What a pleasure it is to introduce you to our latest affiliated podcast, Let’s Do Coffee, an extension of the excellent work done by the Mawji Centre for New Venture and Student Entrepreneurship at NAIT.

Every entrepreneur has a story to tell, lessons learned and wisdom earned. In Edmonton, many of the most successful entrepreneurs are very willing to share their stories and expertise. But they don’t have time to have coffee with all of us! So the Mawji Centre, led by Max Frank, is tapping into that wealth of knowledge on our behalf with this new podcast.

The biweekly show will feature interviews with student entrepreneurs and alumni of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. You can get a sense of what the podcast will be like from this trailer episode.

You can also hear Episode 1, featuring Ashif Mawji, the centre’s namesake and the founder of Upside Software, TrustScience and other software-related companies. Host and NAIT student Daniel van Veelen digs into his origin story and unlocks some valuable advice.

Let’s Do Coffee joins our other affiliated podcasts — We Are Alberta and Perch from ATB Financial; The Well Endowed Podcast from the Edmonton Community Foundation; Katrina Ingram’s Back to School Again, presented by NorQuest College; and OtherWise, made under the auspices of the Ribbon Rouge Foundation. We love using the power of our network to draw attention to these shows, and look forward to doing the same for many more.

Today we have the great good fortune of announcing the latest member of the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB — Emily Missed Out (or did she?).

This podcast has such a fantastic premise. The titular Emily, aka Emily Devereux, missed out on a lot of popular movies in her youth. As a result, she’s missing some of the cultural literacy that helps you, say, understand the jokes in a Simpsons episode. Her friend, Breanne Byrne, is helping her fill in the gaps by introducing her to what she missed.

They watch the films, review the references and tropes, and decide whether Emily actually did miss out on something good the first time around or should have left well enough alone. If you’ve never seen the movie, you can learn along with Emily; if you have seen it, you can play along with Breanne and see if the show is as good (or bad) as you remember.

Emily Missed Out makes a delightful addition to our roster of movie-related podcasts: Bollywood is for Lovers, I Have Some Notes and Repodcasting. Like many of our podcasts, it’s also a window into a friendship, which is just a nice thing to hear.

The next episode of this biweekly podcast comes out on Oct. 11. It’s about Donnie Darko (your correspondent will be sympathizing with Emily for that one.) Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere else you catch your ‘casts. You can also follow Emily Missed Out on Instagram and Facebook, where you’ll be reminded of the references that originated in these films.

We are charged up to announce our latest sponsor, Park Power, a Sherwood Park-based provider of electricity and natural gas.

In Alberta, you get to choose who you buy your energy from. You’re tapping into the same supply as everyone else, but you decide on the retailer. Park Power makes it possible for you to shop local when it comes to making this choice.

Supporting local enterprises is important to both Park Power and the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB, so we go together very well.

“Why is local important to me? Because I can see it,” says Park Power’s owner, Kris Kasawski. “I believe in making the world around you a better place and am proud that our billing and customer service is based here in Alberta instead of outsourced to a foreign country.  There are many factors in the Alberta and local economy, and I am glad we can contribute positively with local jobs and charitable support.”

Park Power’s support of the network will allow us to better promote our Alberta-made podcasts. Your support of Park Power gives you the satisfaction of keeping your money close to home, and you can save money, too, as overhead at an operation like Park Power is lower than at a big company. (Here’s a calculator so you can find out what you would save.)

On top of all of that, Park Power shares 10 per cent of its profits with local charities. When you sign up, you choose which one to direct that money to.

If you already buy your power and gas from someone else, Kris says it’s easy to switch, and nothing changes about your supply of electricity or natural gas. His services are available in most areas of Alberta.

You’ll hear more about all of that on our podcasts in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, follow Park Power on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to see what the guy in the bowtie is up to, and to enjoy the local love that Park Power spreads.