 Good morning, everyone. Thank you for tuning in to Straight Talk Vermont. It's a beautiful Friday here in Little Park in Burlington. We're looking forward to speaking with Dr. Hal Colston, our state representative. We're here with Bruce Wilson as well. How are we doing this morning, Hal? I'm doing great. Beautiful day. Beautiful day to be here. Good to be here. Good to be alive. Thank you for joining us. Bruce, how are you doing? I'm well, you know, like Dr. Colston said it all, you know, being alive, you know, hours like, woke up this morning, like, like it was like, how's your day? And they're like, oh, you forget the big number one is that you woke up this morning. I mean, that's nothing. That's everything. That's a bonus in the day. So, yeah, so I'm well. We've got a lot to do, you know, our team here, Hunter. We've got a lot to do today, playing our events, playing our events and going over all the things we're working on. So, I always look forward to for that, you know, with you guys. So, I'm good. Of course, of course. Well, we're very excited to be here today with Hal. Dr. Hal Colston, he is our state representative, like I'd mentioned, among many, many other titles we look forward to digging into. It really is a pleasure to be here with you today, Hal. The resume I have read about so far is just absolutely incredible. And it's a pleasure to be with an individual who's impacted our community so greatly in Vermont. Thank you. Yeah, thank you for being here. So, speaking of Vermont, since this is the state, you know, you've done so many beautiful things in. How exactly did you come to find yourself here? Well, you know, when I look back on it, I think it was a calling. It was April 1989. I got a phone call out of the blue from a friend who had just relocated to Essex Junction. And the New England Culinary Institute was opening its second campus at the end at Essex. So, our friend Brad was looking for a director of catering for their new operation. And less than a month later, I'm packing my bags to come to this place called Vermont. And to be honest, I wasn't quite sure which side of New Hampshire Vermont was on. I just knew it was north and cold. And it was the widest state in the country at that point. So, coming from Philadelphia was clearly like being in the frontier to come to a place like this. And what was very interesting, before I left, I believe it was, it might have been Mother's Day, it was a service at our church, it was a Presbyterian church. And it was this pastor, Connie Parby, Lutheran pastor from Jericho, Vermont. And she happened to be at the Lutheran Seminary that weekend and was our guest preacher. And she also conducted our, you know, adult forum. And she was just very intriguing, you know, something about her just drew me to her, her, her space and her spirit. So, fast forward, we moved to Vermont, families here. I got three young kids growing up here. My oldest, Marissa, was in the Essex Children's Choir. So they had a holiday pageant. And we were at the congregational church in Essex Junction. And I'm making my way through the crowd to find Marissa. And right in front of me walks Connie Parby, who I had met in Philadelphia. And I turned around and tapped her on her shoulder and I said, excuse me, I think I've met you maybe about a month ago in Philadelphia. And she said, yes, that was right. That was me. I'm a pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. I'd love to have you come out and visit. And we were looking around for a church at that time. And a few months later, we took her up. And it was love at first sight. We joined the church. We became Lutherans. So I had turned 40 in 1993. And I was really looking for something different. I had been in the food service for about 19 years. I was, you know, burning out. I wanted to just, you know, figure out something new and different. So I ended up leaving my last position down in Montpelier. I was the chef at the Capital Plaza Hotel that had just reopened. And I quit. And I ended up joining Community Action, which is right around the corner from here. And never worked in social service, you know, sector before. But I was very fortunate that then Ginny Nguyen, who was the executive director, took me in under her wing and just, you know, showed me the ropes. And I really enjoyed, for the three years that I was there, to just do that work, you know, like really being connected to my values of truth and justice, you know, helping folks figure out their way through the, you know, the tattered safety net and get support that they needed. And one day, this single mom with two kids on welfare comes through the door. I was on, you know, direct service that day. Everyone, you know, took turns to, you know, meet people where they are and try our best to help them. And she was in tears because she just bought a piece of a car for 500 bucks. You know, you robbed Peter to pay Paul. She was trying to figure out a way to get a job to get off welfare. And the sad thing was she couldn't drive the car home. Didn't have any brakes. The brakes did not work. So she's in tears. What do we do? So for about two weeks, I try to help her, you know, get her money back, get the car fixed, you know, just get some sense of justice. And even though we weren't successful, this idea came to me of a car donation program. And at the time, there was a program in Shelburne, I believe, that was collecting bicycles and then sending them down to Jamaica, where people had no transportation options. And I was thinking, well, why can't we do that with cars? So for about six months, I'm calling around the country to find a model. And I finally found one in Milwaukee, Esperanza Unita Hope United. And it was a car donation program. But the cars were used to be a training vehicle for welfare dads who wanted to become mechanics. So then I knew I was onto something. And they were very, very helpful. They shared all their information with me. But I just wanted to do it for someone like Deborah, who for the lack of resources, she just could not imagine getting into a safer, reliable vehicle. At the same time, as I mentioned, I became a Lutheran and joined Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Jericho. My pastor, Connie Parvy, invited me to this group. And it was about five different Lutheran congregations that were meeting for over a year, twice a month. And they were trying to figure out who is our neighbor and what are the needs of our neighbor? Because Lutheran social services, which is the largest faith-based social service agency in the country, did not have any programs in Vermont at that time. So they were looking to start up their first program. So I got invited to a meeting. They were testing out this survey tool. And I was, because I was working in the nonprofit sector, they wanted to test it out on me. And I kind of just really connected with the group and started attending, you know, meetings thereafter. Then it got to the point where we all had to go out in the community and actually do the survey. And when the results came back, it was all about the lack of transportation equity. And LSS didn't know what to do with that. But meanwhile, I had in my back pocket this one-page concept that called the Good Samaritan Garage. And in the 11th hour, when they were struggling with what to do, I introduced the idea. And the entire group, it was almost like a Pentecostal moment. They were just so excited, like they were just overflowing with excitement about the idea. And I rode home with Connie Parby that night, and I shared with her my story about how I got to Vermont. And it was that night that I knew then and there that it was why I came to Vermont was to start the Good News Garage. And it was interesting because they loved the idea, but the name didn't catch because there was a program called The Samaritan Connection at St. Michael's College. And they were concerned about being confused. And I just blurted out good news. And over a year later, with $35,000, we opened up shop July 1st 1996 at Ascension Lutheran Church in a church office and using church parking lots around the community to store cars. And I had my Volvo with a tow dolly and I went out and picked up cars. I mean, it really started from scratch. Right. When there's a will, there's a way. That's so beautifully told, Hal. Thank you. Thank you. Wow. Yeah. So, so, Hal, so I, you know, we, I just learned we came in the same year, 89. But I also was proud of C.V.O.O. the community action. I was on the board of directors. And I was talking about it yesterday to Amara Collins, who we just had to meet with, about, like, C.V.O.O. community action has, like, 16 businesses. And they sent out the information about the meeting, maybe a pack of that, like, four-hour board meetings, you know. And there's so many programs and projects and events. And I'm just happy that you as a part of, you know, community action and help us, and help community action. Sure. C.V.O.O. get better, you know, where they are today. They got a lot of stuff going on. So, wow, bro, that's a good story. Yeah. And that's my first time. I might have heard it before, because, you know, we, you know, I'm sure you have told it in a lot of places. We both been, you know, meetings or whatever it was. And it's still going strong today, right down the street from us. Yeah, it was, in September last year, it was their 25th anniversary. Wow, 25th. And they were celebrating their 5,000th car that was being, you know, matched up to typically a single mom, 80% of the vehicles go to single moms. And the rest is history, because having a reliable, affordable vehicle can change your life and your family's life. Exactly. So, the cars are sourced from donations? That's correct. They're sourced from donations. The donor gets a tax right off. Probably one out of seven or one out of eight vehicles are worth repairing. The others may get auction off, which, which, you know, funds the program. But it certainly has made a huge difference. Right, right. That's just all around a great cycle of giving back. And just to explain how we got into the building down the street on the North Winniesky Ave. Then Congressman Bernie Sanders, who would always come back and do town hall meetings, was up in the Northeast Kingdom. And he went to two different meetings and heard similar stories from single moms about how their lives were transformed because of getting a car from the good news garage. So when he gets back to Washington, he tells his staff about this. And I get a call from Warren Gunnels on his staff. And Warren said, Hey, you know, Congressman's really impressed with what you're doing. You're helping lives in Vermont. You know, how can we help you grow? And at the time, the Berlin Community Land Trust had just taken over the building that houses the good news garage, and they were looking to renovate it into a large, you know, community based project. So we needed to raise 1.7 million to renovate the space. And so when Warren Gunnels asked me, Well, what do you need? I said, Well, we could use a million bucks. Okay. And I told him why. And we had a couple further conversations in about three months later. I get a call from Bernie and he said that he had secured an $850,000 earmark for our expansion project. And a year later, we raised the other $850,000. But it was those two stories up in the Northeast Kingdom that moved mountains and allowed us to move into that space. That's the main thing. We're part of that move right there now. Vermont has been always kind of interesting. It's been, you feel that I'm from Chicago. And it's totally, like you said, totally different from, it's almost like a shock almost when you first get here, you know, because like, you know, you don't see no people who look like us, you know what I'm saying? Right, right. You know, like, you know, I already, and it was white, like you say, white state in America, you know, and it was, you know, and I think because of now it's like number two, we made it, we made a difference. How? Yeah. And the reason why I really love this space is that it's very human scale. Yeah. You know, you can meet the governor at the grocery store. I mean, it's just amazing how small it is and how connected it can be. And so that to me is a real strength of our state. It's almost like a big laboratory where we can try things out, make things happen, and kind of lead the way. Certainly. Vermont's like an incubator box, so to speak of goodness. Exactly. It's lovely. That's, thank you so much for sharing about Good News Garage. Like we'd mentioned, that's just one thing of the amazing, amazing list I have here. So you've worked on many nonprofit boards as well to go over a few. Let me know if I miss any. Vermont Public Broadcasting System, the Flynn Center for Performing Arts, the Vermont College of Fine Arts, Young Writers Project, the Howard Center, United Way of Chittin County, the Center for Whole Communities, and then you served on the board for the Richard and Barbara Snowing Center for Government. Any more? Of course, there's more. The V&A of Chittin County Nurses Association. And I chaired that board. I also chaired the board of Vermont Health Foundation. There are several others. It's been a long ride. A lot of good work for our state. I know, for the community, right? And for the state, you right. You know, it's not only the work you've done is letting impact to the state, and as well as, like we always say that we know we'll provide a service. We provide a service for the world. And that's what you do. You know, it's like you took something from Philadelphia forward, places where you are, and you brought it to Vermont, right? And then also somebody, you guarantee, is taking it to some out of some other country. You know what I'm saying? And so you provide a service for the people of the world, and that's no doubt about it. I mean, we really appreciate that. I learned a lot from this. I learned a lot from how coming up through the years and based on all the things you've done, you know, I worked with you on some different things here and there. You appointed me, wanted to appoint me to be one of the commissioners, and safe and healthy, connected people, and we're new ski. Well, we are living in this ski, which is awesome. And so I still serve on a lot of different committees and boards around, you know, we're new ski. But that was a great, thank you for doing that for me, because I thought, it's like you probably thought why you chose me is that I can help make a difference. And I think I have, you know, I still make a difference. That's great. That's great. When you ski and eat people like leaders, you know, like you, and people who are at me, who are usually leaders like you, to help make the, when you ski into the world better. Right. Right. You know, I'm just proud to know you and all the things you do, you know, do. A lot of people have asked me, do I know you? Like, probably say, yes, I do. Like, 10 years old, 30 years old. Now it's 1989 or so right now. But I'm proud to say I do, you know, because it's a, we always try to work in our own positions on positives. Sure. We don't want no negatives. We work on our positive, because you're going to get a negative, right? We add it up. So we always work on positives and, and there's no people like you, man. It's like, and your ideas suggest, I'm sure we're going to be trying to figure out what word we could use from based on what you've done, something to, that we can make, make ourselves what we do better. Right. I know it's a fact, because that's how we think, you know what I mean. Right. We always need others to help meet the goals and dream aspirations of people. That's what we do, you know what I mean. So we're just proud to be able to work with you, you know, love your programs and say, when I'm talking about Vermont, what some of the things Lauren had mentioned about what's, what's going on here. You know, it's like, you know, I don't want to say put it like this, but, you know, a lot of things that people say, well, I didn't know that the black people invented traffic lights or plasma, you know what I mean. They people don't know that. And it's like, I have never said this, but, you know, I probably will like that. All the things you have accomplished in this day, you know, with all the nonprofits. And I can say, well, you know, and it's African-American who actually put that together, you know, it's like, you know, for the whitest state in America, you know. And so you're one of those guys, you know, you're one of those people that people don't really don't know, but they really know you, but you know what I'm saying. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that's also really be able to say how, because, you know, we're, you know, it's so awesome to be humble and, you know, and help the community. I feel when you tell a story about the lady, about the car, I feel, I was feeling that, you know what I mean? Because that's where we are, you know what I'm saying? Dang, she got shipped for $500 and you know, you have no breaks, man. You know what I mean? You know, and that, you know, you thought it wasn't like, you know, you felt emotional right then. You went home and everything and did your studies and do diligence and you found out it stuck with you for a long time. Right. Right. And I think we're all given opportunities to make a difference. Yeah. And, and those, those opportunities are called days and we get them one at a time. That's right. There's no guarantee for tomorrow. And on that particular, in that particular moment, it was my time to do something. Yeah. And that's why I reacted as I did. But as you mentioned, where, where I served on boards, my first introduction to the Snelling Center for government was through their Vermont Leadership Institute. So I was in the class of 2004. And, and so the Good News Garage was going gangbusters and, and I just wasn't quite sure if I could fit another thing in, but, but I did. And it became a transformative experience, that VLI experience. And into our second month, it was October of 2003. We were, where were we? I think we were down in Killington. Anyways, it was a very powerful weekend for me because there were two things that really touched me about leadership. One was a definition, and, and it's, it's, it's simply leadership is about coping with change. And that really resonated with me because in so many ways, I was dealing with so many issues around trying to get the garage started from $35,000 to this, this $1.3 million operation. And then the other thing that I learned was that leaders don't do very well in an environment where the leadership is centralized and bureaucratic. And that was exactly Lutheran social services, which I basically gave my idea to, and they helped to fund it and get it going. So that weekend, it was a Saturday, October 25th, I'm in the shower, seven o'clock in the morning, and I got zapped. I decided then and there that I was quitting my job as the founding director of the Goodness Garage with no idea what I was going to do. So at the end of that day, we all sat around in a circle, about 24 of us, and we all went around and shared, you know, what group do we want to become a part of? There were like five or six groups that were, you know, that rose up. And I shared within my experience in the shower that morning and how I decided that I'm quitting my job and with no clue of what was next. And I wanted to be with the new beginners because I just knew as a leader and able to grow, I needed to do something different. So I had to drive, you know, over two hours home, you know, to tell my wife, hey honey, guess what? I just quit my job. And I did. And then the following meeting in November, we gathered down in Grafton for a weekend, and I had already mapped out this new idea called Neighborkeepers. And it was a nonprofit that would utilize a circle of support model. So when someone's struggling with a lack of resources, which is what I like to say instead of somebody who's poor or in poverty, because we all at times lack resources. And, you know, and some folks just have way too many. That's why we're so glad you're around too. Because, you know, when I think of you, and I put this big smile on, because I'm thinking of you, I think of you as like, there's a resource, I mean, that I can at least ask a question or get some real answers. I mean, I don't have to go looking right here. And then I just, you know, if you got the answer, just come and ask you, you know, or text you. So how wonderful that is. So you're a resource. Yes, sir. So I had this idea. I laid it out to my cohort. They were all excited about it. And two months later, I actually left the job at Goodness Garage after being there for eight years to start up this new nonprofit, took about a year to raise $70,000. And then we began this model where you bring together the community. And it's an organic process because community members who are struggling with a lack of resources need support. And that support are our new friends. So we have a circle of three volunteers who learn to become friends and learn to deepen the relationship with that community member, which I describe as an emotional bank account, where you're making those deposits of sharing your story, doing things together, seeing where you have connections, becoming friends and trusting. And it's not until you accomplish that can you make the withdrawals of having a serious conversation with your community member about, you know, accountability or what have you. So that was a model that really took off and we actually touched a lot of lives in this community as well as Winooski, who actually were able to maintain these relationships long after the program. And that's the whole idea. You know, we're relational beings and if you're isolated because of your struggle with the lack of resources, you're not a full person. And we need to look at it that it's our responsibility if we have the means in the way to help people connect and bring them into the community so that we can all benefit from all the diverse voices and perspectives to make our place a better place. Very well said. And is that still going today? No, it's not. I didn't have a plan to carry it on because out of nowhere, I got a call from then Governor Shumlin to join his staff as the director of Sir Vermont, which is the AmeriCorps Vista State Office. So I took on that role and actually my goal would have been to have that become an AmeriCorps program. And I still think that's a viable way to support and sustain a program like that. That really touches a lot of lives. Certainly. Would you mind talking a little bit about Sir Vermont and what you did there? Sure. Well, first of all, I helped to change the name. It was then known as the Vermont Commission on National and Community Service, which is a mouthful. And so we went through a process and came up with the name Sir Vermont because that's exactly what it's about. But essentially, we would receive several million dollars a year from the federal government, about 80% of our budget. And the rest came from the Vermont General Fund. And we were able then to stand up and support AmeriCorps and Vista programs around the state. Some have been in existence for quite some time. There were a couple new ones that we were bringing along. And then their programming was either if you're a Vista volunteer, you're about creating sustainability in a community. And if you're an AmeriCorps volunteer, you do direct service. So those are the distinctions between Vista and AmeriCorps. And it really is a great way to get young people and even retired people back into connecting with the community, doing something meaningful. And in many ways, for some of those members, it becomes a job for them or an entree into a job with the organization that they're working with. So, thank you for helping us start the problem. AmeriCorps investors, I don't had them through all my programs and all the programs we have. And we don't have 50 awards because of them. Because like I work with the governor or the mayor or somebody named like Bruce, I say, well, you got AmeriCorps, then yeah, well, we want to work with them, because they were boots on the ground. And I used to tell my mayor, I said, you know what, David, the policy say you're on 24th, he said, hey, you got to work with us. I said, you got to do whatever. But 24-7, and that's a lot to be called and dedication to work with the organization. But they learn so much. Because the goal is part of what you have to do is make sure they have a space to operate out of and go to meetings and be able to allow them to go to meetings and trainings and things like that. And so they learn a lot of, they learn from all, a lot of our community, people we work with, what we're trying to do, that's what we got to visit AmeriCorps to help us connect, you know, or do volunteer resources or whatever we ask them to do, whatever they direct service. And so as they get older or graduate, you know, could they get a stipend for college, five or whatever it was to continue that for their funds for college. And just thinking of the people who go to AmeriCorps and see what they get out of and what they do in the world once they leave, you know, some program that, you know, a program that you help, you know, create, and curriculum or agenda, whatever you want to, whatever the program itself and what they learn from it. And then they take on to around the world, bro, and be able to teach people about what, about the program, about different things. But not only that, not only to get to teach people about what they learned or what, you know, they, they boosted, they didn't really know what they actually was knocking on the door. They was actually talking to the community people. They was actually working and rolling in training. We sent them to training programs all the time because we wanted them to learn, to be smart, being able to connect. You don't have, I don't have to go with them. They say the role is white and we believe them. I mean, we don't have to go check ourselves, you know what I mean? And so AmeriCorps vistas in there. Wow, incredible, man. I didn't want to talk to nobody. I don't know. Well, we're going to send you to the mayor now, now you got with the vistas. That's who I want to talk to. Yeah, I came about, I think it's back during the Kennedy administration. Oh, really? It's a long, long time. Yeah. And I mean, they don't do that anymore, bro. It's done. It's a done program. Well, no, it still exists. AmeriCorps, oh yeah, AmeriCorps vista. Yeah. I mean, it's always to be done through CEDO, but it's not done. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It may move around from different, you know, sites, maybe CEDO closed up, but it opens up somewhere else. Okay. So as we were talking about the AmeriCorps and the vista, so vista, how do people get involved with those programs here in Vermont? Yeah, that's a great question. I would say reaching out to the serve Vermont office. You can probably begin that application process, a lot of it's online, but you can get a sense of where the programs are, what are, what are they about? Is there anything that might be a match in terms of, you know, what your interests might be? But that's where I would start by calling serve Vermont. Awesome. That's a great resource. Thank you. So after serve Vermont, you went on to serve as the partnership for change director. Yes. That was another interesting story. I was serving on the steering committee of the partnership for change, which was just getting started. It was a multi-million dollar grant from the, an education foundation. And it was to bring Wynuski and Burlington school districts together to the table so they could learn about how to stand up a student-centered proficiency-based learning system with a focus on the high schools. So they were looking for a director at that time. They had two teachers that were interim directors and they were looking for a full-time director. And one day, the grant writer for the Burlington school district who was on the steering committee asked me, well, are you going to apply? And I said, apply, apply for what? Apply to be the director. I said, no, I'm not going to apply to be the director. And then she went on to tell me why I should apply. And I'm going, what's going on here? I'm glad you did apply and you accepted it. So I thought on it and thought on it. And the last day, the deadline for submitting applications, I submitted an application, went through the process and got hired as a director and I served there for five years. Wow. Yeah, that's incredible. I came out of left field. But once again, it's discerning. Is this another calling? Is this something I should be pursuing? And yeah, that's how they got on. No doubt about it. And it was a calling because you know, as you thought on it. And then your hard part is that it's highly working and divine on a divine opulent is you need to do the footwork. And this is the other part of what you got to do. And you got to do this, to learn from this, to get to there. And so I believe I believe our stories are written, you know, and God in the way God's wanted to do it wrote. But that was an incredible project. I know you were talking about like students being in like a different like, you know, not in a classroom setting, more out of the class kind of deal. Like in the school, you do have classes right in the hallway, right in over here, right in. Well, the main thing that program accomplished, and I think Winooski did it really well, is to embrace this idea of proficiency, you know, proficiency based learning. I think what is that really about? And what it does, it begins to flip the paradigm that we have for school. Right now you have 12 years through grade 12 to get through and graduate. But what if you need more time? And that's what happens for a lot of students. They need more time. So how do you make it more flexible? And how do you flip it around so that the constant is mastery, proving that you have mastered a unit so you can move to the next unit to the next unit. And the variable is time. So it's the reverse to what we have now. And it was such a powerful story. There was this chemistry teacher at Burlington High School. We went on a trip to New York City. We saw all these amazing, you know, kind of educational models. And she just drank the Kool-Aid around proficiencies. So she totally revamped her curriculum and made it a proficiency based learning program. And what that means is you just got to demonstrate that you can get an 80, and then you move on to the next unit and to the next unit. And if you need more time, you take more time. She had a spectrum of students, English learners, low income, middle class, high flyers, the whole gamut. And typically the low income students, the students of color, English learners, tended to be the ones who were struggling, maybe failing. After she revamped with proficiencies, everyone was passing. Everyone was moving towards that end goal. And that's the power of changing that paradigm and making time available. Right. I think I remember the change switching over some time when I was still in school for my high school as well. And it definitely helped it go from just getting by to pass and students slipping through the cracks to everyone actually being and feeling accountable for their own learning. And actually more intrigued and immersed in their learning because it wasn't solely focused on the letter grade they were all stressed about getting. It's about actually consuming the content and applying it to real life. That's wonderful. Students want to know that they're smart and they're valued. And if we've got to change this system in a way to allow for that, then we need to do that. Exactly. That's awesome. That's what we have youth advisory boards and to help to make decisions in our programs, projects and events. Because they're all smart and they're always, we're just talking about personalities and different things. Yesterday, everybody's different. Don't care if you're 20, came out to one minute before you're 20. They're still different. They look the same. They're still different. They got different thinking, different ways. Some of them, one of them might want to wear a skirt and one of them might want to pair pairs all the time. But their thinking is valued because they're all, they got their own personality. And you can't just go by whatever it is that's the one through five that you should be a part of. You got to ask them, well, what is one through five mean to you? What do you think about that? I mean, so that's how you got to create what you did with the proficiency in Winooski schools. They're incredible with that program. They dig down for it. We work with the superintendent and that program has been there for how long now? It's been a while. Oh, it's gone on 10 years. Yeah. And those kids, those students must love that. It was the best program. They probably, I don't know, we know in the high school that that program would might have been the best. But Winooski definitely is the best program. That program is the best program for Winooski High School, right? Or is it just the high school? Well, the idea is that it goes into the entire district. And that's why I think Winooski has an advantage because they're all under one roof on one campus. Yeah. And it's like a big family. You know, not around it. Yeah. And building a new incredible school. You see that? Oh, I know. Yeah. It's coming along. Check it in. Well, somewhere along there in 2014, you were named Vermonter of the year. Yeah, that was kind of crazy. Amazing. I mean, well deserved, how? Thank you. Clearly. He's got the word. He's become all that's amazing. I tell you what, right? Show us the word. Come on. I'm very introverted. And people are always surprised to hear that, but I'm very introverted. And I'm not one who is looking for attention. So I'm just humbled by any kinds of awards like that. Right. You can really tell the work you do comes from your heart. And it's obviously made a beautiful impact everywhere you've gone. So that's wonderful. So tell me a little bit about how I see her wearing your Winooski vest looking very fly. Yes, we love Winooski Vermont. How did you start getting involved in Winooski? Because I know you've been on a few positions for the city. Yeah. You know, along the way, people, various people would come up to me and say, you know, you should run for office. You should run for office. And I was like, you know, I think I get more done on the sidelines. So I just continue doing what I'm doing. So the partnership had sunset it, which was all designed. It was a six year grant from the Nellie May Education Foundation. So by year six, it was going to just disappear. So my job disappeared as it was planned. And I was semi retired. I mean, I didn't have any full time work going on. I didn't want full time work of us doing a couple of part time things. So now then I didn't have the excuse of I'm too busy. I don't have time. I'm busy with this. So I was, I was asked by a friend who really wanted me to run for city council. And she kept twisting my arm and twisting my arm. So by the time I made that decision, it was it was beyond the deadline for submitting your petition. And so I had to run as a write-in because I wouldn't have been on the ballot. And I ran as a write-in. And there were two open seats and there were three candidates. And I came in second. So I got a seat on the city council. And because of seniority, the way it works in Winooski, having seniority after a few years, because it was some turnover, I was then reelected as as a city councilor slash deputy mayor to to back up mayor lot whenever needed. But that was very rare. But anyways, that got me into Winooski politics and and and serving on city council, which was a which was a great experience. There are five counselors, including the mayor and work very closely with staff and the city manager and do a lot of great work together. And you know, one of the things I was very proud of, well, well, to make the connection to the legislature, I I I went again was was encouraged to run, but I had to run as a write-in because Clembus Annette, who I think had served 10 years, had decided to retire. So that was in September. And that was after the ballot was printed. So you'd have to run as a write-in. So so I decided, OK, I'll run as a write-in and got a got a campaign manager, Keisha Rom-Hinsdale, who's now senator, had my kitchen cabinet, raised about $10,000, because when you run as a write-in, you know, it's a lot more work to to get your name out there in front of people. And one clever thing I discovered was I could use a sticker of my name that you could put on the ballot. So you wouldn't have to, because if you misspell the name, the ballot's thrown out as the way it works. So but Clemb never really endorsed me, which is interesting. He was a Democrat. I'm a Democrat. Even though the local committee endorsed me. And I just thought that was interesting. So on election day, he actually came in first, by about 300 votes, I came in second. And the next day, he decided that he wasn't going to retire, because the people spoke in his in his view. Oh, and I was kind of like, Oh, OK. I ended up taking the high road. A lot of my future constituents were really pissed and upset with what Mr. Bissonette had done. Yeah. Even the leadership in Montpelier was upset. No doubt about it. Because how are you going to move to your dream home in Guild Hall and live in an apartment here? And to be in the legislature? That didn't add up. Christmas Eve that year, he decided once again he was going to retire. Then that kicked it to the local Democratic Committee. Exactly. I was recommended to the governor and the governor appointed me. That's right. My first year. He did the right thing. And I got reelected the second term. So I was doing both jobs because the schedule allows for it. City Council meets on Mondays. The legislature is to see through Friday. So I served in both roles. And my proudest moment was making legislation happen to allow for all resident voting. That's right. So that's in place now. And that that impacts so many about 600 new Americans who should be able to vote and have their voice heard for local election issues. It's not about statewide offices or nothing else but local. And now it's a matter of doing the outreach and education to understand why voting is important and why you too can vote by just simply signing this out of David. I'm glad you proposed that. And Montpelier has done the same. And I think it should be a statewide effort. I think a matter of time it will be. And there's probably over a dozen cities and even states that allow for that. You know, local, non-citizen voting. So I think the governor did the right thing and all the supporters that you had. And I knew a lot of them. I kind of knew the story a little bit because I'm a new skin. And of course I'm the Democratic Party chairman for Winnieskin. Is that we needed some change. You know, we need some change. And Winnieskin thinks we're just going by what a few people with how they operate it. They always be there, you know, in the City Council room. You hear from community members not saying that anything wrong with it. But there wasn't no other people in the room that should have been there to be able to talk about their issues, their concern, their community, feeling a part of something. When you came in to be as a city councilor and deputy mayor and legislator, a lot of things changed. I mean, people who look like me are walking more proud. I do a lot for Winnieskin, but people who look like me feel more confident about their part. They are a part of the Winnieskin community because they gotta be because there's power right there. He's doing these jobs. You know, he's making sure that nothing slips through the crack and people like us are included. And so I personally want to thank you, sir, for doing the work and jobs you've done in Winnieskin, all your work, but definitely for where we live at. And also give credit to Eric Covey. Eric is losing Winnieskin. He's the chief of staff for the secretary of state, but when he was on city council, he was really pushing strongly that we consider all resident voting. And actually, we called it, we called it then non-citizen voting, but that's just such a negative connotation. We're all resident, right? So allow for that. So anyways, I really give Eric some credit for actually pushing the issue forward. And of course, charter changes have to be done in the legislature. And I happen to serve on the government operations committee, which says all charter changes. So I introduced the bill and they were able to get passed. Did you help write it, right? Did you help write the charter change? Did you help write it? Well, we have legislative counsel. Yeah, I know the lawyers. We come out with a concept and then they put the meat on the phone. I'm saying, you came up with some, yeah, that's all I saw on that too. But I know how the lawyers like to, that's so good about that. But then you got to fight to get it through. So many people got some incredible good things that they want to turn the legislative lawyers to write. But she's just getting it through. It's like, you know, you got to like jockey for the position or something. I mean, you got to see what thank you, you got it through. So sure. Certainly paving the way of justice and equity here in Vermont. How so you after this long, established, important career of yours are finally looking forward to retiring. Yes, I am. Right. And that's going to be in October. Where are you heading out to? We are going to. I got remarried last fall and Jean Chironi, my wife, and congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you. And we decided to go to Aruba because her dental hygienist has been there three or four times and said, and when we were thinking about, well, where do we go? Oh, you got to go to Aruba. You got to go to Aruba. So that's where we went and had that been there before didn't know much about it and just fell in love with it. It was just gorgeous. And it's the people. Very diverse, very interesting. Yes, tourism is their number one, you know, makes their economy work, but it's the people. They call it one happy island. And when you're there and you hang out for a while, you can see why it has that name. People are just very, very friendly and open. And we just, we just loved it. So we were living in this, we rented an Airbnb in this semi-gated community in Nord. And we drive in every day and we saw this for sale site, right? And after about four days, they go like, you know, what's up with that? You know, like, let's just give it a call. You know, what, what do they go for? You know, nice, beautiful luxury vacation rental. So the real estate agents said, oh, the owners are happened to be on the island. So you can get a chance to meet them. And so we had appointment. We went to the house and no one arrived. And it was like, this is odd. So we waited about 15 minutes and then we called back. And then we realized there was another house on the other side of the complex that the real estate agent referenced. And we, we had to, we had to confuse. So we went there and the owners were there, fell in love with the house and ended up buying it. Whoa. I know you got it bound. That's amazing. Yeah. And then it was just awesome. It was like, that's going to be our next venture. I'll fly you from the ocean. We're 13 miles north of Venezuela. And we're, we're about five minutes from the beach. Yeah. Oh man, I'll make the joke. I'm in the room. I'm sitting under the, I'm on the, the coconut tree drinking a peanut. I've always been there for, I've been drinking a lot of peanut, but I'm like, you know, when I come to the house, I work that tree that I was talking about on the interview. I need to get my peanut coladas so that I don't even make some business deals or something. That's going to be lovely. Are you going to keep any property here in Vermont? Are you? Yeah, we're going to keep our Winooski home and apartments. We'll do short term rentals with that. Oh, great. And, and, and there's something, there's a little bit of wisdom that I picked up from one of my Vermont Leadership Institute experiences. My last session with them, I introduced this whole idea of retiring and moving to Aruba. That was the first group that I made it public actually. We were in a critical friends group. And what that's about, you have, you have three people. If I'm the, the person with the dilemma, I'll share my dilemma. And then you ask questions and get feedback to help me think it through. Okay. So one of the cohort members said, Hey, can, can we grab lunch? Because if we were there for like two days, I think. And I said, sure. And then he sat me down and said, Hey, so how are things going to really be different in Aruba? And you're going to be really retired and not picked up and do all of what you've been doing here for so many years. Right. And I said, that's a great question. So this is what he said. He said, Tell you what, you should sit down and write out your most proud accomplishments. That's like, put it on really nice paper, put it in a really nice frame and stick it in your drawer. And two or three times a week, pull it out, check it out. I'm good. Because that, that'll be a real tactical way of steering me off in a different direction. And actually, what I've been always wanting to do is to write. I write little bits, but I, you know, sit down and maybe put together a book or two. And that's what I intend to do. That was a great idea about putting all of your ideas on your accomplishments down and put it in the frame, put it in the desk and then come bring it on and look at it. Because it also will tell you that your accomplishments, you know what I mean? I would use three words for this. I will, you know, do this. And I feel good about these three things, but three things that boo, three things, whatever, you know, and then all of that will roll into something else. Even if you decide that you're not going to only be doing that, but I don't feel like you're going to be sitting out there and doing something. Well, I'm gonna try something different. You might be president of something next time when we come out there. I mean, because, you know, that, you know, are you going to run for the parliament? You have a parliament government. Yeah. I said, no, I'm not running for the parliament. You know, because, you know, one of the things on that list from my recent legislative experience will be a bill that I introduced that got passed and now is law is to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Vermont. And it'll be about a three or four-year process, um, millions of dollars to stand it up with commissioners and executive director and staff and to begin the process of, of bringing together groups, whatever group it might be, that has stories and truth to share about harms they experience because of our state policies because of our laws. And it is, it is only until we go through that process can we begin to seriously consider reparations. And when you're talking about a legislature, this past session, where there are only two African Americans in the house, most of the white folk have white hair. And I say most of them couldn't, couldn't give you a definition for racism. So if that's the body that's going to have to approve reparations, we got some work to do for them to be moved at a place of empathy to understand the pain and the struggle that so many Vermonters have had because of our policies. No doubt about it. And I'm glad, I'm glad, or I'm glad you're thinking like, well, of course you are. You know, who didn't think like that from day one, you understand? But you're right. You know, I mean, just saying what I was, Winooski kind of set up was too. It's like everybody there that was making decisions, who was giving ideas, suggestions, was part of the community. Nice, good people, you know, who helped bring Winooski to this great place is people who have all these white hair now, you know. And I say this in a good way, that they're no longer a part of that much anymore, you know what I'm saying. It's all the people who knew of people, people who like created ideas suggesting based on trying to include everyone like you did, like you do. And people are younger, like to go to marriage, like 35 or all these other male lives. She's young. I'm not sure how old, but she's young. She's young on that age. And so how awesome is that? I mean, you got, and how often that when she got, and all you created the commissioners, commissioners, I was, I'm still there, I'm a commissioner in Winooski. And so how wonderful, like safe and healthy connected people, like that's one of the commissions that they have worked with the community, safe, health, connected with the people. I mean, in the community, how big is that? You know, you're just not going to make your own ideas and suggestions about anything. You're going to go talk to the people, find out what their goals, dreams, aspirations, how can we make things better in Winooski? What's your ideas? You know what I mean? How can be a part of the helpers? And so how big is that? Because that never happened years ago. You know, you've been in Winooski with me too. But, and so I'm glad these changes are happening. And so, and it's, that's what everybody needs to be at work with the people. Because I tell our Lord and my other stuff, Hunter and all staff that, you know, for us to do anything in anybody's community or any project, we need to go talk to them first. What's good? How do you see it? What's your vision? Can you help us? Can you coordinate us? Can you get your people, your friends, your neighbors, your community, your school? Can we all work together and build what you came up with? And we'll help you in these ways, you know, supplies or whatever it is, you know, get our partners involved. And that's how we, you know, we have over 50 awards. And I think that's how we continue to get better. Because I won't do nothing, you know. And we're primarily service provider. And without asking the people I serve, and I serve them. They don't serve me. So, thank you. I mean, it's, you've got so many incredible things, you know, that you've created and been a part of or sponsored. And like I said, the governor was right about putting you in the legislative, you know, well, first, first and foremost, because darn it, we need a person to look like, you know, I'm going to say that I need to look like me. How about that? And the small world that I referenced earlier about Vermont, Governor Scott, Phil Scott was on the Senate Institutions Committee, excuse me. And that was back in the day when the good news garage was just getting started. And I was down there, you know, begging for money, you know, 50,000 here, 50,000 there. And so that's how we first met. Oh, great. He wanted you to come tune up his wrist cards. Let me donate one of these wrist cards. Oh, we put that in the auction, bro. I wonder if you should drive them. Anyways, thank you. Well, I think, you know, we're going to wrap it up with your beautiful plans for retirement, well-deserved plans for retirement. I hope you and your wife enjoy that. Yeah. Well, we're going to have to do it like a Zoom, Zoom, um, Google conference. Yeah. Once you get moving, see how you're doing down there. Zoom Beach Party. And Vermont will remind us, see their friend how and what he's doing, you know, how they're working for you. My first book project I just want to share before we wrap up. Oh, yes, yes. I'm zeroing in on a historical fiction format. And Dr. Martin Luther King, when he was doing his work in terms of civil rights work, he would be out anywhere in the country, but he always made a point to go back to Atlanta for Sunday so he could preach. That was his, that was his habit. So every Thursday, he would send in the title of his sermon. And then, you know, with a couple scant notes, he'd preach. April 3rd, 1968, he sent in the title, Why America May Go to Hell. Which, whoa, what is driving that? What thinking is behind that? And of course, the next day he was murdered. Yeah. April 4th, 1968. Yeah. So he never preached that sermon. And I've always been intrigued about what would that have sounded like. So what I want to do, I want to do some research. And of course, I want to make sure I have the blessings and support of the family, the King family. But I want to do some research to try to understand what was in his head the year before he was murdered. What was driving him to such a title of a sermon? And through historical fiction, try to reconstruct what that sermon might have sounded like. Wow, that's going to be... I like to learn too. Don't need that answer, please let me know. That's my project. Yeah, we're definitely going to zoom in or Google you. So that'll keep me busy. Yeah, wow, that's a big one. Even just your description has me hooked already, your idea behind it. And he was very lowly in his last year of his life, because he was fighting for economic justice, not just racial justice, not just social justice, economic justice. And challenging the Vietnam War. And President Johnson said, you're not welcome here anymore, you just work on civil rights and let us take care of the economic stuff. He lost his movement, basically. And that's when he set up the Poor People's Campaign. So he was really starting to rattle the cages too much. And that's why he took that. Yeah, he's going to use the word economics, you know. So anyways, I hope to do that justice. Well, I look forward to reading that, Hal. And it was, I wish we didn't mention anything else. Well, you want to mention anything about our events coming up? Oh, well, like we'd mentioned last show, we do have an open mic that's coming up. We're now in the month of June. So that's going to be a few days away from that. Thursday, June 9th, open mic at Crew Coffee, right at the top of Church Street. We're going to have three performers. We have Lovely Sophie and then two other ones to follow. That's going to be at Crew Coffee, the top of Church Street, June 9th, five to seven. We also have our ninth annual Art So Wonderful fundraiser expo gallery event. That's going to be July 29th at the Marriott downtown. It's going to be a lovely event to look forward to. And this year's theme is tattoos. So it's going to be a tattoo expo. That's going to be Art So Wonderful fundraiser gallery. You can look forward to a lot of our local tattoo artists and parlors there with boots showing off their work, connecting with the community. We'll have art and food and music. There will be a bar. It's going to be a great ninth annual fundraising event. So make sure you come through to that on July 29th. That's going to be around, I think, five o'clock at the Marriott downtown. And then in August, we can also look forward to a fashion show, an Art So Wonderful fashion show. And that's going to be held right out of our Art So Wonderful gallery in the University Mall. So we're going to run a stage right through there. Our walkway is going to be surrounded by people and art. It's going to be a great event to look forward to. And that's going to be August 13th. We'll have more details on that coming up. We'll talk a little, give them like a little something about the function. Oh, and then we were working on a new event space in the heart of downtown. That's going to be huge. It's over 5,000 square feet. We're working on revamping and painting that. And that's going to be an amazing event space. You know, we have a there's natural lighting, lots of room for virtually anything to happen there. So we're looking forward to getting that open as well. And now keep doing our shows and welcoming amazing people like Hal Colston. Thank you. Thank you, Hal. It was lovely to meet with you here today. Nice to meet with you, Lauren. Thank you for asking me. Yes, sir. We'll look forward to reading your books and zooming you from Aruba. Yeah, hopefully we can welcome you on the show at the beach in the background. I was talking to Hal earlier before the show. I said, Hal, what's the weather in the wintertime? I was like, no, I'm not 82. It's warm. It's nice all around. They're all around all the seasons. Can you imagine 82 degrees every season? Oh my God, we got to go there. We got it. So we zoom you, bro. We're going to feel like we're there. You got to be in a space where, you know, we can see the trees lightly blown. We know it's 82 degrees. That will definitely be something to look forward to. Thank you everyone for tuning in to Straight Talks Vermont. This is Lauren Tebow, Hal Colston, and Bruce Wilston at the Little Park. And I hope you have a great weekend. Goodbye. Bye.