Your chance to fly to an NFL game with the owner! (07-03-2024--Hour2)

[00:00:00] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to three on WBT radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily

[00:00:17] show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalinershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, write to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support. I want to welcome to the studio Ramona Holloway.

[00:00:32] I don't even know, like, I usually have a bio or like a title that I will introduce people by. I don't even know how to introduce you anymore because you are like all over the place doing all of these different things. That's called freedom, Pete.

[00:00:46] I know it's called freedom. It's called freedom! It's not, right. So it's on this day before Independence Day. Yes. What better freedom? So Matt Ramona was the morning show. No, sorry, was the afternoon show. Yeah, it was both. It was both, right.

[00:01:02] But initially, so this was back in 2001 and I went in there to do on 9-11 to start doing news updates, started there. And then the one minute news segment turned into like three minutes, then five minutes. Your co-host Matt Harris repeatedly asked really stupid questions.

[00:01:22] It got longer and longer. He was just being himself. I know, I know. And so then I went on time. So then I, but here's the, I say all that because that was my first sort of experience as being in a talk host environment.

[00:01:36] I was always just a reporter. And you just bloomed. So you were born for it. I always say that I'm indebted to you and Matt for allowing me to come into your show

[00:01:44] and to eventually occupy, I think at one point at the end, it was a half an hour. It was. Now I know that that means just less show prep for you guys. Exactly. At the time I was like, wow, they're so nice to me. No, no dude.

[00:02:00] Now it's four o'clock hour was pretty much was halfway done. Right. It's like, yeah, okay. Yeah. We'll take on another hour for more pay. Yeah. Can you do half hour? Yes. And that is really how it happened because they took us from a four hour show.

[00:02:14] Then we started complaining about our lead in because, you know, if you have a show that's on before you, that's not doing well, then you got to rebuild your audience. And then we're like, oh, you have a problem with your lead in?

[00:02:24] Well, you can be your own lead in. We're going to give you an extra hour for no extra pay. Hey P, you're sounding pretty good over there. Want to come play with us for a half an hour every day? It's an interesting negotiation tactic.

[00:02:37] I'll have to remember that. Yeah. Like, oh yeah, I didn't see that coming. Like I want a better lead in. How about it's you? Dang it. Dang it. I urge you. Watch what you ask for. I believe that's what the old folks say. Yeah.

[00:02:52] So then I went away on timeout. I came back. And I was there for your first timeout. Yes. Yeah, you were. And you were one of the only people actually that didn't treat me like I was contagious. So I appreciated that.

[00:03:04] You came in on the last night I was on the air here in this very studio, nine to midnight. Ramona came in and saw me off. So I'm forever indebted to you and grateful for that. Because I respect your work. Well, thank you. I appreciate that.

[00:03:16] So I go away and then I come back. And now you guys are in the morning, Matt and Ramona are in the morning. I got promoted. Promoted to a morning shift. Somewhere, somebody thought I was laying in bed at 330 in the morning wishing I could

[00:03:30] be in Sherry Lynch's chair. I'm here to tell you that was not the case. No, it's a whole different beast. I loved waking up at 730, getting my coffee, walking the dog with my mom, watching the view in my jammies, coming to work at 1pm. You could run errands.

[00:03:48] But then I got promoted to the morning shift. And that was changing my whole life in my 50s after 20 years of doing afternoons. And I made that switch while my mom was transitioning with dementia.

[00:04:09] And it was pure unadulterated challenges all the time because now I had to find someone who would show up at my house at 4am or 3am. To provide care for your mom.

[00:04:22] To provide care for my mom, because if she heard me up, then she was going to get up. And now I can't shower and do all those things while my mom is downstairs because she hears me and then she gets up.

[00:04:32] So it really changed my life when I changed my schedule. And then when dementia finally took her in 2021 and I kept doing this show, I realized that those hours did not allow me to have the kind of life I thought I would live after my mom passed.

[00:04:51] I was going to bed at 8pm, waking up at 330 every time somebody said, how are you doing? I said, tired, very tired. No more clubbing. It's not like I was clubbing before, but you know, I was watching Paw Patrol with the kids

[00:05:06] in the afternoon because when the grownup programming came on, it was time for Mona to go bye bye bed, bed. So I stepped away from my show, but I didn't step away from the work that I love doing. I love connecting with people first and foremost.

[00:05:24] I love connecting good people with each other. And I also love media. So I'm still active on social media. I'm still active on all six of the Radio One stations with public service announcement and programming. I am responsible for community announcements on all six of the Facebook pages.

[00:05:46] So I get to do the stuff I love, trying to provide solutions in a community that has shown me love for over 20 years. Yeah. You've built a massive audience and now you're harnessing that audience and the desire to

[00:06:03] do good because I would submit there's a reason why they were attracted to you in the first place and became your fans because they have the same heart. And so you harness that and you direct it because most of the time it seems like people

[00:06:16] are just looking, where do I, you know, can I trust an organization with my money if I want to make a donation? Is this going to make a difference if I actually volunteer my time? Do I have an impact? Is this actually helping?

[00:06:28] And they just need to know where to direct their energy. So that's what Ramona now does for Radio One here, Urban One. Do you know what is it? Are we Radio One or Urban One? We are Radio One Charlotte. We are a subsidiary of Urban One. Thank you.

[00:06:47] I've been wondering this for three years. You won, for Urban One is our umbrella company. I'm going to talk to you like our engineer Ron talks to people. Dummy head. Hey, dummy. I can't even say what he calls us all. Yeah, John Moore. He's a lovable grump.

[00:07:02] But Urban One is our umbrella company. So it's a multimedia. Radio One, there's Reach One. There's all the, I got you. Okay. So that makes sense then. So here at Radio One Charlotte, you're handling all of this outreach and these, the PSAs and all this stuff.

[00:07:17] But the organization that is near and dear to your heart is the Alzheimer's Association. When I got back, you asked me, hey, what do you think of the Alzheimer's Association? I'm like, I've been donating money to them for 20 years. Like I'm a big fan of their work.

[00:07:31] And so I got plugged in immediately with what you were already doing. Because you bring your heart to work too. Well I try to. I mean, it's just part of my body. So it's just easier than removing it. Right. Removing your heart.

[00:07:44] You can't even accept a nice compliment, can you? You can't do it. The world is my straight man. Okay. So hang on. Okay. So as a podcast, you are obviously paying attention to the world around us. You also have really great taste, I might add.

[00:07:57] But if you haven't started getting prepared for various emergencies, I got to ask, what are you waiting for? Please call my friends Bill and Jan at Carolina Readiness Supply, and they'll help get you started. If you have no idea how to start, they can help you.

[00:08:09] If you're an experienced prepper, they can help you too. Being prepared is just smart. We've already established that you're smart. I mean, you listen to this podcast after all. So let's put those smarts into action. Go to carolinareadiness.com. That's carolinareadiness.com or call them at 828-226-7239.

[00:08:30] Carolina Readiness Supply has 2000 square feet of supplies as well as educational materials that you're going to need for any kind of emergency. Veteran owned Carolina Readiness Supply. Will you be ready when the lights go out? Ramona Holloway is with me.

[00:08:43] And by the way, you can check out all of her activities and such at her website, ramonaholloway.com. That's H-O-L-L-O-W-A-Y, ramonaholloway.com. So the reason I've got her in here is because of the work that she does with the Alzheimer's Association.

[00:09:02] And you have scored, no pun intended, but kind of a little bit, you have scored a pretty fantastic prize. For people to win, I guess. Is it a win? I don't like prize. I don't like win. I like gift. If? And I like randomly selected. There you go.

[00:09:25] So my mom who had dementia and died with dementia in 2001 did a segment like Pete did on my radio show. Years ago, she did a segment called the World of Wheezy, where this French and Spanish teacher transformed into the self-proclaimed America's favorite cougar.

[00:09:49] And one of her fans met her on the streets of Gaston County. And he was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers shirt at the time. And she did not know who he was, but she recognized the logo.

[00:10:04] And she said, hey, I cheer for the Pittsburgh Steelers when I'm not cheering for the Panthers because they have a black coach. My mom's black. I'm black. The guy wearing the Steelers shirt was not.

[00:10:17] And I was a little bit embarrassed because we just don't say, you know, no reason to be out here. You know, you cheer for who you like. You know, you could have left it at when they're not playing the Panthers.

[00:10:29] And so I said, you know, if my mom sees you in your shirt again, sir, she will probably tell you this same story because she has dementia. Just letting him know, go easy on us. And he smiled.

[00:10:42] And it turns out that that man is part of the family that owns the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Rooney family. This was Dan Rooney Jr. Dan Rooney Jr., who lives in Gaston County. Well, that Christmas, a couple of years, a couple of months later, a Christmas card shows

[00:10:58] up at the house signed by the entire Steelers team. Or so my mom thought. It was one of those cards that they send to PSL types, you know. But she believed that every football player on that team had signed it. And the coach.

[00:11:14] And the coach had signed it because they love her. I was like, it's because the Steelers love you? And she said, yes, because my mom had this hot girl dementia where she believed that she was rich and famous and young and incredibly desirable.

[00:11:28] So she was like, of course. So recently I connected with Dan and I reminded him of that story. And he said he wanted to help me with a fundraiser I was doing for the Alzheimer's Association

[00:11:41] because some kids in our community at Stuart Cramer High School had recorded and produced a fundraising video for us. And some students at Johnson C. Smith University, under the direction of their professor, Dr. Charles Easley, or Professor Charles Easley, had done the same.

[00:11:57] But the videos were getting views, but no money. So Dan Rooney Jr. chipped in money and he chipped in two seats on his private jet and two seats in his suite in Pittsburgh to watch the Steelers play the Browns.

[00:12:16] So everyone who donates at least $100 to my fundraiser, it's called Family Dance Party CLT, by July 26th has the opportunity to be the person selected to get on that jet with their buddy and Dan and me to fly from Charlotte to Pittsburgh to do the luxury suite

[00:12:38] thing with the owner in December. Steelers versus Browns, that game. Their biggest game of the year. That game is on December 8th, 2024. So it's early December. And so if you make a $100 donation, you go to RamonaHolloway.com, go to events, and you'll

[00:12:57] see it listed in there in the events section. And so the Family Dance Party, real quick, we have about two minutes. So the Family Dance Party, the origins, where did that start? That started with a buddy of ours, Paul Jamison, and me.

[00:13:10] We wanted to come up with a fundraiser that was family-oriented that could get the entire family involved. So that's why we had students at Stuart Cramer High School involved. We had Girl Scout Troop 20023 in Lowell participating.

[00:13:28] And in the meantime, these students, like the students at Johnson C. Smith University, are talking about and learning about dementia. They're learning about Alzheimer's disease. And in every one of these situations, we connected with young people whose families were dealing with this.

[00:13:46] This is a family disease already affecting more than 6 million Americans. And probably one in nine of us, when we hit 65 and make it past there, we're going to get it. But now with the help of the Alzheimer's Association research that they support, we're seeing

[00:14:06] these new drugs, these new treatments. Leucanumab was approved for FDA by the FDA. And now, yesterday there was another one, Denonumab, marketed under the label of Kisunla, or as I call it, Kiss You in LA. That's how I remember it. K-I-S-U-N-L-A. Yeah, Kiss You in LA. Yeah.

[00:14:25] There you go. See? That works. And that's a once-monthly monoclonal antibody infusion. So that's what the Alzheimer's Association supports. That's what we support, but we also support the support groups, which are really important

[00:14:39] as you learn how to best manage someone who has Alzheimer's or another form of dementia, the best practices. And you just also get an opportunity to let go, to share, to have support through it, because it's a very, very emotionally, physically sometimes, and most definitely financially

[00:15:03] draining disease for the entire family. It's difficult for the patient and everyone who loves them, because you lose them slowly. You saw it, I know, with your grandfather. Yeah. Yeah, it's very difficult in many facets, just like you said.

[00:15:19] So we're trying to raise money, Family Dance Party Charlotte, but go to RamonaHolloway.com. If you make a $100 donation, you could get this trip to fly with Dan Rooney Jr. to the game Steelers vs. Brown, December 8th, and stay in his suite. And I am your host.

[00:15:36] There you go. I get to be your host and social media person for your Steelers suite flyaway. RamonaHolloway.com. Ramona Holloway, thanks for all the work that you do and for spending time with us. Thank you, Pete Callender Show. All right, that'll do it for this episode.

[00:15:53] Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast. So if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here.

[00:16:02] You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecallendershow.com. Again, thank you so much for listening and don't break anything while I'm gone.