Interactions + Attractions
Interactions & Attractions, hosted by Carol Kline, a Tourism Professor at Appalachian State University, will feature conversations with tourism industry experts, community leaders, and state partners! Join us as we ask them about the experiences and interactions that led them into their fields and learn about some of their favorite attractions their local regions have to offer!
Episodes
December 3, 2025 • 34 mins
Join us as we talk with Andrew Schmidt! Andrew D. Schmidt, CDME, CHME, MPA is a thirty-year veteran of the hospitality industry with a mix of hotel, destination marketing, and academic background. Andrew has worked with the Greenville-Pitt County Convention & Visitors Bureau (Visit Greenville, NC) in various capacities for thirty years and currently serves as the President & CEO for the CVB and Greenville-Pitt County Sports Commiss...
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November 26, 2025 • 26 mins
Join us as we flip the script and chat with our own podcast coordinator, Taylor Bass. Taylor co-created and produces the show, and also leads several other programs at UPLIFT. In this episode, we talk through the behind the scenes of podcasting, share tips and practical advice for anyone thinking about starting their own, and look at how podcasts can be a powerful way to tell your story. We’ve also linked a few helpful videos below...
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November 12, 2025 • 41 mins
Join us as we talk to Simone Adams! Simone is the Founder and Executive Director of Color My Outdoors, a regional nonprofit changing the outdoor narrative to celebrate People of Color. Under her leadership, Color My Outdoors has become a driving force in shaping a more inclusive outdoor industry—cultivating Leaders of Color, building confidence through family-based outdoor education, and amplifying stories that shift perceptions ac...
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November 7, 2025 • 47 mins
We are so excited to talk with Vicki Vitiello! Vicki is the Deputy Director for the North Carolina Arts Council! Vicki takes on this role with more than 25 years of leadership and senior program experience with the agency. In her 10-year tenure as Director of Operations, she oversaw pandemic recovery efforts and the distribution of $25 million in federal funding to our state’s hard-hit nonprofit arts sector. Vicki helped manage the...
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October 31, 2025 • 34 mins
Join us as we talk to Paige Burns! Paige has served as Horticulture agent for Richmond County since 2007, and in addition as County Extension Director since 2019. Her work has covered multiple areas related to plants, natural resources, and economic development. Paige works with specialty crop farmers in the areas of production, pest management, farm food safety and developing marketing outlets. She also helps homeowners with lawn ...
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October 29, 2025 • 39 mins
Join us for a conversation with a panel of experts from the NC Main Street Program! Today, we’re excited to welcome Amy Suggs, Naomi Riley, Charles Halsall, Sherry Adams, and Joy Almond.
Amy Suggs is a Main Street Specialist with the NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center. She works closely with local Main Street programs, facilitating strategic planning and providing technical assistance. Amy is a frequent presenter at the NC Mai...
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October 24, 2025 • 38 mins
Join us as we get to talk with Jamie Karolich! Jamie is a printmaker, educator, and community builder based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. She serves as Program Director of Craft Your Commerce, an entrepreneurial learning initiative of Mountain BizWorks that supports artists and creative entrepreneurs across the 26 most western counties of North Carolina. With a background in printmaking and small business o...
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October 22, 2025 • 44 mins
In this episode, we sit down with four experts from the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Main Street & Rural Planning Center to explore how rural communities across the state are building stronger, more resilient economies.
Karen Smith, AICP - As the Rural Planning Program Manager, Karen brings over 30 years of experience in public-sector community and economic development planning in North Carolina, including the last 20 w...
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October 17, 2025 • 25 mins
Join us as we talk with Corrina Ruffieux! Corrina is the Executive Director at Haywood County Tourism Development Authority and brings over 25 years of tourism leadership to her role. In her 2.5 years in Haywood County, she has led the creation of the county’s first Destination Master Plan, launched a full destination rebrand, and guided recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene—earning her the Haywood County Leader of the Year a...
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October 10, 2025 • 29 mins
Join us as we talk with Larry VanHoose! Larry is the Executive Director of the Alleghany County Chamber of Commerce in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. With more than 30 years of experience as a writer, creative director, photographer, and publisher, Larry has built his career around storytelling and community connection. Before joining the Chamber, he co-owned and was the Executive Editor of Surry Living Magazine, where...
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October 8, 2025 • 39 mins
Join us as we talk with Vivianette Ortiz! As the Executive Director of Latinos Aventureros, she leads the organization in creating meaningful outdoor experiences for Latinos and communities of color, breaking barriers and fostering deep connections with nature. Through shared adventures, Latinos Aventureros builds community, encourages learning, and inspires personal growth.
Under her leadership, the organization also promotes env...
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September 26, 2025 • 34 mins
Join us as we talk with Carolyn Rhodes! Carolyn is an accomplished and visionary leader with an unwavering commitment to fostering collaboration, driving innovation, and championing progressive change. With a remarkable 20-plus year journey across diverse sectors, Carolyn’s passion lies in cultivating inclusive leadership and building sustainable infrastructures.
At the core of her leadership philosophy is a resolute dedication to...
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September 19, 2025 • 38 mins
Join us as we talk to Anita Brown-Graham! Anita is the founder and director of the ncIMPACT Initiative and the Gladys Hall Coates Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Government at the UNC School of Government. This initiative seeks to expand the School’s capacity to work with public officials on complex policy issues including economic mobility, the expansion of prekindergarten, and extending the labor pool. In 2020, she was ...
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September 12, 2025 • 39 mins
Join us for a conversation with Anpeytu Neier, founder of Gratitude Farm and Retreat, LLC. With a background in business development, project and staff management, public relations, marketing, team leadership, consulting, hospitality, serving on nonprofit boards of directors, crisis intervention, stress management, and teaching crisis response, resiliency skills, horse management, horse training, and riding lessons. Her passions in...
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September 5, 2025 • 37 mins
Join us as we talk with John McCann! John is the founder and president of Partners in Performance, where his work centers on organizations culture, innovation and adaptive strategy, and leader development. His clients include the Association of Arts Presenters, Dance/USA, National Alliance for Musical Theatre, Martha Graham Dance Company, Chicago Opera Theatre, and the National Symphony Orchestra. Within the philanthropic community...
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September 1, 2025 • 19 mins
Join us as we chat with Mac Jeffers from Riversong Cabin Rentals! What started as a family dream of owning a small business turned into reality when Mac’s family discovered the charming town of Elkin, North Carolina. Drawn to the beauty of the Yadkin Valley, they found a secluded 50-acre piece of land nestled between the Mitchell River and Snow Creek.
Today, Riversong offers a peaceful escape in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mou...
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August 22, 2025 • 32 mins
Join us as we talk with Mayor Bobbie Jones! Mayor Jones is a lifelong leader whose journey has taken him from the Marine Corps to the classroom, and now to being the Mayor of Princeville, North Carolina, the oldest town chartered by African Americans in the United States.
A three-term mayor, Jones is dedicated to preserving Princeville’s powerful history while guiding it toward a thriving future. Mayor Jones believes in a vision w...
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August 15, 2025 • 39 mins
Join us as we get to talk with farmer Dallas Robinson about her passion project, the Harriet Tubman Freedom Farm! Dallas loves cats, plants, and soil! Her farming journey started in 2017, when she finally took the advice of a persistent college friend to attend the Soul Fire Farmer's Immersion that summer. It was love at first ripe tomato. Dallas apprenticed on various farms in North Carolina, Illinois, and completed the Farm Begin...
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August 8, 2025 • 15 mins
Join us as we talk with Karen Hayes! Karen is originally from Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and has a strong background in historic interpretation, community engagement and management. She obtained a B.S. in Economics and Finance, Management from Elizabeth City State University. Karen began her early career in public radio broadcasting and later diverted her attention to amplifying underrepresented voices and preserving cultural ...
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August 1, 2025 • 24 mins
Join us as we talk with Dave Walker! Dave directs Resourceful Communities’ Faith and Food initiative, which engages rural churches, especially rural United Methodist churches, in local food economies, more effective use of church resources and authentic community partnerships; and Healthy Communities, Healthy Economies, a Western North Carolina-focused initiative to address social determinants of health, particularly healthy local ...
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