As John De Lancie's character Q said to Patrick Stewart's character Jean-Luc Picard in the similarly named series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation, all good things must come to an end. Today, we bring you the final episode of Podcast Stockton.
I registered the domain name and built the first version of the website on January 3, 2009. A month later, Stockton was named the most miserable city in America. The first episode of Podcast Stockton, episode zero, was released on March 22, 2009. My goal was simple: to share the stories about the good life in Stockton. With the help of so many wonderful people, we accomplished that.
I am so proud of what Podcast Stockton became. What started as a one-man operation grew to include many others. Podcast Stockton would not have been possible without the help from Rod Villagomez for coming on the show as co-host back in late 2009; Wes Rhea from the Stockton Convention & Visitors Bureau for all of his wonderful support on the show, Jon Remington from Closet Goodies for giving us our first regular "commercial"; Greg Bahr and Andy Pinasco for being great confidants and helping to introduce us to so many special people in Stockton; Omar Vargas for creating the awesome Podcast Stockton logo and artwork; Tom Mondragon for his years of friendship and for being the inspiration for the show; Wes Johnson for building our iPhone app; Lowell Tuckerman for doing the sports segment; Mr. Story for all of his trusted advice; Manuel for all the help with content ideas, technical support and guidance, and Gabriel for his support, content, show ideas, and giving us our very first review.
Meeting Rod and having him join the show was exactly what I needed. His experience and ideas were a welcome shot in the arm and with his guidance, we did so much more than I could have ever done by myself.
When Rod wasn't available, it was an honor to co-host the show with Manny, Chris the Greek, Lowell and Gabriel. Thank you so much guys! Also, big thanks to Lowell, Wes, Manny, Jon and Gabriel for helping us put on Podcast Stockton Live last year. What a blast that was!
Thank you to all of you that gave us access to your businesses, organizations, events. We have met some very incredible people in this city and have had the opportunity to interview a great list of Stocktonians, including:
Zenet Negron,Cari Giannecchini, Jennifer Boylan, Pat Filippone, Emily Ballus, Susan Mora-Loyko, Benjamin Saffold, Alice van Ommeren, Jeff Gamboni, Adam Messinger, Matthew Farnsworth, Frank Stone, Chris Freeman, Rick Corduck, Lee Neves, Jared Foster, Leona Marino, Levi Wells,Clarence Henderson, Dr. Derron Lee, Dawn Correll-Cruz, Tera Moore, Jason Roth, John Clauser, Diana Lowery, David Mckeever, Emily Baime, Kate Post, Timm Quinn, Chris Juenke, Justin Farry, Dr. Robert Shapiro, Susan Spracher, Joni Bauer, Dwight Richards, Michael Seymour, Tod Ruhstaller, Kenny McCann, Chris the Greek, Gillian Murphy, Susan Eggman, the cast and crew of Broadcasting Sunshine, Patrick Giblin, George Ruiz, Slick Diaz, Jon Remington, Ronnie and Yolanda Cunningham, Greg Bahr, Gabriel and Devin, Mike Fitzgerald, Dawn Beckwith, Shawna Cavender, Andy Pinasco, Mike Bravo, Bill Ries-Knight, Tony Mannor, Tom Moccia and Tom Mondragon.
Thanks to Mike Klocke at The Record as well, for all of his support and kind words through the last couple of years. And to David Siders, formerly of The Record, for helping spread the word when the first episode was released. I never told him this, but when I first met him I stuck my hand out and introduced myself. When he heard my name he said "oh, Podcast Stockton". I was star-struck. David Siders knew who I was! Also thank you Adrianna Brogger for getting us on TV! Thanks to Tim from Illinois, formerly from Stockton, for always reminding us that former Stocktonians still care about the city. Thanks to Benjamin Saffold for being one of the most giving people in our city and for bringing me on to the Earth Day Festival committee, one of the greatest experiences and honors of my life.
Thank you to our listeners. Of course, without you, there would have been no show! I am eternally grateful to you all!
Stockton, with all of our problems, is still a vibrant community. There are many reasons to love it here and we are so proud to have shared the stories of Stockton with you for the past 71 episodes.
If you want to know about goings on in Stockton, visit these sites regularly:
VisitStockton.org
Mom About The Town
Port City Sun
Breaking News Stockton
The Record
Again, thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to share our stories, and the stories of Stockton with you. It was truly one of the most rewarding projects of my life.
Lastly, thank you to my family. They afforded me the time and support for me to continue my hobby. Without them, Podcast Stockton would have never been.
I am going to keep this website up indefinitely, and may even get the bug to blog from time to time. Please come by now and then to say hello!
Keep makin' it great Stockton!
We hope you enjoy our final show.
