Boiling Point - Episode 103

Teaching Empowerment

Introducing Barry Ogden

One of our hosts, Greg Hemmings, has had a number of entrepreneurial mentors over the years including one of his high school teachers. Barry Ogden left an impression on Greg going all the way to grade 10 when Greg was a student in his Entrepreneurship class. Not only did Barry inspire Greg, but also his community over the years. Barry is not the type to sit by and let the world fix the problems he sees; he takes action and gets the job done.

This has been proven to be true from the countless initiatives he has taken on in order to inspire pride from the Saint John community. These initiatives include breaking world records with marigold gardens planted by students, reviving interest in the city’s past through rebuilding Loyalist House and creating a replica of the Marco Polo sailing vessel, and developing a football league so that the city could have a team of its own. Barry even painted his own crosswalks after two children were hit and the city was taking too long to find its solution.

Barry’s entrepreneurial spirit has even been recognized by one of the city’s leading businessman, Gerry Pond, so much so that Gerry wrote the book, Ogden’s Odyssey. Check out why it is important for us all to have the entrepreneurial spirit even if we aren’t planning to start a business in this week’s episode of the Boiling Point.

In this episode

Greg reminisces on high school days.
Barry lets us in on the history of the Marco Polo and what inspired him to build a recreation without any government money.
We also hear about how Barry helped rebuild Loyalist House and the Canada Games stadium.
Barry discusses the millions of dollars he has raised in the city and his motivation for doing so.
We discuss way pride in where you come from is such an important piece to any community.
There is a discussion on how entrepreneurs are really just problem solvers with positive attitudes.
Barry tells us why giving children the gift of empowerment is so crucial in developing the entrepreneurial spirit.
Greg talks about what fills him with pride of Saint John.
We hear how painting a few crosswalks got Barry in the middle of a national media story.
Barry tells us a little bit about his relationship with Gerry Pond and how the idea of a book about him came about.
Barry also tells us how he achieved a goal of bringing a football team to Saint John and what it meant to the local youth.
We also hear how the best way to beat poverty is through empowerment.
Greg talks about how it is empowering to be an entrepreneur and how these skills need to be taught to kids at the youngest age possible.
Dave is inspired by Barry’s ability to take action to solve societal problems