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Fighting Drift and Finding Purpose: Reflections on Christine Caine's Powerful Message at GLS 25

Release Date: 09/16/2025

Changing the Question You Ask Yourself: Career Advice with Ewa Szmigiel

Stories from the River

Welcome back to Stories from the River! Today we continue the Lake Norman Grand Reopening Celebration series, focusing on the newest transformation to Ashley 7.0 in Mooresville, North Carolina. Charlie Malouf, Broad River's CEO and show host, sits down with a Home Furnishings Expert and Million Dollar Memory Maker, Ewa Szmigiel. Szmigiel shares her journey from Poland to North Carolina, describing the challenges she faced transitioning to life in the United States and how she discovered her passion for working with people in the furniture industry. She talks about her progression through...

Behind the Remodel: Nathan Jeter on Mooresville's Makeover & Operation 120

Stories from the River

Welcome back to Stories from the River! We are continuing our recap series from the Grand Reopening Celebration of our latest Ashley Store 7.0 transformation in Mooresville, North Carolina. In today's episode, CEO Charlie Malouf sits down with Mooresville General Manager Nathan Jeter to discuss the remodel experience and results from the reimagined Lake Norman store, The Lake. The Mooresville Ashley store has been around for over 17 years, and its success was never questionned. Nathan Jeter and his winning team have stood out in the Company. However, this fall, the team at The Lake welcomed a...

Relive the Mooresville Grand Re-Opening: Speeches & Ribbon Cutting

Stories from the River

On October 7, the Mooresville store (also known as The Lake) reopened its brand new doors, with a bang and a ribbon cutting! On today's episode of Stories from the River, we bring you the energy and atmosphere from right before the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Broad River leaders attended and spoke at the event, honoring the current and past leadership of the store. Today, we are joined by Tony Barr, Corporate Chaplain of America, who leads us into the event with prayer and gratitude. Charlie Malouf, Broad River's CEO, takes the stage next, reminiscing on the store's history, acknowledging...

Broad River's Sleep Summit: Sales Success and Personal Growth

Stories from the River

In this episode of Stories from the River, we revisit the semi-annual Fall Sleep Summit, an event Broad River holds at the Charlotte Motor Speedway to help Home Furnishings Consultants level up their sleep sales game. Today you will hear from six Memory Makers as they recap their experience at the 2025 Sleep Summit. Christian Sonander and Domaniek Greene from the Boulevard Believe Jose Gonzalez from the Albemarle Aces Ken Wilcox from the Special Forces Kensley Phillips from the Flagship Enterprise Nasir Park from the Raleighwood Legends They discuss why this event is...

Lessons from Bamboo: Charlie Malouf Shares Broad River's Enduring Philosophy

Stories from the River

In today's episode of Stories from The River, Josh Hatchell, Broad River's Senior Retail Experience Manager, continues his conversation with Charlie Malouf, Broad River's CEO, in part two of Retail Operations "Get To Know You" session held on September 18th at Broad River's Fort Mill, South Carolina, campus. This conversation dives into Charlie's personal leadership approach, the future of Broad River, and the strategies he uses to stay connected with the Memory Makers across the stores. As Broad River is about to take root in a completely new part of the country, the audience members...

Getting to Know Charlie Malouf: Early Jobs, Failures, & Laying Foundation for Broad River's Culture

Stories from the River

In today's episode of Stories from the River, the host becomes the guest. That's right, Broad River's CEO and Stories from the River's host becomes the main conversation topic, as Josh Hatchell, Broad River's Senior Retail Experience Manager, along with a room full of Retail Opertions Memory Makers, ask meaningful and insightful questions into Charlie's past, present, and Broad River's future. This episode was recorded on September 18, 2025, from Broad River's Fort Mill, South Carolina, campus, during a session with Retail Ops called "Get To Know You" with a leader from Broad River...

Meet the Pioneers: Broad River's Key Retail Presentations During the Purpose 8:28 Experience

Stories from the River

Welcome to the 4th and final episode from our "Pioneering the Path - a Purpose 8:28 Experience" series. In this episode of Stories from the River, we bring you a special, behind-the-scenes look into what the "Pioneering the Path - a Purpose 8:28 Experience" really felt and looked like for our retail leaders. These key excerpts from the day's sessions give a rare insight into an even deeper level of this immersive retail leadership development day and into Broad River's culture. Tune in today to hear Bradley Sullivan's discuss how to enroll your team, get their full support and share in...

Culture You Can Feel: Inside the Purpose 8:28 Experience

Stories from the River

In this episode of Stories from the River, we sit down with three inspiring Broad River Retail General Managers at the end of an impactful day from the Fort Mill, SC, campus where Broad River held its "Pioneering the Path - a Purpose 8:28 Experience" full learning and development day for all of its retail leaders on August 28, 2025. We sit down with Sonya De La Cruz of Hickory; Brett Cary of Asheville; and Seth Logue of Gastonia to explore what makes the company’s culture so unique and impactful. Through their personal stories and leadership experiences, they reveal how Broad River’s...

Empowerment, Ownership, and Collaboration: Kristen Hadeed’s Framework for Modern Leaders

Stories from the River

Welcome to part two of our conversation with Kristen Hadeed on Stories from the River. Host Charlie Malouf continues his conversation with Kristen Hadeed, author of Permission to Screw Up, diving into resilience, ownership, and courageous leadership. Kristen shares why it’s okay to have a short “pity party” after setbacks—but emphasizes the importance of moving forward and learning from mistakes. She introduces practical tools like the “resilience resume,” where human-centered leaders reflect on lessons learned from their own screw-ups in weekly meetings, creating a safe...

Reflecting on Pioneering the Path Opening Keynote w/ Kristen Hadeed, pt 1

Stories from the River

In this episode of Stories from the River, host and CEO Charlie Malouf welcomes keynote speaker and author Kristen Hadeed, fresh off her impactful talk at Broad River Retail’s “Pioneering the Path - a Purpose 8:28 Experience” leadership event. Kristen opens up about her unexpected journey—accidentally launching the cleaning company Student Maid at just 19, navigating major failures, and discovering her passion for human-centered leadership. What began as a student side-hustle quickly became a laboratory for learning, where she uncovered how trust, communication, and belief in people...

More Episodes

Welcome to the eighth episode of the 2025 Global Leadership Summit Recap Series on Stories from the River! This week, CEO Charlie Malouf is joined by Carl Hillesland, Director of Retail Performance at Broad River Retail, to reflect on Christine Caine’s powerful session at the Summit.

Christine Caine—author, speaker, and founder of the A21 anti-human trafficking campaign—shared her personal journey of discovering her life’s purpose and the critical turning point that led her to confront the realities of human trafficking. In her talk, she warned leaders about the danger of drift—the subtle but steady loss of vision and purpose that happens when we simply do nothing.

Charlie and Carl explore how Christine’s stories, like discovering she was adopted and later encountering the vast scope of human trafficking, illustrate the need to stay anchored to a clear why. They unpack her vivid analogy of two beach umbrellas representing boundaries that prevent us from drifting and discuss how Memory Makers can apply these ideas in their own work and lives.

The conversation highlights:

- How to recognize and combat “drift” in leadership and life
- The importance of boundaries, vision, and purpose to stay aligned
- Practical ways Memory Makers are already using Christine’s message to realign with their mission
- Why leaders must intentionally Re-Anchor, Rebuild, and Reignite their passion to avoid languishing or losing focus

This episode is a call to action for Memory Makers to be intentional lighthouses—staying grounded, shining with purpose, and helping others navigate life’s currents toward meaningful impact.

Watch the other episodes in the GLS 25 Recap series:

Consistency Over Charisma: Takeaways from Craig Groeschel's Opening Keynote at the 2025 Global Leadership Summit - https://youtu.be/cwNiyzyD-go

Unlocking Potential and Conquering Goals: Takeaways from Jon Acuff's Closing Keynote at the Global Leadership Summit - https://youtu.be/TxtGAFeenSo

Live Life Like a Diversified Portfolio & More Insights from Thasunda Brown Duckett @ GLS25 - https://youtu.be/-qUowzD4-5M

Less Really Is More: Takeaways from Juliet Funt’s Tactics to Cut Clutter at GLS25 - https://youtu.be/aa7gHNA_Wao

Leadership Lessons from Nick Saban: Process, Discipline, and Transformation at the Global Leadership Summit - https://youtu.be/P7ldcRfsQrg

How Regenerative Performance Can Transform Work: Insights from Dr. James Hewitt’s GLS Talk - https://youtu.be/rnMkFRvbqho

How to Leave a Legacy that Matters: Reflections from John Maxwell's GLS Talk - https://youtu.be/kJ4h56zdFWY

Additional resources:

Books by Christine Caine - https://www.amazon.com/stores/Christine-Caine/author/B001JS7NIY?

The Vision Driven Leader by Michael Hyatt - https://visiondrivenleader.com

https://www.amazon.com/Vision-Driven-Leader-Questions-Energize-Business/dp/0801075270

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QhdkM-iFmTs

Visit https://www.storiesfromtheriver.com for more episodes.

Broad River Retail brought this show to you. Visit https://BroadRiverRetail.com

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