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The Morning Brew with Chris Bennett
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The Morning Brew with Chris Bennett
From Tragedy to Triumph: Remembering Timber Mesa & Cheering Tavis McCreery
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Tragedy and resilience intertwine in this poignant episode of The Morning Brew, as hosts Chris Bennett and Janine Ford begin by honoring two fallen Timber Mesa firefighters. Brenna Kulikowski (31) and Damon Thompson (21) lost their lives in a devastating collision on State Route 260, along with the occupant of another vehicle. The community's powerful response—lining streets as the fallen were transported to Flagstaff—showcases the extraordinary bond within the White Mountain region during times of sorrow.
Seeking balance amid grief, the show transitions to heartwarming stories that restore faith in humanity. We meet Asher Rosenfield, who began reading to special needs children via Zoom during the pandemic at age 12 and has maintained these meaningful connections for five years. From Japan's remarkable achievement of having 100,000 centenarians to the story of four organ recipients gathering to honor 20-year-old Adeline Miller whose donations saved five lives, these narratives remind us of human kindness and connection.
The spotlight then turns to local pride as Tavis McCreery, a quarterfinalist in Sports Illustrated's Youth Athlete of the Year competition, joins the show with his father Jason. Currently in second place with voting ending Thursday, Tavis needs community support to advance to the semifinals and you can vote daily here http://athleteoftheyear.org/2025/tavis-35a9 Father and son engage in friendly trivia competitions, bringing laughter amid serious moments. The episode concludes with Fire Marshal JD Pepper from Timber Mesa, who despite his grief, delivers important safety reminders while expressing profound gratitude for the community's support.
This episode perfectly captures our interconnectedness—how we mourn together, celebrate achievements together, and ultimately, heal together. Whether you're facing challenges or celebrating triumphs, this Morning Brew reminds us that community remains our greatest strength. Take a moment today to vote for Tavis, remember our fallen heroes, and perhaps share some good news of your own.
Mourning Timber Mesa Firefighters
Speaker 1From the Horn Auto Center Studios Chris Bennett and the Morning Brew. Good morning and welcome to the Morning Brew on Q Country 92.5. This is Chris Bennett.
Speaker 2And welcome to Magic 1017. This is Janine Ford.
Speaker 1everyone, we're kind of doing crazy off the wall, but we need to start on a serious note, and I have my friend Janine Ford on board to help us, to help me along, because I'm not good at this type of stuff.
Speaker 2Yeah, well, it's just, and you are really good. It's just that it's a really difficult thing and for all of us here in the White Mountains it's just so sad to. Young people have lost their lives with Timber Mesa and this happened just a couple of days ago, on the 14th, and you may have caught that an ambulance was involved in a head-on collision on State Route 260 at milepost 319 between Heber over Garden Sholo, and the firefighters have been identified as Brenna Kozlowski and she's just 31 years old okay, a three-year firefighter and paramedic, damon Thompson 21. Thompson was just 15 days shy of finishing his first year with Timber Mesa Fire and Medical District. Just so sad.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's just heartbreaking. These men and women put themselves in harm's way every day for our safety and to protect us and to get us out of harm's way, and my thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those affected and, of course, our friends over at Timber Mesa Fire Department.
Speaker 2We love you guys and this must be a very difficult time.
Speaker 2It's so hard. And so two firefighters and the occupant of the other vehicle died as a result of this collision. So three lives lost. And also they want to. The fire department wants to caution the community donating to platforms that have not been vetted. The White Mountain Firefighters Association okay. Wmffa and the PFFA have established a donation platform and the flyer is attached to their press release online Okay. So the donations will go directly to the families of those fallen firefighters. And I have to say, chris, yesterday it was heartwarming seeing all the people line the streets when they went to take the bodies to Flagstaff. Just so very sad, oh my gosh. But people turned out. I mean, the support in this community will be tremendous.
Speaker 1Absolutely. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved. And, Janine, it's been just a rough, rough week with some sad news, oh yeah. So how about we try to do some good news on this? Talk about something good Tuesday.
Speaker 2Yes yes, prayers for all our firefighters and everybody. Go to Timber Mesa Fire and Medic Facebook page there to keep yourselves updated, or Navajo County Sheriff's page. Okay, so good news coming up. Next, chris, we need some, chris Bennett.
Speaker 1Yeah, we need some good news.
Speaker 2Yes, all right, that sounds great.
Speaker 1All right, Janine. How about some good news on this? Talk about something good Tuesday.
Speaker 2Yes, all right, janine, how?
Speaker 1about some good news on this. Talk about Something Good Tuesday yes.
Speaker 2I think we're ready for that.
Talk About Something Good Tuesday
Speaker 1Absolutely. Do you want me to go first or you go first? Yeah, go ahead. All right, here we go. Here's my story.
Speaker 1During the height of the pandemic, there was this 12-year-old New Yorker named Asher Rosenfield and he wanted to help kids with special needs feel less isolated during that tough time. So in the fall of 2020, he started a program called Audibles with Asher and he would host weekly one-on-one Zoom reading sessions with special needs kids from across the country. Fast forward five years. He's now 17, and he still meets with the same kids every week and the parents of the kids have said these sessions have been a lifeline for their children. And for Asher it's become a lesson in empathy and consistency. And he says the same kids.
Speaker 1I started reading with uh at the start of seventh grade. I'm reading uh with again as a senior. We grew up together. It's not about the books, it's about the connection. Oh, yes, uh. He even donates and ships the books they read from fun titles like I broke my my Trunk to longer stories, and recently he partnered with a nonprofit called Friendship Circle to keep the program going. And one grateful mom sums it up Asher is so kind and reads beautifully to my girls. They ask if they can do it all the time. So a simple idea Reading over Zoom has turned into five years of friendship and joy, proving that small acts of kindness, janine, can create lasting bonds.
Speaker 2Oh, I like that, love it.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's a good story. What do you got for us?
Speaker 2You know what? I love this because I love learning new things, but I want to know why, why, why on this one? So we all need to learn about how they're so healthy. You know we're all living longer than we used to, okay, but they're so healthy. You know we're all living longer than we used to, okay, but Japan is big time, big time living longer. They just set a new record. They have 100,000 people in Japan that are now 100 or older. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Yes, 100,000 people. It used to be years ago, like when I was doing news down in Phoenix and all this stuff, right, you know you'd put somebody on that made $100,000 constantly. It was like whoa, this lady made it to $100,000. We might have one a year or something, and now they have more than nearly $100,000. The official total right now is $99,763. It's the 55th year in a row that that number has gone up in Japan. So we want to know Japan, what are your tricks?
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah, what are you doing?
Speaker 2That's really, really neat. And then I also love this one too. These both are going viral, both these stories. Four organ donor recipients got together in Minnesota to pay tribute to the woman who saved their lives, 20-year-old Adeline Miller. She passed away in a car crash in 2023 and was an organ donor, so one of the people she saved wasn't there for it, but her organs actually survived. I mean, her organs actually saved five lives. So four of the people got together. One couldn't be there, but five lives she saved through her organ donation. Yeah, adeline Miller, just 20 years old. That's a neat story and that one's going viral. You can see pictures of that. And then, what I didn't mention, hundreds of people named Ryan. I know you, your good friend, ryan. Hundreds of people named Ryan got together in New York this past weekend for an event called Rio Fest.
Speaker 1Yeah, yes, he didn't go to that one, but he went to one in San Diego, really yeah, and he did a comedy show and it was just a bunch of Ryans on the show and it was a bunch of Ryans in the audience. I didn't know that.
Speaker 2That is so funny. So Ryans really love their names. Yes, they do.
Speaker 1Okay, all right, that's awesome. All right. Well, thanks, janine, so much for everything today and appreciate the good news, and I hope you have a good rest of your day and we'll talk to you tomorrow you too.
Speaker 2Thank you, chris, love you, love you. Okay, bye-bye.
Speaker 1Good morning, it's the Morning Brew with Chris. Who's this? Good morning, it's Holly Holly. Where are you from, holly? I'm from Zuni, new Mexico. No way, you live in New Mexico, yes, and you listen to us on the morning brew.
Speaker 4Yes, I'm actually on the road, Dude. We are international, huh.
Speaker 1Exactly. Well, holly, you have your pick. You could either take two tickets to the comedy show Saturday at the Pinedale Community Center compliments at Comfort Fit Dentures, you'll feel comfortable always or four tickets to the D-backs game, either Friday, saturday or Sunday. Which ones do you want?
Speaker 4Do the D-back game.
Speaker 1Oh, you hurt my feelings, I'm just kidding. I get it All right. D-backs game All right. All you have to do, holly, is talk about something good.
Speaker 4Tell us, give us some good news today, the weekend we recently had our Zuni Fair and just a family vibe, our culture, our tradition, everything that happened during the week, totally awesome. We had some good singing, dancing, just all around, good vibes and especially family time. You know, that's what counts the most.
Sports Illustrated Youth Athlete Contest
Speaker 1Absolutely. That's great. You gave me goosebumps, holly. That makes up for you not picking the comedy show. Well, you just won four tickets. Do you want to go Friday, saturday or Sunday?
Speaker 4I'll do a Saturday.
Speaker 1Saturday you got it what station just hooked you up 92.5. You know it, Joining us in studio today is Jason McCreary from Mountain Pines Little League and Tavis McCreary, who is a quarterfinalist in Sports Illustrated Youth Athlete of the Year. Voting goes till Thursday at 7 pm. You vote online and Jason and Tavis, where is what about two days left of voting? Where does he stand right now in the voting?
Speaker 3So right now he's in second. We got to get him in first. There's four groups of 16 and they take the top one of every group to go to the semifinals. So we're going from 64 to four.
Speaker 1Okay, and so he. In order to move on, he has to be in first place. He's been toying with it, been in first place a few times. We've got to get him back there. I'm going to share the link on our website. But it's the youthathleteoftheyearorg and Tavis McCreary is who we're voting for. You could vote once for free every day, which I've been doing, and then you could also purchase extra votes, and that money goes towards the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Speaker 3Yeah, it all goes to a good cause.
Speaker 1All goes to a good cause and helping one of our White Mountain athletes, youth athletes, Tavis McCreary. We're trying to get you over the top, buddy. Have you been able to sleep at night? Have you been nervous about the results? Tell me how you've been feeling.
Speaker 4I've been feeling a little bit nervous.
Speaker 1See if I can make it to the next round yeah, but uh, but you don't let it get to you too much, you don't let it keep you up at night no, I don't that's good.
Speaker 1That's good. Well, I hope you move on to the next round, no matter what happens. We're so proud of you. But everyone q country, nation. Let's vote for tavis mccreary. Get him into first place. Only a few days left of voting. We got to make every day count. How about we play a game? Last time you were here, tavis, we put you up against your dad in some sports trivia and you lost. How did that feel Horrible? Right, right. Why Was he bragging about it all the time? Yeah, that's right. Well, that's what you got to do, dad. You got to, he's got to. You're doing so good, he's got to humble you a little bit, but would you like a chance at redemption today?
Speaker 3Yes, I would.
Father vs Son Sports Trivia
Speaker 1All right, here we go. Tavis versus Dad Jason Find out who's smarter, father or son. Week two NFL trivia. These questions and answers provided by ChatGPT, so I can't guarantee they're correct. All right, here we go. Which team won a close week two game on Monday Night Football by striking back with a late TD drive to beat the Texans 20-19? Is it the Chargers, buccaneers, cowboys or Patriots? Jason, jason, the Buccaneers. It was the Buccaneers. He's up 1-0. Here we go. The Packers defeated which team in Week two with the score of 27-18? Was it the Commanders, the Bears, the Lions or the Giants? Tavis, tavis. Was it the Giants? Was it the Giants? No, it was not the Giants. So sorry, what about your guess there, jason? I'm going to go.
Speaker 3What were the answers? Again, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1The answers are the Commanders Bears, lions or Giants. Who did the Packers defeat in week two? The Bears? No, you both got it wrong, commanders. That would have sealed the deal for you. You just need one more right answer. All right, here we go. In the Falcons versus Vikings game, what was the final score? Was it 28-14, b 22-6, c 21-10, d 17-13? Or I'll even take what team won in the Falcons versus Vikings game. What team won? Jason? Jason, atlanta, atlanta, there we go. He beat you two times in a row. I'm so sorry, tavis, but don't worry, you're not going to lose Youth Athlete of the Year because Q Country Nation is going online and going to vote for you today, tomorrow and Thursday. You get one free vote a day. You could also buy additional votes with all that money going towards the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. Are you bummed out? What's worse losing against a friend or losing against your dad?
Speaker 4Losing against my dad.
Speaker 1Right, exactly, you lost the first one to your dad. How about we? Do you want some redemption?
Speaker 4Yeah.
Holy Guacamole Trivia Challenge
Speaker 1Okay, today is National Guacamole Day, so we're going to do some holy guacamole trivia. If you know the answer, say your name. That's your buzzer. First one to two. First question Avocados are technically A, a vegetable, b, a fruit, c, a root or D legume.
Speaker 4Tavis.
Speaker 1Tavis.
Speaker 4I think it's a fruit.
Speaker 1Yes.
Speaker 2Tavis.
Speaker 1Yes, yes, yes, congratulations, Tavis. You are correct. It is a fruit. It's got a seed in it. Yep, which country grows the most avocados? Is it Brazil, mexico, usa or Chile? Jason, jason, I'm going to go with Brazil. No, it is not Brazil, tavis. You have a chance to beat your dad and rub it in his face. It's Mexico, usa or Chile. Which country grows the most avocados?
Speaker 4Chile. No Avocados Chile.
Speaker 1No, mexico, so sorry, okay, I should have guessed that, all right. What is the main seasoning traditionally added to guacamole? Is it A lime juice, b vinegar or C paprika or D dill Tavis, tavis, come on, let's do it. Paprika, oh, tavis, come on. I thought that was an easy one. No, no, no, it's not paprika, jason. What were the answers?
Speaker 3All right.
Speaker 1Lime juice, vinegar or deal. We'll say lime juice. It is lime juice. Was that your first correct answer, jason?
Speaker 3I believe so oh it was oh.
Speaker 1So the game goes on, Tavis. Oh, you're tied at one apiece. The person to get this next answer right is the winner. Here we go. How many calories are in about half of a medium avocado? Is it A 80? B 120?, C 200?, D 250? Tavis, Tavis, 80? Is it 80? It is not 80. Jason, what's your guess? 120. Is it 120? Oh, Tavis, he came from behind and beat you. It is time for me to say goodbye to today's in-studio guests Jason McCreary with Mountain Pines Little League, and Tavis McCreary, who's up for Sports Illustrated's Youth Athlete of the Year, currently in the quarterfinals Right now. Second place Voting ends Thursday at 7 pm. You can vote every day for free, or you could buy votes, and that money goes towards the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. Just a few days left. Let's get him over the hump, and I'll share the link on our Facebook page as well Before I leave. Jason, what do you have to say about your son, Tavis?
Speaker 3He's a good kid. He's a great kid actually, excuse me. He works hard at everything. He does sports. You know just, he's a good leader and I'm pretty proud of him.
Speaker 1Heck yeah, you should be Tavis. What's your favorite sport again? Football and baseball. Football and baseball. And what's your favorite sport again?
Speaker 4Football and baseball.
Speaker 1Football and baseball, and what's your favorite thing about sports?
Speaker 4Just the physicality of the sports and just playing with your teammates as a team and being able to be out on the field and be a leader.
Fire Marshal's Minute with JD Pepper
Speaker 1Heck, yeah. Well, you know what I'm so excited you're representing the White Mountains in the Sports Illustrated Youth Athlete of the Year. He's in the quarterfinals. He's got to get in first place in this round to move to the semifinals. So get your vote in for Tavis McCreary for Sports Illustrated's Youth Athlete of the Year. Best friends. Thanks so much for joining me and give me a call as soon as you know the results.
Speaker 3Will do. Thank you, Chris.
Speaker 1Good morning, it's the Morning Brew with Chris. Who's this? We'll do. Thank you, chris. Good morning, it's the Morning Brew with Chris. Who's this?
Speaker 5Hey, good morning, chris, it's JD.
Speaker 1It's JD Pepper, our fire marshal with the Timber Mesa Fire Department. Jd, our hearts are heavy. Here at Country Mountain, airwaves and over the whole White Mountains.
Speaker 5I've been praying for you and I hope you feel the community's love at this very difficult time. You know what, biden, I can't say enough. I'm trying not to get choked up here. The community that we live in is so, so beautiful. It is a really wonderful place to live and to work. You know our firefighters are, you know they're they. They love to, they love to live and work here too. Um and uh, the the two that we lost were absolutely no exception. Their love for community is wonderful. Um, so I might think my, my. I just wish to say thank you to everybody out there that's helped us in this time. Again, I can't say enough. Thank you is all I can really just put out there at this time. But I didn't want to miss. Our job still goes on, we still have to settle up and do our jobs and I didn't want to miss. I've been gone for a couple weeks. I returned Sunday night, but I didn't want to miss the fire marshal's minute for our community out there because, after all, you are why we do what we do.
Speaker 5And, anyways, september is prepare your household month. Practice fire safety on campus. Again, school has started. So guys out there going back and forth to school and parents, just remind your kids that are going to school hey, practice fire safety. I know that the local schools are doing their fire drills and stuff like that and I appreciate them for doing that as well. Prevent cooking fires in home. Stay in the kitchen while you're cooking and never leave the cooking unattended, and keep flammables like oven mitts and towels away from the stovetop. I don't know if you felt the temperature or not within the last couple nights, but man, it's really. September is one of my favorite months. It's when kind of the things start to change and cool down for us up here really really good. So just practice fire safety in the home and we just again appreciate you all, love you all and that's all.
Speaker 1Thank you, JD, and if there's anything you need from me or any way the community can help you and those families affected, let us know, and please let everyone know at Timber Mesa that we love them and our thoughts and prayers are with them.
Speaker 5Thank you, Chris. You all have a wonderful day ahead of you All right, you too, best friend, we love you.
