Move the Needle – Details, episodes & analysis

Mathew and Steve sit down with two former Major League Baseball players, Shea Hillenbrand and Mike Butcher. Their new adventure, The Pizza Butcher, is a real home run. Plus, they chat with Off 87 owner Tami Butcher and D'vine Gourmet founder Denise McCreery.

In this episode, you’ll hear about Shea’s rise to the top of the MLB ranks and the rock bottom moment that changed his life forever. It’s one of our favorite interviews so far and left us speechless. The conversation with Off 87 owner Tami Butcher was incredible as we learned she is a kidney donor. The story does not disappoint.

We’re heading to D'vine Gourmet to record our next episode, so it was great to meet up with its founder and owner, Denise McCreery. Twenty years ago, PHX Magazine named her “One to Watch.” What she’s done with jelly and wine since then is pretty awesome.

Please settle in for our second episode of Move the Needle with your hosts, Mathew Blades and Steve Petz.

Welcome to our inaugural episode of Move the Needle, recorded in front of a live studio audience at Vero Chicago Pizza in Ahwatukee.

We sat down with Alex Mejia, the restaurant's owner and operator, to discuss culture, how they deal with staffing issues, and their delicious cauliflower crust pizza. 

Then, we had a great conversation with Jim Prueter, an automotive and travel writer, about our first cars, the most overrated brands, and the current state of electric and hydrogen vehicles. 

Our Move the Needle feature interview was with Brooke Beardall, who started Holy Yoga and now has a new adventure called Sugar Magnolia Mushrooms. It was an enlightening conversation about the power of microdosing her proprietary blend of Albino Penis Envy and Albino Avery++. 

We invite you to join our next podcast taping, so please make sure you follow us on our social media platforms.

Thanks for listening :)

Mathew and Steve

The mission of our podcast is to spotlight remarkable individuals through engaging interviews and inspiring stories. We aim to celebrate unsung heroes, showcase their contributions, and inspire others to join in the collective effort of building a brighter, more compassionate world. Oh, and it's gonna be fun!

This week's episode was recorded in front of a live studio audience at the Bottle and Bean in Ocotillo.

On this episode, we sit down with brothers Jovanni and Danny, the East Valley Dream Center creators, to talk about their foundation, which started with sandwiches and chips and grew to a staff of 40 plus. This group is dedicated to helping the homeless and houseless community, among other things, and these two have big dreams of what it could do. Check out our interview with them to see how you can get involved. 

Then we caught up with Spike Lawrence, partner of coffee and wine shop Bottle and Bean. If you don’t know him by name, you know him by his projects. Living Room, CHoP Chandler, The Waters at Ocotillo, and their latest endeavor, New Square Chandler. We discussed his vision for Octitillo and what brings him the most pleasure with these concepts. 

Finally, we caught up with the Mayor of Chandler, Kevin Hartke. Mayor Hartke has been married for 42 years and lived in Chandler since 1985. He served as Lead Pastor at Trinity Christian Fellowship in Chandler, where he worked from 1985-2018.  Mayor Kevin Hartke began his second term in January 2023, and in our chat with him, we talked about his city winning the Battle of Burbs, his secret to a long marriage, and, of course, his vision for the future. He’s a sweet man with a pure heart, and we hope you enjoy our chat.  

Learn more and become a part of our Move the Needle Podcast HERE. 

Follow along on our YouTube channels and Instagram platforms. 

Learn more about Mathew Blades or Steve Petz.

Video captured and edited by Max Muehlhausen.

We’re back with another episode recorded live at the D’Vine Gourmet in Chandler. 

Today, we sit down with Executive Director of Elementary Education Heather Anguiano from Chandler Unified Schools, LaShay Marks, Co-Founder of Operation Thrive, and realtor of the year Darwin Wall.

First, we sit down with Lashay Marks, a philanthropist in the Veteran's space. His organization is doing everything it can to support Veterans with Operation Thrive. Lashay talks about healing through movement and how he supports that with yoga, kayaking, mountain biking, and his signature event, Operation Thrive 5k. 

📅 Date: November 9th, 2024

⏰ Time: 7:30 AM

📍 Location: AJ Chandler Park

Register now and be part of the change! Let’s run, thrive, and support our heroes. 

Next, we sit down with Heather to discuss the state of Chandler Unified schools and how much has changed since the pandemic. We discuss policy, budget cuts, and how schools are now so much more than academics. It’s an eye-opening interview about the challenges our educators face.  

Finally, we sat down with Darwin Wall to talk about youth hockey, real estate, and his family's history in Chandler, which started years ago with his grandfather's clothing store. His signature event to raise money for breast cancer is coming up, and you can learn more about that right here.

WHEN: Saturday, October 19th, 2024

CHECK IN SATURDAY – The Perch Brewery at noon – Located at 232 S Wall St, Chandler, AZ 85225

Learn more and become a part of our Move the Needle Podcast HERE. 

Follow along on our YouTube channels and Instagram platforms. 

Learn more about Mathew Blades or Steve Petz.

Video captured and edited by Max Muehlhausen.

Welcome to the third episode of the Move the Needle podcast! This week, we're coming to you from Foothills Golf Club in Ahwatukee with some fantastic guests.

First, we welcome Kim Tarnopolski of 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun. She explains their giving circles and how they're able to give $10K to local charities four times a year.

Then we sit down with two of the women whose charities were direct beneficiaries of 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun:

1) Michele Thorne - Co-Founder and CEO of Care 4 the Caregivers

2) Kay Wright - Co-Founder and President of Women4Women Tempe

Next we talk about the biggest story in real estate with Amy Richardson of Savvy Real Estate. We also cover: 

• How much real estate has changed since Covid
• What home owners want in 2024
• Why people are getting dropped from insurance because of their roof

We finish our podcast with local legend John Gambadoro from Arizona Sports. We hashed out:

• How much money he made at his first job
• His favorite sports moment
• What he'll do when he walks away one day

The Move The Needle podcast is hosted by former radio personality Mathew Blades and community catalyst Steve Petz. They spotlight extraordinary individuals dedicated to positive community impact. 

Today we sat down with Jeremy Strauss, the General Manager of the Foothills Golf Club which will be opening back up October 18th. Since it was taken over by Troon it's been closed for renovations. We talk about the work they have done to every single hole on the course as well as the updated practice facility. 

To watch our podcasts, visit our YouTube channel.

MTN

This episode was recorded live in front of a studio audience at the Protein House in Scottsdale. We sat down with the franchise owner/operator of ProteinHouse, Eric Greenwald, Communications Manager, Public & Media Relations at Vitalant, Sue Thew.

And our broadcasting local legend, Kaley O’Kelley.

Eric talked about his love of healthy food and supporting schools to eat better. 

Sue helped us understand the power of blood donations and shared a powerful story about a young girl alive today because of those transfusions. 

Finally, we sat down with Kaley O'Kelley, a six-time Emmy-Award-winning journalist and self-professed weather fanatic. We talked about how she handles politics as a news anchor and the best part of parenting.

Learn more and become a part of our Move the Needle Podcast HERE. 

Follow along on our YouTube channels and Instagram platforms. 

Learn more about Mathew Blades or Steve Petz.

Video captured and edited by Max Muehlhausen.

The following episode was recorded live from the YMCA on November 21st. Mathew and Steve got caught up on Steve’s dating life, which perfectly paved the way for our first guest. Thanks for stopping by; please follow along using the links below. 

Shelly Albetta, ALONE NO MORE (DIRECTOR OF FUNDRAISING & EVENTS)

This was such a fun interview because we had dogs in the house! Yes, Alone No More let the dogs out, and we had a dog cam rolling the whole time. It’s a must-see YouTube TV for dog lovers. We learn about the special sauce of their rescue and find out Shelly WILL BE COMING because she’s co-host of a podcast for women in their 40s who are dating again. Sidebar - Steve is single, ladies! 

Scott Monroe, Ice Den Chandler (Hockey Development program)

What’s not to love about Scotty Monroe? This guy has a million-dollar smile and a heart of gold. One piece of his post-professional hockey career is spent developing young hockey players at the Ice Den in Chandler. Mathew had the pleasure of working alongside him for years and clearly has a man crush on Scott. Check out their programs here, and we’ll see you on the ice.

Tom Thomas (Board of Directors YMCA and MLB scout)

Tom, who sits on the YMCA board, dropped by to chat about the backend of baseball, his time with the Twins, Dodgers, and now the Athletics. He says it still comes down to the five basics of baseball: Your arm, Hitting, Fielding, Running, and power. More importantly, he was dropping by to make sure we understand the impact our Foothills YMCA is having on our community. So many of our neighbors use their programs, and they are smack dab in the middle of their campaign to raise funds. Please see how you can help by SMASHING THIS link. 

Become a part of our Move the Needle Podcast HERE. 

Follow along on our YouTube channels and Instagram platforms. 

Learn more about Mathew Blades or Steve Petz.

Video captured and edited by Max Muehlhausen

Today’s episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Hair of Dog in Gilbert. 

First we sat down with Kelly Giesler from Cultivate Goodness. Kelly is a native Arizonan whose parents became foster parents when she was just 6 years old. Over 25 years, she was a foster sibling to 125 foster kids. She founded Cultivate Goodness in 2019 and hopes to inspire others to join her in serving those in need.

We discuss her new partnership with Queen Creek Botanical Gardens, the goodness that she serves up on the daily annnnnnnnnnnd some easy ways you (our community) can spread goodness.

Then we sat down with our local legend, Bill Gregory who spent a chuck of his life as an Astronaut.  He talks about what its like in space, his bike ride IN SPACE, and his record setting journey piloting Space Shuttle Endeavour.

We covered the pranks they pull in space

A couple who he suspects had sex in space 

His perspective after being a test pilot for some of the most incredible fighter jets ever made.

Also in this episode we were treated to some music from Jenn McMillan. She played an original song and did a fantastic cover of an Elton John song. Please reach out to her through her website for booking info.

Learn more and become a part of our Move the Needle Podcast HERE. 

Follow along on our YouTube channels and Instagram platforms. 

Learn more about Mathew Blades or Steve Petz.

Video captured and edited by Max Muehlhausen