S2E21: YMI Talking to Tammy Wendling from the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce

The Christmas City like you’ve never heard before!

In this episode, Tammy Wendling takes us behind the scenes of Bethlehem and shares her inspiring journey from sales to small business marketing to celebrating Christmas with the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce.

From working together to keep Bethlehem accessible for all, to finding the perfect Christmas light viewing route, Tammy’s passion for her city shines brighter than any holiday display.

Tune in now and get into the holiday spirit with this must-listen episode!

For more info on YMI insurance visit our website at ymiagency.com

Or give us a call at 610-868-8762 to see how we can better protect your business and family.

Transcript

1:00:03

What I love about Bethlehem and being involved in Bethlehem is it feels like everyone's on the same team, right? Like the mayor, the chamber, the businesses, the community, like it's a unified front of everyone just trying to make it a better place. Yeah. And that's really important because in Bethlehem, like it really does work. Yeah. Because we, you know, from an outsider who may like do marketing or an outsider who may like plan events, like you would look at Bethlehem and be like, wow, everyone's competing. Yeah. But we're really not like we all behind closed doors, we all get along and we're all planning together. Yeah. So, you know, it's like, okay, when are you doing this? Because we're not going to do this. We're going to do that instead, but we're not going to do it on this day because you're doing that on this day. And it's like, there's so much going on in Bethlehem. It's because like we do the work behind the scenes. We all get along. We all respect each other. We respect each other's lanes and what we're trying to do for both the business community and the community, the residents that live in Bethlehem. So that's that's the secret sauce. All right, here we go with an episode I have been so excited for for a long time. Tammy Wendling is the senior vice president of Bethlehem Initiatives for the Chamber of Commerce, Greater Lehigh Valley. And that sounds like a lot because it is a lot. You do so much. I sit on the board with you and I watch what you do. I watch the events that you coordinate, the people you bring together. I am tired watching you. I don't know how you do it. And it goes beyond that. So, Tammy, I don't know how you found time, but thank you for coming here. I'm really excited about this episode. Not only did I find time, but I had time to get you a poinsettia too. So look at this. I can't even talk in my first two seconds with being here. But I brought you a poinsettia because it's Christmas. And when you work in the Christmas City, everyone deserves a poinsettia. I love it. We usually have just regular not living plants. So now we have a pretty poinsetta. This is awesome. You see that in the shot. Oh, that was next to me. Wasn't it? There we go. There we go. It is Christmas City, right? And you run the chamber in Christmas City. Yeah. What is this time of year like for you? That's a loaded question. I am going to do. I was getting a delivery from Target with Christmas presents for the kids. And the woman, she's handing it to me and it's this giant like Darth Vader. And I go, do you feel like Santa Claus this time of year? And she goes, no, don't ask me about it. And I feel like that's you. This is such a magical happy time, but you have so much you're doing. Yeah. So Christmas is definitely, it's like up there. So when I first took this job, someone said to me like, you better really like Christmas. And I'm like, well, I do like Christmas. But then when I got into working, like when I first started at the chamber, I wasn't in this role. I was managing the Downtown Bethlehem Association, which is a council of the Bethlehem Chamber. So we work together and they oversee like a dense population of businesses downtown. Yeah. They're very condensed area of broad and main street. So they oversee that historical area and then they do all of the events and they do a bunch of stuff for Christmas. So when I stepped into that role, it was way more intense than what this role is now. This role is more of overseeing things. But when I was in that role, like you, I can honestly say I did work from the ground up. Yeah. And I was, you know, hanging off of Christmas huts, like putting garland everywhere, booking, you know, calling the North Pole, making sure Santa was going to come to town. Do you have his number? I do. Let's talk about that later. Okay, we can. Yes. I'll find out what list you're on. I know already. If it's not the right one, we'll make sure we get you to the other one. Do you love it? Like you must, you must love it. You have to love it. Like you really have to love it. I mean, it's Christmas. It's Christmas City, USA. You know, there's so much history, years of history. And, you know, you have to love, you have to love people because there's a lot of people that come to town. You need to be patient because it's like holiday shopping, just crazier because it's a whole main street in the historic district. And then when you look at Bethlehem as a whole, there's so much happening in Bethlehem, both from the North side to the South side, East and West, all of the entire city. There's so much happening. And, you know, it's a really important time for us to at the chamber to make sure that we're supporting our businesses. Small business Saturday happens. Like it's really the tree lighting. Small business Saturday, Santa comes to town, boom, boom, boom, boom, and it's like one thing after another. So you really do have to love what you do. And I think like the most rewarding part of it because you need the reward, right? Yes. The reward is, you know, January, your first meeting with your merchants that was an amazing season, you know, like they're all exhausted and we're like, let's have another event. Let's have a soup saunter and bring more people to town. And it's freezing, but let's all eat soup. But yeah, like that's the rewarding part is when you know that what you did was impactful and that you were able to bring thousands and thousands of people downtown with your marketing and your reach and everyone that you kind of like reached out to came and the comments saying, wow, it's so magical. Like, and it is like one of my favorite things to do is during a workday, sneak out and just walk down into all the shops in on the north side and, you know, shop for whether it's friends, family, for the businesses there. Like I'll hop in in a business, talk to the owner and everyone, you know, it's just everyone's alive and there's this energy and it does feel like Christmas City. Yeah. And even, you know, they they sleep all year. No, I'm kidding. They but, you know, there are there are dips in, you know, the flow of business as anywhere. Right. But Christmas, they're on and, you know, Christmas can make or break a year. You know, during COVID, we look back at no one being open for the entire year. And it was like, well, what do we do at Christmas time? And then, you know, being told our restaurants couldn't be open, you know, so we had to get really creative. And thankfully, we had not one business shut down during COVID, which was incredible. And, you know, at the chamber, I would have just throw in all our resources, call everybody that we could get everybody involved that could help out our businesses. So it was really, really great coming around and being on the other side of it and being like, wow, not only do we do it, we survived it. And we still brought magic to Bethlehem. Like we had Santa behind a window on Broad Street. Thank you to Connie, the Brownstone Design Studio. She had this great big window. Yeah. And we gave him a microphone. Okay. And we put the speaker outside of the door and people were walking by and he's like, Hey, guys, Merry Christmas. And Santa's in a window. Yeah. And we promoted it. People came up and my son has a picture in front of the window with Santa. And it's like we didn't miss anything. Yeah. It just was different. And that's important too. And this role is the pivot. I mean, I think everybody learned about pivoting. Yeah. That was a big verb that everybody learned about during COVID. But yeah, when you are, you know, Christmas City, USA, and people are still expecting to come celebrate Christmas. You still have to find a way. And you do that. And there's so much that you're juggling with the chamber. It makes sense that you have nothing else going on in your personal side. Nothing. Nothing. You get a cot for your office. You make sure your fridge is stocked at work. Yes. Let's learn about Tammy. Who is Tammy? Where does she come from? And how did she get here? Oh, wow. I am a freedom high school graduate. Okay. So it's funny because, you know, our staff, a lot of them went to either freedom or liberty, which is important because you need to know Bethlehem. You need to absorb it. You need to- We just had the mare on right before the freedom Liberty football game. So it's very clear that people get passionate about this. Yeah. He's a Liberty grad. Right. So it is very, you know, even if you are not born and raised in Bethlehem, and you are a transplant, you come here, you just immerse yourself in it. Right. Yeah. So nothing against those who did not, were not born and raised in Bethlehem. But, but yeah, I went to freedom. I graduated. I won't tell you what year. I look much younger than I am, which is great. And then I went to Northampton Community College, East Stroudsburg, had a degree in criminal justice administration, which I only use when I watch murder shows. Do you solve them before they tell you? I do. I do. And I'm like, oh, they should have did this. Maybe they should call this person. And then, then, you know, you go down that black hole in social media where you like dig to see where they're at now and what they're doing. And, but yeah, I, that's, I, I don't really use my degree much. Right. Well, sometimes. Did you use it like coming out of school or did you go, okay. So I worked in a detention center for juvenile males for about five years. Yeah. And so much different than what you're doing. Very different. And just to show you how much my life comes full circle with a lot of things. There is a shop owner, manga lane in the Bethlem Commons. They just started a bunch of anime stuff. Really, really cool. My kids are now in Pokemon. So she's like now my go-to. Yeah. Because I'm like, what is this? I have no idea what this is. But Kristen and I worked at the detention center many years ago. I mean, this is like, this is a real, it's like 20 years ago. Yeah. So then she opened the shop and she's like, hey, it's me. Like, hey, it's you like you're in Bethlehem. And so it was really cool that now I'm like, I'm like, you know, her, her liaison at the chambers. Yeah. It's really, really awesome. But anyway, so I, I did that for like five years. I learned a lot, learned a lot about the system and, you know, the broken parts of it. And I worked with juvenile males and just learned a lot about structure and how incredibly important that structure is in a family unit or any unit, work unit, no matter what structure is just so key. Because even with young kids, the second we go off the rails, it's like chaos. Yes. So just learning about youth and, and, you know, how to best serve our juvenile population and making sure that recidivism is, you know, kept low and how can we get kids involved. And so in my work now, in the community aspect of it, you know, just making sure that everything we do, we can, it's affordable for everyone, making sure that anything we do in Bethlehem, and I could touch on that later, is accessible, is available to all, which is really important and is a great message that our mayor also projects all the time is that Bethlehem is for all. 100%. So, so yeah, so I learned how important structure was in that role. And then after that, the state had cut funding, and that was one of the facilities that had to go. So we were all displaced. And then after that, I ended up, and you're gonna be shocked to hear this, but I worked for an insurance company. I won't say which one. Well, we're getting back in. This is after this, we're talking. So I worked in the compliance division, because I'm like, okay, well, I have this degree, like, in criminal justice, like, I should still do something. Yeah. So I like literally just punch numbers in an Excel sheet, okay, every day, and did logs. I'm sure you're talking my language here. So I had, I worked for the compliance director of this insurance company. And it was like just a lot of desk work. Yes. Like very buttoned up. So people think insurance is a really sexy, fun job. But well, there's a lot of intensity to it. I was very intimate with numbers. And if you had a decimal wrong, there were so many, like, I really learned about checks and balances. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, it was intense. So I did that for just like a year. And then this job fell on my lap, I ended up interviewing with the owners of Lehigh Valley Style magazine, they own innovative designs and publishing. So I interviewed with them, and they started me out as an operations manager. And then then I just handled their operations for all their publications, including the who's who in business, which is a lot of fun, schedule learn about that. And then they owned several lifestyle publications. So it was really, really neat to jump in and learn about small businesses, which is I really would attribute my passion for small businesses. The start of it was with was with the publications, and learning about them and through the who's who program. So that was a lot of fun. And then after that, how come what room was I after that? Say, after that, oh, I there's this little part. So I don't know if it was like a bucket list thing, but I got into fitness. So I, I was working at the detention center, I wasn't really like that into shape, but it wasn't like, not in shape. Yeah. So then when I went to the magazine company, I just like went through a transition where like, I just stopped caring about my appearance, like, not that I stopped caring about my appearance, because I had really great hair. And still, I like my hair. You must get compliments all the time. Like, sometimes I'll be with people and they're like, Okay, that was the third one. Yeah. But yeah, it is a lot I do. And I go to Clementine's. Thank you, Adele Clementine's broad street, Bethel. Here's my little plug. She does an amazing job. She's like Edward Scissorhands. Really? It's really like that. My wife has curly hair. And I know it's a very similar hair. So like when you find a hairstylist that you're absolutely in love with, like, you don't leave them. And that's a very faithful relationship. I will let her know for sure. So that so yeah, it like totally Edward Scissorhands hair flying. Anyway, digress. So I worked there at the public, the magazine company. And then I like got into fitness like crazy. Yeah, like really into fitness. And I used to say I would go to the gym on the fives. So I would be in the gym at 5am and 5pm. And I was down to like 7% body fat, like this ripped little thing. Yeah, a lot like Jeremy on our board. Yeah, we met in the gym. No way to work out and he stood together. So we met in the gym. And we're still friends to this day. And that was like a good 10 some years ago. And like, yeah, it's probably going on like 10 or 12 years. So I did that for like four years. And then I had a job working for a protein company. And then I ended up leaving there. And then going back to working for small businesses with Adams Outdoor Advertising. Okay, I worked for Tony choppy. Yeah, great mentor of mine. Just a really great soul. And while I was there, that's when my husband and I were trying to have kids. And we ended up doing foster to adopt. And then we ended up getting Morgan when I was there. So that Adams holds a very, very nice place in my heart. Yeah. Because my whole transition from like, Tammy turned into Tammy as a wife and as a mom, like that all happened with that job. So but while at that job, I learned even more about small businesses, because they put me in charge of the small business unit. And I worked solely with smaller businesses and nonprofits. So that was like my step in the door with big investment with them, I would think right to get a billboard for a small business is very, very huge. Yeah, it's nice because like even know some of the businesses that I've grown close to, they'll call me up and they'll be like, Hey, I think I'm ready. Yeah, I'm ready for a billboard. And I'm like, Okay, we're gonna do it. And then I refer them to my friends at Adams. And it is a it is a rather large investment for small businesses. So it's a it's a moment, you know, that that they're like, yeah, really, it's an also an accomplishment like to see yourself on a billboard or your logo. Right. You know, if you started your own business yourself, and to get to that point, right, a lot of the businesses we work with in Bethlehem, are mom and pop or inherited businesses or businesses that people have started, you know, on their own, and they're really, you know, accomplished businesses. So it's really, really cool. And when they're like, Oh, who should I call over? I'm like, Yes, yes. Great. So when did you realize that, you know, working with businesses was, is your calling? Like, I feel like you're so good at it. And, and you develop the relationships really easily. And that's one thing like anyone can go I say this a lot, you can go out and network and meet people. But you develop, I feel like relationships at a deeper level. Yeah. And so where did where did that come from? When did you realize that? I think it came from my days at Innovative Designs and Publishing. Shout out to Paul, the owner of the company, he gave me some really good sales training. And I remember he said, there was one thing that really, really stuck with me. And it was like, you know, when you're in sales, like, don't forget that the people you're talking to are running a business, right? Like, don't forget, if you don't get a call back, like, it's not that they're ignoring you. It's that they're running their own business. So, so that always stuck with me. It was like, Yeah, like, you know, it's really important to market for someone and to push their business out there. Because sometimes they don't have the means of doing it themselves because they're running their own business. And a lot of the time, it's a very small staff. So I think that the passion came from working at Innovative Designs and Publishing, watching people like Pam Deller, Denise Cunlan, like they being out with these small businesses and making sure that they do the best for them. That that was attractive to me, like to see them, these professional women working with small businesses and being not a crutch, but like, you know, an arm for them and uplifting these businesses through a gorgeous publication like Lea Valley Style. So I think, and then the same thing happened to me at Adams working with billboards, it was like putting, you know, their best foot forward on a massive, you know, large format printing on a billboard, and then digital started popping up. So that was like a whole, a whole new, you know, animal in itself, but then learning the power of out of home and how much you can do with it. Like it just, it seemed really, really cool to be able to offer those services. What got you to the chamber then? How did you make the job there? So this makes me uncomfortable to talk about because Good, that's what I love doing. Yeah. So, so my current boss at the time, Tony Choffee, such a great human. I love him. I went through, like I said, a lot of transitions in my personal life while we were both at Adams together. I stumbled on this job with the DBA. We were doing events and I really found, we were doing some events at Adams and I was finding like, it was really interesting to host massive parties or a job expo. We started the Eastern PA hiring expo. So that was pretty big working with recruiters. And then that was like not just working with small businesses. Now I'm working with, you know, larger businesses like warehouses and just helping people find employees. So, you know, there's this theme of me in jobs always helping someone, whether it's a business or a person or a community, it was always that I have this love and desire to help others. So, so yeah, I ended up, you know, just finding that passion and finding ways of, of helping others. And then it led me to a, hey, there's this job that became available for the Downtown Bethlehem Association. You'd be really great at it. And Tony Ayanelli and Tony Choffee are close. And so I knew I just didn't, everyone's like, you're so great at sales. It's like so natural for you. You develop great relationships. Like you even called it out. And it's like, yeah, but like, I don't, I don't know, like sales was just never my thing. And everyone's like, but you're so great at it. And it's like, yeah, but like, I just, it was never my thing. So then like, I was like, okay, well, this seems new. And I just planned my own wedding. So I'm like, oh, like this would be a lot of fun. So I have like two massive events. Plus, when I did, so in my days, innovative science, so I, I was in the fitness realm. And if you go on my Facebook, there's like some bodybuilding pictures. So I did compete for like two years. So I had that background and I got to go to like the Olympia. So I, you know, transported all this protein stuff out to Vegas. And I'm like, okay, well, if I could do all of that and have a booth at the Olympia, like, like that is like massive. So if I could do that, I could do this on a local level. I'm like, I could throw a fence. I can, I can make stuff happen. Right. So my confidence was really, really high at the moment. So I, I applied for the job. I met with a bunch of small business owners. They had a panel for the DVA. And like, it was very intimidating. I had known Angie Stein, formerly Del Grosso at the Chamber. She was in the seat. I am now at the time she was running the Bethlehem Chamber. So I, I met with her and I, it just felt right. And I like, I said to her, like, I really, really want this job. Like, I know I can do this. Once I met the panel and saw who I would be representing, I fell in love with them immediately. I, I am from Bethlehem. So I'm like, this would be like a dream job with the city that, you know, helped raise you. You know, relationships with the school board were important to me. And I was like, this is, this is really cool. Like this, I could plant my feet here. I could do good. I can help businesses, which I, now I have a background in and help them thrive. And so I was like, yeah, like I need this job. I want this job. And it wasn't that I left Adams because I wanted to leave Adams. It was, I left Adams because I, I wanted to just see what else I could do with the talents and the skill set that I had developed thus far. And through all my training, it was just seemed like a right fit. And it was sad to leave Adams because it was a great, such a great community and the people I worked with, I love them to this day. I still talk to most and I, it was hard to leave, but I also needed to see what was happening over here because it was really, really interesting. And I really, I was really, really intrigued by it. So now like I, so then I jumped ship and now I work for the other Tony. Right. So who is awesome and amazing. And it's just been really great. It's been a great run. Like I've been able to work for two really great Tonys and learn a lot. And they both have a lot of faith in me. So. Do you guys have a constant drip of caffeine at the chamber? Like between you and Tony, I feel like you're energizer bunny. Tony is an energizer bunny. And that in itself is inspiring for my type, my type A is like, I need to, I need to top that, like top the energy level. So I think when I see him, it's more inspirational. So then I'm like, yeah, I got it. I got to, you know, make a total sense up and like to tackle the day. But yeah, I mean, like talk about having an amazing mentor. Yeah. I mean, both of them, but working out for the other Tony, it's, it's truly a blessing. Yeah. Like he's such a really great human. He wants to do right for all. So that's cool. So yeah, it's, it's really, really great. I'm in a really great spot. So I did that for five years. No, I've been there for, I'm going on my sixth year. I was with the DBA for two and a half, or maybe it was, it was about two and a half years. And then I went through COVID, right? With the DBA. Wow. And then Angie was promoted to work for the mayor on mayor's initiatives. And then so I, she, she was like, you should really take my job. Yeah. Like make sure you call Tony, like if you want to advance at the chamber, this could be a really great opportunity for you. And so I called Tony, she's like, go call him now. Okay. She's like, I gave my notice, call him now. So I called him and I was like, you don't have to look for someone to take that job. Like I know I can do it. And I, and I could do well at it. And I have immense passion for this downtown. Like I'd love to share that with the entire city. Yeah. So I, I like told him I was going to take the job. And he was like, no, I have all the faith in the world in you and I know you're going to rock it. So yeah, like let's go. Yeah. So then I moved over to the chamber side of things and it is different. It's the same concept, but there's so much more with the chamber, right? So we have the board, the DBA has a board, but the chamber, now we're working with the entire city. We're working very closely with the, with the city administration, with the mayor, hosting the mayor's events. And, and his initiatives too. I mean, we got live in the garden from mayor's initiatives to want to, want to really amp up the west side and utilize the Rose Garden. And so what got us involved in that. I'm going to interrupt you because what I love about Bethlehem and being involved in Bethlehem is it feels like everyone's on the same team, right? Like the mayor, the chamber, the businesses, the community, like it's a unified front of everyone just trying to make it a better place. Yeah. And that's really important because in Bethlehem, like it really does work. Yeah. Because we, you know, from an outsider who may like do marketing or an outsider who may like plan events, like you would look at Bethlehem and be like, wow, everyone's competing. Yeah. But we're really not like we all behind closed doors, we all get along and we're all planning together. Yeah. So, you know, it's like, okay, when are you doing this? Because we're not going to do this. We're going to do that instead, but we're not going to do it on this day because you're doing that on this day. And it's like, there's so much going on in Bethlehem. It's because like we do the work behind the scenes. We all get along. We all respect each other. We respect each other's lanes and what we're trying to do for both the business community and the community or the residents that live in Bethlehem. So that's, that's the secret sauce. And that is it when Mayor Reynolds stepped in. That's when I started in this role and, you know, just, we really, it is the same message. It's like a Bethlehem for all. Yeah. And it's like, how do we all come together for the good of Bethlehem? You know, you know, it, it really, really works. Yeah. Yeah. It does. Yeah. I hate to do this. We are bumping up on time already. Are we really? Yeah. Uh-huh. So let's, let's do two things. I gotta give you another point set of. I'll take, I'll take all the points. Let's do, so we are sponsored by Hocus Pocus, cleaning services. They are the best in the world and they call them. You should. I will. They do. Like I think they saw, they still have some holiday bookings if you're looking to get it in. And they're magical. Like they come in, they do a witching hour. Clearly. They do a witching hour. A witching hour. A witching hour, which is like, I need this closet reorganized and they'll come in and they'll do it. Um, it's on brand. Yes. So I asked all my guests, if you could have any magical ability, what would it be? Okay. So I, if I could have a magical ability, I would clone myself. Yes. I would. The world needs more Tamas. But I said that jokingly, but it's actually true. Like you do all of this incredible stuff, but at your heart, um, as I've gotten to know you, you're like a truly beautiful, wonderful, handy. Thank you. Um, the world needs more Tamas. So let's clone you. Yeah. So that would be my ability would be to clone me. See, I thought it would make the world a better place, but why do you want more clones? Why do I want more clothes? Okay. So I, I always feel like if I had more time or like, like the same thought process, like the same tabbing with the same thought process and the same abilities and the same skillset that I could do like so much more. You wear different hats, right? Like a lot of hats, your mom here, your wife here, you're taking care of the chamber here. And there's only one time. Yeah. So if I had like several hats or not, some, some clones to wear the several hats, then I think I could do even more with my skillset and my ability. Yeah. I think that's where, you know, like I feel like that's where I, I might, might rob one area of my life because I don't, I don't have, like, I can't give all to just one because, you know, sometimes you are spread thin. Yeah. And when, you know, you throw kids in the mix, like then you're really, it's like, yeah, like you have to shut off. Yeah. Cause you have to balance it. Yeah. Exactly. But I have multiple kids, right? I've got the business community. I've got the boards that I, that I oversee and that I sit on. I've got the family and, you know, for a while, as you know, like we went through foster care, which was very intense. So there was that, that, that was a whole nother hat. Can you tell the story of learning about your daughter's adoption? That was, you were telling me about it before here. And I got the chills as you were telling the story. Yeah. So we'll wait, so the story was intense. It was, I meant really just the end, like the end, the great part, if you're okay telling. Yeah, absolutely. So we learned that we were going to be able to adopt her around this time last year. And, and so Brad got down on one knee and he asked her and we have video, it's adorable. And he said, you know, can we be your parents? Like, can I be your dad? Yeah. And she was like, yes, yes, yes. And then she like looks at the camera and she's like, I said, yes. And I'm like, it was like a proposal. Yeah. So incredible. And we gave her flowers and then my son Morgan started crying and he's like, where's my flowers? And then she was like, you can have one of these. She pulled a flower out of the bouquet and gave it to Morgan. But then, yeah, so then like through many different months we went through, we were able to adopt her in September. And then, you know, when you're involved in these things, like you wonder, what is my purpose? Why did this happen? Why did this take so long? Why? Why, why, why? But then on my birthday, at the chamber, we have off for our birthdays. And so I was sitting at home and my phone pinged and it was our lawyer in my Gmail. It was like, hi, Tammy, dot, dot, dot. And I'm like, oh, great. What? So I opened it up quick and it said, here is the paperwork for that finalizes your adoption. And that's the paperwork that you get to like change everything and, and it makes it feel more legit than just the, and I shouldn't say just, but more than the hearing itself. And it's like, this is the paperwork that, you know, makes her your own. And it was, it was like, then I just felt like it was such a great gift on my birthday. What? Oh yeah. I mean, what a great gift, but it feels sometimes like things really happen for a reason. They do. And that feels like one for sure. Yeah. And I got to imagine the family now feels whole, which is awesome. Yeah. Oh, that's great. Yeah. We're really, we're really blessed. And you know, we're, our family is, it's, it is now complete. Good. Good. Good feeling. All right. Two things before we let you get out here. The first is, this is December 20th. This episode is airing. Yes. Is there anything that you want to hit that's still going on in Bethlehem that we can tell the people about? Yeah. So one thing that I really love to do after the trees lit, the tree lighting ceremony, which anybody can do right now, at night, go check out the tree at payroll Plaza. Yeah. We have the trellis there. All the ornaments are hanging. You can still buy ornaments. So if you're looking for a last minute gift, we have the 2024 commemorative ornament. Just check it out on the citizens Christmas city committee page, which is another committee that we're a part of at the chamber. But go check out the tree. It's beautiful. You could see the star on the mountain from the library. It's, it really is just magnificent. And then what I do is I, I head that would be west down church street. And then I make a right on the main street. And that's like where the hotel is. So like right when you come to that light, the hots, the Christmas city village hots are on either side. And it's like, it's just such a hug. And you see the hotel and it's all lit up. And main street is just blinding with lights. It's just so incredible. So then I just love to just drive up main street with all the lights everywhere. It really the ambiance. I mean, I'm not, I don't like the cold, which is weird because I do a lot in the cold, but from the comfort of my car. And this is an easy drive. So like if you have parent, like if you're a parent, you've got kids and they're like crazy, crazy. Just like tell every parent out there, just put your kids in your car, throw in some Christmas music, go just drive, look at the tree, go down, make a right, and then just drive up main street. It's magical. And you know, as a kid, seeing all of these lights is like, whoa, it's insane. We did the live advent last year. And I brought my kids to like be a part of it. And then if you're not afraid of the cold, it's still magical to get out and walk around and the courtyard behind the sun in like my kids are just running around there. It's just a really magical place. Speaking of the courtyard this year, we've paired up with them and we moved live advent. So it's no longer on main street. And by the time this airs, a lot of people will know of the move. But it's new to us being earlier in December right now. But in the courtyard, we actually built a set thanks to Elf Productions. They built a set that looks like the goondi house. Yeah, it looks like the front porch and the door. But there were so many people coming to this event and it was pouring onto the road. It was in the road. Yeah, it was really, really sketchy. So we were like, yeah, we should probably move this because we've outgrown our space, right? It's a great problem. But it's like, how do you, how do you change a 16, 17, 18 year old tradition? Yeah. And move it somewhere. So we thought about a lot of different places, like where can we do this? And in Bethlehem, we've got the convenience of these really wide sidewalks. But when you're bringing 200 people to see someone come out of a door, like you're very limited. Yes. So we decided to go into the Sun and Couryir where we also have huts for the Christmas City Village. So they're shopping back there. But every night in December, adult hot chocolate. Yep. There's Christmas City spirits is back there. So they've got some nice, warm cocktails. And then I think they have a food truck back there too. And then you could also rent out their igloos. They have like a winter wonderland going on back there. So you can be back there for that. But 5 30 every night, I think the last night is December 23rd for live advent. You can see what comes out of the door. Yeah. It's a really, really cool experience. That's awesome. Yeah. Anything we didn't hit that we should have hit. No. I, yeah, I really wanted to dig into bodybuilding, but there wasn't time. I've been lifting a little bit lately, as you can obviously tell. So next time we'll have to get you back here. Next time. It was a wild, wild four years of my life, but I'm a mom now. So that's no reason to not be in shape. True. You lift them and that's, that's enough of a workout. Yeah. Well, thank you, Tammy so much for coming on. Thanks, Jimmy. And Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Awesome. Make sure you put this, you should leave this in here. Yeah. Move some of these around. Put your points at it. We're going to put this point set up front and center. There you go. Awesome. All right. Thank you, Tammy. Thanks, Jimmy. Thanks for listening to another episode of the Why Am I Talking podcast. If you enjoyed this and want to hear more content from amazing personalities in the valley, please subscribe, leave a rating, and drop us a quick review.