A Full Signal Panel on Building Intergenerational Communities - Part 1

What if we chased human connection with the same focus we use to hunt for a full signal on our phones? We put that question to the test by bringing five generations: Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X, Boomer, and Traditionalist, onto one stage and asking them to trade real stories. The result is a warm, funny, and eye-opening journey across life stages, tech shifts, and civic pride that shows how much we share and how our differences can actually power stronger communities.

We kick off with simple ground rules that protect curiosity and make honest conversation feel safe. From there, each guest steps up with a story that spotlights their lane: Gen Z’s love for listening and contradiction without conflict; Millennial creativity and community-building through music, events, and content; Gen X’s knack for balancing meme-age humor with operational reality at work; Boomer commitment to service and relationships that last decades; and a Traditionalist’s living archive of a city’s growth, health, and everyday wonder. Along the way, we ask what truly drives generational gaps: history, technology, or just where we are in life, and how to build bridges that hold.

You’ll hear practical takeaways you can use right away: set the room with clear norms, invite multiple ages to co-own projects, turn stories and songs into shared context, translate across tech comfort with patience, and celebrate small wins that build trust. The conversation keeps a steady pulse on community development, workplace collaboration, and inclusive leadership, offering a grounded playbook for anyone who wants better teams, richer neighborhoods, and more resilient local networks.

If the idea of stronger, kinder, more connected communities resonates with you, tap play now. Then subscribe, share this episode with someone from a different generation, and leave a review with one bridge you plan to build this week.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_05 (00:00):
Welcome to the Four Bars Podcast.
I'm Ken Leith.

SPEAKER_01 (00:02):
And I'm Patty Leith.
We are your host for somecompelling dialogue, encouraging
our listeners to strengthentheir connections and build
strong communities, lifting eachother up and connecting in ways
that matter.
We named the podcast Four Barsas a reference to how hard we
work to find a four barsconnection on our devices.

SPEAKER_05 (00:19):
And we wondered what could happen with relationships
if we worked as hard atconnecting.

SPEAKER_01 (00:24):
Let's find out.

SPEAKER_05 (00:25):
We want to thank you for being here and spending a
little bit of time with us thisafternoon.
Uh we're today, we're going tobe talking about um full signal,
which is something we do hereevery other month.
And as a result of that, we talkabout different topics that
people want to hear.
One of them wasintergenerational communities.
What's the value of it?
What's it look like?

(00:46):
And it starts with what do theconversations look like between
different generations?
And so we found some reallywonderful panelists uh that
we're gonna have today, andthey're going to be sharing
their stories with us.
They're gonna share things thatthey had similarities on that
they may not know right now.
They received some similaritieson, but they will find out that

(01:07):
they have similarities on.
Um also side note, you've seen alot of work around here with
Brooke and earlier withJeremiah.
And we are filming this for ourpodcast.
Uh it's gonna give us a coupleepisodes at.
Uh, it's called Four Bars.
So we'll also invite you to uhfind those.
We'll be releasing in a coupleof weeks.

(01:27):
It'll be released in threesections.

SPEAKER_01 (01:29):
Yeah, four barspodcast.com.
And the first one will drop on1023.
Um, we think we'll get two orthree because we're gonna talk
about a lot of different things.
Um, if you don't know about fourbars, we're not bar hopping.
Um, it has been it has beenencouraged, but we haven't done
it yet.
Um, we named four bars after thepursuit that we make uh to find

(01:52):
a four bars connection on ourdevice.
And what could we really do inour lives if we put as much
energy into the actualconnection once we find it?
So four bars is really exploresum can you know connectivity in
in our personal lives, our worklives, and inside of our
communities.

SPEAKER_05 (02:10):
Yeah, so they are very interconnected.
And as we look at those thingsthis evening, we're gonna pick
some different topics that aregoing to help to share with that
so we can all learn about thatand then determine what do we
see in a intergenerationalcommunities and what's the
value.
Maybe even want to get involvedin that.
And once we know what the valueis, I do want to again go back

(02:31):
to these five wonderful peoplewho have donated their time.
Uh we knew most people here.
One we didn't.
Really happy that we now knowhim.
Um, but I want us to talk aboutwe have five generations from
Gen Z to the traditionalists uphere on the stage today.
They're not in any order, youcan pick them out however you

(02:52):
want to call.
Uh that's fine.
Um, but they're gonna sharetheir different perspectives,
they're gonna share dialogue,they're gonna share stories of
things in their lives, they'regoing to paint those stories,
which is one reason we're reallyhappy to have these five folks
up here because they're greatstorytellers.
So we're gonna have that withthem.
Uh, but we're gonna highlightsome of the things that are,

(03:12):
again, similar, but some of themare not, and they're different.
And why do they differ?
Is it just us as human beings oris it maybe technology?
What could those things be thatdrive the but ultimately when we
look at this and buildingintergenerational communities,
it starts with the peoplethemselves and what those
experiences are.
So just after this evening,we're gonna go through that.

(03:33):
And Patty, I'm gonna let youtake it from there for me.

SPEAKER_01 (03:35):
Yeah, I think that what we really want to explore
are the commonalities and thethings that we share and the
reasons that relatingintentionally to people in
different age groups and indifferent life stages really
makes our lives richer.
Um, so we're gonna reallyexplore that.
Um, Ken referenced that uhthere's a lot of reasons that we

(03:57):
have differences.
Um, we do a lot of generationalwork with our business for the
companies that are our clientsto really help generations
understand each other and getalong.
And what we've found is that umuh many times our generational
experiences are differentbecause um we've had different

(04:20):
things go on around us,different significant events in
our lives, different access totechnology.
But sometimes those differencesexist because you're 20 and I'm
not, right?
So we've done, we call it mymother hates my music.
Like there have been somedifferences in generations for
the dawn of time.
So um, so we really want toexplore that with the panel.

(04:44):
And we want this to be aconversation.
If you've come to a full signalworkshop before, you know that
we have a few ground rules.
Um, I flipped forward too fast.
Um so really we want you to joinin the conversation.
We're going to ask the panelistssome questions and then and then

(05:05):
ask you to ask the panelistssome questions and then we'll
ask some more.
We're also gonna set up some umaudience participation things.
Um we want to encourage you tobe respectful and kind, um, seek
to learn, challenge yourthinking, um, and stay away from
politics and religion.
That's a big ground rule.
It keeps things much morepositive and have fun.

(05:27):
Um so you've gotten to know ourpanelists a little.
Uh, maybe you met them when youcame in.
We played a series of songs thateach one picked out as something
significant for them.
Um, and so you've gotten alittle glimpse into each one,
and we'll ask them to speakabout that here in a moment.
Um, before we introduce you toall of the panelists, we want

(05:48):
you to take a moment and meetsomeone in the room that you
haven't met before.
Um, so we're gonna just ask youto um take a few minutes to meet
that person and um share why youthink intergenerational
communities are valuable.
Um we'll just take two or threeminutes, but but make sure you
you meet a new friend.

(06:09):
Yeah, so let's meet thepanelists.
Um we're gonna uh just share alittle bit about how we met each
panelist and then turn it overto them to kind of tell us a
little more about themselves andwhy they agreed to do this in
the first place.
Malia.
Um Malia Camacho represents ourGen Z.
Um she is yes, yay, yay.

(06:34):
Uh she has been um active in ourfull signal series for several
months now, and so we've gottento know her.
She's just full of wisdom and umand and inclusive dialogue and
has such great insights that wewanted you to hear from her.
So, Malia, tell us why you saidyes.

SPEAKER_03 (06:55):
As you've said, I have been in the room when y'all
are starting theseconversations, and every time
I've been in the room whenyou're starting these
conversations, I see really coolconnections between the people
who are listening to each otherand bouncing ideas off of each
other and even contradictingeach other.
So I just I really like thehuman connection that y'all

(07:16):
bring to a room when you startany conversation.

SPEAKER_05 (07:23):
Thank you.
Okay, so the next person we haveis Jeremiah.
And Jeremiah is representing theMillennials.
Um, a couple things aboutJeremiah.
He we met him throughpodcastvideos.com, and he's part
of the group who is recordingtonight.
But we also met this other verydynamic coisten we didn't know

(07:45):
at first, we just knew him frompodcast.coms.
A couple things about Jeremiah.
Uh, he is walking energy in avery positive way.
He lives a positive lifestyle,he has a positive message, and
he's really, if you've ever seenRound, he's around in the
community a lot, supporting thecommunity.
Jeremiah, would you give us alittle bit more information
about you and make sure you letthem know about Bang?

(08:07):
For sure.

SPEAKER_00 (08:07):
Thank you for saying that.
I really appreciate that, Ken.
Um, and can we make some noisefor Ken and Patty for putting
this on, please?
Thank you.
So as as Ken mentioned, cany'all hear me back there pretty
good?
Okay, great.
So my name is Jeremiah Pickett.
My nickname and artist name isBang, B-A-A-N-G.
It's an acronym for Believe,Aspire, Achieve, Now Go.

(08:31):
And um, so I do music and Iperform host events, like you
name it.
I'm I'm involved in theentertainment space, but also do
video and marketing and helpbusinesses and individuals and
influencers capture high-qualitycontent that they can feel good
about and put out to theirnetwork and their community.
And we're really excited aboutthat.
Shout out to Brooke in the backfor making us look good and

(08:53):
sound good.
Thank you, Brooke.
But much like Malia said, I metKen and Patty.
And when you know Ken and youknow Patty, they're just so
intentional with everything thatthey do.
When they talk to you, they lookyou in your eyes and like stare
in your soul.
And you know, they ask questionsthat are compelling.
And so when I met them, we hitit off very, very quickly.
I I did a concert, I guess, amonth or so ago at downtown

(09:15):
Bentville, and they were in thefront row with my cousins and my
friends, like having the time oftheir life.
So um the the reason basicallythe reason I'm here is because
when Ken and Patty ask you to dosomething, you say yes.
So that's why.
Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 (09:34):
Um, our next panelist is Leela Davidson.
Leela is representing GenerationX.
Um, I have the privilege ofcalling Leela a friend.
I met her at a book club acouple of years ago, and we've
gotten closer.
Um, if you watch Four Bars orlisten to it, you know that
Leela was a guest in September.
She works for Crystal Bridges asthe COO there.

(09:56):
And um I'm gonna just turn itover to you, Leela.
And you tell us a little moreabout yourself and and what made
you say yes.

SPEAKER_02 (10:04):
Well, thank you.
Um, much like these other folks,uh, you're very charming, you
two.
So uh I I was I was flattered tobe asked.
I I'm also just um we live in avery viral age, and it's easy to
really get caught up in thetropes of our own generations.
I enjoy a good Gen X meme morethan anyone else.

(10:27):
But, you know, I work with allthe generations.
I think this is a fascinatingconversation.
I think what you said is reallyimportant about there are
generational differences thatare shaped by historical
context, but then there's justlife stage and life experience
differences.
So I think this is a really coolform, and I haven't seen it done

(10:48):
before.
So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 (10:50):
Thanks for saying yes.
Um one of the things that mademe think of Leela is her passion
for uh really her generation andwhat what what the generations
can do together.
We've had dialogue about that.
So um the next panelist I'mgonna introduce represents our
baby boomers.
This is Ray Hernandez, and I'mgonna tell a little story about

(11:12):
Ray.
Um, it's not too often that thiskind of thing happens to you,
but I was about a year into mybusiness, and I had a really
large workshop with a couple ofhundred attendees.
And back in those days, theprint materials for that was you
know, you had a lot.
Um I walked out the door and theand it was one of those windy

(11:32):
Arkansas days where the doorflew open and the box fell out
of my hand, and the and theflyers are dancing across the
the parking lot.
And Ray, he was at the printers,and I think you uh owned and
operated it then.

SPEAKER_06 (11:45):
Uh no, I uh I was their customer service.

SPEAKER_01 (11:48):
Okay, you were in in their customer service.
Um he's out there in the parkinglot helping me scrape these
things up in the rain.
So we that was 20 plus yearsago.
We've been friends ever since.
Ray, can you tell us why yousaid yes when we reached out?
And tell us a little more aboutyourself.
You've got rich background.

SPEAKER_06 (12:06):
Uh I'm not rich, first of all.
Oh, a rich background.
Um well, the it's it's difficultto say no to you guys.
You you're you're just wonderfulpeople that really care about
your community, and that touchesme more deeply than anything
else.
And so whenever you say, Hey, Ineed something, uh I've always

(12:27):
uh said yes uh about myself.
Gosh, um I came to Arkansas in1969 to marry the lady that's
way in the back there hidingfrom everybody.
Uh Rosalie and I were serving inthe Marine Corps back then, and
uh I was from Texas, she wasfrom Arkansas, so we got married

(12:48):
in Arkansas.
Twenty years later, we retireduh uh from the military and came
back to northwest Arkansas, anduh I've been here 36 years now,
it seems like, and and uh I Istay active in in the community.
Uh it had changed a lot from 69to 87, and and uh I found a lot

(13:10):
of uh Hispanics were suddenlyliving in Northwest Arkansas.
So uh I've been involved withwith all of uh the goings on
there all these years and andhave managed to stay active in
in that role.

SPEAKER_05 (13:24):
Thank you, thank you.
Okay, so our last participantday, or should I say panelist,
uh is a gentleman that we metmore recently, and we were
introduced to him through somefriends, and I have to tell you,
I am thrilled that theyintroduced him to us.
Uh first off, just the initialdialogue with him was just such

(13:47):
that it's like looking throughhis eyes as he talked about uh
uh Bentonville, Arkansas and theregion.
He's been here pretty much hiswhole life, and he was telling
us stories that I like wasmesmerized by, so that was a
part of it that was reallyincredible.
Uh the other thing he did, whichinstantly stopped both Patty and
I, he gave us a business cardwhen uh at the end of our lunch

(14:10):
together, and on top of hisbusiness card said what you
needed to know.
Big letters, friend on top ofhis business card.
And I was like, I need to knowthat gentleman, and he needs to
be on the panel.
Uh so would you tell us a littlebit about your life that I
haven't shared?
Because there's much more.

SPEAKER_04 (14:27):
Well, what Ken didn't share was I had not met
Ken and Patty, and so when theyapproached me, I said, What
brought why did you uh ask me?
And they said, Well, we'vetalked around, and we really
need somebody not old, butreally old.
So thank you.
I'm here.
And uh I do have a question,Patty.

(14:50):
What's a doohickey?
You told everybody if theydidn't have a doohickey.
Do I have a doohickey?
Uh-huh.
I don't think I have one.
But anyway, okay.
Good.
All right.
Um been here 50 years.
Actually, I am a redirected,unemployed physician who really

(15:12):
I'm just a friend.
Uh and I had to think a littlebit about why I was invited
because I'm old.
So I did some research.
Uh, and that would that wasdepressing.
In fact, this has not been agood day.
Has everybody had a good day?
Yeah.
I started mine with acolonoscopy.
How about that?
Yeah.

(15:33):
Um so I did some research withthe American Geriatric Society.
If you're 75 to 80, now you'reclassified kin is old.
If you're over 80, you're old,old.
That sucks.
You know it really.
So, anyway, that's why I'm here.
I've been here 49 years.
Uh, if you're familiar withCompton Gardens, I took over Dr.

(15:56):
Neil Compton's practice 49 yearsago.
Uh so it started off one of onlythree doctors in town.
If it walked in the door, had totake care of it, delivered baby
surgery, all of the above, andI've watched everything happen.
I was telling also, it's great.
Uh this is family.
This is my twin brother,Jeremiah.
So, anyway, uh the building nextdoor uh I built 47 years ago.

(16:21):
Uh, interestingly enough, hedoesn't believe me, I built it
in two days.
It was built by a company out ofMadison, Wisconsin, that all
they do is medical buildings,and we prepared the lot.
Seven semis came in and it waslike Legos, and they put it
together in two days, and it'sstill standing.
That's pretty good.
Wow.
So uh seen a lot happen uh inBentonville, Benton County.

(16:47):
Uh fell in love with it.
I can think of nowhere else I'drather live and raise a family.
Uh and just looking out at thisaudience, walking over here.
Actually, I was gonna drive, butmy daughter Corey took my keys
away from me because theywouldn't let me drive.
Uh but anyway, just seeingpeople with their kids on bikes

(17:08):
and of all ages, uh we'reintergenerational.
It's already happening, and weget to be a part of it.
And that's pretty special,Patty.
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (17:19):
The Four Bars Podcast has been brought to you
by Edges Inc., a growth advisoryfirm based in Bentonville,
Arkansas.
I founded the company in 2001.

SPEAKER_05 (17:27):
Edges promotes growth, people, companies, and
ideas.
Our team collaboration toolcalled Interface Methods is a
basis for teams to work togethermore collaboratively, understand
each other, and acceptdifferences and address
challenges together.

SPEAKER_01 (17:40):
We also started a nonprofit called Unform Your
Bias.
We teach kids and their adultinfluencers how to utilize
storytelling as a means toreduce bias in the world.
We hope you'll check us out,subscribe to our podcast, and
look at our website.