Listen Now

A former collegiate All-American football player at NCAA D-II powerhouse Northwest Missouri State, he says the routines and disciplines learned as an athlete drive him in pursuit of his professional passion. Weight training and fitness began as just part of his routine, now it's something he both practices and preaches as local business owner and personal trainer. And in a matter of weeks, his business will move into a newer, bigger space in the heart of downtown Lee's Summit. This is Ryan Waters.  Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

They come from different towns and different school districts. They have differing interests and motivations but all share passion for storytelling, filmmaking and the digital media course at Summit Technology Academy. Last month, four members of the class received honors and awards from the eMagine Film Festival hosted by Olathe Northwest High School. Three of the students, along with their instructor sat down with Community Voices host Nick Parker to talk about their films, their class and the lessons they learned. This is Shawn Harrel, Nate Thurman, Michael Deskovich and Jake Hilger.Note: Senior Gabriella Salinas, who won the documentary category at the festival, was unable to join the group for the conversation. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

The piano was her first instrument. But it was the violin that became her first love and before she knew it she was enrolled in a performing arts high school in her southern Virginia public school district. Her love of the arts and performances has driven her to a career managing and promoting the arts to communities. Today, she is the new Cultural Arts Manager for the City of Lee's Summit where she will work with the Lee's Summit Arts Council and other programs to promote and drive engagement with Lee's Summit's burgeoning arts community. This is Glenda Masters. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

For more than 30 years he was a relentless force in the community. Whether a cause sponsored by the Lee's Summit Chamber, the Lee's Summit R-7 School District, Lee's Summit Parks & Recreation or even the City itself, he found a way to rally others around any cause he believed was for the betterment of his community. He picked the causes he picked and chose the fights he did, his friends say, for a very simple reason — it was the right thing to do for the people of the community. An icon of the Lee's Summit community, he passed away almost a month ago, on March 7. Last week, three of his Lee's Summit friends and colleagues sat down with Link 2 Lee's Summit's Nick Parker to reminisce and pay tribute. This was Gene Gamber. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Like so many of us, the great recession of 10 years ago forced him to make a change in his career path. The architecture industry was hit particularly hard during the economic downturn, and when things at his previous firm slowed down he saw an opportunity to split off and move out on his own. Now, Land 3 Studios is one of the premiere landscape architecture firms in the region with several large-scale projects under its belt. This is Bob Bushyhead. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

She defies a few stereotypes. She's a woman in a heavily male-dominated industry. Her downtown Lee's Summit store caters to a niche market, but that doesn't stop her from participating in, or promoting, as many of the downtown events as is possible. For her, the business is about nostalgia. It's about building relationships, both person and professional. The business, she says, is about family. This is Cassie Rogers. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

He has a full time job. He and his wife own and operate two businesses in downtown Lee's Summit. Somewhere along the way though, he found the time to take on another project. As the self-proclaimed historian and genealogist of his family he decided to not only record the passed-down stories of his family, but also pen a new series of historical fiction based on his family's involvement in the American Civil War. This is Randy Walker. Walker, who along with his wife Stacie own and operate Scrapbook Boutique and This and That Custom Framing in downtown Lee's Summit. A book signing for the book, "Have I a Friend Near," has been set for noon on Saturday, March 10 at Scrapbook Boutique. The book is available for sale at Scrapbook Boutique and Amazon.com. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

She's a state champion head coach. She's spent most of her career at the helm of a Lee's Summit North girls basketball program she's built into a perennial local and state power house. And this season, she garnered the 400th win of her career. But victories are not where she keeps tally. For her, the past 25 years, and the years to come, have been marked by relationships. Connections she's made with both players and coaches. This is Tricia Lillygren. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

When he graduated college he thought he was set to begin a long and glorious career as a strength and conditioning coach. Time in the gym was his favorite thing. He wasn't going to have a career. He was going to get paid to do what he loved. Then a funny thing happened. The thing he loved became a job. And so he turned a different direction and began a new career. Now, 17 years later, he's climbed the ranks at the Lee's Summit Parks and Recreation department and last week officially took the reins as Administrator. And his first order of business — pick out some new shirts and start planning the department's 50th anniversary.This is Joe Snook. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

He was recently named 2018 Missouri High School Principal of the Year by the Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals. And while he is proud of the award and recognition from his peers, he is also quick to point out the award speaks more to the staff, students and culture at Lee's Summit North High School. The 2017-18 school year has by no means been a typical one.In addition to the usual struggles of creating a positive learning environment, he's had to help lead his school through the difficulties of suicide. The key, he says, has been thoughtful planning and an unbreakable commitment to the student-body shared by all... This is Dr. Jeff Meisenheimer. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

This is not his first posting as a minister. In fact, it’s not even the first denomination in which he’s served as a minister. There is a message, he says, a message he’s felt a calling to pass along since his final days serving in the United States Navy near the end of the Vietnam War. Today, he’s passing that message along to students as President of the newly opened St. Michael the Archangel Catholic High School in Lee’s Summit. This is Father Randolph Sly. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

She's been a part of the Summit Christian Academy community for most of the local school's existence. Her background and training wasn't in education, but for the past 19 years she has answered a calling to lead the school's growth into one of the metropolitan area's premiere private school systems. This is Linda Harrelson.

He grew up the son of entrepreneurs. When he finished school, starting his own construction business was just a natural step for him. And now he's almost a full year into his second business — downtown Lee's Summit's Smoke Brewing Co, a local microbrewery and restaurant.This is Josh Edwards. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

He never planned to retire from the news business. He never planned to be an entrepreneur. Turns out his plans were at a minimum only half wrong. After a career in community newspapers where he held positions of reporter, editor, sales person and most recently publisher of the Lee's Summit Journal, he decided to use his experience for a different kind of storytelling. You can still find his weekly columns in the local paper of record, but his professional focus has changed. For the last two years he's been piloting his own ship, KC Communications and Media Matters, where he helps area businesses and not-for-profits with media and public relations. The job, he says may be different, but the key to success is the same — find the good stories and help tell them.This is John Beaudoin. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

At one point, she tells us fashion is her thing. But, it doesn't take long to realize there's more driving this Lee's Summit entrepreneur. A singular focus on the next thing in front of her, combined with a will to seek out the positive moments have taken her from one business closing to launching another. Oh, and by the way, she's only 35 and has twice beat back endometrial cancer. This is Liz Little. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

For these two, it's kind of like a local version of the old Kevin Bacon game. In a town of nearly 100,000 people, it's hard to pinpoint a few people whom everyone knows. But when it comes to this couple, the chances of you having a connection to them in 6 degrees or less may be slightly higher. In addition to being the second-generation proprietor of John's Barber Shop in downtown Lee's Summit, or of the local accounting firm of Parker Swearngin, LLP, this duo have committed much of their adult lives to various community service efforts in and around Lee's Summit.This is Nick and Jennie Swearngin. In this week's episode of Community Voices, host Nick Parker sits down with the Swearngins to reminisce about the widely popular and effective Head Shave for Hope House event, their involvement in downtown Lee's Summit, and a number of other things they do, or have participated in, throughout the community. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

In a rare interview, Kriss Kringle sat down with Community Voices host Nick Parker to answer questions submitted by some of our younger residents and talk about his role in Christmas celebrations, life at the North Pole and his ever growing Book of Good Children (don't call it the naughty and nice list). And if you're a man with a beard, Santa's got some grooming tips for you.  Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Thanksgiving was last week and as I sat down to think of how Link 2 Lee's Summit has evolved in the past year, I couldn't help but think of a young musician I heard sing for the Lee's Summit Arts Council. One little song, accompanied by a little ukulele and a big voice added a whole new dimension to the mission of telling our local stories. So, what am I thankful for in 2017. I'm thankful for the people who make Lee's Summit the place I call home. And specifically, I'm thankful for the chance to meet this local musician who started the Community Voices podcast... This is Jenell Johnson. When her grandmother passed away and Jenell Johnson noticed her family was down, she turned to the one therapy she knew worked for all of them — music.The song, "Smile," would go on to be a favorite of not only her family, but also friends and her tight-knit school and church family as well. It would also be a crowd favorite at the 2016 Lee's Summit Got Talent competition. Music has been at the center of the Johnson home since before she was born. Her parents, Alex and Jerilyn are both musicians who find themselves singing or playing instruments at every opportunity. But love of music was just a genetic passing to Jenell and her two siblings, Jessica and Justin, it was a purposeful and physical effort made from the very beginning.Jenell, who plays nearly 10 instruments, sings and composes her own music, said some of her earliest memories are of her father playing the piano each night with the family gathered around and singing along."We did that every night," she said. "Music is just a part of who we are. My dad was always on the piano and we just all gathered around and joined in." Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

He's an entrepreneur with big ideas. Since his first foray into the Downtown Lee's Summit scene with The W speakeasy, he has since become the owner of a handful of downtown buildings with plans to open more of his own buildings as well support others in their endeavors to locate in Lee's Summit's historic commercial district. This is Shane Veritasi.Veritasi sat down with Community Voices host Nick Parker to talk about his businesses, his take on the continuing evolution of Lee's Summit's downtown district, and his thoughts on successful entrepreneurship. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Musical credit: Reusenoise  (DNB Mix) by spinningmerkaba (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/jlbrock44/56531

He tends to fly under the radar, but very quietly he's doing things to make his mark on the Lee's Summit community. He's an entrepreneur, an investor and an artist... This is Ben Wine. This week, Wine sat down with Community Voices host Nick Parker to talk about his work with Fossil Forge design and his role in a few local business ventures. Community Voices is a weekly podcast celebrating the individuals who make our community. Catch the show each Monday on this site, Stitcher, or subscribe to Community Voices on iTunes, GooglePlay or your favorite podcast app.Do you have interesting story? Does your neighbor, teacher, classmate, or friend? Let us know about it. Connect with host Nick Parker through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.