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Speakers
Jester - Prepper, Survivalist, Podcaster, Entertainer. Hillbilly from the foothills who loves Survival, preparedness, and self sustainability. Skills: "The unique ability to wing it".
LocalPrepper (LP) - Thirty Three Year Veteran of the DoD (Twenty Years USMC). LP has been prepping since 2008 has been helping preppers since 2019. He has also launched several preparedness channels. Not much else is know about him and we don't even know his real name but when he speaks, people listen.
You can find out more about LP or follow him on many different social media platforms with the links at https://www.localprepper.net/
Jay Heselschwerdt is an America film, television and theatre actor and narrator. Originally from Mid-Michigan and now resides in East Tennessee. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, an Associate's Degree in Marketing, and an Associate's Degree in Massage Therapy. He has competed in mixed martial arts completions and cage fights. Inducted into the United States Hall of Fame in 2008.
Jay started his career in beekeeping about 25 years ago when a friend talked him into keeping bees for his farm. Jay was the founder of the Honey Convention, worked as a honey bee inspector for the state of Tennessee Agriculture, on the board of Midwest Master beekeepers, past president of this local Bee club, started a local 4-H beekeeping club. He has spoke on podcasts and at bee conferences, conventions, associations, bee clubs all over the United States and several countries around the world via zoom.
You can find out more about Jay or follow him on many different social media platforms with the links at https://beacons.ai/thebeemanjay
McDowell County Rescue Squad (Station 97) - The majority of members, of this squad, hold at least EMT-Basic certification, while many hold certifications of EMT-Paramedic or higher. Multiple members are certified Technical Rescuers. Some members have extra training and certifications in specialty areas such as diving, high angle rescue, ropes rescue, search, swiftwater rescue, and agricultural rescue.
You can find out more about Station 97 at:
https://www.facebook.com/mcrs97/ or https://station97.com/
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Rusty Shackleford, among other things, is an EMT-B (on the National Registry), an ammunition reloading aficionado, and also holds an Armature Radio (Extra Class) License. Rusty started reloading his own ammunition around 2015 due to the difficulty of finding ammo. He started prepping in 2020 because of COVID. Rusty started attending the prep event in 2022. That is where he discovered his love for amateur radio. Rusty began making social media content with the hope that people would hear the message and be a little smarter than they were yesterday.
The Gun Guy, Scott has been a serious tactical shooter and student of combat weaponcraft for over 35 years, and a professional firearms instructor for over 20. Scott has extensive experience in law enforcement firearms training, use of force, lethal force justification and active shooter training. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology along with several other certifications including Glock armorer, AR-15/M-16 armorer, Scott is also trained in Crisis Intervention, Taser instructor, OC spray instructor. You can find out more about Scott at: https://www.shooterreadytn.com/
Dennis Bunch, Born and raised in the foothills of Appalachia. Beginning a family solidified his pursuit of self sufficiency and turning it into a decade long study of homesteading, survival, and self reliance techniques. He revived old homesteading techniques, tools, and craftsmanship that he believes could become one’s own supply chain replacing the modern day web of just in time delivery supply chain. Dennis Bunch is dedicated to educating and engaging people towards these techniques and methods.
You can find out more about him at: https://edge29chaos.com/
Dr. Amanda Cartwright is a Naturopathic physician, author, homesteader, and speaker. In graduate school, she studied natural medicine with concentrations in muscle response testing, iridology, and herbalism. She is trained to diagnose and treat through natural and holistic means. You can find out more about her here: https://theweeddoc.net/
Dave Kershner is an avid hunter, gardener, and cook that has been prepping since 9/11 and the housing crisis. He has authored eight books in the last decade which include a five-part fictional series set in the dystopian and post-apocalyptic genre's as well as two non-fiction books dealing with herbal remedies and preparedness. He even partnered with a chef friend to write a cooking and entertainment book. He currently hosts two podcasts on the Contra Radio Network. The first is titled "The Kershner Files" and deals exclusively with preparedness and self-sufficiency. The second is titled "The Dave Kershner Lightning Round" and is used as his outlet for current event lunacy that affects us all. You can find out more about him here: https://www.davidjkershner.com/
Stephen Revill is a long time Prepper, Beekeeper, and Educator. He is also the owner of the Fuzzy Butt Apiary and Dirty Scot Pottery. Stephen learned long-term food storage at the feet of his parents and grandparents who believed in having at least a year worth of food on hand. He learned outdoor survival from a military father and grandfather, and a great Scoutmaster that loved primitive camping. You can find out more about Stephen at https://www.facebook.com/fuzzybuttapiary
or https://www.facebook.com/DirtyScotPottery
Your Next Speaker - We have several other speakers and are waiting for their pictures and writeups. As soon as we have them, we will post them. Thanks for your patience.
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