Wendy Corr:
Well, hey there folks, welcome to the Roundup. We're a Cowboy State Daily podcast, and we focus on really interesting people in the Cowboy State. Our person today is so interesting. And you know what? We found her real close to home here. And so I can't wait to introduce you all to Piper Fennimore.
But first, first, I want to tell you about a great podcast that's also Wyoming based. It's the Wyoming Business Alliance “Business from the Basement” podcast. They focus on not just interesting people, but people who know business, people who have experience in business. You've got tips, you've got advice, great things that you're going to get if you tune into the “Business from the Basement” podcast, put on by the Wyoming Business Alliance.
But don't go there yet. First, you've got to stay put, because we have to talk to Piper Fennimore now, full disclosure, Piper is here at Cowboy State Daily. She is a digital marketing radio advertising strategist. I do not have her title correct, and she'll correct me on that, but she is a strategist. She is so great at getting out there and fearless when it comes to showing people how advertising on Cowboy State daily can help your business.
But she's got an incredible backstory that brought her here to Wyoming. And so, good morning, Piper. We are so glad to have you at Cowboy State daily, and I'm so tickled to have you here on the roundup. How are you today? It looks like I see the reflection in the window. It's a beautiful day in Cody. Wyoming!
Piper Fennimore:
It is, good morning, Wendy, it is. It's absolutely stunning, nice and cool. Already got my 10 miles on my bike in this morning. So doing good.
Wendy Corr:
Yeah, you're, you're highly impressive. I haven't done that yet today, no, but I don't do 10 miles on a bike. Hello. So that's, that's crazy. Piper. You're such a positive, you’ve got such a positive energy and such a force. And we're so glad that you found your way to Wyoming.
But you've got a myriad of things that you're so good at. And I kind of want to start from the beginning in telling your story, because you didn't know anything about Wyoming growing up in Connecticut, that's where you started. Tell us about growing up in Connecticut. I want you to lead us to that moment when you were seven years old and your life found a direction.
Piper Fennimore:
Oh gosh. So growing up in Connecticut, tiny, little town, you know, kind of like, if you know anything about Wyoming, kind of like Lovell, itty bitty, or Basin, you know, tiny little town, four miles by five miles. Yeah, that sounds like a city block here in Cody, but it was a tiny little town, one blinking light in the middle of it. So it kind of what, that's kind of what drew me and endeared me to the community of Wyoming, and because of those small towns with those wonderful qualities.
Wendy Corr:
You had a love as a small child for cooking. In fact, when you were seven, you actually created your own cookbook. And folks, this is important, because not only does Piper, you know, work for us here at Cowboy State daily, Piper is a published author with a book called Seriously Delish. It’s a beautiful book, and it's a very special book and a specialized book.
And so we want to talk about how you got from, from being seven years old, creating your own cookbook to publishing your own cookbook that can be found anywhere, right, on Amazon? We've got several bookstores here in Cody. Tell us about, tell us about your culinary journey.
Piper Fennimore:
So I guess I've always had a love for food. And, you know, having parents that kind of enabled you. That was a good thing. French toast was a favorite, so I was always trying to tweak it. And even at seven, I have notes and rewriting recipes. And I don't know why, but it was, it was just something that was so intriguing to me, kind of like science, but you could eat it.
Wendy Corr:
That's right, very true. So you found a love for French toast. You found a love for tweaking recipes. How did that then influence your decisions as you grew older and decided what you wanted to do with your life?
Piper Fennimore:
Well, you know, after high school, I wanted to go to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. I had the application ready. I was going to deep dive into French. And parents said, Nope, you're going to college here in the States. And a great thing, I went to George Washington University. I have a degree in Marketing. And a great foundation for business and for setting me up for success.
And so life just took a turn. And when I had an opportunity, I did go to Le Cordon Bleu, but here locally in the States, and yeah, valedictorian, and loved all of it. I just, I soaked in everything they had. You know, not that I, you know, culinary was always something I loved. I used to have a library of cookbooks that kind of rivaled that of the Library of Congress. I had about 800 cookbooks.
Wendy Corr:
Whoa, where do you put 800 cookbooks?
Piper Fennimore:
Well, in my move out West, I gave away a couple of hundred. And so now I have about 600 and I, you know, they're my resources, and I kind of pick through them while I'm designing different recipes or create, conjuring up the next deliciousness that I can put together.
Wendy Corr:
With your degree, though, got you some amazing, amazing work - the Ritz Carlton, hello, tell us about that.
Piper Fennimore:
Oh, you know, it's one of my favorite jobs that I had. First and foremost, they hired me sight unseen. It was the only job I didn't even interview for. They just said, We heard your reputation. Come work for us.
Wendy Corr:
Oh my gosh. That's great. How did you build this reputation? Where did you work?
Piper Fennimore:
Through my chef instructors at Le Cordon Bleu. And, you know, I love performing at a high level. And to me, food is art and there's so many details in it. You know, when you're cooking, and you cook at the Ritz Carlton, you don't have recipes. You learn how to cook with your taste buds and your eyes.
So you look at the details, you look at the presentation. Everything in life is in the details, isn't it? Well, so everything about food, you know, my daughter says to me, Mom, I don't know what you do to this food, but it's addictive. I said, it's just, it's the details, it's the details.
Wendy Corr:
Wow. So you worked at Ritz Carlton in two places, right?
Piper Fennimore:
Yes, Sarasota, Florida, which was tons of fun, our largest event, there was 950 people on a beach wedding. So it was a crazy, crazy time in the kitchen. And then up in Cleveland, where a lot of our guests were going to the Cleveland Clinic, we actually met the princess of Saudi Arabia, come with her entourage of 80 people that we served daily, and she was attending the Cleveland Clinic.
Wendy Corr:
My goodness. Now something happened that derailed your culinary career, and it sent you in a different direction to the benefit of a lot of people who love food but can't eat all of the food. Tell us about what happened to you. What were you diagnosed with?
Piper Fennimore:
You know, it came out and it was very upsetting, celiac disease. So everything about cooking at the Ritz Carlton level, and the way I cook is all about tasting. Like I said, you cook with your taste buds. And with celiac, you can't cook at that level without making yourself very, very ill. And that's what was happening. So I had to pull myself out of of the culinary industry from that perspective.
Wendy Corr:
That is absolutely, absolutely heartbreaking.
Piper Fennimore:
It was, it was devastating. I lamented food. You know, even being a chef, my world was turned upside down. Everything I knew about cooking was just scrambled. And it took me a minute to get my head around it, you know, between myself and my daughter, myself, saying, you know, hey, you're a trained chef. Snap out of it, and my daughter saying, Come on, Mom, you can do this. You can do this.
She was the impetus behind, pushing me to put all my thoughts, my recipes, my go-tos for being successful as a gluten intolerant person into a cookbook.
Wendy Corr:
So okay, so yes, so we're going to skip ahead here, because you had a couple of different career changes in there that brought you to Wyoming. But let's talk about your cookbook. Seriously Delish. This is a beautiful book. I mean, it's gorgeous. It's hard back. It's got incredible pictures. And that's part of what you do, though, is, is the presentation. That's what you learned at Le Cordon Bleu, at the Ritz Carlton, is presentation is a big deal.
But for people who are gluten intolerant - and there's a lot of people out there who are, I mean, I know my daughter is, my mom has issues with gluten. It is something that you, it's a normal thing now, sadly, in America, but you have come up with a book that makes eating well and eating pretty and eating delicious, something that people who have gluten intolerances can still do. Tell us about your book.
Piper Fennimore:
So, Seriously Delish. It, you know, it's all the recipes that I use regularly and they're not over the top fancy, but they can be. So you can use them every day, but you can also use them and put together a wonderful family brunch or an event that you're doing at home, and make it fabulous and know that your guests are going to enjoy every bite.
And that's the thing out there with people who are gluten intolerant, they're gun shy when it comes to buying gluten free food and cookbooks. I know, when I first was diagnosed, I bought over a dozen gluten free cookbooks to try and get my head around this, and I can't tell you the yuck I experienced with with going through trying, trial and error with these recipes and trying to figure out, okay, how am I going to make this so that it is gluten free, but indistinguishably gluten free, that was the goal.
So I guinea pig a lot of people with recreating all these recipes, even the hardest die-hard, ‘eeww, I'm never eating anything gluten free because it's awful’ people, I transitioned. I’m like, see I got you.
Wendy Corr:
There you go. That's fantastic. Now, where can you find Seriously Delish? It's on Amazon. I know that we've got them in a couple of bookstores here.
Piper Fennimore:
So I'm not on Amazon right now because I don't have physical inventory. So what I have right now is a preorder on my website. So if you go to https://theseriousfoodnetwork.com/ you can pre order my cookbook, and the the paired book. There's a kind of a, help you through understanding best practices, with buying, storing, cooking, to kind of to set yourself up in your home with a mini soup kitchen so that you can make this gluten free life super easy.
I also have these little videos on my website to kind of quick start you, because it's so frustrating. I was frustrated. So I just, I put together a couple of videos to kind of give you an insight, you know, things to avoid, like check your toothpaste ingredients. You know, make sure your grill and your toaster are two of the biggest culprits of glutening you, because you inadvertently put bread or something on the grill, or, you know, you're sharing the toaster with someone who's not gluten intolerant.
How to keep your utensils separate? What utensils to use, that sort of thing. So a lot of good coaching, coaching, little videos there.
Wendy Corr:
That's fabulous. I can't wait to include that in the show notes here, folks. So scroll down through and you're going to find the link to the website in the show notes here. So thank you. That's fantastic. And you got, I'm going to plug here, you’ve got something new coming out?
Piper Fennimore:
I do. I have in terms of books, it's Menu Planning is what it's called, but it's on my website as a second book. It's not a hardcover. This one I'm doing, kind of a magazine. It's something you'll just want as a resource. So I have that as a pre sale. It's ready, ready to go. I'm just fine tuning that one, and then the relaunch of my, my first cookbook. I'm just going through some tweaking there, so looking to have it launched for my birthday in October.
Wendy Corr:
So, oh, that's great. Oh, my goodness. Okay. So, so you've got this background, this wonderful foodie background, and you are still using that on the regular, but your career shifted because you had to, because you had to pull yourself out of the kitchen. But events, events was something that you knew from working at the Ritz Carlton. Tell us about switching to events and marketing and using that degree that you got from George Washington University.
Piper Fennimore:
So I had an opportunity to move from the Ritz Carlton in Cleveland down to the Cincinnati area to work in a historic venue, doing events. So events being weddings or corporate events, fundraisers, things of that nature, but also doing a large festival. So it was a New Year's Eve festival that I grew from 2000 to 6000 people, which was kind of fun, ball drop and all.
It was called Ball on the Square, and had a lot of fun. Shut down streets. Everybody was having a great time, vendors, the whole nine yards. So, you know, being able to do different sized events, was just a lot of fun, and developing that creativity within me to be able to do any sort of event that needed to be done.
Wendy Corr:
So that that helped to feed, like you say, that creativity that you were missing from the kitchen. And then that took you into a different area of marketing, but it also took you out west. So let's talk about coming back out here to Wyoming from Ohio, because your daughter, actually was one that hooked you out here. Tell us about that.
Piper Fennimore:
She and her husband moved out during covid. They were in New York City and moved out to Colorado because they couldn't stand being cooped up. And said, let's go someplace where we can ski. And so they loved it so much. They said, Mom, you've got to come out here. And so life changed, and I had the opportunity.
And, you know, being a girl from Connecticut, you know, you come out skiing and experience the West only in the winter time. So this gave me a chance to find out, Oh, wow, look at this place. It's stunning. And, you know, never had I had an opportunity to go to Wyoming. It just wasn't, it Wyoming wasn't on your list part of the agenda, yeah.
So I broke the border, I went up to Wyo and just discovered absolute gorgeous and everything from the Beartooth highway to Yellowstone to, oh my goodness, to come Cody, of course, because that's where I've been for the past four years. You know, there's so much, so much in Wyoming to love and enjoy.
Wendy Corr:
Yes, there is, there is. So you found yourself, because you had the marketing background. You got a job at the Big Horn Radio Network.
Piper Fennimore:
I did, which gave me a great opportunity to really dive into this state. Wyoming, to me, is just one big, small town with really long roads.
Wendy Corr:
That's exactly right.
Piper Fennimore:
And it gave me a chance to meet so many people there. You know, Wyoming has the quintessential small towns. They're all owner operated stores with families behind them, and they're impassioned about what their business is about, no matter what their business is.
And I have the opportunity to help them stay in their business, stay in their business mindset, so they could focus on their business. Well, I help them focus on their marketing and through Bighorn radio, that's what we did.
Wendy Corr:
Isn't that great, to be able to kind of shift that direction? And that's how I first met you. So that's it. I think that that is one of the things that's so fun about, like you say, Wyoming is the people that you end up meeting.
But you do more than just your job. I mean, there's those of us who are nuts and we can't just do one job. We have to do a lot of different things, and that's something that you also do. You found a passion for - and I'm sure you made the connection with this organization through Bighorn radio network. But there's an organization in Cody called Downrange Warriors. And you are the child of a military parent.
Piper Fennimore:
Yep, my father was Navy and so Downrange Warriors, I met the the founder, Todd Bray, four years ago down when I when he came in to have a public service announcement I recorded and aired, and so I actually recorded it in my voice for them, and we just started the relationship from there.
And now they're in a position where they can start doing a bit more development. And so I'm helping them a little bit more in my off hours, to just get the word out, get more people involved, so that they can help more people.
Wendy Corr:
Tell us about, yeah, tell us about what they're about, because I think that there's so many people that could benefit from their mission and how they go about their mission.
Piper Fennimore:
So the mission is to support veterans, people who have served our country and first responders with their struggle with PTS and suicide, and this organization knows how to do it. They put together a very small group of, kind of coaching through your trauma and help you recognize what it is and let you know that you're not alone.
It is an incredible program to go through. I was privileged to be able to go through the program with individuals who said, Yes, go ahead, please join us, because they knew what my heart was. They knew where I came from, and together, we grew. I benefited just as much as everyone else did through it, and it's wonderful.
And the program doesn't end in just the 12 to 15 weeks that it goes on because the trauma that these individuals experienced, they're given the tools on how to cope with it so that they can be the person they want to be for their family, their spouse and their children, and be part of of the community that they live in.
But life happens, you get triggered. So when it happens, Downrange Warriors is still there for you. So they have a community that you can reach out to at any moment. And I see our Downrange Warriors family all throughout Cody, all throughout the basin, where they mainly are located.
And it's wonderful to see how people are doing, to see the smile on their face, to get the hug, to give the hug, and to know that you're you're part of a community that's really making a difference among our service members and our first responders, because they need us.
Wendy Corr:
They do. It's a great program. I was so fortunate to be able to get to know Todd and the group when I was at the Big Horn radio network and interviewing them for Partyline and doing news stories and things like that. Really a fantastic program. I'm so glad that you're helping them out with this, Piper.
Piper Fennimore:
And it's funny, because people always say, Oh, they with PTSD. And I'm like, No, it's PTS - it's not a disease, because these are normal reactions to incredibly abnormal situations that these individuals have been placed in, and we just need to help them get to the other side of it and be able to contend with those traumas.
Wendy Corr:
Absolutely, that's wonderful. I'm so glad you're shining a light on that. I want to put a link to that in the show notes as well. Folks in here, if you know somebody who could really benefit from the community and the coaching and the really soul searching and exorcizing demons that that downrange warriors can help with, I'm very glad to shine a light on what they do.
Piper Fennimore:
Oh, thank you. Fantastic.
Wendy Corr:
Yes. So Piper, you have so many things on your plate. You've got projects. You've got a great life in Cody. What's next for you? Are you just kind of keeping up with all of these things, promoting Cowboy State Daily. What's your life like right now?
Piper Fennimore:
Oh, you know, it's, it's all about getting life done. And you know, Cowboy State Daily is a huge passion. I love what we do here at Cowboy State daily. I love the honesty of our reporting. I love all of the work that our team puts into putting together a daily newsletter, newspaper that's delivered every morning, 5:15 to your email box. It is free, so sign up. You'll really, you'll really enjoy it.
It's great. It's local news, and, I mean, local Wyoming news. And we touch every subject out there, from silly to sassy to serious.
Wendy Corr:
I like that. That's great. Yes, that's true. That's exactly what we do. Silly, sassy, serious, yeah. We gotta make that into our part of our logo.
Piper Fennimore:
It's wonderful. And there is not a soul that I have run into who doesn't have the newsletter delivered to them and it's and they can't say enough wonderful things. Oh, that's the only thing we read. I just was walking my dog the other day, Oh, that's the only thing we read. Isn't that the only thing everybody reads?
Wendy Corr:
Shouldn't it be, folks? Shouldn't it be?
Piper Fennimore:
It is. And I just, I love hearing it. It just reinforces and invigorates my passion about getting the word out there. So what I'm doing is developing business from a marketing standpoint, from businesses to advertise with us, but also we're growing that radio segment, which I think is so important.
Radio really, truly, is the backbone, the grapevine for Wyoming and Wyomingites. It is fabulous. This is where we get our news. So Jake Nichols, our host on the weekday program, and John Baggett on Saturdays. They're both fantastic. They've got great personalities, and they've got fantastic guests on their program. It is, it's just a wonderful - tune in. I listen to it in the background when I'm getting up in the morning and getting ready.
Wendy Corr:
I's awesome. We are so blessed to have such a great team, and now we've got Piper Fennimore, so we are even more blessed. Piper, this has been such a fun conversation, and I'm so pleased that you have brought your talents and your skills and your background and the way you look at the world to Cowboy State Daily and now, now to the Roundup. This has been so fun, and just I'm so glad to see your smiling face every day.
Piper Fennimore:
Well, thanks, Wendy. I love working with you. Thanks for having me on.
Wendy Corr:
Absolutely. and folks, thank you for tuning in. We're so glad that you came aboard with us on this episode of The Roundup to get to know one of the really interesting people in our cowboy state. You know, we've got so many of these conversations that we've had. We've got well over a year and a half's worth unique episodes every week for the last year and a half plus.
So tune in. Go on back to our archives and see who you might have missed, who you should get to know here in the cowboy state, because we've got them right here. Tune in next week. We've got another great guest coming up next week. Until then, have a fantastic week. Thanks, Piper!
Piper Fennimore:
Thanks, Wendy.
