Ep. 206 - Moment Makers: The Artisans of Human Engagement

In this episode, we welcome strategic executive leader and event producer Kelly Olson, joined by her husband Eric Scott Olson, to discuss her career in live events and television and her current work on the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in the Twin Cities. 

Kelly shares her origin story working on the 1991 Special Olympics opening ceremony, including an early assignment to find a piano for Prince, and traces her path through major productions, including Oprah (six years), LA events, and later PR work after leaving New York following 9/11 and anthrax concerns. 

The conversation highlights the scale of the USA Games, unified sports growth, venues, opening and closing ceremonies, celebrity participants, and the impact of mentorship, networking, and service-minded production.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Okay, let's bring him up. Dr. Evil.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Bambling the forces of divisive media, one uplifting story at a time. Join our mission by subscribing on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.

SPEAKER_07 0:26

Welcome to the Kindness Chronicles, where once again we hope to inject the world with the dose of the Minnesota kindness that it desperately needs. Back in the basement studio. KG is on assignment tonight. Kevin Gorg is up to his eyeballs and uh his his grandchild is in town. So lots of fun there. We got uh Steve Brown here in the uh in the studio. Hi John. Hi, Jeff. Hey. Did you have a nice weekend?

SPEAKER_06 0:50

I did actually. My friend's visiting here, and we saw Willie Wisely this weekend. Oh no. Yes, we did.

SPEAKER_07 0:54

Did you go to that show?

SPEAKER_06 0:55

Yeah. Oh wow. Yep.

SPEAKER_07 0:56

He's fantastic. Willie Wisely. He's the greatest. Wild Willie Wisley. He's awesome. Jeff, you're back there. Hello, Jeff.

SPEAKER_03 1:02

Hey.

SPEAKER_07 1:03

I've spent the weekend in the process of moving my mother from her house into an apartment, which is quite an adventure, but she's a minimalist, so it's actually been very easy. That is nice. We do have a couple of very special guests here with us today. One more special than the other. You can figure it out as time goes on.

SPEAKER_06 1:19

I guess we'll decide as we go here. I know what I would say. But yes, we do have a couple guests, but I'm gonna I'm gonna we're gonna focus on one of them mostly. Today, we're joined by someone who has spent much of her career bringing people, ideas, brands, and experiences together in meaningful ways. Kelly Olson is a strategic executive leader, producer, event professional, community advocate, and someone who has built an impressively diverse career, creating experiences that connect people. What doesn't she do? I know. But beyond the titles and accomplishments, what stands out most about Kelly is her heart for service and her commitment to making a difference. Okay, that's a little thing, but next week, the Twin Cities will welcome you all right, Johnny? Should we want to take some talk off?

SPEAKER_07 2:02

No, no.

SPEAKER_08 2:02

My kid has a way of calling when every time we're Oh, I thought it was kind of like angel wins, you know, like he said I was so lovely and good. Can I continue?

SPEAKER_06 2:11

Kelly, I need to introduce you. Next week, the Twin Cities will welcome athletes, families, volunteers, and supporters from around the world through the through the Special Olympics movement. And Kelly has become deeply involved in helping advance this mission, and she's going to tell us all about that. Kelly, now this is what connects her to us. Kelly's career intersects with us in many different ways. Um, stuff that we love talking about. She's super fun, she's super smart. She went to St. Thomas, and uh she's very down to earth, and we're looking forward uh to seeing she loves looking forward to seeing the good in all people. Kelly Olson, welcome to the kindness chronics. Welcome, Kelly Olson.

SPEAKER_08 2:46

Thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_06 2:46

She also has her lovely husband, Eric Scott Olson.

SPEAKER_07 2:50

Yeah, we're not sure if he's here to just protect her from our sarcasm.

SPEAKER_06 2:55

Right now he's her driver. Oh, it's good to have a driver. I always wanted a driver. Wouldn't that be great? Oh, that would be awesome. These two go, we go back far with these guys, but welcome, Kelly. Thank you. Thank you for coming down.

SPEAKER_07 3:06

I would imagine this is a very busy time for you and to take your time to come all the way out to the sticks of Matamidi. We certainly appreciate it. But uh next week, big week.

SPEAKER_08 3:18

Yeah, it's crazy, crazy time right now. Um, just tons of move that closer.

SPEAKER_06 3:24

We want to hear you.

SPEAKER_08 3:24

Um, yeah, it's the last, as my boss says, the last 10% push, but we're at about the last two percent, so it's kind of crazy.

SPEAKER_07 3:32

That's great.

SPEAKER_08 3:32

And uh 3,000 or so 3,000 athletes, um, 10,000 coaches, and we're over 22,000 right now volunteers. Oh wow. Yeah, we'll have about a hundred thousand spectators over the course of the six days. So it's it's phenomenal. It's a lot of logistics.

SPEAKER_07 3:52

Steve, you wanted to before we get into the Special Olympics, you wanted to talk about the unique history that Kelly has had professionally.

SPEAKER_06 4:01

Well, well, we want to give us your background, but there's some points here that we'll talk through that'll connect. But one of them is St. Thomas, one of them is my band Johnny Clueless, and uh also the event industry, also Target.

SPEAKER_03 4:12

I actually have a question for you with a little piece of media to tee this question up.

SPEAKER_07 4:17

Okay, here we go.

SPEAKER_03 4:18

So, as a college student, tell me if um this is right, you had the chance to uh Jelly beloved, we're gathered here today to get through this thing called sound check. Had the chance to work on the opening ceremony for the 1991 special. Kelly, you were there? Yes, she was there for Prince in the Metrodome. I'll let it play, but if there's just any recollections or fun memories that come to mind, I'd maybe that can be your origin story.

SPEAKER_08 4:48

So yes. I mean, it immediately I'm just um chilled. He's he's a legend. Um, my very first assignment when I was working the opening ceremony or the gala, the opening ceremonies, was to uh find a piano for Prince to play. What? Yeah, I was 19 years old and I worked at the TV studio at St. Thomas. That was my night job. Really? Yep. I was my major was television production, and a phone call came in. As now I am on the other side of you know, being um at a in a different place, but where you start calling and getting PAs and runners and drivers, and so you're calling all the universities, and that phone call came into St. Thomas and uh, hey, here's what we're doing. Would you let everybody who is, you know, that's the you know, that works there that they want to do production and all that? Oh, you bet. I told no one. I I marched my butt right up to that call and didn't tell anybody, which is probably not very kind, by the way. Uh, but I wanted it so bad. I just wanted to work on production so bad.

SPEAKER_06 6:03

You got to take advantage of that.

SPEAKER_08 6:04

So yeah, so they did a big call at the Metrodome, actually. And you know, there's 60 kids, college kids sitting in chairs, finding out if they're gonna be a driver or runner or this or that. And finally get to me, and I'm still sitting there, and they're like, So do you not have a spot? And I said, Oh, I I'd like to work with a producer because one day I would like to be a producer.

SPEAKER_07 6:24

Wow. And 19-year-old Kelly also. So you're an opportunist. What is fantastic to you to make you want that job?

SPEAKER_08 6:32

Well, I mean, I've always loved television and me too. I mean, truly, I was, you know, the kid who stayed up late to watch Carson and you know on the black and white TV kind of.

SPEAKER_03 6:43

Black and white TV. What are you 70? I had a zenith that was orange and white and it was black and white until we upgraded to a quasar.

SPEAKER_06 6:51

Dude, you watched Carson as well. We all watched Carson as kids.

SPEAKER_07 6:55

Well, yeah. I wasn't rich. Oh, okay. There you go. Where'd you grow up? Yeah. E Dinah.

SPEAKER_02 7:04

Good for you.

SPEAKER_07 7:07

Did you really grew up in E Dinah with your black and white TV? I feel so bad for you. Oh, God. That wasn't the right answer.

SPEAKER_08 7:18

I know, I realize that. You've heard that before.

SPEAKER_07 7:20

Just as an FYI, that's the the reaction that we get anytime the word Edina is mentioned.

SPEAKER_08 7:26

Even my husband, who's not from here, he he scowls at me and he's like, I know what you where's husband from?

SPEAKER_04 7:31

Yeah, where you're from, Eric? I'm I'm from Michigan originally.

SPEAKER_07 7:34

And before we get to Kelly, you worked on the Jerry Springer show. That's correct. Could you we just talk about that for a moment? That had to have been quite an adventure.

SPEAKER_04 7:44

I have some stories. I do. Oh my god, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 7:47

This is great. Threesoms and then some became kind of dinner conversation.

SPEAKER_04 7:52

Threesoms and then some.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

Did you remember? Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:59

You were a writer for Jerry Springer? I did the promos. So anytime it was next on Springer, that was shaking the freak tree and look who fell off. Oh god.

SPEAKER_06 8:09

I'm telling you.

SPEAKER_08 8:10

Honestly, do we tell them about our conjoined twins story?

SPEAKER_04 8:14

Oh god, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 8:15

You start I can tell you in 210 episodes, we've never talked about conjoined twins. Let's hear it.

SPEAKER_08 8:21

You want to tell it?

SPEAKER_04 8:22

What? Um, well, I get a call one day from Kelly. We're both at work. And by the way, at work, we are both waiting by the fax machine for the the overnights to come in. Sure. So we can see, because this was a a period where Jerry actually beat Oprah for like two weeks. Wow. Two weeks.

SPEAKER_07 8:39

We don't have to fight about it.

SPEAKER_04 8:40

But um anyway, so I get a call and she's telling me that the um the conjoined twins who are in Life magazine uh were in the office and they were just adorable. They were just here in my office with me and where they're running around. They're just so sweet. I said, no kidding, we had conjoined twins on today, too. And we got them a country western contract.

SPEAKER_07 9:01

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_04 9:03

And we have had footage of them driving in the back of a um uh convertible around Nashville.

unknown 9:10

Wow.

SPEAKER_08 9:11

So we had much in common. Yes, just parallel.

SPEAKER_07 9:16

Parallel lives.

SPEAKER_08 9:17

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 9:18

That's funny. Okay, well, enough of them to join twins. Let's let's go just go St. Thomas and move us through how you got into we got the Special Olympics part, which we'll get back to that later, but we want to kind of hear about your Oprah experience, at least how you got in there. How did that work?

SPEAKER_08 9:32

So I actually sent in a resume uh before I had graduated from St. Thomas. There was a gentleman at the university, um, I remember his name was Mike. I apologize, Mike, if you're out there. Um, and he had a contact at Harpo. So he at least gave me someone to send my resume to. Two years later, at this point, I've graduated. I'm living in LA. I am working for Vin Debona, doing America's Funniest uh people, because uh the woman I worked for at Special Olympics was now producing out in LA and gave me my first job. Wow. So while I was working on that, then um again I was recommended to work on Super Bowl halftime show. And so I went and did that. And that was just ending. And the World Cup LA um also so that would have still been 9194, 94, yeah. You're right, 94. Um, so I worked that and uh then my my mom called and said, You got a phone call from the Oprah Winfrey show. I again it had been two years since I had sent in a resume. I'm now living in LA, and she's like, You might want to call her back. I said, Okay, so I did, and they flew me out for an interview, and uh World Cup ended like July 15th, and I started at Oprah August 1st. Wow. I was there for six years. Well, we didn't know each other yet. Oh, okay. We were both still single, and yeah, I moved to Chicago uh as soon as that was over, and then I was on the show for um six years, and then we met after the first year on a blind date.

unknown 11:01

Wow.

SPEAKER_08 11:02

Set up by an Oprah producer.

unknown 11:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 11:04

But but he was you were working in tandem at the same time we didn't realize it, or was that no, we that was later.

SPEAKER_08 11:09

Yeah, so so we have a blind date, then over the course of the year, uh then he ends up being over at Springer, and I'm at Oprah.

SPEAKER_07 11:18

Jerry Springer wasn't a harpoon production, was it? No. Okay, no, but we had Dr. Phil and a couple of those.

SPEAKER_04 11:24

No, uh it was a hot potato. We had a lot of owners.

SPEAKER_07 11:27

Oh, okay, yeah. But it was all in the same area of the city area. Understood. Right?

SPEAKER_06 11:31

It was really close to the city. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 11:33

Yeah. They were downtown on Michigan and we were in the warehouse districts.

SPEAKER_07 11:36

Yeah, yeah. What was Oprah like?

SPEAKER_08 11:38

She was truly one of the most gifted, yeah. Uh, I mean, truly just her mind, her business sense, her sense to surround herself with people who were smarter than her with contracts or this or that. And then she would bring in this whole other flavor. Um, it it, I believe, because I was, you know, 25 or whatever, it really had a huge impact on my value system and what I the kind of TV I wanted to do or what I wanted to do, because she was just so inspiring. I mean, we used to say she could sit and read the phone book and you would just be mesmerized. I mean, there's just nothing like that. I'm so old there was no Oprah.com yet. How about that?

SPEAKER_06 12:24

Funny.

SPEAKER_08 12:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 12:25

Well, she was very driven. We've I've seen stuff about her where she, you know, she was. Well, you know, what those billionaires are. No, but even before that, when she was just a reporter, like she was just driven. She knew what she wanted, and that's that's so cool.

SPEAKER_08 12:36

Well, and as a as a woman, it was also phenomenal to have uh to see someone who she owned the studio. The only person who had owned a studio before that was Mary Pickford. Um, she, you know, she just was smart in owning her brand and the buildings, and she was good to her people. So it I I honestly, I'm not covering anything. I I couldn't speak more highly of her. That's wonderful.

SPEAKER_03 13:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 13:05

Would she know me if she saw me on the street? Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_07 13:07

But that's all right. But you did you got to interact with her? Oh, yeah. That's very cool.

SPEAKER_04 13:12

What was Jerry Springer like? Exactly the same.

SPEAKER_07 13:15

Was he really? No, not at all.

SPEAKER_04 13:18

No, no, he was he's a great guy. Um, very smart. He really uh mostly just cared about the news, particularly politics and sports. And uh very smart man. He uh testified before Congress at age 19 to get the voting age changed. Wow. Yeah, he was uh um an aide to uh Bobby Kennedy during that campaign.

SPEAKER_06 13:41

Yeah, he was the mayor of Cincinnati or something.

SPEAKER_04 13:43

Mayor of Cincinnati, yeah. Yeah, um so he was he was a very good guy. He was plugged into that. He was supposed to be the next Phil Donahue, and uh that wasn't rating, so they took a turn.

SPEAKER_07 13:55

Phil and you know what? It worked. Yeah, it absolutely worked.

SPEAKER_03 13:59

And he had a healthy sense of what his show was all about and laughed about it. He knew he knew what he was offering up, and it was that was what he did.

SPEAKER_04 14:06

It was Jerry was the everyman. Yeah so he said what we were thinking, and that's what made the show work.

SPEAKER_03 14:11

And I I've didn't he always end the show with some kind of a Jerry's like take. Final thought. Right, right. Jerry's final thought.

SPEAKER_04 14:18

Eric, did you did you write some of that? I I did a couple for him. Okay. Uh but he had many Emmys. He was a newscaster in Cincinnati before he was mayor, yeah, and he would do political commentary, and he had Emmys for those, and that was so that was those little commentaries were with the the embryotic state of the uh what would become the um Jerry's final thoughts.

SPEAKER_03 14:40

I love I love that because it adds the wisdom at the end. It takes like the absurdity of it all, but then puts a bow on it as best you can. Exactly.

SPEAKER_06 14:50

So this this era um is around when we uh when I interact with you guys. So um we can't go any further without talking about your brother Tim. So Tim Groves was a fan of my band. He and his friends Oh, he was the one. Yeah. Oh, wow. He's the one that connected us all, and he just was like, What can I do to help? He was just such a great spirit. He still is. He just was like, What can I do to help make you elevate you guys? He goes, I have a sister in Chicago, blah, blah, blah. I don't know how that was. He was like trying to figure out how you could help help us, but I'm like, we don't do bands on Oprah. Yeah, yeah, I don't know how this worked, but he said, Well, what about Jenny Jones? Because they did have I saw uh G Love and Special Sauce and some other like low like regional bands, but I'm like, Wow, they have bands as the interstitials and you know, as they get to feature a song and then they play the on and off. And so I was like, that's crazy. And he goes, Well, let me see if I can so he worked this whole thing, submitted our stuff, and then these guys helped. I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_08 15:46

I feel like you you did a lot of that like.

SPEAKER_04 15:48

So we shared a studio with Jenny Jones. Yeah, uh not a studio, we shared a control room. Our studios were adjacent. Yes, so yeah, I walked into the Jenny Jones office from the Jerry Springer office and said, Hey, I need someone to do me a favor. And they were they're very cool about it.

SPEAKER_06 16:01

Yeah, and and so we got our chance to go on. They they liked us, and they they it must have taken a good, you know, your credibility to go, yeah, okay, they'll be okay. Let's try him.

SPEAKER_07 16:10

And you had such great hair. So I mean, who wouldn't want that?

SPEAKER_06 16:13

So we went on, and it was the craziest experience, even though, yes, it's it's Jenny Jones. The theme was geek to chic, and they had people that were really nerdy that became cool, blah, blah, blah. And where did you fall into that uh hierarchy? We were a side. We were uh we were a side piece. We were literally playing what then the commercial breaks, so they ran the show as if it was live. So we were like the Letterman band and we played I was gonna say that was before the days of having all the side bands. Yeah, so then we got to feature a song Tainted Love. Oh, we played Tainted Love, we played her twice. They liked us so much, we went back. We played You're My Flavor from the You're My Flavor album anyway. That's how uh I know these guys, and not only do we do that, but they actually we stayed at their house the night that night or that weekend, or no, maybe it was another time because I think we played in we stayed in a hotel that anyway. We stayed with these guys, they're little kids. We're sleeping on their floor, they bought us all this Chinese food. Hopefully, it was fun for you. Oh my god, we had a blast. We never really met, I didn't really know them, but it was through Tim, her brother, yeah, and then through just their kindness of helping us.

SPEAKER_07 17:19

So you invited this band from Minneapolis into your home. Yeah, and you had children at the time. Yeah, yeah. You know what? Speaking of the kindness chronicles, I know, or maybe the crazy chronicles.

SPEAKER_06 17:33

Yeah, exactly. I have a list of people that I need to continue to help to thank for stuff like that, especially in Chicago. We had people that would let us stay at their place all the time. Let's get let's get to kind of that's how I know that. That's very kind of a lot of things. It's where this came from. That's a wonderful story. Thank you, Jeff. See?

SPEAKER_07 17:48

Well, and here you are on the number two rated what is it in the world kindness podcast. There's three kindness podcasts for number two.

SPEAKER_06 17:58

Um, so I have a much more list of questions. We've I've kind of given you these, but we don't have to get through you know all of them by the way. Can we get to the first one? But we kind of did. We want to get her background story, your origin story. Um but I kind of want to know about more about Special Olympics. So I want to know there's there's a lot to yeah.

SPEAKER_08 18:17

Let me clarify that what we're what I'm working on right now is the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games. Yeah, and so that is unique in and of itself. So, like the as we call the five rings, which is the big Olympics, like that, it is every four years. And so every state has representation. So there's a Special Olympics Minnesota um organization, there's one in all the states, it's international, but every four years there's a USA Games, and then the the those who qualify from these games will actually go on to Santiago, Chile for the 2027 World Games. So it's a big deal. I know it is. It's a it's a really big deal, it's a real honor. So I saw that. But I say but I say that's just the difference. Is opening up she is we went from Prince and then now we're well, we needed two to so we have uh Demi and we have John Batiste. Oh, really? Nice, yes, so it's it is how do you get those people? You have an unbelievable booker named Cindy Mori, who was my co-AP at Oprah 25 years ago.

SPEAKER_07 19:26

Yeah, you know what we need is a booker.

SPEAKER_06 19:30

You need a bookie, John.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

You want to have one.

SPEAKER_06 19:32

That's different. Yeah, so so you keep this is crazy. There's people keep turn that's why you know it was sort of meant to be for you, right? To do this.

SPEAKER_08 19:40

Yes. So um, like I said, I worked in on the 91 when I was in college, and that solidified, in my opinion, that this is what I want to do. I want to, you know, stay in television and do live events and all this. Uh, you know, 25 years later now, um I I have gone from Chicago and LA to New York, and now I've I'm back in Minneapolis.

SPEAKER_07 20:02

I'm I'm a bit of a 91 was 35 years later.

SPEAKER_08 20:07

Yes, 35 years. But she but when she and I worked together, then okay.

SPEAKER_07 20:11

I was gonna say 25 years. So you did go to St. Thomas, so you didn't take those math classes. Like I didn't take them either. Yeah. Don't try to do math.

SPEAKER_08 20:18

So when I thought I wanted to be an accountant, similar to your testing scores, Sam, I went, oh, numbers may not be my bad.

SPEAKER_06 20:24

Marketing, maybe.

SPEAKER_03 20:26

Yeah, yeah. Kelly, of all the events you've done on it doesn't have to be the most successful or largest, but is there ever uh an event you've produced where you're you quietly said to yourself, you know, this is why I do what I do?

SPEAKER_08 20:38

Uh this one. This is this is a pinnacle for me. This is um this is a lot. I mean, this is probably the largest event I've done at this stage in my career.

SPEAKER_07 20:51

So where is the opening ceremony?

SPEAKER_08 20:53

So the opening ceremonies are at Huntington Bake Stadium on Saturday, the 20th. Okay. And you can buy tickets. Yes. And closing ceremonies are on the 26th, also at Huntington Bank Stadium. Wonderful.

SPEAKER_03 21:06

Um why is it so meaningful for you though?

SPEAKER_08 21:11

It is uh, so I also have family members who um are intellectually disabled and grew up with them my whole life. So I didn't know any different. Um, so when I first became involved, it was a little bit of, you know, oh, I know the community and and I am a family member. But um you go to one event, you go to like one of your questions you had asked me before was, you know, what is something that just turned the corner for you? And it's or something that everybody should do if they get the opportunity. Please, please go watch a game. Go watch, and in my opinion, a unified game, just because I think that's so interesting, where one player is intellectually disabled and the other player is not, and they pair together and they play on the same field and it. Is the most beautiful thing to watch. And I went to the basketball championships this year, and it was just you're you're just moved. You just really are, because you're like, God, we're all we're all.

SPEAKER_03 22:10

My daughters and wife have come home after volunteering just in tears and in a happy way, but just like that felt so great, and they were sharing stories. And so yeah, it gives you a lot of people. It's like celebration of human spirit, right? It's just human spirit.

SPEAKER_08 22:25

There's nothing but joy in their face, in they're so happy that you're doing this. And you you just want to say, Oh, I'm getting so much more back.

SPEAKER_07 22:35

Yeah. You know, last week we uh we posted our uh selfless scholar uh program, and I am a sucker for anybody that's involved in those unified sports. Uh, you know, that and the person that, of course, my lunchroom trauma that I must have had as a youngster, you know, the person that's always talking about the lunchroom, how how lonely a lunchroom can be when you're in high school. But um the the the unified thing, you know, so it's it's they have these programs in just about every high school, as far as I know.

SPEAKER_08 23:07

And it's the fastest growing program within Special Olympics right now is the unified play mission, yep, which is um highly supported and uh by ESPN. So they are helping get that word out.

SPEAKER_07 23:21

So is that part of the Special Olympics then? They have unified programs?

SPEAKER_08 23:24

So 16 there are 16 sports that'll be played, and 13 of those are also being played as unified teams. Really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 23:32

And the unified volunteer, they're often athletes, right?

SPEAKER_08 23:36

Oh, yes. Like, yeah, so you you might have uh, you know, your JV basketball kid uh is also on the unified team. Yeah, you know, and it's yeah, it's phenomenal. The I see the their athletic partners getting as much or more out of it. For sure. You know, it's just it just says a lot about the person.

SPEAKER_06 23:59

And it's a huge production, just from what I've seen. Kelly showed me uh our team, what what's gonna happen? It's it's huge.

SPEAKER_07 24:06

So what what sports, if I was to if I was to buy tickets to go, what sports would I would you suggest that I uh would find the most entertaining?

SPEAKER_08 24:14

I thought basketball was awesome.

SPEAKER_07 24:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 24:17

Um, soccer's gonna be huge, and but there are two new sports that were added this year.

SPEAKER_07 24:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 24:24

Cornhole. Oh no, and pickleball.

SPEAKER_07 24:27

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_08 24:28

So I think I would probably maybe want to see one of those.

SPEAKER_07 24:30

That's very fun. And the venues are all over the Twin Cities.

SPEAKER_08 24:34

All the sporting events will be held um on either the U of M campus in the various buildings, um, or up at National Sports Center in Blaine.

SPEAKER_07 24:43

Blaine, very cool.

SPEAKER_08 24:44

Yep. So um, yeah, and up there in Blaine, we also have fan zones. Uh so Frederickson fan zone.

SPEAKER_06 24:53

Uh so I'm helping on this. And what what is the our event called? What on uh Sunday and so you are volunteering.

SPEAKER_08 24:59

Um by the way, did he tell you what his role is?

SPEAKER_06 25:01

No, I didn't.

SPEAKER_08 25:03

Can I share?

SPEAKER_06 25:04

I didn't know if I could. I don't know.

SPEAKER_08 25:05

Sure, go ahead.

SPEAKER_06 25:06

You tell him. All right.

SPEAKER_08 25:07

He's gonna be buddies with um our celebrity DJ Jimmy Jam.

SPEAKER_06 25:11

Oh, awesome. I'm gonna be his guide.

SPEAKER_08 25:13

He's gonna be his guide. The Jimmy Jam? Yeah, the Jimmy Jam.

SPEAKER_03 25:16

That's so cool, Steve.

SPEAKER_08 25:18

So that event is called the ESPN Unified Sports Challenge. And it's something that they actually started in 2013. Um, ESPN's uh VP of Community Relations had uh started it as a way really for sponsors to get involved and get down on the field. Um but we this is the first time we are sort of flipping it on its head and making um it really about the unified pair. So what we've done is we've taken uh unified pair and given them a professional athlete coach.

SPEAKER_07 25:48

Oh wonderful. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 25:50

So we have 16 professional athletes from around the country. I've got cool Jalen Suggs to Josh Metellus, uh, you know, um Gray Zumwinkle, who's gold winner hockey player here locally.

SPEAKER_06 26:02

I don't know who any of these people are. Gray Zumwinkle plays for the frost. For the frost. Okay, well, that way I won't be I won't be starstruck when I see the athletes because I'm gonna be able to do it. Yeah, but Jimmy Jam, you know, he's my guy. Of course.

SPEAKER_07 26:13

And you can try to get a gig with Playtime Studios.

SPEAKER_06 26:16

Is that the I I think that's so cool that these athletes are joining up and connecting and being a part of this because it's a draw.

SPEAKER_08 26:24

It's really, really fantastic. And you one of you was talking about the schools that support um and how big of a program unified play has become. So there are schools called Unified Champion Schools or Unified Champion Banner Schools, and those are schools that have taken unified sports but then expanded it into the curriculum into other areas besides just being on a sports team. Wow. And so all of our players, all of our unified pairs are coming from a uh a unified team here in Minnesota.

SPEAKER_06 26:57

Really? Yeah. Very neat.

SPEAKER_08 26:58

So it's very cool.

SPEAKER_06 26:59

There's another connection that we have. So aside from St. Thomas, aside from the band, Kelly and I both worked at Target.

SPEAKER_07 27:05

Oh.

SPEAKER_06 27:06

During the golden days.

SPEAKER_07 27:07

I worked at Target, yeah. But in a very different capacity. I was stocking shelves and managers. Management store, him and his wife. That's how they meant. Store manager, baby. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 27:23

We've been to that one.

SPEAKER_07 27:24

Have you been to T180? North Minneapolis. That was my first store. T one eight.

SPEAKER_08 27:28

I don't think so. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 27:29

T180, T820, T661. I've been at all of them.

SPEAKER_06 27:33

That's yeah. T240. So we both found ourselves both working at Target at the same time. For I was there for 10 years. You're there for four. Probably, okay, yeah. But we crossed over and we it was crazy. And and Eric is in the production world. He was actually working with Media Loft and a bunch of other companies at the same time. So we crossed paths too. I just, these guys can't get rid of me. Basically, clearly.

SPEAKER_08 27:54

It's our greatest thing. We're like, where's Steve now?

SPEAKER_07 27:56

It's just so great. You're always the first call. Where in the world is Steve Brown? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, he's in a basement.

SPEAKER_08 28:01

Truly, you're saying, and because people don't just say Steve, I mean it's kind of like Eric. They'll say Eric Scott Olson. Everybody says Steve Brown.

SPEAKER_06 28:09

Since I was a kid.

SPEAKER_03 28:10

That's so funny because I'm not sure. I was at a wedding and someone knew you and said, Isn't Browner on your podcast?

SPEAKER_06 28:16

That's my brother's nickname. No, Dan is Dan is Browner. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 28:20

Um but I sit in a room and that's when five people go, Oh my God, I know him. I know him. I know him.

SPEAKER_06 28:25

It's because of the podcast now, right? Exactly.

SPEAKER_08 28:27

Number two.

SPEAKER_06 28:29

So we so we crossed paths and and kept kind of kept connected during during the events. You're not creeping on her. No, but you can as you can see. That's why Aries is here. She's here, yeah. Yeah. Good decision, man. No. You can see this is why I wanted her to come here. I'm so excited to have you on. I think you'd want to come here, though. That's what would surprise me. This is a full experience.

SPEAKER_08 28:51

No, we sold our house after 20 years and moved downtown into an apartment.

SPEAKER_07 28:56

Which apartment?

SPEAKER_08 28:56

Expo. Okay.

SPEAKER_07 28:57

Right behind the son just bought or just moved into uh four mark on fourth and marquette.

SPEAKER_08 29:03

Oh, that's a nice one. It's cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:05

I saw your Instagram and I saw a picture that said getting older doesn't suck and you were on your balcony. Sorry. I John always thinks I'm creeping out on people, but I'm just doing my research. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 29:17

Can't wait for the Fourth of July because that was our we've only been in an apartment for a year.

SPEAKER_06 29:22

They overlooked the city from the north side looking uh so cool. Looking south. It's incredible. Um okay.

SPEAKER_08 29:28

But you're talking about going from a four-bedroom house to a big change. 1,200 square feet after the house. You don't have a lawn to cut.

SPEAKER_04 29:37

Think about exactly no gutters.

SPEAKER_08 29:40

How easy. It's like living at a hotel.

SPEAKER_03 29:43

Yeah. In many ways. It's beautiful. It really is. Have you gotten to know your neighbors too? We're starting to.

SPEAKER_08 29:48

Yeah. They're starting to invite us to things.

SPEAKER_06 29:50

So it's kind of the dream. This is what me and my wife want to do at some point. Yeah. We've got a long time, but um, do you have a dog, by the way? Do you have to bring a dog downstairs? We have two. Do you have to bring them down?

SPEAKER_08 30:00

But there's two uh huge dog rounds on the roof.

SPEAKER_06 30:04

Okay, there you go.

SPEAKER_08 30:05

So you can go to the woof top east or the woof top west.

SPEAKER_06 30:08

Oh. Do they call it the woof top like a dog? Do they do? Yes. That's what I just said. Oh, I thought you just accidentally said. No, there's no clever.

SPEAKER_05 30:18

I know she loves that.

SPEAKER_07 30:20

She's Elmer Fudd in that way. We're going to the woof top.

SPEAKER_06 30:26

Who's going to the woof top? So I want to focus on Scott for a second. Okay. Scott. Now I call him Scott. Eric Scott. Eric Scott. Eric. You've known your wife since the Chicago days. Yep. Um on a blind date. You've seen her transform through so many different careers and so many so many evolutions. What do you think is her superpower. Superpower. Yeah, what's her secret?

SPEAKER_04 30:56

I think a couple things actually. Um the first is that everybody loves her immediately. Um so she can walk into any group or team or whatever, and it's cohesive. And that's important. It is. It matters. Well, and especially if you're going uh between industries as well as companies, right? So she's worked at Target, she's worked at MSP magazine, she worked in All of America in PR there for a while. She can't literally step into any environment and just lead and and win and succeed. Yeah.

unknown 31:29

Thanks.

SPEAKER_07 31:30

You're right. Do you have anything nice to say about your husband?

SPEAKER_08 31:32

He's literally the most brilliant writer I have ever known. There is nothing that he can't write that.

SPEAKER_02 31:43

Exactly.

SPEAKER_08 31:44

We haven't been in the same room this long in a while.

SPEAKER_06 31:48

I I would agree. I don't, I don't, I just have seen some of the stuff he's done, but I just need to John was gonna want me to show you this. This is a book that John wrote with his friend. He's also an author.

SPEAKER_07 31:58

Why are we showing him that book?

SPEAKER_06 31:59

I don't know, because you're a writer? I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 32:00

Well, not really. I mean, when you read it, you'll see how he's not a writer, but it's clever. I it is clever. It's uh it's a grammar book, but that's not what this show is about tonight. I had to I figured if I didn't show him you would say I'm proud of you. I am proud of you.

SPEAKER_03 32:15

Steve Brown, I'm very proud of you. I know the world of entertainment and production can be kind of volatile. So, you know, looking back over your life, was there ever a crossroads either maybe each of you could answer this crossroads where you weren't sure what was next and and what person or experience helped guide you through it? Can you think of a story?

SPEAKER_08 32:36

9-11? Yeah, that's exactly what I was gonna say in anthrax. Yeah. So so I left the Oprah show in uh 2000 in 2000 and was pregnant with um our second child and was just gonna take some time off. And then I had an opportunity to go and produce a show in New York with Barbara Walters and Bill Getty uh for Ian LaVanz, who was a regular on the Oprah show. So, you know, it was kind of Susie had her show at that point, Phil had his show, she wanted her show, so Barbara came in and did that. And so I ended up going to New York and um doing that for a few months. And then Warner Brothers uh was our parent company, and they got a whole somebody sent in, or you did or whatever, um, his writing samples, and they said, We saw your husband's work, um, we'd like your whole family to move here, and we'd like him to be the show writer, and you can produce. And because at that point, he was still in Chicago with the kids. I was in New York doing it, and uh, and he said, Okay, so we all moved to New York, and um the show started the week of 9-11. No, and so that was uh crazy, and but we were like, you know what though, we're we we'll get through this, we'll get through this. And um, it wasn't until anthrax started making its way around New York in various letters. Uh, Dan Rather had gotten a letter and we it would be like walking those stairs. Like we walked past Dan's office every day to get to our studio, and so we were walking down from on 57th from the subway, and we both looked and there was just 10, 15 cameras just pointed up at the building.

SPEAKER_04 34:18

And we said satellite trucks lining the road.

SPEAKER_08 34:20

Yeah, and we just looked at each other, and Eric goes, It's here. And so we walked in, and sure enough, verified that Anthrax was here, and we just said to each other, we don't think we can stay anymore. We're the only married couple on the staff. We have two babies. If something happens to one of us in this office, it'll happen to both of us, and then what happens? So we sort of uh got ourselves together and promptly marched upstairs and said, We love you, we'll take you through sweeps, but we got to get out of here. Uh, you know, we we got a family and all that. And it was at that moment, um, we said, You can take every we had three year deals and said you can you can sue us, you can take everything, but our little minivan so that we can get get to where we're going. And they were like, Oh god, no, like I mean, no one knew what was going on at that time. Everything was great. So they were like, Of course we're not gonna hold you to that. So we did. We um that right after Thanksgiving, we loaded up the van and went back. Yep, went back to Chicago, sold the house there much quicker than we anticipated. So then we called my folks who were living up here and said, We think we might come to Minnesota. What do you think? And they said, come on up. And so we sat for five months without jobs. And um, it was at that moment that we both decided, okay, I've been on the other side of the pitch for 10 years. Maybe I will go into PR and be the pitch and help people shape their stories. And so I did that. And then Eric said, you know, he'd been writing TV, so maybe he would start writing creative and uh speeches. And so we both just kind of took our experience, parlayed it into the next chapter, and that's sort of how we got our feet under ourselves in Minneapolis.

SPEAKER_07 36:04

Uh, real quick, where did you go to school, Eric?

SPEAKER_04 36:06

I went to Northwestern.

SPEAKER_07 36:08

Oh, good for you. Of course it was coming. And I'm guessing it wasn't the one in St. Paul.

SPEAKER_04 36:16

There's one in St. Paul? Is it electrical? Well, electrical school. No, it's a great school in St. Paul. It's a great school. It's a wonderful school. Not the Billy Graham one, right? Is that what you're talking about? Our freshman year, we're taught to put down other schools. I apologize. Yeah. You know what?

SPEAKER_07 36:29

That's kind of like how the uh that's what she learned at Nidinah, exactly.

SPEAKER_08 36:33

But that's why I got kindness chronicles, not you.

SPEAKER_07 36:36

Oh, that's well done. Um did you know Elaine Bennis? Was she there when you were there? Or she was she there before you? Um she was Julia Louis Drew. She did not graduate. I know she didn't. She would but Brad did. Brad Hall did, yes. Okay. You guys, you just dropped the name Brad like like you might know Brad. And I am enamored with people who've crossed paths with famous people. Yeah, he likes who are the who are the kindest famous people that you've ever encountered.

SPEAKER_08 37:06

Easy for me.

SPEAKER_07 37:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 37:07

Meryl Streep is the kindest actress I've ever like a real. So where did you interact? Where did you interact? At the Oprah show. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 37:16

Everyone was probably on Oprah.

SPEAKER_08 37:17

I mean A lot. A lot of my interactions certainly were from there. Yeah. No, she was uh I don't like promoting a movie or something at the time. And she had her her girls at the time were teenagers, and she just could not have been more amazing. And at that point, you take your guest out to their car, you get them, and off they go. Thank you for the show. And she gets in her car, they pull away, she makes the car back up, rolls down the window, and is like, Kelly, oh my God, we almost left without saying thank you, and you're so amazing. And I just went, Are you kidding me?

SPEAKER_03 37:52

See, I watched uh I watched an Oprah episode with Meryl on it, I believe, and she was talking about pesticides and fruit. Do you remember that one? I don't remember that. I think it was her.

SPEAKER_07 38:01

Do you know that right there is typical? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:05

I don't know where it comes up with. I don't know how I remembered it, but I'm like, Merrill Street is definitely like protecting America. That never happened again. Literally never happened.

unknown 38:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:16

She's so she's easy for me.

SPEAKER_06 38:17

Eric, how about you actually a lot of people too?

SPEAKER_04 38:19

Yeah, uh a lot of the celebrities I met um don't fit with the vibe of Kindness Chronicles.

SPEAKER_07 38:25

Yeah, but we can talk about them uh Krabby Chronicles. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 38:29

So Richard Branson brought to me. So interesting. When they um uh when they when Virgin decided to do non-stop to Chicago, they wanted to promote it and they wanted to do an in-flight movie that was based at Springer. And so I got to write that. And so I got to put words in his mouth and Jerry's mouth and the security guys. And then play it on and it played on yeah.

SPEAKER_08 38:52

Virgin for years.

SPEAKER_04 38:53

It did. Oh, it's fine. Wow. What was the movie called? Well, the like an in-flight promotion. In-flight promo, dude. I see the um premise was we're doing a show called Love Is in the Air. Okay. And then a fight breaks out, obviously. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 39:06

Oh, I see with the Jerry's for Jerry's friend.

SPEAKER_06 39:09

There's a couple surprises thrown in. I love that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_07 39:13

Yeah, so I I for some reason I get People magazine, like it just shows up. I don't pay for it, but it just shows up. Oh, I love it. And, you know, it seems like the most successful people are the ones that are the kindest. It's sort of like we got nothing to prove. And as a result of that, you know, I mean, I've heard stories about Oprah just being very generous, and we're not sure what happened to Ellen. You know, she likes to play the kind person, but apparently in real life things are but we're not going to talk about that.

SPEAKER_08 39:42

Even I was surprised by some of those stories. So yeah.

SPEAKER_06 39:44

Well, it's it's I will say to connect it in the rock and roll world, the band, the big especially the longer the band's been around, the cooler they are, but they're insulated by crabby, crabby people or or like really protective people. But once you get past them, like the cheap trick guys are the nicest people. The roadies were kind of tough to us, and like, you know, but but it feels like that's kind of the case. The longer the the someone's been famous, the the probably the kinder they get because they're I would think the lessons they learn of like pressure and being nasty gets you nowhere. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Um, can I sort of bring this back to Special Olympics a little bit or the Special Olympics? I wish you would. Um given so there's a question for Kelly.

SPEAKER_08 40:24

I love you guys. Can I come like every day?

SPEAKER_06 40:27

Yeah. Gotta get your driver here.

SPEAKER_07 40:30

Kelly, you'll just discover very small doses. This gets real irritating after a while.

SPEAKER_06 40:41

So, Kelly, you've been a part of major productions, live events, TV productions, um, you know, with everything you can think of, and all this all the famous people that John uh obviously always wants to hear about. Um what makes an event or a production truly matter to you when it comes down to it, why you want to do it? And sometimes you just have to do the work. But when something comes together really well, like some things you've done in the past, what do you think it is that that makes it matter?

SPEAKER_08 41:12

I think there's a couple of things for me. One is who is the audience? Who am I doing this for? Am I doing it for a big corporate client or am I doing it for a community of people or an issue that I care about? Um so that makes a big difference. And then who I'm working with. And um not and I'm not saying this because it's the next thing on my docket, but I I have never worked with so many phenomenal event professionals than I have on this project.

SPEAKER_06 41:43

Really?

SPEAKER_08 41:43

Yeah. And everybody has been around the block many, many times.

SPEAKER_06 41:46

See, that's what makes when you're working with really pros, it it's like you can move.

SPEAKER_08 41:50

There is a shorthand, there is a, you know what, this may not be the way we would have done it, but doesn't matter. It started that way, so now let's fix it and let's get going.

SPEAKER_06 42:00

And I learned that with Target Productions the sometimes the bigger the project, you have everyone's responsible for the thing. You can kind of just it's a big machine and it moves really really fast in a in a different way.

SPEAKER_01 42:10

Yep.

SPEAKER_06 42:10

Um I was gonna say, uh in fact, you love this so much. You went from starting as a volunteer for this, yeah, right?

SPEAKER_08 42:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 42:19

Like just within last this half. Ten months ago, yeah. And now that you're a full-time employee. Well, a contractor, but yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 42:27

So I started by by coming on just to produce the ESPN Unified Sports Challenge, and uh uh just within a few weeks, then um asked if I would also work on the programming for all of the fan fests and fan cents.

SPEAKER_06 42:41

What an amazing turn of you you're still the same person that showed up 19 and said, I I want to be a producer, so I'll just wait until the producer. And now look at, I mean, you're you're just sitting there going, I want to volunteer, and like maybe you should be a producer.

SPEAKER_08 42:54

I'm so cool. It it has really been uh so it's it's been a rough couple of years, right? Like, I mean, uh I got laid off, uh Eric got laid off a month later, year and a half ago, and we were both like, Oh, what is going on? What are we gonna do? And then this came, and I just yeah, but it has just filled me up.

SPEAKER_06 43:11

You guys just keep reinventing. Um, you have skills, obviously, really sellable skills, but you're just I love it. You're just open to take on, here we go, here's what's coming next.

SPEAKER_08 43:20

And if somebody believes I can do it or somebody believes I can give it a shot, uh absolutely so even if I don't totally know what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_03 43:29

And this could be for either of the two of you too, but on that topic of someone sees that they believe in you, who saw something in you before you fully saw it in yourself? A mentor, a coach, someone that mentored.

SPEAKER_07 43:43

Your questions are so lovely. Yeah, too. I love very Oprah because I never get to talk about this stuff.

SPEAKER_08 43:51

That's great. Uh a woman named Katherine Hovind who was the producer of the um Special Olympics ABC. Primetime gala special. Um, she I stayed in touch with her for the next two years while I was in school. And she ultimately called me and said, I got a job for you. I started to take it. And she went, I'm renigging that job. She said, You're gonna finish school. I had like a semester left. And she said, No, I'm not gonna do that. I promise you, you'll have one waiting. And I graduated, and two weeks later I drove to LA and I was the receptionist. And within three months, I was working on Super Bowl 28 halftime show.

SPEAKER_03 44:29

If she were listening, what would you want her to know right now?

SPEAKER_08 44:33

What a profound impact she made in my confidence. I would have ne oh my gosh. I I would pick up the phone and call the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal with no qualms because of what I had went through with her. I'm like, hey, if I can get Prince, you know, if I can get him the right piano and I'm talking to red white and I know the secret code to get into the, you know, back phone area so that when you call, you get to the right. I mean, it was just what I learned. It was crazy. Um, but strangely enough, I looked her up just this last week on Facebook and sent a message. I haven't uh it looked like she hadn't really checked Facebook in quite some time, which makes sense. Yeah, uh, but I told her that. I said, 35 years ago, you gave me this opportunity, and I'm now standing.

SPEAKER_07 45:22

I said, I love that.

SPEAKER_08 45:23

I was an intern, and here we are. I said, I am now producing probably one of the biggest events that I've ever produced by myself. So cool.

SPEAKER_05 45:30

Yeah, wait till she hears this episode. Yeah, I'm sure she's a listener. I'm sure she is.

SPEAKER_07 45:34

We're the number two. LA LA is hot.

SPEAKER_08 45:36

I hope this gets all the way there.

SPEAKER_07 45:38

They need kindness out there.

SPEAKER_06 45:41

Eric, what would you say as someone who like you know believed in you or gave you that kind of same kind of chance? Like said, hey, come here.

SPEAKER_07 45:47

If you say Kelly, we're gonna ask you to leave.

SPEAKER_04 45:50

My my story, I wish it was as touching as hers. But um um, so I make my living writing now. Um, I write speeches, I write thought speech. So who do you write speeches for? Um executives, C-suite executives mostly.

SPEAKER_07 46:03

We'll have to talk.

SPEAKER_04 46:04

C-suite. It's an important distinction because I'm an executive over here. Yeah. Um but um but I had never had a writing class in my life. I I in college I took a screenwriting class. Um but I so I didn't understand I had an aptitude beyond what normal people have as an aptitude for writing. Um and then I got the Jerry Springer job and people were always laughing, and I kept him laughing. Um and then it wasn't until Bill Geddes from the Ayanla show he came to down to town to do a focus group, and he invited me over to the focus group at the Wrigley building, and we watched the people with the little dials and all that stuff. And so he's talking about the job, and he wants to give me the job, and he turns to me at one point and he says, I mean, you're a writer, right? That's what you do. I'm like, mm-hmm. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 46:56

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 46:57

Um, and you know, that's a lesson we taught our kids too. It's like the the answer, if someone asks if you can do something, is absolutely and trust yourself enough to know you'll figure it out.

SPEAKER_03 47:08

Yeah, it's not quite as touching, but there's a scene in boiler room when Ben Affleck is trying to pump up the Wall Street guys. Here he goes.

SPEAKER_01 47:16

There's an important phrase that we use here. I think it's time you all learned it. Act as if. Do you understand what that means? Act as if you are the fing president of this firm, okay? Act as if. And to do that properly, you need to at least look the part.

SPEAKER_07 47:34

Jeff, I feel like you might watch too much TV.

SPEAKER_01 47:36

No, he just remembers.

SPEAKER_03 47:37

And the wrong life imitates our. So what I say.

SPEAKER_06 47:41

I'm with you. I I think that's important to to uh to give your kids that understanding that first of all, someone's if someone believes in you, just go with it. Because I had that same thing. Someone said, Oh, yeah, you can do that. And like, I you think I can? Then you go, Oh, okay. If he thinks I can, right? She thinks I can do it.

SPEAKER_08 47:57

Yeah, they would never put their reputation on the line if they think I can't do it. Someone did that to me too.

SPEAKER_06 48:01

Yeah. Um I've been faking it for 35 years. What are you talking about? But yeah, the other thing is fake it till you make it. But I will say the caveat is you have to be in the kind of in the range of what you're what you're into. You know, if it's definitely it has to be what you're interested in. Um but but that's all yeah, yeah. Oh yeah, I can do that, and then figure it out, and you will be surprised how much you learn, even if it isn't what you end up doing, that you'll get some bit of a skill out of it.

SPEAKER_04 48:28

And if you if you have the attitude that I can do this, I can figure this out, it's amazing how much stress evaporates. Yeah. Because you're not worried about the outcome, you trusting yourself, you'll know what to do when you get there.

SPEAKER_06 48:42

You're actually creating a neural pathway.

SPEAKER_07 48:44

Well, just to be clear, that did not work for me in that biology class. I can do this. No, I couldn't do it. Well, because it wasn't in your field. Clearly, it was not.

SPEAKER_06 48:52

I was not biology major material. I will also say another lesson for kids and you know, people that are going into the workforce, you know, 20-something kids of mine. I keep telling them, and this is your kind of an example of this, Kelly. It is people, you have to have a network. You have to be talking to people because you had a great experience with someone, and now they will they will look for you, go, Oh, yeah, I wonder where what a great experience they had with Kelly. I gotta I gotta find that Kelly person. Where's that Kelly? Because she was great. That is a really important thing to be visible, keep connected with people because you're you're not having to send a resume. It's like it's they know you, they know your ability.

SPEAKER_02 49:36

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 49:37

And tell them who was represented there. I mean, all the different jobs and neighbors and oh yeah.

SPEAKER_08 49:42

I well, you were there.

SPEAKER_04 49:44

I was there.

SPEAKER_08 49:44

Uh who all did I have? Your neighbors were there. You had Jenny from yeah, they went back to Mall of America days, neighbor, uh MSP Mac, so you're Target, all the different crazy experiences with people you've had, and yeah.

SPEAKER_06 49:57

Yeah, when bringing them for Kelly calls, they still show up.

SPEAKER_08 50:00

And no one had to think about it. Every single one was like, Oh yeah, I'm there, I'm there. It was I'm so like, I'm so fortunate.

SPEAKER_07 50:07

Well, okay. So I So this is one of the longest days of the year, but we would like to let these people drive back to Minneapolis before the sun goes down.

SPEAKER_06 50:16

I'm sure Kelly has a million calls waiting for us to get in the car.

SPEAKER_02 50:19

No, that's why it's good.

SPEAKER_07 50:23

You know, in all sincerity, we're grateful for both of you guys to come. Yeah, I I was creeping on you on LinkedIn and Joe Branmeyer.

SPEAKER_02 50:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 50:33

Do you guys know Joe? Joe is a producer, he's done documentaries. Joe and uh Joan Stefan were design on a dime. They were guests on our uh on the podcast. Lovely, lovely.

SPEAKER_08 50:46

I was gonna say that's another good human. Like good humans. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 50:51

Um, but it it is funny when uh I saw that and I thought, oh, you producer people are all sort of in the same, you know. I didn't even know what that meant before.

SPEAKER_06 51:01

It's a crazy skill. You have to have a huge wide range.

SPEAKER_08 51:04

Honest to God, think about the so which is great for my ADHD, by the way.

SPEAKER_07 51:09

But event production is so like uh you go to a uh a gopher football game, and when you realize what goes into producing a football game with the halftime show and the edge, it's really it's insanity. Yeah, it's intense. So you guys have a very different skill set, you know. Even though you went to Northwestern, it seems you know that you've you know been able to parlay that into something. You're still a good person. You made something of yourself, Amy.

SPEAKER_04 51:36

I appreciate that. You know what I'd like to add to that though, um, when you talk about that, one of the things I tell young people in this business and and sometimes clients is um nobody knows when you're doing things right, but the moment you do one thing wrong, everybody can point it out. So it it creates a baseline that you have to to meet. Um and whether it's where you invest your dollars into the production or who you have on the team or the choices you make, it it comes down to um you have to have everything that's at the high polish expectation level. Everything you can do beyond that is where the match is.

SPEAKER_07 52:16

I get the sense you two are great parents. Sincerely. Yes, right. Like I could just hear all your talking about. Tell us about your kids again, really quick. Yeah, tell us about your kids.

SPEAKER_08 52:24

Fletcher is 27 and Stella is 25.

SPEAKER_07 52:27

Oh, neat.

SPEAKER_08 52:28

Fletcher went into the business of production in Chicago. Okay, yep, he's freelancing, and Stella is a food scientist for post-consumer brands.

SPEAKER_04 52:36

Really? She she's the only one who didn't go to film school.

SPEAKER_08 52:39

Yeah, she was a smart one. The three of us she'll have a job the rest of her life. Why Zeta?

SPEAKER_07 52:45

Why Zeta? Oh, good for you. Another one.

SPEAKER_08 52:47

And Fletcher went to Northwestern.

SPEAKER_07 52:50

Oh Fletcher. Oh, yeah. That's good. So my son toured uh Northwestern. He was a baseball player. Um, and then they found out like, even though you're a baseball player and we're interested in you, you got to get an ACT score of a certain level. And that's why he went to St. Thomas.

SPEAKER_08 53:10

Hey.

SPEAKER_07 53:11

Well, hey, you know, if you pay the tuition, they're letting you in there. Yeah, yeah. Lovely school.

SPEAKER_08 53:15

Which, by the way, uh like it didn't look like it looks when we were there.

SPEAKER_07 53:21

It's beautiful now, yeah. It was beautiful, even more beautiful. It's way more beautiful. Yeah. It's funny what hundreds of millions of dollars will do for your campus. Thank you, Leon Penny Anderson. Uh, it's been a pleasure having you guys on. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_06 53:35

Such a nice surprise you came here to talk with us down a bit of a game. We could talk all day, but I have to pee.

SPEAKER_07 53:40

So um, there you go. Thank you very much. Thanks for having us. You bet.

SPEAKER_00 53:45

And off we go. To attend or volunteer for the USA Special Olympics Games, visit 2026-USAGames.org.