Introducing Sandy Kapinos & Debbie Umbarger of Harford’s Heart

Wendy & Rich 0:01
Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios, Hartford County living presents Conversations with Rich Bennett. I'm so good to hear. 

You're not like Shia-la! You're not like Shia-la! I never went back to work. It's kind of a few seconds. I just don't want to go back to work. No, no, no, no. 

Rich Bennett 0:26
I am joined today by my lovely cohost Wendy Beck. I've been trying to get somebody on for years. For many, many, many many years. And they always said, no. No, Rich. I don't want to sit down and talk to you. 

Sandy Kapinos 0:45
No. 

Wendy Beck 0:45
No, 

Sandy Kapinos 0:46
Rich. 

Rich Bennett 0:49
You were right. Yes, you were right. 

Wendy Beck 0:50
I 

Rich Bennett 0:50
understand. 

Wendy Beck 0:51
don't 

Rich Bennett 0:52
I mean, never mind. We'll 

Wendy Beck 0:54
get 

Rich Bennett 0:54
in 

Wendy Beck 0:55
into that 

Rich Bennett 0:55
a minute. I have, 

Wendy Beck 0:56
I'm 

Rich Bennett 1:02
just going to ask you right up front. How 

Wendy Beck 1:04
can you say, you're shy when you get up in front of talking to me? 

Rich Bennett 1:06
I don't. 

Sandy Kapinos 1:09
Have you ever seen me do that? 

Rich Bennett 1:11
You did at the launch party, didn't you? You did it? Well, you were coming up talking to people. 

Sandy Kapinos 1:17
I can, I can come up and talk to people, small groups. I don't get up. I don't like to be in the front. I like to be in the back. 

Rich Bennett 1:23
Oh, I'm glad we, I'm glad we changed this from doing it 

Sandy Kapinos 1:26
I 

Rich Bennett 1:26
live. 

Sandy Kapinos 1:27
said it was going to be video. Absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 1:29
I wouldn't do video. You look at this, mug. 

Sandy Kapinos 1:32
Okay. 

Okay. 

Wendy Beck 1:35
Alright, 

Rich Bennett 1:36
so Harvard's Heart Magazine, before we get into the magazine, both of you, what were you doing before you even started with Harvard's heart? 

Sandy Kapinos 1:44
So I own Sony Pack Design and Marketing. So that's been my business since 98 and Debbie. 

Debbie Umbarger 1:51
training? I was an elementary school teacher at Hemson Wakefield since 1993 to 2017. And I was writing for Harvard's Heart across the last few years. I was writing a fitness column, because I was also a personal trainer, which I still am. So I've been doing that for 16 years. So personal training and group fitness was, um, coaching field hockey and a lot of things of that nature. We're in, in the middle. And Sandy asked me in 2000 after my teaching career ended. I was still doing some coaching, still doing, um, 

Wendy Beck 2:26
Of 

Debbie Umbarger 2:26
of course, 

Wendy Beck 2:27
course, 

Debbie Umbarger 2:27
personal training. And she asked me if I would step in when it was a transition period when Fran 

Rich Bennett 2:32
was 

Debbie Umbarger 2:33
Johnson, um, retired as editor. And it was a natural fit. 

Rich Bennett 2:37
there 

Debbie Umbarger 2:37
So I stepped in them. 

Rich Bennett 2:39
So both of you listening, both of these young ladies, look like they're in their early 30s. And so I'm certain 

Sandy Kapinos 2:48
just good 

Rich Bennett 2:49
it's 

Sandy Kapinos 2:49
genes. 

Rich Bennett 2:49
stuff 

Sandy Kapinos 2:49
That's 

Rich Bennett 2:50
that's 

Sandy Kapinos 2:51
just good genes. Nope. 

Rich Bennett 2:53
All right. So would have tried to get a heart for tart when you first started there. 

Sandy Kapinos 2:57
So I remember picking up heart for tart. And there were only three issues, maybe four, three or four issues prior to me joining. But I remember picking it up and holding onto it. And I had it in a basket in my office. And then the publisher at the time, Fran Johnson called me, someone told her about me. She wanted somebody to help her grow the magazine, 

Rich Bennett 3:15
Mm hmm. 

Sandy Kapinos 3:16
her previous art director and her had parted ways. So I was like, of course, I love this magazine. I would love to be part of it. And then I just jumped right in with both feet and Fran and I became partners. And then when Fran wanted to step away, I just kind of just kept going. 

Rich Bennett 3:31
And when did you come in, Debbie? 

Debbie Umbarger 3:33
I guess I started writing probably in 2015. 

Rich Bennett 3:41
Are you writing the artist section, right? 

Debbie Umbarger 3:42
Well, I do that. But I started with, because I was in a gym setting, I was also teaching. But they asked me to do a fitness article. And so I've been doing that ever since and then I started 

Wendy Beck 3:52
doing 

Debbie Umbarger 3:52
nutrition article as well. So 

Rich Bennett 3:53
a 

Debbie Umbarger 3:54
I do to a nutrition fitness eat tissue. And then of course the reflection with the artist is the other big one I do. 

Sandy Kapinos 4:00
And then she writes the rest of the articles that 

Debbie Umbarger 4:03
need

Sandy Kapinos 4:03
needed throughout the, like when we need to fill in something or 

Wendy Beck 4:06
that are 

Sandy Kapinos 4:06
a few 

Wendy Beck 4:06
it's 

Sandy Kapinos 4:07
businesses, part of their package. She'll write those. 

Rich Bennett 4:10
And the magazine is free. 

Sandy Kapinos 4:13
It is a free magazine, yes. 

Rich Bennett 4:15
And people can pick up it. How many locations now? Do you even know? 

Sandy Kapinos 4:19
Well, it changes all the time. It could be two hundred, two hundred and fifty is always ebbing and flowing as businesses are coming and going. And some are seasonal. But if you go to the website, there's a place that says where to find us, and it lists all the locations. 

Rich Bennett 4:32
The thing that gets me it may have been two thousand four when I first saw it. 

Sandy Kapinos 4:37
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 4:37
And I just been grabbing it every time. Because to me, and I think I may have told you this, it's the. The only true 

Wendy Beck 4:47
local magazine. 

Sandy Kapinos 4:48
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 4:48
when I say that it's a, it correct me 

Wendy Beck 4:50
And 

Rich Bennett 4:50
for all, but 

Wendy Beck 4:51
everybody that works there is local. 

Sandy Kapinos 4:52
Uh-huh. 

Rich Bennett 4:53
It's published locally. 

Sandy Kapinos 4:55
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 5:07
I knew 

Wendy Beck 5:09
I was here for some reasons. 

Sandy Kapinos 5:10
Distributed all throughout Hartford County and it dips over the border into Delta. It also goes a little bit into Baltimore County and a little bit into C. So, because we know those residents come into the county and they love to enjoy our events and our businesses. So we make sure we kind of dip into the outskirts of the county. 

Rich Bennett 5:26
Wow. Since Fran retired, what's been the biggest 

Wendy Beck 5:29
change, 

Rich Bennett 5:29
the Hartford's heart, and also with that, because I know COVID, you guys had to adjust as well. 

Sandy Kapinos 5:36
That was really hard. Honestly, I didn't know if we were going to make it. 

Rich Bennett 5:40
Right. 

Sandy Kapinos 5:40
Because we lost a lot of our distribution locations because all of a sudden paper became scary. 

Rich Bennett 5:46
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 5:47
Everybody thought something was attached to it 

Rich Bennett 5:48
Mm hmm. 

Sandy Kapinos 5:49
germs would attach. hmm. So, um, even though when it's printed, it's put into boxes and humans don't touch it and then it goes to someplace in a box, 

Rich Bennett 5:57
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 5:58
they still it was just a big. There's a fear factor. So during that time, what we did was we partnered with some of the local restaurants 

Rich Bennett 6:04
Mm 

Sandy Kapinos 6:05
and we were part of their carryout service. So when people were carrying out, they would get the magazine with their bad. Apparently you could touch that. But that was okay. 

Wendy Beck 6:14
Right. 

Sandy Kapinos 6:15
that that kept us at least being able to distribute it. We lost a lot of our advertisers, because they weren't in business. So we 

Wendy Beck 6:21
So 

Sandy Kapinos 6:21
we let them bow out of their contracts so that because they couldn't afford to pay for anything by it. We printed only half because we didn't have as many locations. And then we created this in this together 

Wendy Beck 6:32
document 

Sandy Kapinos 6:33
where we allowed all the businesses. They every day they would email us with what their hours were what they were offering because things were changing every day, what was allowed to be open and when wasn't so and we would just post it on our Facebook page and on our website so that people could see what businesses were doing what where they could get eggs, who was open for milk, anything like that. So that's what we did during the COVID time and then when COVID disappeared, we were just backup like nothing had happened. 

Rich Bennett 7:00
I think a lot of people. Well, the people that stayed in business. 

Sandy Kapinos 7:03
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 7:03
Were. But I mean, the good thing is that you adjusted to it. Too many people didn't. 

Wendy Beck 7:11
It was a hard time. 

Rich Bennett 7:12
It was a very 

Sandy Kapinos 7:13
It 

Rich Bennett 7:13
hard. 

Sandy Kapinos 7:13
was a very hard time. I coached a lot of friends who had to all of a sudden work from home, where I had been working from 1998. And it to me, I love it because my office is right there in 

Wendy Beck 7:23
my home, 

Sandy Kapinos 7:24
my laundry room, my kitchen or right to the left and right. I can multitask and that's what 

Debbie Umbarger 7:28
what 

Sandy Kapinos 7:28
I 

Debbie Umbarger 7:28
I 

Sandy Kapinos 7:28
do 

Debbie Umbarger 7:28
do 

Sandy Kapinos 7:28
all 

Debbie Umbarger 7:28
all day, 

Sandy Kapinos 7:28
day. So that was to me. That wasn't an adjustment. That was easy 

Wendy Beck 7:33
Right. 

Sandy Kapinos 7:33
thing. 

Wendy Beck 7:33
I was working from home at that time already. So I, it wasn't a big deal for me either, but 

Rich Bennett 7:38
so as I, 

Wendy Beck 7:38
we had co workers that they just could not deal with it at all. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 7:44
It's disciplined to work from home. 

Sandy Kapinos 7:45
It's does. 

Rich Bennett 7:46
And a lot of people don't realize that, which cracked me out when I think it was federal. We go back to work recently. 

Sandy Kapinos 7:53
Oh, you mean after the shutdown. 

Rich Bennett 7:57
I guess just 

Sandy Kapinos 7:58
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 7:58
within the past couple of years. 

Debbie Umbarger 7:59
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 8:00
Oh, oh, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 8:00
And people were complaining because. 

Sandy Kapinos 8:02
Oh, that. Oh, I so. 

Rich Bennett 8:04
Yeah, it's like, I've been working virtually. And it's like 

Sandy Kapinos 8:09
Well, now people accountability. 

Debbie Umbarger 8:10
Well, that's across the board and many industries that is slowly evolved back to, you know, go three days in. 

Rich Bennett 8:17
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 8:17
like 

Debbie Umbarger 8:17
Well, 

Wendy Beck 8:17
we said, not everybody is equipped to work at home. So you have the people who do like you and I, I'm just assuming, like, know what we need to do. We do. And we get it done. And then you have other people who do not have that discipline, so to speak. 

Rich Bennett 8:32
It is. I mean, I've seen some of the ones that 

Wendy Beck 8:35
complained 

Rich Bennett 8:35
were that were 

Wendy Beck 8:36
the same. 

Rich Bennett 8:37
While 

Wendy Beck 8:37
suppose 

Rich Bennett 8:37
they're 

Wendy Beck 8:38
to be working. 

Rich Bennett 8:40
They would go in for hours, two hour lunch, take their kids here. Take their kids there. It's like, okay, your speeds will be working. 

Wendy Beck 8:48
It's hard to monitor that. That's an employee, 

Rich Bennett 8:53
and this is an employer, you can monitor employers can monitor it if they want to spend them. 

Wendy Beck 8:57
Right. 

Sandy Kapinos 8:58
and they're time and they're 

Rich Bennett 8:59
Yeah, 

Sandy Kapinos 8:59
busy running 

Wendy Beck 8:59
their business. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 9:00
So what's the 

Wendy Beck 9:01
big thing? 

Rich Bennett 9:02
change, the 

Wendy Beck 9:02
The 

Rich Bennett 9:02
biggest 

Wendy Beck 9:02
biggest 

Rich Bennett 9:02
change 

Sandy Kapinos 9:03
since 

Wendy Beck 9:04
you 

Rich Bennett 9:05
took over. 

Sandy Kapinos 9:07
while I was working with Fran, I was slowly taking over different roles 

Rich Bennett 9:11
So 

Sandy Kapinos 9:11
until the final role was into me was the most scary because math is not my thing was the books. So Fran, she was her 

Rich Bennett 9:21
was. 

Sandy Kapinos 9:22
thing as she 

Rich Bennett 9:22
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 9:22
that was she did that so I hired a bookkeeper and that was the hardest thing is to relinquish that to someone and so that 

Wendy Beck 9:29
Yes. 

Sandy Kapinos 9:29
I have someone who helps me with that but I'm able to focus on the marketing side, the design side, working with Debbie on the content. Yeah, so I have somebody that does that. That was to me the 

Wendy Beck 9:40
part. 

Sandy Kapinos 9:40
hardest 

Wendy Beck 9:40
That is the scary part. Because 

Sandy Kapinos 9:42
I went through 

Wendy Beck 9:42
Right. 

Sandy Kapinos 9:42
four 

Wendy Beck 9:43
That's the right 

Sandy Kapinos 9:44
books. 

Wendy Beck 9:44
one. Yeah, I believe it. I believe it. Well, and you know the struggles with 

Rich Bennett 9:49
Oh yeah. 

Wendy Beck 9:50
being a nonprofit like I have to do everything. 

Sandy Kapinos 9:52
It's hard. 

Wendy Beck 9:52
And so finally, I just said, this bookkeeping piece. It's just got to go. It's just got to go. 

Rich Bennett 9:58
Yeah, I hate numbers too. But I mean, you got to do it. 

Wendy Beck 10:01
Well, it's 

Sandy Kapinos 10:02
also taxes and it's 

Wendy Beck 10:03
it's a lot. 

Sandy Kapinos 10:03
Make sure everything is legal and fine. You don't get in trouble for anything. So that's where I wanted to make sure that was all. 

Rich Bennett 10:11
How long did it take you to get comfortable with that? Or are you. 

Sandy Kapinos 10:14
I'm very comfortable with that. Yeah, I'm 

Rich Bennett 10:15
Okay, 

Sandy Kapinos 10:15
very. 

Rich Bennett 10:16
because you found a good bookkeeper 

Sandy Kapinos 10:17
I did. 

Rich Bennett 10:17
now. 

Sandy Kapinos 10:19
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 10:20
Definitely helps. Tell everybody why it Hartford's heart magazine is the elite of the elite when it comes to magazines local magazines. 

Sandy Kapinos 10:32
Well, we've stood the test of time. We've been here. This will be we're going into 22 years, which is a 

Rich Bennett 10:38
long 

Sandy Kapinos 10:38
Crazy 

Rich Bennett 10:38
time. 

Sandy Kapinos 10:38
when I think about 

Rich Bennett 10:39
that. Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 10:40
22 years is a long time. We give back. super important. Harper Tart has never been and will never be here to make a lot of money. That's not 

Rich Bennett 10:51
That's 

Sandy Kapinos 10:51
what it's about. It's always told people it's a self-sustaining 

Debbie Umbarger 10:54
product. 

Sandy Kapinos 10:54
The advertisers. We love every single one of them. It wasn't 

Wendy Beck 10:58
for them. 

Sandy Kapinos 10:59
We wouldn't 

Debbie Umbarger 10:59
exist. 

Sandy Kapinos 11:00
So the at the advertisements. 

Debbie Umbarger 11:03
It 

Sandy Kapinos 11:03
pays for writers it pays for distribution it pays for the website it pays for everything and then at the end there's not a whole lot left over. And we just keep that to the side and with the advertisers, it also allows us to make the magazine larger and donate space to nonprofits, which is a really big deal to 

Rich Bennett 11:20
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 11:20
us. 

Rich Bennett 11:21
The other thing with it and we say local, but I I know for a fact there are people out of state even out of country that actually read the magazine online. Yes. as well, which is a big big plus because people visit here 

Sandy Kapinos 11:38
They do 

Rich Bennett 11:38
and they want to know what's going on. Tell us some of the features and it besides Debbie's writing. 

Debbie Umbarger 11:44
Well, I was going to add something to 

Rich Bennett 11:45
question. 

Debbie Umbarger 11:45
your 

Rich Bennett 11:46
Oh, I'm sorry. 

Sandy Kapinos 11:46
Oh, yeah, Debbie. 

Debbie Umbarger 11:47
Well, I would say honestly, the biggest thing and it's just me looking in because I've been involved in over 10 to 12 years. And then initially I was just a writer and I don't mean to say just as a writer, but I was writing one article. It was a very small, very small role. But I would watch the dynamics between Sandy and Fran. The in and Yang there. They they balanced each other out. And ultimately the one thing that I think makes the biggest difference is you have people that are 

Wendy Beck 12:14
here and. 

Debbie Umbarger 12:16
Meaning Sandy. I would say I care a lot and Fran cared a lot about the people and each time an artist is interviewed, their connections just like we were making connections prior to the podcast, those connections are being made. And that's that is what you know Fran always had her connecting the dots piece in the beginning. It's about connecting people and we have people that you know tease us about high for its art. Oh, you magazine, but ultimately they read it and they enjoy it and they like making connections to. 

Rich Bennett 12:48
They keep to. 

Debbie Umbarger 12:49
Yeah, yeah. And you know, she's saying we get you know she is very generous and gives a lot to any nonprofit that needs help essentially. And she's very supportive of nonprofits and and artists and somebody who might need a break, you know comes along and has something that they want, you know, shared and you know what? Great, if it's something that we deem is appropriate and is something that community would appreciate. we give it to them and that that is all part of that, you know, keeping keeping it local 

Rich Bennett 13:22
Yeah, 

Debbie Umbarger 13:22
and 

Wendy Beck 13:23
Well, 

Debbie Umbarger 13:23
make. 

Wendy Beck 13:23
I'm being around for so long you're you're recognized. It's trusted when people can see a brand and they know and they trust it. That's what's important and I feel like because you know I've seen it everywhere. 

Debbie Umbarger 13:35
no hidden agenda. 

Wendy Beck 13:36
There's 

Debbie Umbarger 13:37
It's it's for the people. Yeah, 

Wendy Beck 13:39
you can tell 

Rich Bennett 13:41
now and what are the features because you write for you 

Wendy Beck 13:44
write the artist, right? 

Debbie Umbarger 13:46
Right. One of the feature articles is the reflection with the artist, which is always the cover art. 

Rich Bennett 13:51
Right? 

Debbie Umbarger 13:52
Which 

Rich Bennett 13:53
we have a lot of. 

Debbie Umbarger 13:54
Oh my goodness, it's just overwhelming. It's overwhelming actually. It blows my mind. At some of the people I've had the chance, the honest, the pleasure of being able to meet and talk with continually. John Somers, who is just amazing. resident of Hartford County, historian, not just an artist, a huge key to our county. I've had the pleasure of interviewing him a couple times. Joan Hodis, she's amazing. 

Sandy Kapinos 14:23
That was a great one. 

Debbie Umbarger 14:24
Jim Butcher, God rest his soul just passed. 

Sandy Kapinos 14:26
Yeah. 

Debbie Umbarger 14:26
That was, I mean, getting to have 

Rich Bennett 14:30
Jim 

Debbie Umbarger 14:30
conversation with about his life and his art. You live in Hartford and you've done all these amazing things. Like we have really amazing people in our county. 

Rich Bennett 14:39
Oh, we do. 

Debbie Umbarger 14:39
It's incredible. 

Sandy Kapinos 14:40
So much talent. 

Debbie Umbarger 14:42
And now, just our talent, but there's story that goes behind them. 

Sandy Kapinos 14:44
Yes. 

Debbie Umbarger 14:44
And that's when I write the articles. It's really a story. It's not just 

it's not just an article. It's 

Rich Bennett 14:52
Have you featured Pamela Wal-Jet? 

Sandy Kapinos 14:54
just, yes. 

Rich Bennett 14:55
Okay, her story. 

Wendy Beck 14:56
During 

Debbie Umbarger 14:58
friends, editor, 

Sandy Kapinos 14:59
and some of the artists we 

Wendy Beck 15:01
have 

Sandy Kapinos 15:03
because they have more to tell, or they've expanded what they're creating. And Pamela might be one of them is another one will revisit her. 

Rich Bennett 15:13
She is awesome. And actually, that's because when I do the 

Wendy Beck 15:16
go, 

Rich Bennett 15:16
artist, so that living. Sometimes I'll get it from who you've written about. Yeah. So thank you for that. 

Wendy Beck 15:24
Yeah. That's, that's a great resource. 

Debbie Umbarger 15:25
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 15:26
Yeah. 

Debbie Umbarger 15:26
Amazing talent. 

Rich Bennett 15:27
Yeah. So I'll get the artist from there. And who is, I know Larry was writing the music part for a while. Who's writing it 

Sandy Kapinos 15:33
We 

Rich Bennett 15:33
now? 

Sandy Kapinos 15:34
don't have anyone. So some of the articles are sponsored. And um, music, it was the sponsor of that article. 

Rich Bennett 15:40
Okay. 

Sandy Kapinos 15:40
So you probably saw the bottom. They had their, their ad. And it was a way 

Rich Bennett 15:43
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 15:44
they 

Debbie Umbarger 15:44
basically have 

Sandy Kapinos 15:45
cost, how much it cost to print a 

Wendy Beck 15:47
a 

Sandy Kapinos 15:47
page. And they would pay a cost rate. And it just helps us add content and helps us pay for the printing. 

Rich Bennett 15:53
Because yeah, it's not cheap to print. 

Sandy Kapinos 15:55
It is not. That is the 

Rich Bennett 15:56
If 

Sandy Kapinos 15:56
most 

Rich Bennett 15:56
you 

Sandy Kapinos 15:56
expensive 

Rich Bennett 15:56
own the 

Sandy Kapinos 15:56
part. 

Rich Bennett 15:57
publishing company, it's still not cheap. 

Sandy Kapinos 15:58
Well, 

Wendy Beck 15:58
how, how many? 

Sandy Kapinos 16:00
so that's 

Rich Bennett 16:01
Well, 

Sandy Kapinos 16:01
what I'm saying, yeah, it's the printing that 

Wendy Beck 16:03
how many do you print 

Sandy Kapinos 16:04
22,000 per a 

Wendy Beck 16:05
Wow. That's a lot. 

Sandy Kapinos 16:07
There's a 

Debbie Umbarger 16:08
lot of people. 

Rich Bennett 16:09
22,000 

Wendy Beck 16:12
every month is it a month? 

Sandy Kapinos 16:14
every 

Wendy Beck 16:14
Every 

Sandy Kapinos 16:14
other 

Wendy Beck 16:14
other 

Sandy Kapinos 16:15
it's 

Wendy Beck 16:15
month, 

Sandy Kapinos 16:15
a five monthly mag. 

Wendy Beck 16:16
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 16:17
Every other 

Debbie Umbarger 16:17
Oh 

Rich Bennett 16:17
month, but plus online too. And I mean, 

Sandy Kapinos 16:20
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 16:20
that takes and you're still doing the website yourself or does somebody else 

Sandy Kapinos 16:25
it? 

Rich Bennett 16:25
doing 

Sandy Kapinos 16:25
No, we do it. So, because my company Sony pack 

Wendy Beck 16:27
do 

Sandy Kapinos 16:28
websites. So yeah, we do the 

Rich Bennett 16:29
So 

Sandy Kapinos 16:29
website. 

Rich Bennett 16:29
you're doing it? When do you get a break for yourself? Plus you're doing the calendar. 

You don't get a break. 

Sandy Kapinos 16:38
Well, it's not that I love doing it. 

Wendy Beck 16:40
Yeah, you can tell. Yeah, it's 

Sandy Kapinos 16:41
Yeah, 

Wendy Beck 16:42
not a 

Sandy Kapinos 16:42
it's 

Wendy Beck 16:42
job. 

Sandy Kapinos 16:42
not like I oh my gosh, I've gotta do Harper. Okay. What are we doing today? I'm excited about it. Yeah, I love 

Rich Bennett 16:48
it. But 

Sandy Kapinos 16:50
like Debbie said, meeting all the different people. I mean, 

Rich Bennett 16:52
yeah, 

Sandy Kapinos 16:52
over 22 years, we've met some amazing people. 

Debbie Umbarger 16:55
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 16:56
Do you love writing? 

Debbie Umbarger 16:58
I do. 

Rich Bennett 16:59
Have you ever thought about with all these different artists because their stories are amazing. But possibly putting a book together 

Debbie Umbarger 17:08
about 

Rich Bennett 17:09
artists. A bathy artist? Yeah. 

Debbie Umbarger 17:11
It might not be a bad idea to do a compilation 

Rich Bennett 17:13
or even starting your own podcast on 

Debbie Umbarger 17:15
I 

got enough pants in my fire. 

Rich Bennett 17:18
it. What are you still instruct? Still doing the fitness instruction too? 

Debbie Umbarger 17:23
Personal training. And I with rally against Parkinson's I serve on the board still and I teach two virtual boxing classes a week for that. So yeah, there's a lot going on. 

Rich Bennett 17:34
Wait a minute. How do you do virtual boxing? 

Debbie Umbarger 17:38
So 

it's through zoom twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays in my garage. And it's very simple. I set it to music. We do, we start with mobility work. We do shadow boxing for about 20 minutes. 

Rich Bennett 17:55
Okay. 

Debbie Umbarger 17:55
Yeah, we're not, you know, if you had a punching bag at home, you could use the 

Rich Bennett 17:58
Yeah. 

Debbie Umbarger 17:59
bag. But shadow boxing is very effective because I won't get into all that. But it's a good form of exercise through the rock study program. 

Rich Bennett 18:09
Yeah. 

Debbie Umbarger 18:10
And then we do, like, some core work, a lot of seated work. Some people can't stand. Some people can. We mix it up. And then we do Tai Chi at the end. 

Rich Bennett 18:19
No, really? Try Tai Chi. 

Debbie Umbarger 18:24
Yeah. Lovely. 

Rich Bennett 18:25
And not the tea. I mean, 

Debbie Umbarger 18:26
meditative movement. It's good stuff. 

Rich Bennett 18:27
Ready to try 

Debbie Umbarger 18:32
it. 

Rich Bennett 18:33
Yeah. 

Yeah. Tai Chi. 

Debbie Umbarger 18:37
there's Tai 

Wendy Beck 18:38
And 

Debbie Umbarger 18:38
Chi. 

Rich Bennett 18:40
Right. So yeah. That because I always see the ads come. Maybe it's because of my age, but I'm always see the ads come up. Tai Chi for those over 60. 

Debbie Umbarger 18:52
Yes. 

Wendy Beck 18:53
that. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 18:53
Wait a second, why you have 

Debbie Umbarger 18:55
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 18:56
You know I've seen them too lately a 

Rich Bennett 18:58
Oh. 

Wendy Beck 18:58
lot. 

Debbie Umbarger 18:58
You're gonna see them more now. You set up. 

Rich Bennett 19:01
All right, so what's the next big thing for harford's 

Debbie Umbarger 19:04
heart? 

Sandy Kapinos 19:05
Oh my goodness. 

I don't think it's our next big thing. I think it's just chugging along as we always do. It's we're just a steady. 

Rich Bennett 19:13
I don't think you're chugging along. I think you're in overdrive. 

Sandy Kapinos 19:15
Steady beat is what it is. 

Rich Bennett 19:16
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 19:17
We move with the county as the county changes, we change with it. I think we're just part of the fabric. 

Rich Bennett 19:24
So is there. 

Wendy Beck 19:24
What's I'm sorry. What's that like the outline or the format? You have a feature article you have the artist like, you know, can you kind of go over a little bit of that 

Sandy Kapinos 19:33
standard set of articles that will appear in every edition like, Debbie's reflection with the artist. That's our big one because it takes a lot of time and a lot of research on Then we have other artists. I'm sorry writers like Carol Diable who does the 

Rich Bennett 19:46
historical. 

Sandy Kapinos 19:46
history article. Oh yes, 

Debbie Umbarger 19:48
historical harford is a great article. She puts a lot of time and she is a wealth of knowledge. 

Sandy Kapinos 19:54
and we get emails constantly about her articles, people love 

Debbie Umbarger 19:57
Yes 

Sandy Kapinos 19:58
them. Then we have the fishing harford county water. 

Debbie Umbarger 20:00
Big harfers waters. Yeah. Howie. He's been writing for a long time. He and his wife work together on that. And 

Sandy Kapinos 20:09
clients, uh, the shopwriter 

Debbie Umbarger 20:10
of the nutrition artist. 

Sandy Kapinos 20:11
That's a nutrition article. 

Debbie Umbarger 20:12
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 20:12
So they they 

Debbie Umbarger 20:13
the 

Sandy Kapinos 20:13
sponsor 

Debbie Umbarger 20:13
mill has a great article for, you know, home and long care. 

Wendy Beck 20:17
OK. So you have like the same, you know, structure with the historians and 

Sandy Kapinos 20:23
um, 

Wendy Beck 20:23
the artist 

Sandy Kapinos 20:24
month. So there's 

Wendy Beck 20:24
every, 

Sandy Kapinos 20:24
a 

Wendy Beck 20:25
every 

Sandy Kapinos 20:25
base articles and then articles filter in. 

Wendy Beck 20:27
OK, 

Sandy Kapinos 20:27
different, different 

Rich Bennett 20:28
Suscript 

Sandy Kapinos 20:28
articles. 

Rich Bennett 20:28
on a wildlife society has an article to do. 

Sandy Kapinos 20:31
No, that's the phoenix 

Debbie Umbarger 20:33
phoenix wildlife. Hmm, 

Rich Bennett 20:35
Phoenix wildlife. 

Debbie Umbarger 20:36
Mm-hmm. 

Rich Bennett 20:37
Is that a sanctuary or 

Debbie Umbarger 20:39
a phoenix wildlife is an animal? 

Wendy Beck 20:41
Is 

Debbie Umbarger 20:41
or 

Wendy Beck 20:41
that a bolt 

Debbie Umbarger 20:42
rescue? It's 

Sandy Kapinos 20:42
it's 

Debbie Umbarger 20:43
and 

Wendy Beck 20:43
line. 

Sandy Kapinos 20:43
right over the 

Wendy Beck 20:43
Yeah, I know where that is. 

Debbie Umbarger 20:45
Yeah. And so they they are so helpful. I've called out to them so many times. Every 

Sandy Kapinos 20:48
I was just. 

Debbie Umbarger 20:48
time up, yeah. If you get a rat, you know, you get an estas rabbits that have gotten into, you know, what do you do with them? They will you can actually take them there rehabilitators 

Wendy Beck 20:57
Really? 

Debbie Umbarger 20:57
as well. Or they will coach you on the phone over what you should do. Um, so very informative article. Yeah. Because like, you know, you talk about birds overwintering. Like what can you do to support them in the spring? What do you do? If you see, you know, again, rabbits are huge every year. We talk about rabbits. But, you know, things that people can do in their own yard to 

Sandy Kapinos 21:22
help nature. 

Debbie Umbarger 21:23
Yeah. Yeah. We just 

Sandy Kapinos 21:24
do to support it 

Debbie Umbarger 21:25
to be stewards. 

Rich Bennett 21:25
And things you shouldn't do. Like, 

Sandy Kapinos 21:27
yeah. 

Debbie Umbarger 21:28
Yeah. Like, don't pick up the leaves. 

Sandy Kapinos 21:29
Yeah. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 21:30
Huh? 

Debbie Umbarger 21:30
Do rake your leaves in the fall. You should leave the leaves. Leave the leaves a big message. 

Sandy Kapinos 21:36
it's taking your 

Rich Bennett 21:37
Really, 

Sandy Kapinos 21:37
in your garden. It's a great place for it creates nutrients and creates food. It creates habitat. 

Debbie Umbarger 21:43
Well, I think all of the the micro organisms that exist and live in there. And that's where the birds go to to eat and that everybody eats from there. 

Rich Bennett 21:50
I always watch them up and like put them around the trees and all. So you shouldn't do that. 

Debbie Umbarger 21:54
You should just leave the leaves. 

Rich Bennett 21:58
Oh, I didn't 

Debbie Umbarger 21:59
know. Yeah. I know. I know. It's kind of, it's, 

Rich Bennett 22:02
I mean, it makes sense. 

Debbie Umbarger 22:03
yes, it does. Think about what micro organs will exist in that space. And if you mulch it up, well. 

Rich Bennett 22:10
So We're from Harvard's Art Magazine. You can learn a lot from it as well. 

Wendy Beck 22:15
I think it's pretty cool, 

Debbie Umbarger 22:17
especially 

Wendy Beck 22:17
article. 

Debbie Umbarger 22:17
I mean the historical 

Wendy Beck 22:18
Yeah. I love it. 

Rich Bennett 22:19
Yeah, 

Debbie Umbarger 22:19
Are very, and a lot of our nonprofits that are writing 

Rich Bennett 22:23
mm-hmm. 

Debbie Umbarger 22:23
each issue can educate a 

Wendy Beck 22:25
time 

Debbie Umbarger 22:27
on different 

Wendy Beck 22:28
what's happening. 

Debbie Umbarger 22:29
Yeah. What's going on and supporting the community in needs. Just like range against addiction. Right. There's there's things that, you know, resources out there. 

Rich Bennett 22:38
Yeah. 

Debbie Umbarger 22:38
That heart for art is a platform for sharing that information. 

Rich Bennett 22:42
And you guys put, put events in there as well. 

Sandy Kapinos 22:44
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 22:45
How do people submit an event? 

Debbie Umbarger 22:47
Well, 

Sandy Kapinos 22:48
that's easy. So they just go to the website. And there's a link right there and they could submit events. Any kind of event they would like. 

Wendy Beck 22:53
Okay. That's really 

Rich Bennett 22:54
It's 

Wendy Beck 22:54
good. 

Rich Bennett 22:54
that website. 

Sandy Kapinos 22:56
Harper Tart dot com. 

Rich Bennett 22:59
not 

Sandy Kapinos 22:59
So 

Rich Bennett 22:59
hard 

Wendy Beck 22:59
talk, it's 

Rich Bennett 22:59
for 

Wendy Beck 23:00
easy to. 

Rich Bennett 23:00
He.com, Harfer Tart dot 

Sandy Kapinos 23:02
Harper Tart. Well, I think I may have purchased Harford Heart Magazine as well, but 

Rich Bennett 23:06
com. 

Sandy Kapinos 23:06
it's quicker to get Harfer Tart. Quite a few domain names that we owned that they would get you there, but that's the quid one. 

Rich Bennett 23:11
No, 

Debbie Umbarger 23:11
I think the most important thing to note though about putting in an event is some people don't understand the timeline because they're not. 

Sandy Kapinos 23:18
Yes. 

Debbie Umbarger 23:19
You know the turnover is an instant. So we're going to press and maybe 

Sandy Kapinos 23:26
10 days. 10 

Debbie Umbarger 23:27
days for the April May issue. So you better get it. If you want. 

Wendy Beck 23:31
ehm. 

Debbie Umbarger 23:31
Yes. Well, ma'am, yeah, g- you're- you're running out of time. You gotta get it 

Rich Bennett 23:35
Same- 

Debbie Umbarger 23:35
in. 

Rich Bennett 23:35
same 

Debbie Umbarger 23:35
So it's 

Rich Bennett 23:35
for you. People 

Debbie Umbarger 23:36
better. 

Rich Bennett 23:36
writing articles. You better hurry up again. 

Debbie Umbarger 23:38
Right. Timeliness. 

Sandy Kapinos 23:40
Rich, one of our future articles. Yes, rich. But we pick 60-70 events from the website 

Rich Bennett 23:45
Okay. 

Sandy Kapinos 23:46
that people submit to appear in the printed edition. And then, sometimes, if people email us, "Hey, could you help us out? We wanted to get it in print. We- we take the special favors. We try our best. We get it in there for them." And advertisers, of course, if they're advertising an event, 

Rich Bennett 24:00
mm-hmm. 

Sandy Kapinos 24:01
in the printed edition, 

Wendy Beck 24:02
'Be 

Sandy Kapinos 24:02
obviously'. 

Rich Bennett 24:03
I can't believe I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna call somebody out. Um, have you been- especially 'cause of everything that you do for the non-profit? Have you been on, um, Hartford Magazine yet with Christy Breslin? 

Sandy Kapinos 24:18
god. No, that would be on screen, wouldn't it? 

Rich Bennett 24:21
Oh, 

Sandy Kapinos 24:21
Oh, god. Never 

Rich Bennett 24:22
mind, Christy. You're lucky 

Sandy Kapinos 24:23
there. 

Rich Bennett 24:23
out 

Sandy Kapinos 24:23
I 

Rich Bennett 24:23
call you out. To 

Sandy Kapinos 24:23
don't know if 

Rich Bennett 24:24
call you 

Sandy Kapinos 24:24
I 

Rich Bennett 24:24
out. 

Sandy Kapinos 24:24
can 

Rich Bennett 24:25
So, 

Sandy, here's 

Wendy Beck 24:28
the thing. 

Rich Bennett 24:29
You have a face for camera. I don't. 

Sandy Kapinos 24:32
This is my first step. Baby steps. 

Debbie Umbarger 24:35
She'll get there. 

Sandy Kapinos 24:37
She would have no problem doing it. W. B. All over 

Debbie Umbarger 24:39
it. 

Rich Bennett 24:40
Well, you've been on for rally against Parkinson's, haven't 

Debbie Umbarger 24:43
Um, I don't believe so. 

Wendy Beck 24:44
you? 

Debbie Umbarger 24:44
No. Um, because it was probably Steve. 

Sandy Kapinos 24:48
Yeah. 

Debbie Umbarger 24:48
thought- 

Rich Bennett 24:48
Yeah, that's 

Debbie Umbarger 24:49
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 24:49
right, 'cause I 

Debbie Umbarger 24:49
I've always been 

Wendy Beck 24:50
involved, but 

Debbie Umbarger 24:52
in the very beginning of the non-profit I was, and I started the program 

Wendy Beck 24:56
with 

Debbie Umbarger 24:57
three people, Before, there was rap. Before there was 

Rich Bennett 25:01
yeah. 

Debbie Umbarger 25:01
"Roxie Boxing Certifications". It was literally someone came to me and said, "Watch this video about Roxie Boxing out in Indianapolis." And they had Parkinson's, and I said, "I'd be glad to help you out with that." So, we started with three people with Parkinson's and a hanging bag and went from there. Now, there's over 100 people that are being helped in the program. 

Rich Bennett 25:21
That's- 

Wendy Beck 25:21
That's neat. 

Rich Bennett 25:22
One of the things I've always mentioned to people with park, or when we talk about 

Wendy Beck 25:26
parking. The 

Rich Bennett 25:27
father guessing everything is the boxing part. 'Cause when I first saw that, and it may have been Steve that told me how much it helps people with park and sins. It's amazing. Um, and I think- I mean, he is all in other pockets, but 

Debbie Umbarger 25:42
Sure. 

Rich Bennett 25:42
I- The research that, especially since Michael J. Fox has had gotten it, the research of how much more it's been helping people is amazing. So, thank you for doing it. 

Wendy Beck 25:55
Yeah, that's 

Rich Bennett 25:56
it. It's, man. Do you have any other questions for them? Because you already gave the website. She's already convinced she's not going to do camera. 

Wendy Beck 26:06
No, I You know what? I learned a lot. I feel like it's more robust than I had originally thought. Because of the effort that you put in to have these things about Hartford County and around Hartford County. And I didn't even know about the nonprofit piece. So, yeah, I think this is great. Thank you for doing it. 

Rich Bennett 26:25
You should have said that because now Sandy's going to yell at me for not telling you. 

Sandy Kapinos 26:29
Tell me what? 

Rich Bennett 26:29
Nothing? 

Sandy Kapinos 26:30
About the nonprofit piece? Well, it happened organically, so I think 

Wendy Beck 26:33
Yeah, 

Sandy Kapinos 26:33
it's fantastic. 

Wendy Beck 26:34
exactly. 

Rich Bennett 26:34
Okay, anything you ladies would like to add. 

Before I get to the last questions, which you're going to have to read, because I think I forgot my glasses. 

Sandy Kapinos 26:45
Do you need cheaters? They're just cheaters. 

Rich Bennett 26:47
I don't know. These, I mean, I'm. 

Sandy Kapinos 26:49
They're just cheaters. I'm 

Rich Bennett 26:50
like rock these. 

Sandy Kapinos 26:51
You might 

Rich Bennett 26:52
get them back. Look on me. That look good. 

Sandy Kapinos 26:55
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 26:57
Yeah. I don't 

Wendy Beck 26:58
know. Can 

Debbie Umbarger 26:58
see? 

Wendy Beck 26:58
you 

Debbie Umbarger 26:58
No, 

Rich Bennett 26:59
not 

Sandy Kapinos 26:59
They're 

Rich Bennett 26:59
really. 

Sandy Kapinos 27:00
not prescription. They're just. 

Wendy Beck 27:02
Right. That's what I used to. 

Debbie Umbarger 27:04
Okay. 

Wendy Beck 27:04
Okay. 

Debbie Umbarger 27:05
Thank 

Wendy Beck 27:05
Thank you. 

Debbie Umbarger 27:06
you. 

Rich Bennett 27:07
Well, unless I'm working on the. But then I can't. I got to wear cheaters. 

Debbie Umbarger 27:12
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 27:12
Yeah. That makes sense. 

Rich Bennett 27:14
Was there anything you guys wants to have? No, 

Sandy Kapinos 27:16
don't 

Rich Bennett 27:16
so. 

Sandy Kapinos 27:16
think 

Rich Bennett 27:16
Besides everybody, get hard for Tar Magazine. I you're actually for 

Wendy Beck 27:20
that 

Rich Bennett 27:21
somebody 

lives out of state. Can they 

Wendy Beck 27:25
subscribe to? 

Rich Bennett 27:26
are, can you guys mail it 

Sandy Kapinos 27:27
So 

Rich Bennett 27:27
to him or 

Sandy Kapinos 27:27
we 

Rich Bennett 27:28
it's a best. 

Sandy Kapinos 27:29
So I was there are a few people that were subscribing. There are some people that have moved out of the county and that. These people that I 

Rich Bennett 27:37
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 27:37
just mail it to, but it literally cost two dollars to mail. Each copy because how much it weighs and the cost of postsage. 

Rich Bennett 27:44
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 27:44
So and then I thought, okay, if I were going to do a subscription, then it would be, you know, two times six. And that's what I would charge. And then it's just a whole other, another thing to do. I never really thought about. Doing it that way because it was just cost money. And I 

Rich Bennett 27:58
Yea. 

Sandy Kapinos 27:58
hate to charge somebody something. 

Rich Bennett 28:00
Right. 

Sandy Kapinos 28:00
When they could just see it online. Right. 

Rich Bennett 28:03
Makes it lot. 

Wendy Beck 28:04
a 

Rich Bennett 28:04
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 28:04
And the really cool part about the website is, yes, they can see it online, all of the ads are interactive, but they can go to the past editions. All the way 

Rich Bennett 28:12
Yes. 

Sandy Kapinos 28:13
back to 

Debbie Umbarger 28:14
the 

Sandy Kapinos 28:15
beginning-- look 

Wendy Beck 28:15
and 

Sandy Kapinos 28:15
at every single edition. Read old articles about the artist, 

Wendy Beck 28:19
And you don't mail them anywhere, right? They're 

Sandy Kapinos 28:21
no. 

Wendy Beck 28:21
just pick-- and I like that because, you know, how you just get all this stuff in in the mail that you don't really want to. It's very specific. If you're 

Sandy Kapinos 28:30
And housed. 

Wendy Beck 28:30
a reader, 

Sandy Kapinos 28:31
Yes. 

Wendy Beck 28:31
if you're a reader, you know where to get 

Sandy Kapinos 28:32
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 28:32
it. 

Rich Bennett 28:33
I do go back to the old ones, too. 

Debbie Umbarger 28:36
Uh-huh. 

Rich Bennett 28:36
I 

Debbie Umbarger 28:36
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 28:37
do. I mean, so those of you listening-- do. 

Wendy Beck 28:41
Yes, I 

Rich Bennett 28:41
Because I've heard people 

Wendy Beck 28:43
say this 

Rich Bennett 28:43
before-- that Harvard's Hart magazine is for women, and it's not. It's for guys-- it is. It's for guys, 

Sandy Kapinos 28:49
It's for 

Rich Bennett 28:49
ehm? 

Sandy Kapinos 28:50
everybody. 

Rich Bennett 28:50
It is. But I've heard people say that. I'm like, "No, it's not." 

Wendy Beck 28:54
I never thought, ehm. 

Debbie Umbarger 28:56
My 

Rich Bennett 28:56
You 

Debbie Umbarger 28:57
husband-- 

Rich Bennett 28:57
weren't one of them-- was this-- 

Debbie Umbarger 28:58
It's 

Rich Bennett 28:58
yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 28:58
a magazine. 

Rich Bennett 28:58
There's a lot of great stuff in 

Debbie Umbarger 29:00
He 

Rich Bennett 29:00
there. 

Debbie Umbarger 29:00
enjoys it. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 29:01
And then I found out that was the tool belt consignments. 

Sandy Kapinos 29:05
No, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 29:06
I never heard of them. And I saw-- well, as a whole lot of businesses-- yeah. You know, hear about them unless you see them somewhere. Who was to go first? 

D before 

Sandy Kapinos 29:18
pick-- 

Rich Bennett 29:19
S. 

Sandy Kapinos 29:19
There you go. 

Wendy Beck 29:20
So 

Rich Bennett 29:20
Pick a number between one and 100. 

Debbie Umbarger 29:22
22. 

Rich Bennett 29:23
Why 22? 'Cause it's your age. 

Debbie Umbarger 29:26
No, it was my number in sports in high school and college. 

Wendy Beck 29:29
I thought she was gonna say 'cause there's 22,000 copies. 

Rich Bennett 29:32
That 

Sandy Kapinos 29:33
would have been-- maybe that's it, 

Debbie Umbarger 29:34
too. That would-- hey! 

Sandy Kapinos 29:36
And we're celebrating 22 

Wendy Beck 29:37
Oh, 

Sandy Kapinos 29:37
years. 

Wendy Beck 29:37
yeah! 

Sandy Kapinos 29:38
So 

Rich Bennett 29:38
Whoa! 

Sandy Kapinos 29:38
many. 

Wendy Beck 29:42
Apparently, 

Sandy Kapinos 29:43
22 is 

Rich Bennett 29:43
sure-- 

Sandy Kapinos 29:43
an angel number. 

Rich Bennett 29:43
I know. Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 29:44
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 29:45
I'm sure it is. But 

Wendy Beck 29:45
I'm not 

Rich Bennett 29:46
you're the third person that I've had on it that was their jersey number. 

Debbie Umbarger 29:49
Yeah, okay. 22. It's not-- 

Sandy Kapinos 29:51
So you've asked this question before. 

Debbie Umbarger 29:54
Oh, dear. 

Rich Bennett 29:55
Yeah. 

Sandy Kapinos 29:55
Uh-oh. 

Rich Bennett 29:57
Well, it's just 

Wendy Beck 29:58
funny. 

Rich Bennett 29:59
Here it is. I mean, you-- you-- you know, honestly, you guys look like you're in your 30s. And it's just-- That what we were taught about before we started 

Debbie Umbarger 30:08
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 30:09
the 

Debbie Umbarger 30:09
boy. 

Rich Bennett 30:09
real recording. 

Debbie Umbarger 30:10
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 30:11
If 

Debbie Umbarger 30:11
[laughs] 

Rich Bennett 30:12
you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be? 

Debbie Umbarger 30:17
Relax. 

[laughs] 

Sandy Kapinos 30:19
Yeah, it's fast-tooling. 

Debbie Umbarger 30:21
It's fast-tooling. Relax. 

Rich Bennett 30:22
It was just too damn easy. [laughs] 

Debbie Umbarger 30:25
I just think, um, I think that, just with age, you learn that there's things that you just cannot control. And there are things that you can control. 

Rich Bennett 30:34
Yeah. 

Debbie Umbarger 30:34
And a lot of your energy is wasted when you're younger, worrying about the things that are not within your control. And then that drives, you know, different mechanisms in your psychology that you don't really-- That don't help you move forward. 

Rich Bennett 30:51
There's a good answer. 

Debbie Umbarger 30:52
You're 

Rich Bennett 30:52
You're 

Debbie Umbarger 30:53
not 

Rich Bennett 30:53
not-- 

Debbie Umbarger 30:53
laughing. 

Sandy Kapinos 30:54
I won't. Okay. 

Rich Bennett 30:55
Okay. 

Sandy Kapinos 30:55
That was a really great answer. Five. 

Debbie Umbarger 30:59
That was Kurtz, Jersey number. 

Sandy Kapinos 31:02
Oh. There you 

Debbie Umbarger 31:02
Just 

Sandy Kapinos 31:03
go. 

Debbie Umbarger 31:03
making the connections out. 

Sandy Kapinos 31:06
Oh no, what bridge? Scared. 

Rich Bennett 31:08
Listen with these easy 

Debbie Umbarger 31:09
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 31:10
questions. 

Debbie Umbarger 31:10
he saw his 

Sandy Kapinos 31:10
I 

Debbie Umbarger 31:10
soft 

Sandy Kapinos 31:10
don't know 

Debbie Umbarger 31:11
balls. 

Sandy Kapinos 31:11
about 

Debbie Umbarger 31:11
His 

Sandy Kapinos 31:11
that. 

Debbie Umbarger 31:12
soft balls. 

Wendy Beck 31:12
We write them and make them harder. 

Sandy Kapinos 31:13
[laughs] 

Rich Bennett 31:15
Okay. I 

Sandy Kapinos 31:16
hope it's like what's my middle 

Wendy Beck 31:17
name. 

Sandy Kapinos 31:20
[laughs] 

Rich Bennett 31:20
Five. Oh five there it is, okay. If you couldn't fail, what's the one thing you would attempt? 

Debbie Umbarger 31:27
Oh. 

Rich Bennett 31:29
I 

Sandy Kapinos 31:30
So many-- 

Debbie Umbarger 31:30
name. 

Rich Bennett 31:30
got a 

Debbie Umbarger 31:31
Can I 

Rich Bennett 31:32
answer that for-- 

Debbie Umbarger 31:32
[laughs] 

Sandy Kapinos 31:34
you going to say "get on TV" or something like that? 

Rich Bennett 31:36
Damn it. 

Sandy Kapinos 31:37
No, that's not 

Rich Bennett 31:38
Are 

Sandy Kapinos 31:38
it. I mean you can't-- I guess you can't fail at that. 

Rich Bennett 31:41
Yeah, you could do like I did, break the camera. 

Debbie Umbarger 31:44
Hmm. 

Sandy Kapinos 31:45
I knew I could-- or so many things. I'll just pick one. I would write a book. 

Rich Bennett 31:51
Do it. 

Sandy Kapinos 31:53
It's in my head. 

Rich Bennett 31:54
Well, get it out of your 

Sandy Kapinos 31:56
I will 

Rich Bennett 31:56
head. 

Sandy Kapinos 31:56
one day. 

Rich Bennett 31:57
I-- 

Sandy Kapinos 31:57
I could busy sometimes. I have some things. I'm 

Debbie Umbarger 31:59
to-- 

Sandy Kapinos 31:59
going 

Debbie Umbarger 31:59
How 

Rich Bennett 31:59
hard is 

Sandy Kapinos 32:00
I'll 

Rich Bennett 32:00
it 

Sandy Kapinos 32:00
write 

Rich Bennett 32:00
to 

Sandy Kapinos 32:00
a book. 

Rich Bennett 32:00
book? 

But how many have you written, too? 

Wendy Beck 32:07
book. Well, I don't know. It depends on what you consider. 

Rich Bennett 32:11
I 

Wendy Beck 32:11
I 

Rich Bennett 32:12
think writing a 

Wendy Beck 32:12
write a 

Rich Bennett 32:12
children's 

Wendy Beck 32:13
children's 

Sandy Kapinos 32:13
Well, 

Wendy Beck 32:13
book. I've 

Sandy Kapinos 32:13
that's-- I wrote a children's book, but I have never published it. It's not like a really great one. It's just a cute little sing-songy book, like a going-to-bed book, because I just remember reading them to my kids, and they were my 

Wendy Beck 32:24
written six-- 

Sandy Kapinos 32:24
favorite, and I wrote one, and I did some illustrations for it, and I just haven't done anything 

Rich Bennett 32:29
it. You 

Sandy Kapinos 32:29
with 

Rich Bennett 32:30
should. 

Sandy Kapinos 32:30
I know. I will one day. 

Rich Bennett 32:32
Don't wait for one day. Do it. 

Sandy Kapinos 32:33
I know. 

Rich Bennett 32:34
And 

Sandy Kapinos 32:34
maybe that's what I would tell my-- 

Debbie Umbarger 32:35
Oh. Don't wait 

Sandy Kapinos 32:36
for one day. 

Debbie Umbarger 32:36
Don't wait for one 

Sandy Kapinos 32:37
Yeah. 

Debbie Umbarger 32:37
day. 

Sandy Kapinos 32:38
Yeah. Don't 

Debbie Umbarger 32:39
save it for good. 

Sandy Kapinos 32:40
Oh, my goodness. 

Wendy Beck 32:41
Use the China. The 

Debbie Umbarger 32:43
phrase that we 

Wendy Beck 32:44
it. 

Debbie Umbarger 32:44
would hear 

Sandy Kapinos 32:45
Yep. Growing up. 

Debbie Umbarger 32:46
saving that 

Wendy Beck 32:49
[laughter] 

Debbie Umbarger 32:49
for good. I'm not quite sure what good 

Rich Bennett 32:50
where I 

Debbie Umbarger 32:51
buzz or 

Rich Bennett 32:51
was 

Debbie Umbarger 32:52
coming in 

Sandy Kapinos 32:52
right 

Debbie Umbarger 32:53
but 

Sandy Kapinos 32:53
now is 

Wendy Beck 32:53
for 

Sandy Kapinos 32:53
good 

Wendy Beck 32:54
company 

Debbie Umbarger 32:54
right now is good and it's good 

Rich Bennett 32:57
it's good. I think you should definitely do it and it's funny because authors are artists you. 

Wendy Beck 33:03
There's this lady I know 

Rich Bennett 33:04
who writes for Hartford's Hart magazine. She may feature you in it if you write a book. 

Sandy Kapinos 33:10
Maybe maybe I do write one column in the magazine. 

Rich Bennett 33:14
Well, yeah, 

Debbie Umbarger 33:14
does 

Rich Bennett 33:15
that don't don't was it those? 

Sandy Kapinos 33:16
No, not don't 

Debbie Umbarger 33:17
don't 

Sandy Kapinos 33:17
stay 

Debbie Umbarger 33:17
chase 

Sandy Kapinos 33:17
is the 

Debbie Umbarger 33:18
does 

Rich Bennett 33:18
Don't don't, 

Sandy Kapinos 33:18
profit. 

Rich Bennett 33:19
ok. 

Sandy Kapinos 33:19
Now this is the in the beginning for the publisher the creative clip and 

Rich Bennett 33:23
short 

Sandy Kapinos 33:23
it's a very 

Rich Bennett 33:23
creative clip. 

Sandy Kapinos 33:24
Three or four paragraphs but honestly I do put a lot of thought into it and the reason I do is they all started with one email from somebody and then another and every time I write it somebody will either email me or 

Debbie Umbarger 33:38
it 

Sandy Kapinos 33:39
did or how it touched them and now I take it 

Wendy Beck 33:42
to 

Sandy Kapinos 33:43
Hart and it's a very big responsibility when I write it because I don't know even if something is small when I talked about when my dog passed away. A woman from Pennsylvania just happened to be coming through town picked up the magazine fell in love with the magazine fell in love with the county and then set me at this beautiful letter and information about her dog and I started mailing her the magazine 

Rich Bennett 34:06
wow 

Sandy Kapinos 34:07
and now she visits Hartford County often so 

Rich Bennett 34:10
that's 

Debbie Umbarger 34:12
again it takes it back to the 

Wendy Beck 34:13
caring the 

Debbie Umbarger 34:14
local I mean we've we have people write letters all the time people that we didn't even know 

Wendy Beck 34:20
hear that will 

Debbie Umbarger 34:20
it's 

Wendy Beck 34:20
tell us 

Debbie Umbarger 34:21
about 

Wendy Beck 34:21
the 

Debbie Umbarger 34:21
themselves 

Wendy Beck 34:22
and 

Sandy Kapinos 34:22
about and 

Debbie Umbarger 34:22
and 

Wendy Beck 34:22
then 

Debbie Umbarger 34:22
then all 

Wendy Beck 34:22
all of a sudden we're doing a 

Debbie Umbarger 34:23
feature article not planned. Hank Reactor. 

Sandy Kapinos 34:26
Yeah, yeah, 

Debbie Umbarger 34:27
Reactor, he is now a Hartford County living treasure it's official I nominated him for that 

Sandy Kapinos 34:32
Hank 

Debbie Umbarger 34:33
91 now 92. 

Rich Bennett 34:36
Wow, 

Debbie Umbarger 34:36
he's lived in Hartford County's whole life rockabilly 

star, really he's opened up for all the major acts up in Pennsylvania down here, you gotta go back and look at the issue it 

Sandy Kapinos 34:52
it's 

Debbie Umbarger 34:52
was 

Sandy Kapinos 34:52
a great one but Jesse Bane was the 

Debbie Umbarger 34:54
read 

Sandy Kapinos 34:54
one who 

Debbie Umbarger 34:54
Jesse Bane 

Sandy Kapinos 34:55
reached out to he remembered 

Debbie Umbarger 34:56
is 

Sandy Kapinos 34:56
Jesse Bane 

Rich Bennett 34:57
he 

Sandy Kapinos 34:57
he was their sheriff at one point 

Debbie Umbarger 34:58
well actually Hank wrote us the first and sent us to one of his CDs he writes and he 

Sandy Kapinos 35:03
and Jesse found 

Debbie Umbarger 35:03
still records 

Wendy Beck 35:04
he's like in 

Debbie Umbarger 35:05
his own 

Rich Bennett 35:06
you gotta hook me up I wanted to get him on the show 

Debbie Umbarger 35:08
oh you should 

Sandy Kapinos 35:09
oh my gosh you would love it 

Rich Bennett 35:11
oh I'm the big rock ability 

Debbie Umbarger 35:13
yeah oh 

Sandy Kapinos 35:13
he would play for yeah 

Rich Bennett 35:15
why 

Debbie Umbarger 35:15
he plays in churches numbs stuff like that he and his wife will work together and he's got some other guys he records with so yeah he does it every day he goes it is 

Sandy Kapinos 35:26
it's 

Debbie Umbarger 35:27
it's um what's it I feel like it was right in the early spring it was definitely 

Rich Bennett 35:31
spring 

Debbie Umbarger 35:31
the early 

Rich Bennett 35:31
but people that would want to co-host 

Debbie Umbarger 35:33
Hank Reactor 

Sandy Kapinos 35:34
send you the link to that one 

Rich Bennett 35:35
okay 

Sandy Kapinos 35:35
the archives yeah that was a great 

Debbie Umbarger 35:37
we'll 

Sandy Kapinos 35:37
article 

Wendy Beck 35:38
well one of the things that I've learned since doing this uh co-hosting is that these guys are so invested in the community so being local knowing the community as well as you do because you're dropping names like you know you know everybody which is really cool and know it is and I feel like if there are other similar magazines that trying to like duplicate that there's no way they can touch you guys it's amazing now it's very very impressive 

Rich Bennett 36:06
they have an advantage 

Wendy Beck 36:09
they 

Rich Bennett 36:09
they have the

Sandy Kapinos 36:11
heart

Wendy Beck 36:11
oh 

they are the 

Debbie Umbarger 36:14
I 

Wendy Beck 36:14
heart 

Debbie Umbarger 36:14
love that

Wendy Beck 36:15
yeah 

I love it

Rich Bennett 36:21
You know, after conversations like this, it really reminds me why I love doing this podcast. Because what you heard today, it's not just about a magazine. It's about people who generally care about their community. People who show up tell stories that matter and create something bigger than themselves. That's exactly what Harvard's Hart Magazine represents. And it's also why Hartford County living in Hartford's heart sponsor each other. It just makes sense. Both platforms are built on the same foundation, supporting local, telling real stories, and giving a voice to the people, businesses, and nonprofits that make Hartford County and beyond what it is. It's not about competition. It's about collaboration. Because when local platforms work together, the entire community wins. And honestly, that's something we need more of. Not less. So if you haven't picked up a copy yet, do it. What are you waiting for? And if you're not local, head over to their website and check it out online. Go down the rabbit hole a little bit. You'll be surprised how many incredible stories are right here in our own backyard. And to Wendy, Sandy, and Debbie, thank you. Not just for co-hosting and coming on, but for everything you do for this community. It does not go unnoticed. And to all of you listening, I want to hear from you. What's a story in Hartford County that you think these are to be told? Leave a comment, reach out to me directly, or even better, support the people and organizations that are making a difference right here at home. Until time, I'm Rich Bennett. Reminding you that the best stories aren't always the loudest ones. They're the ones that come from the heart.