Stories from the Center of the Universe

Episode 152: Matt Williams

Paul has Matt Williams on this episode due to a connection Matt has with Boomer Muth (Episode 77). Matt and Boomer are in a band together (Acoustic Underground) and Paul and Matt talked about music and Matt being a bass guitarist. Matt was born in Delaware and grew up in Wilmington and Cincinnati, Ohio. He played baseball growing up, was a baseball fan and he got to attend many Phillies and Reds games in his youth. He made his way to Virginia when he attended the College of William and Mary. After college, Matt got a job in advertising in Philadelphia. After a couple of years, he moved down to Richmond and took a job with The Martin Agency. He discussed his journey at Martin which ended up with him being the CEO for his last five years of his tenure. He told the story of two very famous and successful advertising campaigns for one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. as well as the ups and downs of being the CEO of a company. Paul and Matt finished by talking about what he is doing now and about his wife Betsy and their two sons, Patrick and Ethan.

Episode 151: Chris Rutherford

Chris Rutherford is a friend of occasional co-host Kevin and joins Paul and Kevin for this episode. Chris was born in Richmond, moved to Philadelphia with his mom when he was one and then came back to Richmond in 5th grade. Chris has fond memories of Philly because of sports, the snow, the community pool and mainly because of family. They discussed Chris’ favorite pro sports teams and there is one outlier that was a surprise. Chris’ time in Philly also was his introduction to music which has since played a huge and integral part in his life. He’s been singing in bands for 25+ years and he talked to Paul and Kevin about the process of writing songs. They discussed how he worked as a welder which included working on parts of nuclear subs and having a piece on display in Richmond. The three of them talked about Chris’ family, wife Ginger, daughters Lexi and Kaley and son Sammy.  They finished by discussing Chris’ fondest memories of Kevin which included an unintentional insult and a couple of different times on the golf course.

Episode 150: Bobby Malone

Paul takes the podcast mobile for Episode 150 and interviewed Bobby Malone at the Rivah. Bobby grew up in Chesterfield and rode motorbikes and played sports growing up. He said he wasn’t big on school, but it allowed him to play sports and he explained why football was his favorite. Bobby also told Paul about a crazy injury he suffered playing baseball. After high school, Bobby had a successful career at Reynolds Metals and then decided to leave and go into real estate. Bobby has been coming to the Rivah for almost thirty years.  He and Paul talked about the Rivah, why Bobby loves it so much and Bobby even told Paul a couple of examples of the interesting wildlife that he has seen over the years. They discussed crabbing, fishing and how Bobby gardens oysters … some of which Paul gets to eat! Bobby told Paul some of the secrets about crabbing and fishing on the Rappahannock and dropped a couple of life lessons during the episode as well.  Finally, they talked about Bobby’s wife, Carolyn, and their blended family which includes seven grandchildren.

Episode 149: Andy Smith

Andy Smith was Paul’s 8th grade English teacher and basketball coach. Andy grew up in the lower east side of Manhattan, but came south for his education at Johns Hopkins, UNC and VCU. He played soccer all four years at JHU and also played a less well known sport his first year. That move south eventually led him to settle in the Richmond area and start a forty-eight year career in education as a teacher, coach and administrator at St. Christopher’s. Paul and Andy talked about his approach to teaching as well as the concept of single sex education. Andy is about to retire and they discussed his future plans to continue and develop his dedication to being of service to his fellow man. He also said he’s got one purchase he is going to make that will help him fulfill a goal his parents got him started on over sixty years ago. They finished by talking about fond memories that Andy had of a student and peers as well as Andy dropping a pearl of wisdom for future teachers.

Episode 148: Jock Jones

Jock Jones joins the podcast through a friendship with Tim Sutton (Episode #130). Jock is from Hanover County and is a well known athlete in Hanover from his days playing at Mechanicsville High School. Jock told Paul about a very rough beginning to his life and how he got his unique first name and why. Jock talked to Paul about growing up playing sports, riding his bike quite a ways to school and playing in the rural areas of Hanover. Jock remembers telling people he would play in the NFL as early as eight or nine years old. Jock was a star running back in high school and went on to play college at Virginia Tech where he played RB his first year and then converted to linebacker his last 3 years. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns and played for them and the Cardinals until an injury cut his career short. His second year at Cleveland, he told Paul who his head coach and defensive coordinator were. They are considered two of the best coaches of all time, one in the NFL and one in college. Paul and Jock finished up by talking about his family.

Episode 147: Colin Thompson

Colin Thompson is a professional football player and plays Tight End for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. He comes to the podcast via Mike DiMaggio who is a friend of Colin’s and a relative of Paul’s. Paul and Colin discussed playing football in college where he played for Florida one year and then finished @ Temple. Colin said the best thing that came from his time at Florida was his then girlfriend, now wife, Sydney. They then talked about everything NFL from his training regimen through out the year to why he loves the game. Colin talked about players in the NFL and they discussed his opinion on Tim Tebow in particular. Paul also asked Colin to tell the story of how he scored a touchdown against Paul’s favorite team the Buccaneers. They finished by talking about Sydney and the rest of Colin’s family and the interesting conversations they used to have around the dinner table when he was growing up.

Episode 146: COL(R) William Coffin

Bill Coffin and Paul served together in the Army National Guard. Bill is from Boston area and one of the first things they discussed was how big a fan Bill is of the Boston professional teams. They agreed that after some lean years, Bill and other Boston fans have had a great run the last twenty years! Bill and Paul talked about his Army journey which started when he enlisted right out of high school. He did very well on the ASVAB and that led to an unexpected and unique opportunity. From active duty, Bill went to the National Guard and he and Paul shared some stories of their time together which included an overseas deployment. They also discussed some of Bill’s fondest memories during his 30+ year career in the United States Army. He and Paul finished by talking about his wife Rebecca and his children Rachel and Billy.

Episode 145: Jeff Uerz

Jeff Uerz comes to the podcast via Paul’s father-in-law Al Draper. Jeff is from upstate New York and grew up hunting, fishing and trapping. Jeff told Paul that this led him to having a particular type of transportation before he even had a car. He also told Paul about a particular skill that he and his high school classmates were required to have before they were allowed to graduate. Jeff knew pretty early that he wanted to work as a state Game Warden. He looked for jobs across the United States and Virginia was the first agency to call. Jeff worked for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for twenty-seven years, rose through the ranks and was appointed Chief of Law Enforcement at the very young age of thirty-five. Jeff was in that role for fifteen years, retired at age fifty and has been serving people in a different way ever since. Jeff, through his church, serves those in need of food, shelter and compassion and loves to cook for various church events. Jeff finished by taking about his family, wife Maureen and kids, Jennifer and Christopher. 

Episode 144: Andre Buckner

Andre Buckner, a.k.a. Buck, is from and grew up in the historic Berkeley town area of Ashland, Virginia. Buck played all the sports growing up and he and Paul reminisced about playing Little League basketball together. They talked about their great coach who has been on the podcast as well (Episode 9). After high school, Buck enlisted and spent six years of active duty in the United States Navy. After he came back home, he spent another 4 1/2 years in the active reserve. Football became Buck’s main sport and Paul, Kevin and Buck discussed his football journey. This started when he played for the Ashland Vikings and culminated with tryouts with the Falcons, Panthers and the Jets. Buck has been a coach for 25 plus years and continues to pass on his football and basketball knowledge to this day. They finished by discussing what type of work Buck does and his family. 

Episode 143: Matt Pulisic

Matt Pulisic grew up in Long Island, NY and had a great time growing up in a small neighborhood playing all the sports. Matt’s father immigrated to the United States from Yugoslavia (now Croatia) and met his mom at a dance in NY City. Family was a very important part of Matt’s life growing up - large family gatherings and lots of good food, mostly from his Italian mother’s side! Matt’s best sport was soccer and it brought him south to Randolph-Macon College where he had an interesting recruiting weekend trip. Paul and Matt talked about RMC from the culture change he experienced upon arriving to how he is still involved to this day. They also discussed Matt’s education, career choice and turning his career and passion into becoming an entrepreneur. They also talked about how Matt and brothers still maintain a unique connection to their dad’s place of birth. Matt finished by talking about his wife Jen and their four children, Thomas, Joe, William and Allison.