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Class Reunion: The Podcast
Class Reunion: Brandon
Brandon Weldy carried a heavy burden when he was a kid, but he rarely let it show.
His dad died when he was five, and by the time he was in elementary school, his mom had lost custody of her kids and Brandon and his younger sisters were being raised by their grandparents.
But at school, Brandon was all smiles.
He brought a lot of laughs and energy wherever he went, from the football field to the basketball court, but it wasn't until he was an adult and started his career as a teacher and a coach that he started to see how that sharing the story behind his troubled childhood might help kids who were in similar situations.
Brandon is now married to his wife, Jacinda, and they live in Republic, Missouri, where they are raising three boys. He recently took a job as an assistant principal at a school in a nearby district, but I'm sure he won't be away from the whistle for long.
This episode is sponsored by Pete Young, a graduate from the Aurora High School Class of 1975. Pete is an active member of the Houn' Dawg Alumni Network, which is hosting its annual all-school reunion on Sept. 24 and 25 in Aurora. For more information, go the Houn' Dawg Alumni Network page on Facebook for more information.
Each week, I make a donation to a nonprofit of choice selected by the classmate featured in the show. This week’s donation is going to Honor Flight of the Ozarks, which facilitates trips for veterans to Washington DC. In 2009, Brandon joined his grandfather, Bill Weldy, who was a Purple Heart recipient, on an Honor Flight trip. You can find out more about the organization at honorflightoftheozarks.org.
New this week! A chocolate giveaway sponsored by Askinosie Chocolate. One of the finest bean-to-bar chocolate companies in the U.S. is based in Springfield, Missouri, and the company is offering two tasting kits to listeners of "Class Reunion." To enter to win, become a Patron for as little as $3 per month. On Aug. 31, I'll select two random winners from the Patreon supporter page at patreon.com/classreunionpodcast.
Want to sponsor an upcoming episode? Reach out at info@classreunionpodcast.com.
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3. Class Reunion: Liz
45:38||Season 1, Ep. 3Liz almost didn't graduate from high school. A neighbor of mine since elementary school, Liz Cleek (now Mooneyham) had a baby our junior year, and she's overcome a lot in the past 20 years. She now lives in Republic with her blended family, and in this week's episode of "Class Reunion," she tells us about graduating (again) alongside her son, Noah, and what it means to be raising kind kids in an era of divisiveness. Liz and I also share a deeper connection through our BFF dads, whom you'll hear about in the show. This episode is sponsored by Advanced Eyecare Kansas City. Each week, I make a donation on behalf of the featured classmate, and this week's donation went to the Breast Care Foundation of the Ozarks, whose cancer support network helps thousands of Southwest Missourians every year. Follow "Class Reunion" on Instagram @classreunionpodcast. Become a Patreon at patreon.com/classreunionpodcast. Thanks to Alyssa Vidales and Manuel Beltran for production assistance on this show.2. Class Reunion: Brooke
41:02||Season 1, Ep. 2In today's episode of "Class Reunion: The Podcast," we're catching up with Brooke Blake, a drum major-turned-lawyer who decided a few years ago that practicing law in a courtroom wasn't for her. Brooke lives in a suburb of Kansas City, where she's raising a daughter with her husband and returning to one of her favorite hobbies: bodybuilding. In our conversation, she shares some insights into why a small town high school allowed her to explore different sides of herself and what surprised her about the years the followed. Each week, I make a donation on behalf of the featured classmate, and this week's donation benefitted the Kansas City Free Eye Clinic, which provides free and low-cost eyecare to people in the Kansas City area. This episode is sponsored by Advanced Eyecare Kansas City. Follow "Class Reunion" on Instagram @classreunionpodcast. For $3/month, you can become a Patron at patreon.com/classreunionpodcast. Thanks to Alyssa Vidales and Manuel Beltrán for production assistance on this episode.1. Class Reunion: Shane
49:11||Season 1, Ep. 1Welcome to the first episode of "Class Reunion: The Podcast!" To kick off this show about high school, let's meet someone who couldn't graduate fast enough. This week, you'll hear from Shane Clinkenbeard, who graduated from Aurora High School a semester early to pursue a career as a bull rider. His love of the rodeo carried him far away from the Midwest, but he has settled on a piece of land in Kissee Mills, a small Missouri community not far from the Arkansas border, where he's now raising a son, Creek, with his wife, Jayme. In this conversation with host Addie Broyles, he explains what he loved about living out of a van during his rodeo days, what he learned out in Cody, Wyoming, that he still carries with him today and what dreams he still holds for himself now that his bull riding career is behind him. This episode is sponsored by Advanced Eyecare Kansas City. Each week, I make a donation on behalf of the featured classmate, and this week's donation went to Junior Pro Bull Riders Missouri, which helps up-and-coming junior bull riders in Southwest Missouri. Follow "Class Reunion" on Instagram @classreunionpodcast. Become a Patreon at patreon.com/classreunionpodcast. Thanks to Alyssa Vidales for production assistance on this show.
Class Reunion: A Podcast About High School, 20 Years Later
01:59||Season 1How did high school shape you? That's the central question behind "Class Reunion," a podcast from Addie Broyles about growing up in a small town in Southwest Missouri. In conversations with more than a dozen of her classmates, Addie asks: What lessons did you learn then that you still use today? What were the proudest moments and bravest decisions you made in the two decades that followed? What's it like parenting kids who are that age now? In each episode, you'll hear from someone who was part of the Aurora High School Class of 2001 share their story of who they were then, who they are now and how they got there. Weekly episodes start Aug. 4. Go to patreon.com/classreunionpodcast for more info. Instagram: @classreunionpodcast