Fulfillament Stories

Fulfillment through work. Challenges to COME ALIVE.

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BEN WHITING, Magician & Entertainer

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Ben WhitingBen Whiting is an award winning Professional Speaker and Corporate Entertainer. He co-founded MagicMouth Theatre, a company that combined Magic and theatre while educating communities in both art forms. As a speaker, actor and entertainer, Ben performs at sales conferences, award banquets, and private events across the country for clients such as American Express, GE, and Oprah’s HARPO Studios. He is also currently one of Crystal Cruise Lines’ premiere entertainers, which has enabled him to perform his feats of magic and mind reading in countries around the globe. In his spare time he enjoys raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with string, whiskey and Bruce Springsteen.

“Real magic isn’t in the deception, but in the connection you create with your audience, both on and off stage.”
Here is Ben’s story from the May 2017 event…

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Jetty Rae, singer/songwriter

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jettyJetty Rae is a singer and songwriter originally from Northern Michigan. She has been singing, touring, and recording since 2004. Jetty garnered the attention of JetBlue when she played at the opening of their new Terminal at JFK International Airport. MTV.com featured Jetty on their up-and-coming artist blog, and she has shared the stage with Sarah McLachlan and Miranda Lambert at Lilith Fair in Detroit. You can also hear Jetty’s music in a number of TV commercials for brands such as Microsoft, PetCo, Truvia, Nabi Tablets and more.

“My deepest wish is that you would hear your life’s story and struggle in my words and songs–and maybe I can help you feel less alone.”

Here is Jetty’s story from the May 2017 event…

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JULIE GREEN, Hospice RN

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julieJulie Green was born in Metro Detroit. After nursing school, she worked on a cardiac unit in an urban hospital as a RN. From there, she volunteered in Kenya for six months at a refugee camp working to empower women affected by HIV. Upon coming home, she moved to Traverse city with her friends and found love. Julie worked on organic farms  and with herbal medicine and then began working with Munson Hospice in 2012. She has earned her certificate in end if life doula training and helped to promote Death Cafe in Leelanua county.

“Being present at the bedside of a fellow human being who is facing dying is a sacred experience. I am forever grateful for these moments and am so happy to have found spiritual connection in my vocation as a nurse.”

Here is Julie’s story from the May 2017 event…

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CHRIS HINDBAUGH, Addiction Treatment Services

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chrisChris Hindbaugh has worked in the behavioral health field for over 20 years. He has worked in a variety of hospital based programs, and has also ran a youth crisis center and shelter. In 2009, Hindbaugh moved to Traverse City where he is the current CEO of Addiction Treatment Services, an organization that has completely recreated itself while doubling its size, adding innovative programs and winning multiple national awards under Hindbaugh’s leadership. Currently Hindbaugh is working on a number of state and national projects aimed at addressing the opiate epidemic by calling for increased compassion, smarter sanctions and access to more treatment options for those struggling with addiction.
“The great challenge of our time is to maintain genuine, vulnerable human connection and not get lost in the quick-fix nature of social media or a sound-bite mentality to define our complex world.  Without wrestling with the messiness of love, forgiveness, and compassion,  we will fall short of our true potential as an individual and as a community.”  

Here is Chris’ story from the May 2017 event…

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RICH BRAUER, Filmmaker

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Brauer headshot DM2Rich Brauer is president of Brauer Productions, Inc., an independent film and video production company he founded in 1977. After many years of making films for a wide variety of clients, Brauer received the Michigan Filmmaker of the Year award at the 2009 Traverse City Film Festival, presented by filmmaker Michael Moore. Brauer has directed 10 feature films and hundreds of corporate, non-profit, educational and commercial projects.
He also co-founded the Maritime Heritage Alliance in 1982 and the Inland Seas Education Association in 1989.

“I got bit by the filmmaking bug in 7th grade after seeing “The Blue Max” and haven’t looked back.  I respect the craft and appreciate the process of working with artists and technicians towards the creation of one common goal. It’s quite remarkable.”

Here is Rich’s story from the May 2017 event…

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Troy DeShano, Illustrator and Designer

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troy-portrait-2016-1800Troy is an artist and designer based out of Traverse City, Michigan. After spending much of his twenties battling cancer, Troy found himself sharing stories of his personal trials through art and design via his blog Strong Odors. As a result Troy launched his freelance design and illustration business Ten Point Studio in 2009, has exhibited fine art in galleries around Michigan as well as Chicago and Minneapolis, and has also gained international recognition for his collaborative design projects FUTURALBUM and Old & New Project. Troy also serves on staff at Michigan Legacy Art Park, and has been a happy husband and proud parent for the past 17 years.

“Fate tossed me into the arts, and magic keeps me swimming here. Art must not necessarily always be my career, but it is forever in my ears and eyes and nose and lungs and blood and bones and guts and heart and soul.”

Here is Tory’s story from the January 2017 event…

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LEAH BAGDON MCCALLUM, U.S. SENATOR REGIONAL DIRECTOR

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img_9744Leah is a waitress, turned grant writer, turned proud government employee. She charted her career path based on her mission to improve the quality of life for all around her. –A goal that may sound a little vanilla, but that is absolutely her truth.  Leah has channeled her entrepreneurial spirit into whatever makes people and places around her thrive. Whether building Chicago’s Prentice Women’s Hospital,  or saving the Detroit Zoo, or helping Goodwill provide housing, jobs and food for folks in our region, or her current role with one of Michigan’s terrific U.S. Senators, – Leah believes that she can make her backyard better. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Traverse City DDA, and on Munson’s Community Health Committee. She’s done some neat stuff, but her gig as a mom to two great kids is what makes her most proud (and tired).

“I don’t worry about things that I cannot change. However, I believe that anybody can do whatever they put their mind to. So, in between these two guiding principles, I don’t do a lot of sitting still. “

Here is her story from the January 2017 event…

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Erin Anderson Whiting, Parallel 45 Theatre

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erin2Erin grew up surrounded by cherry farms near Elk Rapids, but left to pursue an adventure at Interlochen Arts Academy, where she majored in Creative Writing and was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Her journey continued in New York City, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree focused in Middle Eastern History from Sarah Lawrence College and later stayed to work in the publishing industry. Eventually, she found her way back to northern Michigan, spending 6 years as Charitable Giving Specialist at the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, protecting the natural beauty that called her home in the first place. She then returned to Interlochen Center for the Arts for a 5-year stint as a Charitable Gift Officer for the US West Coast before leaving to work full time as Executive Director of Parallel 45 Theatre, the company she co-founded in 2010. Her 14-year career in nonprofit fundraising and development allows her to direct philanthropy to Parallel 45 and manage its general operations, nurturing the dream of a professional theatre in northern Michigan into reality. The author of Look About You: A Magical Childhood in Michigan’s Wild Places, Erin is also the co-owner of Mr. Music DJ & Event Services and a proud board member of Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology.

“All good art allows us to look at the world without division and, instead, concentrate on what connects us. We need that right now. The opportunity to see the world through another person’s lens is an enormous gift. By collaborating with artists from around the world—and just down the street—we can pass that gift to our community. I never imagined I’d make a living asking people for charitable donations, or running a theatre company, but here I am. Grateful. Art sometimes seems like a luxury and, in many ways, it IS, but that doesn’t mean it’s frivolous. It helps us live lives that are richer, more thoughtful, more inclusive, and more respectful of what it means to be human.” 

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Brad Kik, Crosshatch

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brad2Brad Kik is the co-founder and co-director of Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology. Brad’s varied background—film study, environmental activism, graphic design, community organizing, traditional music, ecology and permaculture—plays a key role in directing the intention behind Crosshatch’s work in the community. Brad also serves on a number of boards reflecting Crosshatch’s diverse approach to community building: Earthwork Music, a collective of Michigan musicians; Grass River Natural Area, a 1000+ acre wetland preserve in Antrim County, Michigan, near where Brad calls home; and the Alliance of Artist Communities (AAC), who support and advocate for artist residency programs. Brad also acts as the co-chair of the ecological residencies cohort for the AAC, and helps convene and present their Emerging Programs Institute each year.

“I founded Crosshatch in part to create a laboratory for community building. The purpose isn’t just to build a suite of meaningful programs, but to remain curious about how to work the levers that move communities toward deep and long lasting change. In a way, Crosshatch is my lifelong art project.”

Here is Brad’s story from the January 2017 event…

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Betsy Coffia, Change Maker

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betsyBetsy is the Director of Alumni Relations at NMC and has also recently run for State Representative in Michigan. She grew up in rural Kalkaska County and over the years has served as a journalist, social worker and change maker to Northern Michigan communities.

“I can’t explain exactly why I do what I do, only that I see the things that are easier to ignore. And I cannot unsee. I am driven toward justice and compassion by a fire in my belly that won’t be quenched no matter how many times I may fail.”

Here it Betsy’s story from the September 2016 event….

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Glenn Wolff, Bassist and Illustrator

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glennGlenn grew up in Traverse City. He studied Printmaking at Northwestern Michigan College, and received his BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. His career began in New York as an illustrator where he also played music in several clubs. In 1987 he returned to Northern Michigan concentrating on fine art and book illustration. He is best known for his illustrations in the books of Jerry Dennis, starting with 1992’s It’s Raining Frogs and Fishes, and most recently A Walk in the Animal Kingdom.  Glenn’s mixed media fine art is represented by Tamarack Gallery in Omena, Michigan, and at his studio in the Traverse City. His work has been shown throughout the US and Canada both publically and privately.  He also on the art faculty of Northwestern Michigan College.  You can catch him playing bass with several local collaborating artists.

“My job is to make marks on paper or canvas and pluck strings on resonate wood. The marks become images and the plucks become melody and rhythm in collaborations with the greatest writers, musicians, environmentalists and humans that I have ever met. Sometimes these marks and sounds tell my own stories of interior and exterior landscapes, our estrangement from them, and our journey back.”

Check out the slideshow in this pdf  as you listen to the podcast as they go hand in hand. This slideshow was presented at his storytelling talk from the September 2016 event…

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KATE PEARSON, Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy

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kate

KATE PEARSON is the fundraiser for Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. A lifelong resident of Traverse City, Kate brings to her position a deep love of the region and appreciation for the wonderful people who make up our community. Before joining GTRLC, she was the Visitor Center Manager for the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau, as Kate LOVES where she is from.

“Notice what makes your eyes sparkle.  Those sparkles are lighting up the way to one of your callings”. 

Here is Kate’s story from the September 2016 event…

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Gary Jonas, The Little Fleet

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garyGary Jonas and his wife Allison have been in the restaurant and bar business for over 10 years.  They opened our first restaurant called The Farm on Adderley in Brooklyn, NY in 2006, followed by a bar called Sycamore Bar and Flowershop in 2008, and The Little Fleet in 2013.   They live in Traverse City with our 2 daughters Madeleine and Viola.

I love creating environments that makes people want to enjoy life and celebrate.  Nothing gives me more joy than to see smiling faces and excitement for what we are doing.

Here is Gary’s story from the September 2016 event…

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Bill Pallidino, Taste The Local Difference

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BillPieHarvestFest2014_GaryHowe

BILL PALLADINO is the project director for Taste the Local Difference, creator of an upcoming independent bookstore “Leeward Books”, and a lover of local food and biking everywhere he can. He has sustained roles as Executive Director, Business Consultant, Executive Coach, Instructional Designer, CEO for Hire, Economic Development Director, and Keynote Speaker with over 25 years of management and business ownership experience. Bill left his corporate training and consulting practice in 2012 to join the Michigan Land Use Institute (MLUI) staff after spending several years on its board of directors. MLUI brought Bill into the organization specifically to help transform Taste the Local Difference (TLD) and to accelerate its growth potential to serve more communities.  Bill currently serves on the board of Michigan Good Food Charter steering committee, the Grand Traverse Foodshed Alliance (managers of the GT Food Innovation Hub), Blackbird Arts and is Chair of the Northwest Michigan Food and Farming Network. He is well known in Michigan for his work assisting small businesses, nonprofits, communities and economic development agencies.

“Service is not something you imagine doing at the end of your life hoping you’ve left enough time to make a difference. It’s a purposeful act done every day, as the center of your world, while letting the rest of your life fall into place around it.”

This story was from the September 2016 Fulfillament in Traverse City, MI.

 

 

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Bryan Ulbrich, Left Foot Charley

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bryanBryan has been in the wine industry since 1993. The realization that a part-time cellar rat position could develop into a legitimate career path spurred him to pursue a winemaking apprenticeship rather than a Ph.D. in political science (real tough choice, eh?).  The apprenticeship transformed into a winemaking and general management position.  Without pause, 11 years passed.  He was fortunate to be part of the modern evolution of the Michigan Wine Industry and realized it was time to start the long process of building a wine company based on a new concept.  With the support of family, friends, farmers, and a few financiers LFC was born in 2004.  A path was chosen, the load was packed, and they all started hiking up the mountain…

“I love that my job is directed by the seasonal rhythm of life and as a result nothing (no wine) can ever be replicated exactly.”

Here is Bryan’s story from the May 2016 event…

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Cari Simon, Women’s Rights Lawyer

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cari2Cari Simon has dedicated her life to fighting for women’s rights, and lives that out as a lawyer. Cari’s nationwide law practice focuses on the civil representation of victims of school related sexual violence and other misconduct. She is a leader in the national movement to address campus sexual assault, serving on the Board of Know Your IX and the Advisory Council of the National Crime Victims Law Institute, and working closely with the National Women’s Law Center, Public Justice, and the United Stated Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women among others.

“I love the opportunity to empower and seek justice for someone who has been disempowered. To help that person rise back up and to take justice on their behalf”

Here is Cari’s story from the May 2016 event…

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Mike Moran, Singer/Songwriter/Podcaster

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mikemoranbwMike is a performing singer songwriter who writes songs from his experiences in relationships and working a variety of different jobs in and out of the music industry. He is also the Sales and Marketing Manager for MI Local Hops in Acme, and founded Quarter After Productions, a podcast production business in the fall of 2013.
He consistently performs music throughout Northern Michigan weekly, and publishes up to twenty podcasts a week for Short’s Brewing Company, New Holland Brewing Company, Drink My Brewcast, Prout Financial, Yen Yoga, Here:Say Storytelling, and many more. He is active in the music industry through talent buying and performing for TEDX, The City Opera House, and more.

“Making a living in music and recording can be attained through a number of different angles. To me, creating those angles is just as rewarding as writing music”.

This talk was from the May 2016  Fulfillament. in Traverse City, MI. Here is Mike’s story…..

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Kathi Mulder, Dance of Life Midwifery

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kathiKathi has been a practicing midwife since 1992 and a Certified Professional Midwife since 1997. She is the founder of Dance of Life Midwifery and has served on the board of the Michigan Midwives Association for many years (six years as president) and is a member of the international organization Midwives Alliance. Kathi has 3 grown daughters all of whom were born into the hands of midwives.

Kathi’s philosophy: Bringing forth new life is an empowering, sacred event in a woman’s life.  She needs to be nurtured, loved, and treated with respect.  A woman must feel comfortable and safe to birth as nature intended in her own time.  Her body holds the wisdom to conceive as well as the wisdom to birth.  The birth of a child is also the birth of a family.  I see the midwifes’ role as one of guardian over this process.

“Being part of many people’s lives during such an important time, and guiding women from maiden to motherhood is such an empowering experience. It fulfills me to get to do this over and over again” – Kathi Mulder, May 2016 Fulfillament Storyteller

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Steve Nance, Oryana Natural Foods

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speak_1-162Steve has been in business most all his life, from partnerships in his late teens to his own small businesses in his twenties to working for the largest firms in his thirties through fifties and now filling the role as the General Manager of Oryana, our local food cooperative.

“I am an unintentional, intentional grocer!  Though grocery store management was never one of my career goals, I am pleased to find myself leading a committed team working to provide healthy, sustainable, socially just food to our community and collaborate with many of those doing amazing things in our community, region and the world! I’ve experienced the challenges of being an entrepreneur through the politics of negotiating the corporate ladder but think I learned the essentials to successful business all the way back to my paper route and lawn  cutting days:   Care about what you do, take care of people, and be very suspicious of adults!”  –  Steve Nance, January 2016 Fulfillament Storyteller

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Miriam Pico, Singer/Singwriter

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speak_1-164Miriam Pico is a singer/songwriter, a wife and a proud mother of three. She is passionate about using her musical gifts to “entertain, educate and empower”. She wholeheartedly believes that musicians have an opportunity to be ambassadors of joy and love wherever they perform. A proud native of Puerto Rico, Miriam is fluent in Spanish and always welcomes the opportunity to sing in her first language.

“Music has been a constant companion of mine throughout my life. Even when people or ideologies or situations have failed me, music has always been there, nourishing me and helping me through. To be able to offer that gift to others is incredibly fulfilling, and that is why I do what I do. It fills me up to see that the thing that brings me so much joy also brings it to others.” –  Miriam Pico, January 2016 Fulfillament Storyteller