Christopher Lee is the Director of Government Affairs at the Frisco Chamber of Commerce. Christopher and I go way way way back. He was but a student at UNT when we met while working on an ill-fated city council campaign. Excellent times. In this conversation, we talk about all things politics and government affairs. We talk a ton about redistrictin…

Gary Henderson is the CEO and President of United Way Denton County and began his term as the Denton Chamber of Commerce board chair on October 1, 2021. Erin Carter is the Denton Chamber of Commerce President. Both guests are repeat guests for this extraordinary 100th episode of The Big Deal with Glen Farris.…

Jeff Reecer, FACHE, serves as president of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton, a position he assumed in January 2016 after leaving the facility in 2012 to become president of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen. Before that, he spent 11 years as vice president of operations at Texas Health Denton. While at Texas Health Allen, Reecer wor…

Lillia Whittington is the creator of The D. Diaries, Denton’s number one influencer space. Lillia has lived in Denton her whole life and has been creating content in and around Denton for 4 years. https://www.facebook.com/thed.diariesblog https://www.pinterest.com/theddiaries https://www.instagram.com/thed.diaries…

The City of Denton’s Comprehensive Plan is an official planning policy document designed to guide the city’s future growth. Denton Plan 2040 is an update to Denton Plan 2030. Community input is critical to the decision making process for future development and growth of the City of Denton so make sure you show up to the open house Thursday, Septemb…

Erin Carter is a chamber veteran who has served as the Metrocrest Chamber President since 2016. Prior to leading the Metrocrest Chamber, she served the Lewisville Chamber of Commerce as both its Events & Communications Director and its Vice President of Program Development. Carter currently serves as Chair of the Winter Institute Board of Regents f…

In 1968, having graduated from high school, Mr. Shoffit received his introduction into the martial arts. It was during this nostalgic period of the late 60s and early 70s that he developed his intense personal interest in the cultural, historical, and philosophical aspects of martial arts. Since receiving his black belt in 1972, Mr. Shoffit has gon…

Jesse Davis was elected to District 3 in May 2019 and is serving his first term. Prior to his election, Davis served as the inaugural chair of the City's Board of Ethics and as an officer of the Denton County Historical Commission. Davis is a lifelong Denton resident and a proud alum of Denton High School. He earned a B.A. in History and Political …

Brian Burrows is a sport shooter for Team USA and the owner of Ironwood Axe Throwing located in downtown Denton, Texas. https://ironwoodaxethrowing.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ironwoodaxethrowing/ https://www.facebook.com/ironwoodaxethrowing/ https://www.facebook.com/brian.burrows.9210 https://www.teamusa.org/usa-shooting/athletes/Brian-Burrows …

Erik began his Employee Benefits career in 2008 at a leading insurance carrier as a Group Sales Representative. Working directly with underwriters and insurance product specialists allowed him unique insight into the group benefits industry. Shortly after the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), going against the grain, Erik decided to enter t…

Kevin Hodge is a commercial loan officer at PlainsCapital Bank and fellow Rotarian at Denton Evening Rotary. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-hodge-8258a36a/ https://www.plainscapital.com/ https://portal.clubrunner.ca/13785/

Felicia Smith is a registered nurse with 15-years of experience in Critical Care, Emergency Nursing, and Flight Nursing. Felicia is a graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing. https://medicalcityhealthcare.com/locations/medical-city-denton/ https://stopthebleedtx.org/ https://www.yo…

Gary Henderson is the CEO and President of United Way Denton of County. In this conversation, we talk about all the ways United Way of Denton County has stepped up and served the vital needs of the community during a challenging year.

Kristen Pulido and Rhonda Tovar are the venue directors for Sunago Bell, Denton's newest wedding and event space located on the beautiful top floor of the Wells Fargo Building downtown. They were set to complete construction and open during the shutdown, so we get into that; we talk about the concept for the design, what it was like to start bookin…

Tony Puente is the City of Denton Executive Manager of Utilities. In this episode, we cover how and why ERCOT works the way it does, how DME put together the plan to shed load, how the DEC's natural gas supply was lost, how the water supply lost pressure causing a boil notice. We also talk about leadership and some of the books that have inspired T…

Returning guest and Shark Tank deal closer, Aaron Powell of Bunch Bikes is on the pod today. He is a life-long bike enthusiast and started his company after falling in love with Scandinavian bicycle culture on a family trip to Malmö, Sweden, in 2016. In this episode, Aaron chats about his experience getting into the tank and closing a deal with a S…

Daniel Markham is a Texas songwriter and musician with a new full-length solo album, Night Light, recorded in Turkey, Texas, with Charlie Stout over the two coldest days of the pandemic summer. In this episode, we discuss being an artist during the shutdown, Texas History, and Daniel sings a couple of tunes off the new record. Daniel Markham Music …

Randi Skinner is the owner of RS Consulting and the founder of the Denton Grassroots Water Crew. In this episode, we get caught up on parent life, the historic polar vortex, moderating the Downtowners during a disaster, putting together the volunteers and donations for the Denton Grassroots Water Crew, life during a pandemic, and much more.…

Bill Patterson is the publisher of the Denton Record-Chronicle and owner and CEO of Denton Media Company. At the end of 2017, he repurchased the local newspaper from A.H Belo Corporation who had owned it since 1999. Before that, the Patterson family had owned the Denton Record-Chronicle since 1945, serving the Denton area since 1903. Dentonrc.com @…

Dave Coorts is the Technical Director for BPS Agriculture, which is the holding company for operating entities Verano365®, Farm Shield™, and PureAcre™. He has 35 years of experience in the agriculture industry. He resides in Argyle, Texas with his wife and has six children and five grandkids. You can reach him at david.coorts@bpsagriculture.com. Li…

Gerard Hudspeth was born and raised in Denton, where he attended Denton High School and earned his bachelor's degree from UNT. After volunteering for many years on the Denton Planning and Zoning board, Gerard was elected to serve two terms on the City Council representing District 1. In 2019, his fellow Council Members selected him as Mayor Pro Tem…

Hank Dickenson is the Director of Membership at the Denton Chamber of Commerce and has been involved with the Denton Chamber for more than 10 years. Previously, he served as a Board Member and was elected Board Chair in 2010. He also served as the Chair of Discover Denton and assisted with the hiring of Mike Pistana, current Vice President of Disco…

Cory Lacy is the Vice President of Economic Development for the Denton Economic Development Partnership. He is an economic development guru with a strong background in sales and commercial real estate. Cory came to Denton from serving as the President of the Best Southwest Partnership, a cooperative effort between the founding partners of Cedar Hil…

Bryce Cottrell is the founder and owner of Denton’s first distillery, Noble Wolf Vodka. His special recipe produced from grapefruit has won several awards such as Texas Vodka of the Year and Double Gold in the New York Spirits Competition. He’s a former football player at the University of Texas, Austin, and developed the idea for the company while…

Jill Jester is an attorney who primarily practices real estate, probate, general civil litigation, and business law. Jill was appointed by Governor Abbot to the Texas Woman’s Board of Regents and was elected chair of the Board in 2019. She just finished a term as the Denton Chamber of Commerce’s Board Chair of the Chamber. Jill is no slouch. In thi…

Taylor Higginbotham is a freelance graphic designer and comedian. He was deeply involved in the local stand-up scene and helped create and host a wildly popular, live-podcast called The Brave Boys. In this episode, we talk about the Denton house scene, what it’s like to work through a shutdown, the past and possible future of our local comedy scene…

Bruce moved to Denton in December of 1993 and earned a B.S. degree in Emergency Administration and Planning in 1997. Thereafter, Bruce embarked on what culminated into a 22 year career with a local railroad contractor. After marrying in 2005, Bruce and his wife had their first and only child. After years of early childhood complications, she was di…

Jacob is currently the Executive Director for the Denton Affordable Housing Corporation, a longstanding nonprofit that promotes and encourages quality affordable housing. In this episode, we discuss the magic of Denton, the Honda Ruckus, 2020 in retrospect, the College View neighborhood, the Denton Corner-store game, the awesomeness of Blue Bag Gro…

Birdia Johnson is our newest addition to the city council and has lived in Denton for over 40 years. She is a wife and mother of six children, who were all raised in Denton. In addition, she has been blessed with five beautiful grandchildren. For 23 years, she was an employee of her alma mater, the University of North Texas, where she worked her wa…

In this episode of the podcast, the tables have turned. Glen Farris is interviewed by his wife, Alyssa Stevenson. They discuss Glen's insatiable curiosity, moving from downtown, and the birth of their first child during a pandemic.

Jake grew up about twenty minutes outside of Denton in the small town of Ponder. Once graduated from high school, he attended the University of North Texas in Denton and never left. During his college years, Jake was introduced to the Denton music scene and was amazed by the level of talent concentrated in one area. With help from local musicians, …

Mike Christian is the CEO & Founder of a virtual reality company specializing in learning and training software called From the Future. In this episode, we discuss the current election result situation, how VR will revolutionize training and education, where VR will be in 20 years, and the current state of the hardware and software. I ask him how a…

Katie Montgomery is a local artist, designer, and woman about town. She is a big part of an upcoming virtual beer fest, the North Texas Beermuda Triangle Fest, and we chat all about what that looks like in this episode. We also discuss the upcoming election, what it’s like to work as a free-lancer through a pandemic, her latest beer can design, she…

Marty Rivers is the Denton Market President for American National Bank and Trust. He has been incredibly involved in the economic development of the downtown area for years. Many of Denton’s qualities that we love came about because of Marty’s work on the many boards and commissions he’s volunteered his time for over the years. He’s one of the best…

Marcus Watson is an owner and founder of Little Guys moving company and Dan’s Silverleaf. He’s a fixture in the core of our city’s cultural scene, and in this episode, we talk about local business, culture, and some tall tales that are told about some fantastic Denton moments in history.Von The Big Deal with Glen Farris

Nic was born and raised in Wichita Falls, but his family has deep roots in Denton. Music has been one of his lifelong passions, the viola being his first musical instrument. He then picked up the guitar in his early teens like almost every other dude in the country. He moved to Denton in 2004 on his 25th birthday, and part of what inspired him to m…

Byrd Williams IV is a photographer and downtown Denton fixture. In this episode we get to chat about his deep photography roots tracing back 4 generations, the philosophy behind being a documentarian vs an artist, the Williams family collection at UNT, future projects, and much much more.Von The Big Deal with Glen Farris

Aaron Powell is the CEO and founder of Bunch Bikes. In this conversation, we discuss how he developed the idea for the business, all the challenges he’s had to overcome, where he’s headed in the future, and much more. This episode is a great chat with one of Denton’s most unique entrepreneurs.Von The Big Deal with Glen Farris

Kristen Kendrick Bigley is the Director for The UNT CoLab space right here in downtown Denton just off the square at 207 N Elm. In this episode, we discuss the history of the building, the origins of the UNT CoLab idea, how they’re going to open, and what led her to the position. This conversation uncovers her deep, Denton roots and passion for pro…

Wren Baker is the Vice President & Director of Athletics at the University of North Texas. As one can imagine, he has been busy this Spring and Summer navigating and mitigating the current pandemic risks. In this conversation, we discuss how the Conference USA has decided to move ahead with a full football schedule this Fall, what the program means…

Kimberly Thaggard is a fixture in the fabric of my social life. She’s in Aerial Club with my wife; she’s an assistant principal at Denton High School, she’s a Ph.D. Candidate at Texas Woman’s University and a great conversationalist. In this episode, we talk about how she got into public education, what the new Denton High School will look like, an…

Heather Gregory is a return guest on The Big Deal because she is a literal big deal. As the Director of Stoke, she has crafted a vibrant and buzzing community of professionals right here in Denton's heart. In this conversation, we chat about how they're adapting to the new pandemic work environments, the exciting changes happening to downtown, and …

Annette Becker is a master of her craft. She has undertaken a massive project in digitizing UNT's nearly 20,000-piece Texas Fashion collection. In this episode, we chat about how a farm girl from Kansas becomes the curator of a collection. We also cover the weirdest and oldest pieces in the, and we walk through a brief history of men's fashion answ…

Anytime I sit down with Tim for a chat, you know it's going to be a good one. This week's episode is no different as we discuss the downtown economy during a pandemic, diets, running, and most of all, we rehash our debate over The Joker. We share several different whiskeys in this episode, so things reach that elevated level that alcohol can bring …

Anytime I sit down with Tim for a chat, you know it's going to be a good one. This week's episode is no different as we discuss the downtown economy during a pandemic, diets, running, and most of all, we rehash our debate over The Joker. We share several different whiskeys in this episode, so things reach that elevated level that alcohol can bring …

Today’s episode is a great chat with one of my favorite downtown entrepreneurs, Eric Pulido. You may know him from one of the many bands, bars, restaurants, retail, or screen printing projects he’s involved in downtown Denton. Everything he’s involved in really is too much to list here, and that’s why this episode is a good one because we had a lot…

Daniel Rodrigue is a professor of journalism, photojournalism and photography, including 35mm film/darkroom, digital and studio photography. No matter the class, his students all learn a little about photography, Edwin Land and Polaroid. He teaches at Brookhaven College in the same darkroom where he first learned to develop film and print photograp…

Dr. Jamie Wilson has served as the superintendent of schools for the Denton Independent School District since July 1, 2012. During his 28-year career, he has built a reputation through public education advocacy, growth management, and instructional innovation. This episode centers around the plan for reopening the schools during an increase in Covi…

In this week’s episode, we’ve got Bobby Mullins of Armadillo Ale Works. Bobby and I went way back to the days when I was just a Denton musician back from New York with a massive appetite for hard to find craft brews. We got to know each other when he was behind the counter at Metzler’s, which was pretty much the only shop when you could find a Belg…

Ian Harber is the Communications Director over at Serve Denton. He’s been involved in non-profit digital marketing for the past six years and hosts the brand new Serve Denton podcast. He loves Denton and has a real heart for serving the community, and his position at Serve Denton gives him that opportunity to make an impact. Go head over to Serve D…