Happy (316) Day!

Let me be the first to extend to you a happy (316) Day from the Wichita Podcast family. (Oh, and happy birthday to the Wichita Podcast favorite Andrew Maness).

We are swiftly coming up on our two-year anniversary of doing this podcast (and yes, we made the mistake of not releasing our first episode on (316) Day) and I wanted to write a little note to all of the people out there who have supported us these last two years. We have gone from three friends who spent years talking about how they wanted to start a podcast to actually making it happen with 54 (55 tomorrow) episodes out (and getting paid for it shout out Central Market Wine and Spirits and wichitarewards.com use “wichitapodcast” at checkout).

When we began this journey, we had to determine what our podcast was going to be about. We are three busy guys (with Evan not even currently living in Wichita) and we knew that topics like sports would be difficult because it changes too fast. We all had two major things in common – we went to high school together and we were from Wichita. Seeing that there was no Wichita history based podcast around (and “Wichita Podcast” was available as a podcast name) we figured it would be a great option for us.

First of all, one of the greatest treats of being involved in this project has been learning about this amazing city that I grew up in and have always taken for granted. When you grow up in Wichita, the magic of the city is lost on you until you are old enough to appreciate it. That, or you move away for a few years, and come back. So, being able to learn about the history of Wichita and putting together the puzzle pieces of what has built and shaped the (316) over the years has been an incredible experience.

I realized fairly early in our journey that I did not have the time or effort to become a Wichita influencer. Shout out to all of the amazing influencers we have here in town who are bringing you weekly updates on things going on all over the city as well as where to find the best bites on a Saturday night, but that is not the Wichita Podcast. Nor, or so it seems, is it (3YUM6). Those influencers and people that use social media to the fullest are next level and if anyone thinks what they do is easy – it most certainly is not. We decided what was best for us, or me since I run the social media, websites, and edit the podcasts, was to be true to what we are – a historical look at Wichita giving you context when we can and letting the other talented folks give you the current scuttlebutt. And of course, a look at some restaurants along the way. That is it.

I say all of this because we truly appreciate and are humbled by the support you in the community have given us. I love when I get a text from a random person mentioning how interesting some obscure fact I found comes out in an episode (shout out Big Klotz who is always hitting me with texts out of context and I have no idea what he is talking about). Or when I mention in public I run the podcast and someone has heard of it before (even if he has not listened, yet)! I can only speak for myself, but I imagine Andrew and Evan would agree with me when I say, we do this podcast for our own edification first, but to bring up Wichita through the rich history is a close second. I often tell people, you could have lived in Wichita your entire life, but our goal with every episode you listen to is you walking away learning something new about the city. I truly hope we have done that so far and can continue to do it in the future.

Life gets crazy for everybody, and we are no exception. I have had a reminder in my phone to write this blog for three weeks now that I continue to push back every day (and finally wrote on 3/15). I continue to repopulate this earth on a yearly basis it seems, I am starting a new job without any idea of what my schedule is going to look like, and my previous job has kept me very busy during certain pockets of time. Andrew and Evan have both had life changes over the last few years, but we have been able to put out a steady stream of podcasts for you all to (hopefully) enjoy. No longer are we able to put out 3 a month like we once did, but our goal is still to get you great content moving forward with awesome guests and tons of history. Thank you for being patient with us through our slow periods.

So, all of this rambling to say, thank you Wichita. Thank you for supporting us and sharing our podcast with friends and family. Thank you for learning about this city and hopefully turning around to bring it up and boast to the world about it at the same time. We look forward to many more episodes in the future and as much content as we can provide while still respecting our personal lives. We do this for you the listener and Wichita, and we thank you.

And, obviously, thank you to my wife Emily for putting up with me and all of my antics. And for the theme song to our show. Also Take Time is available on all streaming sites…

-David