ElevatePolk Podcast

Lakeland is growing, and the decisions being made today will shape what it feels like to live, work, build, and do business here for years to come.

In this episode of Elevate Polk,  @ChrissanneLong   and Dan @thumberg  sit down with Shawn Sherrouse, City Manager for the City of Lakeland, for a deeper conversation about the 2026 State of the City, Lakeland’s strategic priorities, and how city planning connects to small business, inf...

In this episode of Elevate Polk,  ⁨Chrissanne Long⁩  and Dan Thumberg⁩ sit down with Omar Arroyo, a Polk County entrepreneur, construction business owner, Haines City public servant, husband, and father whose story reaches far beyond a title.

Omar shares his journey from Mexico to Texas and eventually to Haines City, where what began as a short-term work opportunity became the place he chose to build his life. From learning the tra...

In this episode of the ElevatePolk Podcast Dan Thumberg and Chrissanne Long dig into a difficult but important question for Polk County’s business and civic community:

Are we building relationships that are truly mutually beneficial, or have too many small businesses been pulled into a “pay to play” culture where visibility, access, and opportunity come with unclear expectations and little real reciprocity?

What starts with a conve...

Episode Notes: Episode 5, “The Bill Comes Due”

What does public transit have to do with economic development, workforce access, infrastructure, local government budgets, and the future of Polk County?

More than most people realize.

In this episode of Elevate Polk, Dan Thumberg and Chrissanne Long sit down with Tom Phillips, CEO of Citrus Connection, for a candid conversation about the role public transportation plays in he...

Episode Notes: Episode 4, “No Man’s Land”

In this episode of Elevate Polk, Chrissanne Long and Dan Thumberg dig into the phrase “No Man’s Land” and what it reveals about Polk County’s identity, reputation, and small business ecosystem.

The conversation begins with a personal reflection on growing up in Polk County and the assumptions people have carried about the area for decades. From outdated stereotypes to the way Polk ...

In this episode of the ElevatePolk Podcast, we sit down with Shauna Dykes of Junior Achievement of Polk County to explore how students are being prepared for the real world through hands-on learning, business exposure, mentorship, and entrepreneurial thinking. Shauna shares how Junior Achievement is helping bridge the gap between the classroom and the workforce by giving young people practical experiences that build confidence, vis...

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Why the phrase “Our Greatest Export” became the framing for the episode and what it suggests about local talent loss.
• Polk County’s Innovation Intelligence Index data, including the gap between Human Capital and Economic Well-Being.
• Peer county comparisons with Pasco, Marion, and Lee.
• Labor shed and commuter data showing how many Polk residents leave the county for work.
• The idea that Pol...

After a long hiatus, ElevatePolk is back.

In this relaunch episode, Chrissanne Long and Dan Thumberg pull back the curtain on how the podcast started, why it went quiet, and why now feels like the right time to bring it back. They talk honestly about growth, frustration, big vision, entrepreneurship, and what has changed in Polk County since the original show.

This is a real conversation about what it means to build something, lose...

Hello Polk County!

On this episode of Elevate Polk, Chrissanne and Nate talk about the importance of understanding when it is (or isn’t) time to scale your business. No matter how big or small your business starts, the ultimate goal is to grow your business as far as you want it to. But in order to do so, you have to figure out the processes that must be built on the backend of your business in order to have a better workflow. That ...

On this episode of Elevate Polk, Chrissanne and Nate talk about entrepreneurship’s platform for making a difference, and its effect on employers and their businesses. This pandemic and its negative effects have been on full display, with “Apply here” signs scattered down every main road and businesses struggling to keep up with fewer employees willing to work. Workers are less likely to take on these “smaller roles” due to the syst...

This week on the Elevate Polk Podcast, Chrissanne and Nate host Emerson Bamaca, owner of Bar 61 in Downtown Lakeland’s popular restaurant, 1961. Emerson tells his story of immigrating from Guatemala to the United States. He shares some of the personal experiences he had moving to San Francisco, where he worked doubles on top of schooling to pay his family back and find success in the US. Starting as a club owner in San Francisco, h...

This week on the Elevate Polk podcast, Chrissanne and Nate chat with one of "the coolest cats in Polk County!" He's a serial entrepreneur, born in China and learned from his hardworking parents what it takes to create and maintain a successful business, then he took what he learned and created 2 more of his own! If you haven't already guessed who this week's guest is, you will definitely want to listen in to this show! Jian Zhang, ...