Podclair

Episode 102: Montclair Local

In this episode we talk with the Editor, Louis Hochman and the Sports/Community reporter, Andrew Garda from Montclair Local. They are two of the many dedicated people who make up the team that serves our community with their award-winning newspaper. Founded by Heeten Choxi, the paper operates as a non-profit and relies on this community to support their efforts to create a cohesive and informed community about local matters. 

 

Montclair Local won 34 New Jersey Press Association awards for work done in 2020. For the third year in a row, Montclair Local has garnered the New Jersey Press Association's General Excellence award.

Episode 101: Podclair, 3 Years & 100 Episodes Later

In this episode, Andrew Garda of the Montclair Local newspaper interviews Joanna Seltzer, Tracey Diamond and Margo Bruton of Podclair discussing how the podcast came to be, the need to share stories about our community, and the last three rewarding years producing a podcast for and about Montclair. 

 

 

Andrew is an experienced journalist who is a Member of the Pro Football Writers Association of America with a decade of experience writing about the NFL and 15+ years of writing in various other formats, including blogs, screen and teleplays, short stories and standard newsprint articles.

 

During his time on the sports beat for the Montclair Local, he has covered things like the high school’s first African-American female basketball coaching staff, an undefeated state championship football season. In our Covid year, he's been lending his considerable talents to other stories for the paper.

Episode 100: Sister to Sister

In today's episode, Joanna speaks with Dr. Doris Walker-Bennett and Lisa White of the local non-profit organization Sister to Sister. The organization works with the Montclair Board of Education to provide free mentorship to girls to support them from 4th grade through high school, including the college admissions process. In town for over 20 years and serving hundreds of students in their after school programs, they have had 100% of their graduate on time and accepted to college, mostly as first generation college students - and in a testament to the cohesive community they create, many alumni of the program return to be guest speakers mentors themselves for the next generation of mentees. 

Episode 99: Cafe Moso

In this episode, Joanna speaks with Zina Floyd, the lively and dynamic serial entrepreneur and owner of Cafe MOSO on Orange Road. Coined MOSO, for Montclair South, Zina and her husband, Michael, a native Montclairian, sought out a chef to partner with to open the space in July 2019. Together they crafted seasonal menus with elevated comfort food and BBQ classics that has become a staple both in Montclair's South End VIllage and beyond. Zina explains what called her to the restaurant business, the surprising pivots of adapting to the pandemic, and the impact of Black Lives Matter as they approached their first year anniversary.

Episode 98: Growth Point Business Consulting

In today's episode, we are featuring a guest that would be helpful to the many businesses in town that are rethinking their business approach as they gear up for the post-Covid world. And if you are just starting a business, being clear about your process and goals can help your marketing strategy succeed in the new future we're facing.

 

Arnie Amir has helped many big and small businesses go through the process of analysing and clarifying their business plan to make the most of their opportunities. He's the owner of Growth Point Business Consulting. He has a clear and practical approach to planning and implementing clear strategies that will do the things that will be most effective in reaching your goals. We also about what it takes to get a business or organization in shape for the challenges of today's business environment.

Episode 97: Bike & Walk Montclair

In today's episode, Joanna speaks with John Sullivan of the advocacy group, Bike & Walk Montclair.  In town for 17 years, the non-profit organization has been dedicated to creating bikeable and walkable options in town.  Through their determined efforts, they were able to have the town agree to a "SAFE" street framework for the upcoming town master plan, which will consider ways to ensure the "streets are for everyone" when designing and planning new streets and developments starting in 2021. John discusses the work of the non-profit over the years and what keeps the organization going both before and after the pandemic. 

 

New Jersey Bike Walk Coalition:
https://njbwc.org

Safe Streets Initiative:

https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/business/localaid/safe.shtm

Episode 96: Dream Martial Arts

In this episode, Joanna speaks with Emilio DeLia, owner of Dream Martial Arts. Emilio details what brought him into martial arts, the inspiration behind opening his studio, and how he sustained his mental health and resiliency during the pandemic lockdown to re-envision how to continue serving the children of Montclair and neighboring communities with classes and community.

Episode 95: Jeree Wade

In today's episode, we speak with life counselor and therapist Jeree Wade.  Born in Atlantic City, she lived between there and Harlem for a good deal of her life.  Montclair became her home many years ago after marrying actor, singer and producer Adam Wade.

Jeree has had a distinguished career herself in showbiz as a singer and actress, but her training as a life coach started calling to her in mid-life.  So she got her Masters Degree and switched gears to inspire others to manage their lives in the best way possible to achieve their goals and dreams. 

Episode 94: Vesta Chocolate

In today's episode, Joanna speaks with Roger and Julia Wood about the inspiration behind their bean to bar chocolate boutique, Vesta Chocolate, on Valley Road in Upper Montclair. Roger, an accomplished chocolatier and chef at top restaurants like Jean George and Gramercy Tavern, and Julia, a food stylist at the Food Network and many Major Brands, have joined forces in both marriage and entrepreneurship to open a stylish cafe that required redesigning a former bank entrance, complete with original vault, and adding a chocolate kitchen. They explain the story of how Covid shut them down only a few months after they opened, but inspired a whole new level of creativity that helped make it to their one year anniversary, on January 22, 2021

 

Episode 93:Ahava Felicidad Hair and Body

In today's episode, Joanna speaks with Ahava Felicidad, the Holistic Hair Healer. A true native of Montclair, born right at Mountainside Hospital, Ahava first started working with hair in 1986. In 2013, she started her first solopreneur location uptown on Bellevue Ave. Her current studio is located on Midland Ave near our previous podcast guest, Fleet Feet. ⁠ Ahava tells Joanna what started her journey in hair as a young girl, the benefits of a natural, chemical-free approach for curly hair, and how making her own soaps and scrubs led her to develop her own locally-made hair care product line.