Local voices
ACTV show seeking ‘Storytellers’ from Anderson County
Darren Leach, left, talks to Curtis Sexton in the second episode of “Storytellers” on ACTV.
And Darren Leach, principal at Clinch River Community School and now host of ACTV’s “Storytellers with Darren Leach” podcast, is looking forward to hearing them.
“Since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by stories,” he said. “Not just the what, but the how. How life’s changed. How moments unfold.
“I realized the answers aren’t always in books ... they’re with people, too; that’s why we started this show: to unfold the extraordinary in the everyday one story at a time,” he said, introducing the show in its first episode available on YouTube and on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
In that episode he talked to multi-sport athletes Cody Wright and Clark Wormsley of Lake City, now known as Rocky Top.
Leach told The Courier News that many accomplished people lived in Anderson County and people should learn their stories to feel inspired.
“You don’t have to live in New York or LA to make a difference in other people’s lives,” he said. He said the common theme of guests on the show is “service.”
He is interested in talking to teachers, people of faith, athletes, businesspeople and more from all corners of Anderson County. He said his main goal as an interviewer is to set people up with good questions to help them explain their lives.
“I’m kind of a point guard; I fill the alley-oop, and they get to slam it,” he said regarding his interviewing style.
He said he came up with the idea for the show alongside ACTV station administrator Ryan Sutton and station manager Andy Garrett after the success of the channel’s interviews with current coaches.
Anyone interested in recommending someone to be on the show can email dleach@acs.ac. People who want to recommend someone else can give that address. Leach said he would prefer that the people be willing to be interviewed and have contact information available.
