The Hampton Planning Commission meeting for the month of September Two thousand twenty-five will now come to order.

Madam Clerk, can you call the role, please?

Commissioner Griffith.

Present.

Present.

Commissioner Coleman.

Commissioner Muggler.

Present.

Commissioner DeProfio.

Chair Harris.

Planning Commissioner Martha Muggler has requested to participate in this meeting remotely because she is unable to attend in person due to a personal matter.

Specifically, Miss Muggler is outside of the Commonwealth on previously scheduled travel.

Miss Muggler's request was timely, made in writing to the City Attorney's Office, the Community Development Department, and to the Chair of the Planning Commission.

Provided that a physical quorum of the commission is otherwise assembled at this meeting location, Miss Mugler's request is in compliance with Virginia Code Section Two.

I nominate Michael Harris for Chair and Kathy Rogers for Vice Chair of the Planning Commission.

Second.

All right.

I now call for a vote.

Oh, sorry.

Any additional nominations?

Being that there is none, we will call for a vote.

Commissioner Griffith.

Aye.

Vice Chair Rogers.

Aye.

Commissioner Brooks.

Aye.

Commissioner Coleman.

Commissioner Muggler.

Commissioner DeProfio.

Aye.

Chair Harris.

Hi.

All right.

Well, I guess my nomination is approved.

Yes, sir.

Thank you all for your confidence and really appreciate it.

More things, Kathy.

Probably not, but it's okay.

Go ahead, Director Michael.

You have the floor.

All right, thank you.

Next is the approval of minutes.

And just to note, amendments have been proposed to the minutes, copies of which have been provided to each commissioner as well as posted online as a supplement to the agenda.

I move to approve the minutes of the meeting held on July 17, 2025 as amended as published in the amended planning commission package reviewed by the commission and available online.

I second.

We have a motion on the poll on the floor for approval of minutes from the July 2025 Planning Commission meeting.

With the amendments as posted online.

Sorry, I don't have my sheet in front of me.

Um with the amendments as posted as published in the amended planning commission package reviewed by the commission and available online.

Is there any discussion or any comments by the commissioners?

Being no discussion or comments, Madam Clerk, can you call the roll, please?

Commissioner Griffith.

Aye.

Vice Chair Rogers.

Aye.

Commissioner Brooks.

Aye.

Commissioner Coleman.

Commissioner Muggler.

Aye.

Aye.

Commissioner DeProfio.

Aye.

Chair Harris.

Aye.

That motion carries.

All right.

Next we have the community development director's report.

So first we'll hear a briefing on the proposed zoning ordinance amendments for accessory dwelling units.

Here to present on behalf of staff is our community engagement manager Monica Mahar and City Planner Quinn Heinrich.

Well, good afternoon.

Um Monica Mahark.

I am the community engagement manager with the community development department, and this is my colleague.

I'm Quinn Heinrich with uh the planning and zoning of a city planner.

So uh what we'll be sharing with you all today is the work we've been doing as it relates to the proposed zoning ordinance for accessory dwelling units.

So we'll start by defining what exactly an accessory dwelling unit is.

Um so an ADU is a smaller secondary housing unit on a one-family residential lot.

There are two main types of accessory dwelling units, a detached ADU, so we can envision this as a garage that is converted for a small living space or an attached ADU.

Um so in addition, or maybe that traditional mother-in-law suite that you would think of.

Um, some background.

We um are looking at ways to just increase our housing stock and provide some more housing variety here in the city of Hampton.

As you all probably know, there is a housing crisis happening all over our nation.

Um, and so accessory dwelling units is not going to solve that crisis by any means, but we do want to start looking at other options or other ways that we can increase our housing stock.

And we think ADUs is a really good option because it will encourage an economic and efficient use of our existing parcels, increasing the housing supply, but it will maintain the appearance and character of those existing one-family neighborhoods.

It allows us to adapt our one-family residential properties to support residents at various stages of life, which will also encourage greater diversity, supporting all populations with particular attention towards our young adults and senior adults.

And we are excited that this could provide homeowners with an additional means of income.

So when we were asked by city council to start looking at this as an option, this was actually late last year.

And the first thing that we did is a lot of research.

So we wanted to know what other localities are doing, and we also want to know what other localities that are the same size of us are doing, or maybe some impacts that they've already encountered.

And so what you'll see, and it should be included in your packet is an overview of some of that research, particularly as it relates to surrounding localities.

What's Newport News suggesting, what's Virginia Beach suggesting?

So following our research phase, we started to speak with the community about whether they have an interest in accessory dwelling units.

We certainly don't want to introduce it as an option to increase housing if folks aren't thinking about it, or if it's something that wasn't attractive to most of our residents.

Around then, we were also observing what was going on in the General Assembly.

This is a discussion that is happening at the state level also, and we're assuming or projecting that the state will be looking at including an accessory dwelling unit and permitting it.

And so we really want to ensure that our ordinance reflects the diverse neighborhoods of Hampton and make sure that we have our seal in our language and our ordinance.

And so through that process, a lot of research, a lot of observing, it really allowed us to engage with the community in an informed way, really know exactly what questions we wanted to hear from them and help us curve any sort of concerns that may be happening, though we don't technically have accessory dwelling units here in the city, we were able to see what positive or negative consequences those were happening all over our nation.

Where we're at right now, we provided a check-in just to show you all what ordinance we're landing on.

We've been talking with the neighborhood commission as well as the mayors for people with the mayor's committee for people with disabilities to help give us input on the ordinance as well.

And so very excited to be here with you guys this afternoon and hear what your thoughts are as well.

And so long as all of those things look good, our plan is to amend and expand our current zoning ordinance so that these provisions are applicable for ADUs by the end of this calendar year.

So this is some of the research that I was sharing earlier.

What you'll notice is many of the localities are looking at both an attached and detached option for ADUs.

Several of them are permitting just one per lot for now.

That is something that came up.

You know, can I have one that's attached and one that's detached?

Um, but for right now, we saw a lot of trends of folks just starting with one.

You'll also see some commonalities in size.

We see a lot around 500, 800 square feet, um, with Norfolk also looking to expand the size.

It originally was around 500 square feet, and they're looking to increase it to 800 square feet.

Lots of trends around owner occupancy.

Most of our localities are requiring requiring owners to be occupied in one of the dwelling units, and excluded uses.

Several of the localities are excluding renting altogether, or specifically a short-term rental option.

And each of them do have, most of them, excuse me, have an administrative permit process to get to an ADU.

So when we began all this work, we asked anyone and everyone who wanted to give us their opinion about ADUs to tell us what they think.

And so we had 363 of our Hampton neighbors who completed this survey.

And what's exciting is to see the spread.

We mentioned earlier we do have a very diverse neighborhood neighborhoods, and so seeing respondents from all of our districts and from different subdivisions and different neighborhood types was very encouraging.

We also brought together a 12-person steering group and worked with a lot of folks across the organization, the city attorney's office, public works, public safety, just to make sure that are we really thinking about all again, all of those impacts when we're introducing a new development.

So some of the results from that survey, uh, we want to always know what the goals are.

Um, but you've got neighborhood compatibility, economic benefits, environmental impact, with that admin feasibility being last.

Um, though that's something that we're um always monitoring, because we do want the permitting process to be streamlined and we want this to feel approachable for everyday homeowners to be able to access this.

Again, um we saw in our survey response 48% of folks are considering to add an ADU to the property.

And a big chunk of them, 43% really values or envisions ADUs being operated by a family unit, an extension of the family themselves.

So uh for transparency, we want to show you guys what that stakeholder group was comprised of.

You'll notice that we've got uh about five folks who were there to represent the neighborhood voice, um, and we did make sure that they were um all throughout the city.

We also had a couple of folks who are builders or investors and they understand the permitting process and were able to bring their um experience into the conversation.

And then we had a good chunk of that steering group.

Um, this is what we're referring to as our end users.

And so if we want to envision these ADUs to be maximized by traveling nurses or seniors, or to be accessible for our disabled neighbors, we wanted to ensure that they were part of the discussion as well.

And through all of this, we came up with um two really important things to emphasize, which is safety and family unity.

And so we were not looking to introduce the perfect silver bullet ordinance, but um introduce this ordinance with an emphasis on safety and family unit unity to begin with.

Um you'll see how that breaks down when we look at again some of the the uses that are permitted.

And from here, I will turn the mic to my colleague to talk about the specific ordinance regulations.

Uh thank you, Monica.

Yeah, so I will go through what all of the uh changes and amendments to the zoning ordinance that will come from this amendment.

Um they will mainly be in chapters one, two, and eleven, as you can see on that slide.

Um I'll start with chapter two, because that's where the definition of this is going to be.

Um there is a definition of accessory dwelling at present, but we are going to amend it to better reflect the conditions of the ordinance.

So now we'll read that an accessory dwelling unit is a secondary dwelling unit established in conjunction with and clearly subordinate to a principal dwelling unit containing a separate kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area.

It can be attached to or part of the same structure as the principal dwelling unit or be a detached structure on the same lot.

We've also amended the definition of dwelling area to better reflect what ADUs or some of the standards in ADUs as well.

So, chapter one is where most of our additional standards for ADUs will lie.

Um the goal of these standards is to minimize the impact additional housing units will have on one-family neighborhoods and the city as a whole.

It will ensure they'll ensure the ADUs remain accessory to the principal dwelling and prohibit certain uses.

So, some highlights from what that's gonna look like.

We're at the moment saying only one ADU is permitted per lot.

Um we're not gonna have minimum lot requirements for ADUs, so in theory, any lot that has a single family home on it could support an ADU.

Um, they will have to meet the setbacks that we have in place for primary dwellings or accessory structures.

So an attached ADU will have to meet setbacks of a primary this of a primary dwelling the same way an addition would.

Detached ADUs will need to meet setback requirements for accessory structures the same way a shed or a garage or detached garage would.

And detached ADUs will also need to meet the maximum rear lot coverage of 20%, as accessory structures do.

But a smaller dwelling could potentially have a smaller maximum.

For maximum height, we settled on a maximum of 16 feet or approximately 1.5 stories, and it cannot exceed the height of the principal dwelling unless it's in the flood zone, because there are cases in the flood zone where an existing structure was built before the flood zone ordinance is created, but an accessory structure will need to be elevated to the a certain design flood elevation.

And so in that case, we measure the height from the finished floor or the design flood elevation rather than grade.

And so should there be a detached ADU that needs to comply with that, but the attached structure doesn't, then that could potentially be elevated above the principal dwelling, and we would be okay with that in that instance.

We decided that accessory dwelling units are not going to be allowed to be short-term rentals.

And that's because we consider those both to be have distinctive or have those are gonna have distinctive um sets of people who are gonna use them.

Uh ADUs are gonna be much less transient, intended for longer-term residents, and we don't want short-term rentals to compete with that.

And also, as you can see here, a just close to a majority of survey respondents said that they also do not want ADUs to be short-term rentals.

In the interest of safety, we're gonna require that any detached ADU or attached ADU have a safe and accessible path of ingress and egress connecting it to the right-of-way.

And any principal access in the instance, yeah, in the interest of neighborhood compatibility, um, any principal access to an attached ADU will be located in this will need to be located in the side or rear yard.

We don't want to have two doors in the front, one for the principal and one for the ADU.

We're also going to require that the owner of the property reside in either the principal dwelling or the ADU.

They can't rent both out.

So that's what the owner occupancy requirement is.

All of those were for new structures or conforming structures for non-conforming structures as defined on this slide.

There's some other requirements that we're gonna have.

Um so an attached ADU can be located within or structurally connected to a legally non-conforming principal dwelling, provided the ADU does not create a new nonconformity or increase any existing non-conformities.

And a detached ADU can be built in a structure that doesn't meet some of the that does not conform to the current setback and height requirements, but again, it will need to make sure it doesn't increase any nonconformities, and we would still cap it at 800 square feet.

Uh chapter 11 is everyone's favorite topic, parking.

Um we're gonna we decided that ADUs are in most cases are not going to require an additional parking space.

The only time that it will be if the street that it's on does not have on-street parking on one or both sides.

In that case, we'll need they'll they will need to show evidence that there's at least one off-street parking space on their premises.

They can either, if there's not one already, they'll need to construct one.

If there is one already, then they can use that.

The reason that we're we settled on that is because we for several reasons.

One, we want to preserve neighborhood character.

So if most of the homes don't have driveways, we don't want to force people to build new ones.

Um we also in most streets that have on-street parking, we think that the existing on-street parking will be sufficient to accommodate ADUs.

And additional surface parking could with the amount of impervious area it creates, could be violation violate our resiliency objectives, and it may also be a barrier both in terms of cost and space to construction.

In terms of how this will be administered by staff, a new ADUs will need to apply for a building permit and a zoning administrator permit or a zap.

Um and then they will also potentially other mechanical electrical or plumbing permits as needed.

Once we review those, an inspector will come out to check compliance, and if they yeah, once that's complete, then a certificate of occupancy and zoning administrator permit or zap will be issued together.

The this is just an overview of the enforcement process, starting with complaints and notice of violations and ending with either should if the uh issues were not remedied, a criminal summons or court order and fine.

Um and just to summarize um what we talked about here, we defined accessory dwelling units chapter two, we outlined additional standards, chapter one and outlined standards for parking in chapter 11.

And next steps, um, as Monica outlined before, we're currently finalizing our proposed ordinance language based on some of the feedback we're getting both within administratively and also from commissions.

If you have any questions and comments, we'll make sure to at least listen to them.

Um next month for a vote.

Um, and then should you recommend approval?

We'll go to council on November 12th, and our target date for adoption will be the very end of this year, December 31st.

That concludes our presentation.

Monica and I are both available for any questions.

Thank you.

Thank you both.

Do any other commissioners have questions for staff?

Go ahead.

Commissioner Rogers.

With um short-term rentals, if people qualify for the ZAP, that's the process, but if they um exceed those conditions, then there's a route through a special use permit.

Is there any route for ADUs if they want to exceed those conditions or it are are these conditions it?

If you don't meet these, then you don't qualify.

I don't know.

So I I think your question might be that would they be able to bypass this by getting a use permit?

Is that correct?

Right.

So what we're saying is this would be our recommendation to not allow STRs in accessory dwelling units.

If this is adopted on that adopted date, we would no longer allow them to be used as STRs.

I know there's been some that were legally nonconforming, that so there are some in place currently that are STRs, but from that date forward, we would not allow them at all, even with a use permit or any other type of permit.

Um that's not exactly my question.

My my question was if if I want to have an ADU on my property, but I want it to be a thousand square feet, is there a pathway through some kind of special permit to exceed the conditions or not?

That's not something that we have discussed, I don't think, but uh it's not really useful we haven't like had a use permit discussion on it.

Yeah, that's a good that's a good point.

Now I get your question.

I apologize.

So any time that you were you were you would request to exceed um what's currently in the zoning ordinance, there is always the potential for a variance.

Um in such terms you'd have to show a hardship, but that would be the only way that I can think of that we would permit something beyond what's adopted.

And I'll just add in that the uh entire proposed ordinance is still under legal review, and this today's meeting is for purpose of getting extra comments to inform us as to what may be desirable in it.

So this is certainly something we can look at as to whether or not it can be incorporated, or if not the route that the directors proposed is likely the best route unless we can come up with another legal recommendation when the ordinance is finalized.

Okay, thank you.

And I have one more question.

Um with the um direction around non-conforming um current non-conforming buildings.

So everything you you have said is talking about single family lots.

I'm thinking of some um neighborhoods I'm aware of that are zoned R8, so that's um duplex and multifamily that have um you know already have buildings in the back, but that are not currently occupied, they're not they're not currently set up to house anybody.

So if it's in an R8 zone and it's a non-conforming, you know, let's say there's a a garage.

Is that going to be disallowed because it's not a single family zone?

I think, and Kim, you can back me up and Monica also.

If there's if it's a single family home that's in R8, then certainly because R8 permits single family homes.

Um if it's there's a two-family dwelling that's on the one lot already, then we probably would not allow an ADU.

That and correct me if I'm wrong on that.

No, absolutely perfect.

Okay, great.

Thank you so much.

Any of the other commissioners have questions?

Go ahead, Commissioner.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Um in regards to the city's resiliency efforts and and this potential policy adoption.

Um how is uh how's the team reconciled that with um any kind of consideration for how dense things could be with, you know, as they say they're not manufacturing any more land, how do we ever stop the building of these accessory dwelling units in some administrative way?

Um and and how does that relate to the resiliency efforts of the city?

Yeah, if not.

So, yeah, appreciate that question.

We definitely took that into account um in our discussions and conversations.

And one of the things that we considered was um in the possibility of increasing the lot coverage, which is currently 20 percent.

And so, in that consideration, that was one of the things that we had to think about.

Is if we were to change things, start changing things like setbacks or what's already in place in terms of maximum lot coverage, then we would really need to think about the the impacts or negative impacts to resiliency and stormwater and those types of things.

But our our perspective is that because we didn't change setbacks, or we're not, you know, we're not really changing much in terms of what we already allow for structures on properties that we didn't really need to think about that during phase one.

That if there's a time that we want to allow more lot coverage or those types of things, um, then that would definitely be something we'd have to take in further consideration.

Thank you.

Any other questions by the commissioners?

How do you have a more chair?

Go ahead, Martha.

Thank thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Um there was a slide where you were discussing the um potential forriding setbacks or uh in certain stance um for nonconformity.

Uh how can you explain how that um what circumstances that would be used?

Yeah, so that again that would be for if there's an existing accessory structure that doesn't meet the setback requirements that we've established for an ADU, which would be the same as for any like rear yard, especially in like in the rear yard, it would be the same that we have for an existing accessory structure, like three or five.

So if it's less than like five feet from the rear or three feet from the side or something like that, then you could build an ADU within that structure, even if it's not that's yeah, and if anyone wants to, yeah, Kim, if you want to back me up on that.

Yeah, and just to add a little bit, maybe a good example of that is we do have some accessory structures.

So a good example would be like a garage in a rear yard, like Quinn said, where maybe it was built before the zoning ordinance went into effect, or before our current zoning ordinance, and so maybe it's not meeting current setbacks.

What we are thinking is that we want to give everybody as as much as possible the opportunity to create an accessory dwelling unit on their property.

And so if someone wanted to convert that to be an accessory dwelling unit, we thought it was reasonable that they could do it within what's already currently there, they're not changing the footprint, and so they could create this accessory dwelling unit within the structure that's already there, as long as they're not increasing or expanding the non-conformity, and so we would allow that within the current structure while the structure is not meeting the setbacks, if that makes sense.

I think that makes sense.

So these are existing structures that are sort of grandfathered uh already that's not brand new project for ADUs.

No brand new projects would need to comply with the setbacks.

Okay, yeah, I would not want to make any allowances for new construction to be outside of those um existing setbacks.

I think it's already it's already very very close.

Um I think I think that would just start to create a problem.

So I'm glad to hear it's just on um existing structures.

So yeah.

Thank you, Martha.

Any other questions by the commissioners?

Thank you, staff.

We appreciate the presentation.

All right, and next we have our youth planner report will it which will be presented by Henry Godfrey.

How do you plan to start your year?

Do you plan for it to be a great fulfilling year with a lot of different accomplishments?

You know, get back up, some setbacks, and eventually reach the finish line to your goals, or do you want it to be kind of like, yeah, we didn't do anything this year?

And looking at the faces of a lot of different community leaders service in here, I think we all would side with the first one.

So here's how HYC has been able to do that as well.

Taking a look at the table of concepts, we have our national night out, student past Baloo, annual retreat, as well as ways to support.

So with the national night out, it was the opportunity for many of the citizens and as well as community leaders alike to be able to get to experience something outside of their home, you know, get to know each other.

HYC was also able to do a lot of recruiting there.

You know, we had 20 different applications, made a lot of different connections with businesses and organizations and connected with citizens on a more personal level.

Moving on to the student Passpalooza, this kind of taught me to meet people where they are, being that it was at Hampton High School, the students got to learn a lot about their public transit system, you know, free bus passes towards them through any part of Hampton, and it engaged students with a lot of their civic interests that they might not have known otherwise.

Moving on to day one of the annual retreat, we started out with the civics training, which taught us about local, state, national government, and we also had a commissioner appointment, which taught us a lot about how these kind of tied in to that as well.

The commissioner appointment, it was also a city council meeting, so we learned a lot of different interesting things, you know, how the government works, how it ties into some of the work that we're doing this year.

And we ended up at community cleanup at Plaza Estucker.

Looking at the faces of a lot of people in here, it seems that I a lot of people gotten hungrier after I said Plaza Sekka, but nonetheless, it's 20 minutes away, give or take.

So I don't know if you'll be able to make it before it closes.

Moving on to the third day, we have the stakeholders jamboree, which is an opportunity for some of the youth to get to meet some of the city officials as well as our elective executive team getting elected, you know, the chair, vice chair, cute clerk, chair of youth voice, chair of community participation committee, those type of things.

Number one is by recruiting high schoolers that you may know for the commission, that would be great candidates making suggestions to the youth master plan, how it can be adopted as and made into an official ordinance, and being able to promote some of our grants here by posting flyers outside of places that you know about.

So Mr.

Godfrey, don't hurt her too much.

Uh I'll be right there.

But uh, but thank you, really.

Thank you for all the work you do.

We appreciate it.

Is there any items by the anybody signed up to speak tonight?

There's not any items by the commission, any comments.

I do have one quick comment.

Uh, we want to thank our uh commission attorney, Miss Patricia, for being on board for the last two or three months.

It's been great.

We appreciate your help in stepping in.

She also serves as uh the senior deputy city attorney as well, and so she'll go back to doing a lot of great things.

So you want to have a comment or anything you want to say?

No, I really appreciate it, and I always enjoy my time of service with the planning commission.

You guys tolerate me well.

Thank you.

Thank you for your work and being for so professional.

We have Mr.

Can you can you say his name who's coming on?

Yes, sir.

Corey Wolf.

Okay, Mr.

Corey Wolf.

We want to say thank you.

Welcome to the commission.

He'll be here next time.

Um so we look forward to working with you.

Um that being said, no other items by the commission.

Uh now call this meeting adjourned, and we can't be able to get the

Hello, and welcome to Round Robin.

I'm your host, Robin McCormick with the City of Hampton.

And today I'm going to be talking with David Messick of Rainbow Puppets.

Welcome back.

We are.

We have a brand new show called Open a Book, Heroes and Legends, and it's all about heroes and legends from the state of Virginia.

We've spent so much time with Rainbow traveling around the state, and as we would travel, we would just be overwhelmed at some of the amazing people that we found.

We would drive out west and see that Booker T.

Washington was born there.

Or that um uh book uh Bill Bojangles Robinson was born in Richmond, and there's a wonderful statue of him and a great story about him in Richmond.

Um the statue is in a park that's sort of a triangle with lots of fast moving traffic, and in his lifetime, uh children were getting hurt or killed trying to cross the street.

And so he personally paid for traffic lights to be able to make people safer in his hometown of Richmond.

Wonderful.

Well, how far back do you go in Virginia?

We go all the way back to Pocahontas and Powhatan.

You most people probably know she was born uh in what's now called Gloucester.

There is Powhatan, her father and Pocahontas.

Hey.

So really don't they look amazing.

They do, and uh probably dressed a little bit more than they would have been, but this is a puppet show.

That's right, that's right.

And it it really is a terrific uh story to be able to talk a little bit about Pocahontas.

She's such a complex person, but in the end, at least in the way we tell the story, she becomes her own person and she takes matters into her own hands and creates a bridge between the colonists and her people.

And during her lifetime, she created peace here in the States and a lot of understanding in England.

So she really was an amazing person.

And she really sacrificed her tradition, her culture, almost herself, to become acceptable and to be able to really work that piece to cross that bridge.

She did.

And uh I think what really fascinated me about her story is you'll see writings of the time where people suggest that she's coming to represent savages.

And then she goes to London.

And if you know anything about London, at the time she was there, it was a dreadful place.

The river was so polluted that the stench would come off of it, and you'd pray that the wind would blow in the other direction.

And people would throw their waste out of the windows, and they'd cut all the trees down in London.

So imagine being someone who really appreciated nature.

Oh, yeah.

Coming to London and saying, where are the trees and where's the clean water?

And even there was a a cloud of uh smoke that would hang over the city.

So she actually probably pushed to help them understand you need to have some sort of balance.

So I just love her.

Well, who else have you got in here?

Well, there's so many important Virginians.

There are, and and if you go to see the book and say, Well, you left out.

Yes, I left out many people.

The litmus test for me was were they actually born in Virginia?

Did they accomplish something?

But then did they help someone else in the process?

So someone like Patsy Klein comes into the story because she was in a man's business.

Country music was absolutely a man's business.

And if you know anything about Patsy Clyde, she was really tough.

No nonsense.

And she a lot that allowed her to be successful in the business, but to also help people like Loretta Lynn navigate through the business and become quite successful.

So interesting.

And I and we tell the story in the book of Arthur Ash, and there are just so many stories you could tell about Arthur Ash, but to me, using his fame to be able to push the needle in South Africa, I think is really the story worth telling.

Yes, great tennis player, but even more saying uh we have to treat people better than this.

And he did a great job of that.

Well, do you deal with the civil war at all?

We do.

We do talk about the end of the civil war.

Booker T.

Washington was born an enslaved person here in Virginia.

As soon as um here he is.

Yes, and we did find some pictures of him with a mustache.

At first, I said, Did he have a mustache?

And early on, perhaps he did.

What what I found fascinating is news did travel even before internet days, and people heard of the emancipation proclamation even before the war was over.

So Hampton ties into this story as well because the Emancipation Proclamation is read Hello, President Lincoln.

Yep, read for the first time in the South on the property of Hampton University under a giant oak tree.

Well, news of this emancipation oak.

We do indeed.

So they find out that he has emancipated people, but of course it has no weight because the union does not control the South.

But the moment the war is over, the emancipation proclamation takes power.

So Booker T.

Washington goes to live with his stepfather in West Virginia, but he keeps hearing about this amazing school in Hampton.

Now get this.

No telephones.

He doesn't send a letter.

He just says, I'm going to get to that school, and if I get there, maybe they'll let me go to school.

And so he walked, hitch height, took took what whatever transportation mode he could afford from time to time and made his way absolutely filthy without a dime to the doorsteps of Hampton University.

And they are so impressed that he came with such faith to the school that he ended up getting an education.

He went back to West Virginia to become a teacher.

But then when Hampton University starts wanting to teach Native Americans at the school, they wanted a teacher who could work with them.

And they thought instantly of Booker T.

They bring Booker T back, and he helps teach Native Americans on the campus.

When they're looking for someone to start a school in Tuskegee, they immediately think of him, and the rest is history.

And the story we tell in the show is about how he does not wait for someone else to create an opportunity.

He gets down to Tuskegee, Alabama to start this school.

There's no school.

So I said, Well, we're gonna build a school.

Well, we got no bricks.

And he said, Well, we gotta get some bricks.

Well, nobody's gonna sell us any bricks.

And then he says, Well, we'll make bricks.

And so they build a kiln oven and they start making bricks.

The kiln oven blows up.

He said, Well, we'll just have to try again.

They try once, twice, three times.

They're completely out of money.

He takes his watch, his gold watch, and pawns it and says, We're going to make bricks.

So the one thing he has left of value, he pawns, gets a fourth kiln oven, starts making bricks, and builds Tuskegee Institute.

And that school was a teacher's school.

So it doesn't just touch the lives of the students that are there.

He teaches the teachers.

Teach the teachers, and they end up going all over the South teaching people.

It just is breathtaking.

So, David, you have done all this research and you know all this.

How does that work in a kids' puppet show?

I mean, those stories are very inspiring.

I think kids would really respond to them.

So what we try to do with our shows is not tell big long stories.

It's one thing.

One person, one thing.

So when you see our show, even the youngest of children are gonna know Booker T didn't have bricks to build a school.

He worked and worked and worked until he built bricks and built a school.

So that's the story they walk away with after seeing the show.

And then we hope that they're encouraged to pick up a book and read about them.

We have a sponsor, Optima Health, and they don't wait for the children to go find the book in a library.

Optima pays for a book for every single child who sees our show.

So you'll learn one thing about the character in the play, and then can read so much more inside the book.

And um what age group is the book?

This book is designed for second through fifth grade.

I would say this is a lot of words.

It is, and it is definitely one that for the second graders parents or family members would read to them.

For the much younger children, we've created a Mother Goose book, which um starts the show, and you're thinking, how in the world do you tie Mother Goose into this story?

Well, we tie it in through Ella Fitzgerald.

Her first big hit is a Tisca Task, and her second big hit is Do You Know the Muffin Man?

So we tell those songs, and that leads from Mother Goose all the way into I don't know how you do this.

It's a warped creative mind.

Amen.

It is.

But we we would talk about Mother Goose at almost every show, and all of a sudden, preschool teachers came up and said, Do you know many of these children have never heard Mother Goose rhymes, and they don't have a Mother Goose book in their home.

And so again, Optima Health has allowed us to give these books to each and every child who sees the show.

And it's at no cost.

During COVID, we provided books and video versions of the show to every student in Hampton for two years in a row.

So thousands of books went out just in this city to children.

So it was amazing.

But what's more amazing is to go.

I get emotion.

I'm sorry.

To go back into schools with children who have never seen a live performance, which is what we're now doing.

And they are transformed.

All they've seen is something on a screen.

So to see live performers and live music and live puppets.

The lights go on.

They applaud.

A puppet shows up.

They just applaud.

They are so joyful and happy to see live theater.

So we are just so excited.

We have just been so blessed the last few months as the schools have really opened up.

That makes such a difference.

It's so good for kids.

And you know, the thing is, because the book might be for older readers, doesn't mean the show is just because you know, you can bring their siblings, you can bring little kids.

It's still entrancing, and they will still come out with some level of knowledge, or at least is this one a musical?

It is.

There are they are music and and there is audience participation.

So even if you have toddlers, they will sit for the 45 minutes.

We we really we try very hard to get the pacing just right.

It's something that the creators of Sesame Street learned is that you must do something new every three or four minutes.

So we go from a new puppet coming on to a song to standing up and dancing to a new puppet to a set change.

So we're very careful.

There's some science behind it.

Hopefully, you don't see the science as an audience member, but that's how we can keep toddlers engaged.

Well, I know that you can write a song with the hook because I believe I can still sing Chessie the Manatee.

I heard it.

I heard it in my house, you know, a few thousand times when my kids were little.

Wow.

And and you know, they found Chesse last year.

We he had just disappeared off of the planet, and last year they found him in Florida again.

He was having breathing issues.

Oh dear.

And so the people at SeaWorld brought him in and gave him breathing treatments and weighed him.

He weighs 1700 pounds.

Oh my god.

And that's because manatees eat for five hours a day.

So they they love to eat, and uh he's eating very well.

All right, so tell us again, you're gonna be at the History Museum to debut this whole new performance.

Yes.

On December 3rd.

Okay.

The show as is at 11 o'clock, so be sure you get there before 11 o'clock.

The sh the museum is going to be open, free to the public.

And that's a free day.

That's gonna be a great day.

And get there early because the first 50 families that come, the museum is going to also give them a an heirloom ornament that they can take and make at their homes.

Oh no.

And everybody who shows up will get a book.

You'll either get the Virginia Born book or for younger folks, they'll get a copy of the Mother Goose show.

That's wonderful.

And will you be taking this production on the road as you do so many of yours?

We are.

We are just now starting to tour with it.

The Mother Goose sequences are all great, and now we're working to continue with uh Virginia Born, and we'll take that all over the state as well.

All right.

Well, I can't wait to see it.

You know, you're never too old for a puppet show, right?

That's right.

All right.

Thank you so much, David.

And thanks to um all the many puppets and the people behind the puppets.

If you'd like to show yourself, Leslie and Alyssa, please feel free.

They've been crouched behind our chairs the whole time.

There we are.

Thanks.

So wonderful.

All right, we're gonna close now.

Thank you for watching.

I hope you go to see this show.

If you miss this one, go to Rainbow Puppets.com, right?

And you'll see where they're gonna be, and you can find a time to go see them.

Thanks for watching, hello, and welcome to Round Robin.

I'm your host, Robin McCormick with the City of Hampton.

And today we are gonna hear about a wonderful organization that is helping youth right here in Hampton.

It is called Catch More Kids, and my guests are Troy and Chanel Catchmore.

Yes.

Thank you for having us.

Absolutely.

So first, you two are siblings.

Yes.

Man, I don't know if my brother and I could do something together.

I mean, there has to be something good about your shared background and the way you grew up and things like that, but do y'all fight?

No.

Really?

No.

You know, I think that uh we have common cause, right?

And what we're doing.

Yes.

And so that keeps us on the same page.

Now, do we have challenges?

Yes.

That's what I call them.

We have challenges.

You know, but but I think good way to look at it.

We do a really good job of working through challenges that come up and we make it.

We were raised to always have each other's back.

Yes.

Our mother did a great job.

Yeah.

Instilling that in us.

Like that was first and foremost.

Bump heads, like she makes sure, you know, we talk, what have you.

None of that drag out stuff.

So that's really good.

You know, that's my partner.

I'm her, you know, I'm the big brother, but you know, in some regards, she's the big sister at times.

So are you running more of the operation, or is it really like kind of equal?

It is kind of equal.

Like we just play different roles, and so that's one of the beautiful things is that uh we've been able to kind of figure out what you know who's better at handling what types of roles we need to do, and it works good that way.

All right.

Well, I started out kind of backwards.

So tell us what Catch More Kids is and what you do.

Well, Catch More Kids is a nonprofit uh community-based organization.

We believe in hands-on uh um go and serving our community.

Uh our motto is to catch more kids in the streets, catch more kids than the drugs, catch more kids than the uh prison system, the gangs, the violence.

And we take a hands-on approach.

You know, we do multiple programs, whether it's uh triple P parenting, we use uh healer with hip hop culture where we take, you know, and try to translate the lyrics for the young people to show them how you know this can help, you know, really help you get over some things like we got over some things growing up.

Uh we do our facilitate what's called a think tank a program that I created, uh six-week program where I'm dealing with trying to transform the consciousness of our young people and get them to thinking better, questioning things that we've always been told or heard, and to try to, you know, push our life forward in a positive manner.

So we do a lot of programs, but we it's a hands-on approach.

We have a lot of partners that come to the table and um add or add their um work as well.

So that is wonderful.

And I know that you've recently gotten I think two grants, maybe more from the Department of Youth and Young Adult Opportunities, which I will also credit City Council for saying a lot of our federal money related to COVID has gone into prevention services for you.

So tell us what that money is allowing you to do right here in Hampton.

Yes, absolutely.

So that money allows us to open our program up for free so that um youth and young adults actually have access that programs it allows us to um get out into communities so that we can engage residents directly through the think tank specifically, providing conflict resolution skills, but skills that are tangible that our young people can use at home in the community and schools in their work and all life domains to help um, you know, decrease violence that's taking place, so things that they can really use that will ultimately help save lives.

And that's a part of what the funding that we receive allows us to do, and that's important.

You know, that's important.

One of our focuses right now is really gun violence prevention.

What are we doing to help have an impact in that area because every life that is lost is also connected to a family member, another loved one, a classmate.

So violence doesn't just affect the person who does it and the person who is the victim.

That's right.

It's a ripple.

Yeah, it's like those traumatic stress for people who are around that.

Yes.

And desensitizes people when it happens when they're in a neighborhood where it happens far too often.

And then we have the expectation, you know, that our young people are able to go to funerals on Fridays and get right up and go to school on Mondays over and over again and function, right?

And so being able to address some of those factors that come up, that is what the funding allows us to do on a consistent and regular basis, and for um for more young people and young adults to have access to the services.

Well, well, Troy, tell me more about Think Tank because obviously you guys learn conflict resolution.

I mean, maybe I didn't start out the interview backward.

So, you know, you're taking some of that, but but young people today have a real short-term outlook.

Like, you know, even my son is like, I'm not gonna live to 30.

There's just there's no reason to have a long-term outlook for for some kids.

And they and so they think and act very in the mo moment.

And maybe think isn't even the right word.

Maybe they act in the moment and and then think, you know, too late.

So how do you work at reversing that?

Mm-hmm.

So I haven't lived a conflict free life.

So I come from where they come from.

I did 26 years, eight months in prison, wrongfully convicted.

However, I haven't lived a conflict-free life.

So I understand the mentality, the thinking that a lot of our youth have because I had it.

So I had to really dig deep to change my mentality.

That's the first thing.

So we go self family community nation.

I had to deal with self first.

And I had some great teachers inside that help me transform my mind and challenge me.

So we have to challenge each other and we have to uh confront these spheres.

Uh these impediments to our growth and and development, whether it's fear, uh peer pressure, uh, um uh emotion.

We have to understand these elements and then and and and define these things as they relate to us and begin to challenge ourselves repetitiously, you know.

So it's like like in the think tank, we have what's called a uh um uh we have a drill that every time a negative thought comes to your head, automatically replace it with a positive one, the replacement drill.

So it's like so it's like, you know, dude over there, whack, he got them little pants on.

Then you replace it automatically, brother I he doing his thing.

You know, you have to do this over and over and over throughout your day.

But what it is what it does is help you discipline your thoughts and gain control of your mind.

You know, and that's called a replacement drill.

So it's little things like that that we utilize to challenge them to change your thinking to try to gain control of this because our mind is gonna be all over the place.

You know, so we just want to get them to see the ditch before you fall in it.

Now it's not exact science.

I don't do math, but we will get some of them.

Trust me, we will get some of them, but it has to be repetitiously done.

And you may not get them all at that time.

Exactly.

If something happens, they can fall back.

It's a frame of reference that's land in your subconscious.

It does.

It's a process.

And I like to look at it in the concept of we are either planting the seed, we are watering the seed, or we are harvesting, right?

And so we don't know where we're we're getting them at, the the young people and and young adults we work with when they come into our program, but we know that we are a part of that process.

And so you're absolutely right.

At some point, these things are still gonna come up and they're gonna show up in their lives, you know, and we know that we are a part of helping to make that happen.

That's important.

So, how do young people come into your program?

Yep, so we get referrals through a lot of the partners that we work with.

So that can be through um through our partners through social services, through Centera Healthcare, we get referrals, and then families can contact us directly and say, hey, you know, I have a young person that I would like to sign up for your program.

So we do a lot of promoting when we have our different um workshop dates and times scheduled.

We make sure that that information is available so that caregivers, young people can sign themselves up, and that's done through our website, which is catchmore kids.org.

And we should say at this point, because you talked about catching more kids.

Catchmore is K-E-T-C-H.

K-E-T-C-H.

Which is your last name.

Yes.

But it it works in a marketing way, because I'm in marketing too.

Very good to point that out.

Absolutely.

And so it's K-E-T-C-H-M-O-R-E, and then kids, K-I-D-S.

But the website is catchmore kids.org.

Our registration information is there.

And we we encourage individuals to get social with us on Instagram, on Facebook.

We're up there as Catch More Kids.

We get a lot of direct messages of individuals that want to sign up or sign someone else up that they know for the program.

And so those are some of the ways that we get on registrations into the program.

So what other um programs or services do you have in addition to the think tank?

So as um my brother mentioned, we also offer our triple P parenting program that stands for um positive parenting program, and that is absolutely free.

It's for parents of all ages, and it's where we help to empower empower and you know help parents become a little bit more confident with what they're doing.

No child comes within an instructional manual, and it's tough, right?

Yeah.

So you may be dealing with supervision issues, it may be um just not following through with directions, it could be just wanting strategies to help the family bond a little better.

So when we work with parents, we don't go in saying this is what you need to do, this is how you need to do it.

Yes, it really is from a strength-based, non-judgmental perspective, and we just help parents kind of figure out different ways to handle situations differently, what's gonna work with them for them and their family.

So Triple P is on one of the programs that we also have that we're offering.

Well, and I think that's so important, and and it is because when you're a first-time parent, especially, you have no clue what you're doing, and you fall back on the way you were raised.

And if that's good, you've got good instincts, and if there are more challenges there, you know, you just it's you have to learn to drive.

You have to take a class about learning to drive.

You don't take a class, you don't have to take a class about learning to parent.

Right.

But you're gonna do better if you do.

You know, and then you're absolutely right.

And the other thing is, you know, it goes hand in hand with the think tank program because if we're working with our young people, and then on the other end, we're working with parents or caregivers, they're in the home environment together.

It is really a lot of the challenges and different dynamics that come.

It takes the family unit as a whole to work through those things, and so for us it's really important to have that balance and to make sure that the parents and our young people are both feeling and being supported, you know, as everyone moves through their lives.

That is great.

Also, we're currently doing uh what we call the pop-up tour.

So we're galvanizing our partners and ourselves, and we're uh popping up to these hot spots, you know, projects, and we we we we come out there as a force, you know.

We're feeding the kids, we're taking one-on-ones with them, we build them with those them and the parents, um, you know, just showing them that that that it's somebody that does care.

You're not out here on the island, yeah, and we'll be back.

It's a repetitive repetitious thing.

And we're um we're actually going to do FEBA's Friday.

We're going to wise Thomas, we're gonna go through Shell Roll.

We're hitting all of these areas out of Hampton.

And you know, they're easy to spot because you can look at the the crime reports of where gunshots are.

And it it data helps us all be more effective now.

Yes.

Um, sadly, sadly, there's too much um, you know, of that data, but you gotta you gotta work with the areas that are just so impacted.

You really do, and see, and I love the the pop-ups that we're doing because it eliminates barriers like transportation or timing or anything, and so for folks who may not be able to sign up and come sit down with us in a room for an hour and a half for a workshop, we are taking the services to them.

It's on site, and so that part of it is is beautiful because it's it's real and formal.

We are just there.

We're engaging, we're building a rapport, we're able to have conversations and communications, we're building trust with community members, and that part is amazing, and it goes a long way in having a positive impact as well.

Now, since you mentioned um YH and at least North Phoebus, they have for a very, very long time, both of them have had youth athletic leagues.

And a lot of the research about young people is that you you are more resilient if you have an adult that's outside the family, or uh, you know, a coach or somebody else.

But there are a lot of young people for whom athletics is not the answer.

Yes.

So explain how you know you started and how you you deal with kids who have other ways of expression.

Oh, we have fun with it.

We allow them to come in.

We have access to different studios and things like that.

So for our young people who are interested in music or some of the artistic elements that we mentioned earlier, then we have ways to kind of link them in to some of those activities.

And then with some of the partners that we have, um, all of them bring different elements in.

So we rely on the support system of our partners.

And as we see these young people come in, as we get to know them, a part of that engagement and learning who they are and what they really like, then we're able to then link them to some other um folks that we work with, you know, and kind of fill some of those gaps and make sure they can tap into their natural talents or explore some areas that maybe they haven't even explored before.

One of our partners is working on a lacrosse program.

A lot of young people have haven't heard of the sport, even though it's still sports, it's different than your typical, you know, basketball, football.

Yeah.

And so, you know, that's something.

Um we have partners who work on etiquette, business professional etiquette.

We have another partner who's looking at um drone technology and teaching young people how to fly drones and different things like that.

So when we know what they're interested in or what that spark is, you know, curiosity, then we are linking them to partners, even if we don't have it in house.

We use our with this partnership, we're bringing resources and connects to them on a grassroot level that they uh you know normally wouldn't have contact to these individuals when know how to get in touch with them.

We bring it right there to them, you know, through conversation, and you find out certain information.

Well, hold on, let me make a call.

Yeah.

You know, and and and and we can connect the dots like that.

So that's key.

And and those partnerships we value greatly because it is bigger than Troy, it's bigger than Chanel, it is bigger than Catch More Kids.

There are a lot of amazing programs out here doing amazing work, and it really takes all of us to be in this together.

So we're very grateful to be doing our part, and we're going to be honoring some folks who are doing amazing things in our community.

Yes, we are.

We have a um our second annual Black Excellence Gala is going to be in Hampton at the Virginia Air and Space Center on November 26th.

But we are honoring other folks in the community who haven't been recognized.

They're working, they're out there every single day and uh putting in the work, changing lives, and so we're gonna be helping to bring some attention to them.

That is wonderful.

And I think, you know, that you can't, you can't fix a problem after you have it.

You have to figure out the prevention.

And it's very hard to measure.

How do you measure um, you know, no one got hurt?

U i it's a really hard thing.

It is, but you can measure it by, you know, number of people graduating, number of people um getting jobs, finding, you know, what their passion is and uh and all that.

So it it it is just it's just so important.

And it's so important that the groups work together because you know, some kids might be interested in skateboarding and need to have that resource, and some kids might be this, and yeah.

It it's also really cool that different people have different life experiences.

And you can speak, you know, on some things, you can speak on other things, and and other people bring that into the picture.

So creating a whole community of nonprofits, of government, uh volunteers of schools that all work together to benefit kids.

There's not one sol, it's not one solution.

It's all hands on deck.

That's going back to that village.

That's that village you recreate in a village that will attack these problems, you know.

And um, that's what we try to manifest with what we do with catch more kids.

Um we're always open to partnership and people coming in and doing their part, or not just when we do something, when our some of our partners have something, we there.

Yeah.

We there, you know, so it works like that.

And when you work together, you're gonna draw more people, which means you're serving more people.

Absolutely.

So I'm just fired up.

I get so energized when I talk to people who are out there doing the work.

It's just exciting to have you in our community.

Thank you so much.

We appreciate that.

And see, and that goes both ways because when you get excited, that keeps the fire and the passion and everything burning within us to keep going.

And especially think about when we're running our programs and we have caregivers saying, we don't care where you all are at, what location, just tell me the time I'm gonna make sure my son is there.

Or when kids are telling us, hey, we loved it today.

Can you come back tomorrow?

That is the fire that helps to keep us going and do what we do.

And not just other organizations, people period show up.

What you want me to do?

Like, like people hit me all the time, I'm getting off work, I'll be there, what y'all need me to do, and they just lend their help and support.

Yeah.

You know, see they so they're basically they've been saying we need help.

So as long as they got somebody that's consistently coming, and now they feel like they have help they want to add on to.

Yeah.

You don't want to be one voice in the wilderness.

You want to be a course.

And even though we grew up born and raised in Newport News, I know I was in Hampton a lot, right?

Yeah, I graduated from Bethel High School.

We ended up relocating to Hampton.

But as a teenager, as a preteen, like I have friends in Hampton.

So these areas that we are working in, like I've been in these areas, I've walked in these areas, I've hung out in these areas, and so on on a personal note, right?

Just being able to go through challenges, come out, you know, be successful, and show back up in the places that we grew up in.

That is so powerful.

And that also helps keep us going.

That's why what she said, what we're doing on November 26th with Black Excellence.

We don't want it all about catch more kids.

No, we're recognizing those that shoulder to shoulders with us in these trenches.

People that have changed their life just like me, and we're recognizing them in front of everybody.

Yeah.

You know, so we want to invite you out as well.

We recognize them in front of everybody.

That way, this thing is balanced out.

We don't want it to I I I when we do nothing independently.

We're not on the island.

So we have plenty of help, plenty of pro uh partners, and that's key to us.

That means something to us.

So November 26th, I want to see you there.

Yes, because seriously, even this platform and allowing us to share what we what we do, you know, and the questions, like this is not anything that we take for granted at all.

And you know, because you have amazing guests that you have up here.

And so yeah, this is one way, you know, that residents are able to find out because they can't connect with us, they can't register for programs if they don't even know.

Right.

Well, hopefully today they know.

Yes.

Yes.

So thank you.

Thank you for coming.

Thank you.

Thank you for the work you do.

Thanks.

It's so important.

Thank you, City of Hampton, City Council, Center Healthcare.

Like again, we have amazing partners.

So it's important.

And it's important for people with resources to realize that those resources are extended when working through grassroots organizations.

Absolutely.

Government can't do everything for sure.

And there's a lot of times when there's somebody more effective that has more credibility in a community.

Um, and it's important that we all do it.

It is helps.

When those connections happen, they are very meaningful.

So thank you so much.

Thank you.

And thank you all for watching.

I think, you know, I'm like, I'm developing tears, my heart's beating.

I mean, this is really one of the exciting things going on in our community, and everybody is working together to support the youth of this city and make sure that they have successful, productive, happy lives.

That's right.

Thanks for watching.

Thanks.

Hello, and welcome to Round Robin.

I'm your host, Robin McCormick with the City of Hampton.

And today we are gonna offer some tips for anyone who needs to hire a DJ for a special occasion.

My guest is Chris Keppix with Digital DJs of Hampton Roads.

Welcome.

Thank you very much, Robin.

I appreciate being here.

So this is an intro thing interesting thing.

It's your business, but you're gonna give us some sort of insider tips about what to look for.

Yes, yes.

There's a lot to think about when uh you hire a DJ for your wedding because of all the gigs that DJs do, weddings are the most complex.

They're the most steps involved.

There's a lot of orchestrating uh certain songs that need to be played at very specific times.

Um yeah, we're gonna go over that today.

Okay, so what kind of I'm a bride, I've never done this before, or I'm a parent getting ready for a bot mitzvah, bar mitzvah, or anything like that.

So what kinds of things need to be covered?

What where do I start?

Oh gosh.

Well, the first thing I usually like to do is well, we establish where the venue is gonna be.

You want to find out if the DJ has ever played at that particular venue before, because every venue has different acoustics.

Um if there's an opportunity for you and your DJ to go to the venue, or just the DJ, that's something they can do on their own.

Meet with the uh coordinator, go to the venue, check out the sound space, try to figure out where they're gonna be set up, what's gonna be the best uh sound, set up their speakers and everything.

And then we usually go over song selection.

Um I use the internet to there's all kinds of great resources sources on the internet that go over sort of like the most popular songs played at weddings.

Um brides aren't into all the super popular stuff, they want to go a little offbeat, which is fine, you know.

I give them this huge list though of like 200 plus songs, and I say, you know, look through these.

These are the currently most popular songs that are played across the country at weddings, and then I usually just have them check off.

Yeah, I like this one's great, this one's great.

This one's a no play for sure.

I hate the cha cha slide or whatever it might be.

You have to go over that with the bride.

You know, is line dancing okay?

Are there any songs that you would really rather not be played?

Some songs too.

If you're doing like a wedding where two people are falling in love and getting married, some songs, if you listen to the lyrics, some people love songs, but they've never listened to the lyrics before, and they're about breaking up or cheating.

Like you wouldn't definitely want one want to play that one song uh before he cheats.

That's not a wedding appropriate song, you know.

But the DJ.

You also have to think about electrical load, where you're gonna put your speaker, kind of thing.

Absolutely, sure.

You want to find out if you're uh if the venue has some sort of backup generator.

If you are getting married out in the middle of a field or on a beach, which would seem to me to be a nightmare for DJ equipment and all that sand, but you know, a generator's a possibility.

We happen to uh work with a very quiet generator that can operate all of our equipment.

That's amazing.

Yep, and uh sure, you know, the amps that you're gonna be using, sometimes the venue needs to know that.

You want to make sure you're plugged in the right uh power outlet.

You want to be prepared in case of uh power loss.

I'm actually doing a wedding this weekend in North Carolina, which is right in the path of this uh storm.

Hopefully, we there won't be any issues.

I expect to be dealing with rain, but uh, you know, just you do want to be prepared for all that.

And um, and so the song list, we've covered that, but but people often, especially at a wedding, what particular songs played at particular times.

Sure, there's the there's specific you'd be surprised if you go on the internet you can look up these songs.

Um there's cake cutting songs.

There's there's dozens of cake cutting songs.

There's uh bouquet toss songs, there's garter songs, there's uh some people will lift the the bride or groom up on a chair and dance them around.

There's a specific song for that.

There's a specific song for introducing the bridal party, getting them in.

And if you're talking with your DJ, DJs know about all these songs, and they they can help you out.

You know, don't don't say, don't let your DJ say, hey, pick a cake cutting song.

I don't know a cake cutting song.

You're the DJ, do some research.

You know, you'll I'm gonna leave that up to you.

A lot of brides will leave it up to the DJ's discretion.

Because even if they come up with a list of songs they want played, that's probably not gonna cover the entire four, sometimes five, sometimes six hour um reception.

So you leave it to the DJs.

Hopefully, you trust your DJ enough to fill in those gaps and play appropriate music.

And speaking of appropriate music, uh there are songs out there that aren't that appropriate.

They're great party starters, they get that dance floor packed, but some of those songs, a lot most of the time your DJ's gonna have the clean version of just about every song, which you know we do.

Um, and if not, and the somebody really wants to hear that song, play it later in the reception after grandma and grandpa have left, after all the kids have gone, because usually those last hour or two of the reception is where things get wild, and you can kind of get away with that.

But again, use your discretion, let the DJ use his discretion.

Well, no, the DJ is also the person with the microphone.

Yes.

Yes.

So do you, you know, introduce is it something that DJs do to introduce the bride to um uh tell people to stand or to you know introduce a particular song or toast or something.

Yeah, DJing a wedding is a lot more than just standing behind a uh a table and pushing a button and playing a song.

You are the MC, you're the host pretty much of the wedding.

You're letting the entire party know what's happening, when the bride and groom are coming in, you're introducing the wedding party, you're announcing toast, hey, it's time to cut the cake.

Hey, the food is available if you're like a buffet, table one, table two can go up now.

There's a lot involved, and you have to coordinate with the wedding coordinator if there isn't one, if there isn't one, then somebody there who sort of knows what's going on.

And weddings change all the time.

You've got to be be able to adapt and improvise.

They might say, hey, this is gonna happen at this time, and guess what?

It doesn't happen at that time, but you've got to, you know, play a filler song to buy yourself more time.

Things change at the last second all the time.

So just go with the flow.

But there is a lot involved as far as MCing, getting on that microphone.

You want a DJ that has some personality that's outgoing, that can get the crowd pumped up, uh, enthusiastic for the arrival of the bride and groom and dancing all night long.

You want energy, you want happiness.

This is the Super Bowl for for the bride and groom and for the DJ.

This is like the biggest most important gigs that we ever do, our weddings.

That's so fun.

Now, we've all been to that reception where there's music playing and and that no one wants to get up on the dance floor.

Everybody's a little shy.

What do you do?

What can you suggest for a DJ to do to get that rolling?

Well, again, that has to do with the DJ's uh personality, their outgoingness, there's certain songs that you play.

One thing that almost always gets the dance floor going is you start off with maybe a couple of line dances, maybe Macarena, the uh electric slide, and then once you get to the wobble, usually everybody's on that dance floor.

And then the secret is to keep them on the dance floor.

Um so that's you you can you can enthuse the crowd just by your energy level.

You don't want a DJ that's up there checking his watch on his phone the whole time, you know, that you gotta be interactive with that crowd.

And so how do you interview a DJ?

You know, if I'm if I'm talking to several different people, how do I know who to pick?

What am I looking for?

Exactly.

Well, you know, uh DJs have reputations.

They um our particular company uh DJs regularly three nights a week at a local club here.

Uh if the DJ does anything like that, ask if you can come to one of their public events and see their DJ style.

You know, see if they're like a scratcher, a mixer, or if they just seamlessly blend one song into the other, which every DJ should do.

Um, and you can go and and check them out there.

If that's not an opportunity for you, check them out on social media.

See how long they've been in business, um, what's happening on social media?

Most DJs love to promote themselves on social media.

So if you can go to their uh website or their Instagram or Facebook, see what they're up to.

It's great to see little clips of the crowds dancing and just their their style of mixing music.

And it's great to meet with the DJ in person so you can get a sense of their personality uh and how they interact with people, or at least do a Zoom call or some kind of face-to-face where you can actually see uh the DJ and talk to them.

Now, what is the background of people who are DJs?

Like your background.

My background, uh gosh, I've been uh I did um audio uh voiceovers for over 15 years.

I used to work as an intern at 96X back in the middle uh 90s.

I interned at an AM country station, a lot of radio, um, and then you know, just a lot of DJing.

Our company's been around since uh 2009, and we do karaoke, we do trivia night, we just do you know, Friday night parties, anything.

So that's my background.

I've always been in radio and broadcasting, and I've always been told that I have a face for radio.

So is there anything else we should know before we close?

Uh well, you know, you you want to hopefully your DJ will have a contract for you.

Contracts are very important with weddings that establishes if you know if there's a cancellation, if you need to change the wedding because of weather or other circumstances, um, if the wedding, if the reception's gonna go a little long, does the DJ charge a little extra for that?

Um if there's uh uh a part of the balance that you owe, that's gonna be on there.

If you pay it all up front, um all those all those things are gonna be that's and that's for your protection, and that's for the DJ's protection.

So you know, you make sure you that DJ shows up.

You have uh legal proof.

We have a signed contract.

Our DJ is supposed to be here at this time, and he should be there plenty early.

Also, real quick, uh insurance.

Um we we happen to carry insurance, which covers uh me, my all my equipment, all the guests.

Some venues have their own insurance, some venues require that the DJ that comes in has their insurance because there's all kinds of accidents, especially uh that last hour of a wedding reception.

Things can get a little crazy.

Oh, and you also want to go over uh with your DJ, he's gonna ask you how do you feel about song requests?

Because sometimes there'll be some maybe slightly intoxicated guests that comes up and requests uh something that might not be appropriate.

So that's something else you want to go over.

Well, thank you very much for coming by.

I've learned a lot.

No problem at all.

Um, you can check us out at DGJHR.com.

That's digital DJs of Hampton Roads.

We're also on Facebook and Instagram.

All right, thank you.

Hello, and thank you for tuning in to another episode of Fusion Fitness.

I'm your host, Alexis Perkins, and today we are on location at Beauty for Ashes Dance Studio.

We offer an array of different dance classes here, which is why I'm glad we can tape here today.

So grab your towels, grab your waters, and we'll be back in just thirty seconds.

Strike two.

Optimism.

Pass it on.

A message from the foundation for a better life.

All right, we're about to go ahead and get started.

Today I have with me the lovely Carissa, and I also have the lovely D.

Let's go ahead and get this thing started.

Over.

Nice shoulder.

Looking up.

Good job, let's keep it moving.

Take it out.

Here we go.

Up down, up, down, up.

Here we go.

Up, down, up and down.

Shoulder.

Here we go.

Two.

Nice and easy.

Step.

Push, push, push, push.

Hey.

Nice two steps.

Die.

Nice and easy.

Roll it.

Make it bigger.

Move it.

Here we go.

Roll it.

Move it.

Looking good.

Take it down it move it.

Move it.

Move it.

That's it, make hard step.

Nice roll.

Yeah.

Lighter.

Good.

Good, right.

Good job.

All right, how you guys feeling?

Let's go ahead and keep it all moving.

We're gonna have two steps.

Go into your right.

Here we go.

Good.

Feel free to go ahead and turn your TV up.

Let's rock it out.

Here we go.

Come on.

Lift.

Lift.

Push.

Over.

Lift.

Lift.

Lift.

Come on.

Up.

Two steps.

Push.

Push.

Ready?

Lift.

Push it out.

Come on.

Over.

Lift.

Lift.

Put that leg up.

Hold it.

Rock.

Rock.

The hips.

The hips.

Here we go.

Push it down.

Quick.

Quick.

Quick.

Quick.

Take it up.

Push.

Come on.

Lift.

Lift.

Over.

Pull it up.

Strong.

Lift.

Hold it.

Hold it.

Nice and big and push.

Up.

Up.

Push.

Good job.

Let's keep it moving.

All right, let's go to them.

Come on.

Start it.

Three.

Two.

One.

Take it up.

Start it.

Anybody?

Over.

Double, single.

Double, single.

Seven up.

Four back.

Four.

Two.

Take it up.

Start it.

Take it low.

Out, out, out, out.

Drop drop.

We're gonna work on length down with this one.

You're gonna feel it just a little bit.

Roll.

Roll.

Squat.

Squat.

Let's repeat that.

Push.

Push.

Roll.

Roll.

One.

Two.

Okay.

Push.

Push.

Roll.

Roll.

Two.

Hold it and drop up.

Drop up.

Take it back.

Test side.

Let's repeat that.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Take it back.

Two steps.

Three houses five minutes.

Here we go.

Hold it.

Hold it here.

Roll it.

Two.

Push.

Push.

Roll.

Roll.

Two.

Two.

Keep it up.

Push.

Push.

Roll.

Let's do four.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Again.

Push.

Push.

Roll.

Roll.

Four.

Take it up.

Hold it.

Take it back.

Two steps.

Take it up.

Hold it.

Cross.

Drop.

Drop.

Drop.

Take it back.

Two steps.

Here we go.

Pop.

Pop.

One side.

Push.

Push.

Roll.

Roll.

Two.

Two.

One.

Push.

Push.

Roll.

Roll.

Two.

Here we go.

Push.

Push.

Four.

Four.

Go.

Stay low.

Stay low.

Roll it.

Roll it.

Two down.

Sweat.

Squash.

Keep going.

Push.

Push.

Roll.

Roll.

And four.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Four.

Let's see.

Two.

Start to cut that one for the back.

Back.

Back.

Push punch.

Push.

Push.

Push.

Woo.

Sweat.

Four.

Oh, all right.

Two more.

Let's see.

All right, we're going to go ahead and proceed into the cool down.

Let the shoulders roll.

Stress it up.

Take it over.

Take it up.

Shut down.

Take that way.

Thank you guys so much for tuning in to another episode of Fusion Fitness.

And again, today we are in the Beauty for Ashes dance studio.

And I'm so happy I was allowed to be here.

Again, they offer all types of dance services, space share rent is everything.

So thanks again to Beauty for Ashes.

Thank you to Danny D.

Bush for all the music production.

Thank you to John Bibbs for the music production.

And thank you guys for tuning in.

Tune in again next time.

See you soon.

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