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

Release Date: 10/21/2025

Celebrating the Promise and Joy of Christmas with Jimmy and Suzi Kallam

Stories from the River

Merry Christmas and welcome back to Stories from the River. We hope you are having a lovely day filled with love, joy, peace, family, and support. Today we wanted to bring you a special holiday episode. Manny Rodrigues, Broad River's President and COO, welcomes his in-laws, Jimmy Kallam and Suzi Kallam, for a heartfelt holiday conversation. Jimmy and Suzi are founders of Tandem Spirituality, a ministry which focuses on supporting pastors, Christian leaders, and anyone seeking connection and guidance. Jimmy shares the origins and purpose of his latest book, Struggling Well with Life,...

Special Announcement: Broad River Expands into Portland, Maine, in 2026

Stories from the River

This episode on YouTube: Welcome back to Stories from the River. Today, Charlie Malouf and Manny Rodrigues make a very special announcement: Broad River Retail plans to open a new store in Portland, Maine. Internally announced to Memory Makers during a Companywide Town Hall on December 18th, Broad River is expanding into northern New England in 2026. Broad River is proud to bring an an Ashley Store & Outlet to South Portland in the Jetport Plaza shopping center. The 44,900 square feet store will feature a flagship Ashley 7.0 showroom, an Ashley Outlet, an expanded sleep shop,...

2025 Holiday Town Hall: Growth, Store Remodels, Financial Performance

Stories from the River

This episode on YouTube: Welcome back to Stories from the River. In this episode, Charlie Malouf (CEO) and Tyler Trill (Senior Communications Manager) share highlights from Broad River's Holly Jolly Town Hall held earlier this morning (Thursday, December 18th), an internal companywide event that isn’t publicly available. This was Broad River Retail's final town hall of the year, and it celebrated the major milestone of Broad River’s first successful year in its six-year plan to double in size by 2030. The company is expected to reach its annual revenue goal of $272M, setting the...

New Broad River Store Set to Open in Spokane, WA - Behind the Scenes with Stacey McCormick

Stories from the River

In today's episode, Head Coach and EVP of Retail Performance, Stacey McCormick, is on location in the Spokane, WA, store during its store opening and setup efforts. Stacey takes our audience behind the scenes while on location from Spokane, Washington. Later this month, in fact this coming Saturday, December 20th, Broad River will open a brand new store in a market over 2500 miles and three time zones away from its headquarters in Fort Mill, South Carolina. That's right, Spokane is finally happening. We started this year with our word of the year, Pioneer. We end the year...

Operation Tis the Season: Spreading Holiday Magic to Memory Maker Families at Broad River Retail

Stories from the River

The holiday season is in full stride at Broad River Retail. On this episode on Stories from the River, Heather Greenwood, Broad River's Director of People and Emelyne Henderson, Broad River's Senior Manager of Experience & Events give us a behind-the-scenes look at Operation Tis the Season, a cherished initiative at Broad River Retail. It's a Memory Makers Helping Memory Makers program, in which the community comes together to ensure all of the children have something special to open on Christmas Day. Emelyne heads the organization of the program and ensures that every element, from...

Broad River Fast Tracks Easley Express and Other Exciting Updates

Stories from the River

Welcome back to Stories from the River. December is here, so Charlie Malouf, Broad River's CEO and Stories from the River podcast host is back with a laundry list of updates. First, we are happy to announce the opening of a brand new store in Easley, South Carolina. A two-in-one, dual concept Ashley Store & Outlet. Even though new store openings are most definitely kind of a big deal around here, the Easley store seemed to have sprouted out of nowhere, and that's all thanks to our incredible team that works tirelessly behind the scenes. Charlie explains the process and...

The Secrets of AFI Boot Camp - How to Teach Product Knowledge with Love and Passion

Stories from the River

Welcome back to Stories from the River. Today we continue our journey behind the scenes of the Ashley’s ‘Right to Win' Product Knowledge Boot Camp that was held at the Pineville Flagship Store this October. This time, Heather Greenwood, Broad River's Director of People sits across from Kaylee Kirchner, Ashley's AFI trainer. To start, Kirchner's love and dedication to her craft shine through the episode as she enthusiastically describes what she most enjoys about these trainings (spoiler alert: it's everything!). In all seriousness, Kirchner reveals the origin of the boot camp program, how...

Elevating Your Game: Behind the Scenes at the AFI Boot Camp at Broad River Retail!

Stories from the River

Welcome back to Stories from the River. In this episode, our guest host and Broad River's Director of People, Heather Greenwood welcomes Kelly Villastrigo, a Million Dollar Memory Maker and Home Furnishings Expert, for a behind-the-scenes look at the AFI Boot Camp training at Broad River Retail’s Pineville flagship store. Villastrigo shares his journey at Broad River, celebrating nearly two years with the company, and highlights what makes Ashley Furniture stand out—particularly the “mom and pop feel” paired with big company resources. They discuss the lessons learned during the boot...

Inside Ashley 7.0: Showroom Transformation and Design Insights with Sandy Ruhlin

Stories from the River

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and welcome back to Stories from the River. As we conclude the Grand Reopening Celebration Series from last month's Mooresville, North Carolina, Ashley Store, we turn to Manny Rodrigues and his guest for the day, Sandy Ruhlin, Broad River's Home Furnishings Expert and Million Dollar Memory Maker. Ruhlin was around to remember how the store looked years before the remodel, and even though the team at The Lake never stopped winning, she welcomes this new Ashley 7.0 redesign with excitement and joy. The conversation focuses on the impact these new changes have on the...

Celebrating 11 Years of Grit and Community with Home Furnishings Expert Dan Pieszchala

Stories from the River

Welcome back to Stories from the River. Today, guest host Manny Rodrigues, Broad River's President and COO, sits across from Dan Pieszchala, an 11-year Million Dollar Memory Maker and Home Furnishings Expert at Broad River Retail. In this continuation of the Grand Reopening Celebration series, Manny and Dan reminisce on their connected history together at Broad River Retail that began 11 years ago, and they discuss the Mooresville Store's history and its journey to the new Ashley 7.0 design. The conversation digs into Dan Pieszchala's inspiring path as a Memory Maker, highlighting his...

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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 can transform a culture.

Kristen reveals the pivotal conversation with her friend and colleague Monique that ultimately shifted her company’s purpose, evolving from her cleaning company Student Maid to a leadership development organization. Her story sets the stage for a larger message: leadership isn’t about perfection—it’s about courage, connection, and owning our impact.

Charlie and Kristen also discuss how she prepares her keynotes, customizing every presentation to the culture and needs of her audience rather than delivering a pre-packaged speech. Together, they unpack themes from her session, including the power of a “resilience résumé,” confronting imposter syndrome, and recognizing fear as a signal that something truly meaningful is on the line. Kristen’s vulnerability, humor, and practical wisdom invite Memory Makers to lead with heart, take ownership, and collaborate boldly with courageous conversations.

From her first interactions with Broad River, Kristen says she immediately felt the authenticity and electricity of the culture. Part 1 captures that energy—an inspiring conversation about growth, intentional leadership, and the courage to build environments where people can thrive.

Come back for part two of this conversation on Thursday!

Additional Resources:

Kristen's Leadership Development Company Website - https://www.kristenhadeed.com

Permission to Screw Up by Kristen Hadeed - https://www.amazon.com/Permission-Screw-Up-Learned-Everything/dp/1591848296

The Human Leadership Program by Kristen Hadeed - https://www.kristenhadeed.com/humanleadershipprogram

Kristen's Original 2012 TED Talk with over 3.3M Views: How to Retire by 20 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDvoGev5_tk

Kristen Hadeed and Millennials on the Truly Human Leadership podcast: https://feeds.libsyn.com/67290/podcast/ep-19-kristen-hadeed-and-millennials

Kristen Hadeed and Millennials on the Truly Human Leadership on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/truly-human-leadership/id992577373?i=1000581569564

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield - https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026

The Imposter Phenomenon by Dr. Pauline Rose Clance - https://paulineroseclance.com/impostor_phenomenon.html

Silence the Imposter by Gary Frey - https://www.amazon.com/Silence-Imposter-Weapons-Syndrome/dp/B0CJLLLV61

Combining Ministry and Football: The Unique Path of Pittsburgh Steelers Chaplain Kent Chevalier - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJuLje81LNE

Arthur Brooks - The Power of Teaching, The Arrival Fallacy, The Mad Scientist Profile, Lifting Heavy Weights, & The Two Best Practices To Be Happy - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-learning-leader-show-with-ryan-hawk/id985396258?i=1000725431986

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XOAGyXo5auw

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

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

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