If you’re a regular listener to my show, then you know by now that I’m always excited to introduce you to intriguing creatives who are making a positive impact in their fields of expertise.

Today, I’m especially excited for this conversation as in some ways I feel like this particular guest and I have been doppelganger’s in both experiences and creative choices. She also happens to share one of my core beliefs that it’s never too late to pursue one's dreams.

Now a full time voice and on-camera actor as well as a voice over coach, Jennifer “Jenn” Sims, was deep into her career as the Director of Broadcast at one of L.A.’s top ad agencies, she worked on 100s of commercials with talent agents and casting directors and listened to thousands of voice actor’s auditions. She also directed voice actors, including Emmy and Oscar winners; such as Donald Sutherland as the voice for a national healthcare campaign and produced network promos starring the incomparable voice legend, Don LaFontaine, to name a just few.

As glamorous as the world of advertising appears to be in the content it creates, it can also be, as Jenn says, very toxic, and her work environment was becoming increasingly so, prompting Jenn to reflect on what she really wanted to do when she began her career in the first place; that of being an actress; as she spent years honing her quirky sense of humor while studying comedy and improv at The Upright Citizen’s Brigade, The Groundlings, (which landed her on-camera commercials for Uber, Snapchat and WebMD) and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. It was during a recording session, that Jenn realized her passion for acting was undiminished and made the decision to quit her job to pursue a full time career in voice over!

However, in Jenns own words, she was “older” than most people who pursue full time acting. And for anyone who is familiar with how youth oriented show business is; especially in Los Angeles, it wasn’t exactly a text-book recipe for success.

Leaving that coveted Director of Broadcast position was a huge risk but one she was willing to take, and so Jenn took that leap. I’d like to extend the net by welcoming Actor, Storyteller, Coach and “Smarty Pants”, Jennifer Sims to 19 Stories

Contact Heidi Love via the following:

• Business email:

• jennifersimsvo@gmail.com

  Business website:

  • https://www.thejennsims.com/

  Business website: Instagram

  https://www.instagram.com/thejennsims/

  Inquire about classes and private coaching at:

  voiceactorcoaching@gmail.com

  Demos

  https://soundcloud.com/jennifersimsvo/sets/jennifer-sims-voice-over-demos

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to follow 19 Stories wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. It would be greatly appreciated if you gave a nice review and shared this episode well :-)

To give feedback or a story idea: 19stories@soundsatchelstudios.com

To listen to my demos: https://www.cherylholling.com/

To contact me via VO work, or to host your podcast, I can be reached at: cheryl@cherylholling.com

Follow me on Instagram: @cherylhollingvo

Theme Song Credit: 'Together' by For King & Country

Outro Music Sample (for this episode): 'My Girl' by The Temptations

Proverbs 23:18

"Surely there is a future, and your Hope will not be cut off."

Until next time, stay Healthy and Hopeful!

This episode discusses childhood molestation and rape and may not be suitable for younger listeners or those who’ve experienced similar trauma.

I hope you’ve all had a beautiful and rejuvenating summer. I’m recording this episode on the eve of the Autumn Equinox. I imagine we’re all beginning to pull out those comfy sweaters for the cooler weather that is right around the corner!

I’m delighted to be back with a new season of episodes beginning with the very special guest that’s joining me today.

The descriptor's “bestselling author, global sailor and activist”, used to introduce Heidi Love, fails to give full measure to who this amazing woman is. (She’s definitely all of those but oh, SO MUCH MORE!)

Heidi was born in the small Alaskan town of Seward, Alaska, where her missionary father, mother and older brother moved to from Pennsylvania prior to her birth then eventually moved to Philadelphia when Heidi was six.

Now living in Eliot Maine, her cache of accomplishments include marketing strategist and cofounder of Vont, a Maine-based $7 million dollar digital marketing agency along with its sister agency, Ethos; a full-service, multi-platform branding agency. Love has earned an MBA, a Women of Achievement Fellowship, and graduated from the Institute for Civic Leadership. She is an active board member of Safe Space Radio and a former board member of the Maine Women's Fund.

As impressive as those accomplishments are Heidi's quest for healing from childhood violence, and its ensuing trauma,led her to embark on a five-year, 12,000 nautical-mile sailing odyssey from Maine to French Polynesia that was 43 years in the making resulting in a life redeemed and an incredible message of Hope.

In May of 2024, Heidi released the memoir of that journey, Laughing at the Sky, Wild Adventure, Bold Dreams and a Daring Search for a Stolen Childhood, which ranked #1 in New Releases in four different categories on Amazon, which we’ll be talking about today.

Contact Heidi Love via the following:

• To order Laughing at the Sky: https://amzn.to/3vOcjIT

• Website: HeidiLoveAuthor.com

• Business email: HeidiLoveAuthor@gmail.com

• Instagram: @heidiloveauthor

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaughingAtTheSky1/

• To Order Knowing Acts—Engage in Healing: https://amzn.to/3KcMnJ3

• Free sample Calming Practice exercises at https://www.heidiloveauthor.com/blog

Thanks for listening to this episode of 19 Stories: from fear to Hope.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to follow 19 Stories wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. It would be greatly appreciated if you gave a nice review and shared this episode well :-)

To give feedback or a story idea: 19stories@soundsatchelstudios.com

To listen to my demos: https://www.cherylholling.com/

To contact me via VO work, or to host your podcast, I can be reached at: cheryl@cherylholling.com

Follow me on Instagram: @cherylhollingvo

Theme Song Credit: 'Together' by For King & Country

Outro Music Sample (for this episode): 'Return to Innocence' by Enigma

Proverbs 23:18

"Surely there is a future, and your Hope will not be cut off."

Until next time, stay Healthy and Hopeful!

The first thing my guest, Paul Schmidt, would like you to know about him, is that as a single dad, his teenage son, Robbie, is his world and his reason for everything. Which is incredibly endearing considering the level of success he’s attained in a variety of professional and creative endeavors.

Perhaps his success is due to being cast at the age of six in the role of “God” in his school play and that has “anointed” his efforts ever since.

For years Paul would continue his Thespian pursuits acting in just about anything he could, which in 1980’s Baltimore meant musicals, as he performed in over 20 of them before he turned 18. Once he was out of college, he pursued a successful career in broadcasting, and started on-air at 98 Rock in Baltimore, and eventually went on-air full-time at WRDX in Wilmington, DE for almost a decade.

Adding to his performance repertoire, Paul did stand-up comedy and owned and operated Christina's Comedy Zone at Dover Downs Hotel and Casino for 3 years, which won Best Comedy Club in Delaware Today Magazine. He also did a year of improv in the Baltimore troupe of ComedySportz.

For the past 25 years, Paul has poured his stage and on-camera acting experience into commercial and corporate voiceover work, and voicing for hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses via explainer videos, e-learning, corporate training, medical narration, and audiobooks.

As a community builder and business coach, Paul created the VO Freedom Master Plan, a voiceover marketing program designed to generate consistent opportunities for voice actors to book work, and the VO Pro Community, a private, professional, global community created to meet the needs of voice actors and audiobook narrators who want to take their careers to the next level.

Joining me from Richmond, VA, Paul is an avid sports fan, who loves playing golf with his son and refers to himself, among other things, as a “Golf Suckist”. To talk about all this and more, I’d like to welcome Paul Schimidt to 19 Stories.

Contact Paul Schmidt via the following:

• Website: https://vopro.pro

• The VO Freedom Master Plan: https://vofreedommasterplan.com

• YouTube: https://youtube.com/@vo-pro

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vopro.pro

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vopro.pro

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vofreedom

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulschmidtvo

• Voiceover: https://paulschmidtvoice.com/

• Visit https://paulschmidtvoice.com or email paul@paulschmidtvoice.com.

Thanks for listening to this episode of 19 Stories: from fear to Hope.

If you enjoyed what you heard in this episode, make sure to follow 19 Stories wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. It would be greatly appreciated if you gave a nice review and shared this episode as well.

To give feedback or a story idea: 19stories@soundsatchelstudios.com

To listen to my demos: https://www.cherylholling.com/

To contact me via VO work, or to host your podcast, I can be reached at: cheryl@cherylholling.com

Follow me on Instagram: @cherylhollingvo

Theme Song Credit: 'Together' by For King & Country

Outro Music Sample (for this episode): 'Don't Worry Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin

Proverbs 23:18

"Surely there is a future, and your Hope will not be cut off."

Until next time, stay Healthy and Hopeful!