Old Town New World

Recently, before performing alongside MOA and Mandako, all members of the band GASP sat down with us to talk about making music. They talk about what brought this band together and what motivates them. They also explain, to the best of their abilities, what pushes them to create music. Why do they commit so much of their time and energy to something that will most likely not return that effort monetarily?

The concert that night took place at Rock Hill’s Courtroom venue, an integral part of GASP and the local music scene. The band also talks about the Rock Hill scene and why places like this are important.

In this very special episode of Old Town New World, the late Marshall Dickson Whitesides tells the story of his journey from a family farm in South Carolina to the WWII Battlefront in France and Germany. A well-respected business owner and beloved family man, Marshall tells us about his adventures and occasional misadventures on the frontlines. His war career was one fraught with danger and populated by rich characters. We hope you truly enjoy hearing it.

Data scientist, international policy advisor on economic growth, and social entrepreneur Belén Sánchez Hidalgo talks about her passion to bring diversity to AI. While working as a consultant at The World Bank, Belén became anxious about the potential risks of Artificial Intelligence and decided to do something about it. She left her career in public policy to become a data scientist at DataRobot. Here, she became inspired to educate women on AI development and created WaiCAMP, an initiative that closes the AI gender gap in Latin America through pragmatic education. 

Originally from Ecuador, where she graduated from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador with various financial degrees, Belén went on to study Enterprise Development at Leipzig University and obtain a Master in Public Administration from The Harvard Kennedy School.

Senior Pastor and President of Freedom Temple Ministries, Bishop Herbert C. Crump, Jr. talks about his journey from The United States Army to being head of the first minority congregation to own large property on Main Street Rock Hill. Pastor Crump talks about his work with Clinton college, exciting progress there, and the importance of having an accessible option for higher education. He explains his personal philosophy about people in leadership roles supporting incoming, younger leaders.

Born in Mount Vernon, NY, Pastor Crump went from military service to being a youth minister in Charleston, moved on to various pastor roles before starting a new ministry in Winthrop Auditorium in 2000.

Pastor Crump is happily married to Lady Dawn R. Crump, with son Joshua, daughter Jenesis, and pup Ace.

Former SC representative and house majority leader Gary Simrill joins us to talk about his new role at Winthrop University. He tells us what drives him and about lessons he learned from both success and failure. We discuss the turmoil in modern politics and its impact on the individual. Gary reveals a personal history in which it’s easy to see why he’s such a highly regarded leader. 

Gary was born in Rock Hill and graduated from Winthrop University in 1991 with a BS in Business. He went on to a thirty-year career in politics before joining the team at Winthrop as special assistant to the president for community engagement. He and wife, Mary have three children. He was the primary sponsor of the 2017 Infrastructure and Economic Development Act.