Episode 151 (11/10/2018) – Featuring John Walsh (Bethel Bakery)

Sweetness: How John Walsh Took “Just a Bakery” And Made It Into A Local Institution….And Beyond

When you consider some of the lasting business institutions in the Western Pennsylvania region that have stood the test of time, you think of titans in tech, communications, medicine, media, and many other touchstone industries.

But you wouldn’t think of a bakery….would you?

Thanks to what John Walsh has been able to do with Bethel Bakery in Bethel Park, you absolutely should!

Since its opening in 1955, Bethel Bakery has changed the game for how not just a bakery should be run, but how a business should be run. Be it under the leadership of his father, who started the business, or John himself.

Sure, it started out just like any other bakery….one of those hallmarks of any small town, right between the barber and the tailor. That place where the smells of the fresh baked bread, the craving for that morning sweet, or the beauty of the designed cake lures you in without fail.

Fast forward to 2018. An HR department. Call centers. Custom cake designers. A department specifically geared for wedding cakes. A brand new SECOND location.

None of the previously unheard of advancements for a bakery would have been possible without the foresight that John had for where the baking industry was going, having seen many traditional, stagnant bakeries fall by the wayside, thanks to stiff competition from big-name grocery stores….changes that forced John’s hand to the point where he had to adapt just to keep up.

This foresight came from his father, who started and ran Bethel Bakery with that same progressive, forward-thinking approach in mind at all times. (Of course, it helps that it was a trait that John couldn’t really avoid, seeing as John and all six of his siblings grew up IN the family business.)

But the approach has served him well, as Bethel Bakery has garnered considerable acclaim, not just in Bethel Park, nor just in Western Pennsylvania, but throughout the country. From being a go-to stop for national politicians and leaders on their way through town to its substantial charity work, be it through Make-A-Wish, “Terrible Towel” cookies that benefit the Allegheny Valley School, or their support of fallen military heroes, Bethel Bakery has gone far beyond the parameters of a traditional bakery.

On this edition of “The Raja Show”, Raja talks with John about his many accomplishments with Bethel Bakery, as well as John’s thoughts on leadership, his progressive approach to business, and how he manages the challenges of keeping the family business going. It was without a doubt the sweetest interview Raja has ever done

Episode 150 (11/03/2018) – Featuring Douglas Lee & Stacey Brodak (Waynesburg University)

Social Responsibility: How Waynesburg University and Chevron Are Redefining the Relationship Between College and “The Real World” For The Greater Good

For generations, it seemed the role of colleges and universities, relative to “the real world”, was clearly defined.

Be the “feeder system”…..the “pipeline”, as it were.

Students went to college to learn the skills needed to graduate. Then when they graduated, they got jobs in the “real world”.

It was simple. It was basic. It worked, to a reasonable extent.

But over time, both the colleges that produced class after class of students, and the businesses that hired them wondered if it could be done better. If businesses were better able to integrate their actual needs with the foundational academic theory taught in the schools, the students would be more productive from Day One, right? Could there be more real-time interaction between business and university, aside from the token internship program or scholarship grant (which were, to be sure, both good starts)?

How about if the colleges and businesses came together, not only for the benefit of the students and the businesses, but for the greater good?

It should be no surprise by now that one of the most forward-thinking academic institutions in Western Pennsylvania, Waynesburg University, took these questions to heart and put the wheels in motion to act on them.

All they needed was a partner. Enter Chevron

It was a partnership that made too much sense not to happen. So it did. And the Chevron Center For Corporate Social Responsibility was born.

It’s a very exciting development that reflects the logical next step in the union between college and business. On this edition of The Raja Show, Raja takes an inside look at how this partnership came to be, as he welcomes Waynesburg University President Douglas Lee (centerabove), along with Stacey Brodak (left above), the school’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement and University Relations, to the studio to discuss this big news,