Latest / Rick Outzen: (we don’t) color on the dog / Cole Stevenson Returns to P'cola
Transcript
- Rick Outzen: Back, I'm Rick Altson. This is Rick's blog live. One thing that I've always done, and we have done in Weekly, is you know, put the spotlight on young leaders in our community because they really are critical to the growth and the future of where we go. I mean, you look at for 20 years ago, we were always fighting over could we keep our talent. now we're doing a much better job of it. one young man that I have followed since he was Going with his dad into the courtroom wearing a bow tie and a his own little briefcase is Cole Stevenson. Cole, thank you for joining us. Yes, sir, yeah. Yeah, recent graduate, University of the South, your IB program at Pensacola High School. how did I B prepare you for Swanee? Cole Stevenson: So I mean really I I heard like my freshman year of I B that all the seniors who graduate say college is easy after that. And I wouldn't say it made it easy. I think college is a lot more than just the classes and the classwork, but I definitely became a much stronger writer and I I had friends who were completely different majors from me, biology or or history majors, and they'd be telling me about stuff they learned in their sophomore or junior year class that I learned my junior year high school. So there was it was just super comprehensive. You kinda learn everything about everything pretty extensively. Rick Outzen: So Yeah, the I remember one of the first times I interviewed you was you'd written a paper about Beastie Boys. Yeah. Which we which was great. Of course you were still late turning it in. Yes. but it it's it's been fun to watch you grow up. How d you know, you've been away, you've come back to work during the summer, but how much has Pensacola changed from when you graduated from high school to where we are right now? Cole Stevenson: I mean so one of the first things I noticed is the traffic is you know, at five o'clock it is thick. It's it's not Atlanta or something, but it is you you have to stay off Main Street. Right. Right. I noticed, you know, at night I used to be able to see the stars from my house and now there's a lot of not that it's an issue, it's a lot of people living here now, but it definitely does kind of fog up the sky a little bit. Definitely a lot of more developments. Seen a lot of apartments. in Gulf Breeze and just sometimes I'll drive somewhere new and I didn't even realize they were building something there. So yeah. Rick Outzen: How about how about the entertainment and th that what we have right now? How does downtowns change? Cole Stevenson: Yeah, so I've definitely I mean now I'm twenty one so there's a lot more I can do but Rick Outzen: Not as you I you didn't do it before, right? So yeah, right, right. Mom and Dad don't watch. Cole Stevenson: Okay. yeah, vinyl is definitely I think they've gotten a further reach for artists. I know the handlebar has been doing well, getting a lot of talent from just out of states. I think nightlife is pretty good. if if you're on the further stretch towards Jackson Square. It's definitely I have friends that are actually excited to go have fun downtown. cool. Instead of Yeah. Rick Outzen: Is i is there a place that your friends from out of town like to come to? Cole Stevenson: I think Seville is definitely where I take everybody. It's just all the rooms and I think Fast Eddies is a pretty cool bar, so Rick Outzen: Now you are you're working on the Jolly campaign here. You you're one of the working for them. Talk about getting involved in politics. What w how do you how have you liked it? Yeah and and what do you what drew you to that? Cole Stevenson: Yeah, so I was a psychology major, political science minor, so people obviously are interesting to me. I've always found politics to be something I'm interested in. I'm not sure that that's what my career might be in, but marketing is kind of where I'm headed, I think. And there's like my dad's told me there's not much better marketing than selling one person. So you kinda get a lot of experience with that. It was Lumen May who I talked to that really got me involved because he's been involved with Jolly especially in this area, rallying support and so he said, you know, what's Cole doing? And I was looking for stuff and he said, How about working on a campaign running a office? So making a lot of connections, just trying to get people to help spread the message. Rick Outzen: And just the excitement. Excitement of being in in in in any any race is exciting, particularly about a gubernatorial's race, is is that they they've got money, they've got a they've got a lot going on. So to be at the ground floor of something like that, and then get to know your city better. Cole Stevenson: Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, with the canvassing we gotta go to different neighborhoods and just go door to door and talk to people. So I've been in a few areas I didn't even know that we're like the De Villiers area, there's a lot of new houses and stuff set up near there. seemed like a lot of young people and anyway, it's been kinda cool. Rick Outzen: It's good transition coming out of college. Yeah. Cole Stevenson: Absolutely, yeah. And I'm not sure yet if I'm staying here so I've kinda you know, I'm getting a feel for like what it's like to live here really. instead of just cool. Rick Outzen: Well we're we're k we're coming up to the break, but I you know, I I wanted to have you on the show. it'll be fun to see w this this you know, this election cycle we tried we tried our first live broadcast and it went fairly well. This during the general we'll be able to call you in a So Cole Stevenson: Yes sir, definitely. Rick Outzen: that that should be fun to do. The and you know, I think it's it's fun to see you come back. It's fun to see that that we have a town. That's attractive. Because gosh, you really, Cole, you know, it wasn't that long or well it it's in my world it's long. Not you know, in your world it's you know, not long at all. But you know, or it's you know, twenty years ago, people would never think when they got out of college coming back here. Yeah, Cole Stevenson: Absolutely. Rick Outzen: so I think that is a huge, huge thing and I think there's so much the community has to offer. But Cole, thank you for coming on. I appreciate it. They it it is fun to see the talent that we're keeping and the talent that wants to be here in Pensacola and Escambia County. We are a place that people want it want to come and they're they want their friends to come here too. We're gonna go ahead and take a break. I'll try to wrap this show up. We're Rick's blog live and I'm Rick out. Cole Stevenson: Yeah.