The Real West Michigan

S1 | EP9-12 Food Hugs, Kindness, Alcoholism, Comedy, Soapstone Meta Horizon Worlds & Figuring Things Out

• Eldon Palmer • Season 1

Share episode

Join us as we uncover the heartwarming story of Chef Jenna, whose vibrant personality and unwavering kindness have touched countless lives. From delivering meals to exhausted frontline workers to creating "porch treats" that brought joy to her community, Chef Jenna illustrates the incredible impact of generosity. Despite facing criticism, she remains a steadfast advocate for positivity and kindness, reminding us all of the power we hold to uplift one another in challenging times.

Discover the remarkable transformations that occur when individuals face their greatest challenges head-on. Hear the candid and inspiring journey of Aaron Sorrells, who overcame alcoholism to reinvent himself as the "unemployed alcoholic" and founder of the Soapstone Comedy Club in Meta Horizon Worlds. Aaron’s story is a testament to resilience and the unexpected paths that lead to new beginnings. Additionally, we bring you the inspiring tale of Katie DeBoer who established a thriving homeschool co-op, creating a nurturing and supportive learning environment for children who struggled in traditional schools. These stories of community, recovery, and perseverance are sure to leave you motivated and filled with hope.

Video Podcast available here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealWestMichigan

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY: THE PALMER GROUP real estate team. The Palmer Group is an energetic team within 616 REALTY led by Eldon Palmer with over 20 years of experience helping people navigate the home buying and selling process in West Michigan. To support the channel and all of our guests, contact Eldon@ThePalmer.Group, drop a COMMENT, SHARE, LIKE or SUBSCRIBE to this podcast.

You can also learn more at https://thepalmer.group/

Whether moving to Michigan or another state, we can help and would love to chat with you over a coffee or your favorite beverage!

HAVE A SUGGESTION? WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE PODCAST? Reach out to Eldon@ThePalmer.Group or send us a DM.

WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR 5-STAR REVIEW

Speaker 1:

Welcome to this episode, which is a compilation of highlights and best moments and key takeaways from four episodes that we've recorded here previously. We want to give you a taste test and a sample, so enjoy these recaps and check out the full episodes. This is our most watched episode, so enjoy these moments with Chef Jenna. Chef Jenna is full of character. You may have seen her on the Food Network or Mike Rose returning the favor, or in a magazine near you. You might've seen her on the street. She has she's always giving food hugs Tip back Thursday. Amazing person, lots of energy, lots of character. You may see her driving around town in a pink vehicle or her pink hair and wonderful outfit. So awesome person. Tells her story about growing up in Manhattan and how she transitioned to San Francisco and eventually here in Grand Rapids, michigan, where she runs Amore restaurant. So enjoy these clips and I'm sure you're gonna have have a lot of fun.

Speaker 2:

So, like I said, out of COVID I started seeing mental health of people really start to decline and I noticed that food was part of their day that brought them joy. So I started delivering to frontline workers. The hospital was overwhelmed so I started with them and then police officers were overwhelmed, emts were overwhelmed. Everyone that was working with people who were sick a lot were so overwhelmed and so I just started bringing them meals for free, just showing up and dropping them, and I tried to hit everybody that I could, and it was also people who were losing family members that couldn't have a funeral, so I would bring them food. It just blossomed into whoever needed it was getting it, and even our neighborhood. When we had extra food from the day because we were only open from four to seven, I put it on my porch at home and put it on the Lake Bella Vista feed.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

And we called them porch treats. And I would say, hey, porch treats are on the porch and it's so funny to watch people like run up to the porch and get food.

Speaker 1:

They're afraid to get seen or what yeah.

Speaker 2:

So, I still do it like once a month, I'll say hey, I have stuff on my porch.

Speaker 1:

Now is that? Do you find that it's more adults or more children or any just kind of equal? Well, I mean it's anyone who can drive over there, so okay but do they send the kids out of the car or do they use it? Yeah, and.

Speaker 2:

I actually asked for a ring camera for Christmas. It hasn't gotten installed yet, so I could see people oh yeah, that'd be so fun just for my personal pleasure, right, like they're creeping up like the Grinch you know, to the house.

Speaker 1:

It's so funny. Not 100% sure. Maybe that's the right place, or something.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, exactly, well, they see the food and have the porch light on. But it's just, it's hilarious to watch people and everyone's like I didn't get there fast enough. I was there three minutes after everything was gone. I'm like you got to be faster bro.

Speaker 1:

That's awesome, so fun right.

Speaker 2:

And why would I throw away food Like I'm not going to do that, that's not me Like I want to. I'd rather give it to someone that'll enjoy it. Initially, when I started sharing food, hugs, things or positive things, I was getting that negative corner that was like why are you filming and showing people and you're just bragging and blah? I go, absolutely not, friends. I'm doing this because people donated money to me and they want to see where it went. And if that doesn't bring you joy, scroll by. Like there's no need for you to comment, comment. If this is annoying to you and you don't want to see people be happy, scroll on by. You have no need to stop and comment. Right, it's, it's just the right thing to do. The golden rule, I mean, that's what I live by. If you can't say anything nice, scroll on by yeah right, I don't think that's that hard.

Speaker 1:

It's not that hard If you don't like positivity, block me, delete me.

Speaker 2:

I'm fine with that. Some people can't stand positivity and it makes them angry, but for me, I want it to be inspirational. Yeah, and that's the only reason I do it is I want to inspire other people to be kind, because if we can have that kind of butterfly effect on humanity right now, we really need it. We we need it now more than ever after some of the shit I've seen people like post on celebrities that you don't know these people. You don't know them. There's no reason you should be shitting on their life or what they're doing. You, you know.

Speaker 1:

So everybody has their baggage, everybody has their stuff. Of course, we just like none of that negativity helps.

Speaker 2:

It doesn't, it really doesn't, and I just don't love that kids are seeing it. I don't love that teens are seeing it. I don't love that humans think it's okay to be awful to other humans, so that's why I choose to do what I do. Instead, it's just way more better, like way more. It makes you feel better.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to these moments with Scott McCambridge, friend, client and filmmaker. You want to hear some behind the scenes goodness on how they filmed that, as well as his editing style and his journey through filmmaking. You'll enjoy this clip and the full episode. What kind of advice would you give a young filmmaker or somebody kind of like you? Where do you start and what's some good advice? Oh, man.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I think it really is kind of about well one. The passion that you bring into it is definitely very important, but also the people around you. You know, I got very lucky in that I was very like, well accepted into this like group of filmmakers here in Grand Rapids, you know, and we all had very similar passions and were very like-minded and had similar tastes, you know, in movies and things like that, and uh, it would not have really been possible without that. I don't think you know, um, just because that what started off as oh, this is just kind of fun, we're hanging out, we kind of just evolved into like no, this is actually working sort of as a career, you know, here and there and um. So I guess my advice there would just to be I hope that they can find those like-minded people and kind of gravitate together, because you know, even if you look at the, the best filmmakers of all time.

Speaker 4:

You know, like martin scorsese and steven spielberg and george lucas, they were all kind of friends, like they all kind of knew each other, you know, and their peers and, um, you know, they didn't start like uh, being these like incredible filmmakers, they were just making stuff. You know what I mean and uh, so I think it's that's an important uh thing to just have those people you can rely on and, you know, build trust with. And uh, yeah, I mean it takes a lot of people to make a movie. You know any size movie kind of take can take, you know, more than one person usually.

Speaker 1:

So all right. Here's a clip from episode 11 with Aaron Sorrells, the unemployed alcoholic and founder of the Soap Zone Comedy Club in Meta Horizon Worlds. It's A wonderful conversation with a longtime friend. We've been friends since college. There's lots of great things to share. A little bit about his journey through alcoholism, sobriety and building a brand new world in the metaverse.

Speaker 5:

So enjoy this time with Aaron Zorl, yeah it got to a point where I knew that I needed to address alcoholism. Health was fading, relationships I mentioned the importance of the relationship with my wife relationships were struggling. Professionally, I was struggling. It's alcoholism, and alcohol abuse will always take its toll and unfortunately it's a very, very controlling thing and it's a rarity that, um, that people are able to address it and and um and make the lifestyle changes necessary to to overcome it. Um, it's uh, you know so, but it came to the point where I knew that if I didn't address it, um, I'd end up losing everything of value. And and so I did.

Speaker 5:

I left a good, grown up job by I say a grown up job because I certainly don't have a grown up job now but left a good, good job and got involved in a good church, a good recovery program, and started rebuilding who I was, my identity, and that was so valuable and good. I mean, the lessons that I learned during taking a season to recover are far more valuable than anything that I learned through any entrepreneurial venture that I've done in the past or any the MBA that I went through. You know the, the mindset and the focus of a 12 step program in as far as creating value for those around you. It's incredibly valuable. You know it's great.

Speaker 5:

So, yeah, I left that job to address alcoholism and go through a recovery process. I thought that might take a couple weeks and then I'd get back to work.

Speaker 1:

It's not how it happened. That's what you told Renee.

Speaker 5:

Well, it's funny At that point. If I were to have laid out, if somehow I had a vision of what the future would hold, and I laid that out, she just said no, like if I just said here's, here's the plan yeah I'm gonna take about a year out of work and then I'm gonna start doing comedy as the unemployed alcoholic, uh.

Speaker 5:

And then there's going to be a global pandemic which is going to shut everything down, uh. And then from there I'm going to go into the metaverse and build a cartoon comedy club in a pretend land and start to uh do comedy yeah, yeah, all in.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to a clip from episode 12 with kat DeBoer. Katie's a special person. She has done some amazing things in town here in Grand Rapids in West Michigan as a whole. Her and her husband run a hardscaping and construction business educating uh children. That's grown to approximately 60 students in the past few years. She's also a county commissioner and just a wonderful, overall good person.

Speaker 3:

Enjoy some of her lessons that she shares here in this episode um, and so I was like god, I don't know what to do. Like I, I cannot. I cannot put them in a school right now.

Speaker 3:

I can't do it I don't know what to do. And so god said well then, find your village, find your community, find your support. And so it was totally a selfish reason why I started Faith and Freedom because I needed help. I couldn't do it alone. And I knew I couldn't do it alone. And so a bunch of moms, a bunch of parents, came together and started something. So a bunch of moms, a bunch of parents, came together and started something. And we're still going to this day. It's shifted a ton. We started at four days a week and it was honestly it was. Most of us all came out of the public schools.

Speaker 3:

And so it was a kind of a different culture than most of the homeschool traditional culture. It was public school kids that didn't fit into a compliance box for the public schools. So all the kids started the co-op. We started with 40 kids in my house.

Speaker 1:

Wow, holy cow.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I actually I was really nervous at that time because I know zoning ordinances now and I know I was breaking a bunch of zoning ordinances. But we found a church in a week and a half after being at my house, um, and it's been I mean, it's been another like struggle here and there you know, with learning how to navigate through some of that, I've stepped back a lot and we've got some wonderful moms that know what they're doing.

Speaker 3:

Shout out to Jackie she's my good friend and knows what she's doing and I'm thankful for her. I won't share her last name because she'd be mad at me, but yeah, so it's been incredible and it's been a struggle for us sometimes, but it's also, at the end of the day, kids, it's what it's about.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Eldon Palmer

Host