Grindstone Productions

04/02/2024

The Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois is about 290,000 acres. A national forest is under the Department of Agriculture and part of their mission is resource extraction (logging, fracking). There's a initiative to redesignate the Shawnee to the Department of Interior, which is all about about education, preservation and recreation. They won't log or frack the Shawnee. Our goal is to make the Shawnee Illinois' first national park, and the nation's first Climate Preserve. It's proven that national parks attract much more tourism than national forests, and tourism is good for the local economy. This video highlights support for our initiative from local merchants in and around the Shawnee.

Southern Illinois business owners support the Shawnee National Park and Climate Preserve proposal

03/18/2024

Just highlighting one of the videos I produced utilizing my new 4k drone.

03/12/2024

The Shawnee in Southern Illinois is the place to be for the eclipse on April 8th 2024. Its in the path of totality, which means you will experience the full 4 minutes 7 seconds of darkness during this historic eclipse. The Shawnee is 290,000 acres from river to river at the southern tip of Illinois. There's a strong movement under way to make the Shawnee our next national park, and the first ever Climate Preserve. Here's a video I produced explaining why the Shawnee checks all the boxes to become our next national park.

Promoting the Shawnee National Park & Climate Preserve Vision

08/13/2022

Just starting day 3 of production at South Beach Symposium. Fortunate to have such a great team to work with. happy 20-year anniversary SBS!

05/05/2022

I was honored with a Mayor's Award on Tuesday night along with the Elgin History Museum for the production of Museum Moments, a 26-part series of two-minute segments that highlight Elgin history. You can check out the segments here: https://elginhistory.org/museum-moments/

03/06/2022

A Saturday afternoon happy hour with pro-wrestler & boxer Dan O'Malley, and 5x boxing champion Vinny Paz (center). We were in Columbus, OH at the Arnold Sports Festival for the 10th annual International Sports Hall Of Fame. Vinny Paz was one of seven inductees into the 2022 ISHOF. I shot the ceremony and will edit/post the ceremony videos in a week or two. Vinny delivered my favorite speech of the day. Fun guy to party with!

02/26/2022

The Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin has displayed "The Settlement" exhibit during Black History Month. This exhibit is based on the documentary, Project 2-3-1, that I produced with Ernie Broadnax and the Elgin History Museum in 2015. I visited the library last weekend and got to experience the exhibit for myself, and watch others as they interacted with the exhibit. Very cool!😎

02/11/2022

Just edited the official 2022 Inductee Announcement for the International Sports Hall of Fame. Grindstone produces all the content for the ISHOF. Looking forward to this VIP ceremony on Saturday, March 5th at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, OH https://youtu.be/1yTggsLqPOg

02/07/2022

I just posted "Owned, A Tale of Two Americas" which will air tonight on WTTW. It examines the history of our racist US housing policy. We heard several of these first-hand stories in the Elgin documentary, Project 231. In the link below you'll hear from Elgin residents Ina Dews, Yvonne Leach Mayes, Carolyn O'Neil (retired Principal- Oakhill School), Rise Jones - PhD, and former Elgin City Councilman Bob Gilliam on how difficult it was to find housing in Elgin. https://youtu.be/-JduYeaJAwY?t=174

To celebrate Black History Month 2019, the Elgin History Museum’s documentary, Project 2-3-1: Two Boxcars, Three Blocks, One City: A Story of Elgin’s African...

02/07/2022

I'm looking forward to watching this documentary on WTTW tonight at 10pm. It's an exposé on how the American housing policy market has been manipulated for years in discriminatory ways

Watch a Tale of Two Americas on WTTW tonight
https://schedule.wttw.com/episodes/567260/Independent-Lens/Owned-A-Tale-of-Two-Americas/

Mid-century housing policy and the ramifications of the 2008 housing market collapse are examined.

02/01/2022

For those "old school" pro wrestling fans, here's the acceptance speech from wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino from the 2013 ISHOF awards ceremony. Bruno passed away April 18th, 2018. https://youtu.be/LhJpbtjs7tc

WWE legend, Bruno Sammartino, gets inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame

01/30/2022

Every year for the past 9 years I have shot and edited the induction ceremonies for the International Sports Hall of Fame. past inductees have included Johnny Bench, Johnny Damen, Ronda Rousey, Apolo Ohno, Herschel Walker, and dozens of others from all different sports. The event is hosted by Dr. Robert Goldman, and held each year at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, OH. And yes, Arnold makes a speech at the ceremony every year. The 10th annual ceremony is coming up the first week of March, so I thought I would post some highlights this week from previous events. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9hFVzymBiQ

07/08/2021

Here's a spot I edited for the Kane County Fair. The pandemic sidelined the Fair last year, but now It's Back! Check it out, July 14-18. And yes, that's Elgin's own Jeffery Myers as the voice-over talent.

03/30/2021

We just posted four more Museum Moments segments for playback on Elgin's Ch. 17. This segment highlights the history of Elgin Sweeper, a company that helped make the name Elgin known throughout the country. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6YGj6gLf1I

03/14/2021

Here's another in the new Museum Moments series I produced for the Elgin History Museum. This segment's host is local historian, Ernie Broadnax. I had the pleasure of producing the documentary, Project 231, with Ernie. He's a true Elgin treasure! https://youtu.be/65UnTkT7KwA

Museum Moments is a new video series from the Elgin History Museum. This series features short 2-3 minute segments using photos and artifacts housed at the M...

03/06/2021

So, I've partnered with the Elgin History Museum to produce a series of 26 short 2-3 minute segments called Museum Moments. These are mini deep-dives into Elgin's rich history using a photograph or a book or an object as the portal into the story. These are shot at the museum with staff or Elgin residents (someone with a personal connection to the story) as the on-camera host. They will run on the museum's web & social media, and will air daily on the City of Elgin's Channel 17. We just completed the first four segments. This one is about Elgin's first automobile, hosted by Phred Hollister, President of the Fox Valley Chapter Model T Ford Club.
https://youtu.be/Fbx7t18W6lc

Museum Moments is a new video series from the Elgin History Museum. This series features short 2-3 minute segments using photos and artifacts housed at the M...