Only Possible Because Of All Of You

Back in 2015 I had the idea to launch a podcast in conjunction with Harford County Living. The first recording was in October of 2015 and I recorded 6 episodes at the radio station in Havre de Grace which at the time was 104.7 The Point. That very first episode was about Breast Cancer and featured Pam Winnie, Delmonica Cobb and Jodi Gonzales. That recording and the others that followed were only possible because I had a Sponsor that believed in my idea of the podcast, Towne Grill & Pub. The first 6 episodes ran on Saturday mornings on 104.7 The Point and on harfordcountyliving.com and are still on the YouTube Channel.

From December 2015 through April 2016, I decided to take a break from the podcast and not renew with the radio station to record there. I decided I wanted to do a true podcast with no time limits and see where it goes. Towne Grill & Pub was still my Sponsor and we actually recorded several episodes there. We recorded several monthly episodes there and had a blast doing it. After some time we had to move because Towne Grill & Pub was getting a busy lunch crowd and the noise carried through in the podcast. This is a good reason to move though, and I was excited because that means Towne Grill & Pub was getting busier.

Move forward to November of 2018 where a lot of good changes happened. I went from a monthly podcast to a weekly podcast and started recording at a different location which we still record at today, unless it’s a virtual recording. I also picked up some new Sponsors along the way, had several different wonderful guests as well as co-hosts. I was hosting the podcast through my own website and was getting a pretty good listener base and during all this time I was still learning about podcasting and how it actually works.

In late 2019 the software that I was using to host my podcast on my website did an upgrade and all of my podcast episodes were not functioning properly. After going back and forth with the company that took over the software, I decided to move the podcast to a Hosting Company. I researched them all, Libsyn, Anchor, Podbean, etc. After looking through them all I found the one that was the perfect fit, Buzzsprout. Buzzsprout is one of the top Podcast Hosting sites and they are continuously making things better. I was excited to be listed in the Buzzsprout Podcast Community’s Best Episodes of 2020 for the episode “Find Your Path Forward With Ashley Treatment” with James Ryan and Jenn Ungham of Ashley Addiction Treatment.

Now let’s jump to May of this year. Brian Griffiths launched Maryland Podcast Month in March of 2018. Brian has a passion for podcasting and has hosted such great local podcasts like The Duckpin Podcast and Red Maryland Radio. This month was the Maryland Podcast Awards honoring the best podcasts produced in Maryland. The Winners were announced live on May 5th and you can view it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx1HkdCs0uw or below.

I am excited to announce that I won for Podcast Host of the Year and am very excited to announce that we won for Podcast of the Year. I say we because it wouldn’t have been possible without all of the wonderful guests that have been on the podcast, all of my co-hosts, Sponsors and of course the listeners. And when it comes to the listeners, I wish I could thank each of you by name but that would be very hard to do since there are listeners not just in Harford County, but throughout Maryland and as far as Israel, France and England to California, Washington and Texas, as well as Canada, Italy and several other places throughout the World.

Thank you to my Sponsors, without them, Harford County Living with Rich Bennett would have never been launched:
Towne Grill & Pub
Freedom Federal Credit Union
Tar Heel Construction Group
Harford County Health Department
WHFC 91.1 FM
Route 24 Ale House
Great Escapes Harford
Your Pet AuPair
Elite Power Washing
The Fading Theory Barber Shop
Four Seasons Landscape & Construction Services
and several others throughout the years.

Thank you to my wonderful co-hosts:
Sarah Coleman who was the first to co-host several episodes with me and connected me with the Harford County Health Department and other great people
Joe Ayler who continues to co-host with me and will show up whenever I need him
Adam Shellenbarger
Teresa Stepp
Julia Chang
Richard Wilmore
Christian Walker
Lyle Garitty
Kelly White
and everyone else that has helped me and kept me in line as a co-host

I also want to thank the following:
Molly Mraz, Ronya Nassar and everyone else at the Harford County Health Department. I can’t wait to start doing the regular podcasts with you all again.
Ashira Quabili and the wonderful people of Freedom Federal Credit Union. We will start doing more podcasts together.
Kristy Breslin for introducing me to some of the wonderful people I have had on the show. Because of Kristy I have had great non-profits on the podcast to be able to make people more aware of them. Non-Profits such as Rage Against Addiction and Rally Against Parkinson’s.

If I forgot anyone, I apologize. Again, thank you everyone, it wouldn’t have been possible without all of you.