Carrie Heath, Sydney Hill, and Andy Peninger all grew up in the greater Kalamazoo area but these days they are getting a whole different insight to what goes on in their hometown.
The three who work together at
Maestro in downtown Kalamazoo, blog every Wednesday about the people whose "ideas, passions, and dreams" make Kalamazoo the community it has become. They call the blog
Kzoo Uncaged and it's a hit.
Each week they feature a person from Kalamazoo, asking him or her to answer a number of questions, some of which remain the same each week and some of which are specifically tailored to a specific interviewee.
Each has an opportunity to describe a typical day in the Zoo. Most talk about what they love most about Kalamazoo and what could be done to improve it. And for fun, they reveal what's jammin' on their iPod. (There are lots of other questions, too.)
Kzoo Uncaged featured Susan Terranella-Hoffman, co-owner of Cake's Boutique, Nov. 13. Recent interviews have included Ryan Goins, co-founder of Startup Zoo; Sandy Barry-Loken, director of Greater Kalamazoo Girls on the Run; Mayor Bobby Hopewell; Michael Shutkas, clinical sales director for Thermo Fisher and CEO of N-cendiary Entertainment Group; Julie Stanley, owner and founder of Food Dance; and Carl Brown, principal at Roguebotic.
All highly connected individuals in the community with plenty to say about what makes Kalamazoo so easy to love.
The mix of fun and thoughtful questions has proven to be one readers appreciate. Traffic to the site has taken off better than the three could have predicted, they say, and though they are unsure what is in the future for the site, they want to grow it. Right now it is a labor of love. The trio gets no financial support for the blog.
"We all have a big passion for the community and we wanted to find our own way to support its growth," Heath says.
Kzoo Uncaged emerged from a hackathon where software developers collaborated to find ways to improve Kalamazoo. During the June event the idea was never fully developed but it was one that Peninger thought had a lot of potential.
Heath and Hill say Peninger, a designer, is constantly creating something new. When he decided to pursue the idea hatched at the hackathon he turned to the most social people he knew, Heath and Hill, to help him. By September they were ready to launch.
"We wanted to inspire people in Kalamazoo by showing them all the cool things that are going on and the people behind them," Peninger says.
They started with a list of 10 people they each knew who were doing great things locally. Since the three collaborators each travel in different circles, participate in different sports, and have different hobbies it was easy to create an eclectic list of people to talk to. "We all knew so many different people that we were able to get an initial group that is a really good mix," says Hill.
Hill says they were convinced there was a need to tell the stories and share the information they now feature on Kzoo Uncaged, but even so they have been surprised by what they have learned. "Who knew there was a Mo-ped Army here?" she asks.
"We're discovering there are so many things," says Heath. "It's really interesting that in this community you find out about so many really cool things just by talking to people. That happens here? Oh, my gosh. I had no idea."
The trio says it's impossible to pick their favorite interview to date, and Heath says they continue to be amazed by the people with whom they are talking.
"The interviews just keep getting better and better and better," Heath says. "We come out of them with a huge smile on our faces, saying 'that was an amazing hour.' It's so great to spend time with someone doing something really meaningful and really impactful in our community."
Hill agrees. "They all have their own niche and different areas they're working in. It's very inspirational."
The Kzoo Uncaged group started with an extensive list of people to interview and that list continues to grow as at the end of each conversation they ask "who's next?" Most offer two or three names. Some people have suggested 30, Peninger says with a laugh. So they have no fear of ever running out of people to feature.
The interviews are Heath's responsibility, though all participate in them. Heath also transcribes each of them. Peninger takes the pictures and is responsible for the look of the Kzoo Uncaged site. "Andy is the chief innovator," Hill says. She handles the social media and the details in setting up each of the talks they have.
As the conversations have proceeded a few themes have emerged, particularly as they ask what would make Kalamazoo better. Many people are enthusiastic about what is happening in downtown Kalamazoo and want to see more housing, more businesses, and an exploration of ways to make improvements. Hill was struck by a remark from the owner of Rhino Media regarding how easy it is to cruise through downtown without ever stopping at the mall, thanks to the one-way streets and timed lights. The need to find better ways to get people from the surrounding areas and Western Michigan University students downtown all have come up.
To that list Hill would add finding ways to attract young professionals. The steps taken need not be elaborate, but they should connect people and be fun, she says.
Heath notes that one of the best things about Kalamazoo right now is the ease with which people their age can make a difference in the community. "People are open and willing to hear what you have to say no matter what age you are."
They are pleased with the positive feedback they have received for Kzoo Uncaged and are open to suggestions of people they should interview, ideas to improve the site, and other ways they can help Kalamazoo.
As the the interview filled with laughter and insight at Fourth Coast wraps up, Hill suggests that anyone reading this story
send them a tweet or make a post on
Facebook about the one thing you love about Kalamazoo. (You can also send tweets to
Second Wave or a post to our
Facebook page.)
Love for Kalamazoo is something they share and something they want others to talk about.