Heart of the Flathead

Welcome to Heart of the Flathead

• David Wigginton • Episode 1

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Have you ever wondered what really connects us as neighbors in the Flathead Valley? Beyond political differences and social media debates, there's a rich tapestry of shared experiences waiting to be discovered.

Heart of the Flathead podcast launches with a mission to celebrate the changemakers and everyday folks who give this special corner of Montana its unique character. Host Dave Wiginton brings a global perspective to local conversations, having lived internationally and across the United States before settling in the Flathead Valley twelve years ago. Through these experiences, Dave discovered something profound: "We have way more in common than we might think we do," a perspective that drives the show's community-building approach.

Each episode will feature conversations with local business leaders, public officials, entrepreneurs, nonprofit directors, educators, and unsung heroes working behind the scenes. Rather than focusing on divisive topics, Dave explores guests' backgrounds, motivations, and passions—the human elements that unite us all. Every interview concludes with rapid-fire questions that reveal surprising personal insights about these community contributors.

The introductory episode gives listeners a taste of the format as co-producer Drew Zagorski turns the tables, interviewing Dave himself. We discover Dave's love for skiing through trees on Big Mountain, his diplomatic take on the Griz-Bobcat rivalry, and his life philosophy about not rushing important decisions. Most importantly, we learn his aspiration for the podcast: "I hope it helps to overcome the divisiveness that is so pervasive in the world today and brings us all closer together as a community."

Ready to discover the beating heart of our community? Subscribe to Heart of the Flathead wherever you get your podcasts, and visit heartoftheflathead.com to suggest future guests or provide feedback. Together, we'll build a stronger, more connected Flathead Valley—one conversation at a time.

Heart of the Flathead is sponsored by:

Heart of the Flathead, is produced by David Wigginton, in partnership with LeftBrainRightBrain Marketing. Listeners can find the podcast online at HeartoftheFlathead.com and LeftBrainRightBrain Marketing at lbrbm.com. The content for Heart of the Flathead podcasts and any show notes and transcripts are copyrighted by David Wigginton. All rights are reserved. Reproduction and rebroadcasting, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without written permission. Contact David Wigginton by clicking the Send Us a Text link at the top of the episode description.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or production team. Appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement of any goods, services, or opinions discussed. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional, legal, medical, or financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on the content of this show.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Heart of the Flathead, where we sit down with the changemakers, the unsung heroes and everyday folks who give this place its pulse. If you live here, love here or just want to know what makes Kalispell and the Valley tick, you're in the right place. Hello everybody, Drew Zagorski here and I'm the co-producer of Heart of the Flathead and, by the way, the show is brought to you by Glacier Investment Management and Whitefish Financial Services. So thanks to those two great companies for underwriting what you're about to hear. In future episodes, I'll be in the background handling the production and the things, but today I'm excited to introduce you to the show's host and creator, Dave Wiginton, who'll share his background, his motivation and inspiration for launching the show and a little bit about what you can expect in each episode.

Speaker 1:

So, Dave, how are you doing? I'm doing great. How are you, Drew? Great. I want to thank you, too, for the opportunity to partner with you on creating and producing the Heart of the Flathead. So I want to begin at the beginning and here we go. So, everybody who's listening, this is your opportunity to get to know Dave a little bit. Dave, can you share a little bit about your background and what inspired you to put the show together.

Speaker 2:

Sure. So through my life's experience, I've had the opportunity to live in a lot of different places, very interesting places, both within the US and internationally, and along the way I've met US and internationally, and I've, you know, along the way I've met a lot of really interesting people. I've worked with them, I've hung out with them and we've got to do a lot of different things together, and it's been. These are people from all over the world, from all continents except Antarctica, and what I've tended to find when I've been with these people and met them and got to know them is is that we have way more in common than we might think we do, or that we're told we would have in common by people we have we place in positions of authority and, you know, anymore, though, it really does seem like we focus on what sets us apart than what brings us together as people.

Speaker 1:

Right and, you know, in thinking about that, every one of us is a butter knife away from somebody who is, you know if not the polar opposite of everything we believe pretty close to it at holidays, community events and that sort of thing. So I think it's really important for people to get past all the clutter that's on the news and just talk to each other as neighbors mingle.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. I mean just getting back down to our basic humanity and who we are and what we are, and not focusing again on those things that maybe make us different, but really focusing on those things that we have in common, which really focusing on those things that we have in common, which I think tend to be a lot more than what makes us different. And so, when you think about the Flathead Valley, I've lived here for over 12 years now and I've had the opportunity again to meet a lot of different people through business activities, through volunteering efforts, through family activities like kid sports, dance and other kid events, and we've got a lot of great people that live here in this valley. Some are prominent and are well-known and some are not so prominent. And what I want to do with this podcast is I really want to create a forum where we get to know these people and what they do with, again, that focus being on what brings us together as neighbors living, working and playing in the same community.

Speaker 1:

Talk to me a little bit about the format of the show. What can listeners expect in each episode? Sure.

Speaker 2:

So I plan to interview what we call changemakers, our local changemakers here in the community, whether they be business leaders, public officials, entrepreneurs, people in the nonprofit space, educators really basically anyone who contributes to making the Flathead the great place that it is to live in. And I will be focusing on learning, like we talked about at the outset of the show, what their background is, how they got to where they are today, what motivates them to do what they do and what they're passionate about, what drives them to do what they do. And at the end of each episode, we'll have a series of rapid fire questions that we'll ask each guest. That will be fun and allow us to get to know them a little bit better.

Speaker 1:

Okay, you touched on this a little bit here today already, but what's the impact that you hope to create by sharing your guests' stories?

Speaker 2:

That's a great question. I really hope that after each episode, listeners will come away feeling like they know the guest a little better and maybe they never knew him, maybe they do know that person, but that they at least come away feeling like they know them. And in addition to that, I hope they will have gained a greater appreciation for how that guest contributes in his or her own way to our community. And I would say, an additional aspiration that I have with the podcast is I do hope that it helps to overcome at least some of the divisiveness that is so pervasive in the world today, and I hope that it brings us all closer together as a community.

Speaker 1:

Rock on baby Beautiful, beautiful MO for the whole show, and I'm looking forward to getting involved in some of these conversations, if only in the background, as a listener and an editor. So, before we break off and I'm going to throw those sign-off questions at you, by the way, so people can get a little bit inside your head Before we do that if listeners have an idea for an episode or want to recommend a guest or put themselves forward as a guest, what's the best way to do that?

Speaker 2:

well, they can go to our website heartoftheflatheadcom and send our team a message using the contact button, and if you happen to know me personally, feel free to just give me a call, shoot me an email or let me know on the next time you see me and we'll be happy to try and get those guests onto the show.

Speaker 1:

All right. So, dave, what's your favorite hidden gem in the community? A restaurant, a park or something else? I?

Speaker 2:

really like skiing in the trees on Big Mountain in the wintertime. I just feel like it's such a peaceful place, it's a lot of fun and there is, after a good snowfall, great snow in there and it's just a great escape for me from the madness that is life.

Speaker 1:

Okay Now I know you didn't grow up here, but if you had to pick a team Grizz or Bobcats- oh boy, you're putting me in a tough spot here, because I know people on both sides of the aisle.

Speaker 2:

I am kind of a chameleon when it comes to this, not being from Montana, but I guess if a gun were put to my head it would have to be the Grizz, just because we live in western Montana.

Speaker 1:

Are you a winter or a summer kind of person?

Speaker 2:

I'm really a both. I'll be honest with you. I love to ski in the wintertime and I love to ski in the wintertime and I love being outside in the wintertime and I love being on lakes and water, skiing and hiking and camping in the summertime. But I guess if I had to pick one over the other, I would probably say winter.

Speaker 1:

What's your favorite outdoor activity in the Valley? Downhill skiing.

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Speaker 1:

What's your second favorite Water skiing? What do you know today that you wish you knew when you started out?

Speaker 2:

Not to rush things, I think sometimes we're so.

Speaker 1:

My experience as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we get nervous or anxious and we have to rush through things and it just becomes unnatural and we don't make the best decisions. And sometimes, just taking our time taking a step back, putting things into perspective, we really get the insight we need to know how to move forward whenever we come to that fork in the road.

Speaker 1:

So, david, let me ask you this when your story's over, what do you want the book review, the one or two sentence book review to be about the story of your life?

Speaker 2:

I would like to be remembered as somebody who cared and who tried to make a difference for good, in whatever way that plays out in my life.

Speaker 1:

Anything else you want to add today, Dave, before we wrap up here.

Speaker 2:

I'm really excited to do this. I'm really excited to get to know some of the change makers in our community that I don't know already. I'm excited to share what I learned and what these guests have to share with our community, and I'm really excited about what we can build together as a community, not just through this podcast, but by working together, and I hope this is a platform through which we can become a tighter community and continue to build a better, better Flathead.

Speaker 1:

All right, Dave. Thanks again for the opportunity to work on this project with you. I'm really excited about it and looking forward to it, and I appreciate you opening up your own book here for us today.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. Thank you, Drew.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for listening to this episode of Heart of the Flathead. We'd love to hear your thoughts about today's episode and the podcast in general. You can listen at heartoftheflatheadcom or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can reach David via the contact page at heartoftheflatheadcom or by clicking on the Send Us Feedback link at the top of the episode description in your favorite podcast app. Heart of the Flathead is produced by David Wiginton in partnership with Left Brain, Right Brain Marketing. Listeners can find the podcast online at heartoftheflatheadcom and leftbrainrightbrainmarketing at lbrbmcom.

Speaker 1:

The content for Heart of the Flathead podcasts and any show notes and transcripts are copyrighted by David Wiginton, All rights reserved. Reproduction and rebroadcasting in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission. Contact David Wiginton at heartoftheflatheadcom with your request. The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or the production team. Appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement of any goods, services or opinions discussed. The podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional legal, medical or financial advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on the content of this show.