Foster and Friends
Foster and Friends
Foster and Friends Vol 145 "The Summer Top 5"
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Bud and Mac take a few minutes to reflect on the year's Top 5 Foster and Friends' podcasts. The year's best include the first woman of sailing who dated Ted Turner, and a former Hokie football player who is one of the best "Jackmen" in NASCAR.
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I got told to head home in Jacksonville, and I was like, hey, Coach Vlyn, I'd love to come check Andrew Motorsports out. You know, I'd been there when I was in middle school. I went on a field trip, but it was like a STEM field trip. And I thought it was really cool then. Seeing the athletic side of things, what the Pit Group does, you know, my first visit there really blew me away.
SPEAKER_04Foster and Friends is presented by Envision. Locations are in Christiansburg in Salem, Virginia. For the best in eye care and fashion, it's Envision. By the River City Distillery in Radford, makers of Win Vodka. It's a good day to enjoy a win. And by Brick House Pizza. Visit our Radford location in the Brick House Garden featuring live music and the best in comfort food. Brickhouse Pizza means good times.
SPEAKER_02Jimmy Brown was really like me having a board. He says it smells like a woman down below now. And there isn't any smelly men, and it's all clean down below. And she knows how to sew sails and she can paint and she can varnish and she can run the generator. And so anyway, to make a long story short, Ted did hire me.
SPEAKER_04Now, from the NSB Radio Network, Foster and Friends. Here's Bud and Mac.
SPEAKER_08Welcome in. It is Foster and Friends for another week. Technically, through the magic of Zoom and radio and how we do. And I we needed a show that was semi-fresh. So Bud and I do our Midsummers, our Midsummer classics. That's basically what we our top five. Bud and I are celebrating four and a half years of fostering friends. And uh Bud was just talking last week, he was talking to Coach Franklin. Uh so we're working on that interview. It's not like he's had anything to do. Uh so anyway, this is our midsummer classic and our top five shows from the first half of the year. Does that make sense? Because we've had we've had some really interesting stories to tell. Before we get into that, you any vacation left? Are you going anywhere?
SPEAKER_09Yeah, you know, well, it happens to be during the season, but uh we we we have an away game. Uh we play our first away game at Maryland, and Jesse and I are gonna play take a trip, quick trip to Vegas. I'm gonna go see the Eagles, which is one of my top five bands ever.
SPEAKER_08Ever, right?
SPEAKER_09Um they're playing at the sphere, and that's been the bucket list. So we're gonna we're gonna jet set up there just for uh a Saturday. Go we're gonna fly up that Saturday, watch the concert Saturday night, hang out in Vegas on Sunday, come back on Monday.
SPEAKER_06Wow.
SPEAKER_09We play out at University of California at Berkeley, and we're gonna take is that the second week on your schedule? So you uh yeah, I'm not no, that's uh I'm not for sure when that is. That's in maybe September or early October. But um, we're gonna we take a group. We did this a couple years ago when we went out to Stanford, but we're taking a group. We go out, we go out early and take a group to like Napa Valley. We go hit a couple vineyards and taste some wine and do you know, do some good things.
SPEAKER_08Do the California thing. V said something about that. My my wife said something about that. That's her next because I'm actually in New Orleans as we are doing this show. So um, because she always wanted to see New Orleans, uh preservation hall, we're gonna do all that. I'm gonna have a hurricane a day. I hear, I hear that keeps you really healthy in a you know, hot summer day in New Orleans. But uh with all that being said, we she wants the Napa Valley trip to happen. The first thing she said to me, and I never it's not like the wine or whatever, she goes, you know, we have to rent a convertible. So maybe because every movie, you know, about the Napa Valley, they have you drive around in a convertible. So, bud, you got to get like a Mustang or a you know convertible to drive around.
SPEAKER_09I'm gonna be riding a bus, I believe. So that's gonna be uh that'll be about as close as I get. I'll maybe I'll I'll get a window seat.
SPEAKER_08You know, one of the great movies. Have you ever seen Sideways? Have you ever seen the movie Sideways with Paul Giamatti? Oh, you and you gotta see it before you go to Napa Valley. So you just gotta in the next couple of months, you just gotta Sideways was done years ago, and it was kind of on the cusp of Paul Giamatti becoming really this big star. It is excellent, it is beyond good. It's just really good. But it's about uh two guys who go on a bachelor's trip before this guy gets married, and it's only two guys they're best friends, and they go to they go to Napa Valley, and a lot of things ensue after that.
SPEAKER_09So I've uh you know the highlight of this trip though, for us to get to Napa is actually there's a guy, Andy Beckstopper. He's one of Virginia Tech's He's alum of Virginia Tech, but Andy went out there uh in the early 60s, and now he owns he's like the top grape grower and is maybe had the biggest impact on the grape growing industry in the history of America. And uh but he owns like 4,000 acres of uh you know grape. Top grower, top grape grower in America, if not the world. And I looked at it, each acre is worth about 150 to 200,000.
SPEAKER_08Is that all?
SPEAKER_09Yeah, so we need to, I need to, and that's what I I and last time we went, uh Jesse wanted to make sure I got close with Andy. But what was cool was Andy wanted me to sit with him, and and so now since then he has sent me uh several bottles of wine. Wow, and those bottles of wine, they don't sell for two or three hundred dollars.
SPEAKER_08More than that, huh?
SPEAKER_09More than that. So anything with his name on it, so it sells, and he has to have his name on it too. But that's gonna be the that's the highlight. Andy's just such a unique guy and such an incredible hokey, and you know, he's made such a big impact on you know, on a big part of you know, America's history with you know, the particularly the wine industry. So that's it's that's gonna be one of the highlights of the trip.
SPEAKER_08Well, yeah, and maybe down the road, Andy would like to bring us out there for a couple of shows. Just I'm just saying, you know, maybe Yeah.
SPEAKER_09I think we I think we can negotiate. I'll talk about I'll talk to them with us about that, Bob Brad.
SPEAKER_08I think because we can go live anywhere, just just just just saying, okay. All right, it's our midsummer top five. Uh, what have we done the first part of the year? Not much, but we have we've had some great conversations we're going to tell you about when we come back. Stay with us, foster friends, NSB Radio Network.
SPEAKER_09Hi, this is Bud Foster for Envision. For over 30 years, my good friends, Dr. Scott and Becky Mann, have built a practice that truly cares about their patients.
SPEAKER_10I can just remember being pregnant with my first son over 30 years ago, and we bought the practice from Dr. Henry Stewart, who'd had it for 50 years. Which is scary, but we've moved forward and we're actually in the same location, and now we're up to seven doctors and over 25 staff in the two locations.
SPEAKER_05The technology is amazing. Uh we used to take pictures on literally Polaroids, and now we went to digital, now we have widescreens, and um we can do things today that 10 years ago were only images you could only generate maybe at a teaching hospital. And now we can do those chair side when our patients come in.
SPEAKER_09Go see your award-winning Envision team. They have two locations, Salem and Christiansburg. They will meet all your eye care needs.
SPEAKER_04Foster and Friends is presented by Envision. Locations are in Christiansburg in Salem, Virginia. For the best in eye care and fashion, it's Envision.
SPEAKER_08Welcome back. It is Foster and Friends, and uh we're gonna count down the top five um of our top five stories of the first part of the year. Of course, in December, we always do a kind of a best of um as we wrap up the year. Um, and I'm gonna go with number five. And uh, but number five was a was a show we did called Newsome and Stewart. And the reason I selected this was that your tribute to Kurt Newsom was really, really good. And he had a lot of good things to say after he passed. And um uh, you know, it was part of the Tony Stewart thing, which we'll get to. But uh the Kurt Newsom show meant meant a lot to you, didn't it?
SPEAKER_09Yeah, Kurt was just such a I mean, such made a big impact on so many young people and so many people throughout his career, and um, you know, just um a guy we lost way too young, you know, but um a good friend, um a great football coach uh at all levels and made a tremendous impact in the state of Virginia. I mean, that's the thing. He was, you know, he was a high school coach of Virginia and was a college coach in Virginia at all levels in Virginia football. And uh just um really a special guy, and um I'm glad we were able to, you know, talk about him and and uh celebrate his life because he definitely deserved that.
SPEAKER_08It was a show we did the first uh it was the first part of June, like the first uh weekend in June, as uh Bud paid tribute to Kurt Newsom.
SPEAKER_09He made such an impact on so many people. Now, obviously, he had guys that go on to next, you know, to college from high school and from to the NFL from from college, but the impact that he's made on so many people in his lifetime is incredible. And uh, I mean uh but like I said, my heart just goes out to Melinda, Kurt, and Liz, and and um you know, he's 67 years old. He's but he battled pancreatic cancer, he battled it for a couple years. Um you know, he recently ended up, he was the head coach at Embryan Henry. Uh that's where his alma mater, but he went there and became the head coach and um for a 10-year run and took them. He won an ODAC championship there initially, and then elevated that program from Division III, non-scholarship, to division two and have become competitive, you know. And I had an opportunity to go down there and speak at his clinic a couple times. I went down and consulted with his staff a couple times. We just most recently here before his illness, and I saw him here about a year ago, but um uh before that, had an opportunity with a good friend Rick Hughes, who's a good friend of his and and mine. Uh, we went to the Carolina Panthers game together and just uh, you know, we were able to spend some quality time together. But uh, you know, as as good a football coach as he was, it was even a better person. You know, you hear people say that, but Kurt was. He was a fierce competitor, but he loved life too, and he loved to have a good time and he loved his family. And so this is a tough, this is a tough one, you know. It's like a brother, you're losing a brother, you know. And uh, and so um yeah, I just want to make sure we recognize the impact that Kurt's made um, you know, across this state, you know, and as a as a football coach. I mean, I I I hope we have listeners that they'll have memories of Kurt and you know, just the impact that maybe they had on the him or them or whatever that experience may be.
SPEAKER_08Yeah, good stuff, but um a couple of sound bites with him. Um he always felt fortunate to be a part of the Hokie staff and to coach with uh coach in Blacksburg with Frank Beamer and Bud Foster.
SPEAKER_07Well, I was very fortunate. We went to three orange bowls, a sugar bowl, two Chick-fil-A bowls, and a Russell Athletic Bowl. So it was a good run. When you go out on that field on Saturday, whether you're at Emory and Henry or Blacksburg, it's it's a great experience. It's about winning and losing and competing and uh and learning lessons, and uh that's how we approach it.
SPEAKER_08During an interview, uh Kurt was at, you know, they always ask, like, you know, what was your key to recruiting? And Kurt didn't try to sugarcoat anything. He just said that he felt tech was about the people, and that's what he would tell all the, you know, all the people that all the high school kids that he came in contact with.
SPEAKER_07Well, first of all, it's it's a people place. Wherever you go, there's gonna be great buildings, great stadiums, great locker rooms, and we have that, and so does everybody else. But I think when you're deciding on where you want to go to school, it's about the people and the people that you have to be with every day. Winning's important. If you're gonna put that much time and effort in it, it's hard to it's hard not to win and and be happy. History is a great predictor of the future. We've been able to win football games, I think we'll continue. We've uh we're actually right now, we're uh the only team in the country the last seven years of that has won ten games. And uh I think it's a uh a place where you get along with people, win a lot of football games, and I think uh I think you have a great college career if if you have those things.
SPEAKER_08Yeah, pretty good formula if you love where you're working, you're winning games. I mean, that's true. But he also he embraced his tenure at Emory and Henry.
SPEAKER_07This is Emory and Henry. Uh, you know, as far as I'm concerned, there's no division at the end of it. It is it is a special place. It's uh I don't think there's any place like it in the state of Virginia. And I've been fortunate enough that I haven't had to leave the state, but it it's a place where uh I think you can accomplish all your life's goals and a place where great people are.
SPEAKER_08Uh terrific salute, of course. It was it was part of the same show that we did um because I had picked up uh an interview that Tony Stewart did on a podcast, and uh I can't remember the exact name. It was called like Whiskey and Racing or something. It was really good. And Tony Stewart, who you enjoyed, you've worked for Tony, you've you've spoken to his his team, he told a great story about Bill France. Remember this about about the Dale Earnhardt, he uh the Dale Earnhardt Senior Concern by Bill France, you know, yeah conversations they had where he told I was to show you how strong Bill France was when it was all sudden. And he told he told Dale, you're not gonna win anymore. He says, And he told Tony, you're not gonna make my circuit a circus. And anyway, this is some pretty good stuff. It was part of the same show as Tony Stewart breaks down really a remarkable story.
SPEAKER_00He's like, Do not stink up my show. So you think back in the day, we we didn't have uh transponders and everything else. I mean, you had people that were sitting in a boot in a tower that every time you went by there was a counter on the on the wall. And when your driver went by the start-finish line, you wrote the number down on that lap. And that's how they scored the races. There wasn't transponders. When you came down Pit Road, there were literally two guys in the scoring tower that had a stopwatch in each hand. You had four stopwatches total for 43 cars going down Pit Road and all these segments of Pit Road. They didn't know who was running what. But if you ruffled their feathers the week before, and guess what? You got a speeding penalty, whether you were speeding or not. And that's how they kept the balance.
SPEAKER_08All right. So Tony said that they were just trying to keep this balance of NASCAR, and he, you know, was getting penalized, and then he was getting to the front and then getting penalized, and of course, there were a lot of accidents along the way. So Tony said, and he told his team, we're gonna manage the rookie process and the penalties.
SPEAKER_00And uh, and after you figured out that's what's going on, then you go, you know what? I don't think I want that penalty next week. And so my crew chief got really good. I mean, we get out and get a lead, he'd give me intervals. And there wasn't a, you know, the three-second deal wasn't a hard line or anything, but it's like you start getting over two seconds, you're sitting there looking in the mirror going, man, I got more in the tank here, but I'll be damned if I'm going out away from that guy any further.
SPEAKER_08So, anyway, now here's the bombshell. Um Tony had it from good authority, and I don't think Tony would lie, I don't think Tony Stewart would lie. And as I said, we'll get Bill's uh uh Bud's reaction after all this Bill France Jr. stuff, okay? So there was a relationship with Bill France Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Sr. So Tony said this is not a fairy tale.
SPEAKER_00The reality of this, when Bill France Jr. was still alive, Bill would have two radios. One was the NASCAR radio and one was a radio that went to the three-car. He could talk to Dale during the race. This isn't a fairy tale or anything like that. I mean, it was real. I remember somebody telling me a story the other day about him that he'd won the championship I think two years in a row. Dale got invited to go down with uh Bill Jr. down fishing on the on the yacht out in the ocean. And he goes, You're not winning the championship next year. What do you mean I'm not winning? He goes, No, you're not gonna win three in a row any minute.
SPEAKER_08So anyway, Tony Stewart, I never ever get tired of uh of listening to Tony. I think he needs to be a return guest in uh in 2027. Well, as we move on, bud, and we celebrate our our midsummer top five, you had a great time talking to a lady who spent a few days with Ted Turner, and they were sailing together. So, anyway, we'll we'll have that story for you when we come back. And this is Foster and Friends on the NSB Radio Network. When you walk into a restaurant, say your favorite pizza place, what's the first thing you notice? The way it smells, the vibe, maybe the party atmosphere. If you're traveling in Southwest Virginia or lucky enough to live in the Radford area, hopefully you have visited Brickhouse Pizza, a staple since 1972. Brickhouse Pizza has become a legendary stop. Jeff and Diane's Main Street attraction features artisanal wood-fired pizza with fresh ingredients prepped every day. Brickhouse's pizzas are made with flour imported from Italy. Throw in the recipe for their homemade brew, and you have the recipe for fun. Brickhouse Pizza is open Tuesday through Friday at 3 30, Saturdays at 11:30, and the Sunday brunch begins at 10. Fresh food, cold beer, great times. That's Brickhouse Pizza, 311 West Main Street in Radford. Welcome back. It's Foster and Friends, and uh Bud really enjoyed this. Um, it was a lady we met in New Smyrna Beach who uh she races cars, she was a yacht, I mean, she was a sailor, she was crazy, but you enjoyed the conversation so much, especially when she told you about how she dated for a while uh Ted Turner. You remember Patsy?
SPEAKER_09Oh my gosh, I mean you talk about uh uh an incredible life. I mean, my gosh, this should be a movie. It should be a movie about her. I mean, it really is. But you talk about just did a little bit of everything and just uh just a world traveler besides just a competitive person. But uh this was really one of my favorite uh interviews that we did throughout the the year so far.
SPEAKER_08Yeah, and our top five, in our top five, this I ranked this at number four, Patsy Kennedy Bowling, and how she met Ted Turner.
SPEAKER_09Uh, how did you guys come across meeting and then you did you get a chance to work with him or work for him um on his vessel and then and then race in the America's Cup?
SPEAKER_02Well, um, yes, thank you. Um Ted uh obviously is uh world-powered sailing. Um and I met him, I was about 16. He had to be about 2022 in Nassau. Um his father had a charter boat for Christmas, and he was his head was walking down the dock, and my father's boat was next door, and and he says, Hey, hey, hey, anything going on here in Nassau? What should I be doing? I said, Well, okay, there's a junkanoo parade um happening tomorrow morning. You wanna go? And he says, sure. I said, Well, I'll pick you up on my motorcycle about um four o'clock in the morning, and we'll go downtown and watch the parade, and then he took me out for dinner, a breakfast rather, and and um so um that was the end of that story. So a few years later, um my mom is running the NASA yacht club, and he's there with a 5.5-meter racing racing boat, and I'm there, and we kind of pick up again and maybe have a f few dates, and um then that goes away, and then I make a life and move on, and then it becomes I'm gonna go racing these sailboats again. Um, Yankee Girl, um uh solution where it was was great and racing solution to Jamaica. And they wanted to leave the next day to come home, and I didn't want to do that. So I swam over to Turner's boat and I said, Well, well, well, can I get aboard and get the sailor back in a couple of days or whatever? No, well, he doesn't want any women aboard for the delivery. And so but anyway, the captain says yes. And so I make this trip back to the States, and then I said, Well, I wanna I wanna go going across the Atlantic this summer. I wanna like to get involved with that. No, no, no. So I take the boat, help you take the boat to Savannah. And Jimmy Brown kind of was really like me having the board. He says, smells like a woman down below now. And there isn't any there isn't any smelly men and all clean down below, and she knows how to sell sails, and she can paint, and she can varnish, and she can run the generator, and she knows how and Jimmy Brown was really my get to Ted. And and and so anyway, to make a long story short, Ted did hire me.
SPEAKER_08Man, that was uh I I just love that story. Um, she she swam to the boat, and the captain said, No, Patsy, you're fine. Ted Turner says, No women on our boat. But uh anyway, great story. Patsy Kennedy bowling. I still see her from time to time. All right, we go to number three, and a guy that you know very well, uh Dax Hollerfield, we named the show The Jack Man. This is a terrific story. I I loved hearing this story about how Dax became a Jack Man in the NASCAR circuit.
SPEAKER_09Yeah. Well, Dax is just such a you know uh a fun-loving guy, too. And I mean, just so much energy. And he's gonna make his impact in NASCAR as well. You know, what was he talking about? Not only being in the um, it's kind of like the um uh what's the tryout for the uh for the spots you know on NASCAR and crews, but also he's gonna be a guy that's gonna change, like he's gonna do develop a new and design a new jack that's gonna be equally as strong, but incredibly like that they can make it more efficient. I mean, he's just you know, he's just a unique guy, but I just love his energy. He was fun to coach. And um, but he's gonna make a the impact he made in the football field, he's gonna make an equal impact with NASCAR.
SPEAKER_08Well, once he got hired, then it was his turn to turn around and hire some guys. And the way he uh the way he handled it, that's why he's in our top five for uh this, you know, the first half of summer. The Jack Man, Dax Hollifield, and learning to teach the guys who are taking care of the cars in the pits.
SPEAKER_03You know, I thought I was gonna go play in the NFL for a decade, if not longer, you know, but then that didn't happen. Um, I was down in Jacksonville, I was in a rookie minicamp tryout, and uh prior to that, during the the pre-combine training and stuff like that, Coach Flynn, who is now my my pick coach at Hendrick Motorsports, he reached out and said, Hey, I want you to go play in the league, I want you to go live your dream, but you know, if this isn't that doesn't work out, there's this is a great plan B for you. And I didn't really think too much about it. Like I said, I knew I was gonna go play in the NFL forever, you know. But um I got I got told to head home in Jacksonville, and I was like, hey, Coach Flynn, I'd love to come check Andrew Motorsports out. You know, I'd been there when I was in middle school. I went on a field trip, uh, it was like a STEM field trip, and I thought it was really cool then. Uh I sort of have a background in in welding and machining and stuff like that. So that stuff's always been cool for me. But seeing the the athletic side of things, what the pit crew does, you know, my first visit there really blew me away. And so I went and visited, and uh I told him, I was like, if I don't get a call back by end of summer, you're all mine. Um, or I'm all yours, and so it's that's how it happened.
SPEAKER_08Wow.
SPEAKER_09Well, this one thing that is, you know, I've done my research, and you and I have talked about, I mean, uh there's actually a a pit crew combine, right, for uh for NASCAR. And uh you were you didn't have to participate in that because of your uh time with the Jaguars. But I I looked at that. I mean, it's very similar to that of an NFL combine. You know, they're doing um weight lifting, their shuttles, their vertical jumps, explosive movements, you know, lateral change of direction. Uh, but you had to go do a tryout with Hendrik Motorsports, and whether it was Evan Kreska, who's the manager of the of the pit crew, or if it was uh Keith that you did, but you had to go and have a little like like a pro day almost, right?
SPEAKER_03That's exactly what it is. It's it's uh we start every year we'll bring about 100 to 150 guys to the to the combine, and we'll narrow that down. Um, and what we do there is just like the same stuff, minus a 40 at the combine. We're doing vertical, we're doing broad jump, 5105, L. I miss your just see how athletic you are, you know, and honestly, we want to see how good you are as a person, you know. If you're if you're if you're a good guy to be around, um, because that's really most important for us. Culture is everything. Mr. Hendrick, every time you hear him talk, he's talking about it's the people, it's the people, it's the people, and just how you gotta, just similar to you, coach, you gotta play for your brother, you know, you gotta have each other's back. And that's uh that's really what we're looking for. But we do do the athletic, the athletic uh drills are very important to us, too. You can't be a dud out there. You gotta have you gotta have some kind of athleticism. So um we do that, we do the combine, and then we'll invite about 30 guys from that 100 to uh 150 back to a uh rookie mini camp, we call it mini camp. It's like a three-day show. Um, and then that's actually where you'll like learn how to pit. And we'll teach you from the ground up the fundamentals of each position. We'll see what you're best at. And uh by the end of the those three days, you'll actually do a four-tire stop. And usually it gets pretty competitive. It's not our times, but it's it can get around 11 or 12 seconds, which is honestly pretty cool to see how far they come in a three-day span. So it sounds like you might yeah, it sounds like you might be a uh part.
SPEAKER_09Are you part of the evaluation process now?
SPEAKER_03Yes, they uh they like the guys because we're stuck, we're gonna be stuck in the van with them for 36 weeks out of the year. So like we gotta like the dude. So we're heavily involved with the selection process. Like we I coach the Jack Man uh the past two years at the at the the mini camp and I give them my feedback and who I like, and I rank them one through however many we have. And and usually we they pick the guy I like the best, uh at least the last two years. And most of the guys, uh most of the players or the the athletes that we we choose, we we I don't know, it's it's it's really usually uh it's not even it's pretty easy to figure out who you want. We have there's some really good guys that we've gotten. We've done a really good job of selecting dudes and uh and really good adding good guys to our culture.
SPEAKER_08Yeah, I would like to, that's a day I would like to spend uh with Dax Holofield in the pits and uh and watch him work. Anyway, we'll go to break here. And when we come back, Bud and I remember our top two stories, and I will tell you about those when we come back because they were both very impactful. We'll be right back. This is Foster Friends, and this is the NSB Radio Network. The first legal distillery in the Radford City Limits, River City Distillery, specializes in handcrafted vodka and the smoothest you will find anywhere. As a matter of fact, Win Vodka being made right there at River City Distillery supports Bud Foster's Lunch Pail Defense Foundation. Master Distiller Charlie Cosmano's business model was simple: make the best vodka and gradually build a portfolio to include bourbon, American single malled whiskey, and other craft spirits. Residents from all over Virginia traveling to Radford to see the distillery, take a tour, try a tasting, and meet Charlie. See the River City Distillery Facebook page. Fascinating, refreshing, live music right there on Main Street in downtown Radford. And don't forget, ask about Rusty Rabbit Bourbon. You're gonna love the River City Distillery.
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SPEAKER_08It is Foster and Friends, and it's our midsummer top five. Uh as we just kind of recapped uh really five of the best stories, or and and actually there are more than that because we got a couple double dips here, but uh five of the best stories that uh we've had the first part of the year, and just really, really good stories. Bud did not know this guy, but uh remember Nick Grenowitz, young man, broadcaster in Orlando, mid-30s, and he had to have he had to have a new heart. Yes, and an impactful story, and Bud, you remember how you and I listened intently. I think the the whole show, the whole hour, we asked three questions because Nick walked us through. It was pretty impactful, wasn't it? Pretty impactful story.
SPEAKER_09It really was. I mean, uh see what he went through and just I mean, I couldn't just I mean, put myself in his own shoes, what that the mental anguish would be like to know that you're on a wait list for a heart and then just just me having an episode myself with some things I was just mining was just minuscule compared to what uh he was experiencing. But I mean, my gosh, what a just what an incredible story this was, and and uh glad he's doing great now.
SPEAKER_08Yeah, in fact, he just launched a brand new podcast. I just saw it on Facebook the other day. But anyway, Nick Grenowitz took us through as he was waiting for his new heart and how things had to happen and uh just a transition in his life. Nick Grenowitz.
SPEAKER_01A few days go by, um, and they finally come back to me and they say, um, then the electrophysiologists don't want to touch you. They think that if they open you up and they try to do something, they'll kill you, basically. Um, and so at that point in time, I'm put on the UNOS list. This is somewhere around like October 11th. It had been like six, seven days I've been there before they made the determination. And from there, we start to wait. Yeah, they wanted to really cut me open, is what they really wanted to do. Um, and so yeah, this is this is probably this is around mid-October or so. Um, it had been less than a week from my birthday. And um, they say we're gonna put you on the list. That in that involves a bunch of tests.
SPEAKER_08And 2023, by the way, that's mid-October 2020. Or 24. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_0124. And so um they have to do a bunch of tests. You need to get a a bunch of um different uh tests done and different um, you know, different things looked at. They need to, I they they need to do different um, what is it? They need to know what your blood, what your um, what your blood type is, right? That's a that's a big deal. They need to make sure that you have um different um that you have different, they give you different medicine and things like that for um as well. And so we go through this. They they check your teeth, they do all kinds of stuff, they check for any signs of infection, all of that. And so um they do all of that testing, and then so things are there's a lot going on for about four days, right? And then nothing, basically. And so what happens is that they move me to a specialized floor in Cleveland. Um, J32 is what it's called. That's the ward there. It is 10 rooms, 10 beds. Everyone's waiting for the same thing. We're all waiting for heart transplants. Wow, yes. There is some sort of a screenplay to be written here. I'm not the one to write it. Um maybe, maybe I'll work with someone someday. But it is, it's 10 people, we're all waiting for a heart transplant, all different blood types, all different sizes. We all come from different backgrounds. Um, all different ages, too, I'm guessing, right? Oh, yes, absolutely. Uh, good friend of mine, um, Bob, who I met, I was I'm in room six, and actually I they go in, they wheel me in there. The and I'm in room six, they they set my bed up, and I can look right out my window and uh or my door, which is glass, and I can see the bell that you ring when you get the transplant, right? They have this bell here. Um, and when you get the call and they're taking you out to do the surgery, you ring this bell, okay? And so every time while I'm there and someone gets one, I have a front row seat to someone ringing that bell. Um, and it does not matter what time of night, day, afternoon, evening, middle of the night, they will ring that bell because people wait and they wait a long time for this. And so for about four days, it's very busy. And then after that, the only activity that you have that is not in your room is you can go for a walk. That's it. And so I've got anti-arrhythmics that they have me on. So I have all of these, you know, IVs that are in me and all of that. And so I can't go for a walk by myself. There has to be a nurse available to walk with me in case I fall or anything like that. And to put it straight, probably of the 10 people that are there, I was probably in the best shape of anybody. I was the youngest person that was there. The only issue that I had was the arrhythmias. The heart failure was not advanced enough to where it was really hurting me. So I could walk miles a day, just miles. And really, what you have though is you have about 500 feet. You can't leave the ward. I couldn't leave the hospital, right? This isn't scrubs, they don't find bacterium. And so I'm just going up and down, up and down, and up and down. And finally, like a nurse would say, Hey, I have to see other patients, so I need you to go back to the room.
SPEAKER_08Nick Grenowitz, and just an incredible story, and uh just uh so glad. That was our our number two story. Now, number one, because bud has uh really been in the just been in the throes of not only with his position and fundraising, but two things happened within the last year. First of all, the the search and the search committee for James Franklin, but then Bud had a lot of conversations and we was in the middle of the the Brent Pry hire. But for Brent to stay, and we talked about this is why this is our number to me our number one show that we did, because Brent explained it was unprecedented. Defensive coordinator or guys who get fired normally don't return to their school. And Brent returned to work under Franklin. How special was this not only story, but then how special was the show for you?
SPEAKER_09Well, I mean, number one, yeah, I mean, you just it's that's unheard of, you know, and it takes a lot of humility, you know, from Brent Pry's standpoint to walk past, you know, his former office and and go to his other. But I think it makes a statement about Brent Pry and his love for this institution and the people here, Virginia Tech and the fan base, how much they love Brent Pry and care about him. Uh, I mean, he got this job because he's one of the top defensive coordinators in the country. And uh, but he's gonna get an opportunity to do that with a guy that he's worked with in for a long period of time before he came to Virginia Tech. So, but I'm excited for Brent. I'm happy for Brent, and I'm happy for Virginia Tech.
SPEAKER_08Yeah. Anyway, Brent Pry broke it down on why he returned, family, kids, and of course, James Franklin had a lot to do with it.
SPEAKER_09He wanted to reaffirm what I was saying by asking Brent questions too, you know, to and uh and but um but through this process, and I know how strongly James felt about Brent Pry. And when it came down that he was going to take the job, he really wanted to know my feelings about how he thought, you know, wit would feel, how he thought the alumni base would feel. Um, just a general thought process if he were to offer Brent the job and if Brent were to take it. And because he said, you know, wherever I was gonna go, if it was not Virginia Tech, I was gonna offer Brent Pry. Brent Pry got the job at Virginia Tech because he was one of the outstanding coordinators in the country. You know, I was one of the outstanding leaders of young men. And um, you know, so uh that's where all that started. And I know we talked, I had several big donors reach out to me uh along that same line. What do you think about this hire? And it would be a little unorthodox because it had never been done before, but also I never saw anything negative uh or heard anything negative. And uh because of Brent's love for Virginia Tech, because of his what he put in his heart and soul into it, I do think the record we didn't show last year was better, but we've made some in in ground inroads in some areas, and um so um I I I it's a I think it's a great hire. Um, you know, Brent has institutional knowledge uh about this place uh that nobody else on the staff has uh because of being the head coach and the things that he's had to deal with. So he's a tremendous asset to James, not just as a defensive coordinator, but just in their their relationship because they've been together, they know each other well, but also in his inside in in um Virginia Tech and in the ACC. So I think it's a great hire. It's it shows a lot of of humility about uh Brent Pry, though, too, and um you know, self-awareness and self-confidence that you know he knows that who he is as a man and as a person, and um that he can throw aside maybe walking past that head coach's office to go to his office, but you know, do it with pride and know that he did a heck of a job, but he also with a lot of love for this place.
SPEAKER_08That's why I wanted to definitely do the story. Uh, he was the head coach from 22 to 25, as most college football fans know. Certainly the Hokie fans do. 0 3 start, uh, he was dismissed. But anyway, Brent Pry opened up about the Franklin relationship and also the humility of returning to the building.
SPEAKER_06It seems like a tough decision, but really it's not when you think about what's important to me and my family, and that's working with and aligning with somebody that you trust and know as a leader, as a man, and how he's gonna treat people and how he's gonna run the organization. I had other opportunities to be a coordinator at other places, but there was a lot of unknowns. The the knowingness, the comfort of working with James again after so many years was a real positive for me. He knows me and I know him. Secondly, I love Virginia Tech. I think everybody knows that. So a chance to continue you know, there was no bitterness for me. A chance to continue to to help Virginia Tech turn the corner and be proud again. I want that. And this was a an opportunity to continue to do that. And then my family and I love this community. My kids love Blacksburg High. Uh, we love being, you know, here in Blacksburg and and representing tech. And so there were too many positives. That you know, a lot of these these players that were returning, I wanted to coach these guys. I love these guys. I still want what's best for them, and uh now the role's just a little different in how I can help them do that.
SPEAKER_08So as he was going through the process and all the conversations he was having with Coach Franklin, too, he wanted the blessing, and Franklin felt the same way, which you'll hear in a minute, but uh Brent said that it was important for Whit Babcock's blessing, uh, you know, and and the people that were involved uh in the administration of Virginia Tech.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, he certainly gave that, which was important to James, but also to me. You know, I wanted this to be right for everybody. You know, from a player standpoint, they reached out a lot uh when the rumors started kind of buzzing around, and you know, there was still a lot of uncertainty of if this was going to work out. But uh a lot of players reached out, which I appreciated. You know, one of the things that happened for me was when I was dismissed, the outpouring from the players and the department and the campus and the fan base and the community really helped put my wife and I good in a good place to be able to do this. Uh, there were a lot of things that had to fall into place for James and for me. Uh so there's a lot of things that, you know, bringing the group back together, you know, gives us some traction with guys like Kamari and these guys we were able to recruit out of the transfer portal and get to Virginia Tech. The transition there was a lot. You know, there was it was uh it was a bit of a roller coaster. But uh most importantly, you know, James and I have the type of relationship. I know he wouldn't do this unless it was he believed it to be right for him and Virginia Tech. You know, we're fortunate it worked out, we're appreciative it worked out.
SPEAKER_08Again, one of the top it could be one of the top college football stories, really, that uh I'm sure the networks will pay attention to once uh, you know, Virginia Tech, because I think there'll be a focus on Brent and the return. And it just um uh as you said, it really told me a lot about not only James Franklin, but it told me a lot about Brent Pract.
SPEAKER_09Yeah, without a doubt. And uh like I said, it's uh I'm excited for Brent. And uh I watched him work this spring. He's in he's in his element now being the uh being the coordinator. And uh but uh um yeah, I uh it is a great story, I think every time we're on national TV or TV, and uh it's gonna be talked about without a doubt.
SPEAKER_08All right. Our top five stories with uh the Newsom Stewart show, Patsy Kennedy Bowling, the Jack Man, Nick Grenowitz, and then Brent Pryor, number one story in our in our uh first half of the year. We'll go to break, we'll come back and wrap up Foster and Friends, NSB Radio Network.
SPEAKER_09Hi, this is Bud Foster for Envision. For over 30 years, my good friends, Dr. Scott and Becky Mann, have built a practice that truly cares about their patients.
SPEAKER_10I can just remember being pregnant with my first son over 30 years ago, and we bought the practice from Dr. Henry Stewart, who'd had it for 50 years. It was scary, but we moved forward and we're actually in the same location, and now we're up to seven doctors and over 25 staff in the two locations.
SPEAKER_05The technology is amazing. Uh we used to take pictures on literally Polaroids, and now we went to digital, now we have widescreens, and um we can do things today that 10 years ago were only images you could only generate maybe at a teaching hospital. And now we can do those chair side when our patients come in.
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SPEAKER_07Well, we will now do that valley.
SPEAKER_08Well, you heard the music coming in and uh, you know, is preparing for you know with college football right around the corner. And uh do you like do you like your schedule the way it sets up?
SPEAKER_09You know, I think it's a tough schedule. We have uh uh Pitt, uh Georgia Tech, Virginia at home, who all were in the hunt of um of the ACC last year. We've got Clemson, SMU, uh Miami. Uh out on the road. Cal is gonna be one of the more improved teams. So, you know, our our schedule is probably not a great schedule for James's first year. I think he'd rather be at Penn State this year. I think their Penn their schedule's better off than what Virginia Tech's is. But I really like where our program is gonna be going. You know, this year's gonna be a grow-up year, you know, in a lot of ways. But I think this program's gonna be in good hands. And but the schedule's extremely challenging when it's all said and done, I believe.
SPEAKER_08What can I bring you back from New Orleans?
SPEAKER_09You can get into whatever you want to get into in New Orleans. I'm just telling you that. Just be careful, just be careful.
SPEAKER_08I will. I've got uh yeah, I've got a Belgian nurse with me every step of the way. So yeah, I'll be I'll be fine. For Bud Foster, I'm Mac McDonald, and that's Foster and Friends on our vacation week. And uh Bud and I will reunite uh next week. So anyway, have a good one. We'll see you soon.
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