The Debbie Nigro Show

Looking for the perfect holiday drink? Meet Coquito, Puerto Rico's creamy, coconut-infused answer to eggnog—and the recipe comes straight from Nick Mautone, the mixology mastermind behind the $10 million Honey Deuce cocktail at the U.S. Open. When asked what makes the Coquito so special, Nick said, "You almost can't screw it up. It's rich, indulgent, and full of those sweet holiday spices that make everything feel festive." Nick's take on Coquito skips the evaporated milk for more coconut richness, blending coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, dark rum, and a dash of warm spices. Shake it up in a cocktail shaker, serve it chilled, and garnish with nutmeg or a cinnamon stick for the perfect holiday toast. Whether you sip it in a martini glass or over ice, it's a little taste of the tropics with a festive twist. This recipe is easy-peasy, even for the directionally challenged (yes, I've been known to rescue instructions from the trash one too many times). So grab a shaker, channel your inner Tom Cruise, and toast to the holiday season! Here's Nick Mautone's Holiday Coquito Recipe! Holiday Coquito By Nick Mautone Coquito is an eggnog-like alcoholic beverage, but without eggs! A traditional Puerto Rican holiday drink it is creamy, decadent and filled with sweet spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice and ginger. The key ingredients are coconut milk or cream of coconut and condensed milk. Many home recipes include evaporated milk, I skip that in favor of more coconut milk and its exotic flavor. If you want to go completely dairy free (I often do!) there is sweetened condensed coconut milk available online and in specialty markets, or use coconut cream instead of condensed milk – just be sure to mix it well. 2 oz coconut milk 1 ½ oz Dark rum 1 oz sweetened condensed milk Generous Dash of apple or pumpkin pie spice or your favorite blend of sweet spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice and ginger Garnish: Grated Nutmeg and/or Cinnamon Sticks and/or Coconut Glassware: Shot Glass, Martini up or Rocks glass over ice Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously, strain into preferred glass or rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish Pro tip 1 Adding a dash of another brown spirit such as bourbon, brandy or a sweet sherry will add a real depth of flavor and complexity. Pro tip 2 Multiply this recipe by 10 or more and stash in the fridge. It will last a week or so, ready for all your holiday entertainment. Pro tip 3 Add a tablespoon of pumpkin purée to the recipe for a very decadent pumpkin pie "nog" Pro tip 4 Add a tablespoon of apple butter to the recipe for a very decadent apple pie "nog" Pro tip 5 Add a ½ ounce of peppermint schnapps or white crème de menthe to the original recipe for a very decadent peppermint bark like version. Enjoy this podcast of my warm conversation with childhood neighbor and cocktail star Nick Mautone live on The Debbie Nigro Show.

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and seen a dazzling display of synchronized drones creating art in mid-air? I stumbled upon this awe-inspiring technology while walking in my neighborhood park. What I thought was going to be an epic video of hovering drones ton my iPhone turned out to be a great shot… of my foot. But that didn't stop me from diving into the world of drone light shows, thanks to my recent guest, Bernard Ozarowski, President of Pixis Drones. Bernard's journey into the drone world is as fascinating as the shows themselves. "I was a white-collar criminal defense lawyer for 13 years," Bernard shared. "But when I saw an NBA logo made out of drones at Liberty State Park, I knew this was something that could bring joy and magic to people, including myself. Now, I get to do work that makes me feel like a kid again." Pixis Drones collaborates with major brands like Warner Bros., McDonald's, and even the NFL to create jaw-dropping aerial displays. From shaping logos to telling entire stories in the sky, the process begins with detailed storyboarding and animation, which eventually transforms into precise drone flight paths. "Each drone is programmed with a path file that tells it where to go, what color to display, and when to return safely," Bernard explained. As for the technology itself? Bernard broke it down simply: "Think of each drone as a pixel in a moving image. Our software calculates how every drone needs to move and light up to create a seamless visual. It's like choreographing a dance, but with hundreds of performers in the sky." The possibilities are endless, whether for halftime shows, weddings, or product launches. And while smaller shows start at $40,000, premium productions can climb into six figures. Despite the cost, the safety protocols are what truly impressed me. "Our drones are surrounded by geofences that act like an invisible safety net," Bernard said, "and we're always prepared with a second pilot monitoring every flight." It's hard not to admire Bernard's passion. His team is composed of people from wildly different backgrounds—lawyers, special forces, and marketing experts—all united by their love for pushing creative boundaries. "I even get cool dad points," Bernard joked, recounting how he recently put Minecraft in the sky for his son. Drone light shows aren't just the future of entertainment—they're a testament to the magic of technology and human creativity. Thank you, Bernard, for sharing this inspiring glimpse into Pixis Drones. I'm officially a new fan and can't wait to catch their next dazzling display. Learn about the behind the scenes magic of creating syncronized drone light shows in this fascinating podcast of my live conversation with Pixis Drones President Bernard Ozarowski on The Debbie Nigro Show.

Ever find yourself enchanted by the sparkle of a circus? Not just the outfits (which I've always admired)—but the incredible dedication behind the scenes? Well, today's podcast is a must-listen as I delve into the fascinating world of the Circus Ring of Fame in Sarasota, Florida, with my brilliant guest, Bill Powell. Funny story: this whole conversation started because I stumbled upon an old photo of myself doing one of my first celebrity interviews—with a monkey from the Royal Hanneford Circus! (Yes, a monkey. It was as hilarious as you can imagine.) That quirky blast from the past sent me spiraling down an acrobatic rabbit hole of circus research, and, wow, did I uncover some incredible stuff! Bill, who's the Chairman and CEO of the Circus Ring of Fame Foundation and a circus industry veteran, joined me to share insights into Sarasota's vibrant circus history and the resilience of this amazing community. Sarasota, as it turns out, isn't just another sunny Florida spot—it's the Circus Capital of America, a place where legends have performed and lived since the Ringling Brothers made it their winter home. Bill's expertise runs deep. Before leading the Circus Ring of Fame Foundation, he built an impressive career at Feld Entertainment, the company behind iconic productions like Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Disney on Ice, and Monster Jam. His background gave him a unique understanding of the art, business, and enduring legacy of the circus world. But not everything has been bright lights and applause. The Circus Ring of Fame was recently devastated by hurricanes that tore through the area, leaving their iconic home in St. Armand's Circle Park in need of major repairs. The damage was so extensive that the much-anticipated 2025 Circus Ring of Fame Global Awards Show has sadly been postponed to 2026. Bill shared how this setback has fueled the community's determination to rebuild. As he put it, "This isn't our first rodeo hurricane." Despite the challenges, the Circus Ring of Fame under Bill's leadership is finding innovative ways to keep its magic alive. They've incorporated QR codes into their legendary plaques, so visitors can scan and dive into the incredible stories, photos, and videos of circus legends who've shaped the art form. Bill also gave me an insider's view of what makes circus performers so special. He described the circus world as a place where people dedicate their entire lives to creating "six minutes of perfection." Think about that! From trapeze acts to being shot out of cannons, these performers are the ultimate pros, bringing joy to audiences through unmatched artistry and effort. If you're ever in Sarasota, visiting the Circus Ring of Fame should be on your list—especially once the community's hard work restores it to its former glory. In the meantime, you can support their mission and learn more about these incredible artists. Listen to the full episode of The Debbie Nigro Show and get inspired by the magic of circus legends.

Ever dreamed of making passive income online while you sleep? Might be time to turn that dream into reality! Recently on The Debbie Nigro Show, I had the pleasure of chatting with Neil Twa, a leading expert in Amazon e-commerce and the brains behind countless online business success stories. With over 45,000+ people soaking up his wisdom, Neil knows exactly how to help entrepreneurs navigate the fast-paced world of e-commerce. We talked about how to succeed on Amazon, including insider strategies and how the platform is evolving to compete with TikTok Shop, Shein, and Temu. If you're ready to start your own Amazon business or grow your online store, this episode is loaded with actionable tips to get you there. Neil said: "E-commerce isn't about chasing every shiny trend; it's about building a sustainable business that works for you, even while you're not working." A reminder that success in the digital marketplace is all about strategy and smart planning! Neil also shared highlights from his *High Voltage Business Builders Podcast*, a treasure trove of insights into scaling an online business, Amazon automation, and building passive income streams. Don't miss this jam-packed conversation on "The Debbie Nigro Show" with Neil Twa. Whether you're an aspiring Amazon seller, a seasoned e-commerce entrepreneur, or just curious about making money online, this episode will give you the inspiration and tools to make it happen.

Celebrating True Heroes: Brian Rathjen & Roberts and Ryan's Mission to Serve Veterans In honor of Veterans Day, I turned the spotlight on someone who embodies selfless service: Brian Rathjen of Roberts and Ryan, America's first service-disabled veteran-owned broker-dealer. If there was a show about this Wall Street firm, it would be the opposite of the show "Billions"—highlighting generosity and patriotism instead of greed. Brian, a proud Navy veteran and the non-executive chairman of Roberts and Ryan, has made it his mission to give back. His firm has grown impressively since we first connected, now boasting 42 employees, many of whom are military and Wall Street veterans. The most inspiring part? Roberts and Ryan donates a significant portion of its financial transaction profits to support veteran organizations and youth programs. To date, they've donated $2.3 million to over 50 initiatives, covering everything from health and wellness to career transitions for veterans. We discussed their support for Boulder Crest Retreat, an incredible place helping veterans overcome PTSD (or PTS, as Brian prefers—removing the "D" for disorder). With serene properties and life-changing programs, they promote post-traumatic growth and empower heroes to reclaim joy and purpose. Roberts and Ryan also partners with the Robert Irvine Foundation, funding high-tech I-Bot wheelchairs that restore independence to veterans who've lost mobility. Each chair is a $40,000 game-changer, and so far, they've donated ten! Beyond veterans, Brian and his team invest in uplifting underserved youth, like their recent internships and support initiatives in Harlem. Roberts and Ryan is a stellar example of business excellence fused with heart and integrity. Here's a company checking all the boxes: world-class financial service, diversity and inclusion, and an unwavering commitment to giving back. So, to all the companies out there: consider joining forces with Roberts and Ryan and be part of a mission that truly changes lives. As Brian says, "What we do for ourselves dies with us, but what we do for others, lives forever." Thank you, Brian, for your service and heart. And Thank You Always and Forever to All Our Veterans. Let's keep serving those who served!

Recently on The Debbie Nigro Show, we had a very special young guest: the fabulous Destiny Bella Kinsey, a talented 10-year-old from Yonkers, NY who is making a powerful impact with her anti-bullying video, "Rise and Stop Bullies". Destiny may be one of the youngest stars we've ever featured, but her story and vision are as impactful as they come! Bullied herself in elementary school, Destiny took a difficult experience and turned it into a message of strength and hope for others. While no one was there to help her at first, once she was able to admit to her Mom what was troubling her so much, she decided to make a difference so that no other child would have to feel alone. With the support of her film teacher, school friends, and her wonderful mom, Larnez Kinsey, Destiny crafted a moving short film showcasing how stepping up as a bystander can stop bullying in its tracks. Her mom, Larnez, an inspiring powerhouse herself, has raised five daughters while working in New York State Corrections and running Black Gate Consulting Group, where she helps people access critical grants. Talk about a family of change-makers! As Destiny confidently shared her vision in our studio, I couldn't help but recognize her as a future superstar. She's already got the spark, talent, and ambition to influence the world. Her filmmaking club at school is just the beginning! So, whether you have kids in school or know someone who does, this video is a must-watch. "Rise and Stop Bullies" is a heartfelt call for action, urging us all to step in and support one another. Sharing it could help spread awareness and, hopefully, make every school a safer place. And hey, Destiny might be helping me out with TikTok soon—this girl knows how to keep things fresh! Let's amplify Destiny's voice and celebrate her mission. More power to young heroes like her! And more power to everyone who supports the mission to 'Rise and Stop Bullies!' Enjoy this podcast of our live in studio conversation and stay tuned for more uplifting stories on The Debbie Nigro Show!

It's Election Day, and wow, are emotions running high! If you're anything like me, you've probably noticed that even the closest "birds of a feather" don't always see eye-to-eye when it comes to politics. Today on The Debbie Nigro Show, I shared some thoughts on how to keep the peace with friends and family who might be voting differently. From tips on having respectful conversations to a reminder that it's our differences that make life interesting, I talked about ways to stay connected—even if you're not all on the same political page. As I always say, "nothing new for you can come from only being with those who see things the same way you do." So, let's embrace fresh perspectives, take a deep breath, and remember we're all in this together. This is my very first time posting a radio show monologue as a podcast! If you're up for authentic, upbeat conversations about life's everyday moments, I'd love for you to give it a listen. And if you enjoy it, maybe hit "follow" or sign up for my free newsletter which today just happens to be about "Birds of a Feather' . I like to share insights and information that I feel are relevant to things happening in all of our lives. And I'm always happy to have new birds in my flock regardless of your politics. By the way,"Birds of a Feather' is the title of Billie Eilish's beautiful chart topping song which I highly reccomend you listen to today if you could go for a soothing sound to quell your anxiety. Best! Debbie

With its roots as one of the first singles bars in Manhattan, TGI Fridays was the place to be back in the day, known for training Tom Cruise for his bartending role in Cocktail and introducing the world to Happy Hour! Now TGI Fridays, the once-vibrant go to restaurant chain has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I did notice that a few of my local TGI Fridays had gone missing and knew something was up, but not all of them. Sure hard to miss that iconic logo in a drive by. And sure hard to forget how much good commotion went on at those happy hours back in the day. If you don't know the whole entrpreneurial backstory of TGI Fridays, its surely worth your time to check it out on Wikipedia. Business expert Parag Amin joined The Debbie Nigro Show to discuss the news and dig into what's going wrong—and what might come next for the beloved brand. Here's a quick summary of our fascinating conversation. The Rise and Fall of TGI Fridays In the beginning, TGI Fridays was a hot spot for singles in New York City. It was all thanks to founder Alan Stillman, who opened the first location with hopes of meeting the local ladies. From its humble beginnings, Fridays became a national phenomenon, famous for its fun atmosphere and flair bartenders. Over time, however, the brand shifted to family dining, and the unique vibe that once set it apart started to fade. Why the Struggle? The Changing Face of Casual Dining Parag Amin explained how the casual dining landscape has evolved. With more competitors entering the market, restaurants need a clear draw. TGI Fridays seemed to lose its sense of "destination dining"—the "I need to go there" factor that keeps people coming back. While other spots like Yard House have found new ways to attract both socializers and families, TGI Fridays struggled to find its footing. Can TGI Fridays Make a Comeback? So, what's next? According to Parag, this could be the perfect opportunity for TGI Fridays to rebrand and bring in a fresh vision. Maybe Tuesday is the new Friday, I joked hinting that new "TGIT" or "TGITuesday" specials could be a fun twist on their original concept. Whatever happens, Parag says they'll need to rediscover the magic that made Fridays a destination in the first place. Not All Fridays Are Closing Before you mourn your favorite neighborhood Fridays, don't worry—not all locations are shutting down. While corporate-owned locations are restructuring, franchise-owned restaurants remain open and are not part of the filing. So, you may still be able to snag those famous potato skins or a signature cocktail at your local Fridays. TGI Fridays Will Be Spending Many Days on Their What's Next If there's a silver lining here, it's that Chapter 11 gives TGI Fridays a chance to regroup and possibly reinvent itself. With the right strategy and perhaps a new CEO, this iconic brand could still find its way back to relevance—and maybe even reclaim some of its original "cool factor." Enjoy this podcast of my live conversation with business expert Parag Amin on The Debbie Nigro Show. Parag Amin is the founder of the 'Law Office of Parag Amin'. He is a business expert and an attorney who represents public figures, small business owners, and individuals in a variety of business matters. Tune in weekdays 11-12noon EST to The Debbie Nigro Show on WGCH Radio for more business insights and more lively conversations!

Is your life cluttered with mountains of family photos, both digital and physical, that you've been meaning to organize but can't find the time or know where to start? Meet Kimberly Melton, founder of Visual Story Media and a rising star in the world of photo organizing. Recently featured on The Debbie Nigro Show, Kimberly shared her passion for helping people bring order to their chaotic photo collections. Who Is Kimberly Melton? Kimberly, based in Charlotte, NC, has a background in marketing and project management. In 2020, she discovered the art of photo management and hasn't looked back. Recognized by the National Association of Women Business Owners as a "Rising Star," Kimberly has become a go-to expert for organizing both digital and paper photos. Why Organize Your Photos? Kimberly explains that sorting through years of photos can be overwhelming—especially when memories, both joyful and bittersweet, resurface. Visual Story Media offers a range of services to help you organize and share your treasured photos. Whether you want guidance on how to do it yourself or prefer to hand over boxes of photos and let Kimberly's team handle it all, there's a solution for everyone. Services Offered by Visual Story Media Visual Story Media provides: 1. Digital organization for smartphone photos. 2. Physical-to-digital conversion for old photos. 3. VHS and DVD conversion for videos and slideshows. 4. Customized photo books, perfect for sharing memories with family during holidays. For those facing unique situations, like dividing family photos after a divorce, Kimberly offers solutions to ensure everyone gets fair access to memories. With Visual Story Media, preserving and sharing your family's legacy has never been easier. As Kimberly says, "Delete is not a dirty word"—sometimes the first step in organizing is simply letting go of what's unnecessary. For anyone ready to dive into organizing their photo collection, Visual Story Media can make it a manageable and even enjoyable journey. Meet Kimberly and get some great photo organizing motivation in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show. Visit VisualStoryMedia.co to learn more about Kimberly's services and get started on creating organized, shareable memories that last.

In 2022, Dr. Lauren Ramsey, a Texas-based breast surgical oncologist, lost a close friend and fellow surgeon to breast cancer. This tragic loss spurred her mission to protect women healthcare workers who face unique occupational risks. Recognizing that women orthopedic surgeons are nearly three times more likely to develop breast cancer than the general population, Dr. Ramsey innovated the BAT shield—a T-shirt-style radiation protection garment designed specifically for women in healthcare. Unlike traditional protective aprons, the BAT shield offers targeted protection for high-risk areas: the breasts, axilla, and thyroid. Clinical testing showed it reduced radiation exposure in the near-breast area by up to 97%, setting a new standard for healthcare safety. Partnering with Burlington Medical, a leader in radiation protective gear, Dr. Ramsey's BAT shield is now available in hospitals across Texas and through national vendors where Burlington Medical is supplied. The BAT shield's comfortable fit, mesh panels, and 15 size options ensure flexibility and cooling comfort for long hours in the operating room. Dr. Ramsey's goal is to make this garment a standard for all healthcare professionals, from doctors to nurses to radiologic technologists, who are exposed to radiation daily. Dr. Ramsey's innovation highlights her dedication to protecting healthcare workers while advancing safety standards in the medical field. Meet this brilliant surgeon and now inventor on The Debbie Nigro Show.

Hey there, it's Debbie Nigro! On a recent episode of The Debbie Nigro Show, I had fun chatting about something that's really taking off lately—'adult play' and reconnecting with the joy we felt as kids. More and more adults are leaning into activities that bring them back to that pure, playful state. And guess what? Coloring books are one of those trends making another big comeback. But this time in a more personalized way. My guest, Madison Malloy, really gets this. Madison is a mindset coach, bestselling author, and the host of the podcast Next to Madison. She's put together a truly unique coloring book called "Color Your Way to Abundance: A 21-Day Manifestation Guide for Wealth, Health, and Love". But this isn't just any coloring book. Madison combines powerful affirmations with the meditative act of coloring, helping people rewire their minds for success and abundance in a totally new way. In our conversation, Madison shared her own journey from a high-powered job on Wall Street to becoming a coach and comedian, and now an author helping people unlock their potential. With her book, she's taken three of the most important areas of life—health, wealth, and love—and created a 21-day process that's both calming and transformative. Imagine coloring in the affirmation "Wealth is my birthright" and feeling that message truly sink in. By focusing on these affirmations in a relaxed state, Madison's approach makes it easier for people to reprogram their subconscious and build new beliefs. Madison also hosts her own podcast, *Next to Madison*, where she helps listeners get happier, healthier, and wealthier, and I love how she blends heart, humor, and smarts in everything she does. If you're interested in starting your own journey to abundance, check out her coloring book on Amazon. And if you want to learn more about Madison, head to MadisonMalloy.com Catch the full interview on The Debbie Nigro Show and get ready to start manifesting abundance in your life—one color at a time!

Entrepreneurs know things don't always go as planned. (Understatement) Setbacks are common for those who risk new ideas and ventures but how you deal with those setbacks is critical. There are 33 million or so small businesses in the U.S. and that includes a lot of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are out there driving innovation and creating jobs and economic growth across all kinds of industries. A lot of people have been encouraged now, seeing great successes out there in the media to pursue entrepreneurship. But it isn't always simple! On a recent episode of The Debbie Nigro Show, dynamic entrepreneur Kasey D'Amato offered invaluable insights into leadership and business acumen, particularly for those aiming to grow their small businesses and navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship. As a business consultant and coach, Kasey shared personal stories and expert advice on achieving business growth while maintaining a healthy balance between personal life and professional responsibilities. Overcoming Setbacks as an Entrepreneur Kasey D'Amato's entrepreneurial journey is filled with valuable lessons for anyone looking to succeed in business. She spoke candidly about how setbacks are inevitable but emphasized that it's the ability to overcome these obstacles that separates successful entrepreneurs from the rest. Kasey's leadership philosophy revolves around remaining adaptable and focusing on solutions. She encourages entrepreneurs to embrace failures as learning opportunities and to continue pushing forward. "The biggest challenge entrepreneurs face is getting stuck in the setbacks," Kasey shared during the show. "The ability to keep moving forward, no matter what, is what ultimately leads to success." Mastering Business Acumen for Small Business Growth Kasey's expertise in business acumen and her focus on the strategic growth of small businesses are the abilities she uses to help others. She explained how important it is for entrepreneurs to understand their market and continually refine their strategies. Her advice to small business owners? Focus on what makes your business unique and leverage that to outpace your competition. "To scale your small business, you must be adaptable and always look for new ways to add value to your customers," Kasey explained. She advocates for entrepreneurs to build a strong foundation in business leadership and continually work on improving their processes. Empowering Entrepreneurs As a successful business consultant and coach, Kasey also discussed the importance of mentorship and leadership in business. She believes in empowering others through coaching, sharing how she helps clients harness their strengths to unlock their full potential. "Leadership isn't about having all the answers; it's about empowering your team to find solutions," Kasey said, offering advice to small business owners looking to lead their teams to success. Kasey also touched on the significance of time and energy management, an area where many entrepreneurs struggle. She emphasized that leaders should be mindful of how they allocate their resources, ensuring that they are focusing on the most critical tasks for business growth. If you're looking for some expert advice on entrepreneurship and small business leadership, check out this podcast of Kasey D'Amato's full interview on The Debbie Nigro Show and discover how you can lead your business to success.

I'm passionate about showing people how to connect better and how to create realtionships. Realtionships matter. In a recent episode of The Debbie Nigro Show, I welcomed Donald Weber, a renowned communications coach, to dive deep into the art of empathy and how it helps us create meaningful relationships both personally and professionally. Donald Weber, who started off as a shy introvert, shared his inspiring journey from being bullied in school to coaching some of the world's most elite leaders, including members of European royalty and Fortune 100 CEOs. His message is clear: empathy and strong communication skills can transform how we connect with others, whether in business or life. Fostering Empathy and Meaningful Connections One of the main topics we discussed was empathy—understanding and connecting with others by identifying their emotions. Donald stressed the importance of being self-aware and recognizing your own emotions before trying to connect with others. He emphasized that listening and showing genuine interest are key soft skills in building trust and fostering lasting relationships. As a fellow communication expert and author of "How to Talk to Strangers / Advice from a Professional Stranger Talker", I agree whole heartedly that empathy plays a critical role in real conversations and successful collaborations. Donald and I also both highlighted the importance of self-control, and I threw in mention of my "24-hour rule" for managing emotions before reacting. Ah the things that come with wisdom! Learning from the Greats Donald Weber attributed much of his success to influences like Dale Carnegie, author of *How to Win Friends and Influence People*, as well as personal mentors like Tony Robbins and Deepak Chopra. His message to listeners was clear: continuous learning and self-improvement are critical to becoming a better communicator and leader. Who Donald Weber Helps Donald Weber's clients range from high-profile individuals to top-tier organizations, all seeking to improve their communication skills. Whether in one-on-one sessions or private workshops, he provides custom training to help leaders develop empathy, emotional intelligence, and effective communication strategies. Often he dioes this very privately. Some Key Takeaways …. Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Understanding others' emotions is key to forming meaningful connections. Active Listening: Show genuine interest in others and listen intently—communication isn't just about talking. Self-Awareness: Being mindful of your emotions helps you better control interactions. The Power of Patience: Waiting to respond when agitated can improve outcomes. Learning from the Best Books like Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" offer valuable lessons. Want to learn more about fostering empathy and becoming a better communicator? You can find Donald Weber online by searching "Donald Weber Communications Coach." Want to learn how to better connect with people in person? You might want to grab a copy of my book, "How to Talk to Strangers / Advice From a Professional Stranger Talker" by Debbie Nigro. It's only 66 pages. You can start communicating better in about an hour. LOL Meanwhile enjoy this podcast our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show – airing weekdays 11-12 noon EST live out of WGCH Radio studios In Greenwich, CT and airing live online at WGCH.com. Follow me on Instargram for more of everything upbeat: @therealdebbienigro

"Cancer can be financially toxic to patients". Read that powerful line in "The Roslyn News" story about SJJCC's Stronger Than Cancer 5K to benefit the Nancy Marx Cancer Wellness Center which took place Sept 29th in Long Island, NY. That why, against all odds, Judy Israel who's fighting stage 4 metastatic breast cancer found the strength to run again in that race this year. Judy who's going through chemo for the third time in her life, has run the 5K for the last 8 years to raise money to help keep all the centers programs and services free! #WPIXNews in NY and the TODAY Show were among the many outlets that featured her story. The Nancy Marx Cancer Wellness Center center has been a lifeline for Judy through her 3 trips through cancer hell, offering a community of individuals who could relate to her experience, and offering programs, support groups and exercise classes tailored to cancer patients and survivors. Most important their services are free and will remain free as long as their donations continue. Judy said, "It's important because before I found the Nancy Marks Cancer Wellness Center, I had been for a place where I could find people who are going through a similar situation that I was going through where I wouldn't be the only one standing out. It is a safe place. It's a place where you can go and your needs are met. "There are groups, there are exercise classes, there are walking groups, there are breast cancer groups, there are family support groups, and it's remote and in person. So there's something for everyone. a broader audience because so many people are affected by cancer whether it's the family as a unit or just an individual so we are trying to reach as many people as we can to bring them in and help them you know what are your needs?" The Nancy Marx Cancer Wellness Center in Long Island also offers remote services that are remote. I asked Judy if they allowed people from other places in the country to access this helpful cancer support community? Judy said, "They have to register with in the center, which there's a and which involves making a phone call and registering, and then you will be able to access through the website to navigate to different, you know, there's a schedule available of exercise classes, of different groups at different times.There are caregivers groups, there's men cancer groups, what different needs for different people." All cancer patients need emotional and physical support. Trust me I know. I've been through cancer twice. I am a grateful survivor and grateful to all who helped me through it. But I'd be lying if I said it didn't take an emotional and financial toll on my life. Staying alive ain't cheap. Judy Israel who I came to know and adore because her sister Ellen Israel is one of my besties from Ithaca College, continues to fight her own cancer battle, while also serving as an ambassador to the center's advisory board. Truly gritty of her to be using her experience to support and inspire others while dealing with yet another cancer fight of her own! AMAZING WOMAN. Lots of emotional personal sharing also went on during this live on air conversation with Judy who's in chemo again for metastatic breast cancer and for whom chemo will be ongoing this time. People who've been through cancer can speak to each other on a different level of understanding and humor about cancer experiences. Humor is acceptable when it comes from a deeper level of caring because it's a coping mechanism. (Her sister Ellen and I have both been through breast cancer) Which is why our conversation took a turn to naming wigs and nailing bucket list items. On Judy's Bucket List is a trip up in a Hot Air Balloon (which scares the crap out of me); Driving cross country ( I had some good RV suggestions); and seeing Las Vegas! (I'm game for taking her there. LOL ) I invited Judy to join The Debbie Nigro Show so I can support her and her efforts to support the Nancy Marx Cancer Wellness Center organization which is so important to her and many others. I hope you'll take the time to listen to this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show and shre it with anyone who could benefdit from hearing Judy and from knowing about The Nancy Marx Cancer Wellness Center in Long Island, N.Y. --- The Debbie Nigro Show airs live weekdays 11-12 noon EST on #WGCH Radio in the NY/CT. OR You can listen from wherever you are in the world on the digital livestream on WGCH.com. Just hit the Listen Live button. Visit DebbieNigro.com for more informaton or to get in touch.

A billion people around the world have a mental health disorder. That's a true number and research says one in two people are going to have a mental health disorder at some point in their life. Wendy Chaite is a psychotherapist who brings a world of wisdom and compassion to the table. In honor of World Mental Health Day I felt it was a good time to talk about mental wellness and loss and the importance of asking for help. Wendy is not your everyday psychotherapist. She's a former attorney, a career counselor for law students, and a national advocate for those living with chronic or terminal illnesses. Her work spans from helping the legal community manage stress and anxiety to guiding those dealing with grief and bereavement. Did You Know That A Disproportionate Number of Lawyers and Law Students Suffer from Mental Illness? Wendy said, "Fortunately, there's been a trend in the legal profession itself, recognizing the disproportionate number of lawyers and law students that suffer from mental illness, primarily depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder. And given the stress and the pressures of the field, that's understandable and there's also those that believe that also certain type personalities are attracted to the field. For example, people that are perfectionists or overachievers and that could also add to the stress of an individual experiences." "There's are also the demands depending on the environment in which you work. If you work in a big law firm like I had, you have the expectations of very demanding hours where you're working till 2 o'clock in the morning, your time is not your own. Also, just very often in different areas of law, there can be secondary trauma, let's say you're dealing with domestic violence clients, or other, you know, criminal related matters, that can be very traumatic, even for the attorney or the law student that's experiencing that. " "And there's also quite a bit of competitiveness within, certainly during law school, I saw this as a big issue when I was working, I worked for a decade at a law school and the pressures of being able to compete. And very often, law students define themselves through external validation, whether that's getting accepted onto law review or getting a big prestigious job." I asked Wendy the Big Question: *How Do You Know When You Need a Psychotherapist? Her answer was simple but loud. "I would say it's when your private suffering impacts your life, whether it be at work or your personal life, and it's interrupting your ability to function. And it does not have to be a severe dysfunction. It could even be a mild dysfunction, but where it interferes and you're finding yourself suffering." Wendy also shared her journey through personal loss, particularly the tragic passing of her daughter, Melanie Rose at 26, who battled a rare lymphatic disease. Wendy didn't just face this tragedy—she transformed it into action by founding the Lymphatic Research Foundation which has had extraordinary worldwide impact. This is a testament to her resilience, and her choosing to lean into the difficult parts of life rather than shy away from them. Many of us have a long tail of pain from those we've lost on this planet. Bereavement and grief are such heavy issues, and some people just can't get past the pain. Often a Psychotherapist like Wendy Can Help. Wendy said, "Well, I've been very successful working with my clients and not only just clients, but just people also that I meet in my day-to-day life that aren't clients. I too am part of a bereavement group of other mothers that have lost their children. You had mentioned that I created the foundation because my daughter passed away. I created it during her lifetime, not after she passed so that hopefully she could benefit from the medical discoveries and millions of others as well." "it's not uncommon for people to put their head in the sand, you know, because these are difficult things and you want to avoid it, you don't want to deal with it. Instead, I recognized the importance of leaning into it, and not being afraid. And so, I educated myself on the death and dying process so that I could be of support to her. And I became a trained death and dying doula. I even took her to conferences and workshops on death and dying. And so, for a young woman facing mortality, we were able to journey through that in a very profound and beautiful way." I think Wendy's message of embracing life's challenges is powerful. Her personal experiences were profound. Whether it's the pressures of being a lawyer or law student or the struggles of grieving a lost loved one – it's important to know it's healthy to ask for help. Wendy's work is a beacon for anyone in need of support. She's proof that even in the darkest of times, there's always a way forward. If you or someone you know could benefit from her expertise, please get in touch with her. Her website at WendyChaite.com

You're probably wishing you had more gold right now because gold prices are going crazy. Should you buy gold now? Who's got the gold? With gold prices hitting historic highs, all eyes are on the companies driving this surge. Jared Lazerson is the CEO of North Bay Resources. He has 25 years in the resource game and a passion for mining. From his early days playing with core samples in Vancouver to overseeing gold mines today, Jared's journey is nothing short of fascinating. North Bay Resources is a gold mining powerhouse with two active mines: one in Canada and another in California's historic Sierra County, home to the original 1849 Gold Rush. Jared shared exciting news about North Bay's latest developments—production is ramping up, with gold yields that are nothing short of impressive. With a production cost of about $500 per ton, they're poised to see strong returns given gold's $3,000 per ounce milestone. Obviously sparked by the recent gold frenzy Jared the gold miner has had to step up whatever he's been doing to keep up! So what's he been doing? Jared said, "About a year and a half ago. I started to get re-energized on gold. I've controlled gold projects for, well, way back to the beginning of my career, more than 20 years ago. This one up in Canada that we've taken control over, that one was, for example, something I've been involved with for 20 years, probably $20 million spent on it, 100-plus holes developed, so an advanced project." "But in terms of what's going on globally, domestically with price of gold, as you mentioned, it's a dangerous world. So gold has always been safe haven asset, but the interesting part is that now it is because of the returns, kind of a growth asset. So I think everybody kind of knows about that. The main factors, geopolitical, a lot of folks internationally and also domestically, you know, getting off the US dollars. So, internationally, for obvious reasons, people, you know, maybe not so friendly countries want to get out of US dollar or just generally diversify. But also domestically, there's a lot of people in the US that feel there's just too many dollars out there. " And It's not just gold that North Bay has its eye on—Jared also mentioned the presence of platinum at their California site. The energy in the industry is electric, and with retail buyers snapping up precious metals from unexpected places like Costco, the demand is clear. Jared's mining journey includes a groundbreaking venture in lithium extraction, an industry innovation that helped revolutionize battery production. Now, he's taking his expertise and passion into the world of gold, and it's paying off in a big way. With North Bay Resources' projects underway and the price of gold soaring, Jared Lazerson's leadership could very well define this new era of the gold rush. Enjoy these golden nuggets of gold education in this podcast of my live conversation with Jared Lazerson on The Debbie Nigro Show.

We all know the power of social media is huge. We all know it, but it's something that continues to morph and it's hard to keep up. It affects us every single day in everything we do, so it's not a light topic. It's reshaping relationships and sparking debates on cultural shifts. I invited an interesting guy to weigh in on this topic on my radio show. A spitfire celebrity, social media manager named Gary Frayter, who shared some things you should know. Gary's expertise goes beyond relationships. He has some solid social media insights that you can learn from, because of his experience managing the online brands of renowned figures like Mike Tyson whose followers he grew to a million. Gary who's worked with a lot of celebrities and CEOs, has positioned himself with his Instagram handle @socialmediafortherich but I got him to share some valuable tips for free. (You're welcome) I was curious about the social media strategy he used for Mike Tyson who has had a bit of a checkered past, especially since Gary impresses upon people who use social media to be sure to use use the power of authenticity. What did he do for Mike Tyson that got that kind of social media growth? Gary said, "For Mike Tyson, I was managing all of the social media for his podcast called Hot Boxing with Mike Tyson. We would have guests on from Kevin Hart to different rappers to different football players. Basically, they would sit down and have genuine conversations, real, raw and authentic. What I would do is package the best moments, take that out, and make sure that that got into the hands of all the viewers. We saw substantial growth from that, and that's what I do for basically everybody else too." What I heard Gary suggest was key to a great social media strategy is to be able to capture the best moments say of a podcast and repackage those moments as short bits to put out in other places on social media. I can assure you nobody has time to listen to everybody's everything. Gary said, "Absolutely, especially when it's an hour-long, hour-and-a-half-long podcast. Sometimes people just want the bite-sized pieces. They want the cliff notes. What are some of the best moments from that entire episode, and how do we make sure to package that with either a good caption or make it visually appealing and put that out on all platforms? That's exactly what I do." Well, that's what I should be doing better and many people out there who are trying to keep up with all the social media expectations. Gary said, "What I do think is that you will always find your audience and you don't always need a big audience, right? You just need a few people that really gravitate towards your message, really believe in what it is that you have to say and it's kind of like finding a community, right? In person. But this just online just opens up a wider landscape so that you can kind of cast your net a little bit wider and this is exactly kind of, you know, comes into the conversation about dating as well. In person, back in the day, it was a little bit harder to meet somebody that's maybe in a different city. Now it's a little bit easier." I asked Gary about the current state of online dating because I look at the dating landscape in social media and the whole relationship thing and I feel sad for so many people who are trying to figure it out and can't meet somebody nice. How would he suggest people use social media to connect with somebody that they might want to connect with in real life for a dating relationship? Gary said, "Well, one of the things, one of my passions as well as social media is actually helping young men in all aspects of life. And one of the ways that basically I help guys is basically telling them that they need to be as well-rounded as possible, right? But you also need to market yourself because it's never been more important to market yourself even on the dating scene, right? So for example, you could be the best person on the planet, you've got the best product, you could be the whole package, but if nobody knows about you, then what good does it do, you know? Or at least you won't get to everybody that you want. And so that is basically the key, is basically becoming as well-rounded of a man, I'm a man, so I speak for guys, and of how they need to get in shape, they need to be well-educated, they need to make money, provide some sort of value to the world, and then also just package that and show off their life on social media. And so that last part is extremely important, how you market yourself, especially in the dating pool. I know for sure when a person meets someone they're attracted to they will definitely go check out their online presence or profile." Because the dating apps have presented challenges for a lot of people, does Gary recommend that you contact somebody you might be interested in romantically on say, Instagram or LinkedIn, just to start a conversation? "Maybe not LinkedIn, but absolutely Instagram I mean Instagram has

When I first saw Ann Cutbill Lenane's real estate ad on the screen in the back of a NYC taxi - I thought it was genius! Turns out it was. Taxi TV! Wow. Talk about a captive audience! Ann Cutbill Lenane is the 'OG' of creative real estate marketing in NYC. She was the first real estate person to take advantage of movie theater ad screens. Ann created ads for her luxury NYC properties to entertain movie goers while they waited in their seats for the movie to start in the days before movie seat reservations were a 'thing'. She did that for 14 years before taking her "Annie Gets It Done" commercial highlighting her exclusive real estate listings and placing it onto the screens in the back seats of NYC's yellow cabs. So, it was no surprise that Ann who advertises on Taxi TV in NYC was featured in a recent Sunday New York Times Real Estate Section article called "Valuable Real Estate in the Back Seat ". Those back seat taxi ads not only showcase some of New York's most luxurious properties but they're also 'geo-targeted', meaning real estate agents can restrict their 'ads' to only be shown while the taxi is traveling in certain areas or on certain streets where they have listings. Ann, who's an agent with Douglas Elliman, says buyers like to aspire and they want to see 'into' these apartments and this marketing strategy has translated into property sales. Ann will tell you herself that NYC is a tough real estate market right now for sellers to get the prices they had been hoping for. But after 38 years of doing real estate in NYC, Annie prides herself on knowing just how to price an apartment and how to interpret market data with insider knowledge. Even so, having just read that NY is #1 in the U.S. for people with marketing mindsets, I figured there must be a lot of competition for buyers these days? Does Ann worry about that? "No, I'm always pushing it. I was the first one to advertise in the movie theater. I was the first one to advertise real estate in the taxis and I'm gonna be first to do something next. So, you know, I'm not worried about it, as you said, OG. So, I'm always gonna be out there and thinking creatively." Speaking of being creative… Annie typically makes 30-second slide shows of her listings, but along the way this single Mom of 2 daughters decided to risk throwing into her ad, that she was also looking for a Mr. Right! "That ad went viral and over 15 million people saw it around the world. I was on Good Morning America, they took it and put it on the teleprompter in Times Square, I mean there were articles in China and Russia. I was getting phone calls from men in jail. I have not found the perfect man, but yes, I sure got a lot of attention from all over the globe." Ann didn't find "Mr. Right" (yet) but she did find 2000 women who were rooting for her to find Mr. Right! And Ann turned those champions into followers and friends, by creating women's empowerment events to bring them all together under the group name "Wise and Wonderful Women". That's actually how I met Ann in person as well as other wise and wonderful women at an event she threw a few years ago at the Neuberger Museum in Westchester County. "Well, it's so funny because what actually came out of the Man for Anne Taxi ad was all of these men were reaching out, but almost an equal amount of women reached out and wrote to me, because in the ad it says, " if you love your mother but you still don't live with her and have a kind and generous soul and can appreciate a 56-year-old, fit and fabulous woman, give me a call." Women were writing me, and they would come up to me and they still do, it's five years later. And they said it was so brave. And I said, tell me why it was brave. Was it because I said I was looking for love? And it was like a kind of a knowing glance, and I said, or was it because I said I was 56?" "And they said, yes." "So, I said, that's got to stop. " Ann was inspired to do something that would lift women. She founded "Wise and Wonderful Women to educate and empower women 50 and older. All her events are free. "I didn't get the man but I got 2,000 women so I have 2,000 women that are part of the wise and wonderful women, and we do monthly events that are free and empower and educate women focusing mostly on women that are over 50. But I'm finding that my 23 and my 24-year-old daughters need our wisdom too and need to hear the topics that we are also interested in. We did one on heart health, we're doing one on launching financial grown-ups, on estate planning, all kinds of things and I learn, and these women learn as well, and many friendships come out of these events. " "So, wow the ad worked all right. It didn't end up with what I thought was the prize, the gold ring, right? But the Wise and Wonderful Women came out of it. And that to me, when somebody tells me that it changed their life or it saved their life, which is what happened recently with some information that we shared during a heart health dinner, how

My greatest joy is discovering somebody I wasn't aware of who's doing something uniquely meaningful. That brings me to Brian Page. He is a Modern Husband. What does that even mean? Brian Page spent his career improving lives through personal finance education and he has now founded a platform called 'Modern Husbands' to help couples navigate their home as a team. He and his wife have been married for over 20 years and have 3 kids. He says they're an everyday dual income American family. For the early part of their marriage, Brian was the one working out of the house and working long hours. His wife was home managing their life and taking care of their kids. Then one day things changed. His wife got a great job opportunity that paid more than he was making, and they made the decision to swap roles. Brian's new job was much harder than he ever realized. When he and his wife switched working roles, he was seriously blown away by his new work responsibilities as a stay-at-home Dad! He recently posted something on LinkedIn that caught my attention. It was a list called 'The Mental Load'. In it Brian listed all the things that go on in somebody's day who's at home managing a family household. Wow - It really gives respect and insight to the day-to-day responsibilities of the stay-at-home spouse! Brian said, "For much of our marriage, I was the 60-80-hour-a-week breadwinner who did very little to manage the home. Early in our marriage, I probably would've rolled my eyes at a conversation about the mental load. You just don't know what you don't know, and that's not necessarily anyone's fault. " "Many men rightfully feel defensive when we hear we need to do more at home. Most of us simply slip into doing certain tasks without understanding the invisible labor that goes with them." "I created a mental load list with just a few examples to provide some context of what it takes to run a home. However, as much as we would like our homes to be run by checklists, it's just not that simple." "It's been my experience that men desperately want to be great for their spouses. What often stands in the way is an understanding of the mental load that accompanies the tasks needed for a home to run, which is why I wrote this extensive post." Marriage is a partnership built on trust, love, and mutual respect. Brian says he's trying to show couples how to navigate life as a couple better. I personally thought Brian's 'mental load' list was LOUD and worth sharing for any stay-at-home parent who's been frustrated trying to explain to their spouse what the heck they've been doing all day 'at home'! Find it on his website: ModernHusbands.com BTW: Brian who spent 15 years as a personal finance and economics educator was recognized as a National Educator of the Year by the Milken Foundation and Ohio Department of Education. He was a CNN Money Hero, a CEE Forbes Award winner, and a former Working Group Member of the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability. He says, life and family change, and his priorities now are to support his wife's career ambitions and his children's needs Enjoy meeting this modern husband Brian Page in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show.

It really made me smile to see Nick Mautone from the old Mt. Vernon, N.Y. neighborhood all over the news during the U.S. Open. Not for playing tennis. Nick invented that now infamous signature U.S. Open "Honey Deuce" cocktail that took the media by storm this year. At $23 a drink, it generated about 10M dollars at The U.S. Open this year alone! Nick Mautone invented the drink back in 2007 when Grey Goose hired him as a consultant to create a signature cocktail for the event. Talk about a never-ending drink! Even Nick couldn't believe the cocktail commotion he's caused. (Do people get royalties from inventing drinks?) I thought it would be fun to contact Nick and invite him on my show to take another bow, and give him some old-time love and find out! Nick said, "Because I was a brand ambassador and a hospitality consultant to Great Goose Vodka, which I started with in 2005. As a consultant, it was the single best consistent gig I ever had in my life. I loved it and without going into details, they paid me well. I had a great expense account. They flew me all over the world to talk about Grey Goose, train teams, distributors, do great events like the US Open, and I played golf with celebrities!" Nick's a warm and wonderful guy and he's written all kinds of books to teach people how to be great mixologists. Books that both professionals and those interested in being great mixologists at home will benefit from. Nicks a dad, a futurist, and the brother of one of my best childhood pals Carol Mautone. The Mautone house was chock full of kids (seven I think? LOL) and commotion and their house always smelled like great Italian food! Their Dad had a specialty food business, and their sweet mom Adele was constantly shopping and making food. Never knew how she kept up with them all, but she always had a smile and always welcomed me and others into her home with open arms. It's probably where her kids learned about the true meaning of 'hospitality'. Carol became a chef and moved to Italy but now teaches English to foreigners and I've been threatening for years to fly over and visit her. Soon! Meanwhile, I stay in touch with her lightly on Facebook and I've connected with lovely Nick too a few times over the years. Nick and his family moved out to Washington State, to Mercer Island, near Seattle. I followed Nicks career in the restaurant industry. He started out bussing tables, backing bars, and then he and his brothers and sisters opened a place called American Pie on the Upper West Side of New York. Nick Mautone now has 40 years of hospitality industry experience. He believes in the power of mentorship, leadership, collaboration, and possibility. Nick is the architect of an inventive process called "Hospitality Sabermetrics" — think Moneyball for Hospitality he says, and has a sixth sense when it comes to foreseeing trends. He is known for nurturing sustained success, streamlining operations, and aligning core values in every sort of hospitality business. Since his start, Nick has worked with some of the most iconic and influential restaurants in the world including Gotham Bar & Grill, Hudson River Club, and most notably, Gramercy Tavern where he was managing partner alongside Danny Meyer and Tom Colicchio for seven years, and helped define and nurture a fledgling idea Danny and the group coined called "Enlightened Hospitality." So, what is Enlightened Hospitality? Nick explained, "Enlightened Hospitality' is the core values of how you operate your business, and you hear that term a lot in business leadership programs where a company will say these are our core values and these are the way we want to operate our business, and these are the non-negotiables that we will not forsake any amount of money. And so, they are the guiding principles, if you will, that you want to live by, that we wanted our business to operate by, and we wanted, as people, to live by." And I think it really made sense. I think that's why I enjoyed it, that's why I took the job. Danny had core values; Tom Colicchio had core values. At some point during the first few years that I was there, we actually took those core values and encapsulated them into our manuals and then we used them as part of our review process. And it really became a great way to manage people, and everyone knew their expectations. Everyone screws up, bear that in mind, but if you screw up and you forsake one of those core values, we'd sit you down and say, hey, you know, it just didn't work for us the way you handled this particular situation. Look at how we want to operate. Here's the way and the waterfall of progression of how you should handle these situations. And people get it. And then, you know, nine out of 10 times, they understand what they did wrong, they correct the problem, and they move forward. If not, they understand and they choose to move on because they can't live in those core values, and both are acceptable outcomes." Nick's spent a lifetime trying to keep

Has Matty Schirle Really Created Self Esteem In a Bottle? If you read the reviews of Matty Schirles' SkinKick line of skincare you might think they actually have created self esteem in a bottle. And You Likely Be Intrigued by an accidental finding in in Amazon by a scientist who went there for another reason People are amazed at how quickly these Skinkick products clear their skin problems. We're talking blemishes, acne, acne scars and rosacea. Pretty much any skin condition that might make a person not feel so thrilled about their looks. Matty Schirle said, "When we got into the acne or the blemish category, the very first 14-year-old woman who used it stood up and said, we changed her life and she said you need to call it self-esteem in a bottle. That's basically because we deliver clear, healthy, glowing skin and the confidence that comes with that. And the beautiful thing is because we're natural, we can do that for problem skin and aging skin at the same time. " Matty who is the Founder and CEO of SkinKick was a former Chemical Engineer. He and his SkinKick Chief Science Officer Dr. Bill Provance developed effective, simple and safe, Naturally Smart(R) formulas that are cruelty free and dermatologist approved clean and natural ingredients, from the nutrient rich Amazon Rainforest! It's an Incredible story of SKIN CARE discovery FINDING BEAUTY IN THE BEAST The Amazon is beautiful, but it's also dangerous. When SkinKick Chief Science Officer Dr. Bill Provance traveled to Brazil, he learned about a growing epidemic of parasitic diseases that plagued the native people. Not only did these parasites make people sick, but they also aggravated and inflamed the skin. Armed with years of studying skin cell biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dr. Provance began searching for a way to create a natural "second skin" that would prevent rainforest parasites from penetrating the skin and entering the body. THE A-HA MOMENT Dr. Provance carefully tested a variety of botanicals on the skin of Brazil's native people. What he didn't expect to find was that all of the formulations he tested had a common result: overall improvement and appearance of the skin. He soon discovered that these formulations were leaving the skin smooth, hydrated, and clear. That's when Dr. Provance had an ah-ha moment. If this "second skin" could clear and beautify the skin of native Brazilians, perhaps it could do the same for others? That got Matty Shirle's attention, and he then applied his knowledge and know-how to the findings from his 20+ years in the high technology semiconductor industry (computer chips). His mission was to figure out how to eliminate man-made chemicals including harsh acids that destroy the natural skin microbiome. Dr. Provance and the SkinKick team began working on developing a skincare line that used the same natural ingredients to clear blemishes and renew the skin And SkinKick was born. Matty said, "Well Dr. Bill studied at UT Southwest Med Center here in Dallas and he took a job at the Viacruz Institute which is like the Harvard of Brazil. And so he, even though I'm a chemical engineer, you can move his IQs a few decimal points over from mine. He's just absolutely brilliant." "They had an issue with parasites entering the skin. And the fundamental start of this is when they thought he was going to come up with a vaccine. And what he did is identified a botanical that if you rub it on your arm, it keeps the parasites, like a mosquito or whatever it is, you know, small things from entering your skin." "Well, he flew back to Dallas and told the story of how he blocked the parasites, but he said, oh, by the way, that film that I rubbed on, you know, on your skin, it holds moisture under it." And right off the bat, the lights go off, because the number one issue with aging, regardless of what you've been told, is that the skin cell can no longer hold as much moisture as it did when you were younger. And therefore, less moisture, once it goes down, then the collagen protein has a hard time surviving and it snaps and breaks and it loses its rigidity which is holding the cell up and that's what starts aging. We started as an anti-aging company but it's a skin renewal company and now we have clinical trials with all our key ingredients right out of the Amazon rainforest." "These natural nutrients somehow clear, renew and protect the skin at the same time! " Matty says Skinkick's naturally smart formulas are designed for all ages, genders and skin types even those with sensitive skin so everyone can have clear healthy and glowing skin. Their high-performance skincare clears, renews, and protects your skin without the use of harsh man-made chemicals typically found in popular brands. The secret is in their exclusive patent-protected technologies made with blends of supercharged botanicals. SkinKick even offers a 'Happiness Guarantee' so that if you don't love your SkinKick order it's on them! So why a

LinkedIn® is the only professional social media platform and the largest professional networking platform in the world. They have over 1 billion members many of whom are decision makers. Most of their users are in North America, followed by Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. I love it! I connect with so many interesting people there like Debbie Saviano who's a LinkedIn® pro. I want to learn how to maximize my LinkedIn® potential and thought some of you might want to as well. I'm always better at telling other people's stories than my own. Maybe you feel the same? I'm convinced Debbie Saviano's valuable knowledge of social media can help many professionals, especially those who over 50, who want to learn how to best showcase their value and experience as they pursue their second and third acts. Debbie calls LinkedIn a 'Virtual Golden Rolodex'. And She Says…Your Headline is like Gold! "LinkedIn gives you 220 characters to do a headline. That headline should speak to who it is you want to talk to. Is it someone to hire you?" "Is it someone to buy a product? Are you for a service? Who are you speaking to? That's what that headline should say. And this is probably the goal to the whole thing I'm sharing. When you comment, engage on someone's page on their feed, the first line of your headline shows up." "And I will tell you, probably 70% of my employment, if you will, comes from people reaching out because they saw me somewhere. Because what you want to do is you want people to come to you. They see you comment, they see your picture, they see the first part of your headline, and mine is about LinkedIn, and it says that you want them to click back on your profile. From there, that's where you can sell them. That's why you're the best person for them." "So that headline is like gold. It's gold." As soon as Debbie Saviano and I spoke on the phone I could feel her similar upbeat good energy (and loved her similar name LOL) I invited her to come join my radio show and share some knowledge. Debbie feels strongly that each person has unique abilities and in today's disruptive environment the playing field has expanded - affording countless opportunities for the assertive professional AND that there are a multitude of avenues on how to accomplish this. She is a seasoned wordsmith and content strategist who can help you clearly show WHY YOU! Especially if you believe that what you do can truly help others, but you are stuck on how best to do that. Her background is in Education, with a minor in Psychology and along with a deep understanding of the digital landscape she offers a unique perspective. HER SPECIALITIES ARE: • Digital Space • LinkedIn • Books In Bites Newsletter (LinkedIn) • LinkedIn LIVE • Let's Talk • Course Creation • Leadership • Entrepreneurship • E-Commerce • Mentor • Business • TV - Media • Education • Career Professionals • Entrepreneurs • Product Development • Communities • Non-Profits You'll get some good professional social media advice in this podcast of my live conversation with Debbie Saviano on The Debbie Nigro Show. The Debbie Nigro Show airs 11-12noon EST on WGCH. Tune in live from anywhere on WGCH.com. If you're in the NY/CT area turn the dial to AM1490. Podcasts after on DebbieNigro.com

On August 17th, new rules rolled out that overhaul the way Realtors get paid to help people buy and sell their homes. The changes are part of a $418 million settlement announced in March by the National Association of Realtors. The changes end the 'informal' rules of a typical agent commission payout. Now real estate agents across the country must sign upfront with prospective homebuyers what they're willing to pay. Historically the 'sellers' paid commission fees for both their own agent and the home 'buyer's' agent. The typical commission has been 5 to 6 percent split between the two brokers. That structure was pretty much enforced by The National Association of Realtors which has roughly 1.5 million members who pay dues. If a seller didn't agree to those terms their listing wasn't shown ion the multiple listing services that drive most home sales. This latest decision basically makes commission sharing optional so that sellers' agents who don't want to pay buyers' fees can still list on databases. Real Estate agents across the country have been attending trainings and learning the details of new contracts they must sign with prospective homebuyers. Gideon Fountain is one of those agents and he's also one of the owners of WGCH Radio in Greenwich, CT where I broadcast my weekday radio show. He grew up in Greenwich and has been selling real estate in the Greenwich CT area since 1986. He's now an agent for Houlihan Lawrence. I asked Gideon Fountain to join me in the studio to give me his take on the new real estate broker commission laws that just went into effect. He said; "With these new rules if you're a Real Estate Broker or Agent you have to tell your home buyers 'up front' that that they have to decide on the amount they're going to pay in commission whether you bring on somebody else to help you or not." "There are two places on this new contract, and it says, here's our service fee. And we might say our service fee is 2.5%. Let's just say we write that. Two and a half percent. Then we also have another paragraph that says, you authorize us to accept compensation from the seller." "If a buyer wants to look at a property and the seller is offering nothing, and that would be a very foolish move by the seller, I would say, then yes, you would say to the buyer, look, I'm happy to help you with this transaction, but I got to make money. I'm not, this is not charity. So here's my contract." "Pay me two and a half percent. For some buyers, that's entirely possible. They might think, well, what do I need you for? You know, I don't, but they have no idea." "But the buyer agent, it's amazing. You should hear the conversations between the soliciting agent and the buyer agent when the listing agent says my client won't go down one more penny. Can you make your guys go up a little bit and the buyer broker says? All right, I'll try whatever we're at a million five. What's it? What's your guy want? He wants a million 550 not a penny less So then the buyer broker goes back to the buyer says come on you guys are gonna lose this I mean we have there's very few choices right now You really believe you've lost out on six bidding words. You really want to hold out for $50,000, and the buyer says yes. So, then you go back to the listing agent. Sorry, they're not budging either. And then, you know, everybody sits still for a while. But this is the kind of give and take that exists and should not be interfered with by government action." "It's negotiation. " Gideon believes real estate agents have remained viable because they accumulate an array of local market knowledge that is hard to duplicate. "Going out each day and seeing properties noting their eventual selling prices and hearing customer reactions to those properties is an invaluable experience that a Zillow search will never match." For Home Buyers and Home Sellers there's good recap of these new rules and what it means for them on Bankrate.com in an article called; "Realtors commissions changes are here: What they mean for homebuyers and sellers." Meanwhile enjoy this podcast of the rest of my live conversation with long time realtor Gideon Fountain on The Debbie Nigro Show.

Everybody Knows My Show Theme is "Risk It or Regret It!" Whatever IT is for YOU! So, I thought it would be fun to share how I risked getting my first paying radio job after college. It's a memorable story of driving in a thunderstorm at 11 o'clock at night after working all day at another job, to a radio station in an old house in Briarcliff Manor, NY where Howard Stern had worked, to audition for an immediate opening for a news reporter. I invited the guy who called me the next morning to tell me I got the job as the news reporter for WRNW Radio, to come join me in the studio to co-host a show. Ol' pal Gary Axelbank was the then Program Director of WRNW Radio. He's now the host of BronxTalk and Bronx Buzz on BronxNet and he also hosts The Bronx Music Podcast -with Gary Axelbank. He got in touch with me recently, sparked by the theme of my new book out to say he was totally on board with the point of "How to Talk to Strangers Advice From A Professional Stranger Talker". I wrote it to try and spark people to try to have more meaningful conversations 'in person' versus the virtual conversations we've become accustomed to having by texting and email. Even making an actual phone call is becoming a lost art. (These days when I make a phone call and a human answers, I actually get excited!) Gary said, "You know among many reasons that I responded to the point of your book is that I'm a communications professional like you are, and communication is so important, yet people don't talk to each other. I talk to people who I work with and I'm like, you know, we've got to get this guest booked or whatever. I'll tell them, do me a favor, just pick up the phone and find out if they can do it or they can't do it. They say OK I'll send them an email. Send an email? If you send them an email we're going to wait forever. Then you get an email chain where there's a whole discussion about, well, I can't do 12.30, I'll do 1.30 and I've lost track of what's going on. If we picked up the phone, we could get to somebody." Gary and I are alike in that we intentionally put good energy into engaging people to converse 'in person' pretty much every day. We both feel it matters a lot, wanted to talk more about why it matters. So we did… in this podcast of my entire show which airs weekdays 11-12noon EST on WGCH Radio in the NY/CT area and airs live globally on the digital livestream on WGCH.com I rarely post a whole show but decided to post this one because we both tell some good stories…. like the day I arrived to work at my usual 5:30am and found a drunk guy sitting on my typewriter. LOL And the day Famous Amos of Famous Amos cookies just walked in to introduce himself with a big box of his 'new' cookies he was trying to promote. Gary tells a story about when Howard Stern worked there and what happened when he tried to kill a bee in the studio. Ha. We also talked about all the famous people who came from the Bronx. People like Jennifer Lopez (who has my same birthday) and Chazz Palminteri who's stopped by the show in the past and told me I reminded him of his mother Ha! Gary also teaches a course in TV performance and teaches his students that to conduct a great interview they need to 'listen'. "Well, this is a cool thing that I do. One of the things that we talk about is like when you do an interview, how do you get good depth? You get good depth because you ask a question based on what I say. And then I demonstrate to them, and I do it with them. I ask, you know, where were you born? What are your parents like? To do this, you must be a good listener. I could walk into the pharmacy and talk to the pharmacist, and I could do a half hour right on the spot with that. And why? Because when I ask well, what medication do you sell a lot of? They'll say, we sell diabetes meds. And I'll say, oh, what are the options? And then he'll say, well, these are the options. Why would somebody choose one, and why would somebody choose the other? And I could stand there forever. And it doesn't matter." We both could talk forever but that's what we do professionally. We both ust want to encourage the rest to you to talk a little more, listen a little more, and make a little more an effort to engage your fellow humans in authentic conversations. Enjoy this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show. If you'd rather read than listen the audio transcript is below.

Janet Heller made that now infamous GOAT necklace for Superstar Olympic Gymnast Simone Biles and the whole world went GOAT Crazy! This year's global commercial for a single piece of jewelry may in itself be the GOAT! The Greatest Of All Time! I got caught up in GOAT fever myself, and after watching the intricate making of Simone Biles 3D Diamond Goat Necklace on Janet Heller Fine Jewelry's Instagram, I took a shot and sent a warm private Instagram invite to Janet Heller to join me on The Debbie Nigro Show. It made me smile and shake my head in a good way, that the whole world was now paying attention to this talented female entrepreneur. Wow. Talk about a public relations opportunity! LOL I somehow just felt compelled (woman to woman) to congratulate her and tell her how happy I was for her for this stupendous attention for her and her company because first she deserved the recognition for her talent and integrity, and second because I know how much harder it is, for women entrepreneurs who are also mothers, to succeed in business. And in my usual spirit of "Risk it! or Regret it! I invited Janet to come take a bow on my show even though I was sure there were much bigger networks who'd be clamoring for her attention. I was pleasantly surprised when she messaged me back and took me up on the offer. Told her was I was very proud to have her on my show and that somehow, she must have trusted me to tell her story. (Like her I try to bring peoples stories to life in a unique and meaningful way.) Janet said, "Thank you so much Debbie. I really am so excited to be on your show today. Yes, that's right. I mean, we've got thousands and thousands of requests. It's overwhelming. I cannot even keep up with it. My social media team can't keep up with it. But for some reason, I just, I don't know, I was drawn to you and your message and here we are." Every hard-working entrepreneur knows getting good PR for their business is incredibly valuable and rewarding. But the Global free PR Janet got in the 2024 Olympics is the most extraordinary free PR I've ever seen. Olympic Gymnast Simone Biles commissioned her exquisite GOAT piece she showed off during the 2024 Olympics, from Janet Heller Fine Jewelry in Calabasas, CA. to commemorate her remarkable achievements and undeniable legacy. She sure does have a legacy as the GOAT, and Janet said she was a joy to work with. NBC reported, "Simone Biles says she knew people would 'go crazy' over her Goat Necklace." Janet's legacy is that she and her company, Janet Heller Fine Jewelry have been crafting exquisite, personalized pieces for discerning clients for 15 years.They're a premier custom jeweler in Calabasas, renowned for their meticulous attention to detail and an unwavering commitment to quality. Janet Heller has become the go-to choice for those seeking unique, meaningful jewelry. BTW: That stunning 3D GOAT necklace (Greatest Of All Time) has 546 diamonds! Also, no small feat! How did she do that? Janet said, "Well, so a lot of jewelry can be made where when you make the wax of the piece, once you've done the CAD image and you've done the rendering and then you go and you make the wax, a lot of times you can have the little holes for the diamonds in the wax. So when you print the wax, it already has a hole for the diamond. But I don't like to do that. I like to have my diamond setters drill each and every hole by hand. Just, you know, these are master artisans, master craftsmen, and that will enable the necklace to last so much longer. I mean, we want it to last forever, basically. And it's just an incredible art that they do. They have to wear those, you know, almost binocular glasses type things. They do it by hand. It takes a very long time and we pick the diamonds out beforehand so we have them all laid out. We know the size and then you have to look at each stone, drill each hole so that it fits that stone and it's just the craftsmanship and the quality is just unmatched in my humble I think that's the most important thing." Janet has come a long way over her 15 years in business and I wondered now that she was having this amazing global moment of acknowledgement, what she remembered from when she first started out? "When I first started out, my first necklace that I feel about jewelry and about selling jewelry. I want to share the love. I love jewelry. I want to bring the love to everybody. I want to make it accessible to everybody. I started with one piece, a love necklace. Somebody bought that from me and then somebody else thought on them. They asked where she got it from and then in turn came to me. Really, that's how my business has grown, very organically and mostly word of mouth, which to me is the biggest compliment any jeweler or artist or entrepreneur can have." Word of mouth is sure very loud right now for Janet Heller Fine Jewelry and that 3D Diamond GOAT necklace, and people have been asking her to make one for them. Will she? "I'm not gonna replicate that p

I was curious where OpenlyGray.com was going when I saw a social media post about it from a business gal pal. Was it a site for older people with Gray Hair? Nope! I 'got it' and smiled. It's way cooler than that! It's a movement. It's an attitude adjustment about aging! Lord knows we need one. Thanks to the longevity revolution we are in a unique time and place in history. Until now many in their 50's 60's, 70's, and beyond believed it was time to stop. That isn't the thinking of older adults today at all! I Invited Lee St. James and gal pal Brooke Stachyra of Openly Gray, to join my show to share their purpose with Openly Gray and their big disruptive plan! Lee St. James is the Co-Founder /Creative Director of Openly Gray Lee is a Cannes award-winning, multidisciplinary CD who has led major brand content development for over 20 years. From strategy to conception through execution Lee believes in partnering cross-functionally to build consensus and ensure projects meet all milestones, deadlines, budget, and business results requirements. Accustomed to fast-paced and start-up environments. He is constantly onboarding new technologies and innovative processes while ensuring compliance with corporate and client standards. Brooke Stachyra handles Partner/Client Success for Openly Gray Brooke is a social media consumer specialist. Proud former NBC Page, longtime (recovering) journalist-writer, and storyteller with a million tales! NBC News, Time Inc/People Magazine veteran. Former content creator for Church and Dwight brands Arm & Hammer, OxiClean, and Trojan. Social media contributor for the American Cancer Society and CUNY. Grown X woman, lover of all things 80s. Name that tune champion! Foodie and travel enthusiast, bougie barganista, and expert in anything about Bravo's Real Housewives. They are on a Mission to Loudly Call Attention To These Facts: The Gray Market has $8,000,000,000,000 (that's trillion) waiting to be seen For the next 30 years, 10,000+ people will turn 65. Every. Single. Day. In our conversation Lee said, "When you turn 50, this is something that we observed years ago. We being the royal we, we observed years ago that you turn 50 and all of a sudden you become invisible. You become invisible to the opposite sex. You become invisible to your friends, sometimes even your family, but definitely to the marketing world. Marketers are taught from day one that you go after the 17 to, say, 45. Sometimes people switch it to 17- to 54-year-old market, but then after that, you stop. " "Well, times have changed, and as you mentioned, there's $8 trillion in assets at play that are controlled by what we call the gray market, which is 50-plus. To put that in context, we saw a great little snippet about if you put this in context, this would be if the gray market in the U.S. was a country. It would be the third largest GDP in the world." "There's so much more to this audience and that's why we are Openly Gray. And there are two sides of the organization. One is called OpenlyGray.com. We are marketers. That's our goal. We want to get clients to start recognizing this audience and not leave all that money on the table." "On the other side of the coin though, we're advocates. So openlygrey.org is an advocacy organization, anti-ageism, pro-helping people grow older and grow into the next phases of life. And even there's an offshoot called Cozy Homes Community where we're trying to help build communities for 50 plus folks." It's a big mission for Openly Gray who feels their biggest hurdle is to get relatively young brand managers and clients who are still in their 30s and maybe 45 to recognize that this is an audience that they are missing out on. Brooke said, "It's unfortunate, but what Lee is saying is absolutely true, that you have the people that are in the power that are making the decisions that are creating the content aren't seeing us. We are invisible and we have to make them see the dollar sign. There is expendable income. There's money." I'm personally passionate about encouraging people to transform how they think, feel and act, to embrace and enjoy and celebrate whatever stage of life they're at. And like the folks at Openly Gray says, it doesn't matter how much hair you have on your head or what color it is or whether you have any of it all, it's the mindset and the attitude! Enjoy learning more about Openly Gray and their growing movement that's not stopping anytime soon in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show.

People from all over the world with different chronic illnesses seek out Dr. Roni DeLuz, RN, ND, PhD. Dr. Roni founded the Martha's Vineyard Holistic Retreat in 1997 to help others discover the path to wellness that she herself achieved after years of debilitating chronic illness. You may know her from her NY Times Best-Selling book 21 lbs. in 21 days. Here's how I got to know her and now share her story with you. My buddy Tim and I were talking on the phone while I was driving when he asked, "So what are you doing today?" I told him I was heading to the radio station to do my Wellness Wednesday show. He asked, "Who's your guest today?" I said, "I don't have a guest today, did my homework and I'm just gonna talk myself which I often do". He said, "No, no, no, you gotta have Dr. Roni" and he patched her into our call while I was driving before we even had a chance to discuss it. I remembered Tim saying, "There's a woman, she saved my life, you don't understand, I lost 80 pounds, she moved in, she's a healer, she's like Mother Teresa, I never met a woman like her, it's not just me, she's done it for many people." So lucky me and lucky you, because of that random phone introduction, we now get to spend time with the amazing Dr. Roni, healer to the masses and to many lucky people who will forever be grateful that she's kept them alive. Dr. Roni is a Naturopathic Doctor, has a PhD in Natural Health, is a Registered Nurse, a Certified Colon Therapist and is a certified Hypnotherapist who's been practicing in all these areas for over 40 years. She is the founder of The Martha's Vineyard Holistic Retreat and is the New York Times Bestselling Author of "21 Pounds in 21 Days: The Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox" and "1 Pound a Day". People fly into Martha's Vineyard, take a boat or do whatever they have to do to get there, in order to get to her to get her help. How did this all happen? Dr. Roni said, "Well, it sort of grew into this. I have this very large house on Martha's Vineyard and I built it because people would come and stay with me and wouldn't leave. So, I kept building sections on and sections on. It finally opened up. I'm not kidding you, they'd come from California, my friends when I lived out there, they would come like, you know, for like a weekend or something or a week, and then I started doing treatments on them, then they wouldn't leave." "Then one day I met a man named James Tester and he said, well, can you help me? He said, I hire chefs and cooks all the time, and I still can't lose this weight. I gained it all back. And he told me this large story about him and I just looked at him and I go, that's so easy. And you're going to lose 21 pounds in 21 days. " "He said, lady, he'd just met me. He said, if I lose 21 pounds in 21 days, the world will know about you. He said, I'm not kidding you. And he was absolutely right!" "I had no idea that that he was important because remember all I cared about was healing people. All I cared about was these chronic illnesses. That was my background. But when I did these 21 pounds in 21 days book that this publisher and James talked me into, they were right. " "Now people come to me from all over the world, and all over the country for different chronic illnesses. And I have a protocol for each and every one of them, but it's always going to start with who you are. See, it's customized. It's integrated. It's for who you are." Dr. Roni believes she was born to heal people. "Well, you know, I've been doing this for over 40 years. I literally believe I was born healing people. That's why my father told me to go into nursing. I mean, he knew this. He saw it in me. So all my life, I've been a healer. " "And half of my life, I just went to school, getting certifications and certification. I started as a nurse and I became a naturopath and now I became a healer to the stars and politicians and now I live on this island called Martha's Vineyard. I love it. People fly in to see me privately most of the time." I wondered if this now 'healer to the stars', who says she was born a healer ever tried to heal anyone as a kid? Animals? Her dolls? Dr. Roni said, "I mean, when the little babies would cry, I was just a little girl. And I would just go over to them and for some reason, my energy, I would rock them and I would rub their foreheads. And I was so passionate. And so people saw that in me. I just did what my father told me to do, you know, become a healer, become a nurse. That's just who I am. That's who I'll always be." The quote on Dr. Roni's website sums it all up. "IF YOU GIVE YOUR BODY WHAT IT NEEDS IT WILL WORK MIRACLES FOR YOU" -Rr. Roni Based on somebody's condition, whether it's cancer or weight loss, Dr. Roni knows exactly what their body needs. But how does she figure that out? "We live in a world of plenty, but we're starving. I learned that from my grandmother, because my grandmother wouldn't open up a can, a bag, or a bottle. She wouldn't own a can opener. Eve

I've always admired hydrangea flowers but this year I was obsessed! I was slamming on my brakes and jumping out of my car just to take pictures of 'other people's hydrangeas'! It's not like I'd never seen hydrangeas before. It's just that this year for some reason they just seemed more beautiful than I ever remember. I wanted to share in the hydrangea joy, so I went and bought a pretty blue hydrangea plant at Home Depot. I think it died in the car on the way home. I planted other pretty flowers that actually lived, but sadly not that one. I was bummed. Apparently my dead hydrangea sparked my very severe case of "hydrangea envy'. Every time I'd spot a house with gorgeous hydrangeas I'd somehow on foot or by car, get up close or back up close, and whip out my phone to take a picture. I now have a ridiuculous number of 'other people's hydrangeas' photos in my phone. I thought it was just me until I had lunch with a business pal and mentioned my 'Hydrangea Envy Problem' and he whipped out his phone with the same number of Hydrangea photos! That was a really good belly laugh. We both really wanted to know 'why' suddenly, this year, were these plants so much more amazing? We decided we needed to find a 'hydrangea expert'! So, I went and found 'the best' and invited her to join my radio show. Her name is Lorraine Ballato, and she's truly 'The Queen of Hydrangeas'. Lorraine is an award-winning writer, speaker, horticulturist, photographer and confirmed plantaholic. She's written a book called "Success with Hydrangeas' A Gardeners Guide. She has tips for knowledgeable and novice gardeners alike on how to grow this favorite garden shrub. Success with Hydrangeas in an international best seller. It's packed with valuable information like; when and how to prune; when and how to fertilize; when to transplant; how to propagate; and when to water -- or not. I knew Lorraine would have the answer to 'WHY' the Hydrangeas were so extra gorgeous this year. Was it all the wild weather? Lorraine said, "Well, not this year. Wild weather from one year to the next could be the culprit, but we didn't have any wild weather. The temperatures were fairly even over the course of the spring. We had a nice, kind of mild winter. We had good rain both in the fall and the winter and the spring, and that's a trifecta to create exactly what we're all enjoying." "I can tell you from a very weakened memory bank that this is the best year I've ever seen in over 20." "Even if you get mild winters and even if you get a decent amount of rain, we invariably have those crazy spring temperature swings, you know? And we get those freezes in May or we get a freak late season snowstorm. And so even if you make it through with all the other factors, one of those, all you need is a couple days like that and your buds are gone, absolutely gone." "So to have all three happen in the same growing year is rare to say the least." Enjoy learning more about the 'Diva' hydrangeas and enjoy meeting Lorraine Ballato in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show. Meanwhile, there's no need for you to zone out and become envious of 'other peoples plants' like I did. You can have your own fabulous plants if you just look into what plant hardiness zone you're in. Just type your zip code into the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

Kathleen Masciana is my summer college intern. She's a sweet and smart college gal with an impressive list of credits. She insists on calling me Miss Nigro. I keep telling her to call me Debbie. Kathleen who is blind, aspires to be a radio and podcast talk show host. She posted her first attempt at hosting a talk show on YouTube on 'BTGS Radio' on Stationhead.com. 'BTGS Radio' stands for Blind Techie Geek Speaks. Kathleen's a self-proclaimed technology geek. That's what she loves reading about, thinking about, learning about. So I gave Kathleen an important job to fulfill her internship. I told her to go do research and contribute each week live on my 'Trending Tuesday' show, a report on the trending technologies that are helping make life easier and more interesting for those with disabilities. This way I help her get real time experience on the air and she helps me stay informed and educates my listeners. Kathleen is also a beta tester for Apple, and she tests pre-release software to see if there are bugs or issues before a software debuts. "So, what I do for Apple, I test pre-release software before it's out in the public. And I want to make sure all the bugs are out of it. So, the software's untested. And I have to check everything, like what new features are in it. Like, for example, in iOS 17, there was a feature called Personal Voice. There was a feature called Personal Voice that was released back with iOS 17. And now with iOS 18, there's a twist. This feature is now integrated with voiceover and spoken content. Really? Yes. Mainly, Personal Voice is designed for people that are at risk of losing their ability to speak. For example, Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. He had to use a synthesized voice from a computer program. But if this feature was released in his time, he could have created a voice that sounds like him with 15 minutes of training, and you have to read 150 phrases to complete the process. And it takes about one night for everything to process, all the voice recordings that you make." Fascinating! Kathleen uses a Braille computer, an iPhone, an iPad and other devices with voiceover. She and I communicate by texts which on her end are read out loud to her through a voice over screen reader. As for her live debut, she did great, however I did tell her I wanted her to sound a little 'peppier' when she talks on the air because good energy attracts other good energy! Her second report on my show was on the latest 'apps for the deaf'. Because Kathleen videos our audio interviews on 'her end' you can hear her doing my show on her own You Tube station. Hope you feel the good energy of this collaboration in reading this post. Here's the podcast of Kathleen Masciana's first live segment reporting in on The Debbie Nigro Show. The Debbie Nigro Show Airs Weekdays 11-12 Noon EST in the NY/CT area on 1490 WGCH Radio. You can 'Listen Live' from anywhere in the world on WGCH.com

Talk About Risk It! Or Regret It!... After reading one of my email newsletters (they're free btw at DebbieNigro.com) where my headline was my question "What are you going to do with TODAY?" James (Jim) Flaherty a subscriber replied to my email: "About to leave (Mon Morning) for a 19 day 11-flight trip, visiting Flagstaff, AZ; Las Cruces, NM; and Houston and San Antonio before landing in the Baja of Mexico to teach a Modern Elder Workshop on THE BLUE ZONES, where there are more centenarians than anywhere else in the world. Trust you are well. Good column today. xo Jim Jim Flaherty is a former ad agency guy, entrepreneur and writer. I made friends with Jim after randomly featuring his book on my show, which I randomly found on an old table, in a random old general store, in an old section of an old town in upstate NY. The only thing I won't call old is Jim - even though he's 89. This guy's ageless! And talk about Risk it or Regret It! I was exhausted just reading about the trip he had planned. I asked Jim to call into my show from the airport while waiting for his first flight. I wanted to know how the hell an 89-year-old was gonna do all that airport walking? I couldn't! LOL Jim said: "The only part of me that really doesn't function as well as I expect it to, because I always expect everything to work perfectly, are my legs. I can walk around the house, I can walk around an office, I can walk onto a stage and give a speech but I've had three surgeries starting with one bad surgery in Mexico years ago on my right le,g and now my left leg is just being 89 years old and tired. So I find when I get to an airport, and it's a mile or a half a mile between one thing to another, I have to have a wheelchair. And of course, it really, basically, it pisses me off because I never did." I was wondering how this 89-year-old was going to handle all those flights? "I don't mind the fact that I'm going to have 11, I'm going to have 11 flights in the next 19 days. That doesn't bother me. I'm fine on a plane." Was this 89-year young guy going to rent a car and drive himself around the country in between flights? "Yeah, I drive fine. I'm a good driver. I'm okay behind the wheel." I wanted to know more about that 'Modern Elder Academy' I'd read about, and Jim's workshop he was giving on the Blue Zones. Jim said: "The founder, Chip Conley, is a wonderful, wonderful human being. Chip, who was going through his own kind of midlife crisis in his 50s and saw so many of his friends just at the end of their rope, decided, God, there's nothing for people going through what he called the messy middle. And they put a long age range on it, ranging from 35 to 75. People are going through the messy middle with one transition or another at all of those ages. So he put together this academy. "And the reason it ended up with the name Modern Elder Academy is that the Airbnb boys who were all, you know, well, they weren't 12 years old, but they might have been, they were 20, 22, 23 years old, you know, when they started Airbnb, they didn't know their ass from their elbow, but they had a wonderful idea. And they, they asked Chip to come aboard, to tell them about hospitality, because he had owned a chain of hotels out in San Francisco. And, yeah, and one of them one day said, gosh, Chip, you're our modern elder. Because he was at that point like 52. And he thought, That's an interesting point of view of modern elders." Jim wants everybody in the world to look up modernelderacademy.com and put their name on the free mailing list. He said you get a free daily blog that is worth its weight in gold. And he said they have free monthly webinars that are just terrific. The workshops are too, adding that the workshops aren't for free, but he said he read the blog for two years before he signed up for one. Jim said: "Fell madly head over heels in love with the whole concept, went back eight months later for my second workshop and now they've invited me to help facilitate workshops." From what I've learned now about those Modern Elder Workshops … they seem to get people unstuck and give them clarity for their what's next. Might interest some of you or someone you know. Meanwhile goodness knows what's next for 89-year dynamo Jim Flaherty. Senior Ninja Warrior Games? LOL Not sure but Jim wrote me a follow up note, "I'm wild (again) trying to triple my output so I can keep up with myself"! Enjoy listening to this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show.

Was missing my ol' belly laugh pal TV Producer Adrienne Lopez. She used to live close by me but moved, and moved on to traveling for work. Hadn't seen her in person since before Covid. Happened to a lot of friendships. Can't remember exactly how we originally became friends, but I think it started way back when 5000 years ago when she once booked me on a TV show. Adrienne's been in the tv & film business a long time. She's a veteran television producer and talent executive. She's been a casting director/producer in all tv genres including, reality tv, docu-series, and competition shows as well as scripted programming. She is a very successful celebrity talent booker and is currently The Senior Talent Producer on The Tamron Hall Show in NYC. Adrienne said, "We usually tape a live show at ABC on 67th and Columbus, but the news is we're moving. All of ABC Disney is moving down way downtown to Tribeca. I just found out today that we're moving in December. Everybody else is moving right after the election". Adrienne is used to being on the move. Both Adrienne and I were independent female entrepreneurs and single moms along the way of life. Always hustling because single moms always have to hustle, but also always laughing – even when things weren't exactly going our way. We'd stop and have a glass of wine together and commiserate. Once we were so broke, we had to share a glass of wine…at happy hour. LOL We still laugh like hell about that one. Though we haven't seen in each in person in a while, I'd kept up with Adrienne online, knew she became the Sr. Talent Producer at The Tamron Hall Show, always joked she had fancier friends than me when I'd see her post about her celebrity pals, and found out when the great Willie Mays passed, she actually was his neighbor for a while growing up near 'Shea Stadium'. Yes Willie Mays was her neighbor for while on the street she grew up on in East Elmhurst, Queens. Told Adrienne it was time for her to come visit me and have a few of those same ol' belly laughs we always like to have. I thought it would be fun to catch up with her in the studio live on the air with me, so she could talk about all those things that she does and knows that might interest you guys too. (Like what goes on behind the scenes on a live TV show and how to get booked as a guest on one!) Adrienne has been at The Tamron Hall Show five seasons now and is very proud she's been nominated for an Emmy twice. She didn't win, but oh well, she says she'll get 'em next time! The new season starts September 3rd. Meet Adrienne Lopez and find out how getting booked a TV show works and more, in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show.

"Super Nanny' Shannon Albrecht is the creator and President of President/Nanny-Land®️, LLC, the world's only company specializing in Nannies at Disney! Located at most Disney locations worldwide, and available on Disney cruise Lines they provide you with a Magical Nanny for your Family Adventures! Shannon joined The Debbie Nigro Show to share that most of her clients are simply families who could use an extra set of hands when they take a Disney Adventure. Typical families who book with her might have 3 or 4 kids, a child with special needs, or kids with a large age gap. Single parents find this service invaluable as do parents with disabilities. Shannon knows firsthand how helpful her service is because she herself uses a wheelchair and has a son with autism spectrum disorder. Shannon says, "A lot of parents will ask, what's the difference between your Disney nannies and me just bringing my nanny from home. Of course, your nanny from home knows you and they know your children personally, but they may also not really know the Disney parks. They also probably do not have, especially if you're traveling from out of state, a Disney annual pass, so therefore you have to buy their tickets in the park every day. Our nannies that help in parks are called our golden crown nannies. They're local to Disney. They visit Disney multiple times a week, some of them every single day. They have Disney annual passes so they're not only childcare professionals, they're also Disney masters and Disney experts." "I should also throw in there that most families that come to us have never even been to Disney. It's usually their once-in-a-lifetime trip or their first trip I'd say as high as 70 or 80 percent of families. We do get reoccurring families but a lot of them are new to Disney and when they arrive, parents especially have no idea how exhausting it is and so providing them with a nanny for Disney helps them navigate the parks, it helps keep an eye on the best of both worlds. The family fun time and just adult assistance or adult downtime. I think most parents don't take that into consideration how physically and emotionally exhausting it is." Nanny-Land offers lots of ways to make the trip more fun for everybody traveling, including Nannies for date nights and Nannies to grab the kids early mornings so adults can get a little more sleep. (Which if you've ever been on a vacation with kids, you know is desperately needed.) Shannon says, "That's a very popular service we call a sleepy session and that's from our silver crown nannies which are the nannies that help with the resorts and the hotels. Because we operate around the clock we never close so we work any hours and and not for an extra price. We'll work really early really late throughout the night. A sleepy session is when a silver crown nanny comes to the resort or hotel as early as you want 3 a.m. 4 a.m. 5 a.m. to wake up with the kids, get them ready for the day, have breakfast with them, and start the morning so that mom and dad can sleep in. And this is really popular after a date night, the night before. That's huge. Huge. And or after a big park day, the day before, so they can recharge, so they can be there at the parks for their children." All Nanny-Land Nannies are CPR certified and background checked, and all Nannies are Disney annual theme park pass holders and locals familiar with the parks. They make great stroller pushers and family photographers too. All Nannies and families are paired before the trip. Enjoy meeting Founder Shannon Albrecht / President/Nanny-Land®️, LLC in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show! And check out Nanny-Land.com. Feel free to email them with any questions at [email protected] The Debbie Nigro Show airs 11-12 Noon EST on #WGCH Radio. Tune in live from anywhere on WGCH.com.

Have you heard about The Key to The Castle workshops for writers? The next one is taking place in Torre di Cittara, Italy from October 19th to 26th this year. Kathy Curto, Patricia Dunn, William Papaleo and Angela Derecas Taylor are behind this. It's their signature workshop on the Amalfi Coast but they offer workshops for writers, artists and yoga enthusiasts both online, locally in the NY area and in other cool places abroad. I found about this when ran into Angela at a writer's event. I'd known her from her days working in the mayor's office in my city. When she retired 2 years ago - she started this cool company. So who is the ideal participant for a writers trip to Italy? Someone who is open to adventure and discovery as a community of artists. One benefit of working as an artist in community with others is the gaining of new insight, particularly when it comes to ways of seeing and valuing their own work. This applies on the page, the mat, out in the natural world and on the canvas. An ideal student also recognizes the importance of getting away from their own day to day life to experience the illuminating effects of travel and the sharing of culture—in all ways. Many students attend their workshops to collect fresh understandings of their own promise as artists and to gain the variety of perspectives that come from being in a new place. Kathy and Patricia joined me in the studio to tell us all about it. Kathy says, "The Key To the Castle is sort of our signature program and that is in October for, and as Pat said, writers really of all levels. We do writing and painting primarily and some meditation and yoga and lots of eating and sort of collaborating with one another. It's really community driven. We've been doing it for several years now in Cittara. We have a great relationship with the community, with the merchants there, with the people who help us actually organize the housing and the trips. You actually stay in this beautiful fishing town right the Amalfi coast and everybody gets apartments like the person that arranges you it's like condos Everybody gets their condos and then we actually do the writing right in the castle." Seems many great writers just don't really 'get it' until they are with other people who bring it out in them and see it. Pat said, "You can write alone, and you might get to certain things in your work, but until you share it with people you trust, in a safe environment, you're not going to get the kind of feedback that you need to move on to the next step unless you want to wait 25, 30 years." Wow. Who the heck has that kind of time to waste? LOL If this sounds like something you'd like to know more about check out KeysToTheCastleWorkshop.com. Meanwhile enjoy this podcast of our live conversation on the Debbie Nigro Show.

Let's just say if I was building or renovating a pool I'd call Vinnie Groppa. And for the record yes, stars do call him, but so do very regular people who still get the same star treatment! Humble guy that Vinnie. Great sense of humor. Really nice human and super creative pool and backyard design visionary. I wanted to give Vinnie his own star treatment, so I invited him into the studio to tell the great entrepreneurial story of his family's 50-year-old pool business Gunite Pools of Westchester. It's a good one. And a story that's entering a new chapter... 'expansion'. Vinnie Groppa grew up in the family pool business, learned about the business from a very young age, and eventually took over the company. He now proudly employs his own son to help him run the day-to-day pool operations which every year involves a ridiculously busy scenario opening hundreds and hundreds of pools for the season to be ready to roll by Memorial Day weekend. "Gunite Pools in Westchester was started a long time ago by my father, who was a builder at the time. He and my uncle started the company. And Gunite Pools became renowned and very well-known in Westchester County in NY. I started my own little pool company, V Groppa pools, when I was like 15 years old. They were building pools but there was no service division. So at 15 I bought a car, the old Buick Skylark, I put a vacuum hose in a pole. I had this beautiful car, I could put my tools in, I had a pole hanging out the window, and I was on my way. The first year I had four customers. And then from there it just snowballed, and I got a great reputation. Eventually my dad retired, so I took on his company and now without giving that name up, I just incorporated the two together and now we have a beautiful service division." While the demand for pool service is high, demand for new pools has slowed a little bit since the pandemic. However, the desire for well-designed, safe, and functional pools remains very strong. Vinnie's passionate about great pool service but his real passion lies in designing those gorgeous pools and transforming backyards into beautiful spaces. It's what turns him on and what he's looking forward to doing more of! People Fly Vinnie In To Design Pools? Yes! He's That Good! Lol V. Groppa Pools & Gunite Pools of Westchester have always been known for a high level of integrity and excellence. They're now expanding into Greenwich CT Fairfield County CT, the Hamptons (where Vinnie has already designed quite a few pools) and other upscale locales where people have actually flown Vinnie in. Vinnie gets a real kick out of doing that. "It makes me smile because I really love that part of the business, I love being creative and seeing something through till the end and stepping back and saying hey, you know what? Look what I did. Yeah, look what I built, look what I created. You can leave something behind, and people enjoy it and to see the smiles on their faces is just invaluable to me." Adding a Pool These Days increases the Value of Your Home. Realtors and Builders always reach out to Vinnie when they're trying to increase the value of a home sale. Either by adding a pool or renovating one, making a pool safer, or adding a hot tub, a waterfall, lighting etc. So, if anybody's out there interested in knowing more about this, Vinnie is the guy who can educate you on how to enhance the value of your home. Let's Talk About Pool Safety! There's nothing like enjoying a pool and nothing worse than having something go wrong at a pool. Especially when it's yours and it could have been prevented. One of the most effective ways to prevent accidents is to make sure the pool is securely fenced with a self-locking gate. Vinnie says, "So the code is you have to have a self-locking gate with a lock on top so you can actually lock the gate. And if, God forbid, you forget to close the gate, it automatically closes behind you. Another code is that every door leading to the backyard within the fenced-in area must have some type of alarm on it. So, if the mother of the house is upstairs and she's getting dressed, and the child's on the first floor and decides he/she is going to go for a walk out the back, the mother is alerted to that when the child opens the door." What else does Vinnie see trending in pool safety? "The most effective thing right now in nine out of ten pools I'm building is that they are equipped with an automatic cover. So, it's almost like peace of mind where you close that cover. It's like locking your door to your house. You know this is something that every parent with a small child should have but the only thing with that is your pool must be a rectangle. " When Somethings Wrong with Your Pool Make It Right - Right Away. "95-98% of our pools, we do weekly service. So my guys are my eyes and if there's anything that's wrong, they'll shoot me a picture right away and we reach out to the client and we tell them, safety's first. This is dangerous and we want to rep

We have an ongoing national lifeguard shortage. This is not good. This poses a significant risk to water safety in communities for the 3rd year. American Lifeguard Association (ALA) has launched a crucial initiative. and Wyatt Werneth their spokesperson, who's like the Jame Bond of Lifeguards, is making headlines highlighting a crucial reality: "Professional lifeguards, the dedicated guardians of our waterways, are deserving of both acknowledgment and compensation that mirror the critical nature of their work." The ALA is calling on employers to enhance their Lifeguard incentive offerings, including bonuses, reimbursement of training expenses, and competitive wages. It's a strategic effort designed to not only draw a wider range of qualified lifeguard candidates but also to elevate the profession of lifeguarding to a highly esteemed and rewarding career choice. I've always wanted to be a lifeguard I wonder if it's too late? LOL I'm half kidding of course, because I'd feel self-conscious walking around in a bathing suit as my work outfit but hey all day but never underestimate the life saving power of a Grandma! They do think it's time to widen the net of appeal to lifeguarding which includes encouraging older people as well. Wyatt joined me on The Debbie Nigro Show to share what we all need to do to solve the lifeguard shortage for the safety of all. Wyatt is a great choice as the Official Spokesperson of the American Lifeguard Association. He's a highly skilled waterman with core training in rescue swimming and public safety diving, and he also holds several world records. He served as the head of the Cocoa Beach Fla. patrol and has over 20 years of experience in various military and contractor roles worldwide. His expertise extends to MAROP (Marine Operations) in marine environments, working with the USCG as an Officer in tactical/security and medical fields, and collaborating with the US and UK Special Operations Forces. He's also a really cool stuntman who's done outrageous stunts in a multitude of movies you've likely seen. But his World Record is one of the things he's most proud of. "I have a Guinness World Record. It is in paddle boarding, 345 miles, and I'll tell you a story about that. I was the lifeguard chief of an area that has 72 miles of ocean front, and at that time, we only had 13 lifeguard stations available for 210 beach accesses for 110 days out of the year. We ended up having a tremendous amount of drownings. And at that time, in 2007, we'd already had 10 drownings. So what I did, in fact, on the actual anniversary. 17 years ago, I did the paddleboard journey. And what it was, I considered it dragging a cross for the souls that we lost. You know, I pulled each of these people out of the water, I met their families, grieved with them. And the only way I could deal with it was I was like, well, you know what, I'm going to drag her across. So I put myself on a paddle board in the open ocean and I paddle boarded night and day for 10 days. And just to remember every soul, to bring awareness to the drownings, to these people's lives, to the lack of lifeguards, beach safety, it was during beach safety week. And yeah, I'm very proud of that. I think that, of all the things I've done, is a major accomplishment and a signature of what I do." The Drown Zero Foundation. . Wyatt Werneth's passionate about the Drown Zero Foundation - making beaches safer one beach at a time. Drown Zero which started as a Cocoa Beach Rotary Club project has successfully implemented sixty-two (62) Drown Zero flotation device stations along Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. These "Throw – Don't Go!" stations provide beaches without lifeguards (unguarded or off duty) a means to assist a s distressed swimmer. As in throw the orange floatation ring into the water don't try and save someone yourself. Call 9-1-1 and keep your eyes on the swimmer until first responders arrive. These stations are available for adoption, which helps make the Drown Zero Project possible. The Drown Zero project has been made possible by the Surfing's Evolution and Preservation Foundation, Cocoa Beach Rotary Club in conjunction with the Cities of Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. 'Drown Zero International' now has the ability with support from the Surfing's Evolution and Preservation Foundations as well as donations to help bring this life saving project to your community. Please feel free to contact them for more information. [email protected] 321-704-0151 Meanwhile back to the Lifeguard Shortage…It's time we take our Lifeguards seriously so enjoy this podcast of my live conversation with Wyatt Werneth on The Debbie Nigro Show.

There's nuttin' like a blast of hot 'clothes shedding weather' to make some people realize they wish they were in better shape. LOL If you're a woman in your HOT phase of life this seaons hot weather shock can be even more uncomfortable. However, you can turn things around in just 30 days and feel a whole lot better if you listen to my Nutritionist pal Jacqui Justice. Jacqui is one passionate nutritionist! She's the OG of 'Talkin' Menopause' and was talking about it when nobody else was. She's been a pioneer in the space trying to help her fellow females with solutions. Even if she won the lottery, she says she'd still spend her days trying to help others feel better. Jacqui is a Functional Nutritionist and author. In addition to helping all kinds of individuals, she excels at helping peri- through post-menopausal women shed belly fat, reverse their symptoms, and finally feel like themselves again. Jacqui Justice joined The Debbie Nigro Show to talk about her SHED IT! DIY Plan. It's a 30-day hormone balancing 'Belly Shedding Cleanse'. That should perk up some ears! LOL Every woman going through this phase of life should listen to what she has to say in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show.

Needless to say Aimee Hofmann is an INSPIRATION to many! At 30, she suffered from the neurological condition, Transverse Myelitis, an inflammation in the spinal cord that caused complete paralysis from level T10 of the spine. After learning she would never walk again, art gave her peace during the difficult stages of loss, grief, self-reflection, and re-discovery. Art helped her emotionally heal, as well as find joy again. Throughout the years that followed, while facing a new life with a disability, Aimee created a number of collections. Her works featured landscapes, abstract florals and swirl patterns, which have continued to evolve into deeper abstract work. Her unique abstract art has inspired many with its vibrancy and depth, symbolizing the resilience and strength found in the journey of recovery. Aimee is being honored on June 6th by Burke Rehabilitation Hospital with the Burke Award, their highest honor. This year's theme is the "Healing Power of the Arts," which highlights the transformative impact of the arts in rehabilitation and recovery. Burke is a nationally renowned rehabilitation hospital located in White Plains NY and Aimee's impactful artwork adorns the walls throughout Burke Rehabilitation's buildings. Aimee joined me to share her pride in how her unexpected journey brought her to this moment and how art contributes to the rehabilitation and recovery process for patients. I asked Aimee to talk about what she does every day and how she does it. Her most recent collections she said, express a newfound freedom that embraces the beauty of imperfections, renewal/rebirth and nostalgia and the symbolism of one's unique life journey. "After I became paralyzed throughout the years that followed, I learned so many life lessons. I did a lot of self-reflection and self-rediscovery work. One of the things was that I learned to let go of perfectionism, and it's something that I struggled with throughout my whole life. And so, my latest work features, for example, paint in diverse textures and various consistencies, which I liberally pour and splatter all over the canvas. And this kind of embracing the beauty of imperfections, allowing the paint organically to react instead of focusing on being perfect and that is a complete reflection of my personal journey. " "And so, acquiring a disability has also helped me discover this newfound courage that was born from the realization that there is nothing to fear because I realized that the future will always be uncertain for everybody no matter what. So, this epiphany has allowed me to relinquish control over outcomes, allowing my intuition to guide the creative process instead of focusing so much on the final results, if that makes sense." Everything Aimee creates makes total sense. In addition to individual collectors and Burke Rehabilitation, Aimee Hofmann's work is part of corporate collections at Amazon, JPMorgan Chase & Co., HSBC, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Intuit, State Street Bank, Ipsen, Brown Advisory and Vigil Neuroscience. She has also shown at local and regional arts centers and has been a guest speaker at the Harvard Business School. Aimee Hofmann lives with her husband and two children in Westchester County NY. She is a two-time hand-cyclist marathoner, avid swimmer, fundraiser, and guest speaker. As disabilities advocate her goal is to continue to create awareness about inclusion and fair representation for people with disabilities. ********** About 'The Burke Award': Given by Burke Rehabilitation, it is conferred upon an individual or group who has made significant contributions to the field of rehabilitation, either through personal achievements, the development of research or the establishment of programs and facilities to assist individuals with disabilities. It recognizes strength and courage in overcoming the challenge of a disability or a significant contribution to the understanding of physical disability. It remains the highest honor bestowed by the Board of Trustees of Burke Rehabilitation Hospital. The Burke Award Dinner is Burke's premier fundraiser, with proceeds supporting Burke's outstanding rehabilitative care services and the Healing Power of the Arts fund. Your generous support of the 2024 Burke Award being held on June 6th will make a difference in the lives of the thousands of patients Burke serves each year. Enjoy being inspired to learn how art heals by the fabulous Aimee Hofmann in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show.

If You Don't Know About Eugene Ruffolo I'm Hoping You Willl Now. He's not just any talent. Eugene is a prolific and deeply personal songwriter. The world could use more of him. His music calms people down. A mutual friend who went to school with him in NY back when, had no clue about his talent until a zoom decades later during Covid. He then became addicted to his music and kept insisting I needed to listen. So, I did. I swear I could feel his music in my veins. I was taken aback by the beauty of his vocal gift and the genius of his songwriting. As good as any famous musical artist I've ever enjoyed. I honestly was shocked I had not heard about him. Apparently even Kenny Loggins was shocked he didn't know about him after both collaborated on a segment of someone else's record. In addition to his own songwriting, Eugene has shared studios and stages with many famous artists, drawn to his unique vocal talents. People like Garth Brooks and Tony Bennett and Kenny Loggins, Run-DMC, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Livingston Taylor, Spyro Gyra, just to name a few. He covers themes like forgiveness, the precious bonds of friendship, the search for existential truth. Among his many worldwide accolades his music has been referred to as "the jewel of folk pop' .You'll hear for yourself if you take a few minutes to listen to this podcast of our live in-studio bonding session. Eugene even took a little musical departure recently to write and record a collection of Italian songs celebrating his Italian heritage and his love of Mediterranean and pop music, folk music. And he wrote a classy little book to along with it, on food, music, and Italian culture, which I thought was very cool. Eugene Ruffolo also has a great sense of humor as evidenced by how he handled my ridiculous opening of my live show. En route to the studio, I reached in blindly to my purse while driving and accidentally sprayed 'Band Aid Antiseptic Cleansing to Go Spray' in my mouth instead of the 'Listerine Cool Mint' which comes in the exact same pump packaging. Needless to say I was an idiot. Panicking that I might have poisoned myself but knowing that Eugene was coming into the radio studio, I decided to risk not going to the emergency room and instead spent a few hyper minutes on the phone minutes before the show started with the nurse from Band Aids 800 # who sweetly read off the chemical ingredients I sprayed on my tongue and suggested I contact poison control. Had no time for that. Instead I played a few of Eugene's songs to calm myself down LOL and give my audience a taste of his extraordinary talent including new songs he's just released. In order we sampled: Late Bloomer (My personal favorite as the words were just so good!) Bella Maria Closer To You Poor Lonesome Me Like many who were just about to launch 'something' right when the pandemic hit, Eugene's best laid plans got put on hold. "Embarrassed to say it was actually because that little pandemic that pesky little pandemic got in the way because I finished the record in 2019 and I was just about to go on a tour to Europe, literally in April 1st of 2020, and then you know what happened there. So yeah, and I was about to release the record and then that happened and then I sort of just sat down." "It felt like a strange time to do it and I couldn't figure out what the right time was and all this time went by and then I thought, well, I need to get this, I need to get this record out. I have more music to make." As far as Eugene Ruffalo's Italian songs go…his are quite beautiful. His Italian album is called 'Canto per Mangiare'. "I've always embraced my Italian heritage, and I always had a sort of love of Italian music, because I started going to Italy when I was a child, and I went a lot during my twenties. I spent a lot of time there during my 20s. I had all these friends, and I didn't speak any Italian when I first started going. One of the ways that I learned how to speak Italian was through the music. I listened to a lot of music, and I would ask my friends, what does this mean and what does that mean." Eugene wanted to get to the roots of real Italian music not the stereotypical Italian songs. "That's one of the impetuses behind this record was the fact that I think in America, people only know Italian music in two ways. They know it as classical, right? Let's just use Pavarotti. Bocelli is more of a pop guy, but he has sort of a classical, he has a classical aesthetic right? Or the Italian American Dean Martin singing Volare and that kind of thing. So, I wanted to get to more because there are a lot of other aspects of Italian music. So, my record really has a few elements to it. One of them is traditional Neapolitan folk music, which is really beautiful. And then the other is just singer-songwriters from the 70s, like the equivalents of the James Taylor, Cat Stevens that we have here, but that existed in the 70s in Italy. So, I covered some of their songs, and then I wrote a bunch of tunes m

I love gritty and gutsy women who make it in business against all odds. I am one, and so I am always drawn to the same. We all have stuff. We all have crap. We all have horrific things that happen to us emotionally and financially that make us think, how the hell am I ever getting out of this? Often you don't even know where to begin. Sometimes just listening to someone else's story lends a clue. Especially when it's a real-life lesson in resilience and survival. This story I'm about to share is very powerful. Because it's about the power of believing in yourself. Today you're going to hear the extraordinary story of Marcy Manfredonia. This now successful entrepreneur rose from extreme emotional and financial hardship. You will be inspired. She turned nothing and I do mean NOTHING, into something else! Three Successful businesses now and counting. National Maintenance, Custom Candle Co. and CBD Live Natural, with plans for plans for more entrepreneurial ventures in the hopper. She's Unstoppable. Most amazing is that she never even learned how to read or write as she had to drop out of school young to take a job to help support her family. This is one of the most authentic interviews I have ever done with one of the most authentic people I have ever met. If you're not a Marcie fan after listening or reading, I'll eat my hat. I do think you should listen to this one vs read about it. Why? Well, let's just say Marcie's story told in her deep voiced Bronx Italian accent might just remind you to never judge a book by its cover. I'll take the liberty to say that because I'm also Italian (American), have been judged wrong along the way by many, and also have a pretty deep voice for a female. I often talk a little too NY fast for some, but if you want to hear two gritty and gutsy female entrepreneurs talkin' no BS about how to push through when life gets tough - you should listen. Also, in the spirit of May being Mental Health Awareness Month and knowing full well how many people struggle with emotional, financial and relationship challenges – I felt showcasing Marcie's story would encourage a whole lot of people - to never stop believing in themselves! I had met Marcie some years ago at an event held at her cool store in Bedford Hills, NY. She held a sort of networking party and I was invited by a lovely friend so I went. I was in awe of her beautifully designed store filled with magical candles and gifts on one side (Custom Cando Co.) and on the other an entire classy line of CBD and related products (CBD Live Natural) The party was set up father back in the store where there was a bar set up and beautiful appetizers and art. Then there was Marcie. To say Marcie has a presence that stands out would be an understatement. She's tall and attractive, always dressed a little sparkly, and has a unique deep voice with a Bronx Italian accent. She bubbles with enthusiasm, confidence, and compassion. That day I overheard her telling another guest about her years of suffering from fibromyalgia and anxiety and trying every possible way to get out of pain to no avail - until her son suggested she try CBD which she didn't understand and was afraid of but tried out of desperation. It worked and changed her whole life. Thus, her decision to start her CBD Live Natural store to try and help others get out of pain. Marcie spends a lot of time trying to help others. In fact, I learned it was at a American Cancer Society fundraiser that she threw to raise them some money, that a women from Whole Foods flipped out over her table decorations. Marcie made impressive centerpieces filled with candles flowers and candy out of recycled pink bottles that her son found in NYC which she cut and polished. When that someone said wow you should make this into a business - Marcie did. Her company Custom Candle Co. will take any bottle of wine or champagne that represents a memorable occasion to you (wedding anniversary, birth) and cut it and polish it and fill it with any one of her long-lasting great smelling candles in any scent you want. Marcie's candle business has sustainability at the core and all her candles are made from soy and recyclables - often bottles donated from restaurants so they don't go to the landfill. Marcie and I only spoke briefly that day at her party, but we had one of those good energy connections and both agreed we should stay in touch. But years went by, until last month in a clothing store in Scarsdale, NY. I heard her voice. Blocked by racks of clothes that kept me from seeing her, I thought, hey that's Marcie from the party that I met, and I loved. So, I went over to her, and she was like "Debbie what happened to you?" "I always thought we should connect it again". "I even asked my friend who invited you what ever happened to that woman?" So, we start talking, and I asked her to share a highlight of what's going on with her, and she mentioned she'd just won a bid for a job she was excited about. Who knew she owned a

A stolen password can be all it takes for hackers to disrupt a life, a business, or the world. The safeguarding of our identity has never been more critical. Constantly evolving AI-enabled DEEPFAKES are now creating enormous security and safety challenges. Enter iVALT, a revolutionary game-changer in cyber security. iVALT Founder & CEO Baldev Krishan Ph.D. joined me to talk about their groundbreaking solution. He is a 2X Nominated "Entrepreneur of the Year" in Silicon Valley with 20 patents. Fixing the Weakest Link. Over $170B was spent last year in cybersecurity, yet some of the biggest failures came from the "weakest link in cybersecurity" – a simple phone call by a hacker. Before iVALT, there was no way to decisively identify the person at the other end of a phone call. Caller ID is easily spoofed, SIM swaps are common, KYC can be compromised, and hackers are highly skilled in just using psychological manipulation to get what they want. The iVALT mobile app empowers individuals and customer facing workers to demand clear identity on any call (including biometrics) in 1-click. Most social engineering attacks could be stopped by iVALT before any real damage can be done. Baldev and I talked about the alarming reality of identity theft, highlighting how even seemingly secure methods like multi-factor authentication fall short in the face of sophisticated hackers. I myself just went through 'cyber hell' when a hacker stole my password from my web hosting site and started buying domains around the world with my credit card. To prove my own identity and get my own website back and functioning, took me one month of pure aggravation! It was honestly outrageous! Baldev revealed the flaws in current authentication systems and the urgent need for a more robust solution. What Is The Solution? "iVALT", said Baldev, "is a game-changing technology offering five plus factors of authentication." "Our platform leverages biometric data and other variables to create a virtually impenetrable authentication process." It seems that with a simple app installation and one-time setup, users can bid farewell to the hassle of passwords and embrace seamless, secure authentication. With five patents granted and ten pending, iVALT is uniquely positioned to provide the strongest level of identity verification and access management at scale. something no one else in the $30 billion identity market can currently provide he said. Thought more people should know more about this innovation. iVALT is emerging as a pioneer in shaping the future of identity protection. Enjoy being one of the first to know about this game changer and meet Founder/CEO Baldev Krishan in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show.

Fire Chief Rebecca Strobl Turned Her Knowledge of Life-Saving Skills into a Business to Train Others How To React In Emergencies. I don't know about you, but I could use a refresher course in how to do CPR, and what exactly to do first when someone's bleeding badly, even what to do if someone is in shock. In a recent episode of the Debbie Nigro Show, I decided to shine a spotlight on Rebecca and her company New Day Education and Motivation located in Waleska, Georgia because I thought the work she was doing was critical and felt every community should have a Rebecca. Rebecca Strobl has inspired me to go get a hands on refresher course in how to react in emergencies. Apparently I don't own the market on being a nervous reactor when something insane happens as most people without the right skills do panic. By leveraging her expertise and passion, Rebecca Strobl is making a difference one life-saving skill at a time, inspiring others to join her in creating safer and more prepared communities. With a background as a retired volunteer fire chief and extensive experience in the security industry, Rebecca saw a need for widespread training in emergency response. Starting as a lieutenant in the fire department, she saw a gap in knowledge and took it upon herself to provide comprehensive training not only to firefighters but also to individuals in various industries. One of the key takeaways from my conversation with Rebecca was the importance of hands-on training in emergency situations vs watching a video. Rebecca is adamant that of in-person courses matter, because participants can practice CPR, use AEDs, apply tourniquets, and learn to manage shock effectively. She highlighted the difference between simply knowing what to do and having the confidence to act decisively in critical moments especially the average person who does not have a background in using these skills on a regular basis. Rebecca stressed the significance of being prepared for emergencies by having essential supplies on hand. She recommends items like CPR masks, tourniquets, dressings, bandages, and emergency blankets for addressing the three primary killers: lack of breathing, severe bleeding, and shock. Rebecca's passion is to empower individuals to with the knowledge to be able to save lives. Her dedication to teaching life-saving skills extends beyond traditional training methods, as she utilizes engaging and interactive techniques to ensure participants feel confident and prepared to respond in emergencies. She is doing remarkable work and I encourage listeners to explore opportunities for training with New Day Education and Motivation if you are in the Georgia area. I encourage other communities to follow her lead in offering training for these lifesaving skills. Rebecca's mission to equip communities with life-saving skills is a true testament to the impact that individuals can have when they are empowered with knowledge and training. To learn more about Rebecca Strobl and New Day Education and Motivation, visit their website at newdayeducationandmotivation.com. You'll get a good life saving education in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show.

TJ Hills, the renowned author of "Sex, Drugs, Babies and Breast Cancer'. joined me in the studio for a lively and very enlightening conversation to delve into the pivotal topic of estrogen, genetic testing, and its profound impact on women's health. She's passionate about educating women about estrogen exposures and genetic nutritional tools in cancer prevention. Her message is universal as cancer touches the lives of many. Sharing Wisdom from Her Own Personal Experiences TJ shared her journey from a bustling Wall Street career to confronting breast cancer, highlighting the tendency to prioritize everything over personal health. Something we both know women in general typically do. But TJ stressed the need for women to cut the nonsense and prioritize their own health over 'other things to do first', as neglecting it can have profound consequences. Her Insights on Estrogen and Genetic Testing TJ has become consumed with her mission to share her knowledge about the significance of understanding estrogen metabolism genes and their impact on women's health decisions. She explained the essence of genetic testing, which focuses on how the body processes estrogen rather than simply measuring estrogen levels. Having this knowledge she says, has everything to do with very practical scenarios, like decisions women make about birth control pills or bioidentical hormones which are influenced by genetic predispositions. Founder, Better Estrogen Health Foundation TJ's Foundation offers free estrogen nutrition toolkits and nutritional consultations, aiming at empowering women to make informed decisions about their health. With advancements in technology and artificial intelligence, access to genetic information for disease prevention is becoming more feasible. TJ is urging women to take proactive measures and so they can make informed choices. Through education, awareness, and accessible resources, she says, the journey towards healthier living becomes not only feasible but imperative. Meet TJ Hills and get educated in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show. T.J. Hills is a Founding Board Member of the Better Estrogen Foundation whose mission is to save lives by educating women about estrogen exposures and how genetic nutritional tools may prevent cancer. In breast cancer remission since 2009,T.J. Is the Former CEO and Board Member of the Estrogen Gene Test Co and Hormonal Cancer Foundation. She spent 35 years on Wall Street advising Institutional Investors about research and data. She is a powerful speaker who has appeared on National TV, radio and print outlets across the country and spoken at major medical and corporate conferences as well as large and small women's groups inspiring women and their physicians to take control of their health starting with a simple estrogen gene test.

I've been focusing on people who make the world a more beautiful place this week. People who through their work, their ethics, their integrity, their talent, their genius just makes it happier for the rest of us. Charles Fazzino has been called one of the most famous pop artists in the world. I've been a huge fan of his style of pop art since the minute I first saw it in a window decades ago in New York City. I would stand there and stare in the window amazed at every little intricate pop-up thing he thought of to make a piece come to life. Often because I was in NYC it would be NYC buildings and street scenes. But Charles does that for many cities around the world. Charles likes to be called a pop culture historian. And I know he's got a bit of a sense of humor because of the way he does the layering of the pieces in his 3D art where he shows the best of pop culture and the best of people's lives in places and events around the world. And I do mean around the world. He's become internationally renowned. He gets commissioned to do pieces for the Grammys and The Olympics and The Super Bowl every year. When I saw his Super Bowl piece this year I was sparked to take a shot at seeing if he was around to join me on my show. We live in the same city but have never met. I figured he'd say yes because I know he has a warm heart. He donates a lot of his pieces of art to help good causes raise money, one of which I personally helped auction off years ago at a charity function. For those who still have never seen an unmistakable Fazzino work of art, I asked Charles to explain it to somebody in words? "Yes, easy. I always tell people, if you're not looking at my artwork, or you're just seeing it online, or looking at it in a book or a magazine or whatever, it's hard to see the three dimensions. So, I describe it that it's kind of like a pop-out book, even a pop-out children's book, even though they're not, you know, children's artwork." "When I was a kid, my mother was from Finland and she always collected these European pop-out books, and she had them all around the house. My brother's sister and I were always enthralled with these cool pop-out books from Europe that were handmade, and she had hundreds of them. So, when I went to school, I kind of, you know, I wanted to make a pop-out book and that's kind of like how it all started." Most of the time Charles is sitting at his desk and drawing artwork that touches many people young and old. The intricacy, the colors and the designs make people happy. I asked him one of my signature questions. How does your head work inside? Meaning what is going on in his head all day long to be able to produce these kinds of unique pieces of work? "Well, I think it's a lot of my if I was just an artist sitting in my studio drawing, I don't know if I'd have so many ideas as I do. And I can't even implement the idea. I get it, you know, it's just very, there's so many things I want to draw and so many things that I want to show through my artwork, but not enough time and not enough hours in the day to do it. So I think the travel, when I travel to certain places, it really gives me and opens up my eyes to a lot of the world. I always come back with new ideas. I always carry a little sketchbook. I have my phone at the ready whenever I'm traveling, taking pictures, and it helps and reminds me of what I saw and always gives me these new ideas. People always ask me, where do you come up with all these ideas? I say, well, a lot of it has to do with places that I go." One of his latest pieces pays homage to our oceans to bring awareness. It's a departure for Charles artistically, because instead of drawing buildings he's drawing sea life, and coral, and all the things that are under the sea. "When you look at the piece, he says, "three quarters of it is ocean, but above the ocean, you'll look, and you can see cities from around the world and all of those cities that are impactful in our environment." What about those helmets he does for the NFL? "So many years ago, it was in 2001, when the NFL licensing committee asked if I was interested in commemorating Super Bowl because they saw what I was doing for Major League Baseball. And I was like, sure. They said, we'd like you to be our official artist. And I was like, sign me up. Sounds good to me. And I've been doing that now for 23 years." "They just continue to, you know, let me know where the venue is going to be and, you know, what I should draw and then, you know, how it should be depicted and so forth. And then I make their official poster every year. So many years ago, when I first started that, they sent me helmets in the mail and they said, see what you can do with these helmets and used equipment. And I received this huge, huge box. And it took me a few years to figure out how to make the three-dimensional drawings tick off and stick onto the helmets and make them look beautiful." "So, I've been doing those for many years and we sell t

I can't get enough of my friend Alvin Clayton. He is bursting with talent and great energy, and I think he makes the world a more beautiful place through all he does and especially through his art through which he tries to speak to people's humanity. Recently I felt compelled to introduce Alvin to as many people as possible who may not know about him just to be able to see the amazing art he creates. Famous people collect his stuff. People like Robert De Niro and Denzel Washington and Halle Berry just to name a few. Alvin has a fabulous restaurant in New Rochelle, NY called Alvin & Friends which has won many awards. The food is contemporary Caribbean with a Black American South influence, that caters to a discerning customers, and the vibe is always cool with live music often. A self -taught artist inspired by Matisse, Alvin's extraordinarily colorful art literally blasts from the walls of his restaurant. My boyfriend Dave and I often pop in to Alvin's for a drink and we love when Alvin comes over for a hug and hello and pulls out his phone to show us photos of the latest, greatest pieces of art he has created. Every single time I think to myself, my God this guy is ridiculously talented! "Well, I think what I try to do with my art is it speaks to people's humanity. And I think our humanity is very much connected and is a common ground. And I think if you reach to humanity, color becomes out of the picture. You get yourself into that situation. So, what I try to do with my art is to bring the viewer into that moment or that situation and say, wow, you know what, I've experienced that with my friend. And it's not about color because we all experience it." I don't know how Alvin Clayton does it all. He's married 30 years to a brilliant beautiful woman, has three children, runs a bustling restaurant that is usually packed with interesting people from all walks of life, then goes home and stays up all night painting. He's a good-looking son-of-a-gun too and must not eat all that fabulous food he makes because he's been a professional model for 25 years. Alvin was the first African American to have eight full pages in GQ magazine. He's worked for every catalog you could think of, and done major campaigns for Banana Republic, and has shot for Ralph Lauren. Maybe it's all that worrying he does that keeps him thin. LOL "There could be 99 people in my restaurant having an amazing time and possibly one person that did not have the perfect experience and that would wake me out of my sleep. I mean, I've gotten a bit better on it, but that still bothers me. I'm genuinely people-oriented, and so my whole thing is to seeing people being in a good space and I think that's what I do with my art too. Alvin Try's To Paint Solutions To The Issues Bothering Us "I mean I paint what some of the issues are that are bothering us and dividing us or whatever, but while I'm painting that I'm also thinking okay we know what the bad things are, what are the solutions, right? And so that's always the final chapter of whatever I do, it's solution." Alvin believes, "We have more in common than we do that separates us". About His Painting of a Woman with Alzheimer's He Just Showed Me "Yes, so I was sitting next to this woman in the Dr's office, her daughter brought her in actually, she had Alzheimer's and the daughter had to go in for her appointment. She asked me if I could keep an eye on her mom while she was in. I said, of course. And so while she was there, I was looking at her. She was dressed really lovely. You could tell she had style and grace. And there was something about her aura that just seemed to be, you could tell she was a beautiful person even though a lot was missing right now. And she was going into her pocketbook and somehow this image came out that she's searching for a pocketbook of lost memories. And so I took her picture and did this painting with my colors and everything else, I researched what the symbol was for Alzheimer's and so on the pocketbook that she had, instead of having a Saint Laurent or one of the trademarks, I had this insignia for the Alzheimer's Association. Even though the disease is devastating I felt she looked angelic". My Gift Is Not Art But Rather The Art Of Seeing Opportunities Others Don't After seeing this work of art, Alvin created, it sparked my art of seeing opportunities between people and then bringing them together to make something actually happen instead of just thinking about it or talking about doing it 'someday'. It's what I really get a kick out of doing for people. My media world is filled with innovative people from many worlds, and I get to know and understand people on a deeper level than most through what I do. These conversations and relationships stick inside my head like Velcro. (I'm always ripping off two separate pieces of Velcro from inside my brain and sticking them together for match lol. Funny I never explained it like that before but makes sense to me.) I'd just do

I'm All About Innovation and Innovators So I Love This Story. In his new book "Clean Economy Now: Stories from the Front Lines of an American Business Revolution" Bob Keefe the Executive Director of E2 a national nonpartisan business group of 10,000 business leaders which has been around for 25 years, describes his recent travels across the country. He wanted to witness first-hand all the clean energy projects in motion because of the significant private sector investment and job creation that's happened incredibly fast over the past 20 months since The Inflation Reduction Act. Bob checked in on my show live from the Annual Society of Environmental Journalists, at the University of Pennsylvania co-hosted by the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media, in collaboration with the Annenberg Public Policy Center. . He joined me live just minutes after the recent earthquake we had in the northeast rattled my radio studio in Greenwich CT. Though the quake did hit parts of PA, and Bob and I had some fun talking about earthquakes in general since Bob is from L.A., Bob said he didn't really feel it, but what he mentioned he was feeling is an economic earthquake. It's an economic revolution like we haven't seen says Bob. And he's making sure we are all paying attention. "I truly believe that we are at the advent of an American economic revolution, the likes of which we have not seen in this country in generations, maybe if ever. And let me tell you why I say that. "Right now, my organization is tracking clean energy job projects around the, or clean energy projects around the country since the passage of the landmark IRA, the Inflation Reduction Act and some other policies 20 months ago. And what we know is this, there are more than 300 major factories and other projects, clean energy projects, coming out of the ground across America right now. $118 billion worth of private sector investment. That's companies that are putting money into these projects. " "These aren't government grants or loans. These are companies investing in America. A hundred thousand jobs have been already announced just in those past 20 months. When in this country have we ever seen 300 factories and other major projects coming out of the ground? When have we seen this kind of investment?" "We have foreign companies that are investing in the United States and creating jobs here now versus taking American jobs and doing stuff overseas. And it's not just creating all this economic growth, it's putting America on competitive again with the rest of the world." "We understand that we can't have a good economy without a good environment, and we can't have a good environment without a good economy. " Bob points out that In New York alone there have been about a dozen major projects that E2 has tracked. $800 million worth of private sector investment in New York from companies, 3,000 plus jobs created. Bob and I talked about the offshore wind farm, the nation's first commercial offshore wind farm that just opened off Montauk, New York. Twelve turbines are going to provide enough juice for about 70,000 homes said Bob. And Bob mentioned there's another company that's building a converter station to essentially take offshore wind energy and convert it and get it onto the grid into people's homes. Bob and I discussed many specific projects, besides the offshore wind farms including solar panel factories, battery technology and the potential of hydrogen as a clean fuel. I was captivated by what's happening and I think you will be too. There's company called Air Products is now going to clean hydrogen and they're building one of the first factories in Messina, New York. In Connecticut, there's a company called Mott Corporation that's building filtration systems for use in things like this hydrogen. And mentioned there's another company called NEL, N-E-L, that relocated here from the Netherlands who are building something called electrolyzers that are going to be used by hydrogen plants like the one being built in Messina to produce hydrogen. Right now he said, there are something like 30 or 40, battery factories being built in America and about 60 solar factories popping up all around the country. And l this is happening in places that Bob points out, you would not expect it to happen. "As part of the book, I started off in a place called Kings Mountain, North Carolina. Well, Kings Mountain is home to an old lithium mine that was first established in the 1950s. At one time, it supplied lithium for the Manhattan Project, right? We all know what that is. Well, we have a company now that's restarting that mine because to supply batteries to manufacturers throughout the Southeast and other places. " Drive down the street to Dalton, Georgia. And Dalton, Georgia used to be the carpet capital of the world, maybe it still is. Well right now a company called Q-Cells is building what will be the biggest, one of the biggest solar panel factories in the We

Stephanie Stuckey a lawyer by trade, who spent 14 years in the Georgia House of Representatives and was also appointed along the way by the mayor of Atlanta as Atlanta's 'Chief Resilience Officer', is sure showing how resilient she is. And how resilient her family business is! Stephanie is now on the road herself promoting Stuckey's Corporation - the iconic roadside stops famous for its pecan candies and souvenirs that her grandfather founded in 1937. She bought the company in 2019 for $500,000 and has been spearheading the brands big return. It's a big year for brand comebacks as evidenced by news that other companies like Crocs and Claire's have made significant comebacks in recent years after hitting a low point financially and culturally in the late 2010s . According to Retail Brew the top executives of both those companies pointed to strategic shifts that emphasized allowing customer feedback to guide decisions." Stephanie Stuckey, the 3rd generation CEO of the family business, is creating a great business comeback story too. She's making Stuckey's both profitable and a household name again! And doing a great grassroots job of it. When Stephanie bought Stuckey's, the company was operating at a deficit and had only 13 original free-standing stores in 10 states that still had the signature original teal roofs in addition to around 65 licensed Stuckey's Express store-within- a -store locations. In 6 months, she restored Stuckey's to profitability, by shifting the focus from licensed Stuckey's store locations to the company's classic line of candies. She also expanded the brand back into manufacturing when she bought a pecan shelling and candy plant in Wrens, Georgia in 2021. Candy and nut sales have since increased to almost 50% of the company's revenue as the brand expands to more national retail locations. Stephanie is now taking road trips to promote pecans and the "great American road trip' both a big part of Stuckey's Corporation growth. "I'm all over the country and here's why I'm traveling. I am giving speeches, and I am attending trade shows. So, it's not checking on stores per se because we don't own or operate the original Stuckey's that were still standing. We have the rights to those stores and to our name so they can they pay us a licensing fee, but we don't own those stores. So really my trips are about I give speeches and I love talking to groups and sharing the Stuckey's story. So, I speak at a lot of conferences, mostly corporate and associations and then I attend trade shows to get more retailers to sell our product and then wherever I go, part of the deal is usually my travels covered by the host of the event. My travel includes that I get a rental car so I will carve out an extra day. I'll ask for that's where I take a lot of road trips." "And then I'll pull over and I'll find out from our team where is there a store in the area that carries Stuckey's products. So, there could be a little local ice cream shop that sells our candy, or we could reach off the chain so we're in Hobby Lobby and at home. So I like to also stop at retailers that don't carry our product and take photos and I evaluate what their back set looks like and then I'll reach out to them and say I love your store by the way I was here here's a photo of me at your store I would love to see you carry our product that's what's missing on your shelf and I've picked out a lot of accounts that way." "I'm road tripping, but I'm also hustling. We're always hustling if we're entrepreneurs." Stephanie Stuckey hopes to eventually own a handful of Stuckey's interstate stores to revive the original premise behind the company as a "roadside oasis" while continuing to build up the pecan side of the business to secure its future for another 85 years. Speaking of pecans Stephanie shared a little a secret her grandfather taught her about how to open pecans. "You get two pecans in your hand, and you squeeze them together and it will crack them." I'm really enjoying watching this female entrepreneur bring her family brand back to life from the days when her grandpa started this as a roadside stand. Stephanie has a new book out called "UNSTUCK" which is available on her website as well as Amazon for the same price, but if you buy it on the Stuckey's website it's autographed. "The entrepreneurial journey is so much more fun if you bring others along for the ride" she said. I'm along for her ride! And she did invite me along for the ride because I too am a lover of road trips. Told her you bring the pecans, and I'll bring some meatballs. Makes sense I think for a Georgia gal traveling with a NY gal. LOL Speaking of NY, Stephanie hasn't been here in 4 years and would love to do some 'speaking and Stuckey's business' in NY. I love her story and her entrepreneurial spirit. Meet Stephanie Stuckey in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show. The Debbie Nigro Show on WGCH Radio. If you want to catch the show it airs Weekdays

Seven Million People Are Living with Alzheimer's Disease in the US. 80,000 in CT alone & twice as many unpaid family members and friends are providing their care. But the money being raised is making a difference. Nobody signs up for a brain disorder that gets worse over time. Alzheimer's is a gradual decline in memory, thinking, behavior and social skills. These changes completely affect somebody's ability to function. The bad news is the number of people with Alzheimer's is increasing, but the good news is there are real advancements in treatment. These advancements are being made possible by the continued donations to this cause. There's a big gala benefit coming up in April in Greenwich CT (where I do my live show from) that hopes to help families in this dementia journey. I invited Tim & Kelly Helstein the Chairs of The Alzheimer's Association upcoming 'Celebrating Hope Gala' being held April 26th at the Delamar Greenwich Harbor in in Greenwich CT, to explain where the money raised goes to. They've been caregivers and know how hard it is. Tim whose mom passed from Alzheimer's shared; "My mother's life ended way too soon and no sot only is it something that Kelly and I are doing to honor my mother through this but also to help educate and care and prevent the future generations from having to go through what my family, what my father, what Kelly and I have had to go through. You know, we spend our days telling stories to our kids who love it. In the morning, they always say, you know, tell us a new story about Nanny. Tell us a story that was really funny." "It's because she can't share it herself. So really what Celebrating Hope is about is not only bringing awareness and celebrating all those who have moved on because of Alzheimer's, but also celebrating the hope that we can change this, that tomorrow is a new day, that tomorrow the sun rises and there will be what we call a white flower, the first person who has overcome and has been cured from Alzheimer's. And science has been doing so much and the doctors and the FDA, and so we're excited to see what tomorrow does hold but it's going to be a gathering for all of us to really celebrate that hope." Kelly Helstein, Tim's wife shared; "Like Tim said you know we have three young kids and they are missing their grandmother so much and that's a good background story about why we're involved, but also I want to point out that it's just a great way to honor those who are struggling with the disease. You know, that's the first reason we stepped into this role, but also it's giving us a platform to raise awareness and funds to support research and almost just empower others who are going through the same experience just to link arm in arm and say, us too, and just share our story with them and they share it with others and just create awareness all around." The Alzheimer's Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care, support and research. Kristen Cusato, the Director of Communication for the Alzheimer's Association Connecticut Chapter & New England Research Champion also joined the show. She discussed the risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease and emphasized the importance of lifestyle interventions to reduce the risk. Kristin also shared there are real advancements in treatment and that the availability of these treatments can change the course of the disease. The powerful CT chapter offers 24/7 support for the public, healthcare professionals and caregivers. This chapter has influenced public policy changes and provided support to Alzheimer's and dementia research in the hope of finding a cure. There are many fundraising events held around the country to support Alzheimer's research and awareness. And the money is really making a difference. I encourage you to participate and support Alzheimer's research and awareness efforts. The 11th Annual 'Celebrating Hope Gala' is being held in Greenwich, CT April 26th. Enjoy this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show. The Debbie Nigro Show on WGCH Radio. If you want to catch the show it airs Weekdays 11-12noon ET in the NY/CT area on 1490 on the dial. But you can listen from anywhere, just hit the 'Listen Live' button on WGCH.com. Catch the podcasts of interviews after on DebbieNigro.com

Have you heard about the AMAZING Prospector Theater in Ridgefield CT? The Prospector Theater is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to providing competitive and inclusive employment to people with disabilities through the operation of a premium, first-run movie theater. Employees of the Prospector, referred to as Prospects, are encouraged to sparkle, shine, and transform their passions into professions. The Prospect Productions team creates high quality digital content for the Prospector Theater. Prospects working on the Production team learn in-demand trade skills such as storyboarding, filming, editing, sound & lighting design, post-production, audio engineering, photography, graphic design, animation, visual effects, and much more! Video productions are used for pre-show content, educational experiences, PSAs, operating procedures, and entertainment! Over the last four years, Prospects have created over 1060 videos, garnering more than 17,000,000 views worldwide. The Prospector Theater was founded by Valerie Jensen whose lifelong work started when her sister, Hope, was born in 1979 with Down syndrome. Valerie Jensen and 'Prospect' Gabe Kavookijan joined me on the air to celebrated World Down Syndrome Day (March 21st). Meet them both on this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show and hear all about the cool things they're doing at The Prospector Theater in Ridgefield CT and …hear all about their new 'Down To Sparkle' Flavor of Popcorn! They have many flavors and buying popcorn

There are surely a lot of real estate people in the country, but Tiffany McQuaid figured out a way to really stand out. Her real estate agency in Jupiter Florida has been called the most innovative agency in the country. What makes her stand out above all others in the space? She said all her efforts have 'caring at the core'. Tiffany does 'little things' in her business that bring people joy. It's something she's been doing since she was a little girl. She decided to write a book about what works so well for her, to share with others Her book just out is called "The Nth Degree" How To Stand Out By Going All In" by Tiffany McQuaid with Bruce Littlefield. In our live radio conversation Tiffany shared the difficult story about how she came to realize how much 'little' things matter to people. On Christmas Day when Tiffany was 10, her Dad took his life leaving her Mom alone to raise her and her sister. Her Mom was obviously struggling badly, but Tiffany would try and do little things to make her smile. She noticed those little things mattered a lot. When Tiffany speaks of her success and how all her efforts have 'caring at the core', it's those little things she does for others and clients that she is referring to. She says it's the key to what unlocked her real estate success and what will unlock your success. "Well, I think without a doubt, I would say like this little creative flair that allows you the opportunity to not just be a black and white broker, just looking at things as they're presented, but instead kind of pulling back and looking at ways to fill voids and be different and unique and create what I'd like to call delightful or surprise and delight. I love to do that, which ultimately creates memorable experiences. And in doing that, it's just not status quo. I think so many people, and whether it's companies or individuals, we tend to go through life sometimes just maintaining, you know, we're just maintaining our day, we're staying in our comfort zone, we're, you know, doing what's expected of us and not really pushing ourselves sometimes to really find a way to be different and get out of that comfort zone and be uncomfortable. What's the significance of 'INth' in the INth Degree? And what do they have to do with showing people how to recognize opportunities for themselves? Tiffany says "The book breaks down into seven keys and all of the keys start with the word "IN'. So everything from INtrepidness, which kind of goes through all of my life bumps and failures and bruises, you know that I think everyone can relate to those stories and kind of guide you through some opportunities and there's even what's kind of cool and what I felt was so important when we were putting this together was INteractiveness." "Throughout the book there's what we call INquiries. So you know as I'm talking about different things that I've gone through an INquiry will pop up to kind of get you thinking. So from INtrepidness to INvigoration, and INtention, INspiration, INgenuity, INcentive, INfluence, every single one of those all touch base and you will walk away with something I am confident. You will walk away with something from at the very least each key, if not multiples from each key. They're very easy to employ into your life and they all work for me." Enjoy this podcast of my live conversation with Tiffany McQuaid on The Debbie Nigro Show.

Pinky Cole aka Slutty Vegan is WOW. There are a thousand reasons why. She's a very innovative gal, entrepreneur, and really good human. Pinky Cole owns and operates the celebrity backed restaurant chain 'Slutty Vegan' with 11 locations and counting including Atlanta, Birmingham, Baltimore, Dallas, and NY. She's opening a new location in NYC this weekend on Bleecker Street making that 3 spots now in NY with the others in Harlem and Brooklyn. "When you walk into Slutty Vegan, you will see yourself ", said Pinky. "It doesn't matter if you are white, black, blue, yellow, gay, straight, you belong here, and this is a safe space for you and I want my business to continue to speak for that. So Bleeker will speak to all those things and I'm excited about it and I'm excited about our expansion. " "You know, and this is my first time announcing this, Bleeker Street is an ode to the LGBTQ community and the movement, right, and LGBTQ rights. So, a lot of the decor and the aesthetics will speak to that. And I'm very intentional on my approach and how I decorate my stores because I want everybody to see themselves, right?" Last year Time Magazine named Pink Cole to their '100 Next List" Pinky Cole has also won the 'Compassionate Chef Award', has her own foundation to empower generations of color to break the cycle of poverty, and a new book "I Hope You Fail" to show by example how failures and setbacks are steppingstones in disguise. Famed restauranteur Danny Meyer, wrote that her fans adore her sassy, sexy attitude and that she not only reinvented the way people think about a vegan restaurant, but she's also turned classic roadside burger fair into a rollicking party. It's worth mentioning that according to the latest statistics only like 5% of Americans identify as vegan or vegetarian, but most people want to eat healthier these days and so many who don't call themselves vegans or vegetarians are drawn to the food Pinky makes and creates because Pinky makes it fun. Pinky Cole's Mission is Powerful Pinky Cole does everything with intention. She wanted to create food that was accessible to people who are in underserved communities and residents of food deserts that was healthy and comforting and fun, and boy did she nail it. Aisha Pinky Cole, American restaurateur, operator, and owner of Slutty Vegan, was born and raised in Baltimore. Her parents were Jamaican immigrants and Rastafarians, and her mother was a musician in a reggae group, I probably would have partied with. I love reggae music. Pinky grew up following a traditional Rastafarian vegetarian diet, eating rice and peas and legumes and beans which is how it all began. The SLUTTY VEGAN Name After reading all about her I thought I love this girl. But am I really gonna promote a slutty vegan on my show? LOL. Well, everybody else did so sure! Nobody knows better than me that in order to get attention in this world, the words you choose matter. But Pinky knew that. "That name helped me to build a $100 million brand. All righty, all righty, all righty. OK, so I'll start there. Was it easy? Yes and no. The yes part of it being easy was the fact that I'm trained as a television producer, so I know what's going to make people pay attention. I know what's going to make them say, oh, damn, I've got to pay attention to this, right? But then on the flip side, there are a lot of people, conservative people who live in our country, right, who haven't adapted to the idea that you can re-engineer words, right? You can put your own meaning to words. And that's exactly what I did. When I came up with slutty vegan, I knew that I had to be in your face, racy and raunchy in order for you to think about vegan food, because if I would have named it Pinky's Vegan, you wouldn't come to get it. You wouldn't want to eat it. " The Pinky Cole Foundation is like Urgent Care Pinky started a foundation to formalize a way to give her money to people who need help because she just loves helping people. "I found that there's a generational wealth gap, a big one", she said. "And I wanted to help bridge that generational wealth gap by providing opportunities for entrepreneurs and creatives. " "So my foundation is not like the average foundation. You know how some foundations have all these thrusts and all of these programmatic things? This ain't that." "What this is, we are like urgent care. If there is an immediate need, we solve an immediate problem. So we paid the rents for local businesses. We provided fruits and vegetables for people in the community. I've given out 800 LLCs to a graduating class of seniors so that they could be able to jumpstart their pathway to entrepreneurship. We've partnered with the Department of Juvenile Justice to provide second chance opportunities to ex-offenders. We've paid for lights. We provide life insurance in partnership with Prudential to black men who make $30,000 or less in Atlanta." "So, when you talk about doing the work, I've been doing the work for a long