150: "I have a deeper understanding of community now, and I really hope that it'll show in our next season." Season 6 Finale with Jen Amos and Jenny Lynne Stroup

Jen Amos 0:00

All right. Hey everyone. Jen IMOs here. And, as always, I have my co host genuine Stroup genuine Welcome back to hold down the fort. Hey, happy

Unknown Speaker 0:12

to be here today.

Jen Amos 0:13

Yes. And the reason why I'm sounding more different than normal is well, one, I'm not in my recording studio. And two, we have decided we had a co host meeting right before this, we decided that this is going to be our season finale, for season six of holding down the fort Jennylyn initial thoughts.

Speaker 1 0:37

I mean, life, that's the initial thought. We both have a lot of life happening right now and holding down the fort. While you know, an excellent part of both of our lives that is not like the meat and potatoes of things that we do every day. And I just started a brand new job literally, like 24 hours ago, and I'm trying to figure out, you know what that looks like my husband's currently deployed. And both my kids started school yesterday. So you know, as far as the strip house goes, like, we're in major transition mode, and you know, just need to kind of figure out a new rhythm of life before we can be fully present for recording with guests and things.

Jen Amos 1:20

Yeah, absolutely. And one thing that our listeners may not know is that Jenny Lynn and I have actually prepared for this moment for I think, in the recent months, like we made we end up using more like weeks, I would say, because we knew that a lot of changes were coming in our individual lives. Even for me, just like what genuine said, I often mentioned that holding on the four was originally intended to as a way for me to network to learn more about the military community and actually to learn podcasting. I was very curious to know what it's like. And it turns out, it's something I love doing. It's my it's one of my favorite ways of engaging with people and connecting with people. At the same time. I am pulled in many different directions with the work that I do with Scott at us that wealth, and we're in a growth phase. I mean, I feel like we've been saying that for six years. But we're really at a point now where do you have to focus on our company initiatives. And also, Jenny Lynn, and I and Matthew, have talked a lot about taking the show to the next level. And so we figured that after much discussion behind the scenes, that we want to be able to start the next season with like shared objectives, shared goals, and just a whole different approach to the show. And this is why I love having different seasons. Like this is why we're at season six, because literally every season has been different. You know, if people ask us, oh, how many episodes do you publish per season? We're like, I don't know, like, You guys didn't see this, but genuinely had our hands up in the air like, like the I don't know, like, that's a great question kind of thing. And it's true, because like we mentioned two episodes ago, when you and I had our co host recording published, we allow ourselves to let life happen. And we have the podcasts adjust to that. And so, yeah, we're just at a point now where we knew this was coming to eventually end this season. And no better time to do this, when, like you said, This is that time of the year when kids are going back to school. And of course, in your case, you are starting a new job and Matthews deployed. And like I mentioned, I'm being pulled in many different directions now with our companies. So it's a perfect time to slow down even more if we hadn't slowed down already this year with doing pre interviews ahead of time before actually interviewing our guests. But yeah, to slow down even more to speed up for what's to come for season seven of holding down the fort.

Speaker 1 3:47

Yes to all of that. Now. I'm really grateful like you and I've spent a lot of time together over the last month kind of going over these things and discussing what not only what the future looks like but you know, what our lives look like right now. And it's something I think that we as CO hosts have this similar shared objectives on like, family and life comes first. We love this. We love the community we build here, but this is an extra for both of us. It is not the thing. And you know, I mean, I'm just extraordinarily grateful that that is the philosophy by kind of which we do things here at holding down the fort. I think it speaks volumes to our community about the type of community we want to have with people like Jen and I are so going to be around you can find us on literally every social media platform there is though don't try me on Twitter, I'm on it technically don't love it. Any of the other ones are much better on you know, we're around and we're doing things but like Jen and I both have said you know I started a new job the same day my kids started school and it is it is really exciting. And also I I'm in full onboard mode, which is like taking in 10,000 pounds of information a day and trying to filter through what I need to know right now. So we did before this talk a little bit about, you know, are you going to talk about your new shop? Yes, I am, I am yeh, Senior Manager of military spouse programs for Hiring Our Heroes. So I'm making a slight shift. But staying within the military community, which is something I I'm really happy about, you know, I love serving the people that I'm a part of, it's really fun to, you know, now get to make a difference in military families in a different way, which is really economic stability, which if we're going back to kind of our core values here at holding down the fort, like economic stability contributes exponentially to mental health. Yeah, different company, different role, but still the same for me the same goal, which is, you know, helping military families.

Jen Amos 6:02

Yeah, you know, it gets me to think about like, every business opportunity and project I've worked on for most of my adult life, and a lot of what I did had a lot to do with what was most important to me, and even today, you know, being able to do hold down the fort and work with Sky and our military community. It's like, well, you know, this is the community I grew up in. And this is an I fell in love with the guy who served and yeah, and everything that kind of comes with that. And also like, actually, what I'm trying to say is like, you know, I found purpose in serving a community that I grew up in, and I feel so fortunate to just have work in this space. Yes, we created ourselves. And yes, I'm very proud of that. And with that also being said, I'm happy that you are able to find new employment in something that is near and dear to your heart, which is the military, family, and economic stability for military families and all that I say that US wrapping up, season six is like a good problem to have, because we have busy lives, and we are still serving our community. It's just not going to be recording for now. And that's okay. Because like I said, we have been talking basically all year about what we anticipate season seven to be and moving forward. I mean, who knows, we may have the same name, but we might have a completely different approach to it moving forward. And one of the reasons like why I'm personally open to this is because it's really a testament to the community and the relationships I've built, you know, primarily with you and Matthew, and just knowing that like, although my, my biological family has been removed from the military community for so long, but people like you, and Matthew and everyone we've met in this community that, that remind me that I do have a family here. And so part of it is evolving the way that I serve our community. So you know, I'm just really happy and hopeful and excited to what's to come. And in the meantime, I'm really glad for both of us to take this time to take a break.

Speaker 1 8:02

Yeah, yeah. You know, I think what we've talked about call to actions a little bit, I think one of the calls to action is like, Hey, you guys as listeners, like, is there something that would be really helpful to you guys? Like, what is it you love about listening to holding down the fort? And what, you know, what can we do, because we really are in a season of like, we have talked with some other folks who are coming may be coming on board to help us out, you know, and we are looking at like, upping what we do here. And so what would be helpful, like, Jen, and I have some ideas. We have ideas for six seasons, but let you know, I think if there's something you particularly love that you don't want to leave the holding down the fort community, I think it would be great to know and likewise, like, what else would be really helpful to you guys? We're bringing on people that we one, you know, love being in their company, like I think about the episode that just published yesterday with Amy and Leah, from veteran spouse project, you know, and some of the people we've had back like, we love being in community with the people that have been on the show. And also, is there a need you as our community have that we could help me? You know, feel free to hit us up on social media?

Jen Amos 9:16

Yeah. I love that. You mentioned that because I was like, not in my notes at all. So I love I love that you brought that up for us because and actually, this is a great opportunity to finally reflect like fully reflect on the Disney Institute's veterans Institute summit that we attended. I set it all completely up to you got it, all right. It's actually it's actually because I read in my notes, but anyway, anyway, yeah, last month, was really affirming and so many reasons. The fact that you and I were, we went to Disney World, and we're so fortunate. Yeah, I mean, first and foremost, we went to Disney World. Secondly, secondly, we were involved with the first military The Spouse Employment panel that the veterans Institute summit has ever offered. And the Disney Institute team had, you know, found our show and invited me to moderate that panel, which was an incredible honor. And I say I say all this and I know I've already said this in the past episode, but I say all this because we literally don't know what our value is, until someone like Disney reaches out and says, Hey, we want you to come to this summit. And, you know, help out and moderate a panel. And I say all that because if you see value in our show, yes, we see the five star rated reviews keep in common. Yes, we see the LinkedIn recommendations given coming. And also, if you would like to contact us directly, and let us know the value you truly see in the show, I see it as genuine feedback to continue to serve our community. Just like what Jenny Lynn said. It's like, we may have an idea of what we think you need, but it helps a lot. If you actually tell us like, what value Have you gotten from our show so we can continue to offer that we're not mind reader's here. If there's anything about anything about mental health, mental health, one on one don't mind read?

: 11:13

Yeah, yeah. Don't use your communication tools, which in our case, is Senate bird newsletter. Join us on social media.

Jen Amos: 11:21

Exactly, exactly. So I thought I'd ask you at any length now that we're touching upon the veterans Institute Summit, first and foremost, when you were the best plus whenever on so for so many reasons. First and foremost, I mean, I feel like I keep saying first and foremost, let me just list some of the reasons why you were a great plus one. One, I feel like we were very communicative with each other for the entire trip, in regards to our needs. And, you know, we spent a lot of time together at the same time, we also prioritized our alone time, you know, like we found the gym a lot. And that was my favorite place to go to bed at night to just like stretch and relax and even shower, shower there. And also your your Disney nerd, and you like told me everything in anything that you wanted me to know about our entire experience. And also the the last thing that comes to mind initially for me is just the fact that it was just so easy to network with you and to just kind of watch you do your thing, you know, as a professional communications person, you know, networking and being your extroverted self, it was really nice to just know that like, not not that I felt obligated to this. But to just know that like we both were able to handle our own, like at the summit without like, bombarding each other or suffocating each other or anything. i That's how I felt. I felt like we had a pretty good balance. Now I know. Yeah. So I know for you, there was a lot of reasons. Also, you know, why coming be my plus one was amazing for you.

: 12:50

Yeah, first and foremost, Disney. As we've stated, we didn't even have to win the Super Bowl like can we get to go to Disney. So that was super fun. You know, what folks may not know about me, unless they know me in real life is that when I was in college, I spent my entire spring semester of my junior year working for Walt Disney World through their college program. And it remains to this day, and I've been out of college a lot longer than I'd like to admit, you know, it remains still one of like the top 10 things I've ever done. And the stuff that I learned working there that has stuck with me, both personally and professionally, like the way that you talk to people and the way that like, one of the things I always come back to, is they told us in training, like if a guest, that's the people who pay to come ask you a question, and you don't know, please tell them, I don't know. But I'm happy to find out. You giving them wrong information, ruins their experience and discredit to you as a cast member, which is what the employees are called. And you know, it's something that like, there is such a part of me, especially professionally that always wants to know, like, I always want to like I want to be the expert in whatever I'm doing, because I'm the one doing it. But that has been such a great piece of like training that has stuck with me for the last many decades. So going back for me, I've been back a couple of times since I work there. I've taken my kids, but nothing quite like this where we were so up close and personal with Disney cast members who were putting on this event who we really as the holding down the fort team interacted with on such a professional level of like, this is how it's going to work. And so when I was really reminded of all that training I had and it was so fun to be like back with people who are steeped in the same company culture that I learned so many years ago. So there's that So that's the first thing. The second I call them bins. I'm not really sure why this the analogy I've gotten with the whole time, so we'll just stick with it. The second thing is, is that while we were there, the DoD Warrior Games was also taking place, which for folks that don't know, the Warrior Games is essentially like the Olympics. But for wounded ill and injured Service members from all branches of service. And then they also have a special operations team. And this year, they actually included service members from a few different countries too. And so Disney was hosting this was like, literally in the same area where we were at the Veterans Institute Summit. And about 10 years ago, I had the opportunity when I worked with the USO to work with the Army team of the Warrior Games, as they did their training up at West Point. And so I lived in the West Point prep school barracks for two straight weeks handling all of the USO portion of the event for that training for this, so to like, come to Disney and have those games be there and get to like to see people at work with 10 years ago, and just see the athletes and just kind of be reminded of all the things that like I learned in that experience was really, really impactful. The third Ben, that came together was, as Jen mentioned, she moderated the Military Spouse Employment panel, which is literally my job now. And

: 16:37

so what was really fun was to listen to people who have been in, you know, military, spouse, economic employment, whether it be entrepreneurship, or through corporate or through nonprofit, talk about their experience, and the ways that they have elevated military spouses and employment. And my brand new boss was one of the speakers. And so it was just, it just felt like all of these professional aspects of my life came together over the course of a two day Summit, which was also at Disney. And it just, I just continued to be struck by like, if you're looking at the timeline, like that's essentially 20 years of my professional life that like, almost by decade have gone, boom, boom, boom. So I worked there in 2003. I worked for uso in 2004. Teen, and now it's 2022. And so about 10 years part and all of these things kind of merged all at once. And I was just so happy to be there and see all of these things, and be really proud of the community that I'm a part of as a military spouse, it was just that just the whole thing was really I don't want to say the word impactful again, but that's the word that keeps coming to me. Yeah, and to share that with you and to, you know, to get to be your Disney tour guide. Because for the record, guys, Jen was like, not very Disney fide. And she really needs some coaching on like,

Jen Amos: 18:11

I really need some coaching on the level of things that happen at Disney when you are invited to be one of their speakers. Yeah, it's very true, actually. Because I remember when we first went to the farmer's field house, which is the location of the event, and when we first walked in, and I remember the first thing I noticed was the stage. And I remember, you saw my reaction to the stage. And I was like, Oh, that's a big stage. Like, and it was hilarious, because like, this wasn't surprising to you. Like, of course, it's gonna be of course, it's gonna be a big stage. But I was like, Oh, I literally thought, I mean, not literally thought but I think in my mind, because I knew it was gonna be live stream. Okay, well, maybe it's going to be in an intimate recording studio, you know, and maybe we're not going to have an audience, I don't know. But you see all the roundtables and like how far back the roundtables go it just the overall space

: 19:07

guys, it was one arena. It was an arena with a stage on like, what is normally the basketball court and the rest of the court was filled with round tables that probably seated 250 300 people.

Jen Amos: 19:19

Yeah, exactly what genuine said. That's a great way to visualize it, because I'm just like, I don't even know we're in an arena. See, here we go. So Jen definitely is. Hey, I'm a Cali girl. I knew Disney Land. Disneyland is a lot smaller than Disney World, y'all. And so I do remember the early stages of like, I forgot how I set it. But I was saying, I think I was talking about like, the theme parks or something and you're like, you're like actually Jen. It's called parks or something like that. Like you had you had a way like there was a there was a description that I didn't I didn't you know, I wasn't able to like process in regards to or I didn't know I didn't know how to, like verbalize it, I guess is what I'm saying. Like, you know in Disney World, they don't have Downtown Disney they have this The springs, you know, and I was like, Oh, that's very interesting how they named it differently. I mean, it makes sense it is by the waters. That makes a lot of sense. Huge. Yeah. And it's oh my gosh, and it's humongous. And they have an m&m store that there, which was great because y'all don't know this. But I have been grieving over the loss of a fanny pack. I really wanted from m&m When I was in Vegas last year, because they ran out. And long and behold, the fanny pack was at Disney Springs at the m&m store. And I remember it was like one of the last doors you went to at night to me when and I was like, Ah, you're like, Oh, why don't we go in and check if it's there? And I'm like, it's not going to be there. But let's check anyway. And then genuine just like, saw my incredible reaction to

: 20:41

discoloration on a film? I really do. It was, it was pretty great. Yeah,

Jen Amos: 20:46

just covering this. I bring that fanny pack to church. By the way, I have no shame. Like, I don't care that it's like a tie dye

: 20:51

themes. Why don't you guys also need to know is Jen's total of Fanny packs. Leaving Disneyworld was three, to add her collection?

Jen Amos: 21:02

Yeah, yeah. And I was getting another fanny pack. Because Scott was using my fanny pack come to find he ended up getting another fanny pack. So we have we have a whole fanny pack collection at home. So just, in fact, for all of you. But anyway, oh, that means that I'm just so happy to have shared that experience with you genuine. And the biggest thing I got from that experience, and there was definitely a moment in the experience when I when I was very self aware and present, where I didn't like admit this out loud. But there was a moment where I was getting emotional because I was experiencing that community and that care and that collaborative spirit of the Disney cast members as you describe them, and just overall, like that team effort, and it's really helping me learn how to speak in WWE, rather than I and I want to share with people like when I say I, it's not because I'm trying to be like self centered and take all the credit. You know, it comes from being raised by a foreign spouse who was widowed when I was 10 years old, having to do it all. And so to come here and to witness and amongst other things, like always feeling like I had to do it all kind of thing. But you know, coming here and seeing how, even if I tried to credit people, it almost seemed like people didn't want to take credit, they wanted to collectively share the credit. I love that. And I think after leaving the veterans Institute summit and leaving Disney World, I have a deeper understanding for a community now. And I really hope that it'll show in our next season. And what that means what that really means to me at a deeper level and an emotional level and kind of like a reawakening and me, you know, and what it means to, like, lean against people and trust people and, and all that. So it seems strange, because considering how we've done, you know, six seasons of interviewing people, but again, something about that experience, I think has shifted something in me where, you know, no matter what I do, like even now, like we are a finalist for the 13th annual Plutus awards for the best military personal finance content, like for this podcast show.

Unknown Speaker: 23:09

credit for that, by the way, I just want everybody to know.

Jen Amos: 23:13

Yes. You know what?

: 23:16

The interview we did where I told you how terrible my personal finances was really drove that one home.

Jen Amos: 23:23

I think that's that was the one genuine, I'm sure that's the episode they listened to be like, Yep, this is definitely best military, I think. And so the fact that we were a finalist, honestly, I never really care if we win or not. But I took this as an opportunity to make sure that when I promoted it, I tagged everyone that I needed to tag and saying like, this is our like, Award nomination, you know, and that's what I'm learning as we wrap up the season, and hopefully, you know, it'll manifest in a more beautiful, incredible way for season seven.

Unknown Speaker: 23:55

Yeah. Oh,

Jen Amos: 23:56

absolutely.

: 23:57

Yeah, it was, you know, I do just want to reiterate like you talking about the collaborative effort, like I think about your opening statement, and like the iterations you went through that, like, first working on it with Scott and then bringing it to me, and then having the Disney team like, you know, and it was, it was great. Like, it was very, you know, it made an impact on the people in the room to couch you know, to open the panel the way that you did, and it was it was really fun to see, it was fun to see a lot of people you and I know, through social media, and they were like they're in person. That was really fun, too. Yeah. Weird. You know, and then to really, like, invest more in both military and civilian community. I mean, you know, it was really great.

Jen Amos: 24:49

Yeah. Ah, well, shiny land. I think this is it. We're gonna wrap up here because you have a meeting in 10 minutes. And also, and also it's always important to venture come to an ending closure, all that good stuff. So genuine thank you for an incredible season. This is one of our shorter seasons. But don't let it fool you. We did really? Yeah, we do a lot behind the scenes. We added pre interviews this year and had a lot of offline conversation of how we want the next season, you know, to go. And just as a reminder, even though we're not publishing episodes, you can find us via our newsletter on our socials, even our personal socials, like on LinkedIn, that's the one I'm most active on nowadays, to, you know, kind of get a hint as to what's going on for the podcast and also what genuine and are doing individually in our professional lives. So thank you all for being a part of the journey. Please, please, please connect with us chat with us offline. Let us know how the show has impacted you. If you don't want to tell us directly. You could always write a five star rating review. That's okay. I will accept that. But other than that, thank you all so much. And we'll be in touch. We'll chat with you guys in the next season. So tune in next time. Adios