An Army of Normal Folks

An Army of Normal Folks

Our country’s problems will never be solved by a bunch of fancy people in nice suits talking big words on CNN and Fox, but by An Army of Normal Folks just deciding “hey, I can help.” Hosted by Coach Bill Courtney from the Oscar-winning Undefeated, this podcast is building the Army and celebrating its extraordinary members. New episodes are released every Tuesday.

Episodes

July 8, 2025 41 mins

An Egyptian engineer, a Hispanic Navy Seal, and an Italian construction manager walk into a building. It sounds like the beginning of a joke, but it’s the beginning of real-life heroism. The building was the World Trade Center’s North Tower and Father Mark Hanna is the only one of the 3 amigos to survive 9/11.

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An Egyptian engineer, a Hispanic Navy Seal, and an Italian construction manager walk into a building. It sounds like the beginning of a joke, but it’s the beginning of real-life heroism. The building was the World Trade Center’s North Tower and Father Mark Hanna is the only one of the 3 amigos to survive 9/11.

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
July 4, 2025 14 mins

For Shop Talk, we feature Army member Erik Lokkesmoe's reflections on what he wishes someone had told him when he was 30 or 40 years old. 

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When Father Dennis Lewis was assigned to St. Michael’s parish in Milwaukee, he discovered a growing number of Hmong and Laotians seeking refuge from the Vietnam War. Many were subjected to a terrible slumlord and so Father decided to start a homebuying ministry that helped coach them through the process. 33 years later, Acts Housing has helped 4,000 low-income families purchase homes!

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks....

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When Father Dennis Lewis was assigned to St. Michael’s parish in Milwaukee, he discovered a growing number of Hmong and Laotians seeking refuge from the Vietnam War. Many were subjected to a terrible slumlord and so Father decided to start a homebuying ministry that helped coach them through the process. 33 years later, Acts Housing has helped 4,000 low-income families purchase homes!

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks....

Mark as Played
June 27, 2025 12 mins

For Shop Talk, Coach Bill reflects on Army member Erik Lokkesmoe's powerful article, "For All The 50-Year Old Men Who..." 

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Kevin was tired of walking by people experiencing homelessness, not doing anything, and undermining his own humanity and theirs each time. So he finally did something and his accidental nonprofit Miracle Messages has since reunited over 1,100 people with their families!

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Kevin was tired of walking by people experiencing homelessness, not doing anything, and undermining his own humanity and theirs each time. So he finally did something and his accidental nonprofit Miracle Messages has since reunited over 1,100 people with their families!

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
June 20, 2025 14 mins

For Shop Talk, we explore the idea of potentially experimenting with a few local chapters of the Army this year. 

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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June 17, 2025 43 mins

Ginny Manguno, a teacher at Briarcrest Christian School, assigned listening to the podcast in her high school class. And so we decided to interview Ginny and her 15 students! 

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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June 17, 2025 35 mins

Ginny Manguno, a teacher at Briarcrest Christian School, assigned listening to the podcast in her high school class. And so we decided to interview Ginny and her 15 students! 

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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For Shop Talk, Coach Bill shares his deeply personal experience with Father's Day. 

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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9/11 firefighter Tim Brown helped save lives that fateful day, but he also lost 100 friends who chose to save others knowing it would likely be the last act of their lives. His mission is to honor this Army of Normal Folks and make sure that America never forgets them.

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played

9/11 firefighter Tim Brown helped save lives that fateful day, but he also lost 100 friends who chose to save others knowing it would likely be the last act of their lives. His mission is to honor this Army of Normal Folks and make sure that America never forgets them.

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
June 6, 2025 14 mins

For Shop Talk, Coach Bill reflects on Army member Andrew Maue's email. 

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played

When Kim found out that thousands of kids in her suburban community were going hungry in the summer, she couldn’t look away from the problem. Her nonprofit Festa now feeds over 800 children in the summer, but as Kim puts it, they don’t just want to help people live in poverty a little bit better. So they serve 1,166 people with America's only 3-generation family English as a Second Language program, to help their f...

Mark as Played

When Kim found out that thousands of kids in her suburban community were going hungry in the summer, she couldn’t look away from the problem. Her nonprofit Festa now feeds over 800 children in the summer, but as Kim puts it, they don’t just want to help people live in poverty a little bit better. So they serve 1,166 people with America's only 3-generation family English as a Second Language program, to help their famili...

Mark as Played
May 30, 2025 13 mins

For Shop Talk, Coach Bill reflects on some fascinating studies that show people are far more willing to help us than we might expect. And what this means for the Army. 

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played

John Norman is a normal dude who made a blood platelet donation one day. When his colleague told him that donated platelets helped save her life, John decided to keep rolling with the donations. He donates every other week, which is now over 160 times! 

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played

John Norman is a normal dude who made a blood platelet donation one day. When his colleague told him that donated platelets helped save her life, John decided to keep rolling with the donations. He donates every other week, which is now over 160 times! 

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played

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