Tom Sankey: Director of Howard County Summer Theatre

Lon Seidlitz: Pool Guy and Proud Prader-Willi Syndrome Dad

Lon is an amazing guy who lives his life by taking the"next step" that is before him. He has no fear of failure or no concept that a task is too big for him. He CANNON BALLS into life! From owning his own pool company in his early 20's, building a vacation home specially designed for Prader-Willi Syndrome Families, to building a multi-purpose church building with a variety of therapy and wellness services. Lon is kind and compassionate guy who loves to laugh. He is a VERY patient teacher too as he's retaught me each season HOW to care for a pool! You'll enjoy his upbeat personality and this inspiring conversation. I wanted to share some resources with you from our conversation: You can rent Lon's PWS SAFE home on Fripp Island. Check out the property HERE [https://www.vrbo.com/1790469?unitId=2351978]. You can also rent Lon's one bedroom condo on Myrtle Beach. Check out the property HERE [https://www.vrbo.com/2257324?unitId=2821925]. If you are interested to learn more about Prader-Willi Symdrome check out PWSUSA.org [https://www.pwsausa.org/] and FPWR.org [https://www.fpwr.org/] Please feel free to share this conversation with a friend. I'd love to know what you learned from this conversation. You can connect with me at karyn.hobson [https://www.instagram.com/karyn.hobson/] on Instagram. You can email me at peoplepresents@gmail.com [peoplepresents@gmail.com]. You can also catch up on all my previous conversations with guests on my linktr.ee [https://linktr.ee/karynhobson]. While there you can sign up for my mailing list too, this will help you keep up to date on new episode releases. Remember Every Person is a PRESENT!

Tom Sankey: Director of Howard County Summer Theatre

Tom Sankey has be volunteering as the director of the Howard County Summer Theatre since 1984! He is a talented pianist and director. Listen to hear how he got to become the director of this community theatre group. He had a unique vision to include actors of ALL AGES in this group. He has successfully made that vision a reality. His current show has a cast ranging in age from 8-83, quite a spread of ages! Tom shares with me a bit of the behind the scenes of how a director selects a show, all the various people required to produce a show, a few of the life lessons theatre has brought to his life. After listening to this conversation, I'm sure you'd want to come and see the show so here is a link to buy tickets: BUY TICKETS HERE FOR A HELLO DOLLY PERFORMANCE [https://hcst.booktix.net/] Here is a link to some rehearsals video footage on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/p/CtXEB1ntlj7/]! This show has an extra special place in my heart because it has allowed me the opportunity to perform on stage with my KIDS!!! I hope you'll come out and see a show! If you'd like to learn more about Howard County Summer Theatre, check out their website HERE [http://howardcountysummertheatre.weebly.com/]! Finally, one last note, this is a special episode because it is #20!!! Multiples of 5 and 10 always feel important somehow! If you like this show, please share it with a friend! Leave a review and rate it wherever you listen! Thank for being a part of my hobby journey!

Dena Rapoport: National Gallery of Art Art's Educator

30 minutes with a pencil in hand and a creative mind turned loose is so good for my soul! Dean Rapoport and I met virtually during Covid when she launched a program entitled Sketchbook Club as part of her job at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. Dena is a fantastic arts educator. She is thoughtful, observant, calming, inspiring, curious and well researched. She makes me FEEL like an artist. Dena makes me feel brave enough to try to make art. I don't consider myself an artist, but her classes have allowed me to tap into the creative spirit within myself. As we all know sketches and life don't always go as planned. This has helped me become more resilient and become a risk taker and a problem solver when the sketch doesn't go the way I indeed it to go. I think this skill of becoming more resilient is SO important for ALL humans! Art is fun in its own right, but making art is so much more that just fun, it is a playground were we can learn about set backs and how to overcome them. I hope you'll join Dena and me for an upcoming Sketchbook Club. You can register HERE! [https://www.nga.gov/calendar/family-activities/sketchbook-club.html] As we consider art today, I was struck with the analogy that people are like works of art: paintings or sculptures. Sometime you glance at an artwork and you immediately connect with it. Other times you have to sit with a piece of art for awhile before you can truly appreciate it. People can be that way too. Challenge yourself to try to find something of beauty in all works of art, whether in canvas, stone or human form! Remember EVERY PERSON IS A PRESENT!

Tanya Roytman Coming to America from a Music Teacher

Do you know where Belarus is? What continent is it on? Today, Tanya and I talk about her native country of Belarus. We talk about the journey to become a music teacher, what she loves most about music and her hope of returning to Belarus to visit her family this summer. I loved hearing the stories about growing up in another country! It's so exotic to me! I live in the same county where I was raised. Hearing a person's perspective from another country always broadens my view of the world and helps me to explore the nuances of the complexed events that are taking place in the world today. Seeing people as individuals and not just citizens of geopolitical country is insightful. Just because you live in a country doesn't mean that you support the actions or inactions of the government. People are people living in various places around the world trying to make a life for themselves. I hope you enjoy this conversation AND the wonderful musical performances. YES, more than one instrument will be featured on today's episode. If you you'd like to connect with Tanya you can do so over on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/tatsiana131313/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D] her tag is : @tatsiana131313 [https://www.instagram.com/tatsiana131313/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D] You can also see her over on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/tanya.lashkevich.5] She is taking in private students in case you'd like to study music You can see a few videos and pictures of our interview @karyn.hobson [https://www.instagram.com/karyn.hobson/] Remember every Person is a Present! Including YOU!

Irene Khakasri Maryland High School Counselor of the Year

Irene Khaksari is a ball of energy and a delightful person to be with! She and I got to chat about resiliency, developing compassion, parenting, hobbies and mismatched socks in this episode. She and I talked about the loss of her father from a work accident at a young age and how that shaped her into the person and counselor that she is today. We are all going to face hard things in our lives but that is not an excuse to stop living. Irene's mom taught her and her sisters how to grieve yet continue living their lives as well. Her mom allowed space for grief but didn't allow the loss of their beloved father to turn them into victims of their circumstances. This resiliency has served Irene well in her life and it continues to shape the way she helps her students deal with hard things in their own lives. Irene has an amazing ability to make every person feel special and important. She has an abundance of love and she generously shares it with her immediate family, her large extended Greek family, her students and colleagues. I always feel seen and celebrated whenever I'm with Irene. Who makes you feel that way? Check out a picture of Irene and me over on Instagram. [https://www.instagram.com/karyn.hobson/] Here is an article about Irene you might enjoy seeing some more pictures of her in her school! [https://news.hcpss.org/news-posts/2023/02/centennial-hs-counselor-named-maryland-high-school-counselor-of-the-year/] Please leave me a rating or review of this conversation. I'd love to know what you thought of it. Remember, EVERY PERSON IS A PRESENT!