Category: Plano Podcast

Episode 43: North Texas Giving Day | The Giving Bunch

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Start your credit cards and reach into your pockets — North Texas Giving Day is almost here!  We re-visit six Plano-area nonprofits that are doing great work in our community.  Hear why we call them The Giving Bunch, and why they deserve your support on September 19.

We’ve made it easy to give to our guests. Below are the donation pages for My Possibilities, TOPAchievers Foundation, Heritage Farmstead Museum, Hope’s Door/New Beginnings Center, The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation and Grace To Change. We also included a link to North Texas Giving Day, powered by the Communities Foundation of Texas.

My Possibilities, TOPAchievers Foundation, Heritage Farmstead Museum, Hope’s Door/New Beginnings, Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Grace to Change

North Texas Giving Day

Here’s a great way to hear more about each of these non-profits. We’ve collected our six great Plano Podcast episodes featuring these guests in an easy to listen playlist. Hear why we consider these six “The Giving Bunch” because of their service to our community.

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Episode 42: Collin Creek Mall

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Collin Creek Mall is headed for a bright new future. But for the “mall rats” who grew up at the mall, the memories live on.  We talk to the founder of the CCM An Era Gone By Facebook group  – 7000 strong — that’s keeping those memories alive; we meet the security officer who’s walked the halls of Collin Creek Mall since 1992 ; and we discover an urban explorer who clues us in on the Stranger Things going on underneath the mall. So dig out your hair scrunchie and Z Cavaricci’s and take a trip to the past with Plano Podcast.

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Photo Credit of all tunnels: Eric Kuhns | Koonagi Media

Podcast Extra: Phil Pollacia | Apollo 11 50th Anniversary

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On this historic 50th anniversary of the NASA Apollo 11 Mission- we give you more from our December, 2018 interview with Plano resident Phil Pollacia.  This special Plano Podcast Extra goes in depth with Pollacia about his hand in the space program while at IBM working a NASA in Houston, and shares facts about the Apollo Mission.

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Episode 41: Greg Matthews | Wild Awakening

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The story of Greg Matthews Wild Awakening is more that meets the eye. All his life, Greg J. Matthews felt the need to prove himself as a man — until a horrifying, near-death encounter with a grizzly bear put him on the path to healing. Hear this Plano resident’s amazing story, and why he wrote the book Wild Awakening: How a Raging Grizzly Healed My Wounded Heart.

Greg’s story was featured on Animal Planet’s “I Was Prey” series, Season Two Episode Six.

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Episode 40: Plano Politics | Who’s Pulling Your Strings?

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Plano politics have grown up in a big way. Money from developers, endorsements from Governor Abbott and a Midland-based PAC working behind the scenes.  Why are so many outside influences involved in Plano’s elections? Who’s pulling the strings and why? Three political consultants with experience ranging from local to statewide elections help us look for answers.

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Episode 39: Rex Burkhead | Team Jack

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You and the New England Patriots just won the Super Bowl. What are you going to do next?
If you’re Rex Burkhead, you’re going to Plano! Find out what brings Rex back home to Plano and how you can help him help kids with brain cancer, at Team Jack TRIFECTA.

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Episode 38 : Life in Transition

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In affluent Plano … do we really have homeless folks? We tagged along for the annual census of the homeless in Collin County to find out. Plus, we met the volunteers who serve the homeless when the weather turns cold and talked with Plano ISD’s liaison to homeless students and their families. Plus, a success story: Ron Bultongez, former resident of Plano’s shelter for homeless teens, and now a rising musical star.

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Episode 37: Launch

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LAUNCH! That’s our theme this episode, taking you on a journey into new horizons.  Meet Plano resident Phil Pollacia who played a key role in the early days of NASA’s space program – and two women launching the Plano pickleball craze. Finally, we take you behind the scenes at North Texas Performing Arts –  as one of us attempts to launch their community acting career in Scrooge- the Musical.

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Episode 36: Voices | Diwali in Plano

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In India, Diwali is like Christmas, Thanksgiving  Halloween and New Year all rolled into one big holiday.  It’s kind of a big deal in Plano, too, for our 23,000 South Asian residents. We talked to five Plano residents to learn more about the Festival of Lights.

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