Latest / Johnny's World / The Starkville Derby
Transcript
- 0:02SPEAKER_00: Coming to you live from the Johnny Packer Eyewear Studio in fabulous Dark Vegas, Mississippi, please welcome our co-host, the best iDot this side of the Mississippi, BW.
- 0:18SPEAKER_00: And now, welcome a true hero, a CF warrior whose favorite motto in life is just keep living.
- 0:27SPEAKER_00: Here's Johnny.
- 0:42SPEAKER_02: All right, welcome to uh brand new edition of the Johnny's World Podcast.
- 0:45SPEAKER_02: It's Johnny here.
- 0:46SPEAKER_02: Uh doing doing an interview uh solo today.
- 0:49SPEAKER_02: Uh BW's stands and patience with their eyeballs today.
- 0:52SPEAKER_02: So uh so it's all me today, but uh we're I have a happy we're happy to uh to bring our guest on today.
- 0:58SPEAKER_02: I'm so pumped.
- 0:59SPEAKER_02: We've got a big event in town this uh Saturday, and I can't wait for him to talk about it.
- 1:04SPEAKER_02: So without further ado, I'm gonna go ahead and bring him on.
- 1:06SPEAKER_02: Uh Alden Thornhill, welcome to Johnny's World.
- 1:09SPEAKER_02: I can't wait to hear about the start more derby you got planned for this weekend.
- 1:13SPEAKER_01: Oh, yes, sir.
- 1:14SPEAKER_01: Thank you guys for having me on.
- 1:15SPEAKER_01: I, you know, uh it's it's really gonna be a tail wagon good time Saturday in the district.
- 1:20SPEAKER_01: We cannot wait to go out there and raise a good bit of, you know, even more money for the uh Tippah County Humane Society.
- 1:26SPEAKER_01: And the weather's starting to look better, knock on wood, knock on every piece of wood you can find.
- 1:30SPEAKER_01: But yes, uh it's you know it's gonna be great.
- 1:32SPEAKER_01: We cannot we cannot wait.
- 1:34SPEAKER_01: And again, thank you guys for having me on.
- 1:36SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, well, kind of like uh just tell us how this started.
- 1:39SPEAKER_02: How I know I I've been involved with the Humane Society.
- 1:42SPEAKER_02: Me and I have a golden retriever, and we I take him every year to the uh pool party we have down at Mockree Park and with the Humane Society.
- 1:49SPEAKER_02: They're such good people, and uh I know it's such a worthy cause.
- 1:52SPEAKER_02: Just tell us how you got involved with it.
- 1:53SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I was just sitting at Two Brothers eating dinner, and uh looked out on University Drive.
- 1:58SPEAKER_01: I said, you know, it'd be really funny if we shut down the street and raced wiener dogs.
- 2:02SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, it's a great atmosphere there.
- 2:04SPEAKER_01: You have the students in the in their uh apartments with balconies, you got patios, you got balconies and bars.
- 2:10SPEAKER_01: Um, you have just a really carnival-like atmosphere we can have there, and then of course use the event to raise money for worthy cause.
- 2:16SPEAKER_01: And obviously, you know, humane shelter and dogs go hand in hand.
- 2:20SPEAKER_01: So uh it all came together like that.
- 2:23SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's awesome.
- 2:24SPEAKER_02: I don't think we've ever had anything quite like that in Starnville.
- 2:27SPEAKER_02: So this is a first, and uh, and what like you said, what a great location, uh University Drive.
- 2:32SPEAKER_02: And and so you kind of you kind of themed it uh Starville Derby, kind of like after the Kentucky Derby, right?
- 2:36SPEAKER_02: Because the same day and everything.
- 2:38SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so um, you know, I tell people you don't have to go to Kentucky that day to see good racing.
- 2:43SPEAKER_01: Just come over to the Cotton District.
- 2:45SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be it's gonna be a great atmosphere.
- 2:46SPEAKER_01: We have Miss Mississippi singing the national anthem with the violinist.
- 2:50SPEAKER_01: Uh we've got hopefully got the Startwill High School singers sing our new state song, One Mississippi by Steve Azar.
- 2:56SPEAKER_01: And then we have the call to stage uh by a uh French horn player from the famous Maroon Band.
- 3:02SPEAKER_01: So it's it's gonna be rocking.
- 3:04SPEAKER_02: Nice.
- 3:05SPEAKER_02: Now um I've read where it's gonna be shut off from uh what is it, the Catholic Church, um all the way through university, or what I guess for people uh who are listening that want to come, just tell us like where would you park or what do you need to avoid?
- 3:18SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so uh it'll be it'll be from St.
- 3:21SPEAKER_01: Joseph's to uh Colonel Moldrow Drive.
- 3:23SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 3:24SPEAKER_01: Uh if you were to park, I'd park uh you can park on the street at certain streets off of university and then university after the Catholic Church.
- 3:30SPEAKER_01: Uh we've talked to the people at the first bank on Russell Street, very, very generous providing us uh parking there.
- 3:37SPEAKER_01: And then also you can park at the Mill Gro uh Mill Parking Garage on Russell Street, another spot, uh, or on campus by the soccer fields and and by the Barnes Noble, stuff like that.
- 3:47SPEAKER_01: But yeah, you know, just uh you can park and take the shoelace express down to the uh Derby area.
- 3:52SPEAKER_01: We got art vendors, food trucks, uh, you know, uh pet vendors, uh bounce house for the kids, and also uh an art area for the kids.
- 4:01SPEAKER_01: We're gonna have a chalk to where they can uh do some good street art and thinking about doing some like uh printing out some wiener dog colouring sheets for them.
- 4:08SPEAKER_01: Um and also there's opportunities for you to bring uh you can bring uh you can bring supplies that the uh shelter desperately needs, and you'll be entered into a raffle for some wonderful prizes from local uh local businesses here in Starkville.
- 4:21SPEAKER_02: So they'll have people from the uh humanity society there take uh taking up everything that they bring, I guess.
- 4:26SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 4:27SPEAKER_02: Okay, awesome.
- 4:28SPEAKER_02: And uh, and as far as the race goes, what'd you operate where y'all had like over 150 wiener dogs?
- 4:32SPEAKER_02: All right.
- 4:32SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're at 150.
- 4:34SPEAKER_01: So uh we have a ton uh coming from as far as Denver, Colorado.
- 4:38SPEAKER_01: Uh it is it it has blown up.
- 4:41SPEAKER_01: I can already hear the barking right now.
- 4:43SPEAKER_01: I can hear them coming.
- 4:49SPEAKER_01: I can hear that distinctive, uh, that distinctive regal bark that I hear all the time.
- 4:53SPEAKER_01: That Memphis right now is being good.
- 4:55SPEAKER_01: Thank God.
- 4:56SPEAKER_01: I better not go on that one.
- 4:58SPEAKER_01: But uh, but yeah, they uh you know it it's gonna be great.
- 5:01SPEAKER_01: Uh but we also have pretenders racing, they're gonna be wearing uh hot dog outfits and racing against each other.
- 5:06SPEAKER_01: But people have asked me how are you racing 150 winter dogs at once?
- 5:10SPEAKER_01: I'm not, don't worry.
- 5:11SPEAKER_01: We have Heat.
- 5:12SPEAKER_01: My wife has been very gracious and uh using her time to create uh our times on when everybody's gonna race, and that way it's not just complete chaos.
- 5:20SPEAKER_01: So uh shout out to her.
- 5:22SPEAKER_01: Um and yeah, so uh we'll we'll be racing them from 11 to 230.
- 5:26SPEAKER_01: Uh and uh at 230 we'll have the grand champion of the adult race and and and then we'll uh then we'll have an after party at Two Brothers with a great band called uh Humid Subtropic from Jackson.
- 5:37SPEAKER_02: Okay, awesome.
- 5:38SPEAKER_02: Uh do y'all have uh have y'all had uh seen like who the oldest winner dog is?
- 5:43SPEAKER_02: Is y'all have had registered or the youngest?
- 5:45SPEAKER_02: Or or do you know anything about that?
- 5:47SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so my wife tells me we have a 17-year-old.
- 5:50SPEAKER_01: Wow.
- 5:51SPEAKER_01: What's what's the 17-year-old say?
- 5:53SPEAKER_01: Oh, we're uh we have a 17-year-old and the youngest is a five month old.
- 5:57SPEAKER_01: Okay, wow.
- 5:58SPEAKER_01: 17-year-old.
- 5:59SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.
- 6:00SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so that's what um 119 in dog years, I think.
- 6:04SPEAKER_01: So yeah, that's a wow.
- 6:06SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I don't know how much running that one's gonna do, but it's gonna be great.
- 6:10SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
- 6:11SPEAKER_02: That's so cool.
- 6:12SPEAKER_02: Um, and then uh y'all you said y'all there there'll be food vendors around for people to get food and everything.
- 6:18SPEAKER_01: Yes, there'll be food trucks.
- 6:20SPEAKER_01: Uh we have easy street brunchco, brown bag provisions, uh, and get rolled ice cream, and then also obviously our wonderful uh restaurants in the district that uh that sponsored us in their bars.
- 6:30SPEAKER_01: We have classroom, um, you know, uh with classroom, we got Ben 612, Arepas, uh, two brothers, Una Mas uh Bulldog Burger Company, uh and uh yeah, so uh and the fountain bar and mojo maroon.
- 6:45SPEAKER_01: So plenty of good places to watch the race, you know, chill out, get you a drink, watch uh and watch the action.
- 6:51SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, and like Commodore Bob's gonna be doing uh Mutt Juleps and Weenie Rita's.
- 6:56SPEAKER_01: So you can get you a drink there too, but uh you know, get you a drink of a booth set up.
- 7:00SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, a lot of good art vendors, uh a lot of good pet vendors.
- 7:03SPEAKER_01: So um it's something for everybody, really.
- 7:06SPEAKER_02: Yeah, maybe they'll build they'll be cooking up some hot dogs somewhere around there.
- 7:09SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so actually all the bars are gonna be doing a uh for uh the VIP tent, they're gonna be doing a uh gourmet hot dog, and we're gonna vote on and they're gonna get a uh we're gonna get a golden wiener dog with the hot dog trophy.
- 7:19SPEAKER_02: So yeah, that's so cool, man.
- 7:21SPEAKER_02: And what about the uh I know you I talked to you briefly at Pram.
- 7:25SPEAKER_02: You said that you might be getting the wiener mobile there.
- 7:27SPEAKER_02: Did that ever come to be?
- 7:28SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so we we we missed out on it this year, but next year we have a girl who's actually uh it was actually the intern for him last year, and she went ahead and got us connected.
- 7:37SPEAKER_01: So we got it next year for sure, no matter the date.
- 7:40SPEAKER_02: Awesome, so cool.
- 7:41SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, this is like uh this is so exciting, man.
- 7:43SPEAKER_02: I've been telling people about it, and this is like not being the the first one, you know.
- 7:47SPEAKER_02: Uh you're getting so much feedback, and and it props to you, man.
- 7:50SPEAKER_02: I remember I asking, I was like, man, who's doing the on social media?
- 7:52SPEAKER_02: You're like, that's all me.
- 7:54SPEAKER_02: Man, it's awesome.
- 7:55SPEAKER_02: You're you're kicking it.
- 7:56SPEAKER_02: Nell and out of the park on that one.
- 7:58SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you, man.
- 7:59SPEAKER_01: But I, you know, I gotta give a shout out to my team, my wife Abby Thornhill, uh, my friends, uh Abby Franovich, Chris Franovich, Olivia Turner, and Abby Abels, they've been great, absolute, absolute uh superstars and helping me plan it all out and get the logistics going of it all.
- 8:15SPEAKER_01: So, can I give a shout out to my great team?
- 8:17SPEAKER_01: And then Jan Jackson and Rick Welch over uh on the board of IT Bog County Humane.
- 8:22SPEAKER_01: They've been they've been a super help.
- 8:23SPEAKER_01: And also, and also obviously like the Cotton District, um, you know, Robert and them been great, uh, really helping promote it.
- 8:30SPEAKER_01: And all our rest all our restaurants and uh all the restaurants and everything, bars, everything promoting it, and businesses locally, they they've been great.
- 8:38SPEAKER_01: And um, and Pram's been a great help getting us some volunteers.
- 8:40SPEAKER_02: So yeah, um, yeah, it's gonna be a great day.
- 8:44SPEAKER_02: I just pray that the weather holds out.
- 8:46SPEAKER_02: And have you looked at the forecast yet?
- 8:48SPEAKER_02: I think it's gonna be good.
- 8:50SPEAKER_02: I hope.
- 8:50SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's it's looking knock on like I said, knock on every piece of wood.
- 8:54SPEAKER_01: It's looking like it's cleared up more and more.
- 8:56SPEAKER_01: Um I think it's just gonna be humid, but I mean I'd rather be humid than stormy.
- 8:59SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, absolutely.
- 9:01SPEAKER_02: I'll take that every day of the week.
- 9:02SPEAKER_02: And then and then people coming in town for the baseball game.
- 9:05SPEAKER_02: This gives them an incentive to get there early.
- 9:06SPEAKER_02: I saw we didn't move the game up to the nighttime, so that's good.
- 9:09SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah.
- 9:10SPEAKER_01: So yeah, the game will start at six.
- 9:12SPEAKER_01: So yeah, you know, plenty of time to to go to the district, have a good time beforehand, and then head over to the dude and watch some good baseball, hopefully.
- 9:19SPEAKER_02: Yep, yep.
- 9:20SPEAKER_02: Well, well, let me ask you this.
- 9:22SPEAKER_02: I saw where uh where Chris Jans is gonna be the grand marshal.
- 9:25SPEAKER_02: How'd that how'd that come to be?
- 9:26SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so uh Coach Jans loves dogs.
- 9:29SPEAKER_01: He him and his wife Sherry are very big dog fans, uh, and he you know he loves the community.
- 9:34SPEAKER_01: But uh my my buddy Bart Heitch, who's gonna be streaming it for us, he's gonna be on the call on uh Heitch Hoops and uh and also uh on a Facebook.
- 9:42SPEAKER_01: He uh he's been helping helping out with NIL and has gotten he's been a great help to the basketball program.
- 9:47SPEAKER_01: And he kind of he kind of helped me out getting Coach Jans.
- 9:49SPEAKER_01: So I gotta give a big shout out to my buddy Bart.
- 9:51SPEAKER_01: And as you know, Bart was on the 96 Final Four team, and he he he he I told him, you know, um the kids say you got that dog in you.
- 9:59SPEAKER_01: I said, Bart, you got that weenie dog in you this weekend.
- 10:01SPEAKER_01: You've been doing great, he's been helping me out a lot.
- 10:03SPEAKER_02: So I love it, I love it.
- 10:05SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, I'm I'm I'm pumped.
- 10:07SPEAKER_02: Uh Coach Jans and I saw his he signed that big contract yesterday.
- 10:10SPEAKER_02: So uh why I think they saw right, you know what?
- 10:15SPEAKER_01: He's done it.
- 10:15SPEAKER_01: We gotta give him that extension now.
- 10:17SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
- 10:18SPEAKER_02: He's the grand marsh of the wiener dog race, so let's sign him up, man.
- 10:21SPEAKER_02: And yeah, and he did.
- 10:22SPEAKER_02: So uh yeah, happy about that, happy about the Bulldog basketball program.
- 10:26SPEAKER_02: Peter is bright for sure with that.
- 10:28SPEAKER_02: Um uh, but yeah, and then and then Paul Feinbaum, I saw you were on there, man.
- 10:32SPEAKER_02: That's so cool.
- 10:33SPEAKER_01: Yeah, hopefully Paul's coming.
- 10:35SPEAKER_01: Uh he had a wieny dog as a child, and so I kind of pulled his heart strings.
- 10:39SPEAKER_01: Uh, but we have Zach Fellman, the new Mississippi State A D, uh Jimmy, uh Jimmy Yu from the uh women's basketball program, he's coming.
- 10:47SPEAKER_01: And uh hopefully we'll have Coach Arnett and a few others, but uh, but yeah, you know, it's just gonna be uh, you know, it's the community has really embraced it uh and just really helped me and helped it thrive.
- 10:57SPEAKER_01: So I we're very blessed here in Starkville to have a great environment for events like this, especially with Mississippi State and the students.
- 11:04SPEAKER_01: Um they they you know they picked it up and ran with it.
- 11:06SPEAKER_01: So it's it's been great.
- 11:07SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I was gonna ask you about student involvement.
- 11:10SPEAKER_02: I seem to seem to think that this would be a great event for them to come out and just something for them to hang out in the district and and uh what a great time.
- 11:17SPEAKER_02: I wish that they had something like this when I was a student, you know.
- 11:20SPEAKER_02: That's something something so cool to do.
- 11:22SPEAKER_02: But uh yeah, and being the first one, like you said, it's uh this is it's just so it's blown up so big on the first one.
- 11:29SPEAKER_02: I can't imagine what's what's gonna happen in years to come.
- 11:31SPEAKER_02: I can see this being a successful starble tradition from now on.
- 11:35SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I you know, I think I think it definitely is.
- 11:37SPEAKER_01: I think next year we'll do it even bigger and better.
- 11:39SPEAKER_01: Uh definitely um increase the amount of racer spots and and all that.
- 11:44SPEAKER_01: You know, uh I'll go ahead and say this uh about our track.
- 11:47SPEAKER_01: Uh we have a turf track generously donated from our friends at Bluff City Turf Co.
- 11:51SPEAKER_01: out of Memphis.
- 11:52SPEAKER_01: Uh Colt and the gang, great guys, absolutely absolute superstars.
- 11:56SPEAKER_01: If you need turf, you need uh putting green, you need a golf simulator, they can do it.
- 12:01SPEAKER_01: Go look at their social media.
- 12:02SPEAKER_01: They have done some amazing projects, and uh they generously donated that turf track to us.
- 12:07SPEAKER_01: And then my friends over at Bell Building Supply donated all our uh fencing and everything to make sure we have no run, no uh, no escapees.
- 12:14SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, Foley and them are great people and uh you know helping us out on that end and uh PIP out of Ridgeland uh printing, uh John uh John Lewis out of Jackson, he's a great guy.
- 12:25SPEAKER_01: He uh offered their services to print all our banners and stuff.
- 12:28SPEAKER_01: So, you know, great, great to have them helping us out.
- 12:31SPEAKER_01: We I had never even met him before, and he was he he was all key keyed in on helping me out.
- 12:36SPEAKER_01: So he's a great man.
- 12:37SPEAKER_01: Um, and then also Mitchell distributing, helping us print some banners, uh helping us with the VIP tent and all that.
- 12:44SPEAKER_01: So um, and you know, of course, all our food vendors and everything, and and just general sponsors.
- 12:49SPEAKER_01: I don't want to start leaving out people.
- 12:50SPEAKER_01: So, but uh, you know, you know, thank you to all of them.
- 12:53SPEAKER_01: Without them, you know, none of this would be possible.
- 12:56SPEAKER_02: And I saw um I saw online where y'all having uh is B Unlimited, they have some shirts.
- 13:00SPEAKER_02: Is that right?
- 13:01SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
- 13:02SPEAKER_01: If you go to if you go to bunlimited.com, you can search Starkville Sausage Dog Society.
- 13:08SPEAKER_01: Our shirts will pop up.
- 13:09SPEAKER_01: Uh$3 off every sale of the shirts go will go to the shelter.
- 13:13SPEAKER_01: Um, we've sold probably around$500, I think.
- 13:15SPEAKER_01: Uh, we're getting close to that number.
- 13:17SPEAKER_01: So uh another you know,$1,500 race for the shelter.
- 13:20SPEAKER_01: They're also gonna have a hundred uh shirts uh available for sale at the event.
- 13:23SPEAKER_01: They bring their B stream trailer and they'll be uh they'll be printing shirts live, uh live and in person, and also MSU shirts.
- 13:30SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, still opportunities to if you if you order one now, it's not obviously not gonna be in by race day, but if you want to get one the day of the race, you know, you better better get there quick, um, or they're gonna they're gonna sell like hot cakes.
- 13:42SPEAKER_01: So uh so yeah, but thanks to be unlimited too for helping us with that.
- 13:46SPEAKER_01: Really great people and uh uh and yeah.
- 13:51SPEAKER_02: Well, um well, I guess just run over it one more time for listeners.
- 13:54SPEAKER_02: If they're coming in to start, what's uh it's 1180, it starts at 11, right?
- 13:58SPEAKER_02: On Saturday.
- 13:59SPEAKER_01: Right.
- 14:00SPEAKER_01: Oh uh yeah, well, well, we're gonna have vendors Savari go in at like 10, 10.30.
- 14:05SPEAKER_01: And then the actual race will start at 11.
- 14:07SPEAKER_01: Okay.
- 14:07SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so you know, if you want to go ahead and get a good seat, get there early, set up your spot at the bar, figure out where you want to be.
- 14:14SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, you can sit up up against the race fence and everything.
- 14:17SPEAKER_01: If you get there early enough, you uh you can set your chairs up, but uh no, we're not, you know, we're not no guarantees, but uh, you know, just get there early, have a good time.
- 14:26SPEAKER_01: Uh we'll have QR codes and table tents at all the bars and restaurants up uh for opportunities to scan and uh and you know uh you can donate directly to the event and donate directly to the humane society.
- 14:37SPEAKER_01: So uh so yeah, you know, it's gonna be a very yappy day for the city.
- 14:41SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, absolutely.
- 14:42SPEAKER_02: Well, we hope all uh listeners out here uh if you're coming in town for the baseball game, get there a little bit early and and go check it, check out the Starbucks derby.
- 14:50SPEAKER_02: It's gonna be a great day in Starbucks, and uh and what a great cause.
- 14:53SPEAKER_02: Props to you, August, for getting this together and a great cause for the Humane Society, such a worthy cause.
- 14:58SPEAKER_02: And we all love our love our pets and uh they're part of our family.
- 15:02SPEAKER_02: So uh it's just uh there's a great cause in general.
- 15:04SPEAKER_02: So uh props to you on that.
- 15:06SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much, and thanks for coming on here, sharing it with us, and and hopefully we'll bring more people.
- 15:11SPEAKER_02: This will bring more people to come out and raise more money for the humane society and have a good time and a good day and and uh and start making.
- 15:17SPEAKER_01: So yes, thank you, and thank you for having me on again.
- 15:20SPEAKER_01: But yeah, get there early.
- 15:21SPEAKER_01: City's expecting over 5,000 people there, so you know get there and let's let's get rocking and rolling.
- 15:26SPEAKER_01: Let's uh let's let's get racing.
- 15:29SPEAKER_02: All right, awesome.
- 15:30SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much, Alden.
- 15:31SPEAKER_02: I appreciate it.
- 15:32SPEAKER_01: Have a good one.
- 15:33SPEAKER_01: Me too.
- 15:33SPEAKER_01: Take it, JC.