Latest / Crafted Connections / EP 26: On-the-Go - Amy Ballard

Transcript

EP 26: On-the-Go - Amy Ballard · Crafted Connections

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, welcome to Crafted Connections.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Keelan Calhoun, and this is a podcast all about storytelling and building genuine community.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Here we'll dive into the art of storytelling, unpack strategies for making meaningful connections, and hear from incredible humans who are using their story to create impact.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: So grab your favorite beverage, settle in, and let's craft some connections.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, welcome back to Crafted Connections.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's great to have you.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: I collect stories from folks in my network and in my community, and I and I share them.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: I also kind of tell my own experience of enhancing my storytelling, enhancing marketing, like leaning into my business, life stories, kind of inspo stories, what have you, but it's all circled and surrounding stories, right?
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a big believer that community is built through connection and connection is built through storytelling.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, in order to have a strong community, you gotta lean into your stories.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that's that's what I do here.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: I I get on the mic, I interview people, and I share my own.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: So we are doing something just a tiny bit different here on Crafted Connections.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: So typically I'll release an episode every Thursday-ish, and it'll be either a solo episode where I'm speaking on a topic related to storytelling, related to business, related to lifing, or I will interview a guest and we will have a lovely conversation.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: We'll talk about their story, we'll talk about their their situations, they'll talk about we'll talk about their experiences to kind of connect you with them, to connect them with you, to you know, connect them and me a little bit more.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's just a lovely time.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: But we are going to do something I'm calling an on the go episode.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: So back in April, I attended the Grow Conference.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I am the fractional chief content officer for Grow We Wo, which is a women's organization that's all about empowering women, changing the status quo of what it's like to be a woman on this planet in this world, building community around that and and learning together, succeeding together, collaborating together is where it's at.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I've been able to do that with them for, oh my gosh, what is it, September?
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: So it's been nine months now.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Nine months I've been working with them, doing some really, really fun things for the women in our community.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I brought my podcast equipment to the Fort Wayne conference this year, 2025.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I set up a booth and I interviewed women and I asked them a few questions, and it was really fun seeing and hearing all the different answers that I got.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna feature all the individuals that I interviewed that day back in April.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: So, anyways, I love these women.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: There were about, gosh, I think I did about 14 interviews that day and to share stories on the go.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I hope you enjoy.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: Take a listen and see you on the other side, my friends.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: My name is Amy Ballard.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: Cool.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: And then can you give me like one to two sentences to describe you?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: Who are you, Amy?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: See, this is where we're starting, it can be deep, it can be just casual.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, who am I?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: I am a mother who loves to work and support our community.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I work for Three Rivers Federal Credit Union during the day as an the assistant vice president of member experience.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: I currently oversee eight of our locations, but then also in addition to that, I am the first female council president in Kendaville.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I I do that in my free time.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, very little free time, but when you do have it, you that's what you do.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: Can you thinking about your life and where you are now, do you have like a moment or a story of great impact that kind of set you on the path to who you are today?
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think that there's one little thing or one big thing that happened.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was a bunch of little things that have happened over the years that have helped me to become who I am and what I do.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I think looking back on on my life, my parents were a great example and and set the table for me to be very driven and excited about helping my kids do the same thing.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: So kind of that influence has led you to like want to have that same influence on your children.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Very cool.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: How would you define the word alignment?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: Oh gosh.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Alignment.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's a I think for me that's a really tough word because I think we as humans want to have our individuality.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: So it's hard to say that alignment for the record, everybody has had completely different definitions.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: Some talked about like physical alignment, some were like, oh, that makes me think of chiropractors.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, so it's just really like when the when I say that word, what comes to your mind?
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: Agreement.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Being in alignment with thoughts and ideas and whatnot.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: Very cool.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, you're a leader of many different people, right?
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: So, like when you're in a group setting, like how do you how do you bring that together?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's super hard.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I I just had a conversation with our CEO about it.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, me m myself, I have three peers, and we're not all in alignment on everything all the time.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: So he was like, Well, do you agree with your husband all the time?
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Of course not.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: No, I don't.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: So it it was it was an interesting conversation.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and that's that's what I've found.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure, like, if I asked everybody who I've discussed the word alignment with so far today, two weeks from now, they'd also have different definitions.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's like your current moment in time.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, you're like currently on our leadership team, we're like, how do we, you know, make sure we're always on the same page?
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like, and it's just like the challenges that you may be facing, right?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you make sure that you're balanced between your work and your home life?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's there's so many different ways to to approach the feeling and the experience.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I am so grateful for your time today.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: No, thank you.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: So there you have it.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: It has been women like these women that have put me back together.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: I really had a beautiful Dululu era that was a lot of throwing stuff at a wall and a lot of tripping and falling and failing, frankly.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Failing that I would not have been able to put myself back together from without women like the ones you just heard, right?
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: Women like the ones I met at the Fort Wayne conference, ones I'm going to meet at the Anderson conference and speak to and connect with.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, just women outside of those circles as well, uh, have really, really put me back together.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm super pumped for this series.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: I hope you enjoy and find yourself in some of these stories.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yay! Thanks, friends.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: Crafted Connections is lovingly produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm dedicated to helping people and brands tell their stories in a way that resonates.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and connect with us on Instagram at Crafted Connections Pod.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: Keep creating, keep connecting until we meet again.