Natalie Hodge
THE HOMETOWN HUSTLE
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CONTENTS
Showcase Magazine
JULY 2022
Showcase Magazine
@showcaseDVA
showcasemagazineva @ info@showcasemagazine.com
ALSO INSIDE
FEATURES
Editor’s Letter
Paws for a Cause
6
19
A wonderful gourd
Games
with a very special name…
Crossword & Wordsearch
Confessions of a 30 Something
14
18
The Hometown Hustle 8
Why is Everything So Loud?
No Strangers, No Strange Land
Meet Mr. Handsome
Going Through Storms To Get To Sunny Skies 21
Like, Really Loud. 16
The Hometown Hustle 4 SHOWCASE Magazine |
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EDITOR’S LETTER
No Strangers, No Strange Land Many years ago, I spent a good portion of my time in Martinsville. I worked at the Liberty Fair Mall. I made lifelong friends there through co-workers and mall regulars. The memories of Martinsville are strong. I remember my first day at the mall. It was also my first day in Martinsville. I knew no one. One of the first people I met, Bo, worked at the arcade. The arcade is long gone, but we’ve been friends for nearly 25 years. His infectious smile eased the anxiety of being a stranger in a strange land. Bo welcomed the new guy to the new town. More importantly, he made Martinsville feel like home to me. Just about everyone I met in Martinsville made it feel like home. From the friendly faces at the A&W restaurant to the music recommendations at F.Y.E. After work, I would go to J. Frank Wilson Park and play basketball until darkness forced the games to end. I vividly remember playing one day, with friends from work, in a snowstorm. I can still hear the laughter as we slipped and sled over the asphalt. I watched 9/11 unfold in the stockroom of our store. I shared the sadness and anger with friends and strangers. But that’s the thing about small communities… there really are no strangers. Smaller communities have a magical essence that big cities can not duplicate. I’ve lived in both, and the experiences and friendships of a quieter life far outweigh the added amenities. I left Martinsville a few years after that, but it will always have a special place with me. This month, we meet Natalie Hodge, an entrepreneurial hustler who left the west coast and came back to her hometown… Martinsville. Hodge helps local entrepreneurs gain visibility through her video series Hometown Hustle. She also is there to answer questions they may have along their journey. Daryl Hannah once said, “It’s not necessary to go far and wide. I mean, you can really find exciting and inspiring things within your hometown.” That’s just what Hodge is helping to do. There are countless stories of inspiration and success in our hometowns. We hope this issue encourages you to find them, read them, and create your own. Now, get to hustling. Enjoy the issue.
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CEO Andrew Scott Brooks scott@showcasemagazine.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Paul Seiple | paul@showcasemagazine.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kim Demont | demontdesign@verizon.net FINANCE MANAGER Cindy Astin | cindy@showcasemagazine.com ADVERTISING Lee Vogler | Director of Sales and Marketing lee@showcasemagazine.com | 434.548.5335 CUSTOMER SERVICE Subscribe to Home Delivery for $24 per year 753 Main Street #3, Danville, VA 24541 Phone 434.709.7349 info@showcasemagazine.com www.showcasemagazine.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Paulette Dean | Sam Jackson | Brandie Kendrick Barry Koplen | Lee Vogler CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Natalie Hodge | Brandie Kendrick Barry Koplen | Lee Vogler COVER Photo courtesy of Natalie Hodge
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FEATURE THE HOMETOWN HUSTLE
The Hometown
Hustle
BY SAM JACKSON PHOTOS COURTESY OF NATALIE HODGE
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f you have an eye for the creative and a story to tell, Natalie Hodge would like to invite you into her dream.
“I really focus on connecting to people’s heart through my work,” said Hodge, president and CEO of Rudy’s Girl Media, which is based in Martinsville. “There’s always an important human story, and people are always looking for positive human stories that are entertaining as well.” Hodge has tried a bit of everything in her career, and the adaptability that comes with it could be the secret of the success of her company. From New York to Hollywood and everywhere in between, Hodge has tried just about every way to tell a story, and that creativity has been both a blessing and a necessity. “As an entrepreneur, you have to be a creative problem solver,” she said. “All the entrepreneurs I’ve spoken with have been creative in their ability to solve high-level problems.” It’s no surprise, then that a media mogul such as Hodge has found some of her greatest inspiration in highlighting the challenges, trials, and successes of other locals in Hometown Hustle, a series of 10-minute episodes featuring entrepreneurs and their stories in the area. The idea was about “inviting people who ‘had a dream’ into my personal dream, and giving them voice and access to something,” Hodge said. Entrepreneurship and small business ownership frequently involve “stories about life and sacrifice and commitment,” she added. “Everyone has a story of loss.” Hodge’s story of entrepreneurship goes back for generations, which is why she has gone from 8 SHOWCASE Magazine |
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“Unemployed to Unstoppable,” as the title of her book suggests. “I always knew I was going to own my business,” she said. “I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs.” Hodge’s father and grandfather owned a store in Leatherwood. “I knew I would have something,” Hodge said, but it took a lot of years and traveling to find her way into the burgeoning hometown media empire she’s created. The name Rudy’s Girl comes from her parents, Rufus and Judy. “They’re really the two biggest influences on my life,” she said, with her dad being a business owner and her mother a musician and artist. “I really wanted to pay homage to them and all they’ve invested in me,” she added. One of the main ideas behind Rudy’s Girl is to educate people on film production and take some of the fear factor out. That’s where the “Hometown” in Hometown Hustle comes into play. The talent and resources are out there to create whatever you can envision, regardless of the market you’re in. “The mission became even more important, because it’s not a traditional business for this community.” It took years and a lot of miles to find the mission, however. Hodge’s impressive resume includes a degree in justice & policy studies from Guilford College and a master’s Continued to Page 10
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FEATURE THE HOMETOWN HUSTLE
Continued from Page 8
degree in African-American studies from Cornell University in New York. She has worked in academia, in housing, and as a writer, producer and actor before moving into workforce development and starting Rudy’s Girl in 2016. A writer by birthright, Hodge started working in student housing in New York before moving to Los Angeles in 2013 to continue that work. She later moved on to the Art Institute of California-Los Angeles, where she was an adviser to art students. Hodge published her first book, The Biggest BUT in the World, in 2015, at which time she was also working on a
television project based in New York. Doing promotional work in New York while living in Los Angeles meant she “blew through her savings” in the process, she said. “At that point, I knew I had to pack up the L.A. apartment and figure out something to do to become financially stable again while I’m still working on my projects,” she said. During a visit back home in Martinsville over the holidays, Hodge said, an idea occurred to her: “There’s no place like home.” She found a way to do the things that gave her inspiration without needing to live on the coast. That led to Hodge founding Rudy’s Girl and becoming a special project coordinator at Ross Innovative Employment Solutions. “It was just an amazing experience to be a part of workforce development,” she said. “That is an important part of my story, because it hooked me into my love again for this area. Now, I’m tied into these incredible people and our mission for our region to re-define itself.” Step one in that definition comes as education and showing entrepreneurs the tools to success are out there and available. “Being back here and talking to entrepreneurs, I’ve found there were a lot of folks who didn’t know about resources available in the community like grants and small business development programs,” Hodge said. “I saw that people who were interested in starting their own businesses didn’t understand the support systems available to get a business moving.” As a result, Hodge feels she has a duty to spread the word. “I feel like this is both sides of my mission,” she said. “I got into this specifically to do film and television work, but I really love helping entrepreneurs. It’s been a really great way to connect with people and funnel them into the resources that I’m aware of.” The seeds for Hometown Hustle came during that time. “One day, I was in the Danville workforce center and met with a colleague about producing a short film,” Continued to Page 12
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FEATURE THE HOMETOWN HUSTLE
Continued from Page 10
Hodge said. They came up with the idea for a film about a man who returns home after being incarcerated and struggles to find meaningful work. That film, Sell, was a truly collaborative effort, and the result looked different from something produced by a media agency in a major market. As Hodge points out, everyone has seen innumerable films and shows filmed on nameless, busy streets in NYC or in the bustle of Southern California. With Sell, the vibe was different. “Unlike filming in New York or L.A., where this is commonplace, it was a completely new experience in this community, and everyone chipped in,” she said. “There was all this energy, and people were excited about seeing themselves and local landmarks.” The film was screened at Greenrock Correctional Facility in Pittsylvania County, “and that was a mind-blowing experience,” Hodge added. “From there, that set us on a trajectory to screen the
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project at some colleges and universities,” she said. “But before that could get rolling, it was 2020.” Suddenly, the struggles of the entrepreneur became headline news, as businesses everywhere fought to thrive and survive amid the pandemic. “I was really inspired to hear all the ways people approached that as a business challenge,” she said. “Whether through offering new or more products and services, offering a bigger online presence, or other ways of adapting to the climate.” That’s where the seeds of Hometown Hustle were planted. The result has been to turn the dark times of 2020 into a celebration of the individual and the entrepreneurial spirit. “It feels empowering,” Hodge said. “Once you change that view of what your community is,” then “this light bulb goes off (that says) ‘I can do anything.’”
One consequence of the pandemic from a media perspective has been the breakdown of a lot of selfimposed barriers for content creators, Hodge believes. “We’ve seen unknown folks who have achieved a high level of success on YouTube or TikTok,” she explained. “I think the playing field is becoming a more equal space. As a result, there will be a more equal distribution of voice. We will get to that point, and it will be a more balanced production space.” However, Hodge said people in this part of the country have to get out of the mindset that big things can’t happen in small towns. “I have hustled more with film and TV here than anyplace else I’ve lived,” she said, adding that many content creators learn on the fly. “I’m a self-taught professional myself.” “This is my pay-it-forward to other content creators,” she said. “This can happen everywhere.”
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FEATURE A WONDERFUL GOURD WITH A VERY SPECIAL NAME…
A wonderful gourd with a very special name… BY BARRY KOPLEN PHOTOS BY BARRY KOPLEN
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s I walked down the main street of downtown Lima, Peru, just to ‘get the feel of the place’, I saw a number of people who were dressed in traditional clothing, colorful handmade garments. Most were peddlers, people from villages on the outskirts of Lima. Most were selling art objects they had made. One of those was an older woman who explained to me she was an artist. As proof, she showed me gourds she had grown and had painted. Most were four to five inches high and two to three inches wide. Her designs encircled each gourd. When I pointed at one of them and told her I liked it, she seemed to be relieved, as if my four or five dollars
would feed her family. Because she spoke English, she reacted strongly when I asked whether she had actually done the painting. As if to earn my trust, she took the gourd I had chosen and used her black ink pen to add an additional design while I watched, awestruck. Her lines were true; they complimented the gourd’s design perfectly. I was so impressed that I offered her more than she had asked if she would sign her name to what was now my gourd. She didn’t hesitate to write her name and to thank me humbly and profusely. I regretted that I couldn’t buy all the gourds she had with her; she was that caring and that good-hearted. And when I read her name on the bottom of the gourd, I saw it was the same as my mom’s, Ruth. Although I never told anyone, I kept Ruth near me and treated the gourd with great care, inches from my keyboard. In part, I did that because Ruth assured me that my love would never leave me as long as her gourd was near me. For many years, Ruth didn’t disappoint me. It seemed as if the spirit of Ruth, the artist, was both reassuring and within reach. After my relationship ended, I didn’t set aside Ruth. Instead, I wondered whether Ruth, the artist, was no longer alive. From what I’d read, Peru’s mountain people are short-lived. Such thoughts have led me to believe that the time has come for me to cherish my memory of Ruth and Ruth’s creation as well as that of the joyful relationship her gourd has guarded for so long.
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FEATURE WHY IS EVERYTHING SO LOUD? LIKE, REALLY LOUD.
Why is Everything So Loud? Like, Really Loud. BY BRANDIE KENDRICK PHOTO BY BRANDIE KENDRICK
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very thought that runs through my brain is like a sounding gong amidst all the background noise of life. Dog’s snoring, the kid is crunching her bedtime snack, and the air just turned on. How can I write anything worth reading when my thoughts are swirling along with the loudness that is my life.? I don’t know how to soften the volume. I wonder all the time if I am the only one with a running narrative in their mind that feels like a punk rock show from the late 80s and early 90s. It only took me three entire decades to learn that this tornado of thoughts rarely happens to other people. It is unique to a wonderfully blessed group of individuals with a neurodivergent brain. The sounds are maddening at times, other times I find it comforting because silence doesn’t sit well with my always-moving brain. The older I get, the more I understand my brain works differently than the people I encounter every day. In passing work conversations, I find myself hyper-focused on a topic while the others within the conversation have moved forward to the next subject. I often pick up my phone to research information just to add to the conversation. But, by the time I have found my overwhelming contribution to the conversation, I realize everyone is approximately three stories passed the initial topic I just spent two minutes researching. Awkward right?
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I live in that weird gray awkward space. Where things are grossly awkward or completely hilarious. This makes wonderful entertainment for others, however, sometimes it makes connecting with others difficult. How can I make friends when I can’t even follow along in a conversation? If I had a dollar for every time I have over shared information just to fill in that small silence in a conversation, I would likely be able to pay off my student loan debt and afford more therapy. I think this is also why I find socializing to be both wonderful and exhausting. It’s like my heart thrives on the beauty of connection and conversation while my brain does a tailspin with every passing topic in an attempt to take the next off-ramp. This makes for some interesting conversations… Awkward right? For years, I masked it. I played off my lack of attention as me just being energetic. I’ve excused my behavior as “mom brain.” No one could argue with “mom-brain” when they were fully aware you had multiple young children at home. But something just didn’t feel right. I was behind at work, at home, and basically in life. I had often joked about my ADHD brain, yet I had never once thought to seek an actual diagnosis. It wasn’t until I was sitting on a cold exam room table with only a gown covering me that I heard my OBGYN say, “Have you ever considered that you may have ADHD?” She and I had talked the previous year about trying a new medicine
for my anxiety. We discussed therapy and other ways to help my mental health. Yet here I was a year later, sitting on the same cold exam room table, discouraged that nothing had changed despite my efforts and her guidance. Then she mentioned ADHD. She talked about how many women my age were misdiagnosed. I almost cried. This lady knows me well. She has been treating me for years. She has delivered my babies. Not only does she know me well, but she is excellent at her job. She knows her stuff. So, when she talked about attention-deficit, it confirmed all my inner thoughts over all the years, and I felt a tremendous sigh of relief. She asked if I had ever considered seeking an ADHD diagnosis or trying medication for it, and I felt like a 1000-pound weight had been lifted off my shoulders. For a moment, I heard silence and felt peace. Sitting there naked and cold, I’ve never felt more comfortable in my own skin.
like a supercomputer that only processes things at two speeds: fast and faster. So, I am learning about myself, learning how to give myself grace, share when things are overwhelming, and speak up when something just doesn’t feel right in my head. I do, however, still tend to over share in moments of silence. Maybe that’s just a part of my personality now. Awkward and weird are just common traits I now wear as a badge of honor. So, if you ever have the privilege or punishment (whichever you think fits) to meet me and I over share about my ADHD or my therapist… just know it is me, being my true authentic self. It’s still awkward, right?
Awkward right? Thankfully, my journey to an actual diagnosis only took around six months. The first time I took medication for ADHD, it felt as if the Rolodex of thoughts slowed down to a manageable speed. The sounds all around me seemed softer. My thoughts were clear for the very first time… like ever. I am not going to say that only medication has been my saving grace. NOPE, I see my therapist weekly, and I use (or attempt to use) healthy coping skills. Meds, therapy, and an extra measure of grace for myself have been transformative in my journey. So, now I know why everything is so loud. Basically, my brain is
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EXTRA GAMES
Games
Crossword Puzzle ACROSS 1 Chinese flavoring 4 Zest 8 To incite 12 Estimated time of arrival 13 Navy color 14 “I dream of __” (old TV show) 16 Center 18 Schedule 20 Musical instrument 21 Ventilates 23 Central daylight time 24 East southeast 25 Have 26 Eye infection 27 Singing voice 29 Kampala resident 32 Good day 33 Unite 34 “Two __ don’t make a right” 38 Cranny 40 Computer sharing system 41 Peaceful 42 Snaky fish
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Fear German dessert Southwest by west Coming Free of Behold Compass point Gasp Netherlands’ capital Be curious Striving for ideals Time being “Cheers” regular Admiral (abbr.) Space administration DNA component Negative
DOWN 1 Note 2 Toss 3 Gizmo inventor 4 Cut of beef 5 Boxer Muhammad 6 Catholic sister 7 Vacation 8 Seaweed substance 9 Prays
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East northeast Color with dye Whirl El __ Dined Lodge Look Frozen rain What children learn Harp Stomache sore Inhabit Branch of learning Am not Norse Eats Alter Chest wear Want Revising Vase Apply a varnish Compass point Black Element Disgrace Chest muscles Region
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PAWS FOR A CAUSE
Paws for a Cause WRITTEN BY PAULETTE DEAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DANVILLE HUMANE SOCIETY
Buddy is probably the best-known bird in this area. He is our delightful, incorrigible Umbrella cockatoo who has ruled the front lobby for over 15 years. Buddy is a wise fellow who will share some simple rules he lives by.
MEET MR. HANDSOME
This handsome guy came to us as a stray. He has medium hair and is destined to be the stealer of many human hearts.
1. Buddy’s first rule of life: Say “Hello” to everyone. It is hard for anyone to sneak into the front lobby because on most days, Buddy will say a quiet “Hello.” If they don’t respond, he will say it a little louder. If he is still ignored, he will say it loudly. At that point, he just gives up if he gets no response. Buddy does not care about your gender, ethnicity, age, or income bracket. In this world of negativity, crime and busyness, say “Hello” to people because you just never know when they really need a kind word. 2. Buddy’s second rule of life: Make sure the people you love know you love them. Buddy has been in love with April, the shelter manager, for almost as long as he has been here. Buddy calls for her all the time, if he cannot see her. “April, April, April, April, April…” You get the idea. He wants his beloved friend to be in his sight. Years ago, when April was going to be gone for a week for the first time since we got Buddy, I had no idea how he would survive the week (or how we would survive his yelling). I took a picture of April, printed it on a sheet of paper, and taped it to his cage. The entire time she was gone, he sat by her picture. Do your loved ones know you love
them? Be a Buddy and never hesitate to tell them. 3. Buddy’s third rule of life: Do what you need to do with energy and passion. Buddy plays with toys, squawks, observes, and even dances with such joy. Now, to be transparent, what Buddy thinks needs to be done is not necessarily what we think needs to be done. We really did not think that the window frame needed to be destroyed in the couple of minutes someone put his cage too close to the window and then left the office. He certainly
destroyed it with energy and passion. The thing to remember about this rule of his is to make sure that what you are doing is the right thing! After you know that, then tackle it with energy and passion and with as little harm as possible. Imagine the transformation that could take place in communities and families if everyone said “Hello” to everyone else, if we made sure the people we love have no doubt about it, and the right things were accomplished with great passion!
DANVILLE HUMANE SOCIETY www.showcasemagazine.com
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CONFESSIONS OF A 30 SOMETHING
Confessions of a 30 Something Going Through Storms To Get To Sunny Skies BY LEE VOGLER PHOTO BY LEE VOGLER
Most of my friends and family would consider me something of a thrill seeker. I’m no Evel Knievel but I love jet skis, roller coasters, climbing mountains and things of that nature. I didn’t always love those things, however. (Except for the jet skis. I’ve always loved those.) These were things I had to work on overcoming the fear of before I could enjoy them.
as something I would like to avoid doing in life. The thought of being on a fairly narrow bridge over the ocean with no sign of land for over a dozen miles didn’t appeal to me.
For a good chunk of my life, I was terrified of heights. Part of that is probably because of my friend Josh Soffriti pushing me off the highest cliff at Smith Mt. Lake when we were kids, but I digress. Over the years, though, I’ve worked to overcome that fear by walking over tall bridges and climbing various mountain trails. As each year goes by, I find something taller to traverse.
Oddly enough, the drive over was easy. I realized most of my fears were overblown. The drive back, however, was a different story. We left Cape Charles in the middle of a storm, the extent of which we wouldn’t realize until we were five miles out in the middle of the ocean with nowhere to go. The rain was heavy. The wind was strong. Waterspouts were circling in the ocean alongside us. In fact, the weather was so bad they stopped traffic from coming on the bridge about five minutes after we started our journey over it. It was not a fun time for yours truly.
One obstacle, if you can call it that, I had yet to clear was driving over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. That all changed in June. Blair and I took the kids to the Eastern Shore for a weekend vacation. It was the first time for any of us. To get there, however, I had to drive over the 20-mile bridge-tunnel that had lived in infamy in my mind for years
We eventually made it through the storm, and were greeted with the sunny skies of Virginia Beach once reaching land. Perhaps there’s a bigger lesson in that. All of us will go through storms in our life, but it’s important to keep moving forward to reach those sunny skies waiting for us on the other side.
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Games Solutions Continued from Page 18
Word Search
Crossword Puzzle
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| JULY 2022 | SHOWCASE Magazine 23
24 SHOWCASE Magazine |
JULY 2022
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