixth street, you know a lot of people just drive extremely fast One way, two lanes, yep, I mean it's, it's just, you know, maybe there's a way we can look at that as an idea and that we can get behind.
Speaker 1:I know personally and I know I hadn't shared this to you prior to this podcast. But I kind of want to leverage some of the skills that I've been developing here the last couple of years with media and creating, updating our website to being able to have it. So if someone comes to Durant, they click on our durantoktrailscom boom, they're going to look at where's all these trails at. And I spoke with Jenna Lee, who's one of our board members, and she was, all you know, super encouraged about that. Like, hey, mike, we could do a little videos by the drone out so people can see what's here, because I think that's maybe the number one question we get on our Facebook is hey, where, where are the trails? Yeah, like, there's some people that still, you know they have no idea. So I think that's an opportunity that we have to really showcase what we have and, you know, potentially look towards some of those enhancements.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I like that. You know, and I know we need you know we've talked about, you know, getting all of our trails, on all trails and different apps where people find, find trails that they can walk or run on, and so what are some of the like, what are some of the hurdles for Fit to Six? Is that a? Is that a hot?
Speaker 1:topic. Well, I think definitely we have all the homeowners that we haven't yet really gotten that. We haven't heard that side of it yet, but I think that that's coming, yeah, and I think definitely just the safety factor, you know, and I know Mark has drawn up of course he's a former architect engineer, so he has several ideas, and so there's, I think there's a, there's different ways on feasibility and also just keeping in mind, like, hey, we want to be safe, I mean, if I'm going to have my wife and daughters in here and maybe we want to get on a bike and ride up fifth and sixth street, yeah, no, we can't have cars just zooming by, you know, 40, 50 miles an hour. I mean, yeah, and, and it happens, you know. So I think that is going to be a hurdle in itself.
Speaker 1:It's just the existing fifth and sixth street, yeah, and maybe one of the ideas that may come from this is hey, maybe this is a two phase project. Maybe it's hey, we're focused heavily on fifth, yeah, and maybe it is a, a, a sidewalk that's off the you know the road, and then maybe a phase two, which you know as we, as we have a uh, as we have a victory. Yes, then we can look toth Street, you know, so maybe that might be an idea as well. Yeah, that's a good idea.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so sidewalks? We don't have a lot of sidewalks in Durant.
Speaker 1:Especially on 5th and 6th Street, there are areas and there are spots, but there's, you know, quite a bit of overgrowth. And then just, I think part of that occurred just with the natural growth of our community Some of the code didn't require sidewalks, so it's like, oh, we've got to really tighten the screws on making sure that, hey, if there's new development, you know, we got to have the sidewalks, and actually there was a pretty big debate on this, on the university project. That was a big one that the city took, and one of those was the sidewalks there. Do we really need sidewalks? And so, of course, there's a debate.
Speaker 2:I see people walking down those sidewalks all the time.
Speaker 1:I agree, I agree. So I think it's one of those where if you build it, they will come, yeah, and people will utilize it. Yep, and I know it's hard to quantify that, especially for some that might question the hey, are these dollars really? Cause I'm sure I'm just like we saw with the with the bridge project on Chukwa. We think, oh, oh, it's just sidewalks, that shouldn't be anything that you know huge of a cost. It probably is. Yeah, we just don't know it yet yeah, yeah, so so on.
Speaker 2:On fifth and six, like what's the what's like the next step that we could take, I think, the.
Speaker 1:The big piece to this is probably bringing in some key stakeholders and just, you know, maybe it is hosting another, another walkabout where we can experience it. I know there are there's segments, especially on Fifth Street, where there is a bike lane, yeah, but it's just, it's unusual, if someone really tried to bike there, they wouldn't make it. I mean, that's just the word. It is yeah. So I almost feel like, maybe almost creating a little bit of a list of maybe it's some wants and really, you know, if we have to boil it down a little more like, hey, what's, what's a little bit more feasible for what we can take on, and then, frankly it's, it's going to require us to maybe get creative with funding and taking a little bit of a step towards the grants, and maybe it is the safe streets for all that can that we can utilize. I'm sure that there may be some other grants through, you know, through ODOT, that we could maybe look towards as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I think that's good. And partnering with, like Mark and his organization and, you know, chamber of Commerce, the city all those entities.
Speaker 1:I think, in what's come through this, especially as we're nearing the completion of the bridge, is that the city has turned to us and said hey guys, what's next? Yeah, and I think we have created that momentum, but also know that there's a lot of the council members that really believe in what we believe in, and I think that they've realized like, hey, you know what, maybe, maybe we should look at some of these things and if it makes sense, you know, within the, the, the confines of of the financial budget that the city's in, you know. But I a hundred percent agree that we're going to have to leverage funds again. I mean to to think that we're going to the city's, just going to come in and start paving sidewalks is is, it's not realistic. I think.
Speaker 1:I think we're going to have to leverage some dollars and and I think we're going to have the team in place to be able to do it and especially, if we can, you know, have some of these key stakeholders involved again. And, hey, we go again. Right, we throw our swords in the middle and there we go, yeah, yeah, that's exciting. I'm going to pose that same question to you, because I know you said hey, mike, what do you think is next? Yeah, I'm kind of curious as to, maybe, if you have some ideas or goals, or maybe you're kind of, what you foresee for DTOS.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, you know, for me it really has all it's. It's sort of all centered on the bridge, right Once. Once we get the bridge, once we get the bridge completed, you know, we can sort of sort of tout that as like our keystone type project that we've, that we've completed, sure, and I think, you know, once we have a ribbon cutting I know we're throwing around some ideas about a like a frigid 5k or you'll some kind of, some kind of run Cause we'll, we'll probably do the ribbon cutting and maybe early February now early to mid February, which who knows it could be, it could be negative five or it could be 70 degrees in Southern Oklahoma, in Southern Oklahoma. But I think, really using the bridge project as that momentum For sure To get those key stakeholders at the table again and figure out what the next steps are.
Speaker 2:And I definitely, you know, the Chamber of Commerce, some of the council members, I know we have support from the mayor of Durant now she's been great in supporting this project.
Speaker 2:So what I say, yeah, key contributors. So you know, mark, the chamber, city council members, and just sort of having a collaborative conversation about what needs to happen next. I do think we need to do the best we can on the front end of answering all those questions, the concerns that the homeowners might have. Sure, I don't live on fifth and sixth street so I don't know what those concerns might be Right, but really hearing those concerns and and and sort of you know, I think you know this project was key improving to those stakeholders that we, that we have the community's best interest in mind, absolutely. But now really moving forward with convincing the community that we have their best interest in mind, and I think that's really the next step is how do we start to engage the community in such a way that they understand that, hey look, this is in everyone's best interest, absolutely. And how do we, you know, how do we collaborate to get these projects completed?
Speaker 1:You know I'll share a quick I'm going to call it a case study, but this is an event. This is actually this past winter that Durant Sustainability Coalition partnered with the Texoma Board of Realtors and they had this really cool space that they brought in right there between third or, I should say, fourth and fifth street, right up in there, where it just created this outdoor dining experience, and so that was met with an immense amount of, you know, fight, if you will, because people were like what is this? Why we don't need this, why is this happening? So I would say and this is maybe a personal challenge to myself and for us to consider but when we go about this next project, it's we really have to control the narrative in some ways. Yeah, and we have the.
Speaker 1:I feel like we have the ability to do that and, like I said, leveraging some of my skills with media and we can put out the content that we feel like can present both sides of the story and why they should jump into this, why they should believe this and believe us again, and so I think, whereas with that probably it was a great idea, I just think the execution of the why wasn't really addressed until that was fully underway, and I think maybe what we can do and maybe learn from in some ways is what I call the silver platter theory.
Speaker 1:We've got to put it on a silver platter, not only for the community, for the city, for all the key stakeholders, but frankly for for, you know, those homeowners, cause I'm sure they're going to be, there's going to be some, some concern there potentially on hey, this is, you know, I've got to be able to back up. I got to use this road to get to and from work. So I think that's probably a personal challenge and I think we're going to be able to execute that really well.
Speaker 2:So so, yeah, next steps are, you know, get the ribbon cutting done, maybe have some sort of like celebratory event, whether that's a 5k or some sort of fun, run, sure, and then start to get key stakeholders engaged again about what the what the next project is, and then really craft, craft the narrative, narrative around why, why would we do this before we start the project? So really try to engage the community, you know, get them excited and in as much support of the project as we can, absolutely before we move forward and, as we know, like even with this last project, like this is not, not, it's going to take time. Right, these, these projects take time. I mean anything, anything worth doing takes time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a hundred percent. And I think that, you know, I always think back to the experiences we had and now it's kind of sharpened us a little bit, to maybe some of our realistic expectations and and how we probably can navigate the waters again and knowing that, hey, some of the people we're going to start the project with just natural attrition, we're going to have to navigate those waters again. If there's some turnover with council members or new city manager, the more momentum we create on the front end, I think that's going to help propel us and get us past the finish line. Yeah, and I think this time maybe we may be able to have a little bit more, you know, get our teeth into the project a little earlier, yes, whereas we're not, maybe, at the mercy of ODOT or, in this case, the city, yeah, so we can maybe, you know, push it along the best we can.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. But I think you know, especially with the city council, like there's just naturally attrition right, because city council members are voted in and I don't know exactly what their term length is. But you know, I really am excited about the current council that we have and I know we know some people that are on the council and we knew people that were on the council whenever this other project started. But you know, really kind of you know, trying to get their buy-in and engage them with the project and I think we already have most of that, but really try to align the vision that we have with the vision that they have for the city. And I mean, I can't imagine. I think sometimes being a city council member is probably a very thankless position and I know they get stretched in a thousand different directions.
Speaker 1:And you know, I think, back to you know just the partnership that we've had with with Durant Trails, but just utilizing our natural skills, I mean, we're salesmen at the end of the day and we utilize it for our interests, which is, in this case it's, you know, low impact, recreation and nature awareness and being able to provide and improve the quality of life. And I know that's what brought us together in the very early days and what really kind of keeps us going. And I think that the sales, the wind that's coming into our sales, is really going to be helpful, because now, you know, maybe we can partner with some of these other groups now, you know, whereas now we were kind of in the backseat, now we can maybe be on our front toes here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, take more of a prominent role in partnering with other entities.
Speaker 1:I think that there's lots of opportunity too. I mean, one other idea that I've had is you know, maybe we look to maybe have a bike event, maybe it's a family bike, you know, up Fifth and Sixth Street or you know, maybe we find another area where we can do stuff like that, and again, just something low impact, something that everybody can do, and just at the end of the day, we want to have fun.
Speaker 2:I mean, that's what this whole thing is, and you know, yeah, and I mean I would love to have some mountain bike trails, that's it. I'm right there with you, I would love it. You know we bought it was last two Christmases ago we bought all the kids mountain bikes, like legit, real mountain bikes, gear shifters, everything. In fact, this weekend I think you know my kid I've got two, two young boys, as you know. I mean they've just like destroy their bikes, right, like these things. So I got to this weekend I think I'm going to replace a tube in a bike, like, redo all their brakes and get those things kind of tuned up and shined up. And there's some really good trails down in, like the Denison Sherman area. Hardmore has some great trails over there. I would just love, you know, especially with the kids, it's really easy for them to ride a bike. I agree they're little but they can. I mean they can still ride, ride the mountain bike trails and it's just such a good like family.
Speaker 1:Oh, I, I agree, and I, I know, I mean that pump track would be something. If we had something, man, that would be awesome, cool and maybe, knows, maybe that might make it into our wish list, yeah, and who knows, I'm sure, just like we may end up with a big kind of overarching project, we're going to have our side quests and I know that. Hey, you know, it's something that we can find our interests and work towards, and I just think about it too. I mean, my daughters are, you know, three and a half and they're growing up, and I'd love to be able to take them out and experience different things here locally, without necessarily having to travel to Dallas or to Oklahoma city and Tulsa, and I think there there's. You know, I always ask myself, tell myself, you know, why not us? Why can't we have this? Yeah, and there's no reason why we can't.
Speaker 1:I think that we can absolutely do it. And I know Ryan Brewer, who's the parts and rec director. I mean he's definitely, you know, seen that and especially with the bridge project. But now that we've been kind of engaging with him a little bit, he starts to kind of see hey, how can we kind of merge our master parts plan to his master parts plan, into what we're trying to do with the master parts?
Speaker 2:plan, yeah. So, on a side note, you got to get your kids a Strider bike, favorite Strider bike. Okay, I'm going to have to, I'm going to. So my phone. So it's a. It's a balance bike with no pedals, oh, interesting, so you can put their feet down. But what it does is it teaches them to balance Interesting. And so whenever they get pedals, it's like they're copy and paste. Wow, they just jump on. All of our kids start on a strider bike. Okay, and it's amazing, like there's no, I'm sure. I'm sure you remember learning how to ride a bike. Oh, sure, right, like road rash, yes, is just, is just par for the course. Yes, I learned how to ride a bike. So I grew up in the country. Gravel roads and I mean you just crash and burn, yeah. But with the Strider bike, you can put your feet down, you learn to balance, you learn to turn and so by the time you get pedals it's plug and play.
Speaker 1:You know one idea that I'll share with you and I had a just a brief conversation with Jenna Lee about this, and it's another kind of one of our ideas for the for the fold. But years ago there was Durant, had it was usually once in the spring what was basically a bike bus. So for those that don't know what that is, it's where you know parents drop their kids off and some parents will go along too, but there's administrators, of course. You got the PD, the fire department, everybody. They close off a couple of streets any bike, about six blocks to school, and it's just once in the spring. So it's a big kind of convoy of bikes coming in, meet real early in the morning, drive up to school and it's kind of this community thing. Right, it's a lot of people at stake to do this.
Speaker 1:But I asked her. I said, man, we should do a bike bus. She's like Mike, that has happened in Durant. It's just since the pandemic. It hasn't really picked back up from that and who knows, maybe that's an idea that we could partner and maybe we get Durant sustainability on board, because something like that I mean I know, when our girls get old enough, like I think that'd be fun, yeah and uh, and just to be able to have that, you know, as an option. I know it's really really popular. You know, in the North, uh, north Northwest, you know up in that area, so hey, why. You know, if they're doing that in oregon and seattle and all, hey, why not here in durant? You know we can do it, and and when generally said, hey, mike, actually we've done that before and of course her kids have done it, she's, I was like, well, hey, that makes it even easier to sell, because if it was once done before we can do it again. Yeah, do you?
Speaker 2:have? You've heard of a bike rodeo? Yes, I have. Yeah, I don't know if we had bike rodeos growing up and basically, you, you bring your bike, and we had them, we had them at the school, we had a huge, huge playground. Basically, you bring your bike, they fix it for you. Yeah, so tune it up, get the brakes all going and there's like a little obstacle course that you get to, like sure, ride and navigate your bike through, and those things were awesome well, I'm gonna maybe leak this a little early here, but uh, durant sustainability coalition is planning one later in in april.
Speaker 1:Okay, and mark said, hey, mike, is this something that etos would be interested? I was like, absolutely, yeah, I I participated in in that as well bike rodeo growing up and it was the most fun. Yeah, and it's just, I always remember kind of during those days like man, I need to get out and practice, get ready for the bike, you know bike bike rodeo and so, yeah, I mean just little things like that. I'll call those little side quests. Yeah, that, you know, I know that's a little. There's some involvement with that. But again, I feel like that kind of helps continue the momentum, build the rapport and again provide, you know, our kids and you know administrators, an opportunity to hey bring everybody together. We're going to do this event, yeah and uh, and make it really fun, rough fun for the kids. Yep, I think that's awesome.
Speaker 2:So you talk about side projects. I think one of the most fascinating things about you is all your side projects. So like what's uh, what's new, like it can be associated with Durant Trails, nova Space not associated, but like you've always got.
Speaker 1:You've always got something cooking. There's definitely a lot going. Well, you know, here lately, probably the last 12 months, I really made the decision to pursue media a little bit harder, because and we talked about this earlier before we started the podcast but just being able to tell your story is such a powerful thing, and so making the investment into, you know, some of the equipment to record a podcast and be able to film things, and specifically, you know the approach I've taken was for disc golf. You know we've been able to. Now you know my little business. We've really grown it and we're covering some of the big tournaments that are happening not only in Oklahoma. But you know we're going to go to Arkansas State's championships in Jonesboro. We're going to be down. Actually this weekend we're down in Dallas.
Speaker 1:So we say, cover it, like what you're filming. So, yeah, we're filming it. So we have basically a crew of guys that we go out and we film it. So we have everything's done remotely and it's all post-produced. And so it's been funny because when we first got started I really didn't have any idea what to even buy, what to even do. But now and it's funny because at first and I'm sure anybody out there you kind of start gear chasing like, oh, we need this, we need that, I need that. Well, of course, fast forward to where we are today and it's like I've gotten the setup down. Now the next kind of segment brings in is like, okay, we got the content, now how do we edit it, how do we put it out?
Speaker 1:So learning that side of it has been a challenge, but that's something that I've been able to leverage.
Speaker 1:That those skills with some of the stuff we've done with DTOS and, yeah, definitely One of the things we did, you know, with Durant Sustainability Coalition, we recorded a couple of little 30 second you know commercials to promote some of our workshops, and so leveraging those skills I think is something that's powerful.
Speaker 1:You know, the other big side quest that I've been on is with Toastmasters here in Durant. Yes, so that's been something that I have to count my ahs and ums here after the podcast episode, don't count mine. I think that that's really helped me just develop into just being able to speak fluently to what we're doing. And that's so powerful because when I first started in public speaking, you know I really was, my confidence level really wasn't there, and so I feel like there's a lot more that I can do to get better, and so one of my long-term goals is to become a distinguished To professional skills. And just you know, a skill that maybe some people think, oh, I'm good enough at public speaking, but in all actuality, they probably I don't know, I don't know anybody that thinks that.
Speaker 1:I think I know what's hard about it and I always find myself my wife is always like Mike, you're selling these crazy things to people that really are difficult. Like when we started lacrosse. You know that's a sport that's foreign to to our area. And you know people are like no, in fact, the very first time I called the city to reserve a field to do a lacrosse, but I said, oh, you know we're, we need a lacrosse. You know a place to play lacrosse? Oh, we don't have any lacrosse fields. And it's get.
Speaker 1:You know, people are like oh, is that like polo or y'all bringing horses? Like people don't know what lacrosse? People think, oh, lacrosse, is that like a religious thing, is it lacrosse? You know, yeah, so you know. And then, of course, with Toastmasters, it's like okay, mike, you know, do people really want to practice their public speaking? And I'm like man, so many, so many benefits to it, even just if you're in the room you're not even speaking, just observing, yes, and so we've got a lot of ideas with that. In fact, we're leveraging kind of the podcast idea with with Toastmasters, and those are just a couple of the we'd be here till 7 PM with some crazy ideas that I've got.
Speaker 2:Well, I think Toastmasters is is just is particularly interesting, because I mean most people would rather die than speak publicly Right.
Speaker 1:Yes, I mean, it's one of the top phobias fears that people have. I mean, of course, heights is up there, but public speaking is a pretty close second in the top three. I would say yeah.
Speaker 2:So what's the format and structure of Toastmasters?
Speaker 1:So we have meetings it's every second and fourth Wednesday over at Kaimichi Technology Center here off of Main Street. The way it works is it's really simple we all have roles within the meeting. So there's someone who's the Toastmaster, who's kind of like the leader, if you will, of the meeting, but then you have two people usually it's two that have pre-prepared speeches that they bring forward, and then you have evaluators and so you have a five to seven minute speech that you prepare various different topics and you have what's called a pathway, so it kind of helps guide you on. You know, hey, this, your speech this time is about tonality or it's about gestures or it's about, you know, there's different basically speeches that you complete. It's almost like Boy Scouts, like you're going towards Eagle Scout, but a public speaking and how I describe Distinguished Toastmaster.
Speaker 1:And the one segment in the meeting that I think is the most important is a segment called Table Topics, and so someone else comes forward and asks a question to the room, and it can be a very simple question to something that's very abstract, and then you get called on. It's random, you don't know if you're going to get called and you've got to come up forward and deliver a one to two minute speech about any given topic. So you have to really think on your feet. And then also you have to be able to get through it to qualify your speech. And then every meeting there's a little vote on who had the best table topics. Okay, so you say qualify your speech. What does that mean? Yeah, so that's you have to hit the time requirements and you have to cover the topic. So if you get asked about elephants in Mozambique and you start talking about whatever else ice hockey in Finland probably not going to qualify.
Speaker 1:What's really fascinating when I first got into Toastmasters I thought I was a pretty decent speaker, but it's really sharpened me up and I've been many of times, whether it's a board meeting, just in public, and I get spontaneously asked a question. It has really helped me to start to develop those thoughts earlier, think a little quicker. And so also with Toastmasters is the very first time I gave my table topics. You have to go a minute, so there's someone timing you and there's cards, so you know if you've hit that minute. I thought I hit the minute and come to find out it was like 17 seconds. So again, it's really humbling when you start, but it's very rewarding. We've had quite a few people who are, you know, various different walks of life, from young to older, yeah, and it's a way to really stay sharp and just being able to network with those people. And we've got some great mentors in the club that are distinguished Toastmasters. So yeah.
Speaker 2:So what if you so? Do you get like points if you qualify a speech? Is there like a system?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you have basically where, if you qualify a speech, you can count that towards your what you call pathways, and so those pathways are how you kind of progress if you want to level up to your, you know, white belt and to everybody's pretty pretty good about talking about themselves, and then it progresses from there, and and uh, some of the ones that I've really I felt like some of the most difficult ones actually for me, where I had to give a speech about technology and how we have our meetings, are hybrid, which means that they're in person, but you can also attend on zoom.
Speaker 1:So there's quite a bit of equipment that I have to bring out to be able to execute that, and so my speech was how to set up the meeting and meanwhile I have to explain it to a group that doesn't have any real idea about technology in general. So that was probably one of the most difficult speeches that I've had to give, but some of the others that have been, you know, about leadership and, just, you know, professional development, have been really interesting, because you, you prep and you prepare and then you, you deliver.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so. So if you get hit with a like, what if you get hit with a topic you know nothing about?
Speaker 1:That's what makes it tough and that's what you've got to develop that ability to speak on it, even if it's your. Your you're not able to really spit out facts. You know, in the case that I gave, if you're having to talk about elephants in Mozambique, it's hard to do that. You know you can't really just sporadically come up with that, but you just have to be able to have the confidence. And I think that's what it comes down to is that if you have the confidence to really speak through it, then you become almost untouchable in a way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Elephants in Mozambique.
Speaker 1:We actually haven't had that one as a table. I I'm going to have to use that at our next meeting. It's going to happen.
Speaker 2:Cool man. Well, mike, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you, like. I appreciate you coming on the podcast. It really has been. It's been fun Absolutely Since 2017, getting to know you through Leadership, durant, all the stuff we've been able to do, you know, with our community and within our community with DTOS. Yeah, did you catch that? There we go, okay, you know, it's just been really exciting to see and I'm really excited for the future as well.
Speaker 1:I agree. No, I appreciate you having me on. It's always fun to be able to bring people together. I feel like that's, in some ways, my superpower, is just smiling, bringing people together and, just, you know, finding ways to really add wealth to our community. Yeah, in some ways also, you know, just being able to improve the quality of life, and I think that that's something we're both passionate about. And, yes, we're appreciative of those that support DTOS. And you know we're excited about the future.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I am too Well, thanks for joining us. We hope you appreciated this podcast. If you enjoyed the content, please like and subscribe.
