Cassi Carter, Director of Wilmington College Community Gardens, stops by the podcast to share about her passion for gardening and sustainability. Contact growhealth7@gmail.com to sign-up for a free garden bed and join a supportive community. Listen to Real Change Wilmington on your favorite podcast player now: 🍎 Apple: https://bit.ly/rcwp-apple 🤖 Google: https://bit.ly/rcwp-google 🟢 Spotify: https://bit.ly/rcwp-spotify 🎥 YouTube: https://bit.ly/rcwp-youtube 😎 Website: https://bit.ly/rcwp-website

You no longer need to drive to the nearest stadium for the mouth-watering taste and smell of hot dogs. Docs’ Dogs, a local food cart started by Jeff Schussler and Kim Law, is bringing this nostalgia to Wilmington! Jeff, who jokingly refers to himself as “Docril” (a play-off of one of his food heroes, Emeril Lagasse), was born and raised in Detroit, where he developed his love for hot dogs through attending baseball games with his dad. After graduating from the University of Michigan for his undergraduate degree, and then the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine for his graduate degree, he completed his residency at the Cleveland Clinic. Shortly after the completion of his residency, he opened his own practice in Cincinnati, serving 12–15 nursing homes. In 2012, he retired from private practice and became a concierge podiatrist. Kim, well known for her local photography business ‘Mudpie Photos’, raised her four children in Wilmington and currently works full-time at East End Elementary while continuing to pursue her creative aspirations. She states, “I’m very crafty, so I do a lot of different projects at home. I’m never bored. I’m constantly on my feet doing things.” The couple met through a dating website, which Jeff explained as “love at first sight”. After 3-years of being together and a romantic proposal in Jamaica, Jeff decided to sell his house at Lake Waynoka and move in with Kim. Jeff states, “I love Wilmington. It’s been great. I’m excited to be here and work here.” Their new business, Doc’s Dogs, has been in the works for over a year. The couple began by searching for a food cart and exploring healthy food options. After careful consideration, they decided on Kirkland and Nathan’s brand for their hot dogs, and the Schmitz sausage in Columbus for their ‘Bahama Mamas’. Kim explained, “We wanted to give the most value and the best product to the customer. Kirkland is a superior product and it is a healthy product. It is all beef, has no fillers, is gluten-free, and no by-products. We’ve done a lot of research on [Kirkland’s] background, as well as the Nathan’s background.” Their commitment to healthier options includes toppings as well. Kim states, “A hot dog is a relatively healthy product. People lose weight eating hot dogs. It’s the toppings where you’re going to gain the weight.” For those who would like to “eat hot dogs for a better life”, join Doc’s Dog’s grand opening on April 6th from 11 am–2 pm at the First State Bank parking lot, or 6 pm–11 pm at Ole Town Tavern. There will be giveaways, a balloon artist, and kids’ eat-free! Visit www.eatdocsdogs.com for more info.

Cassi Carter, Director of the Wilmington College Community Gardens, is preparing 33 garden beds on the Wilmington College campus for the 2024 season. Cassi explains the program, previously known as ‘Grow Food Grow Hope’, was founded in part as a reaction to the DHL economy crisis in 2008, aiming to provide food security for the community. Cassi first discovered her passion for gardening on her grandparents’ farm in Highland County growing up. She cultivated this passion into her adulthood, accumulating certifications in herbalism, horticulture, and landscaping. In addition to her love for educating others on the skills of gardening and sustainable living, Cassi is a full-time AG substitute at Wilmington High School. While under the direction of Cassi, the main focus of the Community Gardens is to promote self-sustainability, for which she teaches multiple workshops throughout the season, including seed collection and heavy mulching. The seed collection workshop teaches gardeners how to collect and properly store seeds from harvested produce. This course emphasizes the importance of “heirloom seeds” and creating regenerative gardens. The heavy mulching workshop focuses on rain conservation, preventing weeds, and encouraging worm populations for a “no-till system”. Cassi continues her impact beyond the Community Gardens, partnering with local libraries to provide free seeds to communities. Currently, the Wilmington Library has a collection located near the help desk—all seeds can easily be checked out with a library card. Cassi invites gardeners of every stage to register for this free and educational program. No supplies are required. To learn more about this program, or to register for a garden bed, email growhealth7@gmail.com.

What country are you from? Madrid, Spain What is your community like in your native country, and how does it compare to Ohio? In Spain I live in the city and here in Ohio I live in the countryside, my host family has animals and we live in the middle of a field, here I have two host sisters, and in Spain, I have one brother, in Spain I can use the public transport and here I have to take the car everywhere, also here they are more use to eat fast food. What is something unexpected that occurred when moving here? I didn’t expect that a lot of things were going to be related with the school, mostly with sports, also live in a farm and having animals is also something that a lot of people have and I didn’t think that it was that common and also that a bunch of people show animals like pigs, goats, cows… Also, there’s no big buildings. What is one fun fact about you? I love travel , I went to a lot of countries, I like animals especially dogs, I also love playing sports and try to learn new ones , here in my exchange year I did basketball and track for the first time.

Ivy Ortman stopped by the podcast to share her experience with Columbus Parks & Rec and the Army Reserves, as well as talk about her vision for new activities and programs. Listen to Ivy Ortman's full interview on your favorite podcast player: 🍎 Apple: https://bit.ly/rcwp-apple 🤖 Google: https://bit.ly/rcwp-google 🟢 Spotify: https://bit.ly/rcwp-spotify 🎥 YouTube: https://bit.ly/rcwp-youtube 😎 Website: https://bit.ly/rcwp-website

Community is a big word that means a lot of things to a lot of people, but who is often swept under the rug are some of our most valuable members, our youth! Lena Malott is a 9-year old girl from Wilmington, a student at WCS, a player in the youth soccer recreational league, and a friend to everyone in town. While she shares her infectious smile and big personality with those around her, she is also an passionate advocate for herself and others living with Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Diagnosed at the age of 2-years-old, Lena has never let her T1D define who she is or who she will become. Telling those who ask about her insulin pump, that it’s just a part of her that makes her unique. She stands up and holds her hand out to people newly diagnosed to guide the way to a great life ahead, so that they can learn to manage and thrive instead of being bogged down by negativity. She feels that sharing knowledge about T1D and the impacts it has had on her life keeps her motivated and inspired to keep sharing her story with everyone. When asked about what makes Wilmington feel like home, Lena said “I love my school and all the people I know in town. It helps me feel safe here.” She wants people to know that kids can still make change because it is important to make the world a kinder and more loving place for everyone. When she is not out being a friend to her community, Lena enjoys spending time at home with her mom, dad, two sisters, and small “zoo of pets”. Lena is also a big fan of Pokemon, youth soccer, video games, and spending time with her babysitters. People who know Lena, see a child with so much love and curiosity—a truly wonderful addition to our community!

In 2016, Wilmington passed our schools’ levy by 52%, yet for the past 3 years our levy has failed 5 times. I don’t believe it has failed because our community doesn’t support our children or paying taxes, since the tax was lowered once, then removed altogether for seniors, and still JFS renewed their child protection levy by 58%. I think our community is voting against you, or at least their idea of you. So for the past year, I’ve worked to understand why our community votes against our schools and what our schools can do to improve. Through this I’ve said challenging things to both sides with the intentions of reconciling our issues. However, I understand from our last school board meeting that some things I’ve said have been misunderstood, so I thought it would be valuable to clarifying a few. THE FACTS I spoke at city council on January 4th and said “despite our school board announcing that there would be student fees and staff cuts if our levy failed again, not a single parent or teacher showed up to our many outreach events over the summer, or even the events others put on.” You responded that you would like me to “use the facts”, because there actually were a handful of people who manned a booth at the Corn Festival in September, and another handful who stood downtown on election night in November. But the fact is, neither September nor November are in the summer. And while I understand being proud of our efforts, because I too was at the Corn Festival and took a $10k hit helping our homeless shelter, our focus has to be on getting better, because the board of elections doesn’t pass out participation awards. Our community will eventually need to pass our levy for the remaining funds property taxes didn’t cover so our schools can continue to operate. I think the most important fact however, is that we are better than this. As a community we are better than our efforts over the past 3 years. And I’m going to continue to remind and challenge people of this fact. That is the meaning of the phrase, “we earn our pride”. It’s not a statement about what we need to do, it’s a reminder of who we are, our identity, and from that, how we, as Wilmington, work to better our community. WORK TOGETHER At our last school board meeting you also wanted me to “work together” with our schools so I thought I would provide context. At the beginning of 2023, I recorded interviews with 7 leaders from our schools responding to community concerns in order to highlight our schools’ goodness. From that, I stumbled into the first levy committee meeting where it was decided there should be a social media presence. The people there who manage social media for our schools did not volunteer, nor did people who manage social media for a living, so after some time, I volunteered—and I don’t even have social media, so I had to pay my employee to help our schools. Then after we lost the levy, I wanted to get better, so I made a survey and got 60 responses from residents, parents, and teachers that I presented to school board. I also wanted to change, so last summer we posted on social media, what I thought was very mundane, saying yard signs don’t “work” people do, so let’s do the right work to engage the concerns of people who are actually voting. And you would have thought, based on your response, that I posted explicit content on our schools’ page. You then accused me of not collaborating, even though the reality was no one else offered to help you, and in the process you left one of your best friends feeling terrible and worthless. But what really caused me to step away, was when you slide across the table a PDF you got off the internet on how to pass a levy, to say nothing of the 60 people who told you exactly what changes they thought could make things better. In that moment I knew no matter what anyone did, you were leading us to lose. But what hurt the most, was knowing I was losing you as a friend. And while I’m sure we both view that entire situation differently, I think it says all that needs to be said that I continued to work for your good and brought reconciliation to the table time and time again, and you still haven’t even responded to my email from over 6-months ago. And when you did approach me, it wasn’t to heal what was broken, it was to take the website and social media I created for you. So it isn’t me, who won’t “work together”, but it is me who won’t be lead to do the same things that have caused us to fail because that is foolishness. And it is me who won’t accept disrespect, because no one wins in relationships like that, and I want us to win. So I’m going to stand my ground for a higher standard. Not just between you and I, but between you and our community, and our community and you. It’s crazy how no matter what good things I say about you, there are people, and you can read the comments on our posts, who believe the only way forward is for all of you to be fired. I am simply not like that. What I want is reconciliation—to do the hard work and make the real changes required to truly move forward as a community and school. DEFINE REALITY I know I’m going long, but this last thing is important. When I spoke at school board last November, I said “I’ve heard stories of teachers being fired for silly reasons”, and you responded that you seriously doubt that given regulations. And to be fair, you might be right, but what I said was “I’ve heard stories”, and I’ve heard these stories from members of your senior teaching staff. I believe it is everyone’s responsibility to bring their concerns to you the source, but when they are not mature enough to do so and content with bitterness, you are still our leaders, and it is still your responsibility to define reality by having your ear to the ground and getting in front of misinformation and unresolved frustrations. I have personally endured more than my fair share of ignorant and ill intent people in this town, but instead of fight with them, I have decided to level up. And what I’ve learned is when you simply refuse to hide your light, you prove that all their finger-pointing really does is lead people they have trapped in their darkness straight to the light. And you not only gain followers and respect, but you make your community a better place to live. My point is this, there is no reason why someone shouldn’t scroll our schools’ social media and see people like Nikki Quallen saying, “I know Cleveland ranked us lower 500s out of 600 in Ohio, and while we make no excuses, did you know we improved test scores in a few areas by over 10% last year? Or apart from that, that 50% of our students are on free and reduced lunch? So please, let us give you a tour of our facilities so you can see our standards of excellence, and how you can actually make a difference in our rankings, not by voting no, but by helping a real student in our community.“ Another idea: we have 5 highly trafficked buildings in our town, it would cost virtually nothing to have giant banners outside with new messages every month like, “Wilmington High School receives grant for vape detectors, staff and students report better educational environment.” I think the reason we don’t have pride in our schools is that our schools don’t have pride in themselves, and on the flip side, the reason we don’t see community values reflected in our schools is because our community isn’t involved in our schools outside of their own children and extracurriculars. I commend you for planning to create a community group to help oversee our schools’ budget, but the reality is our community already has this power by who they vote for school board, and if they want more input, they can speak at monthly school board meetings, or just email our schools anytime. So if our community wants the perception of change, I think the group is a great idea, but if they want real change, let’s challenge them to step up. THANK YOU I got your newsletter in the mail a few weeks ago like many people did and what I loved most about it was the fact that it isn’t something the News Journal made for you, it isn’t something I made for you, it isn’t even something the levy committee made for you, it’s something you took the time, effort, and money to make and distribute yourself. I have challenged you from the beginning that having people come to your office hours or subscribe to your emails is not enough, you have to go to them, and you are finally doing that and showing responsibility for your role in our community. And for that, I am so extremely thankful and proud of you, and I think our community should be thankful and proud of you as well.

CCHD started in 1919 with the passing of the Hughes Act and Griswold Amendment that served as the foundation for public health districts to reach over 25k people in Ohio. In the 100 years before the COVID pandemic, 25 years of life expectancy was added for peoples living in the US. The CDC accredits this increase in longevity to: vaccinations, improved motor vehicle safety, safer workplaces, control of infectious diseases, decline in death because of cardiovascular illness, food safety, improvement in maternal and childhood health, family planning, fluoridation of drinking water, and reductions in tobacco use. CCHD, led by the Clinton County Board of Health, strives to improve the health of Clinton County residents by preventing disease, protecting health, and promoting public health within the community. What does the CC Health District do? The CC Health District strives to improve Clinton County by preventing disease, promoting health, and protecting the environment. This includes everything from administering birth certificates, keeping your favorite places to eat clean, and giving immunizations. What services do you offer? Administrative: Writing grants, paying bills, and maintaining the budget for the CCHD, issuing birth certificates, front line to the community during health emergencies. Environmental: Restaurant inspecting, testing public water, making sure schools and campgrounds are safe, checking new water and sewer lines, following up on animal bites as rabies prevention. Nursing: Giving flu shots and vaccines, keeping track of illness in the county, drug prevention education. WIC: Providing healthy food, nutrition, and breastfeeding advice to pregnant members of the community and children in the WIC program. What criteria does someone need to meet to utilize CCHD? CCHD is open to the general public. Some services are limited to Clinton County residents only and may have income eligibility requirements, like WIC, Car Seats, etc.). What kind of Health Education do you provide to the public? CCHD offers education programing and promotion to a variety of topics such as: blood pressure, breastfeeding, car seat safety, CPR/First Aid, diabetes prevention, food safety, environmental, grief recovery, lead poisoning prevention, WIC Nutrition Education, as well as hosting the CC Community Baby Shower. Address: 111 S. Nelson Ave. Wilmington, OH 45177 Phone Number: (937) 382-3829 Hours: M-F 7:30am to 4pm Website: https://co.clinton.oh.us/departments/HealthDistrict

We have all heard the word “welfare” and attached it to this negative connotation and stigma for what “welfare” is, who the people in this system are, and how the system has been abused. The facts of the matter really are that “welfare” is an extremely outdated term and there are people behind the scenes in every county across the country working hard to not let the systems be abused. Sitting down with the Directors of Clinton County Job and Family Services, Nicole Rodman and Amanda Randolph, they tell the real challenges, successes, and the beauty behind helping people in our community. Nicole Rodman was born and raised in Wilmington, she attended Miami University of Ohio. After attaining her degree, Rodman came back to Wilmington to work with CCWorks, now called Ohio Means Jobs, until she took a position with the Child Support unit, and eventually worked her way into the Director position in 2020. Amanda Randolph is a Highland County native. After graduating from WC she took on an internship and soon after was offered a full-time position with CCJFS as an on-going case worker in their Child Protection unit. In 2018, she became the Deputy Director in Clinton County. Unit #1 - Family Services The first unit of CCJFS is Family Services. This unit covers programs regarding public assistance such as TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, Publicly Funded Child Care, and PRC Plan. In order to utilize these services and programs the individual applying must meet certain qualifications to be considered eligible, which is mainly based on income and household size. TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families): is a cash grant assistance program that gives eligible individuals cash assistance on a monthly basis. Most of the recipients of this program are children in Kinship programs. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program): formerly known as Food Stamps, this program provides eligible individuals a money card with a set limit to provide supplemental groceries for their household. Medicaid: is a state funded medical program providing insurance and support to children, adults, the blind, and people who are disabled. There are 14 categories for medical eligibility and CCJFS goes through each to help their clients find a program that they qualify for. Under the Medicaid umbrella CCJFS also provides premium assistance for those on Medicare who have limited income or assets and can help with things like meeting a deductible and helping with copay. They also help eligible clients find long term in-home care, so they do not have to leave their homes once they have reached a nursing care level. Publicly Funded Child Care:this program provides assistance to those with children in need of childcare, for eligible families this can provide things like discounted rates and vouchers for childcare. Ohio RISE (Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellency): is a medicaid program for children who are needing additional support for their behavioral needs. PRC Plan (Prevention, Retention, and Contingency): is a program providing short term financial support and work support for people at 200% of the poverty level, with the goal to keep these families or individuals off the cash assistance programs. Unit #2 - Child The second unit is Child Protection, this unit is for the safety, permanence, and wellbeing for families in the county. Their goal is to keep families together and help give them the tools to support and empower themselves. However, if adults cannot adjust or adapt to these tools, permanency plans such as foster care, kinship placement, and adoption are put into place. Foster Care: a temporary arrangement between the child and state in which the child is placed into a system of willing adult caregivers to provide them shelter and support while having been removed from their home. There are several different homes in the foster care system that are regulated through different local, state, and federal entities. Kinship Placement: a program in which the child is removed from the home and then placed with a family member, friend, or acquaintance that they are familiar with to live until they are reunited with their family. Adoption: once parental rights have been terminated. The child and adoptive family go through a legal arrangement in which the child is placed with their “forever family”. Independent Living (ages 14-21): providing children with supports and plans to show that they are ready to live independently when they reach adulthood, this encompasses things such as hygiene, budgeting, life skills, and maintaining grades. Adult Protection (ages 60+): provides the same protection system for adults who have been reported as abused, neglected, or exploited. Unit #3 - Child Support The third unit is Child Support which does provide monetary and medical support to children. CCJFS works to ensure that children are receiving the support from their parents to which they are entitled. They work closely with families on both sides, both custodial and non-custodial, to get the disbursement of support plans designed and enforced. They also work with families who have moved to different states and make sure the support has been paid. Unit #4 - OhioMeansJobs Finally, the fourth unit is Ohio Means Jobs which operates under the Office of Workforce Development and managed by CCJFS in Clinton County, they work with both the employment seeking and local employers looking for employees. Their services are free to the public and help qualified individuals use their internet board to find employment, resume building, practicing interviewing skills, and building their “career backpack”. They also work with local employers seeking employees to build job listings and hosting open interviews at OMJ sites.

It was always known in town that if you needed a vehicle with a salesman who cares about transparency you would go to Wilmington Auto Center and give the “Honest Car Guy”, Clinton Becker, a visit. These days, however, people are visiting Becker for a much more tasty reason, to have a smash burger from Becker’s SMASH-tastic Burgers. Clinton Becker is a Clinton County original and he really leans into the “honest” part of his nickname, by being open to share his roller coaster life with people who cross his desk at WAC or the grill at his food truck. After Becker dropped out of high school and was then kicked out of art college, he lived a simple life with his wife and big family, until their lives were flipped upside down following a move to Florida in 2009. “I made several bad choices that led me down a dark path that would cause me to become a convicted felon [for time share fraud]. These things in my life all played a part in forming me into the man I am today,” said Becker when asked about his sordid past. Becker attributes the resurgence of his success to giving his life fully to Christ in 2013, and moving back to his roots in Wilmington. Becker does not let his past define who he is moving into the future. He made a commitment to himself and God back in 2013 to live a transparent lifestyle, “I had spent so much of my life being a liar and dirt bag that when I got saved in 2013 I committed to God that I would always be honest and transparent at everything I did in life from that point forward,” says Becker. This lead to the birth of his persona, “The Honest Car Guy”, who is open and transparent with his customers at all times thus gaining the respect and a positive reputation in his automotive career which he has brought into his food truck business. Though, even if you experience great success in a job, ultimately you can experience the dreaded “burnout” when you do it for the better part of two decades. Becker is no exception to this, after 17-years in the car business he decided to make a spontaneous change to follow his passion for making smash burgers after joking with many for years that he would open a truck. “One day I decided to buy a small 12-foot trailer and do it as a hobby and Becker’s SMASH-tastic Burgers was born.” Becker went on to say that the success of the first truck was absolutely insane, to the point where the Becker family was able to hire their eldest two daughters as full time employees, expand their menu, and buy a second larger trailer! With all the success it is hard to imagine that the Becker family faced challenges along the way to helping their patriarch live his dreams. Becker discussed the uncertainty he faced leaving his stable and full-time position with WAC to flip burgers in a food truck when he has 5 children and a wife that depend on him. At the end of the day the support of his family to do what makes him happy is absolutely heartwarming. Sometimes that little leap of faith is what keeps small business owners passionate. The amount of support for his dream and the compliments about his food really help motivate the passion for Becker’s SMASH-tastic Burgers. Having been open less than a year the success and support that Becker has had is beautiful and it shows the community’s commitment to our small businesses. The Becker family loves seeing the sight of familiar faces and know that they have a loyal following. Becker encourages all customers, both repeat or brand new, to let him know what they loved or what could be improve about their meal for the future. You can visit Clinton and the Becker family at their food truck in several locations around Wilmington and Clinton County. While the menu is expansive, Becker says that his favorite thing is the classic ‘Big Becker Burger’ and his wife’s daily made-from-scratch ‘Becker’s Wicked Beans’, so if you see the truck stop, give them a try and you just may find yourself becoming a repeat customer.

Submitted by Steve Burnette As the Murphy Theatre enters into her next 105 years, it could easily be said that her brighter days are still in front of her, as evident with her restored 73-year old marquee. The current 2000 Bulbs of Light Campaign notwithstanding, Ohio’s Hometown Theatre just recently served as the setting for a number of scenes for a motion picture, which brought tens of thousands of dollars into the local economy by means of hotel stays, cast and crew’s meals in restaurants, city permits, equipment rentals, fees paid to merchants for use of their space, and the purchase of many necessary goods, services, and additional supplies that were needed to dress up the set; not to mention all the excitement and attention for the city, welcoming Hollywood to kick off the new year. The excitement continues here at the theatre, as we work hard to fulfill our mission statement—preserving this theatre to enrich, entertain, educate and inspire. We were pleased and proud to have been able to serve this community in 2023—hosting free kid’s events such as the annual Halloween Monster Mash and Dance party, Free Family-Friendly Films, and offering the Family-Focused national acts kept at a reasonable ticket price. Events like this are possible because people in our community believe in working together to benefit their hometown. Partnering with local businesses and individuals is one of the most rewarding parts of our job at The Murphy Theatre. We also enjoyed seeing all of the children and young adults in the theatre last year, as many schools and educational groups continued to host their plays, concerts, band competitions, and tried something new, like Amanda’s favorites, the Seniors Spotlight and the WMS incentive day. The Murphy also serves as the site for fundraising events, is the home for The CC Community Band, and happily partners with the WC Music Department to host their wonderful concert series. The Murphy Theatre is once again becoming a gathering place for the community! Throughout the year The Murphy Theatre witnesses the generosity of the community in several ways, including their contributions of non-perishable food items to the table kept in our lobby, for those who can bring a can or two. At the end of each month the collected groceries are then delivered to various organizations that distribute to the less fortunate in the community, and to date, in two years more than 1,000 pounds of food have been donated and delivered by this means. When your city’s biggest block on Main Street is as vibrant and as busy as The Murphy Theatre has been the past two years, it’s a proud moment for the entire community. The Murphy Theatre prides itself on customer service and creating a family atmosphere, with the belief that the key to any success begins with kindness and creating a relationship with each individual that walks through the doors. The mantra at The Murphy Theatre is, “If you can’t be kind, you can’t be here.” Because of that, local merchants, the schools, and the general public get to be part of a something more than just a show. Theatres all over the country put on shows, but what sets The Murphy Theatre apart from all the others, is the caring people that run this museum with a stage. We are open year-round, with something to offer for everyone. In 2024—we’ll see you at the theatre!

Sitting down with Pet Supplies Plus (PSP) managers Mallory Potts and Kelly Bowser you may think that PSP is your standard pet store, but they have so much more going on. Both women come from pet store backgrounds. Potts having an employment background at one of PSP’s corporate stores and before that 5 years in a pet grooming setting. While Bowser spent the last 10 years with Petsmart. Both seem to have a great deal of passion for animals and pet care. Wilmington’s PSP is the only non-corporate location in the area, with their franchising group located mainly out of South Carolina. Owner Dr. Steven Whatley brought Potts and Bowser to South Carolina in 2023 to complete extensive training for the new store. Wilmington was chosen as the location because of it being a rural area where many people own pets and lack access to pet supply stores. Once they returned to Wilmington, the countdown began. A week of interviewing and hiring took place. Then the week of December 4th Potts, Bowser, and their team set up the new store in just 2-weeks before hosting their soft opening on December 15th. PSP offers so much more than standard pet supplies like dog food, collars, and cat trees. Upon walking in, customers are greeted with a friendly person and a counter that features a bakery case with treats by Tail Bangers, a small batch bakery boasting their “human grade” dog treats. At the front counter customers can also get custom made pet tags. PSP hosting a large selection of mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles. Customer’s can purchase or peruse animals like ferrets (also lovingly referred to as “noodle cats” by Bowser), many species of freshwater and feeder fish, parakeets, hamsters, pacman frogs, bearded dragons, geckos, ball pythons, chameleons, as well as other breeds of reptiles and small animals. Coming soon, PSP will be partnering with local shelters like PAWS to house up to two cats at a time for adoption. There are also plans to partner with the CC Humane Society to have ‘adoption day’ events for both cats and dogs. One of PSP’s unique features is it’s ‘self wash station’ where for $14 dollars (or 5 washes for $50 with the Dirty Dog Card) customers can bring in their dogs to wash. PSP provides water proof aprons, towels, a selection of shampoos, and a large hose dryer. After each wash, staff come in to sanitize and clean for the next wash. PSP also offers standard grooming services. PSP will be hosting it’s official grand opening on the 4th and 5th of February where they will be offering free nail cuttings, food truck, games, and give aways all weekend. So stop in, say “hi”, and get a picture with their lovable brown dog mascot Murphy!