This Life's Work with Charles Rateliff & Friends

We are a sum of our experiences and our relationships. 

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is a mother of three. A wife. An Arkansan. 

Her father, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, calls her "doggone tough".

Former President Trump affectionately refers to her as “My Sarah”.

She’s been on the campaign trail, front and center in the Brady Press Briefing Room (the third woman and the very first mom to do so), and Sarah Huckabee Sanders hopes to become the next Arkansas Governor.

Discovered as a foundling baby on the streets of Chicago and raised to value service and acts of selflessness, Washington County Judge Joseph Wood shares with us his unique upbringing and describes the moment he contacted the man who saved his life as an infant.

We also dive into Judge Wood's career experience at Walmart, share a few Mr. Sam stories, and discuss his work with the Northwest Arkansas community as county judge.  

In Episode 8, Charles and Dana were joined by Benton County Judge Barry Moehring and Cindy Moehring, Founder and Executive Chair of the Business Integrity Leadership Initiative at the University of Arkansas, to talk about navigating Benton County's growth, the importance of community dialogue, and their advice to families considering a move to Northwest Arkansas.

There’s a popular quote from the children's television host Fred Rogers, that says, “When I was a boy, and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

Many of the most heartbreaking stories that you will read in Northwest Arkansas are about children in need. Whether it’s a typical year or during a pandemic in 2020, we hear about children lacking basic nutrition, suffering through abusive situations, or needing basic necessities when they get to school each day.

Amanda Musick and Gabby Steen are the helpers. 

In this episode, we'll cover the Bentonville Schools' initiative called Bright Futures, how it was started, who it helps, and how you can get involved to help children in our community. 

We’re talking about change and resiliency with guest Jim Haworth.

Jim had a twenty-year career at Walmart, including roles as EVP and COO.  

He served for five years as CEO of the fourth largest hypermarket chain in China, Chairman and CEO of the Professional Bull Riders, and now serves as CEO of Outdoor Cap.  

Change can be rejuvenating. It can be a business pivot. It can be an abrupt career redirection.

Or it can be a sudden upending life change because of a pandemic.

If you’re listening to this, we want you to come away from this podcast with stories and inspiration on overcoming whatever life throws your way.

Security, safety, and health are hot topics in 2020.  

Rapid population growth, paired with the COVID-19 pandemic, has caused Downtown Bentonville, Inc. to rethink large downtown events and gatherings.  

We invited Andrew Heath, Executive Director of Downtown Bentonville, Inc., to discuss the organization's new partnership with SafeHaven Security Group, with the mission to ensure events like Farmers Market remain safe for families to socialize, support small business, and gather for entertainment.  

The last two months have been increasingly challenging for small business owners, but there are great benefits and opportunities for diversifying your portfolio and becoming an entrepreneur. 

We spoke with Ken Robertson about his experiences selling a business, purchasing an established business, and launching a start-up business -- all within the past year. 

Life has changed since our last podcast recording, as the nation and the world have essentially shut down amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

But no matter where you are right now, and many of us are home; we are still creating and fulfilling our Life’s Work.

In this episode, we welcome Nick Robbins, Executive Director of Returning Home, a non-profit that helps people with criminal backgrounds --- many of them straight from incarceration --- overcome the barriers to successful reentry.

The story of Nick’s Life’s Work is powerful and you won’t want to miss it.

How did you get to where you are now in your career? I’m sure you could list a lot of factors.  But every successful business leader will always point to specific people in their lives who mentored them along the way. A remarkable 75% of executives say mentoring has been critical to their career development and success. During this episode, we take a look at an exceptional mentorship story in Northwest Arkansas.   Don Walker had a remarkable 42-year career at Arvest.  During that time, the bank grew from 100 employees and eight Arkansas branches to roughly 6,400 employees and 280 offices in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Don served as a mentor to our second guest, Brad Crain.   Brad has been with Arvest for fourteen years and recently moved back to Northwest Arkansas to take the position of President and CEO at Arvest Benton County.  We'll discuss their mentorship relationship and the vision required to drive strong mentoring connections.