Xander got to have a sit down with Coach Mark Richt! Coach Richt is a former college football coach and player that spoke at the Tragedy Into Triumph event last night on MVNU’s campus. Coach tells us about his football career and his testimony on how he came to know Jesus!
Tragedy Into Triumph will happen again tonight and tomorrow with more amazing speakers! Doors open at 6pm and the event starts at 7pm.
For more info on Tragedy Into Triumph click HERE!
WNZR was honored to be part of a pop-up food distribution Saturday as part of a partnership between Food For The Hungry of Knox County, Interchurch Social Services and Knox County Foundation.
Click HERE to hear the full conversation.
Carolyn Fergus with Interchurch Social Services of Knox County talked to Marcy Rinehart about the Pop-Up Distribution at Habitat For Humanity on Saturday. They were able to open early because of the volunteers being so organized. She adds that they had food to feed over 300 families.
Food For The Hungry Board President Austin Swallow talks about how the volunteers including the many organizations who took part in the Pop Up Distribution happen. He said they started planning in early October in the event the government shutdown happened and continued and how it would effect Knox Countians in need.
Austin says that they had about $23,000 worth of food and products that they were distributing on Saturday. He says that most of the money came from Food For The Hungry, but Carolyn was able to get a large portion for free from the Mid Ohio Food Collective.
Click HERE for to learn more about Food For The Hungry of Knox County.
Click HERE for to learn more about Interchurch Social Services.
Click HERE for to learn more about the Knox County Foundation.
Kandee Popham, Executive Director, and Nykol King, Family Services Director of Place4Grace stopped by to talk about their upcoming event, Flannel Fest on Friday, November 7th.
Click HERE to hear the full conversation!
They talk about what Place 4 Grace is about what they do for people. They talk about how they got started and how Kandee’s history brought it up. Nicole shares a little bit about her position and how she helps the moms out and manage volunteers.
Nykol explains how Place 4 Grace isn’t just a housing program; they help people find apartments and schooling. They talk about how their services help break the cycle of poverty in families.
They talk about their new residential maternity housing program, and how they’re able to have 24-hour housing care. They have four main goals that after they leave, they have stable housing, employment, transportation, and childcare. They also talk about how they have worked with many people in the community.
Kandee says if you’re interested in this type of ministry, they need board members and volunteers. They will also talk about Flannel Fest that’s happening on November 7th at Lake Home Church in Mount Vernon doors open at 6:15pm. They say this event is very important because since they are a non-profit they work on the support of the people in the community. They then talk about their transparency about where donations are going.
They say that prayer is one way that people can help them in their ministry, they also say to step out of your comfort zone if you feel a call to help. They just want people to know that all the moms they help are really trying to survive, they believe that relationships will truly help.
Flannel Fest ’25
Friday November, 7th from 6:15 PM to 10:00 PM
@Lakeholm Church of the Nazarene
Click HERE to learn more about Flannel Fest!
Hera Shupp sat down with WNZR’s Eric Brown to talk about her role in the upcoming Orange Barrel Production of the Little Princess.
Click HERE to hear the full conversation!
She got interested in acting from elementary school and high school she took a break while she started raising a family. She got back into acting after seeing Oliver at the Knox Memorial Theatre and when she heard about Orange Barrel she started with them.
Hera played Rachel Lynn in “Anne of Green Gables” last year. She is playing as the main antagonist, Miss Maria Minchin in “The Little Princess”, she’s been preparing by watching how other people played the character and by coming up with her own unique backstory for the character. She likes getting to be challenged by being a villain. She talks about her costume she’ll be wearing during the show.
She talks briefly about the show and the basic outline of the show. She talks about her favorite part of the show, she likes getting to be villainous with the janitor during the show, and her other favorite scene is when the main character stands up to her. She talks about one of her favorite memories of the show.
Performances:
November 14, 15, 21, and 22 at 7:00 PM
Location:
Mount Vernon Developmental Center – Crossroads Theater, Administration Building
1250 Vernonview Drive, Mt. Vernon, OH 43050
Click HERE to learn more and purchase tickets for The Little Princess!
Mount Vernon Mayor Matt Starr shared updates on the City with The Morning Thing on Friday, October 31st, 2025.
Some of the topics covered include:
Stay up to date with what is happening in our community!
Today is the day of the year when the most candy is consumed. Roughly 25% of all annual candy sales in the US are made on this day! For our Friday Favorites, The Morning Thing hosts decided to tell you their favorite candies!
On Thursday, we continued to highlight speakers coming to MVNU for the special Tragedy Into Triumph event. The mission of this event is to share real-life stories of transformation so that people will believe in Christ, find hope for their lives and overcome the struggles of life.
We got the chance to talk with Super Bowl Champion Michael Oher! Michael’s story from homelessness to the NFL became the 2009 movie The Blind Side.
He shared with us some of the real story behind his life, how he stays disciplined, and about his foundation.
Michael will be speaking at Tragedy Into Triumph on the campus of MVNU on Wednesday, November 5th.
We also shared a podcast with Wendell Brown and Riley Gaines. Click HERE to hear their conversation.
Riley is a twelve-time NCAA All-American swimmer who competed for the University of Kentucky. Riley is now hosting a podcast called Gaines for Girls.
Riley will be speaking at Tragedy Into Triumph on the campus of MVNU on Tuesday, November 4th.
Click HERE to stay connected with Tragedy into Triumph!
Siran Stacy was an all-SEC Conference Running Back at the University of Alabama and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the NFL Draft.
He is now in full time ministry and is the host for Tragedy Into Triumph which is coming to MVNU on November 3rd, 4th, and 5th.
Siran shared with us some of his life experiences, and he told us about his ministry and involvement with Tragedy Into Triumph.
Click HERE to stay connected with Tragedy into Triumph!
Wendell Brown is the North Central Ohio leader for the church of the Nazarene and the Founder and CEO of Tragedy into Triumph. He sat down with WNZR’s Xander Devault to talk about his own history and how he started Tragedy into Triumph.
Click HERE to hear the full conversation with Wendell!
He talks about what Tragedy into triumph does and how they bring in miraculous stories, they’ve brought in people dealing with loss, addiction, and convictions to tell their story and how Jesus saved them.
Wendell talks about how Tragedy into Triumph bring hope to people. The event takes place on November 3-5 at 7 for free. Monday night is Mark Richt, Tuesday is Riley Gaines, and Wednesday is Michael Oher and Wendell talks about why they chose who they did for the event.
The mission of Tragedy into Triumph is that God still transforms lives. He shares how God has been using them to work with over 900 churches and podcasts to share what God is doing in the lives of their speakers.
He talks about how you can get access to the simulcast. He encourages you to attend the event in person on November 3-5 at R.R. Hodges chapel on MVNU. He asks that you pray for everything to come together and that the people who need to be there will be there.
Click HERE to stay connected with Tragedy into Triumph!
The Morning Thing hosts have been talking about Fall all week and they also want to celebrate National Food Day! So, they took this opportunity by sharing their favorite fall foods for this weeks Friday Favorites!
Rise and Shine 