Latest / In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson / Entrepreneurs - TPR's In Focus - April 21, 2026

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Entrepreneurs - TPR's In Focus - April 21, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

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  Support comes from Troy University's Trojan Cafe,
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  offering handcrafted Starbucks beverages and a wide assortment of meal and snack options,
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  located on Troy University's Montgomery campus, across from the Rosa Parks Library and Museum.
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  From Troy Public Radio, this is the Exchange from In Focus, and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson.
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  If you've ever dreamed of owning your own business, the U.S. Small Business Administration
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  can help you develop a business plan. Tyler Teresa, Southeastern Regional Administrator,
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  joins us with some new ideas.
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  Tyler, welcome back to Troy Public Radio.
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  Carolyn, thank you so much for having me. It's always a pleasure to be here on Troy Public Radio
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  to talk about all things SBA.
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  So Tyler, from your perspective, what is the state of the economy?
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  As the Southeast Regional Administrator, I'm traveling all around the Southeast,
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  and I see a lot of optimism.
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  I can also back that with what just happened with the recent jobs report.
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  We had 178,000 new jobs, a lot of that in transportation and construction.
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  On top of that, the consumer confidence for the month of March grew to 91.8%.
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  So when I'm out there and I'm talking to businesses, they're excited about what's happening,
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  especially when you look at what the Work and Family Tax Cut just did.
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  On average, the return was $3,500 for most people.
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  On top of that, with the 20% small business deduction alone,
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  it delivered relief for over 8 million entrepreneurs.
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  So when I travel around the Southeast, I'm talking to these small business owners,
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  they're happy with all the things that President Trump's doing,
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  and also what Administrator Loeffler is doing to make sure that we have access to capital
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  that these small businesses desperately need to continue to grow in this thriving economy.
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  You've told us before that a lot of the strength of this economy
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  is in the Southeastern job growth. Is that still true?
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  I believe that's still true.
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  Small businesses that are getting hurt by not-so-friendly states,
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  they're looking for friendly business states, and most of them are in the South.
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  So I have this amazing opportunity to represent eight states in the Southeast,
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  and when it comes to business growth and job opportunities, it's all here.
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  As you guys are a part of Troy Public Radio and Troy University,
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  I want to talk about the student entrepreneurs and how they can actually take advantage of some
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  of this amazing opportunities that we've been seeing across the Southeast,
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  since it's in their backyard.
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  You know, a lot of the students these days are actually military veterans and their spouses.
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  Are they included in this that you're talking about?
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  Of course they are. And you know what?
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  The SBA has a lot when it comes to helping veterans get into business.
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  One of the things we offer is the VBOT, or Boots to Business,
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  where we actually have classes specifically for veterans and military members
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  of how they can transition what they learned in the military into the private sector.
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  In the jobs report, most of the jobs grew in transportation and construction,
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  which has a lot of crossover with what veterans are learning
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  during their time of service in the military.
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  I'm familiar with the small business development centers, many of them based at universities.
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  Is this a source of help for these students,
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  whether they're military veterans or college students?
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  It is. The small business development centers are a great tool that's accessible
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  across every state in the United States.
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  They're tied to the university systems and they're free business consultants
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  that can help businesses start up and grow.
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  And that way, they're actually the tools that these businesses can go to for free.
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  Taxpayer money is already paying for them, so they're a great valuable resource.
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  Are there some opportunities that we may not have thought of?
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  The first thing I like to tell all students that have the dream of being an entrepreneur is
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  there's a lot of great opportunities out there,
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  especially what they're called the silver tsunami
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  that baby boomers like my parents are retiring from the workforce.
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  And there's a bunch of great small businesses that open for 20 plus years
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  that have positive cash flow that are prime for the younger generation to get into
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  and have their dream of entrepreneurship.
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  And that's where the SBA can help because the SBA,
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  we actually work with the banks so that way that the banks can provide loans
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  for these people that are getting into business,
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  they can actually acquire these businesses that are already thriving.
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  And the SBA can help in multiple ways to get people onto that path of entrepreneurship.
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  One of the resources is the sba.gov website.
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  How can that help people get started?
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  I tell everyone that's inspiring to be an entrepreneur,
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  those that already have their own business that you need a team to support you,
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  whether that's your accountant, your attorneys, your marketing team,
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  you also need the Small Business Development Center on your side and the SBA.
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  On the SBA website, you can find so many things.
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  Our learning platform will give you the basics of business and what to look for
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  when you're starting a small business and how you can grow your business.
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  So I encourage everyone to reach out to the SBA.
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  We have district offices all across the state
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  and we're here to help you guys make the right connections you need
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  so that way you can grow your business.
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  Well, Tyler, let's talk about financing a business.
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  Yeah, so a great thing is how the SBA can help you get access to capital.
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  We have a lot of different programs.
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  I actually wrote an op-ed recently.
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  Not every business needs a million dollar loan.
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  Some businesses just need a $50,000 loan
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  and that's where our microloan program comes in.
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  It's a smaller dollar amount and if you use a microloan provider,
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  they actually can help you walk through your business plan
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  and coach you on what you need to be successful.
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  These microloans are tailored to help you with monthly payments that are smaller,
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  that doesn't have a high interest rate.
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  On top of that, you have the community side to it.
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  The person that can actually coach you and make your business successful.
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  That way you can pay back the loans.
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  I always encourage people to go check out the microloan program.
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  They're all across the state.
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  You can find providers of the microloan programs all across your state
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  and they can really help you grow your business.
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  That's a perfect spot for a student entrepreneur that doesn't have a lot of capital,
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  doesn't know exactly what they're doing,
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  but they have a passion and they want to make it work.
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  I always encourage people to check out our microloan program.
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  Once you grow out of the phase of the microloan program
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  and you're looking for a bigger loan,
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  that's where the SBA comes in by helping you become more bankable
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  and we can go loans all the way up to five million dollars.
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  When you're thinking about starting a business,
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  and you've been through this with your family, they started a business.
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  How do you find out whether there is an opportunity out there?
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  People who are going to want your product,
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  how do you find out what is needed and what's feasible?
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  There's a lot of businesses that have high demand,
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  great cash flow and great opportunity that are in front of your door.
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  Think about what they call the boring businesses,
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  laundromats, car washes,
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  things that people can't go without on a daily basis.
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  That's where the opportunity is,
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  especially when all these baby boomers are retiring
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  and there's a lot of opportunity.
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  That's where the younger generation can come in,
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  work with the SBA,
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  work with the small business development center
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  to come up with the business plan,
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  get an SBA-backed loan from their bank
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  and seize the opportunity that's right in front of them.
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  And you know what?
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  Under President Trump and Administrator Loeffler,
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  there's no better time when you look at what just recently happened
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  with the work and family tax cut
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  and all of those opportunities it provides for these entrepreneurs.
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  They're in your community,
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  they're going to give back to your community.
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  And whenever you support a small business,
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  a local entrepreneur, someone that's starting up,
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  all that money comes back.
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  And that's the most important thing about small businesses.
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  They're the thriving heart of the community.
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  So you're talking about taking a team approach
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  step by step as you start your business.
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  You need a team whenever you go into business.
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  The SBA should be a part of your team.
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  We have amazing resources that can help.
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  You can find district offices in your state
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  by if you just Google SBA Alabama,
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  you can find our district team there.
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  Reach out to us.
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  We can provide you to the appropriate resource
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  whether you want to get a government contracting,
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  whether you need a bank to fund your business
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  or whether you're looking for a consultant.
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  Reach out to us.
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  We're happy to help get you directed in the right direction.
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  The resources alone from the sba.gov are a great place to start.
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  And I think more entrepreneurs should realize that
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  you don't always have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps.
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  On top of that, go outside of the SBA, find a mentor,
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  find someone that's already been in business
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  in the same business that you want to get to,
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  ask them questions.
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  There's so many amazing resources out there
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  and we're happy to help you get connected with whoever and whenever.
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  Well, Tyler, I want to thank you for all your advice today.
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  I think you've given your listeners the confidence
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  to maybe take the next step.
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  Well, Carolyn, thank you once again for having me on
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  and appreciate all you do.
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  That was Tyler Teresa,
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  Southeastern Regional Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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  With more information at the sba.gov website.
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  Thanks for joining us today for The Exchange from In Focus,
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  which is a podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
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  I'm Carolyn Hutcheson and this is listener-supported Troy Public Radio.