Storytimes are always one of our fan-favorites and we were thrilled to have Ethan and Colton join us in the studio! Both of these guys are fantastic additions to the BBBSO family, and we were thrilled to hear how they each have a special impact in their lives. Tune in to Episode 15 to hear all of the absolute fun you can have being a mentor to a child in Southwest Missouri! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bbbsozarks/message Support this podcast:...

With September brings Big Brothers Big Sisters Month and we want to kick it off with another great match Storytime! In Episode 16, we hear from long time match Keyvan (Big) and Terrell (Little). These two guys are an awesome addition to the Big Brothers Big Sisters family and have been around for SIX years! These guys give us some fantastic information on their success and longevity as a match and provide some excellent insight on what they do together. Of course, no episode would be...

After a long pause to get ready for Taste of the Ozarks 2023, we are back with another Match Story Time! In this episode we are joined by our Big, Rachel and her Little, Natalie as we hear about their journey together! Join us as we learn about their time together starting off at Lunch Buddies and how their relationship transitioned into a long-standing match! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bbbsozarks/message Support this podcast:...

Join Brian and Lizzie as we discuss the BIG events coming up for Fall 2023. We kick off with information on Protect and Serve, a delicious dining experience with the Springfield Police Department Friday, August 18th. We also talk about the upcoming Food Truck Festival complete with a Classic Arcade Tournament to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks as well as our return to Cider Days in Downtown Springfield! Of course, we can't forget to get excited about BBBS Month in September and...

Join Brian and Lizzie as they jump into the studio to give a rundown of how Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks and our friends did during our 2023 Bowl for Kids' Sake campaign as well as during Ozarks Beerfest! We also take a few minutes to give an awesome preview of this year's Taste of the Ozarks held at the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center which will host our 1980s Prom event! Plus, stay tuned to the end of the episode as we make a BIG and exciting announcement for the 2022 staff!...

After a lenghty hiatus to focus on Ozarks Beerfest and Bowl for Kids' Sake, we are back with episode 12! Jake Pemberton, VP of Operations at our namesake organization, Think Big, has returned to give us some insight on operations in the global textiles market, the search for a new employee and of course, brought us over one of his most recent bin finds! Thanks for all of your patience as we get our newest episodes produced and published! Be sure to check us out on Spotify as we continue to...

We change gears this week as Chris Childers takes over the mic and brings along good friend Christine Morton. While already a familiar face around the Ozarks, Christine has embarked on a new path and is the founder and owner of Morton Marketing 417. Specializing in online and social media tactics to build your business, Chris and Christine sit down to discuss various strategies that both for-profit and nonprofit organizations alike can engage in in order to build their online footprints!  Be...

Do we even really need to make any other statements?   Ok, we will!  Ozarks Beerfest is back! Join Lizzie and Brian as we talk all things beer and brewing as we make our preparations for the Ozarks' LARGEST beer festival! As an added bonus, Brian gets Lizzie to read off a dad joke from the Dad-Joke-A-Day calendar!   So join us as Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks celebrates our 40th Anniversary all year long with a radical 1980s theme!  For sponsorship opportunities, event tickets...

It's the 1980s all year at Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks as we celebrate our BIG 40th anniversary this year! Join 80s babies Brian "The Brain" Way and Chris "Chris C." Childers as we walk through some of our favorite memories of the most electric and neon decades in history! We discuss the toys, trends, movies, music in the season premier of the Think BIG! podcast as a kickoff for what will be our BIGGEST year ever!  This season's show will be broadcasting from "Big Brothers Big...

In this very special episode, we meet Big couple Dorothy and Mark Harsen and their Little, Deldrick Jackson, also known now to us as "Deldrick J". This match has been together for the past nine years and have made some terrific memories together. Laughter was plenty in this episode with lots of stories, so don't wait to get in on this opportunity to hear what the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks experience is all about!  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bbbsozarks/support

In an episode that is WAY behind schedule, we finally get our listening on and get a female perspective on the hardworking initiatives going on over at the Think Big Foundation.  Ashley Lairomatis is one of the key components of the success of Think Big and we sat down in November with her to hear how she fits into the operations for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks!  If we are lucky, we may end up hearing more stories soon from both Jake and Ashley of what they hear and find during...

After taking a couple of weeks away from the mic and production booth for Taste of the Ozarks, we are back with a Double-Feature Thanksgiving Week episode! In this week's show, we hear from Carl Baker and Jeff Hays, two Bigs with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks.  Working with us to help mentor the future generations, we have a great conversation with both Bigs as we hear their experiences in being a mentor for local children as both a Match and Lunch Buddy.  Join us for Episode 6 of...

Trailer: Double-duty Day as Chris and I sit down and chat with two local Bigs, Carl Baker and Jeff Hays! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bbbsozarks/support

In this episode, we meet Chiyierrja Grant, Match Support Specialist for BBBS of the Ozarks.  Chiyierrja walks us through the exciting benefits of matching (pairing of kids and adult mentors) and gives us insight into what she does on a daily basis and the emotional and long-lasting benefits provided to both the Bigs and Littles who are matched.  We also look into who we are looking for to help with our waiting list of Littles here locally.   So don't miss us for Episode 5 of the ThinkBIG!...

Coming up on Episode 5: Meeting Match Support Specialist Chiyierrja Grant! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bbbsozarks/support

Join us this week in the ThinkBIG! studio for this week's episode of Think BIG! as we finally get a seat with our super busy, super awesome, super CEO Susan Mellentine (that's with a hard "I", like "valentine" in case you're curious.)  Susan joins us to gives a rundown of operations at BBBSO including matching of Bigs and Littles, the fun Lunch Buddy program, how to join and the interview process to become a Big or Little.   For more information on how to join us, go to Become a Big Brother...

In the biggest swerve-episode yet, we meet the man behind the name of our very own podcast, Jake Pemberton, Vice President of Operations and our very own importing-exporting il Duce at the Think BIG Foundation in Springfield.  As a sister organization with BBBSO, Jake is in charge of significant organization that works to benefits local Littles, BBSO, reduce the impact of our local landfills and promote the global economy.  PLUS, he and his crew also find some...interesting items... donated...

In Episode 2 of the Think BIG! podcast, we join Lizzie, Brian and newcomer to the studio Paige Alexander as we discuss the wrapping up of the 2022 Bowl For Kids' Sake season, we talk about the high point scorers, highest fundraising companies along with the success and excitement of seeing another outstanding fundraiser come to a close.  As we shut the door on our summer event, we look ahead at our signature event, Taste of the Ozarks and the anticipation of our 1920s-themed tasting evening!...

Thanks for joining us for Episode 1 of the Think Big! podcast, a product of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks!  We look forward to joining our great partners and staff at BBBSO as we take a look at in inner workings of mentoring and empowering our Littles throughout Southwest Missouri.   For our first episode, we are joined by regular hosts Chris Childers, Lizzie Vigneaux and Brian Way as we work through the audio kinks and get our first bit of information out about upcoming local BBBS...