WEBVTT 00:00:08.810 --> 00:00:12.310 Hello, and welcome to another edition of Good 00:00:12.310 --> 00:00:14.949 News York, sponsored by Ads on the Go. Getadsonthego 00:00:14.949 --> 00:00:18.570 .com. Matt's not with me here today. I think 00:00:18.570 --> 00:00:20.710 he's out looking for the abominable snowman. 00:00:20.910 --> 00:00:23.850 Who knows? But I am joined by a very special 00:00:23.850 --> 00:00:27.250 guest remotely today, someone who I tried to 00:00:27.250 --> 00:00:30.350 interview a few days ago, but because of the 00:00:30.350 --> 00:00:35.109 snowstorm, the... interview got canceled or interrupted. 00:00:35.210 --> 00:00:36.869 We don't know what happened. If it was me, if 00:00:36.869 --> 00:00:39.090 it was her, doesn't matter because she's here 00:00:39.090 --> 00:00:43.750 now. Disney on Ice presents Road Trip Adventures 00:00:43.750 --> 00:00:47.590 December 26 and 29th, 29th, excuse me, at Upstate 00:00:47.590 --> 00:00:50.189 Medical University Arena at the On Center War 00:00:50.189 --> 00:00:53.409 Memorial. Get your tickets at Ticketmaster .com. 00:00:53.789 --> 00:00:57.829 And joining me from Disney on Ice, one of the 00:00:57.829 --> 00:01:00.390 characters who we will not tell you who that 00:01:00.390 --> 00:01:02.689 is. One of the many characters, I should say. 00:01:03.379 --> 00:01:06.400 Actress, figure skater, and just all -around 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:10.439 great person, Gwyneth Setter. Gwyneth! Hello! 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:14.420 How are you? Thank you for having me. It's good 00:01:14.420 --> 00:01:20.540 to see you. You too. So, I want to start off. 00:01:21.219 --> 00:01:23.579 Your background is really, really impressive. 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:27.739 You began ice skating at quite a young age, and 00:01:27.739 --> 00:01:30.939 your family did have a lot to do with that. Tell 00:01:30.939 --> 00:01:34.640 us about how it all began. I know Your aunt was 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:38.219 a figure skater. Your mom was involved Yeah, 00:01:38.700 --> 00:01:43.620 so my mom and my aunt both grew up figure skating 00:01:43.620 --> 00:01:47.079 my mom started like she went her birthday party 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:50.780 really loved it and Then my mom that her grandmother 00:01:50.780 --> 00:01:53.000 were my grandmother her mom signed her up for 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:56.180 it and then her sister followed and I grew up 00:01:56.180 --> 00:01:59.560 skating their whole lives and Then when I was 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:01.849 little I would go and watch my aunt, because 00:02:01.849 --> 00:02:04.010 my aunt decided to continue it professionally. 00:02:04.189 --> 00:02:07.730 And she would do Disney on Ice and other contracts. 00:02:07.769 --> 00:02:09.789 And I would go visit her and watch her. And it 00:02:09.789 --> 00:02:12.409 was really cool. And I really looked up to her. 00:02:13.129 --> 00:02:16.669 And then when I turned 18, Ira was like, yes, 00:02:16.669 --> 00:02:19.750 I really want to do that as well. So I auditioned 00:02:19.750 --> 00:02:22.729 for Disney on Ice. And I got a contract. And 00:02:22.729 --> 00:02:25.150 then we both ended up being able to tour together. 00:02:25.310 --> 00:02:32.080 So it's really cool. That's amazing. Yeah. Tell 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:34.699 us about the experience for trying out for Disney 00:02:34.699 --> 00:02:37.240 on Ice. What's that process like? Because, you 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:40.800 know, in theater, or actually in film or TV, 00:02:41.180 --> 00:02:43.780 a lot of times you go in person and you do a 00:02:43.780 --> 00:02:47.319 monologue, or you dance, or you send in a reel. 00:02:48.180 --> 00:02:50.340 But with the figure skating element involved, 00:02:50.500 --> 00:02:54.430 what was that process like? Yeah, so... I had 00:02:54.430 --> 00:02:57.449 to submit a whole audition video of the things 00:02:57.449 --> 00:02:59.490 that they're looking for, like choreography, 00:02:59.909 --> 00:03:02.710 tricks that you have, just showing off your personality 00:03:02.710 --> 00:03:07.430 and who you were. I submitted that when I had 00:03:07.430 --> 00:03:11.509 just got out of high school, 18, and then it 00:03:11.509 --> 00:03:14.439 took months. to like back and forth for kind 00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:15.860 of response of what they're looking for, what 00:03:15.860 --> 00:03:18.360 they needed to see. And I also ended up submitting 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:22.099 a pair video of me doing pairs just to show them 00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:24.939 what else I could do. And after months later, 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:27.900 they responded and had a spot for me, which was 00:03:27.900 --> 00:03:32.319 like the dream come true. Wow. And you know, 00:03:32.419 --> 00:03:36.039 so with Disney on ice, there's obviously the 00:03:36.039 --> 00:03:37.919 ice element, right? There's the figure skating 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:40.400 element that's. That's all you've known. That's 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:43.960 all you've worked so hard at. But obviously, 00:03:44.060 --> 00:03:45.479 when you're putting on a performance for Disney 00:03:45.479 --> 00:03:47.860 on Ice, there's an element of acting. Is that 00:03:47.860 --> 00:03:50.879 something you had experience in, or was it something 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:55.560 that you kind of had to learn on the fly? Yeah, 00:03:55.560 --> 00:03:59.340 so I never did anything in school or anything 00:03:59.340 --> 00:04:04.889 related to acting, but like I said... in, for 00:04:04.889 --> 00:04:08.229 example, we portray things like flowers and bumblebees, 00:04:08.490 --> 00:04:11.189 and we have to know how to move our bodies and 00:04:11.189 --> 00:04:15.150 portray that role out there on the ice. So it 00:04:15.150 --> 00:04:17.029 is a little bit of thinking, but the choreography 00:04:17.029 --> 00:04:19.790 helps. They'll give you what you need. And of 00:04:19.790 --> 00:04:22.230 course, a flower is going to flow through the 00:04:22.230 --> 00:04:24.189 wind, so we're going to use our hands like we're 00:04:24.189 --> 00:04:27.490 flying through the wind. I love that. It's brilliant. 00:04:29.350 --> 00:04:31.470 Aside from your mom and your aunt, who were obviously 00:04:31.470 --> 00:04:36.149 big influences on your career, did you have any 00:04:36.149 --> 00:04:39.269 influences outside of your family that kind of, 00:04:39.910 --> 00:04:42.170 that as you were growing up, you looked up to, 00:04:42.189 --> 00:04:46.170 whether it was in acting or skating? I mean, 00:04:46.230 --> 00:04:49.589 my coaches were a big part. I wouldn't want to 00:04:49.589 --> 00:04:51.730 be where I am without them, of course. And some 00:04:51.730 --> 00:04:53.310 of them were Olympians. Some of them were just 00:04:53.310 --> 00:04:55.290 really competitive skaters, and they helped me 00:04:55.290 --> 00:04:59.490 a lot. But it was mostly family that really was 00:04:59.490 --> 00:05:02.430 the biggest influence. And my grandmother was 00:05:02.430 --> 00:05:05.529 the one who took me to all the practices, made 00:05:05.529 --> 00:05:07.850 sure I made it to dance for because you need 00:05:07.850 --> 00:05:10.129 a ballet to do ice skating, like just the arm 00:05:10.129 --> 00:05:13.509 movements and everything. And the gym, my mom 00:05:13.509 --> 00:05:16.110 was a personal trainer. She helped me a lot with 00:05:16.110 --> 00:05:18.470 working out and building up that strength and 00:05:18.470 --> 00:05:21.810 endurance to be able to skate out there. So there's 00:05:21.810 --> 00:05:24.629 a lot of family that really came together to 00:05:24.629 --> 00:05:27.740 help me be where I am today, for sure. Yeah, 00:05:27.899 --> 00:05:29.939 it sounds like, I mean, it sounds like you were 00:05:29.939 --> 00:05:32.100 really set up for success. I mean, you were surrounded 00:05:32.100 --> 00:05:35.620 by not only a family that was completely supportive 00:05:35.620 --> 00:05:38.040 of this as a career choice, but that had a ton 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:42.160 of experience in all of it. So at what point, 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:45.100 you know, with athletes especially, there comes 00:05:45.100 --> 00:05:46.779 like this, I don't want to say a crossroads, 00:05:46.860 --> 00:05:49.800 but there comes a time when you start realizing 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:52.160 that either, wow, you know what, I'm good enough 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:55.540 to like really make this a career professionally 00:05:55.540 --> 00:05:58.740 or sometimes, You know what? I just don't have 00:05:58.740 --> 00:06:01.379 it. At what point do you realize like, hey, I've 00:06:01.379 --> 00:06:04.860 got the talent to do this. And but also, when 00:06:04.860 --> 00:06:06.399 did you realize that you wanted to turn this 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:10.079 into a career? I mean, we've been training like 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:12.720 our whole lives and some people take that competitive 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.300 route and want to just competition competition. 00:06:16.259 --> 00:06:20.069 I really knew I wanted to do this. when I started 00:06:20.069 --> 00:06:22.329 to go visit my aunt at like the age eight or 00:06:22.329 --> 00:06:25.310 nine and I just saw how cool of a job it was. 00:06:25.310 --> 00:06:28.430 She took me backstage um a little later on like 00:06:28.430 --> 00:06:31.589 around 15, 16 so I could kind of see what goes 00:06:31.589 --> 00:06:35.370 on back there and then I just knew after that 00:06:35.370 --> 00:06:38.170 I was like this is what I want to do. No I wasn't 00:06:38.170 --> 00:06:41.470 very into competitions because they really made 00:06:41.470 --> 00:06:43.949 me nervous and it just wasn't my I don't know 00:06:43.949 --> 00:06:45.589 just wasn't my thing. I just wanted to have fun 00:06:45.589 --> 00:06:48.310 with skating and show off my personality and 00:06:48.310 --> 00:06:50.269 just I just wanted people to look and be like, 00:06:50.370 --> 00:06:53.129 oh my gosh, I was having fun, you know? Well, 00:06:53.430 --> 00:06:58.889 you do that. And it's pretty clear that that's 00:06:58.889 --> 00:07:01.790 what's going on. You worked so hard for this. 00:07:03.790 --> 00:07:05.750 What was your vision of a career in skating, 00:07:05.930 --> 00:07:08.389 though? Was Disney on Ice something you were 00:07:08.389 --> 00:07:11.810 shooting for from the beginning? Or was it something, 00:07:11.889 --> 00:07:14.089 I mean, obviously you said, you know, you watch 00:07:14.089 --> 00:07:16.550 your aunt do it. So I'm assuming maybe that was 00:07:16.550 --> 00:07:18.980 always the goal. Or did you kind of have other 00:07:18.980 --> 00:07:21.540 visions of maybe, you know, competing, even though 00:07:21.540 --> 00:07:24.660 I know you said it makes you nervous? Yeah. No, 00:07:24.939 --> 00:07:28.879 never. Like I stopped competing very young and 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:31.699 I just wanted to work hard because I knew shows. 00:07:32.220 --> 00:07:34.259 I guess it necessarily didn't have to be Disney. 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:37.360 That was definitely the top goal. But when I 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:39.860 turned that age of 18 and I knew shows were hiring, 00:07:39.959 --> 00:07:42.259 I applied everywhere I could to try and get a 00:07:42.259 --> 00:07:45.240 contract because there's so many of us and not 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:49.800 a lot of shows always. Oh, absolutely. You know, 00:07:49.939 --> 00:07:52.939 when I was younger, I did some community theater 00:07:52.939 --> 00:07:55.899 and academic theater. And one thing I remember 00:07:55.899 --> 00:07:59.660 being so intense was in between scenes, sometimes 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:02.040 people don't realize there are these really intense 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:04.779 wardrobe changes where you run off stage and 00:08:04.779 --> 00:08:07.420 people are undressing you and dressing you so 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:10.000 you can get right back out there. I actually 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:11.779 thought about this question on the way here today. 00:08:12.100 --> 00:08:16.199 I was like, man, how do you do that? with ice 00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:19.920 skates. Is there is that an extra element of 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:23.779 of like stress and making it tougher? How do 00:08:23.779 --> 00:08:26.560 you get around work around that? Yeah, I mean, 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:29.899 there are some quick changes. We all of our costume 00:08:29.899 --> 00:08:33.240 have have zippers in the legs, so they're very 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:37.299 easily able to fit our ice skate through. But, 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:40.750 you know, there's wigs, there's. Different talks 00:08:40.750 --> 00:08:43.509 like many different zippers clips everything 00:08:43.509 --> 00:08:47.070 I think one of the fastest changes in not our 00:08:47.070 --> 00:08:49.549 show in particular but in another one was 30 00:08:49.549 --> 00:08:52.009 seconds So it's very fast similar to what you're 00:08:52.009 --> 00:08:54.029 saying with musical theater But there is always 00:08:54.029 --> 00:08:56.070 somebody there to help and make sure we're out 00:08:56.070 --> 00:08:59.669 there on time for sure. That's amazing Yeah, 00:08:59.929 --> 00:09:02.750 did you when you got the Disney on ice gig, you 00:09:02.750 --> 00:09:05.750 know, I'm assuming You take what you get, but 00:09:05.750 --> 00:09:08.389 was there ever a moment where you're like, you 00:09:08.389 --> 00:09:11.730 have your sights set on a character that you 00:09:11.730 --> 00:09:14.809 were hoping you would play? And if not or if 00:09:14.809 --> 00:09:17.350 so, also, what would be your dream character 00:09:17.350 --> 00:09:21.129 to play for Disney? Oh, my gosh. I mean, I always 00:09:21.129 --> 00:09:25.350 wanted to be a princess, of course. Yes. That's 00:09:25.350 --> 00:09:29.929 like the goal. But I have gotten to portray. 00:09:29.990 --> 00:09:33.350 In our show, we have a princess number. Where 00:09:33.350 --> 00:09:36.009 all the princesses come out and I have gotten 00:09:36.009 --> 00:09:39.230 to do Rapunzel before so that was really cool 00:09:39.230 --> 00:09:43.190 But never like a segment of the show I really 00:09:43.190 --> 00:09:46.289 wanted to do the Rapunzel segment, which we unfortunately 00:09:46.289 --> 00:09:50.750 don't have but in the future maybe I would really 00:09:50.750 --> 00:09:54.090 look forward to trying that out Disney if you're 00:09:54.090 --> 00:09:58.269 listening, I know you are Rapunzel let's make 00:09:58.269 --> 00:10:03.809 it happen. Yeah If you can walk us through, I'm 00:10:03.809 --> 00:10:06.549 fascinated by, you know, walk us through a day 00:10:06.549 --> 00:10:09.230 or a week in the life of a Disney on Ice performer, 00:10:09.409 --> 00:10:12.230 you know, the rehearsals, the performances, maybe 00:10:12.230 --> 00:10:15.590 even some of your downtime. I imagine it's a 00:10:15.590 --> 00:10:18.580 pretty rigorous or hectic schedule. Yeah, it 00:10:18.580 --> 00:10:22.019 depends on the week, but usually Monday through 00:10:22.019 --> 00:10:25.539 Wednesday for the ice skaters, we have time off 00:10:25.539 --> 00:10:27.860 to just relax, explore where we are. We're in 00:10:27.860 --> 00:10:30.240 a different place every single week, so there's 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.960 always some place to go, try a cafe, a restaurant, 00:10:34.419 --> 00:10:36.179 or just landmarks or things that we've never 00:10:36.179 --> 00:10:39.759 seen before. And then we have a validation day 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:42.379 where all of our aerial acts will go in. And 00:10:42.379 --> 00:10:44.539 it's usually a Thursday or Friday, depending 00:10:44.539 --> 00:10:47.279 on when we have the show. And we will have to 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:49.700 reverse just the flies and make sure everyone 00:10:49.700 --> 00:10:52.000 is set to go for the weekend that we have ahead. 00:10:52.580 --> 00:10:55.679 And then for the rest of the weekend, it shows. 00:10:55.980 --> 00:10:59.820 But depending on if like last week we had... 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:02.139 three shows, three days in a row. So that was 00:11:02.139 --> 00:11:04.559 a lot of work we had in a row that we weren't 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:08.179 really at the hotel much. But depending on the 00:11:08.179 --> 00:11:10.240 city, if we have two shows and sometimes we can 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:13.759 grab dinner after or other times, we're just, 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:17.340 you know, at work. But it's all fun. Yeah, it's 00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:19.519 really cool. You know, obviously you get to travel 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:22.360 all over the world doing this. What are some 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:24.620 of your favorite parts of traveling and then 00:11:24.620 --> 00:11:28.360 also your least favorite parts? Yeah, I say I 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:31.919 just like experiencing like the cultures of where 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:35.460 we're going. We've been in Australia, Japan, 00:11:36.539 --> 00:11:39.440 the UK, like everything everywhere is so different. 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:44.320 My biggest struggle though is sometimes finding 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:47.279 the things you want in the grocery stores. It's 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:50.080 so silly but when you live on the road and you 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:53.250 are like cooking and making sure you're You want 00:11:53.250 --> 00:11:55.210 you're like getting proper nutrition sometimes 00:11:55.210 --> 00:11:57.429 you're like, I'm vegetarian too. So it's a little 00:11:57.429 --> 00:11:59.250 bit harder But sometimes you're like, oh, I don't 00:11:59.250 --> 00:12:00.970 know what this is or I don't know isn't a different 00:12:00.970 --> 00:12:03.789 language Yes, I'd say like the language barrier 00:12:03.789 --> 00:12:06.909 and grocery shopping. It's so funny, but you 00:12:06.909 --> 00:12:08.830 know, that's yeah, that's a great answer that's 00:12:08.830 --> 00:12:13.090 exactly why I was asking because we think of 00:12:13.090 --> 00:12:15.309 Performers that that go on the road we think 00:12:15.309 --> 00:12:17.610 about all the fun times and going out and enjoying 00:12:17.610 --> 00:12:20.070 things I love getting into the minutia of the 00:12:20.070 --> 00:12:22.720 day -to -day things like Where do you find toothpaste? 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:24.960 You know? Yeah. You know what I mean? If you're 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:27.299 gluten -free, how do you find that? So I totally 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:32.100 get that. Do you have a list or maybe even a 00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:35.139 favorite place that you have visited? Or maybe 00:12:35.139 --> 00:12:37.019 that, like, you visited and it just blew your 00:12:37.019 --> 00:12:40.679 mind? Yeah. So many, because I've been so aware. 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:44.940 So many places. But I really enjoy Thailand. 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:48.500 I think, like... you were getting dinner for 00:12:48.500 --> 00:12:51.919 a dollar and the markets were just insanely big 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:54.419 and you were touching elephants and feeding them 00:12:54.419 --> 00:12:59.480 bananas like it was mind -blowing to me. I loved 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:03.320 like any city vibe so anywhere in the UK and 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:08.039 like London area was amazing. Japan, there's 00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:11.480 just so different from Maritza, so like polite, 00:13:12.019 --> 00:13:15.570 respectful. They just are so happy to see other 00:13:15.570 --> 00:13:17.269 people visiting their country. I don't know I 00:13:17.269 --> 00:13:19.269 felt the safest I've ever felt there as well. 00:13:19.269 --> 00:13:21.970 Like it's very respectable country. It's very 00:13:21.970 --> 00:13:24.649 different. That's amazing. I traveled quite a 00:13:24.649 --> 00:13:29.549 bit as a performer over the years and I found 00:13:29.549 --> 00:13:33.049 that one of the best things you can do is I always 00:13:33.049 --> 00:13:37.450 would find Locals and I would say tell me like 00:13:37.450 --> 00:13:40.309 what it what do I have to have whether it's food 00:13:40.309 --> 00:13:44.399 and experience Do you do the same thing? Because 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:45.820 that's like my favorite thing to do when I'm 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:48.159 traveling. Yeah, it's actually funny because 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:50.940 a lot of us take Ubers or lists like places. 00:13:51.019 --> 00:13:54.100 So we'll always ask our Uber driver and usually 00:13:54.100 --> 00:13:56.700 ends up being like, oh, yeah, don't hear you. 00:13:57.100 --> 00:13:58.620 Because they're used to talking to all these 00:13:58.620 --> 00:14:01.100 people. But yeah, that's similar. That's where 00:14:01.100 --> 00:14:03.039 it's at. You can you can look on TripAdvisor 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:06.519 or Yelp or whatever. Google reviews. But the 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:09.590 best review you can get is straight from. you 00:14:09.590 --> 00:14:12.629 know, someone who lives there or works there. 00:14:13.090 --> 00:14:17.789 You perform for a lot of people on a weekly basis, 00:14:18.169 --> 00:14:20.830 and your primary target audience is obviously 00:14:20.830 --> 00:14:24.070 children. I've taken my kids to Disney on Ice. 00:14:24.190 --> 00:14:26.889 I've taken my wife to Disney on Ice. I got to 00:14:26.889 --> 00:14:28.889 hear that. It's time for a wholesome moment. 00:14:29.230 --> 00:14:31.730 What's, like, the cutest thing a child has done 00:14:31.730 --> 00:14:33.970 or said to you at a show? Because I know that's 00:14:33.970 --> 00:14:35.570 probably, like, the most rewarding part of it. 00:14:35.850 --> 00:14:39.169 Yeah, I mean, it's honestly they're so cute. 00:14:39.429 --> 00:14:42.409 Um, we have so many interactive moments and I 00:14:42.409 --> 00:14:46.169 was doing the one where we would pull some family 00:14:46.169 --> 00:14:49.049 up to ride inside the Magic Mobile, which comes 00:14:49.049 --> 00:14:52.210 out with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy. And 00:14:52.210 --> 00:14:55.049 the kids' faces when that would come out and 00:14:55.049 --> 00:14:56.970 they'd realize that they would get to go on that 00:14:56.970 --> 00:14:59.549 was like, it was so cute. They're like, we get 00:14:59.549 --> 00:15:03.470 to ride on that? That's for us? So many cute 00:15:03.470 --> 00:15:05.490 things. And just the high fives, they'll run 00:15:05.490 --> 00:15:08.809 up to the ice if they see any type of character 00:15:08.809 --> 00:15:13.179 and wanna. They just get so happy. Even mothers 00:15:13.179 --> 00:15:17.500 or fathers of faces are wide open when they see 00:15:17.500 --> 00:15:19.700 the character come down the aisle. It's so funny. 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:23.480 Amazing. I just actually thought of a question 00:15:23.480 --> 00:15:28.159 as you were speaking. In theater and in performance, 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:30.340 a lot of times there are understudies for the 00:15:30.340 --> 00:15:35.269 purpose of people get sick, things happen. With 00:15:35.269 --> 00:15:38.409 ice skating, there's obviously, outside of the 00:15:38.409 --> 00:15:42.289 acting and theatrics, there's a athletic element 00:15:42.289 --> 00:15:45.809 to it, and injuries happen. Do you find that 00:15:45.809 --> 00:15:49.769 you guys have kind of two or three people that 00:15:49.769 --> 00:15:52.009 play one character in case of that? How does 00:15:52.009 --> 00:15:55.370 that work? Yeah, we do have understudies. Everyone 00:15:55.370 --> 00:16:00.070 gets three, sometimes four. And just like you 00:16:00.070 --> 00:16:02.570 said, an injury happens. Or just to change it 00:16:02.570 --> 00:16:05.509 up, Sometimes you don't want to do the same thing 00:16:05.509 --> 00:16:07.690 over and over again every week. And there's other 00:16:07.690 --> 00:16:10.289 people that are good at the same thing. So give 00:16:10.289 --> 00:16:13.970 them an opportunity and just everyone is we're 00:16:13.970 --> 00:16:16.610 all professionals and good at what we do. So 00:16:16.610 --> 00:16:19.230 I really show it gives us a break. Gwyneth, another 00:16:19.230 --> 00:16:22.669 question I just thought of is you're very young. 00:16:22.809 --> 00:16:24.590 So this is something that's probably not something 00:16:24.590 --> 00:16:27.409 you have to worry about right now. But as you 00:16:27.409 --> 00:16:30.029 get older, you're going to find, trust me, I'm 00:16:30.029 --> 00:16:32.120 old. There are going to be days where you wake 00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:33.980 up and you're going to go, oof, I'm a little 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:40.159 sore. Yeah. Is there a team that aids with training 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:42.240 and recovery? Is that something you do on your 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:44.259 own? And what does that look like for some of 00:16:44.259 --> 00:16:46.809 the performers? Good question. So we have an 00:16:46.809 --> 00:16:49.309 athletic trainer. I'll shout him out. It's Jay. 00:16:49.889 --> 00:16:53.889 And he is really amazing. He's with us full time, 00:16:54.210 --> 00:16:56.149 always when we're working all day, every day. 00:16:56.210 --> 00:16:58.690 And anytime we need something, we can go into 00:16:58.690 --> 00:17:01.230 his office. His office is always set up backstage. 00:17:02.009 --> 00:17:04.450 And he's in charge of all medical for the show 00:17:04.450 --> 00:17:07.210 and make sure we're in tip top shape for everything 00:17:07.210 --> 00:17:11.880 that we do. Awesome. It takes a village. One 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:13.579 more question and then I want to do some rapid 00:17:13.579 --> 00:17:15.160 -fire questions before we get out of here is 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:19.819 Gwyneth Setter You're amazing Disney on ice Actress 00:17:19.819 --> 00:17:23.240 performer ice skater. Actually, what would you 00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:25.700 what is your title? Actually, what would I say 00:17:25.700 --> 00:17:29.599 the Gwyneth Setter? I'm a performer. I love it 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:32.099 Um, I don't usually like to ask a question like 00:17:32.099 --> 00:17:33.660 this because it can come across as kind of a 00:17:33.660 --> 00:17:36.539 hacky question But I think it just applies for 00:17:36.539 --> 00:17:38.900 this for this interview and for this situation 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:41.339 So I have a daughter who's 11, and she's been 00:17:41.339 --> 00:17:44.000 dancing since she's probably been four, and she's 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:45.940 really, really good at it. And I'm not just saying 00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:48.759 that because I'm her dad. It's like we were talking 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:51.240 earlier. You start realizing, like, whoa, she's 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:53.779 really good. Do you have any advice for young 00:17:53.779 --> 00:17:57.099 girls who might want to pursue a career in skating 00:17:57.099 --> 00:18:01.880 or performing? Any advice at all, or even things 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:07.640 not to do? Yeah, I mean. Obviously, keep working 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:11.019 at what you're doing. If your child or any young 00:18:11.019 --> 00:18:13.539 girl loves what they're doing and has a really 00:18:13.539 --> 00:18:16.440 good coach, the coaches are a big part of it. 00:18:17.019 --> 00:18:19.099 I always say to the parents, make sure you go 00:18:19.099 --> 00:18:20.920 talk to the coach and make sure it's what you 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:24.259 would want for your daughter. But yeah, if you 00:18:24.259 --> 00:18:27.839 just keep working towards it and try new things 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:30.440 too, if there's other sports or other activities 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:34.369 that interest, Any of the girls out there boys 00:18:34.369 --> 00:18:36.950 out there then you should give it a shot And 00:18:36.950 --> 00:18:39.529 you never know like just keep working like I 00:18:39.529 --> 00:18:43.190 did and you could be end up here. I Love that's 00:18:43.190 --> 00:18:46.470 perfectly said Gwyneth setter Disney on ice. 00:18:46.630 --> 00:18:52.029 I'd like to do oh I would like to do a couple 00:18:52.029 --> 00:18:55.690 series of Rapid -fire questions if that's possible, 00:18:55.690 --> 00:18:58.529 of course you down for that. Yeah. All right. 00:18:58.609 --> 00:19:01.109 All right, let's do it. Nothing major. Here you 00:19:01.109 --> 00:19:04.859 go Start the music. No, I'm kidding. I don't 00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:07.839 have any music. All right, here we go. Question 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:12.160 one. Favorite Disney princess. Rapunzel. Oh, 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:15.099 very good. I should have known that one. Least 00:19:15.099 --> 00:19:21.430 favorite villain in a Disney movie. Ursula. Good 00:19:21.430 --> 00:19:23.650 choice. I always think of Gaston. He always made 00:19:23.650 --> 00:19:25.829 me so angry. Oh, yeah, he's terrible. You know 00:19:25.829 --> 00:19:28.230 what? No, you're right. Ursula stole her voice. 00:19:28.349 --> 00:19:32.230 That was messed up. All right, favorite ice skater. 00:19:33.970 --> 00:19:37.809 Can I say my aunt? Oh my god, that's the cutest 00:19:37.809 --> 00:19:40.230 answer. I should be mad, but I can't. That's 00:19:40.230 --> 00:19:45.829 too good. Okay. Favorite food on the road. Yogurt. 00:19:46.569 --> 00:19:50.119 Yogurt? Yeah. You are... Disciplined young lady, 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:53.940 I'm impressed. Pineapple on pizza, yes or no? 00:19:54.519 --> 00:19:59.200 Absolutely not. Uh -uh. Thank you. I thought 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:01.359 for sure you were going to say yes. You know, 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:03.480 I thought the Disney world, you're open minded. 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:06.440 It's magical. Thank you. Pineapple does not belong 00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:10.519 on pizza. It belongs on yogurt. Yes, or yogurt. 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:15.039 Coffee, yes or no? And if so, what's your order? 00:20:15.830 --> 00:20:18.990 I'm not a big coffee person. I cannot do the 00:20:18.990 --> 00:20:23.769 caffeine, so no. That's fair. That's fair. Dream 00:20:23.769 --> 00:20:29.009 role to play, whether it's Disney or not. Honestly, 00:20:29.109 --> 00:20:31.569 Any Princess would be amazing to play as just 00:20:31.569 --> 00:20:36.130 a segment role. All right. And two more. Your 00:20:36.130 --> 00:20:39.890 dream place to visit or even live someday that 00:20:39.890 --> 00:20:42.970 you haven't been to yet. I want to go to Korea, 00:20:43.109 --> 00:20:45.970 so bad. I have never been, but I'm into, like, 00:20:45.990 --> 00:20:48.029 all the skincare and everything. Really want 00:20:48.029 --> 00:20:51.390 to go. I love it. My daughter's into that, too. 00:20:51.390 --> 00:20:53.269 She does all these videos where she gets ready 00:20:53.269 --> 00:20:55.369 and she knows more about makeup than my wife. 00:20:55.529 --> 00:20:57.849 It's insane. All right, last one. I think I know 00:20:57.849 --> 00:20:59.390 the answer to this, but I'm just going to say, 00:20:59.890 --> 00:21:03.910 if you had to choose, skating or acting, which 00:21:03.910 --> 00:21:07.769 one is it? Skating, but you need acting to be 00:21:07.769 --> 00:21:12.779 able to skate in the show, so both. Well said. 00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:17.940 Gwyneth Setter, Disney on Ice. Disney on Ice 00:21:17.940 --> 00:21:20.519 presents Road Trip Adventures, December 26th 00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:22.480 to the 29th at the Upstate Medical University 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:25.019 Arena at the On Center War Memorial. Tickets, 00:21:25.180 --> 00:21:28.960 family -friendly pricing. Get them now at ticketmaster 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:33.420 .com or in person at the venue box office. Absolute 00:21:33.420 --> 00:21:36.650 last thing, Gwyneth. Do you have anything you 00:21:36.650 --> 00:21:40.150 want to plug, anything you want to say, promote 00:21:40.150 --> 00:21:44.150 before we go? No, it's just a great gift for 00:21:44.150 --> 00:21:46.609 the holidays and it would be amazing to see all 00:21:46.609 --> 00:21:50.130 your families here to watch us and be able to 00:21:50.130 --> 00:21:52.150 cheer on your favorite characters all in one 00:21:52.150 --> 00:21:56.089 place. Well, Gwyneth Setter, you are a very impressive 00:21:56.089 --> 00:21:59.569 young woman. Thank you so much for giving us 00:21:59.569 --> 00:22:02.019 your time. We wish you the best of luck with 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:04.500 Disney on Ice, and we will see you December 26th 00:22:04.500 --> 00:22:06.240 through 29th right here in Syracuse for Disney 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:10.259 on Ice. Presents Road Trip Adventures, Gwen's 00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:13.660 Center. Thank you. And with that, it is another 00:22:13.660 --> 00:22:17.759 edition of Good News York. Matt's coming in later. 00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:20.319 He's got an interview all lined up after this. 00:22:20.740 --> 00:22:23.660 I'm saying goodbye to you. Happy holidays. Merry 00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:28.299 Christmas to everybody. Be safe. Have fun. Remember, 00:22:28.579 --> 00:22:31.759 you can follow Good News York on all socials 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:35.000 at Good News York, GoodNewsYork .com. New episodes 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.259 Monday through Thursday at 5 p .m. Eastern. And 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:41.799 I am Mike Brindisi. You can follow me on socials 00:22:41.799 --> 00:22:46.079 at MikeBTV. And it is Good News York, sponsored 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:49.400 by ads on the go. Get ads on the go .com. See 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:53.160 you soon. Hey, guys. Welcome back to Good News 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:56.140 York. I'm Matt Measher from Clickstream Studios. 00:22:56.359 --> 00:22:59.980 We are joined by a really, really incredible 00:22:59.980 --> 00:23:02.480 guest. We've got a lot of really fun things to 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:05.140 talk about in the community. But let's jump right 00:23:05.140 --> 00:23:07.940 in. I am joined by Kristin Thompson -Henry. Did 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:09.920 I get that right? You did. Beautiful. Beautiful. 00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:12.819 And you are the Community Impact Officer. I am. 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:14.960 At Empire Credit Union. That's correct. Is that 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:16.859 all right? I know. I got it right on the first 00:23:16.859 --> 00:23:20.319 try, guys. All right. This is cool. Kristin. 00:23:20.809 --> 00:23:24.250 What do you do? What is this? What's this community 00:23:24.250 --> 00:23:28.549 impact all about? So I do a lot of things actually, 00:23:28.549 --> 00:23:32.630 but my primary focus is financial literacy. So 00:23:32.630 --> 00:23:38.089 I specialize and the department that I'm in specializes 00:23:38.089 --> 00:23:41.630 in financial education K through 12. So our days 00:23:41.630 --> 00:23:45.609 can look very different from day to day. And 00:23:45.609 --> 00:23:49.210 we kind of go in and support the teachers and 00:23:49.210 --> 00:23:51.970 bring some sort of financial literacy program 00:23:51.970 --> 00:23:54.930 to the students and that may look different depending 00:23:54.930 --> 00:23:57.769 on the age group that we're in. So for instance 00:23:57.769 --> 00:24:01.470 K -3 might be a simple thing as like bringing 00:24:01.470 --> 00:24:04.289 a book in and reading to the classroom but it 00:24:04.289 --> 00:24:07.150 has some sort of undertone talking about wants 00:24:07.150 --> 00:24:09.769 versus needs and having the kids kind of understand 00:24:09.769 --> 00:24:13.049 that concept. And then when we get into kind 00:24:13.049 --> 00:24:15.289 of the middle score age we have them kind of 00:24:15.289 --> 00:24:18.720 pair up into teams, groups. and really kind of 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:21.240 work on the budgeting exercise where we give 00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:23.140 them an envelope of things, where they live, 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:25.400 how much debt they're in, all that other stuff. 00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:28.980 They got to work as a team to stay within budget, 00:24:29.059 --> 00:24:32.539 pay their bills. Now, those are always interesting 00:24:32.539 --> 00:24:36.680 because they have to be dealt with what they're 00:24:36.680 --> 00:24:41.779 given, but also they can't change their family. 00:24:42.539 --> 00:24:45.839 The group they're working with, they're that 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:49.250 nuclear family right there. And it's really just 00:24:49.250 --> 00:24:51.369 kind of teaching them the foundation of budgeting 00:24:51.369 --> 00:24:54.390 and trying to course correct if you get caught 00:24:54.390 --> 00:24:58.329 off guard with expenses. But the meat and potato 00:24:58.329 --> 00:25:00.470 of our financial literacy program is something 00:25:00.470 --> 00:25:03.289 that we call mad sitting money. And that is for 00:25:03.289 --> 00:25:06.890 our juniors and seniors. We tend to keep it there 00:25:06.890 --> 00:25:10.549 because there's an expectation that they know 00:25:10.549 --> 00:25:13.049 a little bit about credit score and credit cards 00:25:13.049 --> 00:25:15.750 and things like that. But that's really our financial 00:25:15.750 --> 00:25:18.289 simulations that we bring into the school. Again, 00:25:18.369 --> 00:25:20.329 we transport them five years in advance. They're 00:25:20.329 --> 00:25:22.509 already working in their career. Some of them 00:25:22.509 --> 00:25:26.009 have a dual income. They all will have debt, 00:25:26.529 --> 00:25:30.329 depending on the profession that they are given. 00:25:30.410 --> 00:25:32.430 They might have a student loan. And then they 00:25:32.430 --> 00:25:34.029 have to go through mad sending money and make 00:25:34.029 --> 00:25:38.809 real life decisions such as car, housing, food, 00:25:39.509 --> 00:25:43.559 health insurance, kids. And some of those tables 00:25:43.559 --> 00:25:46.759 will be limited depending on their credit score 00:25:46.759 --> 00:25:49.819 and what that will look like for them. So it's 00:25:49.819 --> 00:25:54.160 a very real world experience, really one -on 00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:56.519 -one, adulting one -on -one. I think the kids 00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:59.539 usually come out with either... They always learn 00:25:59.539 --> 00:26:02.059 something, but some kids say, I need to go home 00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:03.859 and thank my parents. And we're like, yeah, you 00:26:03.859 --> 00:26:09.579 do. That's incredible. What inspired a credit 00:26:09.579 --> 00:26:13.009 union to launch such a program? Yeah, I think, 00:26:13.009 --> 00:26:16.470 you know, the credit union is really a foundation 00:26:16.470 --> 00:26:19.150 of a financial institution, helping people, helping 00:26:19.150 --> 00:26:25.250 people. It is a really simple concept, but one 00:26:25.250 --> 00:26:28.430 that I think in today's world everyone needs. 00:26:29.150 --> 00:26:31.470 You know, what we kind of pride ourselves on 00:26:31.470 --> 00:26:34.809 at Empower, we do, when you go into a branch 00:26:34.809 --> 00:26:38.470 of ours and you are a member, if you're not recognized 00:26:38.470 --> 00:26:40.470 by a union, you're certainly recognized by things. 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:44.160 that you felt like your family when you come 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:47.319 in. Because discussing finances are not always 00:26:47.319 --> 00:26:50.359 the most comfortable thing to do. And so we want 00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:52.339 to make sure that we're meeting people where 00:26:52.339 --> 00:26:55.319 they are and listening to what they actually 00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:58.880 are needing from us. And a big part of that is 00:26:58.880 --> 00:27:02.220 education. And so if we can start early and giving 00:27:02.220 --> 00:27:04.619 them the foundation of what finances will look 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:07.440 like. I think we're gonna be on a path for that 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:09.519 generational wealth that we're ultimately trying 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:11.960 to strive for at the credit union. That's incredible. 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:17.099 Excuse me. What an incredible just investment 00:27:17.099 --> 00:27:20.680 in the community to be made there. If you wouldn't 00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:22.819 mind, tell me a little bit about the folks you 00:27:22.819 --> 00:27:24.740 work with. Do you have a whole team? Is this 00:27:24.740 --> 00:27:27.619 a division or how does that work? We have a team. 00:27:28.339 --> 00:27:30.759 There's four of us, both or not. You have four 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:33.420 of us that actually do that financial literacy 00:27:33.420 --> 00:27:36.599 program. And you folks go right in the schools 00:27:36.599 --> 00:27:39.319 yourselves and present it. Yeah, we do we also 00:27:39.319 --> 00:27:42.759 you know provide some of the some of our Partners 00:27:42.759 --> 00:27:45.759 with you know online education materials so that 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:47.779 they can you know do it themselves But a lot 00:27:47.779 --> 00:27:50.059 of the times the teachers are like no it'll come 00:27:50.059 --> 00:27:52.319 better coming from you So we'll go in as a guest 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:54.240 speaker and kind of liven things up a little 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:59.240 bit And and there's four of us we we kind of 00:27:59.240 --> 00:28:03.000 are in every school district that we we are asked 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:05.900 to be in. And it's a free program. I need to 00:28:05.900 --> 00:28:09.759 lead with that. It's free. As long as we have 00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:13.799 the time and the need is there, we will try to 00:28:13.799 --> 00:28:17.720 be there. That's incredible. It is. It's so necessary 00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:19.579 too. It's one of those things that you almost 00:28:19.579 --> 00:28:22.019 think, well, don't they just do that naturally 00:28:22.019 --> 00:28:26.759 in school? And unfortunately... So when I was 00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:30.400 growing up, this was never a thing. We took math, 00:28:30.619 --> 00:28:34.200 we took English, we took science, and that financial 00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:36.859 literacy component is now starting to be more 00:28:36.859 --> 00:28:40.460 introduced into the curriculum. So us adding 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:46.359 this extra sort of support, I think is valued 00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:49.220 by the teacher because it is part of their curriculum 00:28:49.220 --> 00:28:52.599 now. And we're adding a bunch of things into 00:28:52.599 --> 00:28:56.960 it. We're supporting it so that it is more personable, 00:28:56.960 --> 00:29:00.819 more hands -on, more conversational. Because 00:29:00.819 --> 00:29:02.859 we don't want to be lectured about our finances 00:29:02.859 --> 00:29:05.700 ever, right? It has to be a conversation. So 00:29:05.700 --> 00:29:08.079 I think it goes both ways. That's incredible. 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:11.799 I remember when I was a kid, we had savings accounts 00:29:11.799 --> 00:29:14.500 from the local bank. But that was as far as it 00:29:14.500 --> 00:29:16.940 went. That was the extent of financial literacy 00:29:16.940 --> 00:29:19.490 is... is put a dollar in it every week, you know, 00:29:19.730 --> 00:29:22.890 and that'll, your life will be great, I guess. 00:29:23.210 --> 00:29:25.750 It didn't quite work out that way, but I love 00:29:25.750 --> 00:29:28.650 this. I love hearing about this. So you're also 00:29:28.650 --> 00:29:30.930 doing some other things, right? Out in the community, 00:29:31.130 --> 00:29:35.109 you're out giving some grants and feeding some 00:29:35.109 --> 00:29:38.220 folks and doing all kinds of things. Tell me 00:29:38.220 --> 00:29:39.900 a little bit about, first and foremost, what 00:29:39.900 --> 00:29:42.660 you've been doing with the Syracuse women's basketball 00:29:42.660 --> 00:29:45.900 team. Awesome. OK. So another side of my job 00:29:45.900 --> 00:29:51.299 is to work with nonprofits, putting our support 00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:55.359 towards organizations that help members of our 00:29:55.359 --> 00:29:58.099 community the most. And that can look in the 00:29:58.099 --> 00:30:02.210 form of a financial contribution. They can also 00:30:02.210 --> 00:30:05.809 look in terms of time and talent of our employees 00:30:05.809 --> 00:30:10.690 giving to that organization. So I helped facilitate 00:30:10.690 --> 00:30:13.809 that in my role. So with Syracuse basketball, 00:30:13.990 --> 00:30:17.829 we are very excited because we had an agreement 00:30:17.829 --> 00:30:20.329 with them where, you know, Syracuse women's basketball 00:30:20.329 --> 00:30:25.660 and that we had a free throw contest. throughout 00:30:25.660 --> 00:30:28.019 their season, and we're still in the season, 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:33.240 but so far, anyone that made a three -for -all 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:39.160 contest, whoever made it could get $25, and it 00:30:39.160 --> 00:30:42.140 would benefit the Food Bank of Central New York. 00:30:42.440 --> 00:30:45.019 So we ran this from the beginning of the season 00:30:45.019 --> 00:30:48.559 until probably about the end of November, right 00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:51.980 before Thanksgiving. and equal it out to being 00:30:51.980 --> 00:30:57.319 about $8 ,600 just off of that contest. So that 00:30:57.319 --> 00:30:59.880 means a lot of people went up and tried their 00:30:59.880 --> 00:31:03.299 hand at free -throwing and made the baskets. 00:31:03.339 --> 00:31:05.980 Sounds like they're pretty good, too. That translated 00:31:05.980 --> 00:31:10.119 into doing good in our community. And of course, 00:31:10.380 --> 00:31:12.200 the Food Bank of Central New York is just one 00:31:12.200 --> 00:31:16.039 of the most vital nonprofits, feeding people, 00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:19.630 taking that you know, one of the basic needs 00:31:19.630 --> 00:31:22.130 that we need as human and taking that pressure 00:31:22.130 --> 00:31:25.269 off with family. So it just made it a simple 00:31:25.269 --> 00:31:28.509 and realistic connection like that. That's incredible. 00:31:28.990 --> 00:31:31.809 That's incredible. And then there's some other 00:31:31.809 --> 00:31:33.950 things you've been doing to help the food bank 00:31:33.950 --> 00:31:36.670 as well, right? Is that right? So one of the 00:31:36.670 --> 00:31:40.609 other things that we do is we try very hard to 00:31:40.609 --> 00:31:42.970 listen to our members. You know, we cannot be 00:31:42.970 --> 00:31:44.890 in business if we're not serving our members 00:31:44.890 --> 00:31:47.200 the way that they need to. And so throughout 00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:50.019 the year, we try to do these number surveys, 00:31:50.759 --> 00:31:53.940 member contact surveys. And of course, you know, 00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:57.940 not everybody will answer to an email that says, 00:31:57.940 --> 00:32:00.039 you know, fill out those numbers. So we try to 00:32:00.039 --> 00:32:03.539 make it a little bit more exciting and incentivize 00:32:03.539 --> 00:32:06.579 those that will fill out the survey and its completion. 00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:10.059 And we said that if you filled this out, give 00:32:10.059 --> 00:32:12.519 us some real time feedback on how we are doing. 00:32:12.750 --> 00:32:17.210 we promised to donate money to the CNY food bank. 00:32:18.289 --> 00:32:21.730 And so we did it in two phases. The first one 00:32:21.730 --> 00:32:23.970 was during the first half of the year and the 00:32:23.970 --> 00:32:27.549 second one ended again on November 30th. And 00:32:27.549 --> 00:32:31.809 that also equaled out to almost $17 ,000. So 00:32:31.809 --> 00:32:34.730 that is really special because one, we heard 00:32:34.730 --> 00:32:38.529 from our members and that sort of incentive, 00:32:38.569 --> 00:32:41.130 that showed our members care about our community. 00:32:41.230 --> 00:32:44.910 They wanted to show that the connection between 00:32:44.910 --> 00:32:49.390 their voice and how we show up for our community, 00:32:49.569 --> 00:32:51.789 that connection is right there. That's really, 00:32:51.789 --> 00:32:55.190 really, really nice. What's been the feedback 00:32:55.190 --> 00:32:57.369 from some members when you kind of put that? 00:32:57.390 --> 00:33:00.190 That's kind of a unique offer, a great way. to 00:33:00.190 --> 00:33:03.130 get folks to participate in things. What was 00:33:03.130 --> 00:33:05.309 some of the feedback when folks heard that their 00:33:05.309 --> 00:33:07.769 participation was a donation? Yeah, you know, 00:33:07.890 --> 00:33:10.609 we got very positive feedback, you know, especially 00:33:10.609 --> 00:33:14.630 I think the second phase really sort of tugged 00:33:14.630 --> 00:33:16.750 on some heartstrings a little bit just because 00:33:16.750 --> 00:33:19.210 of the food insecurity issues that were happening. 00:33:19.549 --> 00:33:23.009 And I think it was just the right timing, especially 00:33:23.009 --> 00:33:25.089 towards the holidays. People get a little bit 00:33:25.089 --> 00:33:27.670 more generous, and they want families to gather. 00:33:27.809 --> 00:33:30.950 And so they really wanted to make sure that our 00:33:30.950 --> 00:33:34.130 community didn't go without. Sure. What a great 00:33:34.130 --> 00:33:39.170 way to let people help very easily. And along 00:33:39.170 --> 00:33:42.269 those lines, you're also helping folks for the 00:33:42.269 --> 00:33:45.789 holiday season, right? Yes. So again, one of 00:33:45.789 --> 00:33:48.230 the things that we do to support our nonprofit 00:33:48.230 --> 00:33:53.579 partners We kind of do sponsorships and donations 00:33:53.579 --> 00:33:56.220 and those can be in the form of, you know, we 00:33:56.220 --> 00:33:59.339 need money to support a certain program. And 00:33:59.339 --> 00:34:02.880 sometimes it's, you know, going shopping for 00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:06.160 some of their clients, you know. So we were really 00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:11.460 privileged to be called upon to work with the 00:34:11.460 --> 00:34:15.250 rescue mission. and their crossroads program 00:34:15.250 --> 00:34:19.909 that are it's about 30 men who were experiencing 00:34:19.909 --> 00:34:22.369 homelessness or certainly in housing insecurity 00:34:22.369 --> 00:34:25.730 and they take up a kind of a Christmas wish list 00:34:25.730 --> 00:34:29.710 and what we are given is their ultimate Christmas 00:34:29.710 --> 00:34:32.010 wish list and then you know some of the staples 00:34:32.010 --> 00:34:35.289 that you know some of us go and have every day 00:34:35.289 --> 00:34:38.909 that we take for granted such as underwear and 00:34:38.909 --> 00:34:42.630 undershirts and some of the We had 30 individuals 00:34:42.630 --> 00:34:45.690 that were given to us. And some of the things 00:34:45.690 --> 00:34:48.409 that were on their ultimate wish list were a 00:34:48.409 --> 00:34:53.449 pair of dress pants, a pair of dress shoes, sneakers. 00:34:54.510 --> 00:34:59.050 One gentleman asked for a case of pepsi. Those 00:34:59.050 --> 00:35:03.070 are the simple things that if that's going to 00:35:03.070 --> 00:35:05.630 bring them joy, we are going to do it. And so 00:35:05.630 --> 00:35:09.400 we were very very proud that we were able to 00:35:09.400 --> 00:35:12.099 do that in such a manner, and those baskets will 00:35:12.099 --> 00:35:15.219 be given out on Christmas Day. That's incredible. 00:35:16.360 --> 00:35:17.960 That's a lot of fun. It sounds like you have 00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:20.960 one of these jobs that is no doubt challenging 00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:23.920 with all the everything you've just listed is 00:35:23.920 --> 00:35:27.099 kind of under you, but also quite rewarding, 00:35:27.340 --> 00:35:29.800 right? I really love it. I really love it. I'm 00:35:29.800 --> 00:35:33.400 someone that before coming to Empower, I worked 00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:35.199 in nonprofits, so I understand that. Got you. 00:35:35.420 --> 00:35:41.400 the many hats and the constant struggle to try 00:35:41.400 --> 00:35:44.639 and meet a need and connecting mission to need. 00:35:45.480 --> 00:35:48.159 And so when I found this kind of job at Empower, 00:35:48.179 --> 00:35:50.159 and I've been with them for about two years now, 00:35:50.179 --> 00:35:53.559 it kind of just married my passion and my expertise. 00:35:53.780 --> 00:35:57.099 And I just said, this is what it was meant to 00:35:57.099 --> 00:36:01.619 be. So while the tasks are big and mighty, but 00:36:01.619 --> 00:36:05.389 they're ones that need to be had. That's awesome. 00:36:06.190 --> 00:36:08.570 If you could, take just a minute for folks that 00:36:08.570 --> 00:36:10.070 aren't familiar, just tell us a little bit about 00:36:10.070 --> 00:36:12.670 Empower in general, kind of what areas do you 00:36:12.670 --> 00:36:15.869 cover and those sorts of things. Yeah. So, Empower 00:36:15.869 --> 00:36:18.750 is a financial institution. You know, you can 00:36:18.750 --> 00:36:21.230 go in there and open up a savings account, a 00:36:21.230 --> 00:36:25.469 checking account. We also offer loans, you know, 00:36:25.610 --> 00:36:29.130 car loans, mortgage loans, personal loans as 00:36:29.130 --> 00:36:34.469 far as businesses. We also... have that education 00:36:34.469 --> 00:36:37.570 component, which was fall under the department 00:36:37.570 --> 00:36:44.550 that I'm in. Anything that would help you financially, 00:36:44.670 --> 00:36:47.789 you can come into Empower and ask for. One of 00:36:47.789 --> 00:36:50.690 the things that we pride ourselves on is that 00:36:50.690 --> 00:36:53.349 we're not one that will turn you away based on 00:36:53.349 --> 00:36:56.869 a credit score. What we would try to do is what 00:36:56.869 --> 00:36:59.829 we call storybook lending. We would try to get 00:36:59.829 --> 00:37:02.780 to know the person. get to know what your goals 00:37:02.780 --> 00:37:05.099 are, what your aspirations are, and then say, 00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:07.880 okay, let's map out a plan that would work, that 00:37:07.880 --> 00:37:11.820 would put you in a better past for good, but 00:37:11.820 --> 00:37:13.860 also, you know, not put you in so much debt. 00:37:13.900 --> 00:37:16.039 So let's talk about what that might look like. 00:37:17.179 --> 00:37:19.840 You know, so we really try to service the underserved 00:37:19.840 --> 00:37:22.000 and try to meet people where they are, really 00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:26.119 listen. because that's the major component to, 00:37:26.119 --> 00:37:28.159 you know, talking to someone about finances, 00:37:28.360 --> 00:37:30.639 not about what we want, it's about what they 00:37:30.639 --> 00:37:33.559 need. And that listening component really comes 00:37:33.559 --> 00:37:35.500 into play when you come into an Empower branch. 00:37:35.820 --> 00:37:40.179 That's incredible. Just in general, what kind 00:37:40.179 --> 00:37:42.800 of areas do you serve? And is it just in the 00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:46.260 315 area code, are you? Beyond that we're beyond 00:37:46.260 --> 00:37:49.059 that. So we are obviously we're very heavily 00:37:49.059 --> 00:37:50.900 in Central New York. Sure. That's how we were 00:37:50.900 --> 00:37:54.440 founded A lot of time ago. We were part of the 00:37:54.440 --> 00:37:57.019 power federal credit union, which was out of 00:37:57.019 --> 00:37:59.739 the Niagara Mohawk Gotcha and then merged in 00:37:59.739 --> 00:38:03.519 from empower on the Empire and power to empower 00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:06.659 And then we've had some acquisitions. And so 00:38:06.659 --> 00:38:10.940 we're we're in the southern tier. We're in all 00:38:10.940 --> 00:38:15.099 the way up to our North countries And then we've 00:38:15.099 --> 00:38:17.960 also opened a branch in Buffalo. So we're expanding 00:38:17.960 --> 00:38:20.679 into the Western New York as well. All over New 00:38:20.679 --> 00:38:24.119 York State. And God willing, we'll continue to 00:38:24.119 --> 00:38:27.300 expand and truly make our mark in New York State. 00:38:27.360 --> 00:38:30.219 That's great. And it's got to add a little more 00:38:30.219 --> 00:38:32.940 to your plate as well, right, as you start to 00:38:32.940 --> 00:38:34.519 find all these new communities? It does, but 00:38:34.519 --> 00:38:39.480 it's good. So again, it's a task that I think 00:38:39.480 --> 00:38:47.000 is needed and one that It truly is heartwarming 00:38:47.000 --> 00:38:48.940 when you can just kind of go in and just say, 00:38:49.380 --> 00:38:51.539 well, what does your community need? Yeah. And 00:38:51.539 --> 00:38:55.179 have them tell you, and then get that real -time 00:38:55.179 --> 00:38:58.440 feedback. That's so great. Kristin, we're going 00:38:58.440 --> 00:39:00.199 to let you get back to doing this great work 00:39:00.199 --> 00:39:03.219 here in just a moment. But before we do, why 00:39:03.219 --> 00:39:06.000 don't you share with us people that... want to 00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:08.679 support this or get involved or just follow what 00:39:08.679 --> 00:39:10.440 you do? What's the best ways for them to do that? 00:39:10.519 --> 00:39:13.420 So we have a social media platform. We're on 00:39:13.420 --> 00:39:17.659 all social media platforms. So LinkedIn, Instagram, 00:39:18.159 --> 00:39:20.739 Facebook, all of that. You can follow how we 00:39:20.739 --> 00:39:23.699 do. If you have any questions or if you yourself 00:39:23.699 --> 00:39:26.579 or an organization that is needing some extra 00:39:26.579 --> 00:39:29.440 support, volunteer support, you can go into a 00:39:29.440 --> 00:39:34.320 local branch. You can ask to be directed. And 00:39:34.320 --> 00:39:36.519 because all of our all of our staff are well 00:39:36.519 --> 00:39:39.840 equipped on trying to connect it connect us to 00:39:39.840 --> 00:39:42.539 this department Especially if it's a financial 00:39:42.539 --> 00:39:45.039 literacy component to it if you have an after 00:39:45.039 --> 00:39:49.699 -school program if you have, you know Working 00:39:49.699 --> 00:39:53.139 adults that just need, you know a special session 00:39:53.139 --> 00:39:56.539 on financial finances Please by all means walk 00:39:56.539 --> 00:39:59.360 into a branch asked to get in touch with the 00:39:59.360 --> 00:40:02.380 community impact department and we will starting 00:40:02.380 --> 00:40:04.940 to get back to you. That's incredible. That's 00:40:04.940 --> 00:40:09.059 incredible. Kristin Thompson -Henry, Community 00:40:09.059 --> 00:40:12.079 Impact Officer at Empire Federal Credit Union. 00:40:12.400 --> 00:40:14.179 I really appreciate you spending some time with 00:40:14.179 --> 00:40:16.920 us here on Good News York. This is exactly why 00:40:16.920 --> 00:40:19.340 we exist, is kind of to share these stories of 00:40:19.340 --> 00:40:21.679 incredible people, incredible organizations doing 00:40:21.679 --> 00:40:25.500 good for all over New York State. That's definitely 00:40:25.500 --> 00:40:28.360 what you're up to. I appreciate the invite. Come 00:40:28.360 --> 00:40:30.739 back anytime. You've got fundraisers, you've 00:40:30.739 --> 00:40:33.159 got events, just good stories to share. We would 00:40:33.159 --> 00:40:35.559 love to have you and help share the word. Well, 00:40:35.659 --> 00:40:39.860 do. Thank you so much. Thank you. For that, I 00:40:39.860 --> 00:40:43.539 think that's the end of our episode and probably 00:40:43.539 --> 00:40:47.119 the last episode before the holidays. Merry Christmas 00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:51.199 and we will see you. I don't know. Maybe we'll 00:40:51.199 --> 00:40:52.920 do another one before the new year. We'll have 00:40:52.920 --> 00:40:55.420 to see how Mike and I feel after the holidays. 00:40:55.880 --> 00:40:59.300 The kids might wipe us out, but we'll see. If 00:40:59.300 --> 00:41:01.179 there's more good news. Peace out.