Finding Florida Podcast making stop on Fort Myers Beach for 19th adventure
A woman from Boynton Beach and a gentleman from Ocala get together once a month to drive each other crazy and their next destination lans them on Fort Myers Beach for their podcast.
Finding Florida Podcast Host Extraordinaire and Chief Enthusiasm Officer Jamie (Jemmy) Legagneur said she owns the Florida Podcast Network and her co-host and Chief Fun Officer Glenn Hebert came onboard about a year ago. The duo have been working to build up the network with a vision of creating 20 different shows all over Florida.
The vision is to provide shows showcasing different locations, as well as different industries.
The network’s flagship show is FindingFloridaPodcast.com, which puts a light on an industry by traveling to that location and doing the activities there.
“He and I, we’ve now done 18 adventures. We do about one a month, some in different locations throughout the state,” Legagneur said, adding that they make the adventures very active. “Really showcasing all sides of Florida and having such a good time doing it. One of the really great things is we are able to showcase local brands, businesses and voices and grow local communities.”
Some of those adventures, Legagneur said, have given her experiences that she never thought would be high on her list. She said early into one show they went to a Visit Florida event called Florida Huddle, which highlighted Crystal River. Before then Legagneur had never heard of Crystal River.
“You can go and swim and be with the manatees,” she said. “We ended up getting to Crystal River a couple of months ago. I had such a good time swimming with the manatees. It was almost spiritual being under the water with them.”
The different destinations come about from whatever is hot, or whoever is asking them to come and visit.
“We want to inspire people to go out and discover things, whether it is in your own backyard, or on a business trip. Go and explore where you are,” Legagneur said.
A couple of adventures ago the duo was covering a Miami Boat Show, which included an invitation by Boat USA Foundation to take a boat safety course.
“They were partnering with the Freedom Boat Club. I have heard about the Freedom Boat Club. We found out they have a new sister brand Freedom RVing. We have been talking a long time about doing a RV episode,” Legagneur said.
She and Hebert are working with Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce’s Jacki Liszak and Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau communications manager Jackie Parker to bring their show to Fort Myers Beach on Saturday, May 18.
“They are sponsoring this trip,” she said of Freedom RVing. “We are doing a campaign with them, picking up an RV in Venice. We are staying at a campground and taking it down to Punta Gorda and then to Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach. One of our partner shows on the network is Beach Talk Radio.”
While in Venice, Legagneur and Hebert will meet up with a 10-year-old girl they met in Orlando at a podcast conference.
“She is a little podcaster. She lives in Venice. She and her dad are going to come out to the campground to hang out with us,” she said.
The plan is to land on Fort Myers Beach that Saturday to appear on Beach Talk Radio.
“We are really excited to be partnering with Freedom RVing,” Legagneur said.
A destination she is excited about is visiting the Edison Ford Winter Estates because she was flooded with memories of when she visited as a kid.
“It looks like my son is going to be joining us on this trip for the first time. To be able to show him . . . my son is all excited. It’s one of the things I am looking forward to the most,” Legagneur said.
To find Legagneur and Herbert, visit FloridaPodcastNetwork.com or FindingFloridaPodcast.com.
Legagneur said she is having a blast because they are finding things that neither of them ever thought they would get into.
“Glenn and I are so different. He likes to get me into new weird situations and vice versa,” she said laughing.
Their journey has also opened their eyes to who their podcast touches. At Podfest, Legagneur said they ran into two podcasters who pulled them aside and shared a story of one being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which inspired the two to live for today, live for now.
“They sold everything and now have their business on the road in an RV. They live their life on the road and do fun adventures. They were inspired by this show,” she said. “We love what we do especially because we don’t know who we are impacting.”
A career in data analytics changed when Legagneur felt she had plateaued and became bored. At that same time through a random coincidence her favorite radio show was being kicked off the air. The news did not sit well with Legagneur, so she started a campaign to keep it on the air.
“I was successful and now it is back on as the number one radio station in Southwest Florida,” she said. “Through that, it made me realize I had a gift for marketing and I loved the microphone. I started a digital marketing company and then I also started a podcast as a hobby. I just fell in love with it. I have seen the power it has to change people’s lives, to be a podcaster.”
Legagneur also wanted to help the podcast industry in Florida.
“Great things are going on in Florida,” she said. “We have some strong players in the podcast scene in Florida. It is doing well and growing.”