| The program is independently produced by Molly Head, along with a consortium of Central Indiana journalists, writers, event planners, marketers, and audio technicians.
Many thanks to WICR 88.7 “The Diamond” for hosting “Too Many Cooks!” and being Central Indiana’s station of choice for local public radio production and programming.
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Creative Director Patti Denton is Central Indiana’s most highly respected food journalist, with a Masters Degree in Journalism from Michigan State University, and three decades of writing and editing experience for The Indianapolis News, The Indianapolis Star, and various newspapers in Florida and Kentucky. She has a reputation for loyalty to her listeners and readers, and she has a focus on regional cuisine and traditions. Patti, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, continues to beguile her audience with her distinct Southern charm, and blends well on the radio with her co-host, Gary Bravard. She’s also transformed herself from newspaper woman to friendly radio personality, mostly by just being herself!
Additionally, Patti is a rabid sports enthusiast, and is particularly an NCAA and Kentucky Wildcats fan.
Patti may be reached at patti@toomanycooks.info.
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| Patti Denton |
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Special Events Impresario Gary Bravard credits his mother “Sunny” with birthing him into a bus tub at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis in the 1950’s, propelling him into a fast-paced food and entertainment career spanning four decades. From a start at Shapiro’s Delicatessen at the tender age of 16, to tap dancing and acting in Hollywood, to stints at Tavern on the Green in New York City and Le Cafe du Boujelous in Ft. Lauderdale, Gary returned to Indianapolis in the 80’s to become one of the city’s pioneers in special events planning. Gary is the recipient of the internationally acclaimed Gala Award for event planning.
“Too Many Cooks!” boasts Gary’s debut in the world of broadcasting. Many of Gary’s long time friends, clients, and fans turn in to hear just what he might be saying each week! Gary also opens each show by singing a few bars of a nostalgic song to his beloved co-host, Patti. Now favoring long walks and a quieter, more reflective lifestyle, Gary has taken culinary (and otherwise!) tours of Europe the last couple of years. And his favorite city is Rome. Always a hard worker, and enthusiastic in his pursuits, Gary continues to work in the special events and party business in Indianapolis. Additionally, he spends countless hours each month doing volunteer work.
Gary can be reached by email at gary@toomanycooks.info or by phone at 317.902.7900.
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| Gary Bravard |
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Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp is an Advanced Master Gardener and is Central Indiana’s most beloved plant and gardening enthusiast. The Hoosier Gardener© is known for her continual willingness to share gardening expertise to both the novice and professional. Jo Ellen is the co-Author of “The Indiana Gardener’s Guide Revised Edition” and the editor of Indiana Living Green magazine. She is a weekly gardening columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Her column, “The Hoosier Gardener,” appears in the Saturday Indianapolis Star. Check out her website The Hoosier Gardener©.
Our News from the Earth correspondent can be reached at jo_ellen@toomanycooks.info.
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| Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp |
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When Producer Molly screamed “this radio show needs a blond with brains,” Wine Maven Jill A. Ditmire was quick to answer the call. Jill is an Omnimedia Wine Specialist who shares her wit and wisdom locally and nationally in print, radio and TV. Jill is an AWS Certified Wine Judge, and lives in Broad Ripple in Indianapolis with her dog Harp. Jill is also the proud owner of Mass Ave Wine Shoppe, located at 878 Mass Ave. in Indianapolis.
Jill may be reached at jill@toomanycooks.info.
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| Jill Ditmire |
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Our Producer and Development Director
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Molly Head, always a self-starter and innovator, has been an independent Central Indiana writer, producer, and marketer since 1994. She has fourteen years experience in public broadcast marketing and production, including work for WFYI, WICR, Radio Mozart, and Video Access Center in Columbus, Indiana. She has served as writer and editor for AdScript, a monthly newsletter published by the Advertising Club of Indianapolis. Molly handles all the financial development for “Too Many Cooks!”as well as marketing, promotion, distribution, and overall direction. Molly has extensive experience in working in both the not-for-profit and private sectors. She has worked in national customer support for McGraw-Hill, supporting an international online trading and information service for the petroleum industry, based in Houston, Texas. She also worked as national customer service manager for Legislex Associates, based in Columbus, Indiana, an online state and federal legislative information service. Both online services had Fortune 500 clients nationally, and involved national and international business travel.
Over the years, Molly has served on the boards of Broad Ripple Kiwanis Club in Indianapolis and Human Resources, Inc. in Columbus, Indiana. She is also a member of BibliOs reading group, but she says she’s mostly now devoting herself to creating media “that has some shred of human dignity to it”. She especially enjoys creating the ensemble performances of Too Many Cooks! and its sister show Hoosier History Live! “I love being an instigator!” she says. She has a B. A. in Urban Studies from Antioch College. She hails from Columbus, Indiana for her high school years, but since then has lived in Los Angeles, Baltimore, Epes, Alabama (find that on a map!), and Houston. She is proud to now call Fall Creek Place in downtown Indianapolis her home.
Molly can be reached at molly@toomanycooks.info
The broadcast is engineered and recorded by the student-engineers of the department of Communications at University of Indianapolis under the supervision of Scott Uecker, General Manager of WICR.
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Jed Duvall, an Indianapolis native, attended Rose Polytechnic Institute and graduated with an A.B. in Radio-Television from Indiana University-Bloomington. During three tours of duty, Jed spent 13.5 years at WIBC between 1973 and 1990 working to make WIBC the most-listened-to station in Indiana during that time.
Between his stints at WIBC, Duvall served as Program Director at stations around the country, returning to local airwaves in 1990. In 1997, Jed joined Ball State University's Indiana Public Radio as Network Station Manager, facilitating WBST's expansion in East Central Indiana.
Between 1998 and 2004, he held various management positions with WFYI including vice president. During Jed's tenure at WFYI, he oversaw Indiana Reading and Information Services, a radio and telephone reading service for the print-impaired. Jed joined a start up web enterprise, HoosierAuthority.com, as operations manager, creating and producing "Indiana Sports Greatest Moments," heard across the state in 2005 on over 30 radio stations.
Jed Duvall loves his home state, warts, flaws and all, largely because of the rich texture of its people and history. We love him for his sense of humor.
Jed can be reached at jed@toomanycooks.info
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Heather Kaufman-McKivigan is responsible for designing and maintaining our website and our sister show's website, Hoosier History Live!
She recently received her M.A. in Sociology from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and works for the Frederick Douglass Papers at the Institute for American Thought at IUPUI.
Heather has her "pans" in many fires. She's a co-editor of the forthcoming Encyclopedia of American Reform Movements published by Facts on File. And you guessed it! She designed and maintains the website for the upcoming encyclopedia. We call her our "Website Genie"!
She can be reached at heather@toomanycooks.info
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