Stories from the Center of the Universe

Episode 219: Don Willis

Don Willis and Paul haven’t seen each in a while, but had a great time catching up and hearing Don’s story. They talked about serving in the National Guard, his second career in Emergency Management and Don’s youth. Don talked to Paul about losing a daughter and how he and his wife, Lisa, are raising their grandsons. Don finished by talking about Lisa (his super hero) and their grandsons.

Episode 218: Tom Guo

He was born in the Kingdom of Lesotho, raised in South Africa and came to the United States to go to high school in Connecticut. Tom Guo joins the podcast to talk about his youth and then his experiences going to college on the west coast. Paul and Tom briefly discussed work and finished by talking about how Tom travels around the world to follow a passion of his … rock climbing.

Episode 217: Manoli Loupassi

Manoli Loupassi joins Paul and they talked about high school at St. Christopher’s, Manoli’s dad, college and law school and his time as a radio sports show host. They discussed his career as a prosecutor, being on the Richmond City Council as well as being a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. They finished by talking about his wife Stewart and their three kids.

Episode 216: Jason Wells

Jason Wells joins the podcast to talk about Mechanics of Faith. Before that, Paul and Jason spoke about him growing up in Hanover, extreme sports and his early passion for working on cars. Nowadays, Jason works, has a great family and he runs Mechanics of Faith which helps people in the community who need repairs for their vehicles. They finished by talking about Jason’s family and how to donate ([mechanicsoffaith.org](http://mechanicsoffaith.org "‌")) to help the local community.

Episode 215: Tom Greco starts a podcast (TG#1)

Tom Greco is back (episode 4) and he's thinking about starting his own podcast. For his initial episode, he joins Stories to talk about how NBA basketball captured his attention in the late 80s and early 90s. The NBA Eastern Conference playoffs really grabbed him as he watched the Pistons, Bulls, Celtics, Pacers and Knicks battle during his formative years. With the recent release of the movie, Air, Tom became nostalgic. He shares his observations through a deep dive into Sonny Vaccaro during those pivotal years for the NBA and some athletic shoe companies. Here's Tom... 

Episode 214: Chris Freemott

Chris Freemott joins the podcast from Chicagoland. They discussed Chris’ favorite sports teams and that led to a discussion about Chicago politics and why Chicago became important. Paul and Chris then starting discussing his passion which is wine glasses. Chris stated how he likes fine dining, fine wine and he hopes to turn his passion into a “job” in the next few years. Chris gave Paul some wine advice and they ended by talking about always being willing to learn.

Episode 213: Carrie Allen

Carrie Allen was born in Louisville and moved to Richmond when she was ten. She attended a Catholic private high school that doesn’t exist anymore and went to a college that has since changed its name. A double major in two very different disciplines led to several interesting career paths. Her husband Krister (who knew Paul at UVA) served as an unofficial co-host of this episode. Paul and Carrie talked about her current job in Boston, her current business in Virginia, future business ideas and her unique lineage.

Episode 212: George Dunston

George Dunston and Paul were in the same class at St. Christopher’s and met at StC to record this episode. George is a lawyer, lives in New Jersey and works in New York. They talked about George losing his Dad at an early age and the influence his mom and grandmother had on him. They discussed weight lifting, being in NY during 9/11 and why he is visiting Richmond.

Episode 211: Colin Noyes

Colin is from the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. Paul and Colin served in the National Guard together, mostly out of Fredericksburg. Colin talked about growing up, playing sports and attending and graduating from The Ohio State University. Colin started with the National Guard while he was in high school and served proudly for well over 3 decades. They finished by Colin talking about fishing, what he’s doing now and his wife Courtney.

Episode 210: Tom Baker

Tom Baker says he was born a “Gator Born, Wahoo Bred”. Born in Florida, his family moved to Richmond, Va. when he was young. He attended St. Christopher’s and then the University of Virginia. Paul and Tom talked about his time as a manager for the UVA Basketball program and the lifelong relationships it fostered. Tom told Paul about his career path which took him for a time back to both his alma maters. They finished by talking about his family.