June 18, 2025 • 26 mins
Meet entrepreneur Elaine Johnson as she shares why supporting local businesses is vital to thriving communities everywhere. A seasoned global traveler, Elaine brings inspiring insights and captivating stories from around the world. Join us for this meaningful and eye-opening journey!
instagram.com/whatsgoodwithjohn_joyce
facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561504850955
whatsgoodwithjohnandjoyce.transistor.fm
directlinemediaproductions.com/professional-podcast-production
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi, I'm John Cadillac Seville, and welcometo What's Good with John and Joyce.
(00:03):
And Joyce is not here today.
She's on special assignment.
So it gave me a chance to give a callto a dear friend of mine.
We're going to be doinga fundraiser together,
in the next few days,and looking forward to that.
But what an accomplished young lady.
I'm going to say.
I know you have a business in Branford,
and she doesso many good things in the community.
She is an absolute giver.
(00:25):
And that'skind of like the premise of this show.
What's good being kind to other people.
Elaine, welcome toWhat's Good with John and Joyce.
And today it'swhat's good with John and Elaine.
Thanks, John.
I really appreciate you having me.
So tell me a little bit about you,you know.
Yeah, a little bit
about you and your businessand how you got from point A to point B.
(00:45):
Well, currently,I'm the co-owner of Gracious
Gibson Home with my daughter Zoe.
But my backgroundstarted in corporate marketing,
and then I had anothersmall business of my own.
But I still work in residential homeorganizing and move management.
Organizing.
I can use that.
Yeah, I know most people can.
It's it's great to be able to help people,even in your job.
(01:08):
That's that's the part that I love.
And that was almost 20 years agothat I did that. Wow.
That. So, it's been a long journey.
And your husband does
has a very successful businesshere in the shoreline as well.
Stu. Yeah.
He, works for a small companyon the New Haven Hartford.
Right. Terminal.
So he's been there for 40 years.
(01:28):
40 years,and people that starts a job and never.
It is because I remember my dad,when I was growing up,
used to workfor the old UI company, and he. Yes.
And he was there forever.
But more and more people are transientnowadays.
You don't really stay in the same spottoo long.
Something. But, he found it, I guess.
Yeah, apparently.
(01:49):
So. Tell me a little bit about you.
What you do in the community.
That's what really attracted to me.
Initially, you gave me a call.
Why did you do some kind of a benefit?
You have a fashion show coming upand asked if I would be the MC for it
not to be one of the fashion models,but to actually emcee it.
And I'll just,
But I got these big size 14ft.
(02:09):
I'm not the most, you know,I'm a little bit clumsy at times.
Yeah, yeah.
So. Well, to be honest with you,
when we started, and opened the gift shop,
I had, toned down my organizing business.
And while I say I had more time,I don't really think I did,
but I think when you have a small businessin a small town,
(02:31):
it's very important to,connect yourself in the community.
And, I've been living in Brantfordmy whole life,
and so certainly I'm connectedto my community in a variety of ways.
But it was time to maybe startgiving back in different ways.
So, I was asked first to,
(02:52):
join the board of directorsfor the, Branford Festival.
And that's coming this weekend.
That's the 15th, I believe.
Saturday, the 15th.
So big festival weekend.
But, that's where I started.
And then it's I haveI have a feeling that once you start
getting involvedand people know that you have taken
(03:13):
a position on the board of directors,suddenly all of the of course,
of course, it just seems to be the lawall of a sudden one.
Then it just kind of like metastasizesand it keeps going on and on.
The, organization that is sponsoringthe fashion show that you mentioned,
few moments before is the Branford Artsand Cultural
Alliance, or Baka Galleryon Main Street in Branford.
(03:36):
Right.
And, we run the business primarilyon, all of our fundraising,
the gifts of,you know, our generous donors and,
of course, by grants,if you can find them and get them.
But that's that's more and more difficult,isn't it?
To get thosegrants is in writing a grant proposal.
Oh, yeah.
(03:56):
Yes. It is, but, we have this idea of
how could we have a smaller fundraiser,but to involve
and engage the communityand the other businesses on Main Street.
So we came up, our committeecame up with the idea of a fashion show,
and we have, some other small businessesfrom town.
(04:17):
We have, first off, our, generous,underwriter for certain part of it is.
Yes. Yes, we
have splash, which is Karen Aragonese.
Yes. Hey, Karen.
Yeah, yeah.
Lane, the owner there, we also have
a, we have Illusions boutique,which is Francine Piscatella.
(04:41):
She's got a, salonand boutique down in Long, right.
And, the last one we haveis actually out of North Haven,
but it's camouflage clothing, and,someone had a relationship with them.
We figured why not? You sure?Include them.
Yeah, exactly.
So it's taking place at the PineOrchard Club on Sunday, June 22nd at 430.
(05:03):
And we've got quite a few tickets sold,but I think it's going to be a fantastic
event.
Go. You see local models.
All of the models are local from Branfordand the surrounding areas.
So if nothing else, it
you have an opportunity to come out,have some good food, good music.
You're emceeing our event for us
and to just have a nice relaxing afternoonwatching the fashions.
(05:26):
It seems like a lot of fun.
And Pine Orchard, you know, I do a lotof weddings and parties there as well.
It's just picturesque down by the water.
But I love the fact you're doing somethingwith the community right now
and doing your part to kind of spotlighta lot of these businesses,
because since Covid,a lot of them have been hurt.
Some of them haven't really bounced backthe way, you know, they like to in many,
many cases.
And I like the factthat you're doing your part
(05:48):
because it's something not just local,but even across the country.
I think it's a trend that more and morepeople
are trying to do eventsthat help a lot of local businesses.
John, or even ten years ago,did you ever hear
the term shop local support?
Small businessI don't, I don't me neither. No.
And I think with you know
(06:08):
Amazon it's a great tool when you need it.
But if we continue with buying online
and not even going into the larger storesin our town, you're going to see
you know, they're just won't beany small businesses anymore.
And there is room for both.
As we all know, there's roomwe can coincide, coexist with each other.
(06:30):
But you're right.
When my wife and I decideto go to a restaurant, we're going local.
I mean, I prefer not to do the chains.
With all due respect,there are a lot of good chains out there.
But if I have a chance to go localor go to a local gift shop,
you know, or a local coffee shop,I want to support that business.
Absolutely.
And that's another way of buildingrelationships in your town, too.
You might see somebody you know,but you know what?
(06:52):
It's if a family or an individualhas decided
to open a business, they don't just do it.
Matter of fact, I don't thinkmany people do it to make money.
They do it because they have a desireto be in their community.
It's not just about opening a businessand making money and,
you know, going there day in and day outwhen you decide to open a small store
(07:15):
in a reduced economy, in a timewhen we do have the ability
to buy online, it'san extremely scary proposition.
So you're doing itfor a lot of other reasons.
And we did.
We opened our businessfor other reasons as well.
And now what are those other reasons?
Well, my daughter has some special needsand a lot of people know that know me
because, we were featured
(07:37):
pretty prominently when we first openedbecause it was unique.
But, as a result, college
wasn't something she was going to door interested in doing.
So we took some moneythat we had for college and we said, well,
we want to make an investmentin her future.
So, we gave her an opportunity to choosewhat she might like to do.
Wow.
(07:59):
I have a lot of background in businessbuilding, so I've been teaching her
the last few years about how to builda business and how to, you know,
make relationships, you know, be lessanxious
when she's speaking with individualsand making those connections.
And, you know, it's it's been great for her.
(08:19):
We call it the College of Life.
I love it, and I love the factthat you're investing in your children.
I suspect students the same way,but so many times
people say, okay,just go out there and swim.
You get on your own.
I understand that everybodyis equipped to be able to do that,
but I think some people might beand they just don't think of it.
Right.
You know, because if you think your child
(08:40):
is going to go to college,you probably have stash some money home.
And if they don't, I'm sure not.
The last thing on their mindis starting a business with that.
Sure.
But you were going to give it away to the,institution anyway.
So even if we never make any of that moneyback,
it doesn't make a differencebecause we've invest it
in what my daughter has learnedin the last 3 or 4 years.
(09:03):
I love the fact you have a plan becauseso many people go to business plan.
We didn't just do this.
I get that feeling with you.
But I mean,I mean, you're organized that way too.
But so many people gothrough life without a GPS,
and thenthey wonder why certain things happen.
You really have to be intentional,don't you? Yes.
And kind of just to piggybackand then I know I've talked a lot, but no
(09:24):
this fascinating. Yeah.
So going back to supporting local, we,
have merchandise in the storethat's created by local artisans.
And if we decide thatwe want to bring something in
that I can't find, an individualwho makes it locally,
I seek out of Branfordor out of the shoreline.
(09:46):
Sometimes it's even across the country.
But it might be somebodywho just is a small town.
But they're not here.
But we're still supporting,yes, all business efforts.
So it's a small businesssupporting other small businesses.
And of course, we have to supplementwith some of the larger,
wholesale items as well.
(10:07):
But we do our best to support local.
And the thing is,even though this podcast is going global
and we're talking about local in our ownbackyard here, this I think, resonates
with people all over the worldabout supporting your local community.
Wouldn't you agree? Absolutely.
Yeah.
Yeah, there wouldn't be therewouldn't be a small business Saturday
during the holiday. That's right.
Yeah.
And that's one of those thingsI really look forward
(10:28):
to promotingwhen I'm on the radio as well.
I mean, just you have your, your Cyberdays, your Cyber Mondays,
but promote those small businessbecause your small businesses,
so many people think if you own a businessyou're raking in the money.
Not so much. Right?
Right. Elaine?
Not so much.
You know, somethat are very, established.
Maybe they are some newer ones.
(10:49):
I can attest to the fact that they'rereally not, but, you know, I always say,
stop in to a local business firstif you don't find what you're looking for.
I don't think anybody expects you to buy
somethingthat you really don't want or need.
But I think that if you have a momentto stop in and look at a local store
(11:10):
first, you could be doingso much more good than you realize.
Absolutely.
And the thing is, if you don't have it,you can say, listen, I don't have this,
but I know another storethat does that all the time.
And we could piggyback, right?
Send people all the time to the other.
Don't you love doing that?
I love it, and they'll call meso-and-so said that you sent them here.
I said, well, of course I did. I didn't.
(11:30):
We don't carry right?
And I love doing the same thing,even with my businesses, too.
If I don't have a DJ availablefor a certain event or something,
all my guys are booked up.
I'll send them to another company,and I freely share my information.
If I'm mentoring young people,I freely share because it's not mine to
to kind of like, you know,I want to be able to
it's a gift and invest in people,help them.
(11:53):
There's plenty to go around, isn't there?
For all of us. It really is.
So again, you know,
just, talking about youand your background getting you from A
to B, some of the other things you've donein your past to get you where you are.
Right nowto kind of set you up for success.
I'm always fascinated about that.
As you were a teenager,you know, going, oh, right.
(12:13):
So this just popped into my head,my background, I'm Greek Orthodox,
and if you know anything about,you know, the Greek Orthodox
churches, mostly we are a huge,very tightly knit community.
That's right.
The Bible was originally written in Greek.
It was.
However, one of the other things iswe're an extremely, cultural group.
(12:36):
And when you share a culturewithin a community, a church community,
it becomes more than just the placeyou go to worship.
It becomes the place that you go for
relationships, camaraderie.
So I was blessed
to have had all of this through the SaintBarbara Greek
(12:58):
Orthodox Church that was initially onDwight Street in New Haven.
We're now on, Race Brick Road and.
I grew up in my church.
I always had two sets of friends.
It was the school friendsand the church friends.
And many times I would mix them together.
But what being a part of a communitylike that does is it
(13:19):
teaches you from a very young age
about being a part of something.
And then we had, you know, our church
started a enormous Greek festival about,
oh, it's probably going on 47, 48 yearsago. Wow.
(13:40):
And so then, you know, as teenagers,you're volunteering, right?
You're running a booth. Yeah.
In the prep, you're learningto be an adult running the errands. Yep.
You're picking up the trash.
Yes. Whatnot.
And so from a very young age,it was instilled in us to be like
(14:01):
the worker, right?
Drones at a very youngand to serve, to serve, to serve.
And so I think I don't think
I know that's the foundation of,
you know,where I learned to love to give back.
And the church has been a stable forcein my life as far as giving back.
(14:24):
You know, there have been ebbs, you know,where you're raising your family.
Maybe you pull back a little bit
or you're caring for a parent,you pull back a little bit, but
people know thatyou just need to be asked,
you know,if they really and truly need your help
when you're not right there giving thethere's no better feeling than giving.
And when we do that each and every weekwith our church as well, we just had
(14:47):
serve our city recently and, in the townwhere we're broadcasting from now.
And it was just so coolto bring people together.
And the lessons
when you get families together, like youwere saying, with what you do with church,
and you have grandparents workingalongside their kids and their grandkids,
it also what you're learning
from working alone. Yes.
(15:09):
Or individuals who are far olderthan you and generations of people will.
Now you're you're learning,
the recipes, how to cook, howto culturally dance.
Right.
Well,that's something I'm still trying to learn
how they, you know,we're all taught how to do breakdancing.
That we all passed down to our childrenif we're still involved
(15:31):
now my husband is notI was not born Greek Orthodox but
he embraced yes culture and we have passedthat along to our children.
And so you know my son, he's at the churchas often as he can be with his schedule,
and he's doing what he can do,you know, when he can do it.
But that festival is now in,you know, third generation. Wow.
(15:55):
I worked it.
And, you know,now my children are working.
It is amazing.
You mentioned your Greek.
You know, my wife and I had our weddingin Athens, Greece, back in 2008.
We were married over there.I went over there with my.
Yeah, it's just beautiful.The people are so wonderful.
That'swhere I had my first taste of gelato.
Some of the best gelato I know.
(16:16):
I know you didn't,
but I had some of the best gelato to thisday, even though you didn't invent it,
it was just amazing.
The food over there is so good becauseyou don't have the preservatives in it.
Phenomenal, right? Italy.
Same thing.
I mean, in most of Europeyou're going to get outstanding meals,
but, in Greece, absolutely.
Yeah.
Let's talka little bit about your travel too,
(16:36):
because we were talking beforewe went on air today about travel.
You said, I love to travel.
Yeah.
When I was in college,
my first semester, junior year,I begged for my parents
to be able to take a semester overseas,in London. And,
(16:57):
they had no problem agreeing.
I did my best to make my contributions,but so did my family.
Yeah, right.
So made happen.
And, while I studiedfor about six months in London,
I had the opportunity to travelto quite a few countries
on weekends or breaks and whatnot,and I just.
(17:18):
Wow. On weekends you get to travelthe countries for breaks.
Oh my goodness, I love it going.
You know,it's like I was going to Florida, right?
Right. And you're in a whole other country.
I love it.
Throughout the yearsI've maintained, my travel
two years ago I went to Thailandwith, college friend of mine,
and I just got back from two weeks,we went to with the same, friend.
(17:42):
We went to, Prague and the.
I was watching vicariouslymy wife Patty and I.
Oh, my God, that trip was so beautiful.
And the architecture and the structures,the churches and the buildings.
Surprisingly, Budapest,
Hungary turned out to be my favorite cityof the three that we visited.
Wow, now you say, surprisingly.
Why? Well,I had no expectations for Budapest.
(18:04):
I hadn't taken the timeto really look into it,
but that's a very common trio.
When you travel and you do just the citiesride very popular trio of cities.
Prague was beautiful.
Yeah, beautiful.
The architecture.
I don't know if you know this,but Prague was one of very few cities
that was not destroyed in any way, shapeor form during World War two
(18:28):
because Hitler loved.
I never heard that before they came in.
Everything preserved thingthey did everywhere else,
but they destroyed nothing. Wow.
So, that's one of the reasons
why it still stands and still looksas beautiful as it does now.
(18:49):
You've done a lot of traveling.
Your favorite, favorite placeyou've ever been?
I know it's it's tough,but if you had to pick one place,
you could only go one more time.
Where would it be?
Why not?
Because I'm Greek in Greece.
And three times. Wow.
And every time I say ohI don't need to go back I've seen enough.
(19:12):
I haven't even seen a
my last trip was many years ago,
three weeks traveling the whole countryby car with my son and
his cousin.
Now what are they experience?
Wow. We went from the islandsall the way up to the Mykonos
and all those way to the Salonika.
(19:33):
And, I didn't realize how diverse thetopography and the areas of Greece are.
Yes. That the dry areas,the mountainous areas, the, you know,
the beaches, the coast, the islands is
you can almost never see enough of it.
So that's my favorite book.
(19:53):
But there are a lot of
exotic countries out there too,so it's hard to pick, you know?
My favorite city,though, still is Istanbul.
And really.
Wow. What did you likeso much about it? Yes,
it's like parts of Canadawhen I've been up there very, very clean.
They vacuum the cobblestones.
Really like big industrial vacuums,you see.
(20:16):
They really do that?
Yes they do.
Wow. And, the food is outstanding.
And, the city is just probablyone of the most unique cities.
The people are real friendly.
They're fine. Okay.
Not friendly.
It's as you know, there'san enormous cultural difference between,
you know, Muslim in America. Sure, sure.
(20:38):
So there's no hostilities.
I think it's just that,
I don't knowthat it's like going into another country
and people are walking up and saying.
And everything, but no issues whatsoever.
I would recommend any personhaving the opportunity to go there once.
It's like over in Iceland,everybody's so friendly.
There.
Yeah, I, I just had a buddyget back from Iceland recently
(21:00):
and he said it's worth it.
I've never beenthere is on my bucket list.
But he says John you need to get there.
He was there for ten days and loved it.
He said it was a different weather systemevery day.
Most unique place you may ever get really,of any place, Place I bet.
And you've been to a lot.
Yeah.
And, we had this wonderful tour guide.
(21:21):
We went to Iceland,and what I loved the most was his. His.
He must have had six masters, right?
80 of things.
But he said, as we were traveling along,he says, you are looking
at the bottom of the ocean floorright now.
And as soon as he said that,
you started looking at everythingdifferent,
(21:42):
because, you know, Icelandrose up from the bottom of.
Yes. Right.
Yeah.
And, it's very geological.
There's almost no green anywhere.
One of the reasonseating in Iceland is extremely expensive.
You mentioned freshand everything is sure nothing is fresh.
There it comes.Everything comes from simple.
(22:03):
Everything that you eat comesfrom some place.
Right?
So, it was still good, right?
And it was fresh, but it was expensive.
Now what?
Where else would you recommend? Because I.
I'm trying to put a bucket list.
I love to get to Ireland.
I get to Ireland. Okay. Yeah. Ireland.
I've talked to so many peoplethat have been there.
They said just with natural beauty,incredible, you know, cliche.
(22:27):
All the shades of.
Sure, sure.
I mean, you know, Italy is outstanding.
I like the older countries, right.
That really have,you know, the ancient history.
And when I go, I'm not going just to look,I want to be there,
you know, right in the front row. Right.
And I want to hear everything,and you want to absorb it
all, all kinds of questions.
(22:50):
That doesn't surprise me.
But you know what? Everybodythat's good, that's good.
I think it's great.
So, but, you know, one place I, I,
I know that your spiritual
Israel.
I would love to go to Israel where Jesus
walked the stations of the, of the.
Yes, yes, it is about as movingas anything you'll ever see.
(23:15):
I've heard that fromso many people, Elaine, but that I was.
And it's just so sad thatthere's just so much disarray over there
and where Jesus, you know, walkedin, came from.
But I know that's another story,but we just, we pray for that region.
You know, a quick comment about that.
I was in line to, stick my arm in a hole.
(23:36):
That is where, you know,where Christ's, cross was found.
And, you know,somebody behind me, his wife, and he says,
how do they know that'swhere them you know, Christ was found.
And, he was a little, you know,he was a little glass half empty.
Hmhmm turned aroundand I said, you know, it
probably isn't the exact spot, right?
(23:59):
This is the spot that we have chosento venerate. Yes.
For considering the spot.
He had a whole different outlookafter that.
And, you know, that was a verydiplomatic way of handling that.
Yeah, because I was probably thinkingthe same thing.
Right.
But that's what I said to myselfso that it meant more. Yes.
(24:22):
When I said,what am I feeling down in this hole?
Yeah.
That's where faith comes in.
You just have to have faith,you know, that to happen.
So let's just, talkone more time about the event coming up
this Sunday,this coming Sunday week from Sunday.
But when this when this broadcastis on, it's going to be this Sunday.
Yeah.
So it's going to be this Sundayover the Pine Orchard Country Club.
(24:44):
And tell us a little bit more
about that event and,and what people can do to get tickets.
So, the event again is a fashion showfeaturing fashions
from a variety of different, local shops.
Between Branford and North Haven.
And, we have a lot of local, models whoare going to be showing off their stuff.
(25:08):
And, we have shoe designersand local jewelry designers,
and they're providing the accessories,but they're brand for people
who have either designed or,you know, actually made those accessories.
It's at the Pine Orchard Clubfor for the love, the Pine Orchard.
Yeah, yeah.
And, you're going to be our armed.
(25:29):
That doesn't meanyou don't have to come now.
Come on. Don't let that dissuadeyou. Pick the energy.
Yeah, yeah.
What about that?
And, tickets are availableeither at the Bunker Gallery
or online at Branford arts.orgBranford arts.org.
So it's coming up on Sundaythe 22nd right? Yes.
And can't wait to see you there.
And Elaine, you've been an absolute joyto have on today.
(25:52):
Filling in for Joyce,who is on assignment right now.
But I'm John Cadillac Seville.
This is what's good with John and Joyce.
You can catch us on all streamingplatforms.
We appreciate you.
If you need a pick me up,
this is the place to be 30 minutesevery week and tell your friends about us.
You have an amazing dayand bless you and your family.
I am John Cadillac
Seville fromWhat's Good with John and Joyce.
(26:14):
And a little advice from the ocean today.
Be sure of yourself.
Come out of your shell.
Take time. The coast.
Avoid peer pressure.
See life's beauty.
Don't get tied down.
Go out there and make some waves.
Hi, I'm John Cadillac Seville, and welcometo What's Good with John and Joyce.
(00:03):
And Joyce is not here today.
She's on special assignment.
So it gave me a chance to give a callto a dear friend of mine.
We're going to be doinga fundraiser together,
in the next few days,and looking forward to that.
But what an accomplished young lady.
I'm going to say.
I know you have a business in Branford,
and she doesso many good things in the community.
She is an absolute giver.
(00:25):
And that'skind of like the premise of this show.
What's good being kind to other people.
Elaine, welcome toWhat's Good with John and Joyce.
And today it'swhat's good with John and Elaine.
Thanks, John.
I really appreciate you having me.
So tell me a little bit about you,you know.
Yeah, a little bit
about you and your businessand how you got from point A to point B.
(00:45):
Well, currently,I'm the co-owner of Gracious
Gibson Home with my daughter Zoe.
But my backgroundstarted in corporate marketing,
and then I had anothersmall business of my own.
But I still work in residential homeorganizing and move management.
Organizing.
I can use that.
Yeah, I know most people can.
It's it's great to be able to help people,even in your job.
(01:08):
That's that's the part that I love.
And that was almost 20 years agothat I did that. Wow.
That. So, it's been a long journey.
And your husband does
has a very successful businesshere in the shoreline as well.
Stu. Yeah.
He, works for a small companyon the New Haven Hartford.
Right. Terminal.
So he's been there for 40 years.
(01:28):
40 years,and people that starts a job and never.
It is because I remember my dad,when I was growing up,
used to workfor the old UI company, and he. Yes.
And he was there forever.
But more and more people are transientnowadays.
You don't really stay in the same spottoo long.
Something. But, he found it, I guess.
Yeah, apparently.
(01:49):
So. Tell me a little bit about you.
What you do in the community.
That's what really attracted to me.
Initially, you gave me a call.
Why did you do some kind of a benefit?
You have a fashion show coming upand asked if I would be the MC for it
not to be one of the fashion models,but to actually emcee it.
And I'll just,
But I got these big size 14ft.
(02:09):
I'm not the most, you know,I'm a little bit clumsy at times.
Yeah, yeah.
So. Well, to be honest with you,
when we started, and opened the gift shop,
I had, toned down my organizing business.
And while I say I had more time,I don't really think I did,
but I think when you have a small businessin a small town,
(02:31):
it's very important to,connect yourself in the community.
And, I've been living in Brantfordmy whole life,
and so certainly I'm connectedto my community in a variety of ways.
But it was time to maybe startgiving back in different ways.
So, I was asked first to,
(02:52):
join the board of directorsfor the, Branford Festival.
And that's coming this weekend.
That's the 15th, I believe.
Saturday, the 15th.
So big festival weekend.
But, that's where I started.
And then it's I haveI have a feeling that once you start
getting involvedand people know that you have taken
(03:13):
a position on the board of directors,suddenly all of the of course,
of course, it just seems to be the lawall of a sudden one.
Then it just kind of like metastasizesand it keeps going on and on.
The, organization that is sponsoringthe fashion show that you mentioned,
few moments before is the Branford Artsand Cultural
Alliance, or Baka Galleryon Main Street in Branford.
(03:36):
Right.
And, we run the business primarilyon, all of our fundraising,
the gifts of,you know, our generous donors and,
of course, by grants,if you can find them and get them.
But that's that's more and more difficult,isn't it?
To get thosegrants is in writing a grant proposal.
Oh, yeah.
(03:56):
Yes. It is, but, we have this idea of
how could we have a smaller fundraiser,but to involve
and engage the communityand the other businesses on Main Street.
So we came up, our committeecame up with the idea of a fashion show,
and we have, some other small businessesfrom town.
(04:17):
We have, first off, our, generous,underwriter for certain part of it is.
Yes. Yes, we
have splash, which is Karen Aragonese.
Yes. Hey, Karen.
Yeah, yeah.
Lane, the owner there, we also have
a, we have Illusions boutique,which is Francine Piscatella.
(04:41):
She's got a, salonand boutique down in Long, right.
And, the last one we haveis actually out of North Haven,
but it's camouflage clothing, and,someone had a relationship with them.
We figured why not? You sure?Include them.
Yeah, exactly.
So it's taking place at the PineOrchard Club on Sunday, June 22nd at 430.
(05:03):
And we've got quite a few tickets sold,but I think it's going to be a fantastic
event.
Go. You see local models.
All of the models are local from Branfordand the surrounding areas.
So if nothing else, it
you have an opportunity to come out,have some good food, good music.
You're emceeing our event for us
and to just have a nice relaxing afternoonwatching the fashions.
(05:26):
It seems like a lot of fun.
And Pine Orchard, you know, I do a lotof weddings and parties there as well.
It's just picturesque down by the water.
But I love the fact you're doing somethingwith the community right now
and doing your part to kind of spotlighta lot of these businesses,
because since Covid,a lot of them have been hurt.
Some of them haven't really bounced backthe way, you know, they like to in many,
many cases.
And I like the factthat you're doing your part
(05:48):
because it's something not just local,but even across the country.
I think it's a trend that more and morepeople
are trying to do eventsthat help a lot of local businesses.
John, or even ten years ago,did you ever hear
the term shop local support?
Small businessI don't, I don't me neither. No.
And I think with you know
(06:08):
Amazon it's a great tool when you need it.
But if we continue with buying online
and not even going into the larger storesin our town, you're going to see
you know, they're just won't beany small businesses anymore.
And there is room for both.
As we all know, there's roomwe can coincide, coexist with each other.
(06:30):
But you're right.
When my wife and I decideto go to a restaurant, we're going local.
I mean, I prefer not to do the chains.
With all due respect,there are a lot of good chains out there.
But if I have a chance to go localor go to a local gift shop,
you know, or a local coffee shop,I want to support that business.
Absolutely.
And that's another way of buildingrelationships in your town, too.
You might see somebody you know,but you know what?
(06:52):
It's if a family or an individualhas decided
to open a business, they don't just do it.
Matter of fact, I don't thinkmany people do it to make money.
They do it because they have a desireto be in their community.
It's not just about opening a businessand making money and,
you know, going there day in and day outwhen you decide to open a small store
(07:15):
in a reduced economy, in a timewhen we do have the ability
to buy online, it'san extremely scary proposition.
So you're doing itfor a lot of other reasons.
And we did.
We opened our businessfor other reasons as well.
And now what are those other reasons?
Well, my daughter has some special needsand a lot of people know that know me
because, we were featured
(07:37):
pretty prominently when we first openedbecause it was unique.
But, as a result, college
wasn't something she was going to door interested in doing.
So we took some moneythat we had for college and we said, well,
we want to make an investmentin her future.
So, we gave her an opportunity to choosewhat she might like to do.
Wow.
(07:59):
I have a lot of background in businessbuilding, so I've been teaching her
the last few years about how to builda business and how to, you know,
make relationships, you know, be lessanxious
when she's speaking with individualsand making those connections.
And, you know, it's it's been great for her.
(08:19):
We call it the College of Life.
I love it, and I love the factthat you're investing in your children.
I suspect students the same way,but so many times
people say, okay,just go out there and swim.
You get on your own.
I understand that everybodyis equipped to be able to do that,
but I think some people might beand they just don't think of it.
Right.
You know, because if you think your child
(08:40):
is going to go to college,you probably have stash some money home.
And if they don't, I'm sure not.
The last thing on their mindis starting a business with that.
Sure.
But you were going to give it away to the,institution anyway.
So even if we never make any of that moneyback,
it doesn't make a differencebecause we've invest it
in what my daughter has learnedin the last 3 or 4 years.
(09:03):
I love the fact you have a plan becauseso many people go to business plan.
We didn't just do this.
I get that feeling with you.
But I mean,I mean, you're organized that way too.
But so many people gothrough life without a GPS,
and thenthey wonder why certain things happen.
You really have to be intentional,don't you? Yes.
And kind of just to piggybackand then I know I've talked a lot, but no
(09:24):
this fascinating. Yeah.
So going back to supporting local, we,
have merchandise in the storethat's created by local artisans.
And if we decide thatwe want to bring something in
that I can't find, an individualwho makes it locally,
I seek out of Branfordor out of the shoreline.
(09:46):
Sometimes it's even across the country.
But it might be somebodywho just is a small town.
But they're not here.
But we're still supporting,yes, all business efforts.
So it's a small businesssupporting other small businesses.
And of course, we have to supplementwith some of the larger,
wholesale items as well.
(10:07):
But we do our best to support local.
And the thing is,even though this podcast is going global
and we're talking about local in our ownbackyard here, this I think, resonates
with people all over the worldabout supporting your local community.
Wouldn't you agree? Absolutely.
Yeah.
Yeah, there wouldn't be therewouldn't be a small business Saturday
during the holiday. That's right.
Yeah.
And that's one of those thingsI really look forward
(10:28):
to promotingwhen I'm on the radio as well.
I mean, just you have your, your Cyberdays, your Cyber Mondays,
but promote those small businessbecause your small businesses,
so many people think if you own a businessyou're raking in the money.
Not so much. Right?
Right. Elaine?
Not so much.
You know, somethat are very, established.
Maybe they are some newer ones.
(10:49):
I can attest to the fact that they'rereally not, but, you know, I always say,
stop in to a local business firstif you don't find what you're looking for.
I don't think anybody expects you to buy
somethingthat you really don't want or need.
But I think that if you have a momentto stop in and look at a local store
(11:10):
first, you could be doingso much more good than you realize.
Absolutely.
And the thing is, if you don't have it,you can say, listen, I don't have this,
but I know another storethat does that all the time.
And we could piggyback, right?
Send people all the time to the other.
Don't you love doing that?
I love it, and they'll call meso-and-so said that you sent them here.
I said, well, of course I did. I didn't.
(11:30):
We don't carry right?
And I love doing the same thing,even with my businesses, too.
If I don't have a DJ availablefor a certain event or something,
all my guys are booked up.
I'll send them to another company,and I freely share my information.
If I'm mentoring young people,I freely share because it's not mine to
to kind of like, you know,I want to be able to
it's a gift and invest in people,help them.
(11:53):
There's plenty to go around, isn't there?
For all of us. It really is.
So again, you know,
just, talking about youand your background getting you from A
to B, some of the other things you've donein your past to get you where you are.
Right nowto kind of set you up for success.
I'm always fascinated about that.
As you were a teenager,you know, going, oh, right.
(12:13):
So this just popped into my head,my background, I'm Greek Orthodox,
and if you know anything about,you know, the Greek Orthodox
churches, mostly we are a huge,very tightly knit community.
That's right.
The Bible was originally written in Greek.
It was.
However, one of the other things iswe're an extremely, cultural group.
(12:36):
And when you share a culturewithin a community, a church community,
it becomes more than just the placeyou go to worship.
It becomes the place that you go for
relationships, camaraderie.
So I was blessed
to have had all of this through the SaintBarbara Greek
(12:58):
Orthodox Church that was initially onDwight Street in New Haven.
We're now on, Race Brick Road and.
I grew up in my church.
I always had two sets of friends.
It was the school friendsand the church friends.
And many times I would mix them together.
But what being a part of a communitylike that does is it
(13:19):
teaches you from a very young age
about being a part of something.
And then we had, you know, our church
started a enormous Greek festival about,
oh, it's probably going on 47, 48 yearsago. Wow.
(13:40):
And so then, you know, as teenagers,you're volunteering, right?
You're running a booth. Yeah.
In the prep, you're learningto be an adult running the errands. Yep.
You're picking up the trash.
Yes. Whatnot.
And so from a very young age,it was instilled in us to be like
(14:01):
the worker, right?
Drones at a very youngand to serve, to serve, to serve.
And so I think I don't think
I know that's the foundation of,
you know,where I learned to love to give back.
And the church has been a stable forcein my life as far as giving back.
(14:24):
You know, there have been ebbs, you know,where you're raising your family.
Maybe you pull back a little bit
or you're caring for a parent,you pull back a little bit, but
people know thatyou just need to be asked,
you know,if they really and truly need your help
when you're not right there giving thethere's no better feeling than giving.
And when we do that each and every weekwith our church as well, we just had
(14:47):
serve our city recently and, in the townwhere we're broadcasting from now.
And it was just so coolto bring people together.
And the lessons
when you get families together, like youwere saying, with what you do with church,
and you have grandparents workingalongside their kids and their grandkids,
it also what you're learning
from working alone. Yes.
(15:09):
Or individuals who are far olderthan you and generations of people will.
Now you're you're learning,
the recipes, how to cook, howto culturally dance.
Right.
Well,that's something I'm still trying to learn
how they, you know,we're all taught how to do breakdancing.
That we all passed down to our childrenif we're still involved
(15:31):
now my husband is notI was not born Greek Orthodox but
he embraced yes culture and we have passedthat along to our children.
And so you know my son, he's at the churchas often as he can be with his schedule,
and he's doing what he can do,you know, when he can do it.
But that festival is now in,you know, third generation. Wow.
(15:55):
I worked it.
And, you know,now my children are working.
It is amazing.
You mentioned your Greek.
You know, my wife and I had our weddingin Athens, Greece, back in 2008.
We were married over there.I went over there with my.
Yeah, it's just beautiful.The people are so wonderful.
That'swhere I had my first taste of gelato.
Some of the best gelato I know.
(16:16):
I know you didn't,
but I had some of the best gelato to thisday, even though you didn't invent it,
it was just amazing.
The food over there is so good becauseyou don't have the preservatives in it.
Phenomenal, right? Italy.
Same thing.
I mean, in most of Europeyou're going to get outstanding meals,
but, in Greece, absolutely.
Yeah.
Let's talka little bit about your travel too,
(16:36):
because we were talking beforewe went on air today about travel.
You said, I love to travel.
Yeah.
When I was in college,
my first semester, junior year,I begged for my parents
to be able to take a semester overseas,in London. And,
(16:57):
they had no problem agreeing.
I did my best to make my contributions,but so did my family.
Yeah, right.
So made happen.
And, while I studiedfor about six months in London,
I had the opportunity to travelto quite a few countries
on weekends or breaks and whatnot,and I just.
(17:18):
Wow. On weekends you get to travelthe countries for breaks.
Oh my goodness, I love it going.
You know,it's like I was going to Florida, right?
Right. And you're in a whole other country.
I love it.
Throughout the yearsI've maintained, my travel
two years ago I went to Thailandwith, college friend of mine,
and I just got back from two weeks,we went to with the same, friend.
(17:42):
We went to, Prague and the.
I was watching vicariouslymy wife Patty and I.
Oh, my God, that trip was so beautiful.
And the architecture and the structures,the churches and the buildings.
Surprisingly, Budapest,
Hungary turned out to be my favorite cityof the three that we visited.
Wow, now you say, surprisingly.
Why? Well,I had no expectations for Budapest.
(18:04):
I hadn't taken the timeto really look into it,
but that's a very common trio.
When you travel and you do just the citiesride very popular trio of cities.
Prague was beautiful.
Yeah, beautiful.
The architecture.
I don't know if you know this,but Prague was one of very few cities
that was not destroyed in any way, shapeor form during World War two
(18:28):
because Hitler loved.
I never heard that before they came in.
Everything preserved thingthey did everywhere else,
but they destroyed nothing. Wow.
So, that's one of the reasons
why it still stands and still looksas beautiful as it does now.
(18:49):
You've done a lot of traveling.
Your favorite, favorite placeyou've ever been?
I know it's it's tough,but if you had to pick one place,
you could only go one more time.
Where would it be?
Why not?
Because I'm Greek in Greece.
And three times. Wow.
And every time I say ohI don't need to go back I've seen enough.
(19:12):
I haven't even seen a
my last trip was many years ago,
three weeks traveling the whole countryby car with my son and
his cousin.
Now what are they experience?
Wow. We went from the islandsall the way up to the Mykonos
and all those way to the Salonika.
(19:33):
And, I didn't realize how diverse thetopography and the areas of Greece are.
Yes. That the dry areas,the mountainous areas, the, you know,
the beaches, the coast, the islands is
you can almost never see enough of it.
So that's my favorite book.
(19:53):
But there are a lot of
exotic countries out there too,so it's hard to pick, you know?
My favorite city,though, still is Istanbul.
And really.
Wow. What did you likeso much about it? Yes,
it's like parts of Canadawhen I've been up there very, very clean.
They vacuum the cobblestones.
Really like big industrial vacuums,you see.
(20:16):
They really do that?
Yes they do.
Wow. And, the food is outstanding.
And, the city is just probablyone of the most unique cities.
The people are real friendly.
They're fine. Okay.
Not friendly.
It's as you know, there'san enormous cultural difference between,
you know, Muslim in America. Sure, sure.
(20:38):
So there's no hostilities.
I think it's just that,
I don't knowthat it's like going into another country
and people are walking up and saying.
And everything, but no issues whatsoever.
I would recommend any personhaving the opportunity to go there once.
It's like over in Iceland,everybody's so friendly.
There.
Yeah, I, I just had a buddyget back from Iceland recently
(21:00):
and he said it's worth it.
I've never beenthere is on my bucket list.
But he says John you need to get there.
He was there for ten days and loved it.
He said it was a different weather systemevery day.
Most unique place you may ever get really,of any place, Place I bet.
And you've been to a lot.
Yeah.
And, we had this wonderful tour guide.
(21:21):
We went to Iceland,and what I loved the most was his. His.
He must have had six masters, right?
80 of things.
But he said, as we were traveling along,he says, you are looking
at the bottom of the ocean floorright now.
And as soon as he said that,
you started looking at everythingdifferent,
(21:42):
because, you know, Icelandrose up from the bottom of.
Yes. Right.
Yeah.
And, it's very geological.
There's almost no green anywhere.
One of the reasonseating in Iceland is extremely expensive.
You mentioned freshand everything is sure nothing is fresh.
There it comes.Everything comes from simple.
(22:03):
Everything that you eat comesfrom some place.
Right?
So, it was still good, right?
And it was fresh, but it was expensive.
Now what?
Where else would you recommend? Because I.
I'm trying to put a bucket list.
I love to get to Ireland.
I get to Ireland. Okay. Yeah. Ireland.
I've talked to so many peoplethat have been there.
They said just with natural beauty,incredible, you know, cliche.
(22:27):
All the shades of.
Sure, sure.
I mean, you know, Italy is outstanding.
I like the older countries, right.
That really have,you know, the ancient history.
And when I go, I'm not going just to look,I want to be there,
you know, right in the front row. Right.
And I want to hear everything,and you want to absorb it
all, all kinds of questions.
(22:50):
That doesn't surprise me.
But you know what? Everybodythat's good, that's good.
I think it's great.
So, but, you know, one place I, I,
I know that your spiritual
Israel.
I would love to go to Israel where Jesus
walked the stations of the, of the.
Yes, yes, it is about as movingas anything you'll ever see.
(23:15):
I've heard that fromso many people, Elaine, but that I was.
And it's just so sad thatthere's just so much disarray over there
and where Jesus, you know, walkedin, came from.
But I know that's another story,but we just, we pray for that region.
You know, a quick comment about that.
I was in line to, stick my arm in a hole.
(23:36):
That is where, you know,where Christ's, cross was found.
And, you know,somebody behind me, his wife, and he says,
how do they know that'swhere them you know, Christ was found.
And, he was a little, you know,he was a little glass half empty.
Hmhmm turned aroundand I said, you know, it
probably isn't the exact spot, right?
(23:59):
This is the spot that we have chosento venerate. Yes.
For considering the spot.
He had a whole different outlookafter that.
And, you know, that was a verydiplomatic way of handling that.
Yeah, because I was probably thinkingthe same thing.
Right.
But that's what I said to myselfso that it meant more. Yes.
(24:22):
When I said,what am I feeling down in this hole?
Yeah.
That's where faith comes in.
You just have to have faith,you know, that to happen.
So let's just, talkone more time about the event coming up
this Sunday,this coming Sunday week from Sunday.
But when this when this broadcastis on, it's going to be this Sunday.
Yeah.
So it's going to be this Sundayover the Pine Orchard Country Club.
(24:44):
And tell us a little bit more
about that event and,and what people can do to get tickets.
So, the event again is a fashion showfeaturing fashions
from a variety of different, local shops.
Between Branford and North Haven.
And, we have a lot of local, models whoare going to be showing off their stuff.
(25:08):
And, we have shoe designersand local jewelry designers,
and they're providing the accessories,but they're brand for people
who have either designed or,you know, actually made those accessories.
It's at the Pine Orchard Clubfor for the love, the Pine Orchard.
Yeah, yeah.
And, you're going to be our armed.
(25:29):
That doesn't meanyou don't have to come now.
Come on. Don't let that dissuadeyou. Pick the energy.
Yeah, yeah.
What about that?
And, tickets are availableeither at the Bunker Gallery
or online at Branford arts.orgBranford arts.org.
So it's coming up on Sundaythe 22nd right? Yes.
And can't wait to see you there.
And Elaine, you've been an absolute joyto have on today.
(25:52):
Filling in for Joyce,who is on assignment right now.
But I'm John Cadillac Seville.
This is what's good with John and Joyce.
You can catch us on all streamingplatforms.
We appreciate you.
If you need a pick me up,
this is the place to be 30 minutesevery week and tell your friends about us.
You have an amazing dayand bless you and your family.
I am John Cadillac
Seville fromWhat's Good with John and Joyce.
(26:14):
And a little advice from the ocean today.
Be sure of yourself.
Come out of your shell.
Take time. The coast.
Avoid peer pressure.
See life's beauty.
Don't get tied down.
Go out there and make some waves.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.