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The Morning Brew with Chris Bennett
Ever wonder what really goes on at a small-town morning radio show?
The Morning Brew with Chris Bennett and Best Friends is your daily dose of real callers, big laughs, and unforgettable characters straight from QCountry 925 in Show Low, Arizona.
The Morning Brew with Chris Bennett
UFOs, Fairy Tales, and Cowboy Tales
Every morning across the White Mountains of Arizona, radios tune in to the familiar, friendly voice of Chris Bennett as he connects with locals, shares community news, and celebrates the unique character of rural mountain life.
Today's Morning Brew showcases the authentic voices that make this region special. Virgil the Cowboy from Eager calls in with updates from his Flying V Ranch, casually mentioning UFO sightings while discussing branding season. The conversation weaves through time travel fantasies and concludes with a request for a patriotic Billy Ray Cyrus song – a perfect snapshot of the show's charm and unpredictability.
Game-changing economic news arrives when Jineane Ford announces that Zenni Home is bringing approximately 250 manufacturing jobs to the old paper mill in Holbrook. With positions for plumbers, electricians, engineers and more – plus benefits and training opportunities – this development represents a significant boost for the local economy. A career fair scheduled for June 25th offers residents a chance to get in on the ground floor of this exciting opportunity.
The community spirit continues with an announcement for the Chuckwagon Festival on August 2nd in Pinedale. This annual tradition features authentic Dutch oven cooking from 10-13 chuck wagons, with proceeds supporting the volunteer fire department. Between listener contests for Diamondbacks tickets, fairy tale trivia with regular caller "Paul from Beaumont," and promotion of AZ Native country artist Austin Burke's new music "I Missed The Boat", the Morning Brew demonstrates why it remains the heartbeat of White Mountains community life.
Join us tomorrow morning as we continue celebrating the people, events, and stories that make our mountain home special. Call in to share your news, participate in our daily contests, or simply be part of the conversation!
Chris Bennett and the Morning Brew. Good morning, it's the Morning Brew with Chris. Who's this? Hey, good morning my friend Heck. Yeah, it's Virgil the Cowboy from Eager. I had not heard from you in a while. I was getting worried. Give us a little update on Virgil the Cowboy from Eager. We've been pretty busy. Oh yeah, what have you guys been up to on the ranch?
Speaker 2:We're taking down the little cows.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, what does that mean? You're taking down the little cows.
Speaker 2:We're branding them.
Speaker 1:Oh nice. What's the name of your ranch? Or what's your brand? Look like Flying V. What Flying V? Oh, flying V Nice. Did you know today is UFO Day? Oh yeah, I've seen a couple of those.
Speaker 1:You have seen some UFOs on the ranch. Do you believe in aliens or no? Well, I just saw the saucers. Yeah, so you just think there's aliens in there? Probably yeah. If an alien came to your ranch, where would be the first place? You'd take them To the barn, To the barn. Do you think any of the aliens have ever abducted any of your cows?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:No. No there's one too many. Yeah, you've never woken up and a cow's been missing and you're like where in the world did that go? No, would you rather go space travel or time travel, time, time travel. So, would you go in the future or would you go in the past? The past, when would you go?
Speaker 2:Anytime they come. Anytime I'm coming. Anytime would you go? Anytime they come. What?
Speaker 1:Anytime I'm coming Anytime you're coming. I don't know what that means. When is that? Anytime they come?
Speaker 2:whatever.
Speaker 1:Okay, You're aliens, oh, aliens. But I said you said you wanted to do time travel. So I was like what time in history would you want to travel back to? Back to high school? Oh, really, Were you like a star athlete. What would you do different in high school?
Speaker 3:Listen.
Speaker 1:Well, virgil, it's so good to hear from you. The cowgirls and the cowboys they're doing good. Yeah, everybody's doing fine, ah, heck, yeah. Well, what can I do you for today? You guys want a song? Yeah, what would you like?
Speaker 2:They want to hear a song by Billy Ray. You pick it.
Speaker 1:Oh, how about Achy Breaky Heart? No, oh, you said pick it, and then you tell me I can't pick that one. Well, you guys are veterans of this great country we live in. So we could play a patriotic Billy Ray, some Gave All. Alright, that's our favorite song. Alright, you got it, virgil. Hope you and the Cowboys and Cowgirls have a safe day out there on the range. Janine, you there? Yes, I am Good morning. Good morning, happy Taco Bout. Something good Tuesday, yeah, and that fairy day.
Speaker 3:I like it, yeah, happy fairy day. Happy fairy day.
Speaker 1:How about we share some good news stories? You want me to go first? Yes, all right, here we go. At 82 years old, janine. This lady named Faith O'Reilly is living proof that it's never too late to pursue your passions. I love these type of stories. It's never too late to pursue your passions. I love these type of stories. This Colorado native is the oldest female athlete to compete in powerlifting.
Speaker 3:Janine, oh nice.
Speaker 1:At the 2025 National Senior Games, a sport making its debut this year. Faith first discovered powerlifting in law school at the University of Iowa and she was watching it and thought, well, I could do that. And she said a can-do attitude that carried her through state championships and a long career teaching legal studies and then, after retiring, she returned to the sport and hasn't looked back in 2023. She won a gold medal in the women's triathlon relay for the 75 and older bracket oh my gosh, she makes me look like a couch potato. And she says she's still inspired by seeing older athletes stay strong and active and the oldest person in Pittsburgh was 103. So that gives me a goal. She said An incredible reminder that it's never too late to lift, grow and live your best life, but it's probably too late for me to work out. I don't think.
Speaker 3:I'll ever do it again.
Speaker 1:All right, Janine, what good news do you have to talk about on this? Talk About Something Good Tuesday.
Speaker 3:Well, you know what I have? A great opportunity for folks. This is super cool. I don't know if you've heard about Zenni Home and this is a huge career opportunity for everybody. And tomorrow, okay, tomorrow, june 25th, at 1 o'clock to 6 pm, there is a big career fair at MPC Campus in Holbrook. Actually, okay, at 2251 East Navajo Boulevard, the MPC Campus in Holbrook, and this is for great jobs. They're going to be hiring like 250 people for Zenni Home and they build homes.
Speaker 3:Picture they say building a car, but you're building a home, like on an assembly line. It's going to be at the old paper mill that they're putting that in and they're starting in July. Okay, we're talking plumbers, roofers, tile, electricians, engineers, laborers, cabinetry, drywall, all kinds of, and they'll train you. There's all sorts of benefits, health benefits and, you know, insurance, all those things for a 1K. So it's huge. They're hiring for positions mainly. You know, if people live in Snowflake Taylor, that area, that'll be an easy drive for them. But lots of jobs, jobs, jobs for the white mountains manufacturing and the white mountains all new Zenni home.
Speaker 3:Heck yeah, that is some great news for the white mountains, and so Zenni, and if you want to go, you can go to Zenni Home, z-e-n-n-i Home, okay, and you'll find them everywhere, Zenni Home, and I think it's com. Yes, it is zennihomecom. There you go.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, thank you for some good news on this. Talk About Something Good Tuesday. Janine, I hope you have a great rest of your day.
Speaker 3:You too, Chris have.
Speaker 1:Good morning. It's the Morning Brew with Chris. Who's this Good?
Speaker 2:morning Champion Chris.
Speaker 1:Heck yeah, it's Brian from Pinedale on this. Talk About Something Good. Tuesday, you have something good to talk about.
Speaker 2:I got something great to talk about.
Speaker 1:Heck, yeah what you got.
Speaker 2:I got the official word to announce the Chuckwagon Festival August 2nd 2025. It's at 1264 Pinedale Road, arizona. Starts at 10 am and meals are served at 12 pm. It's all Chuck Wagon authentic cuisine $20 per meal. All the proceeds go to the volunteer fire department to make sure we keep our firefighters up to date with the lessons in school and stuff like that to date with the lessons in school and stuff like that. And what I'm looking for is we need sponsors for those truck wagons to come here and if anybody needs information on it, you can call Chief Garvin at 928-205-5327. That phone number again is 928-205-5327.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is a fun annual event and it benefits the volunteer fire department at Pinedale, helping them purchase life-saving equipment and helping them with training. And it's like going back in time, brian, this event, because you usually have 10 to 13 chuck wagons and you're looking for sponsors to kind of help cover that cost so you could get these cooks out there and they all cook their own cuisine. They all do it in Dutch ovens, oven cooking, and you go around and you can see all the Dutch ovens and all the chuckwagons and then you kind of figure out which chuckwagon you want to buy your food from and you use your ticket and they also have desserts and it's just a really, really wholesome, fun, small town event and it benefits a great cause the pinedale volunteer fire department and we're putting steak and meat cattle back on the menu again this year heck yeah.
Speaker 1:So mark your calendars august 2nd, and if you're a business or would like to sponsor one of the chuck wagons, contact them at what's the number again 928-205-5327.
Speaker 2:That's Chief Garvin.
Speaker 1:Chief Garvin with the Pinedale Fire Department. Yep.
Speaker 2:And he will guide you through the sponsorship part of it, and anything we can get will help. We also auction off stuff from small businesses for a fundraiser, and they sell 50-50 tickets at the event too.
Speaker 1:All right, awesome, mark your calendars. August 2nd, it's the Chuck Wagon Festival happening in Pinedale. We love you, best friend.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Chris. Hey, have a great Tuesday. Talk about something good.
Speaker 1:Sounds good. Oh, oh, good morning. It's the Morning Brew with Chris. Who's this Kevin? Kevin, are you calling to win the D-back tickets? Yes, sir, heck. Yeah, well, today, kevin, is celebration of the senses, so we're going to test out your sense of hearing. I'll play a sound and if you know the sound, say what it is. You have to get three out of five. Right you ready? Yes, sir, all right, here's the first sound. Is that the ocean? What? The ocean? The ocean. Let me play it for you one more time. All right, is your answer the ocean? Yeah, no, that's a lawnmower. Oh, you can barely hear it. All right, let's try this one. Let's try this one. Is that a mosquito? That is a mosquito. There you go. I hate mosquitoes. All right, you got one. I hate mosquitoes. All right, you got one. You got to get three right to win these tickets. Here's the next one. Is that clapping? No, it's opening, something Paul from Beaumont likes these.
Speaker 2:Open it up a can.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there you go, there you go, let's see if you could get this one. This one's going to be a little harder. Any guess on what that is? A lot of people wear them in the summertime. I don't Flip-flop, it is flip-flops. Holy moly, kevin, you got three right and you're going to the Diamondbacks game this Friday against the Marlins. What radio station hooked you up? 92.5, of course you know it. Yee-yee, yee-yee, it's everyone's favorite. Redneck from Beaumont, texas, paul from Beaumont, you have any good news for us on this? Talk About Something Good Tuesday. Well, I don't know about y'all for good news, but me.
Speaker 2:I got three and a half days and then I go on vacation.
Speaker 1:Heck yeah. How long are you going to be on vacation and where are you going? A week going down back to our place in Uvalde, Nice, and do you guys have a pool out there? Do you have a lazy river Boat and you wear a shirt when you go swimming?
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely dude, that's something out there will blister you.
Speaker 1:That's right. And your neck is already red enough? Yeah for sure that's right. And your neck is already red enough. Yeah for sure that's sweet. Well, you want to hear some good news from my end? Yeah, I should.
Speaker 1:So you remember, a few weeks ago a gentleman that has a cabin here lives up here. Sean Burke, messaged me. He was, like my son's, a country musician Austin Burke quite heard of and he has this song that has a ton of streams. He's a great independent artist and we played his music and had him on the show a little bit. But he said his son also has a podcast called Playlisted with Austin Burke and they film it in Nashville once a week and our very own Ashley Westcott, from right up here in the White Mountains, just recently traveled to Nashville and they recorded the episode last night and that podcast is going to be airing in about a week. So keep an eye out for Austin Burke Presents Playlisted, the podcast, and we could hear our very own Ashley Westcott on that podcast and I thought we'd play a new song from Austin Burke that I love.
Speaker 1:Have you heard Miss the Boat by Austin Burke yet, Paul? No, I haven't heard that, Heck. Yeah, Well, I'm going to tickle your earbuds with it right now. Here's Austin Burke with his new one, Miss the Boat, on Q Country 92.5. For the podcast, I don't know if I could play the song, but make sure you download Austin Burke's new song that was just released. Wherever you stream music, it's Austin Burke I Miss the Boat. It is now time for Are you Smarter Than a Redneck Paul? Today is International Fairy Day. Do you have a favorite fairy tale that you used to read to the kids?
Speaker 3:No, I didn't read to them.
Speaker 1:And there's no redneck fairy tales that maybe I've never heard of.
Speaker 3:Farlight for our bride, first bar I see tonight.
Speaker 1:Well, for International Fairy Day, we're going to do some fairy tale trivia. If you know the answer, say your name. That's your buzzer, here we go. How does Aladdin travel? Oh, paul Paul, go ahead. A little magic carpet. Oh, paul Paul, go ahead. Little Magic Carpet, little Magic Carpet. Didn't even need multiple choice. I knew the answer too, but I was being nice.
Speaker 3:All right, here we go. I don't think he's really a fairy, he's a genie, but whatever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a fairy tale, though, man, these questions are too easy. Who blew down the three little pigs' houses? Paul, paul. Paul, bad wolf, the big bad wolf, holy moly, he knows his fairy tales All right. Next question it's worth a million points. Hopefully this one's a little more difficult. In all fairy tales, a princess has a blank Prince Charming, a rock, bubble gum or flower. Paul, prince Charming, is it Prince Charming? It is three for three. This is no fairy tale, this is real life. Paul from.
Speaker 3:Beaumont. It's real life.
Speaker 1:Is smarter than a very handsome radio DJ. We love you, paul, hope you have a great day and drive safe out there.
Speaker 3:All right, y'all have a great day. Talk to y'all tomorrow, all right, bye, bye.
